December 15, 2023
Dear John,

Laser Focused

BIG Update

For 11 years, schools across America have been prohibited from serving 2% or whole milk to students. The prohibition began when the Obama Administration imposed ill-informed school lunch regulations. Without a variety of milk options, students have turned to drinks with high caffeine and sugar.

This week, House Republicans passed the Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act to restore the option for schools to serve 2% and whole milk. I drink milk every day for lunch. It’s filled with essential nutrients that help kids succeed in school. Whole milk is healthy. I’m glad I got to help lead this bill and give students a drink option that helps them grow and thrive.

BIG Idea

During the Transportation & Infrastructure Subcommittee on Highways and Transit hearing this week, I talked to leaders in the Department of Transportation about a threat posed by the Chinese Communist Party on U.S. infrastructure. 

LiDAR, Light Detection and Ranging, is a sensor technology that uses laser lights to map the surrounding environment and is used across our transportation industry, like at intersections, airports, ports, or in autonomous vehicles. Concerns have been raised of China targeting critical U.S. infrastructure for the use of this technology, potentially giving our foreign adversary 3-D images of our infrastructure and the ability to determine precise coordinates and dimensions of the surroundings.

Our investments in infrastructure should not empower our foreign adversaries. While the federal government should deploy this important technology, Congress should take steps to ensure we are not purchasing LiDAR from our adversaries. That would create vulnerabilities in our transportation industry for bad actors like China to exploit.

View my remarks here or by clicking the image below.

BIG News

This week, the Select Committee on China (SCC) released its report addressing America’s economic and technological competition with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The report included my bill, the PRC Accountability and Divestment Act, that I introduced a couple of weeks ago.

The SCC’s report detailed ways to:

• RESET: Reset the terms of our economic relationship with the People's Republic of China
• PREVENT: Stem the flow of U.S. capital and technology fueling the People's Republic of China's military modernization and human rights abuses
• BUILD: Invest in technological leadership and build collective economic resilience in concert with allies

We must be careful with how we interact with China financially. We cannot bankroll the CCP regime, yet blindly decoupling could cause economic chaos and downturn in America. I’m glad the SCC’s report focused on thoughtful and targeted ways to change course to promote our national security. I look forward to the committee’s proposals being heard in Congress next year.

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