Sixth District Perspectives with Congressman Ben Cline – March 16, 2022

If you ran a business the way Democrats run Congress, it would be bankrupt and the doors would be closed. Once again, the Majority waited until the last minute to pass two annual funding bills that should have been completed by last October 1. As Americans struggle and inflation soars, Congress must reject wasteful spending and balance our Nation’s budget. We must also prioritize issues like combating Russian aggression and increasing energy production to drive down skyrocketing gas prices. Further, I am continuing to fight the Biden Administration’s vaccine mandate. This week, I wrote to the Secretary of Homeland Security demanding he lift the mandate on certain essential workers to help ease the supply chain crisis our Nation is facing. On a more positive note, I was pleased to honor the Strasburg High School Wrestling Team on Tuesday for winning this year’s Class 2 State Championship. When I return to Washington next week, I will continue advocating for policies that make our part of Virginia such a great place to live.

Funding the Government:
In another example of how broken Washington has become, the House passed two giant spending bills this week to fund the government with almost no debate and limited time for Members to read the bills. While I had initially hoped that the Democrat leadership would consider each of the 12 appropriations bills in regular order, Speaker Pelosi bypassed the Appropriations Committee and forced through all 12 measures in two omnibus bills, the first of which was weighted down with billions in new liberal spending priorities. I voted against this first spending bill because the American people should not have their taxpayer dollars wasted on liberal pet projects and partisan social initiatives. I then supported and voted for the second bill, which funded our national defense and border security. Several specific provisions included in this bill can be found below. As the Sixth District’s representative, I will continue to fight for policies that benefit Virginians and oppose the Majority’s liberal tax-and-spend agenda.

Energy Crisis:
During the Trump Administration, the United States became a net total energy exporter in 2019 and 2020. Unfortunately, from the very first day he was sworn in, President Biden reversed several of the Trump-era energy policies, which resulted in a 40 percent increase in the cost of gas even before the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Specifically, he issued an executive order suspending all new oil and gas leasing on federal lands and waters. In addition, the President’s “Build Back Better” bill, which he is still pushing in the Senate, would cripple domestic energy by increasing oil and gas production payments to 20%, increasing bonding and surety requirements to more than 15 times their current levels, imposing a new severance tax, and establishing new annual fees of $10,000 per mile for offshore pipelines.

To combat the Left’s war on energy, Republicans are fighting for several policies. First and foremost, the United States must increase domestic oil and gas production. This can only be accomplished if the Biden Administration begins approving new drilling leases. To date, his administration has approved zero new onshore or offshore leases, thus crippling our country’s ability to produce. Further, this White House has allowed energy permit applications to stack up. There are currently 4,600 such permits pending, which is why several leases that were approved by the previous Administration have not been allowed to begin drilling. Finally, President Biden must finish the Keystone XL Pipeline, which could be supplying 830,000 thousand barrels of oil a day from Canada to U.S. refineries – more than enough to cover the losses from Russian suppliers. To accomplish these goals, I have cosponsored the Saving America’s Energy Future Act and the American Energy Independence from Russia Act.

Confronting Russian Aggression:
In 2021, the United States depended on Russia for about 3% of its crude imports and 8% of all oil imports. Both Republicans and Democrats agreed that banning Russian energy was a necessary step and supported President Biden’s Executive Order to do so. However, Executive Orders can be withdrawn at the will of the President, and therefore, Congress took bipartisan action this week to pass H.R. 6968, the Russian Energy Imports Ban. This legislation would codify into law the ban of Russian energy fossil fuels, including oil, gas, and coal products. Further, the bill would extend the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act, which allows the president to impose sanctions on foreign individuals responsible for human rights violations or corruption. This tool can further be used to sanction individuals involved in the Russian invasion of Ukraine for the many atrocities the world has witnessed. In addition, the measure would also direct the U.S. Trade Representative to use the voice and influence of the U.S. to condemn Russia’s aggression in Ukraine, encourage other World Trade Organization members to suspend trade concessions to Russia, and consider further steps that could lead to Russia’s suspension from the WTO. While this was a good bill, which I supported, my Republican colleagues attempted to strengthen it by including language that would have suspended all trade relations with Russia, as well as with Belarus which has been aiding the Kremlin.

Supporting Truckers and Farmers:
On January 22, 2022, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) began requiring all non-U.S. citizens entering the country through land ports to provide proof of full vaccination against COVID-19. While this policy does little to mitigate the spread of COVID, it will undoubtedly hurt essential industries along the way, such as trucking. Unfortunately, despite the historic supply crisis, the Biden Administration has upheld this destructive vaccine mandate. The mandate is limiting goods from entering the country as truck drivers are being turned away at the border, especially since the Food and Drug Administration does not recognize many international vaccines. This Administration should be looking for solutions to ensure our store shelves are not empty, not contributing to making it worse. I stand with the truck convoy protesting the mandate, which is why I joined my colleagues in writing to the Secretary of DHS urging the agency to reverse this policy. The full letter can be found here.

Strasburg Rams Wrestling:
This week, I took to the House Floor to honor the Strasburg High School Wrestling Team for winning this year’s VHSL Class 2 State Championship. This victory marks the program’s fifth overall state title and the first in 22 years. The Rams dominated the competition, ending the tournament with a total score of 218 points. This was truly impressive considering the runner-up, the four-time defending champion, Poquoson High School, scored only 150.5 points – meaning the margin of victory was nearly 70 points. This win was a total team effort with all 11 Rams wrestlers who qualified for the tournament placing in the top four of their weight class. As coach Daniel Reynolds noted, “it’s an incredible feat that we were able to bring 11 and place 11, bring six to the final. [And] to have three [champions] of six [finalists] is great.” The three Strasburg athletes that took home individual titles were sophomores Heath and David Burks and junior Chuck Fake. Further, with only one graduating senior in the starting lineup this year, the prospects for another great season are high. Congratulations again to the Strasburg High School Wrestling Team.

Mobile Office Hours:
Virginia’s Sixth District stretches more than 150 miles from Strasburg in the north to Roanoke in the south. While I have four District offices throughout our region in Harrisonburg, Staunton, Roanoke, and Lynchburg, my goal has always been to make myself and my staff as accessible as possible to folks in the Sixth District. For that reason, members of my staff regularly hold Mobile Office Hours throughout the District to assist residents who don’t live near a district office. This coming week, my staff will hold Mobile Office Hours in Lexington and Woodstock. For more information, please visit my website here.

COVID-19 Update:
Last week in Virginia there was an average of 13.5 daily cases of COVID-19 per every 100,000 residents. This is down from an average of 18.7 cases from one week prior. This week’s positivity rate was 6.9%, down from 9.3% from 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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