Press Releases

"The UnitedStates cannot continue to watch as ournation bleeds capital, jobs, and security," Kaptur said. "The small steps ournation is taking are barely enough to slow the bleeding, and not nearly enoughto cure the injury. America needs a new trade policy."

The surge in deficit, blamed on rising oil prices anddecreases in exports, is a symptom of a flawed trade policy, Kaptur added,noting that Congress has yet to consider any legislation that reforms U.S.trade policy.

Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur welcomed the release of $2.2 million infederal funds by the U.S. Department of Labor to help in cleanup andrecovery efforts in seven Ohio counties that were hit by severeflooding earlier this year. The funds will be used to create temporaryjobs to repair property damage and also clean and reconstruct waterwaysthat were affected by the floods.

At the same time, Congresswoman Kaptur repeated her call for a comprehensive approach to watershed issues in the region.

At the same time, Congresswoman Kaptur repeated her call for a comprehensive approach to watershed issues in the region.

“We live in what can be called the ‘water kingdom’ of Ohio,” Kaptur said. “Our water resources are a tremendous asset, but they must be managed in a comprehensive manner. Earlier this year in Findlay, I urged (FEMA) Secretary Michael Chertoff to take the lead in bringing together all the stakeholders in the region and I repeat that message again today.

NAFTA, which was approved more than 14 years ago but fully implementedonly with the start of 2008, will result in even greater economichardship in coming months, according to Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur.“NAFTA has had a devastating, negative impact on jobs inAmerica—especially in the manufacturing sector—and an equally damagingimpact on the agricultural sector in Mexico,” said Kaptur.

“NAFTA has had a devastating, negative impact on jobs in America—especially in the manufacturing sector—and an equally damaging impact on the agricultural sector in Mexico,” said Kaptur.

“We have seen more than one million jobs leave the United States as a result of NAFTA—and that is a conservative estimate. Unless governments quit this race to the bottom and develop a more people-centered balanced approach to trade, opposition to NAFTA and globalization will continue to rise to new levels throughout the United States and the entire hemisphere.”

The increases will apply to three key programs: disability compensation, pension, and survivors' benefits.

Herassassination reminds us that political succession in the Islamic Republic ofPakistan has been undermined again by a growing power struggle,with escalating violence between military, religious, and constitutionalistfactions. This has been the case since Pakistan's attempts tooperationalize constitutional government that began in 1973.

As did herfather before her, Benazir Bhutto has joined in martyrdom untold thousandsof her countrymen who have died in the collision between military control andreligious extremism.

"Not a moment too soon," Kaptur said, "Congress finally hastaken action on the energy crisis that is squeezing the middle class,threatening our economy, distorting our foreign policy, and leaving usvulnerable to repressive governments that just happen to control vastoil reserves."

Kaptur, a longtime proponent of alternativeenergy, including the solar and hydrogen research center at theUniversity of Toledo, said the passage of the Energy Independence andSecurity Act means Congress is moving in the right direction on energy.

Over the life of the project, thecogeneration facility is expected to save rate payers a minimum of almost $15million and potentially as much as $40 million. This is based onprojections that the methane gas from the landfill will be available for atleast 20 years and perhaps as many as 35 years. The biogas-generatedelectricity will replace the conventional electricity at the Bay View plantwhich has cost the city an average of $2 million per year over the last severalyears.