Legislative Actions:

• I cosponsored the Safe Schools Act that would allow local education agencies to repurpose unused COVID relief funds to harden schools.
  • Allowing unused COVID funds to make our schools safer is a fiscally responsible solution that gives Wyoming the ability to protect our students, teachers and administrators. Schools would be allowed to use these funds to upgrade security systems and hire school resource officers.
• I cosigned a letter to the administration voicing concerns about an executive order signed by President Biden on Earth Day. This order would direct that “old-growth mature trees” be mapped out and identified in order to expand preservation of certain stands of old-growth timber.
  • It is important that all forests, regardless of age, continue to be properly managed and harvested to reduce the risks of wildfires. This executive order puts forests in Wyoming and across the west at risk.
• I cosigned Senator John Barrasso’s (R-WY) resolution recognizing July 23rd as the National Day of the Cowboy.
  • Wyoming is the Cowboy State, and cowboys and the ranching industry are an integral part of Wyoming’s heritage and way of life.
• I cosponsored the Political BIAS Emails Act alongside Senator John Barrasso (R-WY) that would ensure email service providers do not discriminate against candidates from a particular party by sending emails from the campaign to the spam folder.
  • A recent study found that Gmail had disproportionately sent emails from Republicans to the spam folder compared to Democrats. This bill will help ensure conservative voices running for public office are not silenced by Big Tech companies.

Major Votes:

• l passage of H.R. 3967, the Honoring our PACT Act of 2021
  
• Opposed
  • I voted against the final passage of the PACT Act this week. It is extremely important that our veterans receive care, but I am concerned about the number of ailments included in the bill that affect large numbers of our aging populations that aren’t necessarily connected to military service. This increases the cost of the legislation dramatically.

There is continued concern coming from folks in Wyoming about rising gas and food prices. I share your worries and am doing everything in my power here in the Senate to help fix this issue. Senator John Barrasso (R-WY) and I have been working on legislation like the Lease Now Act and the ONSHORE Act to help curb skyrocketing gas prices. I have also been consistently calling on President Biden to address these unsustainable prices that Wyoming families are facing. I wrote an op-ed about this back in April that you can read here.

News Around Wyoming:

Parts of Yellowstone may reopen Monday; reservation system planned
Casper Star Tribune
Yellowstone National Park is beginning to set reopening plans in motion, even before the floodwaters recede.

The entire park will remain closed through the weekend, with the less-damaged southern loop now expected to open Monday at the earliest, Superintendent Cam Sholly said Wednesday, during a call with residents and tourists in Cody. The park closed all entrances earlier this week as the floodwaters washed out roads, destroyed bridges and turned gateway communities into temporary islands.

Plan to add EV chargers in Wyoming open for public comment
Wyoming Tribune Eagle
Wyoming’s National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure plan is available for public comment for the next several weeks, the Wyoming Department of Transportation said Monday.

The federal Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act allocated funding for EV charging infrastructure through the NEVI program, which will install such gear along key corridors throughout the nation. Wyoming is allocated almost $24 million over five years for charging infrastructure along its federally-designated alternative fuel corridors: Interstate 80, I-25 and I-90.

Avian flu still a concern in Wyoming; ‘high number of dead birds’ found near Soda Lake
Oil City News
Reports of wild birds dying from highly pathogenic avian influenza have been declining in some areas of Wyoming, but other areas continue to see clusters of dead birds reported, the Wyoming Game and Fish Department said on June 8.

“While reports of wild birds dying from HPAI have been decreasing in some parts of the state, there are still some areas, such as near Pinedale, in particular Soda Lake, where people have have been collecting and reporting a high number of dead birds,” Game and Fish said.