The Manchester Enterprise
A Heritage Newspaper
Weekly Publication
Democratic hopeful Schauer addresses economy
Senate minority leader attacks Walberg record on education, Iraq War
By Daniel Lai, Editor
PUBLISHED: April 10, 2008
In an attempt to reach out to rural constituents within Michigan's 7th Congressional District, State Sen. Mark Schauer will hold a public question and answer session in Manchester at 8 a.m. today at the Coffee Mill Cafe.
Advertisement
Schauer, the Senate Democratic Party leader from Grand Rapids, is hoping to oust first-term U.S. Rep. Tim Walberg, R-Tipton, in the Nov. 4 election.
"Tim Walberg is not doing the job," Schauer said. "He is serving a very narrow interest. He's really been a servant of the Bush-Cheney administration and the extreme special interests in Washington."
Schauer said if elected, he would push Congress to recognize and pass economic stimulus packages to help with the state's declining economy.
"Michigan is dealing with such severe economic challenges and (Tim) Walberg has not provided any assistance," he said. "Our state has been virtually ignored while we are represented by someone who has gone AWOL on matters that affect his constituents.
"Whether it be the outsourcing of jobs overseas, the healthcare crisis or mortgage foreclosures, we need significant change now."
Schauer has a long history of serving south central Michigan. He was elected to represent Battle Creek in the State House of Representatives in 1996. After serving three terms, he was elected to the 19th State Senate district covering Calhoun and Jackson counties in 2002. Schauer has worked to help companies such as Kellogg's, Duncan Aviation, Sparton Corporation and Eaton Aerospace retain and add local jobs. Schauer also partnered with former Congressman Joe Schwarz to help save the Battle Creek Air National Guard base.
Prior to his service in the Michigan Legislature, Schauer was a Battle Creek city commissioner and worked as the executive director of the Community Action Agency of South Central Michigan.
"The needs of the communities I serve have always been my top priority," Schauer said. "I will go to Washington to provide for my constituents and stop Walberg's blank check-policy with the Bush administration."
Some of the issues Schauer plans to address with local residents include funding for public schools and colleges, economic incentives to create jobs in the alternative energy sector and remedies for the housing market throughout the state.
"I believe the federal government should help our schools in a targeted way," he said. "President Bush's No Child Left Behind Act is a headache to schools because it is not being more properly funded.
"I personally feel that the federal government should invest in the key areas of education like math and science, subjects that are critical for our country to be economically competitive," he said.
Schauer said he would also like to see more federal support for the PELL grant and Head Start program.
Schauer said if elected, he would also support more diplomatic efforts in the ongoing Iraq War.
"The Bush policy on this war has been flawed from the start; there is no military solution," he said. "We need to broker a diplomatic solution, and part of that is bringing our troops home."
A coffee hour with Schauer will be held at 8 a.m. at the Coffee Mill CafÈ in downtown Manchester. All area residents are encouraged to attend.
Not all stories are guaranteed to appear
online. The Web edition contains a reasonable
sampling of the print edition stories.
For the most complete news coverage, we invite you to
subscribe
to the print edition of the paper.
TOP JOBS
