Good evening and welcome to our Week-End Update.

We will again be focusing on the latest news regarding the coronavirus. I understand that these are stressful, confusing and frustrating times for all of us. The situation our nation, and the world, find itself are unprecedented. That is why I am continuing to communicate as much information I receive and that is why we must heed the words of President Trump Coronavirus Team, Vice President Mike Pence and the top physicians who are leading our coronavirus response. We must use the next 15 days to slow the spread and flatten the curve. These may be tough times, but our nation, when united, has defeated tougher enemies and I have no doubt we will be successful again.

Please see the below guidelines from the Trump Administration and the CDC on the 15-Day Plan To Slow the Spread.

Good afternoon and welcome to our Week-End Update.

This week's update will be different than our usual political update. Unlike some that are unfortunately attempting to use the coronavirus as a political issue, this is a time for America to stand united and face this common enemy… just as our nation has done throughout history.

Appropriately, much of the activity and news in Washington and the District have centered around the coronavirus. This is a serious issue and something we all must stay vigilant of, especially for those of us who are regularly in contact with our seniors who are particularly vulnerable to this disease.

I conducted an interview on C-SPAN’s Washington Journal regarding the impact of the coronavirus. I confirmed that the Trump Administration has been on top of this issue and are providing the nation with all available resources to combat the virus. On Friday, President Trump declared a national emergency over coronavirus. President Trump and his administration have taken appropriate actions to contain this disease by implementing travel bans in China and much of Europe. This measure, instituted by the President, has helped to save lives.

The most important actions our government has taken have been effectively working to allow public-private partnerships so we can maximize the innovation of the private sector. That is why our nation is most prepared to contain, mitigate and ameliorate this situation because we have a superior health system and innovation. 

While I think it is important for everyone to take this issue seriously, the reality is that while this virus is contagious, it has not yet impacted the number of people that prior diseases have on this scale, like swine flu. We need to be realistically precautionary. Not overreacting. It is critical that you take proactive measures to protect yourself and I have included some important and informative handouts from CDC below to keep you safe. Here is a link to the CDC. In all the congressional briefings I've received on the coronavirus issue, all of the materials I have been provided have also been offered on the CDC website. The President and his team are being very transparent.

Good afternoon and welcome to our Week-End Update.

First, I want to take a moment to remember Schuylkill County Commissioner Frank Staudenmeier, who passed away last weekend. Frank was a dedicated public servant and a leader in the community. We all send our heartfelt condolences to Frank’s family, friends and all of Schuylkill County.

On Monday, I attended the AIPAC Policy Conference in Washington, the largest gathering of America’s pro-Israel community. We must always stand with Israel, our nation’s greatest ally in the Middle East, and fight back against Antisemitism in all capacities. (Pictured below with Congressman Fred Keller.)

Good afternoon and welcome to our Week-End Update.

I began the week conducting a series of interviews regarding current events, including the coronavirus, the Democratic presidential contest and I explained why Pennsylvania will go for Trump again in 2020. On Monday, I spoke with RJ Harris on WHP 580 for our monthly run-down of important topics. On Tuesday, I joined Stuart Varney on Varney & Co. at Fox Business. Click here to watch.

The Democratic presidential candidates are running on a socialist agenda. They want to shut down the natural gas industry, coal and all fossil fuels. They are promising free government-run services with trillion-dollar price tags, want to regulate everything from gun purchases to the amount of soda you can drink, Medicare-for-All, taxpayer-funded college tuition and are advocating for tax increases.

Please see the political cartoon we are highlighting this week that accurately sums up the current status of the Democratic primary. Bernie's brand of socialist politics is the Democratic Party's brand.

Good afternoon and I hope you are having a wonderful Sunday. Welcome to our Week-End Update.

On Tuesday, our campaign completed the petition filing for our reelection campaign. I want to thank the hundreds of volunteers and supporters who circulated our petitions. We filed more than 3,000 signatures. You are the foundation of our campaign and we are so appreciative of your continued support. I also want to give special thanks to the Berks County GOP and Chairman Clay Breece who helped our campaign collect over 1,200 signatures. I also want to thank the Berks GOP for voting to support our reelection campaign. Last but not least, I want to thank the Berks County YRs for their hard work and support. They are a tremendous group and I am very thankful for all they do. Together we will accomplish so much more and Keep America Great.

If interested, I recommend watching the extraordinary video below by clicking here, which includes a tremendous American message from President Trump. It is a positive, patriotic, inspirational message. If we continue the Great American comeback, the American Dream will remain alive and well for us and future generations!

Good afternoon and welcome to our Week-End Update.

I want to begin by thanking all of our campaign volunteers, supporters and committed Republican voters in the 9^thDistrict for signing my petitions. Today, we made our initial filing to qualify for the ballot. Our campaign asks that you continue to circulate and sign petitions. On Tuesday, we will be filing our final supplemental petition signatures. If you have additional petitions and need to arrange a pick-up, please contact our Field Campaign Manager Rob Bresnahan at rob@meuserforcongress.com.

As part of my commitment to applying business practices to government, I am determined to only spend tax dollars in a manner that benefits our District. As a Congressman, it is not sufficient to simply talk about spending tax dollars more responsibly. We have to walk the walk. For 2019, our office returned $159,962 or 11.8% of our annual office budget, to the U.S. Treasury. WFMZ covered the story.

Good afternoon and welcome to our Week-End Update.

The acquittal of President Donald Trump, the State of the Union Address, the Iowa Caucuses…there was no shortage of significant events to discuss this week.

The U.S. Senate voted down the impeachment on Wednesday. This mercifully ends what has been a baseless and reckless witch hunt led by Democratic Leadership, including Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Congressmen Adam Schiff and Jerry Nadler and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer. This was such a stinging defeat for the Democratic leadership, and even the Washington Post was forced to finally print the truth about President Donald Trump – a headline that reads “Trump Acquitted.”

Our Founding Fathers never meant to have impeachment weaponized like it was by Democratic leadership over the past few months. In response, U.S. Senator Rick Scott has sponsored a Congressional Amendment to raise the threshold in the U.S. House for impeachment. I support this effort as we can never allow impeachment to be used as a political tool ever again.

Since gaining the majority in 2018, the House Democrat majority has obsessed overdoing one thing: impeaching a President despite the absence of evidence. Their purely political agenda consumed precious taxpayer money and distracted Congress from doing the work of the people.

Good evening and welcome to our Week-End Update.

This week, much of the news in Washington revolved around the impeachment hearings in the U.S. Senate. Over the past months and weeks, I have detailed my feelings regarding the impeachment sham.

I believe that the Wall Street Journal’s Kimberly Strassel encapsulates many of the points I have been stressing and makes a compelling case, in her piece Crying Wolf on Impeachment against the Democratic leadership. She writes:

“The impeachment trial of Donald J. Trump is coming down to one big question: Will Democrats, by crying wolf, drown out the more legitimate Republican cry of foul? ‘Foul’ has served as the GOP’s most powerful and honest argument from the first days of these impeachment maneuverings.” 

“Democrats broke every standard of due process, transparency and fairness in their House investigation, making a mockery of their constitutional duty.”

• “They hid the identity of the original accuser, denying Republicans and the country the ability to judge his motives.”
  
  
• “They held secret depositions, barring more than three-quarters of House members, as well as the press and the American public.”
  
  
• “They called 18 witnesses, but blocked the president from calling any in his defense.”
  
  
• “The White House legal team was excluded from the proceedings—prohibited from cross-examining witnesses, denied the ability to introduce any evidence that spoke to the central question of the president’s focus on Ukrainian corruption.”
  
  
• “Democrats approved two articles of impeachment that failed to identify a crime.”

Good afternoon and welcome to our Week-End Update!

What another GREAT week as the America First Agenda continues to make our nation stronger.

First, another outstanding jobs report for December – our economy continues to surge under the policies of President Donald Trump and Congressional Republicans. The U.S. economy added 145,000 jobs this past month, and in 2019 overall, employers added 2.11 million jobs. Since the President took office, over 7.3 million jobs have been created. The chart below showcases how the Trump administration has drastically outperformed the Obama administration in growing the earnings of workers. This chart clearly shows how President Trump is helping hardworking Americans and their families. Fortunately, this growth is a blue-collar job boom.

Next, the U.S. Senate passed the U.S.M.C.A.  and it is now on President Trump’s desk. This is a landmark trade agreement, fully led by the President, that passed with bipartisan support. We will finally have a trade deal in place that puts American working families first.

Finally, President Trump and his administration negotiated a deal with China that creates fairer trade and more open markets for U.S. manufacturers and farmers. The Phase 1 deal is a major step in the right direction for long-term growth & prosperity. It will slash our trade deficit with China by $200 billion, protects US intellectual property, and positive results are already here: a booming stock market and doubling of soybean exports.

The China deal is good for our country and great for working families. America will continue to prosper, meaning higher wages and create even more good-paying jobs for all Americans. President Trump is making trade work for America.

These landmark deals have opened up new markets for U.S. goods.

Good evening and welcome to our Week-End Update!

We had another very busy week as Congress was back in session.

We began the week at the Farm Show in Harrisburg.

The Pennsylvania Farm Show is an all consuming showcase of Pennsylvania's agricultural industry. Our District is home to some of the best family farms in the country. I was pleased to participate in many events and meet so many hardworking and passionate farmers. 

What may be surprising, as I have not driven a horse drawn carriage since I was 8 on my uncle's farm, I won the 2020 Celebrity Feed Scurry competition. Click here to read more from WFMZ. I want to thank all of the sponsors. I look forward to defending my title next year, especially against State Senator John DiSanto who finished in a close second place. Pictured below with first-place plaque, all of the participants, Congressman G.T. Thompson and Trisha Poorbaugh, Secretary of the 4-H State Council. By the way, I could not have won without Tricia, who was my hay bale handler. She was strong, fast and committed to winning the race.