Dear friends,

I’ve had a busy few weeks working back home in Kentucky and in Washington, D.C. to advocate for commonsense policies that will benefit all Kentuckians.  I am so grateful I  had the opportunity to meet with small business owners, manufacturers, community leaders, and elected officials across Kentucky’s Second Congressional District.

Getting the SUPPORT Act Passed in the House of Representatives

Last Thursday, the House of Representatives passed, with bipartisan support, my bill the SUPPORT for Patients and Communities Reauthorization Act by a vote of 366 to 57. My bill reauthorizes key public health programs that were initially created under the SUPPORT Act that was passed in 2018. These programs, which have proven to work, established substance use disorder treatment and recovery efforts. In fact, since this bill was first signed into law, our nation has seen a decrease in the number of opioid related deaths annually.  

Additionally, this week the U.S. House of Representatives passed the HALT Fentanyl Act, legislation that advanced through the House Committee on Energy and Commerce to permanently make Fentanyl a Schedule 1 Narcotic. The next stop for this legislation is to the President’s desk to be signed into law. 

Last week, as Chairman of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, I held one subcommittee markup to advance legislation to unleash American energy, as well as two subcommittee hearings on artificial intelligence and stopping illegal robocalls. 

I often hear from fellow Kentuckians about the seemingly endless, and illegal, robocalls and robotexts that spam our daily lives. Last week, our Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations held a hearing with industry officials to discuss legislative solutions that can put an end to them. 

Putting Small Business Over Illegal Immigrants

Did you know that during the Biden-Harris Administration, the Small Business Administration (SBA) loosened their regulations on small business loans? Their actions directly contributed to a company that is 49% controlled by an illegal immigrant receiving a $783,000 loan!

As Chairman of the House Committee on Energy & Commerce, I am honored to have helped lead the fight to restore consumer choice and put an end to reckless big-government overreach that would have hurt American families. Thank you, President Trump for taking action and signing this into law!

American steel means made in Kentucky. Thank you to the team at Nucor Steel in Brandenburg for showing me your plate mill in action and discussing how your work continues to supply and support the mission of the Department of Defense. 

Agriculture is vital to the economic success of rural Kentucky. I met with the team at Kenny’s Cheese Farm to tour their dairy farm and discuss how the federal government can continue to support our agriculture producers.

One of the most special roles I have is getting the chance to nominate young Americans for U.S. service academy appointments. I enjoyed having the opportunity to congratulate Meyer, from Bowling Green, on his recent appointment to the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy. 

Small businesses like Central Farm Supply in Greensburg play a vital role in our communities! It was great to be in Greensburg recently to visit with Councilwoman Julie Smyrichinsky and the whole team at Central Farmers Supply. 

In the last two weeks, there has been a lot of misinformation about what the impacts the One, Big, Beautiful Bill would have on Kentuckians. Last week, I wrote an op-ed published in Fox News outlining what the bill actually does. The One, Big, Beautiful Bill ensures that coverage would continue for the traditional Medicaid population, including, but not limited to those who are pregnant, have a dependent child, are receiving Substance Abuse Disorder or mental health treatment, and those who are medically frail.

You can read my full Op-Ed by clicking here or on the image above. 

As Kentucky continues to recover and rebuild after the severe weather that has impacted the Commonwealth, I wanted to let you know about an important update regarding the deadline to apply for individual assistance for property damage from the April storms. 

The Federal Emergency Management Administration, or FEMA, has announced that they have extended the deadline to apply for individual assistance to July 25th. This extension gives Kentuckians more time to apply for and receive federal assistance.

There are three ways to apply for FEMA assistance:

• Go online to DisasterAssistance.gov.
• Call the FEMA Helpline at 1-800-621-3362. If you use a relay service, such as Video Relay Services (VRS), captioned telephone or other services, give FEMA your number for that service. 
• Visit a Disaster Recovery Center. To find a Disaster Recovery Center, visit fema.gov/DRC or text DRC along with your ZIP code to 43362 (Example: “DRC 29169”).

As a part of their efforts to distribute assistance, FEMA has opened ten Disaster Recovery Centers across Kentucky’s Second District. These centers will give local residents the ability to speak with FEMA representatives about the assistance programs that are available to them as well as get connected with additional recovery resources.

For more information about Kentucky Emergency Management resources, click here. To learn more about who is eligible for and how to register for assistance through FEMA, click here.