What do the economy, people living above the poverty line, high school graduation rates, and life expectancy all have in common? The American people would love, even celebrate, if they grew by 300%. In fact, it would be a dream.

In Joe Biden’s America, we’re dreaming alright – only for us, it’s a waking nightmare.

We just learned that there was a 300% uptick in illegal border crossings in July. We’ve surpassed 2 million encounters at the border in FY22 alone, with hundreds of thousands of known “got-a-ways,” the term used for people who manage to walk through the gaping holes at our border undetected. And those are just the people we know about.

Wouldn’t it be nice if there was some sort of barrier there to stop them? Maybe, I don’t know, a wall?

These record-shattering numbers are a massive failure on behalf of the Biden Administration, who inherited a secure southern border and turned it into a public safety crisis. It’s one thing to struggle creating strong immigration policies; it’s an entirely different thing to have those policies and purposely undercut them to appease the radical left. Unfortunately, that is exactly what this President has done. 

I’m ready to do something about this. Republicans are building out our “Commitment to America” so that we can hit the ground running on issues that matter to the American people. One of the core tenants of this commitment, which I’m giving you a sneak peak of today, is “A Country that is Safe.” This means:

• Securing the Southern Border
• Reducing crime, backing the Blue, and stopping the flow of Fentanyl
• Defending our nation with peace through strength

When Republicans earn back the House majority, we will hold the Biden Administration accountable for creating this border crisis and we will work to reverse his open-border policies. You have my word on that.

In this week's edition of Buddy's Briefing, we are coming to you from the Veterans Freedom Park in Bloomingdale to honor the U.S. soldiers who lost their lives one year ago this week as Kabul fell to the Taliban. 

I posted a mini recap of my August in the First District. Hop on over to Instagram and take a look! 

Monday, August 15: I’m in my Savannah district office this morning and my first meeting is a virtual call with the American Kidney Fund as I hear from two constituents who suffer from kidney disease and describe to me the challenges they face as a result of the disease. I am very appreciative of their gratitude for my support of kidney patients over the years.

Next, I have an in-person meeting with a retired tax professional who shares with me her unique perspective on how tax policy affects individual taxpayers. This was a great meeting for me as I rarely have someone with 32 years of experience share with me their thoughts on how we can improve the tax structure in our country.

Afterwards, I have a recorded virtual call with GaBio Patient Alliance as I recap health care issues and legislation that we are currently discussing in Congress and suggest affective advocacy methods for their members.

Next, I head to Southside Savannah where I have the honor of addressing the Exchange Club of Savannah at their monthly meeting and bringing them up-to-date on what’s happening in Washington as well as answering questions. This is a great group of engaged citizens who are very concerned about the direction of our country.

Afterwards, I head back to our Savannah district office where I have a live interview with Newsmax to discuss the disastrous inflation bill passed by Washington Democrats that will super-charge the Internal Revenue Service with an additional 87,000 agents.

Next, I head to the St. Joe’s/Candler Cancer Pavilion in Savannah where I attend a Better Medicare Alliance Roundtable event that includes stakeholders discussing the benefits of Medicare Advantage. As a member of the Energy and Commerce (E&C) Health Subcommittee that has jurisdiction over this program, this is a very important policy area for me.

Once back at our Savannah district office, I have a phone interview with DailyMail to discuss the American Academy of Pediatrics fast tracking transgender teens into puberty-blockers and hormones, when they should be getting counseling.

Afterwards, I have a virtual Tele Town Hall with members of the Managed Healthcare Association (MHA) as we discuss health care priorities in this Congress as well as drug pricing and other healthcare related initiatives.

After a great meeting with a representative from the National Association of Insurance Agents (NAIFA) to discuss issues affecting the industry and clients, I have a virtual interview with Trinity Broadcasting Network to discuss the disastrous inflation bill passed by Washington Democrats this past week.

Tuesday, August 16: I’m up early and live on Mornings with Maria on Fox Business this morning as we discuss energy issues in our country including the need for an all-of-the-above energy strategy that includes the use of Natural Gas.

Afterwards, I head to the Hyatt Regency in Savannah as I have the honor of speaking to a group of over 500 federal law enforcement officers at the National Association of Council of Prisons that is meeting here this week. My message to them is simple: “I Back the Blue!”

Next, I have a great meeting with my good friend, Roger Moss, President-Elect of the Savannah-Chatham County Board of Education, one of the most important positions in all of government. Roger has a tremendous amount of experience in education and brings a great deal of enthusiasm to his job.

Afterwards, I head to Hinesville in Liberty County where I meet with Commission Chairman Donald Lovett, County Manager Joey Brown and engineer Trent Long as they review the many road projects they are working on in the county.

After a great meeting, I head to the Hinesville Rotary Club where I am the guest speaker for their weekly meeting and bring them up to date on Washington.

Next, I head to the newly constructed Steven A. Cohen Military Clinic in Hinesville that is slated to open in the next few weeks and will serve post-9/11 veterans and their families, as well as active-duty service members and their families, in the area with high-quality mental health care.

Afterwards, I head to the Veterans Freedom Memorial in Bloomingdale in West Chatham County where I film this week’s edition of Buddy’s Briefing.

Thursday, August 18: After a travel day yesterday, I wake up in Bozeman, Montana this morning where I am attending the Congressional Western Caucus Summer Member Roundtable and Field Tours. I jokingly say that I am the eastern-most member of the Western Caucus but consider my participation to be very important as the focus and priorities impact rural Americans in our District.

After an early morning radio interview with my good friends on the World Famous Butch and Bob Show in Jesup, I head to a Western Caucus member policy roundtable held at The Emerson Center for the Arts and Culture in Bozeman. After introductory remarks from our co-chairs of the Caucus, Senator Steve Daines (R-MT) and Rep. Dan Newhouse (R-WA), we have a Yellowstone update from Cam Sholly, Superintendent of Yellowstone Nation Park, followed by a State of American Farming and Global Food supply by fellow Georgian Zippy Duval, President of the U.S. Farm Bureau Federation.

Next, we have an Endangered Species Act (ESA) panel to speak on the challenges with the ESA followed by a healthy forests presentation and discussion on the Cottonwood decision and its impact on federal land management.

Afterwards, we head to Montana State University (MSU) where we have demonstrations on the research being done with barley, potatoes, duram breeding, oilseed, and other crops in the region. Next, we head to the Bozeman municipal watershed forest restoration project where they are implementing sustainable land management practices to reduce the severity and extent of wildland fires in the watershed areas.

Later, we travel to the home of my former House colleague and now Governor of Montana, Greg Gianforte, for a reception. Greg and I served on the Energy and Commerce (E&C) Committee together and he and First Lady Susan Gianforte remain my good friends. I am proud of the work they are doing in “The Treasure State.”

Friday, August 19: After an early morning radio interview with my good friend John Fredericks, we make the nearly two hour drive to Yellowstone National Park where we are celebrating its 150th anniversary. Unfortunately, it is still recovering from a recent record flood that is considered a twice in a millennium event. 

After a welcome and briefing with senior staff at the West Yellowstone Information Center, we spend the day visiting different areas of the park that were severely impacted by the flooding.

At lunch, we have a detailed briefing by Superintendent Cam Sholly who explains the devastation caused by the flooding and, later in the afternoon, visit the Gardiner River Canyon where the main road connecting Mammoth and Gardiner was wiped out. Not only was the road wiped out, but the flow of the river was altered by this catastrophic event.

Departing the park, we stop in Gardiner which is suffering an economic catastrophe as a result of road closures in the park and hear from two ranchers on best practices with managing predators who attack livestock and communities. As we head back to Bozeman, I can’t help but think that the destruction caused by the flooding can only be described as ‘you have to see it to believe it.’

On September 2nd, the Mighty Eighth Air Force Museum in Pooler will host an information session for students interested in applying to the U.S. Service Academies. Details are below and we hope to see you there!