A bipartisan group will try again to pass a bill to help teachers and first-responders buy homes in the communities they serve.
U.S. Sens. Jon Ossoff, D-Ga.; Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio; and Marco Rubio, R-Fla., reintroduced the Homes for Every Local Protector Educator and Responder (HELPER) Act. The bill would create a first-time homebuyer loan program under the Federal Housing Administration for teachers and first responders who have served at least four years.
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Three Republican Pennsylvania lawmakers are preparing to introduce a resolution calling on Congress to pass a new rail-safety statute in light of February’s train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio.
State Representative Jim Marshall (R-Beaver Falls) told The Pennsylvania Daily Star he is co-sponsoring the resolution to encourage an “all-in approach” to reduce the likelihood of freight-train accidents. State Representatives Natalie Mihalek (R-Pittsburgh) and Ryan Warner (R-Connellsville) spearhead the measure.
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Columbus venture capitalist Mark Kvamme, who many Republicans thought to be a potential GOP contender to run for U.S. Senate against Ohio Democratic U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH) in 2024, announced that he would not be running for Senate and instead endorsed Republican businessman Bernie Moreno.
Moreno previously filed paperwork with the Federal Election Commission to run for Senate in 2024 and to challenge Democratic incumbent Brown. He officially announced his campaign last week, saying that it’s time for a new generation of political outsiders to come in and get the job done to put America First.
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A Republican Pennsylvania lawmaker is urging colleagues to cosponsor state-level legislation to limit a freight train’s length to no greater than 8,500 feet.
State Representative Louis Schmitt, Jr. (R-Altoona) reasoned in a memorandum describing his proposal that the February 3 derailment in East Palestine, less than half a mile from Pennsylvania’s western border, shows current rail-safety requirements are inadequate.
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At a Wednesday hearing of the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation Norfolk Southern’s CEO Alan Shaw evaded questions about the company’s support for safety requirements included in the bipartisan Rail Safety Act of 2023.
The Rail Safety Act sponsored by U.S. Senators JD Vance (R-OH) and Sherrod Brown (D-OH) would require that trains carrying hazardous materials be scanned by wayside defect detectors, or “hotbox detectors,” every 10 miles to prevent future derailments caused by faulty wheel bearings. It stipulates that railroad companies must provide advance notification to state emergency response commissions when transporting hazardous materials. It requires railroads to operate with at least two-person crews. It also, increases the maximum fine for rail safety violations.
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U.S. Senators J.D. Vance (R-OH) and Sherrod Brown (D-OH) this week sent a letter to heads of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) urging long-term health monitoring of East Palestine, Ohio residents.
Vance and Brown asked EPA Administrator Michael Regan and CDC Director Rochelle Walensky to guarantee baseline medical testing for those living near the site of the February 3 train derailment. The rail company Norfolk Southern followed the incident with what the company termed a “controlled burn” of five cars containing vinyl chloride.
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Over the weekend, Ohio Senators JD Vance (R-OH) and Sherrod Brown (D-OH) worked together in sending a letter to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) – both at the federal and state level – requesting that the agencies provide their plans to monitor East Palestine and surrounding areas for dioxins following the February 3rd derailment of a Norfolk Southern train.
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Friday morning on The Tennessee Star Report, host Leahy welcomed the top political strategist in the nation, Ward Baker in studio to give his analysis on the 2024 senate race and why it’s important.
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Ohio’s two U.S. senators this week proposed a Senate bill making full-time students eligible for the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) program.
U.S. Representatives Brad Wenstrup (R-OH-2) and Danny Davis (D-IL-7) introduced a House version of the measure earlier this week. The proposed change to the program would make LIHTC, which provides tax relief to developers who build or rehabilitate low-cost rental units, allow full-time students to live on sites that were funded by the credit. The current prohibition on such students living in those buildings was intended to prevent LIHTC from aiding the construction of dormitories.
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U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH) on Thursday announced he sent the United States Postal Service (USPS) the second of two letters asking for stronger measures against postal robberies.
Brown originally wrote to Postmaster General Louis DeJoy and Inspector General Whitcomb Hull a month ago asking them to redeploy Postal Police Officers to patrol along mail-carrier routes and at USPS collection sites. He said he received no response and therefore wrote to the USPS Board of Governors this week urging them to reinstitute the patrols.
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Speaking on Friday at the groundbreaking of Intel’s new semiconductor factory in Licking County, Ohio, President Joe Biden said that “it’s time to bury the label ‘rust belt…’” when describing the region in which he stood.
The ‘rust belt’ is a term often used to denote an area extending from western New York through the midwest that saw heavy industrial activity from the late 19th century to the mid-20th century, particularly concerning steel production and automobile manufacturing. The region suffered significant economic decline by the late 20th century and many communities therein have struggled since.
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The congressional candidates for Virginia’s seventh and tenth districts met in a virtual forum on Monday evening where they discussed policy problems faced by people with disabilities. At the beginning, moderator Connor Cummings said that the event was a sensory-friendly forum, not a debate, and instructed candidates to speak about themselves, not their opponents. As a result, the forum’s tone was professional and policy-focused, lacking the fireworks of traditional forums and debates driven by attacks and personality.
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There is growing worry among Wisconsin dairy farmers about a new climate change plan for investors.
The Venture Dairy Cooperative is sounding the alarm about the Climate-Related Disclosures for Investors. The Securities and Exchange Commission is looking to require companies to report information about their “greenhouse gas pollution and be transparent with investors about climate-related risks.”
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Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH) introduced a resolution along with Sens. Corey Booker (D-New Jersey) and Kamala Harris (D-California) that wants to say “racism” is a public health crisis.
“We will not make progress until we acknowledge and address all of the ways that centuries of racism and oppression have harmed Black and brown Americans,” Brown said. “This resolution is an important step toward recognizing the racial disparities in healthcare that have existed for far too long while also outlining concrete action we can take now to help reverse them.
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Five Democrat senators knelt during a moment of silence for George Floyd in a caucus meeting on Capitol Hill Thursday afternoon.
Sens. Tim Kaine (D-VA), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Martin Heinrich (D-NM) and Michael Bennet (D-CO) knelt, which lasted for eight minutes and 46 seconds, The Hill reported. That was the length of time fired Minneapolis officer Derek Chauvin pressed his knee on Floyd’s neck before he died. Chauvin faces a second-degree murder charge over the incident.
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A recent report from The New York Times claimed that high-ranking Democrats are floating Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) as the party’s nominee in the event of a brokered convention.
The Times interviewed 93 superdelegates and found “overwhelming opposition to handing the Vermont senator [Sen. Bernie Sanders] the nomination if he arrived with the most delegates but fell short of a majority.”
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Ohio Senators Sherrod Brown and Rob Portman announced their decision on why they voted the way they did during Wednesday’s historic Senate impeachment vote. As expected, these senators’ decisions went along party lines. Brown, a Democrat, said “yes” to articles of impeachment, and Portman, a Republican, said “no” to…
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Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH-04) significantly outraised many of his colleagues in Ohio’s congressional delegation during the final quarter of 2019, including both of the state’s U.S. senators.
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Ohio’s Senator Sherrod Brown along with other top Democratic Senators held a press conference Friday about the upcoming impeachment witness vote.
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Bryan St. John lives near and frequents the Oregon District, a quaint neighborhood in Dayton where the shooting took place. A journalist from The Washington Post asked St. John for his opinion on the various sides of the gun debate.
“Well, when people say you should ban guns, to me it goes back to 1991 and the Killeen Luby shooting there where the lady was under the table and had to watch her parents get shot and followed the law and left her gun in the car,” St. John replied to one question.
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Saturday evening, Ohio Democratic Congressman Tim Ryan made one of his last appearances in a multi-state blitz tour of early presidential primary states. When Ohio Democratic Senator Sherrod Brown decided not to run last month, most Ohioans thought that would be it for Ohio politicians entering the 2020 race. Yet Rep. Ryan, despite not announcing…
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Sens. Rob Portman (R-OH) and Sherrod Brown (D-OH) have introduced a bipartisan bill aimed at giving Ohio workers and retirees a seat at the table when it comes to solving the nation’s looming pension crisis. As The Ohio Star previously reported, an estimated six million retirees and four million workers…
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National Senate Democrats released a report Monday showing that President Donald Trump’s national emergency declaration could divert $112 million in funding away from military projects in Ohio. According to The Columbus Dispatch, the cuts could impact a $61 million plan for a new building for the National Air and Space…
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Sen. Rob Portman (R-OH) and 11 of his Republican colleagues joined Senate Democrats Thursday in voting against President Donald Trump’s national emergency declaration. In a 59-41 vote, the Senate passed a bill that would terminate Trump’s emergency declaration, though the president has already said he will veto the resolution. Portman…
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CINCINNATI, Ohio – We Build the Wall, Inc., an organization launched by triple-amputee veteran Brian Kolfage, hosted its second town hall Tuesday night in downtown Cincinnati. Kolfage drew national media attention in December for launching a GoFundMe page to help pay for President Donald Trump’s border wall, and has now…
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Ohio’s only potential 2020 contender announced Thursday that he wouldn’t run for president. After taking a three-month tour of key battleground states, dubbed the “Dignity of Work” Tour, Democratic Senator Sherrod Brown’s decision shocked many who saw him as one of the best chances to defeat President Trump. No one can say…
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Ohio Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown arrived in South Carolina Friday in the final planned stop on his three-month “Dignity of Work” tour. The official aim of the tour, which began in January, was to share “some of his ideas to make hard work pay off for everyone.” Unofficially, the tour has…
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Ohio Democratic State Rep. Jack Cera (D-96) has introduced a bill that would permanently delay the Ohio presidential primary by two months, a move that could have major implications for Ohio. House Bill 101 (HB 101) would officially move the Ohio primary from March to “the first Tuesday after the first Monday in…
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Saturday, before an assembly of the Culinary Union – the most powerful workers union in Las Vegas – Democratic Ohio Senator Sherrod Brown declared that should he run, he would be “The Most Pro-Union, Pro-Worker Candidate” out of the entire field. He stated, “I will always fight for workers, I…
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Ohio Senator and potential 2020 Democratic presidential candidate Sherrod Brown is in trouble. In these early moves before formally announcing his candidacy, Brown has been focusing on courting both sides of the political spectrum. On the right, he has attempted to present himself as a populist candidate whose blue-collar priorities…
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It appears there’s a new buzzword in the ongoing debate over the border wall. Sunday, when asked how he felt about former congressman, and potential 202o presidential candidate Beto O’Rourke’s proposal to destroy all existing barriers on the Mexico-US border, Ohio Senator Sherrod Brown refused to concur with his potential 2020 opponent, citing…
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by Molly Prince Washington, D.C. — Democratic Ohio Sen. Sherrod Brown was unable to explain on Tuesday what would differentiate his possible presidential candidacy from fellow Democratic Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar, who recently launched a bid for the presidency. “Well, I don’t know,” Brown replied when asked during a…
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Ohio Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) took shots at President Donald Trump this weekend in New Hampshire by calling his populism “phony” and saying he’s a “bully.” Brown’s “Dignity of Work” tour made two stops in New Hampshire over the weekend in a visit to the state with the second earliest…
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Ohio Senator Sherrod Brown is not mincing words when it comes to former Starbucks CEO, and 2020 independent candidate hopeful, Howard Schultz. Within 24 hours of launching his “Dignity of Work” tour, Brown told a group of voters that Schultz was a “total idiot.” Strangely, the Senator was not prompted,…
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Republican National Committee Spokesperson Mandi Merritt issued a blistering broadside Wednesday against Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH) and his “Dignity of Work” tour. She stated: As Sherrod Brown takes his phony pro-workers’ agenda to the early primary states, he risks abandoning his own Ohio constituents. Ohio didn’t sign up for a part-time…
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Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) has made it very clear that the Oval Office is in his sights. Coming off a six-point reelection victory, the only nonjudicial Democrat to win in Ohio in 2018, Brown has been working behind the scenes to build the infrastructure, support, and endorsements necessary to mount a challenge…
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by Henry Olsen Senator Sherrod Brown is one of many Democrats considering a run for the White House. His name likely does not ring a bell, as he has not garnered the national attention that other potential rivals have. Many observers think he could be a formidable opponent for…
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by Molly Prince Democratic Ohio Sen. Sherrod Brown has chosen his campaign slogan for a potential presidential run while he is still mulling over a challenge to President Donald Trump in 2020. Brown, notable for his “rumpled” image and more than 40-year public service tenure in Ohio, is exhibiting…
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President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump are heading to Columbus, Ohio Friday for a series of charity events and fundraisers, but one familiar face will be noticeably absent. Trump will headline the Ohio Republican Party state dinner Friday night, but Ohio Gov. John Kasich, who has been at…
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