Dear Friend,
 
Did you see evidence of collusion between Russia and the Trump campaign in 2016?
 
“No,” U.S. Department of Justice Special Counsel John Durham responded to my line of questioning (click here to watch).
 
This week, the House Judiciary Committee welcomed Special Counsel Durham for testimony on his recent bombshell report regarding the 2016 Trump-Russia collusion probe.
 
His report found that the FBI "failed to uphold their mission of strict fidelity to the law.” They lacked “any actual evidence of collusion,” and that they had “prejudice against Trump” as well as “confirmation bias.” Yet, despite no proof, FBI leadership pushed on with their Crossfire Hurricane investigation.
 
To sum up the hoax, Joe Biden and Barack Obama knew about it, Hillary Clinton fabricated it, the FBI orchestrated it, and the mainstream media sold it.

Some Americans – even Democrats serving in Congress – still believe and are pushing the narrative that Trump-Russia collusion happened. It didn’t. While I am frustrated that Mr. Durham’s investigation did not get testimony from some of the corrupt leaders within the FBI, I am glad he was able to deliver the truth to the American people.

The FBI has attempted to make repeated assurances that they have made changes to ensure political bias does not happen again, but apparently, that was easier said than done.

Just this week, news came down that Hunter Biden was offered a sweetheart deal plea deal for gun crimes and federal tax evasion. As a result of pleading guilty, he will likely not serve jail time.
 
Any other American would be facing up to 15 years in federal prison for lying on ATF Form 4473, as well as up to five years in prison for failing to pay federal taxes. Hunter Biden gets a slap on the wrist because of his last name.
 
To add fuel to our unfair justice system, two IRS whistleblowers came forward yesterday to testify that the FBI, DOJ, and IRS all intervened to obstruct justice and protect Hunter Biden in his tax evasion case (more on that later).
 
America cannot survive with this two-tiered system of justice. The FBI has become a Praetorian Guard – protecting the powerful, wealthy, and politically connected over bringing justice to the American people.
 
Our intelligence agencies need real reforms, and it’s up to Congress to make them. House Republicans must use the power of the purse to hold the FBI and DOJ accountable. I also support using the Holman Rule, which will withhold the salaries of some of the corrupt bureaucrats in agency leadership.
 
Thanks for starting your weekend off with us. We will be back in two weeks with our next edition of the Telegram. I hope you have a prideful and patriotic 4th of July.

Sincerely,





Tom Tiffany
Member of Congress

Click here or on the photo above to watch my remarks in this week’s Judiciary hearing.

Hunter Biden’s Bombshells Continue
Without the support of any Democrat members, the House Ways and Means Committee voted yesterday to release the testimony of two brave IRS whistleblowers who came forward to inform the American public of the “preferential treatment” the DOJ, FBI, and IRS gave Hunter Biden in his tax evasion case. Democrats wanted to withhold the information from the public, but House Republicans are exposing the truth. According to the whistleblowers, the FBI withheld information, the DOJ interfered, and the IRS retaliated against them for telling the truth. While feds covering up for the Biden family doesn’t come as a surprise to many of us, that wasn’t all their testimony revealed. It also showed that the DOJ blocked search warrants, wouldn’t let investigators ask questions about “dad,” and even that Hunter used his dad’s power as leverage in a business deal with a Chinese Communist official. The reported text sent from Hunter included “I am sitting here with my father and…will make certain that between the man sitting next to me and every person he knows and my ability to forever hold a grudge that you will regret not following my direction.” You can view a copy of that text here. How many more of these Biden bombshells have to get released before the American people get justice? Enough is enough.
 
Protecting borrowers from Biden’s penalty on good credit
As Telegram readers may remember, last month President Biden’s new socialist-style mandate that punishes homebuyers with good credit scores officially went into effect. Biden’s bizarre new rule rewards homebuyers with lower credit ratings by giving them better mortgage rates than they should qualify for. This comes at the expense of homebuyers with good ratings who will now be forced to fork over additional fees to help pay for the mortgages of those riskier borrowers. This move drew bipartisan backlash as it could end up putting the entire housing market in jeopardy because it encourages high-risk borrowers to purchase homes that they cannot afford and usually wouldn’t qualify for. Raising housing costs when families are already struggling to make ends meet is bad enough, but doing so at a time when mortgage rates are at their highest level in 20 years, adds insult to injury. Today, the House of Representatives passed H.R. 3564 the Middle-Class Borrower Protection Act, which will stop Biden’s backward policy of punishing fiscally responsible middle-class Americans and forcing them to take on additional financial burdens in the name of “equity”. It passed on a bipartisan vote of 230-189 and is now heading to the Senate for further consideration. If you’d like to learn more about the bill, click here.
 
Biden, Blinken bow to China, snub Taiwan
It wasn’t too long ago that Communist China floated a slow-motion spy balloon across our country right under the Biden administration’s nose. China was never held accountable for this brazen violation of American sovereignty – and it looks like they never will. Earlier this week, President Biden seemed to downplay the incident, suggesting that Chinese dictator Xi Jinping “didn’t know” about the spy balloon. He even dispatched Secretary of State Antony Blinken halfway around the world to kowtow in person to China’s dictator and tell him that the balloon “chapter should be closed.” But that isn’t all. Blinken topped off his embarrassing appeasement tour by attacking our democratic friends in Taiwan. That doesn’t make sense, and it’s why I led a group of lawmakers in calling on Secretary Blinken to make a stop in Taiwan during his visit to the region. I also called Secretary Blinken out for the outrageous statements he made in Beijing. You can read the full text of my letter to Secretary Blinken here.
 
“Serenity” on Capitol Hill
Congratulations to Kassy Havel, an incoming junior at Wausau East High School on winning my 2023 Congressional Art Competition. Kassy’s “Serenity” will be displayed in the Cannon House Office Building Tunnel, the walkway that leads into the U.S. Capitol, for one year. Kassy and her parents were able to come out to Washington this week to see her artwork displayed and take a tour of the U.S. Capitol. This year my office received a record-breaking seventy submissions for our annual art competition, and I was truly amazed by the young artistic talent throughout the district.

Members of Congress and visitors alike can check out Kassy’s winning piece of art “Serenity,” which will be on display for a year in the U.S. Capitol.

Committee Update

Natural Resources
Protecting public access to public lands
It was a busy week in the Natural Resources Committee, as we had a markup on Wednesday and two hearings on Thursday. Our markup consisted of 6 bills, one of which is very noteworthy for our district and way of life in Wisconsin. The Protecting Access for Hunters and Anglers Act, which a cosponsor of, would stop the Biden administration from restricting access for sportsmen and women to use traditional lead ammunition and fishing tackle on federal lands and waters. This bill, along with the other five we considered, successfully passed through our committee. The first of our hearings on Thursday consisted of our full committee questioning the Chair of the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) in an oversight hearing of CEQ’s budget request. Initially, CEQ was supposed to just oversee the agency's compliance with NEPA, but over the last few decades, it has grown into something well outside the intent of its original mission, now pushing for environmental justice and pushing for a radical green energy agenda. Lastly, we wrapped up our week with a legislative hearing in the Federal Lands Subcommittee. The bipartisan group of bills we considered will reduce the federal footprint, cut bureaucratic red tape, and help close the digital divide. House Republicans remain committed to commonsense legislation that decreases the size of the federal estate to empower those who know how best to manage their lands – local communities.

Recent Legislation

Bridging the digital divide in rural America
This week, I reintroduced the ACCESS Rural America Act to ensure rural broadband providers are not hindered by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) registration and reporting requirements. This bipartisan legislation will allow smaller, locally owned broadband providers to expand broadband access in rural areas across the United States without fear of burdening regulations intended for large corporations. The Sarbanes-Oxley Act was signed into law in 2002 and established extensive regulations for companies. Due to the broad-brush approach that this law imposed, many smaller, locally owned providers increasingly find themselves tripped up by enhanced SEC registration and reporting requirements. For example, if a small company in Wisconsin is helping deploy networks in rural areas but has 500 or more not-accredited shareholders, then it must comply with the regulations set forth by the Sarbanes-Oxley Act and spend substantial amounts of money and resources on these reporting requirements to the SEC every year. This bill would increase the number of investors that prompts the SEC public reporting requirements from 500 to 2,000 persons for rural telecommunications companies receiving federal universal service support. This will help alleviate pressure on many of the businesses that are helping bridge the digital divide across America.
 
Reining in executive overreach
In his first year in office, President Biden implemented over $200 billion in new regulatory costs on everyday Americans – that is more than quadruple the cost added during President Obama’s first year. Yes, you read that right, more than four times. As it stands, federal regulations cost $400 billion more than the entire federal discretionary budget. If we are ever going to get our national debt under control, we cannot continue to allow unelected bureaucrats to have free rein. During my time in the Wisconsin State Legislature, we passed a state-level REINS Act which helped curb unnecessary spending by requiring legislative approval on regulations that cost more than $10 million. It’s time for Washington to follow Wisconsin’s lead. That’s why I cosponsored the federal REINS Act that passed the House last week. This bill will prevent the administration from unilaterally wrapping the economy in red tape that drives up the cost of energy and strains the kitchen table budget of families across the nation. The REINS Act will save taxpayers over $2 trillion annually by reasserting Congress’ legislative authority and preventing excessive overreach by the executive branch. It is time we take this important first step towards ending the Biden administration’s radical overreach and start reining in out-of-control government regulation.

District Update

Energy, advocacy, and education
I had a great time meeting with the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA) this week. Every year, the Wisconsin Electric Cooperative Association sponsors students to participate in the NRECA’s Youth Tour. This educational tour allows students interested in energy, advocacy, and education to explore the national monuments and visit with members of Congress. We were able to discuss the uniqueness of Wisconsin’s agriculture industry, and why it is important for these farming communities to have access to reliable energy.

It was great to see so many young Wisconsinites in Washington advocating for the importance of rural energy!

Photo of the week
Summer is in full swing in northern and western Wisconsin, which means it’s a great time to get out on the lake. I hope everyone will join me in congratulating Judson on his catch! If you would like your photo to be the next one featured in our photo of the week section, be sure to email it to [email protected] with your name and location. I look forward to seeing your submissions.

“Oh-fish-ially Summer” – submitted by Tim and Judson on Castle Rock Lake

Resources  

Summer is just around the corner, so don’t wait until the last minute to apply for or renew your passport for your upcoming vacation. The current processing time is 10 to 13 weeks, so we recommend getting this done as soon as possible. For more information, click here.

The USDA continues to make resources and assistance available to agricultural producers and working families to ensure access, safety and stability for food markets and supplies. 

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As always, you are welcome to visit my website or to contact my offices in Washington, DC or Wisconsin, which remain open for service, if you have any questions or need assistance. 

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