Message from Rep. Tracey Mann. Having Trouble Viewing? Click Here. Fellow Kansan, Thank you for subscribing to my newsletter! I am back in Washington, D.C. this week for votes and committee activity. Follow me on social media to see updates on what is happening in Congress and how I'm fighting to protect our conservative Kansas values.  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. That's what I am doing while believing our brightest days are yet to come. Yours in service, Click below to follow me on social media. Mann.House.Gov     The Week Ahead This week, the U.S. House of Representatives will consider annual funding legislation to appropriate funds to the legislative branch. This legislation funds all congressional operations, protects proper oversight of the Biden Administration, and includes important resources for U.S. Capitol Police. Congress must prioritize fiscally conservative legislation that stewards taxpayer dollars well and puts them in places we can see a return on our investment. We will also vote on legislation to formally disapprove of the Biden Administration’s Title IX rule that puts the safety of American women and girls at risk. Under the President’s rule, the definition of “sex” would be expanded to include “gender identity”, meaning biological males could enter women and girl’s private spaces, including bathrooms and locker rooms. As a father and a husband, I am strongly opposed to this expansion, and I will vote to disapprove of this proposal. Also happening this week, the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee's Subcommittee on Railroads, Pipelines, and Hazardous Materials will hold a hearing examining the California Air Resource Board’s (CARB) diesel-powered locomotive ban. With more than 60% of locomotives operating in California coming from other states, this rule threatens to undermine the fluidity of the national freight rail network. I will also attend a House Agriculture Committee hearing on the impact of the Environmental Protection Agency’s actions on American agriculture. We must fight big government overreach and burdensome regulations that handcuff our farmers, ranchers, and agricultural producers as they feed, fuel, and clothe world. Read my Commitment to the Big First here. Meetings in the Office Heinen Brothers Ag Services Kansas Farm Bureau President Joe Newland Kansas School Superintendents Association FFA Members from Central Plains High School Kansas State Society American Farm Bureau Federation     In the Office Questioning Department of Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg Last week, I questioned Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg about the U.S. Department of Transportation’s (DOT) plans to support rural air service and the Biden Administration's failing electric vehicle mandate. Kansans in the Big First know how important air service is to rural communities. It is critical to connecting rural residents and businesses with the rest of the world. I urged DOT to prioritize the production of aircraft that are specifically made to service rural communities to give Kansans the options they need for air travel. I also voiced my concern about the Administration’s electric vehicle subsidies and overbearing emissions standards that harm hardworking Americans and create a de facto electric vehicle mandate across the country. Given that electric vehicles put more wear and tear on America’s roads and highways than gas-powered vehicles, I pushed Secretary Buttigieg to tell the American people how DOT intends to make sure that electric vehicle owners pay their fair share to the Highway Trust Fund, which funds the maintenance of our nation's roads. USDA Packers & Stockyards Rule The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) recently announced the Fair and Competitive Livestock and Poultry Markets proposed rule. On eight different occasions, courts have upheld that competitive harm is a requirement to violate the Harm to Competition Act. Still, the Biden Administration chooses to ignore legal precedent and the congressional intent of the Act with yet another proposed rule that only stifles innovation and handcuffs livestock producers in an already challenging economic landscape. The 60-day public comment period on the proposed rule is officially open and will close on August 26. As the House Agriculture Committee's Chairman for the Livestock, Dairy, and Poultry Subcommittee, I encourage you to submit comments to USDA regarding your concerns. Livestock production is a significant contributor to the American economy, and we cannot afford for our ranchers to be handcuffed by burdensome federal regulations that only hurt our producers in the name of arbitrary fairness. Click here to submit a comment Supporting Affordable Housing In April, the Biden Administration finalized a rule requiring that all newly built homes adhere to an international green energy standard. This rule would be a disaster for new home construction across the market, making it uneconomical to build new housing during a critical shortage. If implemented, the rule would put home ownership out of reach for many Americans by adding as much as $31,000 to the price of a new home, on top of already sky-high interest rates. Last week, I cosponsored H.J.Res.170, which would reverse this ill-timed and harmful rule. As a co-chair of the Congressional Real Estate Caucus, I will continue to advocate for access to affordable housing, and I will continue to oppose federal regulations that handicap real estate agents, developers, and homebuyers. Click Here to View H.J.Res.170 Mark Your Calendar: Town Halls Next Week Next week, I will host another eight town halls as part of my annual 60-county Mann Listening Tour. I am excited to hear directly about the issues most important to you and to receive my marching orders for my time in Congress. I will be in Ness, Gove, Logan, Hodgeman, Clark, Meade, Gray, and Finney counties. Please join me at one of the town halls listed below or stay posted for future town hall dates to see when I'll be in your community. I hope to see you there! Click here to view the full schedule Celebrating 70 Years of Food for Peace In 1953, Peter O’Brien, a farmer from Cheyenne County Kansas, stood up at his local county Farm Bureau meeting to share an idea. He wanted to use surplus Kansas grain to help feed hungry people around the world. Over the next several months, today’s Food for Peace program was crafted. On July 10, 1954, one of Kansas’ favorite sons, President Dwight Eisenhower, signed parts of the program into law. The program aimed to decrease food surpluses, create new markets for agricultural products, and deliver American commodities to countries in need. Over time, the program was utilized as a method of advancing foreign diplomacy. Over the past 70 years, Food for Peace has fed more than 4 billion people in 150 countries. With the world facing a severe hunger crisis due to inflation, natural disasters, and global wars in Ukraine, Israel, and Yemen, Food for Peace is more important now than ever. I am grateful for the two brave Kansans who saw America’s ability to answer the noble calling to feed a hungry world and to recognizing it as the morally right, strategically wise, and fiscally responsible thing to do.   Mann in the News Interview with Agri-Pulse KQAM Interview     Visiting Washington, D.C.? Contact My Office One of my favorite parts of representing the Big First District in Congress is hosting Kansans when they visit our nation’s capital. If you are planning a visit to Washington, D.C., please contact my office. My staff and I can help schedule tours of the White House, the U.S. Capitol, and answer any questions that you may have. For more information or to schedule a tour, please visit my website and submit a tour request form, or call my Washington, D.C. office at (202) 225-2715. We look forward to seeing you! Click here to submit a tour request Please note: White House tour requests must be requested at least three weeks in advance. Space is limited and a tour request does not guarantee a spot. CONSTITUENT SERVICES     Manhattan Office 317 Houston Street Suite A Manhattan, KS 66502 Phone: (785) 370-7277 Dodge City Office 100 Military Avenue Suite 203 Dodge City, KS 37801 Phone: (620) 682-7340 Washington, D.C. Office 344 Cannon HOB Washington, D.C. 20515  Phone: (202) 225-2715 If I can do anything to help you, please reach out to my office. Sincerely,   Rep. Mann | 344 Cannon House Office Bldg. | Washington, DC 20515 US Unsubscribe | Update Profile | Constant Contact Data Notice