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Our great state is home to beautiful rolling hills and scenic, winding highways. There’s also certainly an abundance of outdoor recreation opportunities, as well. After all, they don’t call it the Natural State for nothing. But this abundance of vast natural beauty also means that our state isn’t made up of big cities with sky high buildings and a bustling city life. No, Arkansas is largely made up of rural communities. These rural communities we call home provide opportunities for a way of life unavailable in the big cities but cherished by most who have experienced it.

Under the new Administration, illegal border crossings have never been lower. However, the aftermath of incredibly loose border security policies has created a mess that now needs to be cleaned up. Under numerous Executive Orders, our border security measures have been tightened, securing communities near the border and across the United States. In step with these measures, the House Committee on Natural Resources is producing legislation that will protect our lands and expand Border Patrol’s access in wilderness areas.

For the sake of both the environment and the economy, Congress must advance common sense Endangered Species Act (ESA) reforms that return power to private landowners while simultaneously protecting endangered species in a responsible way. Weaponization of the ESA and its morass of red tape are impeding our ability to move forward on vital land management practices and even building important and necessary infrastructure, all in the name of environmental activism that’s actually doing more environmental harm than good.

Congress currently has a unique opportunity, through the reconciliation process, to align both the House and the Senate on an agreed upon budget which will ultimately allow Congress to pass legislation that supports an America First agenda. As Chairman of the House Natural Resources Committee and a member of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, there are numerous opportunities to engage in this process. 

For many of us in rural parts of the country, agriculture roots run deep. Generations of families have invested their livelihoods tending to crops, raising livestock, and feeding millions through the bounty of their hard-earned harvest. Arkansans are certainly no stranger to this way of life. In the Natural State, we recognize how deeply important the agriculture industry is, not only to our own pocketbooks, but the success and sustainability of our country’s economy.