You may have heard the news that the Republican National Committee has launched an Election Integrity Committee to protect the sanctity of the vote. I am pleased to report that National Committeeman Mark Kahrs and I have been chosen to serve as members. I'd like to tell you a little bit about what that means for us moving forward.
Like many of you, I believe election integrity is one of the most critical issues we face as a party and as a country. We must ensure that all Americans have confidence in our elections. Simply telling Americans our elections are secure isn't enough. We must show the American people that our elections are secure.
During the 2020 election cycle, it was troubling to see states undo important safeguards, bypass proper legislative processes and change election laws in the eleventh hour. I'm thankful Attorney General Schmidt added Kansas to the lawsuit challenging those decisions. If unconstitutional alterations to election laws are allowed in other states, it dilutes the vote of every single Kansan.
In 2020, the RNC ran the most comprehensive legal strategy we've ever seen in a presidential election, spending more than $30 million on election protection efforts in battleground states across the country. And that wasn't enough to safeguard against the efforts of Democrat election officials in those states to circumvent their legislatures and make drastic changes loosening election laws in the name of COVID.
Perhaps the most glaring lesson of 2020 is that we must be proactive. Once elections take place, it's very difficult to effectively challenge a result. Several courts declined to hear these cases on the merits because the litigants lacked standing. Democrats and their friends in the mainstream media continue to assert that there is no evidence whatsoever of voter fraud. However, we are all aware that there has not been a thorough investigation of many of the alleged violations.
This is where the new Election Integrity Committee comes in. It will be dedicated to restoring election transparency and ensuring voters have confidence in future election processes. It will work closely with state parties like ours and other stakeholders in elections across the country on voting policies and best practices, such as ensuring poll watchers are allowed to properly observe counting processes and meaningful voter ID laws are codified. Importantly, the committee will be proactive and challenge election laws prior to elections.
Mark and I look forward to aiding in this effort. and I will provide meaningful updates regarding our committee's important work.
Thank you as always for your unwavering support.
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For the past 53 days, Congress has done nothing except play politics with the future of our great Nation. At the White House, President Biden has issued more Executive Orders in his first 10 days in office than the last seven presidents combined in their first 10 days. To date, there have been over 53 Executive Actions signed since January 20th.
I am fighting back. Since I took my oath of office on January 3rd, I have signed on to over 22 bills that do everything from Protecting Life of the unborn to Safeguarding American Energy. I also secured assignments on the House Agriculture Committee and the House Veterans Affairs Committee. Both committees have already started to meet, and I am strongly advocating for Kansas Agriculture and our Nation's service members.
In addition to committee work, I introduced six pieces of legislation that would provide more transparency and oversight to Executive Orders coming out of the White House. My legislation would force the Executive Branch to notify Congress and the American People 30 days before a new Executive Order can be signed. It also requires a report to be issued six months after the order is signed and yearly thereafter. These reports will allow the American people to clearly see the impacts of orders that are often signed in the dead of night.
My legislation holds the administration accountable in the following areas:
- Agriculture Issues
- Energy Issues
- Natural Resources Issues
- 2nd Amendment Issues
- Life Issues
- Immigration Issues
To learn more about specific policy issues or to receive official updates, you can visit my official website at: https://mann.house.gov. You can also follow my official social media here:
- Facebook and Instagram: @reptraceymann
- Twitter: @repmann
I did not run for Congress to be the caretaker in the slow demise of America - I ran so I could fight and work to make it stronger. That is what I intend to do while believing our brightest days are yet to come.
Please feel free to reach out if I can do anything for you.
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In January, a new Senate Republican leadership was inaugurated, along with a class of 29 Republican Senators who arrived in Topeka with a diverse range of talent and expertise.
Immediately, these Republican Senators went to work on an agenda to put Kansans first.
We adopted the Value Them Both Amendment, which places trust in the people of Kansas to preserve our laws protecting women and babies in Kansas. It will go on the ballot in August of 2022.
We enacted real property tax reform giving more power to the people of Kansas by requiring local units of government to take a vote establishing the real tax rate on citizens when they rely on higher property valuations to increase taxes.
We boosted our state’s economic recovery by providing our Kansas businesses increased access to financial support, including farmers and ranchers critical to our rural areas. By trusting our businesses with more capital, we can get our economy moving again and people back to work.
We passed the “RELIEF Act.” This legislation reverses a previous unintended tax increase by allowing both families and businesses the ability to fully reap the benefits provided by the 2017 tax cuts and jobs at the federal level, while also raising the standard deduction.
We extended and strengthened important limitations on the governor’s emergency powers, which was later signed into law. This provided the legislature time to enact long-term reforms to the statutes.
We passed the Energy Choice Act, which ensures that the 870,000 Kansas households which use natural gas will still be able to do so, trusting Kansans with the ability to continue using this inexpensive and vital form of energy.
We expanded the Tax Credit Low Income Scholarship Program to provide more opportunities for children from low-and-middle income households to achieve a first-class education.
All of this in just 40 days.
Each one of these bills is geared towards placing our trust in the people of Kansas, who sent a clear message last fall they want state government on their side. We have much work to do, but this early activity demonstrates how serious Republican Senators are in delivering on the promises we made to you.
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As COVID-19 continues to alter everyone's plans, we are moving our state convention back a few months in the hopes for a safer environment with greater attendance.
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Click here to watch our Kansas GOP Black History Month Panel Discussion
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February is Black History Month and we were excited to celebrate by hosting an important panel discussion featuring African-American voices in our party.
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