Press Release - 10/29/09
Joe Nolan announces candidacy
Joseph Nolan, businessman and elected Tax Collector of Bellevue, PA, today announced his intention to seek the Republican nomination for Congress in Pennsylvania’s 14th Congressional District.
Nolan, a graduate of nearby Wheeling College, a former councilman in Bellevue and now running unopposed for his third term as Tax Collector, announced his candidacy at a forum in his hometown, in front of a large crowd of supporters and local Republicans.
“I have grown increasingly frustrated,” Nolan said, “by the attitude and arrogance of this Congress in Washington. It seems that the wishes of the people are routinely disregarded, and the wishes of a few members of a ruling elite are quickly, silently, and without debate put into law.
“We cannot have this. Congress is the peoples’ House and it should respond to the peoples’ will.”
“Here in Pittsburgh, we are disregarded even more. I want to remind all of you that we are standing in the heart of America’s energy birthright. This is the place where the incredible power of coal in America was first recognized and first used to fuel our growth and to win our freedom. This is the City where oil was first shipped, from its discovery place only a few miles up the Allegheny, and from here shipped out to transform the world. And not too many years ago, this is where Westinghouse did the basic research on safe and peaceful nuclear energy - in buildings that no longer stand.
“In the 14th District, we have a Congressman today who appreciates none of that. In fact, he rejects it. He votes - proudly - for Cap and Trade, better called Cap and Tax Legislation, that will destroy our industries and raise the cost of energy for every man, woman, and child living in his District.
“He has chosen to back an Administration that cares more for the industries of Europe than for those of America, and he has chosen to deliver growth to Asia, at the expense of jobs and prosperity here in Pittsburgh itself.”
“He has chosen to change our healthcare - without our consent - claiming somehow that our hospitals in Pittsburgh somehow do not serve our needs - hospitals like Allegheny General and UPMC, respected all over the world, but not, apparently, in the halls of Congress, or in the office of Mike Doyle.”
“This is not the kind of leadership we need. It is not leadership at all.”
“As Congressman, I will promote a commonsense energy policy, a policy that utilizes our skills and expertise, our technology and our vision, and most of all, uses all of the resources our country possesses. We can grow and our economy can continue to prosper, but we cannot do any of this without reliable and affordable energy. We cannot afford to have Nancy Pelosi and her followers determine the way we light our homes and power our industries.
“As Congressman, I will promote commonsense healthcare, healthcare the builds on the enormous foundation we already have and extends the reach of our healthcare, so that it is affordable to all of our citizens, even our least advantaged. But I will not tear down the institutions that have served us so well, and employed so many of our citizens, simply to deliver more power into the hands of Nancy Pelosi.
“I have served as a tax collector. I have worked in my own tax accounting business. I have seen first hand what federal spending habits are doing to our citizens. Driving up the cost of energy, driving up the cost of heating our homes, caring for our children, and maintaining our health. Continued out of control spending will only add to the already enormous costs that Nancy Pelosi and Mike Doyle are pushing onto us, with bail-outs, takeovers, and pork-laden stimulus bills. I know one thing that Mr. Doyle seems to have forgotten - all bills eventually come due, and the only place the federal government can get money is out of your pocket, and mine.
“I choose to run for Congress because it is time that we return to our roots, to a smaller government that lets the people choose the course of the nation, and that lives within its means. When I take my seat in Washington, I will do it on behalf of the people who live here, the people of the 14th District, the people who have made America strong.”