Before the New Year, I want to reflect back on the many events of 2018. Besides the inflamed rhetoric, violence from ANTIFA and other leftists, the economy is booming, foreign countries now respect the United States, we are winning the trade wars, and there is a new and robust optimism in the country. I am proud to have been part of the historic tax code revision that directly led to the greatest economy in our lifetimes. I commend President Trump for his vision and tenacity and I look forward to working with him to make our nation stronger, safer, and more prosperous.

In 2018, I introduced a total of 20 pieces of legislation -- of those bills four of them passed the House. Included in the list of victories is the Cottonwood Land Exchange, which passed the House and would give the Verde Valley more recreational opportunities long sought by the residents. The La Paz County Land Conveyance Act passed the House and conveys federal land to the county to help it overcome its severe shortage of private land. Another bill I introduced -- the Black Mountain Range and Bullhead City Land Exchange -- would help the City of Bullhead City get much needed land along the Colorado River in its control and allow the local economy there to expand and grow.

As many of us out west understand, the federal government is not a great steward of the millions of acres it controls. According to the Congressional Research Service in 2017, 79 percent of the acreage burned in the West was on federal land, whereas only 16 percent of acreage burned in the East was on federal land. I am going to continue to push for land exchanges that give the citizens of the Fourth District of Arizona more control of the community they live in.

I’m always happy to see faces from Arizona’s Fourth Congressional District in Washington, DC. This year, my team was able to share the history of our nation’s capital to over 1,000 groups from Arizona on staff led tours of the capitol. In addition, we flew more than 180 flags over the capitol for individuals. I’m dedicated to ensuring the voices of Arizona Fourth Congressional District are represented in Washington. This year, my team responded to over 69,652 letters, phone calls and emails. Please keep writing and calling my office, your thoughts and input on the problems that face our country and state are always encouraging.

America's brave men and women in uniform are arguably our nation's greatest assets. Our veterans deserve the finest medical care our country can provide. I am committed to working on behalf of all of the veterans so that they receive the benefits and care they earned. This year, I helped with various grants to assist veterans, including money to the Jerry Ambrose Veterans Council of Mohave County in Kingman, to help improve their facility for veterans care.

Standing Up For ICE Agents
This summer, House Democrats called for the abolishment of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). To understand how radical of an idea this is we must first remember ICE was created to protect our nation after our country was attacked on 9/11. Since then, it has successfully arrested illegal aliens who were charged and convicted of crimes including sexual assault, kidnapping, and homicide. In 2018 ICE, removed 256,086 illegal aliens, reflecting an increase of 13 percent compared to 2017. The majority of removals (57 percent) were convicted criminals. Additionally, 5,914 of the removed illegal aliens were classified as either known or suspected gang members or terrorists, which is a nine percent increase compared to 2017. I fully support ICE agents and the agency’s mission to keep Americans safe. Those who would seek to “abolish” ICE jeopardize our safety and security. ICE has no greater supporter than me. Read my op-ed HERE

Saying “No” to Amnesty
This year, I fought endlessly to secure our border and close the dangerous loopholes in our immigration laws. Earlier this year, the House voted on the Border Security and Immigration Reform Act, better known as the 'compromise' bill. While the bill did have language for securing our border, it ultimately granted amnesty and therefore, I could not vote in favor of it. We cannot compromise our country's future by creating a special path for those not willing to wait in line. Under the bill, it was estimated that millions of illegal aliens would become eligible for legal status. Not only does this incentivize more illegal immigration, but it also fails to acknowledge our past mistakes. We must learn from our past in order to stop ourselves from committing the same mistakes.

Working To Secure Our Border
I joined U.S. Representatives Ken Buck (CO- 04) and Andy Biggs (AZ-05) to meet with former Attorney General Jeff Sessions. During the meeting, we discussed ways to partner with the attorney general on strengthening immigration enforcement by eliminating current loopholes, reducing false claims for asylum, reducing false claims for refugee status, and withholding funds for cities that refuse to enforce federal law or cooperate with federal law enforcement.

I assure you the fight is not over, and I will continue to fight for funding of the border wall and the security of the United States. The only pathway to achieving the American dream is by abiding by the laws of our sovereign nation. No amnesty. One of the primary functions of a Member of Congress is to provide funds for the defense of the nation, and I find it reprehensible we have not done so on our southern border. I will continue to stand strong and fight to secure our borders and uphold the rule of law.

I have continued to fight to shine a light on the egregious levels of misconduct and mishandling of sensitive information in the on-going investigations into the Hillary Clinton and the Presidential campaign. As a member of the House Oversight Committee, I have worked tirelessly to expose the facts and bring the American people to the table. A major part of this fight has been exposing the misconduct of Deputy Attorney General, Rod Rosenstein. He has repeatedly engaged in an obstruction of justice and obstruction of Congress. The delays, obfuscation and intransigence demonstrate a disregard for his sworn duties to the Constitution and the American people. In order to restore the power to the people, I called for the impeachment of Rosenstein. I will continue to fight to shine a light on the facts and ensure power is restored to the American people.

Once again I find myself infuriated about out-of-control, wasteful spending and a lack of leadership in Washington D.C. The American people gave Congress a clear mandate to reduce spending and shrink the size of the federal government. This spring, the House was forced to vote on a massive omnibus that failed to deliver on any of the promises to the American people. This is not how our founders intended our budget process to be. The American people must have a voice at the table. Congress must have the courage to fix our broken budget process and return to regular order. I will continue to keep my promise to Arizona’s Fourth Congressional district and vote against more wasteful federal spending.

I plan on doing the same thing in the 116th Congress as I have done since I was first elected to the House, fight for the people of Arizona’s Fourth Congressional district. Again, I encourage you to write, email or call my office and share your thoughts. Like I always say, trust is a series of promises kept. I will continue to earn your trust by delivering on my promise to guard against attacks on the Constitution and ensure every American can exercise their rights.

Sincerely,

Congressman Paul A. Gosar, D.D.S