Yesterday, Democrats tried to correct the procedures of their ill-advised impeachment tribunal by holding a vote in the House to continue the impeachment inquiry declared by Nancy Pelosi. If they had truly wanted a fair and transparent impeachment inquiry, this vote would have been held at the start of the process, not after they were exposed operating behind closed doors for weeks. This correction is no correction at all, though, as the resolution establishes unprecedented partisan measures that discard important due process protections that Republicans gave President Bill Clinton.  The prerogatives of the minority are discarded as well: six Democrat chairmen may unilaterally issue subpoenas for evidence while only two Republican committee leaders can even suggest issuing them. Nothing in the resolution voted on yesterday prevents Democrats from continuing to cherry pick what they want Americans to hear from their one-sided investigations. Holding a vote on their sham process now is just another smokescreen in their long-time goal of impeaching the president.

On Thursday, I helped introduce H.R. 4920 to reform laws for contracts with the Department of Veterans Affairs so that AbilityOne contracts held prior to 2006 continue to be eligible for renewal. Our free, prosperous nation enables opportunities for people of all abilities to work, and Congress has demonstrated its intent in past legislation to support such opportunities through the AbilityOne program. This bipartisan legislation provides needed clarity to the law, restoring eligibility for VA contracts to small businesses like IFB Solutions in Winston-Salem that employ blind and visually impaired individuals. As an original cosponsor of this bill, I will keep pushing for its passage until these truly perseverant individuals can rest more assured of their jobs.

In September, I also helped introduced H.R. 4351, the Yes In My Backyard (YIMBY) Act, which encourage states to look at a number of land use policies that can help increase access to affordable housing. Learn more about the YIMBY Act in my recent radio interview on WKOB with Ralph Shaw.

Our postsecondary education system is in desperate need of meaningful reform. Unfortunately, H.R. 4674, the so-called College Affordability Act, marked up in the Education and Labor Committee this week doubles down on failed policies and hurts students. This bill gives tens of billions of dollars to colleges instead of investing directly in students and trusting that students and their families know what is best for them. The Democrats use American taxpayer money to give illegal immigrants tuition-free community college and Pell Grants, which are funds that should be directed towards low-income students to help pay for college.

Additionally, the bill fails to hold bad programs accountable. Easy access to taxpayer money with no fear of consequences of poor outcomes has led schools to increase their prices. H.R. 4674 allows programs that do not set students up for success to continue to receive federal dollars. We shouldn’t reward bad behavior, but that’s exactly what this bill does. Furthermore, the skills gap in this country must be addressed if we hope to cultivate a qualified workforce for the future. By failing to advance innovative practices that help students transition from the classroom to a career, the legislation fails to setup the next generation of Americans for career success.

Lastly, an amendment to the bill that would require university health care facilities to ensure medical care is provided to infants born alive was called by the majority, “an attempt to insert policymakers in medical decisions that belong to women and their health care providers.” Watch my rebuttal to Democrats' confused arguments between protecting babies born alive after an abortion and women’s bodies.