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Home > Blogs > Ohio politics > Archives > 2009 > June > 03
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
Strickland, Kasich agree - sort of - on stimulus bucks and NCR
Democratic Gov. Ted Strickland and former Republican U.S. Rep. John Kasich, Strickland’s potential challenger next year, don’t seem to agree on much but they may have one thing in common.
Both think using any federal stimulus money to help NCR leave Dayton and consolidate its world headquarters in Atlanta stinks.
“The governor believes federal Recovery Act resources were provided to states to create and retain jobs in their communities, not to be used as a tool to raid jobs in other states,” Amanda Wurst, Strickland’s spokeswoman, said in a prepared statement.
Rob Nichols, Kasich’s press secretary provided this:
“Ohioans will remember that Gov. Strickland led his fellow governors to Washington, D.C. to beg for federal stimulus money to bail him out. Now that same money is being used by the state of Georgia to lure NCR away from its 125 years home in Dayton, Ohio.”
The federal bucks haven’t exactly landed in Georgia yet.
Columbus, Ga. Mayor Jim Wetherington told Dayton Daily News Washington correspondent Jessica Wehrman that his city has requested $5 million in stimulus money to go toward buying a building for NCR employees and also for construction of a building for an NCR manufacturing operation.
See Wehrman’s story for details.
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Turner drafting letter to Obama on NCR
U.S. Rep. Mike Turner, R-Centerville, is drafting a letter to President Barack Obama to protest Columbus, Ga.’s request for federal economic stimulus money to buy a building that would hold NCR manufacturing jobs.
Turner said he planned to send the letter Wednesday, June 3.
He said he was “very concerned that this stimulus money may be used by states to steal jobs and buy jobs from other communities.”
Columbus, Ga., has said it will pay for $6.5 million of the $8 million to buy a building that once held Panasonic in Columbus. The money will also go towards the construction of a new 100,000 square foot building, according to Columbus Mayor Jim Wetherington.
Wetherington said the city has requested about $5 million in stimulus money, but does not know if it will receive it. The money would go toward their $6.5 million tab if they received it. Georgia’s two U.S. senators have written to Vice-President Joe Biden supporting the request.
NCR said it does not expect many, if any, of the 870 jobs expected to come to Columbus to be jobs currently located in Dayton. Instead, those jobs are manufacturing jobs that currently are being performed in Columbia, S.C.
Still, Turner argued that any federal money going toward the consolidation of NCR’s world headquarters in Atlanta was money that would cost Dayton jobs.
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Brown protests stimulus money for NCR move in letter to Commerce Secretary
Sen. Sherrod Brown is concerned about reports that the city of Columbus, Ga., has requested economic stimulus money to pay for the purchase of a building and the creation of another building to bring NCR jobs to Georgia.
Here’s why: NCR announced earlier this week that it plans to consolidate its world headquarters in the Atlanta suburbs. That means 2,000 jobs currently in Dayton will go south.
The 870 jobs Columbus, Ga., expects to get are manufacturing jobs that are currently being performed in Columbia, S.C., by a company that contracts with NCR. Jim Wetherington, the mayor of Columbus, Ga., said the city plans on footing $6.5 million of the $8 million bill to purchase the building, with the state kicking in the rest of the money. They haven’t received any stimulus money yet, nor does it know if it will get any, but Wetherington said should he get the approximately $5 million requested, he would put it toward the city’s share of the $8 million.
Still, Brown and other Ohio lawmakers argue that stimulus money should not be used to relocate jobs.
Brown, D-Ohio, fired off a letter to Commerce Secretary Gary Locke Wednesday, June 3, saying as much.
“The purpose of the (economic stimulus bill) is to create or retain jobs, not to relocate them from state to state,” Brown wrote. “Stimulus funds should not be used in a manner that benefits one local economy at the expense of another.‚”
Full letter after the jump:
June 3, 2009
The Honorable Gary Locke Secretary U.S. Department of Commerce 1401 Constitution Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20230
Dear Secretary Locke:
I write to express my deep concern that funds provided under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) might be used to relocate jobs from Ohio to Georgia.
NCR Corporation, a manufacturer of ATMs headquartered in Dayton, Ohio for the past 125 years, has announced plans to consolidate its operations and build a new global headquarters and manufacturing site in Columbus, Georgia. NCR’s departure from Dayton will result in the loss of 1,300 Ohio jobs.
NCR has stated that the planned relocation of its headquarters has been made possible Recovery Act funding. The City of Columbus, Georgia, apparently has requested ARRA funds, provided by the Economic Development Administration (EDA), to purchase the building for the new plant, which will be leased back by NCR.
The purpose of the ARRA is to create or retain jobs, not to relocate them from state to state. Stimulus funds should not be used in a manner that benefits one local economy at the expense of another, whether the request comes from Columbus, Georgia or Columbus, Ohio.
I urge you to consider this matter carefully and take measures to prevent ARRA funds from being used for this purpose.
Sincerely,
Sherrod Brown
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Yates drops out of Senate race
State Rep. Tyrone Yates, D-Cincinnati, ended his campaign for U.S. Senate, saying he felt he didn’t have enough time to run for Senate and do his job in the Ohio House.
Yates’ departure leaves the Democratic primary a two person race between Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner and Lt. Gov. Lee Fisher.
They are vying for a chance to run in 2010 for the seat now held by U.S. Sen. George Voinovich, who announced he won’t seek re-election.
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Senate approves budget; conference committee next
The Ohio Senate on Wednesday, June 3, approved its version of a $53 billion state budget but the vote was just a prelude to a House-Senate conference committee that will try to reach a compromise version of a two-year spending plan for Gov. Ted Strickland to sign before July 1, start of the new fiscal year.
“I’m not going to stand up and say this is the greatest budget in the world,” said Sen. Bill Seitz, R-Cincinnati, as the more than three hours of debate drew to a close. “I’m also not going to say it’s terrible.”
All Republicans voted “yes”, including Sen. Jon Husted of Kettering. All Democrats, including Sen. Fred Strahorn of Dayton voted “no.”
The battle lines on the budget, House Bill 1, are are drawn between the House version, passed earlier, and the Senate version. The Democrat-controlled House version modified but kept intact Strickland’s “evidence-based model” for a school funding overhaul. The GOP-controlled Senate mainly dismantled Democrat Strickland’s plan for schools. The Senate also restored spending for charter schools that wasn’t in the House budget or the one proposed by Strickland.
The Senate budget also would permit drilling for oil and gas in state parks and on other state property.
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Watch this: $8 billion coming to Ohio
Although Ohio is expected to receive $8 billion in stimulus money, federal authorities have yet to develop a spreadsheet listing who is getting how much, according to state Auditor Mary Taylor.
Taylor, who is responsible for auditing state and local government spending, including the stimulus money, said Wednesday June 3 that such a spreadsheet would be helpful.
Taylor set up a system to start tracking and auditing the stimulus money that is expected to flow into Ohio in the coming months. She notified local governments and state agencies that they must report what they receive, how they plan to spend it and how they actually spend it to her office.
The online system, OhioStimulusTracker.com, allows Ohioans to look up stimulus money projects and to report instances where they see fraud or waste.
“Ohioans deserve to know how that money is being spent,” Taylor said. “Accountability and transparency are important to the proper function of government and my office is making this site available to the public as we gather information necessary to properly audit the receipt and use of those monies.”
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Umbilical cord blood bill passes House
Pregnant women in Ohio would be told about the benefits of donating their newborn’s umbilical cord blood, if a bill adopted by the Ohio House on Wednesday June 3 becomes law.
The House voted unanimously in favor of the Cord Blood Education Bill.
“This critically important health care bill will promote steps that save lives,” said Rep. Todd Book, D-McDermott. “Cord blood donation is easy, and parents can donate it to a public bank or store it for possible family use.”
Cord blood is from a newborn’s umbilical cord and the placenta. It is collected after a baby is delivered and the cord has been clamped and cut.
There are more than 75 diseases that can now be helped through cord blood transplantation, including sickle cell anemia, diabetes, and blood cancers, according to Book.
Ohio Right to Life, the Catholic Council of Churches, and the National Cord Blood Registry support the bill, which now goes to the Senate for consideration.
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How not to hold a press conference
Ohio and federal environmental officials staged a press conference at the Statehouse Wednesday June 3 that could be used as a case study in a public relations textbook on what not to do.
First, nobody told reporters about it until after it was scheduled to start. Second, nobody brought press releases.
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lisa Jackson came to Ohio to announce the state would receive $5 million in federal stimulus to retrofit 280 diesel trucks to make them cleaner and Hamilton County would receive $1 million to retrofit 60 school buses.
As she spoke on an outdoor plaza on the Statehouse grounds, a firetruck siren drown out part of her remarks and wind blew over some of the displays. And half a dozen protesters complaining about mountaintop coal mining positioned themselves to get in the TV camera shots.
At least it wasn’t raining.
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Romney to stump for Portman in Cincinnati
Prospective 2012 Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney will spend part of his day in Ohio stumping for U.S. Senate candidate Rob Portman.
Republican sources confirmed that the 2008 Republican candidate and former Massachusetts governor will be in Cincinnati today to stump for Portman at a private fundraiser.
Democrats, unsurprisingly, leapt on the visit.
“Last year, Mitt Romney was arguing against ‘sending the same people back to Washington’ who got us into the situation we are in today,” said Ohio Democratic Party Chair Chris Redfern. “We’ll take that to be a stinging rebuke of Rob Portman and an endorsement of our candidates. After all, sending Rob Portman back to Washington will get us the same irresponsible economic policies he masterminded during his decades there.”
UPDATE:
This from Portman campaign manager Bob Paduchik: “Gov. Romney’s in town to help us raise money for what we know is going to be a very expensive and hard-fought campaign….the Democrats are going to use the same old playbook of negative attacks while Rob Portman is talking about the future, how to create jobs, and how to get the economy back on track in Ohio.”
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UPDATED: Senate plan calls for oil and gas drilling at state parks
The Ohio Senate on Wednesday, June 3, is expected to approve a version of the state budget, House Bill 1, that will permit drilling for oil and gas at state parks and other state properties.
“Drilling technology has come a long way and can be done safely and unobtrusively,” Sen. Keith Faber, R-Celina, said in a press release. “This proposal provides a new and stable revenue source for our state parks that doesn’t burden taxpayers and will increase domestic fuel production.”
However, Jack Shaner, deputy director of the Ohio Environmental Council, objected.
“It’s hard to simultaneously preserve parks and drill our parks,” said Shaner.
After the Senate approves its $53 billion version of the state budget, a House-Senate conference committee is expected to be formed to work out a compromise with the version of the budget passed earlier by the House.
The goal is to have the budget passed and signed by Gov. Ted Strickland before July 1, start of the new fiscal year.
This is from Sen. Keith Faber, R-Celina, sponsor of the proposal. It could bring in $20 million in lease bonus payments initially and annual revenue to the state between $3 million and $5 million.
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Brown becomes the latest to Twitter
Just don’t call them Twits.
Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, has become the latest Ohio lawmaker to join “Twitter” - that one-sentence blogging mechanism that lawmakers have increasingly relied upon to update constituents on what they’re doing.
House Minority Leader John Boehner, R-West Chester twits. So does U.S. Reps. Steve Austria, R-Beavercreek and Jim Jordan, R-Urbana. And don’t forget Kevin DeWine, chair of the Ohio Republican Party.
What do these “tweets” say?
It’s hardly philosophical stuff. Instead, most just give people an update as to where lawmakers are, or what they’re doing.
Austria wrote Wednesday, June 3: “Had opportunity to visit opening of ATK new facility. Another example of a business growing and creating new jobs during an economic crisis.”
Here’s Boehner, on Tuesday, June 2: “NCR to leave Dayton after 125 years. 1,300 jobs lost. Ohio needs pro-jobs leadership in Columbus: http://is.gd/MxYO”
As for Brown, here’s his maiden tweet: “Sen. Brown at CAF conference health care reform ‘public option MUST be part of health reform.’
