Weekly Columns
On April 4, 1949, the North Atlantic Treaty was signed, and the United States entered the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) as one of 12 founding member countries. Seven decades later, the transatlantic alliance endures, and it has grown to include 29 countries, pledging still to face aggressors and security threats together.
As penned in the Declaration of Independence, our forefathers founded this nation with the strong belief that individuals are "endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights." Among those is the right to life, which influences my commitment to protecting the most vulnerable, including the unborn.
Motivated by the desire to reduce gun violence, House Democrats last week brought up two pieces of legislation to expand background checks required for purchase and transfer of firearms. While I share the goal of keeping guns out of the hands of dangerous criminals and preventing mass violence, the legislation falls short of providing actual solutions to do so.
Both sides agree that government shutdowns are bad for the American people, bad for government and bad for policy making. After a painfully and unnecessarily long partial shutdown earlier this year, I am encouraged that last week Congress and President Trump worked together to avoid another lapse in funding and provide for some of the nation's pressing needs.
Last week during his State of the Union address, President Donald Trump delivered an inspiring and uplifting message that seemed quite Reaganesque. I was extraordinarily proud of what he had to say and how he chose to say it.
In stark contrast to the highly polarized and partisan political environment, the president sought to unify rather than divide the country. While he rightly pointed to several achievements realized during his administration, he also called for action and solutions on some pressing problems currently holding our nation back.
While the State of the Union is certainly one of the greatest American ceremonies, it is much more than a production that takes place each year. Indeed, the gathering adds record to our history, affirming our founding principles and demonstrating our striving still toward a more perfect union.
With the partial government shutdown recently ended, I wanted to provide a recap of the turn of events. The past several weeks were certainly frustrating and inconvenient for all Americans, but the shutdown was especially painful for those who went without pay for more than a month. Like others, I am grateful to the hundreds of thousands of federal workers for their commitment and dedication despite the hardship. But I am also disappointed that Democrats prolonged that hardship by playing political games rather than coming to the table to negotiate with Republicans and President Trump.