For months, Speaker Pelosi and my Democratic friends have denied a crisis on the border exists. Nothing to see here! But the American people, our border agents, video footage and even the liberal media insisted otherwise and called for action. The public pressure was immense.

I have always held a deep appreciation for the musicians, songwriters, television and film producers who work hard to create the music, songs, shows and movies people around the world know and love. At one point in my life, I even aspired to work in the Nashville music industry, which I ended up doing for […]

Zoning and land use regulation has largely choked off housing construction in many American cities. This is an unintended but predictable consequence of requiring government permission for building. Understanding why requires starting with the why of zoning. Some land uses interfere with the use and enjoyment of nearby property. These nuisances include noise, smells, vibrations, […]

Last week, the Supreme Court ruled on an important case with significant implications for the future of religious expression in our republic. The case, American Legion v. American Humanist Association, was brought by a nonprofit atheist organization seeking to remove an almost 100-year-old monument in Maryland’s Prince George’s County.

The state legislature gave Alabama’s public school teachers a 4 percent raise this year. Relaxing zoning and land use laws in America’s most productive cities could give us all a similar raise. Zoning illustrates the costs of a permission-based economy. How do land use regulations in New York or San Francisco affect America? Businesses with […]

In Congress, I consider it a tremendous privilege and responsibility to represent a district that is home to two of our country’s finest military installations – Fort Rucker down in the Wiregrass and Maxwell-Gunter Air Force Base in Montgomery. Even beyond the Second District, Alabama as a whole has a significant military footprint, and we […]

Some of us who were former legislators, who served our counties in the legislature a long time, were considered by many to always be their legislator. A good many of my former constituents still call me with questions or problems. Some ask me how to get in touch with their congressman or senator about a […]

Father’s Day has come and gone, and sadly so too has the concept of fatherhood in many parts of Alabama. Nearly half of all babies born here are to unmarried women, according to the latest information from the Alabama Department of Public Health. This is a crisis. It is a crisis that researchers have shown […]

The New York Times recently published a very insightful article pointing out the political polarization among America’s state governments. We read that a full 29 state legislatures are dominated by Republicans. Democrats control 18. The Times pointed to a specific example of Illinois and Alabama to show the extreme contrast in social policy. In Illinois, […]

There is a lot going on in the metropolitan area west of Redstone Arsenal these days. An entirely new retail opportunity has entered the Huntsville market and provided citizens local access to products only available to us online previously. Welcome, Duluth Trading Company. The Rocket City will once again offer families access to minor league […]

Alabama has been in the news lately for recently passing the nation’s strongest anti-abortion law, but it also just enacted what is being hailed by one expert as “one of the most comprehensive and effective campus free-speech laws in the country” Last week Gov. Kay Ivey signed a law requiring the state’s public colleges and […]

Decades of bad immigration policies have undermined our laws and led to the worst conditions at our border we’ve ever seen. U.S. Border Patrol agents have apprehended a staggering 56,278 unaccompanied minors this fiscal year. The Department of Health & Human Services, tasked with housing the largest number of children in its history, had 13,200 […]

Millions of Americans fear answering their phone due to a plague of billions of robocalls. These calls have made a mockery of the national Do Not Call Registry and touch on several public policy questions. We had seemingly ended the problem of unwanted telemarketing calls. Congress authorized the Do Not Call Registry in 2003 after […]

On June 14th, 1777, our country’s flag was officially adopted by a resolution of the Second Continental Congress. Many years later, in 1916, President Woodrow Wilson issued a proclamation that established June 14th as Flag Day, and on August 3, 1949, this day of observance was officially established by an Act of Congress. Now, every […]

“Thank you for your service.” As the civilian aide to the secretary of the Army for Alabama (South), I am always grateful for these words, which I hear often in this community. What many people do not understand is that the United States Army is the one who is thankful.

For more than 40 years, I have dedicated my life to advancing the economic interests of Alabama. I’ve spent time in the state legislature as a representative of my hometown district and was honored to be selected speaker of the House for Alabama. I served the governor as the director of what is now the […]

WASHINGTON, D.C. — As folks across East Alabama know all too well, we have a serious national security and humanitarian crisis at our Southwest border with Mexico that worsens every day. Because Democrats are so dug in against President Trump, they are choosing to play political games over keeping our homeland safe and dealing with […]

For most of the history of our country, it was widely accepted, as I firmly believe now, that life begins at conception, that we are all fearfully and wonderfully made in God’s image. The thought of prematurely ending a pregnancy was considered in stark, unreconcilable contrast to the principles of our founding of life, liberty […]

As those of us who live and work in the Second District remember well, last year on October 10, Hurricane Michael made landfall and ravaged areas of Alabama, Florida and Georgia. This storm was the third most powerful hurricane to ever descend upon the United States mainland. The destruction left in its wake was devastating, […]

When Alabama historians look back at this era decades from now, they may well determine that the recently completed 2019 regular legislative session was the most important and influential of its time. In terms of the depth and breadth of important issues that were debated, considered, and voted upon, the session set new precedents that […]

Last month, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) visited Alabama where he held campaign rallies and town halls in Birmingham and Montgomery touting his Medicare for All plan. His staunch opposition to anything other than a complete overhaul of the U.S. health care system has often dominated political and health care conversations. Every American deserves access to […]

It is fitting that last week, now-former special counsel Robert Mueller announced his resignation and return to private life and his shuttering the office of the special counsel. Just the day before his announcement, I filed a bill to get some real transparency from those who undertook this costly, wasteful and pointless investigation and to […]

This is my 28th year in politics, and I have seen firsthand that with every election cycle, opposition research becomes a more valuable tool used in political campaigns. Many people had never heard of “Oppo” or were even aware that campaigns aggressively looked for information on their opponents until the Trump Dossier complied by Fusion […]

For the last week of May, Congress was out of session for a district work period, and I had the opportunity to travel around the Second District. Throughout the week, I visited with constituents and local leaders, toured businesses and industries and spent time with some of our servicemembers at Dannelly Field in Montgomery. During […]