This week, I introduced the Choice in Automobile Retail Sales (CARS) Act, which would prevent the EPA from implementing any future vehicle emissions regulations that would mandate certain technologies or limit the availability of vehicles based upon engine type. While President Trump has issued an executive order eliminating the de facto electric vehicle mandate imposed by the Biden-Harris administration, we must provide certainty to the automotive industry. The CARS Act will allow the future of the auto industry to be driven by innovation, uphold consumer choice, and prevent us from increasing our reliance on China, who currently controls 90% of the EV supply chain in aggregate.
This week, I voted to support our troops and keep the government open. The bill, which President Trump supported, gave an additional $6 billion to veteran health services and gave junior enlisted services members a significant pay raise. It also rescinds over $20 billion in funding provided to the Internal Revenue Services under the Inflation Reduction Act and nearly $10 billion in funding from the Department of Commerce’s Nonrecurring Expenses Fund. Despite every House Democrat voting to support similar legislation in December, all but one House Democrat voted to shut down the government. Despite the Democrats’ partisan effort to shut down the government, the bill passed the House and appears to be on track to pass the Senate tonight.
Recovering Fraudulent Unemployment Payments
Currently, the statute of limitations for prosecuting fraud in COVID-era pandemic unemployment insurance programs is set to expire on March 27. This week, the House passed the Pandemic Unemployment Fraud Enforcement Act to extend the statute of limitations to enable federal law enforcement to continue pursuing more than $100 billion in fraudulent payments. This critical legislation will ensure that we can continue to root out waste, fraud, and abuse in the federal government. We must hold fraudsters accountable.
Eliminating Government Waste
On Thursday, I took to the House floor to discuss increasing transparency and accountability over how taxpayer money is spent. For the past few weeks, the Department of Government Efficiency has been working to identify savings for the American people. Eliminating waste and improving the efficiency of the federal government has been a priority for me during my time in Congress. A few years ago, my legislation, the Taxpayer Right-To-Know Act passed the House and was signed into law. The bipartisan legislation required the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to publish an online inventory of each agency's federal programs to streamline duplicate efforts and prevent wasteful spending on ineffective programs. Last year, the OMB officially launched the Federal Program Inventory, which will help provide us with the tools necessary to eliminate government waste.
On Tuesday, I participated in a hearing by the Education and Workforce's Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Elementary, and Secondary Education to discuss the benefits of school choice. The hearing highlighted how school choice benefits all students. We must ensure that every child, regardless of income and zip code, has the opportunity to receive the best possible education. As Chairman of the Education and Workforce Committee, I remain committed to fighting for policies like school choice which puts more power in the hands of students and parents rather than one-size-fits-all mandates.
