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On Tuesday, Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced an impeachment inquiry into President Trump based on reports of a whistleblower complaint related to a phone call between President Trump and President Zelensky of Ukraine. President Trump made the transcript of the phone call public the following day, and the whistleblower complaint became public on Thursday as well. An “impeachment inquiry” is a formal investigation of the House Judiciary Committee to determine if there is evidence to impeach the president. While this is a new name for the Democrats’ agenda, the game is the same.
Democrats have been talking about impeachment ever since the President took office. Similar to the Mueller investigation, judgments were made about the whistleblower report before facts were in hand. That’s not how our democratic process works. I remain supportive of good-faith efforts that get to the bottom of the whistleblower’s allegations, which is why I voted in favor of releasing the whistleblower complaint to the House Intelligence Committee on Wednesday. However, to fulfill our Constitutional duty responsibly, we need to focus on real facts, not partisan speculation without first-hand information.
This week, the House majority put on the floor two bills that give illegal immigrants preferential treatment. They do nothing to prevent another border and humanitarian crisis. In June, House Republicans passed a bill to provide $4.6 billion in funding for humanitarian needs at the border because the Democrats couldn’t get enough support for their own bill. Now, after pulling this bill from the floor and rewriting it six times, the Democrats passed H.R. 2203, the Homeland Security Improvement Act, or better named, the “Illegal Immigrant Customer Service Act.” We need reforms that streamline the adjudication process and free up law enforcement resources to secure America’s border. Instead, this bill wastes taxpayer money by creating a duplicative federal office to monitor DHS and CPB. H.R. 2203 creates a panel to assess “quality of life indicators” at detention centers, establish an ombudsman to evaluate compliance with all regulations and serve immigrant complaints against law enforcement officials. Meanwhile, DHS already has two entities in place that ensure migrants are treated fairly.
The second bill, H.R. 3525, mandates that illegal immigrants be given medical screenings within 12 hours of detention and requires DHS to set up an interoperable electronic health records (EHR) system to track the medical history of millions of illegal immigrants. Meanwhile, thousands of our nation’s veterans are waiting for medical care and routine screenings for months at a time, and the VA and DOD won’t have EHR systems for another 9 and 5 years. No funds are provided to accomplish this, meaning that millions of critical DHS funds used to counter terrorism, equip first responders and respond to natural disasters will be diverted toward health care we can’t even offer our veterans.
| What's an interventional radiologist? |
This week, I met with Dr. Jacob Bundy from Wake Forest Baptist Health and the Society of Interventional Radiology, and I wanted to share some information about the health care radiologists provide.
Interventional radiologists (IRs) are physicians who use imaging-guidance, including X-rays, CT scans and ultrasounds, to help deliver minimally invasive, targeted treatments to patients. Through a tiny nick in the skin, IRs use catheters to treat many conditions that once required major open surgery or are still difficult to treat, such as cancers, uterine fibroids, varicose veins and enlarged prostates. Most IR treatments come with less risk, less pain and a shorter recovery time than traditional surgery and can be just as effective. This industry plays an increasingly important role in promoting better public health outcomes, and I was glad to hear about the services interventional radiology has to offer to patients.
| North Carolinians in the Capitol |
Dr. Aarti Sarwal with the American Academy of Neurology
Students and parents with Jack and Jill of America
Rebecca Damrom and Heather Mackey with the Oncology Nursing Society
The House will hold a District Work Period, and I will be meeting with constituents, associations, businesses and non-profits all around North Carolina’s Fifth District. I look forward to seeing you! Have a blessed weekend.
Sincerely,
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