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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.
The Biden Administration Just Turned a Blind Eye To The Terror Watchlist Suspects Entering America Illegally
If the hundreds of thousands of illegal drugs and substances coming into our country illegally aren't enough for the Biden Administration to enact critical legislation to address our ongoing border crisis, maybe the recent apprehension of an illegal Lebanese migrant directly associated with the Hezbollah terrorist group will. After his arrest, the detained terror suspect even admitted his intention was to enter the United States illegally to "make a bomb in the U.S.".
Other prominent Democrats have seen the toll that the crisis has taken directly on their citizens. NYC Mayor Eric Adams recently announced significant changes to the city’s “Right to Shelter” law, mandating that adult migrants are limited to no more than 30 days of housing services once they enter into the city’s aid system. This is not about partisan politics, and it never should have been. I will continue to urge the Administration to prioritize American citizens over individuals who have expressed malintent when entering the country illegally.
Chairing a Joint Economic Committee Hearing To Analyze Our Nation’s Fiscal Health
Click here to view my closing remarks from committee.
Last week, the Joint Economic Committee held a hearing to examine the current fiscal state of our country. Last month, the Congressional Budget Office projected that the deficit will be 5.6% of total GDP just this year. But in reality, that number could end up being much higher because current borrowing is over $95,000 per second. The federal government is spending more than it’s bringing in, leaving hardworking families to continue to suffer the burdensome consequences of higher interest rates and skyrocketing debt.
For the average Arizona household to maintain the same consumption habits they had in January 2021, they would need to spend $1,115 more each month. For comparison, the average U.S. household would have to spend $1,008 more each month. In the Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale area, headline inflation increased 2.2% year-over-year and core inflation increased 2.5% year-over-year. Since January 2021, headline inflation has increased by 23.6% and core inflation has increased by 23.3%.
The bottom line is if you live in the Phoenix-Scottsdale area and haven’t received a 23% pay increase in the last three years, you are poorer today than when President Biden took office.
My Clean Offset to the House-Passed Israel Aid Package
It's been 163 days since the barbarically attacked Israel, murdering over 1,200 innocent civilians and taking hundreds of hostages. Back in November, I introduced a financially paid-for amendment to H.R. 6126, the Israel Security Supplemental Appropriations Act of 2024. My amendment intended to rescind $22,000,000,000 in unobligated funding made available to the Non-recurring Expense Fund of the Department of Commerce instead of using unobligated funds that were provided for the Internal Revenue Service, which is ultimately what prevented this aid package from becoming law. Click here to watch my explanation and debate on my amendment.
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In light of the recent release of President Biden's Fiscal Year 2025 budget proposal, a reminder that federal debt held by the public would rise from 97.3% of GDP at the end of 2023 to 106% by 2030. This means debt would grow by $17,700,000,000,000 in 10 years, from $27,400,000,000,000 today, to $45,100,000,000,000 by the end of 2034. Get updates like these by signing up for my Daily Debt Monitor, which sends a comprehensive chart to your mobile device daily, outlining the rapid rise of our national debt. You'd be surprised to know how much we spend per second if you don't already know...
President Biden is Buying Your Votes With Your Own Money
Click here to watch my full floor speech.
I hope you feel the same chilling effect that I do when I explain that we have borrowed $3,000,000,000,000 to the deficit in the last year. The last thing our economy needs is an injection of trillions more in additional spending to cause our deficit to explode even more, yet that’s exactly what President Biden’s FY25 budget proposal calls for. Let's take a look at some of the most egregious policy proposals in this liberal grab bag.
1. The hardworking middle class will be impoverished. President Biden proposes $86,600,000,000,000 in new spending over the next decade — a 68.5% increase in spending, which he plans to justify with a $4,900,000,000,000 tax increase on American families and workers. In fact, the gross federal debt would increase by $18,200,000,000,000, growing from $34,500,000,000,000 today to $52,700,000,000,000 by 2034.
2. The baseline is projected to be well over $48,000,000,000,000. How do you run up this high of a deficit when the economy is supposedly doing well? Debt-to-GDP grows to 128.2% in 2028, the highest level in American history. Biden's budget proposal also increases debt held by the public 72% over the next decade, with deficit spending reaching $16,300,000,000,000 by 2034.
3. Middle-class taxes will increase if Biden allows TCJA provisions to expire. Current law mandates that the average single individual will pay $1,794 more in taxes by the end of 2025 if provisions from the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act aren’t renewed. The Biden administration is already relying on your taxes going up.
What I’m Reading & Why It Matters
I often say that the phrase "complex problems usually have simple solutions" is merely a myth. U.S. income-tax complexity remains a prime example as to why this is false. I'm currently reading an article that outlines the different opinions on income-tax simplification, where a seemingly well-deserved tax incentive that advances the public good might seem like a wasteful tax break to others. The article discusses the possibility of implementing a flat tax system in the United States, in which all taxpayers would pay the same percentage of their income as taxes. Tax simplification is laudable in its goal of providing individuals and businesses with clarity, certainty, and ease when interacting with the tax code. With that being said, lawmakers must carefully consider the potential drawbacks, such as the administrability of a flat tax proposal when defining what constitutes “income” or who qualifies as a “dependent,” and the potential effect on federal tax receipts as the U.S. government continues to borrow more than $95,000 per second.
I'm also reading about how drones have the potential to shape the future of warfare. Drones, being inexpensive and simply operated, are accessible to militaries across the globe, meaning that if the United States isn't prepared, these new technologies deployed at scale could shift the global balance of military power. The development of AI-operated machinery is underway, and when utilized in masses, unmanned drones have the potential to destroy even the most advanced platforms. It's likely that the nation that takes the lead in the AI arms race will possess extensive military advantage.
The last thing I'll share with you is a fascinating research article that outlines a big cause of partisan politics and how the desire for creating chaos in a certain system allows for one to obtain status in their pursuit. I'll stop myself before I spoil too much for you, but it's certainly worth a deeper dive... |