Local Issues

Honoring our Local Heroes

In July 2024, I took to the House floor to honor the life and legacy of Hillsdale County Sheriff’s Deputy William Henry Butler Jr., who was tragically killed during a traffic stop. To commemorate his venerable sacrifice, Deputy Butler’s name was memorialized and added to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial wall in Washington, D.C. In further commendation of his service, I was grateful for the privilege to meet with the Hillsdale County Sheriff's Office during National Police Week and present them with a copy of the Congressional Record, displaying the floor speech I gave to recognize Deputy Butler.

I am also honored to have introduced a resolution to rename a Jackson post office as the "Officer James Bonneau Memorial Post Office Building." Officer James Bonneau was killed in the line of duty in 2010 while responding to a domestic disturbance. The President signed the legislation into law on December 16, 2014. In May 2015, I joined Officer Bonneau’s parents and members of the Jackson Police Department for the official dedication and to remember Officer Bonneau’s sacrifice.

Combating Human Trafficking

Human trafficking affects millions of people around the world and is a serious problem at home in Michigan. One of the challenges in combating human trafficking is properly identifying and serving victims.

President Obama signed my legislation into law to help the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) provide technical assistance to law enforcement agencies to identify, locate, and recover victims of child sex trafficking. H.R. 3081 was signed into law as part of H.R. 3092, E. Clay Shaw, Jr. Missing Children’s Assistance Reauthorization Act.

To further strengthen efforts to recover missing children and support youth who are the victims of violent crimes, in 2017, the House also passed the Improving Support for Missing and Exploited Children Act. The bill was signed into law by President Trump in 2018.

I also introduced H.R. 443, Enhancing Detection of Human Trafficking Act, which would ensure Department of Labor employees receive proper training to recognize instances of human trafficking and refer these cases to law enforcement agencies so perpetrators are held accountable. H.R. 443 passed the House in July 2025.

To learn more about my actions to combat this heinous crime, please visit my human trafficking page.

Addressing the Opioid Crisis

Additionally, there has been an increasing presence of heroin and opioid abuse in Michigan which has sadly led to numerous overdoses and deaths. As a member of the Bipartisan Heroin Task Force, I’ve been working with my colleagues to foster awareness, develop best practices, and promote collaboration to address problems associated with heroin addiction.

In October 2018, the President signed into law, the SUPPORT for Patients and Communities Act, a series of legislative solutions to fight the crisis our country is currently facing. I was proud to have two pieces of legislation included in that package. The first is Jessie’s Law, a bill to ensure doctors have access to the information they need so they can safely treat their patients and prevent unknowingly prescribing powerful opioid medications to those struggling with addiction. My second bill, Safe Disposal of Unused Medication Act, aims to prevent the misuse of opioids by equipping hospice health care professionals the legal authority to dispose of opioids after a patient’s death - lessening the risk of these medications being diverted into our communities and misused.

In June 2025, the House also passed the Halt Fentanyl Act, legislation I cosponsored to permanently extend the class-wide scheduling order for fentanyl-related substances. The legislation, which passed with strong bipartisan support and was signed into law by President Trump, ensures law enforcement has the tools needed to get these extremely dangerous drugs off our streets.

This epidemic will take the work of citizens, treatment providers, law enforcement, and elected officials at every level. Please know I will continue to work combat the opioid crisis.