Phil Scollo is banking that his business background will register with voters and sweep him into the 10th Congressional seat up for grabs in the November election.
The Pike County Democrat said he feels people are ready for change from the business as usual politics of Washington, D.C.
"As a businessman, it's about getting things done," he said. "It's not about finger-pointing."
Scollo, who worked on Wall Street and later started his own consulting business in northeastern Pennsylvania, said he knows about job creation.
He's rolled out a five-point jobs plan he hopes to implement if elected.
For one, it calls for extending tax breaks to businesses that keep manufacturing jobs in the U.S. and cracking down on those that ship jobs overseas.
"We need to simplify the tax code," he said. "I meet small businessman like myself who are flabbergasted by regulations."
Scollo cited a Small Business Administration report that claims regulations are a $1.75 trillion drag on the economy.
He called for extending the federal research and development tax credit to ensure that schools and colleges are able to educate and train the workforce, especially in the areas of science, mathematics and technology.
"We need a modern transportation and infrastructure system," he said. "Our infrastructure is failing."
In addition, Scollo stressed the importance of alternative energy and natural gas toward spurring job creation, economic growth, conservation and environmental sustainability.
"We need to continue to open up new markets and really leverage the buy-American philosophy," he said.
Businesses, Scollo said, need to be able to sell on a level playing field.
After all, U.S. businesses can otherwise easily compete with those of any nation.
Scollo said his incumbent opponent, Thomas Marino of Cogan Station, voted earlier this year for a Defense Appropriations bill that would cut almost $2 billion from the Tobyhanna Army Depot, one of the largest single employers in northeastern Pennsylvania.
"You don't vote to take away jobs from your own district," he said.
Marino was unable to be reached for comment.
Just last week the House recently passed a temporary appropriations bill that keeps funding levels for 2011-12 at least through March.
Although the resolution doesn't specifically restore army depot funding, if approved by the Senate it would restore any potentially lost funding up to six months.
The nation's overall defense spending, Scollo said, needs to be looked at very carefully.
"There is a great opportunity. Look at these expenditures on a line by line basis and consider inefficiencies," he explained.
He also criticized Marino for not protecting senior citizens as evidenced by his vote for the Ryan budget bill
This bill would end Medicare, replacing it with a voucher system for seniors to buy health insurance coverage on the open market, Scollo noted.
On abortion, Scollo said while he grew up Catholic, he believes in the separation of church and state and supports a woman's right to decide whether or not to end a pregnancy.
Scollo said people seem to like the idea that he is a businessman rather than a politician.
"People are generally sick of leadership they are not getting," he said. "The game is rigged against the little guy trying to get involved. People are upset. They don't want bickering, partisanship. One person can't change it. But I am used to working with different viewpoints. So, I'm optimistic."
The 10th Congressional District encompasses all or parts of Lycoming, Tioga, Sullivan, Union, Columbia, Snyder, Monroe, Pike, Lackawanna, Wayne, Susquehanna, Bradford, Mifflin, Juniata and Perry counties.
