Rep. Onder Newsletter:✅ My Bill Has PASSED the House

This week, my bill to designate America's National Churchill Museum as a National Historic Landmark passed the House and now awaits consideration in the Senate.

80 years ago, Sir Winston Churchill delivered one of the most consequential speeches of the 20th century: Winston Churchill's 'Sinews of Peace,' better known as the 'Iron Curtain' speech, in my district in Fulton, Missouri. With President Harry Truman at his side, Churchill warned the world of the division descending over Europe. It was also a call to defend freedom and strengthen alliances in our mutual struggle against tyranny. Since then, Churchill has inspired generations of leaders. His deep understanding of history and steadfast commitment to individual freedom guided his leadership during the challenging years of World War II. His final words in Parliament, 'never flinch, never weary, never despair' capture his enduring principles and unwavering resolve.

Churchill understood that the nature of conflict and communication itself was changing in the modern age. In his 1925 essay "Mass Effects in Modern Life," he wrote that power had transformed the way human beings relate to one another and to the world around them. Churchill worried that consumers of mass media would turn their attention away from "the greatest books in the world," books that grapple with truth, morality, and justice.

My bill and this official designation will ensure that the Churchill Museum at Westminster College continues to provide students the opportunity to read, and to learn. Not only about history itself, but about the importance of Churchill's legacy. This designation will help educate and inspire future leaders for generations to come.

 To read the full press release click HERE.

There is a wave of hope and strength surging throughout the country. Parents are finally standing up to radical gender ideology that has taken root in schools, courtrooms, and government agencies. This movement is not driven by politics. It is driven by love. Moms and dads are saying clearly and confidently that their children deserve protection, truth, and transparency.

And that momentum is only building.

Medical institutions are beginning to acknowledge the truth. The American Society of Plastic Surgeons recently recommended against gender transition surgeries for minors. Courts are beginning to hear from the children themselves who underwent irreversible procedures. In the first detransitioner medical malpractice case to reach a jury, a $2 million verdict was delivered against the medical professionals involved.

Accountability is coming, and this week there was another major victory.

In a landmark 6 to 3 decision, the Supreme Court blocked a California policy that restricted schools from notifying parents if a student changes their name or pronouns at school, and compelled teachers to use a child's preferred pronouns without parental knowledge. The Court made it clear that the policy sought to cut out:

 "The primary protectors of children's best interests: their parents."

It is terrifying that three Democrat judges actually voted for this. The case, Mirabelli v. Bonta, involved real, courageous families who challenged California's deliberate effort to keep parents in the dark about their own child's mental health. The parents were identified in court records only by pseudonyms, a sobering reminder of the cost many families bear when they stand up and speak out.

One family had no idea their daughter had been presenting as a boy throughout seventh grade. At parent teacher conferences, the teacher didn't say a word. They discovered the truth only after their daughter attempted suicide and was hospitalized.

Another family confronted their daughter's principal after suspecting the school was socially transitioning their child behind their backs. Administrators told them that state law forbade disclosure without the child's consent. With private school financially out of reach, they were forced to move their daughter to another public school, where they knew they would be faced with a similar reality.

Across America, similar battles are unfolding. Brave young women like Chloe Cole, who I named my bill, the Chloe Cole Act after, have spoken out about not only undergoing irreversible procedures as a child, but being encouraged to do so.

Parents in Montgomery County stood together when their local school board attempted to eliminate parental opt outs for LGBT themed instruction for young children. A Long Island teacher forced a fifth-grade girl to go by a male name and pronouns, confusing the child so much that she said she wanted to kill herself. These stories are heartbreaking, but they reveal a fundamental truth. No school, no government agency, and no court should ever be in control of your child. As a father, I would do anything to protect my children, and I know most parents in this country feel exactly the same way. That is why they are standing up. That is why they are speaking out. And that is why they are winning.

In Congress, I will continue fighting against the Democrat agenda to ensure that parents, not government officials, remain the primary decision makers in the lives of their children.

To read more about the Mirabella v. Bonta case, click HERE. 

Recent investigations in Democrat-run states like Minnesota have exposed widespread fraud in child care assistance programs, with millions of taxpayer dollars funneled to services that were never actually provided. This blatant abuse highlights the urgent need for stronger oversight.

This week, the Education and Workforce Committee passed my bill, H.R. 7722, the Child Care Integrity Monitoring Act, in markup. The bill strengthens oversight of federal child care funding by codifying the Department of Health and Human Services' (HHS) practice of auditing states' Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG) funds every three years. Also, under this legislation, any state with repeated audit failures would be designated as "high-risk" and subjected to enhanced monitoring as determined by the HHS.

The Child Care Integrity Monitoring Act will hold states with repeated audit failures accountable and ensure public funds are spent responsibly. Families deserve child care programs that are trustworthy and operate with the highest integrity, and taxpayers deserve full transparency about where their hard-earned dollars are going. I am proud this legislation has passed out of the Education and Workforce Committee and now awaits further consideration to be voted on the House floor. 

 To read the full press release click HERE

To watch me speak on the importance of H.R. 7722 click below 👇

The House Judiciary Committee held a hearing this week titled "Oversight of the Department of Homeland Security," examining the mission and operations of the Department of Homeland Security and their responsibility for protecting the American people. 

During my questioning, I stated how the results of our nation's Department of Homeland Security speak for themselves. This year alone, the DHS has arrested more than 700,000 illegal aliens, while 2.2 million individuals have left the country voluntarily. There has also been a 56% decline in fentanyl trafficking and a 21% decline in fentanyl-related deaths.

These numbers reflect an administration committed to restoring law and order at our southern border. Our Department of Homeland Security has worked tirelessly to protect the American people and strengthen the security of our nation. During the hearing, I commended the DHS for apprehending a staggering number of illegal aliens - these individuals previously convicted of murder, sexual assault, and other violent crimes.

For four years, Democrats not only insisted that our southern border crisis was "imaginary," but ignored the problem entirely, leaving the border effectively wide open for anyone to enter this country. In that time, millions crossed illegally and American communities, people like Laken Riley, bore the consequences.

The lesson is simple: when the law is not enforced, chaos follows, and it was an honor to question Kristi Noem on her work as our nation's secretary. 

To watch my full questioning in Judiciary Committee, click below