Welcome to the Business Journal Archives
Search for articles below, or continue to the all new BusinessJournalDaily.com now.
Search
Air Base, China's Emerging Economy Top Ryan's Agenda"
By George NelsonThe fate of the Youngstown Air Reserve Station remains his top priority, but U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan says one of the key issues of his next term -- and he hopes, for his fellow Democrats -- is dealing with China's emerging economy.Ryan, D-17th Ohio, began his second term yesterday in the House of Representatives. "It's a two-year contract, no signing bonus," quipped the former high school basketball and football player.Ryan told reporters during a conference call Tuesday afternoon that the difference between coming to Washington two years ago and returning now is like night and day. "You just can't put a price on that kind of experience," said the Niles native.Ryan, who launched Operation: Save Our Airbase Reservists, stressed that the goal is to stay off the list of bases being compiled by the Base Realignment and Closure Commission, which is due to be released in May. The congressman said he is scheduling meetings with Pentagon officials to press the case for the Vienna Township base and make sure everyone in Washington knows its value. While there will likely be some politics involved, Ryan said the final decision will come down to numbers -- the Pentagon plans to cut 25% percent of its bases. Admitting that he wished he had the experience of being involved in the previous round of base closings, Ryan also noted that SOAR is utilizing the Spectrum Group, a consulting company that has a former BRAC commissioner on staff."Quite frankly we really have to rely on our senators," he said, noting that Mike Dewine and George Voinovich -- both Republicans -- have good relationships with President Bush. Ryan said he intends to remain on the Armed Services Committee, particularly with the BRAC process under way, noting that the House Democratic leadership probably would want him to give that up if he wanted another committee assignment. With the Vienna air base having a $116 million economic impact locally in 2004, "Nothing would be significant enough to replace that," he said. Ryan stressed that the United States needs to begin dealing with China and other economic competitors on a number of fronts. "Over the next couple of decades we're going to compete with the Chinese and Indians more than we have ever competed with anybody before," he said. To be able to compete, the nation's wealthiest citizens need to be asked to make investments to keep the United States technologically competitive, putting money into incubator programs, for example. Ryan said he is concerned about reports that the Bush Administration plans to cut money to the National Science Foundation by $100 million. In addition, he wants to see money put into education and other community programs such as community health centers. "The number of kids in poverty is unacceptable," he said. "If we don't get healthy, educated kids, China is going to clean our clocks."On coping with a Congress that has a greater Republican majority -- and perhaps more polarized due to the nature of the districts -- Ryan observed that Democrats need to do a better job of both playing the middle ground and making their arguments. "The Republicans do a great job of framing the argument and framing the debates, and the Democrats play on their turf," he said, citing Social Security as an example. "For Democrats to be successful, we've got to shape the public debate because that's all we really have right now."Bush has cited reform of Social Security as a priority in his second term, and wants to allow workers to divert some Social Security money into personal investment accounts. However, Ryan said that Medicare is projected to go into bankruptcy two or three decades before Social Security. "This is a manufactured crisis," he said in regards to Social Security.According to Ryan, Bush wants to dismantle what he describes as "the most successful program in the history of the world," in which 99% of the benefits are paid back to the beneficiary. The system in Chile that Bush is using as a model for his privatization plan has 20 times the administrative overhead of the current Social Security program, the congressman said."The administration has been very coy about what they are going to do or not do, but the fact is there's going to be a $2 trillion gap" he said. If the administration is not going to raise taxes, the alternative is to cut benefits. Ryan argued that Social Security would be fine if money for the program weren't being used to reduce annual deficits. "We need to get politicians' slimy fingers out of the Social Security trust fund," he remarked. If the government were to begin generating budget surpluses again -- a prospect he acknowledges doesn't see in the near future under the current administration's spending plans -- those funds could be diverted to shore up Social Security."The answer is not to turn the program over to Wall Street," Ryan said, characterizing the plan as corporate welfare. "Wall Street is not going to run these private accounts for charity. They're going to want their cut and they're going to get their cut."Among his second-term initiatives, Ryan said he intends to pursue more funding for the materials engineering program at Youngstown State University. Recalling discussions he has had with Cynthia Hirtzel, dean of Youngstown State University's College of Engineering, he noted that the metallic foam substances being innovated at YSU might have applications in the automotive industry because it absorbs shock better. "It could make cars safer, and we're doing R&D out of Youngstown," he remarked.In addition, Ryan plans to reintroduce legislation to designate the 14-county region as the Western Reserve Heritage Area. Ryan said he wants the program to have an educational component in which children can learn about various aspects of the region's history, such as its role in the Underground Railroad, and the historical figures and successful entrepreneurs the region has produced. He sees the heritage area as one element in an effort to encourage regionalization. "We need to start having a discussion about local governments, what's going on in the counties and some of the cities," he said. "We need our elected officials to start getting creative on how they can utilize our resources." Contact George Nelson at [email protected]"