Visiting Hillsdale with Secretary McMahon

September 12, 2025

Visiting Hillsdale with Secretary McMahon

On Monday, I had the opportunity to visit Hillsdale Academy and Hillsdale College with Secretary of Education Linda McMahon as one of the stops on her Returning Education to the States Tour. It was great to hear from students, teachers, and leaders on how we can expand options for students rather than forcing them into a one-size-fits-all learning model to ensure that every child gains the skills necessary to succeed. As Chairman of the Education and Workforce Committee, I have been working closely with Secretary McMahon to empower parents and local communities.

Bolstering Our National Defense

This week, the House passed the National Defense Authorization Act to provide the funding needed to protect the United States’ security interests and adequately support our servicemembers and their families. Specifically, the legislation would improve the quality of life for those in uniform by providing a 3.8% pay raise for servicemembers and benefits for their families. The legislation also reforms the acquisition process to speed the delivery of innovative new technologies to protect our nation from foreign threats.

Strengthening Our Energy Security

As a member of the Natural Resources Committee, I participated in a hearing on Wednesday to examine how we can modernize NEPA to help streamline the permitting process and accelerate the deployment of critical energy projects. With the U.S. expanding domestic manufacturing and competing in the global AI race, our nation needs more energy. I partnered with Heather Reams of Citizens for Responsible Energy Solutions on an op-ed to discuss how pursuing an all-of-the-above approach and the restart of the Palisades nuclear plant will strengthen Michigan's energy security. You can read the full op-ed here.

Supporting Local Businesses

I had the opportunity to visit Carr Brothers and Sons and Rieth Riley in Marshall to tour their sites and learn more about their operations, which support our construction industry. To empower small businesses like theirs, I voted for the One Big Beautiful Bill – the historic Working Family Tax Cut that also provides a permanent small business tax deduction to allow for business expansion and create more good-paying jobs. This provision is estimated to create 1 million new jobs and $75 billion in economic growth every year.

Protecting Our Communities

Over the past few months, the Trump administration has taken decisive action to secure our borders, and as a result, border encounters, known gotaways, and drug smuggling are at record lows. To strengthen these efforts, on Thursday, the House passed the Stop Illegal Entry Act, which would increase penalties for illegal immigrants who repeatedly re-enter the United States. This comes in addition to Republicans delivering the largest investment in border security in a generation to provide our law enforcement with the resources necessary to permanently secure our border.