Hosting a panel on ways we can address inland flooding during the second annual WATERS Summit.

The Biden-Harris Administration has continued to neglect our southern border.  Criminals, cartels, and human smugglers have turned this lawlessness into a business boom raking in billions, and the asylum process has been turned into a get-out-of-jail free card incentivizing even more illegal immigration.  That’s why I recently introduced the Asylum Accountability Act to help strengthen our immigration system by permanently barring legal status for work, permanent residence status, or citizenship for anyone who does not show up in court for their asylum hearing.  This is a crucial component of current law that needs to be changed to help deter the surge we are currently seeing at our southern border.

I recently travelled throughout the district meeting with North Carolinians from many different communities.  The conversations and concerns heard during these meetings help to inform my work in Congress.  Here are some highlights from the past couple of weeks!

Visited with the great team at Village Pharmacy of Hampstead.  We discussed the challenges facing our independent pharmacy owners and how Congress can continue to support them and their patients. 

It was great meeting with the Boys and Girls Homes of North Carolina in Lake Waccamaw.  The work they do is crucial to help at-risk youth and families in our community, and I thank them for their service!

Enjoyed having lunch with members of the Whiteville-Columbus Chamber at Dale’s Seafood in Whiteville!  We had a great discussion on how we can work together to create a better business environment in Southeastern North Carolina.

For this week's good news story, I would like to congratulate the winners of the giant pumpkin and watermelon competition at the N.C. State Fair!  This year the top three pumpkin growers all had pumpkins weighing more than 1,000 pounds.  The winning watermelon is the third largest watermelon in the world this year and was grown by Andrew Vial of Liberty and weighed 306 pounds.  The second place watermelon came from right here in North Carolina's 7th Congressional District and was grown by Patrick VanBeck of Willow Springs, weighing in at 291.5 pounds.