Good evening and welcome to our Week End Update!

Last weekend, Republican House Leader Kevin McCarthy was in Pennsylvania again last week where we attended a clay shoot event in Western Pennsylvania. Kevin is not only a tremendous conservative leader in Washington, he is a tireless worker and has become a great friend to me and Pennsylvania. We held a discussion on the importance of winning back the U.S. House and Pennsylvania for President Trump in 2020.

Also last weekend, Shelly and I attended the Yuengling 190th Summer Concert Celebration. Congratulations to Dick Yuengling, the Yuengling family, their employees, and Pottsville on this great celebration of an excellent American success story. See a picture below of Shelly and I with Dick Yuengling.

On Sunday, I attended a Republican Rally at the Rock in nearby Bradford County. It was a tremendous event and many elected officials and grassroots leaders were in attendance, including our new PA GOP Chair Lawrence Tabas and Trump Campaign Pennsylvania Chair Bernadette “Bernie” Comfort. We really have a Dream Team of leaders in the Pennsylvania Republican Party. I also want to thank Bradford County Commissioner Doug McLinko for hosting this excellent event.

Good evening and welcome to our Week End Update.

First, I hope everyone enjoyed a Happy and Healthy Independence Day. 

This week, we hosted The White House Opportunity & Revitalization Council in Tamaqua. In attendance were Michelle Christian and Elmo Rinaldi from the Small Business Administration, Joe DeFelice with the U.S. Housing and Urban Development, Joyce Haas with the General Services Administration and Curt Coccodrilli with U.S. Department of Agriculture. I also was pleased to be joined by State Senator Dave Argall, State Representative Jerry Knowles, and Schuylkill County Commissioner George Halcovage. We discussed the many different ways we can bring jobs to our District.  Click here to read an article in The Republican-Herald about our event

Good evening and welcome to our Week End Update. 

We were back in session in Washington, D.C. conducting important work on many different fronts, including work to assist veterans and address the situation at our southern border.

I spoke out on the floor of the U.S. House in support of H.R. 2196, which would reduce the credit hour requirement for the Edith Nourse Rogers STEM Scholarship program of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. The scholarship provides an additional nine months of eligibility for the GI Bill to student veterans pursuing a STEM degree. This could amount to up to $30,000 in benefits. Click here to watch my remarks.

The President signed the Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veterans Act, a bill I proudly co-sponsored. This will help veterans who were exposed to Agent Orange in the offshore waters of Vietnam by giving the eligibility for earned VA benefits.

Good afternoon and welcome to our Week End Update. 

This week, we saw President Donald Trump announce his reelection surrounded by thousands of people. Objectively speaking, the progress our country has made over the past two years is remarkable.

Every piece of public data available... every economic indicator... proves the U.S. economy is in a better place than it has been in fifty years. When I visit businesses, nearly everyone of them is doing very well. When reviewing unemployment data, every demographic is at record lows. Our military is being revitalized and strengthened. On the international stage, corrections and reckonings are taking place regarding NATO, the United Nations and trade.

We have a President that is making a difference. A very positive difference for a very large number of Americans. Is there more work to do? Absolutely. Do we need to continue helping more people in this great American comeback? Yes. This is why I am not only honored to be in Congress and represent the people of the 9th, but privileged to work with this President on Opportunity Zones for our communities, improved trade agreements, and securing our borders. Those are just a few of the many important issues we are working to address.

In Congress, we are dealing with Democratic leadership pushing a very socialist agenda. It is for these reasons that not only do I  wholeheartedly endorse President Trump's re-election campaign, but I want to stress the importance of winning back the U.S. House of Representatives. Pennsylvania is the battleground, key state for victory in 2020. It will be an interesting year and very important to our nation's future. We elect not only the President, but we vote to continue the great American comeback. 

Michael --

Good evening and welcome to our Week End Update.

First of all, I want to wish all of you a patriotic Flag Day!

I also want to wish the U.S. Army a happy 244^th birthday. 

Good afternoon and welcome to our Week-End Update.

On Thursday, we paused to observe the 75^th Anniversary of D-Day. This is the day when over 160,000 Allied troops, most of them Americans, landed in Normandy to free Europe from the Nazis.

These brave soldiers fought to bring freedom to those living under Nazi tyranny. Many of them died on those shores fighting for the freedoms we all enjoy today.

It is up to us to assure that all those who made the ultimate sacrifice did not die in vain. We must continue to keep our great country a Constitutional Republic with limited Constitutional Government, free markets and individual rights.

Good evening and welcome to our Week End Update.

In honor of Memorial Day, I attended services at Fort Indiantown Gap and at the Veterans of Vietnam War Post 29 Joseph C. Cappella Home in Port Carbon as well as parades in Dallas and Harvey’s Lake. As I stated last week, Memorial Day is about paying our respects to those brave men and women who made the ultimate sacrifice to protect our freedoms and our nation. Below are pictures I took with veterans and local elected officials, including State Senator Lisa Baker and State Representatives Karen Boback, Sue Helm and Frank Ryan.

Honor and enjoy Memorial Day weekend and welcome to our Week End Update.

Please take time to remember our brave fighting men and women of the American Armed Forces who made the ultimate sacrifice in defense of our nation. I will be attending a memorial service on Sunday at Fort Indiantown Gap and another service on Monday in Port Carbon.

On Tuesday, the entire nation was watching an important Special Election taking place in Pennsylvania’s 12^th Congressional District, just west of our District. In that election, voters elected Fred Keller in a landslide. Fred will be an excellent Congressman as he shares our conservative values and is a strong ally of President Donald Trump. I joined President Trump, Fred Keller and thousands of others for a get-out-the-vote rally in Montoursville. As with every Trump Rally, there were thousands in attendance and many hundreds waiting to get in to the venue. It was a clear sign that the work President Trump is doing to grow our economy by reducing taxes and eliminating unnecessary regulations, renegotiating unfair trade deals and keeping our country safe is resonating with Pennsylvanians.

Good evening and welcome to our Week End Update.

As many of you are aware, next Tuesday is Primary Election Day and I want to wish all of our local candidates well. It is important that everyone get to the polls and vote, especially for our Republican Superior Court candidates. In addition to the statewide and local elections on our Primary ballots, we have a Special Election in Pennsylvania's 12th Congressional District. Our nominee is Fred Keller and he is a strong conservative who will do an excellent job supporting the President. If you live in Pennsylvania's 12th District, I urge you to vote for Fred on Tuesday. President Donald Trump is also pitching-in to ensure we win this Special Election. He will be holding a pre-election rally on Monday at 7pm in Montoursville. If you go, I will see you there as I will be in attendance. For details and to get tickets, click on the link below.

On Monday, we held our first 9^th Congressional District Artist Discovery Contest at Penn State Schuylkill. The winner of the contest was Cassidy Heckler, a senior at North Schuylkill. There were many outstanding pieces of art and our community can be proud that we have such creative young people residing in the District. Cassidy’s artwork will be displayed in the halls of the U.S. Capitol for the next year. Congratulations to Cassidy, her family and to all those who participated.

Good evening and welcome to our Week End Update.

First of all, I want to wish my mother, my wife Shelley and all the mothers across the 9^th Congressional District a Happy Mother’s Day on Sunday. In that spirit, I joined in a press conference with Gold Star moms, who are American mothers who lost sons or daughters in service of the United States Armed Forces. I am pictured with President Trump Senior Advisor Kellyanne Conway, Congresswoman Liz Cheney, Gold Star mom Debbie Lee and other members. Debbie's son, Petty Officer 2nd Class Marc Alan Lee, was the first Navy SEAL killed in Iraq on August 2, 2016 at 28 years of age. Debbie was the first Gold Star mom in U.S. history to visit the combat zone where her son was killed. She visited Iraq in 2007 and 2010. She founded America's Mighty Warrior, a nonprofit organization that supports U.S. troops and their families. Debbie is an amazing woman and mother and I was honored to stand alongside her at this event.

On Saturday, my wife Shelley and I attended the annual Pennsylvania AG Republicans Kentucky Derby Party in Myerstown. I was pleased to join with so many close friends from Lebanon and Berks counties. I also got to see my good friends, Congressman G.T. Thompson, State Senator Dave Argall, Pennsylvania AG Republican Chair Mike Firestine and his wife Martene, among many others.