In the News

We don't often think about modernizing the way that we plant trees. For generations, the process has remained the same: A seed falls to the ground, germinates, grows, sprouts branches and leaves, pulls carbon from the atmosphere, and releases oxygen.

But things are changing. Today, we have a much deeper understanding of the critical role trees play in our environment. We are also better than ever at managing our forests properly and keeping them healthy.

We are facing a crisis at our southern border. In fact, we've been facing a crisis there for years. We should be using every available resource to improve our immigration process, but in the meantime, we absolutely must equip our agencies with enforcement tools. If we don't, our environment will suffer as a result.

America is at a crossroads. Nearly two-thirds of U.S. adults now say that protecting the environment should be a top priority for the president and Congress, marking the first time in recent history in which environmental protection rivals the economy among the public's top policy priorities. Devastating wildfires, hurricanes, and other natural disasters have the public asking if there's more we can do to be stewards of our resources and environment. At the start of the 117th Congress, we have an opportunity to tackle these issues.

Last week, the House of Representatives voted to pass the Equality Act which redefines the word "sex" to include transgender individuals and subsequently deprives others from their First Amendment rights. During the debate of this bill, my Democrat colleague Congressman Jerry Nadler from New York declared that there was no place for God and religion in the discussion of the Equality Act.

America was founded on the ideal that all people are created equal and that we are all endowed by our creator with the rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. While our nation hasn't always lived up to this collective creed, we continually strive to make America a more just and equitable nation.

Unfortunately, in the pursuit of equality, some in our government have gone awry and chosen to infringe on First Amendment rights by supporting a bill erroneously called the Equality Act.

President Biden will "create millions of new jobs, including new opportunities in rural America [and] partner with rural communities to help them fully access federal resources." Or so the Biden-Harris Plan to Build Back Better in Rural America reads.

Yet as the adage goes, actions speak louder than words. President Biden's first actions in office have certainly spoken. The long-term impacts of his oil and natural gas leasing ban on federal lands and water are grim, to say the least.

2020 was a challenging year. No matter where you live or work, COVID-19 affected all of us in different ways. Some people lost their jobs, some lost their loved ones. Some continued their jobs from home, but working remotely is not an option for most Americans. We should all be grateful to those who go to work so we can have food, clothing, shelter, and the amenities of life that otherwise would not be possible.

Democrats and many media outlets are claiming that Republicans do not have a health care plan. This is unequivocally false. We have a solution, a bill with more than 500 pages of legislative text introduced in both the House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate. The Fair Care Act of 2020 (FCA) is based on years of research and provides answers to some of the most pressing health care concerns facing the nation.