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Dear ,
I hope you and your family remain safe, happy and healthy during some unexpected times. Below, please find a few updates on my work last week for the residents of Arizona’s First Congressional District.
Soon, Bond Markets Will Dominate Economic Policy
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| Click here or on the image above to review my full remarks from last week’s speech. |
In my final House floor speech before Congress recessed for August, I revealed a few new charts updating our calculations. A massive portion of your 2024 income taxes paid to the government solely cover the cost of interest on our national debt. Since our gross interest totals $1.14 trillion, and this year's income tax receipts total $2.5 trillion, that means that 45.68% of all income taxes collected are used to pay down interest.
It's a brutal reminder, but since our country has become financially vulnerable, we're starting to lose our capability to compete as an economic superpower. Our economy is best supported by promoting innovation, encouraging technological advancements, and engaging in collaboration. There are solutions that don't involve higher taxing and aren't cut and burn. We are inherently protectionists of government bureaucracies and incumbent business models. Why isn't anyone trying to help disrupt the status quo? Why isn't anyone concerned about prioritizing morality for our Americans?
Schweikert in Committee: "Debate and Discourse? Absolutely American. Funding Hate? Unacceptable."
The Oversight Subcommittee of the House Ways & Means Committee held a hearing to discuss how tax-exempt organizations are funding antisemitism. Organizations registered as 501(c)(3) nonprofits have a history of abusing the tax code to hide the activities they support and fund or the sources of their donations. One glaring tactic I highlighted repeatedly during the hearing was “fiscal sponsorship” – a mechanism where one tax-exempt organization sponsors a non-tax-exempt organization for certain projects, essentially allowing the other group to inherit their tax-exempt status.
Alongside groups abusing their tax-exempt status, foreign actors have taken it upon themselves to promote misinformation online, when we have seen that half of the publications in America are fake. I believe 501(c)(3)s play an important role in American society, rest assured that I will continue my work to promote good actors continue their positive impact while shedding light on practices and bad actors.
Back to School for AZ-01 Students
As summer winds down, I want to extend my best wishes to all the families and faculty who are getting ready for the start of another exciting school year. Several schools across Arizona's First Congressional District begin classes in the coming weeks, and before we know it, the 2024-25 school year will be in full swing. Stay tuned for upcoming high school student opportunities, such as the Congressional App Challenge, Academy Nominations and Congressional Art Competition. Shall you ever find yourselves traveling to our Nation's Capitol, my offices can help you with that, too! Head to my website to find more details.
Explaining My Vote on Fiscal Year 2025 Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act
Last week, the House debated and voted on H.R. 8998, the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2025. Overall, the price tag of this legislation totaled $38.478 billion, with much of the cost attributing to the 895 earmarks that were included. Today, the federal deficit surpassed $35 trillion dollars, with interest payments ranked as our second highest federal expenditure. Right now, our Joint Economic Committee economists estimate that the national debt will end the fiscal year between $35.3 trillion and $35.5 trillion.
With all of this in mind, it is time to get our fiscal house in order. I hope my 'nay' vote on this legislation can spark further conversation with my colleagues so we can enact polices that can curb government spending, spur economic innovation, and reduce the federal deficit.
America & Arizona in the 2024 Paris Olympics
Since Friday, we've seen athletes compete and win medals all across America during the 2024 Paris Olympics. Here are some highlights display the athleticism of both our country and state:
- Kevin Durant, NBA player for the Phoenix Suns, shot 8-of-8 from the field, scoring 21 points in the first half, hitting 5-of-5 from 3 as Team USA blasted Serbia, 110-84, Sunday in its Group C opener of the 2024 Paris Olympics. He finished with 23 points, leading the US Team.
- The other half of the Suns duo, Devin Booker, had a good game himself, scoring 12 points with four-of-five from 3.
- Perry High School alumnus Jordan Howard scored four points off the bench for Puerto Rico. He grabbed six rebounds.
- Grand Canyon University's Trinity San Antonio led Puerto Rico in scoring 11 points. She grabbed four rebounds and had two assists.
- With the skateboarding event just recently being added to the Olympics, Arizona already has a rising star in 16-year-old Paige Heyn from Tempe, who placed 6th in Women's Street Skateboarding.
- Leon Marchand, French swimmer who has had Arizona native Michael Phelps as his coach and mentor, won the 400m individual medley gold, breaking a record previously held by Phelps. He is currently studying computer science at ASU.
What I’m Reading & Why It Matters
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"Billy" is a 41-year-old IT professional from Ethiopia who was enslaved for 16 months in a criminal empire was forced to scam strangers online by Chinese gangsters. The story is told by the Wall Street Journal, depicting gangsters who traffic people from remote lawless parts of Southeast Asia and force them to sit at computers all day, scamming strangers online. Tactics used by citizens forced to commit such fraudulent acts are nicknamed 'pig butchering' for the way the perpetrators "fatten up their victims by gaining their trust before taking their money and cutting them loose." While trapped in a criminal enclave in Myanmar, Billy had to assume the identity of ‘Alicia’ online and learn how to manipulate men into investing in entirely fraudulent schemes. Last year, Billy and other captives in his dormitory went on strike to protest this criminal behavior, but unfortunately, Billy was sadly and brutally punished and tortured, and his captors said he had to pay them $7,000 to be freed. The UN says that it is very difficult to track how many people have been victims of this type of crime, but it's estimated that hundreds of thousands of people have been trafficked like Billy from places like Myanmar and Cambodia. Billy says the worst part of the experience was having to execute the scam itself because of the consequences he imposed on so many victims’ lives. These scam operations often take place in large buildings or warehouses in industrial areas to remain inconspicuous. They even sometimes reside in close proximity to legitimate businesses to blend in. Most operations have a similar labor system with a strict and unfair hierarchy to intimidate the victims. There is little to no room for retaliation and these workers play into the online scam in order to stay alive.
I share this story with you to remind Arizonans that my offices can help protect constituents from fraud. Consumers are often a target of fraudulent and deceptive practices. Constituents can learn how to protect themselves by viewing information that helps them spot, stop, and avoid them. If you are being coerced to commit destructive acts that reflect a scenario like Billy's, there is a way out. Navigate to my website to find resources regarding consumer protection |