Congresswoman Lesko Weekly Update

Good afternoon,

It is great to be back in Arizona!

Great 8 Tour Kickoff

This week, I was home in Arizona where I hit the ground running on my Great 8 Tour and met with numerous constituents, stakeholders, and businesses across our district and Arizona! I kicked off the tour with a visit to Ministerio Nuevo Gozo Church in El Mirage, AZ, a Hispanic church that has been in our community for 12 years. I also had a wonderful time visiting Luke Air Force Base, and I have been continually impressed by the work of the 56^th Fighter Wing. I also met with leadership from Arizona Public Service, the largest electric utility in Arizona, to discuss issues their industry faces and opportunities to better serve customers across our state. I was fortunate to tour Midwestern University in Glendale, AZ and attend a meeting with executives for Southwest Gas to receive a general company update and discuss the importance of natural gas. I also went to Surprise Stadium to take in a little baseball and present a Congressional Recognition to a deserving local organization.

Energy Subcommittee Hearing

On Wednesday, I attended a virtual hearing in the Energy Subcommittee of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce. We discussed the need for greater use of carbon capture technology and hydrogen production as sources of clean, reliable, and affordable energy. I also discussed how we need more domestic critical mineral mining to end our reliance on foreign adversaries for our critical mineral needs. My full remarks in this subcommittee hearing can be found here.

Big Tech Hearing

I also attended a virtual hearing for the House Committee on Energy and Commerce’s Subcommittees on Consumer Protection and Commerce and Communications and Technology on Thursday where we heard from the executives of Facebook, Twitter, and Google. I raised concerns about Google users’ data privacy and asked CEO Sundar Pichai about Google’s use of people’s private Gmail data and information. I also asked Jack Dorsey about Twitter’s moderation policies in light of conservatives’ concerns about being treated fairly by Big Tech companies. My full remarks in the committee can be found here.

Legislative Update

I cosponsored Representative Matthew Rosendale’s legislation, the Returning Excessive Migrants and Asylee to International Neighbors (REMAIN) in Mexico Act, to continue to implement the Migrant Protection Protocols policy implemented by the Department of Homeland Security during the Trump Administration. This is a crucial step in disincentivizing illegal immigration and fixing the current humanitarian and national security crisis at the southern border.

Governor Ducey Lifts COVID-19 Restrictions

Governor Doug Ducey recently announced new guidance and lifted many COVID-19 restrictions in light of nearly 3 million Arizonans receiving their COVID-19 vaccines. These measures include COVID-19 rules being changed to recommendations, gatherings of 50+ people no longer require approval, capacity restrictions for bars, restaurants, and gyms have been lifted, and local mask ordinances are no longer enforceable. However, individual businesses may choose to require masks or enforce capacity restrictions.

Congressional Recognitions

Monica from our office presented a Congressional Recognition to Dr. Ben Butler, President of the Glendale Rotary Club, for the Club’s continuous service to the community. Since its founding, the Glendale Rotary Club has built modest homes in Rocky Point Mexico, partially sponsors the City of Glendale Summer Band, and has supported a literacy project that provides books to second graders.

Pictured left to right: Monica, Dr. Ben Butler

Monica from our office presented a Congressional Recognition to Gabe Rivas from Surprise, AZ, who is a member of our Hispanic Advisory Board. He has donated free meals to various engagement initiatives, including more than 600 to Surprise, AZ and Peoria, AZ families through six Peoria Grab ’n’ Go events, lunches to the Valley Vista Basketball team, and 150 meals for the Cancer Support Community of Arizona. Our office is proud to recognize his dedication and compassion towards others.

Pictured left to right: Gabe Rivas, Monica

Monica also presented a Congressional Recognition to Charley’s Heroes and the founder Karen Judd. Charley’s Heroes fundraises for police departments across the country, provides meals to police officers, and participated in many other projects to support our law enforcement officers. I am thankful for the work Charley’s Heroes does to support our brave men and women in law enforcement!

Pictured from left to right: Barbara Judd, Bob Judd, Ahleeya Judd, Charley Judd, Phoenix Officer Trung Tran, Monica, and Karen Judd

Encouraging Story

I want to share this story about Dr. Laurie Eldridge, who recently won the National 2021 Excellence in PreK-12 Art Education Award. Dr. Eldridge and her coworker created a room, known as the “Community Closet,” dedicated as a room for donated clothing, hygiene products, and food to give to students in need. It is wonderful to see the dedication that teachers like Dr. Eldridge have and their compassion for giving back to their students.

Casework Highlight

A constituent reached out to our office because she had to file a 2019 amended tax return. Due to Internal Revenue Service (IRS) backlog, the amended return had not been processed, despite being submitted in July. Our office reached out to the IRS, and we were successful in getting the amended tax return processed and the constituent received her refund.

Coronavirus Casework Highlight

A constituent contacted our office because he was receiving Pandemic Unemployment Assistance benefits for three weeks but was unable to re-apply for retroactive benefits because he was locked out of the Department of Economic Security (DES) portal. We sent his information to our contact at DES and they were able to resolve the issue and he was no longer locked out of the portal and was able to apply for the retroactive benefits.

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 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