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Health & Fitness

To Create Jobs and Boost the Economy, We Need to 'Invest in America'

Investing in infrastructure, education and science will help us compete in a "brain-powered" economy.

What San Diegans, and all Americans, really care about is how they’re going to pay their bills, send their kids to college, and hopefully save enough for retirement. Congress should be focused on keeping our economy moving in the right direction and creating the steady, good-paying jobs that support our middle class and enable working families to invest in their own futures.

That’s why today I unveiled an Invest In America strategy that outlines the priorities I’ll bring to Washington when I’m elected.

In today’s faster, global, “brain-powered economy,” our economic future depends on making smart investments. We should be:

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• Investing in our national infrastructure such as highways and bridges, making our power grid smarter and more efficient through broadband and wireless, and connecting our ports to the national highway and rail systems to increase trade;

• Investing in higher education grants and financial aid so every student that qualifies and wants to go to college can afford it; and establishing our community colleges as job training and placement centers for those who choose a path other than a four-year degree;

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• Investing in scientific research by ensuring consistent and adequate funding for institutions like the National Institutes for Health, which helps support much of work being done at the Salk, Scripps and the Burnham Institute and others here in San Diego.

Finally, we must reform our tax code to help balance the nation’s budget so we can afford these important investments. For starters, we should be incentivizing companies to build and expand here at home, rather than abroad. And we must immediately end subsidies to corporations like the large oil companies who are making record profits.

The fact that profitable oil companies are being subsidized by taxpayers when middle class Americans are struggling, makes absolutely no sense. We do have to get on a road toward a balanced the budget, but we've got to do it the right way- not on the backs of seniors and the middle-class.

I have a proven track record as a bipartisan leader, and am the only candidate for the race for the 52nd Congressional District who can forge the consensus needed to get important job-creating, civic projects moving. During my years in public service, I’ve established credibility with the business community, labor leaders, as well as environmental advocates, who trust my consensus-building, problem-solving style. No other candidate in this race can make that claim.

As a member of the San Diego City Council, and as a Port Commissioner, I helped support and create tens of thousands of local jobs.  As a member of the Citizens Task Force, and then while on the City Council, I helped create and implement the plan for Petco Park and the redevelopment of East Village which created 19,000 new jobs. I jumpstarted the stalled construction of Highway 56 which created new construction jobs, revitalized the neighborhood of Bird Rock which sparked dozens of new businesses and hundreds of jobs, and more recently, fought to protect 3,500 manufacturing jobs at Solar Turbines.

I had the chance to talk about these priorities on KUSI news this morning; take a few minutes to watch. And for a longer look at my plan, go to www.scottpeters.com/jobs.

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