Since winning a special election to succeed his father, Congressman Bill Shuster has not had much of a challenge for his seat representing the Ninth District of Pennsylvania. In the 2004 election, Shuster has a challenger in Michael DelGrosso who is determined to take over the seat.
\nFollowing yesterday\u2019s campaign fundraising breakfast, Shuster addressed the challenger issue.
\n\u201cI am focused on doing the job in Washington on hand,\u201d said the congressman. \u201cI think the people are going to judge my performance by what I do and the legislation that we pass. They will judge on the things we are able to do to help communities and families around the District. Right now, my concern is doing the job in Washington. That is my focus.\u201d
\nShuster\u2019s press secretary Angelo Terrana fielded questions from the media following the press conference held by Shuster and House Majority Leader Tom DeLay.
\n\u201cThe first focus of the congressman is jobs and the economy,\u201d said Terrana. \u201cWe want to make it more inclusive for small business by cutting the red tape that gets in the way. That work has already started through equipment loans included to the last tax bill.\u201d
\nTerrana said that Shuster is working to improve the economy in the rural areas.
\n\u201cWe have a rural economy bill proposed,\u201d said Terrana. \u201cThis would provide incentives to hire more workers, buy new equipment and provide training to the workforce.\u201d
\nShuster also is working on infrastructure issues for the Ninth District.
\n\u201cWe are working to build more infrastructure in the District,\u201d said Terrana. \u201cYou can\u2019t attract new business without water and sewer and good roads. It is a commitment of the congressman to have good roads, good sewage systems and clean, safe water.\u201d
\nTerrana said that Shuster has been working with his fellow congressmen to fight the war on terror.
\n\u201cWe want our first responders to have the best equipment, be the best trained and get their fair share of the budget,\u201d said Terrana. \u201cThat starts at the local police and fire companies. The congressman has already secured 12 fire grants for the district. We need to provide our first responders the best equipment and training possible. They are the first on the scene to any disaster. It isn\u2019t FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency), it is the local firefighters and police who are first to respond.
\n\u201cThe House will be holding hearings to find out why the Homeland Security money provided by congress isn\u2019t making it to the local levels,\u201d said Terrana.
\n\u201cThe Congress voted on the funding and the President wants the money distributed. The Congress wants to find out why it isn\u2019t being distributed.\u201d
\nTerrana laid out a game plan for Shuster\u2019s 2004 campaign.
\n\u201cBill has a proven record of bringing jobs and creating growth,\u201d said Terrana.
\n\u201cTake Logan Town Centre right down the road as an example. That centre is creating 4,000 jobs. Bill is working to move the economy forward and working to provide provisions that are special to rural communities.\u201d
\nWhen speaking of rural needs, Terrana spoke of the hospital care in rural communities.
\n\u201cIn the Medicare Bill, there is a provision for prescription drugs,\u201d said Terrana.
\n\u201cMost plans are geared to urban areas. Bill is fighting to make sure that the rural communities have the same benefits as urban areas. He recently had the local hospital administrators to Washington for a hearing and their needs were heard and Bill is working for them.\u201d
\nWhen asked about Michael DelGrosso, Terrana spoke very briefly.
\n\u201cMichael DelGrosso hasn\u2019t lived in this district for over a decade,\u201d said Shuster\u2019s press secretary.
\n\u201cHow is he to speak on the issues if he hasn\u2019t lived here. Bill grew up here. He is meeting more and more people in the district daily. Bill has a proven record. We don\u2019t even know what Mr. DelGrosso\u2019s record or views are.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Since winning a special election to succeed his father, Congressman Bill Shuster has not had much of a challenge for his seat representing the Ninth District of Pennsylvania. In the 2004 election, Shuster has a challenger in Michael DelGrosso who is determined to take over the seat. Following yesterday\u2019s campaign fundraising breakfast, Shuster addressed the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-46387","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-local-news-in-the-tyrone-pennsylvania-area"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46387","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=46387"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46387\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=46387"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=46387"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=46387"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}