Representative Hillary Scholten

Dear Neighbor–

Coming to you live from the friendly skies here on my way home from Washington, DC. We were back after two weeks away from legislative business–and Americans were PINING for an answer on Ukraine and the border. With our few days back in Congress, House Republicans could have chosen to take up the bipartisan national security supplemental bill passed by the Senate, which provides military aid to Ukraine as it fights Russia, Israel as it fights Hamas, humanitarian assistance to Gaza, and critical resources to help secure our Southern Border (adding as many as 1,500 new agents). But they did not. Instead, on Wednesday, Republicans brought up a doomed rule on FISA reauthorization (one that they KNEW ahead of time would fail, because they wanted to prove a point to their party). And it did. Then they were left scrambling, and we were all left waiting. And waiting. As a TRUE fiscal conservative, I cannot tell you how much it irks me that Republicans in the House would use our precious taxpayer dollars to fund their political theater like this. We have important work to do, and it’s time House Republicans meet us at the table to do it in a serious and responsible way.

There was so much more we packed in this week, here’s a look at what we did and a look at what’s ahead.

The Week in Review

We started the week off strong by holding a conversation with CLEAR program graduates, Attorney General Dana Nessel, and State Rep. John Fitzgerald. The CLEAR program is an incredible resource for formerly incarcerated West Michiganders that helps break the cycle of recidivism. It was great to hear their stories and learn more about how we can support CLEAR’s important work in our community.

Rep. Scholten and family view the Eclipse

It’s not every day you can watch some space history! It was so special to gather with my family and our community to watch the solar eclipse on Calvin’s campus. Future so bright, you gotta wear shades!

I had to bring a special item to Washington with me this week… Can you guess what I’m getting ready for?

Congressional Women's Softball group photo

You guessed it! I’m so excited to be playing in the Congressional Women’s Softball game again this year! Soon, my Congressional colleagues will be taking on the Bad News Babes – members of the Capitol Hill press corps – in a softball game to raise money for breast cancer research. I couldn’t be more excited for this annual bipartisan tradition.

Rep. Scholten at Small Business Committee Hearing

We’re rebuilding our economy from the middle out– and it’s working! In the last three years, we’ve provided $600 billion in tax relief for workers, families, and small businesses. In our Small Business Committee hearing this week, I asked how we can leverage the tax code to build on these incredible successes for small businesses in West Michigan and across the nation.

Rep. Scholten poses with colleagues in blue

On Wednesday, I joined my colleagues in wearing blue to show our support for the hostages who have been held by Hamas since the brutal attacks on October 7th. We continue to pray for their safe return and must do everything in our power to bring peace to the region. There is a ceasefire agreement on the table. Hamas could end this war today if they released the hostages. Peace is possible.

If you know me, you know I am so proud of my Dutch heritage, and it’s an honor to represent such a thriving Dutch community here in West Michigan. I was so proud to be invited to the residence of the Ambassador to the Netherlands to give a speech for this year’s Tulip Days and the Freddy Heineken Award–celebrating the special business relationship between The Netherlands and the United States. I shared a touching story about my great grandparents who immigrated and my grandfather, Don VanAntwerpan who returned to his small town of Niewdorp after fighting Nazis in Normandy in the American uniform. There, he met his own grandparents for the first time and was welcomed as a hero. That special connection between our two nations continues to this day through me–the newest member of the Congressional Dutch Caucus. I know that working together, our two nations will go far.

The Army Corps of Engineers plays a critical role in helping communities implement infrastructure projects and prepare for and recover from natural disasters. In our district, that means tackling essential dredging projects on the lakeshore.

I had the chance to sit down with the Army Corps team to talk about ongoing projects in West Michigan.

Rep. Scholten with Congressional App Challenge Winners

Ok, this is really cool. Every year, I have the pleasure of hosting the MI-03 Congressional App Challenge. This is an incredible way for young people to show off their creativity and innovation by developing their own app. I met with the 2023 winner Alexis Zhang and her co-creator Aadit Shrivastava while they were in D.C.!

I also got to see their app, which tracks well-being through journaling and mood-tracking tools. I’m so impressed by their talent and can’t wait to see how they’ll change the world through STEM.

I joined a small group of my colleagues and CEOs for a roundtable on the latest AI technologies and how we can leverage AI to solve some of the biggest problems facing our communities. There are so many incredible AI projects happening across West Michigan – especially in the healthcare space – and as a member of the AI Caucus, I’m always looking for ways to use the technology to move our country forward.

Rep. Scholten with Rep. Lauren Underwood

We kicked off Black Maternal Month with a special program honoring the Momnibus–a robust package of bills that support Black maternal health. I’m a proud member of the Black Maternal Health Caucus. While I’ve always cared about this issue, I was truly compelled to take more action when I learned that Kent County, despite its powerhouse healthcare sector, has THE HIGHEST Black maternal mortality rate in the entire state. I get so angry every time I have to share that somber statistic. We can do better. We have to do better. We will do better if I have anything to do about it. I’m so grateful to my friend Lauren Underwood–a nurse–for her leadership on this issue.

Legislative Recap

This week, yet again, we saw Republicans’ struggle to move their legislative agenda forward, a frustrating and now regular occurrence. As mentioned above, we were set to vote on FISA 702 reauthorization early this week, but a rule failed before we could do so.

The FISA reauthorization we took up makes changes to ensure compliance with existing law, and codifies the FBI’s current self-imposed guidelines with respect to U.S. person data. I have heard from many of our neighbors with concerns about what FISA means for Fourth Amendment protections.

Votes like the ones we took this week on national security and personal privacy have ramifications that will reverberate for generations to come. West Michiganders don’t take their Fourth Amendment freedoms lightly, which is why I voted in support of a Republican-led Amendment that would have required the intelligence community to obtain a probable cause warrant when looking to search the communications of U.S. persons. This is a basic constitutional right our neighbors depend on and deserve – the amendment tied on the floor 212-212, which means it did not pass.

I’m serious about preventing terrorist attacks at home and around the world, but not at the expense of Americans’ privacy. I will keep you updated on the progress of this reauthorization, which will now head to the Senate.

The Week in Preview

We’ll be back in DC again next week, with only have one week left to vote on a crucial national security supplemental before another recess. Sadly, that is not what Republicans are choosing to put on the table. Instead of actually addressing the issues they go on TV to talk about and fearmonger every week, Republicans are bringing forward 6 different appliance bills. That’s right. You heard me, appliance rights bills. I wish I was being sarcastic. Here are the bills, with their actual, real names.

H.R. 6192 – Hands Off Our Home Appliances Act
H.R. 7673 – Liberty in Laundry Act
H.R. 7645 – Clothes Dryers Reliability Act
H.R. 7637 – Refrigerator Freedom Act
H.R. 7626 – Affordable Air Conditioning Act
H.R. 7700 – Stop Unaffordable Dishwasher Standards Act

Welcome to Republicans’ America. My refrigerator is soon going to have more rights than me and my sisters.

And not only that! There is still the possibility that we will *once again* find ourselves in a position where we have to vote for Speaker of the House. Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene is saying she may bring her motion to vacate. Chaos has consequences, and we’re seeing that every day. The American people deserve better. I hope we can put partisan games aside to focus on the People’s business and make the much-needed progress that our country demands. I won’t stop fighting till we do.

ICYMI

This week, GRR broke ground on their exciting terminal enhancement project! Investments in GRR are investments in West Michigan's future and this project will help the airport keep up with their growing demand!
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As always, it’s an honor to serve you, West Michigan.

Sincerely,

The Week in Review

The Week in Preview

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