Dear Friend,

Groundhog Day may be today, but it came early in Washington.

You would think that legislation deporting migrants who endanger the financial well-being of Americans by stealing their Social Security numbers, undermining public safety by driving drunk, or leading Border Patrol agents on potentially deadly high-speed chases would be no brainers, right?

Unfortunately, you would be wrong.

Like the cult classic movie featuring Bill Murray waking up each morning to live the same day over and over, House Republicans put each of these common-sense measures forward this week – only to watch House Democrats try and shoot them down one after another.

Let me explain.

Yesterday, the House took up legislation that would require the removal of any illegal alien convicted of driving under the influence amid a high-profile increase in these shocking incidents – many of them involving repeat offenders, and some resulting in fatalities. Yet instead of working with Republicans to crack down on this phenomenon, a whopping 150 House Democrats actually voted against the bill, siding with illegal alien criminals over American families.

The House also took up a measure that would require the removal of illegal immigrants who attempt to evade Border Patrol agents. It would also make them ineligible to enter the United States in the future, and impose stiff penalties – up to life in prison – if the pursuit results in a death.

Once again, 154 House Democrats voted against holding reckless criminal aliens accountable.

But it doesn’t stop there.

Completing the grim Democrat “hat trick” of prioritizing Joe Biden’s open borders policies over protecting U.S. citizens, 155 House Democrats also voted against a third bill – one that would allow for the removal of illegal aliens who engage in identity theft and Social Security fraud.

The good news is that all three measures ultimately passed the House, but it’s still very sad to see the lengths to which some of my Democrat colleagues will go to maintain the destructive immigration status quo – and how little they apparently care about defending the safety and security of American families, neighborhoods, and Border Patrol agents. 

We’ve got much more to tell you about in this week’s edition of the Tiffany Telegram and appreciate you starting off your weekend with us.

Sincerely,





Tom Tiffany
Member of Congress

You can also see the hypocrisy of Democrats by clicking here or on the photo above as they had a razor wire fence up three years ago to protect them, but refuse to allow Texas to keep up razor wire at the border to protect its citizens.

Slamming the door on Palestinian terrorism

If you are a regular reader of the Telegram, you know I was the first Member of Congress to introduce legislation designed to prevent Palestinian extremists from entering our country shortly after Hamas’ deadly, unprovoked terrorist attacks on Israeli civilians. That’s why I was pleased to see the House take up legislation similar to my GAZA Act earlier this week. The good news is that nearly every single House member – Democrat and Republican – voted in support of this important measure, which cleared the chamber by a lopsided vote of 422-2. The bad news is obviously that two lawmakers voted against it. For those who are curious, one of those two “NO” votes was Rep. Rashida Tlaib (MI-12), who you may recall was censured by the House of Representatives on a bipartisan vote a few months ago after several anti-Semitic outbursts. The other dissenting vote was cast by Rep. Cori Bush (MO-1), who is known for authoring a bill calling for $14 trillion in race-based “reparations” payments, and her repeated calls to “de-fund the police.”

Voting against expanding Washington’s welfare state

You may have heard that the House voted on a bill titled the Tax Relief for American Families and Workers Act this week. While that name sounds like it would be a good bill, unfortunately, there were many bad provisions included in it. Under this bill, illegal aliens with a child would be eligible to cash in on Child Tax Credit (CTC) payments since there is no requirement for the parent to have a valid Social Security number. Our tax code should not reward and encourage illegal immigration – especially given the amount of illegal aliens Joe Biden has allowed into our country. While there were some pro-growth, pro-family, and pro-business provisions in this bill that I support, the deal also undermines the incentive to work as it would let parents rely on the prior year’s income to trigger the CTC for 2024 and 2025. Therefore, if you work in 2023, but choose not to work in 2024 and 2025, you would still be eligible to receive the CTC. I ultimately could not vote for a “tax” package that stifles work, expands welfare, and even allows illegal aliens to pocket CTC payments. You can view that vote here.

Click here or on the photo above to watch me explain why I voted against the “tax” bill on Fox Business.

Committee Update

Natural Resources

Wabeno Economic Development Act

This week in the Federal Lands Subcommittee we held a legislative hearing on five bills, including one of my own, the Wabeno Economic Development Act of 2024. This important bill would require the U.S. Forest Service to convey 14 acres of land located in the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest to Tony’s Wabeno Redi-Mix for fair market value. This small business in our district has been pursuing a deal with the Forest Service for many years with no real progress. Without this parcel, Tony’s Wabeno Redi-Mix will run out of the necessary aggregates it needs to produce concrete in the next 2 to 3 years, which is why he reached out to my office for help. Tony’s has supplied the surrounding community with concrete used to build homes, fire and rescue buildings, shops, offices, and even barns for local farmers for more than 22 years. This company employs more than a dozen hard-working people who could lose their jobs if this bill does not pass – jobs that are important in this rural community. Roughly 50 percent of the land in Forest County is federally owned and only about 10 percent of the land is fully taxable, which shows why something like this is needed to help keep businesses alive. We had a great witness from Wisconsin, Tom Tallier, with Forest County Board of Supervisors – District 8, who provided valuable testimony in support of this legislation, and we even had Tony and his wife Emily join us to attend the hearing. You can watch my questioning on this bill and the others we considered here, and I look forward to advancing this bill out of the Natural Resources Committee.

 
Thank you to Tony for making the trip to Washington this week and to the Honorable Tom Tallier for his valuable testimony in support of this legislation.

Recent Legislation

Protecting children from irreversible procedures

Over the past few years, kids across America have been increasingly targeted for sexual messages, images, and themes at younger ages. Sometimes, it's even supported by taxpayer dollars through government-led initiatives. In 2022, the Biden administration released a series of documents that included new curriculum materials pushing woke transgender ideology and encouraging “gender-reassignment” surgery and hormone treatments for minors. This fall, the California legislature approved a bill to strip parents of custody if they don’t ‘affirm’ their child’s preferred gender. Exposing and pressuring vulnerable children into having invasive and irreversible medical procedures before they are old enough to understand the future ramifications is wrong – especially considering that studies have shown that 80% to 95% of gender-dysphoric children eventually grow out of it if there is no hormonal or surgical intervention. Americans’ hard-earned tax dollars should never be used to fund the sexual mutilation of children. That’s why this week I signed on to Rep. Rich McCormick’s (GA-06) bill H.R. 7183 the Protecting Resources of Taxpayers to Eliminate Childhood Transgender Surgeries Act of 2024, which will prohibit federal funds from being used to provide “gender transition” surgeries to children and protect the next generation from these harmful irreversible procedures.

Race-based health care?

Telegram readers are well aware of the malicious and divisive “racial equity” agenda seeping into the deepest parts of American society including our federal government. We’ve seen the Biden administration’s so-called “equity plan” in action by the IRS potentially targeting some taxpayers based on their skin color to providing race-based aid to farmers during COVID, and now, the Biden administration is also seeking to bring this woke ideology into patient-doctor relationships. Buried deep in a 1,036-page Health and Human Services federal regulation is an instruction to Medicare physicians to “create and implement an anti-racism plan.” Doctors need to be focused on treating individual patients, not groups or categories of people. They should not be subjected to more bureaucratic paperwork from the federal government to come up with a plan that includes “target goals and milestones” and “ongoing training on anti-racism.” To combat this rule, I cosponsored the Prevent Racism in Medicare Act introduced by Rep. Gary Palmer (Al-06). This legislation would prevent Medicare providers from being forced to adopt “anti-racist activities” at the command of the federal government. You can read more about our efforts here. 

District Update

Touring Polaris in Osceola

Last week, I enjoyed touring the Polaris assembly plant located in Osceola. As many of you know, Polaris is a leader in ATV/UTV, snowmobile, and motorcycle manufacturing, and their Osceola assembly plant utilizes cutting-edge technologies to ensure the highest quality standards. This plant employs hundreds of highly skilled Polaris team members where they produce state-of-the-art engines for the Polaris Slingshot, Indian Motorcycle, and 4-stroke snowmobile engines. I had a great time learning the processes and integration of new products to drive the industry.

The Seventh District is proud to have such a quality brand, like Polaris, in Osceola.

Apply now for Assistance for Firefighters Grants

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has officially opened the application for the Fiscal Year 2023 Assistance to Firefighters Grant program. This program helps keep communities across the nation safe by awarding a total of $324 million to fire departments and other emergency medical service organizations. Last year, firefighters and first responders in the Seventh District received over $1 million in Assistance to Firefighters Grants to put towards new equipment, protective gear, emergency vehicles, training, and other necessary resources. Click here for more information on the grants available and to access the application. The deadline to apply is March 8, 2024, at 4 pm CT. 

Photo of the week

If you would like to submit a picture to be featured in our photo of the week section, please email it to [email protected] with your name and location. We have a beautiful state. Let’s continue to show the Seventh District off.

“Magic Frost” – Submitted by Betty in Mercer

Resources  

Vacation is meant to be relaxing, so don’t let renewing or applying for your passport stress you out. 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. 

If a friend forwarded you this newsletter, and you would like to receive it in the future, you can subscribe here for weekly updates and connect with me on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. 

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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