This January, U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH) continued his work serving Ohio by meeting with Ohioans across the state, introducing and pushing for action on legislation in Washington and providing key constituent services. Below, you can find a summary of Brown’s work on behalf of Ohioans in January.
Today, to mark EITC Awareness Day, learn more about Brown’s Working Families Tax Relief Act to put more money in the pockets of working families and help your audience find a free VITA tax preparation site HERE.
NOTE: For most of the month of January, Senator Brown has served as an impartial juror in the impeachment case of President Donald Trump. For Brown’s perspective on the trial, please find several videos posted to Sen. Brown’s Twitter account HERE.
Traveling the State and Meeting with Ohioans
Visiting the Cleveland Center
On January 6th, Brown visited the Cleveland Air Route Traffic Control Center (the Cleveland Center) in Oberlin to learn about the center and to meet with local workers. The Cleveland Center is one of the busiest of the nearly two dozen air traffic control centers in the United States. Brown toured the traffic management unit, the weather monitoring area, the air traffic controllers’ station and the training center.
More HERE.
Delivering Remarks at 20th Annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday Scholarship Breakfast
On Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, Brown delivered remarks at the 20th Annual MLK Holiday Scholarship Breakfast. The breakfast was hosted by Josh and Maria Cribbs and chaired by Robbin Hudson. Scholarships for students and ‘In the Footsteps of Dr. King” Awards were presented to community members working to make the Greater Cleveland Community a better place to live and work.
More HERE.
Fighting for Ohio Priorities in Washington
Securing Worker Protections in Renegotiated NAFTA Agreement
This month, President Trump signed USMCA into law that included Brown’s important worker-empowering provisions. President Trump’s initial proposal, introduced in 2017, did very little to protect workers. As a result, Brown worked with Sen. Wyden, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and the labor movement to secure stronger labor protections and enforcement provisions.
More HERE.
Calling for Hearing on African American Burial Grounds Network Act
On January 27, Brown and Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-TN) called for a hearing on their bipartisan legislation to create a voluntary, nationwide network of African American burial grounds and to provide federal assistance to ensure the burial sites are preserved and maintained for future generations. In a letter to Energy and Natural Resources Committee Chairman Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) and Ranking Member Joe Manchin (D-WV), the Senators urged the committee to hold a hearing on the African American Burial Grounds Network Act, so that the Senate can take up and pass the legislation into law.
More HERE.
Working to Ban Discrimination Based on Hair Textures and Hairstyles
On January 14, Brown joined Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) in introducing the Create a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair (CROWN) Act, legislation to ban discrimination based on hair textures and hairstyles that are commonly associated with a particular race or national origin. Right now, existing federal law prohibits some forms of hair discrimination as a type of racial or national origin discrimination. The CROWN Act makes clear that discrimination based on natural and protective hairstyles associated with people of African descent, including hair that is tightly coiled or tightly curled, locs, cornrows, twists, braids, Bantu knots, and Afros, is a prohibited form of racial or national origin discrimination.
More HERE.
Joining Senator Portman to Request Funding for GLRI
On January 27, Brown and Sen. Rob Portman (R-OH) sent a letter urging the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to provide at least $320 million for the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI) in the fiscal year (FY) 2021 president’s budget request. GLRI is a results-driven program designed to address the most serious issues that threaten the ecological and economic well-being of the Great Lakes basin, including invasive species, pollution, and toxic contamination.
More HERE.
Providing Important Constituent Services to Ohioans
Announcing Service Academy Offers of Appointment
In January, Brown announced that several Military Service Academies extended Offers of Appointment to Ohio students after Brown nominated these students to one of the Academies. Each year, Brown nominates up to 10 students for each service academy requiring congressional recommendations: the U.S. Air Force Academy, the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy, and the U.S. Naval Academy. A nomination does not guarantee acceptance into a service academy. The Academy’s Admissions Board ultimately decides who receives an appointment.
Students from Shaker Heights, Silver Lake and Dayton were all offered appointments.
Hosting Veteran Roundtables
This month, Brown’s staff traveled across the state to meet with Ohio veterans. Brown’s staff met with veterans in Lawrence County, Hardin County and Meigs County. Brown’s office will take the veterans’ priorities back to Washington, where the Senator sits on the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee.
Assisting Ohioans with Public Service Loan Forgiveness
This month, Brown’s office helped a constituent from Franklin County who reached out for assistance in qualifying for Temporary Education Public Service Loan Forgiveness. The office contacted the Department of Education on the constituent’s behalf and learned that many of the constituent’s loans will be forgiven under the federal program.
ICYMI – Ohio News Coverage
Toledo Blade: Editorial: Speed up on Bus Safety
