Dear Friends,
President Joe Biden’s assault on American energy is only getting worse. Instead of unleashing American energy resources to drive down prices, Biden announced last week that he is shipping five million barrels of oil from our Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) overseas. The SPR is meant for weather or national security emergencies, but the President has depleted our reserve to its lowest point since 1986 – a direct result of his endless attack on America's energy sector. Making matters even worse, the Biden administration sold roughly one million barrels from the SPR to a Chinese government owned gas giant that continues to purchase Russian oil.
Not only has Biden failed to bring down energy prices, but he is now threatening our national security by sending our strategic stockpile to other countries as Americans struggle to afford gas at home. It’s long past time that this administration ends the federal freeze on oil and gas leases, expedites approval of all pipeline and energy development, and stops the regulatory assault on U.S. energy development and financing.
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| Columbus VA Clinic Opening Day |
On Monday, Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 665 raised the American flag marking opening day of the Robert S. Poydasheff VA clinic in Columbus! This new, state-of-the-art facility will provide a wide range of medical services for our veterans. The clinic is located at 6910 River Road, Columbus, Georgia 31904.
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| June Jobs Report |
Last Friday, the Bureau of Labor Statistics released the June jobs report. The report was a clear indication that the workforce shortage is persisting, as employment has shrunk two of the last three months and layoffs are rising. Small businesses are struggling and hardworking families are seeing their savings wiped out as a direct result of Joe Biden’s economic crisis.
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| Fighting Against Government Waste |
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At the peak of the coronavirus pandemic, Congress acted to provide Americans with assistance and relief. As a part of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act of 2020, the Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation (FPUC) program and the Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation (PEUC) program were implemented as a short-term solution to support Americans who were temporarily out of the workforce.
It shouldn’t surprise you that a new, big-government program that incentivizes folks to not return to work – and had zero oversight – was ripe for fraud. For the last two years, Republicans on the Ways and Means Committee have sounded the alarm about the threat of these programs becoming an easy target for fraud and abuse, and last May we introduced H.R., 3268, the Combatting COVID Unemployment Fraud Act of 2021. This essential bill would prevent fraud in COVID unemployment programs, recover fraudulently paid benefits, and provide relief for taxpayers and victims of unemployment fraud.
Unfortunately, House Democrats have refused to hold a single oversight hearing to address the growing problem of unchecked improper payments. And just last week, the Department of Labor’s Office of Inspector General released a report that showed $77.2 billion in improper unemployment insurance payments were made in 2021.
House Democrats have continued to ignore this issue, which hampers the responsibility of Congress to ensure these relief funds do not continue to be subject to fraudsters. Simply put, we must prevent government waste and abuse. Click here to read more.
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| The Week Ahead |
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The House will consider the following pieces of legislation this week:
H.Res. 1168 - Reaffirming the economic partnership between the United States and the Caribbean nations and recognizing the need to strengthen trade and investment between the United States and the Caribbean nations, our "Third Border", as amended
H.R. 7337 - Access for Veterans to Records Act of 2022, as amended
H.R. 7535 - Quantum Computing Cybersecurity Preparedness Act, as amended
H.R. 7331 - Improving Government for America’s Taxpayers Act, as amended
H.R. 521 - First Responder Fair RETIRE Act, as amended
H.R. 3544 - Computers for Veterans and Students Act of 2022, as amended
H.R. 5794 - To designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 850 Walnut Street in McKeesport, Pennsylvania, as the ‘‘First Sergeant Leonard A. Funk, Jr. Post Office Building’’
H.R. 1095 - To designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 101 South Willowbrook Avenue in Compton, California, as the ‘‘PFC James Anderson, Jr., Post Office Building’’
H.R. 203 - To designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 4020 Broadway Street in Houston, Texas, as the ‘‘Benny C. Martinez Post Office Building’’
H.R. 5659 - To designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 1961 North C Street in Oxnard, California, as the ‘‘John R. Hatcher III Post Office Building’’
H.R. 5271 - To designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 2245 Rosa L Parks Boulevard in Nashville, Tennessee, as the ‘‘Thelma Harper Post Office Building’’
H.R. 5809 - To designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 1801 Town and Country Drive in Norco, California, as the ‘‘Lance Corporal Kareem Nikoui Memorial Post Office Building’’
H.R. 4622 - To designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 226 North Main Street in Roseville, Ohio, as the ‘‘Ronald E. Rosser Post Office’’
H.R. 2472 - To designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 82422 Cadiz Jewett Road in Cadiz, Ohio, as the ‘‘John Armor Bingham Post Office’’
H.R. 228 - To designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 2141 Ferry Street in Anderson, California, as the ‘‘Norma Comnick Post Office Building’’
H.R. 6538 - Active Shooter Alert Act of 2022 (Subject to a Rule)
H.R. 7900 - National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2023 (Subject to a Rule)
H.R. 8296 - Women’s Health Protection Act of 2022 (Subject to a Rule)
H.R. 8297 - Ensuring Access to Abortion Act of 2022 (Subject to a Rule)
H.R. 7174 - National Computer Forensics Institute Reauthorization Act of 2022, as amended
H.R. 5274 - PREVENT ACT of 2021
H.R. 1934 - Promoting United States International Leadership in 5G, as amended
H.Con.Res. 59 - Condemning the October 25, 2021, military coup in Sudan and standing with the people of Sudan
H.Res. 720 - Calling for stability and the cessation of violence and condemning ISIS-affiliated terrorist activity in northern Mozambique, including the Cabo Delgado Province, and for other purposes
H.Con.Res. 45 - Expressing the sense of Congress regarding the execution-style murders of United States citizens Ylli, Agron, and Mehmet Bytyqi in the Republic of Serbia in July 1999
H.Res. 892 - Calling on the Government of the Republic of Rwanda to release Paul Rusesabagina on humanitarian grounds
Additional Legislative Items Are Possible
As always, I’m here to serve you. Please contact my office with any questions, comments, or concerns. Be sure to follow me on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube to keep track of upcoming legislation and events!
Sincerely,
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