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By Rep. Dan Newhouse
At the end of this week, Congress recesses for the annual August district work period. While I hope to spend some time with my son as he is preparing for the busy harvest season, I will also be making time to hear from constituents, business owners, and local leaders about everything we have accomplished in D.C. House Republicans have made real progress in delivering common-sense, conservative priorities this Congress, and we have more work to do. Here’s a look at some positive wins from the last six months that will impact us here at home.
House and Senate Republicans worked hard to craft a domestic policy package to curb federal spending, prevent massive tax hikes on hardworking Americans, get illegal immigration under control, and ensure Medicaid and SNAP continue to be available for those who need them. H.R. 1, known as the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, was signed into law this month after thorough deliberation in the House and Senate. I worked diligently to ensure that Central Washington would benefit directly by securing provisions to protect nuclear energy investments that will strengthen the small modular reactor project in Richland and was successful in more than doubling funding for market access programs to create new opportunities for farmers in our area.
As the agriculture industry begins seeing the benefits of the provisions included in H.R. 1, we also recently secured a major victory in combatting the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) attempts at purchasing critical American farmland. As a member of the House Appropriations Committee and the Select Committee on the CCP, I have worked over the past few years to ensure our greatest adversary doesn’t plan roots on our soil by adding the Secretary of Agriculture to the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS). On July 10, the Department of Agriculture and Department of Treasury announced that the Secretary of Agriculture would finally take a seat at the CFIUS table through the implementation of a provision I secured in the 2024 annual government funding legislation.
While we also work across the board to counter the CCP’s manufacturing of fentanyl that floods our communities, President Trump signed the HALT Fentanyl Act which I have cosponsored every time it has been introduced. The legislation, signed this month, permanently schedules fentanyl as a Schedule I substance to help crack down on new versions of the drug and give law enforcement and the courts the power to better prosecute possession cases.
Many of these issues are front and center in the news, but it is important we don’t bury other critical policy wins like the work we’ve accomplished on our natural resources. While I was successful in helping to remove public lands sales from H.R. 1, we passed major reforms to forest management and wildfire prevention with the Fix Our Forests Act. The President also signed into law the Aerial Firefighter Enhancement Act of 2025 - the Senate companion to my legislation - to authorize the sale of aircraft and parts by the Department of Defense for wildfire suppression.
Even though Congress won’t be moving legislation for a few weeks, there are plenty of issues to keep an eye on, including the federal government’s investigation into Washington State’s Superintendent for Public Instruction Chris Reykdal announced in April. I unequivocally oppose biological boys competing against girls in sports, for safety both in the locker room and on the field, and hope Reykdal reverses course on forcing gender ideology in our schools.
We have a lot of work ahead of us, and I will continue to keep Central Washington’s best interests as my top priority as we tackle the challenges in our region and across the nation.
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