Rob's Rundown: Week of April 23 - April 27 On Monday, Senator Portman delivered remarks on the role of energy in giving Ohio and American manufacturers opportunities to grow and be more competitive
PoliticalNews.me - Apr 29,2012 - Rob's Rundown: Week of April 23 - April 27
On Monday, Senator Portman delivered remarks on the role of energy in giving Ohio and American manufacturers opportunities to grow and be more competitive at the groundbreaking of Timken Company’s $225 million expansion at its Faircrest Steel Plant in Canton.
Portman cosponsored the United States-Israel Enhanced Security Cooperation Act of 2012, a measure that would reaffirm the United States’ “unwavering commitment” to Israel’s security and support for its right to self-defense. Portman also released a statement on Israel’s Independence Day, a day that should serve as a reminder of the unique kinship between our nations and a call to rise to the challenges that lie ahead. Portman met with students from the Jewish Federation of Cleveland to discuss the security issues facing Israel and the importance of standing beside our ally that has stood with us through decades of challenges.
Portman was glad to see that support for the American Centrifuge Project in Piketon, a project critical to our national security interests, is gaining momentum in both the House and Senate. Signaling support for the development of domestic enrichment technologies is what the Administration asked of Congress. Portman is now encouraging the Department of Energy to move forward with providing support in Fiscal Year 2012 for the effort.
Portman released a statement on the postal reform vote, noting that “although Post Office closures have been tough for a lot of hardworking Ohio postal employees and the communities they serve, USPS as currently structured is losing billions of dollars every year, and it must be reformed to preserve this important public service while restoring long-term fiscal sustainability.”
While Portman believes reforms must be made, he could not support this version of the bill because it violated the Budget Control Act Congress passed last August. At a time of trillion-dollar deficits and a record $15 trillion debt, members of Congress at the very least must live by the spending restraint rules they put in place.
Portman also issued a statement on the three-year anniversary of the failure of Senate Democrats to offer a budget, saying that during this time, the federal government has spent more than $10 trillion and pushed us more than $4 trillion further into the red. Working without a budget is no way to run a business and certainly no way to run the world's biggest government.
Portman joined a group of freshman Republican Senators in calling on President Obama to fulfill his commitment to modernize the U.S. nuclear complex and strategic delivery systems. In a letter led by Sen. Kelly Ayotte (R-NH) and sent to the President, the senators noted that the Administration’s failure to commit to nuclear modernization, combined with the reductions mandated by New START, poses additional risk to U.S. and global security.
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is urging Senate leadership to take up the Energy Savings and Industrial Competitiveness Act (S. 1000), authored by Portman and Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH). The Portman-Shaheen bill would establish
