As President Trump visits Richfield, Ohio to discuss his $1.5 trillion dollar plan to rebuild our nation’s crumbling infrastructure, Chuck Schumer and his batboy Sherrod Brown will be schmoozing liberal elites at Progressive Field. 

From flip-flopping on CHIP in support of the Schumer Shutdown, to voting against tax cuts for Ohio families, to another flip-flop on infrastructure, Sherrod Brown has proven himself to be a reliable batboy for Chuck Schumer. 

The Schumer-Brown agenda consists of obstructing President Trump and Congressional Republicans, nothing more. That’s unfortunate for Ohioans because as Vice President Pence said – “Sherrod Brown isn’t putting Ohio first.” 

This November, it’s time to vote out Schumer’s batboy! 

The White House

“We will build gleaming new roads, bridges, highways, railways, and waterways all across our land. And we will do it with American heart, and American hands, and American grit.” – President Donald J. Trump

REBUILDING AMERICAN INFRASTRUCTURE: President Donald J. Trump is in Ohio to discuss his proposal for rebuilding infrastructure in America.

• Today, President Trump is speaking with Ohio workers about how his infrastructure proposal will help rebuild and modernize America’s infrastructure and build a stronger American workforce for the future.
• The President’s proposal includes $200 billion in Federal funds to spur at least $1.5 trillion in infrastructure investments across America.
  • $100 billion will be directed to an Incentives Program to generate additional investment from States, localities, and the private sector.
  • $50 billion will be devoted to rebuilding and modernizing rural infrastructure.
  • $20 billion will go to promoting bold, transformative infrastructure projects.
  • $20 billion will go to expanding infrastructure financing programs.
  • $10 billion will go to a capital revolving fund to help reduce inefficient Federal property leasing that would be more cost-effective to purchase.
• President Trump’s proposal will return infrastructure decision-making to States and localities, allowing them to invest in the specific needs of their communities.
• The proposal will get Washington out of the way of needed infrastructure improvements by eliminating regulatory barriers and streamlining permitting processes.
  • A “one agency, one decision” structure will be established for environmental reviews and the process will be shortened to two years.
  • More flexibility will be given to projects that have minimal Federal funding but currently must seek Federal review and approval.

INVESTING IN AMERICAN WORKERS: The President’s proposal will help better prepare American workers for the jobs of today and tomorrow.

• President Trump’s proposal for rebuilding infrastructure in America will help give more American workers access to education and workforce-development programs by:
  • Expanding Pell Grant eligibility to high-quality short-term programs.
  • Better distributing Federal Work Study program funds to ensure more students gain relevant workplace experience.
  • Reforming the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education (CTE) program so that more funds go to programs which meet local workforce needs.
• The President is appearing at a training site for International Union of Operating Engineers (IUOE) Local 18’s apprenticeship and training program.
  • IUOE Local 18’s training and apprenticeship program is one of the largest IUOE training programs in the country, serving over 15,000 members.
  • The program offers a range of opportunities for workers to develop and improve the skills they need to succeed in their fields.
  • Classes offered by the program provide workers with training in operating industry machinery, including bulldozers, forklifts, cranes, backhoes, and more.
• Skills-training and apprenticeship programs like IUOE Local 18’s are critical resources that help prepare workers for high-demand, well-paying jobs.
  • More than 90 percent of all apprenticeship program participants gain employment after completing their programs according to data from the Department of Labor.
• Too many American workers have been unable to fill well-paying jobs due to insufficient access to skills-training programs.
  • There are currently 250,000 job openings in the construction industry and 305,000 in transportation, warehousing, and utilities.
  • According to a 2014 study by Georgetown University, just under two-thirds of all jobs will require some form of training or education beyond high school by 2020.

CONTINUING TO REBUILD THE AMERICAN ECONOMY: President Trump’s infrastructure proposal will build upon the success his Administration has already had in strengthening the American economy. 

• President Trump’s proposal to leverage $200 billion in Federal funds to spur at least $1.5 trillion in infrastructure investments will help further strengthen the American economy.
  • The Council of Economic Advisers (CEA) estimates that a 10-year $1.5 trillion infrastructure investment program could boost annual average gross domestic product (GDP) growth by between 0.1 and 0.2 percentage points.
  • CEA estimates that a $1.5 trillion in infrastructure investments would employ between 290,000 and 414,000 additional infrastructure workers on average over ten years.
• The economic benefits of President Trump’s infrastructure proposal will build upon the gains the economy has already seen under this Administration.
  • This week, United States GDP growth for the fourth quarter of 2017 was revised up from 2.5 percent to 2.9 percent, beating expectations.
  • Nearly 2.5 million jobs have been created since President Trump took office, including 245,000 manufacturing jobs and 300,000 construction jobs.
  • The unemployment rate has remained at a 17-year low since October of last year.

CNBC

• U.S. economic growth slowed less than previously estimated in the fourth quarter.
• Gross domestic product expanded at a 2.9 percent annual rate in the final three months of 2017, up from the previously reported 2.5 percent.
• The biggest gain in consumer spending in three years partially offset the drag from a surge in imports.

The Washington Free Beacon

It is still unclear more than four months later who is paying for the lawsuit filed by Leandra English against the government to install an Obama political appointee as head of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

English’s lawyer Deepak Gupta revealed last fall that English was not paying for the lawsuit herself, but he would not disclose who the mystery funders were.

“I don’t think it’s appropriate for me to be talking about that on TV right now,” Gupta told CNBC. “I think that’s something that should be addressed by ethics lawyers who have studied this and are setting up a structure.”

Ethics lawyers have yet to come forward with details of the payment “structure.”

English is suing the CFPB in an attempt to go around the Trump administration to preserve Democratic leadership at the agency. Richard Cordray, the former director during the Obama administration, attempted to appoint English—his chief of staff—to succeed him. His plan was inspired by two left-wing websites.

President Trump, however, appointed Office of Management and Budget director Mick Mulvaney as acting director of the CFPB. The general counsel of the CFPB, who was hired by Cordray, agrees that Trump has the full legal authority to make the executive appointment.

So far the courts have sided with the Trump administration. In January, a federal judge ruledMulvaney could continue to serve as acting director. U.S. district judge Timothy Kelly said siding with English would give the CFPB director “unchecked authority” and “insulation from direct presidential control.”

English appealed, and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit will hear oral arguments for the expedited appeal on April 12.

Both English and her lawyer have connections to Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D., Mass.), whose brainchild the CFPB is. English was a pupil of Warren, and helped develop the bank regulatory agency after the passage of Dodd-Frank in 2010.

English was not a career official, but a political appointee during the Obama administration. She was first appointed to the Office of Management and Budget but shuffled between OMB and the CFPB over the past several years. Cordray named her deputy director before he resigned.

English is still technically the deputy director of the CFPB, though it is unclear what she does all day.

English’s lawyer, Deepak Gupta, also worked for the CFPB and was the “first appellate litigator hired under Elizabeth Warren’s leadership.”

Request for comment from Gupta and his office on whether he will disclose who is funding English’s lawsuit was not returned.

Yesterday, the U.S. Department of Commerce announced that a question on citizenship status will be reinstated on the 2020 decennial census questionnaire to help enforce the Voting Rights Act.

Almost immediately, Eric Holder, the only U.S. Attorney General in history to be held in contempt of Congress, and the usual crew of blue state Attorneys General announced that they would sue the Trump Administration. 

With a very important race underway for Ohio Attorney General, voters deserve to know where Democrat candidate Steve Dettelbach stands.

Would Steve Dettelbach sue the Trump Administration for reinstating the citizenship question on the census questionnaire? 

Attacks over reinstating the citizenship question on the census questionnaire are just the latest examples of Democrat opportunism. Reinstating a citizenship question on the census will provide more complete and accurate citizen voting age population data which is needed to enforce voting rights. 

Fears that citizenship data collected by the census could be used for any purpose other than statistical analysis are unfounded. All census responses are protected by law and may not be used for any other purpose. Any person improperly using the information is subject to fines and up to five years in prison.

So, does Steve Dettelbach agree with Eric Holder? Would he join Democrat Attorneys General in their politically motivated lawsuits against the Trump Administration?

WLIO Lima

Senator Rob Portman is on his tax reform tour and on Monday he made his way through Lima to see how the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act has affected the area. One stop Portman made was at the Lima Pallet Company to tour the facility and hold a roundtable discussion.

“I’ve been to now ten different companies around Ohio talking about this,” Portman said. “Some big, some small, some medium sized like this one and it’s the same story everywhere. This is really helping to hire more workers, invest more in the company to increase wages. Some companies are also putting more into retirement, health care, so it’s exciting, it’s happening.”

The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act was passed in late December. The bill reduced tax rates to individuals and businesses. Lima business owner Tracie Sanchez said the tax cut has helped her business. Now she’s adding 15-20 jobs and finishing a half a million dollar expansion project. 

“Within probably the first week, we ended up giving all of our employees a raise, which has been much needed,” said Sanchez, president, and owner of Lima Pallet Company. “We haven’t been able to do that for several years in a row. We also invested in some equipment. We hope to have that hooked up here within the next 30 days.”

Portman said growth can already be seen and more is expected.

“I think what you’re going to see is economic growth pick up a little bit,” said Portman. “Already in the last two quarters, it’s been up. If that happens then you’ll see the real benefits of the tax reform because you’ll see more revenue coming in but through economic growth. That’s what you want. That helps to get the deficit down, but also grows the economy, which is the right combination.”

Other stops Portman made in Lima were to the Joint Systems Manufacturing Center and the Rotary Club, where he announced he will be heading to Germany to see a product, he helped bring to JSMC, in action. He’ll also be spending Easter Sunday with the troops.