Dear friends and neighbors,
My favorite part of serving as your U.S. Senator for Ohio is hearing directly from Ohioans about the issues that matter most to them, so I can carry our Ohio values to the nation’s capital.
I’m an Ohio guy, not a Washington guy—and over the past few weeks, I’ve valued the chance to spend time with workers, students, and small businesses across our state.
I wore out our tire tread visiting Ohioans and hearing about what matters most to them.
Over the summer, I traveled across our state—meeting with educators, small business owners, innovators, advocates, and health care workers. Their insights guide my work to make life easier and more affordable for Ohioans.
Everyone I heard from reminded me of what makes Ohio the best place in the nation to get an education, raise a family, grow a business, and build a career.
Building Ohio’s workforce
Several of Ohio’s educational institutions are expanding access to quality job training and high-paying careers, and I appreciated the opportunity to see this work in action.
Throughout my visits, we discussed a common theme: how to set Ohioans on a path for high-paying jobs and rewarding careers—without saddling them with the cost of traditional college time and debt.
That’s been one of my priorities since long before I took my oath of office, and the Workforce Pell Grants that I helped pass into law this July will help provide affordable career training for more students. Those new grants will also help Ohio fill the jobs our businesses are creating. Workforce Pell Grants are a win for students, job creators, and Ohio families.
Cincinnati State Technical and Community College welcomed me to see its facilities firsthand. This visit gave me a front-row look at how their programs are helping students build skills for today’s workforce.
At Sinclair College in Dayton, I visited its Health Sciences Center and saw how the Workforce Pell Grants complement Sinclair’s ongoing efforts to help Ohioans become career-ready quickly.
Ohio University’s President Lori Gonzalez talked with me about supporting Ohio’s health care workforce, energy development, and aviation sciences.
In Marietta, Washington State College of Ohio gave me a tour of its career center engineering wing and labs.
I spoke with workers across a variety of industries who are part of the Ohio Teamsters. Ohio is home to dedicated, hardworking Americans, and the Ohioans I spent time alongside have helped build our state’s economic foundation.
Helping small businesses thrive
Hardworking Ohioans tell me they deserve to keep more of what they earn, and that’s exactly why I supported the working families tax cuts. Our state has been hit by the inflation of the past several years, and I won’t quit fighting to make life more affordable.
To help me do that well, I sat down with Ohio’s small business owners, employees, and job creators to listen to their experiences.
I stopped by Dorr Street Cafe in Toledo to talk with café employees and its owner, Bob, about how the no-tax-on-tips provision in the recent package of working families tax cuts helps Ohio workers.
Findlay’s Dietsch Brothers Chocolates & Ice Cream is one of the family-owned businesses that make up the backbone of Ohio’s economy and are part of our state’s character.
Local business owners in Washington and Hancock Counties welcomed me to two roundtables to discuss the challenges they face and how the new budget law will support them by giving them certainty on the tax front and more ways to make the kinds of investments that fuel future growth.
More than 150 business leaders at the Dayton Area Chamber government affairs luncheon joined me to talk about how we can enact smart policies that multiply success in the Miami Valley.
In Marietta, Eramet Marietta Inc. showed me how they help make American steel as the U.S.’s sole producer of manganese.
Ohio’s businesses create jobs and expand industries from data processing to steel manufacturing. I’ll keep working to help Ohio continue to embrace innovation and to remove the big-government barriers that make it hard for businesses and workers to succeed.
Supporting Ohio’s rural hospitals
I’m committed to ensuring rural hospitals in Ohio can continue providing high-quality health care in communities throughout our state.
I appreciated the opportunity to visit Blanchard Valley Hospital in Findlay to explore their work firsthand and discuss how the budget law’s rural health care transformation fund will support Ohio’s rural hospitals and the patients they serve. You can read more about the visit through Blanchard Valley’s perspective here.
Blanchard Valley Hospital is one of Ohio’s rural health care providers that the $50 billion health care transformation fund I helped pass into law this summer will support.
I’m proud the recent budget law established a $50 billion rural health care transformation fund, which will support hospitals like Blanchard Valley. That helps ensure Ohioans have access to the health care they need.
Fighting human trafficking
While I was in Akron with the Summit County Collaborative Against Human Trafficking, we discussed how to fight the human trafficking that’s happening within Ohio’s borders.
To support their efforts, I introduced the Enhancing Detection of Human Trafficking Act. My bill would make sure the Department of Labor trains its employees to identify human trafficking at job sites and to protect victims by referring signs of trafficking crimes to law enforcement.
Summit County community leaders joined me for a roundtable on practical ways to rescue human trafficking victims and bring their abusers to justice.
As Ohio and those involved in the Summit County Collaborative Against Human Trafficking take action locally, I’ll keep working to pass a federal law that would save lives and help stop human trafficking on the ground.
Expanding affordable housing
Ohio needs innovative solutions to lower housing costs and build stronger neighborhoods.
I joined Housing and Urban Development Secretary Scott Turner to visit a faith-based innovative housing development and talk with opportunity zone leaders.
Columbus is working to expand affordable housing in our communities, and I got to see that firsthand.
Vista Village is Columbus’ first transitional housing community made up of tiny homes. I got to witness how it helps struggling individuals chart a path to stable housing by equipping residents to become self-sufficient.
Connect Housing Blocks’ 630,000 square-foot-facility uses state-of-the-art equipment to produce apartment units while lowering costs.
Leaders at the Trolley District Opportunity Zone welcomed me to see the facilities and discuss their work to create jobs. The Trolley District was once an abandoned trolley service center, but now hosts a food market, work spaces, and apartments.
I also joined opportunity zone leaders for a roundtable discussion about how the recent budget law made opportunity zones permanent. These tax incentives will help create more economic opportunities in Columbus and across our state.
Columbus is expanding affordable housing, driving innovation to meet community needs, and using opportunity zones to attract investment—helping more Ohioans build safe, stable homes. I’m encouraged that Columbus is at the forefront of creating safe and reliable housing for our communities.
Resources for you
As your U.S. Senator, my number one goal is to be a resource for you. I’ve heard directly from Ohioans about the challenges they face when dealing with federal agencies. You can fill out a form here for help navigating veterans’ benefits, passport issues, the Social Security Administration, or any other federal program. You can also call my Columbus office at (614) 369-4925.
My team and I have opened four offices across Ohio to better serve our nearly 11.9 million neighbors. You can find the office locations at www.husted.senate.gov.
You can keep up with the work I’m doing on behalf of Ohioans by signing up for my newsletter and following me on X at @SenJonHusted, Facebook at www.facebook.com/SenJonHusted, YouTube at @SenJonHusted, and Instagram at @SenJonHusted.
Finally, know that hearing from Ohioans helps me better serve you. I hope you’ll keep sharing your thoughts with me here.
Your U.S. Senator,
Jon Husted