Schmidt looks forward to working with Highland County
Lead Summary
By
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The Highland County Press
Highland County will be seeing a lot of Ohio Second District Rep. Jean Schmidt.
That's the promise from the Loveland Republican and the first woman elected to represent southern Ohio in Congress.
Schmidt, along with her communications director, Barrett J. Brunsman, were in Hillsboro on Jan. 2 and spent an hour with The Highland County Press prior to attending the swearing-in ceremony for new Hillsboro mayor Drew Hastings and announcement of Richard Giroux as safety and service director of Hillsboro.
After a heated redistricting battle, Highland County – which is currently represented by Congressman Mike Turner in Ohio's Third Congressional district – will find itself in the heart of the new Second District next year.
In addition to Highland County, next year, the Second District also will include parts of Hamilton, Ross and Scioto counties, and all or Adams, Brown, Clermont and Pike counties in southern Ohio.
Schmidt will face Dr. Brad Wenstrup and U.S. Air Force veteran Fred Kundrata in the March 6 Republican primary election. Democrat David Krikorian also has filed to run in the district.
Schmidt, who was elected in 2005, serves on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee as well as the Foreign Affairs Committee. She’s also a member of the Agriculture Committee, serving as chairwoman of its Subcommittee on Nutrition and Horticulture.
Schmidt also served four years as a lawmaker in the Ohio House of Representatives and for 11 years as a member of the Miami Township Board of Trustees in Clermont County.
Schmidt discussed a number of national and global concerns with the newspaper. She explained her vote in support of increasing the federal debt limit (the Budget Control Act) by more than $2 trillion last year, saying this was about "paying our past obligations.
"This was the best deal we were going to get," the congresswoman said, referencing federal obligations to fund Social Security and families of veterans.
Schmidt also mentioned serious concerns on global issues, particularly the ongoing instability in Iran and Egypt.
"Iran makes me very nervous," Schmidt said.
Schmidt said Iran and its ally in North Korea could pose serious threats in 2012.
On New Year's Day, Iran announced that it has produced the country's first nuclear fuel rods. If the report is accurate, it could signal a major step in Iran's ability to create nuclear energy or nuclear weapons.
The congresswoman expressed concerns that the leadership in Iran, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, and the new leader in North Korea, Kim Jong Un, will continue working on the development of nuclear weapons.
On Nov. 8, 2011, the United Nations released new evidence that they say makes a “credible” case that “Iran has carried out activities relevant to the development of a nuclear device.” The report is available online at: http://graphics8.nytimes.com/packages/pdf/world/2011/IAEA-Nov-2011-Report-Iran.pdf.
Schmidt said she also thinks U.S./Egyptian relations could change, as radical Islamist parties take control after the country's first parliamentary elections following the ouster of former President Hosni Mubarak.
According to a USA Today report on the Egyptian elections this week, "Islamist parties are expected to consolidate their gains from the first two rounds and win the majority in the 498-seat lower house. An alliance led by the most influential Islamic group, the Muslim Brotherhood, and the ultraconservative Salafi group have gained nearly 70 percent of the vote in the first two stages."
"These (the Muslim Brotherhood) are true radicals we're talking about," Schmidt said.
When asked about her support of the National Defense Authorization Act, which President Obama signed into law on New Year's Eve, Schmidt said there's been a lot of misinformation in the media and Internet blogs about a portion of the bill's language that allows for the detention of American citizens without a trial.
This week, the White House issued a statement to clarify its position on the law: "I want to clarify that my administration will not authorize the indefinite military detention without trial of American citizens," the president said. "Indeed, I believe that doing so would break with our most important traditions and values as a nation. My administration will interpret section 1021 in a manner that ensures that any detention it authorizes complies with the constitution, the laws of war and all other applicable law."
"This law allows the president to put suspected terrorists in a military court," Schmidt said. "I supported it only after (former FBI director) Bill Sessions said he was comfortable with the language."
Sessions served as FBI director from 1987 to 1993.
President Obama's statement on the law, House Resolution 1540, can be read at: http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2011/12/31/statement-president-hr-1540.
Schmidt said she welcomes Highland County's inclusion in the Second District and looks forward to working with county commissioners and local officials in the future.[[In-content Ad]]
Highland County will be seeing a lot of Ohio Second District Rep. Jean Schmidt.
That's the promise from the Loveland Republican and the first woman elected to represent southern Ohio in Congress.
Schmidt, along with her communications director, Barrett J. Brunsman, were in Hillsboro on Jan. 2 and spent an hour with The Highland County Press prior to attending the swearing-in ceremony for new Hillsboro mayor Drew Hastings and announcement of Richard Giroux as safety and service director of Hillsboro.
After a heated redistricting battle, Highland County – which is currently represented by Congressman Mike Turner in Ohio's Third Congressional district – will find itself in the heart of the new Second District next year.
In addition to Highland County, next year, the Second District also will include parts of Hamilton, Ross and Scioto counties, and all or Adams, Brown, Clermont and Pike counties in southern Ohio.
Schmidt will face Dr. Brad Wenstrup and U.S. Air Force veteran Fred Kundrata in the March 6 Republican primary election. Democrat David Krikorian also has filed to run in the district.
Schmidt, who was elected in 2005, serves on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee as well as the Foreign Affairs Committee. She’s also a member of the Agriculture Committee, serving as chairwoman of its Subcommittee on Nutrition and Horticulture.
Schmidt also served four years as a lawmaker in the Ohio House of Representatives and for 11 years as a member of the Miami Township Board of Trustees in Clermont County.
Schmidt discussed a number of national and global concerns with the newspaper. She explained her vote in support of increasing the federal debt limit (the Budget Control Act) by more than $2 trillion last year, saying this was about "paying our past obligations.
"This was the best deal we were going to get," the congresswoman said, referencing federal obligations to fund Social Security and families of veterans.
Schmidt also mentioned serious concerns on global issues, particularly the ongoing instability in Iran and Egypt.
"Iran makes me very nervous," Schmidt said.
Schmidt said Iran and its ally in North Korea could pose serious threats in 2012.
On New Year's Day, Iran announced that it has produced the country's first nuclear fuel rods. If the report is accurate, it could signal a major step in Iran's ability to create nuclear energy or nuclear weapons.
The congresswoman expressed concerns that the leadership in Iran, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, and the new leader in North Korea, Kim Jong Un, will continue working on the development of nuclear weapons.
On Nov. 8, 2011, the United Nations released new evidence that they say makes a “credible” case that “Iran has carried out activities relevant to the development of a nuclear device.” The report is available online at: http://graphics8.nytimes.com/packages/pdf/world/2011/IAEA-Nov-2011-Report-Iran.pdf.
Schmidt said she also thinks U.S./Egyptian relations could change, as radical Islamist parties take control after the country's first parliamentary elections following the ouster of former President Hosni Mubarak.
According to a USA Today report on the Egyptian elections this week, "Islamist parties are expected to consolidate their gains from the first two rounds and win the majority in the 498-seat lower house. An alliance led by the most influential Islamic group, the Muslim Brotherhood, and the ultraconservative Salafi group have gained nearly 70 percent of the vote in the first two stages."
"These (the Muslim Brotherhood) are true radicals we're talking about," Schmidt said.
When asked about her support of the National Defense Authorization Act, which President Obama signed into law on New Year's Eve, Schmidt said there's been a lot of misinformation in the media and Internet blogs about a portion of the bill's language that allows for the detention of American citizens without a trial.
This week, the White House issued a statement to clarify its position on the law: "I want to clarify that my administration will not authorize the indefinite military detention without trial of American citizens," the president said. "Indeed, I believe that doing so would break with our most important traditions and values as a nation. My administration will interpret section 1021 in a manner that ensures that any detention it authorizes complies with the constitution, the laws of war and all other applicable law."
"This law allows the president to put suspected terrorists in a military court," Schmidt said. "I supported it only after (former FBI director) Bill Sessions said he was comfortable with the language."
Sessions served as FBI director from 1987 to 1993.
President Obama's statement on the law, House Resolution 1540, can be read at: http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2011/12/31/statement-president-hr-1540.
Schmidt said she welcomes Highland County's inclusion in the Second District and looks forward to working with county commissioners and local officials in the future.[[In-content Ad]]