To the editor:
On Wednesday, Dimitri Vassilaros had on his radio program Bernie Moreno, a Republican candidate running for senator in Ohio. Moreno announced that the Lordstown plant had filed for bankruptcy.
Checking into this, I found a 2022 story on WKYC-TV in Cleveland titles "U.S. Dept. of Energy announces $2.5 billion loan for Ultium Cells: How Lordstown is impacted in plan to create lithium-ion battery facilities."
In the report, it was explained that Ultium Cells, a joint venture between GM and LG Energy Solutions, will manage battery cell production at the three facilities and address the growing U.S. consumer demand for electric vehicles. Officials say this loan will directly support President Joe Biden's goal to reach zero emissions by 2050 and having EVs make up to one-half of all new vehicles and sales by 2030. Lordstown is also home to Lordstown Motors, which is building EV pickup trucks. Reactions from the announcement came from Sen. Sherrod Brown, U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan and U.S. Secretary Jennifer Granholm, who all praised the action.
Brown represented Ohio's 13th District in the House of Representatives from 1993 to 2007 and has been a senator since 2007. Ryan represented the 17th District in the House from 2003 to 2023. Granholm served as Michigan's attorney general from 1999-2003, and as governor from 2003-2011. She was nominated by Biden December 2020 and confirmed by the Senate on Feb. 25, 2021.
These representatives of the people were in office during the Obama administration and saw the failure of his climate change, green energy programs and the cost to the American taxpayer. Yet, they voted to spend more taxpayer money on tried and failed programs .
Moreno said that the Lordstown plant only sold 20 pickup trucks. There is not a demand for EVs, and all had problems with the lithium-ion battery.
The interference of the federal government in U.S. industry has been the downfall of U.S. industry.
We need to have elected officials to do the job they were sent to do -- protect and defend the Constitution of the United States -- period.
Merica Petrella
Steubenville