Enewsletters

Dear Friend,

Recently, the Biden Administration announced their intent to revise the definition of “Waters of the United States” (WOTUS).  When President Trump repealed the 2015 Obama-era EPA rule that vastly expanded the WOTUS definition, our farm families, small businesses, local governments, and citizens no longer needed to worry about an EPA bureaucrat dictating what can or cannot be done on their property.  Farmers, homebuilders, realtors, small business owners, mayors — Democrat and Republican — along with many others were all alarmed by the Biden Administration’s recent announcement to revise the rule.

I am very concerned about the impact any WOTUS rule change by this administration would have on Southeastern North Carolina.  Landowners, farmers and small businesses should not have to worry about getting permission from bureaucrats in Washington before acting on their own property after a significant rainfall. 

Restoring the Obama-era rule would result in regulation of nearly every body of water — including streams, water in a ditch after a storm, puddles — and even some dry land.  As the EPA works to revise the WOTUS rule, they must not put in place overly burdensome regulations that would negatively impact our communities.  Our farm families have faced many challenges over recent years and the federal government should be doing everything possible to mitigate, not worsen, their uncertainties.

President Biden’s Weakness Toward Russia

President Biden met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Geneva, Switzerland this past week and his weak foreign policy approach when it comes to Russia was put on full display.  Over the past six months:

• A hacking group with suspected ties to the Russian government was responsible for the ransomware attack on the Colonial Pipeline, causing the worst gas shortage in decades.  This caused long lines at the pump and, in some cases such as in Southeastern North Carolina, a complete lack of gasoline supply. 
  
  
• JBS, the world's largest meatpacker was targeted, likely by Russia, in a ransomware attack that shut down one-fifth of U.S. beef production overnight.
  
  
• The Biden Administration waived sanctions on the Russian Nord Stream 2 pipeline into Germany.  Just a few months ago, he canceled the American Keystone Pipeline.
  
  
• President Biden extended the New START treaty with no pre-conditions despite Putin’s swift modernization of Russia’s nuclear arsenal, which was a violation of the treaty and the reason President Trump pulled us out of the treaty.  Generally speaking, we follow the rules of a treaty while everyone else breaks the rules of the treaty.  It’s not a winning hand for a safer, more secure America and world.  

Instead of standing up for America’s national interests and sending a strong message to our enemies that the United States won’t accept Russia's recent attacks, President Biden gave Putin a pass and failed to hold them accountable.  He even gave them the list of our most significant infrastructure and asked Putin not to target those in any future attacks.  Who in their right mind gives the enemy a list of our most critical infrastructure??  Sure, they have their own intelligence and have compiled their own list of what they have determined to be our most critical infrastructure targets, but why make their job easier?  

Appeasement never made the world a safer place.  Had it not been for Winston Churchill we would all be speaking German.  Had it not been for Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan, communism would have prevailed.  What do those three have in common?  They rejected appeasement.   

For today’s good news story, I want to congratulate Isaac Bear Early College High School student Teagan Jones on her selection as this year’s winner of the 2021 7^th Congressional District Art Competition!  Jones’ piece, “Migration”, will be displayed in the halls of the U.S. Capitol along with other winners from congressional districts across the country.  Click here to view her artwork.