Weekly Columns
This week, the House voted on the bipartisan National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) to fund our military and defense related items in Fiscal Year 2023. This bill has been passed every year for over 60 years, and I’m glad to see that streak continue. This NDAA is focused on increasing our military readiness and empowering a robust national defense by ensuring our service men and women have the tools they need to properly protect our nation.
Next week, the House of Representatives will consider the “Respect for Marriage Act.” which aims to redefine marriage according to federal law. A Democrat controlled Congress, with the aid of some Republican senators, have brought forward an unnecessary and concerning bill to codify Obergefell v. Hodges. Proponents of the bill claim it would ensure the right to same-sex “marriage” with no intention of affecting the millions of Americans of faith who hold sincere beliefs about the sanctity of marriage.
Veterans Day is a time to reflect on the service and sacrifice of those who dedicated their lives and risked their safety to protect our nation and our way of life. It is one of my greatest honors as a member of Congress to meet the men and women across the Fourth District who demonstrated tremendous bravery and acts of heroism during their time of service.
This week, reports from the Energy Information Administration have caused fuel companies to sound the alarm, warning of a dire shortage of diesel in the Southeast.
The Biden Administration, in a continuation of its radical “abortion on demand” agenda, created a program to use federal tax dollars to fund abortion-related travel for service members and their families living in a state where abortion access is limited.
This week, I hosted my annual agriculture tour of Arkansas’ Fourth District; traveling from Ozark to Hope, and many places in between. I always look forward to this week because I can spend considerable time speaking with farmers and ranchers about their challenges and about how I can highlight their needs to my colleagues in Congress.
Americans are struggling to pay the price for President Joe Biden’s energy policies. This winter, families are expected to pay the highest prices in over a decade to heat their homes. Natural gas prices continue to remain near a 14-year-high. As of Sunday, the national price for a gallon of gas was approximately $3.71 – over a dollar more than when President Biden took office. As Arkansans know, high energy costs effect every industry, especially food.
Since President Joe Biden’s first day in office, America has watched as he and Congressional Democrats hastened our economic instability and allowed shelves to go bare, communities to be ravaged by crime, and savings to evaporate. I’ve heard from many Arkansans who feel left behind. President Biden has sarcastically asked, “what are Republicans for?” Well, Mr.
I always look forward to August recess when I am able to spend time traveling across the Fourth District visiting with constituents and local officials to hear directly from them about the challenges their families, businesses, and communities are facing. When I hear the unvarnished truth from the people who are living with the choices made in Washington, D.C., I can do a better job of making government work with you and for you, not against you.
This week marks the 21st anniversary of the horrific attacks on our nation that look nearly 3,000 innocent lives on September 11, 2001. 9/11 is known as one of the darkest days of American history. It changed the world forever and shaped a generation. In the days following the shocking attack, we turned as a country to process our grief and consider our next steps forward. The horrors of those days transformed into something the terrorists never intended. We came together to comfort and support each other in unprecedented unity.