Enewsletters

Dear Friend,

Several major legislative developments have occurred in Washington during the past couple of weeks.  Here are a few updates on the actions taken by Congress as well as some information on other topics.  Thank you for subscribing, and please consider recommending this resource to a friend.

An Update on the Legislative Agenda

• In November, House Democrats passed President Biden’s so-called “Build Back Better” legislation, also referred to as the budget reconciliation bill. I voted against this legislation because of the damaging impacts it will have, which I outlined here.  The bill now awaits further action in the Senate where it is likely to be punted into next year given the concerns that Senator Manchin has with the legislation.
  
  
• This past week, the House passed the final version of the FY22 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) by a vote of 363-70. I voted in support of the NDAA because it fully funds our military, provides a pay raise for our troops and improves our readiness to defend our nation now and in the future.  The final version of the NDAA has NO red flag law provisions; nor does it include the provision to draft women into our armed forces.  These policies, promoted by some Democrats in the House, were removed during negotiations with the Senate as we knew they would be. 
  
  
• On December 2, Congress passed, and President Biden signed into law, a government funding measure (also referred to as a Continuing Resolution, or CR for short) to fund the government through February 18, 2022.Congress will need to pass each of the 12 Appropriations bills before then to avert a federal government shutdown or another CR.
  
  
• Debt limit and Medicare cuts: This past week, House Democrats took a bipartisan agreement to provide relief from automatic payment cuts for Medicare providers and attached an increase in the debt limit to it.  Their bill now provides the Senate with a one-time exemption to pass a debt limit increase by a simple-majority vote, which would ordinarily require a 3/5 vote (60 votes).

An Update on the Energy Crisis

As a result of the Biden Administration’s all-out assault on fossil fuels, families across the country are experiencing skyrocketing gas prices and increasing home heating costs as we head into winter.  In an attempt to lower gas prices, President Biden recently announced the Department of Energy would release 50 million barrels of oil held in the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR).  This move — usually reserved for extreme emergencies — is simply political and nothing more.  Inflation and high fuel costs are driving the Democrats’ poll numbers lower and lower, and they felt they had to show they were doing something.

An Update on the Border and Fentanyl Crisis

In October, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) apprehended 164,303 illegal immigrants attempting to cross our southern border.  Additionally, an unthinkable amount of fentanyl and fentanyl-related substances are entering the U.S. via the border — enough to kill every American several times over.  Even a very small dose of fentanyl is potent, and because it’s easier to illegally smuggle small batches across the border the drug cartels are flooding the U.S. with counterfeit pills.

More counterfeit pills have been seized so far in 2021 than the previous two years combined, with two out every five pills containing a potentially lethal dose of fentanyl.  This is just one more bad outcome resulting from the Biden Administration’s repeal of effective border security policies.

Stay tuned for more…