Friends,
This week we have much to be thankful for. I, for one, am thankful for the hardworking men and women of our law enforcement institutions and their efforts to catch the perpetrator who sought to harm our nation’s public servants. This behavior will not be tolerated, and I am confident that law enforcement officials will bring them to justice. Moving forward, we must maintain order and respect for one another regardless of political affiliation. We cannot let fear and anger overcome our humanity.
I am also thankful for the recent rise in real wages for low-income workers. This week’s economic reports show that wages for the bottom 10% of full-time wage and salary workers have averaged 4.9% annual growth over the past four quarters. The number of applications for unemployment benefits dropped last week, especially amongst women. For the last two decades, the share of prime-aged women participating in our labor force has been in decline, but we have begun to see a reversal of this trend over the past three years. Our strong economy has brought labor-force participation among women aged 25 to 54 up to 75.2%.
Current-dollar personal income increased $180.4 billion in the third quarter, with personal savings resting at $999.6 billion. Deregulation and tax reform are bringing millions of jobs and opportunities back to those who need them most!
Disaster Relief
Last Friday, President Trump announced a Federal Disaster Declaration for counties in Kansas impacted by the major weather events over Labor Day weekend. The severe storms consisting of straight-line winds, and flooding which hit Riley, Clay and Marshall Counties, damaged people’s homes, buildings and businesses, and the local infrastructure. The President’s disaster declaration allocates federal funds, on a cost-sharing basis, to aid in the recovery and reconstruction of these communities. This will certainly help in the rebuilding process, but it is critical that we also recognize our state and local emergency response teams who assisted during the storms and floods, and have continued to help residents and property owners during this challenging time of clean up and repair.
Bringing Order to the Border
On Thursday, President Trump firmly stated that the Honduran migrant caravan will not be allowed to enter the country illegally. Secretary of Defense, James Mattis, is expected to order 800 American troops to reinforce vulnerable areas along the border. Regardless of political affiliation, it is clear that our current immigration laws are broken. As elected officials, we must set aside partisan bickering and develop a solution to this urgent crisis. I have sympathy for those working to enter the U.S., but we are a country of laws that must be upheld. Without national security and clearly defined borders, our country would cease to exist.
A Prescription for Hope
This week, President Trump signed the most significant measure against a single drug crisis in history! Having been classified as a national Public Health Emergency earlier this month, I am thrilled to see we are tackling the Opioid Crisis head-on. H.R. 6, known as The Substance Use-Disorder Prevention that Promotes Opioid Recovery and Treatment (SUPPORT) for Patients and Communities Act, fights drug trafficking on our borders, improves access to treatment centers, and educates prescribers, as well as veterans, on the addictive properties of certain drugs. Of course, there is still much work to be done on the state level, but this is a major leap towards creating healthier American communities.
World Polio Day
October 25th was World Polio Day: a fantastic opportunity to renew our promise to every child who suffers from this debilitating disease. This year’s theme, Bold Steps to End Polio, focused on the tremendous progress that has been made in creating a polio-free world. Developing countries such as Nigeria have gone two years without new diagnoses, while others such as Afghanistan and Pakistan only encountered 22 cases in the past year. The World Health Organization, in conjunction with its partners in the United Nations Children’s Fund, Rotary International, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and U.S. Centers for Disease Control, will continue working alongside governments and frontline health care workers to annihilate polio for good.