Dear friend,

We have great news to share with you. This week President Biden decided that the COVID-19 pandemic is officially over!

Unless you happen to be a member of the armed services that is – as the Biden administration continues to kick tens of thousands of healthy service members out of the military with his jab-or-job mandate. 

And curiously, President Biden is requesting another $22.4 billion in emergency pandemic relief – for a pandemic that he just told us no longer exists.

Much like the Center for Disease Control (CDC) who has become infamous for their ability to flip-flop on pandemic guidance at a moment’s notice, it seems as if the Biden administration changes their mind on whether or not we are in a pandemic depending on if it suits their needs at the time.

When it comes to our southern border and utilizing Title 42 authority to expel migrants on public health grounds – the pandemic is over. However, when it comes to transferring massive amounts of student loan debt to the taxpayers, the pandemic is still in full swing.  

Interesting how that works.  

Two and a half years of lockdowns, unconstitutional mandates, and almost $5 trillion spent, it’s time to say enough is enough.

That’s why today I sent a letter along with my colleague Rep. Lauren Boebert (CO-03) to our House and Senate leadership urging them to reject any additional COVID-19 spending in the stopgap government funding bill that could be coming up for a vote as early as next week.

Because despite what his handlers may say, I think the President had it right, the pandemic is over and that should be something we can all celebrate.

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

Ensuring veterans get the care they deserve 
Honoring our nations veterans and those who have made the ultimate sacrifice for the sake of our freedom and democracy is extremely important to me. These brave men and women dedicated their lives so we can live in the greatest nation in the world, and we all owe an outstanding debt of gratitude to them and their families. Although we will never be able to fully repay our veterans, I am dedicated to ensuring our nations heroes receive the quality care they deserve. Unfortunately, that doesn’t always happen. When veterans receive subpar care, they should be able to easily report complaints to their patient advocate. That’s why earlier this session I cosponsored H.R. 5754 the Patient Advocate Tracker Act, which is a commonsense piece of legislation that will make it easier for veterans to submit and track the status of complaints filed through the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). Last week, this bipartisan bill that will help ensure our veterans get more efficient, top-quality healthcare from the VA was officially signed into law.

Ending Biden’s failed “Catch-and-Release” border policy
Telegram readers know just how bad the illegal immigration crisis has become since President Biden took office. From suspending the highly successful Trump-era “Remain in Mexico” policy, to halting construction of a badly-needed border fence (while effectively abandoning some $100 million in raw materials taxpayers already paid for), this White House seems hell-bent on erasing our country’s borders. The results have been devastating, and the numbers don’t lie: Back-to-back, record-setting years of illegal border encounters resulting in more than 5 million migrants from over 150 countries flooding into American communities. And as the White House opens the door to migrants from every corner of the world, it is local communities who largely get stuck with the tab. As bad as that is, perhaps no Biden administration policy has been more destructive than the failed Obama-era policy of “catch-and-release” that was resurrected shortly after President Biden was sworn in. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to realize that if migrants know they won’t be detained – even if the Border Patrol manages to catch them – they will simply disappear into American communities and never look back. That’s why this week I joined my colleague Rep. Andy Biggs (AZ-05) in introducing legislation to end this failed policy once and for all.

A+ Rating from Moms for America
It’s no secret that parental rights and family values are under attack from the woke Left. We saw this during COVID when the Biden administration labeled parents concerned about their kids’ education as domestic terrorists. We also saw this last year when President Biden’s Secretary of Education said parents shouldn’t be the “primary stakeholder” in their own children’s education. Thankfully, moms all across America rose up against the Democrats’ disastrous agenda and created the Moms for America Action Congressional Ratings Report Card to hold members of Congress accountable for their actions. I am thankful to have earned an A+ rating for my commitment to policies that empower parents’ rights. From fighting against the effort to indoctrinate our kids with woke critical race theory to pushing to expand more parental choice in education and protect girls in sports, I will continue to champion policies that put parents at the forefront of their child’s education, not the federal government.

Ocean front property in Kenya?
Right next door to us in Minnesota, federal prosecutors announced charges on Tuesday against 47 people accused of carrying out a “brazen” $250 million COVID fraud scheme, which stole federal funds from a program designed to feed low-income children. Since the announcement, a 48th person has also been charged, but only 7 of the 48 suspects have been jailed as they have fled the country. The defendants charged in this scheme are accused of using the money to buy commercial real estate, luxury cars, fancy homes, and even ocean front property in Kenya. As a result of this scheme, many elected officials in Minnesota are also coming under fire. Minnesota Governor Tim Walz is facing criticism since his Department of Education is the one that dished out the money to the cynically named group, “Feeding our Future.” Additionally, as this scheme was carried out in Minneapolis, many local politicians also received campaign donations from the organizations and people who executed this fraud scheme. I hope everyone involved in perpetrating this outrageous racket is held accountable. We have seen time and time again reports of people taking advantage of the federal money and programs that were created during COVID, and that’s why I have been a big advocate of reining in the runaway spending of the last few years. This is not how our hard-earned taxpayer dollars were meant to be spent, and it is also one of the main reasons for the skyrocketing inflation numbers we are struggling under today. If you would like a timeline of the Minnesota "Feeding our Future" fraud scheme, click here.

                          Committee Update

Natural Resources
Now Putin controls the weather?
This week the Natural Resources Committee had an Energy and Mineral Resources Subcommittee hearing on a bill that would essentially shut down all conventional energy production on federal lands. The so-called “Public Lands and Waters Climate Leadership Act” would prioritize Biden administration’s climate goals above the energy needs of working families and small businesses. In addition to being misguided, the bill is also unnecessary. In fact, the US has led the world in reducing emissions since 2005. The ironic part about this legislation is that while the goal of it is to shut down oil and gas production on federal lands to curb emissions, doing so would actually lead to higher emissions globally. That’s because global demand for reliable energy will continue to increase well through 2050, and we produce oil and gas cleaner than anywhere else in the world. In other words, all this bill would do is outsource energy production to nations with little to no environmental standards. It is just another piece of legislation we have considered that is a part of the Democrats’ green fantasy trying to destroy reliable energy, no matter how dangerous that might be for our national or economic security. I asked one of the witnesses why Europe’s rapidly forced transition to renewables has failed given the current energy crisis they are facing. Amazingly, he blamed it on the war on Ukraine (you can watch our exchange below). Now, I am not a scientist – but it seems unlikely that wind and solar power have failed in Europe because Vladimir Putin controls the sun and the wind. I will continue pushing back against poor legislation like this to avoid replicating Europe’s energy disaster here in America.

Click here or on the photo above to watch a clip from this week’s Natural Resources committee hearing.

Judiciary
Only American citizens should vote in American elections
Free and fair elections are the cornerstone of our Republic, and many of us believe there should be common-sense safeguards in place to ensure only American citizens are the ones voting in American elections. Unfortunately, some elected officials don’t agree. Last December, New York City passed a law to allow an estimated 800,000 to 1 million noncitizens to vote in local elections. While this ploy to erode election integrity was deemed unconstitutional, that hasn’t stopped national Democrats from adopting the same radical agenda. This week in the House Judiciary Committee, Democrats defeated a Republican amendment to ensure that noncitizens would not be allowed to vote in our elections. You’d think it would go without saying that only American citizens should vote in American elections. But apparently, you’d be wrong. Here’s the bottom line: Allowing foreigners to vote in our elections devalues the voice of American citizens. That’s wrong, and it’s why I cosponsored the Save the Democracy Act to require proof of U.S. citizenship to register to vote in our elections. This should be a common-sense safeguard that every American supports, but in today’s upside-down Washington, even that isn’t something we can take for granted.

                          Recent Legislation

                            District Update

Making Wausau SAFER
Congratulations to the Wausau Fire Department for being selected to receive the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) SAFER grant. Earlier this month, I was able to visit the department to discuss the recent advancements they have made to improve their response time, and I am confident that this grant money is well deserved. The $3.1 million they received will fully fund the addition of nine firefighters/paramedics for three years which is the first staffing increase the department has seen in over fifty years. Last February, I also wrote a letter to FEMA on the department’s behalf, so I am happy to hear how this grant money will be utilized to keep the community safe. Thank you to all the firefighters and paramedics who risk their own lives to save others and protect our community.

                                  Resources  

September is Passport Awareness Month which means that now is the time to apply for and renew your passport while demand is low. For more information, please visit the State Department website here. We recommend to apply at least six months before planned travel as routine service may take up to about 18 weeks.

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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