ICYMI: Representative Ingram Pens Column Calling on Congress to Invest in People Over the Pentagon

COLUMBUS—State Representative Catherine Ingram (D-Cincinnati) penned an Op-ed in the Cincinnati Enquirer this week in which she called on Congress to prioritize people over the Pentagon in the federal budget. 

Full text of Rep. Ingram’s Cincinnati Enquirer OpEd: "Invest more in Ohio not Pentagon contractors"

“The greatest challenges facing our communities – education, joblessness, affordable housing and poverty – must be our priority. The fact is we cannot afford to cut more checks to defense contractors while so many in our communities struggle to make rent, put food on the table, or afford reliable transportation to get to work or the doctor,” wrote Rep. Ingram. 

“It is the responsibility of state and federal legislators like me to recognize these critical needs and bring solutions to the table.

Affordable housing is a problem across the country, but here in Ohio, the situation is especially dire. In Rep. Ingram’s district, House District 32,  72.4% of people live in housing that's not affordable, either owned or rented housing that costs more than 30% of the household income. More than 42% of children in the district live below the poverty line, and one in five households don’t have internet access.