Rep. Marlin Stutzman wants to help first time home buyers, Interior Department wants to “Map Baby Map,” a bipartisan group of lawmakers wants sentencing reform, and more

Indiana Rep. Marlin Stutzman (R.) has a vision to lower costs for first-time homebuyers, one that aligns closely with that of President Donald Trump, he told the Washington Reporter in his latest interview.

Stutzman, a member of both the House Financial Services Committee and the House Freedom Caucus, previously unveiled legislation that would prevent institutional investors from buying single-family homes. Then, Trump rolled out a similar vision, giving Stutzman’s proposal a boost.

That restriction, Stutzman said, “gives single family homeowners a chance to buy, and if they can come to an agreement with the seller, that’s great. That’s what you want. But when you have more money coming in from outside investors, you’re going to drive the prices up.” 

INTERVIEW INCOMING: Our editor-in-chief Matthew Foldi scored another interview with President Donald Trump — we’re going to roll out a special edition of the Washington Reporter featuring a series of articles Foldi wrote about his latest conversation with the 47th president. HISTORY MADE: President Donald Trump celebrated one year back in the White House following his historic 2024 comeback earlier this week. Rep. Lisa McClain (R., Mich.), the House GOP’s Conference Chair, hosted another media row that the Washington Reporterwas on-site for. Stay tuned for coverage of that! 2026 WATCH: Austin Rogers, the general counsel to Sen. Rick Scott (R.,…

The Interior Department launched a “Map Baby Map” campaign similar to its “Drill Baby Drill” slogan.

Secretary Doug Burgum’s department started the Materials Access Program (MAP), which will make it easier and more affordable for Americans to obtain mineral materials such as sand, gravel, and rock used in construction and community development. The plans were obtained exclusively by the Washington Reporter.

“This program is another example of the Department of the Interior working to cut red tape, lower costs for Americans, and help families and communities get the resources they need to build and maintain essential infrastructure,” Acting Assistant Secretary for Lands and Minerals Management Lanny Erdos explained. 

A bipartisan, bicameral group of legislators wants federal sentencing guidelines to distinguish between criminals who make sincere  efforts and those who demonstrate no remorse.

A group led by Sens. Chris Coons (D., Del.), James Lankford (R., Okla.), Mike Lee (R., Utah), Thom Tillis (R., N.C.), Kevin Cramer (R., N.D.), and Roger Wicker (R., Miss.) and Reps. Laurel Lee (R., Fla.), Don Bacon (R., Neb.), Burgess Owens (R., Utah), Lucy McBath (D., Ga.), and Deborah Ross (D., N.C.) said in a letter obtained exclusively by the Washington Reporter that it wants the Sentencing Commission to finalize the proposal to incentivize efforts at rehabilitation.

Current sentencing guidelines draw no distinction between two criminals who commit the same crime — but if one criminal turns their life around before sentencing, they will be sentenced under the same provisions that dictate the future of the unrepentant criminal. 

As the newest House Republican, one of Rep. Matt Van Epps’s (R., Tenn.) first acts was to join the conservative Republican Study Committee (RSC), led by Rep. August Pfluger (R., Texas). 

Van Epps joined Rep. Mark Alford (R., Mo.) for the latest episode of the RSC’s flagship podcast, Right to the Point the episode was obtained exclusively by the Washington Reporter. In that episode, Van Epps discusses why he joined the RSC with Alford, the RSC’s messaging chair. He also discussed his “mission” in Congress, which he tied back to his years of service in the U.S. Army.

Van Epps’s father’s service in the Vietnam War motivated both him and his brother, who is still active duty in the Army, to graduate from West Point and serve in the military. 

A first-time candidate for Congress raised over half a million dollars just two weeks after launching his campaign to succeed Rep. Neal Dunn (R., Fla.), the Washington Reporter can exclusively confirm. 

Austin Rogers, the former general counsel for Sen. Rick Scott (R., Fla.), raised $550,000 in the weeks since launching his campaign — and with rumors circulating that Dunn may retire before his term is up, that money would be critically useful to Rogers in a potential special election.

Rogers’s fundraising haul consists of $300,000 of self-funding, as well as $250,000 from donors. “We’ve heard the rumors about a potential special election, and if that’s the path forward, we’re ready to move full steam ahead,” a Florida politics veteran told the Reporter. “Austin is the man for the job and we’re confident we have the message and the momentum to win.”

The House Ways and Means Committee held an expansive hearing on foreign influence in U.S. nonprofit organizations, probing how international donors and predominantly left-wing nonprofit networks may be shaping domestic politics and ballot initiatives under the cover of tax-exempt status. The hearing, titled “Foreign Influence in American Non-profits: Unmasking Threats from Beijing and Beyond,” drew bipartisan attention to the mechanics of influence and the need for transparency in nonprofit funding. 

Ways and Means Chair Jason Smith (R., Mo.) opened the hearing by underscoring that foreign actors have been able to funnel millions through tax-exempt networks in ways that can affect U.S. public policy and civic outcomes. Smith highlighted concerns that multiple foreign players, including Swiss billionaire Hansjörg Wyss, have used loopholes in U.S. nonprofit law to inject billions into left leaning advocacy efforts that align with foreign interests. 

In questions to the witnesses, Rep. Mike Carey (R., Ohio) used the fight around the 2024 Ohio Issue 1 ballot measure to illustrate how foreign-linked funds can operate within broader domestic advocacy networks. Carey recounted how millions of dollars flowed through the Sixteen Thirty Fund, an Arabella Advisors-aligned nonprofit used to bankroll issue campaigns into initiatives like Issue 1, which became a flashpoint in Ohio’s political landscape just under two years ago. 

Rep. Roger Williams (R., Texas) is taking his Small Business Committee on the road. As the chair of the committee, Williams went to Kansas City with lawmakers from both parties to hear from small business owners about how his committee can support their growth.

The Williams-led “Main Street at Work: Empowering Small Businesses to Deliver Greater Affordability” hearing is the first stop of many that his committee will host. Williams will lead roundtables with small business owners and his colleagues on the committee across the country. His tour is called “The Open Road: Small Business Conversations Across Main Street America.”

Williams was joined by Reps. Mark Alford (R., Mo.), Kimberlyn King-Hinds (R., Northern Mariana Islands), Troy Downing (R., Mont.), Derek Schmidt (R., Kansas), Gil Cisneros (D., Calif.), and Derek Tran (D., Calif.); for Williams’s inaugural roundtable was co-led by Alford. 

Election integrity measures like Voter ID are “common sense,” Rep. Andy Barr (R., Ky.), one of the House GOP’s fiercest election-integrity advocates, told the Washington Reporter.

“Voter ID is common sense and is supported by over 80 percent of the American public, including a majority of Democrat voters,” Barr said following his vote for the Save America Act, a bill that would require both proof of citizenship to register to vote in elections and the presentation of an ID to cast a ballot.

Barr’s Republican colleagues, like Rep. Bryan Steil (R., Wis.), the chair of the House Committee on Administration, have told the Reporter that current Voter ID laws are nonsensical. 

There is a lot more to Utah than what’s on the surface — literally. Underneath our feet, Utah is leading the charge on the development of immense untapped geothermal potential, and it’s coming at the perfect time. Like the rest of the country, Utah faces growing energy demands to fuel its growth, power domestic manufacturing and artificial intelligence, and guarantee reliability and security. How Utah is meeting that demand through all the resources at its disposal, especially with innovative new geothermal technologies, should be a blueprint for the nation as we seek to fully unleash our energy potential.

Geothermal is a reliable, 24/7, clean source of energy with one of the smallest land footprints of any technology. Thanks to American innovation in drilling over decades, the next generation of geothermal is utilizing hydraulic fracturing to harness the natural heat from the earth to generate electricity and deliver heat. With an estimated 5,000 gigawatts of untapped geothermal power capacity, the United States is poised to lead the world in this nascent sector, and Utah is at the forefront. By drilling into high-temperature geological formations, geothermal builds upon expertise and a workforce that already exists.

Utah’s 2nd Congressional District is already seeing economic benefits from breakthrough geothermal projects — from private companies like Fervo Energy. Fervo’s first project — Cape Station — is expected to deliver power this year, with a planned expansion to 500 megawatts (MW). For context, in 2024, Utah’s electric capacity was over 10,000 MW, meaning this one project could produce nearly 5 percent of Utah’s power. This site is expected to be the largest geothermal development in the world and has the potential to bring both power and jobs to the area. Fervo is also training local workers in skilled trades, partnering with Southern Utah University. Cape Station will potentially transform Beaver County and Southwest Utah, and it’s only just getting started.