Attracting jobs to southern Ohio and keeping the ones that are already here: That was the primary focus of a visit to the area Monday by U.S. Sixth District Rep. Bill Johnson.

Johnson met with Sun Coke executives in Haverhill to discuss the company’s planned $600 million expansion and to discuss issues the company is having with the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency.

In a meeting with The Tribune, Johnson said while President Obama has talked about regulatory reform, in reality, 219 new regulations put in place recently have cost more than $100 million each. Johnson said the federal government needs to view itself as a partner with American business and not as an adversary.

Johnson said making Ohio — and the nation — more attractive to investors will be aided substantially with a balanced federal budget and true regulatory reform. That reform must not strangle American competitiveness with excessive regulations that send jobs overseas and make investors skittish, he said.

“We’ve got to learn to operate in a global economy in a way that protects jobs and protects industry and protects workers here at home and still make us competitive worldwide,” Johnson said.

Johnson also called for a national energy plan that uses coal, oil, natural gas, and even nuclear energy to make America less dependent on foreign oil. He said this should be the focus of not just the president or Congress but the nation.

“Think what we could do if we had a national view of exceptionalism and it pertains to energy exploration,” Johnson said. He pointed out that when President John F. Kennedy called on America to send a man to the moon in 10 years, it was actually accomplished in seven because everyone from academia to business to the military supported the idea so strongly.

Johnson met with the Lawrence Economic Development Corporation officials, faculty and officials at Ohio University Southern and visited the new St. Mary’s Medical Center facility.

He also met with The Lawrence County Chapter of the Ohio Horseman’s Council to discuss the fees charged for horse and ATV trails in the forest.

Johnson also was honored with the “Standing Up For Seniors” award from RetireSafe. RetireSafe is a nonprofit, nonpartisan grassroots organization that advocates and educates on behalf of America’s seniors on issues regarding Social Security, Medicare, health and financial well-being. Johnson was one of a bipartisan group of members of Congress that are being recognized as having “acted to protect seniors’ health care benefits, by ensuring access to affordable medications through Medicare Part D, and opposing proposals that threaten to limit access to health care and increase premiums for seniors in the Medicare program,” according to a statement from the senior organization.