The Rev. Jesse Jackson will be in Fayette County on Monday. The visit is part of a four-day, three-state bus tour that starts Sunday in Pittsburgh. Entitled "Reinvest In America: Put America Back To Work," the will be aimed at criticizing fiscal policies he believes have sent jobs overseas and made health care too expensive for many Americans. "The idea is to put a renewed focus on poverty, illiteracy and disease. ...The terrorists are actually controlling debate," Jackson told reporters Thursday. "We're spending $200 billion on reconstructing Iraq, but there is no plan for public investment in America's infrastructure." While the tour doesn't launch until a rally on Sunday, Jackson was in Pittsburgh Thursday to promote it. He also spoke at a lunchtime rally in Pittsburgh's Market Square marking National Hunger Awareness Day. The rally drew about 300 people. Lawrenceville-based Hunger Services Network, which serves Allegheny, Fayette, Westmoreland, Washington and Beaver counties, was one of the rally's sponsors. Executive Director Ann Mason said she has seen a surge in the number of middle-class families seeking help from the agency, which refers people to the nearest food bank and offers help in public assistance applications. "People who earned a living before are now in need of food stamp benefits and go to the food pantry," Mason said. With stops in Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Ohio, Jackson's bus tour will focus on voter registration. Sunday afternoon's rally at the United Steelworkers of America headquarters, downtown Pittsburgh, is expected to draw a wide range of labor leaders and politicians. The tour travels to McClellandtown, Fayette County, Monday before heading to four rallies in West Virginia, and then back and forth between several sites in Ohio and West Virginia on Tuesday and Wednesday. Fayette officials are hoping Jackson's message can help grow business and infrastructure. "That's extremely important. I applaud his efforts to bring more attention to what we need to do," said Michael W. Krajovic, president of the nonprofit Fay-Penn Economic Development Corp. "This tri-state area was once an economic power." Fayette Commissioner Vincent Vicites said he thinks progress has been made in recent years. "We realize that the foundation of economic development is good infrastructure," Vicites said. "We're making progress on all these fronts. We have to continue to pressure and continue movement." "We want to bring this debate down to the working class issues -- the issue of jobs being lost throughout the United States and particularly in the states we're going to, and the issue of health care," said Cecil Roberts, president of the United Mine Workers of America. "Those issues are being pushed aside." Additional Information:

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The schedule for the 'Reinvest In America: Put America Back To Work' campaign: Sunday Pittsburgh Monday McClellandtown, Fayette County Weirton, W.V. Parkersburg, W.V. Tuesday Athens, Ohio Charlestown, W.V. Wednesday Beckley, W.V. Portsmouth, Ohio

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