Congresswoman Lesko Weekly Update

Good Afternoon,

I hope everyone had a wonderful week! It's been a busy week in Arizona and in Washington, D.C.! If you would like to share this newsletter with others, please direct them to this link and encourage them to subscribe. I hope you all have a wonderful holiday season, Merry Christmas, and Happy New Year!

It was great to join so many constituents in Peoria, AZ to discuss how House Republicans will have the majority next Congress and to celebrate the holiday season!

I met with Arizona Corporation Commission Chairwoman Lea Márquez Peterson to discuss working together on energy issues, the need to have reliable, affordable energy sources, and how we must secure our nation’s energy independence!

I had a great time speaking with constituents in Sun City, AZ!

I also met with constituents in Sun City Grand, AZ!

Lesko Opposes Democrats' Reckless Spending Package

House Democrats rammed through a $1.7 trillion, 4,155-page monstrosity, and I was proud to vote no on this terrible bill. Our national debt is now over $31 trillion. Congress cannot keep spending money we simply do not have. We have borrowed so much money that federal interest payments could exceed our entire defense spending as early as 2025.

This package is full of egregious provisions to support the priorities of the radical left. This reckless package appropriates $575 million of American taxpayer dollars to fund “reproductive health,” code words for abortion, where “population growth threatens biodiversity.” In short, it funds abortion as a solution to environmental problems. This legislation includes $410 million for the border security of Jordan, Lebanon, Egypt, Tunisia, and Oman, but fails to secure our own southern border. What’s more, this bill includes a provision that renames a Federal building in San Francisco, California after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

Democrats’ reckless spending has been a key driver of the cost-of-living crisis Arizonans and Americans across our nation are facing, yet this package only doubles down on these failed spending policies. I strongly opposed this package that will increase our debt and make life more costly for the American people.

Lesko Protects Amateur Radio

This week, I introduced the Amateur Radio Communications Improvement Act to eliminate the current Symbol Rate Limit set by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and replace it with a 2.8 kilohertz (kHz) bandwidth limit. The bill brings regulations up to speed with modern technology advances in amateur radio. With advances in our modern technology, increased amounts of data can be put on the spectrum, so there is less of a need for a regulatory limit on symbol rates. I was pleased to introduce this important piece of legislation to update the FCC’s rules to support the critical role amateur radio operators play and better reflect the capabilities of our modern radio technology.

Lesko Announces Congressional App Challenge Winners

I am pleased to announce the winners for this year’s Congressional App Challenge! Molly Budhiraja, a high school student at BASIS Peoria in Peoria, AZ, won this year’s challenge for her app called Project Toy Exchange, a web-based app that allows parents to connect in order to exchange their children's toys or donate them. This helps parents reduce the money spent on toys and brings a smile to a child's face.

The second place app was the COVID-19 Tracker, created by Apramey Akkiraju and Rohan Agrawal, students at Mountain Ridge High School in Glendale, AZ. This app creates a color-coded map to show the concentration of COVID-19 cases in the Western U.S. and provides numerical data regarding COVID-19 cases and deaths.

The third place app was Math4Life2, created by Alexandra Acuna and Tori Lugo, students at Challenge Charter School located in Glendale, AZ. This app helps children with multiplication problems and seeks to make math more fun.

In the News

I want to make sure you don't miss a minute of what I’m doing to fight for Arizonans each and every day. Check out my latest interviews below.

The Todd Starnes Show

I joined the Todd Starnes Show to discuss why I opposed the Democrats' reckless spending package, how the Biden Administration is complicit in cartels' criminal activities at the southern border, and the sham January 6^th Committee.

Network of enlightened Women

I also joined the Network of enlightened Women to discuss the work I am doing in Congress and my advice for young conservative women! Watch below:

GET THE FACTS: Biden's Border Crisis is a Public Health Crisis

President Biden's open border policies have allowed fentanyl and other illicit, deadly drugs to freely flow across our southern border. As 2022 comes to an end, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) announced the seizure of over 50 million fentanyl-laced fake prescription pills and over 10,000 pounds of fentanyl powder this year. That is enough fentanyl to kill every single American. In 2021, more than 100,000 Americans died of a drug overdose or poisoning, with 70,000 dying from fentanyl or its analogs. This is a very pressing crisis. In less than two weeks, House Republicans will hold the majority in the U.S. House of Representatives, and we commit to a nation that is safe, including from deadly fentanyl. We will work to pass legislation to permanently give law enforcement the tools they need to keep fentanyl off our streets. Another critical step is securing our border to stop the flow of deadly fentanyl into our communities to save precious lives.

Around the District

Monica from our office presented a Congressional Recognition to Stephanie Myer, who has gone above and beyond as a leader in our Arizona communities. She served on the board of the Glendale Chamber of Commerce and volunteers to support our veterans. We are grateful for her service!

Monica from our office presented a Congressional Recognition to the Blue Star Moms of the Southwest Valley. Blue Star Moms have children in every military branch and work to support active duty service members and veterans. Thank you for your selfless service to our nation!

Tell Congresswoman Lesko

Do you know a business or location I should visit? Click the link here and let me know!

Casework Highlight

An active duty constituent contacted our office after not receiving his Basic Allowance for Housing. After our office contacted the Department of the Army, they updated his pay records and the constituent started receiving his monthly payments along with a back payment.

We are Here to Help

As always, my office is here to help. My Surprise district office is open and serving constituents. To make an appointment with the office, please call 623-776-7911.

My Washington, D.C. office is open and answering your calls. Please feel free to contact us via phone at 202-225-4576 or via email by going to my website at https://lesko.house.gov/contact/.

I encourage you to visit the website and to also follow me on Twitter, Instagram, Parler, Gettr, and Truth Social, and like my Facebook page for up to date information on what I'm doing and how my office can help you.

May God continue to bless you and our great Nation.

Sincerely,

Congresswoman Debbie Lesko