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.

Commemorating the 23rd Anniversary of September 11, 2001

We will never forget the heinous attack on our Republic or the 2,977 innocent lives lost to a senseless act of terror. 

Heroic first responders answered the call to save countless American lives.

We are thankful for those who selflessly put their lives on the line for their communities every single day. 

We honor their sacrifice.

Fighting for Conservative Policies in Government Funding

Funding for the federal government is set to expire on September 30. Earlier this year, the House began the statutorily-required process of passing 12 appropriations bills to fund each agency, taking time to identify waste and fraud, and make budget adjustments where needed. After passing 5 of the 12 bills, the path forward for the remaining 7 bills was murky, so the House, much to my dismay, called it quits.

Now, Speaker Johnson has proposed the House consider yet another continuing resolution (CR) to fund the government through March of 2025. To sweeten the deal, he attached the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act, which would ensure only U.S. citizens can vote in federal elections. I am an original cosponsor of the SAVE Act, and I support its adoption. However, I cannot support another continuing resolution, especially one at bloated Pelosi-Biden-Schumer-negotiated funding levels.

To highlight just some of the bad policies funded by the continuing resolution, I sponsored seven amendments that would slash funding for the woke priorities of the Biden Administration. I spoke in favor of my amendments before the House Rules Committee. Click the image below to hear more about them:

Unfortunately, my amendments were not agreed to by the Rules Committee and will not receive a vote by the full House.

While the House was scheduled to consider the CR this week, the vote has been delayed. Instead of extending bloated federal spending policies, the House ought to work on passing the remaining individual appropriations bills before the deadline of September 30th. I’ll keep you posted.

Reaffirming the House’s Commitment to Election Integrity

I introduced a resolution reaffirming the House of Representatives’ commitment to ensuring secure elections nationwide. My resolution also reiterates the importance of requiring photo identification at the ballot box.

We’re living in a time of unprecedented illegal border crossings into the United States. We’ve seen the invasion of more than ten million illegal aliens since Joe Biden and Kamala Harris took office in 2021. Several states and localities have identified illegal aliens on their voter rolls and instances where aliens have fraudulently cast ballots. 

Now more than ever, it is vital that the House takes a strong stance in favor of securing our elections. The radical Biden-Harris regime’s open borders have allowed millions of illegal aliens to pour into our country. We must show the American people that we are committed to ensuring that only American citizens can vote in American elections. Requiring a photo ID to vote is a simple way to bolster the security of our elections. A photo ID is required to operate a motor vehicle, to purchase alcohol or tobacco, and to apply for welfare–it’s not too much to ask that individuals be required to show their ID to vote. 

House Leadership must quickly move this resolution through the House as we approach election season. We ought to take this small step in restoring Americans’ confidence in their electoral system.

The Daily Caller covered the resolution here.

The full resolution may be read here.

Urging Investigation into Targeting of Christian Universities 

I sent a letter to House Education and Workforce Committee Chairwoman Virginia Foxx encouraging her to hold a hearing to investigate the Biden-Harris Department of Education’s (ED) targeting of Christian universities. Under Secretary Miguel Cardona’s leadership, ED has exhibited a concerning pattern of levying outrageous fines against Christian universities such as Grand Canyon University (GCU), Liberty University (LU), and Ashland University (AU).

In April of this year, Secretary Cardona openly discussed his desire to shut down GCU—the nation’s largest Christian university—with Members of the House Appropriations Committee’s Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies.

Congress can no longer sit idly by while the Biden-Harris Administration’s weaponized federal government targets conservative and Christian organizations. ED’s unchecked bureaucratic power must be reined in through congressional oversight. I would welcome the opportunity to work with Chairwoman Foxx to hold this Administration accountable.

The letter may be read here.

House Oversight & Accountability Committee Activity

The Oversight Committee held a hearing titled “Where Do We Go From Here? Examining a Path Forward to Assess Agencies’ Efforts to Prevent Improper Payments and Fraud.” My colleagues and I discussed the ineffectiveness of existing oversight mechanisms in federal agencies to identify and prevent improper payments and fraud. With the staggering magnitude of fraud and improper payments in key pandemic-era programs, Congress must work with agencies to employ proactive, data-informed measures to prevent and identify fraud across government programs.

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) estimates that the federal government paid $236 billion in improper payments in Fiscal Year 2023. GAO estimates that the funds lost to improper payments total $2.7 trillion since 2003. Though congressional and agency attention to this longstanding problem has resulted in increased accountability, improper payments and fraud persist. We must continue working to ensure that Americans’ tax dollars are not wasted.

Click the image below to hear my questions:

House Judiciary Committee Activity

I chaired a hearing for the subcommittee on Crime and Federal Government Surveillance titled “The Consequences of Soft-On-Crime Policies.” Over the course of this Congress, the Judiciary Committee has held hearings in several Democrat-run jurisdictions like Manhattan, Chicago, and Philadelphia to examine the dangers of the Left’s agenda that provides leniency toward criminals. American families need safe communities, but Democrat leadership has allowed major cities to be transformed into massive crime scenes. 

My colleagues and I spoke with victims of violent crimes in Democrat-run cities. They reiterated that Democrats refuse to prosecute criminals. Americans want common sense to prevail in their leadership: Enforcement of the law deters criminals from breaking the law.

Click the image below to watch my opening remarks from the hearing:

The Judiciary Committee held a hearing titled “The Biden-Harris Border Crisis: Victim Perspectives.” We heard heartbreaking testimonies from family members of those senselessly murdered by illegal aliens. The open-border policies of the Biden-Harris regime are directly responsible for the deaths of these innocent Americans. Every death caused by an illegal alien is 100% preventable.

Click the image below to see some of my interaction with the witnesses:

Letters and Legislation

Bills Sponsored:

• H.Res. 1425 – Reaffirming the House of Representatives’s commitment to ensuring secure elections throughout the United States by recognizing that the presentation of valid photograph identification is a fundamental component of secure elections

Amendments Sponsored to H.R. 1425 – No WHO Pandemic Preparedness Treaty without Senate Approval Act:

• Amendment #1 - Requires the President to immediately withdraw the United States from the World Health Organization (WHO) and prohibit any federal funds to provide for U.S. participation in the WHO. 

Amendments Sponsored to H.R. 9494 – Continuing Appropriations Act, 2025:

• Amendment #4 – Prohibits funding to pay the salary and expenses of the Secretary of Homeland Security, occupied by Alejandro Mayorkas 
• Amendment #5 – Prohibits funds for the use of the CBP One App, or a successor app, to facilitate the parole of any alien into the United States.  
• Amendment #6 – Prohibits funds to build the new FBI Headquarters.  
• Amendment #7 – Prohibits funds for a Special Counsel to bring criminal prosecution of a former or current President or Vice President.  
• Amendment #8 – Prohibits funds from a Federal agency, board, or commission to be used to consult, advise, or direct state prosecutors or state attorneys general in the civil action or criminal prosecution of a former or current President or Vice President in state court.  
• Amendment #9 – Prohibits funds for DEI offices or trainings.  
• Amendment #10 – Strikes all after the enacting clause and inserts the “Funding a Secure America Act”, which would provide funding in FY25 for the salaries and expenses of members of the Armed Forces, CBP, ICE, TSA, Air Traffic Controllers, and Department of Veterans Affairs personnel. 

Bills Cosponsored:

• H.R. 7137 - Trafficking Survivors Relief Act of 2024 (Rep. Fry)
• H.R. 8446 - To amend the Energy Act of 2020 to include critical materials in the definition of critical mineral (Rep. Ciscomani)
• H.R. 9534 - To enforce the rights protected by the Second and Fourteenth Amendments against the States (Rep. Massie)

Sara Carter Joins the What’s the Biggs Idea? Podcast

On this week’s episode of the What’s the Biggs Idea? Podcast, I was joined by award-winning journalist Sara Carter to discuss the Biden-Harris Administration’s border crisis. American communities experience the tragic effects of this Administration’s refusal to secure our borders every day. I’m thankful to those like Sara who work tirelessly to uncover the truth of the border crisis.

Previous episodes of the podcast can be found on my website. Click the image below to watch this week’s episode:

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 Firebrand with Congressman Gaetz to discuss the devastating consequences of Biden-Harris’s border crisis on small-town American communities. Click the image below to watch part of the segment:

I joined War Room with Dave Brat to discuss my amendments to the Continuing Appropriations Act that were killed by my Republican colleagues. Click the image below to watch part of the segment:

I joined Newsmax with David Harris Jr. to discuss the Uniparty’s refusal to cut spending. 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.