Congresswoman Tenney's Weekly Newsletter   Have questions? Contact Me Here   Secretary of Defense Austin Jeopardized Our National Security Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin went AWOL and failed to inform the President, Congress, or the National Security Council about his extended hospitalization, jeopardizing our national security. Following a complication from a medical procedure, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin was abruptly admitted to the ICU and was unable to discharge the duties of his office. He also failed to properly notify top national security officials, including congressional leadership, the Deputy Defense Secretary, the President, the National Security Advisor, and other members of the National Security Council, about his hospitalization until three days later. It is vital that our nation’s national security infrastructure have clear communication, especially during these times of heightened international tensions. While I am sorry to hear about Secretary Austin’s cancer diagnosis and wish him a speedy recovery, his failure to disclose his recent hospitalization jeopardized our national security. The brave service members at Fort Drum, Niagara Falls Air Reserve Station, and beyond cannot leave without informing their superiors, and neither can Secretary Austin. That's why I sent a letter to Secretary Austin demanding answers for his lack of transparency and DOD policy regarding unreported absences. I remain committed to demanding transparency from the corrupt Biden administration while ensuring the safety and security of our nation. READ MORE: Lloyd Austin hospitalization: House Republicans demand more details as pressure builds on Pentagon PASSED: Tenney’s Pro-Life Legislation Adopted by Ways and Means Committee Crisis pregnancy centers play a vital role in delivering crucial medical care, essential supplies, and unwavering support to pregnant women, new mothers, and both their unborn and born babies. The Biden Administration's efforts to divert Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) funds away from specific crisis pregnancy centers is a direct assault on pro-life institutions and jeopardizes access to invaluable resources for countless women. That's why I led the Supporting Pregnant and Parenting Women and Families Act to prohibit the Biden Administration from limiting the ability of states to spend TANF funds on these pregnancy centers. By leading this bill through the Ways and Means committee, I reiterated my commitment to always standing with the unborn while further protecting our country’s foundational values of life, individual rights, and freedom. Watch my full remarks here or click the video above. Ensuring American Flags are Produced on American Soil American Flags flown over our military installations, carried into battle, and draped over the caskets of our servicemembers who have made the ultimate sacrifice should be made in the land they so valiantly defend. The United States should never contribute to offshoring jobs, especially when it comes to purchasing American flags. I am thrilled that my bipartisan amendment, which ensures that only American flags made in the USA are purchased by the Department of Defense, was included in the FY24 NDAA. I will always fight to support American manufacturers, workers and the domestic production of critical goods, including American flags. Transparency in Congress and a well-informed electorate are vital to preserving our self-governing Constitutional Republic. My constituents deserve to know how their members of Congress vote, which is why I have explained every vote I have cast in Congress since I was first elected. To read more about my votes and see the full list with explanations of all the legislation considered this week by the House, please click here. I voted “Yes” on H.R. 788, the Stop Settlement Slush Funds Act of 2023. H.R. 788 prohibits government agencies from entering or enforcing any civil settlement agreement that requires the other party to the settlement to make a donation to a third party. For decades, Democratic administrations have used legal settlements to funnel money to their favored partisan political groups. During the Trump administration this practice was terminated, but the Biden administration reversed course and allowed for settlements to be directed to far-left groups once again. H.R. 788 puts an end to this corrupt practice and will ensure that settlements in which the United States is a plaintiff are placed into the Treasury, unless funds are being used to provide restitution, remedy actual harm, or pay for services rendered in connection with the case. This commonsense bill upholds the constitutional responsibilities given to Congress and stops the partisan use of these funds at the expense of the taxpayer. H.R. 788 passed the House by a vote of 211-197. I voted “Yes” on S.J. Res. 38, a joint resolution providing for congressional disapproval under chapter 8 of title 5, United States Code, of the rule submitted by the Federal Highway Administration relating to "Waiver of Buy America Requirements for Electric Vehicle Chargers". On February 21, 2023, the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) published in the Federal Register a waiver of Buy America requirements for EV chargers. Despite shelling out billions of dollars on grant programs for EV chargers, the Biden administration is pushing a Buy America waiver that would harm domestic manufacturers to the benefit of Chinese producers who dominate the EV charger supply chain. Simply put, this Biden administration rule rewards China’s unfair trade practices at the expense of hardworking Americans. S.J. Res. 38 will overturn the Biden administration’s misguided rule, protecting American manufacturers and businesses. S.J. Res. 38 passed by a vote of 209-198. I voted “Yes” on H.R. 839, the China Exchange Rate Transparency Act. For decades the People’s Republic of China has intentionally devalued its currency to reduce the price of their exports and gain an unfair advantage for their manufacturing industry. This has devastated our own manufacturing industry, resulting in millions of lost jobs and a sever diminishment of our nation’s production capacity. To fight against unfair economic practice this bill will require the Treasury Secretary to encourage the International Monetary Fund (IMF) increase transparency and surveillance of China’s exchange rate arrangements. It will also make it US policy to advocate for greater consequences for China at the IMF if they continue these unfair practices. As part of China joining the IMF they were required to commit to orderly exchange rates, avoiding exchange rate manipulation, and cooperating with the IMF is providing transparency over their exchange rates policies. It is time we hold them to account over their inability to follow this agreement. H.R. 839 passed the House by a vote of 379-1. I voted “Yes” on H.J. Res. 98, Providing for congressional disapproval under chapter 8 of title 5, United States Code, of the rule submitted by the National Labor Relations Board relating to "Standard for Determining Joint Employer Status". This bill would overturn the Biden administration’s new radical joint-employer rule that will harm small businesses and kill jobs. The rule vastly expands the definition of “joint employer” to include all businesses that share even “indirect” or “potential” control of the employee, even if they do not exercise this control. This rule was initially proposed by the Obama administration, and it raised franchise operational costs by $33 billion and killed 376,000 jobs in the franchise sector alone. I am glad that the Senate has already passed this critical resolution to overturn the new joint-employer rule and implore the President to sign this bill into law and to stop killing private sector job growth. H.J. Res. 98 passed the House by a vote of 206-177. Celebrating National Milk Day January 11th is National Milk Day, and as one of the largest dairy districts in the Northeast, we take celebrating this day seriously! NY-24 dairy farmers work tirelessly to support our local economy and provide quality dairy products to our community, state, and country. That's why, in Congress, I am working to meet the needs of our dairy farmers. In response to pricing problems and increased consolidation in the dairy industry, I am an original cosponsor of H.R. 1756, the Dairy Pricing Opportunity Act of 2023, which returns liquid milk pricing for farmers to the highest of milk prices used for butter and cheese, and requires a report on the margins for dairy producers. Thank you to all the dairy farmers in our district and across the country! Interested in Serving our Country and Attending One of The Nation's Prestigious Military Service Academies? Our Office is now accepting applications for 2024 Military Service Academy Nominations! As a member of the House of Representatives and Mother of a Naval Academy graduate, it is my honor to nominate a select number of candidates to four of the five service academies. The honor of attending a service academy comes with an obligation and commitment to serve in the military for a minimum of five years upon graduation. If you, or a student you know, are interested in applying for a nomination to one of the service academies, please visit our website here to find the required forms and documents. For more information on this process, feel free to contact my Oswego office at (315) 236-7088! ICYMI: My 2023 Annual Report Last week, our office released our 2023 Year End Report, which highlights our office's legislative and constituent services accomplishments throughout the past year. We started off the 118th Congress strong by introducing 54 bills, cosponsoring 324 pieces of legislation, and returning over $13,000,000 in benefits back to our community. It has been an honor to represent NY-24 for an entire year now, and I remain as dedicated as ever to serving our community. I am eager to continue working on your behalf to deliver lasting results to our sprawling district and restore transparency and accountability in Congress. View my full report here. READ MORE: Tenney recaps 2023, wins for Cayuga County, upstate NY district Need Help with a Federal Agency? Call us today. If you or someone you know ever needs assistance with a federal agency, we are just a phone call away and are ready to help you! Please contact my Victor Office at 585-869-2060, my Oswego Office at 315-236-7088, or my Lockport Office at 716-514-5130! I am honored to have the opportunity to represent you. Have news or updates to share? Email me!  If you have updates regarding events in the community or other news to share from across New York's 24th District, please visit the "Contact Me" page on my website to share it with me. My team will try to include as many of your updates from around #NY24 as we can each week.     tenney.house.gov Rep. 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