The Week in Review 

Happy Friday!

I hope you had a wonderful week. I am grateful to serve you all in the 118th Congress. Read below to see what I’ve been working on this week.

Urging the Biden Regime to Investigate Massive Data Breach

Congressman Warren Davidson (R-OH) and I sent a letter, cosigned by 7 of our colleagues, to President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris regarding the hack of National Public Data. Last month, reports emerged that hackers have stolen and leaked the sensitive personal data of nearly three billion people. The data, which could include information on every American, appears to include full names, dates of birth, social security numbers, addresses, and phone numbers.

Our letter urges the Biden-Harris administration to thoroughly investigate the hack and calls for disclosure to the American public of how a breach of this scale was allowed to occur, how relevant data brokers will be held accountable, and to what extent the government’s investment in the data broker ecosystem contributed to the breach. We demand that the administration support legislation, such as the Fourth Amendment is Not for Sale Act, limiting government purchases from data brokers and halting the government's purchase of hacked data. The Fourth Amendment is Not for Sale Act passed the House earlier this year with bipartisan support, despite significant opposition from the Biden-Harris administration. 

This breach represents a monumental failure in cybersecurity and an egregious oversight by the Biden administration.

The sheer magnitude of this incident is a wake-up call for immediate and decisive action. The American people’s preexisting distrust in the federal government’s ability to protect private information is all the more justified after every data breach. We demand to know how personal information was so recklessly exposed and what steps will be taken to prevent such breaches in the future.

We look forward to a swift response from the administration and to working toward bipartisan solutions to protect Americans’ personal data.

Politico covered the letter in Tuesday’s edition of Inside Congress.

The letter may be read here.

Protecting Americans’ Health Privacy

I sent letters to Xavier Becerra, U.S. Department of Health and Human Service (HHS) Secretary, and Judy Faulkner, CEO of electronic health record company Epic, regarding concerns over the threats posed to health data privacy.

HHS and Epic recently announced a partnership to provide a new service enabling patients to electronically access and share their health records. This announcement comes as cyberattacks targeting health records are on the rise, and follows several recent breaches, including the 2023 D.C. Health Link breach that compromised the health data of tens of thousands of patients and this year’s cyberattack on Change Healthcare that resulted in hundreds of millions of dollars in losses.

Secretary Becerra and Faulkner must provide answers clarifying the partnership’s efforts to ensure data security.

Americans are justifiably concerned about the privacy of their health data, and Congress must ensure that involved parties do everything in their power to prevent cyberattacks and leaks.

The benefits provided by this service could be helpful for many patients, but we must not blindly sacrifice privacy for convenience. I look forward to working with HHS and Epic to protect Americans’ privacy.

The letter to HHS Secretary Becerra may be read here, and the letter to Faulkner may be read here.

House Judiciary Committee Field Hearing in California

The House Judiciary Committee held a field hearing titled “The Biden-Harris Border Crisis: California Perspectives” in San Diego, CA. My colleagues and I traveled to the California border to further understand the magnitude of this crisis, and witnessed dozens of illegal aliens cross our border in a short time. 

We were able to speak with some of the illegal aliens as they were crossing the border. They have traveled from around the globe, many paying the criminal cartels to transport them to our borders. Click the images below to see more:

During the hearing, we heard from local law enforcement and community members about the impact the border crisis has had on California communities. I discussed several of the border failures that this administration has taken part in. Click the image below to see some of my remarks:

Letters and Legislation

Bills Cosponsored:

• H.R. 2743 - Fair Access to Banking Act (Rep. Barr) 

Letters Led:

• Letters to HHS and Epic on health care data privacy
• Letter to President Biden and Vice President Harris on the National Public Data hack

Alien Invasion Border Documentary

Check out my border documentary titled Alien Invasion. The 30-minute documentary features footage from private ranches along the border, the Darien Gap in Panama, and interviews with members of Congress, Border Patrol, local and state law enforcement, and much more. It addresses how President Biden’s border crisis began, its consequences, and solutions to address the crisis.

The border documentary may be watched here.

Service Academy Nominations for Class of 2029 Now Open

Every year, my office has the pleasure of interviewing and nominating some of the brightest young men and women in Arizona to the most prestigious military institutions in the world.

Students interested in attending a U.S. Service Academy need to apply and obtain a congressional or presidential nomination in order to receive an appointment to four of the five Service Academies: U.S. Military Academy (USMA), West Point, NY; the U.S. Naval Academy (USNA), Annapolis, MD; the U.S. Air Force Academy (USAFA), Colorado Springs, CO; and the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy (USMMA), Kings Point, NY.

Our nomination applications for the Class of 2029 are now open for students from Arizona’s Fifth District. Applications must be submitted by October 25, 2024. 

To request a Military Academy Nomination from my office or additional information, please contact Victoria Armijo at (480) 980-9609 or [email protected] for an application packet.

The Congressional App Challenge is Back!

Applications are now open for the 2024 Congressional App Challenge! I encourage all interested Arizona students to participate for the chance to have your app featured in the U.S. Capitol and on the House of Representatives’ website. 

Visit the Congressional App Challenge website to register before October 24th:

Top Media Appearance of the Week

I joined Newsmax with Chris Salcedo to discuss the Left’s attacks on our Constitution and their refusal to support secure elections. Click the image below to watch part of the segment:

Tweet of the Week

 Constituent Services 

Flags
Would you like to purchase a flag that has been flown over the U.S. Capitol? Flags flown over the Capitol include a certificate, which may be personalized for a particular person, event, or organization. Click here to learn more about purchasing a flag.

Internships
If you or someone you know is interested in completing an internship in either my Mesa or Washington, D.C. office, they can apply directly on my website. 

Help With a Federal Agency 
I you can’t get an answer from a federal agency in a timely fashion, or if you feel you have been treated unfairly, my office may be able to help resolve a problem or get you the information you need. For example, my office routinely helps constituents with issues involving the Veterans Administration, the IRS, the Social Security Administration, the State Department, and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. You can learn more by visiting my website.

Click here to find out more information about my office’s services. 

Tours and Tickets

Interested in touring the White House or U.S. Capitol? As constituents of the Fifth Congressional District, you may request tickets and tours for various Washington D.C. destinations from my office. 

All tickets are provided to constituents on a first-come, first-served basis, so request tickets early.

Click here for more information.