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How are you Mississippi? I wanted to give you a little commentary, update you on what’s going on in Congress, and finally give you my voting record before finals start up next week (good luck to all the people in the same boat as me).

I want to start off with a farewell I deeply regret having to write. I’ve written about friends leaving before (ghvandyk), and it’s always hard to see someone you’ve come to know well leave eRepublik. I am of course talking about the person who singlehandedly taught me most of what I know about this game, Tiacha. When I first joined the Federalist Party she welcomed me with open arms and listened to what I had to say, despite my lack of experience or game knowledge. I turned to her for a lot of tough decisions that I faced, including my first run for Congress. Every single time, she gave me sound, level-headed advice in a way that I can only hope to emulate. She became my eRep role model, and I took any opportunity I could to work with her both for the Federalists, and the eUSA (through the Department of Education, which she headed at the time). She taught me what it really meant to be non-partisan, and what it was to work for the betterment of all people. She helped me refine the Citizen Mentorship Program and her support was the only reason I proposed it at all. Tiacha was truly one of the greatest Americans I have ever had the honor of meeting, working with, and getting to know. It was a sad day when she left us, and I can only hope for her return someday. Until then, I will be keeping her teachings alive through the DoE and the Federalist Party. Tiacha, you will be missed.

Moving on to happier subjects, the 17th Congress has been off to a good start, with Committees being announced recently. I have been assigned to the Government Oversight Committee, dealing with making government as transparent as possible. We’re already hard at work on the Public Disclosure and Non-Corruption Act, proposed by ssomo. In this Congress term, I hope to extend the coverage of the Public Information Act that Tiacha set up to include more transparency, and allow you, the voters, to see what is really going on in Congress as soon as reasonably possible. My goal is to make the goings-on of Congress available to every citizen, with very little being done behind closed doors for too long. I would also like to congratulate my friend Cromstar on being elected as Speaker of the House, I’m very confident he will do an excellent job.

Finally, my voting recor😛

Transfer 49053USD to CBO: Yes. This is standard practice now, and it’s more of a formality than anything.

Issue Money: No. We’ve been printing too much (Jewitt put the number at ~45😵 money and are running the risk of inflation of our dollar to unhealthy levels.

MPPs with Germany and South Africa: Yes. I’m always in favor of more friends!

Tax Change Foo😛 Yes. This lowers the VAT on food to 1% (from 3😵, leading to lower prices for you the consumer. Also, congrats to Justin Warren for his first proposal and passage.

Trade Embargoes w/ Indo & Hungary: Yes. This is more of a symbolic gesture for our ATLANTIS allies, as our open wars with these countries prevent trade anyway.

Transfer 99998USD to CBO: Yes. Standard practice for Congress.

Thanks for reading, I want to remind you that Presidential elections are coming up, use your head and vote based on actions, planning, and knowledge. Who you vote for is your decision, and I don’t presume to tell you who to vote for. Just make sure you vote; it’s free experience if nothing else.

Mississippians, please vote and subscribe so you can get my voting record updates!

Bill Brasky
Congressman Mississippi
Secretary of the Department of Education