John Boccieri

John Boccieri was a Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives, representing the 16th district of the State of Ohio from 2009 to 2011.

The Economy
According to his campaign website, Boccieri supports providing tax relief for companies that invest in American communities, encouraging more domestic renewable energy sources to create more green jobs, and ending the disparity between corporate profits and slumping middle class wages. Boccieri also supports reducing the tax burden for middle class, creating a strong workforce by making sure that all children get a strong education.

Energy
Boccieri supports requiring oil companies to drill on the land they already have in the U.S to lower fuel costs in the short term. He also wants to increase energy efficiency and conservation, and build new refineries to process biofuels and other alternative fuel sources.

Taxes
Boccieri supports an income tax credit up to $500 per individual or $1000 per family to offset working Americans’ FICA taxes, expanding tax credits for child and elder care, establishing a single tax credit large enough to cover the first year of tuition at a public university for every middle-class student and working to eliminate the marriage penalty.

Education
Boccieri wants to ensure that the federal government works with state and local education systems to develop education policies, change the standards that measure school quality and student achievement to emphasize improvement over time, ensure that all states are using similar standards to evaluate student achievement, and those standards measure genuine knowledge, preparedness and success.

Boccieri believes that teachers are the backbone of the education system. He said he will fairly reward the best teachers and encourage new teachers with scholarships, high-quality teacher preparation, and strong support systems for new educators. He also supports early childhood education, and provide college scholarships and financial aid for those students who are willing go into public service.

Healthcare
Boccieri supports covering all Americans through a system of public and private solutions. He supports focusing more on preventive care and early diagnosis, making healthcare portable, ending insurance discrimination for people with preexisting conditions, reducing prescription drug costs by allowing government to negotiate lower prices, increasing efficiency of medical record keeping, increasing medical research, and helping business pay for employee healthcare.

Social Security
Boccieri supports providing savings options for workers who do not have a retirement plan from employers and giving workers incentives to start in their own retirement savings accounts. He also supports strengthening laws which protect pensions and ensuring that workers receive their benefits if a company declares bankruptcy.

Military Families and Veterans
To help military families and soldiers, Boccieri said he will support fully equipping units in combat with body armor, armored vehicles, and other life-saving necessities, and mandating healthy ratios between tours of duty and time spent at home to ease the strain on soldiers and their families.

To help veterans, Boccieri supports permanently funding the VA so that veterans aren’t faced with uneven care due to changes in the benefits because of budget cuts, increasing funding and staff in the VA to deal with the backlog in claims, making sure that returning soldiers receive proper disability evaluations as quickly as possible,and investing in treatment for PTSD and traumatic brain injuries. He also supports updating the G.I Bill so that college within reach for all veterans, including the National Guard and Reserves, providing job training and placement services for those returning from combat, and providing services needed to help curb the rate of homeless veterans.

Second Amendment
Boccieri supports the right to bear arms, for hunting and for protection.

Iraq War
Boccieri supports withdrawing troops from Iraq as soon and as safely as possible.

Bio
Boccieri was born October 5, 1969, in Youngstown, Ohio. He has a B.A. from St. Bonaventure University and an M.A. from Webster University. Following graduation, he joined the U.S. Air Force. He was a member of the Ohio House of Representatives from 2001 to 2007 and a member of the Ohio Senate from 2007 to 2008. He and his wife, Stacey Kennedy, have four children.

2008 elections
Boccieri won the Democratic nomination to challenge for retiring incumbent Rep. Ralph Regula's (R-Ohio) vacant seat. He went on to defeat Kirk Schuring in the November 2008 general election.

Money in politics
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Related SourceWatch articles

 * 2008 U.S. congressional elections
 * 2008 U.S. congressional election dates
 * Portal:Ohio and the U.S. Congress

External resources

 * 2008 Race Tracker page on Ohio’s 16th Congressional District
 * Official John Boccieri for Congress website