Husted statement on one year in office

WASHINGTON - Sen. Jon Husted (R-Ohio) today marked one year in office, highlighting his first year of service and accomplishments on behalf of Ohioans in the U.S. Senate.

View Husted's statement here.

"Today, I mark my first full year serving as your U.S. Senator, and I have just one message: thank you. I came to the Senate committed to fighting for Ohio's working families, and in just one year, we've already delivered real results. We passed tax cuts to help Ohioans keep more of what they earn, secured meaningful investments for communities across our state, advanced and passed three of my bills into law and introduced legislation to help more Americans achieve financial independence. It's been a productive first year, and I look ahead knowing the best is yet to come," said Husted.

Husted remained in regular communication with Ohioans throughout the year by:

• Hosting eight telephone town halls, reaching out to more than 1 million Ohioans from all 88 counties to hear about various issues important to them.
• Holding more than 400 face-to-face meetings with constituents.
• Sending more than 400,000 pieces of mail to Ohioans who reached out with questions or concerns.

Husted returns money to Ohioans:

• Since taking office, Husted has returned more than $4.5 million to Ohioans through constituent casework, helping families and individuals resolve issues with federal agencies and recover funds.

Husted supported the Working Families Tax Cuts Act, which became law in July. The budget law lowers taxes for working Ohioans and their families. This legislation helps Ohioans keep more of what they earn, supports job creation and small businesses, strengthens border security and reinforces America's national defense by:

• Funding border security measures at the southern border and on Lake Erie.
  • This funding will help identify people illegally in America who have committed crimes, getting them off the streets and returned to their home countries.
• Helping Ohioans keep more of what they earn by preventing tax hikes that would cost the average American family of four earning $80,000 an extra $1,700 in federal taxes.
  • The average Ohio household would have owed an additional $2,140 in federal taxes if Republicans had not passed the budget law.

• Protecting 20% small business deduction. Had the law not passed, 842,000 Ohio small businesses would have lost their small business tax deduction.
• Raising the Child Tax Credit to $2,200.
• Supporting Ohio families and vulnerable children by making the Adoption Credit partially refundable up to $5,000.
• Including no taxes on tips and no taxes on overtime pay.

In addition, Husted had three bills signed into law since taking office:

• The bipartisan SMART OTC Act became law, which modernizes the FDA's process for giving more prescription drugs status as over-the-counter (OTC) options, making these medications cheaper for families across America.
• Husted's resolution that became law reversed a Biden-era energy regulation that forced unreasonable energy efficiency standards on an array of appliances that families and businesses use every day.
• The Great Lakes Fishery Research Reauthorization Act, which Husted co-led, was signed into law to protect Ohio's Great Lakes by renewing critical funding for scientific research that supports conservation efforts and ensures the long-term health of Ohio's lakes.

Husted secured Ohio-specific funding wins, which were signed into law:

• Through the November government funding package, Husted secured:
  • $30 million to begin construction of the Human Performance Laboratory at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton.
  • $1 million for a rural facility in Coshocton to improve the community's and visitors' health.
  • $999,000 for a lab modernization for Holzer Health System in Gallipolis.
• In the National Defense Authorization Act, Husted secured $60 million for critical Ohio military construction and infrastructure projects across the state.
• In the January 2026 funding package, Husted secured $6.78 million for various Ohio projects.

Husted introduced landmark legislation to empower states to reduce benefits cliffs and help Americans break free from poverty, government dependency and ease into a life of financial independence:

• The Upward Mobility Act would reform federal benefits by ending the benefits cliff and incentivizing career growth.
• Husted's bill would create a five-year pilot program for five states to combine funding from multiple federal anti-poverty programs into a single funding stream to eliminate benefits cliffs.
• States would be free to utilize savings from reduced bureaucracy, as well as resources from non-profit and private sectors to design and invest in programs that prevent benefits cliffs, while providing for the immediate needs of vulnerable populations.
• Read Husted's op-ed about the bill here.

Husted help secure funding for Ohio's rural hospitals:

• The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services will award the State of Ohio more than $202 million for Fiscal Year 2026 as part of the Rural Health Transformation Fund.
• The Rural Health Transformation Fund was created by the Working Families Tax Cuts Act passed by Congress earlier this year and signed into law by the president on July 4, 2025.
• Husted fought aggressively for the creation of the fund to support Ohio's network of rural hospitals. Continued funding for Ohio under thisprogram could provide more than $1 billion over the next five years to support rural health care access in the state.