Message from Congressman Scott Fitzgerald

Good morning, everyone, and happy Tuesday! 

The past few weeks have been busy on Capitol Hill as the House of Representatives has been in session to begin implementing our agenda.

Recently, I had the honor of chairing my first Judiciary Subcommittee on the Administrative State, Regulatory Reform, and Antitrust hearing examining the California Fires and the Consequences of Overregulation.

As chairman, I look forward to continuing to work with the Trump Administration, Chairman Jordan, and members of the committee to hold Big Tech accountable for censorship, reverse the Biden Administration’s anti-business agenda, and fight the federal bureaucracy.

Keep reading on to hear the latest policy updates and have a great week.

-Scott

Supported Legislation to Fight the Fentanyl Epidemic

I’m happy to report that the House recently passed H.R. 27, the HALT Fentanyl Act. This critical legislation accomplishes a top legislative priority I passed in the Wisconsin State Senate and have been advocating for since coming to Congress: to permanently classify fentanyl-related substances as Schedule I drugs. Drug overdose has become an all-too-common occurrence, and fentanyl-related overdose is the leading cause of death in this country. We must put an end to this epidemic, and that starts with a permanent designation of this deadly substance.

 I offered remarks on the House floor in support of H.R. 27, where I shared two stories of constituents who have overcome the tragedy of drug overdose. Lauri Badura, of Oconomowoc, lost her eldest son, Archie, in 2014 due to an accidental overdose. Since then, she has dedicated herself to advocating on behalf of those struggling with mental health and substance abuse, and started a grassroots organization called, “Saving Others for Archie” to help fight the opioid epidemic on the local, state and national level. Erin and Rick Rachwal of Pewaukee also lost their son Logan to an overdose in 2021. The results of the toxicology report indicated three different forms of fentanyl were present. In response, Erin and Rick started the “Love, Logan Foundation” to end the stigma surrounding mental health and substance abuse disorders and raise awareness of the dangers of fentanyl and other illicit substances.

Additionally, I re-introduced the Stopping Overdoses of Fentanyl Analogues (SOFA) Act. This bill, which I have introduced the previous two Congresses alongside Wisconsin Senator Ron Johnson, permanently designates fentanyl-related substances to Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act, and codifies the ruling in United States V. McCray (2d Cir. 2021), which adds fentanyl-related substance to the definition of “controlled substance analogue” in the Controlled Substance Act and the Controlled Substances Import and Export Act for the purposes of establishing mandatory minimums for trafficking and distributing fentanyl. SOFA is the same acronym as an organization started by Lauri Badura, "Saving Others for Archie."

Questioned Reporters on Government Censorship of Americans

Last week, during a House Judiciary Committee hearing on "The Censorship-Industrial Complex," I had the opportunity to question Michael Shellenberger and Matt Taibbi who are both journalists that reported on the Twitter Files.

The Twitter Files showed how the State Department’s Global Engagement Center (GEC)—initially created to counter foreign disinformation campaigns—ended up censoring American speech directly and by proxy. The GEC was supposedly disbanded at the end of last year after Congress chose not to renew it. But it has come to my attention that as the Biden Administration left office, they simply rebranded under the State Department’s Undersecretary for Public Diplomacy. This is a perfect target for DOGE.

Presented Certificates to Service Academy Nominees

As a Member of Congress and a veteran, one of my greatest privileges is nominating outstanding young men and women from Wisconsin's 5th District to our nation's Service Academies. I recently had the honor of presenting Certificates of Special Congressional Recognition to this year's nominees—exceptional individuals committed to serving our country. These young leaders represent the best of our community, and I wish them nothing but success.

Introduced Bill to Repeal Regulation that Harms Business Growth

Last week, I also introduced H.J.Res.39, a Congressional Review Act (CRA) resolution of disapproval to repeal the FTC’s final rule making changes to the Premerger Notification Form under Hart-Scott-Rodino (HSR).

When Congress passed the Merger Filing Fee Modernization Act, it did so with one bipartisan goal; to lower the filing burden on small businesses. Unfortunately, this rule is in clear departure from Congressional intent, benefitting large corporations relative to small businesses. With Republicans in full control of Washington, we should use this as an opportunity to go back to the drawing board and pass a rule that aligns with both Congressional and statutory intent. I look forward to working with the Trump Administration to make targeted changes to the rule and focus on ensuring foreign state-owned enterprises are not distorting our markets.

Met with Constituents from American Medical Association

Additionally, it was great to meet with members of the American Medical Association. We discussed methods to maintain and improve the quality of care for patients across the state of Wisconsin.

Office Hours

Mobile Office Hours: My office will be hosting Mobile Office Hours on Thursday, February 20th. We will be available to meet with constituents who may be experiencing problems with a federal agency. Constituents are asked to bring copies of documentation related to their issues.

Locations:

9:30 AM - 10:15 AM
 New Berlin City Hall
Conference Room
3805 S. Casper Dr
New Berlin, WI 53151

1:15 PM - 2:00 PM
West Bend City Hall 
Council Chambers
1115 S. Main St
West Bend, WI 53095

That wraps the updates from the past few weeks. Thanks for reading along!  

-Scott

That's a wrap for this week's eNewsletter! Follow me on Twitter and Facebook to stay up to date on my work for the 5th District of Wisconsin.

Sincerely,

Scott Fitzgerald
Member of Congress