Thank You, President Trump
January 25, 2021
Friends,
Whether you agree with the outcome or not, something remarkable happened last week: the peaceful transfer of power. I worked hard to help re-elect President Donald Trump, but I attended the inauguration of President Joe Biden as a symbol of my commitment to our Constitution. I believe the peaceful transfer of power is a core principle of our Republic and I am glad that once again, our country demonstrated that we remain that beacon of democracy for the world.
I stand ready to work with President Biden on delivering vaccines, reopening schools, rebuilding our economy and restoring our way of life. However, if he wants to take the country backwards by destroying the economy with increased taxes and making us less safe with an appeasement foreign policy, then I will oppose him at every turn.
Washington is sharply divided. I will remain focused on the areas where we can work together and on the priorities of the American people. Rest assured that as long as I'm your representative, I will never stop listening to the voices of the previously forgotten men and women in our state and country and will never stop fighting to grow our economy, protect the unborn and our Second Amendment, defend law enforcement, and support our troops, their families and our veterans.
President Biden gave a nice speech calling for moderation and unity, but his first actions as President have been radical and divisive. In his first 24 hours in office, he stopped construction of the border wall. He canceled the Keystone XL pipeline, destroying 11,000 jobs. Despite America leading the world in reducing carbon emissions in recent years, President Biden re-entered the Paris Climate Agreement, which will cause American energy prices to increase up to $20,000 for a family of four while not holding polluters like China accountable. On immigration, he proposed a pause on deportations, blocking border security funding and granting citizenship to 11 million illegal immigrants. And now, President Biden claims he has a bold plan to deliver 100 million vaccines in his first 100 days. That's great. But the problem is that our country is already delivering 1 million vaccines a day--thanks to President Donald Trump.
Through Operation Warp Speed, President Trump laid the foundation to develop a vaccine in record time and set up distribution. Now President Biden should ramp up distribution to 2 or 3 million vaccines a day to end the pandemic by September. Republicans in Congress area ready to work with the President to reach this goal.
President Trump's leadership on vaccines is just one of the many reasons I am thankful for his service to our country over the past four years. In that time, we worked together to accomplish great victories for our community and country. Here are a few highlights:
- Operation Warp Speed- As mentioned, this was the program developed by the Trump administration to develop a COVID-19 vaccine in record time. I helped fund billions of dollars to support its life-saving mission.
- Tax Cuts for the Middle Class- President Trump signed the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act on Dec. 22, 2017. I supported this bill that lowered tax rates for all Americans, doubled the standard deduction and child tax credit, improved savings for education and retirement, created Opportunity Zones and encouraged job growth. This law put more money in people's pockets, brought companies back from overseas, and helped create the greatest economy in history.
- Rich Stayskal Act- Included in the 2020 National Defense Authorization Act signed by President Trump, I wrote this law to allow military members to pursue medical malpractice claims. This bill was named for Rich Stayskal, a Pinehurst Green Beret battling Stage IV lung cancer.
- Troop pay raises- Throughout the Trump administration, we secured an 11% pay raise for our troops, in addition to funding training and new equipment to rebuild our military. I also helped secure an additional 10% pay increase in hazard duty pay.
- Supporting veterans- I worked with President Trump to enact the VA MISSION Act to cut down wait times at the VA and improve veteran health care from the VA or your own doctor. We also passed the largest expansion of the GI Bill in a decade and increased access to the VA for veterans exposed to toxic burn pits.
- Addressing GenX and PFAS Chemicals- In Jan. 2020, the House passed the PFAS Action Act to direct the EPA to address PFAS chemicals. I cosponsored the legislation and secured two amendments to specifically address GenX which is the PFAS that has plagued our community. While the bill did not pass the Senate, I worked with the Trump administration's EPA which unveiled the PFAS Action Plan.
- Battling the Opioid Epidemic- On Oct. 24, 2018, President Trump signed the SUPPORT for Patients and Communities Act, the largest response to a drug epidemic ever passed in Congress. I wrote two key provisions of the law.
These accomplishments have made our economy stronger, our communities safer, and America more respected around the world. I will work to ensure we now build on this progress- not take our country backwards.
As the new Biden administration begins, Renee and I join the country in praying for our leaders and ask God to continue to bless our nation. I would appreciate your prayers as well and know that together, we can continue to defend our values and achieve great things.
Until next week,
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Richard Hudson
Member of Congress