Enewsletters

Here are a few updates on events from this week in Washington.  Thank you for subscribing, and please consider recommending my newsletter to a friend.  You can also find more information by visiting my website or following my Facebook and Twitter pages.  

Saving America

When Democrats fail to pass their massive $4.2 trillion cradle to grave entitlement bill, also known as the Budget Reconciliation Bill you are hearing so much about in the news, America wins.  This bill would add a minimum of $17 trillion to the national debt. 

I was once on a trip with about 60 other people and a friend of mine offered to pay for everyone’s drink at a particular stop.  Three quarters of them lined up at the cash register with their drink and I could tell from my friend’s expression he was a little shocked at the length of the line.  I don’t recall what that stop cost him, but it was a lot more than what he thought it would be.  There is a fundamental truth you just can’t escape: there is nothing more expensive than that which is free.  

That fundamental principle rings equally true for the federal government, which means one simple thing for all us: a lower standard of living.  Higher taxes, more borrowing and greater inflation all mean you have that much less left in your pocket.  More and more will be on the government dime which leads to dependency — and that ultimately leads to less freedom and a lower standard of living for everyone except the very wealthy.       

The House Democrats’ $4.3 trillion tax and spend bill will lead to not only a major hit to the economy but even greater inflation, which is essentially a tax on every American making it that much harder for the working and lower income families to make ends meet by:

• Imposing $2.1 trillion in tax increases on American families and job creators hitting small business owners particularly hard.
  
  
• Creating a new surveillance program that allows the IRS to monitor and track every single bank transaction of $600 or more.  Watch this videofrom Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy for more information on this concerning provision.  This would be a massive invasion of privacy for American taxpayers. 
  
  
• Hindering American energy and mineral production, increasing our dependence on resources supplied by our adversaries such as Iran, Russia, and China with the net effect of pushing up the price of gas and other energy sources, which are key drivers of inflation as well. 

Thankfully, the divide within the House Democrat Conference right now is deep enough to keep this bill from being passed.  And the longer it hangs out there, the less likely it will be they can pass this monstrosity.  It will play out one of two ways: either they come to a compromise internally on a much smaller package or it all collapses under its own weight.  Let’s hope for the country’s sake the latter happens.  We will continue to fight hard against it.

Urging the Marine Corps to Provide Fair Treatment to Lt. Col. Scheller

Earlier this week, I joined my colleagues in sending a letter to the U.S. Marine Corps requesting that Lt. Col. Scheller be immediately removed from pretrial confinement.  He deserves fair treatment, not retribution.  You can read the letter here.

Introducing Disaster Assistance Legislation

North Carolinians know too well that natural disasters do not discriminate among neighborhoods or housing.  Yet under FEMA’s current eligibility rules, condos, co-ops, and homeowners’ associations don’t have the same access to FEMA Individual Assistance as single-family homeowners. 

This is an initiative we have been promoting for some time, and I was proud to recently re-introduce the bipartisan Disaster Assistance Equity Act of 2021 to ensure all citizens and communities affected by disasters can receive the same access to federal disaster assistance other homeowners receive.

For this week's good news story, I would like to congratulate UNCW and DC Virgo Preparatory Academy for being named Green Ribbon Schools by the U.S. Department of Education.  It was an honor to visit with them in Washington, D.C. this week and hear more about their efforts to increase sustainability, health, and wellness in education.  These fine folks are making a real difference! 

Visiting with UNCW and DC Virgo.