Thursday, August 17, 2017
YOUNGSTOWN — Local politicians and activists gathered at the Mahoning County Courthouse today to voice their opposition to the Regulatory Accountability Act, which U.S. Sen. Rob Portman introduced in the Senate earlier this year.
Karen Zehr, a founding member of Valley Voices United for Change which organized the news conference, said the legislation is threatening to the area’s communities.
Portman, a Cincinnati-area Republican, is continuing to represent special interests to give businesses a license to pollute, Zehr said.
She cited the BP oil spill in Louisiana, the water crisis in Flint, Mich., and the Wall Street crash of 2008 as examples of why regulatory agencies are necessary.
“We are facing an epidemic of corporate wrongdoing,” Zehr said.
Austintown Township Trustee Ken Carano said the legislation would corrupt regulatory agencies that were put in place to protect the health, safety and welfare of Americans.
For the complete story, read Friday's Vindicator and Vindy.com