| Dear Friend,
Welcome back to my Week in Review newsletter. Please remember to follow me on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube for regular updates on how I am serving the people of South Carolina! Keeping Kids in Classrooms As we approach the pandemic’s two-year mark, the detrimental effects of school closures on our nation’s children are clearer than ever before. Yet, despite evidence showing that schools are one of the safest places for kids to be, districts across our nation continue bowing to the demands of labor unions by shutting classrooms. Even worse, the students taking the brunt of these closures are kids in marginalized communities, whose families are living paycheck-to-paycheck. This week, I introduced a bill called the Kids in Classes Act to protect children in Title I schools from further learning loss and isolation. In the event that a Title I school closes due to COVID or a union strike, my bill would allow families to put unused federal education funds toward various forms of in-person education. It’s long past time that all kids — no matter their zip code — were back in class. Pushing Back Against Soft-on-Crime Policies Over the past week, Americans watched two funerals for New York City police officers who were killed in the line of duty. Officers Rivera and Mora were heroes taken from us far too soon. The devastating reality is that Democrats’ soft-on-crime policies have led to a nationwide crimewave, putting both our officers and the communities they serve at risk. If we want to protect our most vulnerable communities, we must empower our men and women in blue to enforce our laws. Click below for my interview with Fox News on our nation’s crime crisis. Click to watch Protecting Americans’ Privacy The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) recently announced new identity verification measures that threaten the privacy of American taxpayers. As a member of the Senate Finance Committee, I joined my Republican colleagues in a letter to IRS Commissioner Rettig, raising our concerns and requesting the answers that taxpayers deserve. Americans should not have to submit sensitive personal information to the government in order to access the financial services they need. Read our letter here. Expanding Opportunity for Low-Income and Rural Americans Local community banks play a crucial role in providing financial services and capital for underserved and rural communities. This week, I introduced a bipartisan bill, along with Senator Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.), to help these small financial institutions meet the credit needs of the individuals and businesses they serve. By giving local banks the tools they need to compete with big banks, this bill will expand financial opportunities for hard-working families, farmers, and small business owners across our nation. Click here to read more. I also questioned Federal Reserve nominee Sarah Bloom Raskin on her history of politicizing the Fed and her support for policies that would eliminate small-dollar loans. We must ensure Americans living in our most marginalized communities, like the one I grew up in, can access the loans they need to build businesses and achieve their dreams. Click to watch my exchange with Fed nominee Sarah Bloom Raskin Sincerely, | 