Economic development has always been a top priority for me throughout my time in public service.  Just as I was as a member of Congress, I have been directly involved in Ohio economic development as a U.S. Senator.  My staff and I work closely with chambers of commerce, businesses, farmers, and economic development groups in every region of our state.  We are working with them to attract businesses and investment to Ohio so that they can harness our second-to-none workforce, and we serve as a resource to help companies cut through the red tape of the federal bureaucracy.

Along with working to stop burdensome, job-killing regulations and legislation, I am also going outside the traditional role for a Senate office, getting directly involved with those who are considering moving their businesses to or expanding their operations in our state.

I helped facilitate an expansion announcement of PAS Technologies in Hillsboro, Ohio that is expected to create at least 40 and up to 200 new jobs.  Through working with PAS Technologies CEO Phil Milazzo and state and local officials, my team and I helped convince the company to bring the jobs came to Ohio instead of other states.

We also introduced and successfully passed an amendment involving guardrails that saved hundreds of jobs at Gregory Industries, a fifth-generation family owned business in Canton, Ohio.  An appropriations bill that funded transportation included language that would have mandated that states only use one specific type of guardrail that was galvanized in one particular way.  This restrictive mandate would have prevented the majority of Gregory Industries’ guardrails from being used on federal infrastructure projects.

We are also advocating for Ohio’s regional economic development interests.  We were successful in inserting an amendment into the FAA Reauthorization bill that increased Southwest Ohio’s  chances of becoming a test site for safely integrating Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) into the National Airspace System.  For Southern Ohio, we helped obtain a federal designation of Adams and Scioto Counties as High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas (HIDTA), a measure that will help the area combat the growing prescription drug problem.  We successfully fought to help save hundreds of jobs in Northwest Ohio by blocking the potential closure of the Joint Systems Manufacturing Center, known as the "Lima Tank Plant."  This effort also saved taxpayers between $800 million and $1.6 billion by not temporarily mothballing the facility and losing a skilled workforce and supply chain.  In Northeast Ohio, along with saving jobs at Gregory Industries, we took the lead on the Great Lakes Short Sea Shipping Enhancement Act of 2011, which would benefit the Port of Cleveland by encouraging the shipment of goods through the Great Lakes and the St. Lawrence Seaway.

A staff member in my office works specifically on advancing regional economic development priorities, so please be in touch with any suggestions or ideas on how to help create more private sector jobs in Ohio or on specific areas where our office could be helpful.