Senator Jon Husted (R-Ohio) voted on Friday, January 30, to pass a funding package that would fund certain departments and projects through the 2026 fiscal year, including some Ohio-specific projects.

The funding package is made up of five more of the 12 appropriations subcommittee bills that are needed to fully fund the government for FY2026, according to the news release announcing the funding package.

One Ohio-specific investment included in the funding package was $5,000,000 for Western Reserve Port Authority's Youngstown-Warren Regional Airport Runway. This money would be used to complete the final phase of the Airfield Pavement Rehabilitation Project.

Over $26 million dollars in funding would be bound for other parts of the state through Congressionally Directed Spending requests, including examples such as:

  • $875,000 towards Stark State College's Commercial Drivers License (CDL) Instruction Center to help in the construction of classrooms, offices and a computer lab and workspace for students
  • $1,500,000 towards the City of Portsmouth's Chillicothe Street Housing Project to fix up two vacant buildings in order to create affordable housing in the area
  • $3,750,000 towards the Ohio Department of Transportation's (ODOT) City of Wooster Beall Avenue Safety Improvement Project, which would help construct a new roundabout in one of the city's most congested intersections

In total, funding for Ohio-specific requests totaled $26,372,000.

The release also notes a few other departments that saw funding, including the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, alongside Education and some areas in the "defense" section of the funding bill.

Some examples of those items include:

  • $1.4 billion is bound for Career and Technical Education (CTE) State Grants, which aim to assist states and localities with program expansion
  • $10.4 billion was allocated for employment and training programs, aiming to help workers acquire necessary workforce skills
  • $12.4 billion for Head Start and $8.8 billion for the Child Care and Development Block Grant, aiming to support affordable childcare options
  • $15.2 billion for IDEA State grants, aiming to help state and school districts provide special education and related services to students
  • $5 million to "accelerate destruction of toxic chemicals" like per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances

"In addition to targeted investments across Ohio, this funding bolsters our military, keeps border security strong, supports education and health systems, and modernizes air and transportation safety - priorities that keep our state and country moving forward. Ohioans can always count on me to put our state's priorities first as I represent them in Congress," said Senator Husted.

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