THE JOURNAL GAZETTE: Banks touts achievements, economy during Rotary appearance
Banks said his congressional accomplishments include being named one of three Republican finalists in the House and Senate for a constituent service award; being among 13 freshman lawmakers to have a bill signed into law; helping lead efforts to suspend the medical device tax; having a hangar at Fort Wayne’s Smith Field designated this month as the National Airmail Museum; and becoming the first member of Congress from the 3rd District appointed to the House Armed Services Committee.
He cited his work on behalf of military veterans, including strengthening the Department of Veterans Affairs’ Veterans Crisis Line; being named chairman of a new House subcommittee overseeing the modernization of VA’s electronic medical records; and helping Shepherd’s House, a Fort Wayne shelter for homeless veterans, secure federal funding after it had been discontinued. He also said he has pressed VA to pay bills owed to medical device companies.
Banks said he assisted in the restoration of federal funding for a flood mitigation program in Decatur and added a provision to the House farm bill that would repeal the Waters of the United States rule, a clean-water regulation opposed by farmers and homebuilders.
