Washington, D.C. – This week, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced its decision to halt funding for solar panels on productive farmland and prohibit the use of solar panels manufactured by foreign adversaries in USDA projects.
Tennessee’s farmland should be used to grow crops that feed our state and country, not house solar panels made by foreign countries, and the Trump administration is rightfully putting a stop to Green New Deal subsidies that waste taxpayer dollars while threatening America’s food security.
The USDA also announced an $89 million investment in 13 rural development projects across Tennessee. It was an honor to join Secretary Rollins in Lebanon for the Future Farmers of America Ham Breakfast to celebrate what President Donald J. Trump is doing to Make Agriculture Great Again.
I applaud this administration for investing in rural communities across Tennessee and empowering Tennessee’s agricultural community to prosper for years to come.
Read more here.
Weekly Rundown
Under the Joe Biden administration, crime soared—especially among violent offenders. In November, Americans rejected this radical agenda. They gave President Trump and Republicans a mandate to Make America Safe Again. To support the President’s efforts, I’ve introduced bills like my AFTER SCHOOL Act, Federal Carjacking Enforcement Act, Restoring the Armed Career Criminal Act, and Restoring Law and Order Act to empower law enforcement and hold criminals accountable. Read more about this in my weekly column here.
When it comes to protecting precious children online, Meta has failed miserably by every possible measure. Even worse, the company has turned a blind eye to the devastating consequences of how its platforms are designed. Following a bombshell report exposing Meta’s latest failure to protect kids, I called for an investigation into the company and reiterated the critical need to pass my Kids Online Safety Act to stop Big Tech companies from exploiting innocent children. Read more here.
Tennessee’s thriving creative community must be protected from the theft of creative works by foreign bad actors. Foreign piracy operations jeopardize the American creative industry through phishing, identity theft, and financial fraud. To combat this, I introduced a discussion draft of the Block Bad Electronic Art and Recording Distributors (Block BEARD) Act, which would protect creators by enabling them to pursue legal action in U.S. federal courts against these individuals. Read more here.
The Chinese Communist Party’s unilateral decision to change international flight routes that impact regional safety provokes instability in the Indo-Pacific and demonstrates a disregard for international order. This action—which could place civilian aircraft in harm’s way—creates potential conflict points with routes operated under the Taipei Flight Information Region. I led several of my colleagues in sending a letter urging the International Civil Aviation Organization to help prevent adverse consequences of this decision and stand up against political pressure from the CCP. Read more here.Marsha’s Roundup
ICYMI
Instagram’s new “map” feature puts children’s safety at risk by allowing them to expose their location to dangerous individuals, including pedophiles and traffickers. Senator Blumenthal and I are demanding Meta shut down this dangerous feature. Read more here.
