Celebrating Dobbs and Empowering Moms

June 24th, 2024, marked the second anniversary of the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization Supreme Court decision, returning the jurisdiction of abortion policy to elected officials, states, and their legislatures. This decision was a step toward protecting the most basic right: the right to life. Following this decision, nearly half of all states have laws defending lives in the first trimester and the lives of over 200,000 babies have been saved.

Unfortunately, many women feel unprepared when they get pregnant, and according to the Charlotte Lozier Institute, over 60% of women who had abortions reported high levels of pressure to abort, including from boyfriends and family.

As Co-Chair of the Pro-Life Caucus, I am a fierce advocate for life and I am committed to empowering all women and ensuring they feel supported in choosing life. That is why I introduced the More Opportunities for Moms to Succeed (MOMS) Act. This legislation supports women before, during, and after they give birth, improving access to resources and making sure women have all the resources at their fingertips to help them confidently carry to term and raise their child. I am so proud to support legislation that supports new mothers and their children.

Congress is Responsibly Funding the Government

This week, the House of Representatives passed the Department of Defense, Department of Homeland Security, and Department of State, Operations, Related Programs appropriations bills. In these funding bills, we defunded radical Green New Deal priorities and critical race theory, increased pay for service members, and refocused defense spending on defense. We cut unnecessary spending for the Department of State while fully funding the Countering the People's Republic of China (PRC) Influence fund and supporting our allies in Israel by providing $3.3 billion in Foreign Military Financing.

We also approved funding for major disaster responses (like the one southern Minnesota is facing now due to flooding) and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and sustained funding for 22,000 Border Patrol agents. And, thanks to an amendment I cosponsored, we expanded the hours of operation at the Lancaster and Roseau ports of entry. Returning to reasonable hours of operation is crucial to local communities. Allowing for expanded lawful entry builds our economy, improves trade, expands our workforce, and brings more tourism to the Seventh District.

Arlington Nursing Home Forced to Close Its Doors

I was heartbroken to hear the news that the Skilled Nursing Facility and Assisted Living Facility in Arlington will be closing. This facility has been working to overcoming staffing challenges for over a year, but the shortage of qualified workers available to hire led to a situation where closure became the only option to make sure residents can continue getting quality care. And now, nearly forty families will have to find new homes for their loved ones, home that will likely take them further away from the lives they have built in the Arlington community.

This is a problem that will be made worse when Biden's federally mandated nursing staff ratio goes into effect. His administration has chosen an arbitrary quota for facilities to meet that does not guarantee quality of care, will harm rural facilities like this one, and will do nothing to actually solve the staffing shortage. We need to be focused on recruitment, retention, and building the nursing pipeline, not tying the hands of our nursing and assisted living homes. I have been pushing back against this rule since it was first proposed.

I want to thank the Arlington facility for all the work they have done to keep their doors open as long as they could and for all they are doing to help these residents find new homes.

Thanks for stopping by!

Here are just a few of the great groups that have come out to D.C. recently. I am grateful for everyone who takes the time to come speak with Members of Congress about the issues that are important to them.

Thank you to the team from the National Association of Trailer Manufacturers for sharing your thoughts on the ongoing workforce shortages and supply chain disruptions. I look forward to working with you in the future.

It was great having the National Rural Health Association Rural Service Fellows in my office. I can’t wait to see where the future takes you all!

The Minnesota Propane Association serves countless industries across the Seventh District, and I was glad to sit down with them to talk about energy choice, the Farm Bill, and more.

Thank you for reading!

fischbach.house.gov

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