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January 2012
Upcoming races, voting information
Upcoming primaries and caucuses
Feb. 4: Nevada caucus.
Feb. 7: Colorado and Minnesota caucuses. Missouri primary.
Feb. 11: Maine caucus.
Feb. 28: Arizona and Michigan primaries.
March 3: Washington caucus.
March 6, Super Tuesday: Ohio, Georgia, Massachusetts, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Vermont, and Virginia primaries. Alaska, Idaho, North Dakota and Wyoming caucuses.
March 10: Kansas and the U.S. Virgin Islands caucuses.
March 13: Alabama and Mississippi primaries. American Samoa and Hawaii hold caucuses.
March 18: Puerto Rico caucus.
Basic election information * Election Day is March 6. * Polls are open from 6:30 a.m. until 7:30 p.m.
Voting procedures
Cast your ballot at the polling place designated to serve the precinct in which you reside. Find out where you vote here.
You are qualified to vote if you meet these requirements: * You are a citizen of the United States. * You will be at least 18 years old on or before Nov. 6. You can vote for candidates in a primary at 17 as long as your birthday is before the General Election. Voters under 18 cannot vote on issues. * You will have been a resident of Ohio for at least 30 days before the election. * You have registered to vote at least 30 days before the election. The last day to register for the March primary is Feb. 6. * A registered voter may cast an early ballot in person at their county board of elections office during regular business hours. Some counties may have extended hours before Election Day.
Absentee ballots Absentee ballots are available at the county boards of elections. The deadline for applying for an absentee ballot is noon Feb. 6.
Applicants must complete an absentee ballot request form that provides the following information: * the voter’s name, * residence address, and * Ohio drivers license number or last four digits of Social Security number, and * The address where the absentee ballot is to be mailed, if different from residence.
The completed request form must be signed by the registered voter requesting the absentee ballot. All absentee ballots, completed within the United States, must be received at the local board of elections by 7:30 p.m. on Election Day to be counted. Voters who are hospitalized on Election Day may make application for an absentee ballot until 3 p.m. on Election Day. Registered voters who have failed to change their address with the local elections board office may vote by provisional ballot at their local board of elections office and continuing on any business day through the close of the polls on Election Day. Other provisional ballot questions may be answered by calling your local Board of Elections. Some counties may have extended hours.
ID Requirements at the polls Voters will need to provide identification (ID) to vote. Acceptable ID may include: * A government photo ID (Ohio driver’s license or state ID showing either your current address or your former address, as long as the ID has not expired; * A military identification that shows your name and current address; * A copy of a current utility bill; * A bank statement; a government check; a paycheck; or * Other government document that shows your name and current address. Other requirements you should know: * Photo ID issued by a private company, organization or college will NOT be accepted. Your photo ID must be government issued. * The name shown on your ID must conform to the name in the poll book. * The address shown must be your current address and conform to the address in the poll book, with the exception of a driver’s license or state ID that shows a former address, IF the license or state ID had not expired.
Voting Information & Resources To register to vote, update voting information, request an absentee ballot, find contact information for Ohio’s 88 county boards of elections or to obtain more general information about the March 6 Primary Election and how to participate, all Ohioans are encouraged to visit www.MyOhioVote.com.
TweetAs 2012 local races heat up, money starts coming in
By Lynn Hulsey and Mark Gokavi Staff Writers
Republicans far out raised Democrats to bankroll legislative races this year and statewide races three years from now, according to campaign finance reports filed Tuesday.
House Republicans raised $5 million in 2011 and have a war chest of $4.1 million, which is ten times the $410,657 that the House Democrats have on hand. Last year, the Democrats raised $759,000 for the House legislative races.
In the Ohio Senate, the campaign funding gulf is even wider. Senate Republicans raised $3.7 million last year and have $3.5 million on hand while Senate Democrats raised $63,020 and have $38,555 on hand.
The GOP holds 59 of 99 seats in the House and 23 of 33 seats in the Senate.
Montgomery County
Montgomery County Commissioner Debbie Lieberman far out-raised Kettering Councilman Ashley Webb, the Republican who is challenging Democrat Lieberman in her re-election effort.
Lieberman took in $20,045 to Webb’s $600. Businessman Thomas A. Routsong was Webb’s largest contributor, with $500. Developer George Oberer Sr. gave Lieberman $2,000, her largest contribution for the annual reports filed Tuesday with the Montgomery County Board of Elections.
Lieberman spent $7,712 and Webb spent $413. But it was a candidate with no opposition in March or November - Republican Montgomery County Sheriff Phil Plummer - who received the highest amount of contributions among those filing locally.
Plummer collected $31,918 - mostly at his annual summer golf outing - and spent $13,252. The reports also offered a look into the campaign finance prospects into two Democrats who are not even on the ballot this year. Dayton City Commissioner Nan Whaley received $10,725 and former Dayton Mayor Rhine McLin, who has said she will run for city commission, took in $5,559.
Greene County
Greene County Commission Republican primary challenger Tom Koogler has outraised incumbent Commissioner Marilyn Reid. Koogler raised $11,705 compared to Reid’s $2,750 during the reporting period.
Koogler’s contributions have come from 66 different people while Reid, a long-time party leader, had contributions from 12 people. The other person in the Republican race for Reid’s seat is Thomas J. Brooks, who raised and spent nothing.
Koogler, a first-time candidate, has spent $14,841 and has a negative balance of $2,565. He has outstanding loans of $4,768.
Reid, who brought $1,326 forward from her last report, had $3,811 on hand and her campaign owes $13,219 in outstanding loans.
The five-way Republican primary race for Rick Perales’ open seat hasn’t attracted nearly as much cash.
– Beavercreek Twp. Trustee Robert Glaser brought raised $4,000 and spent $551.
– Former Fairborn Mayor Joan Dautel raised $2,100 and spent nothing.
– Retired businessman Bruce Hull raised $350 and received a $500 loan while spending all but $15.89.
– The other ex-Fairborn Mayor, Jack Wilson, has raised and spent nothing.
– Attorney David Pendry did not have to file any paperwork this period.
Warren County
Three Republicans, all unopposed this year in their bids to retain their jobs, reported five-figure campaign contributions in Warren County.
Prosecutor David Fornshell received $27,470 in contributions for the reporting period. He spent $3,877, ending with $25,571 a balance. Contributions to Fornshell came from several prominent attorneys in Warren County including the law offices of both J. William Dunning and Rittgers and Rittgers who each gave $2,500 donations, and Kirby and Kirby Properties, LTD, who also gave $2,500.
Warren County Sheriff Larry Sims received $8,260 in contributions. His committee spent $2,479, ending the period with $21,247. Sims’ committee received a loan from his wife, Tammera Sims, for $17,250.
Warren County Engineer Neil Tunison received $20,410 in contributions, ending with a balance of $29,594. His committee spent $17,001.
There is a Republican primary race for Warren County Common Pleas Court judge, with candidate Carolyn Duvelius reported $4,000 cash on hand. She received $4,850 in contributions and her committee spent $728. Her opponent, Donald Oda II, reported having $7,500, all financed by himself. He did not report any expenditures.
Robert Fox, who is running for county recorder in the Republican primary, reported contributions of $2,654. Of those donations, $1,000 came from Michael Schueler, president of Henkle Schueler Real Estate. His balance was $2,654 after spending $17. His opponent, Linda Oda, did not have to file a report because she had filed a campaign report following her successful run for in Clearcreek Twp. fiscal officer in November.
Statewide
Although re-election bids are three years away, Republicans in four statewide offices raised a combined $2.6 million and spent $2.2 million last year. Treasurer Josh Mandel, a Republican from suburban Cleveland, shifted his campaign fundraising to the federal level where he plans to challenge incumbent Democrat Sherrod Brown for the U.S. Senate.
Gov. John Kasich raised $426,000 last year and has $360,500 cash on hand in his campaign fund.
Auditor Dave Yost raised $260,247 and has $216,169 on hand.
Secretary of State Jon Husted raised $363,875 last year and has $423,413 on hand.
Attorney General Mike DeWine of Cedarville raised $1.59 million, spent $1.47 million and has $135,175 cash on hand.
Staff writers Laura A. Bischoff and Justin McClelland contributed to this report.
TweetBrown, Mandel raising huge amounts in Senate race.
By Jessica Wehrman Washington Bureau
WASHINGTON - Between the two of them, Sen. Sherrod Brown and Ohio Treasurer Josh Mandel are raising the equivalent of $1 million a month in what promises to be one of the state’s top political races of 2012.
Brown, a Democrat running for a second term in the U.S. Senate, raised nearly $1.6 million last quarter alone and has a little more than $5 million in the bank, according to campaign fundraising information filed Friday.
Of the $1.6 million raised last quarter, $1.1 million was from individuals, $209,830 was from political action committees and other political committees, and the remaining $277,213 came from authorized committees. A spokesman for the Ohio Democratic Party said that money largely came from joint fund-raisers between Brown and other organizations.
Mandel, the most prolific fundraiser competing in the Republican primary to oppose Brown, raised $1.43 million during the fourth fundraising quarter of 2011 and ended the quarter with nearly $4.1 million in the bank.
The race is expected to also include heavy fundraising from outside sources. According to Justin Barasky, a spokesman for the Ohio Democratic Party, outside groups have already spent some $3 million on the race, mostly in support of Mandel.
In the March Republican primary, Mandel is facing David Dodt of Defiance, Donna Glisman of Graytown, Eric LaMont Gregory of Beavercreek and Michael Pryce of Hudson.
TweetState euthanizes Zanesville leopard
A male spotted leopard from the Thompson farm in Zanesville was euthanized Sunday after breaking his neck at the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium, where it was being held.
A zookeeper was moving the animal between enclosures when the leopard darted back just as a door was being lowered, hitting him in the neck, according to the state Department of Agriculture.
A zoo veterinarian tried unsuccessfully to revive the cat and X-rays showed it had an irreversible spinal cord injury. State Veterinarian Dr. Tony Forshey decided the leopard should be euthanized.
State officials said X-rays showed the leopard had a malformed vertebrae that could have compounded the severity of the injury and had old, improperly healed injuries, including broken bones in his back and tail.
A necropsy will be performed on the animal by the state’s Animal Disease and Diagnostic Laboratory in Reynoldsburg.
The leopard was one of six animals captured and taken to the zoo after Terry Thompson released 56 exotic animals from their cages on his land in Zanesville on Oct. 18.
Ohio lawmakers are expected to debate legislation this year on how ownership of lions, tigers, bears and other wild, dangerous animals should be regulated.
TweetBar rates supreme court candidates
The Ohio State Bar Association ranked state Supreme Court Justice Robert R. Cupp as “highly recommended” while giving “recommended” ratings to former Ohio Appeals Court Judge William O’Neill and Hamilton County Municipal Court Judge Fanon Rucker.
The ratings are based on legal knowledge and ability, professional competence, judicial temperament, integrity, health, public service and other factors.
Cupp, a Republican, is running for re-election and faces Democratic challengers Rucker and O’Neill.
The bar said remaining candidates for two other seats on the supreme court will be evaluated later.
TweetCounty elections board wants electronic poll books to cut costs
By Nancy Bowman Contributing Writer
Miami County’s Board of Elections voted to ask the county commissioners to approve funds to buy 20 electronic poll books with peripherals to use beginning in this fall’s presidential election.
The board agreed unanimously Jan. 19 that it’s time to introduce the electronic poll books in some voting locations across the county. The electronic books eventually will save on election costs because they will require fewer poll workers, elections Director Steve Quillen said.
He said he hopes to conduct a mock election to allow workers to become familiar with the new equipment.
Elections board members asked staff to provide information on costs, where the electronic books would be used and an estimate on eventual savings for use in discussing the request with the commissioners. The board hopes to have money left over from a $26,000 state check for precinct redistricting/remapping to help pay for the poll books and related equipment. nancy bowman,
TweetCandidate forums planned for Greene County
A candidates forum will be held at Feb. 7 at the Fairborn Senior Center, 325 North Third St. The forum begins at 7 p.m. and will be moderated by the League of Women Voters, Greater Dayton Areas for candidates running in the March 6 primary election.
Candidates running for the following positions are being invited to participate: the U.S. Congressional race for the 10th District, the state representative race for the 73rd District, the state Central Committee Representatives and Greene County Commissioners.
Candidates running unopposed for all primary positions as well as candidates for local precinct captain positions are welcome to attend and be recognized. Voters will have an opportunity for individual discussions following the forum. Cookies, coffee and conversation with the candidates will follow the forum. The forum is sponsored by the Fairborn Liberty Group. For information, contact Carolyn Uecker, (937) 318-7393 or FairbornLibertyGroup@woh.rr.com, or the League office (937) 228-4041.
The Beavercreek Chamber of Commerce will host a candidate and issue forum from 6 to 8 p.m. Feb. 14 at Main Elementary School, 2942 Dayton Xenia Road in Beavercreek.
All candidates running for the 10th Congressional District, Second District Court of Appeals, State Representative for 73rd District, and both Greene County Commission seats have been invited to speak. Beavercreek City Schools and Beavercreek Twp. have also been invited to address their levy requests.
Doors will open at 5:30 p.m. and the forum will begin at 6 p.m. Each candidate and issue representative will be given three minutes to address the audience. Audience members will be given the opportunity to submit questions which will be addressed after all candidates have given their presentations.
TweetMarijuana issue may go to ballot
The Ohio Ballot Board decided Wednesday that a proposed constitutional amendment concerning medical marijuana is a single issue.
The ruling clears the way for backers to begin collecting the required 385,253 valid voter signatures to make it onto the statewide ballot this fall. The amendment seeks to allow patients to legally use marijuana as a medical therapy.
TweetOhio Sen. Brown responds to State of the Union
WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) released the following statement tonight following President Barack Obama’s State of the Union Address:
“Tonight’s State of the Union address gave manufacturing the attention it deserves,” Brown said. “Manufacturing is the backbone of our economy, providing good-paying jobs and helping to lead our economic recovery. The auto rescue was not only critical to the Big Three, but to thousands of auto parts suppliers in Ohio. The next step is a national manufacturing strategy that enforces trade law, encourages clean energy innovation, and trains workers for emerging industries. Tonight’s speech helped lay the blueprint for a national manufacturing agenda that Democrats and Republicans can unite behind.”
Last year, Brown expressed dissatisfaction that the 2011 State of the Union Address didn’t focus enough on manufacturing. Brown called for a “real strategy” on manufacturing, and introduced The National Manufacturing Strategy Act of 2011. This bipartisan legislation, introduced with Rep. Mark Kirk (R-IL), would require the Commerce Secretary to conduct a comprehensive analysis of the nation’s manufacturing sector and submit to Congress a National Manufacturing Strategy.
The goals of the Strategy are to increase manufacturing jobs, identify emerging technologies to strengthen U.S. competitiveness, and strengthen the manufacturing sectors in which the U.S. is most competitive. In 2010, Brown led a bipartisan group of ten U.S. Senators in a letter to President Barack Obama urging the adoption of a national manufacturing strategy.
Throughout 2011, Brown traveled around Ohio meeting with manufacturers, small business owners, and workers as part of his “Made in Ohio Tour.” Described as “Congress’ leading proponent of American Manufacturing,” Brown has outlined six key imperatives for strengthening the manufacturing industry:
· Creating a business climate, through tax and health care policies, favorable to investment in manufacturing;
· Investing in the manufacturing capacity for national priorities such as clean energy and critical military equipment;
· Strengthening our component supply chains through the Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP);
· Matching dislocated workers with emerging industries through sector-based workforce training strategies;
· Making the research and development tax credit permanent to lend predictability to this crucial incentive for manufacturing innovation;
· Promoting exports and defending against unfair trade.
Tonight, the President outlined a “Blueprint for an America built to last,” supported by four pillars 1) American Manufacturing; 2) American Energy; 3) Skills for American Workers and 4) American Values.
Brown was joined at the President’s address this evening by Elizabeth Williams, a General Motors Lordstown autoworker and single mother of two. Earlier today on a news conference call, Brown discussed recent data compiled by the Center for Automotive Research (CAR) showing positive projections for new employment in Ohio’s auto industry. Brown outlined how the auto assistance not only stabilized Chrysler and General Motors, but helped save and add manufacturing jobs throughout the State of Ohio.
Despite growth in the auto industry and overall manufacturing jobs growth for the past nine consecutive quarters, a recent National Science Board report showed a 28 percent loss of high-tech manufacturing jobs in the United States. American manufacturers, including the auto industry, face unfair foreign competition - particularly from China. Since the U.S. established permanent normal trade relations with China and China joined the World Trade Organization in 2001, the United States’ deficit with China on auto parts trade has increased ten-fold, from $1.03 billion in 2001 to a projected $10.27 billion in 2011. Brown is urging the U.S. House of Representatives to pass the Currency Exchange and Oversight Reform Act, bipartisan legislation authored by Brown that represents the biggest bipartisan jobs bill—at no cost to U.S. taxpayers—passed by the Senate last year.
TweetU.S. Rep. Jim Jordan responds to State of the Union
Congressman Jim Jordan (R-Urbana) issued the following statement in response to President Obama’s State of the Union Address:
“The President missed a great opportunity tonight to put the campaign rhetoric aside and commit to supporting common sense solutions that will help get our economy back on track. The American people want us to work on simplifying the tax code, producing more American energy, and stopping the onslaught of new federal regulations that are creating uncertainty and economic stagnation.”
“Instead, President Obama is pledging to double-down on his failed plan of more government, more job-killing regulations, more borrowing, more debt, and higher taxes.”
“There are almost 30 jobs bills, passed by the House and waiting for action in the Senate. The President would do better to urge his former Senate colleagues to debate and vote on some of our jobs bills, which will jumpstart our economy.”
TweetOhio Sen. Portman responds to State of the Union
WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senator Rob Portman (R-Ohio) today issued the following response to President Obama’s third State of the Union address:
“I had hoped to hear President Obama lay out an alternative vision to the same failed policies of expanded government and more spending. With nearly 22 million Americans unemployed or underemployed, and a $15 trillion national debt, we need a new course. Americans cannot afford to wait any longer for the pro-growth policies that will lead to job creation.
“As a longtime proponent of tax reform, I looked forward to hearing the president talk about pro-growth tax reform along the lines recommended by his own Jobs Council just last week. Instead he seems to view individual tax reform as just another vehicle for higher taxes on job creators. On corporate taxes, I was pleased to hear the president express the need for reform. The right approach to make America more competitive requires lower rates, ending loopholes and preferences, and a territorial system that puts U.S. workers and businesses on a level playing field. This can be done in a revenue-neutral way. Taxing companies that do business overseas more will hurt job growth in America.
“A more efficient tax system will not solve the problem alone. I was concerned that, with Washington’s record debt and deficits, President Obama did not talk about the need for Washington to control spending. With the debt now larger than the nation’s economy, we heard little tonight when it came to real plans to save our growing entitlement system from bankruptcy and insolvency.
“I also would have liked to hear his reason for rejecting the Keystone XL pipeline, one of the largest private sector infrastructure projects in the nation. This project would create tens of thousands of jobs, and would likely have benefited Ohio’s struggling manufacturing sector.
“President Obama should live up to his past promises to change the tone in Washington and work with Republicans to turn the economy around. That means less time campaigning, no more delays in putting forward a budget - a serious one this time - and more time focused on the issues so that Washington can fix our cumbersome tax system while enacting regulatory reform to remove barriers to job creation, an energy plan to reduce our reliance on foreign oil, and health care reform to expand access and reduce costs.”
TweetSpeaker Boehner responds to State of the Union
Congressman John Boehner (R-West Chester Twp.) issued the following statement tonight in response to the president’s State of the Union address and the Republican Address to the Nation:
“Job creation is the driving issue for working families, but President Obama largely ignored the fact that his own failed policies are making our economy worse. Unable to run on his record, the president has regrettably turned to blame and division when what’s needed is a united effort to promote small business job creation.
“As someone who’s run a small business, I heard little tonight in the way of new ideas or a plan to remove government barriers that are hurting private-sector job creation, only more of the same. Republicans have a Plan for America’s Job Creators - an alternative to the president’s failed policies - and it’s time for Senate Democrats to allow a vote on our bipartisan jobs bills. Republicans will also continue pushing for the Keystone project, which the president did not mention tonight despite his recent decision to destroy 20,000 American jobs.
“It’s always an honor to welcome the President of the United States for the State of the Union. I only wish, with so many still asking ‘where are the jobs?,’ that the president had honored the people’s desire for results and accountability. In stark contrast, Governor Mitch Daniels told it like it is, and made clear the challenges we face require honesty, leadership, and solutions that get government out of the way so our economy can get back to creating jobs.”
TweetCongressman Austria responds to State of the Union
Washington, D.C. - Tuesday, Congressman Steve Austria (R - Beavercreek) attended President Obama’s annual State of the Union address in Washington, D.C. and had the following reaction statement:
The American people will not accept the same failed policies of more spending, higher taxes, and more government regulations that we have seen the past three years from this Administration.
Neglecting to rein in the out-of-control spending in Washington and raising taxes on our job creators will not solve our nation’s fiscal crisis but will only create more uncertainty in our financial and business markets.
As a member the Appropriations Committee, I welcome the opportunity to work with the President in eliminating the wasteful Washington spending and produce a fiscally-responsible budget, something we have not seen from the Senate in the last 1,000 days.”
TweetCongressman Turner responds to State of the Union
Washington D.C. - Congressman Mike Turner (OH-3) released the following statement after the President delivered his annual State of the Union address to Congress:
Many of the ideas the President covered in his speech this evening come too little and too late for the millions of Americans without jobs. I agree that the American dream is fleeting for those who remain unemployed and underemployed. Action must be taken immediately by the Administration to focus on the issue of jobs.
There remain a number of areas where Congress and the President can work together on job creation. However, his speech failed to hit on many of those points.
While he touts energy programs as job creators, he rejected the Keystone XL pipeline, a project that enjoys bipartisan support and would have created thousands of jobs and furthered the goal of American energy independence. Despite the rhetoric of tonight’s speech, there is still time for the President to come to the table and work with Congress to break down barriers for job creation. It is my hope that he seizes that opportunity.”
TweetText of President Obama’s State of the Union
Washington, DC
As Prepared for Delivery -
Mr. Speaker, Mr. Vice President, members of Congress, distinguished guests, and fellow Americans:
Last month, I went to Andrews Air Force Base and welcomed home some of our last troops to serve in Iraq. Together, we offered a final, proud salute to the colors under which more than a million of our fellow citizens fought - and several thousand gave their lives.
We gather tonight knowing that this generation of heroes has made the United States safer and more respected around the world. For the first time in nine years, there are no Americans fighting in Iraq. For the first time in two decades, Osama bin Laden is not a threat to this country. Most of al Qaeda’s top lieutenants have been defeated. The Taliban’s momentum has been broken, and some troops in Afghanistan have begun to come home.
These achievements are a testament to the courage, selflessness, and teamwork of America’s Armed Forces. At a time when too many of our institutions have let us down, they exceed all expectations. They’re not consumed with personal ambition. They don’t obsess over their differences. They focus on the mission at hand. They work together.
Imagine what we could accomplish if we followed their example. Think about the America within our reach: A country that leads the world in educating its people. An America that attracts a new generation of high-tech manufacturing and high-paying jobs. A future where we’re in control of our own energy, and our security and prosperity aren’t so tied to unstable parts of the world. An economy built to last, where hard work pays off, and responsibility is rewarded.
We can do this. I know we can, because we’ve done it before. At the end of World War II, when another generation of heroes returned home from combat, they built the strongest economy and middle class the world has ever known. My grandfather, a veteran of Patton’s Army, got the chance to go to college on the GI Bill. My grandmother, who worked on a bomber assembly line, was part of a workforce that turned out the best products on Earth.
The two of them shared the optimism of a Nation that had triumphed over a depression and fascism. They understood they were part of something larger; that they were contributing to a story of success that every American had a chance to share - the basic American promise that if you worked hard, you could do well enough to raise a family, own a home, send your kids to college, and put a little away for retirement.
The defining issue of our time is how to keep that promise alive. No challenge is more urgent. No debate is more important. We can either settle for a country where a shrinking number of people do really well, while a growing number of Americans barely get by. Or we can restore an economy where everyone gets a fair shot, everyone does their fair share, and everyone plays by the same set of rules. What’s at stake are not Democratic values or Republican values, but American values. We have to reclaim them.
Let’s remember how we got here. Long before the recession, jobs and manufacturing began leaving our shores. Technology made businesses more efficient, but also made some jobs obsolete. Folks at the top saw their incomes rise like never before, but most hardworking Americans struggled with costs that were growing, paychecks that weren’t, and personal debt that kept piling up.
In 2008, the house of cards collapsed. We learned that mortgages had been sold to people who couldn’t afford or understand them. Banks had made huge bets and bonuses with other people’s money. Regulators had looked the other way, or didn’t have the authority to stop the bad behavior.
It was wrong. It was irresponsible. And it plunged our economy into a crisis that put millions out of work, saddled us with more debt, and left innocent, hard-working Americans holding the bag. In the six months before I took office, we lost nearly four million jobs. And we lost another four million before our policies were in full effect.
Those are the facts. But so are these. In the last 22 months, businesses have created more than three million jobs. Last year, they created the most jobs since 2005. American manufacturers are hiring again, creating jobs for the first time since the late 1990s. Together, we’ve agreed to cut the deficit by more than $2 trillion. And we’ve put in place new rules to hold Wall Street accountable, so a crisis like that never happens again.
The state of our Union is getting stronger. And we’ve come too far to turn back now. As long as I’m President, I will work with anyone in this chamber to build on this momentum. But I intend to fight obstruction with action, and I will oppose any effort to return to the very same policies that brought on this economic crisis in the first place.
No, we will not go back to an economy weakened by outsourcing, bad debt, and phony financial profits. Tonight, I want to speak about how we move forward, and lay out a blueprint for an economy that’s built to last - an economy built on American manufacturing, American energy, skills for American workers, and a renewal of American values.
This blueprint begins with American manufacturing.
On the day I took office, our auto industry was on the verge of collapse. Some even said we should let it die. With a million jobs at stake, I refused to let that happen. In exchange for help, we demanded responsibility. We got workers and automakers to settle their differences. We got the industry to retool and restructure. Today, General Motors is back on top as the world’s number one automaker. Chrysler has grown faster in the U.S. than any major car company. Ford is investing billions in U.S. plants and factories. And together, the entire industry added nearly 160,000 jobs.
We bet on American workers. We bet on American ingenuity. And tonight, the American auto industry is back.
What’s happening in Detroit can happen in other industries. It can happen in Cleveland and Pittsburgh and Raleigh. We can’t bring back every job that’s left our shores. But right now, it’s getting more expensive to do business in places like China. Meanwhile, America is more productive. A few weeks ago, the CEO of Master Lock told me that it now makes business sense for him to bring jobs back home. Today, for the first time in fifteen years, Master Lock’s unionized plant in Milwaukee is running at full capacity.
So we have a huge opportunity, at this moment, to bring manufacturing back. But we have to seize it. Tonight, my message to business leaders is simple: Ask yourselves what you can do to bring jobs back to your country, and your country will do everything we can to help you succeed.
We should start with our tax code. Right now, companies get tax breaks for moving jobs and profits overseas. Meanwhile, companies that choose to stay in America get hit with one of the highest tax rates in the world. It makes no sense, and everyone knows it.
So let’s change it. First, if you’re a business that wants to outsource jobs, you shouldn’t get a tax deduction for doing it. That money should be used to cover moving expenses for companies like Master Lock that decide to bring jobs home.
Second, no American company should be able to avoid paying its fair share of taxes by moving jobs and profits overseas. From now on, every multinational company should have to pay a basic minimum tax. And every penny should go towards lowering taxes for companies that choose to stay here and hire here.
Third, if you’re an American manufacturer, you should get a bigger tax cut. If you’re a high-tech manufacturer, we should double the tax deduction you get for making products here. And if you want to relocate in a community that was hit hard when a factory left town, you should get help financing a new plant, equipment, or training for new workers.
My message is simple. It’s time to stop rewarding businesses that ship jobs overseas, and start rewarding companies that create jobs right here in America. Send me these tax reforms, and I’ll sign them right away.
We’re also making it easier for American businesses to sell products all over the world. Two years ago, I set a goal of doubling U.S. exports over five years. With the bipartisan trade agreements I signed into law, we are on track to meet that goal - ahead of schedule. Soon, there will be millions of new customers for American goods in Panama, Colombia, and South Korea. Soon, there will be new cars on the streets of Seoul imported from Detroit, and Toledo, and Chicago.
I will go anywhere in the world to open new markets for American products. And I will not stand by when our competitors don’t play by the rules. We’ve brought trade cases against China at nearly twice the rate as the last administration - and it’s made a difference. Over a thousand Americans are working today because we stopped a surge in Chinese tires. But we need to do more. It’s not right when another country lets our movies, music, and software be pirated. It’s not fair when foreign manufacturers have a leg up on ours only because they’re heavily subsidized.
Tonight, I’m announcing the creation of a Trade Enforcement Unit that will be charged with investigating unfair trade practices in countries like China. There will be more inspections to prevent counterfeit or unsafe goods from crossing our borders. And this Congress should make sure that no foreign company has an advantage over American manufacturing when it comes to accessing finance or new markets like Russia. Our workers are the most productive on Earth, and if the playing field is level, I promise you - America will always win.
I also hear from many business leaders who want to hire in the United States but can’t find workers with the right skills. Growing industries in science and technology have twice as many openings as we have workers who can do the job. Think about that - openings at a time when millions of Americans are looking for work.
That’s inexcusable. And we know how to fix it.
Jackie Bray is a single mom from North Carolina who was laid off from her job as a mechanic. Then Siemens opened a gas turbine factory in Charlotte, and formed a partnership with Central Piedmont Community College. The company helped the college design courses in laser and robotics training. It paid Jackie’s tuition, then hired her to help operate their plant.
I want every American looking for work to have the same opportunity as Jackie did. Join me in a national commitment to train two million Americans with skills that will lead directly to a job. My Administration has already lined up more companies that want to help. Model partnerships between businesses like Siemens and community colleges in places like Charlotte, Orlando, and Louisville are up and running. Now you need to give more community colleges the resources they need to become community career centers - places that teach people skills that local businesses are looking for right now, from data management to high-tech manufacturing.
And I want to cut through the maze of confusing training programs, so that from now on, people like Jackie have one program, one website, and one place to go for all the information and help they need. It’s time to turn our unemployment system into a reemployment system that puts people to work.
These reforms will help people get jobs that are open today. But to prepare for the jobs of tomorrow, our commitment to skills and education has to start earlier.
For less than one percent of what our Nation spends on education each year, we’ve convinced nearly every State in the country to raise their standards for teaching and learning - the first time that’s happened in a generation.
But challenges remain. And we know how to solve them.
At a time when other countries are doubling down on education, tight budgets have forced States to lay off thousands of teachers. We know a good teacher can increase the lifetime income of a classroom by over $250,000. A great teacher can offer an escape from poverty to the child who dreams beyond his circumstance. Every person in this chamber can point to a teacher who changed the trajectory of their lives. Most teachers work tirelessly, with modest pay, sometimes digging into their own pocket for school supplies - just to make a difference.
Teachers matter. So instead of bashing them, or defending the status quo, let’s offer schools a deal. Give them the resources to keep good teachers on the job, and reward the best ones. In return, grant schools flexibility: To teach with creativity and passion; to stop teaching to the test; and to replace teachers who just aren’t helping kids learn.
We also know that when students aren’t allowed to walk away from their education, more of them walk the stage to get their diploma. So tonight, I call on every State to require that all students stay in high school until they graduate or turn eighteen.
When kids do graduate, the most daunting challenge can be the cost of college. At a time when Americans owe more in tuition debt than credit card debt, this Congress needs to stop the interest rates on student loans from doubling in July. Extend the tuition tax credit we started that saves middle-class families thousands of dollars. And give more young people the chance to earn their way through college by doubling the number of work-study jobs in the next five years.
Of course, it’s not enough for us to increase student aid. We can’t just keep subsidizing skyrocketing tuition; we’ll run out of money. States also need to do their part, by making higher education a higher priority in their budgets. And colleges and universities have to do their part by working to keep costs down. Recently, I spoke with a group of college presidents who’ve done just that. Some schools re-design courses to help students finish more quickly. Some use better technology. The point is, it’s possible. So let me put colleges and universities on notice: If you can’t stop tuition from going up, the funding you get from taxpayers will go down. Higher education can’t be a luxury - it’s an economic imperative that every family in America should be able to afford.
Let’s also remember that hundreds of thousands of talented, hardworking students in this country face another challenge: The fact that they aren’t yet American citizens. Many were brought here as small children, are American through and through, yet they live every day with the threat of deportation. Others came more recently, to study business and science and engineering, but as soon as they get their degree, we send them home to invent new products and create new jobs somewhere else.
That doesn’t make sense.
I believe as strongly as ever that we should take on illegal immigration. That’s why my Administration has put more boots on the border than ever before. That’s why there are fewer illegal crossings than when I took office.
The opponents of action are out of excuses. We should be working on comprehensive immigration reform right now. But if election-year politics keeps Congress from acting on a comprehensive plan, let’s at least agree to stop expelling responsible young people who want to staff our labs, start new businesses, and defend this country. Send me a law that gives them the chance to earn their citizenship. I will sign it right away.
You see, an economy built to last is one where we encourage the talent and ingenuity of every person in this country. That means women should earn equal pay for equal work. It means we should support everyone who’s willing to work; and every risk-taker and entrepreneur who aspires to become the next Steve Jobs.
After all, innovation is what America has always been about. Most new jobs are created in start-ups and small businesses. So let’s pass an agenda that helps them succeed. Tear down regulations that prevent aspiring entrepreneurs from getting the financing to grow. Expand tax relief to small businesses that are raising wages and creating good jobs. Both parties agree on these ideas. So put them in a bill, and get it on my desk this year.
Innovation also demands basic research. Today, the discoveries taking place in our federally-financed labs and universities could lead to new treatments that kill cancer cells but leave healthy ones untouched. New lightweight vests for cops and soldiers that can stop any bullet. Don’t gut these investments in our budget. Don’t let other countries win the race for the future. Support the same kind of research and innovation that led to the computer chip and the Internet; to new American jobs and new American industries.
Nowhere is the promise of innovation greater than in American-made energy. Over the last three years, we’ve opened millions of new acres for oil and gas exploration, and tonight, I’m directing my Administration to open more than 75 percent of our potential offshore oil and gas resources. Right now, American oil production is the highest that it’s been in eight years. That’s right - eight years. Not only that - last year, we relied less on foreign oil than in any of the past sixteen years.
But with only 2 percent of the world’s oil reserves, oil isn’t enough. This country needs an all-out, all-of-the-above strategy that develops every available source of American energy - a strategy that’s cleaner, cheaper, and full of new jobs.
We have a supply of natural gas that can last America nearly one hundred years, and my Administration will take every possible action to safely develop this energy. Experts believe this will support more than 600,000 jobs by the end of the decade. And I’m requiring all companies that drill for gas on public lands to disclose the chemicals they use. America will develop this resource without putting the health and safety of our citizens at risk.
The development of natural gas will create jobs and power trucks and factories that are cleaner and cheaper, proving that we don’t have to choose between our environment and our economy. And by the way, it was public research dollars, over the course of thirty years, that helped develop the technologies to extract all this natural gas out of shale rock - reminding us that Government support is critical in helping businesses get new energy ideas off the ground.
What’s true for natural gas is true for clean energy. In three years, our partnership with the private sector has already positioned America to be the world’s leading manufacturer of high-tech batteries. Because of federal investments, renewable energy use has nearly doubled. And thousands of Americans have jobs because of it.
When Bryan Ritterby was laid off from his job making furniture, he said he worried that at 55, no one would give him a second chance. But he found work at Energetx, a wind turbine manufacturer in Michigan. Before the recession, the factory only made luxury yachts. Today, it’s hiring workers like Bryan, who said, “I’m proud to be working in the industry of the future.”
Our experience with shale gas shows us that the payoffs on these public investments don’t always come right away. Some technologies don’t pan out; some companies fail. But I will not walk away from the promise of clean energy. I will not walk away from workers like Bryan. I will not cede the wind or solar or battery industry to China or Germany because we refuse to make the same commitment here. We have subsidized oil companies for a century. That’s long enough. It’s time to end the taxpayer giveaways to an industry that’s rarely been more profitable, and double-down on a clean energy industry that’s never been more promising. Pass clean energy tax credits and create these jobs.
We can also spur energy innovation with new incentives. The differences in this chamber may be too deep right now to pass a comprehensive plan to fight climate change. But there’s no reason why Congress shouldn’t at least set a clean energy standard that creates a market for innovation. So far, you haven’t acted. Well tonight, I will. I’m directing my Administration to allow the development of clean energy on enough public land to power three million homes. And I’m proud to announce that the Department of Defense, the world’s largest consumer of energy, will make one of the largest commitments to clean energy in history - with the Navy purchasing enough capacity to power a quarter of a million homes a year.
Of course, the easiest way to save money is to waste less energy. So here’s another proposal: Help manufacturers eliminate energy waste in their factories and give businesses incentives to upgrade their buildings. Their energy bills will be $100 billion lower over the next decade, and America will have less pollution, more manufacturing, and more jobs for construction workers who need them. Send me a bill that creates these jobs.
Building this new energy future should be just one part of a broader agenda to repair America’s infrastructure. So much of America needs to be rebuilt. We’ve got crumbling roads and bridges. A power grid that wastes too much energy. An incomplete high-speed broadband network that prevents a small business owner in rural America from selling her products all over the world.
During the Great Depression, America built the Hoover Dam and the Golden Gate Bridge. After World War II, we connected our States with a system of highways. Democratic and Republican administrations invested in great projects that benefited everybody, from the workers who built them to the businesses that still use them today.
In the next few weeks, I will sign an Executive Order clearing away the red tape that slows down too many construction projects. But you need to fund these projects. Take the money we’re no longer spending at war, use half of it to pay down our debt, and use the rest to do some nation-building right here at home.
There’s never been a better time to build, especially since the construction industry was one of the hardest-hit when the housing bubble burst. Of course, construction workers weren’t the only ones hurt. So were millions of innocent Americans who’ve seen their home values decline. And while Government can’t fix the problem on its own, responsible homeowners shouldn’t have to sit and wait for the housing market to hit bottom to get some relief.
That’s why I’m sending this Congress a plan that gives every responsible homeowner the chance to save about $3,000 a year on their mortgage, by refinancing at historically low interest rates. No more red tape. No more runaround from the banks. A small fee on the largest financial institutions will ensure that it won’t add to the deficit, and will give banks that were rescued by taxpayers a chance to repay a deficit of trust.
Let’s never forget: Millions of Americans who work hard and play by the rules every day deserve a Government and a financial system that do the same. It’s time to apply the same rules from top to bottom: No bailouts, no handouts, and no copouts. An America built to last insists on responsibility from everybody.
We’ve all paid the price for lenders who sold mortgages to people who couldn’t afford them, and buyers who knew they couldn’t afford them. That’s why we need smart regulations to prevent irresponsible behavior. Rules to prevent financial fraud, or toxic dumping, or faulty medical devices, don’t destroy the free market. They make the free market work better.
There is no question that some regulations are outdated, unnecessary, or too costly. In fact, I’ve approved fewer regulations in the first three years of my presidency than my Republican predecessor did in his. I’ve ordered every federal agency to eliminate rules that don’t make sense. We’ve already announced over 500 reforms, and just a fraction of them will save business and citizens more than $10 billion over the next five years. We got rid of one rule from 40 years ago that could have forced some dairy farmers to spend $10,000 a year proving that they could contain a spill - because milk was somehow classified as an oil. With a rule like that, I guess it was worth crying over spilled milk.
I’m confident a farmer can contain a milk spill without a federal agency looking over his shoulder. But I will not back down from making sure an oil company can contain the kind of oil spill we saw in the Gulf two years ago. I will not back down from protecting our kids from mercury pollution, or making sure that our food is safe and our water is clean. I will not go back to the days when health insurance companies had unchecked power to cancel your policy, deny you coverage, or charge women differently from men.
And I will not go back to the days when Wall Street was allowed to play by its own set of rules. The new rules we passed restore what should be any financial system’s core purpose: Getting funding to entrepreneurs with the best ideas, and getting loans to responsible families who want to buy a home, start a business, or send a kid to college.
So if you’re a big bank or financial institution, you are no longer allowed to make risky bets with your customers’ deposits. You’re required to write out a “living will” that details exactly how you’ll pay the bills if you fail - because the rest of us aren’t bailing you out ever again. And if you’re a mortgage lender or a payday lender or a credit card company, the days of signing people up for products they can’t afford with confusing forms and deceptive practices are over. Today, American consumers finally have a watchdog in Richard Cordray with one job: To look out for them.
We will also establish a Financial Crimes Unit of highly trained investigators to crack down on large-scale fraud and protect people’s investments. Some financial firms violate major anti-fraud laws because there’s no real penalty for being a repeat offender. That’s bad for consumers, and it’s bad for the vast majority of bankers and financial service professionals who do the right thing. So pass legislation that makes the penalties for fraud count.
And tonight, I am asking my Attorney General to create a special unit of federal prosecutors and leading state attorneys general to expand our investigations into the abusive lending and packaging of risky mortgages that led to the housing crisis. This new unit will hold accountable those who broke the law, speed assistance to homeowners, and help turn the page on an era of recklessness that hurt so many Americans.
A return to the American values of fair play and shared responsibility will help us protect our people and our economy. But it should also guide us as we look to pay down our debt and invest in our future.
Right now, our most immediate priority is stopping a tax hike on 160 million working Americans while the recovery is still fragile. People cannot afford losing $40 out of each paycheck this year. There are plenty of ways to get this done. So let’s agree right here, right now: No side issues. No drama. Pass the payroll tax cut without delay.
When it comes to the deficit, we’ve already agreed to more than $2 trillion in cuts and savings. But we need to do more, and that means making choices. Right now, we’re poised to spend nearly $1 trillion more on what was supposed to be a temporary tax break for the wealthiest 2 percent of Americans. Right now, because of loopholes and shelters in the tax code, a quarter of all millionaires pay lower tax rates than millions of middle-class households. Right now, Warren Buffett pays a lower tax rate than his secretary.
Do we want to keep these tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans? Or do we want to keep our investments in everything else - like education and medical research; a strong military and care for our veterans? Because if we’re serious about paying down our debt, we can’t do both.
The American people know what the right choice is. So do I. As I told the Speaker this summer, I’m prepared to make more reforms that rein in the long term costs of Medicare and Medicaid, and strengthen Social Security, so long as those programs remain a guarantee of security for seniors.
But in return, we need to change our tax code so that people like me, and an awful lot of Members of Congress, pay our fair share of taxes. Tax reform should follow the Buffett rule: If you make more than $1 million a year, you should not pay less than 30 percent in taxes. And my Republican friend Tom Coburn is right: Washington should stop subsidizing millionaires. In fact, if you’re earning a million dollars a year, you shouldn’t get special tax subsidies or deductions. On the other hand, if you make under $250,000 a year, like 98 percent of American families, your taxes shouldn’t go up. You’re the ones struggling with rising costs and stagnant wages. You’re the ones who need relief.
Now, you can call this class warfare all you want. But asking a billionaire to pay at least as much as his secretary in taxes? Most Americans would call that common sense.
We don’t begrudge financial success in this country. We admire it. When Americans talk about folks like me paying my fair share of taxes, it’s not because they envy the rich. It’s because they understand that when I get tax breaks I don’t need and the country can’t afford, it either adds to the deficit, or somebody else has to make up the difference - like a senior on a fixed income; or a student trying to get through school; or a family trying to make ends meet. That’s not right. Americans know it’s not right. They know that this generation’s success is only possible because past generations felt a responsibility to each other, and to their country’s future, and they know our way of life will only endure if we feel that same sense of shared responsibility. That’s how we’ll reduce our deficit. That’s an America built to last.
I recognize that people watching tonight have differing views about taxes and debt; energy and health care. But no matter what party they belong to, I bet most Americans are thinking the same thing right now: Nothing will get done this year, or next year, or maybe even the year after that, because Washington is broken.
Can you blame them for feeling a little cynical?
The greatest blow to confidence in our economy last year didn’t come from events beyond our control. It came from a debate in Washington over whether the United States would pay its bills or not. Who benefited from that fiasco?
I’ve talked tonight about the deficit of trust between Main Street and Wall Street. But the divide between this city and the rest of the country is at least as bad - and it seems to get worse every year.
Some of this has to do with the corrosive influence of money in politics. So together, let’s take some steps to fix that. Send me a bill that bans insider trading by Members of Congress, and I will sign it tomorrow. Let’s limit any elected official from owning stocks in industries they impact. Let’s make sure people who bundle campaign contributions for Congress can’t lobby Congress, and vice versa - an idea that has bipartisan support, at least outside of Washington.
Some of what’s broken has to do with the way Congress does its business these days. A simple majority is no longer enough to get anything - even routine business - passed through the Senate. Neither party has been blameless in these tactics. Now both parties should put an end to it. For starters, I ask the Senate to pass a rule that all judicial and public service nominations receive a simple up or down vote within 90 days.
The executive branch also needs to change. Too often, it’s inefficient, outdated and remote. That’s why I’ve asked this Congress to grant me the authority to consolidate the federal bureaucracy so that our Government is leaner, quicker, and more responsive to the needs of the American people.
Finally, none of these reforms can happen unless we also lower the temperature in this town. We need to end the notion that the two parties must be locked in a perpetual campaign of mutual destruction; that politics is about clinging to rigid ideologies instead of building consensus around common sense ideas.
I’m a Democrat. But I believe what Republican Abraham Lincoln believed: That Government should do for people only what they cannot do better by themselves, and no more. That’s why my education reform offers more competition, and more control for schools and States. That’s why we’re getting rid of regulations that don’t work. That’s why our health care law relies on a reformed private market, not a Government program.
On the other hand, even my Republican friends who complain the most about Government spending have supported federally-financed roads, and clean energy projects, and federal offices for the folks back home.
The point is, we should all want a smarter, more effective Government. And while we may not be able to bridge our biggest philosophical differences this year, we can make real progress. With or without this Congress, I will keep taking actions that help the economy grow. But I can do a whole lot more with your help. Because when we act together, there is nothing the United States of America can’t achieve.
That is the lesson we’ve learned from our actions abroad over the last few years.
Ending the Iraq war has allowed us to strike decisive blows against our enemies. From Pakistan to Yemen, the al Qaeda operatives who remain are scrambling, knowing that they can’t escape the reach of the United States of America.
From this position of strength, we’ve begun to wind down the war in Afghanistan. Ten thousand of our troops have come home. Twenty-three thousand more will leave by the end of this summer. This transition to Afghan lead will continue, and we will build an enduring partnership with Afghanistan, so that it is never again a source of attacks against America.
As the tide of war recedes, a wave of change has washed across the Middle East and North Africa, from Tunis to Cairo; from Sana’a to Tripoli. A year ago, Qadhafi was one of the world’s longest-serving dictators - a murderer with American blood on his hands. Today, he is gone. And in Syria, I have no doubt that the Assad regime will soon discover that the forces of change can’t be reversed, and that human dignity can’t be denied.
How this incredible transformation will end remains uncertain. But we have a huge stake in the outcome. And while it is ultimately up to the people of the region to decide their fate, we will advocate for those values that have served our own country so well. We will stand against violence and intimidation. We will stand for the rights and dignity of all human beings - men and women; Christians, Muslims, and Jews. We will support policies that lead to strong and stable democracies and open markets, because tyranny is no match for liberty.
And we will safeguard America’s own security against those who threaten our citizens, our friends, and our interests. Look at Iran. Through the power of our diplomacy, a world that was once divided about how to deal with Iran’s nuclear program now stands as one. The regime is more isolated than ever before; its leaders are faced with crippling sanctions, and as long as they shirk their responsibilities, this pressure will not relent. Let there be no doubt: America is determined to prevent Iran from getting a nuclear weapon, and I will take no options off the table to achieve that goal. But a peaceful resolution of this issue is still possible, and far better, and if Iran changes course and meets its obligations, it can rejoin the community of nations.
The renewal of American leadership can be felt across the globe. Our oldest alliances in Europe and Asia are stronger than ever. Our ties to the Americas are deeper. Our iron-clad commitment to Israel’s security has meant the closest military cooperation between our two countries in history. We’ve made it clear that America is a Pacific power, and a new beginning in Burma has lit a new hope. From the coalitions we’ve built to secure nuclear materials, to the missions we’ve led against hunger and disease; from the blows we’ve dealt to our enemies; to the enduring power of our moral example, America is back.
Anyone who tells you otherwise, anyone who tells you that America is in decline or that our influence has waned, doesn’t know what they’re talking about. That’s not the message we get from leaders around the world, all of whom are eager to work with us. That’s not how people feel from Tokyo to Berlin; from Cape Town to Rio; where opinions of America are higher than they’ve been in years. Yes, the world is changing; no, we can’t control every event. But America remains the one indispensable nation in world affairs - and as long as I’m President, I intend to keep it that way.
That’s why, working with our military leaders, I have proposed a new defense strategy that ensures we maintain the finest military in the world, while saving nearly half a trillion dollars in our budget. To stay one step ahead of our adversaries, I have already sent this Congress legislation that will secure our country from the growing danger of cyber-threats.
Above all, our freedom endures because of the men and women in uniform who defend it. As they come home, we must serve them as well as they served us. That includes giving them the care and benefits they have earned - which is why we’ve increased annual VA spending every year I’ve been President. And it means enlisting our veterans in the work of rebuilding our Nation.
With the bipartisan support of this Congress, we are providing new tax credits to companies that hire vets. Michelle and Jill Biden have worked with American businesses to secure a pledge of 135,000 jobs for veterans and their families. And tonight, I’m proposing a Veterans Job Corps that will help our communities hire veterans as cops and firefighters, so that America is as strong as those who defend her.
Which brings me back to where I began. Those of us who’ve been sent here to serve can learn from the service of our troops. When you put on that uniform, it doesn’t matter if you’re black or white; Asian or Latino; conservative or liberal; rich or poor; gay or straight. When you’re marching into battle, you look out for the person next to you, or the mission fails. When you’re in the thick of the fight, you rise or fall as one unit, serving one Nation, leaving no one behind.
One of my proudest possessions is the flag that the SEAL Team took with them on the mission to get bin Laden. On it are each of their names. Some may be Democrats. Some may be Republicans. But that doesn’t matter. Just like it didn’t matter that day in the Situation Room, when I sat next to Bob Gates - a man who was George Bush’s defense secretary; and Hillary Clinton, a woman who ran against me for president.
All that mattered that day was the mission. No one thought about politics. No one thought about themselves. One of the young men involved in the raid later told me that he didn’t deserve credit for the mission. It only succeeded, he said, because every single member of that unit did their job - the pilot who landed the helicopter that spun out of control; the translator who kept others from entering the compound; the troops who separated the women and children from the fight; the SEALs who charged up the stairs. More than that, the mission only succeeded because every member of that unit trusted each other - because you can’t charge up those stairs, into darkness and danger, unless you know that there’s someone behind you, watching your back.
So it is with America. Each time I look at that flag, I’m reminded that our destiny is stitched together like those fifty stars and those thirteen stripes. No one built this country on their own. This Nation is great because we built it together. This Nation is great because we worked as a team. This Nation is great because we get each other’s backs. And if we hold fast to that truth, in this moment of trial, there is no challenge too great; no mission too hard. As long as we’re joined in common purpose, as long as we maintain our common resolve, our journey moves forward, our future is hopeful, and the state of our Union will always be strong.
Thank you, God bless you, and may God bless the United States of America.
TweetWhat did you think of the State of the Union?
What did you think of President Obama’s State of the Union address? Our Ideas & Voices team wants to know how you reacted to the speech.
Tell us what you think on our Facebook page
TweetEducation, economy and energy focus of Obama’s State of the Union address
Declaring the American dream under siege, President Barack Obama called Tuesday night for a flurry of help for a hurting middle class and higher taxes on millionaires, delivering a State of the Union address filled with re-election themes. Restoring a fair shot for all, Obama said, is “the defining issue of our time.”
Obama outlined a vastly different vision for fixing the country than the one pressed by the Republicans challenging him in Congress and fighting to take his job in the November elections. He pleaded for an active government that ensures economic fairness for everyone, as his opponents demand that the government back off and let the free market rule.
Obama offered steps to help students afford college, a plan for more struggling homeowners to refinance their homes and tax cuts for manufacturers. He threw in some politically appealing references to accountability, including warning universities they will lose federal aid if they don’t stop tuition from soaring.
- Associated Press
Get the full story on the state of the union address at DaytonDailyNews.com
TweetFire deaths drop to 25 year low in Ohio
Fire fatalities hit a 25-year low in 2011 and dipped almost 18 percent over 2010, according to State Fire Marshal Larry Flowers.
In 2011, Ohio had 126 fire-related fatalities, down from 153 fire-related deaths in 2010 and below the previous low of 130 deaths, which occurred in 2007.
Flowers attributed the drop to the use of smoke alarms, safety education and firefighter training.
Smoke detectors should be placed on every level of a home and inside each sleeping area and tested monthly, the fire marshal’s office said.
TweetBoehner to be on Fox News Sunday
U.S. House Speaker John Boehner, R-West Chester Twp., will be on Fox News Sunday on Jan. 22 at 2 and 6 p.m. on the Fox News Channel.
Boehner is expected to discuss the proposed Keystone pipeline and the legislative year ahead.
Click here for more information.
TweetPortman campaigns with Romney in South Carolina
By Jack Torry
Washington Bureau
CHARLESTON, S.C. - Declaring that “it’s time to take a stand,’’ Sen. Rob Portman Thursday urged Republicans to unite behind former Massachusetts Mitt Romney as “the candidate best equipped to beat” President Barack Obama in November.
Appearing with Romney outside the Republican presidential candidate’s Charleston office, Portman, R-Ohio, said that “with his financial and business experience,’’ Romney “actually knows to create jobs.’’
“He actually knows what Washington ought to be doing, not to create jobs because government doesn’t create jobs, but to create the climate for success,’’ Portman said.
Portman, former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty and South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley joined Romney in speaking before between 50 and 100 of Romney’s strongest supporters just two days before the state’s crucial Republican primary.
Although polls show that former House Speaker Newt Gingrich has cut into Romney’s lead in what has become a vitriolic campaign, most analysts believe that if Romney wins Saturday, he will have virtually clinched the Republican presidential nomination.
With Thursday’s decision by Texas Gov. Rick Perry to drop out of the race, the only Republican contenders remaining are Romney, Gingrich, former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum and Texas congressman Ron Paul.
Portman, who clearly is regarded as a potential vice presidential running mate for the Republican nominee, had originally planned to wait before endorsing a candidate. But Portman seemed eager for the party to bridge the deep fissures that have opened up in this race.
“It’s time for our great party to come together around a leader who does know how to turn the economy around, who can beat President Obama in the fall, and who knows how to restore America’s greatness,’’ Portman said.
Portman, who flew to South Carolina with his wife Jane for the event, reminded his audience that he served both Presidents George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush and that he had “seen the kind of tough issues that comes across a president’s desk. And I’ve seen the kind of steady leadership that’s required in the Oval Office. I’ve seen it first-hand.’’
“Folks, Mitt Romney combines the personal traits and the experience and the knowledge to be that leader,’’ Portman said.
Portman served as a White House aide for the elder Bush from 1989 to 1991, while holding the posts of White House budget director and U.S. trade representative under the younger Bush.
Seth Bringman, communications director for the Ohio Democratic Party, assailed Portman, saying that “this endorsement comes as no surprise, seeing that Rob Portman has spent his entire career standing up for big corporations like Bain Capital, where Mitt Romney put profits over people by bankrupting companies, outsourcing jobs, and laying off workers to line his own pockets.’’
Bringman was referring to the private equity firm that Romney headed from 1984 to 1999.
TweetPoll: voters divided on heartbeat bill, want animal ban and hold on fracking
A new poll released Thursday found that Ohioans are divided over the ‘heartbeat’ bill, want hydro-fracking put on hold until its impact is studied and favor a ban on private ownership of exotic animals.
The Quinnipiac University poll also found that Ohio voters favor incumbent U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown over his likely Republican challenger Josh Mandel, and they give Gov. John Kasich a negative job approval rating and U.S. Sen. Rob Portman a positive one.
Ohio voters are divided 45 - 46 percent in their support for the ‘heartbeat’ bill pending in the Ohio Senate that would ban abortions once a fetal heartbeat can be detected, the poll found.
If it passes, it would be one of the strictest anti-abortion laws in the country and would likely face court challenges. Half of Ohio voters say abortion should be legal while 44 percent say it should be illegal in all or most cases.
“Abortion remains perhaps the most divisive issue in the nation and there is an almost even split among Ohio voters over the fetal heartbeat bill,” said Peter Brown, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute. “Despite a partisan split over the issue, where Republicans support the measure 2-1 while Democrats oppose it 2-1, lower income voters, who tend to be Democrats, support the bill while high-income voters, who tend to be Republican, oppose it.”
The Quinnipiac University poll also found that 64 percent of voters believe the economic benefits of drilling for natural gas outweigh environmental concerns, 85 percent say drilling will create jobs, but 72 percent say hydro-fracking should be halted until its impact is studied further.
“Ohio votes are conflicted on hydro-fracking. They recognize the economic value of drilling for fossil fuels in the state, but are worried about potential environmental risks of the specific technique - hydro-fracking,” Brown added.
Lawmakers are also considering a bill to ban private ownership of dangerous wild animals - something 68 percent of voters support while 28 percent oppose, the poll said.
In the U.S. Senate race, Brown holds a 47 - 32 percent lead over Mandel, who has been state treasurer for one year. In October, the split was 49 percent for Brown and 34 percent for Mandel.
Both men enjoy strong support among their respective parties and Brown carries independent voters 44 - 27 percent. The poll found that 42 percent of voters view Brown favorably and 48 percent say he deserves another term. Meanwhile, 69 percent of voters haven’t heard enough about Mandel to form an opinion, the poll said.
“Mandel is pretty much an unknown to most Ohio votes and the race will be determined by whether Mandel’s ability to fill in the blanks in voters’ minds positively exceeds Brown’s ability to do so about him negatively,” said pollster Brown, who is not related to the senator.
The poll found that Portman, a Republican in his first term in the Senate, has a 39 - 25 percent job approval rating while Kasich has a 39 - 48 percent approval rating. Kasich had a negative score of 38 - 50 percent in October.
The poll, conducted Jan. 9 - 16, contacted 1,610 registered voters on landlines and cell phones. It has a margin of error of plus or minus 2.4 percent.
TweetOhio Sen. Portman endorses Romney for president
By Jack Torry
Washington Bureau
SPARTANBURG, S.C. - Sen. Rob Portman will endorse Republican presidential contender Mitt Romney and appear Thursday with the former Massachusetts governor at a campaign rally in Charleston on the eve of Saturday’s crucial South Carolina Republican primary.
Portman, the first-term Ohio Republican, said Wednesday that Romney “would be the right guy to turn things around and bring back jobs. And I think he has the best chance of beating President Obama.’’
“I have been encouraged by what Governor Romney has been saying on the economy,’’ Portman said in a telephone interview. “He’s not just focused on what Barack Obama has done wrong. But he is focused on a pro-growth message … constructively laying out an aggressive pro-jobs agenda.’’
Portman’s move was yet another sign that the Republican establishment is coalescing around Romney as its likely nominee. Portman is highly regarded among Republicans, in large part because of his past record of serving as White House budget director and U.S. trade representative under former President George W. Bush.
In addition, Portman’s appearance with Romney likely will fuel speculation that Romney would consider Portman as a potential vice presidential running mate. Portman would help Romney in the critical state of Ohio in the fall election.
Portman’s endorsement also reinforces Romney’s message of curbing the swollen federal budget deficit and boosting the economy. In a statement hailing Portman’s endorsement, Romney said that “bringing fiscal sanity to Washington is critical for our country’s future economic health and national security.’’
He said Portman has “been a leader’’ in the Senate “in the fight for a balanced budget, and I look forward to working with him to make the federal government simpler, smaller and smarter.’’
Ohio GOP officials had predicted for months that Portman would endorse Romney, who took the time last year to meet privately with Portman in his U.S. Senate office. But Portman originally said he wanted to wait until the Ohio primary in March before backing a candidate.
In addition to campaigning with Romney, Portman also will attend the Republican presidential debate Thursday night in Charleston. Polls suggest that Gingrich’s aggressive performance in Monday night’s debate has sparked a resurgence in his South Carolina campaign.
At an outdoor rally yesterday at Wofford College in Spartanburg, Romney offered a robust defense of American business, warning that “free enterprise is under attack from the right and left.’’
Describing this year’s presidential election as a struggle for “the soul of America,’’ Romney assailed Obama while simultaneously taking a shot at GOP rival Newt Gingrich for his criticism of Romney’s work in the 1980s and 1990s as head of a private equity firm.
“This president has got it entirely wrong when he attacks the private sector,’’ Romney said. “Don’t attack the private sector. Don’t attack risk takers. Don’t attack those that are trying to create a brighter future for themselves and their family.’’
“Don’t attack profit,’’ Romney said. “Profit, by the way, is what allows businesses to hire people and grow. Free enterprise is under attack from the right and left.’’
Romney appeared to leave his audience with the impression that he is competent, but not inspiring in the way Obama electrified young voters in the 2008 campaign.
Tracey Snively, a freshman at Wofford, acknowledged that Romney was “a lot better spoken than I thought originally.’’ But he said he yet to decide on who he will vote for Saturday.
Erin McGaha, a freshman at Wofford, described Romney as “very intelligent and knows what he’s talking about,’’ while Hamp Freshley, a Wofford freshman, said Romney “knows what he’s talking about.’’
TweetKasich to deliver state of state address in Steubenville
Gov. John Kasich will deliver his 2012 State of the State address on Feb. 7 at Wells Academy in Steubenville, which sits on the Ohio River next to West Virginia.
The Kasich administration noted that Wells Academy is the highest-ranking public elementary school in Ohio as measured by student scores on standardized tests.
The State of the State is delivered before a joint session of the General Assembly so lawmakers will pass a joint resolution allowing it to convene for the day in Steubenville instead of in Columbus at the Statehouse.
Wells Academy serves 319 students in preschool through fourth grade. It has been named an Ohio School of Promise each year since 2003, was one of two Ohio schools to win the national Distinguished School Award, and had 100 percent of its tested students deemed proficient in math and reading last year.
TweetOnly one congressional seat Republicans captured in ‘10 is competitive this year, Dems say
By Jessica Wehrman Washington Bureau
WASHINGTON - Of the five U.S. House seats taken by Ohio Republicans in 2010, only one of them - the 6th district, currently held by Rep. Bill Johnson - has so far emerged on the Democrats’ list of competitive races for 2012.
The Marietta Republican upset then-Rep. Charlie Wilson, D-St. Clairsville, 14 months ago. Wilson has announced he will seek the seat again this year.
Wednesday, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee announced that the Johnson-Wilson race is one of 18 targeted “Red to Blue” races - races where Democratic challengers could unseat Republicans or win open seats - that Democrats see as competitive this year.
Democrats have also selected 18 other “Red to Blue” districts where they haven’t listed a Democratic candidate, but where they see the district as ripe for Democratic takeover. None of those districts are in Ohio.
But Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee Chair Steve Israel noted that incumbent Rep. Betty Sutton, D-Copley Township, whose home was drawn into the district currently held by Rep. Jim Renacci, R-Wadsworth, is considered a “Frontline” race. In December, Sutton was added to the DCCC “Frontline” program, which seeks to keep incumbents in office in tough districts.
Israel also said the party assumes the new Columbus area 3rd Congressional District will be won easily by a Democrat.
Still, Israel said, this was just the first roll-out of “Red to Blue” races, and he said the list may grow longer as the campaign season unfolds.
Israel cited recent poll results to indicate that Democratic House candidates might have an advantage in 2012. A Reuters/Ipsos poll released last week, for example, showed that voters would support a generic Democratic candidate over a Republican candidate in their district by four points.
“One year ago we had a gale force wind blowing against us,” he said. “Now we’ve got a nice wind blowing at our backs.”
Johnson was one of five Republicans to defeat Democrats in Ohio in 2010. Reps. Steve Stivers, R-Upper Arlington, Bob Gibbs, R-Lakeville, Steve Chabot, R-Cincinnati, and Jim Renacci, R-Wadsworth, also defeated Democrats.
Mark Weaver, a Johnson campaign spokesman, said it was “no surprise” that Democrats have targeted Johnson. “They don’t want him to continue his message of change in Congress,” he said.
He said Democrats’ optimism about their odds in 2012 is for naught.
“There is a lot of wind coming from the Democratic leadership, but it’s not a gale force,” he said. “It’s the hot air of incumbents desperate to keep politics as usual in Washington.”
The district has a pro-Republican “index” of about 54 percent.
TweetDems introduce bills for rape victims
Ohio hospitals would be required to offer emergency contraception to female patients who have been raped under two bills being introduced in the House and Senate by Democratic lawmakers.
This marks the fourth time since 2006 that this legislation has been pushed in the Ohio General Assembly.
A survey of emergency rooms found that nearly 20 percent of Ohio hospitals do not guarantee access to emergency contraception, according to the bill sponsors. Under the bill, hospitals would be required to have policies in place to ensure access to the medication for rape victims.
The Ohio Hospital Association is aware of the bill but has not taken a position. OHA spokeswoman Mary Yost said that a majority of Ohio hospitals do provide the emergency contraception medication.
TweetRomney leads GOP contenders in Ohio
Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney leads the field of Republican primary contenders in Ohio and 51 percent of Ohio voters say President Obama does not deserve a second term in the White House, according to a Quinnipiac University poll released on Wednesday.
If Ohio held its GOP presidential primary right now, Romney would take first place with 27 percent, followed by former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum with 18 percent, former U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich with 17 percent, Congressman Ron Paul with 10 percent and Texas Gov. Rick Perry with 4 percent, the poll said.
The Ohio primary is March 6.
The poll found that in the general election in Ohio, Romney would garner 42 percent to President Obama’s 44 percent. Fifty-one percent of Ohio voters do not approve of the job Obama is doing as president.
“Gov. Mitt Romney is comfortably ahead of the Republican field,” said Peter A. Brown, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute. “If he continues to win primaries elsewhere, that margin will likely increase by the time the voting comes to Ohio on March 6. But if he should lose his momentum - and some primaries - then that lead might not be safe.”
A Quinnipiac University survey on Dec. 8 put Gingrich at 36 percent, Romney at 18 percent, Paul at 7 percent, Perry at 4 percent and Santorum at 2 percent in the Ohio primary.
Ohio voters say Gingrich has the right kind of knowledge and experience to be president and is best qualified to handle foreign affairs but they view Romney as best able to handle the economy, the poll found.
“GOP voters think highly of Gingrich, but are much less likely to back his candidacy,” said Brown.
In the general election, Romney and Obama both hold strong support from voters in their respective parties but the two tie among independent voters, the poll said.
“With Ohio being perhaps the most important single state in the country when it comes to the Electoral College math, all indications are that if Romney is the Republican nominee it will be a very, very close contest,” said Brown. “The president’s problem is getting back the voters who voted for him in 2008 but went for John Kasich for governor in 2010. His main obstacle may be that voters say 48 - 42 percent that Romney is better able to fix the economy.”
The poll, taken Jan. 9 -16, surveyed 1,610 registered voters on land lines and cell phones and it included 542 Republican primary voters. It has a margin of error of plus or minus 2.4 percent overall and a margin of error of plus or minus 4.2 percent for the GOP primary questions.
TweetMike Turner endorses Romney
U.S. Rep. Mike Turner on Tuesday endorsed Republican presidential contender Mitt Romney.
“Ohio will be an important state in this upcoming election. I look forward to working with Congressman Turner as I campaign across the country to grow the economy and create jobs,” Romney said in a written statement issued by his campaign.
“As a businessman, he understands how to get Americans back to work. President Obama’s ineffective leadership continues to hurt the prospects of Ohioans and citizens across the country. His failed policies have burdened the next generation with trillions of dollars of debt, and that is a future we simply cannot afford,” Turner said in the same press release. “As his record clearly shows, Mitt Romney is the leader that our economy needs to restore growth, that our party needs to defeat President Obama in 2012, and that our country needs to get back on track.”
TweetChina is ‘unfairly keeping its currency low,’ U.S. Rep. Turner says
By Steve Bennish Staff Writer
U.S. Rep. Mike Turner, R-Centerville, Thursday spoke about the bill pending in the House aimed at allowing penalties to be levied against nations found to be manipulating their currencies.
“When you look at currency manipulation, China is unfairly keeping its currency low. Their products come here cheaper than our products,” Turner said.
As for background, Ohio Sen. Sherrod Brown, a Democrat, on Wednesday visited HARCO manufacturing in Moraine accompanied by local elected officials, urging that the House pass the bill.
The Senate passed a Brown-authored bill in 2011 by a 63-35 vote. Brown cited a study from the Economic Policy Institute that suggest eliminating Chinese currency manipulation that undervalues their products from 25 to 40 percent could create more than 2 million U.S. jobs and revive the manufacturing industry.
The House version of the bill has a majority 230 co-sponsors, but Speaker John Boehner, R-West Chester, refuses to allow a vote, saying it could spark a trade war. “Passing legislation that could seriously damage the United States’ important trade relationship with China would threaten Ohio jobs as well as future economic growth,” a spokeswoman told the Dayton Daily News.
Brown rejects that.
“Many of my colleagues say that standing up for Ohio manufacturers would start a trade war with China. But we’re already in a trade war. This is about fighting back with one of the biggest bipartisan jobs bill the Senate has seen this year. We’ve lost millions of jobs to China - including more than 100,000 Ohio jobs - due in no small part to that country’s illegal currency manipulation. It’s time to put American workers first. We cannot stand by and watch any longer as our factories close down and entire communities undergo total devastation. Rhetoric has done little to solve the problem, and Ohio manufacturers and workers have paid the price.”
Here are Rep. Turner’s complete comments Thursday:
“Well, I am a co-sponsor of the Anti-Currency Manipulation Bill on the House side. One thing is for certain. We see that we lose jobs in (the) manufacturing sector when we are in situations where China fails to play by the rules (and) when we have unfair competition, product dumping, currency manipulation. This costs American jobs. We should address it. They should be held accountable. When we have fair competition, American jobs survive and thrive and that should be our goal.”
“When you look at currency manipulation, China is unfairly keeping its currency low. Their products come here cheaper than our products. If they’re forced to allow their currency to float, their products then would be accurately valued and our products would be able to compete,” Turner said. “I think people understand that this is an issue of unfair competition. This is an issue of we’re losing jobs as a result of they’re either dumping product or manipulating their currency or unfair trade practices.”
“There is an ongoing debate as to what action to take.I am a co-sponsor of the bill that would hold China accountable. This is a bill that I think would make certain that China has to take action, float its currency more, so that we can protect our jobs here.”
“Support from manufacturing is incredibly important because these aren’t just the jobs of the past, this is how we create wealth and jobs in our economy. These are the jobs that need to be protected. Certainly, an area where our government needs to step in (is) where other governments are not playing by the rules and are costing American jobs. Certainly, this is something that Congress needs to address.”
TweetPolitical map battle likely to continue
Although lawmakers agreed last month on a bill that carves out 16 new congressional district maps, the arguing over how Ohio should draw legislative and congressional maps is not dying down.
This week, Secretary of State Jon Husted, a Republican who has been pushing for reform for seven years, urged House Speaker William Batchelder, R-Medina, to consider revamping the process as part of an overall update of the Ohio Constitution.
“There are many ways to improve upon the partisan, dysfunctional system that currently exists,” Husted wrote to Batchelder and members of the Constitutional Modernization Commission. “In my view, we need to find the right balance between three important virtues: compactness, competitiveness and maintaining communities of interest.”
Husted said the reforms could be accomplished through either the modernization commission or the special commission established in House Bill 369, which set the new districts. He said working through these two entities could position Ohio to have a proposed constitutional amendment by Aug. 8 so that it can go before voters in November.
“If we do not act, I believe outside groups will move forward with their own plans, without the benefit of the public input process and thorough review the Constitutional Modernization Commission is capable of providing,” Husted said.
Indeed, a coalition of election reform groups sent a letter to legislative leaders this week, calling for a non-partisan citizens panel to draw the political maps — not a bipartisan panel loaded with politicians who may have conflicts of interest.
The group, which includes the League of Women Voters of Ohio and Common Cause Ohio, said it is working on a constitutional amendment to present to voters this fall.
In 2005, Ohio voters defeated four citizen-initiated election reform proposals, including one that would have created a new legislative district drawing authority.
Currently, the redistricting processes are controlled by the majority party in power after the U.S. Census is taken. The Ohio Apportionment Board, which consists of the governor, secretary of state, state auditor, House speaker and Senate president, draws legislative maps and the General Assembly draws congressional maps.
TweetE-filing for state taxes is open
The state of Ohio opened its doors this week for Ohioans who want to file their 2011 income or school district tax return electronically.
Last year, eight out of 10 taxpayers filed electronically.
Electronic filers typically see their tax refund direct deposited in their bank accounts within five to seven business days, which is quicker than with paper returns, according to the state Department of Taxation.
Electronic tax returns can be filed through I-File, a web-based program, a commercial software product such as TurboTax, or TeleFile, which is Ohio’s dial-by-phone filing method.
The state is no longer automatically mailing return forms and booklets to individual filers but the paperwork is still available at libraries, banks and post offices. The paper forms will also be mailed upon request.
TweetGee makes verbal gaffe, again
At a speech before 300 people on Wednesday, Ohio State University President E. Gordon Gee made a quip that plays on the ethnic stereotype that Polish people are incompetent.
Gee said OSU’s individual colleges used to operate like PT boats shooting at one another in the ocean. “It was like the Polish army,” he said.
The focus of Gee’s 30-minute speech to the Columbus Metropolitan Club was on how the university has improved and its plans for increasing revenues and financing future projects.
One audience member who stood up to ask a question said he usually worries about making inappropriate comments at a microphone but he thanked Gee for “breaking the ice” in that regard.
Gee also lamented that the memorabilia for discount tattoos scandal in the high-profile football program overshadowed the university’s long list of achievements last year. Gee called it a “monumental shame.”
After his speech, Gee told reporters that the university admitted its mistake in the football program and took its punishment. “Football represents one-quarter of one percent of our budget yet the newspapers give it 90 percent of the play,” he said.
Gee also brushed off questions about his Polish army remark. “The Polish army? I know nothing about the Polish army,” he told reporters after the speech. “I was just commenting on an issue and I made a comment. Now, if you’re going to say I was saying something bad about Poland, I’m not, you know, I could have used some other term then I guess.”
Gee is known his fast-talking style and humorous quips that sometimes get him into trouble. Last year, he remarked that Ohio State’s football schedule didn’t include teams on the level of ‘Little Sisters of the Poor’ and he quipped that he hoped that then-football coach Jim Tressel didn’t fire him as university president.
TweetBill passes to keep unemployment benefits flowing
State lawmakers took steps Tuesday to make sure 22,000 Ohioans do not lose their unemployment benefits after Jan. 28.
The Ohio Senate passed a bill Tuesday that will mean workers will qualify for an additional 20 weeks of unemployment checks. The bill moves to the House for concurrence on the changes.
The January 28 cut-off impacts workers who have been laid off for at least 18 months and are enrolled in the Extended Benefits program, which provides 13 to 20 weeks of extra benefits if a state has a high unemployment rate.
Since Ohio’s unemployment rate is over 8 percent, workers have qualified for an additional 20 weeks of benefits, which are paid by the federal government.
TweetVP Biden coming to Columbus this week; Education Sec. Duncan in Clayton
By Jessica Wehrman Washington Bureau
Vice President Joe Biden and Secretary of Education Arne Duncan will visit central Ohio Thursday to talk about education.
Specifically, they’ll visit Lincoln High School in Gahanna to discuss college affordability, according to a White House press release. They’ll note that since members of Lincoln’s senior class were born, tuition at Ohio State University has more than tripled. Currently, more than two-thirds of Ohio college students take out loans to pay for school and graduate with an average debt of more than $27,000.
Duncan and Biden will be joined by Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio. The event is scheduled to start at 12:15 p.m.
This is the second trip to Ohio the administration has made in the last two weeks. Last week, President Obama visited Shaker Heights to announce the recess appointment of former Ohio Attorney General Richard Cordray as head of the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
On Wednesday, Duncan will host a town hall at 4 p.m. on education and the economy with students and teachers at the Miami Valley Career Technology Center in Clayton.
TweetMuseum lands $432,000 in state aid
The National Afro-American History Museum in Wilberforce will receive $431,949 in state money to help clean up mold and replace a heating and air conditioning system, state lawmakers said on Monday.
“The National Afro-American History Museum is an important cultural facility in Ohio, and it is unfortunate to see it closed to the public,” said state Sen. Chris Widener, R-Springfield. “This emergency funding will allow the facility to open back up in a timely manner for citizens to continue to enjoy.”
TweetCertification slated for Steele in 10th District Race
By Lynn Hulsey Staff Writer The Montgomery County Board of Elections will meet at 11 a.m. Saturday and certify Ryan Steele of Beavercreek to the ballot for the 10th Congressional district race, said Steve Harsman, director.
The Greene County Board of Elections had improperly rejected some of Steele’s candidate petition signatures and once the mistake was corrected Steele had enough to appear on the March 6 ballot.
Steele said he went to the Greene County board and asked them to review their records because he knew that the rejected signatures were valid. Because Steele is running as a Democrat the signatures could not come from people who voted in Republican primaries during the last two years. Greene County Board of Elections Director Nancy Johannes said she did not realize that county records hadn’t automatically updated after the 2010 partisan primary and so the board mistakenly rejected some signatures of people who had voted Republican in 2008 but did not vote in a partisan primary in 2010.
The 10th district includes all of Montgomery and Greene counties and the northern half of Fayette County. Once certified Steel will compete against Democrats: David Esrati of Dayton, Olivia Freeman of Fairborn, Thomas F. McMasters of Huber Heights, Sharen Swartz Neuhardt of Yellow Springs, and L. Mack VanAllen. Republican candidates are: John D. Anderson of Enon, Edward Focke Breen of Kettering and U.S Rep. Mike Turner, R-Centerville. Libertarian David A. Harlow of Dayton is also running for the seat.
TweetCity adjusts Welcome Dayton timelines
By Jeremy P. Kelley Staff Writer DAYTON — The city has slightly delayed some steps of its “immigrant-friendly” Welcome Dayton plan, but continues to use small task forces to study several aspects of the program.
City Manager Tim Riordan told City Commission on Wednesday that the formal committee to guide the Welcome Dayton process likely won’t be in place until April — a step that had been targeted for Jan. 1.
“We didn’t quite know who all the right people were,” Riordan said. “We’ll get a better idea (in the coming months) of who the institutional players are and the eager people who really want to take an active role.”
In the meantime, Riordan said four or five task forces of city employees, immigrants and other community members will study Welcome Dayton opportunities in spheres of business, local government, human services and health, education and local churches.
The city also moved its goal for launching a Welcome Dayton website back to mid-to-late January.
City Commissioner Matt Joseph, who has been a vocal supporter of the Welcome Dayton plan, said he’s not disappointed in the delays.
“They’re trying to get their hands around it … and none of us here are immigration professionals,” Joseph said. “For now we can do symbolic steps — welcome signs at the airport, organizing a soccer tournament, things that are not structural changes in how we operate, but are signposts along the way.”
One new initiative that Riordan mentioned was a planned application to make the Dayton area a regional center for the EB-5 Visa program. The EB-5 Visa allows foreign nationals who invest here and create jobs to obtain a green card. Dayton Plan here. Becoming a regional center would lower the investment threshold for immigrants to use the EB-5 in the Dayton area. The Cincinnati and Cleveland areas already have regional center designations.
Riordan said attracting foreign investment could be a key benefit of the Welcome Dayton plan.
Learn more about the Dayton Plan here.
TweetCordray issues warning to financial institutions on first day as consumer watchdog
By Jack Torry
Washington Bureau
WASHINGTON - Richard Cordray said Thursday that the new federal consumer protection agency he heads will aim to make “sure that financial institutions are playing by the rules,’’ warning the industry that “there are real consequences’’ for violating the law.
In a speech to the Brookings Institution just one day after President Barack used a recess appointment to name Cordray the bureau’s director, the former Ohio attorney general said he has “examiners on the ground today with broad authority’’ to inspect loan documents and ask “tough question’’ of financial institutions.
“The consumer bureau will make clear that there are real consequences to breaking the law,’’ Cordray said. “We have given informants and whistleblowers direct access to us. We took over a number of investigations from other agencies in July and we are pursuing some investigations jointly with them.’’
By outlining such a tough approach, Cordray is likely to win support from consumers across the country. But his speech could send a shiver through the nation’s financial industry, which has looked with dread upon the new bureau with its broad regulatory authority.
Congress created the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau when it approved a sweeping overhaul in 2010 of the nation’s banking regulations. The new bureau will regulate a wide array of consumer financial products, such as home mortgages and credit-card offers while encouraging financial institutions to write easy-to-understand terms.
Last summer, Obama tapped Cordray to head the new bureau, but Sen. Rob Portman and 44 other Senate Republicans used a filibuster to block the nomination last month.
Portman and other Republicans insisted they would oppose confirming any director until Obama agreed to modify the bureau’s powers. In particular, they wanted Congress to have the power to approve the bureau’s budget instead of it being financed by the Federal Reserve Board.
In an appearance Wednesday in Shaker Heights, Obama used a recess appointment to bypass the Senate. Cordray took the oath of office Wednesday evening.
Because of Obama’s move, Cordray said “for the first time, we can exercise the full authorities granted to us under the new law. That is the specific difference that having a director makes.’’
Cordray said the bureau will immediately begin supervising what he called non-banks, such as payday lenders, mortgage services, private student lenders and “other firms that often compete with banks, but have largely escaped any meaningful federal oversight.’’
“With our full authorities in hand, we now have a variety of tools to address the problems facing consumers,’’ Cordray said. “We will succeed in our job if financial markets become more fair, more transparent, and more competitive.’’
Cordray made clear his belief that the financial industry had a major role in the 2008 collapse of the U.S. financial system. He said that “hidden fees and exploding interest rates have infected more products and services. Novel and exotic mortgages battered housing markets and triggered the financial crisis that wrecked the economy and hurt millions.’’
TweetSenate and Ohio Supreme Court candidates certified
Candidates for U.S. Senate and the Ohio Supreme Court on Tuesday were certified by Ohio Secretary of State Jon Husted for the March 6 primary election.
The candidates for Senate are: Democrats: U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, of Avon, and write in, Mark A. McGinnis of Hilliard.
Republicans: David W. Dodt of Defiance, Donna K. Glisman of Graytown, Eric LaMont Gregory of Beavercreek, Ohio Treasurer Josh Mandel of Beachwood, Michael L. Pryce of Hudson and write-in Russell P. Bliss, Jr. of Willoughby.
Green Party: Write ins Joseph Rosario DeMare of Bowling Green and Anita Rios of Toledo.
Libertarian Party: John Fockler of Boardman.
Candidates for the Ohio Supreme Court include: For term commencing Jan. 1, 2013 - Democrat Robert W. Price of Austintown and Republican Justice Terrence O’Donnell of Rocky River.
For term commencing Jan. 2, 2013 - Democrat Fanon A. Rucker of Cincinnati and Republican Justice Robert R. Cupp of Lima.
For unexpired term ending Dec. 31, 2014 - Democratic Justice Yvette McGee Brown of Gahana and Republican Sharon L. Kennedy of Liberty Twp.
TweetAnother candidate may be added to 10th District congressional primary
By Lynn Hulsey Staff Writer
A tenth candidate is expected to be added to the March 6 ballot after the Greene County Board of Elections discovered it mistakenly rejected five of the signatures on candidate petitions filed by Ryan Steele, 28 of Beavercreek.
The error was discovered after Steele asked board director Nancy Johannes to re-check the board’s work. Johannes said the problem was caused by the board’s failure to update voting records and she said those records will be updated as soon as possible. She does not think any other potential candidates have been effected by the problem but the board will check to see if that did occur.
The Montgomery County Board of Elections will set a special meeting to certify Steele to the ballot, after having rejected his petitions Tuesday based on the inaccurate information from Greene County, said Steve Harsman, director of the Montgomery County board.
Certification is handled in the most populous county in the district, which includes all of Montgomery and Greene counties and the northern half of Fayette County. Major party candidates must submit 50 valid signatures of registered voters and the boards in each county verify the validity of signatures for residents of that county.
Steele submitted 60 signatures, most of which were from Greene County residents. Initially only 46 were deemed valid.
Because Steele is running as a Democrat the signatures could not come from people who voted in Republican primaries during the last two years. Johannes said she did not realize that county records hadn’t automatically updated after the 2010 partisan primary and so the board mistakenly rejected some signatures of people who had voted Republican in 2008 but did not vote in a partisan primary in 2010.
Harsman said he is awaiting information from the Ohio Secretary of State’s office before setting the special meeting to certify Steele.
The other certified candidates are Republicans: John D. Anderson of Enon, Edward Focke Breen of Kettering and U.S Rep. Mike Turner, R-Centerville. Democrats: David Esrati of Dayton, Olivia Freeman of Fairborn, Thomas F. McMasters of Huber Heights, Sharen Swartz Neuhardt of Yellow Springs, and L. Mack VanAllen. Libertarian: David A. Harlow of Dayton.
TweetEmphasis on air defenses good news for Wright-Patt despite cuts
By John Nolan and Jessica Wehrman
Staff Writers
President Obama on Thursday promised that a smaller, more flexible and technologically capable U.S. military will emerge from a decade of upcoming, multibillion-dollar budget cuts. But Congress and the public won’t learn details of those cuts until Obama presents his defense budget to Congress in the coming weeks.
Obama and his top military advisers, summarizing the results of weeks of defense budget analysis, said the Pentagon will invest in unmanned aircraft; intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance; new military technology, and cyberspace capabilities.
Those plans could benefit Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, home to the Air Force Research Laboratory which directs research and development; the Aeronautical Systems Center, which manages unmanned aircraft programs including the Predator, Reaper and Global Hawk; and the Air Force Institute of Technology, the post-graduate school which trains officers and Defense Department civilians in cyberspace warfare and defense, among other subjects.
But Obama’s still-unspecified plans for phasing out Cold War-legacy weapons programs and other weapons not regarded as vital to fighting future wars could have an impact on the Aeronautical Systems Center, home of the work force that manages an array of Air Force weapons programs.
“Our military will be leaner,” Obama told a Pentagon news conference Thursday, flanked by Defense Secretary Leon Panetta and Army Gen. Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. “But the fact of the matter is this … the defense budget will still be larger than it was toward the end of the Bush administration.”
Michael Gessel, a vice president of the Dayton Development Coalition, said that Pentagon documents and Panetta’s comments emphasize support for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance - work which is done by the National Air and Space Intelligence Center at Wright-Patterson to inform top U.S. civilian and military leadership about adversaries’ aerospace capabilities. The Springfield Air National Guard Base also hosts some intelligence work.
The Air Force Research Laboratory’s sensors directorate at Wright-Patterson, which supports intelligence work, could be affected by the administration’s plans for supporting defense science and technology programs, Gessel said.
Obama’s military plans represent a good news-bad news scenario for Wright-Patterson, said Loren Thompson, a defense analyst with the Lexington Institute in Arlington, Va. Obama is placing new emphasis on long-range air power, space and cyber capabilities, Thompson said.
“That should be good news for the Air Force Materiel Command,” he said of the major command headquartered at Wright-Patterson. “However, it comes against the backdrop of budget cuts that are likely to disproportionately target the weapons accounts.”
The U.S. defense budget will still be larger than those of the next 10 countries combined, Obama said.
U.S. Rep. Mike Turner, R-Centerville, a member of the House Armed Services Committee, described Obama’s announcement as “a retreat from our strategic posture of the past 60 years.”
“While I share his goal of a more efficient fighting force, I remain concerned that countries such as Iran and China will seek to fill the gaps we leave behind,” Turner said. “In addition, his plan could eliminate programs which have the end goal of making our military more efficient. For example, programs which seek to revolutionize logistics for the Air Force may be on the chopping block.”
That could include the Expeditionary Combat Support System project, intended to establish a uniform computer network across the Air Force for logistics and acquisition that would replace old computer networks unable to communicate with each other. Computer Sciences Corp., in Beavercreek, is the Air Force’s prime contractor for the project.
Turner also said he believes that the administration plans reductions in U.S. nuclear weapons. That should be done only if adversaries commit to similar nuclear arms reductions, Turner said.
Others in Congress also criticized Obama’s direction.
“In order to justify massive cuts to our military, he has revoked the guarantee that America will support our allies, defend our interests, and defy our opponents,” said U.S. Rep. Howard “Buck” McKeon, R-Calif., chairman of the House Armed Services Committee. “As America steps back, someone else will step forward.”
Sen. Joe Lieberman, I-Conn., of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said: “No matter how these changes are explained, the fact is that the defense strategy is being altered mainly for budgetary reasons, not because we have arrived at a new strategic calculation that we are actually safer.”
Spending on military personnel, operations and maintenance are all targets for spending cuts, said Richard Aboulafia, a defense analyst with Teal Group Corp. in Fairfax, Va. Military research and development spending stands at about $80 billion across the services and could see cuts of 10 percent, but procurement and R&D still represent investments that could be key to modernizing the military, Aboulafia said.
The administration’s budget deal with Congress of last summer calls for $487 billion in defense cuts over the next decade. An additional $500 billion in cuts may be required starting in January 2013, unless Congress reverses those automatic, across-the-board cuts set in motion by Congress’ failure to make additional budget cuts late in 2011. Those additional cuts would be damaging and would result in a “hollowed-out military,” Panetta said.
The $662 billion defense budget planned for next year is $27 billion less than Obama wanted and $43 billion less than Congress gave the Pentagon this year.
Panetta and Dempsey said the smaller, leaner American military force of the future will still be able to respond to more than one crisis at a time around the globe. While air and sea power will be emphasized, cuts in ground forces are considered likely, which would affect the Army and Marine Corps.
“There is no question that we have to make some trade-offs,” Panetta said. “Budget cuts of this magnitude will inevitably affect the size and capability of our military.”
Defense contractors are making overtures to Republican presidential candidates, and U.S. military readiness is sure to be an issue in this presidential election year.
The administration hasn’t said what changes it will propose in military pay and benefits, a politically sensitive topic. The Defense Department has said, though, that it does not plan to make changes in compensation that would affect those now serving.
The Pentagon would have to be reworking the military for the future anyway in response to changes in the world, but the U.S. budget deficit and need for cuts has increased the urgency for the modernization, Panetta said.
The United States will focus its strategic preparedness on the Asia-Pacific region and Middle East, will keep its defense commitments to Europe and NATO, and will rely on strategic partnerships or helping allies build their own defense capabilities in other parts of the world, Panetta said.
U.S. military technology developments must be focused on the Asia-Pacific region where China is developing capabilities that could threaten American satellites and aircraft involved in intelligence-gathering, Thompson said.
“In Iraq and Afghanistan, the air power was sufficient as long as we improved the ability to collect and use intelligence,” Thompson said. “America is more and more focused on the Chinese. It’s a very different kind of a threat.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
TweetBallot board to look at anti-abortion proposal
The Ohio Ballot Board will meet Monday to determine whether a proposed constitutional amendment over giving fertilized eggs the rights of personhood is one amendment or multiple proposals jammed into one.
If the five-member Ballot Board decides it is actually more than one amendment, it’ll divide the initiative into individual petitions. That would require supporters of the campaign to resubmit summary language to state officials for each individual proposal.
Petitioners need to collect 385,245 valid Ohio voter signatures in order to qualify for the statewide ballot.
Anti-abortion forces are pushing the personhood amendment across the country but voters in Mississippi recently rejected the idea.
Advocates for personhood in Ohio want the state constitution amended to define personhood as as beginning when a human egg is fertilized, which would outlaw abortions.
The number of abortions performed in Ohio has declined 26 percent over the last decade, hitting 28,123 in 2010, according to state health records.
TweetSantorum doesn’t have money, organization to compete in Ohio, experts, party leaders say
By Lynn Hulsey and Jeremy P. Kelley Staff Writers
Rick Santorum’s surge to second place in Iowa is unlikely to lead him to front runner status in the Republican presidential primary because of his lack of campaign resources and because Iowa caucus voters are not reflective of the party as a whole, according to Ohio and national political experts.
“I’m thrilled that good old-fashioned grassroots campaigning still is a cornerstone of the political process,” said Montgomery County Republican Party Chairman Greg Gantt. “With that said, that doesn’t get you across the line in a national presidential election. From what I see he’s really deficient in organization and funds in other states and it will be a challenge for him.”
Montgomery County Democratic Party Chairman Mark Owens called Santorum “the flavor of the month.”
“It probably says as much about Mitt Romney as Rick Santorum,” said Owens. “He can’t close the deal. They keep coming up with all these conservative challengers.”
Santorum came in second by 8 votes to Mitt Romney in Tuesday’s Iowa caucuses - with the two each getting nearly 25 percent of the 122,255 total votes cast in the caucuses. U.S. Rep. Ron Paul of Texas was third with 21.4 percent followed by Newt Gingrich, Texas Gov. Rick Perry, U.S. Rep. Michelle Bachmann of Minnesota, who on Wednesday ended her campaign, and Jon Huntsman with less than 1 percent.
“I think the two biggest stories are Santorum’s finish and Gingrich’s finish,” said Mark Caleb Smith, director of the Center for Political Studies at Cedarville University. “It really calls into question (Gingrich’s) viability as a candidate.”
Smith anticipates there won’t be many Republican choices left by the time Ohio voters cast ballots on March 6 but said if Santorum can boost his fundraising there may still be a Romey-Santorum matchup by then.
Santorum supporters like Phil Burress of Cincinnati-based Citizens for Community Values applauded his success in organizing evangelical, conservative voters.
“He’s got the right message and he’s got the credentials to be president. There’s no doubt about it,” said Burress. “I believe maybe the (family) value voters are going to be more energized this year.”
Burress knows Santorum personally after serving with him on the board of Family Research Council Action, a conservative lobbying group.
“He will fall on his sword before he compromises his principles,” said Burress. “I think that is the one issue between him and Gov. Romney is that Gov. Romney has changed his position on many issues and Rick has not.”
Conservatives are not sold on Romney but he will win the nomination because “he has the organization and he’s raising money hand over fist,” said Rob Scott, president of the Dayton Tea Party.
“Any of them are going to be better than (President Barack) Obama,” said Scott. “They certainly will pay more attention to the Tea Party platform than our current president.”
Spokespersons for the campaigns of Romney and Santorum could not be reached. Santorum’s one-page website listed no press contact and the person answering the phone at the number listed said it was a donation call center and had no campaign contact information.
Political analysts said that is a perfect example of the lack of organization hobbling the Santorum campaign. He didn’t submit a single signature to get on the ballot in Virginia where he lives, said Larry Sabato, director of the University of Virginia Center for Politics.
“That is the sign of a seriously deficient campaign and it’s almost unheard of,” said Sabato. “You cannot beat somebody like Mitt Romney, who has been running for five years consistently, with a poor organization.”
William J. Green a Pittsburgh-based political analyst who has been watching Santorum since his days as a congressman and senator representing Pennsylvania said he is great at door-to-door campaigning but that won’t be enough to beat Romney for the nomination.
“It’s the second time around (for Romney). It’s his turn, as it is known in the Republican Party,” said Green. “You have to have an organization and the ability to win in the fall.”
Santorum who had been far behind in national polls has avoided hard hits from his opponents, but will likely now face much stronger attacks from Super PACs and other candidates, Sabato said.
While his Iowa showing likely will help energize fundraising, Santorum was behind his competitors in the most recent Dec. 5 campaign finance filings. Romney had collected $32.2 million to Santorum’s $1.28 million, ranking him seventh among Republican candidates, according to filings compiled by the Center for Responsive Politics. President Barack Obama had collected $86.2 million.
Santorum will have a harder time in places like New Hampshire where conservatives tend to be more concerned with the economy than the social issues motivating Iowa evangelicals, said Daniel Birdsong, a political science lecturer at the University of Dayton. Voting will then move to states larger and more diverse than either Iowa or New Hampshire.
“That is why people question why Iowa is so important,” Birdsong said. “It seems to be demographically, socially and economically not representative of the United States.”
Ron Paul’s third place showing in Iowa was encouraging for supporter Chris Littleton, co-founder of the Ohio Liberty Council, who believes it indicates Paul’s Libertarian message is resonating with voters.’
But Scott and Smith doubt Paul can gain enough traction to take the nomination. Local voters interviewed on Wednesday said they are tired of the Republican race typically being virtually decided by the time Ohio’s primary occurs.
Carolyn Terrill of Englewood said she likes Santorum’s positions on most issues, and said he could succeed in Ohio and beyond.
“A lot of people aren’t for Romney because he has flip-flopped on so many things,” she said. “(Santorum) can be a viable candidate.”
Tom Whalen of Dayton agreed that Santorum could do well in Ohio, given his appeal to evangelical conservatives. But John Siler of Dayton said he thought two big obstacles would stop Santorum.
“I don’t think he has a chance,” Siler said. “I don’t think he has a lot of name recognition to start with. And a lot of the policies he’s been involved with are really extreme.”
TweetObama, Panetta to unveil Defense Dpt. strategy Thursday
President Barack Obama and Defense Secretary Leon Panetta will unveil the administration’s strategy for the military and budget cuts on Thursday morning.
Specific cuts and developments that would impact Wright-Patterson Air Force Base are not expected to be released Thursday, but will become public next month when Obama releases his 2013 budget plan.
The strategy is expected to serve as a framework for shifting the military’s focus from fighting post-9/11 wars in the greater Middle East to preserving America’s dominant position in Asia amid a Chinese military buildup.
In a presidential election year the strategy also provides the White House a rhetorical tool to defend its Pentagon budget-cutting choices.
The Dayton Daily News has a reporter following Thursday’s developments in Washington and reporters here in Dayton on the story. We will report the plan on DaytonDailyNews.com as soon as we have the information. Also, look for coverage in Friday’s Dayton Daily News.
TweetObama to appoint former Ohio AG to new consumer post without Senate approval
by Jack Torry and Jessica Wehrman
WASHINGTON - White House sources indicated that President Barack Obama will use a controversial recess appointment to nominate former Ohio Attorney General Richard Cordray as the head of a new consumer agency later today, setting up the potential for Cordray’s nomination to end up in the courts.
Obama shattered congressional precedent by nominating Cordray despite the fact that Congress technically has not recessed. Because the House has not permitted the Senate to recess, the Senate has scheduled pro-forma sessions every third day, where no official business is conducted. The Senate briefly recessed Tuesday, but Obama did not use the minutes-long break to nominate Cordray, who also served as the Treasurer of Ohio. The Senate is expected to convene for official business Jan. 23.
House Speaker John Boehner, R-West Chester Twp., denounced the president’s move as “an extraordinary and entirely unprecedented power grab,’’ charging that it “defies centuries of practice and the legal advice of his own Justice Department.’’
“The precedent that would be set by this cavalier action would have a devastating effect on the checks and balances that are enshrined in our constitution,’’ Boehner said.
Bartlett Naylor, financial policy advocate for Public Citizen, a group that has pushed for Cordray’s nomination, cited language in the Constitution that allows Obama to force Congress to recess in order to nominate Cordray, but said such a move is unprecedented. He said he anticipates Obama’s move will spur legal challenges, but said the haymaker is worth it.
“I think this has long since gone beyond the point of gamesmanship, where Republicans are abusing the Constitution itself and the nomination process,” he said. “They have declared unless the structure of the CPFB is changed, they won’t permit any nominee - not Spiderman, not Superman, not Richard Cordray - even though no one contests the qualifications of Richard Cordray.”
Cordray, a Grove City native, was nominated last year to head the Consumer Financial Protection Board, a new agency that would, in part, work to give consumers better information about financial companies and police unfair, deceptive or abusive acts or practices for financial companies including credit card providers and mortgage companies.
Last year, 44 Republican senators, including Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, sent a letter to Obama saying they would oppose Cordray’s nomination unless there were significant changes to the agency that would increase the agency’s accountability.
Obama is expected to nominate Cordray during a visit to Cleveland today, according to White House sources.
Obama said last month that he would not take “any options off the table” in order to get Cordray appointed as the head of the new agency.
Senate Republicans in December blocked an up-or-down vote on Cordray’s nomination using a procedural motion.
Democrats on Wednesday applauded the move. Rep. Betty Sutton, D-Copley Township, said efforts to block Cordray’s nomination “further prove their unwillingness to stand up for middle-class families and their aim to put power back in the hands of the same Wall Street bankers that brought our economy to the brink of collapse.”
And Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, called Cordray “fair-minded and highly qualified.”
“We asked for a fair up or down vote on Richard Cordray’s nomination,” he said. “But too many senators are willing to stand instead with Wall Street, blocking a qualified nominee for the first time in the history of the Senate based on opposition to an agency’s very existence.”
TweetCandidate removed from local congressional race
By Lynn Hulsey Staff Writer
All but one candidate for the newly redrawn 10th Congressional District was certified on Tuesday by the Montgomery County Board of Elections.
Ryan Steele, a Beavercreek Democrat, did not turn in enough valid signatures and was not certified, said Steve Harsman, board director.
The other candidates are: Republicans: John D. Anderson of Enon, Edward Focke Breen of Kettering and U.S. Rep. Mike Turner, R-Centerville.
Democrats: David Esrati of Dayton, Olivia Freeman of Fairborn, Thomas F. McMasters of Huber Heights, Sharen Swartz Neuhardt of Yellow Springs, and L. Mack VanAllen of Centerville. Libertarian: David A. Harlow of Dayton.
Last week incumbent Rep. Steve Austria, R-Beavercreek, said he would not run for the newly drawn district that combined parts of areas he and Turner now represent.
The primary will be held March 6. The 10th District covers Montgomery, Greene and part of Fayette counties.
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