Leglislative Update: Jordan calls for Obamacare repeal vote

Feb. 05--WASHINGTON -- One area lawmaker is continuing efforts to see that the Affordable Care Act is repealed.

U.S. House of Representatives

Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Urbana: On Thursday, Jordan, along with Rep. Mark Meadows, R-North Carolina, issued a joint statement calling for House Resolution 3762, which would help repeal the ACA through budget consideration to the floor for a vote.

"Health care will be better and more affordable once Obamacare is repealed," they said. "We committed to the American people to repeal every tax, every mandate, the regulations, and to defund Planned Parenthood. That's what the American people expect us to do -- and they expect us to do it quickly."

Rep. Bob Latta, R-Bowling Green: The House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee, of which Latta is a part, held a hearing Wednesday to investigate cybersecurity threats to the nation's electric infrastructure and the means to mitigate any threats. The hearing also mentioned implementing provisions of the Fixing America's Surface Transportation Act of 2015 to counter cybersecurity threats.

"The damage that a widescale attack on our electric grid could wreak on public health, national security, and the economy is alarming," Latta said. "That's why maintaining robust defenses of our electric infrastructure is essential to preventing cyberattacks from bad actors -- whether they be terrorist groups, foreign states, or lone wolves. Today's hearing showed that the FAST Act is helping industry and the federal government work together to address vulnerabilities and better protect our energy infrastructure, but there is still more that can be done to secure the nation's electric grid."

On Thursday, Latta voted to approve the rollback of an Obama administration last-minute regulation that opponents say infringes on Second Amendment rights. The regulation labels anyone who has a representative payee as "mentally defective," prohibiting them from passing a background check and purchasing a firearm. Latta and others who voted for the repeal maintain that no evidence exists to show that disabled beneficiaries who have representative payees are prone to violence. Second Amendment proponents and disability rights groups had labeled the regulation discriminatory.

"There is absolutely no evidence that this rule makes us any safer, and it's blatantly unconstitutional," Latta said. "The Congressional Review Act was put in place for the purpose of eliminating regulations like this one, and this vote upholds Second Amendment rights for all Ohioans."

On Friday, Latta joined with Rep. Jerry McNerney, D-California, in relaunching a bipartisan Grid Innovation Caucus. This group would discuss policy related to Smart Grid technology that is intended to reduce outages and improve grid security and reliability.

"Cutting-edge Smart Grid technology will mean more reliable, efficient, and secure energy delivered to households and businesses across the country," Latta said. "Implementing this technology, and updating our aging grid, also means less outages that are detrimental to public safety and our economy."

U.S. Senate

Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio: On Thursday, Brown introduced the End Outsourcing Act, which he says will help support American workers by ending the practice of outsourcing jobs to other countries. The bill would call for ensuring that any federal contract would consider whether the company had outsourced domestic jobs, with preferences given to companies that maintain its American workforce. It would also cut back on tax incentives for companies to move jobs and factories overseas.

"Companies that outsource jobs shouldn't be subsidized by U.S. taxpayers and allowed to do business with the U.S. government," Brown said. "We should encourage businesses to invest here and make sure taxpayer-funded contracts are awarded to companies that employ American workers."

Brown and Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, announced plans to reintroduce the Steel Industry Preservation Act, which would create a tax credit for domestic steel companies, lower the cost of production, and promote job growth in the steel industry.

"Liquid steel production helps dispose of hazardous waste and recycle it into a new, innovative product that helps our steel industry compete," Brown said. "This tax credit will encourage companies to produce liquid steel, cut down on production costs, and support jobs in our steel industry."

"With threats of foreign steel companies cheating and undercutting quality American products, it's more important than ever to make sure we protect the American steel industry and the hard working Ohioans that depend on it," Portman said. "The Steel Industry Preservation Act will support these jobs and our economy by making steel less expensive to produce which in turn will make our domestic product more competitive on the world stage."

Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio: Portman applauded steps taken Thursday by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to limit opioid prescriptions in Medicare Part D.

"The Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act, or CARA, which I authored and which President [Barack] Obama signed into law last summer, will change the way our [Department of Veterans Affairs] health system treats these prescriptions, and I am encouraged that Medicare officials are also taking steps to prevent overprescribing and stop new addictions from starting," he said.

Reach Craig Kelly at 567-242-0390 or on Twitter @Lima_CKelly.

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