Sen. Rob Portman
U.S. Sen. Rob Portman (R-OH) last week held another in a series of conference calls with his home-state constituents to discuss the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the federal government’s response to it.
During the May 26 call with employers in Butler County, Ohio, Sen. Portman spoke with members of the Chamber of Commerce serving Middletown, Monroe, and Trenton, Ohio; the Fairfield Chamber of Commerce; the Greater Hamilton Chamber of Commerce; and the West Chester–Liberty Chamber Alliance.
“It was clear on today’s call that employers in Butler County are focused on safely reopening the local economy,” Sen. Portman said following the call. “I was encouraged to hear about the local efforts already underway in the region, including how they are already taking advantage of some of the relief we provided in the CARES Act.”
They also discussed the prospects for future federal legislation to address the pandemic, which Sen. Portman said he hopes will include policy changes to the Paycheck Protection Program loans authorized under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act to ensure they are going to businesses most affected by the economic crisis and to better time the disbursement of loans to when businesses reopen.
“We also discussed the need to have a workforce that’s ready to step into their old jobs or new, available jobs when the economy reopens,” said Sen. Portman. “Some on the call were also concerned that the expansion of unemployment benefits will serve as a disincentive for some lower-wage individuals to return to work.”
Sen. Portman said he worked with U.S. Labor Secretary Eugene Scalia to clarify that no individual can choose to remain on unemployment if they have a job available to them.
“We were focused on keeping folks home to slow the spread of the virus at the time,” Sen. Portman added. “Now that we are slowly and safely reopening, I think we need to focus on incentivizing individuals to return to work, which will be critical to a robust economic recovery.”
The May 26 call is the latest in a series of conference calls Sen. Portman has had this year with Ohio stakeholders, including small business owners, hospitals and healthcare providers, among others, according to his staff.
“I will share their concerns and insights with my colleagues as we continue to work to help individuals, families and small businesses stay afloat during this public health emergency so we can get our economy back to full strength as soon as the crisis subsides,” said Sen. Portman.