Sixth District Perspectives with Congressman Ben Cline – November 26, 2021

While I was home in the beautiful Sixth District this week spending time with friends and family for Thanksgiving, my work on behalf of constituents continued. Legislatively, I cosponsored a resolution to protect the rights of parents to get involved in their children’s education, as well as joined nearly 100 of my Republican colleagues in introducing a bill to protect the rights of health care providers who refuse to participate in an abortion. I also took action to stand in defense of the Second Amendment by writing to the Acting Director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives to express my outrage regarding a proposed federal gun registry. Further, as the border crisis rages on, my colleagues and I voiced our anger to President Biden regarding his Administration’s failure to reimplement the Remain in Mexico Policy as it had been ordered to do by a federal judge. Finally, I enjoyed the opportunity to visit several manufacturing facilities in the District and discuss the legislative process with AP Government students. It was a productive few days here at home, and I hope all families across our region had a happy and healthy holiday.

Parents Bill of Rights:
Parents want what’s best for their children and have become more involved in the direction and topics their kids are being taught in school. Unfortunately, these efforts are being met with resistance and hostility at the local and now federal levels. Elected officials and teachers’ unions want to dictate how and what our children should be taught in classrooms. We saw it when school districts worked to keep our schools closed for months on end despite the evidence showing they could open safely. We saw it when President Biden’s Department of Justice targeted parents for speaking up at school board meetings at the behest of an interest group that labeled concerned parents as “domestic terrorists.”

That is why I recently cosponsored the Parents Bill of Rights. This resolution will protect parental involvement by reinforcing their right to be heard, their right to see curriculums, and their right to be updated on any violent activity that happens on their children’s campus. America’s parents should never be made to feel powerless – they should be empowered and protected when it comes to influencing their own children’s education.

Protecting the Second Amendment:
Whether in Richmond or Washington, I have always been a staunch defender of the Second Amendment. That is why this week I joined my colleagues in writing to the Acting Director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) to express my outrage about a proposed rule that would allow the agency to create a permanent database to track all lawful firearm sales. This would essentially serve as a federal gun registry, the creation of which has previously been prohibited by Congressional action. According to recently published documents, the ATF has already collected 54.7 million records in FY 2021 alone. It is an outrage that the federal government would maintain such extensive records of law-abiding citizens’ firearm transfers. This proposed rule is an affront to the Second Amendment and to the American people, and I will work to oppose it going into effect. To read the full letter, click here.

Securing our Border:
Since President Biden was sworn in, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has encountered more than 1.4 million illegal aliens unlawfully crossing the border. This number includes over 126,000 unaccompanied alien children and more than 450,000 aliens as part of alleged family units. However, this number does not include the estimated 300,000-400,000 aliens who were not stopped by the Border Patrol and have made their way into the heart of the country.

One of the many factors contributing to this crisis is the Biden Administration’s suspension of the Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP), better known as the Remain in Mexico Program. MPP is a program implemented by the Trump Administration that required certain aliens entering or seeking to enter the United States from Mexico to remain outside of the United States for the duration of their immigration proceedings. Therefore, MPP essentially ended “catch and release” by requiring aliens to wait outside of the United States instead of being released into the interior of the country. While the program was suspended when this Administration came to power, on August 13, 2021, Judge Kacsmaryk of the Northern District of Texas ordered the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to “enforce and implement MPP in good faith[.]” Despite this ruling, DHS has failed to do so. Therefore, my colleagues and I wrote to the President demanding answers as to when his Administration plans to reimplement MPP in accordance with the federal judge’s ruling. We must secure our border to protect Americans and MPP works toward accomplishing that goal. The full letter can be found here.

Standing for Life:
Throughout my tenure in Congress, I have fought to advance pro-life legislation, and I will continue to be a voice for the voiceless here in Washington. To that end, I joined 100 of my Republican colleagues in reintroducing the Conscience Protection Act. This legislation upholds one of the most sincere fundamental American principles, which is the freedom of religion and conscience. This bill amends the Public Health Service Act to prevent any federal, state or local government from penalizing or discriminating against a health care professional if the provider refuses to participate in an abortion. No medical professional should be at risk of losing their license and job for upholding their oath to “do no harm.” This bill also ensures those whose conscience protection has been violated will be able to seek justice in court. I will continue to advocate for legislation that protects life and those who support it.

Constituent Visits:
I always enjoy traveling throughout our region meeting with constituents and businesses. This week I had the pleasure of touring various manufacturing facilities and hearing from students during a “Take Your Legislator to School” event.

Wegmann USA, Inc. (Lynchburg)

E.C. Glass High School (Lynchburg)

Giving Thanks:
“We ordain that this day of our ships arrival, at the place assigned for plantation, in the land of Virginia, shall be yearly and perpetually kept holy as a day of Thanksgiving to Almighty God.”

The above prayer was recited on December 4, 1619, not in Plymouth, Massachusetts but at Berkley Plantation, Virginia just over a year before the meal in Plymouth took place. The settlers who landed at Berkley were a small religious-minded group who decided that annually they would celebrate their successful and safe voyage from England with prayer.

This thousand-acre property, in what is modern-day Charles City County, Virginia, is the sight of the true first English Thanksgiving in the New World. When President John F. Kennedy issued the Thanksgiving proclamation in 1962, he failed to acknowledge Virginia’s role in establishing the holiday. After hearing from a Virginia Senator, Kennedy acknowledged that “over three centuries ago, our forefathers in Virginia and Massachusetts, far from home, in a lonely wilderness set aside a time of Thanksgiving.”

While the past year and a half have been difficult, this week we give thanks for the many blessings God has bestowed upon our country and its people. From my family to yours, I wish everyone across the Sixth District a happy and healthy Thanksgiving.

COVID-19 Update:
This week in Virginia there was an average of 18.7 cases of COVID-19 per every 100,000 residents. This is up from an average of 16.8 cases from one week prior. This week’s positivity rate was 6.2%, the same as the week prior. 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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