Friends, I spent this weekend in Cheyenne to mark the beginning Frontier Days, which has paid tribute to the traditions and values of our great state for nearly 120 years. As a part of the opening day festivities, I joined members of the Greater Cheyenne Chamber of Commerce for the Pardner’s n’ Prosperity Luncheon. It takes a lot of hard work to put on this event and the people at Friday’s lunch worked very hard to help make this year’s rodeo happen. I was honored to read a letter from President Trump, who paid tribute to Wyoming’s Western roots and wished us well as we celebrated Frontier Days.

I was also honored to join Governor Gordon and the rest of the delegation at an event honoring General Timothy Ray. General Ray is the commander of the Global Strike Command, which includes the 90th Missile Wing at F.E. Warren. He has been a strong supporter of the nuclear deterrence mission carried out by the men and women serving at F.E. Warren and an incredible advocate for the modernization of our nuclear triad, including the Ground Based Strategic Deterrent.

Back in D.C., House Democrats moved this week to pass an increase to the minimum wage. I voted no against the proposal, which proves House Democrats are not interested in fighting for the people they claim to represent. This partisan and burdensome government mandate would cost nearly four million jobs, including more than 4,900 in Wyoming. It would hit hard-working and low-wage workers most significantly, and it would undermine the wage growth and positive economic results we’ve seen thanks to President Trump’s leadership.

Congress should be focused on increasing wages and helping families, but this bill would move us in the wrong direction. Instead of adopting this failed policy on a sweeping national level, we need to continue building on the success of the Trump Administration that’s helping Americans achieve success and reapply our free market principles that we know lead to economic prosperity. 

Following a press conference from the Democrats’ intellectual leaders Monday in which Reps. Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib renewed their calls to impeach the President, House Democrats moved on a motion to do just that. While the impeachment attempt ultimately failed, it marked a sad display of the Democrats’ refusal to accept the election results of 2016 and their obsession on overturning his track record of success.

In another partisan display, the Democrats refused to condemn Speaker Pelosi for breaking House rules by labeling the President “racist.” This was an absolute tragedy and showed that Pelosi and the Democrats are willing to overturn precedent regarding floor behavior that goes back to the very first Congress. The last time a Speaker’s words were struck down was in 1984. Pelosi had the opportunity to withdraw her remarks, but refused to do so and instead threw the floor into chaos. This behavior demonstrated a total lack of regard for this institution and called into question her fitness to lead this institution.

Finally, during the weekly House Republican Leadership press conference, I condemned House Democrats for embracing radical, far-left rhetoric and policies that threaten U.S. national security, economic growth, and freedom. I made clear that our opposition to our socialist colleagues has absolutely nothing to do with their gender, with their religion, or with their race. It has to do with the content of their policies. You can watch my full remarks below:

To keep up with more of my day-to-day, be sure to follow me on Instagramhere! Please see below for a roundup of other actions I’ve taken over the past week to fight for our state in Congress.

Sincerely,

Congresswoman Liz Cheney

Natural Resources Committee

This week, I spoke with National Security Advisor John Bolton who will be chairing, along with Director of the U.S. National Economic Council Larry Kudlow, a working group on uranium production to ensure that Wyoming’s uranium producers are able to compete on a fair market basis. 

On Wednesday, the Committee held a markup on three poorly-written anti-mining bills targeting domestic uranium production. Despite the title, the Grand Canyon Centennial Protection Act, this legislation had nothing to do with the Grand Canyon. Rather, it aimed to shutdown exploration of uranium deposits located nowhere near the Grand Canyon National Park. The second bill considered at the markup sought to remove uranium from the national critical minerals list, while the third would close off mineral extraction from a region of Arizona despite opposition by Arizona lawmakers. All three of these bills are intended to shutdown our ability to mine strategic minerals.

Wyoming is America’s leader in the production of uranium, which is vital to both our energy and national security. If we fail to produce our own sources of uranium, the U.S. will be forced to import from uranium from Russia. Amazingly, while the Democrats have sought for the past six months to prove Russian collusion, they’re now attempting to force U.S. dependency on Russia for a key component of our national security.

I offered an amendment that would require the Secretary of Interior and the Secretary of Labor to verify that the permanent closure of mineral development would not lead to job losses for Native Americans, minorities, or women. Every Republican on the Committee voted for my amendment, while just one Democrat supported it. Unfortunately, not a single Republican amendment was incorporated into the underlying bills. I voted against reporting all three measures out of Committee and will continue to oppose them should they come to the House floor for consideration.

Armed Services Committee

On the national security front, I led a group of my House colleagues on a letter urging President Trump to continue his successful maximum pressure campaign against Iran and renew all U.S. and international sanctions on Iran’s nuclear program. 

Over the last two months, Iran has escalated its nuclear provocations by stockpiling low-enriched uranium and increasing enrichment. Tehran is threatening to take further action as well. In the letter, I joined 49 of my colleagues in urging the Administration to end ‘civil nuclear’ waivers—which sustain projects established by the Iran nuclear deal—and to seek the restoration of international restrictions against Iran at the United Nations.

Visits

I had a great working breakfast with my colleagues and Vice President Mike Pence.

On the steps of the Wyoming State Capitol with Sen. Mike Enzi, Sen. John Barrasso, Governor Mark Gordon, and all of the terrific volunteers before the Cheyenne Frontier Days Parade.

I was honored to join Jackson Hole Hat Company’s Bob Wachter and Cynthia Engelstad at the White House for the annual Made in America event.

Congratulations to Christina Brown, a Congressional Art Award winner for Wyoming who has her artwork displayed in the U.S. Capitol!

Newsworthy

Mark Levin Show I Cheney: The Democrats’ behavior on the House floor was an ‘absolute tragedy’

The Rush Limbaugh Show I Cheney Pushes Back

The Powell Tribune I Reorganization, move West planned for BLM

Sheridan Media I Cheney: Our opposition to our socialist colleagues is because of the content of their ideas