It is a true honor to represent you in Congress. During my tenure, I have fought to bring our Wisconsin values and common-sense solutions to Washington, DC. You can be sure that I will continue my work to make the Sixth District, Wisconsin, and the whole country a better place to live.

With the year winding down, the 117th Congress will soon come to a close. In 2023, the 118th Congress will convene. While there will be many new Representatives from around the country, I will always be committed to working in a bipartisan manner with all my colleagues in order to best serve you.

As we close out the year and look ahead to the 118th Congress, I’ll share my top priorities with you:

An Economy That's Strong

• Throughout my tenure in Congress, I have been a vocal critic of Washington's addiction to spending and its impact on Wisconsinites. Unfortunately, over the past year, consumer prices are rising at the most rapid pace Americans have seen since the 1980s. Because of this unchecked spending, our national debt has risen to a towering $31 trillion for the first time ever and is showing no signs of stopping. Since entering the White House, President Biden has approved nearly $5 trillion in new spending, which undoubtedly contributed to weakening the state of our economy along with the U.S. dollar. As we transition into a new Congress, I will urge my colleagues in Washington to rein in spending and help create a more responsible government so Americans are not forced to pay more for essentials like heating, food, and gas.

• President Biden's war on American energy is another key contributor to the current economic turmoil. Earlier this year, gas hit an all-time high in Wisconsin. Now, the price of fuel remains significantly higher than just two years ago. On his first day in office, President Biden cancelled the Keystone XL pipeline project that would have transported 830,000 barrels of oil per day and gotten America one step closer to energy independence, not to mention the 11,000 U.S. jobs the project would have supported. Instead, President Biden's proposal to address this self-made energy crisis has been to deplete the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR), which is a politically-motivated decision that weakens our national security as America's SPR now sits at its lowest levels since the 1980s. The most effective and logical solution to alleviate the pain Americans are feeling from heightened energy costs is to restore American energy independence. Rather than turning to OPEC+ for oil, who proved unreliable, I have repeatedly called on the President to unleash the U.S. energy sector to lower the cost for Americans to heat their homes and put fuel in their tanks.

A Nation That's Safe

• On his first day in office, President Biden dismantled many effective immigration policies that helped secure our border, such as halting construction of the border wall and terminating the Remain-in-Mexico policy, which required individuals who crossed the border illegally to remain in Mexico until their immigration court date in the U.S. It's obvious that this border crisis was preventable and is self-inflicted, and by refusing to change course, it's increasingly evident that the Biden Administration is actively encouraging illegal immigration. Without adequate resources from Washington to combat the surge in illegal immigration, morale is down among Border Patrol agents since they've been overworked and understaffed for nearly two years. Plus, the increased workload makes it more difficult to detect deadly drugs, like fentanyl, from entering the country. Instead of empowering cartels, neglecting Border Patrol, and encouraging illegal migration, we need our government to put the safety and security of America first by securing our border. As your Representative, I'm working to ensure Border Patrol has the necessary support and funds from Washington to prevent illegal border crossings and human and drug trafficking by cartels. 

• Violent crime is at record highs in our streets and neighborhoods. In 2021, 197 people were murdered in Milwaukee, which set an all-time high, surpassing 2020's record total. As of now, Milwaukee is again on pace for another record. It's evident that the radical anti-police rhetoric of certain politicians who called for the defunding of police departments has fueled America's crime crisis. Criminals see this anti-police agenda as an invitation to commit more crimes. We should thank — not demonize — the men and women of law enforcement who risk their own lives to guard our neighbors and loved ones from harm. In order to reduce crime and protect public safety, the path forward is to double down in supporting our police departments nationwide and ensure they have the tools they need to safeguard our streets. A nation that's safe is a nation where communities are protected by the police, and criminals are prosecuted. 

A Future That's Built on Freedom

• Parents know what is best for their children — not politicians. Unfortunately, over the past year, we have seen a concerted effort by the government to shut-out parents and exert control over our children's classrooms. Earlier this year, I introduced the Stop “Wrongs to Our Kids’ Educational” (WOKE) Meals Act to prevent the Department of Agriculture from holding schools’ lunch funding hostage if they choose not to adopt their radical gender ideology. If a school, parent, student, or teacher believes that there are biological differences between males and females, the USDA should not have right to penalize them.

• I want to empower everyday Americans to live longer, healthier lives. Health care reform must be patient-centered so people have the ability to decide what works best for them. Additionally, health care reform must adhere to free-market principles so hospitals, doctors, and health insurers can be free to compete amongst themselves to provide the best service at the lowest cost to the American people. My bill, the Insulin Cost Reduction Act, will help drive the price of insulin down for people who depend on it by making the treatment more affordable and accessible for Medicare Part D participants. 

• Tech platforms have become the de-facto town square, where free speech should always be protected, but the overwhelmingly left-leaning Big Tech companies have taken that right away from Americans by policing speech they disagree with. I am a proud cosponsor of the Stop the Censorship Act, which makes commonsense updates to the stale language of Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act that has not been updated for nearly 30 years, putting power back in the hands of the people. We need to empower users of these platforms with greater free speech and privacy protections and prevent Tech companies from putting politics ahead of people. 

A Government That's Accountable 

• Since my first day in Washington, I have been honored to serve on the House Oversight Committee. This Committee is essential to government operations because we are responsible for identifying problems, shining light on the situation, and proposing reforms to prevent government wrongdoing and inefficiencies from being repeated. There are a number of topics that warrant further Oversight hearings — notably the border crisis, our disastrous Afghanistan withdrawal, funding historically corrupt countries with American tax dollars, Hunter Biden's overseas business dealings, among others. That is why I am working to ensure transparency and accountability within the government because under current leadership, none of these matters have been deemed worthy of an appropriate amount of Congressional oversight. Our first step toward achieving a functional and efficient government that's working on behalf of the interests of the American people is by conducting rigorous oversight to rein in government corruption and provide real transparency.

• I am looking forward to continuing my role as the top Republican the House Oversight Committee's Subcommittee on National Security. With jurisdiction over national security, homeland security, foreign operations, defense, and issues affecting veterans, the Subcommittee on National Security plays an important role in making sure the interests of the United States are represented fairly and ethically. As leader of the Subcommittee, I will make sure our veterans are treated fairly and with respect, our borders are not being taken advantage of, and the United States’ relationships with other countries are upheld justly.

Thank you to the employees of Lakeside Foods for the behind-the-scenes tour of their facility in Belgium, where they are bringing high quality food products to the Sixth District and beyond!

On Tuesday, I had the opportunity to visit Sharon-Cutwell in Belgium and see some of the cutting edge manufacturing work they are doing right here in the Sixth District!