Brad's Newsletter

Did you know air travel accounts for almost 2.5% of global greenhouse gas (ghg) emissions? Developing and deploying “sustainable aviation fuel” (SAF) could reduce ghg emissions by more than 50%.  To help promote development of SAF, I and my team have been working on legislation for almost three years to create tax incentives to promote production of SAF. We achieved a major step forward when a version of our Sustainable Skies Act was included in the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and signed into law by President Biden on August 16.

October is Manufacturing Month, and to highlight the importance of manufacturing in our state, the Illinois Manufacturing Association (IMA) is on a 20-stop Makers on the Move bus tour. Noting the breadth and diversity of Lake County’s and Illinois’s 10th District manufacturing sector, IMA chose to kick off their tour at the newly opened College of Lake County Advanced Technology Center in Gurnee.

I hope you and your family enjoyed the first weekend of autumn, and to those who observed Rosh Hashanah earlier this week, Shanah Tovah, Happy New Year—I wish you a year filled with good health, happiness, and peace.

I'm back in Washington this week after spending the Rosh Hashanah holiday with my family. Our first priority this week is striking a deal with the Senate to fund the government and avoid a shutdown Friday at midnight. I am optimistic that my colleagues on both sides of the Capitol will come together to keep our government open and serving the American people.

This week summer officially comes to a close. There is a chill in the air, the leaves are just beginning to change, and once again our kids are back in school. Similarly, Members of Congress are back in Washington to work on several important bills, including funding the government for fiscal year 2023.

I hope you had a nice Labor Day weekend. It seems like summer just started and now it is but a memory. I thought it would be fun to devote this week's newsletter to looking back on the highlights of this summer, reflect on the work we've done here at home and in Washington, and express my thanks to all the people and communities that made this summer so special and memorable.

School has started again in most parts of our district. For me, one of the best things about the start of the new school year is the kickoff for our sixth annual Brad's Bookworms program. Anyone who knows me knows I love reading and Brad's Bookworms is a chance to share that passion with young students in kindergarten through 5th grade. We challenge students to read 10 books by December 12th to explore new worlds and expand their minds through reading. Those who meet the challenge will be recognized and invited to a ceremony early next year.

As you may know, I made a quick, one-day trip to Washington last week to vote for the Inflation Reduction Act. This historic legislation is the largest ever investment in our nation's history to tackle climate change. It will lower the cost of health care by allowing Medicare to negotiate pricing on some of our most expensive prescription drugs and capping the out-of-pocket cost of insulin. It will bring down the cost of energy in the short run by expanding production here in the U.S.

Summer always seems to me the fastest moving of the seasons. It seems like we are just getting started when the calendar turns to August and suddenly we realize the flowers in the garden are starting to close up, we are running out of weekends to get away, and the new school year is just around the corner. But there is still plenty of Summer left, the days are still long, and hopefully we will have the chance to connect as I travel around the district.