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Some aspects of President Barack Obama’s proposed jobs plan bear a closer look, said 9th District U.S. Rep. Morgan Griffith, but other elements simply won’t work, he said.
The freshman congressman spoke Friday during a visit to Martinsville, where he stopped after a campaign rally in Rocky Mount for state Sen. Bill Stanley.

Griffith, R-Salem, said he does not support Obama’s proposal to extend unemployment benefits to jobless workers because he doesn’t believe the country can afford to keep spending money that way.

Although he “knows it’s tough,” particularly in areas like this one, he said, “We all have anecdotal stories” of people who do not look for jobs because they’re making almost as much tax-free as they did when they were working and paying taxes.

An idea he would consider supporting would be a split of unemployment benefits between employers and employees, he said.

If an employer was on the verge of hiring new workers but perhaps didn’t feel he had the resources to do so, receiving such a benefit “might get them to hire,” Griffith said. At the same time, if the employee had to take a lesser-paying job than the one she lost, sharing part of the benefit might help her adjust, he said.

“Just giving a check is a short-term fix,” he said. “Figuring out a way to help create a job spot” and help the employee at the same time, “that makes more sense.”

Parts of the president’s jobs legislation that Griffith said he would consider are elements that would offer small businesses incentives for hiring out-of-work veterans and “something on infrastructure, maybe schools and roads.”

The question, he said, is where the money to fund that kind of investment would come from. The U.S. has run out of wiggle room on spending, he said, adding that he does not believe another stimulus will work.

Creating a more favorable business climate is something the federal government can do to spur job creation, Griffith said.

He said he would like to see a guarantee for business owners that if they invest capital or jobs in a certain period, they will not have to worry that regulations will change a few months down the road.

“What I wish the president would have said is if you invest in the United States in the next 18 to 24 months, you are immune from any (new) regulations” for a certain amount of time, Griffith said. “I think that would get the investment going in the U.S. right now.”

It also would offer security to advanced manufacturing companies, he said, adding that without that, many companies are hesitant to hire or invest.

Companies that create high-tech jobs “can move just like that,” he said, snapping his fingers, but moving a business overseas is more difficult and expensive for advanced manufacturing companies, which invest millions in equipment, he said.

Another idea he has for economic development was inspired by an article he read about a situation in Ohio in which banks are giving foreclosed residential properties — in this case, properties that are abandoned and rundown — to a nonprofit organization that razes them and cleans up the lots.

That improves the value of neighboring lots and makes the area more attractive, he said.
“We’re in a similar situation in Southwest and Southside Virginia on the industrial side,” he said.

Many areas in the district have shuttered factory buildings that are not attractive to new companies. But if the buildings were torn down, an attractive pad might be developed that already has access to water, sewer and in some cases rail, he said.

Griffith emphasized that the idea is in its early stages, and he needs to do more research into its viability and potential costs. He also noted that some such buildings are historic and should be preserved.

One of Griffith’s bills recently advanced through the House and was sent along to the Senate: the EPA Regulatory Relief Act of 2011.

The bill gives the EPA 15 months to determine whether the regulations commonly referred to as Boiler MACT are workable and truly achievable, he said.

The bill not only extends the current three-year compliance period to five years but also gives the EPA more flexibility in determining the amount of time a company has to comply with new regulations on boilers and incinerators based on the individual company’s needs, Griffith said.

Officials from a local company, Rock Tenn in Ridgeway, were among those to testify on behalf of the bill, Griffith said. Representatives of several other businesses from various areas in the district testified as well, he said.

Allowing businesses relief from complying with EPA regulations will help protect jobs, he said.
He also had jobs in mind during recent votes on trade agreements with Columbia, Panama and South Korea, which Obama signed Friday.

Griffith said he supported the agreements with Columbia and Panama because they will benefit residents and businesses in the 9th District, but he said he did not support the pact with South Korea.

“We win on Columbia and Panama, and parts of the country win on Korea, but I think it hurts our region and is impractical” because it may doom the remaining textile production in the U.S., he said, adding that some of those jobs are in his district.

On another high-profile issue — managing the deficit — Griffith said he would not support cutting benefits to those who already are retired, those close to retirement or those who receive SSI disability benefits. Otherwise, when looking for ways to trim federal spending, Griffith said he thinks all areas must be scrutinized for savings, including Social Security and Medicare.

In terms of politics, Griffith said he has not yet decided which candidate he will support for the Republican nomination for president. He noted that he supported Mitt Romney four years ago but said he will not do so again unless he is convinced that Romney has the best chance to beat Obama.

As he nears the one-year anniversary of his arrival in Washington, Griffith, who served as majority leader in the House of Delegates in Richmond, said the U.S. Congress is not as much fun as the Virginia General Assembly.

“I’ve only found one thing Congress does better” than the House of Delegates, and that is restoring seniority to members who leave and later return, Griffith said. Aside from that, he said, “it is slower, it’s more complex and there are more rules than you can imagine.”

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