Several Democratic presidential candidates are proposing raising the top income tax rate to 70 percent. Proponents want tax hikes to stem worsening inequality and adequately fund the Federal government. Opponents contend that such high tax rates will significantly reduce economic growth. Economists are famous for disagreeing, but we agree that if we tax anything, we […]

On May 7th, I returned from a bipartisan female congressional delegation (CODEL) to Afghanistan and Jordan, led by my good friend and colleague Congresswoman Susan Davis from California. This CODEL marked my eighth year traveling to visit with deployed U.S. soldiers and Afghan women around Mother’s Day. During the trip, I had the privilege of […]

HB314 bans abortion for any reason except for the life of the mother. The bill’s purpose is to establish the personhood of the unborn child and to challenge Roe v. Wade, which ruled that the unborn is not a person and does not deserve protection under the U.S. Constitution. HB314 passed the Alabama House of […]

Did you know that it’s against the law to braid hair, wash hair or even plant flowers professionally in Alabama without a license? That’s because occupational licensing, originally meant to protect consumers, has gotten way out of hand. A video recently produced by the Alabama Policy Institute illustrates just how ridiculous it has become. Sure, licensing certain […]

This is National Drinking Water Week, a week in which we highlight the essential role of drinking water in our society and economy. But how did we get here? Municipal water systems are a more recent development than many realize. In the late 1800s and early 1900s, workers and their families moved from rural areas […]

Last week, I was honored to address a group of newly naturalized citizens of the United States. It was an experience that gave me the opportunity to reflect on a question as old as our nation itself: “What does it mean to be an American?” In the United States, we don’t define citizenship as being […]

Economic freedom is the freedom to engage in commerce and use our property as we see fit. Over the past 25 years, economists have developed measures of the economic freedom of nations and states. A new measure of the economic freedom of metropolitan areas (MSAs) allows us to answer which Alabama city has the most […]

Every ten years, the U.S. Census Bureau conducts a count of every resident in the United States, as mandated by Article I, Section 2 of our Constitution. This action is critically important to understanding current facts and figures about our country’s people, places, and economy. It’s hard to believe that a decade has almost passed, […]

WASHINGTON, D.C. — As the humanitarian and national security crisis continues unabated at our southern border, Democrats refuse to acknowledge what is really happening. Unfortunately, this is becoming a pattern for them. They even go as far to say it is a manufactured crisis by the Trump administration. Before President Trump took office, those same […]

Alabama’s economy is booming with record low unemployment, wages on the rise and new industries continuing to choose our state to expand their businesses. However, we are lagging in providing critical broadband infrastructure to all our citizens. For too long, the expansion of fast, reliable internet service has been concentrated in larger cities while rural […]

If only Alabama’s leaders had a magical Medicaid “Choose Your Own Adventure” book, so they could flip ahead and see the different outcomes we could expect by expanding the government insurance program that was originally designed for the poor and disabled. Would it end in a stronger economy, more jobs and a vibrant system of […]

American agriculture has long been the envy of the world. Thanks to investment in plant and animal breeding, pest management, conservation and automation, U.S. farmers have more than doubled productivity since 1980 while reducing erosion and protecting the environment. If America is to remain a farming superpower, we must strengthen research efforts at our colleges […]

I knew it had happened to me, so I concluded it was happening to others. I’m a small business owner, and for years I owned and operated small catastrophe-restoration franchises in Mobile and Baldwin Counties. If your home or store had fire or water damage, my team and I would come in and restore your […]

A handful of stories in Washington generally get about 90 percent of the media’s attention. Don’t get me wrong, many of those stories are important, but much of my time in Washington is also focused on getting things done for Alabama that don’t make the front page. This week we got a big win on […]

President Trump is creating a Presidential Committee on Climate Security to scrutinize climate science. Princeton University physicist William Happer has been identified as a possible committee chair. Environmental groups consider Mr. Trump’s proposal heretical and label skeptics as climate change deniers. Nonetheless, I think that climate science, the environment, and our democracy will all benefit […]

While Congress was out of session for the April district work period, I had the opportunity to spend time on the road, traveling throughout Alabama’s Second District, meeting with constituents, businesses, industries and local leaders. As I always say, I appreciate every chance I get to hear directly from the people I represent, and I […]

As the weather continues to warm and summer temperatures approach, I am reminded of the incredible natural beauty that lies here in Alabama. For many schools throughout Southwest Alabama, April marked Spring Break for students and teachers, and so many families take advantage of that time to get out and enjoy the great outdoors throughout […]

For Christians, Easter is one of the most important and sacred days of the entire year because we celebrate Jesus’ triumphant resurrection from the dead. This special holiday gives us the time to gather with friends and family to spend time together, sharing the joy of Easter and the hope Jesus’ life, death and resurrection […]

The current measles outbreak has brought new criticism of parents who refuse to vaccinate their children over vaccine safety concerns. Measles was declared to be eradicated in the U.S. in 2000, and yet this year alone, 550 cases have occurred through the second week of April. Anti-vaccination attitudes, I think, reflect a decline in trust […]

All citizens of Alabama want and deserve safe, efficient, cost-effective anesthesia care for themselves and their loved ones. Do you wonder who that person is behind the mask that’s taking you to surgery? Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists (CRNAs) ensure that the citizens of Alabama receive the highest standard of anesthesia care for their surgery, interventional […]

What keeps us from sharing our stories? The ones we should tell? When it comes to the story I shared Wednesday morning with the Alabama House Health Committee regarding what would be the nation’s strongest pro-life law, it’s been fear. Fear of being misunderstood. Fear of future assumptions based on past mistakes. Most of all, […]

For those of us who are Christians, this week is the most important and holiest of the year. We begin the week remembering Jesus’ triumphal entrance into Jerusalem, walk with Him through his last teachings in the Temple, watch the last supper with His disciples, sadly witness His arrest and trial before the Sanhedrin and […]

In today’s connected world, Internet safety is a growing concern for all age groups. From credit card fraud and identity theft to cyberstalking and child predators, there are countless dangers individuals can encounter online. According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (FBI) Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3), over the last five years, there has been […]

Police officers, sheriffs and district attorneys do heroic work every day to lock up criminals and keep our streets and neighborhoods safe. Yet many parts of our criminal justice system are broken, and layers of bureaucracy and a thicket of self-serving fees and outdated rules create barriers for people who have already paid their debt […]