Letter to the Hon. John Boehner, Speaker of the House - Act on Critical Legislation

Letter

Dear Speaker Boehner:

As your fellow Ohioans, we want to express our appreciation for your years of service to our country and the State of Ohio. While we have not always agreed on the path forward for our nation, we respect your dedication to keep the government functioning during a time of great uncertainty. With the announcement of your resignation, you have been given a unique opportunity to act upon many of the outstanding issues that Congress needs to pass without regard to those in your Republican Caucus who choose instead to engage in obstructionism.

We call on you--and stand ready to work with you--to reauthorize the Export-Import Bank.The Export-Import Bank plays a critical role in U.S. trade by allowing American companies to compete in foreign markets. It has supported 350 Ohio businesses and 1.3 million jobs nationally since 2007.

Democrats will work with you to pass a long-term transportation and infrastructure funding bill.The current piecemeal approach to funding our transportation and infrastructure programs has cost America over 900,000 jobs -- specifically more than 97,000 manufacturing jobs. America requires a robust and improved transportation system to help compete in this global economy.

Sequestration took $284 million out of Ohio's budget in 2013, negatively impacting local communities, Head Start programs, public health programs, and other important social services. If we do not remove these caps, funding cuts will be felt all throughout Ohio from feeding the underprivileged to research funding at Ohio's public universities. We urge you to work with Democrats in Congress, Senate leadership and the Obama Administration to undo the harmful austerity imposed by sequestration.

We also ask that you allow a vote to reauthorize the Land and Water Conservation Fund. The LWCF fund is set to expire this week. This important fund has supported billions of dollars in revenue around the country and supports more than 6 million jobs -- while working to preserve our state and nation's natural resources.

Lastly, we urge you to allow a vote on the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative Act. The GLRI Act provides authorization for the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative--a results-driven program that strategically targets the biggest threats to the Great Lakes.

We urge you to work with your fellow Republican and Democrat colleagues to move forward on these issues. We appreciate the time and effort you will give to this important request and look forward to working with you to pass and enact these imperative measures.