Obama to tout health reform in NE Ohio address

By DAVID SKOLNICK

skolnick@vindy.com

YOUNGSTOWN

President Barack Obama will discuss health insurance reform Monday in Northeast Ohio.

Where in Northeast Ohio remains a mystery for now.

The White House issued a statement Tuesday that Obama will talk about health-care changes in Northeast Ohio. More details “will be released in the coming days,” the statement reads.

Spokeswomen for U.S. Reps. Tim Ryan of Niles, D-17th, and Charlie Wilson of St. Clairsville, D-6th, said the congressmen have been informed of the visit, but not the location. Both congressmen received invitations to attend the event.

Obama, a Democrat, last visited the Mahoning Valley on Sept. 15, 2009, when he spoke at the Lordstown General Motors complex, touting the facility as an example of American auto making’s comeback. He also discussed success stories of the federal $787 billion economic stimulus package.

Obama is the only sitting president to visit the Mahoning Valley during an odd-numbered, nonpresidential election year.

The appearance in Northeast Ohio would be Obama’s third about health-insurance reform in a week. He spoke Monday in the Philadelphia area and is to deliver remarks today in St. Charles, Mo.

U.S. House Democrats are expected to vote on a health-care bill in the upcoming weeks that would be similar to the bill passed late last year by the Senate. The two legislative bodies would then reconcile the differences between the two bills.