House cuts jeopardize new Cleveland jobs

Now we get to see concrete proof of what losing Mike Dewine in the Senate, and having Steve LaTourette leave the House majority, with Dennis Kucinich & Stephanie Tubbs-Jones moving into the majority, means to Ohio & Greater Cleveland.

Conventional wisdom has been that Democratic majorities mean good things for NE Ohio, but that doesn't consider the workmanlike effectiveness of a Dewine, LaTourette or George Voinovich, nor the blustery do-nothingness of Kucinich, Tubbs-Jones or Sherrod Brown.

Greater Cleveland & Ohio have lost a ton of clout---

Thursday, February 01, 2007 Sabrina Eaton
Plain Dealer Bureau

Washington - The House of Representatives on Wednesday approved a spending bill that cuts $3 billion from a Pentagon base realignment program that was to bring hundreds of new jobs to Cleveland.

Republicans said they feared the cut will jeopardize or delay the transfer of jobs to Cleveland from Defense Department payroll centers that were shuttered by the Base Realignment and Closure Commission. Democrats who control Congress pledged the money will be restored.

"We are confident that in the end, Cleveland will enjoy the good jobs it won," said Steve Fought, a spokesman for Toledo Democratic Rep. Marcy Kaptur, a member of the appropriations subcommittee that funds the Defense Department.

The cuts in base closure money were part of a $463.5 billion spending bill to fund government departments whose budgets weren't approved before Congress adjourned last year. It was approved by a 286-140 vote. The U.S. Senate is scheduled to consider the measure during the week of Feb. 12.

The bill boosts federal spending for health research, education, and veterans. While spending on most other federal programs will remain unchanged from 2006, the bill provided less than President Bush wanted for foreign aid and the BRAC program. It also trimmed from the aeronautics budget of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, which helps finance activities at the agency's Glenn Research Center in Brook Park.

Congress last year provided $929 million for aeronautics, but the bill the House passed had a 4 percent cut, according to figures from Sen. George Voinovich's office. Some members of Congress feared it would be worse, since Bush wants to emphasize space exploration and last year proposed cutting aeronautics by 22 percent.

The agency could move money around within programs to meet Bush's priorities. But Cleveland Democratic Rep. Dennis Kucinich said he and other Ohio lawmakers got language in the bill preventing NASA from moving large sums out of Glenn's budget. The measure also continues a ban on involuntary layoffs through Sept. 30, when the fiscal year ends, Kucinich said.

Republicans criticized many aspects of the plan approved Wednesday, but were particularly upset about the BRAC cuts and the potential impact on the Defense Finance and Accounting Service office in Cleveland.

"The Ohio delegation worked diligently to convince the Department of Defense and the BRAC Commission to make the best decisions for U.S. defense interests and protect Ohio's excellent military facilities," Voinovich said.

A White House statement said that cutting Bush's $5.6 billion BRAC request will delay base closures, reduce savings, and "negatively impact many communities throughout the country that have begun making specific plans in response to BRAC."