Protecting and Promoting Idaho?s Interests

The 118th Congress is in
full swing, and I am focused on ensuring Idaho?s values and needs are
put front and center each day on Capitol Hill.

Reinvesting in
Nuclear

Simply put, nuclear energy is good for jobs, good for the
economy, good for our air, and it is a great source of base-load clean
energy. It is a critical part of any conversation of an
all-of-the-above approach to our nation?s energy portfolio.

The
Idaho National Laboratory (INL) in Idaho Falls is a world leader in
making clean energy innovation a reality through its investment,
research and development of nuclear energy strategies.

That?s why I
joined my colleagues to introduce legislation that would further
improve the nation?s nuclear infrastructure, secure the American
uranium supply chain, reduce carbon emissions and strengthen national
security.

The Accelerating Deployment of Versatile Advanced Nuclear
for Clean Energy (ADVANCE) Act is a comprehensive bill that reinvests
in our nuclear technology and promotes American energy independence.

Key goals of the ADVANCE Act:
1. Reestablish American international
competitiveness and global leadership;
2. Empower the Nuclear
Regulatory Commission (NRC) to lead a consensus-building process in
international forums to establish regulations for advanced nuclear
reactor designs;
3. Provide the NRC authority to deny imports of
Russian nuclear fuel on national security grounds;
4. Create a prize
to incentivize the successful licensing process of next generation
nuclear technologies and fuels;
5. Require the NRC to identify and
resolve regulatory barriers to enable advanced nuclear technologies to
reduce industrial emissions;
6. Authorize a targeted credit program to
preserve nuclear plants at risk of prematurely shutting
down;
7. Modernize outdated rules that restrict investment in nuclear
energy; and
8. Revitalize America?s nuclear supply chain
infrastructure.

Protecting Life

Life is a precious gift from God.
Throughout my tenure in the Senate, I have consistently supported
measures that protect the rights of the unborn. Below are a few of my
latest efforts:

Abortion pill
I joined dozens of Republican
lawmakers in filing an amicus brief to the Fifth Circuit Court of
Appeals in Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine v. US Food & Drug
Administration. The brief urges the Court to invalidate the Food and
Drug Administration?s (FDA) 23-year-old approval of the abortion pill
on the grounds that the agency violated federal law throughout the
drug approval process.

The Fifth Circuit Court largely upheld the
previous ruling that invalidated the pill?s approval and the case
progressed to the Supreme Court, where I again filed an amicus brief
in support of taking the drug off the market.

As progressive
regulators and lawmakers push for expanded access to chemical
abortion, including removing the need for a prescription and making it
available to order through the mail, it is critical that the Court
consider the health and wellbeing of mothers and their unborn
children.

Eliminating Taxpayer Funded Abortion
Americans work far
too hard to watch their tax dollars be used on questionable programs.
Taxpayer funds should not go toward abortion or any abortion-related
services, period. I have recently supported efforts to:

1. Stop the
U.S. Department of Defense?s expanded taxpayer financing of
servicemember abortion access;
2. Block the U.S. Department of
Veterans Affairs? (VA) new rule to provide abortion services through
the VA?s taxpayer-funded health care system; and
3. Introduce the
Title X Abortion Provider Prohibition Act, which closes existing
loopholes that allow Title X family planning grants from going to
programs and entities that that perform abortions, including Planned
Parenthood.

Looking Out for Idaho?s Ag Industry

Farm Bill
With the
programs authorized in the 2018 Farm bill set to expire this year,
lawmakers on Capitol Hill are working to put together another Farm
Bill. Throughout my time in Congress, I have greatly valued
opportunities to work for Idahoans to help shape past Farm Bills and
ensure federal farm policy best empowers Idaho production.

Agriculture is at the heart of life in Idaho, where farmers and
ranchers put food on our tables, support local jobs and meet an
ever-increasing demand for food. Idaho?s 25,000 farms and ranches
maintain Idaho?s ranking in the top ten in the nation in 30
agricultural commodities and is responsible for nearly $20 billion in
sales.

I will continue to work for Idaho producers and others as
Farm Bill reauthorization discussions take shape and I encourage those
interested in these issues to go to my Senate website,
[link removed], and share your views.

PASS Act
Our foreign
adversaries are investing in agricultural businesses and buying up
farmland across the country. This acquisition of American
agricultural assets is a threat to national security that cannot be
understated.

To put an end to this, I co-sponsored the Promoting
Agriculture Safeguards and Security (PASS) Act. The legislation
would:

1. Prohibit China, Russia, Iran and North Korea from
purchasing U.S. farmland and agricultural companies;
2. Add the U.S.
Secretary of Agriculture as a standing member of the Committee on
Foreign Investment in the United States to consider agriculture needs
when making determinations affecting our national security;
and
3. Require the President to submit a report to Congress on any
waiver granted to a prohibited country.

Idaho?s agriculture industry
is a precious resource that should be protected from foreign
adversaries. Our farmers and ranchers need to know their concerns
regarding national security are being heard and addressed.