| Groups Deliver 380,000 Petition Signatures to the Senator’s Office
CINCINNATI, OH—In response to U.S. Senator Rob Portman’s efforts to block crucial public protections, NextGen Climate and For Ohio’s Future Action Fund today delivered 380,000 petition signatures to his Cincinnati office. Immediately before the petition drop, local leaders held a press conference calling out Senator Portman’s craven attempt to neglect the interests of Americans for the sake of boosting corporate profits.
The petition signatures were gathered by: NextGen Climate, For Our Future Action Fund, CREDO Action, League of Conservation Voters, NRDC Action Fund, Earthjustice, Public Citizen, People for the American Way, SumOfUs, Center for Food Safety, Conservation Voters of Pennsylvania, Daily Kos, Economic Policy Institute Policy Center, Green for All, SierraRise, American Family Voices, Clean Water Action, Friends of the Earth Action, Union of Concerned Scientists, AFSCME & People’s Action.
A video of the event can be found here.
“The Republican Party can’t hide from the fact that they put corporate interests ahead of the interests of the American people,” said NextGen Climate President Tom Steyer. “Senator Portman’s blatant attempt to reward his corporate backers at the expense of the American people cannot succeed. The American people are the strongest force in our democracy, and Senator Portman cannot ignore the hundreds of thousands of Americans who are already speaking out.”
Sen. Portman is the lead sponsor of the Regulatory Accountability Act (RAA)—a bill that would allow corporations to shut down crucial public protections and leave millions of Americans vulnerable to dangerous air and water pollution, public health crises, wage cuts and job losses. Ohioans—and Americans across the country—are speaking out in opposition to this dangerous legislation and holding their representatives accountable for their actions.
“Senator Portman’s bill to hand big corporations a free pass to pollute and poison is not just an insult to Ohio, it is a dangerous attack on our communities and families,” said For Our Future Action Fund’s Ohio State Director Antonia Webb. “While Donald Trump and Rob Portman are trying to dismantle safeguards against corporate abuse and pay back the big business polluters that support their campaigns, the people of Ohio are fighting back.”
“Clean air and water, and safe and healthy food should never be on the negotiating table,”said Pete McLinden, Executive Secretary-Treasurer, Cincinnati AFL-CIO Labor Council. “Unfortunately, that’s exactly what this bill does — allowing corporate polluters to pad their bottom lines at the expense of our health and safety. When Washington won’t listen and turns its back on Ohio, people in communities like Cincinnati must stand up and make their voices heard.”
In addition to the petition, Public Citizen launched an ad last week in the Cincinnati media market that shows why RAA is one of the greatest threats to our system of public protections in decades. Its consequences are incredibly broad – potentially impacting children’s health and safety, consumer protection, food safety, Wall Street reform, workers, women, our environment, disability rights, rural development and more. Watch the ad and see Public Citizen’s fact sheet here.
NextGen Climate and For Ohio’s Future Action Fund will continue to educate and empower Americans to make their voices heard and protect their rights in the face of Republican attacks. | 
