Dear Friends,

We have some positive news on trade as the White House signed the renegotiated KORUS agreement and announced the beginning of a trade agreement negotiation with Japan. CNBC’s Global CFO Council also found that the United States is the only country whose economy is showing signs of improvement. Other countries and regions, such as Canada, the UK, China, and the Euro Zone, showed signs of stagnation and decline. Despite criticism, our efforts toward deregulation and pro-growth tax cuts have successfully revitalized the American economy and put more money in the hands of families who desperately need it.

Last week the U.S. Federal Reserve echoed promising economic forecasts and reaffirmed plans to steadily tighten monetary policy as our nation is predicted to continue enjoying economic growth and near full employment

In regards to the latest news on Judge Kavanaugh’s confirmation. I found Judge Kavanaugh’s testimony to be genuine and from the heart. In Thursday’s hearing, the committee had the opportunity to ask both Judge Kavanaugh and Dr. Ford, under oath, anything they wanted to about these allegations. I am glad Dr. Ford had the opportunity to testify. We must always take these types of accusations seriously, but after watching closely to both testimonies I have confidence in Judge Kavanaugh. He has already cleared six FBI background investigations, given 34 hours of sworn testimony, and done three interviews with the Committee under penalty of felony categorically denying all accusations.

Extending this by a week just continues to destroy Judge Brett Kavanaugh’s life’s work and drag his family through the mud.

Meeting with President Díaz-Canel 

I was honored to sit down with the new Cuban President, Miguel Díaz-Canel to discuss trade opportunities between the U.S. and Cuba. Currently, we have outdated trade restrictions in place that bar us from capitalizing on the opportunities that lie just 90 miles from our coast.

We cannot continue to overlook this market! Even though the Cuban market and population are small in comparison to the U.S., they are far from insignificant. Cuba imports nearly $500 million in commodities produced in Kansas, but they get these goods and roughly 80 percent of their food from Europe, Latin America, and Asia.

This is a huge disappointment. Kansas farmers can and should be Cuba’s number one supplier of commodities like sorghum, soy, wheat, and corn. In our meeting, I expressed my continued support of opening markets with Cuba. In D.C., I have been a vocal advocate for trade relations with Cuba, and have cosponsored the Cuba Trade Act, Americans Freedom to Travel to Cuba Act, and the Cuba Agricultural Exports Act.

Trade Builds America

Last week, I also sat down with Steve Forbes from Forbes Magazine and our host, Tim Phillips from Americans for Prosperity, to discuss the impact of tariffs on American consumers. Chinese industry have been hit hard, but so have American businesses. Roughly 60% of Kansas’s agricultural producers are going to lose money this year, and as Steve pointed out, re-gaining lost markets is not an easy task. Kansans have felt the consequences, with Chinese tariffs on soybeans, hurting our farmers, and U.S. tariffs on steel and aluminum, increasing costs for our manufacturers.

We must double our efforts to knock down trade barriers and open new markets. Steve and I both agreed that while free trade is tremendously important for improving the lives of our consumers, the United States should also make a stronger effort to protect intellectual property abroad and hold the perpetrators of trade abuses directly accountable. I would like to give a special thanks to Mr. Phillips for hosting us, and Mr. Forbes for his valuable insight on this important issue.

Victory for Small Business

Last Tuesday evening the House passed my bill, H.R. 6369, which aims to expand federal contracting opportunities for small businesses. Currently, dollar thresholds for contract sizes limit opportunities for small businesses to participate in federal contracting, however this bill would modernize dollar amounts for sole-source awards, bringing them in line with current contract sizes. Additionally, the bill would establish a front-end verification process at the Small Business Administration to ensure that only qualified firms are receiving contracts. By making these changes, we’re providing necessary oversight of taxpayer resources while expanding contracting opportunities for service-disabled veteran, women owned, and HUBZone certified small businesses.

Tax Reform 2.0

The House voted Friday to make the individual tax cuts permanent through Tax Reform 2.0, which will continue to protect hardworking Americans and small businesses. Tax Reform 2.0 includes tax cuts for middle-class families, helps families and individuals save for the future, and spurs American innovation by helping entrepreneurs. Since passing the Tax Cuts & Jobs Act, the American Economy has seen tremendous growing success. There have been nearly 1.7 million new jobs created since tax reform was enacted, and today’s vote locks in these key provisions.

I was extremely honored when the National Federation of Independent Business handed me their Guardian of Small Business award for my efforts to promote and protect Kansas small business. The NFIB has represented small businesses for over 75 years. They present their Guardian of Small Business Award annually to lawmakers who consistently vote to support major issues facing small business. I plan to continue working with the NFIB and my fellow members of the House to topple trade barriers and present new opportunities for Kansas’s small business owners.

Last week we made significant strides in protecting Kansans, and patients in dire need. I recently led a bipartisan letter to protect vulnerable patients from abusive behavior by air ambulance companies by asking for the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Reauthorization Act to include provisions authored by Rep. Woodall (R-GA) that work to address an egregious business practice that is taking advantage of vulnerable people in their most desperate time of need.

When driving is not quick enough for a patient in an emergency, one of three air ambulance companies is the only option for Kansans to get to the emergency treatment they need. But depending on which air ambulance company is called, the charge to the patient can vary by literally tens of thousands of dollars.

Just this year alone, the Kansas Insurance Department has received more than 70 complaints from Kansans about air ambulance companies balance-billing more than $35,000 per emergency transport.

These crippling and unforeseen bills from air ambulance companies who refuse to contract with the most common health insurance providers are hurting Americans across the country.

We passed the FAA Reauthorization Act with overwhelming bipartisan support. I was proud to see the conference report retain provisions mentioned in the letter we sent and protect these patients; however this issue is far from rectified, and I look forward to continuing to advocate on their behalf.

Trade with Taiwan

It was great to have another top 10 agriculture market in D.C.  Taiwan has long been a partner of U.S. agriculture, purchasing $3.3 billion in agricultural products last year. Last week, they committed to buying 750,000 tons of U.S. soybeans. That’s a $300 million investment in U.S. farmers. As we are working to shore up our trade agreements, this is certainly good news for our soybean producers that have one of the hardest hit commodities in this trade war.