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Dear Friend,
I hope you are doing very well. This past week was a busy one at home in the 6th district and in our nation's capital. Check out what I worked on below.
Introducing the FORWARD Act
Last week, I was proud to re-introduce the bipartisan FORWARD Act alongside Valley Fever Task Force co-chair Leader Kevin McCarthy and my other colleagues in the House. This legislation will address the issue of Valley Fever in three stages:
- Authorizes $20M annually in funding through FY26 to the National Institutes of Health for research on Valley Fever and other fungal diseases to combat them through vaccine and treatment development.
- Streamlines U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval process to develop diagnostics, treatments, and vaccines. Additionally, it will also leverage successful public-private partnerships to promote long-term collaboration between research groups focused on endemic fungal diseases.
- Extends FDA accelerated approval pathways, such as the priority review voucher program, for antifungal vaccines such as Valley Fever to incentive the development of treatments, cures, and vaccines.
It is of paramount importance to tackle this disease that impacts Arizona and much of the Southwest. Combatting Valley Fever once and for all requires increased awareness, research coordination, and funding that the FORWARD Act robustly provides. Together, we can prioritize the health and well-being of Arizonans and all of its visitors by advancing this research on Valley Fever and other diseases like it.
The IRS Wants Access to Your Bank Account
I, along with my Ways and Means GOP colleagues sent a letter to Treasury Secretary Yellen regarding the Biden Administration's plan to adopt a new, invasive banking policy. It is my goal to protect all Americans and their privacy from this intrusive government overreach because it will affect people of all incomes, low and high. Monitoring bank accounts for transaction flows over $600 to then be reported to the IRS under the guise of closing the so-called "tax gap" has been universally criticized by many, I have recently been a sponsor of legislation to prevent this from taking effect.
No American should be subject to unnecessary, warrantless monitoring of their financial and personal life. If this action goes through as part of the Democrats' $3.5 trillion spending plan, the IRS will be emboldened and unchecked in their ability to monitor you and your banking.
You may read the letter linked here.
Republican Women of the Hills Event
It was great to speak at the Republican Women of the Hills Event in Fountain Hills to discuss the red flag proposals and misguided spending within the Democrat's $3.5 trillion dollar reconciliation bill and the $1.2 trillion dollar infrastructure bill.
We cannot allow the left's narrative about Infrastructure and Reconciliation continue. Both pieces of legislation are cluttered with partisan priorities, guided under the illusion we’re fixing roads and postponing a debt collapse. In the end, the Biden Administration's spending will cost America almost $7 trillion dollars, forcing American's to eat the cost of corporate losses, on top of record high inflation onset by the current Administration's policies.
Republicans Urge the SSA to Reopen Field Offices Across the U.S.
Last week, I joined a letter calling on more than 1,500 Social Security field offices to resume their services and return back to a regular work schedule effective immediately. The services provided by these facilities are crucial to the well-being of our senior citizens and vulnerable populations.
To continue to stay closed, despite countless businesses and government institutions reopening nationwide, outright disregards the American people who need these services the most. We must reopen these facilities for those who have been patiently waiting for proper assistance for over a year now.
Thank you for taking the time to read my weekly update, I always appreciate hearing your thoughtful feedback.
If you are in need of assistance with a federal agency or have questions about the work I am doing, please do not hesitate to reach out to my office.
Sincerely,
David Schweikert
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