Sen. Portman tours Pennex plant in Leetonia
LEETONIA — Export more, keep imports fair — that’s how U.S. Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, said he feels about trade, especially when it comes to leveling the playing field for companies like Pennex Aluminum.
“My view is you can compete with anybody anywhere in the world, as long as it’s fair,” he told workers gathered for a town hall.
Portman met behind closed doors with company officials for a short time before touring the plant with state Rep. Tim Ginter, R-Salem, Leetonia village and school officials, Salem Township trustees and the media in tow. After the tour, he spoke to employees who asked him about everything from health care and the war on drugs to President Trump’s treatment of the press.
He praised the aluminum extrusion and fabrication facility as an example of how his trade legislation like the Leveling the Playing Field Act and the ENFORCE Act can affect local companies and communities for the better by forcing countries like China, who he said uses unfair tactics to try to get around trade rules, to play by the rules.
Pennex Aluminum unveiled a $38 million expansion at the Leetonia facility in World Trade Park two years ago and has been adding employees.
“This plant is one of the best in the country. You’re creating a lot of jobs here. My job is to help you continue to do that,” Portman said.
Rick Merluzzi, President and CEO of the Metal Exchange Corporation, parent company of Pennex Aluminum, gave background on how a deluge of aluminum from China was devastating for the industry in 2009, but then an anti-dumping case was filed in court and an order went into place to help relieve the situation. He said Portman has been an advocate for jobs in Ohio and the aluminum industry.
Portman explained how China’s capacity for aluminum manufacturing had gone up dramatically and some of that capacity has ended up in the United States, either dumped or subsidized, and that’s not fair. Earlier this year, a World Trade Organization case against China was launched at Portman’s urging to address the issue. He said the new tactic China is using is to move their product through other countries.
He stressed the importance of trade issues, saying they sometimes get overlooked, but they have a direct impact on small communities and workers. The result of the trade enforcement cases is more jobs here, pointing out how the Leetonia plant is able to succeed.
He also touched on the opioid problem in Ohio, and the threat from fentanyl, noting there’s new legislation related to the ability to just pass the drugs through the U.S. mail system via packages. The legislation will force the issue of determining where a package is coming from, where it’s going and what’s inside.
During the town hall, the most prevalent topic had to do with health care, the rising costs and his thoughts on a Rand Paul position to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare as it’s commonly known. Portman said there are a lot of good ideas in there, but he hasn’t looked at it closely. He said there’s a need for more flexibility for states like Ohio where much of Obamacare came in the form of Medicaid expansion. He said the exchanges where people shopped for health care are in trouble.
“I think we can do better,” he said.
He also cautioned that the Affordable Care Act can’t just be repealed. There has to be a replacement in place, one that continues to cover pre-existing conditions. Costs, copays, deductibles and premiums have all gone up instead of down. One way he said the costs could be reduced would be through tort reform for medical malpractice, to reduce frivolous lawsuits. Another way would be to give the people the ability to shop for their health care, to look at the costs.
“People call it patient-centric health care — I call it common sense,” he said.
One worker asked if it was possible to have veterans go to their own doctors close to home through their VA benefits instead of having to travel all over the state. He said his father is a disabled veteran on Social Security and has to go all over to different VA facilities. Portman agreed that if a VA facility isn’t within so many miles, a veteran should be able to go to a doctor who is closer. The one concern would be the slow pay of the government and whether providers would accept it.
Another topic broached by an employee had to do with Trump’s derogatory comments about the press. The employee’s son is a journalism major in college and was starting to have some concerns. Portman started by saying he doesn’t keep people out of his press pool, and admitted the press doesn’t always treat him the way he would like, but “they are an indispensable part of our country.”
Having a free press is one of the building blocks of the country, he said.
Portman offered the father some advice for his son, telling him to focus on policy issues that affect people, not the exchanges that take place. Talk about the details about issues like health care and trade policy. and be an objective source of information.
Other topics touched on included agriculture and the need to protect farm land and get young people interested in farming, the need for skilled workers in Ohio to fill skill positions and the most recent books he read, “Hillbilly Elegy” by J.D. Vance about southern Ohio and “Dreamland” by Sam Quinones about the opioid epidemic.
The best advice he ever got came from his father, who believed in mutual respect.
“You respect everybody,” he said.
mgreier@salemnews.net