On Friday, the Supreme Court ruled 6-3 in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization to overrule both the 1973 Roe v. Wade and 1992 Planned Parenthood v. Casey decisions.

I also took time to speak in support of the Restoring Hope for Mental Health and Well-Being Act, bipartisan legislation to reauthorize key programs to address the national mental health and substance use disorder crises.

To watch all of my floor speeches from this week, click HERE.

During the House Veterans' Affairs Subcommittee on Health hearing this week we discussed a variety of bills pertaining to veterans' health.

Some important bills that were discussed during this hearing were H.R. 291, the COST SAVINGS Enhancement Act. This bill would require the installation of an on-site regulated medical waste treatment system in each VA facility. Additionally, H.R. 1216, the Modernizing Veterans' Health Care Eligibility Act would create a commission that evaluates veterans' eligibility for health care from the VA.

At the Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis hearing, I had the opportunity to question Dr. Deborah Birx, the former Trump White House Coronavirus Response Coordinator. I asked Dr. Birx about the impact that lockdowns and school closures had on the mental health of Americans.

To watch the Veterans' Affairs hearing, click HERE.

To watch the COVID hearing, click HERE.

This week, the House passed three of my bills to increase access to opioid addiction treatments, reauthorize important mental health programs, and improve veterans' access to their benefits.

My bipartisan Timely Treatment for Opioid Use Disorder Act would increase access to treatment for Americans suffering from opioid use disorder by revising opioid treatment program criteria to remove the requirement that patients must have been addicted for at least one year before being admitted for treatment.

My Supporting Children's Mental Health Care Access Act is a bipartisan bill to reauthorize funding for children’s mental and behavioral health programs. This bill would help address the children’s mental health care crisis exacerbated by the pandemic.

Finally, my Veterans Justice Outreach (VJO) Improvement Act would require the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to expand outreach about the VJO program to ensure that every veteran who could be eligible for VJO is aware of the program.

I am proud to continuously work in a bipartisan manner to address the needs of Iowans and will always partner with my colleagues to help deliver commonsense results for the American people.

The House also passed a piece of legislation that I could not support, the Safer Communities Act.

Making schools safer and protecting our students is a top priority of mine in Congress. Howeever, I have major concerns with the scope of this legislation. Providding government bureaucrats with access to individual's private health records is tremendously concerning and should be replaced by strengthening the NICS system by alerting about past criminal behavior without giving the government access to mental health records. I am also extremely concerned with the clear lack of due process in this legislation that would provide an incredible disadvantage to those without the financial means to hire an attorney.

I believe that there are better solutions to protecting our communities, including legislation I have introduced and support to allow states to use unused COVID relief funds for school safety measures and increasing access to enhanced mental health services.

It is always great to meet with Iowans while they are in Washington! It truly is my favorite part of serving in Congress. Speaking to residents of the Second District allows me to stay informed of what is going on in their communities and what I can do to help them!

This week, I had the chance to speak with students from Mt. Pleasant, Lovilia, Albia, Pella, Iowa City, and Bloomfield in town with the Iowa Rural Electric Cooperatives' Annual Youth Tour.

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