My weekly column: Achieving peace through strength and deterring foreign adversaries
When President Trump returned to the Oval Office early this year, he immediately announced a new and much-needed plan for the United States’s national security — “Peace through strength.” President Trump assumed the presidency with the world on fire. Conflicts raging across the Middle East and eastern Europe, a nuclear Iran enriching uranium to dangerous levels and supplying arms to our other adversaries, and an emboldened China. “Peace through strength” was not just a moniker, it was a message to our enemies across the globe that we were no longer going to lead from behind. With President Trump’s leadership, we are correcting course and making our nation, and the world, more secure than ever.
In Congress, my Republican colleagues and I are working in tandem with President Trump and his vision for national security. His Working Families Tax Cuts — which I voted for and were signed into law on Independence Day — secured necessary funding for numerous programs that will bolster our national security and enhance the readiness and lethality of our armed services for the next decade. In addition to the historic tax cuts for working families, our votes secured the implementation of new missile technologies, increased and improved border surveillance systems, and even improved the living standards of the brave men and women of the armed services.
On September 2nd, I voted for more pieces of legislation that would further this mission. Despite facing harsh sanctions, Iran has continued to produce unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) and provide them to terrorist organizations including Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Houthis and to enemies of freedom across the globe. These drones are used directly in combat to harm our allies and sow chaos. That’s why I voted for the Block the Use of 5 Transatlantic Technology in Iranian Made Drones Act, to make stronger strides towards neutralizing the Iranian regime’s drone production. I remain grateful that President Trump used decisive force to demolish Iran’s nuclear facilities and ensure that Iran could never produce a functional unclear bomb.
I also voted for the Stop Chinese Fentanyl Act, which is critical in our fight against deadly and illicit fentanyl that targets our kids and communities. Since I was elected to represent Iowa’s 4th District in Congress, I have fought to protect our communities from the flow of dangerous fentanyl coming from China. This legislation would impose sanctions on entities in China which manufacture or distribute opioids, along with Chinese officials who are profiting off the drug trafficking they are supposed to prevent. Fentanyl and fentanyl-related substances have done untold damage to our families, friends, and neighbors. Under President Trump’s leadership, we are holding these bad actors accountable.
Each and every day, our enemies around the globe conspire against our great nation. They despise our freedom and the American way of life. I am glad to support President Trump and an administration that no longer cowers from conflict, instead taking challenges head-on. As the President continues to elevate the United States on the world stage and stand up to our enemies abroad, I will continue my work in Congress to achieve our nation’s goal of peace through strength.