HOUSE ARMED SERVICES HEARING

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This week, in the House Armed Services Committee (HASC) hearing about the bungled withdrawal from Afghanistan, I held accountable Chairman of the Joint Chiefs General Mark Milley, General McKenzie, and Secretary of State Lloyd Austin. When I asked Secretary Austin whether he can assess another’s will to fight, he responded with a simple “no.” It is troubling that our own Secretary of Defense cannot assess one’s will to fight. However, this lines up perfectly with Sec. Austin’s track record regarding his experience in Syria in the Obama Administration.

Furthermore, I reminded General Milley that he spent more time with Bob Woodward on the production of the book “Peril” than analyzing the very likelihood of the Afghan government collapsing. The political objectives of the military seem to be the priority over the planning and execution of a successful evacuation. In case you missed it, troubling findings came out recently in a book “Peril” about phone calls that General Milley made to Nancy Pelosi and the Chinese General Li Zuocheng. General Milley admitted that he would inform the Chinese if former President Trump was going to authorize a nuclear attack in the aftermath of January 6th. It is troublesome that an American general undermined the chain of command here in the United States.

I also defended Lt. Col. Stuart Scheller, the man who spoke out demanding accountability from these three men and now he is locked up in the brig. Our military leaders had no response to this troubling situation.

On behalf of my constituents and all fellow patriots, I owe it to you to hold these people accountable for the fiasco of the withdrawal in Afghanistan. To be clear, I maintain support for leaving Afghanistan because no prosperous nation strives by fighting forever wars. When withdrawing American troops from a country, we must put our American citizens and troops first. That clearly did not happen under this failed leadership.  

MILITARY GENERAL ADMITS THEY AREN'T CAPABLE OF ASSESSING ONE'S WILL TO FIGHT

On Thursday, I joined Steve Bannon on War Room: Pandemic to reflect on the HASC saga, the politicization of the military, and Don Lemon's questionable comments about me. It is always essential to hold leadership accountable, especially when life and death are on the line.

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FISCAL CLIFF

The Democrats have continually failed to broker a deal within their Caucus. This comes months after Democratic leadership and the White House were hoping to strike a deal for their egregious $3.5 Trillion spending bill that would convince House progressives to vote for the Senate-passed bipartisan infrastructure bill. Luckily, they have failed to do either. The RINOs in the Senate voted to pass a temporary measure that keeps the government funded until early December. No real solution, but luckily, no $3.5 Trillion of waste.

Rest assured, I will never vote to increase the debt limit.

EPISODE 9 OF FIREBRAND IS AVAILABLE NOW!

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REP. GAETZ & COLLEAGUES CALL FOR   LT. COL. SCHELLER'S FREEDOM

U.S. Marine Lieutenant Colonel Stuart Scheller was placed in pretrial confinement for expressing his passionate and truthful opinions following the evacuation debacle in Afghanistan. LTC Scheller acknowledged that he had a lot to lose by publishing his statement, but he righteously declared that it was worth it. Without accountability from leadership, following the Ultimate Sacrifices made by those 13 Marines who died in Afghanistan, someone needs to speak up. In our letter addressed to General David Berger, we acknowledge that "Lt. Col. Scheller must be immediately released from the brig and allowed to voluntarily resign from his post."

Click Here to Read the Letter & Click Here to Watch LTC Scheller's Video

JUDICIARY COMMITTEE VOTES TO LEGALIZE MARIJUANA

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Today I voted YES on the Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement Act to remove marijuana from the list of Schedule 1 drugs, decriminalizing the substance at the federal level and enabling states to set their own policy.

Though not perfect (bad tax and spending provisions) the MORE Act is a step in the right direction as science has already proven the substance has healing properties in many chronic ailments.

Click Here to Read the Bill!

CONGRESSMAN GAETZ'S OTHER LEGISLATIVE ACTIONS

H.R.997 - English Language Unity Act of 2021

This week I was proud to cosponsor Rep. Louie Gohmert's (TX-1) H.R. 997, the English Language Unity Act. This bill establishes English as the official language of the United States and sets up a framework for implementation and enforcement, including by testing English as part of the naturalization process. I can’t believe English HASN’T been established as the official language. Let’s get this bill to Biden’s desk!

H.R. 4287 - USA Workforce Tax Credit Act

I also cosponsored Rep. Lloyd Smucker's (PA-11) bill, the USA Workforce Tax Credit Act. This bill allows tax credits for charitable contributions to certain nonprofit organizations, so long as they provide workforce development/apprenticeship training or scholarships for students from households with income that does not exceed 200% of the median gross income.

Tax credits and helping those in need can go hand-in-hand. Both of these are completely free choices to be made by those who want to save money and also lend a hand. 

Click Here to Read the Bill!

AROUND THE DISTRICT

HHS AWARDS $1.1 MILLION TO HEALTH CENTER IN ESCAMBIA

I am excited to announce that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services will be awarding Escambia Community Clinics $1,099,412 under its Health Center Infrastructure Support grant. Congratulations!

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WHAT WE'RE READING

RealClear Politics — October 1, 2021

Between Afghanistan and Immigration, Have We Ever Had a Less Competent President?

Mises — September 21, 2021

Why "Natural Immunity" Is a Political Problem for the Regime 

GAETZ IN THE NEWS

RedState — September 29, 2021

Matt Gaetz Reduces Gen. Milley to Rubble Over Afghanistan and Takes Biden Down in the Process

"Republicans Matt Gaetz of Florida and Tom McClintock of California joined Democrats to advance the marijuana bill by a vote of 26-15."

New York Post — September 29, 2021

Gaetz tells Milley he would be fired if Biden wasn’t ‘so addled’

"Rep. Matt Gaetz launched into a scathing cross-examination of Gen. Mark Milley and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin during their Wednesday testimony on the chaotic and deadly US withdrawal from Afghanistan, saying that if President Biden wasn’t so “addled,” the military leaders would have been fired."

Breitbart — September 29, 2021

Gaetz Rips Pentagon Leaders on Afghanistan Withdrawal: ‘You Seem to Be Very Happy Failing Up’

"Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) took Pentagon leaders to task over the botched Afghanistan withdrawal during a House Armed Services Committee hearing on Wednesday."