Rep. Mike Turner sent a letter to Defense Secretary Leon Panetta last week asking him to preserve child custody agreements of those serving in the military. Turner, R-Centerville, who authored the letter with Rep. Rob Bishop, R-Utah, wrote the letter to advocate for a bill both are pushing that would provide for the protection of child custody arrangements for parents who are deployed.
MIDDLETOWN JOURNAL
BY JESSICA WEHRMAN
Rep. Mike Turner sent a letter to Defense Secretary Leon Panetta last week asking him to preserve child custody agreements of those serving in the military.
Turner, R-Centerville, who authored the letter with Rep. Rob Bishop, R-Utah, wrote the letter to advocate for a bill both are pushing that would provide for the protection of child custody arrangements for parents who are deployed.
The bill says that if a motion for change of custody of a child of a service member is filed while a member of the military is deployed, that no court may modify or amend a previous child custody judgment, unless there is clear and convincing evidence that it is in the best interest of the child.
The bill also bars courts from considering a member’s past absence due to deployment, or possible future deployment, in support of a contingency operation in determining child custody disputes.
The letter is the latest move in what has become a years-long effort to address the issue. Legislative language addressing this issue has passed the House of Representatives six times, but the provision has yet to become law.
Rep. Austria: New EPA greenhouse plan costly
Rep. Steve Austria has introduced a resolution responding to new proposed EPA regulations on greenhouse gas emissions from new power plants.
Austria, R-Beavercreek, says the new regulations will mean higher energy costs for businesses. “Government, and in particular, the EPA continues to over-reach its authority by imposing unnecessary, burdensome regulations that are hurting small businesses and killing jobs,” he said.
The resolution expresses “the sense of the House” that the new standards “will likely lead to increased energy costs for consumers, small business owners, and manufacturers, which would result in the loss of American jobs; make American businesses less competitive; and damage our Nation’s economic recovery; and the Environmental Protection Agency should not be setting energy policy for the Nation with environmental regulations that for all practical purposes dictate fuel choices for new power plants.”
Rep. Stivers’ bill would boost child health care
Rep. Steve Stivers has introduced a bill aimed at improving military health care for the children of those serving.
Stivers, R-Upper Arlington, has introduced TRICARE for Kids, a bill that aims to help the Department of Defense to develop and encourage health care practices aimed at addressing the health care needs of military kids. TRICARE currently covers some 9.6 million active-duty military, their families and military retirees.
The bill would convene a group tasked with reviewing TRICARE health care policies and practices to make recommendations that specifically account for children’s health care and pediatric care.
Obama ads blame high gas prices on Romney
President Obama’s re-election campaign is fighting back against attacks ads blaming him for high gas prices.
His campaign last week began running a 30-second ad, titled “Remember,” in Ohio, Colorado, Florida, Iowa, Nevada and Virginia.
It argues that domestic oil production is at an eight-year high under Obama’s administration, and that big oil is unhappy because he’s fighting to end their tax breaks, raising mileage standards and also working to increase renewable energy.
The campaign ad argues that Romney has been an ally of oil companies. A spokesman for the Republican National Committee said the ad aims to “mislead” voters and argues that Obama has stood in the way of key energy initiatives, such as the Keystone Pipeline.
Conservation voters group supports EPA
The League of Conservation Voters, meanwhile, has teamed up with two other environmental organizations for an ad running in Columbus, Cleveland, Cincinnati and Toledo media markets.
The seven-figure ad buy ponders what would happen if politicians suffered from childhood asthma. “After all, it’s kind of hard to talk with a nebulizer wrapped around your face,” the speaker intones.
The ad urges viewers to “support the President’s EPA Clean Air standards and support our kids.”
It’s also sponsored by Mom’s Clean Air Force and the Environmental Defense Fund, and will also appear in Virginia, Pennsylvania and Washington, D.C.
Jessica Wehrman covers Washington news for the Dayton Daily News and The Columbus Dispatch.
