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Railroads and the
Economy: An Important Lesson




Yesterday, the Senate voted to
avert a potentially catastrophic rail strike.

To put it plainly, Congress
should have never been involved in these labor negotiations. Had
Congress intervened and acted beyond the agreement, it would have
set the terrible precedent that big labor can circumvent the
negotiation process and Congress will step in and give them a
better deal. If Congress had not intervened, union members would
have gone on strike and brought our economy to a screeching halt
just before the holidays.

Reliable rail is essential to
Wyoming's economy. Nearly all of the coal and trona produced in
Wyoming is transported out of state via rail. Most of our
agricultural commodity products are exported via rail too. If a
strike were to have happened, these industries would have shut
down. Hundreds of families in Wyoming would have been left
without a paycheck.

Families across the U.S. also
rely on Wyoming coal to power their homes. Without reliable
exports, energy costs would rise, and the threat of blackouts
would have become more real in the coldest winter months.

I urged my colleagues back in
September to vote to quickly bring this disagreement to an end,
yet Senator Bernie Sanders (D-VT) and Senate Democrats objected
to enforcing the union and rail companies' agreement. Instead,
they punted and forced the Senate to grapple with this potential
crisis right before the holidays.

Yesterday, Senator Kevin Cramer
(R-ND) and I sent a letter to our Republican colleagues urging
them to accept the clean tentative agreement that the rail labor
leaders and railroad companies had agreed to this summer. This
agreement includes a 24% wage increase for rail employees,
backpay, and other worker benefits that labor union bosses
negotiated and agreed to with railroad companies.

Wyoming relies on rail, and we
appreciate the hard work the thousands of rail workers in our
state do every day to keep our economy moving. It is time we put
this issue to rest and start working on healing our economy.



Happy Trails,
















WORKING
IN WASHINGTON



Legislative Actions:


I cosponsored
Senator Brian Schatz's (D-HI) resolution recognizing November as
National Native American Heritage Month to celebrate the heritage
and cultures of Native Americans and the contributions of Native
Americans to the United States.


The rich
culture and a strong sense of community of the Eastern Shoshone
and Northern Arapaho people in Wyoming are the backbone of our
state, and this resolution gives them the recognition they
deserve.



I wrote a letter
to my fellow Republican Senate colleagues urging them to pass the
joint resolution to end the rail strike but to oppose adding in
additional sick leave. The letter was cosigned by Senator Kevin
Cramer (R-ND).

A rail strike
would cripple Wyoming's economy, so we must avoid that outcome at
all costs. However, Congress should not be the arbiter of labor
negotiations, so adding sick leave to the deal would set a bad
precedent.


I introduced a
bill that creates a pilot program to address the lack of truck
parking nationwide.

Wyoming has
consistently had a lack of truck parking which is both an
economic and a safety issue. This bill will solve that issue by
expanding our truck parking capacity.



Major Votes:


Passage of H.J.
Res. 100, the Rail Strike Agreement without added sick leave (60
vote affirmative threshold)

Supported


This
resolution was passed in the Senate and it averts the
catastrophic rail strike that was about to happen. Our agreement
includes a 24% wage increase for rail employees, backpay, and
other worker benefits.



Committee Hearings:


Committee on
Commerce, Science, and Technology


Subcommittee
on Space and Science hearing titled ,"Landsat at 50 & the Future
of U.S. Satellite-based Earth Observation"
I questioned
a panel of witnesses about the current presence of orbital debris
and what clean up looks like moving forward. To watch my remarks,
click here.


Committee on
Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs

I questioned
the Acting Chair of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation
(FDIC) about the lack of qualifications among the current FDIC
nominees according to the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and
Consumer Protection Act.



Floor Activity:


I gave a speech
explaining my vote on the Respect for Marriage Act. Click here to
watch.
I also joined
Senator Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ) to explain the religious liberty
protections in the Respect for Marriage Act. Click here to watch.













WORKING
IN WYOMING



Just before
Thanksgiving, my staff had the pleasure of attending Governor
Gordon's Business Forum in Laramie. Over 500 attendees from all
around the state joined to talk about current workforce trends,
housing, energy, inflation, market volatility, and educational
freedom. Governor Gordon, University of Wyoming President Ed
Seidel, Business Alliance Chairman Greg Pulliam, Wyoming BLM
Director Andrew Archuleta, and many others gave updates on what
the future of business looks like in the state. The Wyoming
Business Alliance also presented the 2022 Ethical Leadership
Award, Legislator of the Year Award, and awards for business
success stories. Through the melding of legislators, educators,
and business owners in the state, my team was able to get a very
well-rounded picture of what challenges Wyoming businesses are up
against as we head into the new year.


Media:
I joined Maria
Bartiromo on Fox Business to discuss the collapse of FTX and the
potential rail strike. Click here to watch.

News Around Wyoming:

Black Bear Hunting
Outlook Good For Wyoming, But No Grizzly Hunting Anytime Soon
Cowboy State Daily
Wyoming's black bear
hunting has been good, and could be even better, despite chances
being slim that the state will see a grizzly bear hunting season
anytime soon, says an avid bear hunter and conservationist.

Meanwhile, the
Wyoming Game and Fish Department this month is seeking public
comment on proposed changes to black bear hunting seasons, set to
resume next spring across the state.

Inflation Prompts
Wyoming Shoppers To Go Smaller This Gift-Giving Season
Cowboy State Daily
Although some
communities reported record sales, crowds by and large felt thin
at many stores in Wyoming for Black Friday, and even some Small
Business Saturday shopping seemed to take a hit in some areas.

Val Martin with Art
at The Hynds in Cheyenne told Cowboy State Daily its annual Small
Business Saturday event, which gathers artisans together under
one roof, felt like the slowest Shop Small Saturday she can
recall.

Federal funds fuel
Wyoming forest infrastructure projects
Laramie Boomerang
Federal officials
have allocated millions of dollars to improve roads and trails
across Wyoming's national forests - which have been under
increasing strain as user numbers grow.

The U.S Forest
Service early this fall announced $65 million in investments
nationwide to help the agency improve "water quality, roads,
trails and fish habitat." That included nearly $2.2 million in
Legacy Road and Trails Remediation Program dollars for projects
in the Bighorn, Bridger-Teton, Medicine Bow-Routt and Shoshone
national forests for fiscal year 2022. The LRTR Program is
expected to be funded annually at similar amounts through FY
2026.















WYOMING SHOUT OUT





This week, Jess Kravitz, a
kindergarten teacher at Meadowlark Elementary School in Cheyenne,
received the prestigious Milken Teaching Award. Jess is one of
forty teachers in the country to receive this award and is the
only recipient from Wyoming. I want to personally thank Jess for
her dedication to teaching the next generation of Wyoming
students. Our state always needs more enthusiastic, go-getting
educators, and it's wonderful to see teachers like Jess being
recognized for all of their hard work. Please join me in
congratulating her on this momentous occasion!










OFFICE LOCATIONS












Cody
1285 Sheridan Avenue,
Suite 215
Cody, WY 82414
Phone: 307-527-9444


Cheyenne
Federal Center
2120 Capitol Avenue,
Suite 2007
Cheyenne, WY 82001
Phone: 307-772-2477

Casper
Dick Cheney Federal
Bldg.
100 East B Street,
Suite 3201
PO Box 33201
Casper, WY 82601
Phone: 307-261-6572












Sheridan
P.O. Box 6677
Sheridan, WY 82801
Phone: 307-439-7783

Star Valley
80 1st Street
Suite 105
P.O. Box 1630
Afton, WY 83110
Phone: 307-248-1736

Washington, DC
Russell Senate Office
Building
Room SR 124
Washington, DC 20510
Phone: 202-224-3424

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