Today, there is much cause for celebration! I’d like to wish a very happy birthday to President Donald Trump and to the U.S. Army.

I thank our President for his bold and patriotic vision for America, as well as the U.S. Army for their 244 years of selfless service to our great nation.

It’s also Flag Day, a day where we celebrate and honor the stars and stripes as a meaningful symbol of freedom, hope, and opportunity.

Days like today make me proud to be an American!

This week, House Democrats began consideration of H.R. 2740 on the House floor, a fiscal year 2020 spending package for Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, Defense, State and Foreign Operations, and Energy and Water Development.

I offered an amendment to this bill to reduce State and Foreign Operations spending by one percent, which will be considered for a vote when we continue amending the bill next week. I tried to offer an amendment to reduce every division – with the exception of defense – by one percent, but the Democrats blocked the other amendments. In fact, the Rules Committee, which is responsible for ruling amendments in order, only allowed 23% of Republican amendments to the bill to be debated on the House floor. When compared to 63% of Democratic amendments making it through the process, this is downright shameful!

If we wish to avoid passing an insurmountable debt along to future generations, we must act immediately to tighten the purse strings on Washington’s spending habits.

I also offered a bipartisan amendment with my colleague from California, Congressman Ro Khanna, to bolster funding for the Defense POW/Missing Persons Accounting Agency. This increase is completely offset by reducing spending in other accounts and I look forward to debating my amendment on the House floor next week.

Last week, President Trump signed a critical disaster relief package into law that will deliver much-needed disaster funding to our farmers and ranchers who were devastated by Hurricane Michael and the 2017 late season freeze.

I penned an Op-Ed in the Sylvania Telephone about my work to secure this funding for rural Georgia. To read more, please CLICK HERE.

The House Education and Labor Committee held a full committee markup on a number of pieces of far reaching, partisan legislation.

However, my Democrat colleagues blocked committee Republicans from offering amendments and debating certain bills, only delaying meaningful help for workers and retirees. I find it extremely disappointing that the new majority has moved to advance these bills without full committee consideration.

I had meetings with the Georgia Convention and Visitors Bureau, the Afterschool Alliance, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, just to mention a few.

While meeting with the Corps of Engineers, I underscored the importance of maintaining the New Savannah Bluff Lock and Dam, as well as the pool level to our community. Rest assured, I will continue to fight to ensure that the pool is maintained!

Next week, June Community Office Hours come to a close. For individuals having issues with the federal government, my staff is here to help and will be available in Appling, Tattnall, and Evans counties next week.

Be sure to stay on the lookout for announcements about future community office hours!

This week, the House of Representatives began consideration of a nearly $1 trillion spending package to fund multiple divisions of the federal government, including the Department of Defense. However, Democrats have refused to offer funding to secure our border or address the national security and humanitarian crisis that our nation faces.

House Republicans are working to deliver real solutions and this week, I am highlighting H.R. 586, the Fix the Immigration Loopholes Act, of which I am a proud cosponsor. Our immigration system is broken, and this critical legislation is a step in the right direction towards solving our nation’s immigration crisis. Specifically, H.R. 586 would increase the safety of children and families, protect victims of trafficking, and close loopholes in our asylum system by requiring the Department of Homeland Security to establish quality assurance procedures.

I stand behind President Trump that effectively securing our borders must be a top priority for the safety and security of all Americans.  In the end, a long-term solution to fix our immigration system will only be achieved once Congress works with the President to enact meaningful reforms. I thank my friend and fellow Georgian, Congressman Doug Collins, for championing this bill in the House and I am hopeful that Speaker Pelosi will bring this bill to the House floor for a vote.

Do you have a bill that you would like to see highlighted or that you would like me to support? Share your thoughts with me! You can email me ⇒  HERE, contact any of our offices or join the conversation on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram.