Dear Friend,

As we enter Holy Week, I hope you have plans to spend time with family and loved ones. Reflecting on how blessed I am to have my wonderful wife, Jacquie, and our seven beautiful children (some of which have even started families of their own) I couldn’t be more grateful. I hope you and your loved ones have a peaceful, contemplative end to this Lenten season.

As always, my work continues. Read on for more about what I’ve been doing out in Washington...

Reining in runaway government spending

As our national debt hits over $30 trillion, we must view government spending as the urgent crisis it has become. Uncontrolled government spending makes us a weaker nation: virtually all of us have had to tighten our budgets thanks to the skyrocketing inflation it causes. The United States governments’ debt now amounts to $242,500 per taxpayer. We as Americans are paying the bill for those who view taxpayer dollars as a blank check.

Previous Congressional efforts to rein in spending have fallen short, not from a lack of good intentions, but a lack of realistic solutions. Historically, budget caps that remain static are often ignored. Although I have repeatedly opposed bloated spending bills and have never supported an increase in our debt ceiling, I have spent my time in Congress searching for a more effective method to control government spending.

Last week, I joined my colleague Senator Mike Braun from Indiana to introduce the Responsible Budget Targets Act (RBTA). If followed, the proposals within RBTA will put our federal budget in a position where it could balance in just fifteen years.

This bill will establish budget controls that expand and contract with our economy, without causing major disruptions to government services. Additionally, the proposal builds in emergency spending provisions, so that a crisis doesn’t derail our spending plan. You can read more about RBTA here.

Working to make adoptive families whole

As a member of the Congressional Coalition on Adoption, it is always a priority to amplify the issues facing parents working to start or grow their families through adoption. Parents will do anything for their children, but some adoptive parents are literally faced with saving their children from a warzone.

This is especially true in Ukraine, where I have heard heartbreaking stories from constituents unable to bring home their children who are now facing the Russian invasion. Many of these adoptive families had already established relationships before the upheavals of recent weeks drove them apart.

Tragically, as the war in Ukraine continues, it is increasingly important that vulnerable children can be united with their American families. I joined a bipartisan, bicameral letter with my Congressional Coalition on Adoption colleagues to Secretary of State Antony Blinken. Together, we urged him to keep Ukrainian children at the top of his mind as diplomatic conversations between the United States and Eastern Europe continue. You can read that letter in full here.

If you are struggling to bring home a child from Ukraine, my casework team stands ready to assist. You can reach them by calling my Otsego office at (763) 241-6848 or by emailing me through my website at emmer.house.gov/contact. 

Upcoming filing deadlines

April 18—next Monday—marks the filing deadline for the 2022 tax season. If you are one of the millions of Americans who received assistance like unemployment, Child Tax Credit payments, or Economic Impact Payments, your filing may be more complicated than usual this year.

Remember that you’re not alone in the filing process. You can find some filing tips on my website here. Additionally, my casework team can help you navigate questions and concerns with the IRS; learn more about how they support you in the 2022 filing process here.

Until next week, if you are in need of assistance or would like to share your thoughts with me, please write me an e-mail here.

To keep up with what we’re doing in Washington, follow me on Twitter and Facebook for more updates!

Sincerely,