When I wrote about Airborne Maintenance & Engineering Services creating 250 jobs in Wilmington and Omnicare Inc. creating 340 jobs in Cincinnati not long ago, I was certainly pleased to be spreading such good news. That was just the tip of the iceberg, though. There had been several job announcements in Ohio before that, and there have certainly been many since.

Just recently, more companies have announced new positions in Ohio, totaling more than 1,700 new jobs within our borders. From as far down as Mason--where a material-handling company called Intelligrated will build a new headquarters and add 200 engineering jobs and technical jobs--to the northern portions of the state--where Republic Steel announced 450 new jobs in Lorain--evidence is mounting that Ohio is open for business again.

Perhaps the most significant sign that our job creation efforts are paying off is that Chrysler has announced 1,100 new jobs at a Jeep complex in Toledo; this is an area, like others in Ohio, hit hard by the loss of manufacturing jobs in recent years. This Chrysler investment of $500 million is further proof that a business-friendly state that offers incentives to businesses is going to be the one that attracts the most jobs for its citizens.

There is little doubt in my mind that many of these companies looked elsewhere, but our state went out of its way to attract them and address their needs in a timely and responsible fashion so they would keep their jobs in Ohio. In fact, this was the thinking behind the creation of our state's private, non-profit group of business leaders--JobsOhio--that was created in House Bill 1 at the beginning of this year. House Bill 1 was the first bill introduced and passed by the Ohio House this year and further demonstrates our focus on job creation since the very first day of this General Assembly.

The House has also taken significant steps to keep jobs and our talented workforce in Ohio by providing incentives for Ohio's graduates to stay and work in Ohio, keeping small business owners and farmers in Ohio through the elimination of the estate tax, and setting up the Common Sense Initiative Office to ensure that our businesses are not harmed by overregulation.

There is no doubt that the Republican caucus at the Ohio House has been focused on job creation and fiscal responsibility from our first day forward. While we have accomplished much, there is always more that can be done and I welcome your input and ideas on job creation. I hope to continue focusing on ways to get Ohioans back to work, including retraining the current workforce. Additionally, there is more work to be done to lessen the tax burden on families and businesses.

As I have often said, actions of the government cannot create jobs, but they can certainly lead to an atmosphere that attracts and creates the opportunity for new jobs. So long as I am speaker, keeping Ohioans with jobs to support them and their families will be my top priority.

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