Friends,

After a great week back home, I returned to Washington on Monday. Our House majority is continuing to dismantle the massive regulatory state that’s governed far too many aspects of Kansans’ daily lives for far too long.

We advanced a bill to protect Kansans’ Second Amendment rights, passed legislation to deter foreign influences on our education system, and hosted another full week of Kansas-focused organizations.

Here are the highlights from a spring week in Washington:

Under current law, residents of other states who visit Kansas can carry concealed firearms (as long as they’re legally able to possess one); however, the same rule doesn’t always apply to Kansans visiting other states. As Attorney General, my office administered the concealed carry licensure program for Kansas, and during my tenure, we increased the number of states that recognize Kansas permits to 40. The 10 remaining states are the ones that are most restrictive of Second Amendment rights and do not recognize permits from any other state. Like many Kansans, I firmly believe we should be able to freely exercise our constitutional rights no matter which state we’re in.

This week, our House Judiciary Committee took a big step toward fixing this problem by advancing the Constitutional Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act. I cosponsored this bill during my first days in office. The bill next heads to the House floor for a vote; I’m hopeful my colleagues in the House and the Senate will join me in supporting this legislation to ensure Americans’ Second Amendment right to bear arms is protected nationwide.

When I was home last week I toured Goodyear’s Topeka manufacturing plant, which has been providing good paying jobs to Kansans since 1945.

The Biden administration’s record high inflation and overreaching, unattainable manufacturing and energy standards made life hard for all businesses in the United States. My colleagues and I are committed to reversing these damages. In fact, we recently undid a Biden-era rule that would’ve imposed burdensome regulations on tire manufacturers, ensuring Goodyear can keep these good paying jobs in Kansas while maintaining low prices for consumers.

Thank you to the great folks at Goodyear for hosting me!

This week, the House continued to roll back Biden’s overregulation by undoing rules that would’ve established unattainable energy standards for commercial refrigerators and freezers. This may not seem like the most exciting topic, but these rules would’ve had a big – and disproportionate – impact on the small grocers and restaurants we rely on in eastern Kansas. And higher costs for grocers get passed on to Kansans as higher food prices.

Unfortunately, this burden is the case with many of the regulations the Biden administration instituted on their way out – and why it’s so important to undo them. Big corporations can afford to install new refrigeration systems, walk-in freezers, HVAC units, etc.; it’s the small, family-owned businesses that suffer the most from these ridiculous rules.

By undoing these rules, my colleagues and I are preventing price hikes on food while lowering operating costs for small businesses across the country.

The House also passed the DETERRENT Act, introduced by my colleague Michael Baumgartner from Washington state.

In recent years, we’ve seen the negative effects – both visible and invisible – of foreign countries’ involvement with our colleges and universities. This legislation increases transparency requirements on gifts and funding from foreign countries and closes reporting loopholes. I’m hopeful this legislation will both protect American students and strengthen national security.

We had another full week of Kansas visitors at my DC office! Thank you to the Kansas Rural Letter Carriers Association, Kansas Livestock Association, Kansas Association of Conservation Districts, Kansas Agriculture and Rural Leadership (KARL) Program, and National Multiple Sclerosis Society for making the trip to Washington.

Meeting with these groups of Kansans is critical to ensuring I’m up to date on issues that matter to the people I represent.

I’ll be back in Washington next week as our House majority continues to blaze ahead with our commonsense agenda. Be sure to stay tuned as we look to pass some very important legislation related to our elections and federal judges.