This past week I testified before the House Judiciary Committee as they held a legislative hearing on my bill, H.R. 372, the Competitive Health Insurance Reform Act.

This legislation paves the way for "repeal and replace" of Obamacare by restoring anti-trust laws to health insurance companies. This means more competition in the healthcare marketplace and lower prices for YOU the consumer.

The federal government's attempt to fix our healthcare system--Obamacare--failed and has only gotten worse...

Health care prices went up
Premiums have gone up by double digits multiple years in a row
Choices have gone down
Patients lost access to their doctors of choice
Health insurers quit the markets

As a healthcare provider for more than 25 years, I understand first-hand the importance of a competitive and dynamic health insurance market. Patients, doctors, and hospitals alike benefit when health insurers compete to provide a variety quality coverage options.

Click on the picture below to watch my testimony from last week's hearing.

SCOTT PRUITT CONFIRMED TO LEAD THE EPA

Federal agencies like the EPA were created to ensure that the best interests of the American people are protected. Yet, under President Obama, a lawless EPA has done far more harm than good for American farmers, ranchers and small business owners.

President Trump’s selection of Scott Pruitt for EPA Administrator is a clear signal that people, not politics, will be the top priority of his administration. Pruitt, who was confirmed by the Senate on February 17th, believes the EPA should work with local and state governments to enact common-sense regulations that will protect the environment without crushing our economy.

I enthusiastically endorse Scott Pruitt as our next EPA Administrator because I know that he will listen to the unique concerns of our Western communities and work with Congress to develop positive legislative solutions.

FREEDOM CAUCUS MEMBER MICK MULVANEY CONFIRMED AS PRESIDENT TRUMP'S BUDGET DIRECTOR

This week's confirmation of my good friend and colleague Congressman Mick Mulvaney as Budget Director marks a turning point in our nation’s ongoing spending crisis. For too long, Congress has ignored the dire threat that our $19 trillion debt poses not only to the American economy but also to our national defense.

Former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Admiral Mike Mullen, has warned that the national debt is the biggest threat to our national security.

Leaders like Congressman Mulvaney understand this threat and were sent to Washington to fundamentally change the direction of this country—not to protect the status quo. He understands that funding important aspects of our budget, such as providing for a strong military, can still be accomplished in a fiscally responsible way.

More importantly, Congressman Mulvaney has proven that he has the courage to take on anyone, including members of his own party, who would rather ignore the moral imperative of our spending crisis.

WANT TO CUT WASTE, FRAUD AND ABUSE? THIS IS A GOOD START:

In order to begin chipping away at our massive $20 trillion federal debt, elected leaders must search for bold ideas to solve this spending crisis.

It begins with creating a culture of eliminating federal waste, fraud and abuse, from top to bottom. A great place to start is reforming the calculation used for determining wages for public works projects which currently costs American taxpayers around $13 billion more than it should.

To stop this, I introduced the Responsibility in Federal Contracting Act which facilitates competition, equality, accuracy and transparency for everyone while restoring a fair wage for a fair job that is fair to the American taxpayer. Click HERE to learn more.

A SPECIAL MESSAGE FOR MY VALENTINE:

Every single day, I thank God for bringing my incredible wife Maude into my life. In honor of Valentine's Day, I want to share an old article from The Hill telling the story of how I met my sweetheart.

Tales of Congressional Weddings:
The Hill (3/16/2011)
Rep. Paul Gosar (R-Ariz.)

Before his stint in Congress, freshman Rep. Paul Gosar (R-Ariz.) worked as a dentist. Yet despite his experience mending teeth, there was nothing he could do when the priest officiating his wedding more than 20 years ago lost his dentures the night before the congressman was scheduled to get hitched.

The priest came down with a stomach flu just hours before Gosar’s wedding in western Wyoming, and mistakenly flushed his dentures down the toilet, too late for anyone to help find a replacement set of teeth.

“There’s a picture of my wife with Father Flanagan, and he’s smiling like Irish tomorrow, he’s showing all his gums and my wife is smiling with all her white teeth,” Gosar said. “It’s a picture to behold.”

Gosar met his wife, Maude, while working in his dental practice in Arizona. His friends always told him a female medical supply saleswoman would walk into his practice one day and sell him “more than he wanted to bite off.” Gosar said that’s exactly what happened with Maude.

She came into his practice to try and sell Yellow Pages advertising, but instead came out with a date.

The two immediately hit it off. Gosar took Maude out to dinner, but the food they ordered sat and got cold as they talked and talked about their large families and common stories from their childhoods.

“She’s the sixth of seven; I’m the first of 10. She’s from a family of five girls and two boys; I’m from a family of seven boys and three girls … They had a milk cow named Rosie; we had a milk cow named Rosie. We had so many stories going back and forth, and that’s how I met my wife,” Gosar said, laughing as he recalled the memory.

A year and a half later, Gosar proposed.

Gosar, Maude and their large families gathered for an outdoor picnic wedding in his hometown of Pinedale, Wyo., on July 30, 1988.

The late-afternoon wedding was on one of the warmest days of the year, Gosar said, and the couple and their guests had a great time dancing and socializing.

“A wedding is a family affair. It’s one of those times where everyone comes back, they leave all of the trials and tribulations of daily life behind, and it’s a joyous occasion,” Gosar said. “It’s a time you get to see everybody, and from a big family … everyone comes from all over.”

ARIZONA TURNS 105 YEARS OLD

Happy 105th Birthday to the great state of Arizona! There is so much to celebrate in the Grand Canyon State, and I'm proud to call it home.

We are in a prime position to lead the nation as one of America’s fastest growing economic regions. I'm honored to serve our amazing communities and will continue to enact real solutions that allow the state I love to grow and prosper.

It was a pleasure to have Vice President Mike Pence join the House Freedom Caucus this week as we work to deliver solutions for the American people. He genuinely cares about our agenda and took time out of his schedule to listen and learn about our legislative priorities for the 115th Congress.

Always great to meet with western tribal leaders including Vice Chairman of the Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara (MHA) Nation, Randy Phelan (pictured 2nd from the left) along with President Trump's Advisor on Indian Affairs, Carlyle Begay (pictured far right).

WESTERN CAUCUS UPDATE:

This week's Congressional Western Caucus Weekly Address comes from Washington State Congressman, Dan Newhouse who serves as an Executive Committee Member of the Western Caucus. Click on the picture below to watch.

As always, you can follow everything I am working on in Arizona and Washington, D.C. through my website (https://gosar.house.gov) on Twitter @RepGosar, through Facebook at Rep. Paul Gosar or on Instagram at RepGosar.

Sincerely,

Paul A. Gosar, D.D.S.
Member of Congress