WASHINGTON, D.C. - If all goes according to Rob Portman’s plan, the U.S. Senate will vote Tuesday morning to approve the infrastructure deal he’s spent months negotiating and he can return to Ohio to attend Wednesday’s ceremony renaming NASA’s Plum Brook facility after Ohio astronaut Neil Armstrong as a result of another bill Portman authored.
Portman says he’s spent three weeks in Washington, D.C., without returning to Ohio so he could iron out all problems with the bill. He says it’s the longest stretch he’s spent without returning to the state during his decades in Congress and stints as cabinet secretary, when he tried to get home to Ohio every weekend.
“We’ve been doing this for four months and I’ve been here until midnight or past too many nights,” Portman says of his work on the bill that would deliver a one-time supplemental appropriation of $579 billion to fund everything from major highway projects, to mass transit, to bringing broadband to areas that don’t have it.
Now that a snag over cryptocurrency regulation has been resolved, Portman expects the bill will get support from 19 or 20 of the legislative body’s 50 Republicans, as well as its Democrats. After that, it will go to the House of Representatives, where he hopes it will be able to gain a big chunk of Republican support despite former President Donald Trump’s efforts to whip up GOP opposition on the grounds that it would “be a big victory for he Democrats and will be used against Republicans in the upcoming elections.”
Portman said he had a single conversation where he urged Trump to support the bill on the grounds that it’s consistent with what he advocated in the White House. He also said Trump should take some credit for initiating the discussion among Republicans by proposing a $1.5 trillion infrastructure package during his campaign, and “encouraging Republicans to look at infrastructure as a smart investment.”
Describing himself as a “pro-getting things done Senator,” Portman says he’s had 150 of his bills signed into law over the past 10 years, most of which were during Trump’s presidency.
“I worked very well with him on anti-opioid issues, on human trafficking, certainly on tax reform,” Portman said in an interview. “I was able to work with the Trump administration just as I’m working with the Biden administration.”
Trump’s claim that the infrastructure deal will be tied to a $3.5 trillion Democratic reconciliation package is incorrect, Portman argues, and says he hopes Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi does not link her legislative body’s support for the bipartisan infrastructure bill to Senate passage of the reconciliation bill. He said it would be bad politics for Democrats to kill the bill because polls indicate that 87 percent of Americans want more federal infrastructure investments.
“My hope is that Speaker Pelosi will take it up and pass it,” Portman said. “She should allow it to be judged on its merits and take it up separately ... I just can’t imagine that would happen, that she would kill something that is so popular with the American people.”
President Joe Biden has already indicated he’d back it, with the administration issuing a statement saying it “would make life better for Americans across the country, create a generation of good-paying union jobs, grow our economy, invest in communities that have too often been left behind, and better position the United States to compete globally and win in the 21st century.”
Democratic U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown of Ohio also backs the legislation, saying in a Senate floor speech that it “will make the generational investment in infrastructure that Ohio communities, and our nation, have needed for years.” He said it would support Ohio manufacturing jobs, including at Cleveland-Cliffs and AK Steel and Nucor and other suppliers through strong “Buy America” standards.
“Taken together, these investments are a recipe for job creation all over Ohio – in communities large and small, rural and urban, from Appalachia to the shores of Lake Erie,” said Brown, who said he expects Ohio will ge at least: $9.8 billion for federal-aid highway assistance, including $483 million of formula funds for bridge replacements.
Portman says the bill would provide unprecedented amounts of funding for mass transit, and money that could help Greater Cleveland’s regional transit authority replace 40 heavy rail cars and 34 light rail cars that need immediate replacement. It also contains an emergency broadband benefit program that would help low-income families get internet access, and programs to promote digital inclusion in communities where it’s in short supply, such as East Cleveland. It also has money for ports and waterways, and to fix aging water service lines, overflowing sewers and lead pipes.
“There’s a lot in here that’s very helpful for Northeast Ohio, and helps position us in the future to be more efficient and more productive and that helps the economy and helps people’s daily lives,” said Portman.
Portman said that after the infrastructure bill becomes law, he’ll begin to focus his attention on Senate passage of legislation he introduced with Maryland Democratic Sen. Ben Cardin that would expand retirement savings for low-income people and small businesses, make it easier for small businesses to offer 401(k)s and other retirement plans and allow those who have saved too little to set more aside for their retirement, and help retirees make their money last longer.
He said he doesn’t plan to retire when he leaves the U.S. Senate after the 2022 election.
“I’m going to keep working,” said Portman. “I just don’t know what I’ll be doing.”
Read more:
President Biden announces plan to rev up electric vehicle sales and cut car emissions
Most of Ohio will be covered by eviction moratorium extension, but Republicans question its legality
Domestic terrorism has risen, although casualties are down, a Senate Committee is told
New report from Ohio’s Sen. Rob Portman finds cybersecurity flaws at seven federal agencies
Feds provide $7 million for West Creek project to improve the Cuyahoga River
Cleveland-Cliffs enters technology testing partnership with U.S. Department of Energy
Democrats seek federal laws to crack down on Ohio voting bill they regard as voter suppression
Jim Jordan says he spoke to ex-President Trump on Jan. 6, the day of the Capitol riot
"bring" - Google News
August 10, 2021 at 05:41AM
https://ift.tt/3iwldBg
Portman hopes the Senate will finally pass infrastructure deal, which will bring both money and himself back - cleveland.com
"bring" - Google News
https://ift.tt/38Bquje
Shoes Man Tutorial
Pos News Update
Meme Update
Korean Entertainment News
Japan News Update
Bagikan Berita Ini
0 Response to "Portman hopes the Senate will finally pass infrastructure deal, which will bring both money and himself back - cleveland.com"
Post a Comment