John,
It’s been a busy week with deregulation, traveling, and listening to rural America, but I wanted to take a moment to update you on the important work we are doing to advance our conservative values.
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lee Zeldin and President Trump took a major step towards common sense by formally removing the “Endangerment Finding” of 2009. Their “finding” reclassified carbon dioxide, a natural, non-toxic, and necessary gas, as a “public health threat.” That ruling was used by the Obama administration to tie nearly anything to global warming, which opened the floodgates to woke climate schemes and expensive, business-crushing regulations. The EPA was started as a tool to fight pollution, but was hijacked to push nonsense like AOC’s Green New Deal and other costly mandates onto Americans. Thanks to President Trump, this is one of the largest deregulatory actions in our nation’s history and a huge win for limited government conservatives. We will continue to care about clean air and water through proven and effective conservation techniques without the threat of climate extremists using junk science as an excuse to stifle our economy and control our lives.
In recognition of the enormous impact technology is having on farming, I joined my colleague, Representative Brad Finstad, and 17 other Members in launching the Modern Agriculture Caucus. GPS, cameras, sensors, and even artificial intelligence are revolutionizing the way seeds are planted and crops are tended. This new caucus is dedicated to making sure federal agriculture policy keeps up with the innovations taking place. As an advocate for our farmers and the ag community as a whole, I am honored to join my Republican colleagues in this mission to improve efficiency, increase yields, protect the land and water, and ensure our country’s food security for the future.
Earlier this month, I was honored to meet Brad Schenck and his family at their Otter Tail County lake cabin. His twin brother Ben, his wife Sara, and their children are backed by a strong support network as he courageously fights brain cancer. Brad wrote a book for his children in order to share life stories and lessons of how he worked hard, never gave up in the Marine Corps, and served with the Moorhead Police Department and SWAT team. It was a special moment to present him with his own book, signed by President Trump, along with a personal letter from him and First Lady Melania Trump. I carry these conversations and experiences with me to Washington, D.C., and find inspiration in the decency and determination of the people I have the privilege to represent.
