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.

Mourning the Loss of Three American Heroes Killed in Jordan

Over the weekend, I was devastated to learn about the tragic loss of three brave U.S. service members who were killed in a drone attack by Iran-backed militants in Jordan which also left dozens of troops injured, including members of the Arizona National Guard. I join Americans everywhere in prayer for the families of these American heroes who gave their lives in defense of our great nation. Those who orchestrated this cowardly attack must be held fully accountable. I urge the Biden Administration to hold accountable the perpetrators of the attack and to do whatever is necessary to protect and advocate for our troops and our country. 

Further Proof That Every State is a Border State 

According to a Customs and Border Protections source, Arizona is now tied with California for the most illegal migrant encounters at the border. On January 27, the Tucson sector saw over 2,200 crossings in one day. In fact, Tucson saw a record high of border crossings in the month of December with over 80,000 crossings, ranking Tucson as the busiest corridor of the nine sectors bordering Mexico. 

Deafening accounts of illegal migrants committing heinous crimes are surfacing daily. Texas recently apprehended a man wanted for murder. Boston Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) re-arrested an illegal migrant from Haiti, who was charged with rape of a disabled individual. New Jersey Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) arrested an illegal migrant from Colombia who is wanted for murder. Even in our Nation's Capitol, ERO apprehended an illegal migrant from Honduras who was previously charged with possession and production of child sexual abuse material. Federal authorities recently arrested an al-Shabaab terrorist in Minnesota after he was caught illegally crossing the southern border in March 2023, only to be released into the country and allowed to freely roam around for nearly a year. Finally, not too far from Arizona's First Congressional District, Tucson Sector agents apprehended two illegal migrants, one with a felony conviction of second-degree murder, and the second with a felony conviction of endangering the welfare of a child. 

As long as the Biden Administration continues to turn a blind eye to all these dangerous accounts of illegal immigration, American citizens will continue to reap the unjustified consequences. 

Tax Filing Season Is Upon Us

Today, January 29, 2024, is the first day you can officially file your 2023 taxes. According to the IRS, more than 146 million individual tax returns are expected to be filed in 2023. Don’t delay – this year, Tax Day falls on April 15, meaning you have 78 days to file last year’s tax returns.

The Internal Revenue Service recommends filing returns electronically with direct deposit for faster delivery of refunds and avoid delays. For additional resources, please visit the IRS website to ensure a smooth filing process without any hiccups.

Upcoming Mobile Office Hours With My District Office

My district casework team advocates for Arizona’s 1st District constituency to ensure your voice is heard when navigating through various federal agency benefits and programs, while returning thousands of dollars in refunds and claims to our community members.  We are here to assist you with questions involving federal agencies and my team may be in your neighborhood to offer one-on-one casework assistance. Check dates and times below or call the district office at (480) 946-2411 for more information or immediate assistance with constituent service matters.

Government reports strong economic growth in 4th quarter 2023, BUT…

Last Thursday the government reported that the economy grew at an inflation adjusted rate of 3.3 percent during the final quarter of2023. Over the year (4th quarter2023 vs. 4th quarter 2022) real GDP grew by 3.1 percent.  This is good news from an economic growth perspective, BUT …

Over the course of the year, the growth of our National Debt significantly outstripped the growth of our economy.  Nominal GDP grew by 5.8 percent or $1.530 trillion.  At the same time, our total national debt grew by over 8.2 percent or $2.82 trillion.
This demonstrates that we are on a fiscally unsustainable path and that more spending is not the answer.  We need to recognize that we need to address our fiscal mess sooner than later.

Even if we focus only on publicly held debt, the picture is just as bleak. Publicly held debt increased by more than $2.4 trillion (9.87 percent) or 9.87 percent or nearly $900 billion more than the growth of the economy.

What Does It Mean?
If we want to put our country back on a fiscally sustainable path, we cannot allow debt to continue growing faster than the economy.

Publicly Held Debt Has Topped $27 Trillion

Here’s a reminder that the interest costs of servicing the current national debt during Fiscal year 2024 will approach $1.1 trillion. These numbers are, and will continue to be, increasingly unsustainable. Borrowing costs are hastily approaching $100,000 per second since the beginning of fiscal year. At this current rate, the federal government will borrow $1 trillion every 140 days.

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. 

All Your Passport & Travel Questions Answered

Just in time for spring break travel, the Western Passport Center is hosting a valley-wide passport fair for first time applicants to make sure you’re set to travel internationally. Mark your calendars for Saturday, February 10th from 9 a.m. - 4 p.m. Please review the information below for further guidance on this upcoming event hosted by the State Department.

• Location: City of Chandler City Hall, 175 S Arizona Ave, Chandler AZ 85225    
• Date: Saturday, February 10, 2024
• Time: 9 a.m. - 4 p.m.
• Appointments are required: Appointments can be scheduled beginning January 29, 2024. To schedule, go to chandleraz.gov/passports
• Applications accepted: First-time applicants ONLY, minors under 16, and others using the DS-11 form. (Renewal applicants eligible to use the DS-82 form, should renew by mail.)
• Photos: Photo services will not be available. Customers are encouraged to bring their own valid passport photos. 
• Fees: Customers will pay an application fee to the U.S. Department of State in the form of a check or money order and a separate execution fee of $35.00, in the form of a check, money order, cash, or credit card.  
• Acceptance facility website: Passport Services | City of Chandler (chandleraz.gov)
• Other information: If appointments fill up for the February 10 event, customers may select other days to book appointments.  For more information about processing times, fees, forms, and photo requirements, go to travel.state.gov.

Recognizing Some Amazing Citizens of AZ-01

Last week, I had the opportunity to pay homage to spaces that honor the brave men and women who’ve put their lives on the line to protect our freedoms. I visited with the Cave Creek Museum leadership and Board of Directors to discuss their Veterans’ Memory Garden: A Space for Living Memory. The Veterans’ Memory Garden at Cave Creek Museum had six distinct areas dedicated to each military branch and a seventh exclusively for Cave Creek Veterans.

The project launched in February 2023 and was intended to honor Veterans by being a destination that people return to over time. The concept was inspired by the Veterans Heritage Project which collects the stories of veterans in audio and written form and expresses them through art pieces that are made in collaboration between master artists and veterans. The dedication ceremony is planned for December 2024.

What I’m Reading & Why It Matters

There’s been further studies presented showing that taxing-the-rich models “would likely reduce new revenues to somewhere between 1% and 1.5% of GDP, or $3.5 trillion to $5 trillion over the next decade,” per Brian Riedl with the Manhattan Institute. If Congress were to liquidate every last dime of billionaire wealth, it wouldn’t even be enough to fund the federal government for an entire year. With the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) projecting that our deficits will surpass 10% of GDP over the course of the next three decades, Riedl finds that taxing-the-rich model, at most, might raise additional revenue equivalent to 2% GDP.

Blastomycosis, a rare fungal infection found in wet soil and decaying logs and leaves, is taking shape in regions outside of its common geographic occurrence, according to the CDC. Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Doctor Arturo Casadevall has surfaced research that points to the recent spread of fungal infections across unassuming areas in the United States. Region-specific fungal infections, also called “endemic mycosis”, have increasingly been found to appear outside the original region. Valley fever, which falls under the endemic mycosis category, has also been found to spread across the country as climates increase. 

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