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Dear Brett,
Welcome back to my West Texas Wrap-Up. Please remember to follow me on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube for regular updates on how I am serving the people of West Texas!
Demanding Transparency & Accountability
In the aftermath of the attempted assassination of former President Trump, along with troubling reports of negligence in the Secret Service and Department of Homeland Security (DHS), I demanded DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas address critical concerns regarding the budgetary resources allocated to protective services for presidential candidates.
The Secret Service displayed a serious operational failure on July 13, 2024. I will ensure a full and complete account of this operational failure and bring light to the Secret Service's current and historic resource allocation.
My letter to Secretary Mayorkas demands an immediate disclosure of the resources allocated to DHS agencies, including the Secret Service, to protect presidential candidates. The letter requests that DHS:
- Provide a detailed breakdown of the budgetary resources dedicated to protective services for President Biden, the Republican nominee, and President Donald Trump from January to July 2024. This should encompass all relevant costs, including personnel, equipment, and operational expenditures.
- Provide a detailed breakdown of the budgetary resources dedicated to protective services for presidential candidates over the past four presidential cycles. This should encompass all relevant costs, including personnel, equipment, and operational expenditures.
- Provide a comprehensive breakdown of any adjustments made in response to the recent heightened security threats against the Republican nominee, and President Donald Trump.
- Detail the projected costs associated with these protective details leading up to the upcoming election. Understanding the anticipated financial obligations will help us evaluate and ensure the safety of our political leaders.
- Provide any communications records from either President Biden’s campaign or White House staff, the Republican nominee, and President Donald Trump’s staff requesting additional protective resources over the past year.
The American people, candidates, and presidents need to be reassured that political violence is unacceptable under any circumstance. We must ensure adequate security measures are in place to protect all candidates.
You can read my full letter here:
I also called for the immediate resignation of United States Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle. My official statement can be seen below:
“The facts surrounding the assassination attempt a week ago in PA are deeply troubling. I called for an immediate, thorough, and independent investigation along with vigorous congressional oversight.
“Since that time, the SS Director has continuously failed to provide a timely, transparent, and adequate response to the incident. And, now, we are learning that her agency may have lied about denying additional resources to the Trump campaign after multiple requests were made by her own agents.
“Her failed leadership put not only President Trump’s life in danger but the lives of her agents who bravely and without second thought shielded President Trump with their own bodies on that day.
“I, along with many of the American people, have lost faith in much of our federal government’s competence, professionalism, and integrity under President Biden.
“There must be an independent investigation of this matter and everyone involved must be held accountable for the tragic and egregious failures of the leadership of the Secret Service.
“Director Cheatle must resign immediately.”
Shortly thereafter, my colleagues on the House Oversight Committee held a hearing with Director Cheatle where she failed to provide adequate answers to even the simplest of questions from lawmakers on both sides of the aisle.
Following the hearing, Oversight Chairman Comer and Ranking Member Raskin sent a joint letter demanding Cheatle's immediate resignation. Director Cheatle has since resigned.
Fighting for American Oil & Gas
I led a bipartisan group of over 50 Members of Congress in demanding the Biden-Harris administration authorize liquified natural gas (LNG) export permits after a federal judge blocked the administration's ban on new permits.
Since their first day in office, the Biden-Harris administration has launched a unilateral assault on American oil and gas, choking the lifeblood of our economy, crushing consumers with high energy costs, and sending oil production overseas - enriching our adversaries like Russia and China.
Thankfully, Biden's ban on American LNG export permits was blocked. Yet, his administration is still dragging its heels on approving these permits in an attempt to placate the far-Left. It's critical that it swiftly approve stalled export permit applications to strengthen our economy, bolster our energy security, and restore American energy dominance.
View the full letter and list of signatories here.
Bleak Economic Outlook
The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) released its jobs report for July 2024, showing July's job growth was 65,000 LESS than job creation in June, and the unemployment rate rose for the fourth consecutive month - the highest unemployment rate since October 2021.
Policies have consequences, and the Biden-Harris administration's tax and spend agenda has resulted in stubborn inflation and a stagnant economy.
With low consumer confidence, high inflation and interest rates, and an underwhelming job market, Americans cannot afford four more years of failed economic policies.
Fighting for Rural America
The House passed the Department of the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act (H.R. 4821), which included two of my amendments fighting for Rural America.
Amendment #1: To defund the United States Fish and Wildlife Service's (USFWS) proposed expansion of the Muleshoe National Wildlife Refuge from 6,400 acres to 700,000 acres.
At a time when we have the highest level of indebtedness in the history of our nation, while we spend almost a trillion dollars in interest to service the debt, the last thing we need to do is spend money to buy up more land to somehow either appease an environmental group or maybe just achieve - what seems to be an odd objective - having the federal government own and operate a third of our land.
Click here to watch my speech on the proposed Muleshoe expansion.
Amendment #2: To defund the United States Fish and Wildlife Service’s (USFWS) rule to use an endangered species designation of several types of freshwater mussels to federalize over 1,500 miles of Texas rivers.
The critical habitat that I'm concerned most about is Rural America - the backbone of this country, the breadbasket and the energy basin that's feeding, clothing, and fueling America. The Biden administration has decided to list six freshwater mussel species that - in their own report, in their own words - is moderately healthy, and, in doing so, jeopardize the livelihoods, the way of life, and the tremendous contributions of our ag and energy producer and lock up 1,500 miles of rivers.
Click here to watch my Speech on USFWS designating several types of freshwater mussels as endangered.
Protecting Texas Children
Multiple whistleblowers have alleged Texas Children's Hospital in Houston illegally provides gender transition and medication and procedures to minors and fraudulently billed Medicaid for the treatments.
I'm leading my colleagues in demanding the Department of Justice to investigation this immediately.
Click here to read this exclusive story from 'The Texan'.
U.S. National Debt Surpasses $35 Trillion
Recently, the United States' national debt reached another alarming milestone - $35 trillion.
This $35 trillion in debt equates to:
- $104,497 per person
- $266,275 per household
- $483,889 per child
President Reagan's words $34 trillion ago still hold true today:
"We don't have a trillion-dollar debt because we haven't taxed enough; we have a trillion-dollar debt because we spend too much."
I believe Republican leadership in 2025 is our last best hope to restore fiscal responsibility before it's too late.
Plea Deal for 9/11 Masterminds
It was reported that the Department of Defense had agreed to a "plea deal" with the mastermind of al-Qaeda's 9/11 terrorist attacks, in addition to two accomplices, at Guantanamo Bay.
It is unconscionable that the Biden administration would allow the Defense Department to plea for anything less than the execution of the terrorists accused of carrying out the killing of almost 3,000 innocent Americans in the most horrific terrorist attacks against the American homeland in our history. Anything short of death to these terrorist murderers is a miscarriage of justice!
Following our outrage, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin revoked the plea deal and once again put the death penalty back on the table.
On Social Media
In the News
It is an honor and privilege to represent you in Congress. Please feel free to forward this newsletter to our fellow West Texans and encourage them to sign up here for this update.
Your friend and fellow West Texan,
Jodey C. Arrington
Member of Congress
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