The Three-Day Tour Covers 11 Counties, More Than 630 Miles Highlighting Accomplishments that are Making a Difference for Ohio Workers, Families, and Communities

COLUMBUS, OH - Today, U.S. Senator Rob Portman (R-OH), as part of his three-day 'Results Tour', met with local farmers to discuss issues impacting farming and the best management practices for preventing nutrient runoff into Lake Erie. He saw a subsurface nutrient placement applicator purchased by the Putnam County Soil & Water District using federal funding from the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI), a program Portman has successfully fought to preserve under both the Obama and Trump administrations. He also saw examples of best management practices funded by GLRI to help reduce nutrient runoff. In addition, Portman highlighted his efforts to help local farmers address recent flooding. In June, Portman led a letter urging U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue to declare an U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) disaster designation to help Ohio farmers suffering because of extreme rainfall and flooding. In July, USDA designated several counties in Northwest Ohio as primary natural disaster areas.

"The Soil & Water Districts in Defiance and Putnam Counties are a great example of how GLRI funds are being used to improve water quality in the region while supporting sustainable farming practices, and I want to thank Bill Oedy for the tour of his farm," said Portman. "The project I saw today uses cutting-edge conservation practices to improve water quality and reduce nutrient runoff, and it is incredibly important to the Great Lakes. The GLRI is critical to Ohio's fishing industry, our tourism industry, and the drinking water of three million Ohioans. I will continue to help lead efforts in the U.S. Senate to protect funding for this bipartisan initiative."

An independent voice for Ohio, Rob continues to be a leader in protecting our Great Lakes and the environment. As co-chair of the Senate Great Lakes Task Force, Portman has taken the lead in protecting Lake Erie from harmful algal blooms, invasive species, contamination, and microbeads. Portman recently introduced legislation to reauthorize the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative through FY 2026, which is the federal government's largest investment in the Great Lakes' water quality and ecosystem. He successfully led efforts to reauthorize the program through the end of FY 2021 and has continuously fought to preserve funding for the program despite proposed cuts from both the Obama and Trump Administrations. In January 2019, President Trump signed Portman's Harmful Algal Blooms and Hypoxia Research and Control Reauthorization Act, a primary source of federal funding for harmful algal bloom research, monitoring, and forecasting in the Great Lakes.

Traveling more than 630 miles across Ohio over three days, Portman is seeing firsthand how his efforts at the federal level are helping Ohio workers, farmers, small businesses, and communities. He has participated in events highlighting how tax reform is helping our economy and how federal funding he helped secure to fight the drug epidemic is being used to save lives. Portman is also visiting Ohio military installations to see how funding he helped secure is creating jobs and strengthening our national defense. In addition, he toured the Transportation Research Center, a world-class testing facility he helped ensure can compete on a level playing field for federal funding for autonomous vehicle research.

Read this original document at: https://www.portman.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/portman-continues-his-three-day-results-tour-defiance-county-participate