Senator Portman - A Year of Delivering Results for Ohio

In 2017, Senator Portman continued his record of delivering results for Ohio, just as he did in 2016. This year, Portman delivered on his promise to fix our broken tax code as President Trump signed into law historic tax cuts to boost the middle class, create more and better jobs, and increase wages.  In addition, Portman made significant progress on his efforts to combat the horrific crime of human trafficking, help Ohioans struggling with addiction, provide resources to the men and women in uniform serving our country at Ohio’s military installations, and more. Here is a look at what Portman accomplished for Ohio in 2017:
Creating More Jobs & Higher Wages for Ohio Families. When Senator Portman ran for the Senate in 2010, he campaigned on a jobs plan, a key component of which was tax reform.  He promised to help lead an effort to reform our tax code and provide relief to families and small businesses.  In so doing, he kept his commitment to the people of Ohio.  In addition to tax reform, Portman worked on a number of measures to help create jobs, level the playing field for Ohio workers, and make Ohio businesses more competitive.

• Senator Portman played a leading role in helping craft the landmark tax reforms which were signed into law on December 22, 2017. Portman worked throughout the process to develop and help improve the bill, including adding several amendments during Senate consideration by the Senate Finance Committee.  Here’s a quick rundown on how Portman worked to improve the tax bill, both during Senate deliberations and the final conference agreement:

• Pushing for Middle-Class Tax Cuts.  Throughout this debate, Portman focused consistently on ensuring that the middle class get a significant tax cut, and at least maintaining the progressivity of the code.  In particular, he focused on lowering tax rates and expanding the child tax credit, and he was successful in doing so.  
• Expanding Tax Relief for Small Businesses.  Reforms to the business tax code are an essential component of this tax reform law, especially lowering rates for small businesses.  These pro-growth reforms will grow our economy, create more jobs, and make America more competitive with our foreign counterparts.  The National Federation of Independent Businesses (NFIB) endorsed the bill.
• Leveling the Playing Field for American Companies & Workers.  Portman’s bipartisan work on international tax reform is a key component of this tax reform bill.  In 2015, he chaired a bipartisan working group on international tax reform with Senator Chuck Schumer (D-NY), now Minority Leader.  Together they developed a bipartisan framework to reform the international tax code, transition from a worldwide to a territorial tax system, and give American companies a level playing field with their foreign competitors.  The gist of that framework is now a part of the tax reform law.  Details about this 2015 effort are here.
• Preserving Private Activity Bonds (PABs).  Both in the Senate-passed bill and the final House-Senate agreement, Portman helped preserve PABs, which are an essential source of funding for important infrastructure and community redevelopment projects across Ohio.The original House bill eliminated PABs.
• Preserving the Historic Tax Credit (HTC).  Portman is a strong supporter of the HTC and worked with Senator Cassidy (R-LA) to restore the current 20 percent credit in both the Senate-passed bill and the final House-Senate agreement after the House eliminated it entirely and an early draft of the Senate bill reduced it to 10 percent.  The HTC encourages private investment in the rehabilitation of historic buildings.  It has been used to preserve numerous historic Ohio buildings, including Cincinnati’s recently rehabilitated iconic Music Hall.  The Cincinnati Enquirer editorial board said “Portman was true to his word and delivered a win for the region.”
• Preserving the New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC).  While the House eliminated the NMTC, Portman led the effort to preserve it in the Senate bill and the final House-Senate agreement, which has been signed into law. The NMTC helps economically distressed communities attract private capital for community redevelopment purposes, and Cincinnati has been a significant beneficiary.  Earlier this year, Portman visited the Nehemiah Manufacturing Company, which is using the NMTC to expand and provide meaningful employment opportunities to ex-offenders re-entering society.
• Preserving the Work Opportunity Tax Credit.  Portman led the effort to preserve the Work Opportunity Tax Credit, which provides employers with a tax credit for hiring and retaining veterans, ex-felons, disabled individuals, summer youth employees, and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, and Supplemental Security Income recipients. A 2015 Portman amendment added a $2,400 credit for first year wages paid to the long-term unemployed.  The House bill eliminated the tax credit, but Portman helped preserve it in the final tax law.
• Easing the Burden of High Medical Expenses.  The tax reform law includes changes from Portman’s Seniors Tax Hike Prevention Act, which would allow seniors to deduct a greater share of their medical costs. Under the final bill, all taxpayers at any age may take advantage of this expanded deduction.
• Helping Families Combat Unfair Tax on Student Loans.  The tax reform law includes Portman’s bipartisan Stop Taxing Death and Disability Act, legislation to eliminate a tax penalty levied on student loans forgiven for families after their child develops a permanent disability or dies.
• Promoting the Craft Beverage Industry in Ohio.  The tax reform law includes the bipartisan Craft Beverage Modernization & Tax Reform Act, legislation cosponsored by Portman that would provide excise tax relief to the growing craft beverage industry, helping these entrepreneurs reinvest more in their businesses and our communities. Ohio is number four in the country in craft beer production and supports 15,000 jobs in the state.
• Preserving Worker Retirement Security.  The tax reform law includes a Portman amendment to protect small startup businesses’ ability to utilize nonqualified deferred compensation programs for millions of employees and retirees; remove a provision that would have subjected 457 plan participants like Ohio police and firefighters to a harmful 10 percent early distribution tax; and preserve the ability of all 401(k) participants to make catch-up contributions after age 50.  Portman also worked with Senator Susan Collins (R-ME) to preserve additional catch-up contributions available to 457 and 403(b) plans, including clergy in church pension plans. These amendments preserved popular retirement security incentives.
• Preserving Key Higher Education Tax Incentives.  Along with his colleagues in the Senate, Portman worked to preserve key tax incentives for undergraduate and graduate students, helping Ohio students struggling with the high cost of college.

• In October, Portman, who this year received the NAM Award for Manufacturing Legislative Excellence, embarked on an Ohio Auto Manufacturing Jobs Tour.  During the three-day tour, he covered more than 700 miles across Ohio to learn more about recent auto investments into Ohio, raise awareness for the economic impact of the automotive industry in our state, and discuss how tax reform will benefit auto manufacturers. Portman, who is co-chair of the Senate Auto Caucus, visited Ford’s Sharonville Transmission Plant, the General Motors Parma Metal Center, the General Motors Toledo Transmission Plant, the Fiat Chrysler US Toledo Assembly Complex, and the Honda of America Manufacturing Plant in Marysville.  During his visits, Portman discussed a host of issues including regulations, health care costs, trade, workforce development, and our outdated and burdensome tax code. A highlight video of his tour can be found here.
• In Ohio, Portman has put a priority on his efforts to create jobs and boost wages for Ohio workers.  He held six tax reform roundtables in Ohio with local business leaders to get input on tax reform, and spent time meeting with Ohio businesses and manufacturers. In Columbus, Portman co-hosted a small business roundtable with Small Business Administrator Linda McMahon. They visited Burton Metal Finishing where they toured the facilities and hosted a roundtable discussion with local small business owners.  This year alone, Portman visited Nehemiah Manufacturing in Cincinnati, Campbell Soup Company in Napoleon, International Paper and Food Services in Kenton, Speyside Bourbon Cooperage, Inc. in Jackson, the Haessly Hardwood Lumber Company in Marietta, Sapa Extrusions in Sidney, Pennex Aluminum Company in Leetonia, Cincinnati Crane & Hoist, the General Tool Company in Cincinnati, the GE Aviation Engine Test Facility in Peebles, the BASF plant in Greenville, the Idea Foundry in Columbus, the Manufacturing Advocacy and Growth Network (MAGNET) in Cleveland, and Rice Energy in Belmont County to listen to their concerns and learn about how he can help.
• Portman’s bipartisan Leveling the Playing Field Act and bipartisan ENFORCE Act are working to help American manufacturers by cracking down on foreign competitors that launder products through other countries to try to get around our trade laws. In March, Portman and Senator Brown urged Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross to address unfair trade practices by Korean producers of Oil Country Tubular Goods (OCTG). In April, the Commerce Department found that Korean steel producers have been unfairly dumping these imports into the U.S. market, leaving Ohio steelworkers and steel companies at a competitive disadvantage. The Senators’ Leveling the Playing Field Act helped pave the way for the positive decision in the case.
• In addition to his work on the Leveling the Playing Field Act for Ohio steelworkers, Portman has continued to fight to protect steel jobs in the state. In February, Portman joined Senator Brown in introducing the Steel Industry Preservation Act, bipartisan legislation that would create a tax credit for domestic steel companies, lower the cost of steel production, and promote job growth within the industry.  Portman and Brown also asked President Trump to prioritize reducing steel overcapacity, urging the administration to take swift action on the 232 investigation, which has been pending for months.  Portman has been awarded the “Congressional Steel Champion Award” for his work to protect the steel industry and Ohio steelworkers.  
• In July, Portman and Brown announced that, at their urging, the Commerce Department ruled that U.S. aluminum extrusions producers are being harmed by unfair trade practices by foreign competitors. The decision, which will help American manufactures fight back against Chinese efforts to avoid our trade laws, resulted from a letter Portman and Brown sent to Secretary Ross in June.
• In September, Portman, who in February hosted an employee town hall meeting with Whirlpool employees at their plant in Clyde, testified before the International Trade Commission (ITC) to fight on behalf of Ohio Whirlpool workers and against unfair trade practices. In October, the ITC ruled to impose restrictions on imported washing machines that will help stop South Korean manufacturers from unfairly flooding the American market, thus helping protect Whirlpool jobs.
• In April, Senators Portman and Heidi Heitkamp (D-ND) introduced the bipartisan Regulatory Accountability Act (RAA) designed to make federal regulations smarter and more effective so they better support businesses, families, and jobs.  This bill will modernize a federal regulatory process that hasn’t been significantly reformed in 70 years. The legislation, which is widely supported by small businesses, workers, farmers and ranchers, was approved by the Homeland Security & Governmental Affairs Committee in May and now awaits a vote on the Senate floor.
• In 2015, Portman got his bipartisan Federal Permitting Improvement Act signed into law. This year, Portman worked to ensure the law is fully implemented in order to spur economic growth and job creation. Director of Office of the Management and Budget (OMB) Mick Mulvaney and the Deputy Director of the OMB pledged to Portman that they would work to get the law up and running.  In addition, the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations held an oversight hearing in September to examine implementation of the law and the Federal Permitting Improvement Steering Council’s progress to date, with the goal of more efficiently and effectively rebuilding our aging infrastructure.  
• Portman, who is the co-founder of the Senate Career and Technical Education Caucus and author of the Education Tomorrow’s Workforce Act, continued his strong support for expanding CTE programs to help close the skills gap and put more Ohioans to work. As part of his efforts to close the skills gap, Portman joined Senator Tim Kaine (D-VA) to introduce the bipartisan JOBS Act to help students access training for the 5.5 million vacant jobs that are unfilled in part because of a shortage of qualified workers. He also introduced the bipartisan CTE Excellence and Equity Actto support re-designing the high school experience to include courses more relevant to the 21st century workforce to better prepare students for future careers.
• In April, following a previous visit in February, Portman hosted Secretary of Transportation Elaine Chao at the Transportation Research Center (TRC) and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s (NHTSA) Vehicle Research and Test Center (VRTC) in East Liberty. Portman was instrumental in keeping the NHTSA facility in East Liberty, part of his continuing efforts to help Central Ohio become a model for the nation on how to use smart, 21st-century transportation to help create economic growth and expand opportunity.
• In May, Portman helped secure full funding for the NASA Glenn Research Center in Cleveland. Portman has long fought to protect funding for the center, which is an economic driver for the local community and supports thousands of Ohio jobs.

Combating Drug Addiction. No one in the Senate has been more active in the fight against drug abuse and addiction than Senator Portman. This year, he continued to lead the national effort to combat the opioid crisis that is devastating communities across Ohio and our country. After his bipartisan Comprehensive Addiction & Recovery Act (CARA) was signed into law last year, Portman worked tirelessly in 2017 with the Trump administration to ensure it was implemented properly and ensure that federal resources are focused on evidence-based prevention, treatment, and recovery programs to help make a difference in people’s lives. Portman also received the National Organization for Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (NOFAS) Leadership Award for his longstanding work to combat the opioid crisis and, specifically, his relentless effort to get CARA signed into law. Also this year, Portman introduced the bipartisan Synthetics Trafficking & Overdose Prevention (STOP) Act, legislation he is working to get signed into law to help stop dangerous synthetic drugs like fentanyl and carfentanil from being shipped through our borders to drug traffickers here in the United States.

• The heroin and prescription drug epidemic is having a devastating impact on Ohio families and communities. That’s why Senator Portman worked tirelessly this year to make sure that CARA was fully funded and implemented as quickly as possible. Thanks in large part to Portman’s efforts, key components of CARA to help expand education, treatment and recovery services to help combat addiction are now being implemented.
  • Funding made available this year through CARA include resources for: drug courts and veterans courts, addiction recovery support services, local communities to use for treatment and recovery services, treatment for pregnant and postpartum women, medication-assisted treatment and prescription drug opioid addiction, first responders, improving access to overdose treatment, and more.
• As his work with CARA shows, Portman has been a leader in the fight for more funding to combat this crisis. In addition to fighting to fully fund CARA, Portman has worked to fully fund the “21st Century CURES” initiative, and helped secure $250,000 for Portsmouth to help those on the frontlines turn back the tide of addiction.
• Fentanyl—a deadly synthetic drug up to 50 times more powerful than heroin—is now killing more Ohioans per year than heroin, contributing to why drug overdose deaths are the leading cause of accidental death in the state. Fentanyl, and the even deadlier carfentanil, is being shipped to the United States from countries overseas like China. That is why, in February, Portman and a bipartisan group of Senators introduced the STOP Act, legislation designed to help stop dangerous synthetic drugs like fentanyl and carfentanil from being shipped through our borders to drug traffickers here in the U.S.
  • Portman has been vocal on the Senate floor and in committee hearings urging his colleagues to act on the STOP Act, which has been endorsed by President Trump’s opioid commission, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen, and the Fraternal Order of Police. For a detailed look at how the STOP Act will help address the fentanyl crisis in Ohio, go here.
  • In May, Portman chaired a Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations (PSI) hearing on the STOP Act and stopping illicit drugs from being shipped into the United States. During the hearing, Newtown, Ohio Police Chief Thomas Synan, Jr. and Cuyahoga County Medical Examiner Dr. Thomas Gilson testified that the STOP Act would help them address the fentanyl crisis in Ohio. The Customs and Border Protection Acting Director and the Postal Service Inspector General also urged Congress to act on the bipartisan legislation.
• In May, the administration announced proposed cuts to the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP), which supports the Drug Free Communities Act, legislation Portman authored in 1997, which has provided more than $1 billion to community drug coalitions around the country over the last 20 years.  The ONDCP also supports the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas program, which has helped states like Ohio that are ground zero for this problem.  Portman strongly opposed the cuts, and urged the administration to reverse course. Thanks in large part to Portman’s efforts, the administration has not moved forward with the proposed cuts. In fact, in September, 27 Drug Free Communities (DFC) grant recipients in the state of Ohio were named, demonstrating that the program is working for Ohioans. The funding is desperately needed for drug abuse prevention and education, and Portman will continue to fight for these critical programs. 
• Also this year, Portman introduced the bipartisan Prescription Drug Monitoring Act to help address the overprescribing of opiates and the bipartisan Caring Recovery for Infants and Babies (CRIB) Act to help newborns suffering from addiction recover in the best care setting and provide support for their families. He is now working to advance those bills in the Senate.
• Portman continues to tour the state meeting with those in recovery and those on the front lines dealing with the heroin and prescription epidemic. This year alone Portman hosted a roundtable on addiction in Fremont, met with recovering drug addicts at Racing for Recovery in Holland, co-hosted a workshop at Columbus State Community College to help local providers secure resources to tackle the epidemic, visited the Sojourner Recovery Services residential women’s facility in Eaton and the Unity House for women in recovery in Delaware, joined the MetroHealth System in Cleveland to launch the MetroHealth Office of Opioid Safety, met with Hamilton County Coroner Lakshmi Sammarco to discuss the opioid crisis in Cincinnati, visited the Groups treatment facility in Chillicothe, and visited the Ohio Health Grant Medical Center and the Maryhaven Addiction Stabilization Center in Columbus.

Working to End Human Trafficking. This year, Portman continued his longstanding work to combat human trafficking and help trafficking survivors.  Portman – who is the author of five federal anti-trafficking laws designed to better serve victims and help law enforcement end this horrific crime – spent 18 months investigating the explosion of online sex trafficking. The bipartisan investigation, completed in January, resulted in a stunning report detailing how Backpage.com knowingly facilitated criminal sex trafficking of vulnerable women and young girls and covered up evidence of these crimes in order to increase its own profits. Portman turned the findings of his investigation into legislative action, authoring the bipartisan Stop Enabling Sex Traffickers Act (SESTA), a bill that now has 56 cosponsors in the Senate. Portman continued touring the state to meet with survivors of human trafficking to hear their stories as well.

• On January 10th, Senators Portman and Claire McCaskill (D-MO), the Chairman and Ranking Member of the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations (PSI), held a hearing and published a stunning new report detailing the Subcommittee’s findings from its 18-month-long investigation into the scourge of online sex trafficking.  The widely praised report found that Backpage knowingly concealed evidence of sex trafficking crimes by systematically editing its “adult” ads – all the while doing nothing to stop the traffickers committing these crimes. 
  • “I Am Jane Doe,” a film that chronicles the stories of young women who were trafficked on the website Backpage.com and Senator Portman’s investigation into online sex trafficking, was released this year. Portman hosted screenings of the film in Cleveland, Toledo and Columbus. 
• Following the PSI hearing, Senators Portman, McCaskill and Tom Carper (D-DE) recommended the Department of Justice launch a criminal review of Backpage.com. The move was widely supported by the country’s leading anti-trafficking organizations.  The Senators succeeded in clearing the way to release to law enforcement, state attorneys general, and regulatory agencies all materials related to their investigation, giving law enforcement additional tools to help pursue justice against Backpage.
• After issuing the PSI report, Portman and his bipartisan colleagues began to develop legislation to solve this problem, and in August, he and a bipartisan group of senators introduced the Stop Enabling Sex Traffickers Act. The narrowly-crafted bill amends the Communications Decency Act to hold accountable companies like Backpage that knowingly facilitate the trafficking of women and children online and ensure that victims of sex trafficking can get the justice they deserve.
  • Since its introduction, SESTA has earned widespread support from 56 bipartisan U.S. Senators, victims and advocates, anti-human trafficking leaders and law enforcement, 50 Attorneys General, the civil rights community, faith-based groups, the larger tech community, and courts and judges who have made clear that it is Congress’ responsibility to act to protect sex trafficking victims.  The Toledo Blade said Portman “has been tenacious in trying to close this loophole” and called the bill “a no-brainer.”
  • Portman travelled across Ohio to highlight SESTA and meet with victims of online sex trafficking and those who are working to stop it, including in visits to the Oasis House in Dayton, Mercy Health St. Elizabeth Hospital in Boardman, and the Valley Interfaith Community Resource Center in Cincinnati. Portman also released this video highlighting how the legislation would help to end online sex trafficking.
• In September, the Senate Commerce Committee held a hearing on SESTA, during which Senator Portman testified along with Yvonne Ambrose, whose daughter, Desiree Robinson, was trafficked on Backpage and tragically murdered. The hearing demonstrated that there is a strong bipartisan consensus for passing this narrowly-crafted bill. Portman released this video highlighting the hearing.
• SESTA was unanimously approved by the Senate Commerce Committee in November. Portman is now working on a bipartisan basis to get this bill passed in the Senate and to the president’s desk for his signature.

Protecting Ohioans, Honoring Veterans, and Making America Stronger. Portman is committed to keeping Ohioans safe and giving our men and women in uniform the resources they need to protect themselves and best complete their mission.  Now a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Portman has consistently advocated for a more robust and comprehensive American strategy to protect our allies and deter our adversaries. As part of that effort, Portman has sought to increase the range of capabilities for military installations throughout Ohio, and create jobs and opportunity for Ohio’s servicemembers.

• In August, Portman traveled more than 1,400 miles and visited 13 counties over five days as part of his Ohio Defense Tour. Portman visited the Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton, the 178th Intelligence Surveillance and Reconnaissance Wing in Springfield, the Joint Systems Manufacturing Center in Lima, the 180th Fighter Wing in Toledo, the NASA Plum Brook Station in Sandusky, the 179th Airlift Wing in Mansfield, the Air Force Metrology and Calibration Center in Heath, the US Coast Guard Station Cleveland Harbor, the Youngstown Air Reserve Station, the Rickenbacker 121st Air Refueling Wing in Columbus, Battelle’s Advanced Manufacturing Facility in Columbus, and the Ohio National Guard 123rd Air Control Squadron in Blue Ash. The tour’s purpose was to listen to military personnel and discuss ways he can further reinforce Ohio’s defense capabilities. A video highlighting the tour is here.
• Portman continues his strong advocacy on behalf of the Joint Systems Manufacturing Center in Lima. In December, President Trump signed into law the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which authorizes more than $1.6 billion to increase the rate of production of the newest upgraded Abrams tanks.  It also authorizes $622 million to complete the fourth Stryker brigade with upgraded survivability and mobility improvements as well as a second brigade of Stryker vehicles with an upgraded weapons system. The funding was included at the urging of Portman and Senator Gary Peters (D-MI). Portman has made clear he will continue to keep fighting for more funding for Lima. 

• Included at Portman’s request, the NDAA authorizes $15 million to support the construction of upgraded fighter aircraft hangars for the 180th Fighter Wing in Toledo, Ohio as part of the NDAA. Senate Armed Services Chairman John McCain (R-AZ) and Ranking Member Jack Reed (D-RI) included this funding after Portman sent a letter earlier this year urging them to do so.
• Portman and Senator Brown’s amendments to support jobs and the important research mission at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base's Air Force Research Lab were also signed into law as part of the NDAA. This legislation is critical to our national security and to maintaining our military’s technological edge. In May, the Senate passed Portman and Senator Joe Donnelly’s (D-IN) resolution honoring the cutting-edge work of Department of Defense (DoD) laboratories such as the Air Force Research Lab at Wright-Patt.
• In July, Portman pressed the administration to redesignate North Korea as a state sponsor of terrorism, and in October, he led a bipartisan letter to the State Department outlining the many destabilizing and terror-related acts taken by this rogue regime. In November, the president announced that North Korea would be relisted as a state sponsor of terrorism. Portman has also introduced the North Korean Enablers Accountability Act to tighten the economic embargo on North Korea and its enablers.
• In August, President Trump signed into law Portman’s priorities to hold Russia accountable as part of the Russia, Iran, and North Korea sanctions legislation. The legislation man