Lowering the price of candy and of cars were just some of the possible laws students at Denver Place Elementary School told U.S. Rep. Steve Stivers, R-Columbus, he should consider bringing before Congress.
The congressman visited with four fourth-grade classrooms Friday morning to teach them how a bill becomes a law, creating mock legislative and executive branches within the student body.
He said that during his first term in Congress, he introduced 20 bills and two passed. One bill, the HIRE at Home Act, streamlined the state certification process, making it easier for veterans to use skills acquired in the military to find jobs in their communities. The other bill was TRICARE for Kids, which works to better shape the policies and practices of TRICARE military benefits to account for the needs of children, according to his website.
After one student suggested the price of candy should be lowered, Stivers said there was an opportunity in the farm bill to amend the country’s sugar policies that would have lowered the price of candy, but the bill did not pass.
Several students recommended gas prices should be lowered and a couple of others said there should be a law against killing endangered animals.
Stivers said he tries to visit with students in fourth through sixth grades a few times each year.
“Its always fun to go around and see what the kids want to talk about,” Stivers said.
The congressman told the News Journal after the meeting that he is continuing to work with local leaders on economic development opportunities in the area and at the Wilmington Air Park.
Though he said he could release no other details at this time, he said a Department of Defense private manufacturing firm might be interested in Wilmington as a possible home. The entity is looking at several places, he said, and “we’re working hard to make sure Wilmington is on the list.”
Stivers also said many doctors in Clinton County were dropped as network providers after the Affordable Care Act went into effect. He said he is asking insurance companies to reconsider. Otherwise, he said, Clinton County residents will have to drive to nearby cities like Dayton, Cincinnati and Columbus to see a specialist.
With regard to current federal legislation under consideration, Stivers said he would oppose an increase in the minimum wage, pointing to a recent Congressional Budget Office finding that stated more than 500,000 people would lose their jobs if it went into effect.
“It would hurt some of the very people it’s intended to help,” Stivers said.
