An Adams County Commissioner has joined in the condemnation of U.S. Senator Rob Portman’s attendance of Homeland Security Committee hearings.
The action began when Politico reported Portman missed 72 percent of those hearings during his time in the Senate.
“Senator Portman’s routine failure to show up for meetings when America’s national security is at stake is appalling,” Paul Worley said. “Our brave service members and the American people are counting on him to do his job, and Senator Portman has let us down. He has lost touch with the people he was elected to represent. Freedom requires constant vigilance, and we can’t afford Senator Portman putting his own interests above the fight against terrorism and extremists.”
Worley served two tours of duty in Iraq and one in Afghanistan.
State Representative and former Congressman John Boccieri, who deployed multiple times in Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom, said, “It is extremely disappointing that Senator Portman didn’t take his duties on the Homeland Security Committee seriously. Can you imagine a TSA officer absent from his post or a soldier who didn’t report for duty 72 percent of the time? How secure would our nation be? We need to ask the same question to our Senator — how secure are we with Rob Portman in the United States Senate? I would like to ask him, what was so important that you missed 195 Homeland Security meetings, with all of the threats America faces?”
Politico’s review of the committee attendance records from 2011 to the end of 2015, based on research from Democratic groups, committee transcripts and C-SPAN footage, included hearings and business meetings. Portman, who serves on 12 committees and subcommittees, missed 195 of the 269 hearings Politico included in its review.”
Portman responded to the report and the criticism.
“We’re eager to debate Ted Strickland on getting results for Ohio families. No one works harder for Ohio than Rob Portman, who in the past five years has passed over 40 bills into law and has a 98.5% voting record. Rob serves on 12 committees and subcommittees and since meetings often overlap, Rob attends personally or has staff at all meetings to brief him afterwards,” said Portman campaign spokeswoman Michawn Rich. “On the other hand, Ted Strickland spent 12 years in Congress and was ranked as one of the most ineffective and most absent members of Congress. During his time in Congress, he failed to pass a single bill into law, skipped 38% of votes while running for governor, and even said it was more important for him to spend his time campaigning than voting in Congress.”
