Ensuring Transparency and Integrity:
I continue to fight to ensure your vote was counted and recorded fairly and legally, and as part of this effort I will continue to provide you with a weekly update on my efforts. I can assure you that there will be new things to highlight each week, as I will not rest until the state of Arizona proves that it did not undermine your democratic rights. One of my biggest concerns with this entire process has been the lack of transparency from the state government. We are not making any outrageous or difficult request, we are in fact asking for one simple act: to audit the count to ensure it is accurate. Yet, Secretary Hobbs and other state officials continue to reassure us that everything is fine, and even certified the election on these assurances. If everything is fine - then show us the evidence. The failure to be transparent speaks louder than their words of assurance. Therefore, last week I sent letters to Governor Ducey, Secretary Hobbs, Attorney General Brnovich, and the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors requesting records on the 2020 general election to gain access to any and all records covering: sharpies used to fill out ballots, the use of Dominion and Smartmatic voting systems, bids placed to service Arizona elections, jobs overseeing the election, all communication regarding an audit of the count, and more.

Votes:

Here we are, another week in Nancy Pelosi’s Democrat controlled Congress. Top priority last week: Big Cats and Weed. That’s right! While millions of Americans are suffering because of draconian shutdowns, Speaker Pelosi felt it was most important to decriminalize marijuana and outlaw private ownership of large jungle cats. We only have a few weeks left this Congress to pass a budget, deliver COVID relief and pass the NDAA. If Speaker Pelosi actually wanted to be productive last week, we could’ve had a hearing or passed my legislation to limit the liability shield of Big Tech companies under Section 230, a bill which now has 21 cosponsors including Democrat Tulsi Gabbard. We could’ve done the same with my legislation to end the Optional Practical Training program or “OPT” as it’s more commonly known. This is a program that provides unlimited visas to individuals who come to this country on an F1 visa. These foreign students simply shift from the F1 visa to OPT where they can then work and not have to pay payroll taxes but can also collect Medicare and Social Security, a double dip as you will, giving Americans in STEM a huge disadvantage when trying to find employment. There are so many better things we could’ve spent our time focusing on and I hope that next Congress, our increased numbers in the GOP, will cause Pelosi and the Democrats to do what’s best for Americans. You can guarantee that I will continue to put the pressure on.

Census Hearing:

Last week, the House Oversight Committee had a hearing on the 2020 Census. To give a little background, the committee has had many hearings this year on the census ranging from the citizenship question all the way to COVID's overall on the count impact. Since the Democrats are in the majority, they have the ability to call hearings on whatever they like. So throughout this year, time and time again, the Democrats have called multiple hearings with the goal of undermining the count of legal American citizens. This time was no different. The hearing was focused primarily around a process called “apportionment.” This is simply the reorganization of congressional seats based on population shifts. So for instance, if many individuals leave a state like New York while people start to flood a state like Arizona, the congressional seats will reflect an increase in Arizona and a decrease in New York. This also corresponds to electoral votes in presidential elections. 

In this hearing, Democrats made the case that because of COVID and everything that has happened in 2020, there is no possible way the U.S. Census Bureau would be able to finish it’s official count on time. That legal end date is December 31st. The significance of this date is once the count is completed, it goes to the President who will finalize the numbers. The President will then present the count to Congress who is expected to approve it for the reapportionment set to last the next ten years. By delaying this schedule, I believe Democrats are trying to push the final count to a new "potential" Biden Administration in order to manipulate the count but my colleagues and I have fought back with facts to ensure we finish the census on time in an accurate manner. I will not stand for the census to be a manipulated political tool.

The National Defense Authorization Act:

Last week was rather eventful for the potential passage of NDAA, specifically in the space of Section 230. As I mentioned earlier, Section 230 is the provision in the Communications Decency Act that gives broad, blanket immunity to Big Tech platforms allowing them to regulate content they deem as “objectionable.” This has been a problem not just for free speech but also competition, both items my bill “Stop the Censorship Act” addresses. Just recently, the President threatened to veto the NDAA unless Congress addresses section 230. I have been in talks with the White House, President Trump and Chief of Staff Mark Meadows about including my solution in negotiations. Congress needs to step up and face this issue head on. Big Tech is becoming out of control and it’s time to reel them in. There is a chance NDAA may have enough support to be veto proof but that’s not as easy as it sounds. I support the President in his fight and will do what I can to be a part of the solution.

Senate Passes India's Visa Pipeline Bill; Next Stop, The House:

Just recently, the Senate passed a bill called “Fairness for High Skilled Immigrants Act” which would simply eliminate the per country visa cap for foreign workers into the United States. Currently, every country has a max number of work visas they can receive for individuals from that country to work in the United States. This has created a bit of a backlog for countries that funnel tons of foreign workers into our country, the worst offender, India. 

To me, I feel this is completely tone deaf given the current US Unemployment. COVID restrictions and lockdowns ballooned our unemployment to almost 15%. It has gone down since then but it still sits around 6.7% or 10.7 million people. But now we want to increase competition for American workers in order to garner cheaper labor for big businesses? Absolutely not. Let’s also not forget that if this were to pass and be signed by the president, we would see the foreign visa pipeline industry flourish in countries like India and China where these foreign workers would most likely monopolize the tech field leaving Americans with higher competition and most likely needing to take a pay decreases just to stay in the field. This is wrong and I will fight like hell to prevent this from this passing the House. 

Outlook for the 117th Congress:

Also last week, House Democrats released the 2021 work schedule for the new Congress. Having barely been called to work over the last eight months because of COVID, the U.S. Government must and should return to work. How did House Democrats respond? They scheduled a mere 101 days in session next year, a 25% reduction. Speaker Pelosi’s “leadership” of this House has been a disgrace to its Constitutional role and the democratic principles it is built on. On top of this pathetic schedule, Speaker Pelosi also extended proxy voting, allowing representatives to phone in their votes rather than show up to work for their constituents. There are now rumors that Democrats are considering modifying a legislative process for the minority party known as a motion to recommit, which simply allows Republicans to get one final say on a bill before it is passed. Because Republicans have been so successful with this tactic in the 116th and because she will have a much smaller majority, Pelosi is considering trampling on these democratic rights because she knows her Liberal, Socialist agenda is out of touch with the American people and their representatives. But Republicans will fight on, and with the help of the Senate and our great democracy, we will continue to check the power of the federal government.

Fighting to End our Reliance on China and Other Adversarial Nations:

If you are a frequent reader of my newsletters, then you know that the NDAA, the annual defense policy bill, has been going through the conference committee process to resolve disputes between the House and Senate version. When the House considered its version of the NDAA, I introduced an amendment which would end America’s reliance on adversaries like China for critical and rare earth minerals by 2035. On Thursday, Congress released the final conference committee report and maintained my amendment, Section 842 titled Supply for Strategic and Critical Materials for the Department of Defense. I am very pleased that the House and Senate agreed to my provision and am proud that it will now get a chance to pass through Congress and be sent to President Trump. As the Chairman of the Western Caucus, member of the Natural Resources Committee, and Arizona representative, fighting to end our reliance on China and other adversarial nations for critical minerals has been one of my main focuses, and I am proud that my efforts have been ingrained in the defense and military policy of the United States.

You can view the NDAA conference report HERE.

Supporting The Hyde Amendment:

The Hyde Amendment is a crucial government policy to defend the right to life and protect religious liberties. Dating back to 1977, the Amendment is a legislative vehicle passed and continually supported by pro-life members of Congress which prevents the use of federal funds to pay for abortions. As your representative, I have always fought to protect the unborn, and the Hyde Amendment and other pro-life legislative vehicles prevents Congress from passing any laws contrary to our most basic founding ideals, by preventing Congress from using the power of the purse to fund abortions. That is why last week I joined Congressman Jim Banks in a letter defending the Amendment, highlighting its protection of over 2 million lives, and pledged my support to never vote for legislation which would weaken the Hyde Amendment and other pro-life protections. I am honored to join this letter and to support my good friend Congressman Banks who has just been elected the new Chairman of the Republican Study Committee, of which I am a member, where he and I will continue to use this platform to protect the right to life.  

Arizona Economic Development and Security:

Land ports of entry (LPOEs) serve a critical economic and national security role for the nation, something border states like Arizona know very well. The majority of American trade with Canada and Mexico flows through LPOEs, and they also serve an important role in Custom and Border Patrol’s mission to combat the illicit flow of drugs into our country. LPOEs play a vital role in the economic development and security for states like Arizona, and by extension the entire country. Unfortunately, many were constructed in the early 20th century and therefore are ill prepared to process the large volume of traffic running through them in the 21st century. LPOEs are desperately in need of modernization, which is why I joined the Arizona delegation and other border state members of Congress in a letter to the House and Senate Appropriations Committees requesting that the FY21 government spending bill include funding for LPOE modernization and construction. 

You can read more about this effort and view the letter HERE .

I work for YOU!

I want to serve my constituents in any way I can. Whether you need help with a federal agency, are trying to find out if federal grants are available for your project, or are considering applying to a service academy, my office is always here to help. 

• Help With a Federal Agency
• Federal Job Postings
• Help With Federal Grants
• Service  Academy Nominations

Additionally, the phone numbers for all of my offices are listed at the bottom of this email.