Representative Mike Ezell

Dear [salutation],

This week, I secured a major bipartisan win in the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. I'm excited to see one of my bills advancing to the House floor for the first time — a bill that will help our nation's supply chains be better prepared for emergencies. Here's more on the FAST PASS Act, plus a few other highlights:

FAST PASS Moves to the House Floor

On Wednesday, the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure met to consider bills for advancing out of committee and to the House floor.

In addition to authorizing funding for the United States Coast Guard, the Committee voted to approve H.R. 6140, the Facilitating Access to Swiftly Transport Goods during a Publicly Announced State of Emergency Situation (FAST PASS) Act.

The FAST PASS Act is a bill I introduced in November with Congressman John Garamendi, a Democrat from California's 8th District. Our bill addresses the backlogs and delays experienced by our port system during emergencies.

As a lifelong resident of South Mississippi, I've lived through many hurricanes and natural disasters, and I know how important it is to get medical supplies and other goods to affected areas as soon as possible. Unfortunately, that doesn't always happen.

When we needed critical medical supplies at the start of the COVID pandemic, our ports saw an unprecedented backlog — more than 30,000 containers held up for an average of nearly a month. Our supply chains must be more efficient, especially when disaster strikes.

The FAST PASS Act forces the Department of Transportation to conduct a study of our existing processes, seek comments and input from key stakeholders, and issue recommendations to Congress on how to adjust our existing processes to expedite critical cargo.

I'm grateful to have Congressman Garamendi's help in introducing this bill, and I'm grateful to Chairman Sam Graves (MO-06) and my colleagues on the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee for unanimously approving it out of committee.

The next step will be consideration on the House floor and then (hopefully) passage in the House. I'll continue to keep you updated as the FAST PASS Act and other bills I've introduced move through the legislative process.

Bidenflation Hits the Gas Pumps — Again

In one of the least surprising turns of the last several years, gas prices are going up again.

After a few months of declaring victory over inflation and high gas prices, the Biden Administration and its allies in the media are having to admit that Bidenomics still isn't working. Here's CNN's headline from this week:

Surging gas prices just hit a significant milestone

Just like last year, and the year before, and the year before, President Biden will try to blame rising gas prices on "seasonal changes" and the war in Ukraine.

And just like last year, and the year before, and the year before, that won't be the truth.

The truth is that when President Biden took office, he immediately declared war on domestic energy, cancelling pipeline projects and making it harder to drill for oil in the United States. These policies cost Americans thousands of jobs and have caused gas prices to skyrocket.

Don't believe me? Here are the stats from the Biden Administration Department of Energy's Energy Information Administration:

The red line in the graph above represents an average weekly price of $3.00 a gallon.

In four years under President Trump, that red line was NEVER hit. The closest it ever got was $2.96 in May of 2018.

But since May 17, 2021, average prices have been above $3.00 a gallon EVERY SINGLE WEEK.

It took just five months for President Biden to bring back the highest gas prices in five years, and it took him less than 18 months to hit the highest recorded average prices in American history.

That's why House Republicans introduced and passed H.R. 1, the Lower Energy Costs Act. Our bill would unleash domestic energy producers, lower prices across the board, create jobs, reduce emissions, secure our supply chains, and most importantly strengthen our national security.

Unfortunately, Senator Schumer refuses to bring the Lower Energy Costs Act up for a vote in the Senate. He'd rather leave the world reliant on oil, natural gas, and batteries from bad actors like Iran, Russia, and China than empower American energy producers — and the American people pay the price for Democrats' anti-energy extremism each and every time they fill up.

While we can't force the Senate to do its job, House Republicans will continue to do ours. My colleagues and I are doing everything in our power to ease the burdens of Bidenflation on everyday Americans.

Better Flood Maps for Coastal Mississippi

Last week, FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell appeared before the Economic Development, Public Buildings, and Emergency Management Subcommittee of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure.

I had the chance to ask Administrator Criswell about including new flood maps from the Mississippi Coastal Map Revision Project (MCMRP) in FEMA's risk rating calculations. You can watch that exchange here:

Administrator Criswell agreed to including those maps, which would make a huge difference in the flood insurance costs for communities across our Gulf Coast, and I will hold her accountable to that commitment.

One last note: I voted against today's spending package because we cannot afford to keep funding the Biden Administration's do-nothing border policies.

Unfortunately, the final version of the bill did not contain real border security measures and falls well short of the standard House Republicans set with the Secure the Border Act (H.R. 2).

If you have questions about that vote or anything else going on in Washington or if I can help you with a federal agency, please contact my team via my website or at one of the offices below.

Thank you for allowing me to serve as your United States Congressman.

Sincerely,

Mike Ezell
Member of Congress

FAST PASS Moves to the House Floor

Bidenflation Hits the Gas Pumps — Again

Better Flood Maps for Coastal Mississippi

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