Dear Friend,
This week is National Police Week, a time dedicated to honoring our brave law enforcement officers and an opportunity to pay homage to those who have given their lives in the line of duty.
National Police Week was first established by President John F. Kennedy in 1962 when he signed a proclamation designating May 15th as Peace Officers Memorial Day and the week that it falls in as Police Week.
Each year in mid-May, tens of thousands of law enforcement officers from around the country head to Washington, D.C. to participate in several planned events – from running in a 5K to attending a memorial service or the candlelight vigil.
Sadly, over the past few years, we’ve seen a rise in anti-police rhetoric and assaults on law enforcement officers due to the far Left’s Defund the Police movement and anti-police legislation that swept the nation as a result.
According to national FBI data released on Tuesday, assaults on police officers reached a 10-year high – with 79,000 officers attacked on duty last year.
That’s why this week, House Republicans brought a series of “Back the Blue” bills to the floor that demonstrated our continued support for our brave law enforcement officers and would hold these violent criminals accountable for their actions.
Protecting our brave men and women in blue shouldn’t be a partisan issue, but unfortunately, it isn’t as bipartisan as it once was.
House Democrats overwhelmingly opposed every single pro-police measure – including one that would deport illegal aliens who assault police officers like those who were released without bail in New York after attacking NYPD officers in Times Square. If you would like to see how members voted, click here.
Now more than ever, law enforcement officers need our support. Let us pay tribute to those who have made the ultimate sacrifice and remember their courage, dedication, and commitment to keeping our communities safe.
Thanks again for starting off your weekend with us – we have a lot more to tell you about in this week’s edition of the Tiffany Telegram.
Sincerely,
Tom Tiffany
Member of Congress
My prayers are with every family grieving the loss of a loved one due to the increase in violence against our police officers. This week, and always, remember to thank all the men and women in blue who put their lives on the line to keep us safe.
Honoring our fallen law enforcement heroes
During Police Week, families and colleagues of St. Croix County Deputy Kaitie Leising, Cameron Police Officer Hunter Scheel, and Chetek Police Officer Emily Breidenbach gathered in D.C. to pay tribute to these courageous individuals for their ultimate sacrifice as their names were added to the National Law Enforcement Memorial. I'm grateful to Officer Breidenbach's family and coworkers for sparing time from their busy schedules to meet with me. The surge of violence against our law enforcement officers deeply affected the Seventh District last year, and it's utterly unacceptable. To ensure perpetrators of these heinous acts are held accountable, I signed on to the Protect and Serve Act introduced by Rep. John Rutherford (FL-05). This legislation would make it a federal offense to knowingly assault a police officer, addressing the rising trend of violence directed at law enforcement officers.
With friends like these…
Treating our friends like enemies and our enemies like friends? Sadly, that seems to be the guiding foreign policy principle of the Biden White House. And they are sparing no expense. They’ve set aside more than $9 billion in US “aid” for Hamas-controlled Gaza. They’ve spent in excess of $300 million of your tax dollars to build them a port. And recently, we learned that President Biden is even cooking up a new scheme to “resettle” huge numbers of Palestinians in American neighborhoods – all things that I’ve long sought to stop. At the same time, far-left Democrats and the Biden administration seem committed to undermining our friends in Israel – mulling sanctions on Israeli military personnel, publicly blasting Israel’s prime minister, and even withholding congressionally approved arms shipments. That’s why this week, I joined more than 200 of my Republican colleagues – and even a few Democrats – in backing legislation designed to break this Biden Blockade and get Israel the defensive weapons they need to defeat Hamas. You can see how lawmakers voted on that measure here.
What is President Biden hiding?
As part of the impeachment inquiry and the Judiciary Committee’s legislative oversight, the Committee has sought information about President Biden’s mishandling of classified information. Special Counsel Robert Hur, who led the investigation into President Biden for the Department of Justice, determined that President Biden had “willfully retained and disclosed classified materials” but decided not to file criminal charges due to the President’s poor memory and mental state. The Judiciary Committee subpoenaed Attorney General Garland for the materials related to the investigation, but the DOJ refused to release the audio recordings and only allowed the Committee to have the transcript from the President’s interview. During our hearing with Special Counsel Hur, he admitted that the White House pressured him and the Attorney General to remove all references to Biden’s failing memory before finalizing the report – and we later discovered they even tried to bully the press corps into following their talking points rather than the report findings. It has also come to light that the Biden Administration has a habit of altering official transcripts and in several instances, the edited remarks did not even remotely resemble what the President said. That revelation makes the Attorney General’s reluctance to hand over the audio recording even more concerning, which is why the Committee had a markup this week to cite the Attorney General in contempt. President Biden asserted what’s known as “executive privilege” in a last-ditch effort to prevent the audiotapes from being released and to protect the AG. However, the report to cite him in contempt of Congress passed on a party-line vote, and it will now head to the floor for consideration.
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Click here or on the photo above to watch my interview discussing President Biden’s decision to assert executive privilege and prevent the Department of Justice from releasing the audio tapes of his interview with Special Counsel Hur.
Committee Update
Natural Resources
Bringing the conversation up north
On Monday, the Natural Resources Committee hit the road for a Field Hearing in Hayward, Wisconsin. It was for the Federal Lands Subcommittee, and it was titled Improving Access and Opportunities for Hunting, Fishing, and Outdoor Recreation on America’s Federal Lands. We held this hearing in response to restrictions on access to the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest, specifically with barriers and the blocking off of access roads. And this isn’t just a problem in our state. Across the country, many communities adjacent to federal lands are seeing the same thing. The Forest Service alone has decommissioned an average of 2,000 miles of roads annually since 1991. Before the hearing began, we looked at some examples of access roads being blocked off around the Clam Lake area in the national forest. We had a fantastic panel of witnesses who were able to speak to all sides of the issue, from sportsmen to the timber industry, as well as off-road vehicle recreation folks. Not only were we able to discuss these challenges, we also examined solutions to address them moving forward. Public lands belong to the citizens of this country, and when we limit access, we decrease the number of people who can go out and recreate, hunt, and otherwise wisely use these lands. That has a downstream negative effect on local economies and wildlife. Traveling out in the field to highlight these issues and bring the committee to the people of America has been a great way to bring these conversations out of DC and into the real world.
BLM border blunder
On Wednesday, we held an oversight hearing with the Director of the Bureau of Land Management and the Director of the National Park Service before the Federal Lands Subcommittee to discuss their respective agencies’ budget requests for FY 2025. The BLM’s budget request doubles down on the Biden administration’s war on American prosperity and energy independence. That’s troubling, and it underscores just how far the agency has drifted from its mission. Instead of defending the multiple-use principle that should be front and center on our public lands, the BLM has instead catered to the most extreme “green lobby” activists at the expense of local communities who depend on these lands for their way of life. In my questioning of BLM Director Tracy Stone-Manning, I focused on the environmental degradation going on in the border lands the BLM manages, which includes 173 miles of land along the southern border. With the BLM cleaning up nearly 200 tons of trash from illegal immigrants who litter when they illegally cross the border, I asked her if she saw this degradation on her visit to the border. She said she didn’t – and instead tried to shift the blame for this environmental catastrophe to the Trump administration. Even more unbelievably, the BLM’s budget has allocated zero dollars directed towards trash on federal lands along the southern border. House Natural Resources Committee Republicans will continue holding the administration accountable, demanding answers, and when needed, passing legislation to stop harmful decisions.
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Click here or on the photo above to watch my exchange with BLM Director Tracy Stone-Manning.
Recent Legislation
Putting an end to the Federal Reserve
The Federal Reserve has long played a role in our country’s economy by controlling interest rates, as well as creating and loaning money to the Treasury Department. They continue to enable irresponsible deficit spending by creating trillions of dollars and centering our economy around debt, rather than cash. This has caused the devaluation of the US dollar, placing a serious financial burden on everyday Americans and small businesses. This gross mismanagement cannot continue. That’s why this week I cosponsored legislation introduced by Rep. Thomas Massie (KY-4) to abolish the Federal Reserve Board of Governors and the Federal Reserve Banks, and repeal the 1913 law that created the system. You can read more about it here.
District Update
Thank you to our Hmong-Lao veterans
On Tuesday, my district office enjoyed attending the Hmong-Lao Veterans Day ceremony in Cadott and Neillsville to honor all the Hmong-Lao veterans who courageously fought alongside American soldiers in the Vietnam War. We owe it to the Hmong veterans who fearlessly served in the fight against communism and give them the recognition they deserve. That’s why I signed on to the Hmong Congressional Gold Medal Act introduced by Rep. Glenn Grothman (WI-06) to award Hmong veterans with a Congressional Gold Medal. We are blessed to have many Hmong neighbors call Wisconsin home today, and this bill recognizes the significant role they played, including providing intelligence and rescuing American pilots during the Vietnam War.
Photo of the week
The northern lights were out and about last weekend in the Seventh District and the photos we received did not disappoint. There is nothing like seeing the Northwoods sky in color! If you would like your picture to be featured as the photo of the week, please email it to [email protected] with your name and location.
“Aurora borealis” – submitted by Mitch and Heather in Tony
Upcoming Events
Mobile office hours
If you are in need of assistance with a federal agency my office stands ready to help. A member of my staff will be in Vilas, Oneida, Taylor, Clark, Marathon, Forest, Bayfield, Ashland, Douglas, and Barron counties in the upcoming weeks hosting a series of mobile office hours. They will be able to assist in federal matters concerning Veterans Affairs, Social Security, Medicare, the IRS, passports, and more. If you cannot make it to these office hours, please give my office a call at (715) 298-9344 to see how we may be able to help. Specific dates, times, and locations can be found here.
Job fair in Ladysmith
On Thursday, May 23rd, a job fair will be held for anyone who is impacted by the closure of Jeld-Wen. The event will take place from 2-5 PM in the community room at Jump River Electric Co-op at 1102 W. 9th Street North in Ladysmith. The Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development's mobile job center will be on-site. For further details, please click here.
TSA PreCheck pop-up in Rhinelander
Monday through Friday next week TSA will be holding a pop-up PreCheck event at the Rhinelander/Oneida County Airport (RHI). PreCheck allows you to travel with expedited security screenings, shorter lines, and no required shoe removal. Children 12 and under are also allowed to travel with their parents in the PreCheck lanes at no extra cost. Appointments will be available from 8am – 12pm and 1pm – 4pm daily. You can complete the online application here and sign up for an appointment at RHI here.
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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