Sixth District Perspectives with Congressman Ben Cline – December 13, 2022

It’s the holiday season in Washington, and everyone is looking forward to the New Year. Unfortunately, in the lame-duck Congress and Democrat-controlled Washington until January, we are facing more of the same. As President Biden still refuses to visit the southern border and see the crisis firsthand, the consequences of his open border policies have become increasingly deadly. Additionally, while Americans are preparing for colder weather, they will also deal with crushing energy costs to heat their homes this winter, and I once more reiterated the need for an all-of-the-above energy strategy to bring down prices. Finally, I’m pleased to announce my next three town halls in Augusta, Page, and Roanoke Counties, and I enjoyed speaking with Government students at Patrick Henry High School. I’ll always fight against business-as-usual Washington and will always ensure your voices are heard in Congress.

Crisis at the Border, a Lost Agent, and an Administration in Denial
This past week during his travels in Arizona, President Biden continued his perfect 0 for 0 streak of addressing the border crisis. The President refused to visit the southern border despite being only some 200 miles away – which given his accessibility to his Air Force One plane and Marine One chopper is a quick ride. Despite visiting Delaware for vacation fifty-nine times, he apparently had no time to visit the southern border to see firsthand the historic crisis he created with his open border policies. By claiming he had “more important things” to do, Biden also missed the opportunity to comfort a community and family grieving over the loss of a heroic Border Patrol agent who was tragically killed in a high-speed chase with illegal immigrants last week. This devastating loss comes on the heels of a record four million illegal crossings since Biden took office. Our Nation’s hardworking Border Patrol agents work day and night on the frontlines, and Republicans will return our CBP agents back to the mission of securing our borders rather than being intake and care officers. Accountability will start at the top with confronting the willful neglect and failure to address this crisis by DHS Secretary Mayorkas.

Rising Holiday Energy Prices: The Grinch That Stole Christmas

Click image to watch my floor speech pushing for an all-of-the-above energy strategy

Unfortunately, the Biden administration is the Grinch that stole Christmas as its war on American energy is forcing folks to pay record-high costs to heat their homes. Across the board, energy prices from diesel to fuel oil have risen. Households are poised to pay an average of $1,359 this winter for energy bills, the highest in 25 years. A third of Americans have cut basic expenses just to afford energy bills over the last year. And diesel prices have skyrocketed 50% since last year to $5.09 a gallon. It’s unsurprising therefore that President Biden has been on record saying, “I guarantee you we’re going to end fossil fuels.” And just a few days ago, the White House doubled down and said they’re committed to “phasing out” the use of oil – during one of our Nation’s worst energy crises. If we keep this up, America will look like Switzerland, banning EVs in the wintertime to deal with blackouts. If we’re going to regain our energy independence, America needs an all-of-the-above energy approach to ensure dependable, affordable energy that families can rely on every day.

NDAA

While I strongly support our troops and believe they should have every necessary resource to ensure their and our country’s safety, I could not support this year’s National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). First, although I am pleased that the bill rescinds the Biden administration’s military COVID-19 vaccine mandate, the legislation does not prevent unvaccinated servicemembers from retribution by the military, nor does it include reinstatement of the 8,400 active duty servicemembers who were discharged for refusing to submit to the mandate. Moreover, the bill wastes taxpayer funds to advance radical Green New Deal policies and on mandates to transition non-tactical military vehicles to electric vehicles. The NDAA also implements anti-Second Amendment provisions, which include increasing the Federal government’s ability to track and control the firearm ownership of servicemembers through a safe firearm storage pilot program. Additionally, the bill green lights Secretary Austin to move forward with an abortion travel fund for servicemembers and their families, and it does not protect taxpayer funds from being spent on servicemembers’ access to abortions. Furthermore, the NDAA provides additional funding to Ukraine without strict oversight of the billions of dollars in U.S. aid already sent overseas. Finally, the legislation includes provisions that have little or nothing to do with national security, such as the reauthorization of the Coral Reef Conservation Act, a prohibition on the sale of shark fins, and the Fair Hiring in Banking Act. For these reasons, in addition to the fact that Members of Congress were given just 48 hours to read the 4,400 page bill text, I could not in good conscious support this year’s NDAA. However, rest assured that I will continue to fight on behalf of our men and women in uniform.

Augusta, Roanoke, and Page County Town Halls
I will be hosting upcoming in-person town halls for conversations with constituents for residents of Augusta, Roanoke, and Page Counties. As with all my town hall meetings, they rotate in order from morning town hall events, then to lunchtime events, and then to evening events to accommodate the different schedules of constituents. Residents of Augusta County who would like to sign up can RSVP here, residents of Roanoke County can RSVP here, and residents of Page County can RSVP here.
Swing by, relax, and meet the team. Hope to see you there.

Patrick Henry High School Government Students
Encouraging students to become engaged in civic affairs and speaking to them about the business of Congress is always a pleasure. I enjoyed fielding questions from Roanoke’s Patrick Henry High School Government students and found their insights informative and refreshing.

COVID-19 Update
Last week in Virginia, there was an average of 17 daily cases of COVID-19 per 100,000 residents, up from 14 last week. This week’s COVID-19 test positivity rate was 11%, up from 10% last week.  For more information, click here.

Thank you for the opportunity to serve as your Congressman. If my office can ever be of assistance, please contact my Washington office at (202) 225-5431.

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