Dewine's Pay-To-Play Policies Hurt Ohio Workers

Dewine's Pay-To-Play Policies Hurt Ohio Workers

Congressman Sherrod Brown (D-Lorain County) brought his Independence from Special Interests Tour to Dayton today with a call to end policies that expose Ohio workers to unfair competition and instead reward companies that create jobs in Ohio. Brown was joined by a group of area workers.

2,600 workers in the Miami Valley area were laid off on Friday.

"Mike DeWine has embraced the pay to play culture in Washington instead of supporting middle-class Ohio families," said Congressman Sherrod Brown (D-Lorain County). "It is time to stand up for workers and for businesses that create jobs here in Ohio. It is time to declare independence from special interests."

Brown has introduced the Decent Working Conditions and Fair Competition Act (H.R. 5635), a measure that would ban the import, export, or sale of products made overseas with sweatshop or prison labor.

"When we import sweatshop goods, we export Ohio jobs," Brown said. "To protect Ohio jobs and lift up workers around the world, we need a zero-tolerance approach to sweatshops."

In 2000, DeWine voted for Permanent Normal Trade Relations with China, which has come under fire from human rights advocates for the widespread use of sweatshop, child, and forced prison labor.

A 2005 study commissioned by the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission found that Ohio lost at least 42,600 job opportunities as a result of U.S.-China trade policies between 1997 and 2003.

"Instead of allowing companies to take unfair advantage of weak labor standards abroad and tax loopholes at home, we should recognize and reward companies that do the right thing," Brown said. "It is time for change."

On Wednesday, Brown joined Democratic colleagues in backing the Patriot Corporations for America Act, which would support Ohio job creation by rewarding U.S. companies that invest in American jobs, workers, and communities.

DeWine has received more than one million dollars in campaign donations from companies that outsource U.S. jobs, and supported every one of the Bush administration's trade agreements. On Thursday, he helped force through the Senate the Oman free trade agreement.

Brown opposed PNTR for China, and is one of Congress' leading proponents of fair trade policy. Last year, he led the bipartisan fight in Congress against the Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA), and in 1994 he stood up to a president of his own party in opposing NAFTA.

Brown's Independence from Special Interests Tour will highlight the effect of pay-to-play policies on Ohio families. Mike DeWine received more than $300,000 from the oil and gas industry, and voted for the energy bill which gave billions in subsidies to the industry. He received more than $300,000 from the prescription drug industry, and voted for the Medicare Part D bill which increased profits for drug companies.

http://www.sherrodbrown.com/press/releases/314/