The first 100 days in office for U.S. Rep. Michael Guest, R-Brandon, has been successful for the freshman representative.
So far in the Democratic controlled House of Representatives, Guest was the first Republican freshman to have bipartisan support to get a bill passed in the House. Guest serves on the Committee on Homeland Security with committee chairman U.S. Rep. Benny Thompson.
The Terrorist and Foreign Fighter Travel Exercise Act he sponsored by Guest was passed in the House and was referred to the Senate.
The bill would call for the Department of Homeland Security to conduct training exercises related to the detection and prevention of terrorist and foreign fighter travel.
“We had bipartisan support for the bill, which is something that doesn’t happen too often,” Guest said.
Guest, whose district encompasses Newton County, visited with The Newton County Appeal following a tour of local industries on Thursday.
Since winning the election in November 2018, Guest has assembled a veteran staff that he said has helped him make a smooth transition to Washington. Many members of his staff worked with former U.S. Rep. Gregg Harper, who chose not to seek reelection in 2018. There are even a couple who even worked with former U.S. Rep. Sonny Montgomery.
“I was able to put together a great veteran staff who have helped me have success throughout the first 100 days in office,” Guest said.
One of the hot topics of President Donald Trump in 2019 has been securing the Mexican border, as the number of asylum seekers has increased while the denial rate has also increased.
Guest said the discussion from Day 1 has been how to secure the border and to do it in a humane way. He said this year, the number of asylum seekers from El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala has increased, and the backlog continues to increase.
Guest said it is an issue that may need to be dealt with on a global scale.
“I would like see us move from more of a lottery based system of selection to a more merit-based immigration policy,” Guest said.
One of the biggest needs he sees in his Congressional district right now is infrastructure from roads and bridges to access to quality health care and high-speed internet access in rural areas.
“Health care is something that needs to be addressed nationwide,” Guest said. “Community hospitals are important in our rural areas, and people need access to adequate health care. We need to see what we can do to help those community hospitals so that everyone has access to acute care so that patients can be stabilized and then transported to another hospital to receive more specialized care.
“I hope that within the next 100 days we can be talking about a transportation bill that is receiving bipartisan support. That’s one of the top issues that I hope we make a priority in the next 100 days.”
