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Dear Neighbor,
We are facing serious issues: inflation is at a 40 year
high, gas prices are through the roof, utility prices are
soaring, preventable supply chain disruptions mean store
shelves are empty, droves of people are illegally entering
our country along the southern border, and we have had a
series of embarrassments on the international stage. Instead
of addressing these issues, President Biden and
Congressional Democrats are doubling down on failed policies
and continuing reckless spending. Let me be clear:
out-of-control spending fuels inflation.
This week President Biden signed into law an infrastructure
bill that cost more than $1 trillion. I support traditional
infrastructure: roads, bridges, port and cyber security and
an expansion of broadband. However, this bill contained very
little funding for those projects. It was full of pork and
something they referred to as "human infrastructure," which
really just means it is a slush fund to implement liberal
policies outlined in the Green New Deal. It did nothing to
solve our supply chain problems, and it isn’t paid for,
which means it will increase our debt. I proudly voted
against this package.
The second spending bill the Speaker crammed through this
week is much worse. The non-partisan Congressional Budget
Office says the 2,100 page bill will cost more than $4
trillion and add at least $367 billion to the deficit over
the next ten years. There are so many problems with this
terrible bill, but I’ll just highlight a few of the most
egregious sections:
• It includes new incentives for illegal immigration: It
includes amnesty for up to 10 million illegal immigrants and
offers them over 100 billion in taxpayer funded benefits.
For example, illegal immigrants would be eligible for
federal student aid and the enhanced child tax credit. Can
you imagine what that is going to do to our border crisis?
• It makes it easier for the IRS to target taxpayers:
Creates an $80 billion slush fund to hire an
87,000-IRS-agent army that would be used to carry out the
Biden administration’s plan to review every account with
more than $10,000 worth of transactions in a year (This
applies to all Americans who spend at least $30 per day on
average). I certainly don’t think we need to be
exponentially increasing the IRS.
• It perpetuates the labor shortage by continuing welfare
benefits without work requirements for able-bodied adults
without dependents at a time where there are 10.4 million
job openings— We have more openings than there are people
looking for work.
• The most costly provision in the bill isn’t to help
Veterans, seniors, children or working class Americans. It
is a tax break for the top 1% of Americans. The bill
increases the cap on state and local tax (SALT)
deductibility. 90% of Americans don’t itemize their taxes
and won’t see one dollar of savings from this costly
provision.
• It will drive up costs on Americans’ utility bills because
it includes a tax on natural gas, up to $1,500 per ton, that
could cost the American economy an estimated $9.1 billion
and eliminate 90,000 American jobs. This will have a
negative impact on all Americans who consume electricity,
not just those making over $400,000 annually as the White
House claims.
• It includes a $2.5 billion slush fund, sending tax dollars
to radical environmental groups to plant trees and advance
“tree equity.” I’m not even certain I know what tree equity
even means.
• It includes innovation-killing Socialist Price Controls by
instituting a government price-setting of prescription drugs
which has shown to be likely to lead to significantly
decreased private investment in new cures.
• It spends $2.5 billion for “Community-based Violence
Intervention initiatives” which could be used to deny
individuals the exercise of the 2nd Amendment without due
process.
• It weakens our position by increasing energy dependence on
OPEC, Russia and China: The bill includes mineral and energy
withdrawals on federal lands and overturns provisions
included in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act that authorized energy
production in the Arctic that will result in 130,000
Americans losing their jobs and $440 billion in lost federal
revenue
• It increases out of pocket costs for those who rely on
prescription drugs: The bill will repeal the Trump-era
Rebate Rule which passes through rebates directly to
consumers at the point of sale, and
• It also removes Hyde protections that keep your tax
dollars from paying for abortions.
This package does nothing to help fix our current problems.
It will only make them worse. It’s a bad bill, and I voted
no. However, the Speaker did garner enough votes for it to
pass the House. My only hope is that common sense will
prevail in the United States Senate. It seems as though this
Administration will not rest until they control every aspect
of our lives: from decisions about our finances, healthcare,
energy consumption, and the education of our children. It is
one attack after another on these basic individual freedoms-
many of which are included in this radical spending package.
We cannot cede our freedoms. I will keep pushing back and
fighting for you on these important issues.
Please continue reading to learn more about other efforts on
your behalf last week.
Getting Things Done for You
Five bills I have authored passed out of the Energy and
Commerce Committee. These bills now head to the House Floor
for final passage. With so much dysfunction taking place in
Washington lately, it is refreshing to see commonsense
bipartisan solutions moving forward. These bills will make a
positive impact on the lives of millions of Americans and I
urge my colleagues to join me in pushing them across the
finish line. The bills are listed below, and you can click
here to learn more about how they will benefit our
country.
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The Integrity, Notification, and Fairness in Online
Retail Marketplaces for Consumers (INFORM Consumers) Act
combats the online sale of stolen, counterfeit, and
dangerous consumer products.
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The Restoring Brand USA Act will help the travel and
tourism industry rebound by enticing international
visitors to the U.S.
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The Data Mapping to Save Moms’ Lives Act will improve
maternal health, especially in rural areas.
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The Spectrum Coordination Act will improve effectiveness
of government systems and encourage innovation through
modernization of spectrum policies.
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The Oral Health Literacy and Awareness Act will raise
awareness about the importance of oral health in
underserved areas.
Sounding the Alarm on Inflation
Inflation means we are all paying more for everything.
Out-of-control government spending fuels inflation. The
proposed spending bill will only make the problem worse.
Record inflation and supply chain issues are negatively
impacting American families this holiday season. Read
my column on how the Turkey tax will hurt Americans this
year.
In another sign of rampant inflation, the national average
price for a gallon of gasoline is now $3.41, which 61%
higher than it was a year ago. Make no mistake about it,
this self-made energy crisis is fueled by Democrats’ failed
energy policies and ridiculous spending spree.
Working Together to Find A Cure
I understand the financial, emotional, and physical toll
that Alzheimer’s has on patients and their families, which
is why I was honored to speak at the Alzheimer's
Association-Florida Gulf Coast Chapter's annual gala. I
discussed the work we are doing to increase federal support
of research that holds the promise for the development of
better treatments and a potential cure. In addition to being
the right thing to do, it is a pragmatic necessity because
of the increased fiscal impact this horrific disease is
having on the Medicare program. We must keep working
together to solve this problem!
Protecting our National Security
The Biden Border Crisis has only continued to get worse each
month President Biden has been in office. There have been
over 1.4 MILLION illegal border crossings since President
Biden took office. Instead of taking action to secure our
border and deter illegal border crossings, Democrats are
proposing amnesty for up to 10 million illegal immigrants,
plus $100 BILLION in taxpayer-funded benefits for them.
These ludicrous proposals will only fuel the Biden Border
Crisis. I
discussed my concerns about this important issue on the
House Floor last week.
Also, the Taliban just held a large
parade showcasing all of the U.S. military equipment
they now control. This is just one of the many reasons it
was wrong for President Biden to leave Americans, allies,
and assets behind during his botched withdrawal from
Afghanistan. Leaving $85 billion worth of military equipment
in the hands of an unstable regime with a radical ideology
is a horrendous decision.
Ensuring the Sustainability of Medicare and Protecting Your
Medical Freedom
President Biden and Congressional Democrats’ inflationary
agenda and deliberate choice to ignore the Medicare
program’s impending insolvency has caused one of the largest
Medicare Part B premium increases in history- a 14.5% spike
was announced last week. While seniors did see a COLA this
year, the net result for many seniors will be less money
each month thanks to this huge new hike in Medicare
premiums, which is wrong. Seniors are hurting and they need
our help. We need to put politics aside and work together to
strengthen Medicare and ensure its affordability for current
and future seniors.
Last week, the Florida Legislature and Governor took steps
to offer greater protections for Floridians against
President Biden's vaccine mandates. I support these
efforts, and I will continue fighting at the federal level
to protect your medical freedoms. Washington should not be
dictating decisions about your health. Also, some of my
colleagues are now pushing
a new proposal to require vaccines for all domestic
flights, which is absurd and not based on science. While
some on the radical left appear to believe that all problems
can be solved with government mandates, I believe we should
always seek to maximize individual freedoms.
Celebrating Success
My team enjoyed attending a benefit for CARES in New Port
Richey. CARES does a tremendous job helping seniors in our
community stay active and independent through its CHORES and
Homemaker Assistance programs.
We also celebrated the retirement of Rabbi Gary Klein of
Palm Harbor's Temple Ahavat Shalom. Rabbi Klein has has a
tremendous impact on our community, and has successfully led
the charge to bring people of diverse backgrounds and faiths
together to solve many challenges. He has also worked
tirelessly to build bridges of understanding within the
community about the need to remain vigilant against
anti-Semitic language and behavior. I am proud to call him
my constituent, neighbor, and friend.
Additionally, I was honored to receive an American Patriot
Award from the Association of Mature American Citizens (AMAC).
AMAC is an advocacy organization committed to protecting
American values, freedoms, equality of opportunity, sanctity
of life, and the rule of law. AMAC has proven itself to be a
strong champion for American seniors.
Supporting Small Business
Small businesses are the backbone of our economy and we have
a duty to honor our commitments to them as they recover from
the pandemic. Unfortunately, the Small Business
Administration (SBA) has been very slow in responding to
problems that several local businesses have encountered as
they tried to access relief funds. I will continue to
press this agency to do better as many local businesses
are counting on these resources to help keep their doors
open. The SBA needs to be held accountable for failures in
cracking down on fraud and abuse, such as the flagrant case
outlined in this
story and for not being more responsive in processing
the requests of legitimate businesses.
Also, each Saturday, I highlight this week's newly opened or
expanded businesses in our community that my team has
visited. Congratulations to our newest small business owners
and best wishes for your continued success!
Nichole Hayn celebrated the grand opening of Davinci Divas
Nails & Spa in New Port Richey!
Dr. Lisa March has practiced chiropractic medicine since
1996, providing natural health care utilizing cutting edge
technology. She celebrated the opening of her new Holistic
Center for Vibrant Health location in Oldsmar!
Charlotte and Paul Lewis welcomed the Dade City community at
their grand opening of Prelude Academy of the Arts, a music
school for students of all ages to build a solid foundation
and prepare for a career in the industry!
Constituent Corner
I recently received the following message from a constituent
after my team helped him with an IRS problem.
I want to thank you for helping me with my longstanding IRS
problem and I am happy to report that following a call from
an IRS official in Utah, mid-September, all problems have
been resolved. On the advice of the IRS official, I did send
in another 2020 return which they processed in about 5
weeks. The work your office does is invaluable in helping
folks deal with government departments and please convey my
thanks to Congressman Bilirakis for making this facility
available.
This is just one example of the work we do each
day. Constituent services are a critical element of our
congressional office. The federal government is a massive
operation, and my office is available if you ever need
assistance in navigating the bureaucracy or cutting through
red tape. We are here to serve you! |
