In preparation for the 2012 Presidential Election cycle, we are excited to announce that we have updated our website. These updates will help us to communicate with you quicker than ever before.

We invite you to visit the updated site and let us know what you think.

Please take a moment to answer our on-line poll question. We invite you to submit future poll questions by e-mail.

You are cordially invited to attend our

2012 GOP Campaign School

This Saturday, January 7, 2012

Republican Headquarters

8535 Yankee Street

Dayton, OH 45458

8:30 am - 4:30 pm

Cost:  $50 / Person (lunch included)

Click here for more information 

I wanted to share with you some more good news we recently received in the Treasurer's office.

The rating agency Fitch recently issued their highest possible credit rating for Ohio's short-term general obligation bonds. Fitch cited the Treasurer's office "conservative investments", "careful financial management" and "record of maintaining fiscal balance" as key factors in this "F1+" rating.  This decision comes around the same time that Fitch unfortunately downgraded the United States' credit outlook to "Negative".

Moreover, Fitch's recognition of our sound investment and liquidity policies comes in the wake of Standard & Poor's giving the $4 billion investment fund we manage on behalf of over 2,700 cities, school districts  and other local governments, the highest possible credit rating one of these funds can receive.  That "AAAm" rating occurred just as Standard & Poor's downgraded at least 14 similar funds throughout the country and sadly downgraded the United States credit rating for the first time in American history.

This important news was recently reported in numerous publications throughout Ohio, including the Youngstown Business Journal and multiple news sources here in Columbus and Cincinnati.  Additionally, I thought you might want to see a recent Toledo television story on our credit ratings.  Click here or below to watch the brief video.

These strong credit ratings are crucial for increasing confidence in Ohio's economy and fostering investment in Ohio businesses.  As I've said many times before, I'm blessed to have such strong and disciplined staff who understand the magnitude of our responsibility to protect people's hard-earned dollars in this challenging economic environment.

The protection of Ohioans' tax dollars remains, and will continue to be, my top priority as State Treasurer.  I look forward to hearing your thoughts as we continue to advance the financial standing of our state and lead by example for fiscal officers and policy makers throughout the country.

Take care,

Josh

In December, I was proud to have my colleague, Congressman Michael Burgess of Texas visit Dayton.  Dr. Burgess, an obstetrician, and I participated in the debate about the future of healthcare in our nation, and argued against the enactment of Obamacare in 2009.  Dr. Burgess and I have been working this year to repeal Obamacare and its devastating effects on our economy.  His recent visit underscores those efforts.

The flawed Obamacare law stands to adversely affect American families, small businesses, and millions of seniors.  Its $500 billion cuts to Medicare, which include $156 billion in Medicare Advantage cuts, will hurt southwestern Ohioans already at risk.  In addition to the cuts affecting Ohio seniors, the law is bloated with unpaid-for spending and debilitating taxes.  According to a report authored by the former director of the Congressional Budget Office, Obamacare will increase the federal budget deficit by over $550 billion in the first ten years of the law and then by $1.4 trillion in the following ten years.

I was proud to have joined a bipartisan group of House Members in voting to repeal Obamacare at the beginning of this Congress.  As one of our first legislative acts, we collectively reaffirmed the American people's voice in saying "no" to this law.

In fact, the President himself agreed that provisions in his law would be prohibitive to our nation's businesses. In March, the House took an important step towards eliminating one of the onerous costs Obamacare has placed on our nation's job creators.  This burdensome provision in the President's healthcare law required businesses to file a separate Form 1099 whenever they conduct a transaction with a vendor in excess of $600 a year.

That meant each time a company would have bought a plane ticket, spent money at the local gas station, or purchased coffee from a corner shop for employees - if it's over $600 throughout the year, there would have been a form to fill out. Without repeal, this would have affected over 800,000 businesses across Ohio.  Businesses won't hire new employees in our communities if they have to spend the majority of their time filling out forms.  In order to help our neighbors get back to work, the government should be making it easier for businesses to hire and expand, not bogging them down with new requirements.  I am glad that the President realized this, and signed the repeal of the 1099 provision into law.

Unfortunately, Obamacare is full of these types of onerous provisions.  Another would place an excise tax on the equipment used by our first responders, directly hitting the manufacturers of that life saving equipment.  On March 23^rd, I visited Ferno-Washington, Inc. to announce the reintroduction of my legislation which would repeal this provision.  During my visit, CEO Joe Bourgraf articulated that the 2.3 percent tax would affect his business.  Driving up the cost of their products discourages budget-strained municipalities from investing in new equipment, and stunts the growth of our struggling economy.  It also discourages manufacturers like Ferno-Washington from hiring new employees from communities like ours.

On December 13^th, I joined the House in approving the Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act.  This bill includes further steps to defund Obamacare.  Specifically, the bill repeals $8 billion in Obamacare mandatory funding from the unaccountable "prevention and public health fund," which the House voted to defund earlier this year.  It also forces greater repayment of improper taxpayer-funded subsidies in Obamacare to reduce waste, fraud and abuse in the healthcare law which will reduce the deficit by $13.4 billion.

Access to safe and affordable healthcare in our country is a concern for all Americans.  However, a massive law with trillions of dollars in new unpaid-for spending is not the answer. We must address issues such as prohibiting insurance companies from denying coverage based on pre-existing conditions, allowing small businesses to pool coverage, offering the ability to deduct the full cost of their health insurance premiums, and enact tort reform.  These things can be done without the government taking over our healthcare system. 

The Children's Caucus plans to identify innovative, effective ways to help the 2.7 millionchildren who live in Ohio. The four of us will work closely with a variety of experts and stakeholders to lead an ongoing dialogue centered on improving the lives of our youngest residents. In turning this work into sound policy proposals, we hope to produce measurable outcomes that will assist in guiding these children into the future.

Recent times have given way to an increasingly complex world and younger generations find themselves facing no real shortage of challenges. Areas such as education, child health and care, juvenile justice, poverty, and economic security will all be placed at the forefront of our work. An informed and comprehensive approach to dealing with these issues is essential in ensuring that all of Ohio's children are provided with a pathway to prosper in the years ahead.

The aspirations and dreams of children often define a society. No matter the political party or economic circumstance, there is no acceptable excuse for neglecting the wellbeing of our young. Through the charge of the Children's Caucus, a steady eye will now be focused on what is truly important. By investing our ideas and resources into the lives of the young, it will unequivocally be demonstrated that Ohio is dedicated to working on behalf of its youth.

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