Representative Troy Balderson

Celebrating 222 Years of the Ohio Spirit

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Ohio officially became a state on March 1, 1803, when the 30 members of the Ohio Legislature convened for the first time in Chillicothe, which had served as the territorial capital. Here, they addressed key issues from levying taxes to creating counties.

Just one year earlier, the Ohio Territory had grown to over 60,000 residents—a critical requirement for statehood under the Enabling Act, which President Thomas Jefferson signed into law in 1802. Voters then elected delegates to a Constitutional Convention, where a state constitution was drafted and submitted to the United States Congress for approval. On February 19, 1803, Congress accepted the constitution, making Ohio as the 17th state in the Union.

We were one of six states carved from the vast and untamed Northwest Territory—settled by pioneers, Revolutionary War veterans, and families seeking opportunity and prosperity. Today, with nearly 12 million residents, Ohio remains driven by the same spirit of exploration and freedom that defined its founding. Happy birthday, Ohio!

Reining in Government Waste

In President Trump’s first 40 days, he made it clear that government waste and inefficiency would no longer be tolerated in Washington. In just over a month, the newly-formed Department of Government Efficiency saved taxpayers more than $55 billion through fraud detection, lease renegotiations, contract cancellations, and agency reorganizations.

Federal agencies have been directed to audit all contracts and programs to ensure taxpayer dollars are spent wisely and serve our nation’s best interests. President Trump has taken significant action to put Americans first and get our federal government back on track—and I look forward to leading the effort in Congress to ensure his progress is cemented into law.

The House took its first major step this week in delivering on President Trump’s agenda with the passage of a budget resolution. This legislation instructs congressional committees to identify better investments and savings within their respective jurisdictions—boosting border security and national defense, rooting out waste, fraud, and abuse, and investing in American energy to increase production and lower consumer costs.

This resolution also begins the process of extending the 2017 Trump tax cuts. If these cuts expire, Americans will face the largest tax increase in U.S. history. We cannot let that happen.

Fighting Misguided Regulations

In May 2024, the Biden-led EPA finalized new regulations that would force our most critical power plants into early retirement. Dubbed the “Clean Power Plan 2.0,” the EPA’s plan targets new natural gas power plants and all existing coal-fired plants. These rules mandate that plants eliminate virtually all carbon emissions by 2032 by retrofitting facilities with carbon capture technology—an expensive system that has never been successfully deployed on a commercial scale in the U.S.

Even before these rules were announced, power plants were shutting down at an alarming rate, despite surging energy demand across the country. Under the “Clean Power Plan 2.0,” our electric grid’s reliability will be devastated.

I led the charge last Congress to block these rules from taking effect, and this week, I introduced legislation to nullify them once and for all. For the sake of Ohio families and businesses, we cannot afford to shut down our most reliable power plants, slash our baseload energy, and simply hope the lights stay on.

Let's Stay Connected

As always, let me know if I can ever be of assistance to you or your loved ones by calling my office at (614) 523-2555 or sending me an email.

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Troy Balderson
Member of Congress

Celebrating 222 Years of the Ohio Spirit

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