On Wednesday, July 6th, I will be hosting a Veterans listening session at the Richland Community Center to hear Central Washington veterans. Congressman Mike Bost, Ranking Member of the House Veterans' Affairs Committee, will be joining me as a special guest to hear about and discuss your concerns.

This week, I was back in Washington, D.C., working through the last of Appropriations Committee markups. I worked to help protect taxpayer funds from wasteful spending and support important Central Washington priorities such as agriculture, fighting against the fentanyl crisis, energy, and securing our southern border in several amendments that I introduced in FY 2023 Appropriations Bills.

The United States has an opioid epidemic on its hands, indeed, fentanyl is the leading cause of death for Americans aged 18-45, and it is plaguing communities across Central Washington. Even worse, due to President Biden's open-border policies and rhetoric, this drug is flooding across our southern border and into our communities. It is past time we secure our border and help relieve the undue burdens that are placed on our Customs and Border Patrol agents and law enforcement officers across the country.

This week in during House Appropriations Committee markup, I introduced an amendment to provide a $5 million funding increase for the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA)'s Investigative Technology and Cyber Support Account, which is how the DEA captures drug trafficker communications and targets these traffickers. Inconceivably, House Democrats blocked my amendment during the markup, hindering law enforcements ability to protect our communities from these fatal substances.

We must enact legislation now to prevent these drugs from wreaking havoc on our communities and killing our children. I will continue to fight for legislation that protects Central Washington families and communities from these deadly drugs.

The FY 2023 Energy and Water Development, and Related Agencies Appropriations Bill includes an enormous amount of support for so many of the innovative energy technologies that are being championed right in our communities. From cleanup work at the Hanford site and supporting the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory's research, to protecting the critical operations of the Four Lower Snake River Dams.

It is an honor to serve on the House Energy and Water Subcommittee, which helps promote so many of the energy technologies that are integral to our way of life in Central Washington. I will continue to champion Central Washington's top priorities on this Committee.

That is why I introduced an amendment to block the Biden Administration from implementing the Obama-era WOTUS rule until the Supreme Court rules on the Sackett v. Environmental Protection Agency (Sackett) case. Moving forward with WOTUS prior to the Supreme Court decision only perpetuates an already confusing and unpredictable climate for our communities, furthering our current inflationary nightmare and raising prices for all Americans at the pump and the kitchen table.

If it is safe to lift Title 42, it is safe to lift the COVID state of emergency for the whole country. That is why I introduced an amendment to require all COVID-19 related national states of emergency to be lifted before Title 42 is terminated.

The Biden Administration must communicate with border communities to put a comprehensive plan in place to ensure they are equipped with the tools they need before they remove this crucial tool. My amendment will ensure they do just that.

Prescribed fires are a critical tool used by land managers to restore forest health and prevent catastrophic wildfires. Recently, the Biden Administration imposed a 90-day ban on prescribed fires, restricting state and local land managers.

This is not the leadership we need as we go into the peak of wildfire season. We have seen throughout history that unilateral federal mandates do not work. As Chairman of the Western Caucus, I led 24 of my colleagues in a letter to the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) Chief Randy Moore urging him to immediately utilize desperately-needed forest management techniques to prevent catastrophic wildfires.

We must empower our land managers to use every tool they have to safely improve the health and resiliency of our forests to protect our vulnerable communities throughout the West. I will continue to work with Members of the Western Caucus to promote active forest management and ensure we have safe, effective wildfire prevention tools for all of our communities.