This past month was monumental here in Washington D.C. Just a couple of weeks ago President Trump announced his nomination for the Supreme Court, Brett Kavanaugh. My colleagues and I are keeping our commitments, Americans are #BetterOffNow with our booming economy, stronger military, and safer communities.

Rep. Norman Introduced:

#WastefulWednesday: This past Wednesday, I introduced two bills to eliminate superfluous, ridiculous, and unnecessary programs from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA). The first bill would end a grant from HHS to the University of Alabama that allowed them to develop a virtual reality platform designed to teach children in China how to cross the street. You know how much taxpayer money was spent on this program? $183,750. I can tell you firsthand that I did not have to spend a single dime to teach my four children how to cross the street.

The second bill I introduced was to end any federal funds from being spent on South Dakota State University’s “Historic Hobo Day.” The NEA granted $11,987 to the University for their homecoming celebration. During this particular celebration, students dress as homeless people to march, ride floats, and drive the “Bum-mobile” in a parade through the campus and downtown Brookings, South Dakota. Not only is this celebration derogatory and negatively-stereotypical, but it’s absolutely wasteful – plain and simple.

The EDA is a prime example of our federal government’s #wasteful spending habits.

The PREDICTS Act: I am also proud to have introduced the PREDICTS Act, which codifies the “No Surprises” regulation and provides for greater certainty and improved planning for incidental take permit holders and landowners entering into agreements to improve the status and recovery of at-risk and listed species. The PREDICTS Act illustrates that effective species conservation can coexist with project permitting and economic development. This legislation simply ensures that after a plan is agreed to and these public and private entities are executing the plans in good faith, that changes to the plan cannot be made retroactively. #ESAModernization

Rep. Norman speaks at ESA Modernization press conference to introduce PREDICTS Act.

The Department of Energy Veterans’ Health Initiative Act: This will help the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) provide better treatment for our veterans. This bill authorizes the Department of Energy (DOE) to collaborate with the VA, encouraging inter-agency cooperation with the goal of improving the healthcare services offered to the men and women who served our country. This bill also passed out of committee and will be voted on by the whole House after August.

The Incentivizing Fairness in Subcontracting Act: This bi-partisan bill has one simple goal: increasing the commercialization success of innovative technologies developed for small businesses. This bill will further help small businesses create new technology, commercialize their products, and generate jobs for all Americans.

House Passed:

With my support in the past several weeks the House passed:

H.R. 200, Strengthening Fishing Communities and Increasing Flexibility in Fisheries Management Act. This bill will provide necessary updates to the Magnuson-Stevens Fisheries Conservation & Management Act (MSA) such as: increasing the flexibility and transparency for fisheries managers; authorizing the use of electronic monitoring for collection of data, as well as research and compliance; and will create predictability for those coastal communities that are dependent on stable fishing activities.

H.R.50 - Unfunded Mandates Information and Transparency Act. In 1995, Congress passed the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (UMRA) to prevent the imposition of burdensome and costly federal unfunded mandates. In the past 23 years, however, many burdensome unfunded mandates slipped through the cracks due to loopholes or insufficient analysis. This bill closes those loopholes and improves the quality of regulations, as well as identifies harmful federal mandates.

JOBS and Investor Confidence Act of 2018: Also known as JOBS Act 3.0, is a combination of roughly 20 bills on capital formation that is designed to make it easier for startups and small businesses to get funding and pursue public offerings, which will spur long-term economic growth.

H.Res. 990: This House Resolution expresses support for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers. With talks from my colleagues on the other side of the aisle about abolishing ICE, I was proud to stand with the men and women who protect our border. In fact, only 18 Democrats voted in favor of this resolution. Here are some stats about ICE from last year:

1. They seized Over 900,000 pounds of narcotics, including 2,400lbs. of fentanyl which is primarily found in opioids
2. Over 1,000 child and human trafficking victims were rescued
3. Roughly 5,000 arrests of gang members
   

H.Con.Res. 119: This concurrent resolution expresses that a carbon tax would be detrimental to the U.S. economy. In recent years, there have been several proposals to levy a Federal tax on carbon, which is used to produce everything from fuel, electricity, food, and everyday household products

H.R. 6147, the Department of the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act: This bill is a combination of 2 of the annual 12 Appropriations Bills to fund the government. This bill provides necessary funding to protect and make the best of our nation’s natural resources, investments in infrastructure, reduces burdensome federal regulations, creates more opportunity for small banks and businesses, and provides funding to continue the fight against the opioid epidemic.

POTUS sUPREME COURT NOMINEE

President Trump has once again kept his commitment to nominate someone to the Supreme Court who is committed to upholding our Constitution. Brett Kavanaugh is an exceptional candidate to serve on the bench.

I firmly believe that Mr. Kavanaugh will rule according to an intellectually honest, historically accurate, and unbiased interpretation of our Constitution.

I am thankful that President Trump has chosen a conservative choice to serve with jurisprudence and not legislate from the bench.

cOMBATING OPIOiD CRISIS AT HOME

all american city 

I am beyond proud to see that Kershaw County, in conjunction with the cities of Elgin, Bethune, and Camden, was awarded the All-American City Award by The National Civic League! I am happy to see the hard-work and dedication of the 34 team members involved to showcase this great area.

This annual competition was held in Denver, Colorado and pitted Kershaw County and these 3 cities - totaling about 65,000 residents - against the likes of Cincinnati and Columbia to name a few...and was one of the winners!!

The award, given to 10 communities across the country each year, celebrates and recognizes neighborhoods, villages, towns, cities, counties, tribes and regions that engage residents in innovative, inclusive and effective efforts to tackle critical challenges.

This is an extraordinary accomplishment, and I couldn't be more excited to see the people of the 5th District rightfully honored.

Thanks to the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, the Department of Treasury predicts 90% of American workers will have higher take-home pay. According to the Department of Labor, our new hires level is at the highest it has been in 17 years! American job vacancies are at an all-time high 6.6 million, which the Bureau of Labor and Statistics recently reported. For the past two months, there has been more job openings than those unemployed. In June alone, the Bureau of Labor and Statistics announced that American manufacturers have added 36,000 jobs.

Companies big and small are increasing wages and giving bonuses. South Carolinians working at Bank of America, Walmart, Starbucks, Wells Fargo, U-Haul, Comcast, Lowe’s, and many others are seeing a higher take-home pay or increased bonuses. This is great news for the state of our booming economy and home.

As always, please let me know if I can ever be of assistance to you by calling my Washington, D.C. Office at 202-225-5501 or my Rock Hill Office at 803-327-1114