This week, the House was in recess to honor the life and mourn the death of George H.W. Bush, an incredible American patriot and leader. At age 18, Bush enlisted in the Navy to defend our country after the attacks on Pearl Harbor (77 years ago today), flying 58 combat missions as an aviator in WWII. In his long career of public service, he wore many hats—House Representative, Ambassador to the UN, envoy to China, CIA Director, Vice President to Ronald Reagan, and our Commander in Chief.

He lay in state at the U.S. Capitol Rotunda from Monday evening to Wednesday morning so our country could pay him special tribute. Deeply grateful for his passionate service to our country, it was an honor to personally pay my respects and salute this American patriot. My prayers remain with the Bush family; may God be close to their hearts in this difficult time.

Preserving our National Parks

At the conclusion of every two-year Congress, all introduced bills expire. Before we reach that expiration date on January 3, we should finish our bipartisan initiative to preserve national parks that have fallen into disrepair. The National Park Service (NPS) has been unable to keep pace with maintenance needs of our parks due to infrastructure aging beyond its intended life cycle and inconsistent funding. As a cosponsor of the National Park Service Legacy Act, I wrote a letter to House leadership to request that legislation on this issue be brought to the House floor for consideration before the end of the year. Read the letter here or click the image below.

North Carolinians in the Capitol

Last night, Congress carried on its annual Christmas tradition of lighting the People’s Tree in front of our nation’s capitol. This year’s tree is an 80-foot Noble Fir from the Willamette National Forest in Oregon, adorned with 10,000 handcrafted ornaments.

  
Here’s a shot of Larry Smith’s Fraser fir from the White House Blue Room! To see the complete journey of this year’s White House Christmas Tree from Avery County and other stories from Washington and the Fifth District, follow me on Instagram!
 

Today we remember Pearl Harbor and the 2403 military members and civilians who lost their lives. We also honor and remember the brave heroes who defended our country in WWII and preserved the freedoms threatened by that attack.

Next week, the House will return to tie-up loose ends on legislation that is still pending in the 115th Congress, including the Farm Bill and government funding for agencies that are operating under last year’s funding levels.