This year, Senator Portman has been as active as ever in his efforts to deliver results for Ohioans. Portman has worked to help Ohioans struggling with addiction, help combat the horrific crime of human trafficking, increase energy efficiency, create jobs, and boost wages for Ohio workers and much more. Here’s a look at how Senator Portman delivered results for Ohioans in 2016:

Creating Jobs & Delivering Results for Ohio Workers. Portman’s top priority in the Senate continues to be boosting Ohio jobs and the economy. That is why Portman, who has a lengthy record of delivering results for Ohio workers, has worked to expand markets for Ohio products, combat unfair and illegal trade practices that hurt Ohio workers, and protect Ohio steelworkers from foreign cheating. Portman, who has been named a “Hero of Main Street” and “Fiscal Hero,” has worked to create a better environment for job creation and help Ohio workers keep their hard-earned pensions.

• In February – after his Leveling the Playing Field Act was signed into law last year – Portman’s ENFORCE Act was signed into law. This bipartisan measure will help American manufacturers by cracking down on foreign competitors launder products through other countries to try to get around our trade laws.  And he’s continuing to work to ensure the Obama administration fully implements the law so it makes a real difference for our workers.

• Portman’s Leveling the Playing Field Act has led to three big wins for Ohio workers this year.  Earlier this year – after Portman had testified in front of the International Trade Commission (ITC) twice – the ITC ruled in favor of Ohio steelworkers and against foreign trade cheats like China three times.  As a result, in all three cases the Commerce Department has issued antidumping and countervailing duty orders as high as 265 percent on steel coming from China and certain other foreign competitors. In October, Portman visited Wheatland Tube in Warren, a company that has been hit hard by unfair and illegal imports and is now benefitting from his legislation.

• In December, Portman again testified before the ITC in his fight to protect Ohio jobs from unfair foreign trade practices. Specifically, Portman testified to protect Whirlpool and its 10,000 Ohio workers, including the more than 3,000 workers at Whirlpool’s largest American factory in Clyde, Ohio, from unlawful dumping of clothes washers into the United States. 

• Because of pressure from Portman and others, the Treasury Department rejected the application from Central States to reduce pension benefits by up to 70 percent.  Portman continues to work to help the more than 47,000 Ohioans whose pensions could be cut.  At a rally in the U.S. Capitol in April, Portman discussed how his Pension Accountability Act will help give pensioners a seat at the table so they can have their voices heard.

• In June, Portman and Senator Brown secured a vote in the Senate Finance Committee on the Miner’s Protection Act, which would protect the hard-earned pensions and health benefits of our nation’s coal miners. Portman has fought hard to ensure these mine workers get the benefits they have earned.  The Senate Finance Committee approved the bill in September by a vote of 18-8 and Portman immediately called on the full Senate to pass the measure. Portman voted no on cloture of the Continuing Resolution to protest the lack of action on this bipartisan miner’s bill. The Mine Workers Union has praised Portman’s efforts to pass this legislation.

• Earlier this year, the president has signed into law Portman legislation to help combat the anti-Israel Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement and make clear that if another country wants close economic ties with the United States, they cannot support efforts to weaken the economy of our ally Israel.

• In April, the Senate Finance Committee approved the bipartisan Taxpayer Protection Act, which includes two measures Portman has championed, including legislation to protect the privacy rights of taxpayers by ensuring that the IRS can’t outsource an audit. 

• In May, President Obama signed into law Portman’s American Manufacturing Competitiveness Act to bolster job creation for American manufacturers. This legislation was introduced last year by Portman and Senator McCaskill, who had worked to bring stakeholders in the House and Senate together and find a solution to the issue for five years.

• In March, Portman’s bipartisan Competitive Service Act was signed into law by the president. This measure will streamline the hiring process by cutting duplicative services and saving taxpayer money.  The measure will help ensure that the federal government has world-class, highly-trained workers able to deal with sensitive national security issues like cybersecurity and information technology.

• Thanks to Portman’s efforts to secure additional Hardest Hit Funds, in April the Department of the Treasury made $94 million in funding available for Ohio to help revitalize neighborhoods across the state that were hardest hit by the housing. The funds awarded today will be directed towards the demolition of vacant and blighted structures which pose a growing threat to the public safety and economic well-being of our communities and for homeowner assistance programs in support of preventing foreclosure.  This follows the more than $97 million in Hardest Hit Funding that was allocated during the first phase in February.

• The Senate passed Portman’s bipartisan energy efficiency bill with Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH). As Portman detailed on the Senate floor, the Portman-Shaheen bill would help create nearly 200,000 jobs while reducing carbon emissions equivalent to taking 20 million cars off the road — as a result that would represent a significant victory for consumers, for our economy, and for the environment.  The measure is supported by more than 260 businesses, associations and advocacy groups, including the National Association of Manufacturers, the Sierra Club, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, and the Alliance to Save Energy.

• Earlier this year, Portman advocated in support of Licking County’s application for the use of its drone. The FAA approved of the county’s request in April. This will help on a variety of important economic development projects, such as the dam reconstruction project at Buckeye Lake.

• Over the past year, Portman has continued to follow through on his promise of working on behalf of Ohio workers. Whether it’s legislation to protect Central States retirees, or his work to stand up for Ohio Delphi retirees, Ohio tire workers, Ohio mine workers, Ohio steelworkers, and Ohio candle manufactures, Portman has again demonstrated his commitment to deliver results for Ohio workers and protect Ohio jobs.

Combating Drug Addiction. As the author of the bipartisan Comprehensive Addiction & Recovery Act (CARA), which was signed into law by President Obama on July 22, 2016, Portman has led the national effort to combat the drug epidemic that is devastating communities across Ohio and our country.  CARA ensures that federal resources are focused on evidence-based prevention, treatment, and recovery programs that have proven effective in local communities so that it can make a difference in people’s lives. Portman, who recently received awards from The Coalition to Stop Opioid Overdoses and The Partnership for Drug-Free Kids, has been praised by Ohio anti-drug advocates as well as editorial boards around the country for his work to combat addiction.

• This year, Senator Portman delivered 29 speeches on the Senate floor as part of his tireless effort to raise awareness about the heroin and prescription drug epidemic, and pass CARA. His speeches put pressure on the Senate, and then on the House and the president, to act on this crisis, and helped get his bill enacted into law and implemented as quickly as possible.

• The CARA law was drafted with the input of experts, those who deal with the problem of addiction every day, and those who are in recovery. It helps address the opioid epidemic by promoting education and prevention, promoting treatment alternatives and reversing overdoses, helping veterans, and helping women and babies, as he wrote in the Cleveland Plain Dealer in August.

• The CARA law authorizes $181 million annually in discretionary spending for new programs contained in the legislation. That’s more than double – a 132 percent increase – the authorization level in the original Senate-passed bill ($78 million).

• Portman has been a leader in the fight for more funding to combat this crisis.  In fact, Portman secured $37 million in the short-term Continuing Resolution that was enacted in September, which was designed to help get CARA’s new grant programs up and running. Portman also worked to secure $1 billion in new funding for state grants to right opioid abuse in the recently signed-into-law CURES Act.

• Portman has worked to fully fund CARA, but supports going further than that and has voted for emergency funding to combat this crisis.  Over the last two years, Portman has worked with the Senate Appropriations Committee to secure significant increases in funding for opioid programs. In fact, for this fiscal year the House and Senate passed (and President Obama signed into law) an increase in total federal spending on opioids of 47 percent over last year ($321M vs. $220M). 

• Portman twice touted the landmark CARA legislation in the Weekly Republican Address. Portman has also made clear in various TV and radio interviews – not to mention 29 speeches – that he would not rest until CARA was signed into law and we had begun to provide much-needed relief to those who are suffering from addiction.

• In September, Portman announced during a visit to a Cincinnati Fire House that he would introduce new legislation to address the growing threat of fentanyl and carfentanil in our communities. The legislation – called the Synthetics Trafficking & Overdose Prevention (STOP) Act – is designed to help stop these dangerous drugs from being shipped through our borders to drug traffickers here in the United States. He is also committed to preventing drugs from crossing our southern border.

• In September, Senator Portman and his Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations (PSI) released a bipartisan report that revealed serious defects in the federal government’s anti-opioid abuse efforts in Medicare.  The report faulted both the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and its lead program integrity contractor (known as “the MEDIC”) for its shoddy process for reporting, investigating and combating opioid-related fraud and abuse—from physicians issuing large volumes of questionable opioid prescriptions, to potentially criminal diversion of opioids into the nation’s streets.  The report also raised alarms that serious cases of systemic opioid-related abuse may be going undetected and unaddressed by federal authorities.  Finally, it details the anti-opioid abuse practices of six large health insurance companies.

Working to End Human Trafficking. This year, Portman took his efforts to combat human trafficking to a new level. Portman – who is the author of five federal anti-trafficking laws designed to better serve victims and help law enforcement end this horrific crime –led an investigation of online sex trafficking and continued touring the state to meet with survivors of human trafficking to hear their stories: 

• In January, Portman’s Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations exposed the Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) troubling policies that placed children into the hands of a human trafficking ring that eventually enslaved them in Marion, Ohio.  In June, Portman praised federal law enforcement authorities when they secured convictions of the leaders of the trafficking ring.

• Portman is working to combat illegal online marketplaces for sex. Portman and Senator Claire McCaskill (D-MO), as Chairman and Ranking Member of PSI, filed a civil action in the federal district court in Washington, D.C. to enforce a subpoena issued to Backpage CEO Carl Ferrer and require the company to turn over documents relevant to its investigation of online sex trafficking. For the first time in 21 years, the Senate voted to hold someone in contempt of Congress by passing Portman’s resolution on Backpage by a 96-0 vote. Portman has been widely praised for his investigation to examine how sex traffickers use Backpage and other sites to commit crimes and his ongoing efforts to help stop human trafficking. The investigation was featured in ABC’s Nightline program titled “Daughters for Sale.”

• In September, Senators Portman, McCaskill, and PSI won a historic victory in their efforts to end human trafficking.  A U.S. District Court Judge ordered Backpage to comply with Senate subpoena in sex trafficking investigation, calling the company’s claims “untenable and without legal support.”  Backpage was forced to comply, and the investigation is moving forward in order to help the United States Senate more effectively combat the growing scourge of human trafficking online.

• The Toledo Blade praised Portman’s work on the Backpage investigation, saying: “At long last, light may be shed on how pimps conduct their abhorrent business online while staying just outside the reach of the law.  Mr. Portman and Ms. McCaskill are to be commended for their tenacious pursuit of answers.”

• In March, Portman questioned Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson on what steps were being taken to secure our porous borders and protect migrant children.

• In February, Portman visited Freedom a la Cart, a business in Columbus that hires and trains survivors of human trafficking, including victims who had been trafficked through Backpage.com and other websites. In June, Portman participated in the Columbus March for Freedom to raise awareness on human trafficking.  In July, he visited She Has A Name and Clean Turn LLC, which provide job opportunities and social services to survivors of human trafficking to help them get their lives back on track and pursue their God-given potential. 

• In September, Portman joined a bipartisan group of lawmakers to introduce the Trafficking Survivors Relief Act, legislation to clear criminal records of victims of human trafficking. This bill would apply to non-violent crimes committed by individuals as a direct result of human trafficking.

• In May, Portman was awarded the 2016 Children’s Health Champion award from Voices for Ohio’s Children. Portman received this award for his leadership in protecting Ohio’s children from the heinous crime of human trafficking and combating the drug epidemic that is devastating families and communities throughout Ohio.

Protecting Ohioans, Honoring Veterans, and Making America Stronger: Portman is committed to keeping Ohioans safe and has consistently advocated for a more robust and comprehensive American strategy to protect our allies and defeat our enemies. As part of that effort, Portman has sought to increase the range of capabilities for the Ohio National Guard and create jobs and opportunity for Ohio’s servicemembers.

• This month, the president signed into law Portman’s National Urban Search and Rescue Response System Act, bipartisan legislation that will strengthen the efficiency and effectiveness of FEMA’s disaster assistance capabilities and programs. Portman consistently advocated for the passage of this bill, urging his colleagues to put politics aside in order to provide much needed relief to our First Responders such as Ohio Task Force One. Now law, this bipartisan bill will help our first responders know that, when they deploy to disaster areas and put it all on the line for us, their heath and employment are not at risk. Portman discussed the importance of the bill in a weekly column.

• The Senate passed Portman’s legislation requiring the Air Force to prioritize C-130 upgrades for the Youngstown Air Reserve Station (YARS), and upgrade that would strengthen its mission capabilities. Portman has been urging the Air Force to replace YARS’ 910th Airlift Wing’s current fleet of C-130H aircraft with new C-130J aircraft to ensure that the 910th’s Department of Defense (DoD)-mandated specialized aerial spray mission continues safely and without interruption. Portman, who has consistently used his position as a member of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs to advocate on behalf of YARS and its Airmen, has indicated that he will continue fighting to ensure that YARS has the leading edge capabilities needed to carry out their critically important national and homeland security missions. His legislation awaits signature from the president.

• Portman continues his strong advocacy on behalf of the Joint Systems Manufacturing Center in Lima. Most recently, Portman supported a $1.2 billion authorization for tanks and armored vehicles manufactured in Lima. This new funding represents just part of Portman’s ongoing efforts to protect the JSMC, the United States’ only tank plant, and the critical jobs it provides Ohio workers. In October, Portman, Brown, and Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) hosted Under Secretary of the Army Patrick J. Murphy in Lima at the JSMC, where they toured the facility and saw a demonstration of the Abrams Tank.  Portman’s work to fight for Lima has not gone unrecognized, and he has consistently indicated his intention to keep fighting for more funding for Lima.

• Portman, who is co-founder and co-chair of the Senate Ukraine Caucus, has continued to be Ukraine’s strongest advocate in Congress. This year, Portman – who received the Shevchenko Freedom Award, the Ukrainian community’s highest honor – successfully fought for inclusion of key defense reform benchmarks into Ukraine’s security assistance package in the NDAA, building on provisions that Portman got signed into law last year.  This year’s package includes $350 million in security assistance, including lethal and non-lethal equipment and training for Ukraine. Portman has long led the effort to provide Ukraine the kind of assistance necessary to ward off Russian aggression and maintain its territorial integrity, including writing a letter just this month to urge President-Elect Trump to stand against Russian aggression and support NATO and Ukrainian sovereignty. Passed as part of the 2017 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), this bill awaits signature from the president.

• The Senate passed Portman and Senator Chris Murphy’s (D-CT) Countering Foreign Propaganda and Disinformation Act – legislation designed to help American allies counter foreign government propaganda from Russia, China, and other nations. The bipartisan bill will improve the ability of the United States to counter foreign propaganda and disinformation by establishing an interagency center housed at the State Department to coordinate and synchronize counter-propaganda efforts throughout the U.S. government. The bill awaits signature from the president.

• This month, Portman, Brown, and Rep. Pat Tiberi (R-OH), announced that the president signed into law legislation to honor fallen Ohio soldier and Bronze Star recipient Daniel Kinnard by designating the Department of Veterans Affairs Community Based Outpatient Clinic (CBOC) in Newark, Ohio as the Daniel L. Kinnard Department of Veterans Affairs Community Based Outpatient Clinic. A native of Newark, Kinnard served as a medic in Vietnam and was killed at just 19 years old while tending to wounded men in his unit.

• In March, Portman led the entire Ohio delegation in a bipartisan effort on behalf of the Ohio Air National Guard urging General Carlton Everhart of the Air Mobility Command to locate a KC-135 air refueling tanker flight simulator at Rickenbacker Air National Guard Base in Columbus. In April, Portman announced the USAF had fulfilled their request. 

• In April, Portman’s bipartisan efforts with Rep. Mike Turner and Senator Brown in support of the Department of Veterans Affairs housing its archives at the Dayton Veterans Affairs Campus were successful as the VA announced that it would locate its History Center on the campus.

• In May, the Senate unanimously approved Portman’s legislation to support our disabled veterans. The measure would help ensure that more permanently disabled veterans are able to have student loans forgiven—and not get hit with a massive tax bill for it. In November, Portman joined Senators Angus King (I-ME) and Chris Coons (D-DE) to write a letter to the Secretaries of Veterans Affairs (VA) and Education, urging them to ensure that any veteran who is permanently disabled is discharged of their federal student loan debt, and that this discharge will not be taxable.

• In July, Portman and McCaskill, as Chairman and Ranking Member of PSI, released a bipartisan report examining the U.S. State Department’s grants to OneVoice – a non-governmental organization operating in Israel and the Palestinian Territories that used federal taxpayer money to build a campaign organization later used to try and defeat Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s campaign for re-election. Remarkably, the group informed the State Department about its anti-Netanyahu political plans during the federal grant period, but the State Department ignored all of these warnings signs and did nothing about it.  After the report was released, Portman said it is completely unacceptable that U.S. taxpayer dollars were used against the leader of our closest ally in the Middle East, and he reiterated that American resources should be used to help our allies in the region, not undermine them.

• In April, Portman received the Major General Charles Dick Award for Legislative Excellence from the Ohio National Guard Association for his numerous efforts on behalf of the Ohio National Guard during his time in the Senate.   

• In March, Portman’s legislation to rename the United States Postal Service facility located in Grove City after Army Specialist Joseph W. Riley, a native of Grove City who died on November 24, 2014 in Kabul Province, Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom, was signed into law. In July, Portman hosted a ceremony in Grove City to announce the dedication of the post office in his name.

• In February, Portman urged the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Office of Inspector General to undertake a swift investigation into troubling reports of substandard care and mismanagement at the Cincinnati Veterans Affairs Medical Center. Portman demanded that Deputy Inspector General Linda A. Halliday address these reports and investigate as quickly as possible. 

Protecting America’s National Parks & Our Environment: Senator Portman continues to be a leader in protecting our environment. Senator Portman has a lengthy record of accomplishments in protecting Lake Erie, and he recently succeeded in passing his historic legislation to protect our national parks for another century. In addition, Portman, received a Clean Water Award from the National Association of Clean Water Agencies (NACWA), and has helped lead efforts to make drinking water safe for Ohioans and protect Lake Erie from contaminated dredged materials.

• For over a decade, Portman has taken a leading role in protecting America’s National Parks. In December, the president signed into law Portman’s historic National Park Service Centennial Act. This bill will help ensure that the Park Service has the resources necessary to protect America’s national parks into its second century.  For his work to protect our national parks, Portman has previously received the 2012 NPCA Centennial Award and the 2015 Bruce F. Vento Public Service Award. This year, in July, he received the National Parks Service Centennial Champion Award from Cuyahoga Valley National Park.

• Portman helped secure funding for the Smale Riverfront Park that has transformed downtown Cincinnati. This funding is contingent upon the Army Corps of Engineers conduction of a study on the final flood control, ecosystem restoration, and recreation components of the park. This will authorize an additional $15 million in federal money to complete the park if the study determines the components are feasible.

• Portman has worked tirelessly to ensure that all Ohioans have safe drinking water.  Included in this years’ Water Infrastructure Improvements for the Nation (WIIN) Act, which was signed into law by the president this December, are Portman-led reforms that aim to end Flint-like water crises, prevent inappropriate disposal of dredged materials from the Cleveland Harbor, and renew the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative. The Water Infrastructure Improvements for the Nation Act includes the following Portman-led initiatives:

• The law also contains legislation Portman authored with Illinois Senator Mark Kirk to reauthorize the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI). GLRI is a results-driven program to address the most serious issues that threaten the ecological and economic wellbeing of the Great Lakes basin, including invasive species, pollution, and toxic contamination. The legislation authorizes GLRI to receive $300 million a year, which is $50 million more than President Obama requested in his budget. 

• The law includes a bipartisan compromise designed to end crises like the one in Flint, Michigan, which will provide $170 million for states, including Ohio, to address lead in our water supply, improve all forms of water infrastructure, and fund health programs to treat lead exposure. Portman helped developed this bipartisan compromise with Senators Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), Jim Inhofe (R-OK), and Gary Peters (D-MI). 

• The final bipartisan Portman bill included is the Great Lakes Fish and Wildlife Restoration Act, which he worked on with Senator Amy Klobuchar. This legislation provides critical resources to conserve and restore fish and wildlife populations in the Great Lakes. The legislation would authorize the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) to partner with other federal agencies, states, and tribes to develop and execute proposals for the restoration of fish and wildlife resources in the Great Lakes Basin. The Great Lakes Fish and Wildlife Restoration Act serves an important role in implementing the GLRI and will renew continued cooperative efforts to address impacts associated with invasive species throughout the Great Lakes Basin.

• Also signed into law as part of the WIIN Act are Portman and Brown’s legislation to keep to help keep toxic material dredged from the Cuyahoge River out of Lake Erie. A provision of the bill makes clear that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) cannot determine that dumping dredged material into Lake Erie is environmentally acceptable unless it meets the state of Ohio’s water quality standards. This law will help protect Lake Erie from the Corps’ repeated attempts to dispose of contaminated sediment into the Lake. This law builds on extensive Portman efforts to protect Lake Erie. In March, Portman demanded answers on behalf of Cleveland to preserve Lake Erie. Portman, as Chairman of the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, sent a letter to Secretary Ashton B. Carter requesting information regarding the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ efforts to dredge the Cleveland Harbor. It has been reported that the Corps cut its own budget by roughly $3 million – to less than it actually needs to dispose safely of the dredged material.  Portman and Senator Brown have repeatedly called on the Corps to end its irresponsible refusal to dredge the Cuyahoga River shipping channel this year, and recently, the Corps agreed to dredge the channel. 

• In December, the Senate passed and the President signed into law the Continuing Resolution, which included a provision pushed by Portman that would ensure that there are no layoffs and that cleanup work will continue at the Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant in Piketon, Ohio. Portman has consistently urged Department of Energy (DOE) Secretary Moniz to keep the administration’s promises to the Piketon community. 

• The Senate passed Portman’s energy efficiency bill, which would dramatically reduce carbon emissions and create nearly 200,000 jobs, a true win-win for the environment and the economy. The Alliance to Save Energy and the Natural Resources Defense Council, among others, praised Portman’s work on this issue.

Exposing Reckless Mismanagement in Obamacare CO-OPs. Over the past year, Portman has worked to expose the reckless mismanagement in the Obamacare CO-OP program – a $2.4 billion loan program that launched 23 health insurance start-ups, more than half of which have failed, including the CO-OP for Ohio. Portman and his Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations released a report detailing the extraordinary losses racked up by the failed CO-OPs throughout 2014 and 2015, and the dim prospects that taxpayers will recover any of the $1.2 billion of their money that was invested in those companies.

• In their ongoing effort to hold the administration accountable, Portman and a bipartisan group of Senators wrote to Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia Burwell and Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Acting Administrator Andy Slavitt seeking information about a Government Accountability Office (GAO) report which found that between October 2013 to March 2015, HealthCare.gov had 316 security incidents, including 41 involving personally identifiable information.

• In June, Portman and PSI followed up on their March report, demanding answers from the administration after exposing new Obamacare CO-OP costs for Ohioans. Portman has worked diligently to stand up for the thousands of Ohio consumers who now face increased health care costs at no fault of their own.

• With Healthcare premiums for “benchmark,” or mid-level health insurance plans on healthcare.gov set to increase by an average of 25 percent next year, Senator Portman has shown that he is committed to helping middle-class Ohio families who have been burdened by the unsustainable cost of the Affordable Care Act.

Strengthening Medicare and Medicaid. This year, Senator Portman continued to demonstrate his strong commitment to strengthening and protecting our seniors’ access to quality health care services through the Medicare and Medicaid programs. In addition to $1 billion in funding to states to fight the opioid crisis, the 21^st Century Cures Act that was recently signed into law featured several Portman initiatives to help seniors and low-income Ohioans of all ages maintain access to quality care by:

• Establishing beneficiary equity in the hospital readmissions program to minimize the disincentives for hospitals who serve a disproportionate number of sicker and poorer patients. This provision will improve the fairness of hospital readmissions penalties by taking into account the patients’ socioeconomic and dual-eligible status to ensure that hospitals can continue to care for the most vulnerable patients.  This benefits a majority of Ohio hospitals, especially those who serve a large number of low-income, vulnerable populations.

• Continuing Medicare payments for hospital out-patient departments that were “under-development” to provide critical relief to hospitals, including several throughout Ohio, that were in the middle of building facilities to serve patients in their communities when Congress passed the Bipartisan Budget Act in 2015. This provision ensures patients are able to maintain access to these facilities so they can continue to receive high-quality care in outpatient settings. 

• Exempting designated cancer hospitals from Medicare payment reductions to ensure patients are able to continue to receive cancer care from outpatient facilities in their community, benefitting the OSU James Cancer Hospital in Columbus.

• Delaying the application of the competitive bidding program to complex rehabilitative technology wheelchair accessories to ensure people with disabilities will continue to have access to the complex wheelchair accessories they rely on to live a fully-functioning life.

• And protecting Medicare Advantage for all seniors to strengthen transparency and ensure that seniors can keep the Medicare Advantage (MA) plans they want by delaying CMS’s authority to terminate certain MA plans because of the STARS rating system.

• The legislation passed as part of CURES represent just one way the Senator Portman has worked this year to protecting our seniors’ access to quality health care services. Under pressure from Senator Portman and others, Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) issued a rule for the upcoming year which would increase flexibility in the electronic health record (EHR) reporting requirements, allowing care providers to spend less time cutting through red tape and more time caring for patients. Portman had introduced legislation earlier in the year requiring CMS to do just that. 

• Portman joined forces with colleagues on both sides of the aisle to introduce legislation that would make permanent a popular and cost-effective home-based care Medicare demonstration program and establish a pilot program to improve care for the most vulnerable Medicare beneficiaries through the use of comprehensive and effective care management.

• Portman teamed up with Senator Brown to introduce legislation that would prevent an ACA provision from coming into place that would force seniors to shoulder the burden of rising health care costs.

• In March, Portman joined 12 other Senate Republicans to urge Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Acting Administrator Andy Slavitt to halt the Obama Administration’s plans to cut funding for the Medicare Advantage (MA) program – cuts that would jeopardize the health benefits that millions of seniors rely on today.

Preventing Cable and Satellite Companies From Overcharging Ohioans. In June, Senators Portman and McCaskill, as Chairman and Ranking Member of the Senate’s Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, led an investigation that revealed that Cable TV Companies such as Time Warner Cable, the biggest cable TV provider in Ohio, were knowingly over-billing their consumers. It was found that in the first five months of 2016 alone, Time Warner Cable overbilled up to 11,000 customers in Ohio – and those overcharges totaled $108,000. Senator Portman accurately described this overcharging as a “rip-off of Ohio consumers.” As a result of this investigation, Cable TV Companies took some initial steps to improve their practices.

• Going forward, the company agreed to provide an automatic one-month credit to all customers for each piece of overbilled equipment or service, and it will provide notice to overbilled customers so they can determine whether to request a credit or refund. But that still does not make customers whole.

But Wait, There’s More. In addition to combating the drug epidemic, standing up for Ohio’s workers, working to end human and sex trafficking, and protecting our environment, all while prioritizing job creation and increased wages, Portman has found time to be a leader on other issues. Here is a look at some of his other accomplishments over the past year:

• In 2016, Senator Portman and his casework team opened 3,422 cases to help Ohioans in need. 2,565, or 87.8 percent, of those cases were closed favorably. Throughout his time in the Senate, Portman and his team have opened a total 16,793 cases and have closed 14,147, or 82.2 percent, of those cases favorably.

• Portman backed an aggressive effort to help stop the spread of the Zika virus, voting for three measures to fund the response and strengthen health programs here in the United States.  Portman also advocated for Ohio to be part of the solution.  On May 5, Portman urged the Secretary of the Air Force to ensure that the unique capabilities of the 910th Airlift Wing (910th) stationed at the Youngstown Air Reserve Station (YARS) to combat communicable diseases inside the United States are strengthened, not weakened, especially at a time when those capabilities could be part of a potential Zika solution.  The 910th serves as the military’s only aerial spray unit capable of controlling disease-carrying insects, pest insects, and undesirable vegetation.  On April 15, Portman questioned Department of Defense officials at a Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee hearing on whether DOD assets, such as 910th AW in Youngstown, could be better utilized to combat the Zika outbreak.

• Portman worked with federal, state, and local leaders throughout the process to help the mayor and city of Columbus land the multi-million dollar Smart City grant from the Department of Transportation.  He led the Ohio delegation letter in support of the final round, and was instrumental throughout the application process.

• Portman is a regular volunteer and longtime supporter of Habitat for Humanity, which helps provide affordable housing to low-income families. In July, Portman joined Owens Corning and the Greater Cleveland Habitat for Humanity in a major neighborhood revitalization project known as the “Buckeye Build.”  The Buckeye Build Project – which took place in Cleveland’s historic Buckeye Neighborhood – fully rehabilitated two houses on Grandview Avenue, assisted approximately 15 current residents with exterior improvements, and provided new roofs and attic insulation for five homes. Portman returned to the site in October to continue the build and again in December for the dedication of two completed homes. In December in Cincinnati, Portman volunteered on his birthday, as he does every year, on another Habitat build.

• In December, Ohio and the United States said goodbye to an American icon, John Glenn. Senators Portman and Brown passed a resolution in the Senate honoring the life and service of former U.S. Senator John Glenn. Portman honored his friend John Glenn on the Senate floor and on national television.

• In June, Portman and Brown led the effort to pass a resolution honoring George Voinovich’s life of service to Ohio and the United States. Voinovich passed away on June 12, 2016. Portman delivered a floor speech honoring his predecessor in the Senate.

Senator Portman has fought for all Ohioans, and he has delivered results for them. He has led the effort to combat America’s drug epidemic and end human trafficking; he has consistently helped level the playing field for Ohio’s workers and worked to create jobs and boost wages; he has stood up for American global leadership and Ohio’s servicemembers; he has fought for a health care system that works, and much, much more. And this is just the beginning. Senator Portman will continue to deliver results for the people he represents in 2017.

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