Good evening and welcome to our Weekend Update. Yesterday was Armed Services Day, and I want to thank all those in the military and our brave veterans for their service.

This has been a tough week in a difficult year for our nation. Gas shortage and rising prices, record numbers of illegal immigrants crossing the border; our trusted ally Israel is under attack and the Biden Administration has been anything but resolute in support of our trusted ally, and our nation’s economic situation is worsening.

The Biden Administration's first 100 Days have not gone well. Biden's talk of working in a bipartisan manner has proven to be empty words. Click here to read my recent op-ed on that subject.

Pipeline Problems:

The shutdown of the Colonial Pipeline has been the most disruptive cyberattack on record. This pipeline feeds the nation's fuel supply from Texas to New York. Despite the $5 million ransom payment and assurances from the Biden Administration that fuel supplies would return to normal, gas shortages and high gas prices remain. The average price of gasoline nationally is $3.14, the most expensive since October of 2014. Note, President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden were in office at that time. In D.C., 88% of gas stations were without fuel on Friday afternoon. The Biden Administration finally admitted that pipe is the best way to transport fuel. That is an infuriating admission knowing that the Biden Administration canceled the Keystone XL pipeline. See below.

Biden has overseen the most anti-energy agenda in our nation’s history. Between rejoining the Paris Climate Agreement and canceling the Keystone XL pipeline, he has killed millions of jobs, hurt American families and made our nation less energy independent…. All in about four months.

Israel Under Attack:

President Donald Trump does not get near enough credit for the work he did to promote peace across the world, particularly his administration’s success in the Middle East. He achieved that by promoting peace, the idea that we can all prosper, and did so while being unapologetically pro-Israel. Fast forward a few months, and Biden has returned our nation to the same failed foreign agenda of yesteryear.

Appeasement is not an effective strategy. Worse yet, many in his own party are condemning Israel for defending its own citizens. I want to make this clear… Israel is under attack by Hamas, an extremist terrorist group funded by Iran. Hama uses their own women, children and seniors as shields as they lob thousands of bombs at innocent Israeli citizens. I support diplomacy, but that can only begin after Hamas, a radical terrorist group, stops attacking Israel. If you listened to some on the far left, they would tell you that Israel should stop defending themselves and just allow these attacks and innocents to die. Want an example of this logic? Click here or below to watch CNN anchor Becky Anderson have her ignorant arguments destroyed by former Israeli Defense Minister Naftali Bennett.

We must stand with our ally Israel. I unequivocally condemn these indiscriminate attacks directed towards Israel by Hamas. It is not debatable; Israel has every right to defend itself and its citizens from these acts of terrorism. The United States must immediately act to provide continued support and security assistance to Israel.

Good afternoon and welcome to our Weekend Update.

First of all, I want to wish a Happy Mother's Day to the two best mom's I know… my mom, Maeve, and my wife, Shelley. I also want to extend a Happy Mother's Day to all the moms out there. As one of our greatest presidents, Abraham Lincoln, once said, "All that I am, or hope to be, I owe to my angel mother." (Pictured below with Shelley and my mom)

This week, the Biden Administration and liberal Democrats got their report card on their handling of the economy… it was a grade that most children wouldn't want to take home to their moms. The economy only added 266,000 jobs in April, falling well short of projections. Small businesses are struggling to fill positions. The extreme liberal agenda of the Biden Administration, Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer have created too many incentives not to work. See the cartoon below that encapsulates the current situation American businesses are facing:

What's worse is that the report could have been even worse had it not been for the addition of 187,000 workers in restaurants and bars as well as 72,700 gambling, amusements and recreation workers. Without those jobs coming back online after the pandemic, April job numbers would have been virtually unchanged from last month.

I appeared on Mornings with Maria on Fox Business to discuss the Biden Administration's continued push for his big-government, higher taxes spending plan. Click here or below to watch my interview.

It's an upside-down policy plan, the idea that raising taxes is somehow going to be reasonably beneficial at a time of A) recovery, but B) as we're competing with the rest of the world as we are. You know, one thing Joe Biden doesn't remember is that the rest of the world got competitive, and the U.S. did not since the George W. Bush days. Ireland has a corporate rate of 12%, U.K. 20%. In communist China, where communism means high taxes and the redistribution of wealth, their corporate rate is 25%. Biden wants to put us on even par with them. We're losing jobs. The idea of 'Made in the USA' and then raising costs on 'Made in the USA' goods is again an upside-down policy agenda. It'll send jobs overseas.

Good afternoon and welcome to our Weekend Update.

Earlier this week, Joe Biden delivered his first speech to a joint session of Congress. Participation was limited due to Covid-19 restrictions, and I was not in attendance.

Biden strongly advocated for an extreme progressive policy wish list to raise taxes, crush the economy and increase American’s dependence on the government. The cartoon below sums up Biden's plans.

At Biden's Inauguration, he promised his Administration would govern in a bipartisan manner. Unfortunately, over the past 100 days, the Biden Administration has governed in an extreme left-wing approach… from Covid-19 relief to the catastrophe at our southern border to his recent multi-trillion-dollar spending proposals. There has been little to no Republican involvement in any of his proposals or initiatives to date.

Good morning and welcome to our Weekend Update.

This week, I attended a key Republican grassroots leader meeting in Huntingdon County. First of all, for those who have not been to Raystown Lake, it’s a beautiful area, and I encourage you to visit. I want to thank Huntingdon County Chair C. Arnold McClure for putting together this very worthwhile and informative event. I also want to thank all of the county chairs who attended the meeting. It’s not a secret that I have been exploring ways I can help our Commonwealth in a larger and even more impactful role. The event and discussions were crucial and timely. Our Commonwealth and nation face some serious challenges as Joe Biden and Tom Wolf have taken our nation and Commonwealth in the wrong direction. Pictured below with Huntingdon County Arnie McClure, PA AG Chair Mike Firestine and Perry County Chair Don McClure.

Pennsylvania has always played the role of the Keystone State throughout our nation’s history. From the founding of our nation and our freedoms to the defining battle of the Civil War to the first strike against terrorism on 9/11 as brave patriots wrestled control of United Airlines Flight 93 away from terrorists seeking to cause more devastation to our nation, Pennsylvania has been the backdrop of our nation’s most significant historical moments.

Good afternoon and welcome to our Weekly Update.

Earlier this week, I traveled to Texas to get a firsthand account of the human rights catastrophe taking place at our southern border. The Biden Administration (who has repeatedly referred to this situation as a “challenge”) and Democrats must recognize the severity of the situation occurring at the border. I toured the Rio Grande River and the detention facility in Donna, Texas. First of all, I want to commend our Customs and Border Patrol agents and our National Guard for doing a tremendous job under challenging circumstances. The influx of illegal immigrants and unaccompanied minors from Central and South America is at all-time highs and they are experiencing severe overcrowding in the detention facilities.

As the saying goes, a picture is worth a thousand words. See the picture below of the detention facility in Donna taken on March 31 of this year.

The following picture is what the facility looks like on April 14, 2021, with the addition of numerous tents and facilities.

This additional construction was needed to handle the continuing influx of illegal immigrants, particularly children, over the border. The Donna facility is over 16 times its capacity.

Good afternoon and welcome to our Weekend Update.

It was a very busy week, holding meetings with many outstanding businesses and local leaders in the district and surrounding areas. There is quite a bit of important planning and actions related to election integrity. I will fight for voter access and will fight equally as hard for election integrity. They both must be achieved. An election should never be favorable to those in power and voting laws are not flexible. These laws are not to be ignored for any contrived reason. I do plan to work on this.

Much of my work these days is, of course, constituent services, assuring there will be a proper use of funds from the various spending bill, working effectively to advance our state economically fighting back against the Democrats left-wing extremists, communicating the truth on the issues to the public and voter integrity remains a priority. The committees I serve on, Foreign Affairs and Small Business, are great and committed to fighting for America. This you can count on!

Another crazy week of horrific decisions and continued lies from the White House.

I continue to be deeply upset with the way President Joe Biden, national Democrats, the mainstream media and the "woke" mob are spreading LIES about Georgia's new voting law. Click here to read a document that separates fact from fiction related to Georgia's new law. 

Based on these lies and misinformation, Major League Baseball caved to the “woke” assault. It moved the All-Star game to Colorado... which also requires voter identification and has fewer days of early voting. Why? It has all to do with fulfilling a political agenda.

Mark my word, we have not witnessed the last of the “woke” mob and the impacts of “cancel culture.” It’s dangerous and it again underscores the importance of helping Republicans win at the ballot box to continue the job that President Donald Trump began. We must push America First policies focused on the working class, not the ruling class.

Happy Easter and welcome to our Weekend Update.

Before we begin our update, I want to extend my thoughts and prayers with the family, friends and fellow officers of U.S. Capitol Police Officer William Evans, who tragically lost his life in defense of our nation. Yesterday's attack on the Capitol was tragic and a stark reminder that our men and women in blue put their lives on the line to protect our democracy every single day. We can never thank them enough.

This week, my latest appearance on the Volpe Report aired. I discussed the ongoing crisis at the border. What is occurring at the border is an absolute tragedy and the blame largely rests with President Joe Biden and his administration. Click here or below to watch.

I appeared on Fox Business with Neil Cavuto to discuss President Joe Biden’s latest trillion-dollar spending bill that will require massive tax increases. Click here or below to watch.

Good afternoon and welcome to our Weekend Update.

With all the craziness we have seen from the extreme left over the past two months, I was thankfully not in Washington, D.C. this week. As I have said before, Washington groupthink is a real thing and the issues and views being pushed by the extreme left are rooted in their own agenda and self-interest, not what’s best for hardworking Pennsylvanians. Higher taxes, increased spending, massive budget deficits, stripping away our 2^ndAmendment rights, weakened border security, making our elections less secure and promoting socialist policies are all on the agenda. President Joe Biden, Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer are all walking billboards for term limits.

As someone who has spent much of my career working to build a business in the private sector, I always look forward to visiting local businesses to hear how they are doing, speaking to hardworking Pennsylvanians and finding out how government can best help support their efforts to grow and prosper. Yesterday, I visited the Famous Smoke Shop which is thriving. This business began as a small cigar shop in Manhattan and has since moved its entire operation to Pennsylvania. They are the largest online retailer of cigars. Pictured below with Arthur Zaretsky, president and founder of Famous Smoke Shop.

Good evening and welcome to our Weekend Update.

This week, President Joe Biden unveiled a major tax hike that would negatively impact our economy and hardworking American families.

The planned tax increases include:

• Raising the corporate tax from 21 percent to 28 percent
  
  
• Increasing the income tax rate on families making more than $400,000
  
  
  • Note: President Biden campaigned on increasing taxes on people making over $400,000, but now it is families
• Expanding the estate tax

This plan is just the beginning of tax increases on hardworking Americans. By the way, the corporate tax rate at 21% is one of the reasons our economy was doing so well in January of 2020 before the pandemic. Biden's plan will reverse all of that. I joined Newsmax this week to talk about how this is the wrong plan and puts our nation on the wrong path. Click here or on the image below to watch.

Good afternoon and welcome to our Weekend Update.

This was a great week in Washington… if you were a liberal Democrat like President Joe Biden, Speaker Nancy Pelosi or Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer.

They passed and signed and passed the nearly $2 trillion big-government spending bill and began their latest assault on our 2^nd Amendment rights. The White House Chief of Staff has deemed this “the most progressive domestic legislation in a generation.”

While I voted to oppose the latest Covid-19 relief funding plan, the House passed the bill and President Biden signed it into law this week. This plan is far too large, too broad, included a host of liberal spending items and wasteful spending initiatives and is poorly timed as the economy is recovering.

As we continue to dig into a piece of legislation created in the Biden-Pelosi-Schumer swamp, egregious spending projects continue to be uncovered.