Ohio Valley Politics

Several members of the House of Representatives, including 6th district Representative Charlie Wilson, are encouraging the Senate to include low income senior citizens in the Senate version of the economic stimulus package.

The House version of the bill has already passed without including a similar provision.

“I know there are seniors in Ohio’s Sixth District who rely solely on social security. They should not be left out of the stimulus package simply because they don’t have earned income, as the current plan requires. I’m hopeful that the Senate can craft a solution that will pass the House and that the President will sign it. People are hungry for this help.”

– Rep. Charlie Wilson

Wilson signed a letter to Harry Reid and Mitch McConnell urging their support for this position.

The letter was also signed by Dennis Kucinich, Betty Sutton, Marcy Kaptur, and several other members of congress.

Apparently Sen. George Voinovich isn’t a big fan of Barack Obama. In a conference call earlier today Voinovich had the following strong words (as quoted from CNN) about Obama’s foreign policy experience.

“He hasn’t any experience in foreign policy. Give me a break,” Voinovich said of his colleague from Illinois, who also serves on the Foreign Relations Committee.

Many people think it would be good to have “somebody that was of his background” become president, Voinovich said, because it would be a “good message in terms of culture.”

But Voinovich warned “things are very fragile in this world” and “we’re pinned down all over the place. It’s not going to be an easy deal for our next president to come in and deal with these problems.

“Between now and the election there are going to be many things that are going to happen in this country that will have an influence on people’s choice in terms of who the next president will be,’ Voinovich said.

Of course, Voinovich may just be jealous that his political career has already peaked.

Source: CNN Political Ticker: All politics, all the time Blog Archive - Voinovich takes aim at Obama « - Blogs from CNN.com

I just wanted to quickly point out that Sherrod Brown’s office will be holding several workshops throughout the state to educate people about federal assistance opportunities.

What types of federal funding are available? Where can I access that information? How can Senator Brown’s office help?

If you are interested in the answers to these questions, please consider attending one of our Federal Assistance Workshops. The workshops are offered as a public service to organizations, public officials, and interested individuals to provide a basic framework by which Senator Brown’s office can assist in the procurement of funding from the federal government.

These workshops are free and open to the public.

The schedule for these events can be found after the jump, but it’s important to note that they start tomorrow afternoon in St. Clairsville. If you’re in my part of the state that’s you’re best chance to attend without having to drive a long way.

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After Rep. Zack Space and Senator Sherrod Brown held their joint House-Senate VA field hearing earlier this year they reccomended that the VA look into building a Veteran’s Hospital here in Southeastern Ohio. The VA recently rejected this proposal.

“This study is an injustice, and it misses the point.  The VA in Washington should send representatives to our region to hear what I hear time and time again from veterans as I travel my district.  Veterans are fed up with the distances they must travel to receive care. Many of our nation’s heroes elect to go without services simply because they cannot afford the price or time it takes to travel to a VA facility. That’s unacceptable.

“There is simply too much evidence to the contrary for me to accept the VA findings.  I will continue to fight to ensure that our veterans receive the services their sacrifice deserves.”

– Rep. Zack Space

I agree with Space, this is completely unacceptable. Veterans living in my county have to travel all the way to Pittsburgh for treatment. That’s around a two hour drive (one way) from where I am. I know the county actually runs a bus to the VA hospital a couple time a month but those who ride it are forced to wait for every person on the bus to be cared for, a process that takes several more hours in addition to the four hours of travel time. It’s obviously a full day.

Hopefully the VA will reconsider this poorly thought out decision and grant Southeastern Ohio vets the healthcare they were promised, because right now they aren’t getting it.

Rep. Zack Space announced yesterday that he will introduce legislation to provide emergency funding to The Emergency Food Assistance Program. Space’s bill would mirror similar legislation introduced in the Senate by Sherrod Brown.

Space’s announcement comes a day after his participation in the Second Harvest Foodbank “Hunger Knows No Holiday Tour” in Hocking and Jackson Counties.

“I find it appalling that we are the wealthiest country on Earth, yet there are millions of people who go hungry every day. Yesterday, I met families who sat for hours in the cold just to receive a meager allowance of food.  This is not the Great Depression, and there is no excuse for children to go to bed hungry.

“Partisan bickering over the provisions of the Farm Bill should not delay funding to help parents provide food for their families.  I applaud Senator Brown’s efforts, and hopefully these bills will quickly make it through to provide the emergency funding necessary to keep these vital programs running.”

– Rep. Zack Space

“More and more Ohioans need food assistance, but there is less and less food to go around. Standing in line at food banks, working families are teetering on the edge. Families are facing an impossible choice this winter – heat or eat. With more people in need, the government must come through.”

– Sen. Sherrod Brown

According to a release from Space’s office, the bill would provide $40 million in emergency funds to last until the programs regular funding, a part of the much debated Farm Bill, is passed.