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This week, Congress once again finds itself with an 11th hour attempt to avoid a government
shutdown. Tuesday, senators were handed an 80-page Continuing Resolution (CR) with billions of dollars in funding to avoid a government shutdown and
given just 45 minutes to read the legislation before being forced to vote. Instead of allowing senators the time needed to carefully analyze and consider the bill, Majority Leader Chuck Schumer took Nancy
Pelosi’s “we have to pass the bill so that you can find out what is in it” route and decided to spend money now and figure out how
to pay for it later. I am deeply disappointed that we are barreling toward a
shutdown and I will be doing everything in my power to reopen the government as quickly as possible if a shutdown occurs. As negotiations continue, I
think this also gives us the opportunity to carefully examine our unsustainable spending trajectory that is still above pre-COVID
levels, and it would be irresponsible to maintain this reckless status quo. I
simply cannot and will not be so cavalier when it comes to tacking on billions more to our record-high national debt. For years, Congress has decided
to operate under a different set of budgetary standards than the rest of the country, and that has to change. People in Wyoming balance their
checkbooks, it is past time the federal government does the same. Last week, our
national debt soared past $33 trillion, nearly double what it was ten years ago. $33 trillion comes out to roughly $250,000 of debt per household or
nearly $100,000 per American. Thanks to the Biden administration’s spending, those numbers will just keep climbing. Even if every household
contributed $1,000 each month toward paying off our national debt, it would still take 21 years to pay off. If that was not concerning enough,
President Biden’s reckless spending has doubled the deficit to two trillion dollars this year.
This unsustainable debt trajectory should serve as a glaring red warning sign about our nation’s financial future. If
we fail to reverse course, future generations in Wyoming will be stuck under a mountain of debt so large that they may never be able to crawl
out. I worry that this horrifying possibility may become a reality for my three
grandkids if Congress does not change its ways. This concern is exactly why I
introduced the Sustainable Budget Act which would
form a bipartisan commission to reduce the deficit and balance the budget within 10 years. Families and businesses in Wyoming have to live within their means and it is long past time Congress lived by the same
rules. Happy
Trails,  |
Senator Lummis' Week in Pictures | ||||
I sat down with Kilty Brown,
the Executive Director of Central Wyoming Hospice, to discuss expanding telehealth access in Wyoming and the importance of quality end of life
care.
The Wyoming
Bankers Association came to Washington this week and I was able to meet with them to discuss expanding access to financial services in Wyoming and
eliminating red tape that increases the cost of operating.
I met with the Wyoming School Boards Association to discuss expanding rural broadband access to ensure that students throughout our state have access to the internet to do their homework and study.
SkillsUSA is a terrific organization that works to keep technical education programs in Wyoming high schools. In my meeting with them we talked about the shortage of skilled labor in Wyoming and how important their work is to giving future generations career skills that will help serve our entire state.
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GRANT OPPORTUNITIES FOR
WYOMING |
Last week, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced the availability of $7.5 billion in Water
Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (WIFIA) funding. This 7th round of WIFIA financing consists of $6.5 billion through the WIFIA
program and $1 billion through the state WIFIA (SWIFIA) program, which provides loans exclusively for state infrastructure financing authority
borrowers. This low-interest loan program will help Wyoming communities invest in
drinking water, wastewater and stormwater infrastructure. To learn more about the available funding and how to apply, click here. |
| WYOMING SHOUT
OUT | ||
Keelan Anderson, a kicker for Cheyenne South High School, has been rewriting the Wyoming state record books all season.
Earlier this year, he hit a 57-yard field goal to tie the state record for longest field goal that had stood since 1982. That record did not last
long. Soon after in a game against Natrona County, Anderson drilled a 61-yard field goal to break the 41-year record.
61-yard field goals are rare to see in NFL games, let alone a high school football game. Keelan Anderson is clearly very talented, and I am excited to see him breaking records this season!
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OFFICE LOCATIONS |
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