The News-Herald - U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown wants people who live in Ohio to fill out their U.S. Census forms and return them as quickly as possible. If people don't, Brown says, the state, county and local governments could lose significant federal funding that is awarded based partially on population figures.

"The Census determines the future of our state," Brown said. "It determines the resources, services and funding we'll have available to ensure our children grow up with the education and medical care they need."

Read more »

Roll Call - Nearly every Senator agrees in theory that financial regulatory reform needs to be addressed this year, but Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Chairman Chris Dodd (D-Conn.) is finding it difficult to turn that into actual “yes” votes, especially from Republicans.

Dodd is continuing to negotiate with Banking ranking member Richard Shelby (R-Ala.) and committee Democrats, though it remains unclear whether he will find the sweet spot that will ultimately win at least 60 votes on the Senate floor for the 1,300-page bill. However, while committee Democrats have expressed some reservations, Dodd is likely still to be able to count on their support.

Read more »

The Chronicle-Telegram - ELYRIA — Lorain County Transit may be able to restore routes and bring more drivers back to work if a new bill seeking changes in the way federal mass transit money is used wins approval in Congress.

The legislation is especially meaningful to LCT because the cash-strapped county’s lack of money prevented it from using available federal funds, according to Commissioner Ted Kalo.

Read more »

Business Week - March 17 (Bloomberg)—The latest push by U.S. lawmakers to target China’s currency policy may force President Barack Obama to take a stronger stance against how the yuan is valued, senators and analysts said.

Five senators including Charles Schumer of New York and Lindsey Graham of South Carolina introduced legislation yesterday to make it easier for the U.S. to declare currency misalignments and take corrective action. Even if the bill stalls, it may have “ripple effects” that lead the Treasury Department to declare China a currency manipulator, William Reinsch, president of the National Foreign Trade Council, said.

Read more »

Youngstown Vindicator - U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown is urging Ohioans to accurately fill out census forms because failure to do so could cost the state millions, or perhaps billions, of dollars in federal money.

The 10-question census form was recently mailed. The U.S. Census Bureau wants all of the forms completed and mailed back by April 1. Between April and July, census takers will go to households that didn’t mail completed forms, Brown said.

Read more »

Springfield News-Sun - Residents who ignore their 2010 U.S. Census form that will be arriving this week could end up costing Clark County its share of federal funds.

According to information released Wednesday, March 17, by U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Ohio counties stand to lose millions if populations are undercounted.

Read more »

Dayton Daily News - WASHINGTON — The head of the Dayton transit system said a bill backed by Sen. Sherrod Brown might allow him to maintain current bus service even as sales tax revenues financing the system continue to drop.

“We would hope it would be enough to get us through the tough times without any service reductions,’’ said Mark Donaghy, executive director of the Greater Dayton Regional Transit Authority. “We’re currently operating our system on 1996 revenue levels, so the challenge for us is to find ways to keep the service we have on the street.’’

Read more »

WKYC - WASHINGTON—Democratic Ohio Sen. Sherrod Brown has announced that $430 million in federal stimulus dollars will be coming to Ohio schools for construction and repairs to aging buildings.

"These funds will ensure the physical infrastructure of our schools matches the quality education that Ohio's teachers provide," Brown said.

Read more »

Columbus Business First - The U.S. treasury and education departments on Wednesday handed out $11 billion in federal bonds nationwide for school construction projects, more than $400 million of which is going to Ohio.

U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown’s office said Ohio’s take in the allocation, made through the 2009 federal stimulus package, topped $431 million. Nearly $294 million of that is headed to the state to award to school districts, while four major districts received individual awards.

Read more »

Springfield News-Sun - Springfield-Beckley Municipal Airport will receive a grant of more than $1 million from the Federal Aviation Administration to acquire land for runway approaches.

U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, announced the funding in a news release Monday, March 15.

“These funds will help promote economic development by allowing for critical airport infrastructure upgrades,” Brown said in the news release.

Read more »