Conservative voices deserve to be heard. We’re not even into the first full week of the new year, and yet, Big Tech has continued to admonish the voices of those who they disagree with. Just this week, a sitting member of Congress and a conservative children’s book publisher received penalties from social media giants while members of international terror groups are still allowed to post violent rhetoric without the fear of retribution. The hypocrisy is blinding.

The rule of law is not exclusionary. It applies to every person and entity – especially Big Tech. By skirting around anti-trust laws for years, these companies have shielded themselves from scrutiny as they amassed unprecedented dominance in our marketplaces. Too often, court cases against these companies have been drawn out for many years. If we are to hold them accountable for silencing conservative voices, expediting stricter anti-trust laws is a must – a position that I strongly support. Here are a two anti-trust solutions from the Judiciary Committee’s framework for taking on Big Tech:

• Expedited trial court consideration. In the early Twentieth Century, Congress required courts to aggressively apply antitrust laws. Consistent with the Expediting Act of 1903, this proposal would require faster treatment of antitrust cases against Big Tech companies at the trial court, create an adequate record for any appeal, and ultimately ensure speedy justice in the fight against Big Tech.

• Content moderation transparency. Big Tech’s content moderation decisions can be imposed summarily and with little justification. This proposal will require that for large platforms, content moderation decisions and censorship must be listed, with specificity and particularity, on a publicly available website. A platform’s failure to do so would result in a massive fine.

Freedom of speech and the First Amendment should be honored by all Americans and protected for all Americans. Big Tech could abandon its dangerous effort in marginalizing conservative voices by adhering to the principles enshrined in the Constitution – but I’m not holding my breath. I’ll continue to stand up, push back, and be a strong advocate for conservative voices. This is an issue that I do not take lightly.

More Partisan Distractions

For a year, Republicans have been demanding answers from Speaker Pelosi about security vulnerabilities at the Capitol after January 6^th. As of today, there has been no response from her. Over the past year, partisan grandstanding and political hackery from the majority regarding January 6^th reached new heights while pressing issues regarding Capitol operations have been ignored. Accountability is nowhere to be found.

Putting political agendas – like the majority has continued to do – over conducting basic oversight of security vulnerabilities of the Capitol complex is irresponsible. Effective oversight is a core tenet of good governance, and if the Speaker of the House is committed to improving the Capitol’s security posture, there would be immediate answers. Obstruction on her part is not an acceptable answer. I only have one question: What is Speaker Pelosi hiding?

Update On OSHA’s Vaccine Mandate

Recently, Congressman Rick W. Allen (GA-12), House Republican Conference Chair Elise Stefanik (NY-21), Republican Study Committee Chairman Jim Banks (IN-03), Senator Mike Braun (R-IN) and I led 136 Representatives and 47 Senators in filing an amicus brief to the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) in the upcoming case considering the Biden administration’s top-down Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS) requiring private employers with over 100 employees to mandate the COVID-19 vaccine or weekly testing. Here’s a short excerpt from the brief:

“Moreover, congressional members—as representatives of the people of their States and districts—have an interest in the citizens they represent being able to craft local solutions to problems facing their States and districts. Federalism concerns should be addressed before requiring federally-imposed solutions. And this is especially true when the question at issue involves an area typically reserved to the States (such as vaccine mandates).”

To read the amicus brief, click here.

"A body of men holding themselves accountable to nobody ought not to be trusted by anybody."

― Thomas Paine

Have a blessed weekend,