GM CEO mum on plans for Lordstown plant

Sen. Rob Portman expressed disappointment that General Motors declined to say it plans to upgrade the company’s production facil- ity in Lordstown and increase its work force.

Following a meeting last week with GM’s chief executive officer Mary Barra in Port- man’s Senate office, the Ohio Republican said he “pressed her to make a public commit- ment to the Lordstown plant and reinvest its workforce. I am disappointed she did not do so, but I’m going to keep fighting for this community.”

Both Portman and Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, have lobbied Barra to maintain production at the Lordstown plant in northeast Ohio by re-tooling it to build any car and truck the company wants.

General Motors in June announced it would build its rebooted Chevrolet Blazer in Mexico the same day it laid off 1,200 workers at Lordstown. General Motors said the reduced work force was due to declining sales of the Chevrolet Cruze.

“I’ve seen firsthand the world-class cars these excep- tionally skilled workers produce, and if there is not a strong market for the Chevy Cruze right now, I want to be sure GM looks to this plant for production of other vehi- cles,” Portman said.

Brown said in a statement that both he, Portman and Rep. Tim Ryan, D-Niles, “agree that GM must keep the Lordstown plant open and we are committed to fighting for Ohio workers.” include artificial intelligence. ing the opioid epidemic.

Specifically, the bill would Key among them: A proexpand an office in the Genposal to lift a decades-old eral Services Administration policy that keeps states from to provide expertise to govusing federal Medicaid dolernment agencies and conlars to pay for treatment at duct research on federal residential mental health or artificial intelligence policy, substance abuse facilities with establish an advisory board more than 16 beds. Brown and Portman last week intro- to address policy opportuni- Portman argue that the polduced a bill aimed at improv- ties and direct the Office of icy has kept those addicted ing the use of artificial intelli- Management and Budget to to opioids from having access gence in the federal governestablish a strategy for invest- to treatment. Their proposal ment by directing federal ing and using artificial intel- would lift the cap for five years agencies to include artifiligence as part of the federal and cover all substance-use cial intelligence in data-redata strategy. disorders in order to help lated planning. more Americans access treat

Portman introduced the bill ment at inpatient facilities. with Sens. Brian Schatz, D-Ha- The opioid bill also includes waii, Cory Gardner, R-Cola provision that would help orado and Kamala Harris, treatment centers that treat D-California. The bill would babies born addicted to also provide resources to drugs, such as Brigid’s Path help the federal government in Dayton.

Bipartisan bill seeks improved use of AI Bill would get more access to drug rehabs

Portman and Sen. Sherrod Brown last week announced that they’d secured several provisions in the final version of a bill aimed at fight

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