News and Notes: Ohio

Some interesting news items from the state whose highest point is Campbell Hill, 1550 feet above sea level:

Space Hosts Conference Call on SCHIP - Rep. Zack Space (D-Dover), Bob Ney's Democratic successor, had a press conference call today to support the compromise bill to extend and expand SCHIP. I was on the call, but David Potts at the excellent blog Left of Ohio has already posted details. Space noted a study that shows that dropping S-CHIP would cost states $2,121 more per child each year due to an increase in emergency room visits. Also, at DailyKos today it is pointed out that although Bush opposes the SCHIP expansion on the ground that it threatens to drive consumers from private to government insurance, the industry trade group Healthcare Leadership Council actually supports SCHIP, as does the Catholic Health Association of America. UPDATE: Here is a excerpt from the call, sent out by Space's office:

When I came to Congress one of the things we were focusing on was trying to make life better for the people we represent. This legislation is an important opportunity for me to cast a vote that will do just that. I think that we have a moral imperative to make sure that children regardless of economic situation have the health care they need so they don’t start their lives on the wrong foot or, God forbid, they run the risk of not ever reaching adulthood.

Passage of this bill means that we’re one step closer to ensuring that, just in Ohio, the existing 145,000 children who are covered will not lose coverage at the end of this month.

One thing that should be noted is that this compromise bill contains no changes in Medicare payments, it is simply about children.

The President has announced his intentions to seemingly veto this legislation once it’s passed. I find that not just disappointing, but disgraceful. He is threatening, through his veto, to eliminate coverage that currently exists now for 6.6 million children. The President’s proposal, which is to invest 5 billion into this program, if that were enacted, would take insurance away from almost a million children that are currently covered, 800,000.

He’s turning our children into a political issue and again I find it both disgusting and unconscionable.

Dann Pressuring Facebook on Child Safety - I received an email last night from Attorney general Marc Dann (D), confirming that he has been investigating Facebook.com:

As I have made clear, those running Web sites that are marketed to children and teen-agers had better do so responsibly. If Web sites put our children at risk, I will pursue every available avenue to stop them.

For the past month, my staff has been investigating the Facebook Web site, culminating in a meeting last week with representatives of Facebook and several attorneys general’s offices [at which I] expressed serious concerns about the current availability of inappropriate material on Facebook, as well as the dangers of sexual predators seeking out children on the site. At the same time, I also expressed my hope that we could work with Facebook to seek creative solutions to protect our children."

Bill Sloat at the Daily Bellwether has more, linking Dann's efforts to those of New York Attorney Andrew General Cuomo (D). The Daily Briefing also has more, including quotes from former blogger Chris Geidner, now Dann's counsel.

Sutton Pans US-Peru FTA - Rep. Betty Sutton (D-Copley Township) joined five other members of the House Trade Working Group today in criticizing the U.S.-Peru Free Trade Agreement, which follows the same model as NAFTA and CAFTA. The bill is the subject of a non-binding "mock work-up" by the House Ways and Means Committee, but has not had a formal hearing since the White House and Congress announced a deal on labor and environmental standards in May. Said Sutton:

"Everybody knows the global trading system is broken. Last November, my constituents and the American people across the country cast their ballots seeking a new direction on trade. They are counting on this new Congress to fix this broken trading system so that it no longer leaves American workers and businesses at a disadvantage. The American people are counting on this Democratic majority to provide a trade model that will truly allow for fair competition, because we know that if given a fair playing field, we'll excel in the global marketplace. Unfortunately, passing the Peru Free Trade Act is not consistent with our responsibility as a Congress and it is not consistent with the needs of the people who elected us.”

Oh, The Irony: Comparing Chabot and Schmidt Fund-Raising - Howard Wilkinson has a post up at the Cincinnati Enquirer political blog Politics Extra that compares the fund-raising situations of Cincinnati-area House members Steve Chabot (R-Westwood) and Jean Schmidt (R-Loveland). Chabot has no primary opponent and is sitting on a campaign fund of $413,932 (as of June 30th), but he is charging $1,000 per ticket for his fundraising breakfast at the Queen City Club next Monday. Schmidt is facing GOP opposition from Phil Heimlich (and perhaps others) and has only $85,169 in the bank (and $309,126 in debts, both as of June 30th), yet tickets for her Queen City Club fundraising breakfast on Friday are going for only $250.