Dear Friend,
 
It’s no secret that Joe Biden has done everything in his power to stifle American energy production.
 
One of his first acts as President was to cancel the Keystone XL pipeline and halt oil and gas leases on federal lands and waters.
 
As a result of these actions, energy prices skyrocketed to all-time highs last summer with gas hitting $5.02 per gallon and diesel hitting $5.82.
 
It didn’t have to be this way.
 
America has the ability to be energy dominant, but thanks to the actions of this administration, too many families are being hit with crippling prices at the pump.
 
In a scramble to lower the self-inflicted energy prices, Joe Biden began begging foreign adversaries – like Venezuela and Saudi Arabia – for oil and gas production.
 
When that didn’t work, he decided to drain our Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) to its lowest level since 1984.
 
He even sold more than one million barrels of our emergency stockpile to a Communist Chinese company. That’s crazy.
 
Yet, despite draining our SPR by nearly 40%, President Biden has no idea how he is going to replenish our reserves, or provide relief to families struggling to put gas in their tank – even as gas prices are surging again.
 
Instead, he is doubling down on his failed energy policies, jeopardizing our national security and killing jobs.
 
The good news: House Republicans have a plan.
 
Earlier this month, we passed legislation to prevent Joe Biden from sending our SPR to China. And today, we passed the Strategic Production Response Act, which would require any drawdown of our emergency reserves to include a plan to offset that drawdown with increased domestic energy production. 

Energy security is national security, and these two pieces of commonsense legislation put America back on the right footing to produce more Made-in-America energy.
 
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

On this Holocaust Remembrance Day, let us come together and honor the millions of victims and survivors of the Holocaust. We will never forget the innocent lives lost, and we will never again allow such atrocities to occur.

Time to play hardball with Mexico
Over the last two years, we’ve watched as President Biden has effectively erased America’s border and unleashed a tidal wave of illegal migrants into communities from coast-to-coast, making every state a border state. But what is less well-known is the role that many of the governments in source countries in places like Mexico and Central America continue to play in this humanitarian, economic and national security disaster. For too long, corrupt foreign governments have either encouraged or turned a blind eye to the tens of thousands of migrants flooding out of their country and into ours. At the same time, these same governments have pocketed massive amounts of American foreign aid, enjoyed privileged access to America’s market, and taken advantage of America’s financial system. It’s outrageous, and it’s time we did something about it. That’s why this week, I put them on notice that the free ride is over. Billions of dollars in unconditional U.S. handouts to corrupt Third World leaders aren't going to fix the border crisis President Biden has created. In fact, it’s only making things worse. It’s time to start playing hardball by cutting off the gravy train if these countries refuse to do their part to shut down the flow of drugs and illegal aliens into American neighborhoods. You can read my take on the situation here.

DirectCensorship?
Is it a contract dispute or censorship? As you may remember, the White House and President Biden’s FCC, wrote letters to AT&T, Verizon, Comcast, Apple, and Amazon, suggesting that they should stop carrying One America News Network (OANN), Newsmax and Fox News. Their actions were so egregious that FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr stated, “The concerted effort by Democrats to drive political dissent from the public square represents a marked departure from these First Amendment norms.” He added that Democrats were sending a “troubling” message that “regulated entities will pay a price if the targeted newsrooms do not conform to Democrats’ preferred political narratives.” Not surprisingly, OANN and Newsmax have been canceled by AT&T/DirecTV, with the company alleging “cost cutting” reasons, while simultaneously keeping channels with low ratings. For too long Big Tech has censored conservative voices, citing misinformation when they disagree with a view point, or wish to manipulate and limit the information Americans have access to. For this reason, I joined several of my colleagues last week in sending a letter expressing our concerns to AT&T, DirecTV, and TPG Capital. The deplatforming of two of the three channels that millions of Americans rely on for their news has the effect of chilling free speech, opposition viewpoints, and chips away at the kind of robust media environment that is at the heart of free societies. I look forward to digging into the many troubling reports of government-directed censorship we’ve seen in recent years as part of my oversight work this Congress.

TikTok on campus: Just stealing time or academic espionage?
American universities have long been a soft target for China’s spies looking to cash in on American innovation and technology. From cyber espionage to paying spies at American universities to steal technology, China has taken significant steps to infiltrate and take advantage of America’s education system and students. TikTok is their most recent threat, posing a serious national security concern for our country. On the surface, it looks like an innocent app for students to kill time on between classes, but behind the screen lies a Chinese company – with ties to the Chinese Communist Party – that has already admitted to using the app to spy on Americans and track their locations. Telegram readers know that I sent a letter to Governor Evers last month along with my colleague Rep. Mike Gallagher (WI-08) asking him to join several other states that have banned TikTok from all state devices, while the Governor did announce he would ban the app from state devices, it did not apply to the UW System. That’s why this week Rep. Gallagher and I sent a follow-up letter to the UW System President urging him to ban TikTok from UW System devices and block it from the system’s Wi-Fi and wired networks. I was pleased to see the University of Wisconsin take immediate action on our request by announcing they would be banning this dangerously un-secure platform from their system and devices.
 
Wisconsin Towns Association meeting
I spoke at the Wisconsin Towns Association meeting in Carter this past weekend. I appreciated the good questions, including discussing rural broadband. I will continue working to close the digital divide so all Americans, regardless of their zip code, can access high-speed internet. Last Congress, I introduced the ACCESS Rural America Act, to allow smaller, locally-owned telecommunication providers to expand broadband access in rural areas across the United States without fear of burdening regulations intended for large corporations. I plan to reintroduce this bill in the coming months to give our small telecommunication providers the ability to supply rural America with the broadband access they deserve.

Thank you to the Wisconsin Towns Association for inviting me to address the regional meeting in Carter.

Recent Legislation

Ending the “One China” lie
You’ve probably heard the term “rogue nations.” It is a term used to describe totalitarian governments that engage in illicit activities so shocking, America will not recognize their legitimacy. This unsavory club includes countries you’d expect – such as Iran, North Korea, and Syria. But there is another country in this group – one that clearly doesn’t belong there: The democratic nation of Taiwan. That’s because in 1979, former President Jimmy Carter – without consulting Congress – unilaterally cut off U.S. diplomatic ties with Taiwan as a favor to China’s communist rulers. In the more than 40 years since Mr. Carter’s foolish decision, presidents of both political parties have continued to maintain this outdated – and frankly dangerous – policy. America shouldn’t treat a fellow democracy like a dictatorship, and we should never have to ask the Chinese Communist Party for a permission slip to talk to our friends. That’s why this week, I reintroduced legislation – cosponsored by 20 of my House colleagues – that would call on President Biden to correct this irresponsible Carter-era mistake and resume normal U.S. diplomatic relations with Taiwan. You can read more about my bill here.

Click here or on the image above to see my exclusive interview with NTD discussing my bill to scrap the “One China Policy” and resume normal ties with Taiwan.

District Update

Night at the track in Eagle River
Last Friday, I celebrated the 60th anniversary of the World Championship Snowmobile Derby and the Opening Ceremony for the 34th Badger State Winter Games in the Snowmobile Capitol of the World. It was a great night at the track in Eagle River celebrating these two Northwoods traditions with Wisconsin State Representative Rob Swearingen and Wisconsin State Senator Mary Felzkowski.

I joined the Badger State Winter Games for the lighting of the cauldron at the World Championship Derby Complex. It was a great event, and I even got to take a picture with Miss Sno-Eagle, Olivia Hunter.

New equipment for the Pine River Fire Department
Congratulations to the Pine River Fire Department on receiving a FEMA grant earlier this month. They were able to use these funds to replace their personal protective gear, add a new cascade system on the department rescue truck, replace 12 air packs, and purchase an RIT pack that is used to rescue firefighters who are trapped in burning structures. I had a great time visiting with the department members during the unveiling of the new equipment last Saturday. Thank you for keeping Pine River and the surrounding communities safe! 

On Saturday, I joined members of the Pine River Fire Department for their unveiling of vital new equipment.

Photo of the week
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. We have received some amazing submissions, and I am looking forward to seeing more.

“Un-BEAR-ably Cute” – taken by Kevin this past summer in Burnett County

                                  Resources  

This week, the Small Business Administration (SBA) announced that small businesses, small agricultural cooperatives, small businesses engaged in aquaculture, and most private nonprofit organizations in Florence, Forest, Marinette, and Vilas County are eligible to apply for Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDLs) due to losses from drought from April 28 through October 15, 2022. More information can be found 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. 

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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