Senator Rob Portman

A new energy bill and a move to defund Obamacare, those were topics of conversation in a conference call Sen. Rob Portman held with reporters on Thursday.

The House of Representatives has voted dozens of times to defund or otherwise take the wind out of the sails of the Affordable Care Act. Now, there’s talk in the Senate of doing the same.

Speaking with reporters on Thursday, Republican Sen. Rob Portman said he’d support that move.

A coalition supporting same-sex marriage announced a new initiative yesterday in Ohio’s three largest cities.

A couple dozen supporters gathered outside Trinity Cathedral in downtown Cleveland, as organizers announced the creation of “Why Marriage Matters Ohio”.  Its goal is to educate state residents on marriage equality, and help build support to overturn Ohio’s ban on gay marriage.  The ban was approved by nearly two-thirds of voters in 2004.

Congress will face a choice about whether to approve President Obama’s call to use military force in Syria when it returns to session next week. Obama made his case for a limited military strike against Syria after mounting evidence that President Bashar Assad used chemical weapons.

The plan is raising concerns from Ohio lawmakers. Republican Senator Rob Portman, says he could support a limited strike, but he think the United States shouldn’t go it alone, if at all.

U.S. Senator Rob Portman will meet with farmers in the Dayton area today to answer questions about the farm bill.

For most farmers, the first concern about the farm bill is making sure there is a farm bill. The bill expires every five years, and the U.S. House and Senate have until October to agree on a new version or extend the old one.

Ohio’s Republican Sen. Rob Portman agrees with the U.S. Supreme Court striking down the federal ban on gay marriage this week. And he hopes Ohio’s ban on gay marriage is overturned, but he's counting on voters, not courts, to do that.

In 1996, Rob Portman voted for the federal Defense of Marriage Act as a member of the House of Representatives. In March, he said he’s evolved – since discovering his son is gay – and now supports gay marriage. And this week, he supported the high court vote to overturn DOMA.

As Ohio Sen. Rob Portman traveled through the state during this week's congressional recess, he got plenty of heat for his recent vote against a bipartisan bill that would have expanded background checks to more gun sales. 

Groups in favor of the legislation protested some of his appearances and an Ohio woman whose son was killed in last year's mass shooting at a Colorado movie theater tried to meet with Portman to express her frustration with his vote.