A lifelong Ohioan, Dave has dedicated his life to family and public service. After graduating with his Juris Doctorate from the University of Dayton, Dave worked as a public defender before being elected as Geauga County Prosecutor in 1988 – a position in which he served his community for nearly 25 years.
In November of 2012, Dave was elected to represent the 14th Congressional District of Ohio in the U.S. House of Representatives and is currently in his fifth term. He considers it a great honor to represent the people of Northeast Ohio and serve the communities where he was born and raised.
I have always believed in a commonsense approach to government that helps both employers and their workers succeed. As a member of the Buy American Caucus, I remain committed to fighting for policies in Congress that provide more opportunities for Ohio small businesses and ensure they can compete in our increasingly global economy.
Ohio has long been a national leader in innovation and manufacturing, both of which will be the key to rebuilding our economy. As we work to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, my focus remains on reducing inflation by supporting fiscally responsible policies, cutting red tape, spurring economic growth, creating good-paying jobs, and supporting jobs-training programs to give workers career-ready skills for the jobs of today and those that will exist in the future.
As a parent to three now-grown children, I can attest to how important high-quality education is as our children prepare for successful, meaningful futures. I also know that maintaining the highest standards of American education is vital to our nation’s competitiveness on the global stage. That’s why I work to ensure that schools and parents have every opportunity to identify solutions that work best for students.
The federal government must provide the funding and flexibility needed for schools, teachers, and parents to create an effective learning environment for students. However, the federal government should not involve itself in local school district decisions or overrule the role that parents play in their children’s education. It’s an honor to represent a district filled with school communities that are committed to providing students with the education they need to thrive and reach their goals. I will continue to advance policies that give every child the opportunity to realize their full potential.
In today’s world, energy independence is a matter of national security. It’s more important than ever to ensure America’s energy needs can be met by domestic production, not by a reliance on foreign countries such as Russia. That’s why I am proud to support an all-of-the-above energy strategy that will secure America’s energy independence and increase access to affordable energy for Ohioans.
Thankfully, Ohio’s natural gas and oil industry has been leading on clean, safe and reliable energy production for years. Between 2005 and 2015 Ohio’s power sector had the biggest carbon emissions reduction of any state in the country, contributing to America’s largest reduction of emissions in the history of conventional energy over the past decade. All of that was accomplished while, on average, lowering energy costs for American households and utilizing American energy like natural gas.
But for every ton of carbon dioxide emissions reduced here in the U.S., China increased its emissions by FOUR tons. The reality is that drastic environmental protection measures that kill American jobs and hike up prices will not have a positive impact on the Earth’s future sustainability if global emissions continue to rise because of actions from foreign powers like China (whose annual emissions are more than the U.S., Europe, and Japan combined).
Having grown up on the shores of Lake Erie, I consider it an honor to advocate for the Great Lakes in Congress. The Lakes are an irreplaceable resource and invaluable economic driver. They constitute the largest system of surface freshwater on Earth, provide drinking water for an estimated 48 million people, and generate more than 1.5 million jobs and $60 billion in wages annually.
In 2016, I authored landmark legislation to authorize the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI), which provides funding to federal agencies, the Great Lakes states, local communities, and businesses to restore the Great Lakes ecosystem and the economic health of the Great Lakes region. This important bill was signed into law by President Obama in 2016. In 2021, President Trump signed my subsequent legislation to reauthorize GLRI into law.
As the Ranking Member of the House Appropriations Committee’s Subcommittee on Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies, and as a Co-Chair of the House Great Lakes Task Force, I will continue working across the aisle to secure the necessary investments to treat the Great Lakes as the national treasure they are.
Every American, regardless of age or whether they have a pre-existing condition, should have access to quality, affordable healthcare. As the proud husband of a nurse, I know that any reform of our healthcare system must ensure that Americans have the freedom and flexibility to choose the care that meets their individual needs at an affordable cost. I firmly believe the best way to achieve that is to provide Americans with a patient-centered healthcare system in which patients and doctors can make decisions without interference from the federal government.
Rest assured, I will continue fighting until Ohioans have affordable and accessible health care of their own choosing, not the federal government’s.
One of my priorities as a lawmaker has always been and will continue to be fixing our broken immigration system. America is a nation of immigrants, but we are also a nation of laws. Those two things don’t have to contradict each other.
Immigration reform is a tough and complex issue – but having been to the southern border to assess the growing crisis there myself, I know Congress must overcome party lines and take action. With illegal immigration at a record high, Republicans and Democrats need to work together to come up with solutions that will increase border security, combat the flow of lethal drugs into our country, and fix our broken immigration system.
In my role on the House Appropriations Committee, I remain committed to advancing commonsense policies to update and improve Ohio’s infrastructure. I firmly believe Congress can make meaningful investments without burdening families or small businesses with unprecedented taxation or increasing deficit spending and further contributing to our soaring national debt. In order to ensure the long-term sustainability of these investments, Congress must address the pending insolvency of the Highway Trust Fund. Responsible spending practices are critical to protecting the programs which improve roads, bridges, broadband, and other critical infrastructure assets that Ohioans rely on.
One of the most important functions of the federal government is to provide for the defense of this great nation. I’m proud to have consistently voted to provide our Armed Forces with the resources and tools they need to effectively confront emerging threats across the globe from Afghanistan to the South China Sea.
The United States has the strongest and most effective fighting force in the world and, as a member of the House Appropriations Committee, I work to ensure it stays that way by providing the funding necessary to safeguard our nation’s military readiness, protect American interests around the globe, support our troops at home and abroad, and care for our military families.
Tragically, the opioid epidemic has impacted nearly community across Northeast Ohio and the country as a whole. Roughly 400,000 Americans died from an opioid overdose between 1999 and 2017. That’s three times the number of American servicemembers who died fighting in World War I and seven times the number who died during the Vietnam War.
As a former prosecutor and as the Vice Chair of the House Addiction, Treatment and Recovery Caucus, I know that in order to successfully battle the opioid crisis, we need an all-of-the-above approach that includes that includes prevention and education efforts, promotes treatment, cracks down on illegal distribution, and enhances resources for first responders and law enforcement.
With Ohio being among the top five states with the highest rates of opioid-related overdose deaths, I remain committed to providing our local communities with the tools and resources they to save lives on the front lines of this crisis.
As a former prosecutor, the safety and wellbeing of Northeast Ohio’s communities remain one of my top priorities.
I’m proud to have co-founded the Bipartisan Task Force to End Sexual Violence in the 115th Congress and am a staunch supporter of our first responders and law enforcement officers. Our brave men and women in blue selflessly serve our communities with courage, dedication, and strength. Having worked alongside many of these heroes during my time as Geauga County Prosecutor, I know all too well the danger they willingly face each and every day to protect us and our families.
As the son of a World War II veteran, I know full-well that after asking our servicemembers to risk their lives to protect our country, we have the responsibility to ensure they have what they need to live healthy, happy and successful lives when they return home. I have been fighting to fulfill that responsibility ever since the people of Northeast Ohio sent me to Washington to represent them.
Through my position on the House Appropriations Committee, it is my honor to ensure the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) receives the funding it needs to provide support and assistance to our nation’s veterans and their families. I continue to focus on increasing transparency at the VA, improving veteran mental health care services and reducing veteran suicides, combatting veteran homelessness, and connecting veterans with the resources they need.
Each time I walk into my Washington, D.C. office, I see my father’s Purple Heart. I keep it there as a reminder that the freedom and rights we enjoy every day are not free. They are paid for by the service and sacrifice of the courageous soldiers of our Armed Forces. We are forever indebted to the brave men and women who have sacrificed so much to defend our nation, and I will forever remain committed to fighting for them.
We cannot afford to continue to run the country on cruise control. The national debt exceeds $19 trillion and counting. As such, it is imperative that the United States government learns to live within its means. American families carefully scrutinize their spending and Congress must do the same on behalf of the American people. As a member of the House Appropriations Committee, I have the privilege to carefully scrutinize the Administration’s budget request each fiscal year and I take that responsibility very seriously.
At a time in which American families and small businesses are struggling, the last thing they need is to be burdened with higher taxes. While serving as County Prosecutor, I worked to save and protect taxpayer dollars by ensuring education spending was invested in the students, not spent on outside legal services. I plan on continuing my history of protecting Ohio taxpayers by using my position on the Appropriations Committee to ensure that American tax dollars are being used in an efficient and responsible way. I will support a tax reform plan that eases the burden of taxes on small businesses and families, and lets Ohioans keep more of their own hard-earned money.
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Both Social Security and Medicare face long-term financing shortfalls under currently scheduled benefits and financing. These are important programs that many seniors depend on. I believe America’s seniors have earned these benefits and it is crucial that we ensure they receive them. According to the President’s own Medicare actuaries, the Medicare trust fund will go bankrupt by 2028. I will work with my colleagues in Congress to ensure that the Medicare and Social Security remain solvent for current and future seniors.
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