Level Up!
BIG Update
On Monday, I hosted my first Level Up Youth Conference in Rapid City. Over 350 students from more than a dozen West River schools attended to hear from a variety of speakers about how they can become more engaged citizens – and even learned some tips on how to better chat with Uncle Bob about politics during Thanksgiving dinner.
Divisive political discourse, 24/7 news and media consumption, and low civic engagement among youth paint a bleak picture for our nation’s future, but it’s not too late to get us back on the right track. These students are our future leaders and there’s no doubt they will be part of the solution.
BIG Idea
Earlier today, I had the opportunity to testify before the House Committee on the Judiciary about my Constitutional amendment to limit the size of the U.S. Supreme Court to nine Justices. Recent years have brought more calls from the Left to pack or expand the Court, and I think that is a terrible idea.
Any efforts to turn the Supreme Court into a political football will further erode public trust in our institutions. 140 members of Congress agree with me and have co-sponsored this amendment. I encouraged the Judiciary Committee to consider Keep the Nine soon.
BIG News
House Republicans have now passed appropriations bills funding more than 80% of the dollars needed to fund the government in Fiscal Year 2024. There’s no doubt we still have a lot of work to do but we will be back in D.C. next week to continue our progress.
I was proud to co-sponsor the Israel Security Supplemental Appropriations Act which provides $14.3 billion to provide military assistance to Israel and funding for the protection of U.S. personnel and emergency evacuations of American citizens. This bill passed the House on Thursday afternoon. I will continue to support Israel in its fight against Hamas and this is one step in the right direction.
