By Doug Wilson; Quincy Herald Whig

U.S. Rep. Blaine Luetkemeyer said the business owners he was scheduled to visit in Northeast Missouri today are better suited to create jobs and heal the U.S. economy than members of Congress.

On Tuesday, Luetkemeyer voted against what is being touted as a jobs bill by Congress. The legislation, which passed and was signed into law by President Obama, will be paid for with new taxes. Luetkemeyer said raising taxes while urging businesses to create jobs is counterproductive.

"It was a bad bill, pure and simple. It's another bailout," Luetkemeyer said. "Our challenge is to find ways to help businesses keep doing what they're doing."

Luetkemeyer previously challenged the government worker who calculated that 600,000 jobs have been either saved or created by the stimulus. The man said half those jobs involved about 300,000 teachers that federal officials believe would have lost their jobs without the one-time federal funding.

"This is a one-year (stimulus) deal. We still haven't learned that we are going to have to tighten our belts," Luetkemeyer said.

Luetkemeyer was scheduled to stop at Cardwell Lumber Inc. near Novelty today. Owner Leroy Cardwell hopes to question him about fair trade pacts to see how policies affect his company's exports.

Cardwell Lumber sells thousands of matched barrel sets, representing hundreds of thousands of barrel staves and ends each year. The company's products are used by Jack Daniel's Whiskey and some California vintners domestically. Barrel sets also go to Scotland, Japan, France, Spain and Portugal.

"We face some tariffs and taxes on products we ship overseas. I'd like to know how America treats their products coming in here" to see if there are ways to assure a level playing field, Cardwell said.

Luetkemeyer said Cardwell Lumber was a natural place to stop on his jobs tour. The facility employs about 60 people at Novelty, with another 30 combined at a lumber mill at New London and a kiln near Jefferson City. That type of employment is notable in a lumber industry that has been depressed and is a direct result of Cardwell's decision to pursue value-added wood products.

Cardwell Lumber also has shown innovation with a waste sawdust boiler that was installed two years ago. By burning waste wood, Cardwell has been able to save up to $200,000 a year on energy costs and eliminate the accumulation of a by-product that had previously been considered a problem.

"As you go around the district, there are tons of stories about people who have found their niche" and are creating jobs, Luetkemeyer said.