Health Care

This week President Biden delivered his first State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress. While I went into the evening open to hearing President Biden propose real solutions to urgent challenges like soaring energy and food prices, waves of illegal crossings at our southern border, and workforce shortages, I was disappointed by how readily he rehashed many of the failed policies of his first year in office which have put us in this position. Inflation is at a 40-year high, we have a serious supply chain crisis, and Russia has invaded Ukraine.

According to the National Association of Manufacturers, the average U.S. firm spends the equivalent of 21 percent of its payroll every year just to comply with government regulations. For context, the average manufacturing worker in the United States makes nearly $65,000 per year according to the U.S. Census Bureau and pays an estimated 15.2% of their income back out in federal, state, and local taxes. If Congress attempted to double taxes on working families, it would be front page news.

This week I participated in a House Ways and Means Committee hearing on the mental health crisis in the United States. According to the National Institute of Mental Health, nearly one in five American adults live with some form of mental illness. Other government data show, among school-aged children, diagnosed cases of anxiety and depression are increasing over time—from 5.4% in 2003 to 8.4% in 2011-2012. These alarming numbers are pre-pandemic.

One year ago this week, I attended the inauguration of President Biden and Vice President Harris. While I was deeply disappointed in the election process and its outcome, President Biden campaigned as a centrist who wanted to unite our country, defeat COVID, and improve America's standing in the world. When he took office, I was willing to give him the benefit of the doubt. Instead, President Biden and his administration immediately began implementing a left-wing agenda out of touch with suffering Americans.

In the early days of the coronavirus pandemic, Operation Warp Speed was created as a partnership between public and private entities, leveraging federal support to speed up vaccine development. This was a major success for the Trump Administration who spearheaded the operation. Without these efforts and their leadership, the development, approval by the Food and Drug Administration as safe and effective, and distribution of multiple COVID-19 vaccines in record time would not have been possible.

Each year, open enrollment for Medicare begins on October 15th and runs through December 7th. This process occurs annually to safeguard continued competition on premiums and benefits among insurers; using the marketplace to drive down costs and improve consumer access. Open enrollment provides seniors with the opportunity to switch their current Medicare Part D prescription plan to take advantage of lower rates and plan options that better meet their needs resulting from competition and price negotiation by participating insurers.