January 20, 2023 -- Republicans in Congress are uniting behind a similar messaging strategy on the looming debt limit fight, calling on Democrats and the Biden administration to come to the negotiating table to discuss a path forward. The Republican Main Street Partnership, a group that includes more than 70 sitting members of Congress dedicated to “commonsense” legislation, has unveiled a new digital ad campaign, playing the blame game on the debt limit and casting President Joe Biden and the Democrats as those responsible for the United States reaching the $31.4 trillion debt cap. The ad, according to a Punchbowl Newsreport, calls on Biden to “come to the table to address the debt ceiling or Americans will suffer.” The commercial also says the group stands with Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) and demands that Biden “get to work.” Many members of this group are Republicans in swing districts that could face tough reelection campaigns in 2024. ... Read the full story in The Washington Examiner

This column was originally published on the USA TODAY Network on June 17, 2022. By Sarah Chamberlain Media reports on a recent Pew Research survey on “voter anger” have taken the angle that Americans are so fed up with politics right now that “two-thirds of Democrats and Republicans believe that candidates who run for office do so to benefit their own personal interests, not the community’s interests.” Is that news — or even a surprise? As a whole, Americans believe democracy is broken. One extreme blames the other extreme for our problems. Many people’s views are driven by a hot-button topic, and neither party is willing to give the other one a “legislative victory” in fear that it will help someone get re-elected. But a deeper dive into the results of Pew’s 102-page survey report doesn’t paint that grim a picture beyond that of a deeply fragmented country frustrated by legislative inaction, Biden Administration failures, and philosophical splits on key issues. Buried in the report is the idea that two-thirds of respondents — and we don’t know how many actually vote — have an unfavorable opinion of the federal government but two-thirds have a favorable view of their local government. In other words, they know they have input into who represents them through the power of the ballot box. If they don’t vote, that’s their fault. And when November rolls around, they’ll have input into who represents them in Washington, in their state capitol or in their neighborhoods. Which candidate shares similar values? Which candidate do they trust? But they have no control over the federal government. If they live in California, they have no voice in whether Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez goes back to Congress. If they live in Maine, they have no control over whether an extreme Republican in the South gets re-elected, beyond their ability to comment on social media or support their opponent with campaign contributions. And they can’t control with the executive branch is doing to make their lives better or worse. So what are the solutions? Demand transparency. Ask about the incumbent’s accomplishments – the bills they’ve proposed, the bills they’ve supported (or voted against), and what they’ve brought back to your district. If they don’t talk about that, you can ask in public appearances or you can go to congress.gov and check it out for yourself. Demand the same transparency from the incumbent’s opponent. That may take a bit more work, but if they’re a state representative or held other political office, you should be able to get some sense of what they’ll do if elected. Ask the media for comparisons. Figure out what’s true and what’s misinformation. Keep in mind that everyone has an agenda and political leaning, including many media. Read or watch something you don’t normally watch, if you can’t discern the truth. Get involved. Only 22% of respondents said they’ve contacted an elected official in the past year; 16% attended a local government meeting in person or online; and 31% said they’ve contacted a government agency. Vote in the primaries. I’ve written elsewhere that you can’t “wait until November” because there are 10 people on your primary ballot. The most passionate people – the extremes of both parties – tend to vote in primaries unless their candidate has clearly not served their constituents or embarrassed them. Many of the rest stay home. And that results in a November matchup that may leave you scratching your head and telling pollsters you’re not happy with the government. NBC said, “it’s a flashing red light for all politicians when two-thirds of Democrats and Republicans believe the simple act of running for office is for personal, not public, interest.” Maybe, but that could also just be a reflection of the overall frustration and a criticism of other officeholders. But it is a concern — albeit an unsurprising one — that 75% of Americans say the country is headed in the wrong direction. Pew didn’t ask the most important question of all: Do you think you can trust your representative (congressperson or senator) to do what is right? And the reason they didn’t is obvious: Because that’s what the ballot box is for (and because they only surveyed 2,500 people). And if you don’t vote, stop whining about what’s happening in D.C. Sarah Chamberlain is president and CEO of the Republican Main Street Partnership.

This post was originally published on InsideSources on June 5, 2022. Inside Sources is distributing it to papers across the country. By Sarah Chamberain Early primary results have seen candidates from the fringes of both parties winning and endorsements from party leaders not always having the predicted effect. As we head toward primaries across most of the rest of the country, internal fights over electability and ideological purity will determine who wins and who falls short. But even more, winners and losers will be determined by who shows up to vote. This year, Americans will decide 435 House seats, 35 of 100 Senate seats, 35 of 50 governorships and countless pivotal local positions. But many voters don’t realize that redistricting has left us with only 33 districts nationally that could flip between red and blue. The rest are relatively secure for the party controlling the seat or who benefited from the redrawing of the district. But it still matters who is on the ballot in November. In the face of expectations that control of the House and Senate will move to Republicans in November, primary candidates from the far left and far right have beaten candidates willing to govern. Successful candidates in November may need voters to cross party lines and embrace an agenda that moves the country forward. That means they’ll need support from voters frustrated with political polarization or angry about rising prices and the inability of Congress and the president to work together without crossing ideological lines. Friends and business leaders are asking, “How could so-and-so have won.” I’m not surprised by their responses after I ask if they actually voted in their primary. It’s often a hard no, punctuated by some variation on “I don’t vote in primaries when there are 10 people on the ballot; I vote in November.” A Pew Research Center analysis finds that Democrats and Republicans are farther apart ideologically today than at any time in the last 40 years. There are only two dozen members of Congress whose voting records would put them in the “moderate” category, versus more than 160 in 1971-72. The challenge, says Pew, is that Americans at the ends of the ideological spectrum are the most active in national politics. That makes participation in the primaries particularly important. A small percentage of the electorate is either choosing the presumptive winner of the November election or putting forward a risky candidate who may fall short when voters compare the two candidates’ ability and willingness to govern. Republicans have taken care of some of the problems during the early primary season, but they have also put relatively safe seats at risk by nominating candidates who embrace extremist views. Democrats are doing the same and risking seemingly secure seats. Voters from both parties are more likely to swallow hard and support a candidate from the “other” party if they share some common values, particularly — as has already happened — they see an extreme candidate in their state or district as “unelectable” in November. We need to aggressively call out or vote against the candidates who preach racist or conspiratorial ideas. We should be justifiably concerned that the Republican Party’s name, identity and deep conservative values are being hijacked by the fringe elements wanting to relitigate the past and ignore the future. Republicans are well-positioned to make substantive gains in November since more than half of voters believe inflation is the country’s most critical issue. Help from Congress can come only if your representative is willing to work with the other side rather than entrenching in a position. I think we can all agree that we can’t spend more than we bring in, and we must make painful compromises while staying true to our values. Your vote in the primaries is just as important as your vote in November. Which candidate best represents your views? Which candidate would you be proud to say at family get-togethers that you supported? Which candidate will help you say “yes” in two years to Ronald Reagan’s oft-quoted question, “Are you better off than you were four years ago?” At this point, two years into a failed Biden administration, getting to yes will be an uphill battle if we sit back and wait until November to pick the best candidate on the ballot. Sarah Chamberlain is president and CEO of the Main Street Partnership.

This op-ed originally ran in the Washington Examiner on May 27, 2022 By Reps. John Katko and Nicole Malliotakis In 2020, New York state rolled out new criminal justice reform laws that eliminated cash bail and expanded pretrial release for several misdemeanor and felony charges. Since that time, thousands of violent criminal defendants have been released back on to our streets, free to wreak havoc in our communities. With public safety in New York deteriorating by the day, enough is enough. Last year, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) appointed us to the American Security Task Force. This working group was tasked with formulating a legislative plan to restore public safety. Republicans are ready to implement this strategy when we retake the House in 2022. As New Yorkers, we have seen firsthand the tremendous failures of bail reform. Most recently, New York’s bail reform law allowed a man with more than 24 arrests — including armed robbery, drunk driving, and various gun charges — to be released while awaiting trial. He went on to open fire at a crowded Brooklyn intersection, sending crowds of people fleeing for safety. A central element of our plan is to curb these dangerous laws nationwide. Inspired by listening sessions we’ve held with the New York City Police Department and law enforcement agencies from across the state, we developed and introduced a bill that would bolster public safety and give prosecutors the tools they need to hold violent repeat offenders accountable. Our bill, the SERVE Our Communities Act, would provide new federal funding to states for programs that help struggling individuals avoid incarceration. For a state to be eligible, it must first take sensible steps to expand police hiring, combat anti-police sentiment, or, critically for New York state, enact a "dangerousness standard" that would allow judges to consider a defendant’s danger to the community when making bail or pretrial release decisions. Without such a standard, judges are limited in their ability to consider the risk an individual poses to public safety when making bail or pretrial release decisions, and by extension, prosecutors are limited in their ability to make this argument in court. This bill has received overwhelming support from the law enforcement community. We can and should take sensible steps to improve our criminal justice system while simultaneously investing in our police and preventing repeat violence. Despite overwhelming evidence that proposals such as ours are badly needed, Democrats in Albany have failed to address the pitfalls of bail reform adequately while the far Left in Washington wants to go even further to weaken public safety. By now, we are all familiar with the misguided "defund the police" movement, which House Republicans have staunchly opposed. However, less known is a proposal called the No Money Bail Act, a measure written by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) that would build off of New York state’s bail reform laws and completely eliminate the use of cash bail nationwide. Originally introduced in 2016, this proposal has been reintroduced in every subsequent session of Congress and even attracted the support of Vice President Kamala Harris. When it comes to keeping our families and communities safe, we can’t afford to go backward. We must prevent these radical policies from reaching our communities. Republicans are committed to restoring public safety. When we retake the House this year, we will come prepared with a clear-eyed legislative plan to curb dangerous bail reform laws and make New York state and our country a safer place for our families. John Katko represents New York's 24th Congressional District. Nicole Malliotakis represents New York's 11th Congressional District. They are both members of the Republican Main Street Partnership.

This op-ed originally ran in the Bakersfield Californian on May 15, 2022 By Rep. David Valadao This week is National Police Week — a time to honor the brave officers who gave their lives in the line of duty. It is also an important time to express our thanks to current law enforcement officers for their service. With crime rates on the rise in California and across the country, now more than ever we need to equip our law enforcement officers with the tools necessary to serve and protect our communities. Unfortunately, the anti-police climate created by far-left politicians, coupled with California’s soft-on-crime policies, are making these already difficult jobs even harder. In my meetings with local police, I hear directly from officers about how these challenges are affecting their force. The anti-police sentiment across the country has made it more difficult to recruit and retain talent. A survey of departments by the Police Executive Research Forum confirms this, and shows retirements are up 45 percent and resignations up 18 percent compared to the year prior. California’s lax sentencing policies have incentivized repeat offenders, leading to more criminals on the streets that our officers are picking up over and over again just to see them commit more crime. Police officers are being asked to respond to complicated situations like mental health emergencies and domestic violence. These increasing responsibilities coupled with staff shortages and a society that is eager to make police the bad guys is resulting in burnout and low morale. Our law enforcement officers are consistently being asked to do more with less resources. Cutting department budgets doesn’t making any of these challenges better and won’t make our communities safer. Police departments in small communities, like many in the Central Valley, struggle to have enough funding to properly recruit, train and provide resources for their officers. We need to incentivize qualified candidates to serve and protect the communities we live in. I’m proud to support legislation in Congress that would provide law enforcement with the tools they need to succeed. The bipartisan Invest to Protect Act would establish a grant program through the Department of Justice to fund training for de-escalation, domestic violence and officer safety to local police departments with less than 200 officers. In this year’s government funding bill, I secured critical federal dollars for our local police departments, including funding for the Kings County sheriff’s body camera program and the Lemoore police dispatch center. Investing in public safety is just common sense — and it is something we should all support. In addition to making sure our departments are properly funded, we also need to provide support for our police officers and their families. Our officers answer traumatic calls, including homicides, child abuse and domestic violence, and we need to prioritize their mental health and make sure we are giving them the resources they need to do these difficult jobs. The Invest to Protect Act provides grants for mental health services, treatments and therapy for the police officers of small communities like ours. According to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund, 472 officers died in the line of duty in 2021, and so far in 2022, 91 officers have been killed on the job. Each of these officers put on their uniform and went to work knowing the risk they were taking. We owe it to these officers to ensure those who are currently serving have the resources they need to do their jobs safely and effectively. I am proud to support our police officers here in the Central Valley. National Police Week reminds us that our police officers are everyday heroes, who too often don’t get the recognition and appreciation they deserve. I will continue working to make sure our law enforcement officers have the tools and resources they need to keep themselves, and our communities, safe. Rep. David Valadao, R-Hanford, is the representative for California’s 21st Congressional District, which includes Kings County and portions of Fresno, Kern and Tulare counties. He is a member of the Republican Main Street Partnership.

By Sarah Chamberlain Rampant inflation. Skyrocketing gas prices at the pump. A Kremlin invasion of one of its neighboring countries. A hostile Iran. Ronald Reagan faced those issues because of Jimmy Carter’s failures. President Biden faces the same challenges dealing with a domestic energy and mineral production crisis created by his policies. But he can follow the early 1980 Reagan playbook and embrace policies that Congress will support in a bipartisan manner. Reagan’s integrated solution – which subsequent Presidents adopted– was accomplished before an era where clean technology helped the United States become a net exporter of liquified natural gas to our economic partners. He cut regulations, encouraged more domestic oil and gas production, pressured our NATO allies to reduce their reliance on Russian oil and gas exports, protected Persian Gulf energy supply lines for us and our allies, and encouraged partner nations like Saudi Arabia to increase their oil output. The result? The collapse of the Soviet Union, the demolition of the Berlin Wall, and a true economic revival. Under Reagan – and others before Biden – we had energy dominance. President Biden’s announcement that he’ll tap the oil reserve to push gasoline prices down is putting lipstick on a pig to distract from his failed policies. It will do nothing to increase the domestic production of our resources. It is a short-term panacea with an eye on the 2022 midterms, not a long-term strategy. President Biden has already embraced the progressives’ environmental vision and its misguided opposition to all forms of carbon-based fossil fuels. The truth is that the United States is more environmentally friendly than many other large countries. Congress and President Biden have embraced the Reagan playbook by banning Russian oil and gas imports and many other products. The President could do much more. He could lift restrictions on U.S. production to increase supply, lower prices, and continue exporting liquified natural gas (LNG) exports. While exports rose nearly 16% in March to a record high, with shipments to Europe leading the way, we can do better. Europe got hooked on Russian gas despite President Reagan’s warnings. It now depends on Russia for about 40% of its LNG imports, thanks to a 3,500-mile gas pipeline from Siberia to Germany that Reagan unsuccessfully tried to block. We can’t help Europe reduce its dependence on Russian gas without a Reagan-like strategy. We need to shorten permit review timelines, streamline (not eliminate) debate over site selection and environmental impacts, and stop the weaponization of frivolous lawsuits. Candidate Biden promised more domestic mineral production. President Biden reversed course and canceled federal mining leases. We need to reinstate those canceled leases and we need to access oil and gas on federal lands and waters. We can reduce our overreliance on adversarial nations like Venezuela, Russia, and China. We can support the industry’s efforts to reduce or eliminate carbon from natural gas at the time of combustion (carbon capture). We can reinstate the Keystone XL pipeline and put the brakes on Putin’s Nord Stream 2 pipeline to alleviate market uncertainty and reignite investment in the oil and gas sector. We can abandon the effort to undo the streamlining of the National Environmental Policy Act accomplished under President Trump. Environmentally conscious mining, drilling, and electricity generation should be the goal for the production and use of fossil fuels. We can grow American jobs while protecting the environment. We can push back on the EPA's over-regulation, focusing on its destructive, misleading "Clean Power Plan." Environmentally conscious mining, drilling, and electricity generation should be the goal. Environmental regulations should be realistic and scientifically achievable. The path forward is simple: Reduce regulation, encourage our European allies and Pacific partners to ban imports of Russian oil and gas products, free up our oil and gas reserves, and leverage what are some of the world’s most advanced (and cleanest) extractive technologies. The Reagan strategy could be summarized in that previous paragraph; the Biden strategy requires a book-length summary. Reagan’s policies were rooted in a conservative, limited government, free market, pro-competitive approach. Equity doesn’t stop at our borders. Sarah Chamberlain is president and CEO of the Republican Main Street Partnership.

By Rep. Mike Simpson (ID-02) Like many Americans, I am concerned about the recent increases in violent crime across the country. I support reforms within law enforcement, but efforts from liberals to defund the police have hindered their ability to protect our communities. The fact is, most police officers are selfless public servants who risk their lives each day, and Congress is obligated to help provide them with the necessary resources to do their jobs. I commend the men and women in law enforcement who keep our communities safe every day. They have an important job to do, and I firmly believe giving law enforcement officials (LEOs) the ability to correctly do their jobs, with safety, is crucial to their success and to maintaining peace in our neighborhoods. Idaho “backs the blue,” and I am working hard to promote this philosophy in Congress. “I have consistently opposed legislation put forward by Democrats that hinders our LEOs’ ability protect our communities. I voted against H.R. 1280, the Justice in Policing Act, which would mandate a blanket ban of certain law enforcement techniques, establish an overly broad national registry for police misconduct, and dangerously lower legal standards to pursue criminal and civil penalties for police misconduct. Unfortunately, Democrats rejected efforts to achieve a bipartisan solution to police misconduct, and instead developed a bill that could impede the ability of good police officers to keep our communities safe and could ultimately have adverse effects on public safety. In order to provide state and local law enforcement with the resources they need, I supported H.R. 2471, the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2022, which: Provided $246 million in State and Local Law Enforcement Assistance. Provided $53 million for competitive grants within the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS). One of COPS’ duties is to assist state, local, and tribal governments in hiring LEOs. As you may know, many law enforcement offices across the nation are struggling to hire and retain officers. Provided $112 million for State and Local law enforcement services to update their technology and equipment. Provided $2.4 billion in funding for the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), which coordinates with state and local law enforcement to remove dangerous drugs such as methamphetamine and fentanyl off our streets. I also recently cosponsored H.R. 3079, the Protect and Serve Act. Introduced by Rep. John Rutherford (FL-04), this legislation would raise the minimum penalty for knowingly assaulting a law enforcement officer across a state line or on a federal roadway to ten years imprisonment and a fine. According to FBI data, attacks on law enforcement have been at an all-time high, and the aim of this legislation is to create a deterrent and reverse this trend. In the 117th Congress, I have used my position on the House Committee on Appropriations to approve legislation that gives our LEOs the tools and training they need to protect and serve our communities. I have also voted against any attempt from Democrats to strip federal law enforcement programs. I understand that any attempt to defund the police both jeopardizes our LEOs and endangers our communities, and I will continue to prioritize support for state and local law enforcement during my time in Congress.

This article originally ran in The Cook Political Report on April 21, 2021. Here's a link to the article on Cook's website. By Amy Walter GOP Rep. Fred Upton's announcement last week that he was retiring from his western Michigan district after 35 years means that moderate Republicans are now almost entirely extinct from the U.S. Congress. Twenty to thirty years ago, Republicans like Upton were more plentiful. There were northeastern Republicans like Nancy Johnson, Chris Shays and Rob Simms from Connecticut, Amo Houghton and Sherwood Boehlert from New York, and midwesterners like Upton, Steve Gunderson in Wisconsin, and Mark Kirk from suburban Chicago. They often broke with their party on social issues like abortion, guns and the environment but were fiscally conservative and pro-business. Like conservative Blue Dogs who were once plentiful in southern and rural America, these so-called Rockefeller-Republicans have disappeared, as Democrats now represent their once solidly red suburban districts. With these members gone, goes the narrative, so has the civility and functionality of Congress. Without their counterweight, the leadership in both parties is now captive to the wishes and wants of the extremes like those in the GOP Freedom Caucus or the Democratic Progressive Caucus. Upton, in an interview with Meet The Press' Chuck Todd last weekend, argued that unless Republicans pick up more than 15 seats this fall (for a total of at least 230 GOP-held seats), "it will be very hard to govern for Republicans… knowing that we've got the MTG [Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene] element that's really not a part of a governing majority." With very little chance that Republicans don't take control of the House this fall, Upton's point about a 'governing majority' is the more critical one to focus on. In other words, it's not just how many seats Republicans pick up, but what kind of Republicans win those seats that matter. Sarah Chamberlain, the president and CEO of the Republican Main Street Partnership (of which Upton is a member), argues that while the era of the GOP moderate is over, it doesn't mean that the Freedom Caucus will be running the House GOP conference. Back when Rep. Amo Houghton founded Main Street in the late 1990's, most of the members were pro-choice GOPers. Today, none of the members are pro-choice. "There's no such thing as a moderate [Republican]," Chamberlain told me, "They aren't here anymore." But, she argues that her members "aren't bomb-throwers. They want to get work done and move the country forward." A GOP moderate in this day and age doesn't mean someone who is not ideologically conservative; it means someone who wants to govern. The 60-plus members of the Main Street conference don't fit into a nice, easily defined ideological box. All but two of the 10 Republicans who voted to impeach Pres. Trump came from their ranks. But, more than one-third of Main Street members voted against certifying Pennsylvania's electoral college votes. And, almost every one of the 13 GOP votes in support of the infrastructure bill came from Main Streeters. Moreover, says Chamberlain, Main Street members "aren't going to stab McCarthy in the back." And while some conservatives are urging a GOP-controlled House to quickly bring up impeachment proceedings against President Biden, Chamberlain says she "can't imagine they [Main Street members] are going to vote to impeach Biden," especially at a time when "we have inflation out of control, we have a war raging. Crime is out of control. " Upcoming primaries this spring and summer will help determine whether Republicans will have more "govern-ers" or more "bomb-throwers" in the next Congress. For its part, Main Street is supporting two of its own members against primary challengers who argue that those members are not sufficiently pro-Trump. In West Virginia, they've endorsed Rep. David McKinley in his race against GOP Rep. Alex Mooney. Mooney, who's been endorsed by Trump, is attacking McKinley for supporting "Pelosi's January 6th anti-Trump witch hunt." In Idaho, Main Street member Rep. Mike Simpson faces a challenge from Idaho Falls attorney Bryan Smith, who calls Simpson an "anti-Trump career politician." Both Simpson and McKinley voted to certify the 2020 election. McKinley drew Trump's ire for supporting the bipartisan infrastructure bill. But, the primary that will give us our first test of the Freedom Caucus versus the Main Street caucus is taking place in early May in Ohio's newly drawn 9th CD. This one-time Democratic stronghold in Toledo, held for years by Democratic Rep. Marcy Kaptur, is now GOP-leaning, giving Republicans their first chance in almost 40 years to pick up this northwestern Ohio district. The Main Street endorsed candidate, state Sen. Theresa Gavarone, calls herself a "pro-Trump conservative" who is "fueling the conservative comeback." Her opponent, Craig Riedel, wraps himself in the Trump mantle as well, and pledges to join "Ohio's Jim Jordan in the Freedom Caucus." Regardless of how many seats the GOP picks up this fall, they won't actually be doing much "governing" in 2023. After all, a Democrat will still be in the White House. But, that doesn't mean that the GOP leadership can't outline a governing agenda. But, the ability to keep the focus on that governing agenda and style is determined as much by the followers as the leaders. Former Speakers John Boehner and Paul Ryan were unable to keep the party's extreme elements from dictating the pace and the focus of the conference. Will McCarthy be able to avoid their fate? For her part, Chamberlain feels confident that the Main Street caucus will be adding a significant number of new members to its ranks. These members aren't the moderates that Main Street used to have 15 and 20 years ago. But, she argues, they will give leadership the support they need to keep the party focused on issues instead of in-fighting.

By Sarah Chamberlain Fourteen of RMSP’s House members recently returned from a trip to the border where they saw a humanitarian and national security crisis caused by the Biden Administration's failure to enforce our immigration laws. The delegation of Republican representatives included host Tony Gonzales (TX-23), Cliff Bentz (OR-02), Ken Calvert (CA-42), John Curtis (UT-03), Andrew Garbarino (NY-02), Carlos Gimenez (FL-26), Bill Huizenga (MI-02), Chris Jacobs (NY-27), Young Kim (CA-39), Peter Meijer (MI-03), Carol Miller (WV-03), Mariannette Miller-Meeks (IA-02), John Rutherford (FL-04), and David Valadao (CA-21). “Every state is a border state when it comes to the ramifications of the border crisis,” Rep. Garbarino told me after the trip. “More than 1,000 migrants per day evade capture by border patrol and are in this country unvetted – and that’s just the ones we know about. In Fiscal Year 2021, the border patrol released nearly 250,000 migrants freely into the United States. It’s no coincidence that MS-13, whose violence plagues my Long Island district, was the number one gang affiliation apprehended last year. Migrants may enter Del Rio, but they don’t stay there. They disperse throughout the country bringing with them crime, drugs, and a strain on the resources of communities far north of the border.” Here are some of the group’s takeaways: 1. Morale among Border Patrol officers is alarmingly low. Rep. Calvert was concerned that Custom and Border Patrol (CBP) agents cannot effectively do their jobs, because they are understaffed and stuck processing much of the time. The individual stories we heard during the trip will stick with us for a long time. 2. The border needs more resources. This goes beyond understaffing to a combination of a physical structure, manpower, and even the lack of COVID-19 testing. Rep. Huizenga said, “Congress and the Administration should prioritize CBP funding, so our [agents] are properly staffed, trained, and equipped with the tools necessary to do their jobs successfully.” Rep. Miller agreed: “We must invest in advanced technologies to ensure CBP can effectively surveil our border and apprehend those who attempt to cross illegally.” 3. The Biden Administration should not abandon Title 42, but it should stop its catastrophic Catch and Release program. The courts are allowing the use of the Title 42 public-health policy to expel migrant families at the southern border, a strategy introduced by the Trump Administration. “If this action isn’t sustained, the record number of illegal border crossings will rise even further and strain systems at all levels of government,” Rep. Huizenga said. As for Catch and Release, there were nearly 1.6 million backlogged immigration court cases at the end of 2021. The average wait for a hearing is more than three years, and the government can’t keep track of where released aliens are for that many years. 4. We need a greater emphasis in Congress on human trafficking. We were stunned to learn that $24 million per week is generated from illicit human trafficking in the Del Rio sector alone. Rep. Kim has launched a human trafficking task force in her southern California district, which saw 56 human trafficking arrests during Super Bowl Week. We need to expand on those efforts. 5. The Biden Administration needs to be more transparent about the border. “The Republican party has called for more transparency on everything from the debacle in Afghanistan to what is occurring in Ukraine, the inflation numbers, to border security. They need to let the truth be known” about what’s happening here, Rep. Gonzales said, complaining that members of Congress need to ask “specifically worded questions if we want to get answers from the Biden Administration.” We were troubled by the President and Vice President preferences to only get briefings from their staff. The Vice President’s only visit to the border was last June. The President was 500 miles away on March 7 but couldn’t take the time for a side trip. We also agreed that what’s going on in Ukraine can’t distract us from the border. “While the majority of our attention is rightfully focused on Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine, we should also be paying attention to the crisis at our own border,” says Rep. Miller-Meeks. “We are seeing record high encounters, drug seizures, and illegal crossings as we approach spring when migration historically increases.” We walked away convinced that legal immigration is the only way people should come to the United States. Rep. Kim, an immigrant herself, says, “Our country must continue to be a beacon of hope and opportunity for people around the world. This trip reinforced my view that our immigration system is broken and in dire need of reform.” Rep. Miller agreed: “Those who attempt to circumvent the system and enter illegally must be held accountable. Anyone can choose to pursue the American dream, but they must do so in a legal way.” Rep. Valadao echoed the view of the entire group during the trip when he said, “I appreciated the opportunity to learn from Border Patrol Agents and community leaders about the challenges they are facing at the border. We need to take action to stop the flow of illegal drugs and pursue meaningful immigration reform to keep our border secure and communities safe.”

By Sen. Shelley Moore Capito According to AAA, the average gas price in West Virginia today is $4.07. Some parts of the country are paying more than $5–or even more than $6!–per gallon of regular unleaded gas. As a country, we’ve surpassed the highest recorded average gas price ever. Unfortunately, this was all too predictable given the Biden administration’s domestic energy policy actions. On Day One of his presidency, President Biden managed to immediately kill thousands of union jobs and paralyze America’s energy industry with the Executive Orders that killed the Keystone XL pipeline. At peak capacity, the pipeline would deliver 830,000 barrels of oil per day to American refineries. The president also put a moratorium on new oil and gas leases on federal lands, moving America from energy superpower back to an increased reliance on foreign adversaries for fuel feedstocks. Equally as important, these are countries that have much more lax environmental rules. The Biden administration has also been openly against all-of-the-above energy resources and anti-pipeline with its rhetoric, through its actions, and embodied by the people they have elevated to leadership roles like Gina McCarthy and John Kerry. The administration has also injected regulatory uncertainty at a time of record inflation. And, they want to completely rewrite the definition of WOTUS — otherwise known as Waters of the United States — to regulate ponds and ditches (even on private lands) all across the country. A broader definition will devastate energy production as well as sectors like agriculture and home building at a time when their products are already in high demand and under immense inflationary pressures. To add onto this, the administration is considering new, tighter methane regulations that will also raise energy costs, including for home heating and electricity bills. It’s revising the regulations to implement the National Environmental Policy Act — otherwise known as NEPA — undoing the streamlining that was done during the Trump administration. NEPA touches nearly every infrastructure project in our country. More red tape means more costs for producers. This regulatory uncertainty is increasing energy prices for Americans across the board and is felt the most acutely at the gas pump. Then you have the Energy Department slow walking the buildout of LNG export terminals, which means we can’t export much-needed energy to our allies as efficiently as we could be. Endless regulatory delay and environmental lawsuits — including on permits already issued — delay more than pipelines and kill more than jobs. They also crush our economy with inflation and leave us, and our allies, more susceptible to bad actors like Russia, Venezuela, and Iran. All of these actions have a tremendous chilling effect on investments, buildout, and research and development of domestic energy infrastructure. This couldn’t come at a worse time. In fact, we’re seeing the importance of energy independence play out in real time with the destruction in Ukraine. The Biden administration’s policies that I just outlined weaken our ability to provide an energy backstop to our European allies trying to break their Russian oil and gas habit. Right now, the world is begging for American leadership. Ukraine is begging for American leadership. Europe is begging for American leadership. That includes energy leadership. We need to incentivize American energy infrastructure buildout, drill on federal lands, and provide regulatory certainty. We must address the poor energy policy decisions of the Biden administration in order to unleash full American energy production to provide long term energy affordability for ourselves and our allies. We must act quickly because the energy security of the free world depends on it. U.S. Sen. Shelley Capito, R-W.Va., serves on the following Senate committees: Appropriations, Environment and Public Works, Commerce, Science, & Transportation, and Rules and Administration. This op-ed originally ran in The Intelligencer and Wheeling News-Register on April 2, 2022

Throughout the month of March, we highlighted our 16 female RMSP Members for Women's History Month on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. We thought you might like to see all of them in one place. If you're interested in supporting our efforts to elect strong Republicans like these women during the upcoming 2022 midterms, you can go here: You can also subscribe to our newsletter by going to our website and scrolling to the bottom and signing up.

U.S. Senator Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), a survivor of domestic violence and sexual assault, had her landmark bill to modernize and reauthorize the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) signed into law, an effort she has championed and worked on for more than three years. Ernst, a member of the Republican Main Street Partnership, joined her fellow leaders of the Violence Against Women Act Reauthorization Act, Senators Susan Collins (R-Maine), Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), and Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), at the White House on Wednesday for the signing of the legislation. The bill, now law, reauthorizes VAWA through 2027, preserves advancements made in previous reauthorizations, and includes a number of additional improvements to the current law. Ernst also spoke on the Senate floor (video link) applauding the modernized, reauthorized VAWA.