Evan Bayh

Testifying as former Indiana governor who had to balance books, Bayh leads “institutional insurrection” before Senate Budget Committee

November 10, 2009 -- Washington – In testimony before the Senate Budget Committee today, Senator Evan Bayh (D-IN) said he would not vote to raise the federal debt limit unless Congress commits to a strict new process to rein in America’s record $12 trillion national debt.

“Who would have thought that the Budget Committee would be the site for the beginning of an institutional insurrection, but here we are,” Bayh testified before the committee. “Many of us count ourselves as pragmatists not idealists, moderates not extremists. Yet here we are, asking for a change in the way business is done in Washington.”    » read more »

Hoosiers should have access to public website with complete legislative language, official cost estimates

November 9, 2009 -- Washington – Following this weekend’s passage of health care reform legislation in the U.S. House of Representatives, Senator Evan Bayh called for full transparency as the debate moves to the Senate so Hoosiers can see the specifics of the legislation and evaluate the cost estimates.

“There is a lot of cynicism about Washington, D.C., these days, and regrettably a lot of it is justified,” Bayh said. “If you do things behind closed doors, it just feeds that cynicism. I hope there is no disagreement that the public has the right to know, to understand, and to see how their tax dollars are being used and their health care is being affected.”    » read more »

November 4, 2009 -- Washington– U.S. Senators Evan Bayh (D-IN) and George V. Voinovich (R-OH) led a bipartisan letter signed by 42 senators to President Obama calling on the president to protect American intellectual property (IP), jobs and innovation in the United Nations (U.N.) Framework Convention on climate change negotiation.

“Unless we take aggressive action to protect the intellectual property of our entrepreneurs and manufacturers, we will continue to watch profits and jobs migrate overseas,” Sen. Bayh said. “Protecting our innovations in international climate negotiations will encourage the development of more American technology and help us maintain the economic strength we will need to advance our efforts to reduce carbon emissions.”    » read more »

Bayh, Lieberman, and Kyl Call for Prompt Final Passage of Bill by Full Senate

October 30, 2009 -- WASHINGTON – Senators Evan Bayh (D-IN), Joe Lieberman (ID-CT), and Jon Kyl (R-AZ) issued the following statement today, following the unanimous passage by the Senate Banking Committee of the Comprehensive Iran Sanctions, Accountability and Divestment Act of 2009:    » read more »

Rolls Royce will keep making Joint Strike Fighter engine; bill preserves 300 Indianapolis jobs, up to $1.7 billion for state economic development

October 28, 2009 -- Washington – Senator Evan Bayh today praised President Obama’s signing of a defense spending bill that includes full funding for an alternate Joint Strike Fighter aircraft engine made in Indianapolis.

Bayh led the fight on the Senate floor to secure funding for Rolls Royce North America to develop and produce the military fighter engine at its Indianapolis facility. When funding for the program was stripped out of the legislation this summer, Bayh successfully fought to have it reinstated in a joint Senate-House conference committee.    » read more »

Investment will create green jobs and help Hoosier consumers conserve energy, lower utility costs

October 27, 2009 -- Washington -- Senator Evan Bayh today announced that Indiana will receive more than $39 million in economic recovery funds to modernize local electrical grids and accelerate Indiana’s transition to a more efficient electric system.

Smart grids are modernized electricity grids that deliver power from suppliers to consumers in a way that saves energy and lowers consumer costs for using electricity during non-peak hours. Bayh announced the funding for Auburn, Carmel and Indianapolis today under The American Reinvestment and Recovery Act.    » read more »

Delphi selected to develop new technology; will create middle-class, green jobs for Hoosiers

October 26, 2009 -- Washington – Senator Evan Bayh today announced that Delphi Automotive Systems of Kokomo will receive more than $6.7 million in economic recovery funds to develop new energy technology designed to improve power delivery from batteries to electric motors.

“This funding will enable Delphi to make the kind of high-reward investments in clean energy that are so critical to power our emerging green economy in Indiana,” Bayh said. “This will not only create middle-class green jobs for Hoosiers, but has the potential to dramatically lower energy use and reduce our dependence on foreign sources of oil as well.”    » read more »

October 16, 2009 -- Washington – Senator Evan Bayh today announced that Evansville will receive more than $1.2 million in Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant (EECBG) awards from the Department of Energy.

The city of Evansville will receive the funds to help communities improve energy efficiency, reduce energy use and fossil fuel emissions, and create green jobs locally. The EECBG Program was funded for the first time by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.    » read more »

In Oval Office meeting, discusses proposal to create special process to get deficits under control

October 14, 2009 -- Washington –One day after a private Oval Office meeting with President Obama to discuss his concerns about mounting federal deficits, Senator Evan Bayh (D-IN) today urged the leader of the Senate to endorse an independent debt-fighting panel to get America’s fiscal house in order.    » read more »

In letter, Senator Bayh leads a group of Senators to renew push to reduce medical device tax

October 9, 2009 -- Washington, D.C. – Senator Evan Bayh along with 12 other Senators today called on Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, and Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Chairman Tom Harkin to reduce the proposed fee on medical device manufacturers as the committees merge their versions of the health care reform bills.    » read more »

Bill Would Cut Red Tape, Make it Easier for Home-Based Businesses to Claim Deduction

October 6, 2009 -- Washington, DC –U.S. Senators Barbara Boxer (D-CA), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Joe Lieberman (ID-CT) and Evan Bayh (D-IN) today introduced the Home Office Deduction Simplification Act of 2009, legislation that would make it easier for home-based small businesses to claim an existing tax deduction.    » read more »

New standard home office tax deduction would help 180,000 Hoosier entrepreneurs claim up to $1,500 in simplified relief

October 6, 2009 -- Washington -- Seeking to make it easier for Indiana’s 180,000 home-based small businesses to take advantage of an important tax deduction, Senator Evan Bayh today proposed legislation to simplify the federal home office tax deduction and provide small businesses additional help to succeed.    » read more »

October 6, 2009 -- Washington – Senator Evan Bayh today announced that Indiana will receive $2.86 million to clean up and revitalize brownfield areas. The funds were awarded through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act as part of the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Brownfields Program.

The grants will help improve abandoned and underused industrial and commercial lands by cleaning and restoring them for future use in Indiana communities. The Indiana Finance Authority will receive $2.5 million for the Indiana Revolving Loan Fund, while the City of South Bend has been awarded $360,000 for a brownfield revolving loan.    » read more »

October 1, 2009 -- Washington – Senator Evan Bayh today announced that Indiana will receive more than $935,000 as part of the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant (EECBG) awards made by the Department of Energy.

“This economic recovery funding will create jobs for Hoosiers, lessen our dependence on oil, and take another important step toward building a greener economy in Gary,” Bayh said. “Putting middle-class Hoosiers back to work in jobs that will help us create a more livable planet is a winning formula for our future.”    » read more »

Investigation requested by Bayh to examine handling of exposure of Indiana National Guard soldiers in Iraq

October 1, 2009 -- Washington -- At the request of Senator Evan Bayh, the Department of Defense Inspector General (IG) announced that it will initiate an investigation into the U.S. Army’s response to the exposure of hundreds of U.S. soldiers—including 142 members of the Indiana National Guard—to the deadly chemical sodium dichromate in Iraq.    » read more »