Congresswoman Lesko Weekly Update

Thank you!

It has been the honor of a lifetime to serve you in Congress as the representative for Arizona’s 8^th Congressional District. I do not take for granted the trust you placed in me when you made me your representative and I am grateful for the many things we have been able to accomplish in the past six years and eight months.

As you may know, I am retiring at the end of the Congress and will return home to Arizona to spend time with my family in the new year. As part of this transition process, my offices in both Washington, D.C. and Arizona must close. Even with our doors closing, should you need assistance you can reach our team at 623-776-7911 until December 13 when we must disconnect our phones. After that, if you need immediate assistance before my successor Abe Hamadeh is sworn into office on January 3, please reach out to Senator Mark Kelly’s office.

I will continue to work hard for you in Congress until the end of my term on January 3, but this will be my last newsletter. Thank you all for your support, kind words, and encouragement throughout my time in Congress. I look forward to serving many of you in my next role as a Maricopa County Supervisor.

Lesko Meetings

I had a great time meeting with Arizona State Representative Tony Rivero and showing him and his family around the U.S. Capitol.

I loved seeing so many fellow Arizonans at the Arizona State Society reception. Thank you to the State Society for hosting and recognizing me for my time in Congress and all of the great work you do for Arizona.

Thank you to dsm-firmenich for hosting the emPOWERher event and recognizing me for my work on women’s health while in Congress. These issues are so important and I’m happy for the work I’ve been able to do on them since coming to Congress.

I had a great meeting with Maricopa County Assessor Eddie Cook to discuss how Congress can work with state and local governments to assist our communities.

I had the honor of hearing from former Acting DHS Secretary, Chad Wolf, as well as the current nominee for Secretary of Defense, Pete Hegseth on what President Trump plans for the next four years and how we will make America safe again.

It’s time to reign in government spending and make government work for the American people – NOT the other way around. I enjoyed listening to Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy to learn more about how they plan to fix Washington, D.C. and get our federal government back on track.

It was an honor to be recognized by the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) for my consistent support of limited government, free markets, and support of individual freedoms in support of a strong economy.

Lesko in Committee

It was a BIG week for the Select Subcommittee on COVID. I was proud to play a role in adopting the COVID-19 report, ensuring that our nation’s response to future pandemics can be based on fact, reason, and the well-being of our nation.

To read the full report, click here.

Lesko Letter

This week, I pushed the EPA administrator to cease its expedited reclassification of Maricopa County’s ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) status. Following my letter to the EPA sent earlier this week and after working with Senator Kelly and the governor's office, our office has heard from the EPA that they will no longer move forward with the decision to prematurely reclassify Maricopa County to “serious” nonattainment status for their ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS). This is wonderful news!

Read my full letter here.

Looking Back

Since I took office in 2018, I have made it my goal to faithfully and diligently serve the people of Arizona’s 8th Congressional District to the best of my ability. I am proud of the progress we have made over the years including the passage of the following legislation that I introduced, all of which was either signed into law or passed out of the U.S. House of Representatives…

H.R. 6400, An act to require the Secretary of Homeland Security to conduct a threat and operational analysis of ports of entry, and for other purposes. 

This bill required a ports of entry threat and operational analysis of all United States air, land, and sea ports and created a ports of entry threat and operational strategy and implementation plan. To learn more about this bill, click here to read the full press release. 

H.R. 6016, To designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 14955 West Bell Road in Surprise, Arizona, as the Marc Lee Memorial Post Office Building.

Marc Allan Lee was the first U.S. Navy SEAL killed in action in Iraq in 2006. He was the first SEAL to lose his life in Operation Iraqi Freedom. While on a mission, he exposed himself to direct enemy fire and saved the lives of many of his fellow SEALS. I was proud to rename a post office in Surprise in his honor. To read more about the bill click here. 

H.R. 4402, The Inland Waters Security Review Act

This legislation required the analysis of security challenges for U.S. inland water imports, the security threats they face, and the vulnerabilities between state, local, and territorial law enforcement or international agreements. For more information, click here. 

H.R. 3694, The Helping Families Fly Act of 2019

This bill improved the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) screening experience and made it easier for pregnant women and families with young children to fly.  It required the explanation of procedures, adequate alternatives to procedures, the implementation of communication strategies, and more. For more information on this bill, click here. 

H. Res. 1046, Supporting the designation of August 2020 as National Women’s Suffrage Month

This bill designated August 2020 as National Women’s Suffrage Month. For more information on this legislation please click here. 

H.R. 6192, The Hands Off Our Home Appliances Act

This legislation prohibited the U.S. Department of Energy from prescribing any new or amended energy efficiency standard that is not technologically feasible or economically justified. First, the legislation required new energy efficiency standards to be cost-effective. Second, the proposal mandated actual energy or waters savings for any new standard. Finally, this bill prevented any household appliance from being banned by the federal government based on fuel usage. For more information on this legislation click here. 

H.R. 1640, The Save Our Gas Stoves Act

This bill prohibited the U.S. Department of Energy from finalizing and implementing its February 1, 2023, proposed efficiency standard for gas powered appliances and effectively prevented the Biden Administration from banning 96% of the market share of gas stoves. For more information, click here. 

I have also been able to cosponsor many important conservative wins including bills to secure the border, protect women, support law enforcement, and so much more. While there is still much work to do, I am proud of what we have been able to accomplish and look forward to seeing what my colleagues will get done for Arizona and the American people in the next Congress.

Aside from legislative wins, our office has been able to return more than $11.5 million to constituents through tax returns, IRS backpay, veterans’ benefits, and more and helped thousands of constituents with federal agencies. Serving the constituents of Arizona's 8th Congressional District has truly been an honor. 

Get the Facts: Border Crisis

With everything in the news right now, it’s easy to forget exactly what we’re fighting for in Congress. One of the largest issues affecting Arizona, and one I’ve been most passionate about during my time in Congress, is border security. Under President Biden, illegal immigration has increased significantly with more migrants pouring across the border than the entire population of Phoenix multiple times over – and that’s just the ones we know about. Of those illegal immigrants, hundreds of thousands have been children. You may even remember earlier this Congress, I questioned Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Becerra on the difficulty level of housing an unaccompanied migrant child. Come to find out, under the Biden Administration, it is easier to take an unaccompanied migrant child into your home than it is to foster a dog or a cat in the city of Washington, D.C. It’s crazy! House Republicans have tried everything to combat these horrific policies, including passing HR 2 in May 2023. HR 2 was the toughest border bill ever passed in Congress, but Leader Schumer and Senate Democrats had no interest in bringing it to the floor for a vote. Now, we are veering towards the end of the Biden Administration and welcoming a second Trump Administration into office on the promise of border security. I, for one, am excited about the possibilities to make America safe again. However, many Democrat mayors across the country have spoken out about their outrage over President Trump’s promised deportation plan. One of the most recent was a Boston City Councilmember, who, along with her fellow councilmembers, passed the TRUST Act, a measure aimed at preventing Immigrations and Custom Enforcement (ICE) from cooperating with law enforcement and officials from keeping migrants in custody for possible deportation without a criminal warrant. Not only will this policy undermine President Trump’s plans, but it will also undermine the safety of Bostonians and the rest of America. These sanctuary city policies cannot continue. They do nothing but undermine our national security and the safety of our communities. The American people deserve better.

Casework Highlight

A constituent contacted our office for assistance with the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). The constituent's VA benefits had been stopped due to an  erroneous listing that he was deceased. Our office reached out to the Veterans Benefits Administration to investigate why the constituent was listed as deceased. After our outreach, the constituent’s benefits were reinstated, and he received back pay for the missed payments.

May God continue to bless you and our great Nation.

Sincerely,

Congresswoman Debbie Lesko