The Adobe Flash Player is required to view this multimedia interactive. Get it here.

Boehner says regulations stopping growth in the economy

ThyssenKrupp North America Chairman and CEO, Torsten Gessner, left, and Plant Manager Original Equipment, Eric Giese, right, give Speaker of the House John Boehner, R-West Chester Twp., a tour of the Hamilton ThyssenKrupp Bilstein North America plant Monday.

Staff photo by Gary Stelzer ThyssenKrupp North America Chairman and CEO, Torsten Gessner, left, and Plant Manager Original Equipment, Eric Giese, right, give Speaker of the House John Boehner, R-West Chester Twp., a tour of the Hamilton ThyssenKrupp Bilstein North America plant Monday.

ENLARGE PHOTO

Coroner called to Caesar Creek Lake where boater fell overboard
Updated 9 min. ago
Road closing for railroad repairs
11:51 a.m.
Beach Waterpark sued by Ohio Attorney General's Office for failure to deliver
11:34 a.m.
Worker falls 20 feet from utility pole
11:14 a.m.
Out-of-state shoppers arrested in clothing theft
10:14 a.m.
> More headlines

By Chelsey Levingston, Staff Writer Updated 8:40 PM Monday, February 6, 2012

HAMILTON — A “regulatory onslaught” from the nation’s capital is holding back the U.S. economic recovery, said U.S. House Speaker John Boehner.

The West Chester Twp. Republican called on the Obama administration to work with Republicans to remove the “barriers” during a visit Monday at ThyssenKrupp Bilstein of America in Hamilton.

“At a time when the American people are still asking the question ‘Where are the jobs?’ Washington continues to create more regulations than our economy can afford, more regulations than I think that we need and we’ve got this crushing burden of debt that continues to hang over our heads,” Boehner said.

Boehner said the election year shouldn’t stop job-creation legislation from being passed.

Ohio Democratic Party Chairman Chris Redfern said Obama’s leadership has led to improvements.

“I don’t understand, I guess I don’t follow him (Boehner) because Ohio has 10,000 new automotive jobs because of President Obama. Ohio has a lower unemployment rate than the country because of Obama. Last I checked, Speaker Boehner hasn’t introduced any legislation to change the tax code,” Redfern said. “I want him to point out the recovery Ohio and the country is going through is because of President Obama’s leadership.”

Boehner used his visit to the growing Hamilton manufacturer of shock absorbers as an opportunity to talk about the Republican’s jobs plan.

The U.S. House Republican Plan for America’s Job Creators says more taxation, regulation and litigation will not create more jobs. The plan was introduced May 2011. Last week, the house majority party formally introduced The American Energy & Infrastructure Act that pays for infrastructure improvements through expanded American energy production, according to Boehner’s office.

U.S. House Republicans say the bill creates more than 1 million jobs.

“You can’t grow the economy without growing your energy supply,” Boehner said. “America could be energy independent if we wanted to be.”

A ThyssenKrupp Bilstein employee asked, “In an age when many U.S. manufacturers have moved production to Mexico, China and Brazil, etc., how can our legislature support the growth of manufacturing in the U.S.?”

“I think our education system needs a tune up. We need people coming out of school with a better foundation upon which to continue learning,” Boehner said. “We know that American workers, along with the technology available to American companies, allows American workers to be far more productive than those overseas. It is that productivity that allows us to compete.”

Boehner’s visit to ThyssenKrupp Bilstein is the second visit by a high-profile politician. Gov. John Kasich visited in January. The compnay is a success story because it was ready to leave the country before Ohio officials moved last year to help the company bring technology from its German parent company to Hamilton with tax incentives.

The company now is in the middle of a more than $6 million expansion project that creates 60 new jobs and retains 185 jobs. Hiring has already started, putting its total employee count now at about 200, the company said.

It is a manufacturer of shock absorbers for automobiles. ThyssenKrupp still plans to start producing by October the first real-time damping systems for shock absorbers in America, said Chief Executive Officer Fabian Schmahl.

“I think we’re good proof you can grow in the U.S. as a manufacturer,” Schmahl said.

Contact this reporter at (513) 705-2551 or clevingston@coxohio.com.

Share this article