WASHINGTON – Congressman Troy Balderson (R-OH) today announced he will remain on the House Committee on Agriculture and the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure in the 117th Congress. He previously sat on both committees during the 116th Congress, most recently being tapped for the Agriculture Committee in July 2020.
“Ohioans have an ally in me—someone to champion the needs of their day-to-day lives in Congress,” said Balderson. “Agriculture and transportation are some of Ohio’s top industries, creating employment opportunities for hundreds of thousands of Ohioans, which is why I’m glad to continue working for their best interests through my committee assignments.”
AGRICULTURE COMMITTEE
Earlier this week, Balderson reintroduced his bipartisan Rural Equal Aid Act, which would extend to U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) loan borrowers the same relief already provided to Small Business Administration borrowers. The legislation—which he previously introduced in the 116th Congress—would provide 6 months of payments for existing USDA Rural Development program borrowers, helping relieve financial strain during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
Balderson has long championed the need for the expansion of rural broadband internet access, an issue overseen by the Agriculture Committee. He has continuously pushed for enhanced broadband infrastructure – especially during the pandemic – and for improved internet access across all sectors and in all areas of the state and country. Balderson’s opinion editorial on how this need has been underscored by the COVID-19 pandemic was published in the Newark Advocate last year.
Leading up to being tapped for the Agriculture Committee, Balderson had been involved with issues related to agriculture and trade during the COVID-19 pandemic, helping establish the USDA Coronavirus Food Assistance Program to provide direct relief to farmers and ranchers, as well as purchase $3 billion worth of fresh produce, fairly, and meat for nationwide distribution.
In August 2020, Balderson penned a series of opinion editorials outlining the threat the Chinese Communist Party poses on Ohio and the United States as a whole, particularly the agriculture sector.
TRANSPORTATION AND INFRASTRUCTURE COMMITTEE
Balderson has been a leading voice for Ohio on the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, offering commonsense solutions to our nation’s transportation challenges. In June 2020, Balderson proposed several key amendments to the committee’s surface transportation bill, covering subject matter ranging from trucking, to rail, and motorcyclists.
Most recently, Balderson introduced the SMART Transportation Act in October 2020, which would spur innovation, improve efficiency, and promote advanced technology in America’s transportation systems. In August, he also introduced the bipartisan Drug-Impaired Driving Education Act, which would establish a $5 million federal grant program for the first two years after the bill is enacted for states to educate the public on the dangers of drug-impaired driving. According to the Ohio State Highway Patrol, there were 3,915 drugged driving crashes on Ohio’s roadways in 2019.
On several occasions, Balderson has pushed for urgent action to meet Ohio’s transportation needs, including a bipartisan letter in in November 2019 asking congressional leadership to address the looming rescission of $7.6 billion from the highway funding bill passed earlier that year. At the time, Balderson stated that Ohio risked losing nearly $337 million for vital infrastructure projects if the funding was not reallocated. In February 2020, he also sent a letter to then-Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao expressing bipartisan support for Ohio Department of Transportation’s grant application for Phase 4 of the Columbus Crossroads project.
In September 2020, Balderson was named Legislative Champion of the Year by the Motorcycle Riders Foundation as a result of his established record of championing the needs of Ohio’s fellow motorcycle riders through his work on the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. Some of his efforts include an amendment to prevent the profiling of motorcyclists through the use of motorcycle-specific checkpoints as well as bipartisan legislation that would extend the Motorcycle Advisory Council at DOT for 6 years and establish requirements for the makeup of the council.
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