NRDC Action Fund, LCV, and EDF Action Launch $9 Million Campaign Calling on Sen. Jon Husted to Stop Giving Handouts to FirstEnergy and Big Utilities While Families Pay the Price

Washington, D.C. – As Congress considers sweeping changes to our country’s energy permitting laws, the NRDC Action Fund, LCV, and EDF Action announced a more than $9 million ad campaign warning Ohioans that Senator Jon Husted could be considering yet another sweetheart deal for big utility companies at our expense. On Tuesday, August 11, Husted introduced a bill that would let companies like FirstEnergy avoid modern pollution controls and a truly independent review process.

The campaign, “On His Watch” reminds Ohio families of Husted’s key role in the largest public corruption scandal in state history because the same behind-the-scenes dealmaking that helped secure HB 6 and FirstEnergy’s $1.3 billion bailout is at the heart of this new bill. The legislation will shape the very permitting rules that decide who pays for Ohio’s next energy buildout and whether a community gets a say before more air or water pollution starts getting dumped in their backyard. Ohioans are already paying more than $600 more a year for electricity, just as costs continue to climb. 

“Ohioans are already paying the price for Sen. Jon Husted’s energy policies, and now Husted is about to push through another scam energy bill that will do nothing to lower energy costs,” said Jed Ober, NRDC Action Fund’s Managing Director. “We need cheaper, cleaner energy right now. Ohio families are no fools. Sen. Husted needs to stop cutting sweetheart deals for his utility buddies and sticking Ohioans with the bill.” 

“Ohioans know all too well what happens when powerful utilities and special interests get to write the rules. Senator Husted and the rest of Congress should be focused on real solutions to skyrocketing energy prices and that starts with standing up to Trump’s efforts to ban clean energy and derailing transmission projects our grid desperately needs,“ said Sara Chieffo, LCV’s Senior Vice President of Government Affairs. “When Ohioans are struggling to pay their energy bills and the state has already lost thousands of family-sustaining clean energy jobs, including many union jobs, Senator Husted should be working to get those projects back online instead of crafting extreme giveaways to polluters that threaten Ohioans health and do nothing to lower costs.”  

“Higher energy costs, less reliable energy, and more pollution: that’s what Jon Husted has delivered for Ohioans in the U.S. Senate,” said David Kieve, president of EDF Action. “Meanwhile, his legislation would let polluters build without protections for communities. Sen. Husted has proven time and again that he sides with utilities over his constituents – hardworking Ohio families in need of relief from the high cost of living, including utility bills they can barely afford.”

“Senator Husted has continued to promise lower energy costs for Ohioans, but at every opportunity, he’s chosen not to act on it,” said Pete Bucher, Vice President of Campaigns at the Ohio Environmental Council Action Fund. “We need more utility transparency and clean, lower-cost energy to give people the relief they need on their electric bills.”

Both LCV and NRDC opposed the most recent package of so-called “permitting reform” bills to pass the House. NRDC President and CEO Manish Bapna slammed the bills, criticizing the legislation for “tipping the scale in favor of fossil fuels” and calling for it to be “rejected outright.” 

The ad campaign will run statewide on broadcast, cable, digital, and radio starting August 18, 2026 through August 31, 2026.

###

About the NRDC Action Fund

The NRDC Action Fund is the advocacy partner of the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), but the two organizations’ names may not be used interchangeably. Apart from NRDC, the Action Fund engages in elections to grow a pro-environment majority among elected officials in government. News and information released by the NRDC Action Fund should be identified as from the “NRDC Action Fund,” and not from NRDC. Learn more at www.nrdcactionfund.org.

About the League of Conservation Voters

The League of Conservation Voters builds political power for people and the planet. We influence policy, hold politicians accountable, and win elections in order to create safe and healthy communities protected by a just and equitable democracy.