Weekly Columns and Op-Eds

No one should ever hang up on a veteran seeking medical assistance. Every veteran deserves to be treated with respect and dignity—and especially with urgency in an emergency medical situation. Proper treatment for our veterans reflects the honor our nation accords for their service in uniform. Anything less is simply unacceptable, and even shameful.

Earlier this year, I joined 366 of my colleagues in Congress to express grave concern about the Obama administration’s negotiations with Iran on a possible nuclear deal. My concerns included constraining Iran’s research and development capabilities as well as nuclear infrastructure.

I recently read a news story of an outstanding teenager in Prosser named Walker Orr. Since he was 8-years old, Walker has found innovative ways to offer a service or product in exchange for a reasonable price, from selling varieties of seeds to running a lawn mowing business.

The threat posed by wildfire has been on the forefront of Washingtonians’ concerns this year for good reason, and Congress is moving forward with legislation to help prevent catastrophic wildfires. This week is the one-year anniversary of the start of the tragic Carlton Complex Fire in Okanogan County.

The responsibility “to provide for the common defense” is one of the fundamental roles of the federal government—the duty is explicitly mentioned in the preamble of the Constitution. With the importance of preserving national security in mind, few provisions are more critical than the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA).

Last week in a 6-3 decision, the Supreme Court accepted the federal government’s argument in the case of King v. Burwell, and in the process effectively rewrote legislative text. I was deeply disappointed with the Court’s ruling.

President Obama confirmed the experience of many Americans with his signature health law last week when he noted that HealthCare.gov has been "a well-­documented disaster." The President is correct, but he did not go far enough: Obamacare itself has been the disaster.

The clock is ticking for American farmers and manufacturers to avoid billions of dollars in sanctions and tariffs on U.S. exports to our biggest trading partners. On May 18, the World Trade Organization (WTO) rejected a U.S. appeal and ruled in favor of Canada and Mexico on mandatory country of origin labeling (COOL) requirements for beef, pork, and chicken products.