“We now have a path forward to put a stop to the damage of the shutdown and get back to work,” said Sen. Jon Husted, who presided as the Senate voted 60-40 on Sunday night to break a filibuster started by Democrats back on Sept. 19.
The new temporary funding bill — and the three regular government spending bills — will still need to win final approval in the House and Senate in coming days.
Working behind the scenes during the shutdown, House-Senate negotiators agreed to spend $30 million on a Human Performance Center for the Air Force Research Laboratory as part of a measure funding construction projects for the military.
The new lab building is intended to replace aging research facilities at WPAFB, which state lawmakers have described as “substandard.” It would house the Airman Systems Directorate of the Air Force Research Laboratory.
Ohio senators originally sought $45 million for this project, but won $30 million when the Senate passed its version of the military construction funding measure earlier this year.
Turner was unable to get any money for this plan in the original House funding bill — but it passed muster with House-Senate negotiators in recent weeks.
Meanwhile, a second funding bill in this shutdown package also includes 22 local projects for Ohio worth $31 million in federal funding. The bill would funnel resources to rural housing programs, community services, and rural utilities like water infrastructure.
There were no specific projects for the Dayton area in that measure, the details of which were released Sunday by Senate negotiators. The closest project was in Madison County, where $3.5 million would go to a 911 police dispatch center.
Ohio lawmakers are still awaiting action on nine other major government funding bills for 2026, which could have millions of dollars for the state, including a series of local economic development projects in the Dayton area.
While there is new funding for military construction projects, the shutdown deal that advanced on Sunday night did not take any action on the broader Pentagon budget for 2026.
The defense spending bill is one of nine government funding measures which still must be approved by Congress — after action to end the shutdown. The military will remain on a temporary funding plan from 2025, as the Pentagon would face a new shutdown deadline of Jan. 30, 2026.
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