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Front view of the Capitol

The Moore You Know November 13 - 24, 2021

December 3, 2021
Column

I have some rare good news from Washington. The House passed the Colonel John M. McHugh Tuition Fairness for Survivors Act of 2021, a bill that I was fortunate enough to introduce this year with Republican Senator Jerry Moran of Kansas. This bipartisan legislation expands Dependents Educational Assistance program benefits, requiring GI Bill eligible schools to extend in-state tuition benefits to program beneficiaries. This change will bring the rules for this program in line with the Post 9/11GI Bill that intended to expand benefits to families of our fallen heroes. When I came to Washington, I requested to be on the Veterans Affairs Committee because I wanted to prioritize our veterans and servicemembers who are too often overlooked in Washington. I could not be prouder that we were able to get this legislation through both houses of Congress and to the Oval Office.

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But things aren’t all rosy in Washington. The House recently passed the Democrats’ multi-trillion dollar Socialist spending spree bill that increases taxes on middle-class Americans by 30 percent. I voted against this tax-and-spend legislation that will further drive the rising prices already plaguing Americans. This bill still must pass the Senate, where its prospects are uncertain.

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I also participated in a hearing on vaccine mandates led by the House Freedom Caucus featuring legal professionals and small business owners as witnesses. The decision to receive the vaccine is one that the American people must make with their doctor, not Joe Biden. I questioned the witnesses on my concerns that credible, professional voices in the medical community and beyond who oppose the Biden administration’s mandates are being silenced. At the same time, anyone whose opinion fits the administration’s narrative is being hailed by the media as an expert.

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The 2020 National Defense Authorization Act, passed before I took office, included a provision creating a committee to investigate the renaming of military installations named after figures associated with the Confederacy. Unfortunately, this committee of unelected bureaucrats has Fort Rucker in their sites. I am firmly opposed to renaming Fort Rucker. The name is special to so many who served in the Army and trained there and so many of us who call the Wiregrass home. Make no mistake, the cancel culture club of the Left will never be satisfied. In some parts of our country, these radicals are even trying to rename schools named after Abraham Lincoln, the Great Emancipator!

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Despite all that is going on in Washington, we have much to be thankful for this Thanksgiving. We’ve gone through a lot this year, and I am looking forward to spending time with my family. I hope you’ll find some time to count your blessings and give thanks we live in a country where we are free to worship and associate as we please.

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