Dear John,
I feel it is important to keep you up to date with the latest legislation. Last week, the House voted on a wide range of bills that provide health care to our veterans, fund our nation’s military, increase baby formula supplies, and expand access to abortions until birth.
EXPANDING VETERANS’ HEALTH CARE
As a veteran, I am committed to ensuring those injured in defense of our great nation receive the health care and benefits they earned. I voted in favor of S. 3373, the SFC Heath Robinson Honoring Our PACT Act of 2022, which will finally recognize military toxic exposure—from contaminated water at military bases, airborne hazards from burn pits, or radiation from atomic testing—as a cost of war and provide healthcare for potentially 3.5 million veterans exposed to toxins. The legislation passed the House with a bipartisan vote of 342-88.
STRENGTHENING NATIONAL DEFENSE
For the 62nd consecutive year, the House of Representatives has put national security first by ensuring a strong military and supporting servicemembers and their families. A strong military benefits each of us by ensuring our national safety, economic prosperity, and way of life.
Last week, I joined my House colleagues in voting for H.R. 7900, the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2023. This year, the House defense bill and its accompanying committee report incorporated 72 of my legislative and budget proposals, including an authorization to increase the Natural Disaster Recovery fund by $360 million to complete flood reconstruction at Offutt Air Force Base (AFB). The bill passed the House of Representatives by an overwhelming majority of 329 to 101.
INCREASING BABY FORMULA SHORTAGE
We are still seeing lower supplies of baby formula in our stores, and we need to help American families easily find it. I voted in favor of H.R. 8351, the Formula Act, which would temporality suspend all tariffs on imports of baby formula. This suspension would last through December 31, 2022. With inflation rising every day, removing the tariffs will help Americans stay within their budgets as the struggle grows every day.
PROTECTING LIFE
The recent Dobbs decision puts the power back in the hands of states and elected leaders—where the founders intended it to be when they wrote the Constitution. Life is precious and should be protected--including the unborn. However, we should take a wholistic approach to defending life and supporting those who face unexpected pregnancies.
Last week, I voted against both H.R. 8296, the Women’s Health Protection Act of 2022 and H.R. 8297, the Ensuring Access to Abortion Act of 2022. The first bill allows abortion up to birth and restricts religious freedoms of medical providers. Most voters want restrictions on abortions after 12 to 15 weeks and are overwhelmingly opposed to legal abortions up until birth, for any reason. The second bill is aimed at stripping state laws and federalizing access to abortion medication. Our Constitution currently guarantees the right to travel to any state.
These bills go further than Roe v. Wade by not including any zero restrictions based on viability…not even up to moments before birth. This would align us with Communist China and totalitarian North Korea in having the most extreme abortion laws in the world. This is another attempt to reverse the Dobbs decision which brought power back to the states and citizens regarding abortions.
As always, I enjoy serving the great people of Nebraska’s 2nd district. If you have any questions, concerns, or need help contacting a federal agency, please reach out to our office at (402) 938-0300. You can also contact our office by visiting https://bacon.house.gov/contact/.
Sincerely,
Don Bacon
