Legislative Actions:

• I cosigned a letter to Doug McKalip, President Biden’s nominee to be Chief Agriculture Negotiator for the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR). The letter requested that Mr. McKalip invest more effort in promoting agricultural trade interests than has previously been made by this administration.
  
  • It is vital to Wyoming’s ranchers and farmers that agriculture have a strong voice at the negotiating table when it comes to trade agreements involving agricultural products.
• I cosponsored the No Emergency Crude Oil to Foreign Adversaries Act that would require as a condition of future Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) sales that no shipments of crude oil auctioned from the SPR be shipped to China, Russia, North Korea, or Iran.
  
  • Numerous Wyoming residents have reached out concerned about reports of 5 million barrels of recent SPR sales sent abroad, with one million barrels ending up refined in China by their communist owned, state-run oil and gas company. Countries that seek to harm American interests should not benefit from our domestic energy production. Selling our strategic stockpile to foreign adversaries does nothing to lower gas prices here at home.
• I cosigned a letter to the Department of Veterans Affairs regarding concerns surrounding the restriction of the community care program created by the MISSION Act.
  
  • Wyoming veterans deserve access to quality health care in a timely manner. The VA’s failure to provide this, and their willful disregard for established standards, will harm veterans, particularly rural veterans, who cannot always make it to a VA facility.
• I cosponsored the Transparency and Honesty in Energy Regulations Act, led by Senator James Lankford (R-OK). This bill prohibits the executive branch from using the social cost of carbon, methane, or nitrous oxide in energy or environment regulations. These metrics drive up the estimated benefits of costly energy regulations
  
  • These metrics are used by agencies like the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) or Department of the Interior (DOI) to artificially raise the cost of traditional energy in Wyoming, costing jobs and impacting our energy security.

Major Votes:

• Confirmation of Steven M. Dettelbach to be Director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF)
  
• Opposed
  • Steven Dettelbach has consistently been soft on crime. This is not what the United States needs right now. With crime on the rise, the ATF needs a leader who will help quell these problems. He also has supported anti-Second Amendment legislation in the past.

My team has been receiving an influx of calls with concerns about homelessness in the state. Homelessness has become all too common in our nation, and has only been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Wyoming is no stranger to this phenomenon. I currently serve on the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs which often handles issues like homelessness and I will continue to use this post to advocate for solutions that help Wyoming people in need. In the meantime, please contact my district offices if you or someone you know is in need of assistance and we will do all that we can to direct them to resources.

Media:

I joined Glenn Woods on Wake Up Wyoming to talk about gas prices and the proposed $1 trillion spending package that the Democrats are negotiating.

News Around Wyoming:

Suicide Lifeline Service Expanded to Full-Time, Wyoming-Based Coverage
Sheridan Media
A simplified lifeline number, (988) will become available throughout the country on July 16. At that point, calls to both the new 988 number and the existing number will be answered. More information on community-based suicide prevention resources in Wyoming can be found here.

If you or someone you know is in immediate danger of harming themselves, please call 911. If you or someone you know is experiencing suicidal thoughts, call the U.S. National Suicide Prevention Lifeline (which routes to a Wyoming-based representative) at 1-800-273-TALK (8255) or text “WYO” to 741-741 for the Crisis Text Line.

Lightning sparked wildfire burning near Laramie Peak
Casper Star Tribune
Lightning ignited the wildfire that's been burning near Esterbrook since Saturday, federal authorities say.

The Monday Creek Fire's cause was shared publicly Tuesday in an update posted to a federal wildfire database. It indicated the size of the blaze remained at 653 acres, with no containment.

Simpson honored at White House
Cody Enterprise
In awarding the Presidential Medal of Freedom to Alan Simpson last Thursday, President Joe Biden praised the integrity of his former U.S. Senate colleague from Cody.

“One of the most decent, stand-up, genuine guys I’ve ever served with – and I’ve served with a lot of Senators – is this guy Alan Simpson,” Biden said during the White House ceremony. “Alan’s the real deal.”

Upcoming Mobile Office Hours:

Field Representative Noah Jones will be in Albany County on Wednesday August 3, 2022 to meet with constituents. He will be available to meet with residents individually and hear ideas, comments, and concerns about what is happening in the U.S. Senate, and also to help anyone having trouble working with a federal agency.

To schedule a meeting with Noah, please call (307) 772-2477 or email him at [email protected]. He will also be at the Albany County Fair in the morning from 8:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.