Message from Rep. Tracey Mann. Having Trouble Viewing? Click Here.

Fellow Kansan,

Thank you for subscribing to my newsletter! I’m pleased to update you on my work in Washington, D.C. and the First District of Kansas.

It is an honor to represent Kansans in the Big First District in the 118th Congress. I do not serve in Congress to be a caretaker in the slow demise of America – I serve to fight and work to make it stronger, and I believe our brightest days are yet to come.

Yours in service,

Mann.House.Gov

The Week Ahead

Happy New Year! I hope you had a blessed Christmas and are having a great start to 2024. This week, I am kicking off my fourth annual 60-county Mann Listening Tour. Each year, I visit all 60 counties in the Big First District and host a town hall in each one. Meeting with Kansans and listening to your concerns gives me the marching orders I need to serve you in Congress.

Today, I'm visiting Trego, Graham, Sheridan, Decatur, Rawlins, Cheyenne, and Sherman counties. Below is the full schedule for this week's town halls. I hope to see you there.

I’m excited to continue fighting for Kansans, defending agriculture, and protecting our Kansas conservative values in the year ahead. We are facing a lot of challenges in our country, but with prayer and hard work, our brightest days are yet to come.

Questions about a town hall? Contact my Manhattan office at (785) 370-7277.

ICYMI: Click below to watch me kick off the Mann Listening Tour in today's Mann Minute

Click here to view the full schedule online.

In the Office

Keeping my Commitment to the Big First

I have long said, if it matters to a Kansan, it matters to me. Over the last three years, I have heard concerns about inflation, the border crisis, big government, sweeping executive orders, out-of-control government spending, sky-high taxes, and the infringement of basic rights like the Second Amendment and the right to life. In response to these concerns, I'm working hard to deliver upon my Commitment to the Big First. It's a roadmap for the 118th Congress that gets America back on track, advocates for agriculture, and advances our Kansas conservative values.

Click here to watch my full remarks about my Commitment to the Big First.

Each year, I also release an annual report to give you an overview of my work in Congress, which I've outlined in my four-part Commitment to the Big First. In my annual report, I highlight legislation that I introduced and co-sponsored, my activity on the House Agriculture, Small Business, and Transportation and Infrastructure committees, and I share some of the ways my office has assisted Kansans this year.

Click here to read my 2023 Annual Report.

EPA's Proposed Revisions to Meat and Poultry Processor Wastewater Standards

On December 15, the Biden Administration's Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released a proposed rule to revise wastewater discharge standards for meat and poultry process facilities. The proposed rule would expand nitrogen discharge restrictions, require many facilities to pretreat certain indirect discharges, and for the first time, regulate phosphorous discharge from meat processing facilities.

EPA will hold public hearings on the proposed rule in January 2024 and will take public comment on the regulation for 60 days following its publication in the Federal Register. While the public comment period is not yet open, I encourage all stakeholders who may be affected by the new proposed rule to prepare to provide input, which will ensure that Kansas producers have a say in the rulemaking process.

Click here to learn more about the rule and comment period.

Submit Comments to USDA:

Reporting on Foreign Holdings of U.S. Agricultural Land

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is requesting public input on the collection of information surrounding foreign ownership and leasing of U.S. agricultural land. USDA-Farm Service Agency (FSA) is proposing to update the Agricultural Foreign Investment Disclosure Act report form to include data on long-term lessees and assess the impacts of foreign investment on agricultural producers and rural communities.

Click here for more inforamtion and to offer your comments.

Ensuring Certainty for Agricultural Producers

with Chlorpyrifos Ruling

Since 1965, chlorpyrifos has been used to treat pests on more than 80 different crops. With few cost-effective alternatives, chlorpyrifos has prevented up to 40% yield losses for many crops in the Midwest. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published a final rule in August of 2021, which effectively banned the use of chlorpyrifos.

Last November, the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit unanimously found that the EPA’s actions were “arbitrary and capricious,” and revoked the 2021 Final Rule. Following this ruling, I joined my colleagues in sending a letter to EPA and the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), urging that the agencies immediately follow the Eighth Circuit’s ruling by vacating the final rule.

Last month, EPA announced that it will allow agricultural producers to resume using chlorpyrifos insecticide on 11 crops, including alfalfa, cotton, soybeans, and wheat. As we look ahead to the 2024 crop year, I am grateful that farmers will have access to this important tool, and I will continue to fight back against any efforts to hamstring our producers.