With 6 days left before June 1, President Biden is attempting to rewrite history, insisting he has “done his part” on the debt limit and would be “blameless” if the U.S. defaults on its debt. Yet the fact is President Biden refused to negotiate with Speaker McCarthy for more than 100 days. Any default would be the Biden Default.

House Republicans’ proactive vote to raise the debt limit was the catalyst behind President Biden dropping his “my way or the highway” approach and finally coming to the table. The national debt under President Biden surpassed $31 trillion because Democrats increased annual discretionary spending by $400 billion, a 30 percent increase, in four years and voted to add $6 trillion to the debt burden over ten years. That means forcing Americans to borrow more money from China, one of the largest holders of our public debt. From the beginning, Speaker McCarthy and House Republicans have been very clear that Democrats’ addiction to spending led to soaring inflation, greater dependence on China, and record debt. Now, Washington must spend less.

While House Republicans are fighting for hard-working American families facing a woke, weaponized government at odds with our way of life, President Biden and Democrats have been dragging their feet for weeks to fight for rich liberal elitists who want more spending, more government, more corporate subsidies, and less freedom.

I want to share what we are fighting for...

• We are fighting to cut inflationary spending by $1 trillion in year one, and $5 trillion over a decade, Democrats want to keep the status quo of record inflation and record spending.
• We want to cut funding for the woke federal bureaucracy interfering with Americans’ ability to live free and prosper economically to pre-COVID levels, Democrats want to expand it.
• We are fighting for reliable energy and the working class, Democrats want to preserve IRA unreliable energy subsidies for the wealthy elite, corporations, and Chinese Communists.
• We are fighting for the plumber with no student loans and the veteran that sacrificed for the nation, Democrats are bailing out people with master’s degrees in gender studies.
• We are fighting for poor and middle-class Americans that are already targeted by the IRS at higher rates, Democrats want to expand the IRS to go after these Americans even more.
• We are fighting to reassert Congress’ role over an executive branch pumping out new regulations that cost hundreds of billions, Democrats want to empower faceless bureaucrats.
• We are fighting to restore the dignity of work in this nation, Democrats want to continue to destroy families and communities by spending billions to keep Americans at home.
• We are fighting to preserve an American Dream that increasingly is out of reach, Democrats want to destroy that dream.

Negotiations are still happening between the White House and Speaker McCarthy's Office. Once there is a deal, they will take 23-36 hours to write the bill and give us 72 hours to review it. 

Yesterday, the People's House took action on the HALT Fentanyl Act to save lives and stop the scourge of fentanyl, which is killing more Americans than ever. The HALT Fentanyl Act will make the temporary class-wide scheduling order for fentanyl-related substances permanent and give law enforcement the tools they need to keep Americans safe.

The Biden administration’s refusal to secure our southern border has ignited a crisis. Every step of the way, President Biden has ignored the problem, ducked responsibility, and allowed the fallout of the crisis to affect American cities across the country. Because of President Biden's reckless disregard for the rule of law on the southern border, fentanyl has flowed into communities, destroying lives and making it the leading cause of death for Americans aged 18 to 45 years old in the first year of his administration. This epidemic has impacted communities and left families grieving.

I am proud House Republicans passed this bill to save lives, halt fentanyl, and stop criminals from pushing these poisons onto our children.

Statistics on Fentanyl: 

In 2022, more than 109,000 people died of drug overdoses; roughly 75,000 of whom died from synthetic opioids—largely illicit fentanyl or fentanyl-related substances.  Illicit fentanyl poisonings are now the number one cause of death among adults 18-49—more than COVID-19, cancer, heart disease, and car accidents.  Fentanyl and fentanyl-related substances can be 50-100 times more potent than morphine—or worse. Just a few milligrams, which can fit in the ear of Lincoln on a penny, can be lethal.  Fentanyl is easier to produce than cocaine or heroin – it only takes a few hours to make – and fentanyl can be sold for 100 times or more than what it costs to make. Since small doses of fentanyl are extremely potent, it’s easier to illegally smuggle small batches across the border.  

Our truckers are the heartbeat of America, transporting about 70% of the United States' freight. We depend on our truckers more than the Democrats cares to admit or realize. This week, we passed H.J. Res. 53, to disapprove of the EPA’s final rule, “Control of Air Pollution from New Motor Vehicles: Heavy-Duty Engine and Vehicle Standards.” The so-called Heavy-Duty Truck rule sets new regulatory standards for new medium and heavy-duty vehicles on nitrogen oxides (NOx) and other emissions (including particulate matter, hydrocarbons, and carbon monoxide) beginning in model year 2027.

It will raise costs on any product transported by truck—such as food, clothing, building materials—and make Biden’s cost-of-living crisis WORSE. The EPA estimates the technology requested to meet the new standards will cost as much as $8,304 for new equipment on semi-trucks. More than 200,000 Texans are heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers, and the radical EPA is jeopardizing their livelihoods with this dangerous rule. This rule would allow climate activists to push their radical green new deal on Americans, inevitably damaging our economy and making us reliant on China.

Legislation cosponsored:

• H.R. 1096 - 250th Anniversary of the United States Marine Corps Commemorative Coin Act
• H.R. 1147 - Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act of 2023
• H.R. 2445 - Special Inspector General for Ukraine Assistance Act
• H.R. 3039 - DRIVE Act
• H.R. 3358 - To prohibit any requirement for recipients of Federal contracts to disclose greenhouse gas emissions and climate-related financial risk, and for other purposes.
• H.R. 3612 - To amend title 5, United States Code, to prohibit investments under the Thrift Savings Plan in certain mutual funds that make investment decisions based primarily on environmental, social, or governance criteria, and for other purposes.
• H.R. 3638 - To direct the Director of the Office of Management and Budget to require the disclosure of violations of Federal law with respect to human trafficking or alien smuggling, and for other purposes.
• H.R. 3568 - To amend the Safe Drinking Water Act to clarify the requisite timeline for making a decision on the approval or disapproval of a State underground injection control program, and for other purposes.

It is a privilege to represent our district in Congress.  While we’ve faced many challenges in recent years, through strength and prayer, we have persevered. 

Please know that we are always a resource for you.  Call or stop by any of the offices (YOUR offices, we work for you), whenever you need assistance or want to talk about an issue before Congress.

For assistance or more information, please call or go online to visit us at weber.house.gov.

God Bless you and God Bless Texas!