Running for his 7th term in the U.S. House of Representatives and to represent Butler County and rest of the 16th district, U.S. Rep. Mike Kelly is touting the Republican Party's platform of economic growth, energy independence, public safety and other goals.

Kelly recently met with members of the Butler Eagle editorial department to discuss his reelection campaign. He is facing Dan Pastore, a Democrat and business owner from Erie in the race to represent the district that encompasses Butler, Crawford, Erie, Lawrence and Mercer counties. The election is Nov. 8.

“We've got to make sure domestic energy is back in place,” Kelly said.

He said the country has a supply of natural resources that will last for hundreds of years.

“America has a gift from God,” Kelly said.

The party platform calls for maximizing production of domestic energy resources and streamlining the permitting process to reduce reliance on other countries and lowering the cost of gasoline and utilities.

Development of natural resources is one of several pro-growth policies Kelly said he supports.

Another is the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, which reduced taxes for individuals and businesses. Kelly voted in favor of the legislation, which, he said, allowed people to invest.

He said he also supports policies aimed at creating jobs and providing education to prepare students for available careers.

The party's platform calls for curbing unnecessary government spending that is resulting in higher prices for groceries, gasoline, cars and housing, and increasing the national debt. It promotes using tax and deregulation policies to increase wages and salaries and create jobs.

Kelly said a small increase in Social Security benefits has been eaten up by inflation.

The “true” national debt, he said, is $125 trillion, including unfunded liabilities.

Expanding domestic manufacturing to strengthen the supply chain and end reliance on China is another goal in the platform.

“Twenty months ago, we were energy independent, gas prices were affordable, food prices were affordable,” Kelly said.

However, he said he was disappointed that former President Donald Trump didn't implement levies proposed in 2020 as trade barriers against foreign-made steel and aluminum. The levies were proposed to protect Cleveland Cliffs, which then was known as AK Steel, from having to compete against foreign producers of grain-oriented electrical steel. The 1,400 workers at Cleveland Cliffs' Butler Works produce that type of steel.

“I don't know if the administration understood the gravity of the issue,” Kelly said.

He said Cleveland Cliffs is the last domestic producer of grain-oriented electrical steel, and the country shouldn't rely on imports from Mexico and Canada as a matter of national security.

New economic policy is needed to rebuild America's diminished manufacturing sector, Kelly said.

The current border policy for immigration along the southern border is reckless, Kelly said. Children who cross the border are held for 72 hours before being sent to relatives in the U.S., he said. It is not known if those children have been vaccinated against COVID-19 or tested to determine if they have the disease, he said.

“We want to make sure our borders are safe,” Kelly said.

To address the problem of fentanyl being smuggled across the border, Kelly said the government should provide funding to states and communities and allow them to devise ways to attack the problem.

“We should let communities deal with it with federal money,” he said.

The party platform calls for better border enforcement strategies and infrastructure and technology to prevent illegal crossings and drug trafficking.

For public safety, the platform says recruiting bonuses should be used to support the hiring of 200,000 new police officers.

On international policy, Kelly said America has done all it can for Ukraine, and Europe should send more resources to help the country defend itself from Russia’s attack.

“Europe has a problem with Russian aggression. Europe should be sending money and equipment,” Kelly said. “We've done all we can for Ukraine. Europe should step in now.”

He said the U.S. has sent a lot of money and military equipment to Ukraine.

When NATO was created after World War II, Russia was adamant against Ukraine becoming a member, he said.

In Russia, Butler native Marc Fogel is being wrongfully imprisoned and was given an extremely harsh sentence, Kelly said.

Fogel, a 61-year-old husband and father of two who lives in Oakmont, Allegheny County, has been detained since August 2021 when he was found in possession of less than an ounce of medical marijuana after he landed at an airport to return to a Anglo-American school in Moscow where he worked as a teacher. He was prescribed the medication in the United States, but marijuana is illegal in Russia. He has been sentenced to serve 14 years in a penal colony.

“Mr. Fogel is not in good health. He will not survive the sentence,” Kelly said.

He said people found with the amount of marijuana that Fogel was found with are normally sentenced to six months in prison in Russia.

Getting Russia to release WNBA star Brittney Griner, who also was found with medical marijuana in Russia, seems to be the government's main concern, but Fogel is a teacher, and efforts too should be made to secure his release, Kelly said.

Regarding infrastructure, Kelly said two federal grants totaling $50 million were awarded for the Route 228 project, but he didn't vote for the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021 that provided the funding.

While he said the county has been fortunate in receiving grant money, he also said 40 cents of every dollar allocated by the infrastructure act was directed to infrastructure projects.

Additionally, Kelly’s party platform calls for passage of the Parents Bill of Right Act, which has been introduced in the House and Senate.

This bill would require school districts to publicly post the curriculum for each elementary and secondary school grade level, and require schools to notify parents and guardians of their rights, including the right to review the school's curriculum and budget.

Kelly has lived in Butler County for upwards of 50 years. He graduated from Butler High School in 1966 and attended the University of Notre Dame in Indiana.

After college, he returned to Butler to work at Kelly Chevrolet-Cadillac, Inc., founded by his father in the early 1950s. He took ownership of the company in the mid-1990s.

Before entering Congress, Kelly served on Butler City Council and on several boards, including the Housing Authority of Butler County, the Redevelopment Authority of Butler County and the Moraine Trails Council of Boys Scouts of America. Kelly also founded the Butler Quarterback Club and the Golden Tornado Scholastic Foundation.

In January 2011, Kelly was sworn into office as the U.S. Representative of the 3rd congressional district. Since January 2019, he has represented the 16th district.

While representing the 16th district, he’s received a number of awards, including the 60 Plus Association: Guardian of Seniors' Rights Award, the American Conservative Union: ACU Conservative Award, American Farm Bureau Federation: Friend of Farm Bureau Award and others.

16th congressional district

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The new 16th congressional district encompasses all of Butler, Crawford, Erie, Lawrence and Mercer counties and part of Venango County.

Following the 2020 U.S. Census, Pennsylvania lost one seat in the U.S. House of Representatives, leaving it with 17 districts.

As lines shifted to make up for the one missing seat, Butler County found itself with one representative covering the entire county.

The new district map was approved by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court on Feb. 23 and goes into effect in January.

The 15th District, currently held by U.S. Rep. Glenn “GT” Thompson, and the 17th District, currently held by Conor Lamb, will no longer represent any part of the county. The 16th District covers the entirety of it.