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Member, Aerospace Caucus, present
Member, Career & Technical Education Caucus, present
Member, Congressional Battlefield Caucus, present
Member, Congressional Caucus on United States-Turkish Relations and Turkish Americans, present
Member, Congressional History Caucus, present
Member, Congressional Sportsmen's Caucus, present
Member, Congressional Swedish Caucus, present
Member, Congressional TRIO Caucus, present
Member, Conservative Opportunity Society, present
Member, Depot Caucus, present
Member, General Aviation Caucus, present
Member, Invisible Wounds Caucus, present
Member, Joint Strike Fighter Caucus, present
Member, National Guard and Reserve Caucus, present
Member, National Service Caucus, present
Co-Chair, Native American Caucus, present
Member, Natural Gas Caucus, present
Co-Chair, Pre-K Caucus, present
Member, Pro-Life Caucus, present
Member, Rare Earth Caucus, present
Member, UAV Caucus, present
Member, USO Caucus, present
Former Member, Budget Committee, United States House of Representatives
Former Member, Budget Committee, United States House of Representatives
Former Member, Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Subcommittee, United States House of Representatives
Former Member, Joint Committee on the Library, United States Congress
Former Member, Joint Committee on the Library, United States Congress
Member, Republican Steering Committee
Chair, National Republican Congressional Committee, 2006-2008
Member, Aerospace Caucus, present
Member, Career & Technical Education Caucus, present
Member, Congressional Battlefield Caucus, present
Member, Congressional Caucus on United States-Turkish Relations and Turkish Americans, present
Member, Congressional History Caucus, present
Member, Congressional Sportsmen's Caucus, present
Member, Congressional Swedish Caucus, present
Member, Congressional TRIO Caucus, present
Member, Conservative Opportunity Society, present
Member, Depot Caucus, present
Member, General Aviation Caucus, present
Member, Invisible Wounds Caucus, present
Member, Joint Strike Fighter Caucus, present
Member, National Guard and Reserve Caucus, present
Member, National Service Caucus, present
Co-Chair, Native American Caucus, present
Member, Natural Gas Caucus, present
Co-Chair, Pre-K Caucus, present
Member, Pro-Life Caucus, present
Member, Rare Earth Caucus, present
Member, UAV Caucus, present
Member, USO Caucus, present
Former Member, Budget Committee, United States House of Representatives
Former Member, Budget Committee, United States House of Representatives
Former Member, Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Subcommittee, United States House of Representatives
Former Member, Joint Committee on the Library, United States Congress
Former Member, Joint Committee on the Library, United States Congress
Member, Republican Steering Committee
Chair, National Republican Congressional Committee, 2006-2008
Member, Committee on Appropriations
Ranking Member, Committee on Rules
Member, Subcommittee on Defense
Member, Subcommittee on Expedited Procedures
Ranking Member, Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies
Member, Subcommittee on Legislative and Budget Process
Member, Subcommittee on Rules and Organization of the House
Astrological Sign:
Taurus
— Awards:
— Father's Name:
— Father's Occupation:
— Mother's Name:
— Mother's Occupation:
1. Do you generally support pro-choice or pro-life legislation?
- Pro-life
1. In order to balance the budget, do you support an income tax increase on any tax bracket?
- No
2. Do you support expanding federal funding to support entitlement programs such as Social Security and Medicare?
- No
1. Do you support the regulation of indirect campaign contributions from corporations and unions?
- Unknown Position
1. Do you support the protection of government officials, including law enforcement officers, from personal liability in civil lawsuits concerning alleged misconduct?
- Unknown Position
Do you support increasing defense spending?
- Yes
1. Do you support federal spending as a means of promoting economic growth?
- Yes
2. Do you support lowering corporate taxes as a means of promoting economic growth?
- Yes
3. Do you support providing financial relief to businesses AND/OR corporations negatively impacted by the state of national emergency for COVID-19?
- Yes
1. Do you support requiring states to adopt federal education standards?
- No
1. Do you support government funding for the development of renewable energy (e.g. solar, wind, geo-thermal)?
- Yes
2. Do you support the federal regulation of greenhouse gas emissions?
- No
1. Do you generally support gun-control legislation?
- No
1. Do you support repealing the 2010 Affordable Care Act ("Obamacare")?
- No
2. Do you support requiring businesses to provide paid medical leave during public health crises, such as COVID-19?
- Yes
1. Do you support the construction of a wall along the Mexican border?
- Unknown Position
2. Do you support requiring immigrants who are unlawfully present to return to their country of origin before they are eligible for citizenship?
- Yes
1. Should the United States use military force to prevent governments hostile to the U.S. from possessing a weapon of mass destruction (for example: nuclear, biological, chemical)?
- Unknown Position
2. Do you support reducing military intervention in Middle East conflicts?
- Unknown Position
Do you generally support removing barriers to international trade (for example: tariffs, quotas, etc.)?
- Yes
1. Abortions should always be illegal.
- No Answer
2. Abortions should always be legal.
- No Answer
3. Abortions should be legal only within the first trimester of pregnancy.
- No Answer
4. Abortions should be legal when the pregnancy resulted from incest or rape.
- X
5. Abortions should be legal when the life of the woman is endangered.
- X
6. Prohibit the dilation and extraction procedure, also known as "partial-birth" abortion.
- X
7. Prohibit public funding of abortions and of organizations that advocate or perform abortions.
- X
8. Other or expanded principles
- No Answer
1. Agriculture
- Maintain Status
2. Arts
- Slightly Decrease
3. Defense
- Greatly Increase
4. Education
- Slightly Increase
5. Environment
- Slightly Decrease
6. Homeland security
- Greatly Increase
7. International aid
- Maintain Status
8. Law enforcement
- Greatly Increase
9. Medical research
- Slightly Increase
10. National parks
- Maintain Status
11. Public health services
- Maintain Status
12. Scientific research
- Maintain Status
13. Space exploration programs
- Maintain Status
14. Transportation and highway infrastructure
- Maintain Status
15. Welfare
- Maintain Status
16. Other or expanded categories
- No Answer
1. Armed Forces personnel training
- Greatly Increase
2. Intelligence operations
- Greatly Increase
3. Military hardware
- Greatly Increase
4. Modernization of weaponry and equipment
- Greatly Increase
5. National missile defense
- Greatly Increase
6. Pay for active duty personnel
- Greatly Increase
7. Programs to improve troop retention rates
- Greatly Increase
8. Research and development of new weapons
- Greatly Increase
9. Troop and equipment readiness
- Greatly Increase
10. Other or expanded categories
- No Answer
1. Less than $25,000
- Greatly Decrease
2. $25,000-$75,000
- Greatly Decrease
3. $75,000-$150,000
- Greatly Decrease
4. Over $150,000
- Greatly Decrease
5. Other or expanded categories
- No Answer
6. Over $40,000
- Greatly Decrease
7. Alcohol taxes
- Slightly Decrease
8. Capital gains taxes
- Eliminate
9. Cigarette taxes
- Maintain Status
10. Corporate taxes
- Greatly Decrease
11. Gasoline taxes
- Maintain Status
12. Inheritance taxes
- Eliminate
13. Charitable contributions
- Maintain Status
14. Child tax credit
- Greatly Increase
15. Earned income tax credit
- Maintain Status
16. Medical expense deduction
- Maintain Status
17. Mortgage deduction
- Maintain Status
18. Student loan credit
- Maintain Status
1. Do you support permanent repeal of the federal estate tax?
- Yes
2. Do you support eliminating taxes on dividends paid to individual investors?
- Yes
3. Should a married couple filing jointly pay the same taxes as if they were an unmarried couple filing separately?
- Yes
1. Support public taxpayer funding for federal candidates who comply with campaign spending limits.
- No Answer
2. Increase the amount individuals are permitted to contribute to federal campaigns.
- X
3. Prohibit Political Action Committee (PAC) contributions to candidates for federal office.
- No Answer
4. Allow unregulated soft money campaign contributions to political parties or committees.
- No Answer
5. Allow ads paid for by soft money that support or attack a candidate for federal office.
- No Answer
6. Allow issue advocacy commercials by corporations, labor unions, and non-profit groups which appear within 60 days of a general election and within 30 days of a primary election.
- X
7. Remove all contribution limits on federal campaigns and parties.
- X
8. Do you support instant run-off voting (IRV)?
- Undecided
9. Should Election Day be a national holiday?
- Undecided
10. Should same-sex couples be allowed to form civil unions?
- No
11. Should marriage be restricted to a union only between a man and a woman?
- Yes
12. Other or expanded principles
- No Answer
1. Support the use of the death penalty for federal crimes.
- X
2. Eliminate the use of the death penalty for federal crimes.
- No Answer
3. Impose "truth in sentencing" for violent criminals so they serve full sentences with no chance of parole.
- X
4. Support programs to provide prison inmates with vocational and job-related skills and job-placement assistance when released.
- X
5. Support programs to provide prison inmates with drug and alcohol addiction treatment.
- X
6. Reduce prison sentences for those who commit non-violent crimes.
- No Answer
7. Support additional criminal penalties if a fetus is killed in the commission of a federal crime against a pregnant woman.
- X
8. Require that crimes based on gender, sexual orientation, and disability be prosecuted as federal hate crimes.
- No Answer
9. Support programs that provide job training and placement services for at-risk youth.
- X
10. Impose stricter penalties for those convicted of white-collar crimes.
- X
11. Enforcement of civil rights should primarily be the responsibility of the federal government.
- No Answer
12. Minors accused of a violent crime should be prosecuted as adults.
- No Answer
13. Other or expanded principles
- No Answer
1. Support mandatory jail sentences for selling illegal drugs.
- X
2. Expand federally sponsored drug education and drug treatment programs.
- X
3. Decriminalize the possession of small amounts of marijuana.
- No Answer
4. Allow doctors to prescribe marijuana to their patients for medicinal purposes.
- No Answer
5. Increase border security to stop the flow of illegal drugs into the United States.
- X
6. Eliminate federal funding for programs associated with the "war on drugs."
- No Answer
7. Other or expanded principles
- No Answer
1. Support national standards for and testing of public school students.
- X
2. Allow parents to use vouchers (equal opportunity scholarships) to send their children to any public school.
- No Answer
3. Allow parents to use vouchers (equal opportunity scholarships) to send their children to any private or religious school.
- X
4. Allow teachers and professionals to receive authorization and funding to establish charter schools.
- X
5. Increase funding for block grants to states to aid in the hiring of additional teachers.
- X
6. Support teacher testing and reward teachers with merit pay.
- X
7. Increase funding for school capital improvements (e.g. buildings, infrastructure, technology).
- X
8. Support granting states limited control over Head Start programs.
- X
9. Support changing the mission of Head Start to emphasize improving the math and reading skills of disadvantaged children.
- X
10. Providing education is not a responsibility of the federal government.
- No Answer
11. Support affirmative action in public college admissions.
- No Answer
12. Increase funding of programs such as Pell grants and Stafford loans to help students pay for college.
- X
13. Support federal tax incentives to help families save for college.
- X
14. Other or expanded principles
- X
1. Increase funding for national job-training programs that re-train displaced workers or teach skills needed in today's job market.
- X
2. Reduce government regulation of the private sector in order to encourage investment and economic expansion.
- X
3. Provide tax credits or grants to businesses that offer child care services to employees.
- X
4. Encourage employers to offer flex-time scheduling, comp-time, and unpaid leave for family emergencies.
- X
5. Eliminate all federal programs designed to reduce unemployment.
- No Answer
6. Increase the federal minimum wage.
- No Answer
7. Support the right of workers to strike without fear of being permanently replaced.
- No Answer
8. Allow workers to sell company stock and to diversify their company retirement funds into other investment options.
- X
9. Other or expanded principles
- No Answer
10. The federal government should consider race and gender in government contracting decisions.
- No Answer
11. The federal government should discontinue affirmative action programs.
- No Answer
12. The federal government should continue affirmative action programs.
- No Answer
13. Include sexual orientation in federal anti-discrimination laws.
- No Answer
1. Strengthen the regulation and enforcement of the Clean Water Act.
- No Answer
2. Strengthen the regulation and enforcement of the Clean Air Act.
- No Answer
3. Require states to compensate citizens when environmental regulations limit uses of privately-owned land.
- X
4. Relax logging restrictions on federal lands.
- X
5. Relax standards on federal lands to allow increased recreational usage.
- X
6. Support increased development of traditional energy resources (e.g. coal, natural gas, oil).
- X
7. Strengthen emission controls and fuel efficiency standards on all gasoline and diesel-powered engines, including cars, trucks, and sport utility vehicles.
- No Answer
8. Support opening a select portion of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge for oil exploration.
- X
9. Encourage further development and use of alternative fuels to reduce pollution.
- X
10. Support the use of ethanol as an alternative fuel.
- X
11. Allow energy producers to trade pollution credits.
- X
12. Support the U.S. re-entering the Kyoto treaty process to limit global warming.
- No Answer
13. Other or expanded principles
- No Answer
1. Renew the ban on the sale or transfer of semi-automatic guns, except those used for hunting.
- No Answer
2. Maintain and strengthen the current level of enforcement of existing federal restrictions on the purchase and possession of guns.
- No Answer
3. Ease federal restrictions on the purchase and possession of guns.
- X
4. Repeal federal restrictions on the purchase and possession of guns.
- No Answer
5. Allow citizens to carry concealed guns.
- X
6. Require manufacturers to provide child-safety locks on guns.
- No Answer
7. Require background checks on gun sales between private citizens at gun shows.
- No Answer
8. Require a license for gun possession.
- No Answer
9. Establish a national database of ballistic "fingerprints" to track guns used in criminal activities.
- No Answer
10. Support legislation that would protect manufacturers, distributors, dealers, and importers of firearms from civil lawsuits by crime victims.
- X
11. Other or expanded principles
- No Answer
1. Providing health care is not a responsibility of the federal government.
- No Answer
2. Implement a universal health care program to guarantee coverage to all Americans regardless of income.
- No Answer
3. Support a Patient's Bill of Rights which includes appeal mechanisms when claims are denied.
- X
4. Support a Patient's Bill of Rights which includes the right to sue when claims are denied.
- No Answer
5. Expand eligibility for tax-free medical savings accounts.
- X
6. Establish limits on the amount of punitive damages awarded in medical malpractice lawsuits.
- X
7. Support expanding prescription drug coverage under Medicare.
- X
8. Support expanding prescription drug coverage under private managed care plans.
- No Answer
9. Offer tax credits to individuals and small businesses to offset the cost of insurance coverage.
- X
10. Support automatic enrollment of children in federal health care programs such as CHIP and Medicaid.
- No Answer
11. Allow 55-65 year-olds to buy into Medicare.
- No Answer
12. Support stem cell research on existing lines of stem cells.
- No Answer
13. Allow laboratories to create new lines of stem cells for additional research.
- No Answer
14. Other or expanded principles
- No Answer
1. Decrease the number of legal immigrants allowed into the country.
- No Answer
2. Establish English as the official national language.
- No Answer
3. Increase the number of visas issued for agricultural workers.
- No Answer
4. Relax restrictions barring legal immigrants from using social programs (e.g. public housing, food stamps).
- No Answer
5. Support amnesty for certain illegal immigrants who already reside in the United States.
- No Answer
6. Support the detention of asylum seekers from countries known to sponsor terrorism.
- No Answer
7. Other or expanded principles
- X
1. Aid should be granted to countries when extraordinary circumstances cause disaster and threaten civilian lives.
- X
2. Aid should be granted to countries when it is in the security interests of the United States.
- X
3. Aid should be eliminated for any nation with documented human rights abuses.
- No Answer
4. Aid programs should be scaled back and eventually eliminated.
- No Answer
5. Other or expanded principles
- No Answer
1. Should the United States continue to provide leadership in the Israeli-Palestinian peace process?
- Yes
2. Should the United States support the creation of a Palestinian state?
- Yes
3. Should the United States withdraw its troops from Iraq?
- No
4. Other or expanded principles
- No Answer
5. Should the United States use diplomatic and economic pressure to encourage North Korea to abandon its nuclear weapons program?
- Yes
6. Should the United States use military force to destroy the North Korean nuclear weapons program?
- No
7. Should the United States remove the North Korean government from power?
- No
8. Should the United States increase financial support to Afghanistan?
- Yes
9. Should the United States increase military support to Afghanistan?
- Yes
10. Should the United States maintain its financial support of the United Nations?
- Yes
11. Should the United States decrease its financial support of the United Nations?
- No
12. Should the United States commit troops to United Nations peacekeeping missions?
- Undecided
13. Should the United States lift the travel ban to Cuba?
- No
14. Should the United States increase its financial support to Colombia to combat "the war on drugs"?
- Yes
15. Should aid to African nations for AIDS prevention programs fund distribution of contraceptives?
- Yes
16. Should aid to African nations for AIDS prevention fund abstinence education?
- Yes
17. FOR QUESTION 3(c), U.S. FORCES SHOULD BE COMMITTED TO UN PEACEKEEPING MISSIONS ONLY WHEN SUCH A DEPLOYMENT IS IN OUR NATIONAL INTEREST.
- THE U.S. MUST BE VICTORIOUS IN IRAQ. OUR LONG-TERM INTERESTS WILL BE STRENGTHENED BY A FREE AND DEMOCRATICALLY GOVERNED IRAQ. I SUPPORT PRESIDENT BUSH'S EFFORTS TO ADVANCE LIBERTY AND THE WAR ON TERROR.
1. Do you support the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA)?
- Yes
2. Do you support the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT)?
- Yes
3. Do you support continued U.S. membership in the World Trade Organization (WTO)?
- Yes
4. Should a nation's human rights record affect its normal trade relations (most favored nation) status with the United States?
- No Answer
5. Do you support the trade embargo against Cuba?
- Yes
6. Should trade agreements include provisions to address environmental concerns and to protect workers' rights?
- Undecided
1. Do you support using military tribunals to try suspected terrorists when ordinary civilian courts are deemed inappropriate or impractical?
- Yes
2. Should the United States adopt stricter rules for student visa applications from nations known to sponsor terrorism?
- Yes
3. Should the United States grant law enforcement agencies greater discretion to read mail and email, tap phones, and conduct random searches to prevent future terrorist attacks?
- Undecided
4. Should the United States hold foreign states accountable for terrorists who operate in their country?
- Yes
5. Should the federal government increase funding to states and cities for homeland security?
- Yes
6. Do you support a policy of pre-emptive strikes against countries deemed to be a threat to national security?
- Yes
7. Other or expanded principles
- No Answer
1. Allow workers to invest a portion of their payroll tax in private accounts which they manage themselves.
- X
2. Allow workers to invest a portion of their payroll tax in private accounts managed by private firms contracted by the government.
- X
3. Invest a portion of Social Security assets collectively in stocks and bonds instead of United States Treasury securities.
- No Answer
4. Increase the payroll tax to better finance Social Security in its current form.
- No Answer
5. Lower the annual cost-of-living increases.
- No Answer
6. Raise the retirement age for when individuals are eligible to receive full Social Security benefits.
- No Answer
7. Other of expanded principles
- No Answer
1. Collect taxes on commercial Internet transactions.
- No Answer
2. Continue the moratorium on Internet taxation.
- No Answer
3. Implement regulation of Internet content.
- No Answer
4. Support government mandates to curtail violent and sexual content on television.
- X
5. Support strict penalties for Internet crimes (e.g. hacking, identity theft, worms/viruses).
- X
6. Support legislation to detail how personal information can be collected and used on the Internet.
- X
7. Regulating the Internet is not a responsibility of the federal government.
- No Answer
8. Impose regulations on "spam" emails.
- X
9. Other or expanded principles
- No Answer
1. Require welfare recipients to spend at least 40 hours a week in a combination of work and training programs.
- X
2. Increase funding for child care programs.
- X
3. Continue to give states and local governments flexibility in and responsibility for welfare programs through federal block grants.
- X
4. Direct federal poverty aid through religious, community-based, or other non-profit organizations.
- X
5. Abolish all federal welfare programs.
- No Answer
6. Support housing assistance for low-income families.
- X
7. Other or expanded principles
- No Answer
On an attached page, disk, or via email, please explain in a total of 75 words or less, your top two or three priorities if elected. If they require additional funding for implementation, please explain how you would obtain this funding.
- No Answer
1. Do you generally support pro-choice or pro-life legislation?
- Pro-life
1. In order to balance the budget, do you support an income tax increase on any tax bracket?
- No
2. In order to balance the budget, do you support reducing defense spending?
- No
1. Do you support the regulation of indirect campaign contributions from corporations and unions?
- Yes
1. Do you support federal spending as a means of promoting economic growth?
- No
2. Do you support lowering corporate taxes as a means of promoting economic growth?
- Yes
1. Do you support requiring states to adopt federal education standards?
- No
1. Do you support government funding for the development of renewable energy (e.g. solar, wind, thermal)?
- Yes
2. Do you support the federal regulation of greenhouse gas emissions?
- No
1. Do you generally support gun-control legislation?
- No
1. Do you support repealing the 2010 Affordable Care Act ("Obamacare")?
- Yes
1. Do you support the construction of a wall along the Mexican border?
- Yes
2. Do you support requiring immigrants who are unlawfully present to return to their country of origin before they are eligible for citizenship?
- Yes
Do you support the legalization of marijuana for recreational purposes?
- Unknown Position
1. Should the United States use military force in order to prevent governments hostile to the U.S. from possessing a nuclear weapon?
- Unknown Position
2. Do you support increased American intervention in Middle Eastern conflicts beyond air support?
- Yes
Latest Action: House - 06/19/2019 Referred to the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs.
Tracker:Latest Action: 06/12/2019 On agreeing to the Cole amendment (A001) Failed by recorded vote: 192 - 230 (Roll no. 266).
Latest Action: House - 06/05/2019 Referred to the Committee on Financial Services, and in addition to the Committee on House Administration, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
Tracker:By Reps. Anthony Brown, Tom Cole, Abigail Spanberger, and Don Bacon We come together as Republicans and Democrats to advance a common cause. We represent the north and the south, the coasts and the countryside. Some of us have served in Congress for nearly two decades -- but for some of us, this term is our first in the House. Together, we are united by a core principle: Article I, Section 8, Clause 11 of the U.S. Constitution makes clear that the authority to declare war resides with Congress and Congress alone. Today, we are introducing legislation based on our commitment to this fundamental belief. Our bill -- the Limit on the Expansion of the Authorization for Use of Military Force Act -- states that the 2001 Authorization for Use of Military Force (AUMF) cannot be used as the basis for sending our military into any country where U.S. armed forces are not engaged in hostilities today, thus halting the ever-expanding use of this authorization. In the nearly two decades since Sept. 11, 2001, this AUMF has been used to conduct military operations in dozens of countries. And each time this authorization was used as the legal justification for the deployment of American servicemembers into harm's way in a new country, there was neither a vote in Congress -- nor even a debate. Today's Congress is very different from the one that authorized the 2001 law, with only one of every six members of the House of Representatives who voted for it still in office today. The American people are long overdue for a public debate on the use of military force, and our bill helps make that happen. Different from other efforts to address challenges with the AUMF, this bill is neither an attempt to repeal the authorization nor a statement on current or previous U.S. military actions. Additionally, we are not attempting to replace the AUMF or prohibit the use of force against any nation or organization. Instead, this legislation would put constitutional guardrails on the further expansion of an almost two-decades-old authorization. Debating and enacting this bill would be an incremental and necessary step, one on which we have already achieved bipartisan agreement and one that could realistically happen in the short term. This legislation would not impact our ability to defend our nation, our citizens, and our allies from foreign threats. If enacted, our military operations under the 2001 AUMF could continue in the countries where we are operating today. Our armed services will continue to train and assist our partners and allies in order to advance our shared security priorities. And our president will retain his Article II constitutional authority as commander in chief and will not be prohibited from taking action against any country or organization. In the event that the president must act to defend the United States in a country where we are not operating today, he could do so under the terms laid out in the War Powers Resolution of 1973. The president would be required to notify Congress regarding the introduction of forces, giving Congress 60 days to debate and determine if an authorization for use of military force is appropriate. We have arrived at our legislation through deliberate discussion. If each of us were to have acted independently, we likely would have crafted very different legislation. However, the nature of our democracy is that we must find common ground. As such, we will continue to work closely with our colleagues as the U.S. House considers this legislation -- and we will do so through regular debate and order, in line with the principles of this bill. These are not the kind of decisions that should be made without rigorous and transparent consideration. We must do right by our constituents and the Constitution and fulfill our obligation to debate the grave decision of sending our servicemen and women into conflicts overseas. We are not determining where that debate will lead or which arguments will arise. Yet, we are unified in strongly stating that we must start by having the debate.
By Roy Blunt and Tom Cole The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently announced that Americans' life expectancy rose for the first time since 2014. Two of the main reasons were declines in the number of deaths from drug overdoses and cancer. This is great news for our country, but it is even better news for American families. In 2018, there were 2,870 fewer overdose deaths than a year earlier. It was the first time in 28 years the number had gone down and not up. That means nearly 3,000 families didn't have to bury a loved one who had succumbed to a substance use disorder. Similarly, the American Cancer Society (ACS) reported that the rate at which cancer deaths declined from 2016 to 2017 represented the largest one-year decline ever reported. This continues a steady decline in the cancer death rate since 1991 and the ACS estimates that it has resulted in approximately 2.9 million fewer cancer deaths since that time. As the chairman and ranking member of the congressional subcommittees responsible for funding federal health efforts, we were pleased to see proof that smart investments in medical research, care, and prevention can help save lives. Working together, Congress has made combating the opioid epidemic a priority, increasing funding for health-related opioid programs by $3.5 billion over the past five years. We've targeted resources toward improving treatment and prevention efforts; finding alternative pain medications; increasing the workforce trained in addiction, especially in our rural communities; and treating behavioral health. Most importantly, the nature of the epidemic -- and the best ways to fight it -- can differ in different parts of the country. What works in Ada, Oklahoma, may not be the best option in St. Louis, Missouri. So we've made sure to give states flexibility in how they use federal funds. We have also prioritized research and prevention efforts for cancer, especially at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), where many new treatments, screening tools, and vaccines get their start. We're seeing results. NIH research has discovered the BRCA gene mutations associated with an aggressive form of breast cancer as well as ovarian cancer. We recently met with Nobel Prize winner Jim Allison, Ph.D., whose groundbreaking work in cancer immunotherapy -- using the body's own immune system to attack cancer and stop its progression -- began with an NIH grant in 1979. But more progress depends on sustained, predictable increases in medical research funding to allow researchers to build upon previous discoveries. It is one of the most important investments we can make. In the most recent spending law passed at the end of last year, we increased funding for NIH by $2.6 billion. Over the past five years, medical research funding has increased by nearly 40 percent, including substantial investment in the National Cancer Institute. Last year's bill included larger investments in childhood cancer research and prioritized funding for cancer research grants. CLICK HERE TO GET THE OPINION NEWSLETTER We are hopeful that life expectancy will continue to rise in the coming years, but we also know that there is much more work to be done. Deaths from prescription drugs and synthetic opioids like fentanyl are still too high. While we see overall declines in opioids, in many parts of the country the use of stimulants like cocaine and methamphetamines is rising. In the most recent funding bill, our subcommittees provided new flexibility to use opioid funds on stimulants to help reverse this trend. We also must continue to work on tackling health issues that affect cancer rates, like obesity and health disparities. Every year we see a decline in cancer mortality is a good year. But cancer remains the second leading cause of death in both men and women in the United States. The fight is not over. Democrats and Republicans in Washington may disagree on a lot of things, but there is bipartisan agreement that the federal government can make a difference in extending lives and making Americans healthier.
By Tom Cole The world watches with concern as the virus originating in Wuhan affects more nations. While it's still too soon to know if this coronavirus strain will become a pandemic, Americans should take some comfort: Thanks to the bipartisan foresight of Congress and lessons learned in the past five years, the U.S. is in better shape today than at any other time in recent memory to confront a major public-health crisis. In the past decade, our dedicated public-health defenders have been on the front lines, responding to disease outbreaks such as Ebola and Zika. Congress boosted funding for the National Institutes of Health, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the Strategic National Stockpile of medications and other medical supplies. It's notable that Congress passed these increases each year despite the lower funding levels recommended by presidents of both parties. Many of the methods now being used to prevent the coronavirus from spreading exist because Congress anticipated that the federal government would need to respond quickly to infectious diseases. When Republicans led the House in 2018, we established the Infectious Disease Rapid Response Reserve Fund. The CDC can use this funding at a moment's notice to support doctors and other health workers deployed to fight outbreaks. I was proud to advocate the creation of this fund during my tenure as chairman of the House Appropriations subcommittee responsible for funding the Department of Health and Human Services. Two years after I proposed the fund, Congress approved and funded it with $50 million. Unspent money accumulates over time, ready for emergencies. The CDC expects to use $30 million for its continuing Ebola response in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, which began last year. Since its creation, the fund's support has only increased, despite today's divided Congress. The House and Senate approved an additional $85 million for the current fiscal year, which President Trump signed into law in December. As a result, more than $100 million is immediately available to support the CDC's global response efforts and prevent further contagion of the coronavirus in the U.S. Disease outbreaks can threaten American lives anywhere in the world, and we're all safer when the CDC can respond to them immediately. As our world becomes more interconnected, the spread of new infectious diseases occurs more frequently. A standing reserve fund is proving to be a wise investment. Commentators delight in portraying legislators as incapable of working together across party lines, but bipartisanship and institutional foresight have made the nation more prepared to deal with an outbreak like the coronavirus than we were even five years ago. While it's unclear whether the available funding will be sufficient to respond to the entirety of the coronavirus challenge, at least our public-health defenders won't be slowed down in these critical first days. If they need more funding, I'm confident that Congress will move quickly to provide the resources. Mr. Cole, a Republican, represents Oklahoma's Fourth Congressional District and is ranking member of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies.
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