113th Congress: Keith Rothfus, R-Pa. (12th District)

By Janie Lorber, CQ Staff

When Keith Rothfus gets to Washington, expect him to head straight for the Republican Study Committee doors. Rothfus will join the chorus of House conservatives pushing for less government, lower taxes, repeal of the 2010 health care overhaul law and fewer EPA regulations.

His energy-rich district is a coal mining hub and home to the nation’s first commercial atomic electric plant. It also includes a major coal-fired power plant as well as the headquarters of Westinghouse Electric Co.

He is intent on countering what he describes as the Obama administration’s “war on coal” and seeks the repeal of multiple EPA regulations, including a rule that establishes standards for certain emissions from power plants.

“We have to be using the resources we have, and we have to be letting the markets pick what our resources are going to be,” says Rothfus, who hopes to sit on the Energy and Commerce Committee.

A pancreatic cancer survivor, he has pledged to fight for repeal of the 2010 health care law. He is fiercely opposed to the law’s Medicare cuts and the Independent Payment Advisory Board it established.

Instead, Rothfus supports the 2012 House Republican budget proposal, which would transition Medicare to a premium support system.

He also plans to support an extension of the George W. Bush-era tax cuts and a rollback of the $55 billion in defense spending cuts set to go into effect in January.