Dear Mr. xxxxxx:

Good Saturday morning. I know a lot of people will be watching tonight as Alabama takes on UConn in the NCAA Final Four. Good luck and Roll Tide!

Thank you!

I want to first just express my sincere gratitude. On March 5th, I received overwhelming support to continue to serve you in Congress. While I am thankful and humbled by receiving 80% of the vote, please know that I never take that support for granted. Please continue to let my staff and me know how we can help and serve you.

Appropriations Process 

As I’ve said in previous newsletters, the annual appropriations process is how we go about funding programs and operations of the federal government each year. In March, we voted on two separate packages of bills to fund the government for the remainder of Fiscal Year 2024. 

In order to maintain regular order, Congress is supposed to vote on 12 individual spending bills so that members have adequate time for debate and consideration of each measure. I continue to push for us to return to this process. Although it was encouraging to see Speaker Mike Johnson and Republican Leadership move this process in the right direction by enacting two “minibus” packages instead of the usual omnibus, Congress needs to get back to passing individual bills under regular order. 

Yes on the First Package 

I supported the first package of spending bills. While Republicans did not get everything we wanted, we did get a lot of wins and Democrats in the Senate were unsuccessful in sneaking in woke funding projects for their states. (The same cannot be said for the second funding package, but more on that in a moment.) 

In this batch of funding bills, I was also able to secure some of those tax dollars for the 4th Congressional District.  In fact, I delivered more than $42 million for projects focused on economic development, education, and improved infrastructure. You can see a list of all the projects I secured funding for by clicking here. 

No on the Second Package 

When the second package of funding bills came to the floor of the House, I cast a no vote. After examining the earmarks Senate Democrats had put into the Labor, Health & Human Service and Education Bill, (Labor-HHS), I could not in good conscience vote yes. 

The bill contained Senate project requests directed toward services for illegal immigrants, funding for facilities that hold drag shows targeted at minors, and facilities providing routine abortion services, including late-term abortions. I serve as Chairman of the House Labor-HHS Subcommittee in the House, and we did not include these partisan funding projects in our Labor-HHS legislation. The Senate shouldn't have either.

State of the Union

I attended the State of the Union message during a joint session of Congress. During a joint session, members of the Senate join us in the House Chamber. Which is why you see me above with Alabama Senator Tommy Tuberville on the right and Arkansas Senator John Boozman on the left of the photo.

In my opinion, President Biden's speech was more like a speech you would give at a political rally. He says the state of our Union is strong. I disagree. The American people continue to suffer under high inflation, our porous southern border is an unprecedented disaster, and our allies are worried by our so-called leadership abroad, while our adversaries laugh. President Biden could directly address these problems, but he chooses to use House Republicans as a scapegoat. More of my comments on the State of the Union can be found here.

West Point Cadet Thomas Ward

As you may know, each year I have the honor to nominate fine young men and women from our District to our nation's military academies. One young man, Thomas Ward, whom I nominated in 2019, is the 2024 Class President at West Point. Thomas returned to his alma mater, Jasper High School, to speak to students there about leadership. He also spoke at Florence High School and Northridge High School in Tuscaloosa. Thomas will graduate in May and then be stationed at Fort Carson in Colorado. Thank you Thomas for your service and leadership.

Remembering April of 1974

It was 50-years-ago that the "Super-Outbreak" of tornadoes hit the United States. And every-time we have one of these outbreaks, it seems like the Fourth District is always hit hard. We certainly all remember the outbreak in 2011, but I'm old enough to also remember 1974. An F-5 tornado destroyed the town of Guin in Marion County killing 23 people. That same tornado also killed five people in Winston County. We certainly remember the lives lost and impacted by those storms half a century ago.

Fourth District Feel Good News: Making the UA Crimsonettes Look Good

We saw this story in Marion County's Journal Record Newspaper. For three decades now, Sheryl Wilds from Brilliant, has been making the wardrobe for the University of Alabama Crimsonettes. 

“I started in ‘92,” Wilds said. “I do all of the glitzy stuff that’s on the field, which is the majorettes and color guard, which is around 70-something girls. When you see the halftime show, that’s all of my work there.”

Great job Sheryl! You can read the full story from the Journal-Record here. 
 
Thank you for reading this month's newsletter. I will be back in touch in early May.

May God bless you and your loved ones.

Sincerely,


Robert B. Aderholt