Just about everything costs more these days
Friends,
Racing returned to the Charlotte Motor Speedway last week better than ever.
From James Bond’s Daniel Craig waving the green flag to the packed stands, I enjoyed attending the Roval 400 with my family and seeing many of you there. The speedway means so much to our community and economy, and racing’s full return following the pandemic is great news for our region.
My 6-year-old son wanted his own turn at driving, so we also had to make a stop at the Speedpark at Concord Mills. He will be driving soon enough, but for now his mom and I are happy we only have to deal with go-karts!
Also over the weekend, I had the opportunity to tour NASCAR’s Research & Development Center in Concord which develops cutting edge safety and innovation. The auto and motorsports industries fuel thousands of good-paying jobs throughout our community. I remain committed to supporting businesses and industries such as these to grow our economy.
In Midland, I met with veterans at the Black-Phillips American Legion Post 433 for their Charlie Clark Pork BBQ drive-thru. It’s an honor to be Fort Bragg’s Congressman and to represent so many veteran and military families across our region. Veterans like those at Post 433 deserve every measure of support and I appreciated the opportunity to join them Saturday.
While in Concord, I also had the honor to present a Congressional Award to recognize three local students for their accomplishments. Since 1979, the Congressional Award program has honored students from across the country for public service and personal achievement. Parker Rose from Kannapolis, Kayla Anderson from Harrisburg, and Ciela Crane from Concord each completed more than 400 hours of public service to earn their awards. They tutored fellow students, supported families in need throughout the holidays, excelled in sports and fitness, and contributed in numerous other ways to improve our community. Following the challenges from the previous year, I commend these students for stepping up and being an inspiration to others.
I concluded last week meeting with Concord Police Chief Gary Gacek and Haylee Shuping. Haylee is the widow of Police Officer Jason Shuping who was killed in the line of duty last year. On Dec. 16th, Officer Shuping responded to an attempted carjacking when he and another officer were shot. Shuping had only been with the Concord Police Department for 18 months and was a hero.
October 12-15 was recognized as National Police Week – a time to honor the sacrifices of officers like Jason Shuping and his family. We will never forget them.
While nothing will ever remedy such a tragedy, there are ways we can help prevent future losses of life for our brave law enforcement. I am a cosponsor of the Protect and Serve Act, which would establish a new criminal offense for knowingly assaulting a law enforcement officer and causing serious bodily injury.
I will continue to focus on common sense solutions to meet the challenges you, your family and our neighbors are facing. Unfortunately, the Biden administration and Washington Democrats continue to ignore many of these challenges, including inflation.
Last Wednesday, it was reported that prices of goods jumped 5.4% in September, the highest rate of inflation in 13 years. This inflation is leading to you paying more for everyday items from gas to groceries.
Labor shortages, supply chain issues and out-of-control spending have created this inflation crisis. But it’s not stopping there.
Also last week, the Biden administration admitted that it expects winter heating bills to jump as much as 54% compared to last winter. That is a massive burden for every family.
Just about everything costs more these days. But common sense, while rare, is still free. As always, I will continue to seek solutions to the issues we are facing and I will never stop working on behalf of you and your family.
Until next week,
Richard Hudson
Member of Congress