Every August, Congress takes a District Work Period so members have extra time to spend across their congressional district.

Although I live in Weaver full-time and am home when I am not in Washington for votes, it is always wonderful to have some uninterrupted time in East Alabama.

During my time in August, I got to visit with a lot of folks at my six different “Congress on Your Corner” town hall events. I was able to talk directly to folks about issues going on in local communities from Woodland to Ashland.

I also visited and toured several companies and small businesses. One thing I heard on repeat was how the recent tax reform legislation was helping these businesses thrive and putting more money back in the pockets of their hardworking employees.

I met with my Third Congressional District Veterans Advisory Committee to stay on top of the issues that Veterans in our area are facing so that I can take those concerns straight to Washington.

I had several meetings with East Alabama’s farmers. Agriculture is such an important driver of our State’s economy. As the only member of the House Agriculture Committee from the State of Alabama, it is crucial that I know exactly what the needs are of our farmers and producers.

As a conferee on the 2018 Farm Bill, I want to make sure our state’s agriculture sector has a direct line to me so I can fight for them as we finalize this critical piece of legislation.

I toured career technical centers and was able to tell them about the exciting Carl Perkins legislation that passed the House with my strong support. It’s the most monumental legislation we’ve passed for our career tech students.

I also got to sit down with local elected officials and leaders from across East Alabama to ensure I know what’s going on in their towns so I can continue to be an advocate for their needs in Congress.

It was a busy time with lots of travel, but I am pleased with all we accomplished and will head back to Washington with an updated “to do” list for the Third District.

As we get back to work, I am excited to continue pushing President Trump’s America First agenda for our great nation.

I want to hear from you on this or any issue. Please sign up for my e-Newsletter by visiting this link. To stay up to date, you can also like me on Facebook at Congressman Mike D. Rogers, follow me on Twitter, Pinterest and Instagram at RepMikeRogersAL, on Tumblr and you can also subscribe to my YouTube page at MikeRogersAL03.

U.S. Rep. Mike Rogers is a Republican from Saks.