Editorial - Some Things We Can All Agree On

Op-Ed

By Congressman John Moolenaar

This month our nation celebrates Independence Day, marking the day that 13 colonies declared independence from Great Britain, and across the country, we celebrate with fireworks, parades, barbecues with friends and family, and many other traditions.

As you celebrate, I hope you remember the courage of the Founders who were the first to declare, "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness."

These ideals have changed the world and it is because of them that we as Americans enjoy incredible freedoms and opportunities that are not available in other countries.

In the spirit of unity as our nation celebrates Independence Day, I wanted to share with you some of the bipartisan legislation that I have supported recently to make our community and our country a better place.

On June 22, I voted for the Preventing Crimes Against Veterans Act, which makes it a federal crime to defraud veterans of their VA benefits. Anyone who defrauds our veterans of their benefits should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. Veterans served our country, and this is a small way we can help protect them.

If you are a veteran, or if you know one who needs assistance with the VA, please call my office at 989-631-2552 so my team and I can help.

Another major concern in mid and northern Michigan is the lack of broadband Internet connections.

I recently signed on as a supporter of the Gigabit Opportunity Act, which would create opportunity zones in low-income rural and urban areas that currently lack the federal minimum broadband service. States would designate the opportunity zones in their state and tax incentives would be provided for the companies that build broadband Internet service in those areas.

This legislation complements the BOOST Act, which I introduced earlier this year. The BOOST Act would allow rural homeowners and primary lessees to claim a $300 tax credit after purchasing a mobile hotspot they can use to connect to the Internet or a signal booster they can use to increase the speed of a slow connection. Both the BOOST Act and the Gigabit Opportunity Act apply only to areas where Internet connection speeds are below the federal minimum standard of service, which is 25 megabits per second for downloads and three megabits per second for uploads.

Finally, we can all agree that the United States must maintain its role as the global leader in research and innovation. To do that, we must support opportunities in STEM education and that's why in May the House passed the Rural STEM Education Research Act which authorizes the National Science Foundation to award grants for research to improve rural students' access to and participation in the STEM fields. I voted for this bill because STEM education is critical to preparing students for future opportunities that include good-paying jobs and roles in scientific research.

These are just a few examples of the many bipartisan bills I have supported in the past few months. While strong disagreements continue in Congress over many of the issues facing our country, I am still working with Republicans and Democrats to support good policies that will help the residents of mid and northern Michigan.

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