Liberal Wish List

The House is set to vote on a multi-trillion dollar bill tomorrow morning - legislation that was negotiated with zero bipartisan input. Democratic leadership locked us out of the process entirely and instead decided to write a liberal wish list. This is beyond unacceptable. The fate of our economy hangs in the balance with decisions like these, and there is simply no room for the political games Democrats are playing.

Some of the items in this bill have nothing to do with Coronavirus relief, such as: legalizing Marijuana companies' access to the banking system, billions to administer the new federal election mandates imposed on states, billions to bailout the Postal Service and millions for the Postal Service Inspector General to oversee that bailout, and billions for the federal government to pay student loans through September 2021. As you can see, there are many aspects of this legislation that are irrelevant to the problems we face. We need to focus on taking care of those in need, especially in rural areas, instead of trying to overhaul our system of government.

Chuck Schumer gloated last week that the bill they created is "Rooseveltian" in size, meaning it is equivalent to FDR's "New Deal" from the 1930s. It appears Senator Schumer got his wish and more, because the total cost of this bill is $3 trillion. This amount even exceeds the New Deal.  The New Deal cost, adjusted for inflation, around $740 billion.

China

As you may remember, a few weeks ago I wrote about moving medical manufacturing back to America. I wrote this to highlight China's efforts to become a global pharmacy, which is part of their agenda to become the number one superpower in the world. I am greatly disturbed by China's aggression on the world stage in recent years, and I think it's time we take a tough stance when dealing with them. Here are just a few reasons why we need to change our attitude towards China:

• They covered up COVID-19
  • China has lied, covered up, and downplayed the Coronavirus from the very beginning. It's clear they knew about the virus in the early stages but said nothing to make the world aware. China even went so far as to stop domestic travel, but they continued to allow international travel - which spread the virus around the world.
• The have a long history of Intellectual Property theft
  • In the past 20 years China has caught up with us dramatically in terms of military strength and technology.  Not because they have worked hard at developing their own skills and techniques, but because they have stolen it from us.  One of five American companies say the Chinese have stolen from them in the past year.
• Unfair trade practices
  • China needs to be held accountable for the structural ways it distorts the global economy. For years the United States gave China every chance to be a responsible player in international trade. The hope was that economic freedom would lead to political freedom.  That didn't happen.  It's going the opposite direction.  The China of tomorrow is looking more and more like the Soviet Union of yesterday.
• Human rights violations
  • Human rights are all but nonexistent in China.  They are spying on their people with facial recognition, they are arresting Christians and putting Muslims in concentration camps, and they are creating sophisticated ways of blacklisting individuals publicly if that individual speaks up or seems disloyal to the state. The oppression that the people of China are living under is abhorrent, and we cannot let it stand.
• Military threat
  • China is without a doubt, our biggest military threat and rival.  While China bullies its neighbors and tries to make claims on international waters, back here at home they have waged a cyber cold war with the United States.  They have used all sorts of means to plant themselves into our infrastructure, hack into our financial institutions and even invade our own personal privacy. We need to strengthen our military and maintain and improve our cyber capabilities.  I'm excited that North Alabama is already a major player in cyber security and I'm working to make North Alabama THE hub for cyber security going forward. 

Photo Contest

Last week, I sent out a call for pictures of our community in a district-wide photo competition. While we received enough photos to proceed, we decided to extend the competition by one week.  So, you will have until May 20^th to submit your photos.   Head over to my Facebook page for the rules.​​​​​​​

Have a Great Weekend

It's supposed to feel like summer this weekend.  I hope you have a chance to get outside and enjoy it by either working in the garden, going fishing or just sitting on the front porch and taking it easy.