I join the Republican leader in congratulating Senator Portman on his first speech on the Senate floor. I remember those days some 4 years ago when I had the honor of doing that. I know how close Rob and Jane are and their children. I have seen them often over the last year, and I know the sacrifice and difficulty of leaving home, as he points out. I know he feels that way about his family. I look forward to this relationship. I look forward to what we have been working to do, especially on manufacturing, on jobs. Senator Portman has visited some 80 manufacturing plants in the last 3 years. He sees what I see on the shop floors. If we keep these jobs in the United States--much of the innovation is done on the shop floor--we will continue to lead the world in innovation and continue to lead the world in job creation. That is the importance of working with small- and medium-size and large manufacturing companies. I also would add that Senator Portman already understands Ohio is the home of two major Federal installations, NASA Glenn in Cleveland and, in the part of the State I live in, Wright Patterson Air Force Base near Dayton. In the part of the State Senator Portman lives in, there is the Battelle Memorial Institute, in Columbus, which, while not a Federal agency per se, serves much of the Federal Government by running the country's energy labs. There is synergism among those three, coupled with Ohio State and Case Western.…
On the recordMarch 16, 2011
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