Good evening and welcome to our Weekend Update.

As infrastructure talks with the U.S. Senate show signs of compromise, I hope the Biden Administration sees the value of a bipartisan, paid-for infrastructure plan that is targeted towards states' needs without a level of spending that will further drive inflation and increase taxes.

This week, I joined Newsmax TV to discuss the latest on infrastructure infrastructures. Click here or below to watch.

Another issue dominating the news is election reform. In Washington, Democrats’ H.R. 1 imposes “DC Knows Best” mandates, federalizing elections in a clear power grab. This is Democrat’s #1 priority, not COVID recovery, the border crisis, or inflation and the labor shortage. They’re fighting hard to entrench their power, not fighting to put American families first.

Compare that to Pennsylvania, where the Republican legislature passed a commonsense election reform package that includes measures to strengthen voter’s trust in our electoral process. For example, the legislation requires regular election audits; improves election uniformity among the 67 counties as required by the Pennsylvania Constitution; enhances certification processes for all machines used in elections; requires signature verification using ballot scanning equipment for mail-in and absentee ballots; improves lists of registered voters; conducts an audit of every election for, among other things, to improve the security of our elections. It also includes a voter identification provision. Specifically, registered voters would receive through their counties’ durable scannable voter registration cards, much like the identification cards currently issued to voters, to be used when voting in person. 

A recent poll by Franklin & Marshall College shows 74% of those polled support requirements that voters show an identification card when voting in person, and 81% are in favor of signature verification. Republicans and Democrats support a voter identification provision. Unfortunately, Governor Wolf has promised a veto of this legislation.

Equally troubling, this week, the Biden Administration has deployed the Department of Justice to file a politically motivated lawsuit against the recent election reform bill in Georgia. Georgia has more fair and open election laws than many other states… including Delaware. Yet, after failing to sell H.R. 1 to the American people, the Biden Administration is now weaponizing the Justice Department to attack election integrity. This is a clear attempt to undermine confidence in elections in the pursuit of political power.

In other news, during Joe Biden’s continued assault on the 2^nd Amendment, he stepped into some controversy again. Biden said, “If you wanted or if you think you need to have weapons to take on the government, you need F-15s and maybe some nuclear weapons.” Click here or below to watch his comments.

Despite Biden's at best ridiculous at worst threatening remarks, he continues to perpetuate the notion that guns are the problem. The real issue is not enforcing the laws on the books and punishing those individuals for breaking laws. Biden and the extreme left have been pushing the ‘defund the police’ message and policies and then complain about increased crime. It’s sad and irresponsible. The U.S. Constitution is clear; our 2^nd Amendment rights are not to be infringed. Unfortunately, the Biden Administration believes otherwise.

IN NEWS YOU WON’T HEAR IN THE MAINSTREAM MEDIA: Republican-led states are bringing back the economy.

• Newly released data from the Labor Department confirms that Republican Governors are leading the way in getting Americans back to work.
  
  
  • Jobs are rising, and unemployment is lower in states with Republican Governors.
    
    
• Looking at the percentage of lost jobs that have been recovered, it is clear Republican states are outperforming Democrat-led ones.
  
  
  • 16 of the top 20 states for jobs recovered since the coronavirus pandemic hit are led by Republican Governors, and 18 of the top 20 states have Republican-controlled legislatures.
    
    
  • The top 13 states for jobs recovered are all led by Republicans.
    
    
  • Two Republican-led states – Idaho and Utah – now have more jobs than when the pandemic hit.
    
    
• 25 out of 27 Republican-led states have recovered at least half of their jobs lost, and 17 Republican-led states have recovered at least two-thirds of their lost jobs.
  
  
  • Only five Democrat-run states have recovered at least two-thirds of their jobs lost.

As I have repeatedly said, Pennsylvania needs a new governor who emulates the policies and follows the lead of the Republican-led states who are winning for their residents. But, unfortunately, Pennsylvania is following the policy agenda of the bottom ten states, and it is hurting all of us.

The Biden Administration’s policies are not helping…

• Almost half of the small business owners have “real problems” finding workers amid labor shortages at the “highest level” they have ever seen.
  
  
  • Because Biden is paying people not to work, many small businesses “cannot open because they cannot find the workers.”
    
    
• While red states are leading the way in getting workers back on the job, Biden and Democrats support paying Americans not to work.
  
  
  • Businesses say the “enhanced” unemployment benefits in Biden’s $1.9 stimulus make it hard to hire workers.
    
    
  • With $300-per-week in supplemental unemployment benefits, estimated workers make more money on unemployment than at work.
    
    
• 25 Republican-led states have announced they will stop paying Americans extra money not to work.
  
  
  • 12 of which have already terminated the supplemental unemployment benefits.
    
    
• As if the labor shortage wasn’t bad enough, the Labor Department announced last week that producer prices increased 6.6 percent on a 12-month basis, the largest spike on record.

If we want to get America back to work, we must mean it. That starts with getting rid of the increased benefits that are creating a shortage of workers.

On Monday, Brian Rich hosted an event for us in Frackville. It was a very successful event, and that is largely due to the support of Brian Rich and others. Representing the people of the 9^th District is an incredible honor. We have several important electoral priorities over the next electoral cycle, and that begins with electing our statewide judges and local elected officials. Superior Court candidate Megan Sullivan and Schuylkill County Judge candidate Christina Hale both joined us on Monday. In 2022, my top priority is to ensure Republicans win back control of the U.S. House and retire Speaker Nancy Pelosi once and for all. We must also elect a conservative Republican to represent our Commonwealth in the U.S. Senate.

Additionally, the future direction of our Commonwealth is at stake. We must return strong Republican majorities to the state House and Senate. More importantly, we must elect a governor who has a plan and the stick-to-itiveness to execute their vision to chase greatness and Make Pennsylvania Great Again. It can be accomplished, and Pennsylvania can be the next Texas with the right person in the governor’s office.

Please see the pictures below of our event. Shelley and I are so thankful for everyone’s support.

Thank you, and I hope to see everyone soon,