Update
Friends,
I began this month’s district work period back home in Wyoming, where I hosted an open house to meet with folks from across the state and listen to the important issues affecting our communities. I also had the honor of attending the Service Industry Representatives annual luncheon with many professionals from our energy industry, touring Donells Candies in Casper, and speaking at the 116th annual Casper Chamber of Commerce Awards Banquet.
After a productive week in Wyoming, I got right back to work at the Capitol by fighting for Wyoming’s energy industry and combating the Democrats’ radical environmental agenda. Last week, House Democrats held a vote to force President Trump to adhere to the Paris Climate Agreement, an unconstitutional “agreement” that would unfairly penalize our country on the global stage, while costing us hundreds of thousands of jobs, hiking energy prices and electricity costs on families, and leading to a national GDP loss of $2.5 trillion.
The Democrats’ plan for everything is to centralize more power in Washington, D.C. and destroy our free markets. I will continue to oppose their efforts to strip Wyoming of it’s most precious industry and defend our nation’s ideals of freedom and prosperity every step of the way.
This week, Democrats voted on a bill that does nothing to protect individuals with pre-existing conditions. Period. Regardless of the bill’s name, the actual legislation they are seeking to amend does not touch pre-existing conditions. Their party also voted against an Appropriations Committee amendment that condemned the anti-Semitic BDS movement and they are still refusing to offer any solutions or ideas to solve the legitimate crisis happening along the southern border.
I also hosted an event featuring Gold Star mother, Debbie Lee, whose son Marc was the first Navy SEAL killed in Iraq in 2006. No one has done more for our veterans and our Gold Star families than Debbie has. We should strive every day to live lives worthy of our fallen warriors, and always remember we owe all our freedoms to the brave men and women who wear the uniform of our nation.
Finally, my friend Sen. Mike Enzi announced that he would be retiring following the completion of his final term. For more than four decades, he has devoted himself to serving our state and the country. He never forgot where he came from and always put the interests of Wyoming first, constantly championing our Western way of life. During his 20 years in Washington, he brought our state’s values to the nation’s capital, fighting for a smaller, less obstructive, and more efficient federal government that would allow people to grow and thrive. He recognized that empowering people, not politicians, was the best way to expand opportunity, and he worked tirelessly towards that goal.
I’m privileged to have had the opportunity to work alongside him for the people of Wyoming and am proud to call him a friend. He, his wife Diana, three children and all his grandchildren deserve thanks from a state and nation that is indebted to him for his lifetime of service.
Sincerely,
Congresswoman Liz Cheney
Natural Resources Committee
House Democrats on the Natural Resources Committee are not only continuing to push radical green energy regulations on Americans, they are now also attempting to make Wyoming pay for it. The Committee recently held its first mark up on the RECLAIM Act, a bill that would use funds generated through coal production in Wyoming to subsidize community and economic development primarily in states east of the Mississippi.
Many of the Democrats who supported this bill also supported President Obama’s war on coal, including his federal coal leasing moratorium. Now their asking for coal production to pay for economic development in their states. To highlight this hypocrisy, I offered an amendment that would prevent funding for the RECLAIM Act in any year there is a coal leasing moratorium in effect. To the surprise of no one in the room, Democrats voted down my amendment and supported the RECLAIM Act. However, I was able to convince several members to join me in opposing this damaging bill, which will make it difficult for Democrats to move it beyond the committee. I will continue working to defend our state against harmful proposals like the RECLAIM Act and support Wyoming’s coal industry.
Armed Services Committee
This week the Armed Services Committee held a hearing on missile defense. These systems are critical to ensuring our nation is safe from missile threats from rogue regimes like Iran and North Korea. However, adversaries like Russia and China continue to make advancements in hypersonic capabilities that our current missile defense system cannot defend against. Below you can see a clip of the hearing where I asked General O’Shaughnessy, the Commander of U.S. Northern Command, how we deter adversaries from using hypersonic weapons. He agreed that all three legs of our nation’s nuclear triad are the most important deterrent we have against hypersonic capabilities.
The House Armed Services Committee continued its work last week to prepare for the annual National Defense Authorization Act. This bill provides important authorizations for projects and programs important to our state. One of my top priorities in this years bill is defending against efforts by the Democrats to delay the modernization of our nuclear forces, including the ICBMs deployed at F.E. Warren. Airmen from the 90th Missile Wing demonstrated their incredible work to maintain the aging fleet of Minuteman III missiles and the important work they do every day to deter our adversaries by completing a successful test launch of an unarmed missile. You can read more about it here.
Visits
Great sitting down with Wyoming Petroleum Marketers Association to discuss critical energy and infrastructure issues. Thanks for all that you do for the state.
Thanks to Wyoming Insurance Commissioner Tom Glause and his Deputy, Jeff Rude, for coming in to talk about issues important to insurance in Wyoming. Tom is stepping down as Commissioner to be CEO of the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association, and Jeff is going to be acting Commissioner. Thank you, Tom for doing great work for our state and I look forward to working with Jeff in the future.
It was great to meet with Teaghen Sweckard, the winner of Wyoming’s first Congressional App Challenge. Her innovative app allows Meals on Wheels volunteers to easily navigate their routes by compiling directions and other details through a phone. Congratulations, Teaghen!
It was an honor to spend time with servicemembers from several states, including Wyoming, who are attending the Army War College. Thank you for your service!
Wonderful to meet last week with Scott McBride and Tom Holt from First Northern Bank of Wyoming and learn about the issues their industry faces.
A special thanks to members of the American Council of Snowmobile Associations for meeting with me to discuss recreational access on public lands.
Excellent to welcome Wyoming’s attendees of Strolling Thunder to Washington D.C. to discuss programs that ensure every baby has the best possible start in life.
Congratulations to Gillette’s Valarie Bruce on being named Wyoming’s 2019 Teacher of the Year – it was a pleasure to meet with you at Wyoming Wednesday!
Thank you to Rachel Tenney from University of Wyoming for showing me her undergrad research projected was selected to be presented in D.C.
Last week, I joined Senators Enzi and Barrasso to meet with members of the Wyoming Rural Electric Association to discuss crucial issues their industry faces.
Newsworthy
K2TV I Congresswoman Cheney Talks the House Dems’ Radical Agenda
