A Victory for American Agriculture

This week, the United States took a stand against one of our greatest foreign adversaries, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), by passing my bill, the Protecting American Agriculture from Foreign Adversaries Act, through the House. As you may know, the CCP has been quietly purchasing American agricultural land at an alarming rate, and this legislation is a crucial step towards reversing that trend.

This bill adds the Secretary of Agriculture to the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) and takes the necessary steps to prohibit the purchase of U.S. agricultural land by foreign adversaries like the CCP. CFIUS is an inter-governmental agency responsible for tracking foreign investment in the U.S. economy and reviews any national security implications. The goal is to catch bad actors as they attempt to make purchases that pose risks to our institutions and national security.

The reality of this issue is a simple one—the CCP wants a foothold in our system, and our leaders must make sure they don’t get it. Food security is national security, and it is incumbent upon us to keep our adversaries far away from the lands that feeds our country, and the world.

Standing Up for Endangered Species AND Landowners

On Tuesday, I introduced the Endangered Species Act (ESA) Amendments Act alongside House Natural Resources Committee Chairman, Bruce Westerman (AR-04). This bill is a policy proposal from the ESA Working Group I co-founded with Rep. Westerman as Chairman of the Western Caucus.

This legislation makes reforms to the ESA to protect landowner rights, incentivize conservation, and increase transparency in the recovery and de-listing of species.

In the fifty years since its enactment, the ESA has overwhelmingly failed in its mission to recover vulnerable species and has proven to be a regulatory burden on private landowners. The goal of the Working Group has been to work for our species while also ending abuse of the law by anti-development activists.

Our reforms are a huge step in reversing course and help the ESA do what it was first designed to do—help struggling species recover and support conservation on our lands.

Keeping the CCP Far from Our Children

On Wednesday, I spoke on the House Floor during debate on the DHS Restrictions on Confucius Institutes and Chinese Entities of Concern Act.

For years, the CCP has executed a strategy to influence our students in college—a time when many young Americans form political ideologies, learn about the laws of the world and how we all interact in it. 

For many students in college that have been involved with the Confucius Institute or equivalent groups, the CCP has guided their thinking in the classroom and outside, which can lead to anti-American sentiment and an ideology based on blatant disinformation.

The DHS Restrictions on Confucius Institutes and Chinese Entities of Concern Act passed the House this week and prohibits DHS funds from going to universities with harmful Confucius Institute ties.

Meeting with Representatives from the VFW

Discussing Energy with the Army Corps of Engineers

National Association of Wheat Growers

Mobile Office Hours