Congresswoman Lesko Weekly Update

Good evening,

This was one crazy week at the U.S. Capitol. On Sunday, I was sworn in for my second full term in Congress. I am honored to be able to continue to serve the people of Arizona’s 8th Congressional District and fight for our great nation.

Congress also voted to certify the Electoral College results for the 2020 presidential election. Unfortunately, violence broke out at the U.S. Capitol during these proceedings. I wholeheartedly condemn the violence that occurred, and I am grateful to the U.S. Capitol Police officers for their service to our nation. To hear my experience during the Capitol break-in, listen here.

As your representative in Congress, I carefully listened to the debate on both sides regarding the objections to the Electoral College votes from both our great state of Arizona and Pennsylvania. Ultimately, I voted to agree with both objections. Presidential elections must follow state law, and I believe that both states did not follow their own state laws during the 2020 presidential election and thus violated the U.S. Constitution. My full statement on Arizona can be found here and my full statement on Pennsylvania can be found here.

Legislative Update

I am proud to see that my bill to rename the U.S. Post Office in Surprise, AZ in honor of fallen Navy SEAL Marc Lee was signed into law! Marc Lee was the first Navy SEAL to give his life for our country in Iraq, and Marc’s mother, Debbie Lee, lives in our district. I am very pleased this important bill is now law and will honor Marc’s sacrifice and service to our nation.

Encouraging Story

It was great to see this story from the Goodyear Police Department on their newest member of the K9 unit, Billy! He is a two-and-a-half-year-old Belgian Malinois and serves as a dual-purpose K9 in Explosives Detection and Patrol. Billy graduated from training in December and loves his new job.

Casework Highlight

A constituent contacted our office regarding a debt that he received due to an overpayment from military travel. Our office filed an inquiry with the Defense Finance Accounting Service, an agency of the U.S. Department of Defense, and it was found to be a duplicate entry. The debt was paid in full, and the constituent received a credit.

Coronavirus Casework Highlight

A constituent contacted our office because she was told that she did not qualify for unemployment benefits because she did not demonstrate proof of her efforts to find employment and had only applied for one week of benefits. The constituent provided additional information to our office to show that this was not accurate. We sent her information to the Arizona Department of Economic Security, and they contacted her directly and fixed the errors. Her unemployment benefits were released shortly thereafter.

We are Here to Help

As always, my office is here to help. Both my Surprise district office and Washington, D.C. office are open to serve constituents. We are available over the phone and via email at both offices. In addition, the Surprise district office is taking appointments for in-person meetings with staff. We are not accepting walk-in meetings at this time due to the Coronavirus. For the safety of staff and constituents, we will be observing CDC guidelines, including wearing masks and social distancing. To make an appointment with the office, please call 623-776-7911. 

Please feel free to contact my Washington, D.C. office via phone at 202-225-4576 or via email by going to my website at https://lesko.house.gov/contact/.

I encourage you to visit the website and to also follow me on Twitter, Parler, and Instagram and like my Facebook page for up to date information about the ongoing outbreak and available resources. 

May God continue to bless you and our great Nation. 

Sincerely,

Congresswoman Debbie Lesko