Boehner backs bill for Ohio jobs

A uranium enrichment plant may bring jobs to southern Ohio.

WASHINGTON – House Speaker John Boehner Friday night said he would back a bill that would allow the Obama administration to spend an estimated $150 million to keep alive the chance of building a uranium enrichment plant in Piketon.

After being sharply criticized by Democrats Friday for not including the $150 million in a temporary spending bill to save the proposed facility, Boehner, R-West Chester Twp., said he “continued to support this project,’’ saying it would “create jobs and strengthen America’s energy security.’’

The site is 90 miles southeast of Dayton.

The bill, which is expected to be introduced by members of the Ohio congressional delegation, would likely reach the floor of the House next month. Sources said it would authorize the U.S. Department of Energy to spend the money from one of its existing accounts.

The future of the proposed American Centrifuge Plant has become an intense political issue between Boehner and President Barack Obama. During his 2008 campaign, Obama promised that his administration would support the building of the facility, which would create 4,000 temporary construction jobs and 400 permanent jobs.

“If the president will not fulfill the promise he made to the people of Piketon in 2008, then Congress must act to address the problem – but it must do so through proper channels,’’ Boehner said. “That means writing a bill that is posted online, openly debated, and makes assistance available to all qualified parties, and then moving the bill through the House in a fair and open way.’’

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