November 9, 2021

Dear Friend:

Well, last week was a doozy. The Democrats were able to sneak their infrastructure bill through Friday night at, quite literally, the eleventh hour. As I've always said, I am absolutely in favor of true infrastructure - roads, bridges, and expanding broadband access for rural communities - but this infrastructure bill was a Trojan Horse for the far-left Green New Deal agenda.

The Judiciary Committee also decided to hold a hearing on the Texas Heartbeat Act, which is being put in front of the Supreme Court. As you all know, I believe life is precious from conception until natural death, but this hearing set out to accomplish nothing. This is a Texas issue and a Supreme Court case, not a matter for Congress.

Thankfully, federal courts have already been at work to block President Biden's COVID-19 vaccine mandates. If this mandate is allowed to go forward, employers of companies with 100 or more employees must require COVID-19 vaccinations or weekly testing, or face a high penalty. This is unnecessary and unconstitutional and the courts agree. The first, likely of many, federal panels ruled that Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) does not have the authority to call for such a mandate. Several state attorneys general are suing the Biden Administration for the same reason. These are promising steps and I look forward to seeing a lot more of this pushback.

Spring Internships

We are accepting applications for Spring interns in my district offices. This is a great opportunity to gain valuable experience working in Congress on things that matter to the 7th District and to America.

Click here to apply!

This Week in Ag

This week, I participated in a House Agricultural Committee hearing on the immediate challenges to our nation's food supply chain. It was a great discussion and I got to hear from several witnesses like the American Trucking Association, the National Grocers Association, and Schwebel's Baking Co.

I was able to ask Mr. Cinco from Schwebel's Baking Co. about causes of inflation on things like sugar, yeast, and gluten for his company. He told me that on things like yeast, there is a roughly 10% increase and it's entirely due to issues surrounding freight.

I also got to ask the panel about the Hours of Service emergency declaration, which is set to end November 30. This has been an incredibly important tool in managing the uncertainty of the supply chain. It's allowed them to get orders from the distribution dock to the store as best they can, especially when the reliability of freight is so uncertain. These groups made it clear that if this emergency declaration isn't extended, we're likely to have an even hard time stocking shelves and supplying America with things like school lunches.

You can watch my entire line of questioning here.

I had an excellent meeting with the International Dairy Foods Association. We discussed workforce issues, dairy exports, and the role of milk and dairy products in the child nutrition reauthorization.

I met with the Minnesota Chamber of Commerce to talk about budget reconciliation, infrastructure, immigration, and economic recovery from the pandemic. It was so great meeting with them in person.

I had an important conversations with Twin Metals about the future of mining in northern Minnesota. Thanks for coming out to D.C.!

I so enjoyed discussing U.S.-Azerbaijani relations and getting to know Ambassador Khazar Ibrahim of Azerbaijan last week.

Thanks so much to the AgCountry team for coming by during the Farm Credit fly-in! It's always great catching up with you all.

Coming Up...

This week, I'm out of D.C. and back in America's heartland! Among other things, I'll be attending the Pioneer Equipment Dealers Association Conference and the Midwest Agriculture Export Summit, and celebrating the service of our 7th District veterans.

As always, my office is open and ready to serve constituents of Minnesota's Seventh Congressional District! Please do not hesitate to get in touch if there is anything I can do to help. Have a great weekend!

Sincerely,

Michelle Fischbach

Member of Congress

fischbach.house.gov

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