The Biden-Harris administration has continued to push its radical agenda, mandating electric vehicles with the recent announcement of its extreme Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards. The final rule, issued by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), would raise CAFE standards to a level that cannot be met with liquid fuels alone, effectively forcing a transition to electric vehicles. In response, I led 64 colleagues in introducing legislation to prevent this rule from taking effect and to uphold consumer choice for families across Michigan. I will continue to work with my colleagues to fight these radical mandates from bureaucrats in Washington and protect American consumers.
Thursday morning, we got word that former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan and other wrongfully detained Americans were finally coming home. Paul’s parents, Ed and Rosemary, were constituents of mine, and the entire family has spent nearly 6 years advocating for his release and return after he was wrongly imprisoned in Russia in 2018. American citizens like Paul have been used as political pawns by the Kremlin to increase bargaining power, and his release is long overdue. We must be deterring this inhumane behavior. I would like to thank the entire Michigan delegation for longstanding, bipartisan efforts to ensure that Paul would be free once again.
This week, I introduced the Worker Enfranchisement Act to bolster the voice of workers in union elections. Currently, loopholes exist in union elections allowing instances where only a fraction of workers can dictate results. The Worker Enfranchisement Act would create a threshold by requiring the participation of two-thirds of eligible employees in unionization elections, the same threshold used by the National Labor Relations Board to establish a quorum. This reform would empower workers by ensuring that a strong majority of their voices are heard.
A 2021 report revealed that 40% of workplaces only offer benefits to employees who are 21 years or older. This week, with Rep. Brittany Pettersen (D-CO), I introduced the bipartisan Helping Young Americans Save for Retirement Act in the House. This legislation would remove barriers to ensure that more Americans ages 18 to 20 years old have access to employer-sponsored retirement plans. This legislation would help more young Americans plan for a better financial future. Sens. Bill Cassidy (R-LA) and Tim Klaine (D-VA) have introduced a similar bill in the Senate.
On Wednesday, I had the opportunity to discuss policies that are impacting farmers in Michigan with Jackson Farm Bureau President Jake Faist. Excessive regulations from bureaucrats in Washington like the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) are contributing to rising input costs and are hindering our agricultural community. Please know that I remain committed to fighting overregulation and bringing down costs for our local farmers.
This lawsuit demonstrates that COPPA is a critical tool for protecting children’s privacy and that we must improve the law by passing my legislation, COPPA 2.0, to modernize the existing framework and extend these vital protections to teenagers. COPPA 2.0 passed the Senate on Tuesday with an overwhelmingly bipartisan vote of 91-3. I'll continue these efforts to better protect future generations online.
