MIL USHOR-2b Engine

Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Dan Meuser (PA-9)

WASHINGTON, DC – Today, Congressman Dan Meuser (PA-09) announced his office’s 2025 Congressional Art Competition.

Each spring, Members of the U.S. House of Representatives sponsor the nationwide Artistic Discovery Contest, providing a platform to recognize and encourage the artistic talents of high school students across the country.

This year, Congressman Meuser invites high school artists from Pennsylvania’s 9th District to showcase their creativity for a chance to have their artwork displayed in the U.S. Capitol for one year and featured on House.gov’s Congressional Art Competition page.

Artwork must be two-dimensional. Each framed artwork can be no larger than 26 inches high, 26 inches wide, and 4 inches deep. If your artwork is selected as the winning piece, it must arrive in Washington, DC, framed. Even when framed, it must still measure no larger than the above maximum dimensions. No framed piece should weigh more than 15 pounds.

Accepted mediums for the two-dimensional artwork are as follows:

• Paintings: oil, acrylics, watercolor, etc.
• Drawings: colored pencil, pencil, ink, marker, pastels, charcoal (it is recommended that charcoal and pastel drawings be fixed).
• Collages: must be two-dimensional.
• Prints: lithographs, silkscreen, block prints.
• Mixed Media: use of more than two mediums such as pencil, ink, watercolor, etc.
• Computer-generated art.
• Photographs.

Each entry must be original in concept, design, and execution and may not violate U.S. copyright laws. Any entry that has been copied from an existing photo or image (including a painting, graphic, or advertisement) that was created by someone other than the student is a violation of the competition rules and will not be accepted. Work entered must be in the original medium (that is, not a scanned reproduction of a painting, drawing, etc.).

Students should only submit artwork they will not need for other purposes. All high school students (grades 9-12) in the 9th Congressional District are invited to submit their artwork to one of Congressman Meuser’s district offices before April 18, 2025. A Participant Reception will be held on April 24, 2025, from 5:00pm to 7:00pm at Walk In Art Center located at 220 Parkway, Schuylkill Haven PA 17972.

The Student Release Form can be found here. Additional Rules and Regulations can be found here.

Kaylee Meeker from the Northwest Area School District was the 9th District’s 2024 winner, and her painting, Operation Desert Shield, featured here, currently hangs in the U.S. Capitol.

Artwork Drop-off Locations:

• 121 Progress Ave Suite 110, Losch Plaza Pottsville, PA 17901
• 400 South 8th St. Municipal Building, Room 101 Lebanon, PA 17042
• Market Street Plaza 1000 Market Street Suite 39 Bloomsburg, PA 17815
• Executive Plaza 4th Floor 330 Pine Street Williamsport, PA 17701
• 511 Mile Road Tunkhannock, PA 18657
• Hamburg Municipal Center 2nd Floor 61 N 3rd St Hamburg, PA 19526

Please contact Madison Colaco at (717) 603-1459 or Nicholas Mason at (570) 871-6370 with any questions.

###

Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Dan Meuser (PA-9)

Washington, D.C. – Today, Congressman Dan Meuser (R-PA), joined by Congresswoman Hillary Scholten (D-MI) reintroduced H.R. 2066, the Investing in All of America Act, legislation aimed at increasing capital available to small businesses, particularly those in rural or low-income areas, manufacturing, and those operating in the critical technology sector.

Small Business Investment Companies (SBICs) are a prime example of successful public-private partnerships, leveraging private sector investment with support from the Small Business Administration (SBA) to drive economic growth. These entities raise private capital, which is then matched with leverage by the SBA, allowing them to invest directly in small businesses. Importantly, the SBIC program operates without taxpayer subsidy, meaning taxpayer funds are not used to support extended credit in SBIC investments.

Over the past two decades, SBIC-backed businesses have generated 3 million new jobs and supported an additional 10.5 million jobs. Last year alone, SBICs injected more than $8 billion into small businesses nationwide, including $412.3 million directed toward Pennsylvania small businesses. Despite these successes, recent studies indicate that less than 20% of SBIC investment reaches low- to middle-income communities. The Investing in All of America Act seeks to close this gap and promote a more equitable distribution of investment capital.

To achieve this, the bill ensures that dollars invested in rural and low-income areas, manufacturing, or the critical technology sector will not count against an SBIC’s leverage cap, making additional capital available for businesses in these critical industries. Additionally, the legislation reinstates an inflation adjuster for SBIC leverage caps, ensuring investment power remains aligned with market trends.

Manufacturing plays a pivotal role in the U.S. economy, with approximately 99% of American manufacturers classified as small businesses. By expanding access to capital through the SBIC Program, this bill provides much-needed resources for small manufacturers to invest in new equipment, expand production, and create high-paying jobs in communities across the country.

Congressman Meuser stated, “As someone who spent more than 20 years helping grow a small business into a larger business, I understand firsthand the challenges of securing capital. Persistent inflation and rising interest rates have only made it harder for small businesses in Pennsylvania and across the country to access the funding they need to grow and succeed. By implementing additional bonus leverage within the SBIC Program, this bill strengthens investment in underserved areas without adding cost or risk to taxpayers. The Investing in All of America Act is not just about expanding access to capital; it’s about revitalizing communities, creating jobs, and bolstering economic growth in eastern and central Pennsylvania and similar regions nationwide. I urge my colleagues to support this bipartisan effort to help grow America’s small businesses.”

“Small businesses need access to capital to grow and thrive. The Investing in All of America Act brings that capital directly to rural and underserved parts of America, supporting businesses and local communities in desperate need of growth,” said Small Business Committee Chairman Roger Williams. “I thank Representative Meuser for his work to revitalize small town America through this important legislation.”

“Small businesses are the backbone of our economy, yet far too many in rural and underserved communities struggle to access the capital they need to grow and thrive,” said Congresswoman Scholten. “The bipartisan Investing in All of America Act is about ensuring that every entrepreneur has a fair shot at success. Expanding access to investment will help create jobs and strengthen West Michigan’s economy. I’m proud to work with Rep. Meuser to support our small businesses.”

SBIA President Brett Palmer added, “This is smart policy that will help small businesses and manufacturers access the capital they need to grow, particularly those in low-income and rural parts of the country, without new federal spending, regulations, or mandates.”

Text of the legislation can be found here. 

###

Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Dan Meuser (PA-9)

WASHINGTON D.C.– Today, Congressman Dan Meuser (PA-09) delivered remarks on the House Floor regarding the Continuing Resolution legislation.

Congressman Meuser said, “The Continuing Resolution the House just passed does not cut Medicaid, Social Security, Medicare, or veterans’ benefits—despite Democrats’ false claims. In reality, it gives our troops a raise, invests in veterans’ healthcare, and supports women, infants, and seniors—all while keeping the government open. This legislation sets the stage for a new Golden Age in America.”

Video of the Congressman’s Floor speech can be found here.

.

###

Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Dan Meuser (PA-9)

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, Congressman Dan Meuser (PA-09) announced a key transition within his D.C. office as his Chief of Staff, Tim Costa, prepares to depart Capitol Hill. Costa, a valued member of Meuser’s team since January 2023, will officially step down today for a role in the private sector. While he is leaving Meuser’s congressional office, Costa will remain directly involved as a trusted political advisor. 

A fixture on Capitol Hill, Costa is widely respected for his years of experience navigating the legislative process, building coalitions, and providing steady leadership. Known across the Hill, he has played a key role in advancing Congressman Meuser’s legislative priorities and ensuring the office operates effectively. His expertise and institutional knowledge have been critical to the team’s success.

“Tim Costa has been a vital member of my team and a trusted advisor whose sound judgment and steady leadership have made a lasting difference,” said Congressman Meuser. “He is well-respected on and off the Hill and has been instrumental in shaping our office’s work, particularly on the Financial Services Committee. While he will certainly be missed, I have no doubt he will excel in his new role. I appreciate his service and look forward to working with him in the future.”

Stepping into the role of Chief of Staff is Matthew Perricone, who has served on Congressman Meuser’s staff since his first term. Perricone, currently serving as Legislative Director and Deputy Chief of Staff, brings years of experience and a deep understanding of Pennsylvania’s Ninth District to the position. In this role, he will oversee both Meuser’s District and D.C. offices, as well as his legislative agenda.

“I have full confidence in Matthew Perricone as he steps into the role of Chief of Staff,” Meuser continued. “Over many years, Matt has demonstrated strong leadership, a deep understanding of our district, and a relentless work ethic. His extensive legislative policy knowledge and experience navigating complex issues make him exceptionally qualified for this role. There is no doubt that he is the most qualified person for this position. He is well-prepared to take on this responsibility and will play a key role in continuing our good work for the people of Pennsylvania’s 9th District.”

Matthew Perricone Promoted to Chief of Staff

Since joining Congressman Meuser’s office in 2019, Perricone has steadily risen through the ranks, serving in multiple capacities, including Staff Assistant, Legislative Correspondent, and Press Secretary, before advancing to Legislative Assistant, Senior Legislative Assistant, and ultimately Legislative Director and Deputy Chief of Staff.

A native of New Jersey, Perricone holds a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and Government from the Catholic University of America, graduating in 2019.

###

Source: United States House of Representatives – Representative Chip Roy (R-TX)

Washington, D.C. — Rep. Chip Roy (TX-21) reintroduced two education bills Friday to defund woke, racist indoctrination and fund students over systems in America’s public education system.

The Combatting Racist Teaching (CRT) Act will prohibit federal funding from going to schools that seek to indoctrinate children with critical race theory. The Support Children Having Open Opportunities for Learning (SCHOOL) Act will empower parents by allowing federal funds to follow a student, regardless of whether the child is in public school, private school, or homeschool.

Congressman Roy said:  “Critical Race Theory (CRT) has poisoned the minds of America’s youth and represents a direct attack on the core values that made America great. No one in America—students, teachers, government employees, or anyone else—should be indoctrinated to hate our country, its founding, or their fellow citizens. At the same time, if a school, bureaucrat, politician, or union boss continues their agenda to morally corrupt the hearts and minds of students, parents should be able to fully be in the driver’s seat of their children’s education and be able to choose to have their child educated elsewhere. 

In November, parents said, “enough is enough” and gave Republicans a mandate to strip the federal government of its power over education and return it to the states and parents. These two bills will help bolster the actions taken by the Trump administration and help fulfill the mandate given to us in November.”

Specifically, the Combatting Racist Teaching in Schools (CRT) Act, would bar funding to institutions that promote theories describing:

• Any race is inherently superior or inferior to any other race, color, or national origin.
• The United States is a fundamentally racist country.
• The Declaration of Independence or Constitution of the United States are fundamentally racist documents.
• An individual’s moral character or worth is determined by the individual’s race, color, or national origin.
• An individual, by virtue of the individual’s race, is inherently racist or oppressive, whether consciously or unconsciously.
• An individual, because of the individual’s race, bears responsibility for the actions committed by other members of the individual’s race, color, or national origin.

The SCHOOL Act allows federal funds for K-12 education to follow the eligible child, regardless of whether the child is in public school, private school, or homeschool.

Specifically, the ‘SCHOOL’ Act:

• Amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act to allow certain funds authorized under those laws to follow a child, whether learning in person or remotely, to the public school, private school, or homeschool of choice.
• Allows those funds to be used for a range of needs, including:
  • curriculum materials;
  • technological educational materials;
  • tutoring;
  • extracurricular activities;
  • private school tuition; and
  • educational therapies for students with disabilities.
• Ensures each child would receive the same amount of funding, regardless of where the child is enrolled.
• Ensures that no child choosing to take advantage of these opportunities would be precluded from a federally funded school food program.
• Protects non-public education providers from Federal and State control.

Read the full legislation for the Support Children Having Open Opportunities for Learning (SCHOOL) Act here. 
Read the full legislation for the Combatting Racist Teaching (CRT) Act here. 

Source: United States House of Representatives – Representative Chip Roy (R-TX)

Washington, D.C. — Today, Representatives Chip Roy (TX-21), Lucy McBath (GA-06), Andy Biggs (AZ-05), and Steve Cohen (TN-09) re-introduced the “Count the Crimes to Cut Act of 2025” that would require the Department of Justice and federal agency heads to compile a comprehensive report detailing all federal criminal statutes and regulations entailing criminal penalties.

Congressman Roy, Chairman on the Subcommittee on the Constitution and Limited Government, said:“Freedom is just an illusion when the government buries its own citizens under ridiculous and never-ending criminal laws. Almost any adult in this country could be indicted for some kind of infraction at any given time, whether or not they were even aware they were in violation. This needs to change; getting a proper accounting is a necessary first step to fixing this problem and ensuring Americans are not in the crosshairs of overcriminalization.”

Congresswoman McBath, Ranking Member on the Subcommittee on Crime and Federal Government Surveillance, said:“My first priority in Congress has always been maintaining the safety and well-being of my constituents. With the Count the Crimes to Cut Act, Americans will no longer have to fear being excessively punished and criminal justice professionals can better protect the public. I’m proud to take up this bill, and I thank my colleagues for their collaboration as we seek to expand safety and justice for the American people.”

Congressman Biggs, Chairman on the Subcommittee on Crime and Federal Government Surveillance, said: “An estimated 4,000 federal criminal offenses is dwarfed by an estimated 300,000 federal regulatory offenses, but no government agency can even provide an official count. We have a duty to protect Americans’ right to liberty, and this begins with scaling down the massive overreach in federal criminal offenses.”

Congressman Cohen, a senior member of the Judiciary Committee, said: “Apparently no one knows how many federal crimes there are. Our founders warned of laws being too ‘voluminous’ or ‘incoherent’ that they could not be understood. The Count the Crimes Act simply seeks to request that information from the Department of Justice as a starting point for future reform. I am pleased to work with Congressman Roy and others on both sides of the aisle to pass this necessary legislation.”

The Count The Crimes to Cut Act of 2025 would:
Require the Attorney General, in cooperation with the agency heads, to produce a full report of all federal criminal statutes and federal regulations with criminal penalties.  For each offense, the report is required to provide the following details:

• The elements of each offense.
• The potential penalties for each offense.
• The number of prosecutions brought in the last 15 years for each offense.
• The mens rea required for each offense.

The legislation is endorsed by Families Against Mandatory Minimums, the Due Process Institute, the National District Attorneys Association, the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, the R Street Institute, and Right on Crime. 

Read the full legislation here.

Source: United States House of Representatives – Representative Chip Roy (R-TX)

Rep. Chip Roy (TX-21) issued the following statement after the House of Representatives passed H.R. 1968, to continue funding the government through September 30th, 2025: 

“Today, I voted to effectively freeze spending levels for six more months and to give runway for the Trump Administration to continue its efforts to root out wasteful spending. House Republicans and President Trump are moving quickly to clean up the mess left by Chuck Schumer and Joe Biden, who refused to pass a budget or any appropriations bills – despite the House GOP passing five off the floor, and all 12 out of committee.

Notably, this “continuing resolution” excludes earmarks, modestly reduces year-over-year spending, and most importantly, prevents Democrats from purposefully shutting down DOGE, President Trump, and Russ Vought from uncovering the billions in waste, fraud, and abuse that has been going on for decades.  The American people are now seeing that this whole town – THE SWAMP – has been wasting their money on absurd expenditures.

But this is just one more step, of many, in the spending fight.  

Now, our focus must be on supporting the President’s efforts to impound and rescind unnecessary spending, passing appropriations bills for FY26 at a low topline including many of the DOGE-identified cuts, and then finalizing a conservative reconciliation package We must cut the massive inflation tax resulting from rampant spending by working to deliver on spending reductions ABOVE the $2 trillion FLOOR the House passed in our budget along with making tax cuts permanent.

It’s now our never.”

Source: United States House of Representatives – Representative Chip Roy (R-TX)

• In July 2024, Rep. Roy sent a letter to the Biden Administration asking for an updated list of recalcitrant countries. Here is December 2024 list.

Source: United States House of Representatives – Representative Chip Roy (R-TX)

Source: United States House of Representatives – Congresswoman Lizzie Fletcher (TX-07)

Congresswoman Lizzie Fletcher (TX-07) led 30 of her Democratic colleagues in a letter to U.S. Department of Interior Secretary Doug Burgum urging him to resume cleaning up orphaned wells across the country as authorized and funded in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA).

In June 2021, Congresswoman Fletcher introduced the bipartisan Revive Economic Growth and Reclaim Orphaned Wells (REGROW) Act, H.R. 3585, to clean up orphaned oil and gas wells.  In November 2021, she voted for the IIJA, which included the REGROW Act.  President Biden signed the bill into law later that month.  And in February 2022, she announced that the State of Texas would receive $343,695,029 in federal funds to clean up abandoned oil and gas wells as a direct result of her legislation.

There are more than 157,000 documented orphaned oil and gas wells across the country.  The REGROW Act aims to plug every documented orphaned well in the country by investing $4.6 billion toward cleaning up these sites, creating tens of thousands of energy jobs for skilled oil and gas workers.

“On January 20, 2025, President Trump issued an executive order titled “Unleashing American Energy that directed agencies to pause distribution of IIJA funding,” the members wrote.  “Your Order 3418 on February 3, 2025, directs your Assistant Secretary for Policy, Management, and Budget to determine how to issue IIJA funding in accordance with President Trump’s priorities.  To date, we have seen no clear, public guidance from DOI regarding the implementation of paused IIJA funding.

“As of September 2024, $3.4 billion in IIJA funding remained available for orphaned well remediation,” the members continued.  “This funding represents thousands of jobs for people who work in the oil and gas industry.  In fiscal year 2024 alone, DOI’s IIJA orphaned well obligations supported more than 6,000 jobs and contributed $861 million to the economy (an approximate 140% return on investment rate).  This program has also led to many workforce development initiatives and partnerships, creating new opportunities in high-paying careers.  Communities where well remediation service providers are based also benefit from increased demand for supporting industries like contract materials, food services, and lodging.  Pausing this funding with no clear guidance for impacted parties will harm our economies and the skilled energy workers whose jobs depend on DOI maintaining a dependable and transparent process.  We have already begun to hear from IIJA funding recipients impacted by this pause who now face an uncertain future after DOI issued a stop work order on their orphaned well remediation projects.

“We urge you to resume distribution of this Congressionally directed funding immediately,” the members concluded.  “It protects our communities, cleans up our environment, and builds our economy.  Should you have any questions or wish to discuss this issue, we would welcome the opportunity to do so.”

Congressmembers Yassamin Ansari (AZ-03); Nanette Barragán (CA-44); Julia Brownley (CA-26); Troy Carter (LA-02); Sean Casten (IL-06); Joaquin Castro (TX-20); Emanuel Cleaver (MO-05); Jim Costa (CA-21); Sharice Davids (KS-03); Diana DeGette (CO-01); Christopher Deluzio (PA-17); Lloyd Doggett (TX-37); Veronica Escobar (TX-16); Cleo Fields (LA-04); John Garamendi (CA-08); Sylvia Garcia (TX-29); Vicente Gonzalez (TX-34); Jared Huffman (CA-02); Sara Jacobs (CA-51); Julie Johnson (TX-32); Ro Khanna (CA-17); Teresa Leger Fernandez (NM-03); Mike Levin (CA-49); Kevin Mullin (CA-15); Joe Neguse (CO-02); Scott Peters (CA-50); Brittany Pettersen (CO-07); Ritchie Torres (NY-15); Gabe Vasquez (NM-02); and Marc Veasey (TX-33) joined Congresswoman Fletcher in this letter request.

To read the full text of the letter, click here.