Dayton, OH: In 2014, Congressman Mike Turner successfully delivered for southwest Ohio and the people of the 10th Congressional District. “This year in Congress, I was honored to fight to protect our families, our jobs, and our futures,” said Turner.
In the 113th Congress, Congressman Turner served as Chairman of the House Armed Services Subcommittee on Tactical Air and Land Forces and as a senior member of the Oversight and Government Reform Committee.
This December, Congressman Turner was also elected President of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly, a position that has direct ties both to Wright-Patterson Air Force Base and to the national security of the United States.
In 2014, Congressman Turner brought six of his colleagues, including the important Chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, to our community to tour Wright-Patterson Air Force Base and see the innovative research and development first hand.
This year, Congressman Turner hosted two meetings each with the Mayors and State Representatives of the 10th Congressional District. These bipartisan, collaborative forums provided an opportunity for the elected leaders of southwest Ohio to discuss all the issues facing our community.
See below for an overview of Congressman Turner’s Legislative initiatives and accomplishments from this last year:
Military Child Custody
For the last seven years, Congressman Turner has fought to protect the parental rights of our Servicemembers. Unbelievably, family law courts across the country have used military deployment or even the possibility of deployment against our service members when determining custody arrangements
This year, the FY2015 NDAA included historic provisions, authored by Congressman Turner, that will provide a national standard of protection for our Servicemembers and ensure that they will not loose custody of their children because they have served or might deploy as part of their military service.
"Servicemembers risk their lives in support of military operations that keep our nation safe. They should never be penalized for serving their country."
Military Sexual Assault
Since 2007, Congressman Turner has worked to pass substantive, bipartisan legislation every single year to change the flawed culture that has enabled sexual assault to occur in our Armed Forces.
This year, along with Congresswoman Tsongas, Congressman Turner authored and introduced the FAIR Military Act, which takes significant and powerful steps in the areas of prevention, prosecution, and protection. This legislation takes action to confront the pervasive and deep-rooted culture that has allowed this serious problem to continue and ensures that the perpetrators of these terrible crimes and are no longer capable of using unrelated, subjective factors as evidence of innocence.
These groundbreaking reforms were successfully included in the final bipartisan FY2015 NDAA and hold our military leaders to the highest standard.
“We have a duty to protect those who protect us,” said Turner. “We will continue our bipartisan, bicameral effort to fully eradicate sexual assault from our military.”
Unmanned Aerial Systems
Congressman Turner authored and fought to include provisions in this year’s FY2015 NDAA that ensure all of Ohio’s airspace resources are recognized and utilized to their maximum capacity.
“Our region remains an epicenter for innovative research in the expanding field of Unmanned Aerial Systems,” said Turner. “These provisions enhance our region’s valued assets."
Abrams Tank
Congressman Turner authored and fought to include a provision in the FY2015 NDAA that recognizes the necessity of the Abrams Tank to our national security and authorizes an additional $120 million for Abrams Tank upgrades.
"I was proud to author this provision that keeps the production lines open in Lima, Ohio and ensures that our skilled, technical workers are protected."
College Students
Following reports that students throughout the country are losing their jobs and having their hours restricted because of an ObamaCare requirement, Congressman Turner introduced the Student Job Protection Act in 2014.
ObamaCare requires certain employers to provide health insurance to employees working 30 hours or more a week or pay a tax. This requirement imposes a financial burden on many colleges and universities, forcing them to restrict work hours for students seeking employment at their schools. The Student Job Protection Act would exempt full-time students who are also employed by the college or university from this requirement.
“This legislation would remove a significant barrier for full-time students working at their colleges and universities and ensure that they are able to keep the jobs and the work hours necessary to help them afford the rising cost of higher education."
Housing for our Veterans
Congressman Turner has long been an advocate for providing access to affordable housing for Dayton’s veterans. This year, Congressman Turner was honored to celebrate the groundbreaking of Lyons Place II.
A leader on the project from the beginning, Congressman Turner secured the funding for this project and authored an amendment that ensured that conflicting regulations would not stand in the way of Lyons Place II.
This facility will provide access to high quality, energy efficient, safe, secure and affordable housing for independent seniors and veterans who have served our nation.
Additionally, Congressman Turner supported a provision in the FY2015 NDAA that directed the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to establish a pilot program to rehabilitate and modify homes of disabled and low-income veterans.
“Our servicemen and women have risked their lives to serve this country and protect our national interests. The least we can do is ensure they have access to good housing when they come home.”
Heroin Exposed Newborns
In 2014, Congressman Turner launched an imitative to bring together community leaders to find ways we can work together to prevent babies being born exposed to opiates and to develop a community response to treat the entire at-risk-population.
This year, Congressman Turner partnered with the Greater Dayton Area Hospital Association (GDAHA) to host a community forum on the effects of the heroin epidemic on newborns. Additionally, Congressman Turner met with first responders at the Women’s Recovery Center and nurse leaders at Dayton Children’s Hospital to see the effects of this epidemic first hand and see the heroic work being done to care for these children. Congressman Turner will continue this initiative in 2015.
“These are our community’s children and we must do everything we can to protect them.”
Delphi Salaried Retirees
For the last five years, Congressman Mike Turner has led the fight to restore the pensions of the Delphi Salaried Retirees who unjustly lost their futures in the wake of the General Motors bankruptcy.
This year on July 22, the 5-year anniversary of the decision that terminated the pensions of more than 20,000 Delphi Salaried Retirees, Congressman Mike Turner hosted a closed-door briefing with a group of Delphi Salaried Retirees from the Dayton-area. Together, they discussed the progress that has already been made and identified future action that must be taken.
Also in 2014, Congressman Turner joined with Speaker John Boehner, Senator Rob Portman, and the entire Ohio Republican delegation to push for new answers for the Delphi Salaried Retirees regarding the lengthy delay in final benefit determinations for these men and women. The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC’s) has a stated policy of issuing these determinations in three years; however, these retirees have waited in earnest for over five years for the PBGC to complete the basic documentation necessary to begin the benefit determination process.
In 2015, Congressman Turner will continue to push for the extension of the Health Coverage Tax Credit for the Delphi Salaried Retirees and the full restoration of their pensions.
“This injustice will not be tolerated or forgotten and we will continue to move ahead until the Delphi Salaried Retirees receive the full and equitable treatment they deserve.”
Dayton Manufacturing Community
In 2014, Congressman Turner stopped an effort to eliminate funding for an economic development program critical to the Dayton community. Earlier this year, the U.S. Department of Commerce announced that the Dayton-Cincinnati region had been designated a ‘manufacturing community,’ giving Dayton preferential application status for $1.3 billion in federal economic development assistance.
Turner led his colleagues in successfully voting down an amendment that would have significantly jeopardized this $1.3 billion and severely limited the chances of Dayton receiving substantial funding for increased manufacturing and development.
“I was proud to protect opportunities critical to our community’s business leaders, job creators and innovators. Preserving this funding helped ensure that our Southwest Ohio community can continue our tradition of leadership in manufacturing and innovation.”
Fuyao
Following the closure of the former General Motors Assembly Plant in 2008, Congressman Turner partnered with the city of Moraine and successfully fought to protect the plant from demolition.
Since that time, Congressman Turner has worked closely with city leaders, the Dayton Development Coalition, the U.S. Department of Commerce, and JobsOhio to ensure that the facility remained viable for innovative business leaders and job creators.
In 2014, Congressman Turner was glad to welcome the arrival of Fuyao, a thriving auto parts manufacturer to the City of Dayton. Fuyao’s decision to locate and expand in Moraine will create hundreds of new jobs in southwest Ohio and continue to build upon our region’s role as a major center for the automobile industry.