It is Past Time to Fund DHS

On Tuesday, I hosted a Telephone Town Hall to answer questions from residents across Georgia’s 12th District. More than 8,000 constituents joined our call, where I provided updates on current issues and House Republicans' work to support rural communities, lower housing costs, transform health care, bolster election integrity, and more.

During our call, 86% of participants agreed that the Senate should end the partial government shutdown and fully fund the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). House Republicans have passed legislation to do so TWICE.

However, following Senate Democrats’ failed attempt, House Democrats are now trying to force legislation that would partially fund DHS while leaving Customs and Border Protection (CBP) unfunded. Democrats are refusing to fund TSA, FEMA, and the U.S. Coast Guard unless they can unfund the largest federal law enforcement agency in the country—LUDICROUS.

CBP officers patrol and secure America’s 6,000 miles of land borders, 2,000 miles of coastline, and all ports of entry. CBP officers prevent drug smugglers, human and child sex traffickers, weapons traffickers, and other bad actors from entering our homeland.  

• In FY2025, border apprehensions hit their lowest mark in over 50 years.
• In December 2025, there were just 30,698 nationwide border encounters – 92% below the peak during the Biden Administration.
• In December 2025, there were zero parole releases into the homeland – following 7 consecutive months of zero releases – compared to the 7,041 parolees released by the Biden Administration in December 2024.

This Week's Committee Activity

Energy and Commerce

Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations hearing:

"Protecting Patients and Safeguarding Taxpayer Dollars: The Role of CMS in Combatting Medicare and Medicaid Fraud"

Hundreds of thousands of Medicaid beneficiaries are harmed by fraudsters every day. When patients are misled about what care they need, it costs them time and money and prevents them from receiving the care they ACTUALLY need. During this hearing, I discussed the tangible harms that fraud causes to Medicaid beneficiaries.

Watch my remarks HERE.

Subcommittee on Communications and Technology hearing:

"Securing U.S. Leadership of Communications Technology"

During this hearing, I asked our witnesses which countries are most likely to fill the vacuum if the U.S. were to reduce our engagement at the World Radiocommunications Conference next year. The answer? China. A unified American voice is critical at this moment to ensure our priorities are advanced on the global stage.

Watch my remarks HERE.

Education and Workforce Committee

Subcommittee on Workforce Protections hearing:

"Strengthening Federal Workers’ Compensation Programs: Ensuring Integrity, Efficiency, and Access"

During this hearing, I highlighted how my bill, the Health Care for Energy Workers Act, would expand access to qualified providers, reduce delays in care, and lower costs.

Watch my remarks HERE. 

Full Committee Markup of Seven Bills:

The Education and Workforce Committee passed seven bills to strengthen literacy instruction, protect students, crack down on student aid fraud, and safeguard workers’ retirement savings:

• H.R. 7894, Truman Scholarship Clean House Act:

  • Restructures the Truman Scholarship Foundation’s leadership and selection process to eliminate political bias, ensure ideological balance, and restore fairness and accountability in awarding this taxpayer-funded scholarship. 

• H.R. 7890, Science of Reading Act of 2026:

  • Says federal reading funds may not support “three-cueing” methods and should go toward research-backed approaches like phonics, while leaving curriculum choices to the states. 

• H.R. 7891, Student Aid Fraud Oversight and Accountability Act of 2026:

  • Requires the Department of Education to flag schools that send aid to potentially fraudulent applicants and prioritize them for reviews and audits, while exempting schools that verify student identities before disbursing aid. 

• H.R. 7892, No Aid for Ghost Students Act of 2026:

  • Establishes a federal fraud detection system to identify suspicious student aid applications and requires schools to verify the identity of flagged applicants before federal aid is disbursed.  

• H.R. 7893, FAFSA Verification Efficiency Act:

  • Allows the Department of Education to use Social Security Administration data to verify the social security numbers and citizenship status of all FAFSA applicants’ contributors to confirm their identities.

• H.R. 7661, Stop the Sexualization of Children Act:

  • Prohibits federal education funds from being used for programs or materials containing sexually explicit content in schools.

• H.R. 6084, ERISA Litigation Reform Act:

  • Stops abusive class action litigation from penalizing employers who voluntarily provide retirement and other benefits for their employees.   

This Week's Office Visitors

As always, it was great to meet with several groups this week to talk about the issues that matter most to them.

Those pictured include representatives from:

• Association of Schools and Programs of Public Health
• Georgia Farm Bureau

This Week's White House Highlight

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