Below you will find an update on rising inflation, the crisis at our southern border, and my efforts to streamline disaster recovery assistance. Thank you for subscribing, and please consider recommending this resource to a friend. If there is anything I can do to assist you, please contact my office.
An Update on the Border
The reckless policies of the Biden-Harris Administration have left our southern border unsecure and have increased cartel-driven drug smuggling and human trafficking. This criminal activity is poisoning our communities and endangering lives.
Since 2020, fentanyl has killed more Americans ages 18 to 45 than car crashes, suicides, and COVID-19. In June, Customs and Border Protection seized more than 63,000 pounds of drugs. Enough fentanyl was seized at our southern border last year to kill every American seven times over.
In response to the Biden Administration’s failure to address the catastrophe they have caused at our southern border, I’m proud to support legislation in the House to affirm the rights of states to defend their sovereign border and protect their citizens against this cartel-facilitated invasion. Only President Biden can reverse his course and repeal his open-border policies that run contrary to our laws, but this resolution is one of many efforts we are taking to fight back and support our great Border Patrol agents who are doing all they can to protect America.
Additionally, this week I joined my North Carolina Republican colleagues in sending a letter to Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Becerra and Department of Homeland Security Secretary Mayorkas expressing concern over the recent decision by the Biden Administration to finalize an agreement to open an Influx Care Facility (ICF) to house unaccompanied migrant children at the American Hebrew Academy in Greensboro. It's unfortunate that the Biden Administration’s failed immigration policies have resulted in the worst humanitarian crisis on the border ever seen. It just highlights and underscores the fact that EVERY state, including North Carolina, is a border state. Read more about the letter here.
Working to Streamline Disaster Recovery Assistance
This past week, during a Transportation and Infrastructure Committee debate on disaster recovery legislation, I took the opportunity to highlight a commonsense bill that would help streamline disaster recovery efforts, the Natural Disaster Recovery Program Act of 2021. This is legislation that I introduced earlier this Congress that would cut unnecessary red tape and provide states much-needed flexibility to address their unique disaster recovery needs.
Under the current Community Development Block Grant – Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) program, disaster survivors may wait years for recovery dollars. This is largely due to the overly bureaucratic process that governs the program. The result is long delays, which means long gaps between the end of short-term disaster recovery programs from FEMA and SBA and the start of long-term recovery programs. This time gap leaves survivors in the lurch, prolonging their suffering and hampering the full recovery of individuals, families and their communities as they wait months or years for disaster assistance.
In the critical months after a devastating natural disaster, the needs of survivors should be the highest priority. It is time to scrap the current CDBG-DR ad hoc program and replace it with a simple block grant that allows an affected state to properly address the needs of our citizens and communities affected by disasters.
While my legislation was not included in the package passed out of the T&I Committee this week, we received encouraging news about the possibility to bring this bill to the House Floor for a vote this fall.Click here or on the image below to view my remarks.
Wasteful Spending Fuels Inflation
During the past year, families and small businesses have witnessed the inflation rate reach 9.1% — its highest in 40 years. Prices are rising faster than paychecks, in large part due to unprecedented federal spending.
We must combat the high cost of living with strong economic policies. This is exactly what I'm advocating for in Congress, and I'll continue to support simple, yet transformative policies to get our economy back on track. We must put the brakes on unnecessary government spending that discourages work, get employees back on the job, and jumpstart American energy production again. None of these things can happen though as long as this administration continues its war on fossil fuels and continues to implement a heavy-handed regulatory structure that discourages investment.
This Week's Good Story
Congratulations to Bladen Community College’s Practical Nursing graduates who celebrated their accomplishments at the annual PN pinning ceremony on Tuesday. According to the Bladen Journal, "the event is a traditional rite of passage that each nursing student completes before graduating and entering their profession. During the ceremony, each student received a pin and lit a small lamp. The pin reminds students of their purpose to serve the sick and infirmed. The lighting portion of the ceremony serves as a tribute to Florence Nightingale, the founder of modern-day nursing." Congratulations on your achievements, graduates! Thank you for your service to our community.
Closing Thoughts...
"When a business or an individual spends more than it makes, it goes bankrupt. When government does it, it sends you the bill." - Ronald Reagan
