HEROES Act

Portman, fan of a big tax cut for the rich, won’t say whether he supports $2T in coronavirus relief

BY: - October 22, 2020

Portman, fan of a big tax cut for the rich, won't say whether he supports $2T in coronavirus relief

U.S. House Dems urge CDC to order moratorium on water shutoffs

BY: - October 8, 2020

WASHINGTON — A pair of Democrats on the U.S. House Committee on Oversight and Reform on Monday called on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to issue a nationwide moratorium on drinking water shutoffs. The letter from Reps. Harley Rouda, D-Calif., and Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., who lead the panel’s environmental subcommittee, urged CDC officials […]

COMMENTARY

More federal help is critical in building a bridge to economic recovery

BY: - September 25, 2020

Many Ohioans have responded with great compassion during the pandemic and recession — donating to the local food bank, helping sick neighbors run errands and showing up to their essential frontline jobs, despite the risk. Our individual efforts — as heroic as they may have been — are not big enough to build a bridge to […]

COVID-19 cases in children rise, educators still begging for financial back-to-school help

BY: - August 12, 2020

As data shows rising numbers of children contracting COVID-19, school districts are still begging for funding to keep students and staff safe. One of the state’s teacher’s unions said school districts can’t be expected to live up to the standard needed to prevent COVID-19 spread in schools if they don’t have the proper resources. “All […]

As lawmakers squabble over unemployment, jobless workers face a big hit

BY: - July 31, 2020

Congress is continuing to squabble over whether to extend a federal supplement to unemployment insurance and if they do, by how much. But as they argue over whether to continue the supplement at $600-a-week level or some fraction of that, out-of-work Americans are left to worry whether they can survive on state benefits that often […]

U.S. House passes package to rescue child care industry

BY: - July 31, 2020

WASHINGTON — The U.S. House stepped in Wednesday to try to rescue the nation’s child care system from collapse under the weight of the pandemic. The chamber approved a pair of bills that backers say are needed to fully reopen the economy and shore up the child care industry in the longer term. The bills […]

Ohio cities desperate for federal funding to save jobs, local economies

BY: - July 20, 2020

City officials from across the state say federal funding is the only way their previously thriving municipalities can survive the pandemic and its accompanying recession. City mayors and city council members are trying to push U.S. Sen. Rob Portman to support funding through the Health and Economic Recovery Omnibus Emergency Solutions Act (HEROES Act), saying […]

Ohio’s K-12 public schools got cuts. Private, charter schools got cash.

BY: and - July 9, 2020

Ohio educators were at home celebrating “Teacher Appreciation Week” in May when they learned cuts would be made at every public school district in the state. These cuts came just as hundreds of private and charter schools in Ohio were approved to receive millions of dollars from the federal government to keep their workers on […]

COMMENTARY

An SOS (Save Our Schools) to U.S. Sen. Rob Portman from education groups

BY: , and - July 8, 2020

Editor’s Note: This is a joint commentary from Lois Carson, president of the Ohio Association of Public School Employees, Scott DiMauro, president of the Ohio Education Association, and Melissa Cropper, president of the Ohio Federation of Teachers. On Thursday, March 12, Gov. Mike DeWine announced that Ohio schools would be shutting down physically and four […]