Brown bill seeks to help grandparents who are raising kids

WASHINGTON — Sen. Sher- rod Brown’s bill aimed at helping grandparents who are raising their grandchil- dren because of the opioid epidemic is now heading to President Trump’s desk.

Congress last week passed the Supporting Grandparents Raising Grandchildren Act, a bill introduced by Brown, D-Ohio that would establish a federal task force to support grandparents raising grandchildren to identify, coordinate and share infor- mation and resources. The bill is also sponsored by Sens. Bob Casey, D-Pennsylvania and Susan Collins, R-Maine.

In a press release, Brown said the bill “is one step in the right direction.”

“We need to learn more about the challenges facing grandparents and other relatives in Ohio who have stepped up as caregivers, so we can support them as they raise these children,” he said.

Turner asked to help iron out Defense bills

Rep. Mike Turner will be a negotiator on the final version of the National Defense Authorization Act. As a con- feree, he’ll be tasked with helping to iron out differ- ences in the House and Senate Defense bills. In a state- ment, the Dayton Republican said his key priorities will include working to main- tain the House’s $182 mil- lion for an expansion proj- ect at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in the final version of the bill, expedite hir- ing at Wright-Patt, and help the Air Force Research Laboratory partner with small businesses.

Beatty not happy with HUD Sec. Carson

They say you have to send a letter to get a letter, but at a congressional hearing last week, it became evident that U.S. Rep. Joyce Beatty is not getting Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Ben Carson’s letters at all.

Instead, she complained that for the second time in a year, she’s sent a letter to Carson questioning a policy being implemented at the Department of Housing and Urban Development, only to have it ignored for Caucus, wrote to say they months, with only a Carson would “strongly” oppose aide eventually responding such a change. They also to her. asked for a copy of the memo

This, she said, is a disreproposing the change. spectful act for a member of In May, the group got a Congress with oversight over response from the assistant Carson’s agency. During a secretary for congressiohearing of the House Finan- nal and intergovernmental cial Services Committee, relations saying the reports Beatty, a Jefferson Town- were “simply false” and sayship Democrat, lambasted ing that the department “is Carson for not answering looking at its mission stateher questions. ment and considering “mod

At issue was a letter she’d est changes.” The letter said written in March asking Car- that HUD’s mission statement son to clarify reports that would continue to “capture Carson planned to change the essence of our historic the Department of Housing role in fighting housing disand Urban Development’s crimination and promoting mission statement to remove fair and inclusive housing.” anti-discrimination language. But Beatty said she wanted Beatty, who sent the letter assurances from Carson, not along with several members an aide. of the congressional Black