Senators Portman, Brown team up to fix outdated bridges
WASHINGTON — Sens. Sherrod Brown and Rob Portman last week joined with a bipartisan group to include $3.27 billion in a federal high
package to pay for the replacement or repair of outdated bridges.
The money would be used as part of a competitive grant program and would require all projects paid for by the grants to use American-made steel and iron.
In addition to the $3.265 billion provided to fund the grant program initially, the bill authorizes an additional $3.265 billion that could be provided to fund the new bridge program in the future.
A report released in April by the American Road and Transportation Builders Association found that 47,000 bridges in the United States are structurally deficient and need urgent repairs.
Brown said Ohio has more than 6,000 bridges that need repairs or updates
Brown, a Democrat, and Portman, a Republican, joined Sens. Jim Inhofe, R-Oklahoma, Ron Wyden, drug companies for dumping And they were advertising opioids on states like Ohio to help their cause. during the opioid crisis while Advertising expenses by at the same time exploiting pharmaceutical drug man- loopholes that allowed them ufacturers have more than to deduct the cost of adverquadrupled over the past tising expenses from their two decades, rising from federal taxes. $1.3 billion in 1997 to $6 bil-
Brown this year intro- lion in 2016, according to duceda bill that would proBrown’s office. hibit pharmaceutical drug And during that same time manufacturers from claiming period, advertising from drug tax deductions for consumer companies has increased D-Oregon, Roger Wicker, advertising expenses, saying from 79,000 ads to 4.6 mil- R-Mississippi, Sheldon Whitetaxpayer dollars should not lion ads, including 663,000 house, D-Rhode Island, Shel- be used to help pay for drug TV commercials. ley advertisements. “We need to hold these
Moore Capito, R-West In a speech on the Senate corporations accountable, Virginia, Chris Van Hollen, floor last week, he said he and we need to make sure D-Maryland and Ed Markey, was infuriated by reports they never again have the D-Massachusetts in pushing that drug companies satu- unchecked power to push the measure. rated the United States with addictive drugs — or any 76 billion addictive prescrip- drugs — on the American tion painkillers from 2006 people to line their own exec- through 2012, including 3.7 utives’ pockets,” Brown said billion pills to Ohio alone. on the Senate floor.
Brown targets, blasts drug companies
Brown last week blasted
Remembering Cuyahoga River fire
The Senate last week passed a bipartisan resolution written by Portman and Brown marking 50 years of environmental progress since the last time the Cuyahoga River caught on fire on June 22, 1969.
The Senate resolution describes how the fire spurred i mportant federal environmental action, including passage of the Clean Water Act and the Clean Air Act and recognizes the transformation of the Cuyahoga River and the Great Lakes since that time.
It is cited as a model of environmental restoration and the economic benefit of the river for recreation, tourism, commercial shipping and job growth.