Benishek hosts town hall meeting in Negaunee

Congressman Dan Benishek was touring the Upper Peninsula Monday and he stopped at the Elks Lodge in Negaunee for a town hall meeting.

Benishek talked on a number of topics relating to the Upper Peninsula, including finding ways to create—and keep— jobs in the U.P.

He said one key is to encourage vocational training.

The U.S. House of Representatives recently passed the Student Success Act, giving states and school districts more control of their curriculum.

“Vocational education has kind of fallen by the wayside of our (school) districts,” Benishek said.  “This legislation (the Student Success Act) will make it easier for local (school) districts to include vocational education in their curriculum.”

“That would be good for jobs, because there’s a lot of jobs available that aren’t being filled because there aren’t students that even know about the vocations.”

Another popular topic on the night was discussion about the Affordable Care Act.  Benishek said the law effects everyone, which is why many people voiced their concerns.

“Everybody’s concerned about what’s going to happen to their healthcare, the rising cost of healthcare under the president’s bill,” Benishek said.  “They’re all curious of what’s going to happen, and frankly I don’t know what’s going to happen.  I just know that it’s bad medicine for America, and I think that there are better patient center solutions that we could promote.”

Benishek added he likes to host town hall meetings because it allows him hear concerns from U.P. residents that he may not have been aware of.