Here in Washington, we continue to face defining choices that impact the direction our country is headed: do we move towards greater freedom, or allow extremist ideologies to take root in our nation? I came to Congress to fix how Washington works, and I’m taking decisive action to defend our values, protect our communities, and ensure our government serves the American people — not the radical left.
As we reflect on these values, I invite you to join me in keeping the families of West Virginia National Guardsmen Staff Sgt. Andrew Wolfe and Spc. Sarah Beckstrom in your prayers. These victims of last week’s gruesome attack in DC are patriots who served our nation with honor and bravery. Staff Sgt. Andrew Wolfe remains in critical condition, and Spc. Sarah Beckstrom has passed away as a result of her injuries. This horrifying act of political violence should have never occurred, and I join my colleagues and President Trump in condemning this attack.
The Equal Representation Act Passes Out of Committee
My legislation, the Equal Representation Act, has officially passed out of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee. This bill strengthens the foundation of our representative government by adding a citizenship question to the census and ensuring that only U.S. citizens are counted for congressional apportionment.
One of our greatest Founding Fathers, Thomas Jefferson, pushed for a citizenship question to be included in the census for the very same reason I am pushing for it today. While administering the first census, Jefferson supported adding an inquiry to distinguish native-born citizens, naturalized citizens, and non-citizens.
Under the current system, liberal states like California, Illinois, New York, and Oregon are incentivized to maintain sanctuary policies that boost their representation in Congress by counting large numbers of non-citizens. Removing the impact of illegal immigration will restore fairness and ensure that representation and electoral votes reflect citizen populations, not sanctuary-state politics. The Equal Representation Act sends a clear message: states cannot expect political gain by blatantly disregarding federal immigration law.
By requiring respondents to indicate their citizenship status, we ensure that every American’s voice is represented fairly and that congressional districts reflect those who have the legal right to vote. It is essential that we remove the influence of non-citizens in determining political power and uphold the founding principle of representation for the citizens of this nation.
After the recent election of avowed socialist Zohran Mandani to be the next mayor of New York City following widespread support from radical left Democrats such as Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, I joined my conservative colleagues to fight back. I stood to denounce socialism in all forms through the Denouncing the Horrors of Socialism Resolution. As an example of where the Democrat party is heading today, 100 House Democrats could not stand up to the horrors of socialism.
America’s strength lies in freedom, not socialism, and I’ll never hesitate in defending that truth in Congress.
The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) threatens not only our national security, but our academic security. The CCP continues to infiltrate American classrooms from kindergarten to college campuses. Every dollar from the CCP comes with strings attached, enabling censorship and pressuring institutions to conform to communist policies. These tactics directly undermine American values when they gain a foothold in our nation’s schools, influencing the minds of the most vulnerable among us: our next generation.
To address this attack, I supported the Promoting Responsible Oversight to Eliminate Communist Teachings (PROTECT) Our Kids Act, which passed the House by a vote of 247 to 164. This legislation incentivizes the elimination of this practice by preventing schools that accept CCP-backed money from receiving federal education funds. We must protect our students, our curriculum, and the future of American education from foreign influence and control.
