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Dear ,

With each week of work, the holidays are approaching quicker! Below, please find a few updates on my work last week for the residents of Arizona’s First Congressional District.

Last week, The Joint Economic Committee called a hearing to discuss the implications of proposed tariffs from the incoming administration. I emphasized the importance of trade policy that maximizes production and tax receipts, with minimal economic distortions. We must remember the bipartisan interest in making such policies economically rational and to enhance the resilience and robustness of economic capital stock and productivity. 

Referring to the Congressional Budget Office’s (CBO) estimate on broad based tariffs, I pointed out that a 10 percent broad based tariff would reduce deficits $2.1 trillion over the decade, framing this as part of a broader fiscal math problem. I also expressed concern over rising nominal interest rates and underscored the long-term fiscal challenges posed by demographics. Click here or on the image above to view the full hearing. 

Season's Greetings from my Staff!

Protect Yourself from 'Smishing' Scams This Holiday Season

Smishing is a form of phishing that involves a text message or phone number. These scammers often attempt to disguise themselves as a government agency, bank, or other company to lend legitimacy to their claims. 

The criminals want to receive personally identifiable information (PII) about the victim such as: account usernames and passwords, Social Security number, date of birth, credit and debit card numbers, personal identification numbers (PINs), or other sensitive information.

USPS will not send customers text messages or e-mails without a customer first requesting the service with a tracking number, and it will NOT contain a link. If you did not initiate the tracking request for a specific package directly from USPS and it contains a link: don’t click the link!

For more information about these services and other products, please visit USPS TEXT TRACKING FAQs:

To protect yourself and others from consumer frauds, visit our fraud prevention page.

To report USPS related smishing, send an email to spam@uspis.gov.

• Without clicking on the web link, copy the body of the suspicious text message and paste into a new email.
• Provide your name in the email, and also attach a screenshot of the text message showing the phone number of the sender and the date sent.
• Include any relevant details in your email, for example: if you clicked the link, if you lost money, if you provided any personal information, or if you experienced any impacts to your credit or person.
• The Postal Inspection Service will contact you if more information is needed.
• Forward the smishing/text message to 7726 (this will assist with reporting the scam phone number).

Complaints of non-USPS related smishing can also be sent to any of the following law enforcement partners of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service:

• Forward to 7726 (this will assist with reporting the scam phone number).
• Report fraud to the Federal Trade Commission.
• The Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (FBI), Internet Crime Complaint Center (ic3)

Recognizing Some Amazing Citizens of AZ-01

Last weekend, I had a wonderful time attending the 24th Annual Spirit of Community Leadership Awards Luncheon, where I had incredible conversations with both emerging and established leaders across our Arizona community. The mission of Scottsdale Leadership is to inform, inspire and empower leaders to champion and strengthen the interests of the community.

Through powerful, transformative experiences during its leadership development programs, Scottsdale Leadership enhances the ability of leaders and creates engaged citizens who ensure a sustainable future for our community.

It is so refreshing to engage with humans who are concerned about our rapidly rising federal deficits and who understand that demographics are a large driver of government debt. Thank you, again, to Scottsdale Leadership for extending the invitation; I am grateful for events like these which bridge ideas from different generations to ultimately start a new wave of disruption. 

Healthy Holiday Recipes!

Just in time for holiday celebrations, The Juice Lady has two delicious mocktail recipes that you can use for holiday parties or ringing in the new year:

Watermelon, Coconut Water, Lemon Mocktail

Ingredients
6 cups of watermelon chunks (seeds removed)
1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup coconut water
Several drops liquid stevia
Sparkling water
Mint sprigs for garnish

Instructions 
Place the watermelon chunks, lemon juice, coconut water, and stevia in a blender and process until liquified (or you can juice up the produce and then add the stevia)! 
Poor over ice cubes. Add a splash of sparkling water and stir.
Garnish with a sprig of mint.

Cranberry-Orange Mocktail

Ingredients
1 cup fresh cranberries
1 orange, peeled
2 limes, peeled
1/2 cucumber, peeled
1-inch chuck ginger root, peeled if blending
1/2 cup sparkling water
Mint or rosemary for garnish

Instructions
(This recipe works best with a juicer for all ingredients.) If you only have a blender, cut all produce into small chunks and blend until liquified.  Pour juice over ice cubes and add sparkling water. Stir to combine. Garnish with mint or rosemary.

**A note from the nutritionist: "Spruce these recipes up by adding your own festive ice cubes! Add cranberries, small slices of lemon with peel, and/or herbs to ice cube trays. Fill ice cube trays with water and tuck in your garnishes. Freeze and enjoy!"

What I’m Reading & Why It Matters

The media has become a space full of bias, fueling polarization and misinformation. Is there an economic benefit or deficit to bias? This theory and question was derived from Matthew Gentzkow and Jesse Shapiro, who theorized that if the media affirms reader beliefs, news outlets will be more likely to alter their coverage to match their readers. Comparisons drawn between MSNBC and Fox News describes how partisan ideologies determine what media viewers access. "They also modeled the process by which ideologically inclined viewers gravitated to like-minded content and showed how Fox News viewership affected voting. Cable shows with lower channel numbers in a given market appear higher on the list of options and as a result have somewhat higher viewership. It turned out that having Fox News in a lower position shifted an area’s voting to the right."

Going even further into the media sphere, the cocktail of disinformation, conspiracy theories, and antisemitic narratives has been carried out by MintPress News, a far-left, Minneapolis-based website with pro-Assad and pro-Putin propaganda. And it's not just MintPress who's responsible. The online platform Red in Germany, alongside the U.S.-based website The Grayzone regularly promote left-wing, anti-Israel demonstrations which are advertised as revolutionary alternatives to mainstream press outlets. When it comes to foreign policy, it's imperative individuals do prior research before going down deep dives into "niche" media platforms. 

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

NEW: Bookmark Debt Dashboard - United States Joint Economic Committee to stay updated on our growing fiscal crisis.