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Dayton, OH – Last night, Congressman Mike Turner earned the endorsement of the Greene County Republican Party. The 40-4 vote by the Party’s Central Committee shows the broad support Turner has amassed in his bid for the 10th Congressional District.
“I am honored to have the support the Greene County Republican Party. As my campaign continues, I look forward to continuing to work with party leaders and voters to help bring the message of fiscal sanity to Washington,” said Turner.
Turner, whose parents have lived in Greene County for over 25 years, has helped represent the interests of the County both in bringing thousands of jobs to Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, and working on economic development projects like The Greene Town Center.
“Families in Greene County know that we need leaders in Washington focused on eliminating harmful regulations which inhibit job creation, and making it easier for businesses here in Ohio to succeed,” added Turner.
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Dayton, OH – Today, Congressman Mike Turner released the following statement upon new developments in the race for the 10th Congressional seat:
“I’d like to be one of the first to thank Steve Austria for his service to Ohio and our country. I know he is an honorable man and throughout his time in office he has done what he thought was right for Southwest Ohio and his constituents. I have filed for reelection and to represent the Tenth Congressional District of Ohio. With signatures of support from Montgomery, Greene, and Fayette counties, I look forward to continuing the call for an end to the reckless spending of taxpayer’s dollars in Washington and working on behalf of our community to grow jobs and protect Wright-Patterson Air Force Base.”
Dayton, OH – Today, Congressman Mike Turner released the following statement upon the General Assembly’s approval of a new Congressional map:
“I’m glad to see that the Ohio General Assembly has voted on a bill which will make both Montgomery County and our community whole. This permits our Congressional representative to focus on the Miami Valley as opposed to being split between Dayton and Columbus as originally proposed. Our area deserves a representative who is focused on the many and varied issues which confront our region. I look forward to filing the required signatures to run for this seat, and continue working on behalf of our community to create jobs, rein in out-of-control spending and preserve our nation’s security.”
Dayton, OH – Today, Congressman Mike Turner filed signatures in support of his reelection bid to Congress. Turner, who was first elected in 2002, and has also served as the Mayor of Dayton, has a history of leadership in working on behalf of the community and Ohio. In Congress, Turner has stood against the tide of out of control spending in Washington and has become known as a leader on the issue of national defense. Turner is running for office in the now numbered 10th Congressional District.
“As the only Member of Congress from southwest Ohio to stand against increasing the debt, I will continue to deliver a message of fiscal
discipline to Washington. This election presents an opportunity to change the path of reckless spending which has become business as usual in Congress. I am proud to have said no to increasing the federal debt which will be repaid for generations to come,” said Turner.
At stake in the 2012 election is the future of our nation’s finances, and our national defense. While some have voted to cripple our national security structure and pay for additional deficit spending via a debt limit increase, Turner has said “no.”
“Six to eight thousand Ohioans are set to lose their jobs because some in Congress thought it was appropriate to play chicken with our national security. After serving multiple deployments, our servicemembers shouldn’t now have to worry about their futures because some Members wanted to pay for a debt limit increase,” added Turner.
Tax Credit Extension Encourages Revitalization, Construction
Congressman Mike Turner (OH-3), Co-Chair of the Congressional Historic Preservation Caucus, has introduced legislation to encourage homeowners to preserve homes of historical significance across the country. The Historic Homeownership Revitalization Act (H.R. 2555) extends the tax credit currently in effect for commercial property owners to families living in historic homes. This legislation encourages the maintenance and rehabilitation of buildings which exemplify the culture and heritage of our communities. Furthermore, the Act incentivizes new construction on historic buildings; creating jobs.
“Across the country there are a number of communities with aging homes, with homeowners unable to keep up with their maintenance. Extension of this tax credit ensures that the history of our neighborhoods and nation remain intact for future generations,” said Turner.
The Historic Homeownership Revitalization Act would create a 20 percent tax credit — up to $60,000 — for homeowners who make expenditures to rehabilitate certified historic structures (listed in the National Register and is located in a registered historic district) in a way consistent with the historic character of the home and neighborhood in which the home is located.
“Maintaining a historic home is important for the continuity of communities. This bill provides funds for those homeowners who make their historic home their primary residence, or companies looking to rehabilitate property for future purchasers. Keeping residents in communities and adding new neighbors is good for real estate values and the construction companies who perform the work,” added Turner.
Homeowners would have a 2-year period to make qualified rehabilitation expenditures that exceed the greater of $5,000 or the taxpayer’s basis in the property, and must use the house as a principal residence. The credit would also be available for developers who rehabilitate homes for sale to individuals as their principal residence.
On July 22-23, the Library of Congress will be showcasing displays of many of our national treasures in Wilmington, OH. This exhibition titled “Gateway to Knowledge” brings unparalleled access to this public collection to the doorsteps of Americans. The traveling exhibit is transported in a specially fitted 18-wheel truck, and is expected to visit up to 60 sites in states across the Midwest and South. The truck, which is staffed and driven by two docents well-versed in the Library and its collections, will be parked at the Wilmington Public Library of Clinton County located at 268 N. South St. from 10:00-6:00 on both days.
The trailer of the 18-wheeler expands to three times its road width, with all visitors entering from a central staircase. Inside are several areas of museum-style exhibits including a introductory multimedia display, computer terminals displaying Library of Congress websites, other library websites including the Center for the Book/Literacy Programs site (www.read.gov) and sites pertaining to U.S. collections and exhibitions.
The “Gateway to Knowledge” also outlines the history of the Library of Congress, including Thomas Jefferson’s role in allowing its re-establishment following the burning of the U.S. Capitol in 1814. Jefferson, our third president, sold his personal collection of 6,487 books to the nation. In fact, his organization of his books by “Memory, Reason and Imagination” forms the organization of the exhibition.
The exhibit features facsimiles of such irreplaceable documents as the 1507 Waldseemüller Map – the first document to use the word “America”; the 1455 Gutenberg Bible; the rough draft of the Declaration of Independence, written in Thomas Jefferson’s hand with edits by Benjamin Franklin and John Adams; and the 1962 drawings for the comic book that introduced Spider-Man to the world.
Founded in 1800, the Library of Congress is the nation’s oldest federal cultural institution. As the de facto national library, the Library of Congress promotes literacy and American literature through projects such as the American Folklife Center, American Memory, Center for the Book and the Poet Laureate. This special visit is an opportunity for young and old alike who want to take a moment to experience our nation’s history.
If you’d like to see these rare documents in person while on your next visit to Washington D.C., please contact my office at (202) 225-6465 to set-up a tour of the main Library of Congress building.
In March, I along with Congressman Dan Burton (IN-5) sent a letter to Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Darrell Issa requesting that the Committee convene hearings into the actions of Pension Benefit Guarantee Corporation (PBGC) relating to Delphi employee pensions. Congressman Burton and I are members of this Committee, which has the responsibility to oversee and investigate a wide range of government agencies and operations.
When the US government took over General Motors, a decision made by the PBGC in consultation with the U.S. Treasury resulted in approximately 15,000 salaried Delphi retirees from across the country taking a severe cut in their promised pension benefits that had been earned throughout their careers. This action undertaken with taxpayer funds has not been explained or justified.
The March letter requesting the hearings noted that “Unions were treated differently [in the decision making process] with the so-called ‘splinter unions’ such as the IUE, IBEW, and IAM still facing benefit reductions while the UAW retirees saw their pensions topped off and continue to receive full benefits…In fact, the IUE pensions were initially slated to take the same cuts as salaried retirees, but the A[uto] T[ask] F[orce] reversed this decision three weeks after GM emerged from bankruptcy.”
Furthermore, we wrote that “because of the substantial taxpayer investment in the auto industry, and the role of the Federal Government Agencies resulting in the reduction or elimination of these benefits, Congress has a responsibility to exercise its oversight authority in this matter and ensure that all Delphi employees receive the pensions they deserve.”
Following our letter, a hearing was scheduled by the Subcommittee on Regulatory Affairs, Stimulus Oversight and Government Spending to review the “Lasting Implications of the GM Bailout” on June 22nd. At this hearing, I and other lawmakers had the opportunity to question Ron Bloom, who served as the Senior Advisor to the Secretary of the Treasury on the President’s Task Force on the Automotive Industry. This position placed him as the head of the government’s auto bailout program.
However, at the hearing, Mr. Bloom claimed that he wasn’t able to talk about the bailout because of pending lawsuits. I took exception with this fact, and informed Mr. Bloom that pending litigation had no effect on his ability to testify about what had occurred. Despite his evasion of my questioning, I submitted over 20 additional questions to both Mr. Bloom and the PBGC. These questions cover how the Delphi pension decision was reached, and what plans are in place to ensure that these employees receive their pensions.
Two weeks after that hearing, I am still awaiting a response to my questions. This hearing is just a step in the process of uncovering how this decision was reached, and who was responsible. My continued work on this issue is part of an effort to seek the restoration of these hard earned pension benefits. I will continue to press for answers to my questions and those of Delphi employees who have yet to be made whole on their pension losses.
By Congressman Michael Turner
On July 4th, we commemorate the 235th anniversary of signing of the Declaration of Independence. On this uniquely American holiday, we celebrate our democracy with fireworks and with patriotic displays of the “Stars and Stripes.” The United States is the world’s oldest surviving democracy, and Independence Day is our annual celebration of this historic experiment in self government. The Founding Fathers considered Independence Day an important occasion for rejoicing. In a letter to his wife, Abigail, John Adams wrote:
“I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated by succeeding generations as the great anniversary festival. It ought to be commemorated as the day of deliverance, by solemn acts of devotion to God Almighty. It ought to be solemnized with pomp and parade, with shows, games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires, and illuminations, from one end of this continent to the other, from this time forward forever more.”
In 1776, Thomas Jefferson wrote that all men are “endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights; that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness.” The author of the Declaration of Independence reflected on these immortal words in the last letter he ever wrote, ten days before the 50th anniversary of America’s independence: “Let the annual return of this day forever refresh our recollections of these rights, and an undiminished devotion to them.” Both Adams and Jefferson died on the Fourth of July, 1826, on the 50th birthday of the Nation they helped to create.
Our first president, George Washington, did not sign the Declaration of Independence because he had left Philadelphia to take charge of the Continental Army. At Washington’s request, the Nation’s unofficial first flag was raised near his headquarters outside of Boston. That flag, the Grand Union Flag, consisted of the familiar 13 alternating red and white horizontal stripes, with the British Union Flag in the upper left corner. The Grand Union Flag remained our unofficial flag until the Continental Congress formally adopted the “Stars and Stripes.” On June 14th of each year we celebrate Flag Day; the anniversary of the official adoption of the American flag by the Continental Congress in 1777.
The flag of the United States is a symbol of freedom and democracy recognized around the world. Americans with a diverse range of backgrounds, opinions, and experiences universally rally at the sight of “Old Glory.” The photograph of the U.S. Marines raising the flag during the battle of Iwo Jima, pictures of the firefighters defiantly hoisting the flag skyward among the ruins of the Twin Towers, and unfurling the flag over the shattered Pentagon on 9/11, are images that define our American character. The American flag remains the only nation’s flag planted on the surface of the moon.
The esteem that Americans have for our flag is reflected in the high volume of constituent requests my office receives for flags that have flown over the U.S. Capitol. Since 1937, the Architect of the Capitol has made available for purchase, flags that have flown over the Capitol. The Architect fulfills more than 100,000 flag requests from Members of the House and Senate each year. With six weeks’ notice, a flag can be flown on a specific date to commemorate a birthday, retirement, anniversary, or other special occasion. All flags flown over the Capitol are made in the USA.
Flags are available in nylon and cotton, and come in three sizes (3’x 5’ – 4’x 6’ – 5’x 8’). Each flag comes with a certificate of authenticity from the Architect of the Capitol. The certificate can be personalized to reflect the occasion. If you or your neighbors would like to honor an individual, a special occasion, or simply want to show your patriotism by flying an American flag at your home, please visit my website, for complete information and ordering instructions.
The Fourth of July is more than a holiday for parades, picnics, and fireworks. It is an opportunity for all Americans to reflect on a cherished privilege we call freedom.
Congressman Mike Turner released the following statement upon the release of the National Space-Based Positioning, Navigation, and Timing Systems Engineering Forum’s (NPEF) assessment of the effects of LightSquared’s planned deployment of a terrestrial broadband communications network to GPS receivers and GPS-dependent systems and networks:
“The report released by the NPEF yesterday provides concrete technical data to validate the GPS interference concerns of members of our military and of the House Strategic Forces Subcommittee. LightSquared’s operations as currently devised, ‘cannot successfully coexist with GPS’ and would hinder our service members who are counting on an uninterrupted GPS capability to do their jobs. I appreciate the NPEF’s work and, based on their recommendations, echo their call for the Federal Communications Commission to move to rescind the conditional waiver issued to LightSquared on January 26, 2011.”
NOTE: Turner authored Section 911 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2012 (H.R. 1540) which prohibits the FCC from providing final authorization for LightSquared operations until Department of Defense concerns about GPS interference have been resolved. The legislation passed in the House on May 26, 2011, with broad bipartisan support. Turner, the House Armed Services Subcommittee Chairman on Strategic Forces, has legislative jurisdiction over space and satellite systems.
Today, Congressman Mike Turner released the following statement upon the President’s announcement that he will be removing 30,000 U.S. troops from Afghanistan by the end of 2012:
“This evening the President announced that he will be withdrawing 30,000 troops from Afghanistan. That nation, according to our military leaders on the ground, remains a fragile security environment and I would be hesitant to withdraw these forces, and risk placing our remaining servicemembers at risk. Stability in Afghanistan is essential to our national security and our ongoing war against terror. The hard fought successes of the 2009 surge have become more apparent throughout the country with each passing day. Prior to this decision being made, Congress needs to hear directly from our commanders on how this troop withdrawal will affect regional security and the safety of our men and women who remain deployed in Afghanistan.”
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