Press Releases
CongresswomanKaptur repeated her support for federal help for the U.S. auto industryfollowing a hearing on Capitol Hill that featured the chief executiveofficers of the Big Three and the president of the United Auto Workers.
“We mustnot allow our local communities to be shut out while big banks—who just happento be getting billions of dollars from the taxpayers—sell these properties inour community,” said Kaptur, a fierce opponent of the Wall Street bailout bill. Kaptur said she objected to “outsideinvestors” bidding on properties while communities are still waiting on fundsto perform mortgage workouts or buy housing stock for rehabilitation ordemolition.
CongresswomanMarcy Kaptur delivered news of a $7.7 million federal investment intransportation and jobs in the historic south end of Toledo. The Congresswoman was joined by officials of TARTA and the Toledo Lucas County Port Authority when she announced the federal funding to construct a new facility for the Toledo Area Regional Paratransit Service (TARPS) at a site across from Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Plaza, Toledo’s train station. Kaptursecured $7.7 million in federal awards for the new TARPS center,including $6.27 million in the federal transportation bill.
“TARPS plays anindispensable role in the life of our community,” said CongresswomanKaptur. “And with the senior citizen population growing, transportationservice is essential for citizens with disabilities to continue leadingindependent lives.”
“This endeavor represents the future of our community, where cuttingedge research, alternative energy, and economic development cometogether,” Kaptur said. “The University of Toledo is already at theforefront of research, and now our whole community can look forward tosupporting the ideas and innovation that result from a vibrant studentbody on an improved campus."
UT has gained a national reputation for its efforts to move patentedtechnologies to commercialization, benefitting local job creation andincome for the university, Kaptur said.
Kaptur joined UT President Lloyd Jacobs, Robert Hickey of the Economic Development Administration, and Mr. Norm Nitschke.
At least 100 students will be assisted through variouseducational, recreational, health and social skills offerings in afterschool activities.
PNC Financial Services Group said it would pay approximately $5.6 billion for the Cleveland-based National City, which operates approximately 20 branches in the Toledo area. The acquisition will make PNC the fifth-largest bank in America as measured by deposits and give PNC the largest deposit share position in the state of Ohio.
Kaptur, however, urged the administration to fully engage the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation’s net worth certificate program as a critical step to settle the nation’s banking system.
“This beautiful building is a symbol of our commitment to achieving energy independence for the future and building our community forward.”
The Ottawa visitor center received the Energy Department’s award for Sustainable Design of a High Performance Building.
“The purchase by the government of bad loans from bad lenders is a bad idea,” said Kaptur, a leading critic of the Wall Street bailout bill that passed Congress in early October.
She characterized the Bush Administration’s response to the crisis as “uneven and incomplete” and urged greater focus on the foreclosure crisis, which underlies the economic meltdown. “I view the bursting of the housing bubble as the key element of the meltdown, but nothing is being done to address the rising foreclosure rate in Ohio ,” she said. “If we do nothing about workouts, we will see the problem explode in the last quarter and next year.”