Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius last week announced that Ohio’s community health centers would receive $15.8 million in grants because of the new health care law.

Grantees estimated that the money would help the state’s community health centers serve about 14,904 new patients. In all, the federal government spent more than $728 million nationally to support renovation and construction projects in order to allow health centers to accommodate more patients.

Centers in Cincinnati, Cleveland, Toledo, Chillicothe and Lima received grants from two programs: One which provided about $629 million to 171 existing health centers across the country for longer-term projects to expand their facilities and improve their services, and the other which provided about $99.3 million to 227 existing health centers to address pressing facility and equipment needs.

Turner seeks update on naming rule

Rep. Mike Turner asked Defense Secretary Leon Panetta for an update this week on a new rule that prevents the Department of Defense from naming Defense property after a sitting Member of Congress. Turner included the rule in the Fiscal Year 2012 National Defense Authorization Act to prevent conflicts of interest between members and projects funded by taxpayers.

“Nearly five months have passed since the law was enacted, and I am interested to learn about the status of its implementation,” Turner wrote, before asking how the policy has been implemented in the Defense Department and in each of the armed services.

“If new policies have not been created, please provide a timeline for which these policies will go into effect,” he wrote. The language applies to structures, buildings, or other infrastructure of a military installation, roadways and defense access roads.

The Centerville Republican said naming a piece of Defense property after an elected official who’s currently still in office “gives the appearance that the member has funded the infrastructure rather than the taxpayer.”

Bir to serve as 2012 Ohio Victory Director

The Republican National Committee last week announced that Mike Bir will serve as the 2012 Ohio Victory Director.

Bir, who has served as the Ohio Republican Party victory director since December 2010, worked to oversee voter outreach supporting Issue 3, a ballot initiative opposing President Obama’s health care legislation.

He also headed up the RNC’s Ohio Victory Field Operations during the 2010 elections.

Now, he’ll focus on helping Mitt Romney win Ohio in the 2012 presidential race, according to RNC Chairman Reince Priebus.

“Ohio is poised to be the make or break state in November and I can’t think of a better candidate than Mike Bir to move us forward to victory in Ohio this November,” Priebus said in a release announcing Bir’s appointment. “The RNC is poised to run the most comprehensive voter outreach and turnout operation in Ohio history and Bir will help ensure we make more phone calls, knock on more doors, and make more volunteer voter contacts than ever before.”

Jennings to advise Romney in Ohio

J. Scott Jennings, a veteran of both of President George W. Bush’s presidential campaigns, will serve as the senior adviser and state manager for Mitt Romney’s campaign in Ohio, the Romney campaign announced last week.

Jennings, a native of Dawson Springs, Ky., is a former broadcast journalist who later served in the White House Office of Political Affairs and Special Assistant to the President and Deputy White House Political Director. He was part of the White House working group that worked on the confirmation processes of Supreme Court Justices John Roberts and Samuel Alito.

He left the White House in late 2007, returning to Kentucky to do public relations work. In 2008, he served as a senior adviser to Sen. Mitch McConnell’s re-election campaign, and in 2010 he served as a media consultant for several state senate candidates in Kentucky.

Romney National Political Director Rich Beeson called Jennings “a skilled and seasoned political operative who brings a tremendous amount of knowledge and experience to our Ohio team.”

“We are excited to have Scott join Governor Romney’s campaign to strengthen our economy and we look forward to campaigning in Ohio in the near future,” he said.

Jessica Wehrman covers news out of Washington for the Dayton Daily News and The Columbus Dispatch.