Back in 2011, California's Republican Congressman Devin Nunes said about the now defunct California high speed rail project, "It is clear that high-speed rail is not about jobs. It is about corruption, public deception and bureaucratic experimentation.” 

And it took nine years to kill the monster.

I have been a certified registered nurse anesthetist, a type of advanced practice registered Nurse (APRN), for more than 20 years and am a retired Commander in the US Navy Nurse Corps, where I provided anesthesia care to service members and their families, U.S. Department of Defense employees, and members of Congress. While on active duty, I administered anesthesia care to service members who were injured during Operation Iraqi Freedom, Operation Enduring Freedom, and the Horn of Africa.  I have been the sole anesthesia provider on three aircraft carriers.

President Trump recently signed into law the largest public lands bill to have been considered by Congress within the last 10 years. This bill will designate a total of 1.3 million acres of land to be preserved as wilderness. The bill also includes provision for the growth of several national parks and the creation of five new national monuments. In addition, this bill will permanently reauthorize the federal Land and Water Conservation Fund, which has been expired since last fall.

In February, Congress approved a massive, bipartisan federal lands bill, designating five new national monuments, 1.3 million acres of wilderness, 620 rivers as wild and scenic, and permanently reauthorizing the Land and Water Conservation Fund.

When it comes to running a business or getting things done in politics, it’s a tried and true lesson that working well with others is the best path to success. The ability to see other points of view, discover compromise, and pursue mutual benefit is a cornerstone principle of making the world and the economy better. That is certainly true when it comes to one of the biggest challenges our world faces: climate change. 

Jeff Bezos, Bill Gates, Steve Jobs. Although they are well known today, they all started on the same level playing field. They were all small business owners striving to succeed. During the creation of their respective companies, the Internet was wide-open, enabling their creativity and innovations, and allowing them to embody and exemplify the “American Dream.” Be innovative, work hard, get others to believe in you, and you can achieve great success. Fast forward to today and the Save the Internet Act being pushed by Democrats is threatening that same American Dream.