Rothfus speaks at Chamber of Commerce event

Somerset County residents were given an opportunity Thursday to question U.S. Rep.-elect Keith Rothfus while enjoying fruit an Danishes.

 

Rothfus, a Republican, was the keynote speaker at Eggs and Issues — an event held by the Somerset County Chamber of Commerce. More than 90 people attended the event, which was held at the Somerset Country Club.

 

Rothfus will take office Jan. 3 in the 12th Congressional District. For decades the district seat was located in Johnstown. Rothfus, who is from Edgewood, is also the first Republican in decades to hold the seat. Rothfus defeated Democrat Mark Critz during the November election. 

 

He talked about a variety of topics including health care and taxation.

 

Rothfus prioritized economic growth, which he said is necessary for the country to move forward. He said he will approach any issue by examining if it promotes or deters economic growth.

 

"There are people out there who want to go to work," he said, "I see people in this room that want to grow their business."

 

Rothfus said he is against eliminating certain tax credits, including the charitable deduction, home mortgage interest and child credits. He said raising taxes on those making $250,000 a year or more may raise $85 billion, which is not enough to take a significant chunk out of the nation's debt. Letting tax breaks expire for the wealthy is part of ongoing negotiations between President Barack Obama and Republican lawmakers. The topic is one of the leading sticking points holding back a deal to avoid the "fiscal cliff" — a slate of tax increases and spending cuts set to start in January. 

 

"This isn't a taxation problem," he said. "It's a spending problem, it's a growth problem."

 

He said other than defense and veterans programs, spending needs to be frozen — and every government agency should be examined to determine its effectiveness. One example he gave involved the federal Department of Education. He said teachers should not be micro-managed from Washington, D.C.— education decisions should be left up to the states and school boards.

 

Examining programs could help reduce spending and bring the debt down, he said.