Dear ,

I hope you and your family had a safe Independence Day! Let's take a look at some of my current priorities for the residents of Arizona’s First Congressional District.

Total Interest on Our National Debt Has More Than DOUBLED Since 2021

As the interest rates on the national debt increase, creditors will become increasingly wary of participating in the U.S. bond market, further exacerbating our ability to service—the cost—of the skyrocketing national debt. From a historical perspective, one of the major reasons that Great Britain and France lost their global dominance was from taking on too much debt that they couldn't pay back. Raising interest rates has been the Fed's main solution to inflation, and while inflation has recently abated, it has made the interest on the national debt increasingly worse. I've reminded our brothers and sisters that interest costs will surpass defense spending by the end of 2024 and Social Security in 2051. Be sure to tune in to watch my weekly floor speech tomorrow as I dive deeper into why this is highly problematic for the United States.

Phoenix Just Experienced Its Hottest June on Record

- There has been an 84% increase in possible heat related deaths, totaling 175 lives lost due to heat-related causes just this year.
- The Phoenix Fire Department has responded to 424 heat-related emergency calls in 2024 alone.
- Almost a third of heat-related deaths this year have involved members of the homeless population.

These statistics should be an alarming reminder to take the heat seriously. Health officials have advised to stay indoors and out of the sun when temperatures are extreme. When outdoors, wear loose-fitting clothing and keep a spray bottle or damp towel handy. Keep an eye on any children or elderly people in your life, as they may be more vulnerable to extreme heat. Stay safe and be smart as we may continue to experience record breaking temperatures this summer.

Academy Nominations – Application Portal Is Now Live on My Website

As your Congressman, I have the privilege of nominating a limited number of students for scholarships to attend a military service academy each year. The U.S. Service Academies are among the most highly respected educational programs in the nation. To be admitted to an academy, applicants must meet stringent academic, physical and medical requirements specified by public law. As a cadet/midshipman at the academy, students will be provided a fully-funded four-year college education. The honor of attending an academy comes with an obligation and commitment to serve for a minimum of five years upon graduation. To learn more about the congressional application process for high school students, specifically rising high school seniors, review the application portal for AZ-01, especially upcoming applicant deadlines! 

Personal Information is a Private Property Right

Click here or on the image above to hear more about my legislation.

So many bad actors are looking to profit off of our information. Our solution is the User Data Privacy Act, and the goal is to establish stricter requirements for websites and other digital platforms that store information to track users over time.

I have always believed data is a private property right, meaning it belongs to YOU as an American citizen. There should be safeguards in place for your property, shall you decide to share it with anyone else – just like every other entity that you as an American take ownership of. This is one of the only ways we can actually protect ourselves from bad actors, and sometimes, even our own selves.

Recognizing Some Amazing Citizens of AZ-01 

This week, I wanted to recognize the creators of Rancher Hat Bar– a creative, accessorizing experience like no other, where customers can design their own one-of-a-kind hat!

Their story started out of a vintage camper trailer in January of 2023 and quickly grew into two storefronts in a short nine months. April 2023 marked the first location in Folsom, California, and September 2023 launched the newest storefront located in the heart of Arizona's First Congressional District– Scottsdale, Arizona! The very first employee was hired in June of 2023. Fast forward to May 2024 where Rancher Hat Bar now has 30 employees with five high level management positions. You can expect to see five more stores by the end of Quarter I in 2025. 

What I’m Reading & Why It Matters

Only 31% of taxpayers were able to reach a human when they called the Internal Revenue Service this past tax season, the Taxpayer Advocate Service detailed in a recent report. The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) boasts a phone service score of 88%, but they do not consider the callers who hung up in frustration or those who are redirected to an automated voice message. To solve this problem, the IRS proposed to hire its way out of the problem without regard to cost or level of service provided to the taxpayer, as evidenced by the 31% number above. The Taxpayer Advocate suggested we not "throw bodies at the problem" and instead "think differently." While still in a nascent stage of development, the expanded use of chatbots at the taxpayer service level could reduce the stress on call centers while modernizing service delivery, improving efficiency, and reducing the cost to the federal government. 

The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) recently approved a risky pilot program allowing Freddie Mac to purchase closed-end second mortgages to lower borrowing costs for first-time home buyers. While limited in scope, this pilot program will put the taxpayers on the hook for "equity-stripping" and placing greater demands on an already strained housing market. It will further put first-time home buyers out of reach from achieving their dreams by discouraging sellers while causing additional inflationary pressures by encouraging consumer spending. This new loan type represents the first of its kind to be offered by Freddie Mac or any government-sponsored enterprises, such as Fannie Mae, since they were nationalized as conservatorships after the 2008 financial crisis.

Now, this next article is a bit quirky, but I should share that a network of Russia-based websites is releasing fake stories created by AI to target Americans’ opinions about the upcoming election. For starters, a false story curated around a tale of the first lady of Ukraine buying a 4.5-million-euro Bugatti went viral before it was confirmed that it was fake. Many of these stories are targeted at raising distrust in American politics, United States foreign-aid spending, and Ukrainian corruption. Another example of a false story claimed that the FBI wire-tapped Donald Trump’s Florida resort. BBC Verify explains the techniques utilized to make these rumors seem easily believable, and even sourcing "facts" from publications that shut down years ago. The trick is that many of these released stories are spin-offs of actual happen

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