Columns

The National Guard is celebrating its 386^th birthday this month. Their role has often been under the radar, but increasingly they have stepped up to serve in critical missions that have impacted even our day-to-day lives here in Nebraska. Over the years, they have played an expanded role not only in our national defense, but also in border security and local disaster and pandemic response. 

It’s the time of the year when families are gathering to celebrate and give thanks. Many are carrying out traditions that have been passed on for generations—carving turkey, baking pies, watching football, and putting up Christmas decorations after a Thanksgiving feast. 

If you watch TV, listen to the radio, or open a newspaper these days, the headlines have become very grim: Rising inflation. Increased mortgage rates. The stock market is plunging. But you don’t have to tune into the media to know this – we are all living it. Life in Joe Biden’s America means that family budgets are being stretched thin. Small businesses are struggling to hire people. And young families can’t afford to buy their first home. 

There is no doubt that the Chinese Communist Party, or CCP, represents one of the greatest challenges to the future of the free world. In my first months as a Member of Congress, the CCP’s ambitions – and their abuses – crop up in almost every policy area. As we think about the future of America, the United States has to be bold in our approach to the CCP and shaping policy towards China.

Two weeks ago, I joined a congressional delegation for briefings in Arizona regarding the ongoing humanitarian and immigration crisis unfolding along the U.S.-Mexico border. The delegation was led by U.S. Congressman Andy Biggs of Arizona and included several Members of Congress who wanted to learn more and see the border firsthand as policymakers.