Justice for the Family of Laken Hope Riley

Urging Secretary Raimondo to Support U.S. Manufacturers

Keeping FAFSA on Schedule for Students and Families

The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) is designed to make postsecondary education accessible and affordable for students across the United States. The FAFSA application has traditionally been released on October 1st to give students, families, and schools ample time to prepare for the coming academic year—until 2023 under the Biden-Harris Administration. FAFSA delays cause great confusion for schools and families and make it difficult for states and nonprofits to process aid packages or award scholarships.

That's why House Republicans recently passed H.R. 8932, the FAFSA Deadline Act, which would give students, families, and schools much-needed clarity by ensuring the FAFSA is released and fully operational by October 1st each year. Passage of H.R. 8932 will prevent the Department of Education from continuing its alarming pattern of botched FAFSA rollouts.

Diversifying U.S. Energy Production

Unleashing American energy means increasing the production of diverse energy sources across the board to reduce risks of disruptions, support our energy security, and protect our national security. But too often, onerous red tape and burdensome bureaucracy have hampered our ability to do so. That's why the House also passed:

• H.R. 7409, the Harnessing Energy At Thermal Sources (HEATS) Act, which would streamline permit requirements and expedite geothermal energy production.
• H.R. 1449, the Committing Leases for Energy Access Now (CLEAN) Act, which requires the Interior Department to increase the frequency of geothermal lease sales to spur additional geothermal energy production.

House Republicans will not stop working to restore American energy dominance and lower energy costs for workers and families.  

Providing Tax Relief for American Hostages

Presently, there are around 46 American citizens being wrongfully detained or held hostage abroad, including in China, Russia, Iran, and by Hamas in Gaza. While they remain held captive by adversaries across the world, a horrifying flaw in the U.S. tax code penalizes these American hostages: under current law, the IRS cannot extend relief past one year to wrongfully detained taxpayers, and there is no process to proactively suspend interest for these taxpayers as they suffer far from home. 

To right this wrong, the House passed H.R. 9495, the Stop Terror-Financing and Tax Penalties on American Hostages Act, which prevents the IRS from charging late fees and penalties on American citizens wrongfully detained abroad, and revokes the tax-exempt status of U.S. non-profit organizations who have been found to provide financial or material support to designated terrorist groups like Hamas. American citizens should not be penalized for being held hostage by adversaries abroad, and while this bill was bipartisan, 183 Democrats voted NO.

December Community Office Hours

Problems with a federal agency? My staff is here to help. Yesterday, I announced December Community Office Hours.

Throughout the month of December, members of my staff will be available in Burke, Candler, Columbia, Effingham, Emanuel, Evans, Glascock, Jefferson, Jenkins, Johnson, Lincoln, McDuffie, Montgomery, Screven, Tattnall, Treutlen, Warren, Washington, Wheeler, and Wilkes counties to assist constituents closer to home with a variety of federal issues, including help navigating various federal agencies such as FEMA, Social Security, Veterans Affairs, Medicare, and others.

Community Office Hours are not held in counties in which I have a permanent office. For the full list of dates, times, and locations, CLICK HERE.

Celebrating National Apprenticeship Week

Meeting with the U.S. Peanut Federation