Dear Friend,

Congress was back in session this week. But rather than taking on the challenges confronting American families – like soaring fuel prices, surging crime, and a worsening border crisis – the Democrat majority spent much of the week engaging in attempts to fearmonger and distract.

President Biden doesn’t seem to think that the record-high inflation decimating the bottom line of families and small businesses is a big deal. In fact, he continues to dismiss the concerns of Main Street Americans as “Malarkey” while attempting to shift the blame for his big-spending, big-government policies to others.

What is not “malarkey” is the record-breaking number of illegal immigrants pouring into our country every single day. Last week, Customs and Border Protection reports showed that June was yet another record-breaking month for migrant encounters, which clocked in at a staggering 207,416. And remember, this number doesn’t include the countless migrants that no doubt evaded Border Patrol agents.

With three more months of reporting to go in the fiscal year, the Biden border crisis has already shattered the record for border encounters in the 20-year history of the Department of Homeland Security. More than 1.7 million illegal immigrants have been stopped along our southern border this fiscal year. That’s over 6 times the population of Madison.

While many of you might be thinking that’s over 1,000 miles away from us up here in Wisconsin, the impacts are being felt right in our backyard.

A few weeks ago, I had the opportunity to meet with the Sawyer County Sheriff’s Office where they shared the local impacts that they are feeling from the Biden administration’s open border, especially from illegal drugs. From heroin to meth to fentanyl, our local law enforcement officers are seeing these illicit drugs flood our local communities, many with cartel stamps (see below for pictures).

And Sawyer County isn’t an outlier. La Crosse had a massive fentanyl bust, and last year, 80% of the record number of overdose deaths in Milwaukee County were fentanyl-related. Yet despite the reality of the heartbreaking overdose facts, soft-on-crime states, like California, are releasing drug traffickers on cashless bail, and to no surprise, they aren’t showing up for court.

In short, every state has become a border state.

The impact of these dangerous open-border policies are even drawing pushback from liberal big-city mayors (more on that later).

Americans are losing loved ones, our national security and economic well-being are at risk, while drug smugglers and human traffickers are getting richer. What President Biden is doing on the border – or more accurately what he isn’t doing – is not working. It is time to finish the border wall, end the failed policy of "catch and release," and designate the drug cartels as the terrorist organizations that they are.

Thanks again for starting off your weekend with us! We hope you enjoy this week’s edition of the Tiffany Telegram.

Sincerely,





Tom Tiffany
Member of Congress

1.5 pounds of meth with a cartel stamp was recovered in Radisson, WI.

Tapping America’s emergency oil reserves for…Communist China?
Diesel fuel hit $5.52 a gallon in the US this week, up 68% from a year ago. The price for regular gas wasn’t much better – $4.50 a gallon, up 42% from the same time last year. President Biden – who continues to do everything in his power to block new drilling for Made in America oil and gas, has instead released so much oil from our Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) that it has been drained to its lowest point since 1987, unnecessarily jeopardizing America’s national security. So where has all of that oil gone? Well, it turns out that about a million barrels were shipped off to Communist China’s state-owned conglomerate Sinopec. This makes no sense. That’s why this week Republicans put forward a measure that would have blocked the export of our emergency oil reserves to China, or any entity under the control of the Chinese Communist Party. Unfortunately, Democrats defeated this effort on a party-line vote. You can review that vote result here.

Low-Cost, reliable electricity should be a top Wisconsin priority
This week I sent a letter to Governor Tony Evers and Chair Rebecca Cameron Valcq of the Public Services Commission of Wisconsin, urging them to put a general moratorium on the closure of coal-fired power plants. As you may have seen, for the first time ever, the Midwest Independent System Operator (MISO) is warning of possible rolling blackouts in Wisconsin this summer. As a result, three coal plants that were scheduled to be decommissioned are now staying online for at least another two years. This is a good start, but it is not enough. It is beyond shocking that Wisconsinites are now facing the prospect of Third World, California-style rolling blackouts thanks to government policies that favor unreliable power sources. We need to ensure that Wisconsin has reliable baseload power, and shouldn’t have to wonder if their lights or air conditioner will come on every time they flip the switch. It’s time to prioritize dependable low-cost electricity over unreliable, intermittent energy, and I hope Governor Evers and Chair Valcq will do just that. You can read my letter here.

The North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) warned that two-thirds of the U.S. could experience blackouts this summer due to extreme weather conditions and capacity shortfalls.

Every state is now a border state
Since President Biden was sworn in over a year and a half ago, his administration has been working overtime to erase America’s borders and encourage millions of illegal aliens to flood into American towns. Earlier this year we talked about how the White House’s botched Afghan withdrawal – and their subsequent decision to transport thousands of unvetted evacuees into our state – has left local communities holding the bag. Not only have taxpayers been stuck with piles of trash and strained local budgets, but we’ve also seen incidents of child molestation, domestic violence, and troubling reports of sexual assault. In short, President Biden’s intentional efforts to encourage this mass influx of migrants into our country have made every state a border state. But don’t take my word for it. The border crisis has become so bad that this week the liberal mayors of “sanctuary cities” like New York City and Washington, DC complained about being stuck with the bill for President Biden’s irresponsible policies.

1/4 pound of heroin with a cartel stamp from the Sawyer County Sheriff’s Office. Every state is indeed a border state.

House Democrats choose distraction over action
Some of you may have heard that I voted against the so-called, “Respect for Marriage” Act. So, I wanted to take a moment to set the record straight. This legislation wasn’t about marriage; it was about fearmongering and misdirection. Instead of addressing the record-breaking inflation, skyrocketing gas prices, rising crime, and the worsening border crisis that the Biden administration created, House Democrats instead attempted to change the subject. I voted against this bill in part because the protections it purports to create already exist. I also opposed it because it could potentially put Americans’ cherished religious liberty in jeopardy by failing to recognize the First Amendment rights of religious institutions about which marriages they wish to approve. It’s time to end this divisive charade and start correcting President Biden and Speaker Pelosi’s failed economic policies.

                          Committee Update

Judiciary
Shall not be infringed
This week I opposed the arbitrary “Assault Weapons” ban advanced by the Judiciary Democrats. This legislation will prohibit everyone, including veterans, victims of domestic violence, Supreme Court Justices, competitive shooting athletes, and others from owning certain firearms. I even introduced an amendment to allow Supreme Court Justices the right to protect themselves – Democrats shot it down. Only the federal government would be allowed to possess these so-called “weapons of war,” but here’s the kicker, the people who want to regulate your right to bear arms think that an AR-15 weighs as much as ten boxes and shoots 50 caliber ammunition. They also think that stabilizing braces make a pistol an automatic weapon. And it doesn’t stop there. You can watch some of my colleagues trying to figure out the difference between a bump stock and an arm brace here. While Democrats are trying to figure out what they are attempting to ban and chipping away at the freedoms of law-abiding citizens, crime continues to skyrocket. Attacking the fundamental rights of Americans isn’t going to make anyone safer. Putting criminals behind bars where they belong, will.

Gun control by lawsuit
The so-called “Assault Weapons Ban” wasn’t the only effort by Democrats to take aim at gun owners. This week, they also took up legislation to repeal the landmark Protection of Lawful Commerce Arms Act (PLCCA). Their goal is to open the floodgates to frivolous lawsuits against firearms manufacturers and dealers for the criminal actions of third parties. This is a little bit like allowing lawyers to sue companies who manufacture matches when an arsonist burns down a home. Prior to the passage of the PLCCA, anti-gun groups often brought unsuccessful suits against gun manufacturers. The goal back then, and now, is to limit your access to firearms by bankrupting the firearms industry with junk lawsuits. It isn’t the gun control lobby’s first effort to try and revoke the constitutional protections of Americans by creatively weaponizing the tax code or enlisting the help of the trial bar – and it likely won’t be the last. This isn’t just cynical and wrong; it won’t do anything to make our communities safer. To deal with the surge of violent crime gripping too many American cities, we must hold criminals – and soft-on-crime District Attorneys – accountable. Prosecutors need to prosecute, cops must be allowed to do their jobs, and the crooks must be locked up.

                            District Update

Barron native awarded for service in the space force
I want to congratulate Barron’s very own Lieutenant Colonel Phillip Dobberfuhl on becoming the first member of the United States Space Force to receive Japan’s Defense Cooperation Award, which is the highest award that the Japan Air Self-Defense Force can award to a non-Japanese service member. Lt. Col Dobberfuhl enlisted in the Air Force in 1998, and in 2001, he helped support Operation Enduring Freedom following 9/11. He also just recently came home after serving a total of nine years in Japan where he became the first Space Force Guardian to be stationed at Japan’s Air Command and Staff College. Congratulations, Lt. Col Dobberfuhl, on this outstanding achievement. Thank you for your service and dedication to our country.

Lieutenant Colonel Phillip Dobberfuhl receiving Japan’s Defense Cooperation Medal.

                                  Resources  

As many families struggle to find baby formula, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has compiled resources to help. For resources on where to locate baby formula in our community and for tips from HHS, click here. They also have a social media toolkit in English, Spanish, Vietnamese and Haitian Creole here. 

While many begin to travel internationally again, the Department of State is available to assist with passport services. We recommend to apply at least six months before planned travel as routine service may take up to about 18 weeks. For more information, please visit travel.state.gov.

The USDA continues to make resources and assistance available to agricultural producers and working families to ensure access, safety and stability for food markets and supplies. 

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As always, you are welcome to visit my website or to contact my offices in Washington, DC or Wisconsin, which remain open for service, if you have any questions or need assistance. 

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