KENTON — Less than four years after urging executives at International Paper to expand and add 125 jobs to its current Hardin County location, U.S. Sen. Rob Portman stopped by Wednesday to see the addition and shake hands with the new employees.
“This is the fun part of my job. You get to come out and see what is working in terms of for the economy and in terms of contributing to a community,” Portman said.
The Republican also held a town hall meeting at the plant with employees to answer questions. Employees asked about tax reform and health care.
He said the personal income tax code is complicated and taxes for companies have pushed many overseas.
Portman said he wants to help more people move from public assistance to the workforce but to do so there cannot be a tax burden so high it provides no incentive.
“They key is if you can go to work, how can you be assured you are not stuck with a big tax bill,” he said.
The amount in taxes for people moving from public assistance to the workforce is very small to the government but for those working it’s a big difference, he said.
Portman said the health care plan needs fixed.
“I thought the Affordable Health Care Act was supposed to be affordable, but it’s not,” he said.
Portman said the national debt is a great concern and one the current generation will pass down to their children and grandchildren if something is not done.
“We’ve got a $20 trillion debt,” he said. “In the last eight years, alone, we have doubled the debt.”
Portman also was asked about programs to help veterans find jobs.
He said he supports such programs and wants to see Democrats work with Republicans to help veterans.
“We have some legislation that lets the military skill transfer into the technology class,” he said.
Portman also touted the plant, which is the largest employer in Hardin County with about 625 employees.
“This was a good decision (to expand). As I saw today, this is one of the most efficient cup plants not just in the country but in the world,” he said. “We want more plants like this in Ohio.”
.neFileBlock {
margin-bottom: 20px;
}
.neFileBlock p {
margin: 0px 0px 0px 0px;
}
.neFileBlock .neFile {
border-bottom: 1px dotted #aaa;
padding-bottom: 5px;
padding-top: 10px;
}
.neFileBlock .neCaption {
font-size: 85%;
}
