Chester County, PA, US Chambers of Business and Industry announce support
By Kyle Carrozza, Staff Writer, The Times
Ryan Costello addresses the small gathering at Victory Brewing.
DOWNINGTOWN – The Chester County, Pennsylvania, and US Chambers of Business and Industry announced their support of Republican Congressional Candidate Ryan Costello at a press conference on Tuesday.
Held at Victory Brewing, Guy Ciarrocchi, President and CEO of the Chester County Chamber of Business and Industry said Costello’s business and government experience have shown that the Sixth District candidate will get things done, pointing to Phoenixville’s revitalization as proof.
“When Phoenixville went through its revitalization, government officials, businessmen, community leaders, one of the people they wanted in the room, one of the people they wanted for council was Ryan Costello,” he said, calling Costello a “doer” and a “problem solver.”
PA Chamber of Business and Industry President and CEO Gene Barr noted that the state Chamber does not officially endorsements candidates but said that members believe Costello is the type of candidate they need in Washington.
“Our employment has been hindered by things at the federal level,” he said. “We strongly believe that Ryan is going to go down and participate in and move things forward on that basis.” Barr pointed to the the recent transportation bill as an example of work being done at the state level but not at the federal level.
Barr also said that Costello could help form “strong and fair” immigration laws and help reform the nation’s tax structure.
“Unfortunately here in Pennsylvania, we have our own struggles with our corporate tax rate; we need those changes to be done in Washington, and from our perspective, Ryan Costello is the guy who can go down and do that,” said Barr.
Rob Engstrom, the Senior Vice President of Political Affairs and National Political Director for the US Chamber of Commerce said that Costello has the courage to govern, a quality lacking in DC.
“Plain and simple, he supports regulatory reform, he supports lower taxes, less spending, he has an all-of-the-above approach to energy issues, the fastest way to create jobs in this economy,” said Engstrom.
Engstrom also said that Costello’s understanding of business practice would help to push back against some of the practices and policies taking place at the federal level, referring to an “alphabet soup of government regulations” and calling the Affordable Care Act an “unmitigated failure by any measure.”
Engstrom also reserved some words for Costello’s opponent, Manan Trivedi, pointing out the Democrat’s losses in 2010 and 2012.
“At some point, he should just stop trying,” said Engstrom, stating that he struggled to find a single policy that he agreed with, particularly alluding Trivedi’s desire to raise minimum wage.
In addition to speaking about business, Costello said that he would push for more emphasis on STEM subjects in education, immigration reform, and “fair and equitable” trade policies.
Costello said that his experience as an attorney representing small businesses and nonprofits has prepared him to deal with business-related issues in Washington.
“I know what it’s like to start a business at the ground level, and I think that that’s critically important that we send people to Washing DC that have an appreciation for federal policy and how it impacts the two and four and eight-person company,” he said.
Costello said that simplifying the tax code will make it easier to grow businesses and stabilize the economy.
