Dear Arthur,

I had a great meeting with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) last week. We discussed the danger AI poses to vulnerable young children, as well as the importance of my Child Online Safety Modernization Act, legislation that will require online platforms to report child sex trafficking. NCMEC provides essential services for survivors of trafficking and exploitation, and I always appreciate the work they do to protect innocent victims. 

China intends to supplant the U.S. as the global leader in critical and emerging technologies at any cost—bullying, bribery, or outright IP theft.  If China is allowed to achieve dominance in the technologies that will shape our future, American communities and businesses will suffer.  Our allies and partners also risk losing access to the safe, secure infrastructure and technologies we all rely on for communications, transportation, medical care, national security, and other essential industries.  The Indo-Pacific region is a global center of technological expertise and advancement. The U.S. must work in lockstep with countries in the region to safeguard sensitive, cutting-edge technologies and reduce technological dependence on China.  Watch our hearing on this important issue here.

It’s always great to visit with young students from the St. Louis area who want to learn more about how our government works.  During their trip to Capitol Hill we discussed pro-life issues, the legislative process, and how to be an effective advocate.

Nancy Pelosi and the Democrat Congress changed the law to tax your online payments that add up to more than $600 a year. That’s why I joined a bipartisan group of my colleagues in asking the House Ways and Means Committee to include a legislative fix in the upcoming tax package that would better protect small sellers from confusing and bureaucratic reporting requirements.  The IRS changed the 1099-K reporting threshold, potentially impacting millions of Americans and causing them to be taxed for simple transactions like selling a bike or clothes online.  This new $600 reporting threshold is confusing and could make taxpayers inadvertently overreport income, leading to higher taxes.   Read more here.

We held a Financial Services Committee hearing last week where I questioned our witness on the SECs latest climate disclosure rule. This rule could overburden businesses and employees, and is just another example of the SEC’s arbitrary rule-making process that has stalled economic growth in a misguided attempt to implement their radical social agenda. Watch here.

Sincerely,

Ann Wagner
Member of Congress