Brown, Portman eye Senate chairmanships
One of WASHINGTON —
Ohio’s U.S. senators will get to chair a Senate committee in 2021. After Tuesday, we’ll know who it is.
If Democrats win both of the Georgia U.S. Senate seats that are up for grabs in Tuesday’sGeorgia runoff, Ohio’s Sherrod Brown will chair the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs, which oversees issues including banks andfinancial institutions, foreign trade promotion, urban development and mass transit. Democrats would control the White House and both houses of Congress, and steer the nation’s legislative agenda until the next congressional election.
If Republicans win either (or both) of theGeorgia seats, Ohio’s Rob Portman will chair the Senate’s Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, which oversees matters that pertain the Department of Homeland Security, theCensus and the U.S. Postal Service
and studies the efficiency of all federal agencies and departments.
As chair of that committee, Portman will continue to conduct investigations, as he’s done while chairing the committee’s permanent
investigate subcommittee, his office says. He also plans to prioritize cybersecurity and holding foreign actors accountable for actions that threaten national security.
During 2021, Portmanalso plans to continue focusing
on many of his past legislative concerns, which include addressing the ongoing addiction epidemic, safeguardingcommunities from the scourge of human trafficking, and assuring transparency in ongoing COVID19 relief efforts and ensuring that U.S. companies rather thanforeign competitorsproduce the supplies the nation needs to fight the pandemic.
“Wewillcontinueourwork to respond to this unprecedented health care and economic crisis, and I will keep working to find bipartisan solutions to move Ohio and out country forward,” said a statement from Portman.
Republican control of the Senatewould give Portman and otherRepublicansmore legislative input than they’d get withDemocrats incharge of the WhiteHouse and both houses of Congress, just as Democratic control would give Brownmore sway. While bothwould prefer to set the agenda as committee chairs, eachwould fight for similar priorities if their party ends up in the Senate minority.
Brown, who has served as the banking committee’s topDemocratwhile the Senate has been under Republican control, says he’d use its chairmanship to immediatelywork on emergency rental assistance to prevent mass evictions during the coronavirus pandemic.
“We’ve got to figure out a way toprovidemorehousing for people,” says Brown.“For toomany people, there isn’t affordable, accessible housing,partlybecausewageshave been stagnant and people can’t afford to buy homes.”
Healsopredictsanewcoronavirus relief package once Democratic President-elect Joe Biden takes office that would put a moratorium on foreclosures and evictions, defer student loanpayments, andprovideOhioanswithfurthereconomicrelief. Hisother 2021 priorities include raising the minimum wage and passing the John Lewis Voting Rights Act to fight efforts to suppress minority votes.
“TheAmericanpeoplesent a clearmessage with this election: they want a president who’s on their side again,” said a statement fromBrown. “We face great challenges — we’re in a public health crisis, an economic crisis, and a climate crisis, and extraordinary times call for us to rise to meet this moment, and restore people’s faith in their government.”