Dear Friends,It has been an eventful week in Washington as Congress passed important reforms to streamline the government permitting process, continued efforts to hold Planned Parenthood accountable, and heard an historic address from His Holiness Pope Francis. Here are a few highlights that I wanted to share with you: Tennessee Students Hear From Pope Francis
This week His Holiness Pope Francis made history as the first Pope to address a joint session of Congress. I was grateful for the Pope’s strong words in defense of the unborn, reminding Congress of its responsibility to “protect and defend human life at every stage of its development.” While in our nation’s Capital, Pope Francis also met with the Little Sisters of the Poor – a Catholic charitable organization suing the Obama Administration over its coercive abortion-pill mandate (also known as the HHS mandate) that violates religious freedom. Every Member of Congress received an allotment of tickets to watch Pope Francis’s address to Congress from the Capitol lawn. I was happy to give my tickets to the Diocese of Nashville’s Catholic Youth Office so that high school students from across the mid-state could witness this special event.Passing the RAPID Act to Cut Through Bureaucratic Red Tape
For too long, government hurdles have stood in the way of important infrastructure projects and energy developments that we need to keep our country competitive and to create good American jobs. Perhaps the most infamous example of this botched system is the Administration’s failure to approve the Keystone Pipeline, a project that would create over 40,000 jobs and promote energy security. To that end, the House of Representatives voted this week with my support to pass the RAPID Act – legislation that would streamline the permitting process for infrastructure, energy and other federally-funded construction projects. The RAPID Act would place a hard three-year deadline on federal agencies authorized to review the environmental impact of these initiatives, eliminate the requirement for unnecessary duplicative studies, and prohibit agencies from including faulty, politically-motivated science in their cost-benefit analysis. This bill passed today with a bipartisan vote of 226 – 170 and will be sent to the U.S. Senate for further consideration. It’s Academy Season in #TN06!
Each year, Members of Congress may nominate a limited number of students to four of the country’s five military service academies. This past Saturday, I held my annual Academy Day in Lebanon to provide high school students from our district with information on how to continue their education at one of these institutions. I appreciate the students, parents, academy officers, and admissions staff who came out to join us. If you or your child is interested in attending a U.S. military academy but did not get a chance to attend, you can still apply for a nomination from my office until October 15th.Update on the Fight Against Planned Parenthood
This past Wednesday, I had an opportunity to participate in a panel discussion on the pro-life movement hosted by the Southern Baptist Church’s Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission (ERLC). I shared about my House-passed bill to freeze all federal funding for Planned Parenthood and discussed the next steps forward. Regrettably, the U.S. Senate defeated a Continuing Resolution just yesterday that contained the provisions of my bill. That doesn’t mean we give up the fight. Just as we fought for over a decade to pass SJR 127 – later known as Amendment One – to restore pro-life protections in Tennessee state law, we must also be engaged in the effort against Planned Parenthood for the long-haul in Congress. Meanwhile, the House will continue its investigations with an Oversight Committee hearing on Tuesday featuring testimony from Planned Parenthood Cecile Richards.
