Up and Coming Weekly is a weekly publication in Fayetteville, NC and Fort Bragg, NC area offering local news, views, arts, entertainment and community event and business information.
Issue link: http://www.epageflip.net/i/1496320
WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM APRIL 5 - 11, 2023 UCW 5 What would the Founding Fathers think if they were here today? In my opinion, it wouldn't be self-driving cars or the internet that would surprise them the most. I think it would be the size of our government. e entire executive branch used to fit inside of the White House. Yet today, executive departments, independent agencies, and other boards and com- missions fill hundreds of buildings with millions of bureaucrats constantly seeking to expand their power. Our government is meant to be responsive to the people. Our system of checks and balances was not set up to have un-elected bureaucrats making laws and rules that impact the everyday lives of you and your family. Earlier this month, President Joe Biden presented his budget to Congress. is reckless budget will grow the size of government even further and pro- poses trillions in new spending and higher taxes for you and families across the country. It will further increase our national debt and your cost of living — at a time when we suffer a $31 trillion debt and an inflation crisis. is radical budget spends $16.5 billion on the climate and $3 billion for gender equity, yet just $40 million to combat the fentanyl crisis that is killing thousands of Americans. It also contains a stagger- ing $1.9 billion to fund the ATF — directly declaring war on your Second Amendment rights. I was proud to introduce a resolution last week to prevent the ATF from enforcing an unconsti- tutional pistol brace rule that targets law-abiding citizens and combat wounded veterans. As this bill is considered by the House, I will continue to sup- port efforts to defend your constitutional rights, just as I continue my work to expand school safety and mental health. In the Energy and Commerce Committee last week, I had the opportunity to question the CEO of TikTok and express my concerns with the social me- dia app. As a parent, I'm very concerned about the ways in which social media companies impact our children's behaviors and mental health. While many might consider TikTok to be just another video-shar- ing app, in reality it's likely it has been functioning as a massive Chinese Communist Party surveillance program — and it is all in the palm of your hand. As Fort Bragg's Congressman, I have serious con- cerns about the opportunities TikTok gives the CCP to access non-public sensitive data from our military families. I asked the TikTok CEO if the company can access other devices on your home Wi-Fi to collect data. He could not give me a straight answer. It should concern every American that his answer wasn't "No." I look forward to further addressing the threat this app presents to our national security in order to create a strong national data privacy standard that will put you back in charge of your data. From reckless spending, to threatening your constitutional rights, to refusing to stand up to the Chinese Community Party, the Biden administra- tion is a threat to the freedoms you hold so dear. As your Congressman, I never stop working to solve problems facing you and your family. Congressman addresses rights, privacy concerns by REP. RICHARD HUDSON OPINION www.faytechcc.edu - (910) 678-8400 - admissions@faytechcc.edu READY FOR THE NEW YOU! W e l c o m e t o t h e w o r l d o f We l d i n g Te c h n o l o g y a n d a h i g h - q u a l i t y e d u c a t i o n y o u c a n a o r d ! Search "Welding" & Get FTCC Ready! REP. RICHARD HUDSON, R-N.C. COMMENTS? Editor@upandcomin- gweekly.com. 910-484-6200. Rep. Richard Hudson has concerns about the personal privacy and national security concerns of using the popular social media app TikTok.