State Sens. Kirk Schuring (R-Jackson Township) and John Boccieri (D-Alliance) met up at the Arden Shisler Center in Wooster for their first face-to-face debate for Ohio's 16th Congressional District on Wednesday.

The debate was sponsored by the Coalition for the Support of Business and Jobs, an arm of the Wooster Area Chamber of Commerce. Because of the Coalition's sponsorship, the questions from the audience were supposed to focus on jobs and the economy, but Boccieri and Schuring ended up fielding questions on a wide variety of topics. These included taxes, health care, education, gas costs, employee training and global warming.

Boccieri began with opening statements that criticized policies prevalent over the last eight years, saying that Americans have seen rising costs of education and fuel and middle-class families are struggling.

"We have got to have a government that provides a local incentive to bring the jobs back to this community," Boccieri said.

Boccieri said he wants to make it his job "to fight for all of your jobs."

Schuring said that there is no doubt the nation is at a crossroads with many challenges that need to be addressed.

"I firmly believe that we need a representative in the United States Congress that understands the needs of the people in the 16th Congressional District," Schuring said.

Schuring said he would go to Congress with fresh ideas, and work with others to get things done. Schuring cited his state legislative work as examples.

"Now more than ever we need someone who can fight for jobs, who can lower energy costs, someone who can make health care more affordable, and that's just what I'll do as your next Congressman," Schuring said.

BUSINESSES UNITED WITH HIGHER EDUCATION

The first question dealt with unifying businesses with institutions of higher education to create prosperity.

Schuring said that his economic development plan promotes "economic empowerment."

"At the end of the day, what has made this country so great is innovation," Schuring said. "And we need to do everything we can to take research and development from the laboratory, into the prototype, and then to incubator businesses where they can then lead that thought and that innovation into production and then to the market place."

Boccieri said that programs integrating businesses with higher learning not only fosters economic development but also future technologies "that are going to make America stronger."

Boccieri spoke about the possibility of using such integration to "produce leading-edge technologies, in terms of the next fuels for the 21st Century."

Boccieri said the district needs a Congressman who will bring back federal dollars for research and development of alternative energy sources.

Schuring said that government needs to offer incentives to forge the partnerships between businesses and higher education to develop these new technologies, and needs to make sure that universities have the capital to develop these innovations.

WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT

On workforce development, Schuring emphasized the importance of making sure the local workforce was keeping pace with international competitors. Schuring said this includes learning institutions that offer the education, training and skill set to let workers compete in an international market place.

Boccieri said that trade deals in Washington were a direct reflection of jobs moving overseas. Boccieri said that one of the first bills he wants to pursue is one that will close tax loopholes and use investment money to provide incentives and reward companies that stay in the U.S.  Boccieri said that Ohio hasn't done a good job of investing in the workforce by re-training and re-investment. He said the district needs a Congressman who would work with state and local leaders to reinvest in the workforce.

THE FINANCIAL CRISIS

Schuring said that the fact that Congress passed the "bailout" bill, costing taxpayers upwards of $700 billion, gives taxpayers in the district "every reason to be outraged."

However, Schuring said that "at the end of the day, what it's all about is capital formation, and that's what makes this country so great."

"Whatever was done was done so that we can keep our credit market free and flowing," Schuring said. "With that said, I wish that there would have been some things done differently. I think that we should have put more of an emphasis on regulatory reform, so that we never have this mistake happen again. I also think that we should be looking at some accounting practices."

Schuring pointed to mark-to-market accounting, where financial institutions are required to report assets each month valued at their current market worth. Schuring noted that if the assets were valued at a longer-term basis, financial institutions' balance sheets would not be as subject to a volatile market.

Boccieri said that he and Schuring agree that something needs to be done.

Boccieri criticized the thought of any more "giveaways" to Wall St. Boccieri pointed to residents of the district who have been losing homes for years in criticizing spending over $700 billion to help Wall St.

Boccieri said that the legislation didn't do enough for Main St.

"There's three things that we need to do," Boccieri said. "We need to renegotiate these loans, so that we can keep people in their homes. That will help make middle class families stronger. We need enforcement of the regulations. Many bankers have said that if the president had just enforced the regulation in place...and we need to end the speculation on Wall St."

Boccieri said that these steps frees up capitol to send back to the district for research facilities. He said that jobs can be grown if that money is kept in local communities.

CONCLUSION

Boccieri: "We need to change the way we do business in Washington. And that change first comes by making sure that we have a Congressman who understands, like Ralph Regula did, quite frankly, that it's about the people. It's about the people of our district, and not about special interests. The issues that confound America are not Republican or Democrat, they're not conservative or liberal challenges, they're American challenges. ...We can have an energy policy that moves away from our dependence on foreign oil. We can have a health care policy that makes sure no American is left behind. ...My friends, this election is about our future, it's about what we believe in. ...I want to fight for you in Washington and wake up every day to make it my job to fight for your job.

Schuring: "We heard tonight that there are many challenges out there, many issues that need to be addressed. People are frustrated, people are concerned, people are worried. ...When you think about it, that frustration, that concern, that being worried translates into passion. And when I think of passion, I think of spirit and the spirit I'm referring to now is the American spirit. And that American spirit is still strong, even though we have many challenges...it's the American spirit that will carry us through. ...What we need, however, as we look at that spirit, we need a way to channel it. We need a leader in the United States Congress who knows who you are, who knows what your needs are, who understands the pulse and the personality, and then who will be a voice for you in the United States Congress by carrying your message with fresh ideas, while working with others, to get things done."