Dear Friend,

As I travel throughout District 19 over the next few weeks, I look forward to meeting with many of you and hearing your thoughts on the issues affecting you, your families, and the good people of West Texas.

To view my full town hall schedule during the August District Work period, click here.

Supporting our Farmers and Ranchers
This week, President Trump made good on his promise to provide our nation’s farmers and ranchers with the relief they need during current trade tensions with China by initiating the second package of the Market Facilitation Program (MFP). MFP is a relief strategy to protect agriculture producers from longstanding unfair trade practices while ensuring that American agriculture can compete globally. On top of a record rate of farm foreclosures and a 50% drop in net farm income, our agriculture producers especially are bearing the brunt of China’s unjustified retaliatory tariffs. That is why this relief is essential to ensuring that our farmers can stay in business and our nation can maintain an affordable and abundant supply of food, a critical national security issue.

It’s no secret that for decades, the communist government in China has cheated the U.S. in trade through theft of our technology, mass state subsidies of their industries, and other non-tariff barriers. I applaud President Trump, who has personally assured me that the hardworking men and women who feed and clothe the American people will continue to have the steadfast support of his administration, for having the political courage to confront China head on and correct long-standing abuses so we can level the playing field between our two nations and guarantee a brighter future for the next generation.

Farmers are now eligible to enroll in the next round of MFP. For additional information and resources, including learning more about how to enroll, click here.

More Partisan Political Theater
Despite two years of investigation, 500 witness interviews, and over $30 million spent on a Special Counsel investigation that showed no collusion and no obstruction between President Trump and Russia, last week Democrats demonstrated their interest in perpetuating partisan political theater rather than solving problems for the American people. Last week’s Mueller hearings were an absolute waste of time and just the latest, but probably not the last, episode in the endless harassment of President Trump by House Democrats. We should be investigating the real collusion and corruption at the DOJ and FBI, including attempts to take out an ‘insurance policy’ on the election of this president. The continual abuse of congressional powers for political purposes is bad for America.

Our Closest Ally in the Middle East
For decades, U.S. support for Israel was an issue that enjoyed broad bipartisan support from Republicans and Democrats alike. However, in recent weeks and months we’ve seen that support shattered among some members of the Democratic Party, who have been reluctant to push back against attacks against Israel, our closest ally and the democratic anchor in the Middle East. One of the most insidious ways Israel is being undermined is through the global Boycott, Divest, Sanction (BDS) movement, which seeks to isolate Israel economically in an attempt to delegitimatize the Jewish state and deny the Jewish people their right to a homeland. Unfortunately, this is coming at a time when hateful anti-Semitic rhetoric is resurfacing not only across Europe, but also here in our country, including in the halls of the Congress.

In light of these disturbing trends, I believe it is essential, now more than ever, for the United States to continue standing strong with Israel. Our two nations are united by more than economic interests and regional security concerns; we are also forever connected by our deep-seated democratic and Judeo-Christian values. That is why last week I was proud to vote for a resolution condemning the BDS movement and show my strong support for Israel and its people. While this resolution is an important first start, actions speak louder than words, and now more action is needed to affirm Israel’s right to exist and defend themselves against the array of threats they face in the Middle East. Going forward, I am hopeful that Democrats will bring to the floor even stronger legislation that will provide Israel with the defense and security assistance they need.

Reforming SNAP
Since coming to Congress, reforming the Food Stamp program so that is works better for recipients and allows us to be better, more responsible stewards of taxpayer dollars has been a priority of mine. To that end, I applaud my friend, Secretary Sonny Perdue for a new U.S. Department of Agriculture rule that will protect the integrity of the food stamp program, prevent fraud and abuse, and ensure benefits flow to families who truly need help the most by closing a loophole that automatically enrolls families receiving TANF funding into SNAP. Click here to read more about this new rule from the USDA.

Bailing out Broken Pensions
Last week Democrats passed through the House the “Butch Lewis Act,” a severely flawed piece of legislation that effectively bails out billions of dollars in mismanaged, underfunded pensions using your taxpayer dollars. We are bankrupt in this country, and this is the most irresponsible way to try to solve this problem of underfunded and unfunded liabilities for these workers. We need to hold the people who are responsible accountable, not just give a blank check from the taxpayers to bail out this program and be right back doing the same thing in a few years. Click here to read more about this disastrous legislation and watch my remarks from the House floor denouncing this taxpayer bailout for mismanaged union pensions.

Repealing the WEP
Repealing the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) in Social Security is a topic near and dear to the hearts of thousands of teachers and other public servants in Texas and across America. That is why last week I was proud to cosponsor legislation introduced by my friend and fellow Texan on Ways and Means, Rep. Kevin Brady, that will repeal the WEP and move to a system that’s fairer for teachers, firefighters, and other public servants. I’m hopeful the support that repealing the WEP has from members of both parties will create a sense of urgency to pass legislation this Congress that ends the inequity the WEP creates and ensures that our seniors have the information they need so they can properly plan for retirement and enjoy their golden years. Click here to watch my remarks on the importance of repealing the WEP from last week’s House Ways and Means Committee hearing.

Stopping Scam Calls
There’s no doubt that one of the most frustrating things that Americans experience on a regular basis is being disturbed by an unsolicited, unwanted robocall from scammers trying to sell you something or harvest your personal information. To help crack down on this annoying, and often illegal practice, last week the House passed bipartisan legislation that allows for stronger sanctioning against scammers creating billions of unwanted calls. This is an important instance of Republicans and Democrats coming together to solve problems that affects too many Americans on a daily basis, and I look forward to the President signing this legislation into the law of the land in short order.

Our Free-Enterprise System
The free-enterprise system, which has been at the heart of the American project since our nation’s founding, has created more jobs and lifted more people out of poverty than any government program, no matter how well-intended, ever could. Thanks to the freedom to innovate and exchange of goods and services in an open market, America has the strongest economy, the largest middle class, and the highest standard of living anywhere in the world. On top of all that, having freedom in the marketplace allows people to engage their creative capacities and pursue the things they are passionate about, allowing us to exercise our God-given right to what our Founders called “the pursuit of happiness.”

To that end, I was very proud to welcome the outstanding student finalists of the Texas Farm Bureau's Free Enterprise Speech Contest to Washington last week to discuss the virtues of a Free Enterprise system with the bright future leaders of Agriculture & Texas in our country. Click here to watch my conversation with these outstanding students!

Please know that it is an honor to be your Representative. Feel free to reach out to my office and let me know how I can best serve you.

Your friend and fellow West Texan,

Jodey C. Arrington
Member of Congress