Working to Solve Problems
Friends,
These are challenging times and you deserve better than the partisanship coming from Washington.
I was encouraged by President Joe Biden calling for unity in his inaugural address. But I've been disappointed since then, as he and Speaker Nancy Pelosi have pushed their agenda without making any real efforts toward bipartisanship.
Just last week, House Democrats advanced a bill without any Republican support to make Washington, D.C. a state and add two liberal senators to Congress. This partisan agenda is not what our country needs right now. But I'm still working to solve problems.
In fact, last week I joined with Democrats G.K. Butterfield and David Price, along with Dan Bishop, to introduce the Lumbee Recognition Act. This bipartisan legislation will secure long overdue federal recognition for the Lumbee Tribe.
Along with Senators Richard Burr and Thom Tillis and Representative Deborah Ross, I introduced legislation to consolidate Fort Bragg into one federal judicial district to better support those at and around the base.
I cosponsored the Lower Costs More Cures Act to help lower the price of prescription drugs, support seniors and patients, stand up to China, and encourage innovation to bring more drugs to market.
I'm working on a bipartisan bill that actually funds infrastructure, but Democrats have introduced a partisan bill with just 25% in it for infrastructure.
Last week, they also reintroduced their disastrous "Green New Deal" which will totally dismantle our economy and upend the way we live, travel and even eat. Additionally, over 10 years, the estimated price tag for the "Green New Deal" is up to $93 trillion.
Instead of socialist policies that will bankrupt our country for generations, last week I joined Leader Kevin McCarthy to champion solutions that will improve our environment and actually grow our economy, including a bill I introduced to support the deployment of new, safer advanced nuclear energy.
In addition to pushing a partisan agenda, President Biden is also ignoring the border crisis he created.
Even with the crisis continuing to get worse, House Democrats voted last week against requiring illegal immigrants who have unlawfully entered the United States to get a COVID test before being allowed to fly across the country - even though American citizens are required to produce a negative COVID test before coming back into America.
This national security, public health and humanitarian crisis is totally self-inflicted. We have solutions to fix our border including finishing the wall, reinstating the ‘remain in Mexico' policy, maintaining Title 42 authority to protect our public health, requiring a negative COVID test before releasing migrants, and sending a clear message around the globe: don't come to the United States illegally.
As I have said, I want to work with President Biden to produce results and policies that improve Americans' lives. Unfortunately, the recent partisan actions in Washington do nothing to meet the monumental challenges before us and only further divide us. Rest assured, I will always fight for our shared values and common-sense solutions.
Until next week,
Richard Hudson
Member of Congress