Rob Portman Announces Committee Assignments

Ohio Senator Joins Senate Armed Services, Energy and Natural Resources, Homeland Security and Government Affairs and Budget Committees with Focus on Jobs Thursday, January 27, 2011 WASHINGTON, D.C. –U.S. Senator Rob Portman (R-OH) announced he will be joining the Senate Armed Services Committee, the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, the Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee and the Senate Budget Committee.

“Membership on these four committees gives me a strong platform to fight for fiscal restraint and to help create an environment for job growth in Ohio,” said Portman.

The Senate Armed Services Committee has jurisdiction over the Department of Defense, all military installations, military research and development; national security aspects of nuclear energy; and personnel issues. Ohio is home to a number of Department of Defense assets, including Dayton’s Wright Patterson Air Force Base, which is the largest single-site employer in Ohio. Ohio is also fortunate to have Cleveland’s DFAS, Toledo’s 180th Air National Guard Fighter Wing, the Defense Supply Center Columbus and Youngstown’s 910th Airlift Wing. A number of other facilities in Ohio employ thousands of hard working Ohioans to manufacture key components that support the warfighter, including the Lima Army Tank Plant, Mason’s L3 Cincinnati Electronics, and General Electric’s Evendale plant.

“I’m humbled to have been chosen to serve on the Senate Armed Services Committee,” said Portman. “With thousands of Ohioans proudly wearing our nation’s uniform, it is an assignment I take very seriously. As a member of the Committee, I will stand up for the men and women the United States sends into harm’s way to make sure they have the support they deserve. I will fight to support Ohio jobs that are integral to our national security.”

The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee has jurisdiction over energy resources and development, including regulation, conservation, strategic petroleum reserves and appliance standards; nuclear energy; Indian affairs; public lands and their renewable resources; surface mining, Federal coal, oil, and gas, other mineral leasing; territories and insular possessions; and water resources. The committee also oversees National Energy Policy, including international energy affairs and emergency preparedness.

“The energy sector is critical for Ohio’s economy, and I believe it has the potential to create thousands of new jobs in Ohio.” continued Portman. “Not only can Ohio’s numerous energy resources, including coal, natural gas and biofuels, help alleviate our national dependence on foreign oil, but our manufacturing base can play a large role in creating products necessary for natural gas production in the Marcellus Shale region, for increased nuclear energy production, and for wind and solar energy production. All of this can mean new jobs for Ohio.”

The Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs has jurisdiction over the Department of Homeland Security and is the chief oversight committee for the United States Senate.

“Since September 11th, the Homeland Security Committee has played a vital role keeping our nation safe and preventing another terrorist attack,” continued Portman. “I look forward to working with Senators Lieberman and Collins to ensure the Department of Homeland Security is best prepared to fulfill their important mission.”

The Senate Committee on the Budget was established in 1974 by the Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act. Along with the House Budget Committee, it is responsible for drafting Congress' annual budget plan and monitoring action on the budget for the Federal Government. In addition, the Budget Committee has jurisdiction over the operation of the Congressional Budget Office (CBO).

“We have a fiscal crisis – just this week, the Congressional Budget Office told us that we have the largest deficit in our history this year. I’m looking forward to using my experience as the Vice Chair of the House Budget Committee and as Director of the Office of Management and Budget to help restore some restraint in our budgeting process. Restoring fiscal restraint is paramount to creating the certainty that employers and entrepreneurs need to create jobs across Ohio and our country. Sadly, it has gotten so bad that Congress did not even pass a budget last year,” stated Portman. “Both to right our long-term fiscal problems and to get our economy going again, we must address our debt and deficit issues. I’m hopeful that we’ll be able to find some common ground on the Budget Committee and truly address these issues before it is too late.

TEXT and IMAGE CREDIT: Senator Portman, U.S. Senator for Ohio Washington, DC
B40D Dirksen Senate Office Building Washington, DC 20510 Phone: 202-224-3353

Mike Enzi to Sebelius: How can health care law be fixed? PODCAST VIDEO

Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Mike Enzi, R-Wyo., spent the morning asking Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius how she plans to address problems with the health care law. This was Secretary Sebelius’s first appearance in front of the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee since her nomination hearing two years ago. Download MP3 for PODCAST and VIDEO in REAL MEDIA FORMAT

“We recognize that there are individuals who will benefit from a few of the provisions in the law, but it will force Americans to buy the type of health insurance that Washington thinks they should have,” Enzi said. “Americans will not have the luxury of picking which parts of the new law apply to them, but instead will have to comply with all 2,700 pages of new mandates, taxes and limitations on their freedom.”

Among the problems Washington has created under the new law, Enzi highlighted:

* Children in 20 states total are not able to get child only health insurance;
* Millions of seniors on Medicare are facing a steep increase in their out-of-pocket costs and more than a $500 billion reduction in benefits; and
* Cash-strapped state governments will be burdened with an additional 16 million Americans forced onto Medicaid rolls, as required by the new law.

“Because of the new law, employers across the country will be forced to lay off workers and reduce wages as their health care costs continue to increase as a result of all the new taxes in the law that will increase their health care costs,” said Enzi. Enzi also said that employers will be required to offer health insurance or pay $52 billion in new taxes.

In the hearing, Enzi provided an example of a disabled Wyoming veteran, covered by veterans’ health benefits, who was unable to purchase health insurance for his children. After the passage of the health care reform law, insurance carriers in Wyoming are no longer writing new child-only health insurance policies.

As the law continues to be implemented, Enzi said he will focus on ways to eliminate the provisions that limit basic freedoms and will work to enact reforms that will focus on increasing consumer choices and decreasing health care costs.

TEXT IMAGE VIDEO and AUDIO: United States Senator Mike Enzi