Hello, Friends —
This week, as cracks in the national economy continue emerge, the Democrat-led House of Representatives passed another suite of bills that increase spending and expand government. This includes the H.R. 4176, the LGBTQI+ Data Inclusion Act, and H.R. 5585, the Advanced Research Project Agency-Health Act, which would create yet another unnecessary government agency.
The Democrats also passed radical gun control legislation, misnamed as the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, which undermines Americans’ fundamental Constitutional rights, including the right to bear arms and the right to due process. I am proud to vote No on these measures and usher in essential funding for Northwest Florida's Military Mission as this week comes to a close.
CONGRESSMAN GAETZ APPLAUDS $525 MILLION FOR NW FLORIDA'S MILITARY MISSION IN NDAA
On Wednesday, I applauded the House Armed Services Committee’s (HASC) passage of the fiscal year 2023 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which included much needed relief for service members struggling under inflation as well as funding for research and development for advanced munitions technology. During this 16-hour markup, I am proud to have secured over $525 Million for the Northwest Florida Military Mission. The NDAA now heads to the House floor for final passage.
Click Here to Watch!
In addition to aide and support for our service members, I also successfully led HASC Republicans –by flipping 2 Democrat votes–in defeating an unnecessary, woke amendment by Rep. Anthony Brown (MD-04), which would have required defense contractors to report on the racial, ethnic, and gender diversity of their board of directors and submit their plans on diversity.
Click Here to Watch!
Additionally, I was joined by physicians who serve on the House Armed Services Committee, Reps. Scott DesJarlais (TN-04) and Ronny Jackson (TX-13), in introducing amendments to end vaccine mandates in the military, recognize natural immunity, and reinstate service members with backpay and rank. Unfortunately, Democrats in the Majority were joined by Rep. Liz Cheney (WY-01), in opposing Resp. DesJarlais, Jackson, and my amendments. I commit to reintroducing these amendments for full consideration in the House.
Furthermore, although Democrats on the Committee relentlessly defended vaccine mandates in the military, my Republican colleagues and I supported and passed an amendment offered by Rep. DesJarlais that states the Secretary of Defense may not implement a requirement for contractors of the Department of Defense to receive a COVID–19 vaccine until a report is conducted on the effects of the mandates on contractors.
Northwest Florida’s Military Mission is essential to America’s national security. Northwest Floridians take great pride in our contributions to the defense of our nation. The funding secured in this legislation is a testament to that spirit and ensures our military mission and community will continue to thrive. The NDAA also provides much needed relief to our service members who are suffering under Joe Biden’s inflation. For additional highlights from the HASC NDAA proceedings, see below:
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
Eglin Gulf Test and Training Range received over $140 million for expansive modernization of the range’s test instruments, infrastructure, and threat emitters to replicate adversary electronic warfare capabilities. The range will be upgraded and funded to be a center of hypersonic weapons testing, leading the Department of Defense’s efforts to close the capabilities gap with China and Russia. Northwest Florida private-sector employers will also see programs they support funded and expanded. Fort Walton Beach and Crestview are home to two important suppliers for the CH-47 Block II program, Fort Walton Machining and Crestview Aerospace (formerly Vertex). The CH-47 Block II received a $216 million plus up, which I sponsored, to produce 3 additional aircraft.
Additionally, Niceville-based Integrated Solutions for Systems supports novel 3D printing for armament components and anticipates expansion due to a $5 million budget enhancement that I also sponsored. The Air Force Research Laboratory’s Munitions Directorate on Eglin is at the cutting edge of developing future weapons design and testing solutions. I sponsored and secured $8 Million for developing new strategies for advanced munitions technology via the energetics industry and digital engineering solutions for advanced weapons testing.
These programs will connect the defense sector with private industry and academia. The National Naval Aviation Museum and Barrancas National Cemetery on Naval Air Station Pensacola are national treasures that must be reopened to the public. Furthermore, I sponsored an amendment that directs the Secretary of the Navy to provide his plan to reopen to the public by March 1, 2023.
Finally, our service members are struggling under the weight of Joe Biden’s crippling inflation. I supported a spending increase to provide much needed relief to our troops, securing $800 Million for a 2.4% inflation pay bonus for service members making under $45,000 and additional $250 Million to reduce the cost of groceries at the commissary.
REP. GAETZ REJECTS DEMOCRAT GUN CONTROL BILL
Today, the House passed foolish gun control legislation. Misplaced empathy overtook logic, reason, and our natural rights. The misnamed Bipartisan Safer Communities Act” raises age requirements to purchase a firearm, institutes backdoor universal background checks, appropriates $7.5 billion to Medicaid in the name of gun safety, and prohibits funding to arm teachers and school administrators. This is simply ridiculous. Democrats will never spend their way out of a recession, as much as they try to distract the American people from the disaster they have created.
This bill is an assault on our Second Amendment and Fifth Amendment constitutional protections. If Republicans who voted with Democrats think the radical left will stop their gun grab—they won’t. If they hope their freedom-loving constituents won’t recall this betrayal—they will.
JUST IN: THE SUPREME COURT OVERTURNS ROE v. WADE & STANDS FOR LIFE
I applaud the courage of the Supreme Court in standing up for our most vulnerable in the face of violent intimidation from leftist agitators and the Democratic Party. Roe and Casey were bad science and bad law. Now they’re history. The Supreme Court’s decisions in Roe v. Wade, and Planned Parenthood v. Casey were a stain on the judiciary. Abortion is not deeply rooted in our nation’s history; it is not found in our common law. The Constitution is clear that Americans are entitled to life and should not be deprived of it without due process of law. Every day, the unborn are denied this due process when their skulls are crushed and they are ripped from their mothers’ wombs, limb by limb, until their little hearts stop beating. That ends today. States are now free to create law that opposes the evil of abortion and enshrines the unborn's right to life.
FIRERAND: LIVE FROM CONGRESS
Episode 57: Life Wins
Congressman Matt Gaetz reacts to the momentous Supreme Court ruling that overturns Roe v. Wade, along with exclusive on-the-ground reactions from the pro-life and pro-choice demonstrators in DC during the breaking news of the decision.
Episode 56: Soldiers, Guns, & Narcos
Congressman Matt Gaetz recaps the passage of FY-2023 National Defense Authorization Act, during which he successfully secured $525 million for Northwest Florida's Military Mission and defeated unnecessary woke amendments that HASC Democrats tried to sneak in during the 16 hours of debate and discussion–PLUS breaking news regarding the Supreme Court striking down restrictions on New York's concealed carry law, and Colombia's newly elected leftist president.
Episode 55: National Malaise (feat. Rep. Anthony Sabatini)
Congressman Matt Gaetz is joined by Florida State House Representative Anthony Sabatini to discuss how the economic malaise of the Biden presidency parallels that of former President Jimmy Carter, as well as immigration, critical race theory, and vax mandates.
GAETZ ON FOX NEWS: WHY IS BIDEN'S IRS BUYING $725,000 WORTH OF AMMO?
Click Here to Watch!
On Tuesday, I joined Jesse Waters on Fox News, where we discussed new revelations that the IRS has spent your tax dollars on ammunition. Call me old fashioned, but I thought the heaviest artillery an IRS agent would need would be a calculator, not $725,000 worth of ammunition!
REP. GAETZ & CHARLIE KIRK: NEOCONS CAN'T PLAY WAR GAMES WITH A WOKE MILITARY
Click Here to Watch!
This week, I joined "The Charlie Kirk Show" on Real America's Voice to discuss how I am working to reinstate discharged service members who refused to comply with vaccine mandates, why the IRS is purchasing hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of ammunition, woke ideology infiltrating the military, the idea of nominating Trump for House Speaker, and more!
GAETZ IN THE NEWS
The Dan Bongino Show — June 22, 2022
Why Is the IRS Stockpiling Ammo?
"Rep. Matt Gaetz explained these eyebrow-raising purchases during an interview with Breitbart News: 'This is so bizarre to me, but yeah, just between March and June 1st, they spent about $700,000 purchasing ammunition at the IRS. The IRS should be people in cubicles with green shades and calculators. They shouldn’t be people with guns and ammo.'"
BPR — June 22, 2022
Gaetz calls for reinstating service members booted over vaxx status: ‘I see the impact on our readiness’
"Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) is standing up for armed service members who were purged for refusing the COVID vaccine, asserting that they are needed for the nation’s military readiness."
Fox News — June 21, 2022
Gaetz blasts IRS, railroad agency buying up ammo: 'The heaviest artillery they need is a calculator'
"House Judiciary Committee Member Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., sounded off Tuesday on news that the Internal Revenue Service, Railroad Retirement Board and other federal agencies have been stocking up on thousands of rounds of ammunition as civilians face shortages and President Biden continues to claim no one needs such volumes of bullets."
The First — June 21, 2022
REINSTATE. REIMBURSE. Gaetz Intros Bill for Service Members Dismissed Over COVID Vax
"Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) is preparing to introduce an amendment that would reinstate all U.S. service members dismissed for refusing to take the COVID-19 vaccine —including back pay."
The Daily Wire — June 21, 2022
‘I See The Impact On Our Readiness’: Matt Gaetz Pushes To Reinstate Service Members Dismissed Over The COVID Vaccine
"The Florida Republican expressed frustration to The Daily Wire that the opposition to his amendments does not merely come from Democrats, warning that the leading Republican on the House Armed Services Committee, Mike Rogers (R-AL), has expressed public support for the military vaccine mandate."
Breitbart — June 18, 2021
Matt Gaetz: Cornyn Gun Control Package Is a Way to ‘Bribe States to Enact Red Flag Laws
Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) noted during Breitbart News Saturday on June 18 that Sen. John Cornyn’s (R-TX) bipartisan gun control deal rests on using 'federal money to bribe states to enact red flag laws.'"
WHAT WE'RE READING
The Washington Examiner — June 24, 2022
Finally, justice for the unborn
RedState — June 21, 2022
Disney Stock Has Tumbled Nearly 50 Percent as Audiences Turn Away
|
