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To the editor:
The job of an elected federal official is to be the eyes and ears of their constituents, who have elected them to be their voice and to protect their interest. In taking an oath they swear to support and defend the Constitution of the U.S. against all enemies, foreign and domestic, and bear true faith and allegiance to the same. They take the obligation freely without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion and will well and faithfully discharge the duties of office. "So, help me God".
Thanks to three Democratic presidents -- Bill Clinton, Barack Obama and Joe Biden -- from 1998 to the present the Ohio Valley has lost major industries. The illegal dumping of steel in 1998 to 2001. The bankruptcies of coal mines and coal-fired plants. The EPA regulations on industries and green energy policies. This has caused the loss of Wheeling-Pittsburgh Steel Corp. plants in Steubenville, Mingo Junction, Yorkville, Martins Ferry, Benwood, Wheeling and the general offices in Wheeling; Mountain State Carbon in Follansbee; Murray Coal in St. Clairsville; and the Sammis Plant in Stratton.
The Cleveland-Cliffs tin-mill plant in Weirton was closed because of illegal dumping.
This brings me to the senior senator representing Ohio. Sherrod Brown, who is running for re-election. The man has been in public service from 1993 to the present -- that's 31 years. When looking at his record, he votes along party lines, not the interests of his constituents. In all the above, he had prior knowledge about and did nothing to stop it or to inform the people. He voted for the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, which includes the largest green energy-climate change bill ever passed.
I came across an article that appeared on powermag.com. The title was: AEP will shutter nearly half its giant coal-powered fleet -- 5.6GW -- by 2030. In the article, environmental rules -- including revisions governing federal coal ash and effluent limitations -- were named as one of the reasons. In the same article it states, "AEP's 595-MW portion of the three-unit, 1.8 GW Cardinal Plant in Ohio will be closed by 2030." The article was written by Sonal Patel on Nov. 10, 2020.
Merica Petrella
Steubenville