Economic hardships brought on by the policies of the Biden Administration have left many Wyomingites in a lurch.

While we await the resurgence of the U.S. economy, I hear regularly from many across the Cowboy State expressing that they are financially strapped and in need of reprieve.

But for certain companies, there is no apparent consideration for the people of Wyoming and their strategy of further advancing the so-called “green” energy agenda continues to wreak havoc on our friends and neighbors.

If you want proof that the Trump administration is a vast improvement over Joe Biden’s presidency, we need only look to our Southern Border – according to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, daily border encounters are down by 93 percent, gotaway encounters are down 95 percent, and migrant crossings are down a whopping 99.99 percent.

Wyoming is on the front lines of wildlife management. We enjoy a rich diversity of some of America’s most iconic species, yet we also directly witness how federal bureaucracy ties our hands and prevents local leaders from managing the wildlife in and around our communities. Look no further than the overgrown Greater Yellowstone Grizzly population. These apex predators – currently protected under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) – attack hunters and hikers, damage property, and destroy livestock.

I have battled a variety of federal agencies for over two decades, first as a private attorney working on behalf of the state of Wyoming and small businesses, and currently as Wyoming’s lone representative in the U.S. House. I am well-versed with agency structure, lingo, procedures and mentality, especially when it comes to congressional oversight and resource allocation. 

My 101-year-old mother taught first through eighth grade in one-room schoolhouses in Montana, later moving to Wyoming to teach. She did not have today’s technologies available, but she successfully gave the children under her tutelage an excellent education that served them well throughout their lives.

Many of them became highly successful in business, agriculture and academia. And she was not alone, with thousands of teachers in both urban and rural settings being highly skilled at educating our students to excel and building this great nation in the process. 

A new law, the Corporate Transparency Act, would be about to crush small-business owners, invade their privacy and violate their constitutional rights, had it been allowed to take effect as intended on New Year’s Day. It’s a bad law that was smuggled into an unrelated defense bill in 2020 under the cover of Covid-19. Although a federal court has enjoined its enforcement, Congress should take no chances and repeal it immediately.

The Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) Buffalo and Rock Springs Resource Management Plans (RMP) are a direct attack on Wyoming’s heritage, economy, and the livelihoods of the hardworking men and women who call this great state home.

Although the Biden-Harris administration’s wrongheaded policies will be felt most acutely by Wyoming, the entire country ultimately suffers when our leaders pursue an agenda that is intended to further energy poverty and limit our food choices.

For our federal government, and regardless of the issue, “the sky’s the limit.” Applying this adage to ownership of real property “out west” is well-known, which is why I have introduced the No Net Gain in Federal Lands Act of 2024.