Legislative Actions:

• I cosponsored Senator Ted Cruz’s (R-TX) AMERICANS Act to prohibit the Secretary of Defense from issuing any COVID-19 vaccine mandate without Congressional approval. This legislation would also reinstate service members who were separated from service because of the previous mandate.
  • People in Wyoming are extremely concerned about forcing service members to be vaccinated or separated from service over their decision to not receive the COVID-19 vaccine. Legislation like this helps ensure our troops are not fired for refusing to receive this relatively new vaccine.
• I cosigned a letter to U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Director Martha Williams expressing concerns about listing the northern long-eared bat as endangered under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) and the impact this would have on critical infrastructure projects.
  • The northern long-eared bat has been found, or is believed to be found, in northeastern Wyoming including in Crook, Weston, Niobrara, Sheridan, and Campbell counties. An ESA listing would negatively impact future energy and transportation projects.
• I joined Senators John Barrasso (R-WY) and Bill Hagerty (R-TN) in reintroducing the Stop the Nosy Obsession with Online Payments (SNOOP) Act that would strike the tax code provisions in the Biden Administration’s “American Rescue Plan” that requires third-party payment platforms to report businesses’ transactions totaling more than $600 to the Internal Revenue Services (IRS).
  • Many folks in Wyoming have concerns about reporting transactions like this to the IRS. This is clearly government overreach and unfairly targets small, family-owned businesses.
• I cosponsored Senator Rick Scott’s (R-FL) Debt Cancellation Accountability Act which requires the U.S. Department of Education to obtain explicit appropriations from Congress to pay for any federal student loan debt that is waived or discharged when granted to two or more borrowers greater than $1,000,000.
  • Canceling student loan debt will increase the national debt and cripple Wyoming taxpayers while only benefitting a small portion of well-educated high earners.

My team has been hearing concerns from people across Wyoming about housing shortages in nearly every county and community. A big part of expanding access to housing in Wyoming is making it easier for folks to get Housing Choice Vouchers (HCV), also known as Section 8 vouchers, and retaining landlords to the program. More than 10,000 people in Wyoming currently use federal rental assistance to afford the most basic forms of housing. This is why I cosponsored U.S. Senator Chris Coons (D-DE) and Kevin Cramer’s (R-ND) Choice in Affordable Housing Act to make sure folks in Wyoming have a greater chance of accessing HCV programs and to ensure that more landlords accept those vouchers. This is something that I will continue to work to address as housing costs continue to skyrocket.

News Around Wyoming:

Lack Of Trains Cost Wyoming $100 Million In Coal Revenue In 2022
Cowboy State Daily
Wyoming coal mines saw an uptick in production last year, but about 50 million tons of production didn’t happen because of a lack of rail service to get the coal from the mines in Wyoming to power plants across the country.

During a presentation for the Senate Minerals, Business and Economic Development Committee this week, Wyoming Mining Association Executive Director Travis Deti said that when mines can’t ship coal, it’s just lost business.

Hundreds of miles of Wyoming highways closed early Friday ahead of major incoming storm
Oil City News
Swaths of interstate and major highways are closed early Friday due to high winds and blowing and drifting snow.

According to WYDOT, Interstate 80 spanning from Cheyenne to Rock Springs is closed as of 5 a.m. on Friday, and Interstate 25 is mostly closed between Cheyenne and Glendo. No unnecessary travel and black ice warnings are in place between Casper and Midwest. Interstate 90 between Sheridan and Buffalo is also closed early Friday.

Wyoming’s Out-Of-State Snowmobile Industry Explodes; “Wyo Has Definitely Been Discovered”
Cowboy State Daily
With more than 2,000 miles of groomed snowmobiling trails and millions of acres of back country powder, Wyoming offers an unparalleled winter recreation experience that includes the elusive feel of exploring undiscovered country.

But more and more snowmobilers are discovering Wyoming. Out-of-state snowmobiling permits rose 38%, according to a 2020-21 report from the University of Wyoming and Department of Agricultural Economics as compared to its previous report for the 2011-12 season.