Robert Alt, president and chief executive officer of The Buckeye Institute, was publicly recognized from the Statehouse floor by Ohio’s House of Representatives for his accomplishment in summiting Mt. Everest on May 15, 2025. In his congratulatory proclamation, Alt’s State Representative—Brian Lorenz (Ohio’s 60th House District)—wrote that Robert “combined talent and competitive spirit with the highest levels of dedication to establish [him]self as a truly motivated athlete.”

In The Hill, The Buckeye Institute praises federal efforts to hold states accountable for mismanagement and fraud in welfare spending—particularly Medicaid and SNAP—and applauds U.S. Sen. Jon Husted for his recently introduced Upward Mobility Act, which will combine “several federal assistance programs to make them more efficient and encourage program recipients to work more,” and  will “reduce the impact of ‘benefit cliffs’ — which can eliminate public assistance if a recipient earns too much.”

In The Lima News, The Buckeye Institute outlines the household debt crisis facing millions of Americans. “The average Ohio household now carries more than $9,000 in credit card debt alone, and delinquency is increasing,” warns The Buckeye Institute. “Professional debt settlement may offer some borrowers a third way to reduce balances with creditors and avoid disruptive bankruptcy, but Ohio’s outdated debt-settlement laws restrict that option and should be revised.”

At The Center Square, The Buckeye Institute looks at the “elegant solution to one of Ohio’s thornier property tax problems” that the Ohio House of Representatives drafted and the General Assembly sent to Governor DeWine. The question: How to cut property taxes without hurting local public schools. The answer: Reduce the state’s annual sales tax holiday—a counterproductive tax gimmick—and use those funds to lower property taxes.

Buckeye v. IRS, The Buckeye Institute’s case challenging a tax law forcing nonprofit charities, including Buckeye itself, to hand over the private information of donors to the federal government every year is featured at Cleveland.com. “Ohio’s Buckeye Institute, a non-profit conservative think tank based in Columbus, says reporting donors in this way chills our First Amendment freedom of association, and it’s asking a federal court to stop the practice.”
 

In The Center Square, The Buckeye Institute praises policy proposals designed to make Ohio a leader in the AI race. “By providing regulatory clarity to technology firms and advanced industries, the Ohio Right to Compute Act will help attract skilled workers, retain talented graduates, leverage the state’s energy advantages, and mitigate investor risk in artificial intelligence. The state’s legislative message to burgeoning tech companies should be clear: Ohio is ready for them to build here, grow here, and succeed here.”

After filing an amicus brief in Columbus City School District v. State of Ohio defending school choice in Ohio, The Buckeye Institute demonstrated in The Columbus Dispatch how Ohio’s popular voucher programs benefit parents and students. “The public and the General Assembly understand that parents need more freedom to choose the right learning environment for their kids — not less. It’s a shame some school districts still don’t.”

“Household debt has reached record levels across the United States, and Ohio families are feeling the financial strain…For those trying to stay financially afloat, the choices can seem bleak.” In The Center Square, The Buckeye Institute urged lawmakers to “modernize Ohio’s over-protective debt-settlement laws” and give Ohioans struggling with debt more options to help them regain their financial footing.

In The Columbus Dispatch, The Buckeye Institute states that, under the U.S. Constitution, Congress does not have the authority to ban home distilling for personal use. In Ream v. U.S. Department of Treasury, The Buckeye Institute is suing the federal government to end its unconstitutional ban.

In The Wall Street Journal, Bradley A. Smith, chair of The Buckeye Institute’s Board of Directors and chair of the Institute for Free Speech’s Board of Directors, and Daniel Shuchman, a member of the Institute for Free Speech’s board, shine a light on how the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission violates the First Amendment Rights of the companies and workers it regulates.