Dear Friend, 

I helped pass H.R. 2, the Secure the Border Act of 2023, and it's past time for the U.S. Senate to take it up. The border crisis is getting so bad even the media has finally noticed. After many months of denial – and nearly 7,000 illegals crossing our border daily – the Biden administration has decided to “surge” active-duty military personnel at the border.

In August, 232,972 illegal immigrants were encountered at our southern border - the highest total for August in the Department of Homeland Security’s history. FY 2023 has already seen over 2.3 million illegal immigrant encounters, surpassing last year's record.

Make no mistake, this crisis is the direct result of far-left open border policies. Here’s a look at Biden’s border crisis by the numbers.

·       There have been over six million illegal crossings across our southern border since Biden took office.

·       237,972 illegal immigrants were encountered at the southern border in August (a 27% increase since July).

·       151 people whose name appear on the terrorist watchlist were stopped at the southern border, more than the encounters in all of FY17-20 combined.

·       Cartels are making $13 billion a year by illegally smuggling immigrants in to the U.S.

During the president’s first 100 days in office, he took 94 executive actions on immigration that have only worsened the problem at the southern border, including stopping the border wall construction. 

The president also has only visited the southern border ONCE as cartels and drug smugglers continue to harm American lives everywhere, including in our own backyard of Western North Carolina. Meanwhile, House Democrats and this administration are silent.

House Budget update

America is drowning in debt, and I’m proud that after seven months of tenacious research and debate, I and the rest of the House Budget Committee have developed and introduced a solution to ‘Reverse the Curse.’ This budget resolution, the first passed in four years, reverses the runaway spending trends of the past and gets on a path to a balanced budget in ten years. Helping restore sound spending and budgeting principles was one of the primary reasons I asked to serve in Congress.

Our current $33 trillion debt is the largest in the world and our nation’s debt-to-GDP ratio is at its highest level since World War II.

Inflation is soaring and hurting American families. Since President Biden took office, everyday essentials are getting harder to afford and many cannot make ends meet. Republicans and Democrats must fight against this spending spree that is jeopardizing the future of our country. 

In addition, Medicare and Social Security are both set to become insolvent by 2033. One thing is clear, our fiscal house is not in order.

As Americans must budget their own money, Congress must do the same. The spending catastrophe cannot continue. Through my role on the House Budget Committee, I am helping to pave a way forward.

The recent downgrade of U.S. credit rating reminds us that our mounting pile of debt is because of a spending problem, not a revenue problem. The graph below shows how Biden’s out-of-touch economic policies are leading our country in the wrong direction.

This problem will require bipartisan solutions. The issue of a $33 trillion debt is not a Republican or Democrat issue – it is an American issue. It is critical that we put aside our differences and work together to confront our national debt.

The guiding principles of the House Budget will help reduce out-of-control spending and promote fiscal responsibility and economic growth.

Watch my remarks at the House Budget Committee Press Conference from this week here.

You can read the House Republicans plan to “Reverse the Curse,” here.

Impeachment inquiry

Since January, House Republicans have uncovered an overwhelming amount of evidence showing President Joe Biden lied to the American people about his knowledge and participation in his family’s influence peddling schemes.

The House of Representatives, including the Oversight and Accountability Committee on which I serve, has opened a formal impeachment inquiry into President Biden due to credible evidence of influence peddling conducted while he was vice president.

Based on the evidence of President Biden's abuse of public office for the personal gain of his family, Speaker McCarthy has opened an impeachment inquiry, which will be led by Oversight and Accountability Committee Chairman James Comer, Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan and Ways and Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith.

This impeachment inquiry is a significant escalation from the Oversight Committee's investigation and the American people must know the extent of Biden's involvement with his family's business deals and whether or not it threatens his decision-making ability as president.

This week, we will hold our first impeachment inquiry with legal and financial experts present to help review the evidence uncovered to date.

The American people deserve transparency and answers through the pursuit of objective facts so that they can know that public office is not for sale and that the federal government is not being used to hide the actions of a politically associated family.

I will continue to provide the people of WNC with updates into this inquiry as more information becomes available. 

Trail of Truth

Gracie Parker and her grandmother, Elke Kennedy, from Macon County are bravely engaging in a campaign to encourage lawmakers to provide resources to help our youth cope with traumatic events in their life. Gracie and Elke are visiting DC, where Gracie addressed the second annual Trail of Truth event.

Gracie is an advocate for raising awareness on youth mental health in America and she even spoke to the Republican Study Committee as my personal guest. Gracie is to be commended for her unwavering passion and commitment for helping others.   

Read more about the Trail of Truth event here.

Constituent services update

Since coming to Congress in January, constituent casework for the people of WNC was virtually non-existent. As many of you know, my team began our work in this office with zero active constituent cases.

Over the last nine months, we have been striving to deliver a federal government that works for you.

Our mobile office since January has made over 200 stops across the 11th district and driven over 8,000 miles meeting with hundreds of constituents. My team has opened over 1,400 new constituent cases and closed over 1,200 of those cases successfully.

In addition to closing successful casework, my team and I have been working alongside federal agencies to ensure that the money that is owed to the people is brought back to their pockets. Through casework alone, my team and I have brought back over $2.1 million dollars of federal monies owed to individuals living in Western North Carolina.

My number one priority will always be to keep NC-11 first in constituent services and deliver transparency and accountability for the people of Western North Carolina.

Pet Week

It’s Pet Week on Capitol Hill! My staff and I love animals, and here are some of the cherished pets from the Team Edwards staff.

The PACT Act

Attention veterans - the PACT Act enrollment period deadline is soon. Until 11:59pm local time on September 30, 2023, veterans who deployed to a combat zone, never enrolled in VA health care, and left active duty between September 11, 2001 and October 1, 2013 are eligible to enroll directly in VA health care. This special enrollment period gives veterans who served in Iraq, Afghanistan, and other combat zones an opportunity to enroll directly in VA health care without first applying for VA benefits. 

 VA encourages all of these veterans to visit VA.gov/PACT or call 1-800-MYVA411 to learn more and sign up for VA health care before the deadline.

For more information about how the PACT Act is helping veterans and their survivors, visit VA’s  PACT Act Dashboard. To apply for care or benefits today, visit VA.gov/PACT or call 1-800-MYVA411. Don’t wait, apply today!