On Wednesday, House Republicans voted to pass the Limit, Save, Grow Act, our proposal to responsibly raise the debt ceiling.

It would save taxpayers over $4.5 trillion over the next ten years by cutting wasteful spending and unleashing American energy—without cutting Social Security, Medicare, or our national defense.

While I won't be totally satisfied until we have a balanced budget and a plan to fully pay off our national debt, this is a step in the right direction. 

Now that we've introduced—and passed—our plan, President Biden has no more excuses to hide from negotiations. He's refused to meet with Speaker McCarthy and House Republicans for months. It's embarrassing and dangerous.

He would rather default on our debt for the first time in history than admit our government has a spending problem. It's time for the President to do what Presidents from both parties have done for almost forty years: work with Congress and craft a bipartisan agreement to raise the debt limit.

On the same day that we passed the Limit, Save, Grow Act, the House Committee on Homeland Security held a markup of the Border Reinforcement Act, which I cosponsored.

I've been to the southern border and seen Biden's border crisis firsthand. Congress needs to act, especially with the surge of migrants that will come with Title 42 set to expire in May.

Here's some of what our bill would do:

• Resume border wall construction
• Hire 22,000 new Border Patrol Agents
• Increase grants for local law enforcement to tackle the border crisis
• Fund enhanced and modernized technology for the Border Patrol

Democrats refused to support these common-sense measures, and they wasted so much time that the markup didn't end until after 3:00 am. 

One of the most ridiculous things they did to stall was attacking border patrol and law enforcement in general over a challenge coin that someone sold on eBay. The coin wasn't tied to any border patrol agents or law enforcement officers, but that didn't stop the Democrats.

Here's my response:

Biden's border crisis is a humanitarian nightmare and a threat to our national security. I'm proud of the role I played in crafting and passing the Border Reinforcement Act out of committee, and I look forward to the entire House tackling the issue of border security in the next few weeks.

You can also check out this Greene County Herald article about how my staff and I are working to support rural communities.

I'm tremendously proud of my staff who helped Mayor David West and the City of Leakesville secure a new fire truck. I'm also grateful for the Biloxi Fire Department, which was donated the truck to Leakesville.

It's a great example of how partnerships across South Mississippi can build a better region and state for everyone, and I'm glad our office was able to be a part.

Next week, I'll be back in the district meeting with more leaders to discuss how we can support communities across the Fourth District. To stay connected, please follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

As always, if you need help with a federal agency or have questions about legislation, please call one of the offices listed below or contact us on our website at ezell.house.gov.

It's an honor and a privilege to represent South Mississippi in Congress.

Sincerely,