Last week, The Hill ran an opinion piece I wrote about fixing education funding for low-income children. This funding inequity must be fixed for a simple reason — when federal money is intended to assist the neediest Americans, it must actually go to that very group. Otherwise, we are shortchanging the low income students we are trying to help. Read my op-ed in full here and more about my funding fix here.
I am also pleased to report that one of my bills is heading to the President’s desk. On May 19, the House passed the Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act, which includes a bipartisan provision I wrote to close a legal loophole that currently enables some sex offenders to evade registration with the National Sex Offender Registry (NSOR).
I am pleased that this legislation – which will hold convicted military sex offenders accountable — will be signed into law. Closing this loophole is critical to preventing sex offenders from being able to recommit heinous crimes once released from the military justice system. When we know a problem exists, we cannot look the other way. Read more about the Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act here.
ICYMI: The Wall Street Journal ran a good editorial on the Patriot Act in Wednesday’s paper. An “untested leap to replace a framework that has been useful in the 14 years since 9/11 will make intelligence more time-consuming and less efficient.” Read more here.
It was announced last week that money from the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) allowed Mulberry Creek to be added to Pisgah National Forest. LWCF is the best dollar-for-dollar conservation program Congress has ever created and has a proven track record of making good on their promise to conserve parks, open spaces, and wildlife habitats for the benefit of future generations. Check out this reporting from the Asheville Citizen-Times on the addition here.
I hope you and your family had a good holiday weekend and that you spent time contemplating the real meaning behind Memorial Day. As I said yesterday at Battleship North Carolina’s memorial observance event, Memorial Day is a day of remembrance. It’s not the start of summer. It’s not the day the pools open. It’s a day to remember the sacrifices of so many.
Without their sacrifice, the America we know would not exist. Without their service, we would not live in a country where we may live and speak freely without fear of punishment. To the men and women who died for our freedom, and to their families, thank you and God bless you.
Sen. Burr giving his Memorial Day speech on USS North Carolina in Wilmington, NC
Sincerely,
Richard Burr