| Standing up for Fiscal Responsibility |
Perhaps the single biggest reason I decided to run for the U.S. Senate was
my concern over the national debt, which was $21 trillion when I entered office in January of 2021. The Fiscal Responsibility
Act, or so-called debt ceiling deal, that I voted against this week allows that debt to grow to $35 trillion by January of 2025, a 67% increase
from when I entered the Senate.
This level of spending is unsustainable.
Reckless spending comes with severe consequences that escalate when the government decides to
print more money. People in Wyoming know this all too well, having experienced the worst inflation in 40 years under President Biden.
What worries me most about
Washington’s out-of-control spending is the burden being placed on my three grandkids and every other young child in Wyoming. Right now, a child
born today would be saddled with a $95,000 bill for our current national debt, and that amount will grow every second of their lives.
While I cannot support
ballooning our national debt, it was far from the only reason I voted against the deal. The bill keeps funding for 98% of President Biden’s
87,000 new IRS agents to harass and target Wyoming taxpayers and increases welfare spending with additional exemptions for people not
working. My core beliefs of fiscal responsibility and limited government guide me in representing you in the United States Senate, and I could not in
good faith vote for a bill that burdens the people of Wyoming with trillions more in debt to expand the welfare state and increase the federal
bureaucracy. Happy Trails, |
Senator Lummis' Week in Pictures |
I got to take a break
from the chaos of Washington to speak with students from Big Horn Middle School visiting our nation’s capital to compete in the International
Academic Competition Nationals. These bright young students advanced through a tough gauntlet of qualifiers and regional championships to compete in
the national finals for Geography, History and Science. Good luck in the competition!
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Legislative Actions:
- I cosponsored the Educational Choice for Children Act which creates tax credits for people and
organizations who donate to non-profit scholarship granting organizations.
- Increasing scholarship funds will expand educational and school choice
opportunities leading to higher quality education for Wyoming students.
Committee
Hearings: - During an Environment and Public Works Subcommittee on Fisheries, Water and Wildlife hearing, I highlighted the regulatory
challenges Wyoming water providers face in supplying clean and affordable water to our communities. I also welcomed Executive Director of the Wyoming
Association of Rural Water Systems, Mark Pepper, to testify before the committee about the cost impact of regulatory overreach on rural communities.
Click here to watch my remarks and here to view Mr. Pepper’s testimony.
- I raised serious concerns during a Senate Banking Committee hearing with U.S. Department of Commerce Assistant Secretary for Export
Administration Thea Kendler about the fact that there are not restrictions in place to prevent U.S. service members’ personal data from being
shared with foreign adversaries, like China. In addition to the invasion of individual privacy, there is an obvious national security risk presented
by allowing America’s adversaries to have sensitive data about the brave men and women serving our nation and protecting the freedoms of the
people of Wyoming. Click here to view my remarks.
Major Votes:
- Passage of H.J.
Res. 45, a Congressional Review Act (CRA) resolution introduced by U.S. Senator Bill Cassidy (R-LA)
revoking President Biden’s suspension of student loan payments and transfer of debt onto Wyoming taxpayers.
- Supported
- Asking hardworking people in Wyoming to cover a $400
billion bill for doctors’ and lawyers' student loans is unfair and just plain wrong. Maybe I am old fashioned, but if you take out a loan, you
pay it back.
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Working for Wyoming:
Wyoming has played a key role in making America a global energy
superpower, including in the nuclear sector by leading the nation in uranium production. This week, the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee
passed the ADVANCE Act, a bipartisan bill that I
sponsored, which will strengthen Wyoming’s status as an energy powerhouse and ensure that America has the most sophisticated nuclear energy
technology on the planet.
During the legislative process, I raised concerns about duplicative
environmental regulatory oversight of the same project, a problem that has unnecessarily slowed down Wyoming’s TerraPower project, called
Natrium. The delays at Natrium illustrate just how critical reforming our federal permitting process is to ensure that innovation is not bogged down
by red tape in Washington. News Around
Wyoming: Cowboy State
Daily Dave Koza’s bat is in the Baseball Hall
of Fame in Cooperstown. Not bad for a ballplayer that never even made it to the major leagues. Not for one at-bat, not for one measly bag of sunflower
seeds, not a sniff of “The Show.” The perennial minor leaguer wallowed in the
obscurity of bumpy bus rides, $20 a day per diem for food and unheralded rundown ballparks throughout the New England area.
Casper
Star-Tribune John Mowat remembers the day 71 years
ago when he and three others became the first to climb the Grand Teton’s Second Tower, a pyramid on the mountain’s skyline that partially
crumbled last fall.
He recalls how partner Leigh Ortenburger left his customary lunch of six
peanut butter-and-jelly sandwiches behind. |
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GRANT OPPORTUNITIES FOR WYOMING
| This week, U.S. Senators John Barrasso, Governor Mark Gordon and I unveiled the full agenda for the upcoming
Wyoming Federal Funding Summit. We also announced that the University of Wyoming is joining the summit as a presenting partner. The summit is a first
of its kind event providing free professional instruction, access to agency representatives and various resources to help localities, counties and
non-government organizations (NGOs) apply for, secure and manage federal funds.
The Wyoming Federal Funding
Summit will be held in Sheridan. The grant writing intensive will take place on June 12th and 13th. Space is very limited for the writing portion of
the course, so organizations are encouraged to register as soon as possible and only send one representative to this course. The federal funding
overview and seminar will take place on June 14th and 15th. All sessions are free and open to the public, but prior registration is required. If
interested in attending, but unable to come in person, there will be a virtual option for people to attend
both the grant course and federal funding summit. In addition to the federal grant writing and management
workshop, there will be additional panels and discussions on Infrastructure,
Investment & Jobs Act (IIJA) and Inflation Reduction
Act funding, technical assistance and grant management and an open house with federal agency representatives where participants will
have the opportunity to bring them their projects, questions and ideas. Representatives from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, U.S. Economic
Development Authority, the Department of Housing & Urban Development, Department of Transportation, Department of Energy, Small Business
Administration, USDA Rural Development and various state partners and agencies will be in attendance.
A full event agenda can
be found here. While Senator Barrasso and I did not support final passage of the Infrastructure, Investment & Jobs Act or the Inflation
Reduction Act, we are committed to ensuring Wyoming communities and citizens have fair access to the programs their tax dollars are
helping to fund. |
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WYOMING SHOUT OUT |
Casper’s own Peak Rescue team joined rescue teams from across the globe in
competing at Grimpday, an annual competition testing the skills of the most elite rescue teams on the planet. This year’s event was held in
Marseille, France and the teams competed in a range of difficult high-angle rope rescues including cliff-side, rooftop and treetop
rescues.
Despite competing against multiple former world championship teams,
Casper’s Peak Rescue, led by founder Micah Rush, won the competition, becoming the first ever American team to do so. In addition to Rush, the
championship team included Tye Herron, Eric Christensen, Chris Steinhoff, Keith Luscinski, Terry Lam and Jon Bertsch.
I am so proud of the Peak Rescue Team, and I hope everyone in Wyoming sleeps a little better knowing that if
disaster strikes, we have the best rescue team in the world right here in Casper!
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| *Photo courtesy of Oil City
News |
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Cody 1285 Sheridan Avenue, Suite 215
Cody, WY 82414
Phone: 307-527-9444
Cheyenne Federal Center
2120 Capitol Avenue, Suite
2007
Cheyenne, WY 82001
Phone:
307-772-2477
Casper Dick Cheney Federal Bldg.
100 East B Street, Suite 3201
PO Box 33201
Casper, WY 82601
Phone:
307-261-6572
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Sundance
120 North 4th Street (769)
P.O. Box 769
Sundance, WY 82729
Phone: 307-283-3461
Star Valley 80 1st Street
Suite 105
P.O. Box 1630
Afton, WY 83110
Phone:
307-248-1736
Washington,
DC
Russell Senate
Office Building
Room SR 127A
Washington, DC
20510
Phone: 202-224-3424 |
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