For my family and many of yours, the holiday season is the best time of the year. From decking the halls to exchanging gifts with loved ones and friends, our joyful holiday traditions serve as a bright light in uncertain times.

As another year is drawing to a close, I have been reflecting on the incredible results House Republicans have delivered this year on behalf of the American people.

To address the crisis at our Southern Border, House Republicans passed the Secure the Border Act—the strongest border security bill America has ever seen in order to keep our nation safe and our border secure. My legislation, the HALT Fentanyl Act, also passed the House and would increase penalties on this dangerous substance flowing across our border. Every state, including North Carolina, is suffering from the impacts of President Joe Biden’s open border policies. Just last week, 118 pounds of fentanyl was intercepted in North Carolina—enough to kill our entire population two times over.

Despite the record-breaking amount of migrant crossings and deadly drugs flowing across our borders, Senate Democrats refuse to take up these bills. Their lack of action combined with the disastrous policies of the Biden Administration continues to fuel the crisis at the Southern Border.

In addition, my legislation, the Protecting America’s Distribution Transformer Supply Chain Act, recently passed the Energy and Commerce Committee and will be brought up soon for a vote in the full House. This bill would strengthen the U.S. supply chain for distribution transformers, and help prevent communities from experiencing long outages similar to what we endured last December in Moore County.

As the representative of the largest Army base in the world, I’m proud of everything we have accomplished this year to strengthen our nation’s defense and military readiness.

Last week, the House passed the FY24 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) which bolsters our nation’s defense capabilities to keep up with foreign adversaries, eliminates the woke ideology infiltrating our military, and takes care of our men and women in uniform by providing the largest pay raise in over 20 years.

It is not a perfect bill, but ensuring our military families and veterans have the resources they deserve is among the most important duties we have in Congress. I will never stop fighting to make sure our community’s veterans, troops, and their families receive the support they deserve.

This holiday season, let us remember all those who have defended freedom serving in our nation’s uniform—especially those who do not have the opportunity to return home to their families. I continue to pray for the strength and safety of soldiers from our region, and across the country, who are away from their families. Let’s not forget those family members who miss them. God bless you all.

I hope you are proud of all the work our office accomplished this year on your behalf. I will always work hard on the issues that are important to you and your family. My dedicated staff in our Southern Pines and Fayetteville district offices are here to provide you with high-quality constituent services. To find our office locations and office hours, visit Hudson.house.gov.

While we have a lot of work left ahead of us, I look forward to 2024 and the opportunity to continue to serve you and our community. Together, House Republicans will keep fighting to get our country on a better path forward.

As Hanukkah ends and the Christmas holiday nears, I hope you enjoy time with loved ones and remember what’s most important—our faith, our families, our friends, and the many blessings we enjoy as citizens of the greatest nation on Earth.

Until Next Time,

Richard Hudson

Member of Congress