Weekly Columns
This week, Vladimir Putin began his unprovoked campaign to take over Ukraine. After a series of false flag operations and disinformation, President Putin unilaterally announced the Ukrainian provinces of Donetsk and Luhansk as independent and moved Russian troops into the areas. He then launched a full-scale ground invasion he deemed “special military operations,” chillingly calling the invasion a “demilitarization and denazification” of the country.
Drug addiction is an all too common problem in communities across America, and recently, fentanyl use has gained traction. From big cities to small towns, illegal fentanyl – largely produced in China and smuggled into the U.S. through Mexico and over our southern border – is a crisis that is stretching border agents and local police departments beyond their limits.
Before COVID-19 shut down our economy and drove millions of Americans to work from home, those who had to call a federal agency for assistance may have experienced a reasonable wait time. Agencies like the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), the Social Security Administration, the Small Business Administration, or the Department of Veterans Affairs have often felt slow to respond, but the wait was understandable considering the volume of people looking for help at any given time.
On the 49th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, thousands across the nation showed their support for life. For 49 years, pro-life warriors have stood in defense of the "least of these" in their towns and cities to speak out for the more than 62 million children who lost their lives to legal abortion. This year, however, is unlike any other. There is a light at the end of the tunnel. The U.S. Supreme Court recently heard arguments for Dobbs v.
The U.S. Supreme Court recently struck down President Biden's and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration's (OSHA) vaccine mandate on private businesses with over 100 employees. This important decision protects the rights of private enterprise and roughly 84 million Americans from government overreach. The Supreme Court serves as a check and balance on both the Executive and the Legislative branches, and, in this case, the Court demonstrated its power to protect the American people from the President's desire for more control over our lives.
As 2022 begins, my office looks forward to another year of serving the constituents of the Fourth District. Part of that service is showing the young people in our state how they can make a difference for our community. This week, we are excited to welcome a new intern from the University of Arkansas to my Washington, D.C., office for the Spring semester.
As the year comes to a close, I appreciate time to take a step back and reflect. It is my highest honor to represent you in Congress and I consider the greatest responsibility to serve each and every member of the Fourth District. Thank you to those who have reached out to my office to share concerns, bring pressing issues to my attention, host visits in Arkansas, and much more.
This week, Congress voted to raise the debt limit to pay for the historic spending of the past year.
Inflation continues to dominate the headlines as November's inflation rate was up 0.8%, bringing the total inflation increase to 6.8% this year, the highest in 40 years. Though the Biden Administration continues to blame the press – and anyone else they can – for stoking fears about inflation, American families know that inflation is real, and they know that the President's poor policies are largely to blame.
The Supreme Court recently heard oral arguments in the most meaningful challenge to abortion law since it was established by Roe v. Wade in 1973. Almost 50 years ago, the Supreme Court made the wrong decision, opting to legislate from the bench, and in my opinion, creating a right to an abortion that doesn't exist, instead of ceding the decision to the states. This ruling has the chance to correct that mistake.