Legislative Actions:

• I cosponsored the Precision Agriculture Loan Act. This legislation would provide loans to producers of up to $500,000 through the Farm Service Agency (FSA) to purchase new, more efficient farm equipment.
  

  • New farm equipment is prohibitively expensive for some producers. These loans, which would require full repayment with interest, would give farmers and ranchers around Wyoming new avenues for purchasing more precise, efficient, cost-effective, and sustainable farm equipment.

• I cosponsored the American Energy Independence from Russia Act with Senator John Hoeven (R-ND). This bill requires the President to take actions to strengthen U.S. energy security, including streamlining LNG export licenses and approving the Keystone XL Pipeline, and includes my POWER Act requiring lease sales to continue.
  

  • The energy industry in Wyoming is a huge employer and economic boon to the state. Five recently foregone lease sales have already cost the state over $8 million that could have gone to schools and infrastructure.

Committee Hearings:

Committee on Environment and Public Works

• Hearing entitled “Implementation of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act by the U.S. Department of Transportation”. Click here to watch the hearing.
• I questioned U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) Secretary Pete Buttigieg about the DOT’s concern over truck parking across America and the solutions that they are proposing to solve these issues.

• H.R. 3755, Women’s Health Protection Act of 2021
• Opposed
  • This bill would have prohibited any restrictions on abortion services. It specifically restricts a state government’s ability to limit a provider’s ability to provide certain drugs, offer abortion services via telemedicine, and immediately provide abortion services.

Next week, the Senate will vote on a measure to reform the postal service. I know the struggles that many people across Wyoming face in getting mail quickly and reliably, and I have been working on this proposal closely to see if it will solve the problems our most rural residents face. I want to give a big thank you to the postal workers across Wyoming who show up every day, snow, wind, or shine, (sometimes all three) to get Wyoming residents their mail. I want to make sure that this bill will actually address their concerns as well.

News Around Wyoming:

Barrasso & Lummis Respond to Biden’s State of the Union Address
K2 Radio
On Tuesday Night, amid an escalating war in Ukraine due to a Russian invasion, President Biden delivered his State of the Union Address.
Biden spoke on a variety of topics, from the Russian attack on Ukraine, to inflation, COVID-19, and more. PBS wrote that the 7 key takeaways from Biden's speech focused on: Democracy vs Autocracy, moving "to the center" in the argument of whether to "defund the police," gasoline prices and the oil & gas industry, inflation and the 'Build Back Better' plan, COVID-19, U.S. jobs, and the war in Ukraine.

The Wyoming House Passes ARPA Spending Bill
Wyoming Public Media
The Wyoming House of Representatives wrapped up work on the bill that determines how to spend American Rescue Plan money in the state. A lot of what the House passed assisted health care and mental health needs. House Health and Labor Chair Sue Wilson was pleased to add money to help with health care recruiting costs and retention benefits.
“There’s been so much turnover in the healthcare field this last couple of years that I feel it’s really needed. So I’m hoping that will and in my conversations with providers I think that’ll be good,” said Wilson.

Rylee McCollum Honored During Wyoming House Session
Cowboy State Daily
The late Lance Cpl. Rylee McCollum was honored Tuesday during the Wyoming House of Representatives floor session.
Speaker of the House Eric Barlow, R-Gillette, read a joint resolution signed by all the House members to the legislators. Gov. Mark Gordon was in attendance during the commemoration.