REMARKS AS PREPARED FOR DELIVERY - SANDY K. BARUAH, ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF COMMERCE FOR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT - EDA INVESTMENT CHECK PRESENTATION FAYETTE COUNTY, BLOOMINGBURG, OHIO

MONDAY, JUNE 18, 2007

AS PREPARED FOR DELIVERY

Introduction by Tony Anderson, Fayette County Commissioner

Thank you, Tony for that kind introduction. And thank you Commissioners Deweese and Peterson for welcoming us to Fayette County this morning.

I would also like to thank Bob Hickey, EDA’s field representative for Ohio, for all his hard work and his central role in making today’s celebration a reality.

I would like to thank Senator Voinovich (R-OH) for being here today.

While Senator Voinovich is strong and independent voice in Washington for the people of Ohio, he also shares the President’s and my commitment to creating higher-skill, higher-wage jobs for Ohio and across the nation. Senator, I thank you for your leadership in the U.S. Senate.

I also know that he is being thoughtful on this immigration issue the country is dealing with. And while there is a lot of debate out there, a lot of rhetoric out there, what we all can agree on is that the current system is not sustainable and something needs to be done.

What we also know that, at the end of the day, in a democracy, the solution will involve a compromise with people of good faith coming together.

I am proud that President Bush and Commerce Secretary Gutierrez are working hard to come up with a solution that works, and I’d like to applaud Senator Voinovich for his engagement on this important issue and for his thoughtful approach. Leadership is no easy task.

But my purpose for being here today in the great State of Ohio is to celebrate yet another bright spot on Ohio’s economic horizon.

As you know, economic development works best when it is a locally-driven process – local people coming together for the common good to take control of their economic destiny. That’s what we’re celebrating this morning.

Of course, it can be helpful to consider the national business environment in which the companies of tomorrow are being formed here in Ohio.

In this context, we have good reason to be optimistic. Recently, the government released information that shows that our economy continues to be strong, and it is getting stronger.

157,000 jobs were created in May, and the unemployment level remains at a low 4.5%, which many economists say is essentially full employment, and is lower than where we were at the time of the 2001 terror attacks.

The economy has created about 1.9 million jobs over the past year. For those of you keeping score at home, that’s over 7.9 million new American jobs since August 2003, more jobs than all the other major industrialized countries combined.

It is clear that our economy is resilient and strong. This is good news not just for the nation, but for Ohio as well – because a strong, growing national economy will allow economic regions and individuals to tap into this expanding economic pie and share in our national prosperity. It takes both smart national policies and forward-thinking regional action in order for economic growth to occur, and we celebrate both today.

Of course, a little help from the Federal government can’t hurt. And today, I have the distinct pleasure to officially announce the Economic Development Administration investment of $2.4 million in Fayette County, Ohio. .

This project will help support a new, state-of-the-art ethanol plant. And I don’t have to tell the people of this area how important the development of new energy sources is to the future economic competitiveness of our country. As President Bush as said, “we are addicted to oil.” This project will help support a growing and healthy ethanol fuel industry in America. And that’s good for our farmers. Good for our businesses. Good for our environment. And good for our future economic prosperity.

EDA is proud to be a partner in this important project, which demonstrates what we can achieve for America’s communities if we work together in a bipartisan fashion to create higher-skill, higher-wage job opportunities.

On behalf of President George Bush, I am to bring this good news to Ohio.

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