District Update |December 21, 2020                                                                                 


Dear Friend,

I hope you are continuing to stay healthy and well.  Joyce, Olivia, and I wish everyone a safe and Merry Christmas. I hope you all enjoy time at home, relaxing with close family and loved ones.

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This weekend, Congress finally took action and released an end-of-year spending package, providing additional aid to millions of Americans before the holidays. This bill should have been passed months ago - I am incredibly frustrated with what my Democratic colleagues have done to our workers and small businesses who have pleaded for resources for months. 

Speaker Pelosi has caused irreversible economic damage, allowing a pandemic to be politicized. Too many of these resources may be coming too late, but will hopefully provide additional assistance and financial security for our communities.

Help Is On The Way

I wanted to break down the resources included in the end-of-year spending package being voted on tonight for you to understand. Here are some of the provisions included in the final package that we heard about most from you: 

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In addition, many of my legislative efforts to provide relief to workers and businesses were included in the deal: 

Small Business Provisions

  • H.R. 6821, I co-sponsored bipartisan legislation to ensure businesses are allowed to deduct their expenses if they utilized a PPP. I wrote a letter to Congressional leadership specifically requesting this fix be included in the COVID relief package.
  • Reopening PPP and allowing second draw loans – I have been an outspoken advocate for reopening the PPP and allowing a second round of loans to businesses hurt the most by the pandemic. After months of advocating for these changes, I am glad to see Congress finally reopen the program for small businesses in need.

Tax Provisions

  • Reducing the Medical Expense Deduction Income Threshold - I introduced legislation to provide financial relief to American families facing the burden of high health care costs by permanently reducing the income threshold for the medical expense deduction to 7.5%. Amidst a pandemic, this provision will help millions of Americans who claim this deduction each year, including those with chronic conditions, older Americans, and individuals with disabilities.

Healthcare Provisions

  • Surprise Medical Billing - legislation to protect patients from surprise bills, ensures physicians and other health workers don’t face economic harm or uncertainty, and protects all stakeholders, most importantly patients, while also ensuring a pathway for resolution of payment disputes for health care services that are consistent with private market practices.
  • Expanding access to mental health services through telehealth - This section expands access to telehealth services in Medicare to allow beneficiaries to receive mental health services via telehealth, including from the beneficiary’s home.
  • Supporting Foster Youth and Families through the Pandemic Act - provides temporary additional funding to support older foster youth, kin caregivers, at-risk families, state courts, adoptive families, and foster care prevention services, and allows older youth to remain in foster care during the pandemic.
  • COVID-19 Testing and Vaccine Distribution -  provides support for additional testing, vaccine acquisition, and distribution to accelerate our return to normalcy. In addition, our frontline healthcare workers, childcare centers, and schools will receive funding to assist with reopening for in-person learning that is safe for everyone.

These are just a few of the provisions I have been advocating to be included on behalf of Arizonans. If you would like to learn more about this legislation, I recommend checking each of these House Committee’s webpages for more information:

Tax Reform Anniversary

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Tomorrow we celebrate the third anniversary of the Republican-led Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. After tax reform was passed, we saw the middle-class experience record financial growth, unemployment drop to a 50-year low, and median household income soar to its highest level since the 1960s.

Our economy is on the right track, but there is still work to do in order to save our businesses and support American workers. We must be focused on returning to the record-low unemployment levels we saw earlier this year, along with generating new jobs for everyone to access.  I look forward to continuing to work with my colleagues on the House Ways and Means Committee to draft pro-growth tax policies to ensure every hard-working American is earning their fair share of wages and has the opportunity to succeed. 

Thank you for taking time to read my weekly e-newsletter. If our office can help answer any questions you may have, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us. 

Sincerely,

David Schweikert

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