Notes from Mike's Desk for June 27 – July 8, 2022

Hello, friends. Welcome back to my newsletter highlighting what’s happening on Capitol Hill and in Louisiana’s 4th Congressional District. Thank you for subscribing and please consider recommending this resource to a friend.

IN THE DISTRICT

This week, I hosted three town hall events in the parishes of Evangeline, Allen, and DeSoto. We had great conversations about the state of affairs in Washington, and I enjoyed as always answering all the important questions from so many friends and constituents. Thanks to everyone who joined us at each location. 

If you couldn’t make it this time, we will host many more of these in the near future and we hope to see you there.

Click here to see more photos from the events.

HIGHLIGHTS

In between my town hall events this week, I visited with local businesses to discuss the many challenges facing our job creators in every sector of the economy. At the new Y-Not Stop in Oakdale, I got to sample some of the best grilled Cajun kabobs anywhere—and even suited up with the team to help serve some customers. (It’s like a Buc-ee’s and Chick-fil-A rolled into one!) Thanks to the St. Romain family for hosting us, and to the National Association of Convenience Stores for helping coordinate our visit.

I also enjoyed a visit to the Stop N Shop in Oakdale, where my team and I were greeted with a warm welcome, great fellowship with old friends, and the best banana pudding I have ever tasted! I want to thank the Welch family for hosting us and keeping their quintessential small business thriving in the community for decades. Excellent service and quality products make all the difference!

After our convenience store visits, I had the opportunity to tour the Pine Prairie Energy Center, a natural gas storage company. Their great team walked us through the facility and showed us how they’re able to cleanly and efficiently store billions of cubic feet of natural gas, miles underneath the ground in salt domes.

It was a fascinating tour, and a fresh reminder of just how important our state is to American energy production.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

Last week, I posted a long Twitter thread about the disastrous effects the DoD’s covid vaccine mandate is having on military recruitment and retention. As of last week, 13% of the National Guard, 10% of the Army Reserve, and at least 24,250 active soldiers have refused the covid vaccine.

If Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin’s mandate holds, these soldiers will be discharged from service at a time when our military is facing historic recruiting shortfalls, all for an illness that’s very unlikely to have any significant effect on the young men and women of our military, and a vaccine that lacks long-term data on safety and efficacy for this cohort.

The deadline has passed, and it’s still unclear whether the DoD will discharge these tens of thousands who have refused the shot. Regardless of the outcome, I will continue to fight for these men and women who are bravely exercising their rights in the face of misguided and nonsensical policymakers.

For the full thread, click below:

LAGNIAPPE

After a more than two-year hiatus, U.S. Capitol Tours are FINALLY available again. If you’re planning a visit to D.C. this summer or fall and would like a tour of the People’s House, please get in touch with my team to schedule one. We hope to see you soon!

Thank you again for subscribing and reading. We’ll have more next week!

For freedom,