Sen. Portman will vote to defund Obamacare

Gongwer is reporting that Sen. Rob Portman will vote to keep the defunding of Obamacare in the Continuing Resolution before the Senate.

Gongwer is a subscription news service so the link may not work without a subscription.

Here is their report:

U.S. Sen. Rob Portman (R-Terrace Park) said Thursday he would vote to keep as part of the continuing resolution a provision that would defund the Affordable Care Act.

The Republican also said he planned to reintroduce as an amendment his "End Government Shutdowns Act."

The CR that would keep the government running beyond the end of the fiscal year Sept. 30 is in the hands of the Senate, having left the House not only with appropriations moving forward but with language that would strip financial support from the health care law. The Democratic-controlled Senate is expected to vote to remove the language.

"I think it's important for us to vote to repeal and replace Obamacare and defunding is the way to do it in this legislation," Sen. Portman said during a conference call with reporters. "I hope there are enough Democrat senators who are listening to their constituents and will use this opportunity to reverse a policy that's driving up costs in Ohio, hurting working families, forcing a bunch of Ohioans to lose their doctors, others to lose their jobs."

Mr. Portman said he does not support pairing defunding the ACA with the threat of government shutdown. "What I do support is defunding Obamacare; in fact I support replacing it with better policies."

If the defunding measure is removed from the resolution, the senator said his vote on the CR will depend on what else is in it.
On the whole, however, the senator said continuing resolutions are a poor way of governing. Only one of the past 48 appropriations bills to come before the Senate has passed before the Oct. 1 deadline under Democratic leadership.

Senators Portman and Ayotte Sink Law Of The Sea Treaty

This press release is from yesterday:

Senators Portman and Ayotte Sink Law Of The Sea Treaty

Two Senate Armed Services Committee Members Announce Opposition In Letter To Majority Leader Harry Reid, Saying “No International Organization Owns The Seas”

Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senators Rob Portman (R-Ohio), ranking member on the Emerging Threats and Capabilities Subcommittee, and Kelly Ayotte (R-NH), ranking member of the Subcommittee on Readiness and Management Support, sent a letter today to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid in which they announced their opposition to Senate ratification of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.

Citing significant concerns about the breadth and ambiguity of the treaty, and more importantly, the risks to U.S. sovereignty due to issues regarding enforcement and adjudication, the two members of the Senate Armed Services Committee stated, “After careful consideration, we have concluded that on balance this treaty is not in the national interest of the United States. As a result, we would oppose the treaty if it were called up for a vote.”

Portman and Ayotte continued, “We simply are not peruaded that decisions by the International Seabed Authority and international tribunals empowered by this treaty will be more favorable to U.S. interests than bilateral negotiations, voluntary arbitration, and other traditional means of resolving maritime issues. No international organization owns the seas, and we are confident that our country will continue to protect its navigational freedom, valid territorial claims, and other maritime rights.”

Because the Constitution requires 67 affirmative votes for the Senate to ratify a treaty, and 31 senators have previously signed a letter in opposition and a 32nd senator announced his opposition, Portman and Ayotte’s announcement makes efforts to ratify the Law of the Sea Treaty dead in the water in this Congress.

Portman's campaign stop in Toledo

Yesterday Rob Portman was in Toledo at Tony Packo's to announce his candidacy for the senate seat currently held by George Voinovich. Voinovich has decided to retire and will not be seeking re-election.

Because of the extremely bad road conditions due to the weather, he was about 15 minutes late in his arrival, but was greeted by a crowd of about 35 - a good number considering the travel conditions.

Upon arrival, he participated in a Tony Packo's tradition of signing a hot dog bun for display.

Because of the weather and hot dog signing, he got a late start on his comments which meant that I was not able to hear his entire presentation. What I did hear was his emphasis on his small business experience and his understanding of what it's like to be a small business owner in Ohio.

Side Note:

When I was little, my parents would take a weekend in November and meet up with friends from Tennessee for a weekend at the Golden Lamb Inn in Lebanon, Ohio. My siblings and I always looked forward to their return because they would bring us a gift of a Christmas ornament. When I moved out of the house, my mother packaged up all the ornaments she'd given me over the years and I still have all but a few of them to decorate my tree. My husband has continued the tradition of giving me a new ornament each year.

If you're wondering why this has anything to do with Portman, it's because I learned, during his kick off, that his family started the Golden Lamb Inn and he and his siblings still own/run it today.

End Side Note

Portman's early entry in the race is clearly designed to discourage others from running and avoiding a primary battle for the seat.

He served Ohio as Congressman for the seven counties of the Second District for 12 years, held two Cabinet-level positions (U.S. Trade Representative and Director of the Office of Management and Budget), and was on the White House staff of the first Bush Administration. He is currently an attorney with Squire, Sanders, and Dempsey.

Portman was well-liked by almost everyone in Washington. A New York Times reporter wrote in 2003 that he couldn't find a single Democrat on Capitol Hill who would say anything unfavorable about the congressman. The closest he came, he said, was an anonymous member of the Ways & Means Committee who whispered that Portman was, despite his nice-guy image, really a conservative.

Portman to stop in Toledo as part of campaign for Senate

Rob Portman will be in Toledo tomorrow as part of a state-wide announcement that he will seek to replace retiring Sen. George Voinovich.

He will be at Tony Packo's on Front Street at 5 p.m. Wednesday. I do not know how long he plans to stay.

I'd try to get him on Eye On Toledo tomorrow, but we're pre-empted for a UT Basketball game.

Voinovich to not seek re-election

Politico is reporting that Sen. George Voinovich will announce Monday that he will not seek another term.

"A Voinovich spokesman would only confirm that he will make an announcement Monday on his future. But a Senate Republican leadership aide said that Voinovich’s planned retirement is “real” and an announcement will come soon."

This rumor has been swirling around for about 10 days now...names suggested as replacements are John Kasich and Rob Portman, with many throwing out Kasich's name as a candidate for governor as well.