Weekly Rundown
As Congress turns to the August District Work Period, I want to take this opportunity to go further in depth on an issue important to Third District Arkansans. Read below!
Border Security is National Security
Since the Biden-Harris Administration took office, our southern border has remained in a state of crisis. Illegal border crossings have skyrocketed, thousands of pounds of fentanyl have poured into our country, and violent crime has infiltrated communities across the nation. This is a direct result of President Biden’s executive orders that reversed former President Trump’s effective policies, leaving our border vulnerable to danger.
With a swipe of a pen, President Biden created this crisis by stopping border wall construction, reinstating catch-and-release, and suspending the Remain in Mexico policy. The Biden-Harris Administration’s policies say to those looking to illegally cross the border that they will face no immediate consequences, only incentivizing more illegal immigration.
The statistics speak for themselves. In addition to 8.1 million encounters since 2021, around 2 million known gotaways have evaded U.S. Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) agents, entering our country completely unaccounted for. With 375 people on the terrorist watch list caught trying to cross the border, this poses a serious threat to our national security. Since the beginning of this fiscal year, CBP has arrested over 28,000 aliens with criminal convictions or outstanding warrants. Through criminal cartels, fentanyl and other lethal substances travel across our southern border. CBP confiscated over 14,000 pounds of fentanyl at the border in this fiscal year. That is enough fentanyl to kill over 3 billion people.
I’ve visited the southern border, met with border patrol agents, and witnessed the perilous and heartbreaking situation firsthand. We must put a stop to this chaos that’s taking the lives of innocent Americans and putting our national security at risk.
Last year, House Republicans advanced the strongest border security package ever to pass the House—H.R. 2, the Secure the Border Act. This bill includes multiple provisions to end the border crisis, which include requiring a restart of border wall construction, increasing the number of border patrol agents to the highest level ever, providing border patrol retention bonuses, ending catch-and-release, and clarifying and strengthening the asylum process. Despite the bill’s passage over a year ago and the escalating crisis, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Shumer has let it sit in the Senate without a vote.
Securing the southern border has always been and will continue to be a top priority of mine. I am committed to working to reverse the Biden-Harris Administration’s manufactured crisis and ensuring the safety and security of our country.
Promoting America’s National Security Interests in the Pacific Region
For the last week, I’ve been on the other side of the world with my fellow Defense Appropriations Subcommittee members to get an overview of operations in the Pacific region and how our work on the House Appropriations Committee impacts American national security. We spent time in both New Zealand and Australia, engaging with senior leaders on national security issues and receiving briefings on current and future operations with a special focus on the threat from the Chinese Communist Party.
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My colleagues and I met with the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Winston Peters of New Zealand, to discuss economic efforts with a focus on defense issues and the People’s Republic of China’s activity in the Indo-Pacific.
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We also visited New Zealand Navy and Air Force bases. Here we are aboard the HMNZS Canterbury!
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In Australia, we received more briefings and discussed competition with China and how the US and Australia are working together to respond to these challenges. We had a terrific tour on the HMAS Brisbane with Captain Bernard Dobson.
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I ran into kids from Oakdale Academy in Australia…not to be confused with Oakdale Junior High in Rogers, Arkansas!
Being on the ground allows my colleagues and I to get a strategic understanding of threats abroad and brings us greater perspective to how we can further America's security interests through our work in Congress.
Protecting Veteran Access to Telemedicine Services
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Our veterans deserve accessible health care, regardless of where they live. Millions of veterans—particularly in rural communities—rely on the VA's successful use of telehealth services through a pandemic related exemption. If this exemption expires at the end of the year, veterans’ access to certain medications classified as a controlled substance will be severely restricted.
Due to a lack of immediate access to VA clinics, these veterans will have difficulty complying with the requirement for one in-person visit to their health care provider under the Ryan Haight Act.
This week, I introduced a bill to address this issue. The Protecting Veteran Access to Telemedicine Services Act acknowledges and meets the needs of veterans, especially in rural communities, by permanently authorizing the delivery of care right to their homes. America is indebted to our veterans for their service, and it’s our duty to ensure they have the resources to live a healthy life.
Have a great weekend ahead, and I hope to see you around! Be sure to check out my website, Twitter, and Instagram pages in the meantime.
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