Weekly Updates

As your representative in Congress, I am committed to getting real results for the First District. Throughout my time in Congress, I've made it a top priority to ensure the health of our environment so that it can be enjoyed by future generations. I'm working across the aisle to make sure we preserve the public lands Americans need to visit, explore, fish, hunt and enjoy wildlife and the outdoors for generations to come.

In recent years, we have made a lot of progress in rebuilding our military readiness. This is due in large part to the House Armed Services Committee's nonpartisan tradition of resourcing defense, which has led to 58 consecutive years of enactment of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). The long-standing spirit of collaboration culminated last year with the enactment of the fiscal 2019 NDAA prior to the start of the fiscal year; a feat that had not been accomplished in 22 years. Paradoxically we were able to do this with one of the most ideologically disparate Congresses in history.

In the age of procrastination and irresponsible spending in Washington, continuing resolutions (CR) have become a comfortable fall back for Congress. Instead of buckling down and getting spending bills done on time through measured debate, lawmakers look to last-minute, stop-gap measures to fund the federal government. The last time Congress was able to maintain regular operations without a continuing resolution was in 1996—two decades ago. I believe it's time for Congress to move past the age of governing by crisis.

Our current immigration system is broken, and we need strong, serious changes to our current laws. We are a nation of laws and we must continue to keep Americans safe, and although America is also a nation of immigrants, those wishing to enter the country need to come here legally. To keep America strong and prosperous, we need an immigration system that works for the American people. Our approach to combating illegal immigration must be comprehensive and include permanently securing our border, enforcing the rule of law, and reforming current processes.

What we see in Washington today – partisan bickering, investigations, policy stalemates - is an example of where differences are highlighted, but indeed we should be looking at what we have in common, because I do believe there is more common ground than any of us realize.