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.

Scottsdale Ranks in Top Five Best Cities for Working Parents

In a recent study put forth by CoworkingCafe, I am excited to announce that Scottsdale was ranked in the top five best cities to reside as a working parent, fostering environments that prioritize both personal and professional aspects of daily life. 

The study was conducted by evaluating U.S. cities with at least 200,000 residents across three main categories: Education (40%), Work (40%), and Health & Environment (20%). Metrics included childcare affordability, public school rankings and availability, share of remote workers, co-working space density, pediatrician availability, green space per capita, and air quality. Data was sourced from reputable organizations and adjusted for inflation to 2024, with comparative analysis determining the highest and lowest scores for each metric. 

The study highlights Scottsdale, Arizona as a top city for working parents, ranking fourth nationally. It also has the third-best percentage of household median income going to childcare at 12%. Additionally, 82% of Scottsdale workers are engaged in office jobs, with nearly 27% working remotely, ranking fourth and third in these categories! This makes Scottsdale an ideal location for balancing work and family life, and as a father myself, I am pleased to represent a population of such hardworking, yet nurturing individuals.

Preventatively Protect Yourself from Fraud Ahead of Medicare Enrollment This Fall 

The annual Medicare open enrollment period for 2025 will take place from October 15 to December 7, and it's important to be able to prevent fraud before it prohibits you from accessing your benefits. Medicare fraud and abuse can occur anywhere, making it essential to protect your Medicare number and personal information, and to regularly check your Medicare claims to avoid becoming a victim. To help spot and prevent Medicare fraud...

• Compare the dates and services on your calendar with the Medicare statements you receive to ensure you received each listed service and that all details are correct.
• Additionally, understand what a Medicare health or drug plan can and cannot do before joining, and stay informed about Medicare and recent scams.

As always, if you have any remaining questions or concerns, you can contact my district office at (480) 946-2411. 

Recognizing Some Amazing Citizens of AZ-01

This month, I had the opportunity to sit down with Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh to recognize their successful food drive and discuss areas of interest for future legislation.

Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh (HSS) is a 501(c)(3) voluntary organization dedicated to enhancing and promoting the appreciation of Hindu heritage, traditions, and values in the United States and across the world. We had a great conversation, particularly noting their dedication to civic responsibility and duty through community outreach projects, such as the successful food drive that they recently completed.

We also had the opportunity to discuss several important issues impacting HSS, such as the recent surge in attacks on Hindu temples, immigration, supply chain, and importance of and strengthening India’s relationship with the United States. It is important that we stand united with India, promoting our shared values and principles on the global stage and advancing our strategic, economic, and security interests beyond the Indo-Pacific region. Thank you all for coming to have this important conversation with me!

Princeton Pulse Podcast

Last week, I had the privilege of joining professor Heather Howard, the host of The Princeton Pulse Podcast, for a discussion regarding the integration and regulation of artificial intelligence to make life better, cheaper and easier for Americans. Alongside Professor Howard, I got to converse with Niraj Jha, an engineering professor at Princeton who is currently conducting research to develop a software package that could enhance the reliability of AI for medical diagnoses.

The Princeton Pulse Podcast highlights the vital connections between health research and policy. Hosted by Heather Howard, professor at Princeton University and former New Jersey Commissioner of Health and Senior Services, the show brings together scholars, policymakers, and other leaders to examine today’s most pressing health policy issues – domestically and globally. Guests discuss novel research at Princeton along with partnerships aimed at improving public health and reducing health disparities. Stay tuned to hear the full episode, which will release after Labor Day! Thanks again for having me on the podcast. 

Changes in Retirement Savings Rules to Know Before Year’s End

Investors should educate themselves on new retirement savings implications in order to stay prepared for the future. The provisions encompass everything from required minimum distributions (RMDs), to the accounts that can be used for specific retirement-plan contributions. Some important rules include:  

1. RMDs are no longer needed from Roth 401(k) plans, aligning them with Roth IRAs. 
2. Starting in 2026, individuals aged 50 and older with annual incomes over $145,000 must make catch-up contributions to Roth accounts. This income threshold will adjust with inflation. 
3. A new provision allows an older spouse who inherits an IRA from a younger deceased spouse to delay RMDs until the deceased spouse would have turned 73, using the IRS uniform lifetime table for potentially smaller RMDs. 
4. The penalty for missed RMDs has been reduced from 50% to 25% and can be further reduced to 10% if corrected within two years. 
5. There is now a three-year statute of limitations for missed RMDs from IRAs, starting from the filing of the income tax return for the relevant year. 
6. A six-year statute of limitations has been introduced for excess contributions to IRAs. Contributions must match taxable compensation, with annual limits of $7,000 for those under 50 and $8,000 for those 50 and older. 
7. Starting in 2023, Roth after-tax contributions are allowed for SEP and Simple IRAs, which are typically used by small employers and the self-employed. 
8. Employers can now offer Roth after-tax matching contributions to 401(k) plans. Employees must pay income tax on these contributions but benefit from tax-free earnings in the account. 

Shall you have any remaining questions, please contact my district office at (480) 946-2411. 

The Difference in Employment Rates: Comparing Today's Rates with Pre-Pandemic Rates

The unemployment rate was 3.4 at the beginning of 2023 and 3.7 by the end. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the current unemployment rate has risen to 4.3 as of July this year.

Among ranging demographics, we have seen unemployment rates rise during this current administration. Importantly, in February of 2020, the unemployment rate of Hispanic citizens was 4.3, Black citizens was 6.1, Asian citizens 2.5, and White citizens 3. Now, as of July 2024, unemployment rates of the same respective categories have risen, with Hispanic citizens at 5.3, Black citizens at 6.3, Asian citizens at 3.7, and white citizens at 3.8.

Did Your Family Escape the Arizona Heat This Summer?

One of my favorite parts about the summer season is getting to see magnificent footage shared with me by residents of Arizona's First Congressional District of various trips and travels throughout these few months.

This summer, Shirley & Ray Orndorff, a couple who live in Scottsdale but spend their summers elsewhere, had the privilege of traveling to South Lake Tahoe! They shared with me several photos of their adventure, with scenes of Mt. Tallac Trail and Fallen Leaf Lake. What great footage. 

Do you have travel photos that I can highlight in my weekly newsletter? Email them to David.Schweikert@mail.house.gov with a brief description of your experience. I would love to hear about your travels and be able to share them with the rest of AZ-01. 

What I'm Reading & Why It Matters

This week, I wanted to touch on an incredibly relevant and important topic: foreign misinformation ahead of our upcoming election. You may have seen me highlight before various articles that show the increasing prevalence of misinformation and disinformation being spread on social media utilizing artificial intelligence. As you may remember, Russia has long been a large perpetrator of working to influence elections for several years, and this time, they've started incorporating AI as part of their fear-mongering tactics. Russian operations leveraged generative AI to create false journalistic personas and disseminate stories on fictitious news sites, distorting information from real reporting. All of this research has come from Meta in their Q2 Adversarial Threat Report. 

The original intent of this report stems from a Russian covert influence operation linked to the
Internet Research Agency. The report includes assessment on six new covert influence operations from Russia, Vietnam and the United States. You read that right – it's happening in our own backyard. Since 2017, Meta has intercepted a total of 39 Russian covert influence operations, with operations focusing on common themes like hot-button issues, business interests of the targeted countries, and culture wars. 

Not only has Meta seen campaigns come out of the United States directly, a fictitious political advocacy group – the Patriots Run Project PRP – launched a state "chapter" right here in our state of Arizona, promoting step-by-step instructions on "how to dismantle the uniparty" in each respective state. Remembering that Meta just did away with their misinformation tracker, CrowdTangle, these continuing attempts serve as a reminder for us to challenge everything; do your own research and formulate an opinion based on facts – not fear nor feelings. 

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