Chillicothe mayor visits White House, discusses recent federal legislation

CHILLICOTHE― Chillicothe Mayor Luke Feeney made a trip to the nation's capital this week as a part of Communities in Action: Building a Better Ohio Forum.

While at the White House he discussed how recent federal legislation has impacted Chillicothe and Southern Ohio as a whole. Specifically mentioned were the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL Act) and the CHIPS Act.

"The American Rescue plan and other recent Federal Legislation have put us in a position in Chillicothe and Ross County to make long overdue investments in both our infrastructure and our residents," said Feeney. "Today's meeting and conversations will help to explain the ways in which we as a city are effectively utilizing ARPA funding and engaging our residents to do it in ways that are most important to them. Today's conversation will help show how important this investment in Chillicothe truly is and how it can be a model for future investments."

The forum, which was available to watch online, was kicked off by Keisha Lance Bottoms, Senior Advisor for Public Engagement at the White House. She talked about how President Joe Biden has been actively helping workers and their families.

"President Biden is the most pro-work pro-union president in history," said Bottoms. "President Biden knows that the middle class built America and that Unions built the middle class."

Gene Sperling, White House coordinator of the American Rescue Plan, talked about how the plan helped rescue Ohio economically. Sperling introduced four panelists who gave firsthand accounts of how the legislation has helped the state. The mayor of Cincinnati Aftab Pureval called the legislation a "gamechanger" and thanked the president and his administration for their help. This help, said Pureval, will help Cincinnati achieve its goal of being carbon neutral by 2050. Debbie Phillips, CEO of Rural Action, also spoke during the forum about how these investments are helping communities previously impacted by the coal industry. She also talked about the many assets of Ohio including the resilient people, abundant resources and outdoor recreation areas.

Despite not being on the broadcast Feeney was at the White House and was able to talk to decision makers about the importance of southern Ohio. As a representative of the area he was able to make sure southern Ohio is not overlooked and forgotten just because the towns are smaller. He also shared the creative ways communities are spending money given to them through the ARPA to better help citizens in the long run.

"We think it's important that all the attention is not just on the big cities, but collectively we're able to stand up for ourselves," said Feeney. "Collectively, while Chillicothe only has 22,000 residents, when you talk about the whole of southern Ohio you are getting closer to the population of a Hamilton County. That gives us a much bigger voice."

Other local elected leaders from Ohio were also in attendance including the mayors of Athens, Cleveland, Columbus, Dayton, Toledo, Arkon, Youngstown, Elyria, Lorain, Lima and Lakewood.

Shelby Reeves is a reporter for the Chillicothe Gazette. You can email her at SReeves@gannett.com or follow her on Twitter @Shelby_Reeves_

This article originally appeared on Chillicothe Gazette: Chillicothe mayor visits White House, discusses federal legislation