Dear ,

I hope you and your family are doing well! Below, please find a few updates on my work last week for the residents of Arizona’s First Congressional District.

We're Borrowing $1 Trillion Every 140 Days

Click here or on the image above to view my remarks.

Last week, I delivered a speech on the House Floor to note that borrowing costs are approaching $100,000 per second since the beginning of Fiscal Year 2024 and that at the current rate, the federal government will borrow $1 trillion every 140 days. I also pointed out that the national debt has increased by $2.2 trillion since the passage of the Fiscal Responsibility Act, and without significant policies to stabilize the debt-to-GDP ratio, the nation's fiscal health will continue to unravel.

Tax Relief for American Families and Workers Act Framework Released

Today, House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith (MO-08) and Senate Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden (D-OR) released the framework for the bipartisan, bicameral Tax Relief for American Families and Workers Act, which includes pro-growth and pro-family policies to enhance U.S. competitiveness and assist hardworking Americans. 

The agreement locks in pro-growth tax policies like immediate research and development (R&D) expensing so businesses can deduct the cost of their R&D investments now instead of over a period of 5 years. It also includes interest deductibility to help small- and medium-sized businesses meet payroll and continue to grow, 100% expensing for business investments in U.S. facilities, equipment, and machines, and ends double taxation on businesses and workers operating in both the U.S. and Taiwan.

Notably, the framework maintains a child tax credit structure that rewards work by rejecting extreme policies advocated by far-left groups that would eliminate existing work requirements or allow the IRS to send out recurring checks. This framework locks in over $600 billion in proven pro-growth tax policies that will support over 21 million jobs.

Speaker Johnson's Topline Spending Agreement in Comparison With the Fiscal Responsibility Act

The Fiscal Responsibility Act (FRA) set caps on defense and nondefense discretionary spending for FY 2024. The caps are $886 billion for defense and $704 billion for nondefense spending. However, at the time of passage, lawmakers also agreed to “side deals” to increase the nondefense side of the ledger by $69 billion to $773 billion total, resulting in essentially flat funding between FY 2023 and 2024. 

After eight months of partisan bickering, including three weeks of pure chaos caused by eight of my Republican colleagues to depose our Speaker, the government funding agreement we negotiated last week ended up being nearly identical to the spending levels negotiated in the FRA. My one question to my brothers and sisters responsible for this mayhem — was it worth it?

Examining the Crisis at Arizona's Southern Border

The above picture was taken last year along Arizona’s border with Mexico. In the picture are dozens of Mexico-validated visas discarded by migrants looking to enter the United States illegally. The ongoing crisis along our border with Mexico represents a major policy failure by the Biden administration. Recently, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas admitted that 85% of those illegal migrants detained by federal authorities are allowed to enter into the United States.

It is imperative that we treat border security with the seriousness the issue demands. The unwillingness or inability of the Biden administration to do that is needlessly jeopardizing both public safety and national security. 

I have long believed that border security should be an issue devoid of partisanship. Protecting the integrity of our borders is something we should all want to see. Tomorrow, House Oversight Committee Chair James Comer will be holding a hearing at 8 a.m. MT to examine the Biden administration’s handling of the border crisis. It is my hope that the administration will come forth with real and tangible solutions to address this crisis in a serious and meaningful way.

The Rapid Rise of Our Growing Debt

On Friday, January 5, 2024, the Treasury Department released data regarding the average interest rates paid on outstanding public debt (gross or total national debt). In the first three months of Fiscal Year 2024, the total debt has increased by $834.16 Billion. Over the same period, gross interest costs were $288.01 billion. That amount of interest is 34.53% of the total increase in debt.

Daily Debt Monitor Text Message Sign-Up

For those of you who are not yet a part of the thousands of subscribers getting real-time updates about our soaring national debt, head to schweikert.house.gov to sign up. Scroll past my newsletter sign-up and fill out the required information underneath the ‘Daily Debt Monitor’ table.

As we have seen on a daily basis, the numbers are only increasing, and at a rapid rate. At the current pace, we will cross $35 trillion threshold during May this year.

 Know Someone Who Deserves Congressional Recognition?

Do you know of a member of our community that is deserving of congressional recognition based on their hard work, accomplishments, or community service? If so, please take a moment to highlight them by requesting a Certificate of Congressional Recognition from Arizona’s First Congressional District. 

There are so many amazing businesses and volunteers who have gone above and beyond these last few months for our AZ-01 community. I want to recognize these individuals for their selfless actions and their daily deeds to improve our communities.

What I’m Reading & Why It Matters

With rising scrutiny and concerns surrounding citizens health and safety, the food industry, especially heavily processed food producers, could face new legislation that creates new dietary and packaging guidelines. The ongoing scientific research regarding nutrition has posed a question as to why large producers of "ultra-processed" foods haven't been held to higher dietary guidelines. Pushback includes arguments like more ingredients doesn't necessarily make ultra-processed foods less healthy, or that the term "ultra-processed" does not equate with being unhealthy. 

An already-approved FDA drug was found to reprogram pancreatic ductal cells, helping to restore and regenerate insulin in the pancreas. These cells can actually sense the amount of insulin the body has produced, which could lead to the elimination of typical injection methods for blood glucose management. With these tests taking only 48 hours to display positive results, we could remove a significant burden from the 422 million people worldwide living with diabetes.

Fresh, innovative technologies are continuing to be brought to the market, including products like "MagicMirror", which can determine a person's blood pressure, or even the "BeamO", a heart rate and blood oxygen level thermometer that works like a stethoscope.

Thank you for taking the time to read this update on my latest work in Washington, D.C. and Arizona’s First Congressional District! If you have any comments or concerns, I encourage you to reach out to my office.

Sincerely,

David Schweikert