As we attempt to recover from the economic devastation wrought by the pandemic and the government’s authoritarian response to it, restoring a sound monetary policy may not be near the top of lawmakers’ priorities -- but it should be. With record rates of deficit spending and a record-shattering Federal Reserve balance sheet, it should be no surprise that the dollar’s value is at an all time low when compared to the value of gold. None of this is setting the stage for a rapid recovery, or for robust growth thereafter.

FreedomWorks is proud to announce that our bill of the month for July 2020 is the Processing Revival and Intrastate Meat Exemption (PRIME) Act, H.R. 2859 and S. 1620, introduced in the House by Reps. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) and Chellie Pingree (D-Maine) and in the Senate by Sens. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) and Angus King (I-Maine). This bipartisan legislation would loosen restrictions so that meat processed in a state-licensed facility can be sold locally -- without regulation from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) -- in an effort to help address issues with our meat supply chain that have become glaringly obvious during the COVID-19 pandemic.

In the past few weeks, Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) has continued to prove that he is a leader when it matters. Throughout the coronavirus pandemic, bill after bill has been rushed through Congress, without ample input from members and with too many items in them to be good.

On March 15, the authority for Section 215 of the USA PATRIOT Act formally expired. This is one of the provisions that spawned the Edward Snowden leaks back in 2013 and drew the American people’s attention to the scope of abuses perpetrated by the intelligence community. Though some reforms have been made, many in Congress still stand by the program despite the revelations.

On behalf of FreedomWorks’ activist community, I urge you to contact your representative and senators ask them to cosponsor the American Healthshare Plans Act, H.R. 6712 and S. 3610, introduced in the House by Rep. John Curtis (R-Utah) and in the Senate by Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.). This bill would allow non-employer membership organizations to offer health insurance to individuals, including across state lines, opening up a much-needed alternate path to coverage.

FreedomWorks is proud to announce that our bill of the month for May 2020 is the Verified Innovative Testing in American Laboratories (VITAL) Act, S. 3512. The bill, introduced by Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) and cosponsored by Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), clarifies that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has no regulatory authority over lab-developed testing procedures, during a public health emergency or at any other time.