Dear Friend,

This past Saturday, I was officially sworn into the 118th Congress to represent the Seventh District on your behalf.

It is truly the honor of a lifetime, and House Republicans didn’t waste any time getting to work.

On Monday, we approved changes to the House Rules that will create a more open, transparent, and accountable House of Representatives. You can read more about those rules changes in my special edition Telegram here.

After restoring the People’s House back to you, we began our promise to create a government that works for you, not comes after you. We started by repealing the funding for Joe Biden’s army of 87,000 additional IRS agents.

And we didn’t stop there.

On Tuesday, we hit the ground running by creating two select committees. The first, a Select Committee on the Strategic Competition Between the U.S. and the Chinese Communist Party, will hold Communist China accountable for their systematic human rights abuses, unfair trade practices, intellectual property theft, and espionage. The second, a Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government, will investigate federal bureaucrats' abuse of power over the American people, specifically in our intelligence agencies, like the FBI, DOJ, and DHS.

Later in the week, we voted to condemn the nationwide wave of violence, property damage, threats, trespassing, and intimidation against pro-life organizations and to protect infants born alive after failed abortion attempts. Astonishingly, 210 Democrats voted against providing healthcare to an infant that is born alive.

We then closed out the week by voting to stop the Biden administration from sending our Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) to China, which has been drained to its lowest level since 1984.

I’ll have more on each of these votes later in the Telegram, but House Republicans are making it clear: We are committed to seeking accountability and preventing further government overreach against you, the American people.

Thanks again for starting off your weekend with us, and I hope to see you at my upcoming listening sessions this Monday and Tuesday. We’ll be back next week with another edition of the Telegram.

Sincerely,





Tom Tiffany
Member of Congress

Last week, I had the honor of calling the families of Captain Harmon, Private Peirson, and Corporal Red Cloud to inform them that the New Richmond Post Office and Neillsville Post Office will be renamed in their honor.

Key initiatives that will help move our communities forward
From protecting the future of Great Lakes shipping and helping our maple syrup producers to giving local heroes the recognition they deserve, northern and western Wisconsin received some important legislative wins at the end of the year. Back in June, I introduced two pieces of legislation to pay homage to the legacy, patriotism, and sacrifice of three local veterans by renaming the United States Post Offices in New Richmond and Neillsville in their honor. As a result of year-end legislative action, the New Richmond Post Office will be renamed the "Captain Robert C. Harmon and Private John R. Peirson Post Office Building,” and the Neillsville Post Office will be renamed the "Corporal Mitchell Red Cloud, Jr. Post Office.” All three of these local veterans selflessly sacrificed their lives serving our great nation and renaming these two post offices is a small, but important, token of our gratitude. Additionally, I helped secure funding for the New Soo Lock project to help ensure that regional shippers, farmers, and manufacturers can better compete in the global economy, and for the Department of Transportation Small Shipyard Grant Program, which will help shipyards, like Fraser Shipyards in Superior, meet the demands of our maritime industry, create and protect family-wage jobs, and expand economic opportunities in the region. You can read more about the key local initiatives I helped secure here.

Terrorist threats at the border?
As Telegram readers know, President Biden’s lax approach to border security hasn’t just resulted in a record spike in illegal immigration and fentanyl smuggling, it has also opened a new avenue for terrorists to slip into the United States. In fact, last year alone, border agents encountered more people on the terror watch list at the US-Mexico border than in all the years from 2017 to 2020 combined. In other words, the failed policies of this White House are acting as a magnet for potential terrorists looking to do us harm. That’s alarming, and something lawmakers need to get a handle on. That’s why this week I joined several of my House colleagues in asking the Director of National Intelligence for a briefing on terrorist threats at the southern border, and an explanation for why the Biden administration is ignoring the warnings issued by the 9/11 Commission nearly two decades ago. You can read more about this issue, and see the letter we sent here.

Funding the border fence and cutting the UNs allowance
We’ve told you before about some of the crazy things going on at the United Nations. From putting notoriously brutal dictatorships like those in Cuba and China in charge of “human rights” to funding outright antisemitism, do you know what’s even crazier? You, the American taxpayer, are picking up the tab for roughly a quarter of the UN’s total global budget. That’s more than any other country on earth. It’s also a huge waste of money – money that we could be spending right here at home. That’s why this week I signed on to a bill introduced by Rep. Bob Good (VA-05) that would freeze American payouts to the United Nations and redirect those funds to finish the construction of the border fence. It is time to stop funneling American tax dollars to a corrupt international bureaucracy, and to start protecting our neighborhoods from the foreign invasion that has been underway since President Biden was sworn in two years ago. You can read more about our plan here.

Condemning violence and destruction
Last spring, a Supreme Court law clerk turned political operative leaked a draft Supreme Court opinion in a last-ditch effort to intimidate the justices into changing their vote on Dobbs v. Jackson. The opinion re-established the authority of states to prohibit the killing of unborn children, which sent Left-wing extremists off the deep end. While our Supreme Court Justices were inundated by threats, intimidation tactics, and even an assassination attempt, they weren’t the only ones taking heat. Pregnancy centers and other faith-based organizations around the nation soon became the target of their rage. In Wisconsin, a Christian pro-life organization was firebombed with Molotov cocktails by a group called Jane’s Revenge who proudly proclaimed that “If abortions aren’t safe, then you aren’t either.” Unfortunately, in the past few years, we’ve seen a rise in violence and destruction when Left-wing extremists don’t get their way. From burning businesses to the ground in 2020 to looting stores in 2021 and firebombing pregnancy centers in 2022 – there has been very little action or accountability after the fact. As I’ve said before, if you allow one group to get away with it, it encourages others to follow their lead. That’s why I sponsored a resolution making it clear that violence, property damage, and intimidation tactics must be condemned and those who violate the law must be held responsible for their actions. House Continuing Resolution 3 passed the House this week, and if you would like to read the resolution, click here.

Click here or on the photo above to watch my speech from the House floor this week.

                          Committee Update

Natural Resources
This week the House passed important bipartisan legislation that would bar the U.S. from selling oil from our Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) to Communist China. I am glad that legislation like this was one of our first priorities in this new majority, as it is a commonsense bill that most people can agree on. In fact, this bill had 113 Democrats vote in favor of it, and I am glad to see most of my Democrat colleagues agree that what President Biden has done with our SPR is not only wrong, but also a national security issue. The SPR serves as a key national security tool to combat disruptions in the oil market, so it is important to maintain in case of an emergency. Unfortunately, after selling off our SPR to countries like China, it is now at its lowest level since 1984 leaving us in a vulnerable position in an already unsteady market. For example, the national average for a gallon of diesel hit $4.54 this week, which is up almost $1 from a year ago. This is problematic and shows we are still headed in the wrong direction when it comes to energy policy. Consumers will continue to be impacted by higher prices from this, as more pressure will be put on shipping and agriculture production in particular. This bill was a great first step, but there is still more work to be done. This Congress my colleagues and I will continue to tackle the energy crisis and provide productive solutions in response to this Administration’s policy decisions.

                          Recent Legislation

Family and small business taxpayer protection
Last year, as American families struggled with runaway inflation that put a strain on their kitchen table budget, Democrats in Congress were focused on cooking up another big spending package that supercharged the IRS. They landed on pumping in another $80 billion dollars to hire an army of 87,000 additional IRS agents, more than doubling their previous headcount. According to the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office, President Biden’s new army of IRS agents would cause audit rates to rise for all taxpayers with nearly half hitting Americans making $75,000 per year or less – squeezing middle-class families even more. The good news: This week House Republicans blocked the Biden administration from unleashing their new army of IRS agents on the American people by rescinding all new IRS funding with the passage of H.R. 23, the Family and Small Business Taxpayer Protection Act. While this legislation sadly passed on party lines with every single Democrat voting against it, I proudly cosponsored this bill, and I am committed to making the federal government work for you, not against you.

                            District Update

A local family reunited
One of the best parts of my job is being able to help constituents, and my amazing team had a big casework win over the holidays that I wanted to share. For over two years, Brooke and her fiancé, Sosthene, were awaiting his visa. When they first applied for Sosthene’s visa in December 2020, his case was wrongly denied, and they had to resubmit everything due to a technical error within the government. After their case was continually delayed and took longer than stated processing times, Brooke and her fiancé reached out to my office for help. As Brooke stated, “Although there was still months of waiting for each step, Congressman Tiffany’s office continued to send inquires on our behalf and I received regular emails from them checking on how things were going. Through an extremely lengthy and stressful process, it meant all the world to us to know they were working on our behalf.” Right before Christmas, on December 23, Sosthene arrived in the U.S. and was reunited with his wife and child. I am so thankful that my team was able to assist their family, and if you are having any trouble with a federal agency, do not hesitate to reach out to my Wausau office at (715) 298-9344.

The ultimate Christmas gift – after waiting two years for his visa, Sosthene was reunited with his wife and child two days before Christmas.

Local bands perform in the 2023 Rose Parade
Students from Lakeland Union, Antigo, DC Everest, Merrill, Mosinee, Northland Pines, Three Lakes, and Wausau East High School bands all came together as the Northwoods Marching Band to represent Wisconsin at the Rose Parade in Pasadena, California this year. Totaling 394 students and marching 5.5 miles, they were the largest marching band in attendance and the second largest in Rose Parade history. Thank you to all the teachers and parents who worked tirelessly to make this happen and to the students for their outstanding performance. Way to represent the Seventh District!

Photo of the week
We have received so many wonderful pictures ever since we started the photo of the week section of the Telegram, and I would love to see more. If you would like to submit a picture to be featured in our photo of the week section, please email it to [email protected] with your name and location.

“Good Morning Voyager” – The Sunrise over Birch Island Lake was submitted by Bonnie from Danbury, WI

                             Upcoming Events

Coming soon to a county near you
This upcoming Monday and Tuesday, I will be hosting seven in-person listening sessions across northern and western Wisconsin. I will be in Vilas, Florence, and Forest County on Monday. Then on Tuesday, I will be in Rusk, Polk, Burnett, and Bayfield County. These listening sessions are open to all constituents in Wisconsin's Seventh District, and I look forward to answering your questions and discussing my priorities for the 118th Congress. You can find the time and location for each listening session here. I hope to see you there!

Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest free entry
This Monday, the U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service is waiving the day-use recreation fee for national forests in honor of Martin Luther King Jr. Day. This is a great opportunity for those in northern Wisconsin to get outside and spend time with your friends and family at the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest. You can find more information on the forest trailheads, recreation areas, picnic points, and more here.

                                  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. 

If a friend forwarded you this newsletter, and you would like to receive it in the future, you can subscribe here for weekly updates and connect with me on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. 

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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