I hope that you and your family are well and enjoying the fall weather. Fall officially starts tomorrow, but we’re still in Hurricane season. Tropical storm Ophelia is beginning to impact eastern North Carolina and will move up the East Coast this weekend. Though our district will be spared catastrophic impacts, it’s always good to be prepared.

 

RESOURCES: Hurricane Preparedness

 

Service Academy Nominations – Deadline NEXT FRIDAY! 

 

We are still accepting applications to receive a Congressional nomination to the Military Service Academies.  

 

Completed paper applications must be received in our Monroe District Office no later than 5:00 pm on Friday, September 29th, 2023. Please note that you must fully complete and return a physical application packet. 

  

Do not send or bring applications to the Washington, D.C., or other district offices. Applications will not be accepted after the deadline passes. For more information and application materials, please visit my website. 
 

INFO: Service Academy Nominations 

 

Government Funding Update

 

Here in Washington, we’re facing a very different gathering storm. Government funding expires on September 30^th. Until now, the Speaker refused to follow the January Speaker’s agreement by prioritizing moving all 12 individual appropriations bills to fund the government. His plan was to use a Continuing Resolution (CR) to extend Nancy Pelosi’s funding levels and Joe Biden’s disastrous policies from last year’s Omnibus funding bill. 

 

That set up a showdown on the House floor this week. In order for business to proceed, the Speaker needed to pass a procedural motion allowing for consideration of a defense appropriations bill. A group of my colleagues and I twice refused to vote for this rule due to Speaker McCarthy’s violation of the January agreement that allowed him to become Speaker.

 

READ: Voting to advance only this “must-pass” bill is the antithesis of a disciplined change of direction. It will become the Christmas tree for completion of the Washington wash cycle — lather, rinse, and repeat.

 

We were able to force House leadership back to the negotiating table, making clear that we would not support a CR or allow the defense bill to proceed until the House considered ALL 12 individual appropriations bills, as we should have done months ago.

 

House leadership finally came to the realization that we need to break the swamp’s broken cycle of relying on Continuing Resolutions and Christmas Tree Omnibus bills. It’s time to do the people’s work. Now, the House’s plan is to immediately start passing the individual appropriations bills, bringing the House back closer to accountable governance.

 

I said yesterday –

 

“The Molinaro-Gaetz proposal revives the prospect of passing complete appropriations bills in the House. The spending target isn’t great, but restoring the appropriations function would be an historic milestone and the first step on the long path to fiscal sanity.

 

This opportunity has come to pass only because a handful of us had the stones to take down the defense approps rule today … for the second time … and because two talented members from opposite ends of the conference introduced a creative idea.

 

I’ve been battling for this since the day after the 2022 election. Progress here isn’t impossible, but many have a stake in resisting it fiercely … and many more are content to sit here for decades accepting its lack.”

 

I was able to take some time today to speak with Daniel Horowitz about what comes next:

 

LISTEN: Budget Brinksmanship 

 

I will not support any swamp tactics, and I will not waver in fighting for an accountable, responsible government. I’ll keep you updated on this fight via social media and this newsletter.

 

Attorney General Garland Testifies

 

Attorney General Merrick Garland made a rare appearance on Capitol Hill this week, testifying before the House Judiciary Committee for the first time this year.

As expected, he obfuscated and avoided providing any substantive answers to the questions we asked about how he’s managed of the Department of Justice and the weaponization he’s encouraged under his leadership.

 

This stonewalling and obfuscation are exactly why Congress must utilize the power of the purse to hold the DOJ accountable.

 

Legislative Updates

 

I joined my conservative colleagues in the House and Senate to stand strongly against funding any further aid to Ukraine. There is still no plan for victory, no mission statement, no objectives for our aid, and simply no money to give. War hawks want us to fund an endless conflict with ever-ballooning billions of dollars.

 

READ: NO to all future Ukraine aid requests.

 

I also joined a large group of my colleagues in calling on the Department of Commerce to terminate the 2019 Suspension Agreement on Fresh Tomatoes from Mexico, as Mexican tomato exporters are abusing and violating the agreement, harming the US tomato industry. This is hurting farmers all over the country, including many here in North Carolina.

 

READ: Congressmembers urge Commerce to Defend American Tomato Industry

 

Biden’s Climate Policies Hurt Farmers

 

I also had the pleasure of meeting with representatives from the National Turkey Federation in my D.C. office this week, including Chairman Ronnie Parker. He’s been the General Manager of Circle S Ranch in Monroe for over 25 years. Last year, two turkeys from Circle S Ranch were pardoned at the White House for the Thanksgiving Turkey pardon.

 

Unfortunately, our conversation turned to seriously and potentially very harmful topic that is made possible only by Joe Biden’s “Inflation Reduction Act,” otherwise known as the Green New Deal in Disguise. Farmers are paying the price for the radical liberal climate agenda. Turkey farmers and a number of other producers and agricultural functions require CO2 to function, including humane slaughter of animals.

 

Now, due to the Inflation Reduction Act’s carbon dioxide sequestration climate tax credits, much of that previously available commercial Co2 is being sequestered underground, with less available for sale for agribusinesses. This raises costs significantly for farmers and makes it harder to conduct business. And, of course, this cost directly impacts Americans who are trying to just put food on the table.

 

If our farmers can’t thrive, every American suffers. What happens in Washington has real-world consequences – and there are some who will celebrate these developments.

 

I vow that I will act to stop these damaging policies and help our farmers. The American people deserve no less.  

Intern Applications 
 

We are now accepting applications for spring 2024 internships in our D.C. and NC offices.  All interested applicants should email their resumes to [email protected]. 

 

Votes this week

 

• H.R. 3981 – Isakson-Roe Education Oversight Expansion Act (Passed) Requires educational institutions notify state approving agencies or the VA within 30 days of becoming subject to certain unfavorable actions as a condition of approval for VA educational assistance programs.
• S. 475 – Designating the clinic of the Department of Veterans Affairs in Gallup, New Mexico as the Hiroshi “Hershey” Miyamura VA Clinic (Passed)
• H.R. 663 – Native American Child Protection Act (Passed) Reauthorizes through FY2028 certain programs related to prosecution of family violence and child abuse involving Indian families.
• H.R. 2670 - Motion to go to Conference on National Defense Authorization Act (Passed) This is a motion for the House to appoint conferees to negotiate with the Senate for a final version of the National Defense Authorization Act.
• H.R. 2670 – Motion on Closing Portions of the Conference on National Defense Authorization Act (Passed)
• S. 112 – Strengthening benefits for children of Vietnam veterans born with spina bifida (Passed) Requires the VA to provide health care, job training, and monetary benefits for children born to Vietnam veterans for children with spina bifida.
• H.R. 2670 – Democrat Motion to Instruct Conferees (Failed)
• H.R. 1530 – Veterans Benefits Improvement Act (Passed) Updates procedures related to the publishing of VA disability benefit questionnaire forms, requires VA to report on efforts to provide reimbursement for veteran travel to a VA facility.
• H. Res. 712 – Rule providing for consideration of Department of Defense Appropriations Act 2024 and for consideration of Unlocking our Domestic LNG Potential Act (Failed) This rule provided for consideration of two bills. It failed.