Dear Mr. xxxxxx:

I would like to wish you a happy fall as we head into October! Soon the weather will change, the leaves will fall, and football season will really begin to shape up. We had a busy September in Congress, and there’s much more to do before the end of the year, but I want to take a moment and share with you what is new from D.C.  

Before I get to that though, I know you join me in praying for our neighbors in Florida who have been impacted so heavily by Hurricane Ian.  I was glad, and proud, to see that Governor Ivey has offered our state's assistance to Governor DeSantis and the people of Florida.

Alabamians Home from Russian Captivity

Just last week we were thrilled to receive news that veterans Andy Huynh and Alex Drueke have been released after being captured by Russian-backed forces in June. Alex and Andy were volunteers, fighting alongside Ukraine against the brutal Russian invasion before being captured.

Alex and Andy spent 104 days in captivity, finally being released as a part of an international prisoner swap mediated by the Saudi Arabian government. We are so fortunate to have had our prayers answered and have them home safely.

Ungoverned Southern Border

As of August, we are in our 18th straight month of over 150,000 illegal border crossings per month. We have seen no attempt to fix, or even acknowledge the crisis, by the Biden Administration as they continue to turn a blind eye to the disaster at our nation’s front door.

Moreover, of the over 100,000 drug deaths in 2021, over 70,000 were directly from fentanyl. Last year alone, enough fentanyl was seized at the border to kill every American twice over. If that much was seized by our underfunded Customs and Border Patrol, I am afraid we would be horrified to know how much made it into our communities. It is past time for this administration must take this crisis seriously, and we must continue to pressure them to act against this increasingly serious problem.

Avoiding a Government Shutdown

On September 30th the federal government arrived at the end of its fiscal year. As a senior member of the House Appropriations Committee, I am troubled by yet another year of gridlock on the federal budget.

With Democrats in the majority, Republicans are responsible for ensuring harmful provisions, such as federal funding for abortion, remain out of the budget. Together we must uphold our responsibility to fight for a clean budget reflecting an agreement by both sides to do our duty and keep the government running.

Continuing Resolution

Friday, Democrats passed what's called a Continuing Resolution to fund the government at the previous year's levels through December 16th. I voted no.

I didn't vote no because I wanted the government to shutdown, but because we had an opportunity to do better. At a time of record-high inflation, record-high illegal border crossings, and record-high spending, this continuing resolution is a missed opportunity to work together on some of the biggest issues we face.

In fact, this bill bails out the Biden Administration by providing nearly $2 billion for unaccompanied minors flooding the border and $1 billion to pay for increased home heating and cooling costs, neither of which address the root cause of these problems.

Issues the CR did not address:

• Inflation Crisis
• Border Crisis
• Energy Crisis
• Supply Chain Crisis
• Opioid Crisis

Celebrating Life

This month I had the honor to celebrate the overturning of Roe v. Wade with the Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America organization. It was a pleasure to spend the evening with other pro-life advocates.

From the 4th District to D.C.

I had the honor of hosting the mayors of the "Quad Cities" in my office in Washington. Joining me were Muscle Shoals Mayor Mike Lockhart, Sheffield Mayor Steve Stanley, Florence Mayor Andy Betterton and Tuscumbia Mayor Kerry Underwood.  (Florence will become part of the 4th District in January.)

I hope you have a great October and get to enjoy this nice time of year.

May God bless you and your loved ones.

Sincerely,


Robert B. Aderholt