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With the House back in action, we’re working through the remaining appropriations bills, one by one. As you know, amendments are an important way to help fine-tune legislation, and I’m pleased several of my amendments have been approved recently. 

(Side note: the complexity of just one appropriations bill is precisely why Congress needs to make it a priority to earnestly work on our budget much earlier in the year, rather than pushing things off until the last possible minute. But I digress…)

Usually, amendments on funding bills like this can be a bit dense, so here are some brief explanations of a few of my amendments. All of these passed and should be included in the House’s final version of these bills.

For several appropriations bills, I had successful amendments that will prohibit funding being used for the American Climate Corps. This is a Biden initiative for things like “bolstering community resilience, advancing environmental justice, etc.” We’re $34 trillion in debt and this is what he wants to spend money on?! No. If this organization needs to exist, it ought to be a private entity, not something funded with your tax dollars.

Also for several bills, I had successful amendments that will prohibit funding for studies and so-called working groups that investigate the “Social Cost of Greenhouse Gases.” I’m not making this up. There are people in the federal government who want to spend millions to pontificate about what the social implications of greenhouse gasses might be. For what purpose?!! This is another glaring example of how our federal spending has gone off the rails.

Next, here are a few additional amendments of mine which passed, and are specific to a particular appropriations bill:

--- H.R. 4394 for “Energy and Water Development and Related Agencies” ---

APPROVED: Amendment No. 46, which prohibits funding for rule titled “Conservation Standards for Manufactured Housing.” These are onerous energy regulations that federal bureaucrats are trying to place on manufactured houses, which will only drive up the costs for middle- and lower-income earners. These folks are already being beaten into the ground with Biden’s economy, Bidenflation, and Biden’s interest rates. We don’t need to pile more costs on top of them, especially when it comes to home ownership!

APPROVED: Amendment No. 47, which prohibits use of funds for an “Office of Scientific Workforce Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion” at the Energy Department. I’m sick and tired of this woke DEI nonsense. It has NO BUSINESS in our federal government.

--- H.R. 4821 for “The Department of the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies” ---

APPROVED: Amendment No. 109, which prohibits funding for a rule titled “Control of Air Pollution from New Motor Vehicles: Heavy-Duty Engine and Vehicle Standards.” This is another set of ridiculous regulations the Biden Administration is trying to place on heavy-duty vehicles that would increase the cost of each vehicle up to $8,300 each! All that for MINIMAL improvements to their emissions, which doesn’t come close to justifying the costs.

APPROVED: Amendment No. 114 – Prohibits funding for EPA’s Justice, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Workgroup. Again, everywhere there’s a DEI program, it needs to be rooted out and eliminated. These have become the origin for discrimination everywhere.

I’ll continue using amendments to try and revise legislation to cut spending and reduce regulations. With the massive bloat of the federal government, it feels like trying to drain an Olympic swimming pool one teaspoon at a time. But the work needs to be done.