Dear Friend,

This past week, House Republicans passed legislation to meet the critical needs of our servicemen and women, their families, and our veterans.  Additionally, I had the privilege of meeting with folks from home who were in DC advocating on behalf of our farm families and rural communities.  I also took time to reflect on the sacrifices made on D-Day as we observed the 80th anniversary of this pivotal moment during WWII.  Keep reading to learn more.

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Supporting Our Military Heroes and National Security

It’s no secret we live in a world growing more dangerous each day.  As a Member of Congress, it is not only a great privilege to support our veterans and servicemembers, but it is also one of our core obligations to provide for our common defense to help keep our country and citizens safe from harm.

This week, with my strong support, House Republicans passed the first of twelve annual appropriations bills that provide funding for the Discretionary Spending programs.  (These 12 annual appropriations bills account for approximately 25% of the total federal budget.  The other 75% is debt service plus entitlement spending, which is the primary driver of the national debt.)  The first appropriations bill we voted on this past week includes spending for military construction and the Department of Veterans Affairs, ensuring our military has the tools and resources they need to defend our country and our brave veterans are taken care of after their service to our nation.

Key provisions of the legislation include:

• Honoring our veterans by:
  • Fully funding veterans’ health care programs.
  • Fully funding veterans’ benefits and VA programs.
    
    
• Strengthening our national security by:
  • Providing increased funding for the Indo-Pacific region, including increased funding for military buildings and infrastructure in Guam that are in dire need of repair, and increasing funding to improve the Department of Defense posture in the region.  
    
    
• Focusing the Executive Branch on its core responsibilities by:
  • Prohibiting the use of funds to promote or advance critical race theory.
  • Prohibiting the implementation, administration, or enforcement of the Biden Administration’s executive orders on diversity, equity, and inclusion.
    
    
• Supporting American values and principles by:
  • Prohibiting taxpayer dollars from being used for abortion, using Hyde language that includes exceptions for rape, incest, and life of the mother. 
    • (The legislative language is named after former Congressman Henry Hyde because this was his amendment language he offered every year, which eventually became a permanent fixture in the annual appropriations bills.)
  • Protecting the Second Amendment rights of veterans, preventing VA from sending information to the FBI about veterans without a judge’s consent.
  • Prohibiting VA from processing medical care claims for illegal aliens.

This legislation achieves these priorities while also remaining true to the budgetary levels outlined in House Republicans' Fiscal Responsibility Act (FRA), which Congress passed and President Biden signed into law, saving taxpayers $2 trillion over 10 years as compared to what would have been the cost absent the changes in law made by the FRA.

Meeting with the Columbus County Farm Bureau

It was a pleasure meeting with leaders from the North Carolina Farm Bureau, including NC-07 resident Alma Gallaway who traveled from Columbus County to advocate on behalf of our farm families to discuss the issues impacting their ability to produce our nation's food and fiber.  We also discussed the benefits of agritourism in North Carolina, which provides farmers another primary source of income while helping visitors learn how farmers produce our nation’s food supply and the critical impact they have on our rural communities.  As co-chair of the Congressional Agritourism Caucus, I will continue working to ensure our farmers and rural communities benefit from the unique economic opportunities agritourism has to offer!