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Thank you for reading my newsletter. Here's a summary of last week:
Message from Congressman Scott Fitzgerald
Good morning! Thank you to everyone who attended my telephone town hall last week. It was great fielding your thoughtful questions about the latest policy developments impacting our district. For those who weren’t able to make it, here’s what happened in DC last week:
Republicans reaffirmed our promise to deliver for America’s veterans by passing an appropriations bill to fully fund veterans’ health care programs, veterans’ benefits, and VA programs while cutting wasteful spending on CRT and Biden’s DEI executive orders.
Over at the Judiciary Committee, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas testified. I joined Newsmax to debrief the hearing, which unfortunately was met with a lot of truth distorting on the part of Mayorkas about the dismal reality at our southern border.
Lastly, a recent bill I introduced to keep politics out of America’s boardrooms passed out of the House Financial Services Committee. This Congress must make it a priority to protect retail investors from repeat, costly ESG proposals activist shareholders are peddling in boardrooms across America. I'm grateful to Chairman McHenry and my colleagues for supporting my proposal in committee. It is my hope that the Performance over Politics Act will protect everyday investors and empower shareholders focused on the strategic direction and long-term goals of the company.
Have a great week!
- Scott
Joined Mornings with Maria on Fox Business this Morning
This morning I joined Fox Business to talk the latest on the investigations surrounding Hunter Biden, the recent revelations at the House Judiciary Committee revealed in subpoenaed documents from Meta, and a recent bill I introduced to reform the National Education Association’s (NEA) federal charter.
On the day we were to hold a contempt vote in the Judiciary Committee last week, Meta finally gave us the subpoenaed documents we requested months ago. But the newly subpoenaed documents reveal just how far the Biden White House went to pressure Meta to remove posts from Facebook.
Part of that push included a public and secret campaign to get Facebook to more aggressively police vaccine-related content. The Biden administration also wanted Facebook to remove true information that didn’t align with their own agenda.
These subpoenaed documents continue to reveal that the White House pressured Meta to go beyond what it otherwise would have in censoring user speech.
Members of the Judiciary Committee need these communications to enact real legislative reforms, like Chairman Jordan’s Free Speech Protection Act, which I’m proud to cosponsor. This legislation would make sure this type of censorship from federal officials doesn’t happen again.
Read here for Facebook Files Part 1 and Part 2.
Reaffirmed My Promise to Deliver for America’s Veterans
I was proud to vote in support of H.R. 4366, the Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies Appropriations.
Republicans reaffirmed our promise to deliver for America’s veterans in this appropriations bill which is as commonsense as they come. It fully funds veterans’ health care programs, veterans’ benefits, and VA programs while cutting wasteful spending on CRT and Biden’s DEI executive orders. Our nation is stronger when we invest in our national security and those who are called to serve, and this bill delivers on that front.
Additional Priorities in H.R. 4366
- Keeps America’s promise to its veterans by fully funding the needs identified in the President’s Budget Request for the VA.
- Adds a specific provision to the bill that reiterates existing law prohibiting the use of funds by the Departments and agencies funded in the bill to lobby Congress or to advocate for or against pending legislation.
- Prohibits the use of funds to promote or advance critical race theory.
- Prohibits the implementation, administration, or enforcement of the Biden Administration’s executive orders on diversity, equity, and inclusion.
- Retains prohibition on the closure of Naval Station Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and the use of military construction funds to build facilities for detainees on U.S. soil.
Judiciary Oversight with DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas
Last week, the Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas testified in front of the House Judiciary Committee. The goal we had going into the Mayorkas hearing was to get the secretary on the record for the disorder that’s unfolded under his leadership and what he plans to do to put our southern border back on the right track.
For context, there have been over 5.6 million illegal crossings at our southern border under the Biden Administration.
During my Q&A, Secretary Mayorkas admitted in his testimony to me that his department and this administration do not have operational control over the border.
Republicans were on the right track before Biden took office. You must establish physical security, including a wall, before tackling any meaningful immigration bill that would make its way through both the House and the U.S. Senate.
If we don't get control over the border very soon, we’re going to see conditions get much worse before they get better. Click here to watch my interview on Newsmax debriefing the hearing with Secretary Mayorkas.
Co-Led a Letter to FTC Khan Regarding Waste of Taxpayer Dollars
Following Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Chair Lina Khan’s recent visit to Capitol Hill, I co-lead a letter with Congressman Kevin Kiley (CA-03) regarding the agency’s waste of time and use of taxpayer dollars to litigate failed merger challenges.
FTC Chair Lina Khan is 0-4 in her merger challenges. This losing streak was of course made possible by millions of taxpayer dollars and thousands of staff hours chasing completely lawful mergers down a hole. Despite being delivered loss after loss, Khan has been left undeterred requesting $190 million more in funding from Congress. Khan is well outside the lines of acceptable conduct at the agency and Congress should not support the unaccountability with more funding.
In the letter, we requested responses to the following questions:
- The amount of funds spent on litigation in each of the mentioned cases in the letter.
- The amount of staff hours spent on these cases.
- A list of outside experts, including their affiliate organizations, in each of the cases and the amount paid to each expert and their affiliate organizations.
- The amount of funds spent on outside counsel, if any, in each of the cases.
- All recommendation memorandum prepared by FTC staff that discuss each of the cases.
Click here to read the full letter.
Interested in a Service Academy Nomination? Don’t Miss Academy Day!
Interested in a Service Academy Nomination? If so, I am pleased to invite all interested students, teachers, and parents to join staff from Wisconsin's Congressional Delegation to meet representatives from the Air Force Academy, Coast Guard Academy, Merchant Marine Academy, Military Academy, and Naval Academy. This event is a terrific opportunity to learn if a military academy is the right fit for your student and what steps you can take to have a successful path into our nation’s most revered academies.
Logistical details are below:
Date: Saturday, September 16, 2023
Time: 9 A.M. — 12:30 P.M.
Place: Experimental Aircraft Association
EAA Aviation Center
3000 Poberezny Road Oshkosh, WI 54902
That’s a wrap for this week’s eNewsletter! Follow me on Twitter and Facebook to stay up to date on my work for the 5th District of Wisconsin.
Sincerely,
Scott Fitzgerald
Member of Congress
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