The hope of the American Dream is personal to me.

I grew up in a trailer park in Columbia City, Indiana. My father was a union factory worker, and my mother was a nursing home cook. Had I been born in any other nation, my family’s circumstances and economic status would have predetermined what I could aim for in life.

But America is unique. It’s one of the only places on Earth where the circumstances we’re born into don’t limit our opportunities.

I became the first person in my family to attend college. I served my nation in Afghanistan during Operations Enduring Freedom and Freedom’s Sentinel. Hoosiers elected me to serve in the Indiana State Senate and the U.S. House of Representatives before being elected to the U.S. Senate this past year. That degree of opportunity is only possible in America.

The same American Dream that I experienced is something worth protecting for future generations of Americans.

As a new member of the Senate, I was recently appointed to the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs. I see this as the ideal avenue to advocate for working families and the renewal of the American Dream.

We can jumpstart this renewal through four initiatives: unleashing a new era of homebuilding, rolling back the Biden administration’s catastrophic regulatory agenda, helping manufacturers and small businesses access capital, and fighting back against the Chinese Communist Party’s influence.

In Indiana, the price of a typical home has gone up nearly 60% in just five years. The American Dream is about giving regular working families a path to homeownership, but that seems to be slipping away.

The root of this problem is that we simply aren’t building enough homes. America is short 4.5 million housing units across the country.

Burdensome regulations, in large part, explain why homebuilders aren’t constructing more. In 2023, the Biden administration published extreme climate standards that could drive up construction costs by as much as $30,000 for a typical home. In fact, regulations account for about one-fourth of the cost of building a new home.

I’m working to cut red tape and unleash a new era of homebuilding that drives the cost of homes down for hardworking families.

Aside from regulations that stunt new homebuilding, we also must work to roll back harmful banking regulations pursued by the last administration.

The Biden administration initiated a completely destructive regulatory agenda that stifled new technology, blatantly put small and medium-sized banks at a disadvantage, and pressured financial institutions to discriminate against companies and individuals for political reasons.

I’m fighting to reshape these harmful regulations so small and mid-sized banks can compete and all people, regardless of their political beliefs, are able to depend on a safe, secure banking system.

In line with this goal is ensuring that our manufacturers and small businesses have access to capital.

The Hoosier economy, more than any other state, is fueled by making and building things. Manufacturing supports 18% of the private sector jobs in Indiana, meaning that a healthy manufacturing industry is crucial to our state.

Manufacturing depends on heavy investments in new facilities, machinery, technology and a skilled workforce.

Unfortunately, manufacturers often have difficulty accessing credit so they can continue to invest in next-generation technology that will help the U.S. beat China and become the world’s manufacturing superpower.

I’m focused on removing barriers to capital for manufacturers and small businesses, encouraging heavy investment, and securing the good-paying jobs that Indiana’s manufacturing economy is built on.

Last, but certainly not least, is the dire need to push back against the influence of Communist China.

The Banking Committee oversees important agencies that are meant to protect American companies from being undercut and destroyed by foreign adversaries. For example, the Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security oversees export controls, which are meant to stop foreign adversaries like the Chinese Communist Party from getting their hands on cutting-edge technology that could empower their militaries.

Under the Biden administration, the Bureau of Industry and Security refused to enforce strong export controls and refused to provide Congress with the info we need to make them do their jobs. As a result, China has made huge leaps in the tech race against the U.S.

This is not a problem we can ignore. I recently introduced the Maintaining American Superiority by Improving Export Control Transparency Act alongside Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., to protect American companies from this kind of technology theft. Combatting this threat makes all Americans safer and more secure.

Taken together, I believe these four initiatives will help reinvigorate the promise of the American Dream for working families. I’m grateful to be a member of the Senate Banking Committee and look forward to leveraging my position to strengthen the Hoosier economy.