Looking for the Unity President

Looking for the Unity President

Members of Congress gathered in the House Chamber this week to hear President Biden's first address to Congress. Due to COVID-19 restrictions, only a small number of members were allowed to attend in person, but I had the opportunity to listen in. He laid out his agenda and continued to urge unity and bipartisanship, as he did in his inaugural address. While we both agree that bipartisanship and unity are essential to move forward on priorities like infrastructure, our definitions of "bipartisanship," "unity," and even "infrastructure" are vastly different.

President Biden calls for bipartisanship, but won't negotiate with Republicans who stand ready and willing to work together to rebuild our aging infrastructure. However, his proposed infrastrucutre package looks more like the 'Green New Deal' with only 6 percent of funding going towards traditional infrastructure like roads and bridges.

During his time in the U.S. Senate, then-Senator Biden was well known for his ability to work across the aisle to achieve policy goals. President Biden has a Senate ready to work with him on a host of issues, but first he must come to the table with the intention of collaborating, not just steamrolling the Republicans that meet him there.

Happy Trails,

THIS WEEK IN
WASHINGTON

Legislative Actions:

I introduced the Second Amendment Mandates Equality Act of 2021. This legislation would repeal the law barring 18-20-year-olds from exercisng their 2nd Amendment right to own a handgun.
The bipartisan Drinking Water and Wastewater Infrastructure Act that I introduced with Senators Shelley Moore Capito, Tom Carper, and Tammy Duckworth came to the floor for a vote. The bill passed 89-2 and will now go to the House of Representatives for a vote.

Votes:

Nomination of Jason Miller to be Deputy Director for Management in the Office of Management and Budget
- Supported
Nomination of Janet McCabe to be Deputy Administrator of the Environmental Protection Ageny
- Opposed
Nomination of Samantha Power to be Administrator of the U.S. Agenvy for International Development
- Opposed
S.J. Res. 14 - A resolution reinstating an Obama-era rule directly targeting methane emissions produced by oil & gas companies
- Opposed
- I voted against this resolution because it will adversely affect small and medium sized oil & gas producers, which make up 80% of producers in Wyoming.

Congressional Hearings:

Committe on Commerce, Science, & Transportation
- Hearing on Nomination of Eric Lander to be Secretary of Science and Technology Policy
Committee on Environment & Public Works
- Legislative Hearing on S.283, the National Climate Bank Act
  - Listen to Campbell County Commissoner Rusty Bell's Testimony

THIS WEEK IN
WYOMING

MEDIA

I joined Katelyn O'Shaughnessy on K2TV to discuss President Biden's address to the Joint Session of Congress.

WY IN DC

Governor Gordon joined us in D.C. He gave testimony before Senator John Barrasso's Committee on Energy and Natural Resources regarding the effect the Biden Ban is having on Wyoming.

IN REMEMBERANCE

Wyoming celebrated Hank Coe Day. Hank was a giant in the Wyoming State Legislature as well as a mentor and a dear friend of mine. He is missed dearly.

WYOMING FUN FACTS

Did you know Wyoming is home to the largest living sand dune system in the United States? Killpecker Sand Dunes, located in the Red Desert, encompass almost 109,000 acres in Southeast Wyoming.