The Tiffany Telegram: March 5, 2021
Committee Update
Recent Legislation
District Update
Dear Friend,
These last couple of weeks in Washington have been a whirlwind of activity, most of it bad for American families, businesses and taxpayers.
Last week we told you about the massive spending bill Democrats approved on a largely party-line vote. That budget-busting, $1.9 trillion package was fast-tracked through the House with little debate, and under strict procedures that did not allow for consideration of any Republican amendments – including one I filed to try and re-instate the Keystone XL Pipeline. Just 9 percent of this bloated Washington goodie-bag was set aside for pandemic related health care needs – yet it contained hundreds of billions of dollars to bailout big spending states like Illinois, more than a billion dollars for Amtrak, millions more for museums and taxpayer subsidized art – and even earmarks for a bridge in New York and a subway tunnel in San Francisco. It also contained a number of policy riders that have nothing to do with COVID, such as a massive minimum wage hike that will hammer employers already struggling under the weight of government lockdowns. I am opposed to this legislation and shared my concerns in a letter to our Senators this week now that the ball is in their court. You can read that letter here.
This week, Speaker Pelosi picked up where she left off, bringing a far-reaching "election reform" bill called H.R. 1 to the floor of the House of Representatives, once again bypassing the normal committee hearing process. This bill would preempt or loosen many state election integrity measures (including voter ID requirements) while allowing for the expansion of shady practices like "ballot harvesting." Even worse, the plan would even spend public dollars to fund partisan political ads at a cost of $1.6 billion dollars – giving politicians $6 in money from the treasury to match every $1 they raise from contributors.
I proposed an amendment to H.R. 1 in an effort to close a giant loopholein campaign finance law that allows Members of Congress to funnel millions in political donations into their personal bank accounts by "hiring" their spouses to do campaign work – sometimes to the tune of millions of dollars, in some cases. Unfortunately, Democrats refused to allow a vote on my amendment. They did, however, allow a vote on a Democrat amendment to let convicted criminals still behind bars – including felons – cast ballots, and another that sought to lower the voting age from 18 to 16.
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| Watch: H.R. 1 Floor debate H.R. 1 is for the politicians, not the people. |
I think elections should be secure, and I think using public money to pad the pockets wealthy politicians and well-heeled campaign consultants is a bad idea, one we can't afford, and which I strongly oppose. That's one of many reasons I voted against H.R. 1.
Sadly, we also saw Democrats rush a flawed, anti-law enforcement, soft-on-crime measure through the House, despite months of violent rioting, arson, and looting that gripped many American cities, terrorized neighborhoods and destroyed businesses and livelihoods. Instead of working to support the men and women of law enforcement and hold dangerous criminals accountable, Speaker Pelosi and the Biden administration are pushing to strip legal protections from law enforcement offices, doubling-down on their failed "defund the police" strategy that will embolden criminals and make our communities less safe by making it harder to hire and retain cops. More on that later.
Democrats are also planning to fast track even more outside-the-mainstream legislation through the House in the coming weeks on everything from illegal alien amnesty to gun control (something we warned you about last month). These bills will likely once again bypass the normal committee process, include no Republican input, and target law-abiding gun owners for harassment while rewarding illegal aliens and encouraging even more chaos on our border.
It was also disappointing this week to hear President Biden question the intelligence of millions of Americans who believe it's time to end government-imposed lockdowns, mandates, business and school closures. The President attacked them as "Neanderthals." That kind of demeaning language hardly reflects his prior promises of unity and civility, and is a slap in the face to millions of Americans. I hope the president will walk back those comments and remember that in this country, it is OK for us to disagree without being disagreeable.
Illegal alien amnesty vote on deck as border crisis boils over
In the first month of the Biden administration, a return to the failed "catch and release" policy of cutting illegal immigrants loose into American neighborhoods, as well as the White House order to halt deportations and border wall construction, have fueled an unfolding crisis on the southern border. These irresponsible moves by the incoming administration have sent a clear message to illegal aliens, drug traffickers and human smugglers that America's border is once again open – and we are already seeing the disastrous results. Just this week, 13 illegal aliens were killed as a result of a high-speed accident involving a tractor-trailer and a single SUV containing 25 illegal migrants in what authorities believe was part of a human smuggling effort. A second SUV that was part of the trafficking ring contained another 19 migrants. Both vehicles made their way into the country through a gap in border fencing.
We also learned that the administration is releasing illegal immigrants into the country despite a lack of COVID testing protocols or quarantine requirements – even as many Americans continue to suffer under government-imposed lockdowns. In Brownsville, Texas, alone, we know that more than 100 illegal immigrants who tested positive for COVID were released from custody.
Despite the chaos that these new non-enforcement policies are creating, Democrats in Congress are poised to make the problem even worse next week by fast-tracking two far-reaching amnesty plans through the House of Representatives next week – but they announced Friday that they will delay consideration of the controversial plan given dissent inside their own party.
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Watch: My take on the fence that is still around the U.S. Capitol |
Pushing back against Communist China
The last 15 months have given us all a close-up look at the disastrous, real-life results of more than four decades of failed U.S.-China policy – a policy characterized by constant Chinese deception, rampant human rights abuses, unfair trade practices, theft of intellectual property, widespread espionage, and even genocide. But the origin of America's flawed approach to China did not begin in a Wuhan lab or wet market last January. The seeds of our misguided relationship with China were planted in the 1970s when then-President Jimmy Carter bowed to Beijing by recognizing Communist China and cutting off ties with America's long-time ally, Taiwan. This week I introduced a bill to end to America's failed "One China Policy," and resume normal ties with Taiwan. America doesn't need a permission slip from the Chinese politburo to do business or talk with our friends and partners in free countries around the world, and it's time we stopped asking for one. You can read more about my bill here.
Sincerely,
Tom Tiffany
Member of Congress
Committee Update
House Judiciary
This week I voted no on anti-law enforcement legislation that would undermine our police and embolden criminals. We've already seen the impact of the misguided "defund the police" efforts in some 25 jurisdictions across the nation. There has been a 72% increase in police retirements, shootings have spiked as much as 97%, homicides 45%, and if this bill passes, it will not get better—it'll get worse for our communities. In Milwaukee alone, crime rate is 57% higher than the national average and climbing.
Minneapolis learned this lesson the hard way when crime became so widespread that they had to "re-fund" the police to try and restore some semblance of public safety.
This bill is not the answer. It strips all law enforcement of due process, which are guaranteed to all Americans, regardless of occupation, sex, or religious beliefs. It creates a government database for alleged misconduct – one that would be available to the public, exposing law enforcement officers and their families to potential retribution by criminals. There is no clear language guiding the parameters for this registry. Both founded and unfounded claims, without adjudication, are entered, putting those who sacrifice daily to protect us at risk.
Perhaps the worst feature of this misguided bill would be a provision revoking what's called "qualified immunity" – an often misunderstood and frequently mischaracterized concept that offers law enforcement protection from civil – not criminal – liability when they are following approved procedures. Getting rid of qualified immunity could cause a cop to second guess their actions in dynamic environments, where split-second decisions are critical. This legislation will yield higher crime rates, more litigation, less law enforcement, and more crime on the streets.
While we all agree that wrongdoers should be held accountable for their actions, unleashing agenda-driven attacks on law enforcement, while making it harder to prosecute criminals, is not the answer.
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| Watch: Floor remarks on H.R. 1280 H.R. 1280 ignores the harm that anti-law enforcement rhetoric and unchecked violence have inflicted on our communities and our police over the last year. |
Lake Assault Boats
This week I joined my colleague Rep. Stauber in sending a letter to the U.S. Department of Transportation, urging the support for the Small Shipyard Grant application proposed by Lake Assault Boats— our own Fraser Shipyards is the parent company – which services the twin ports of Superior, WI and Duluth, MN. The Small Shipyard Grant not only increases productivity and efficiency in these small yards, but also promotes the Department of Transportation's Rural Opportunities to Use Transportation for Economic Success (ROUTES) initiative. Lake Assault Boats has successfully implemented a plan to bring more construction work to these yards, and the results have yielded more high-paying skilled jobs to those rural communities. With his grant, Lake Assault Boats will buy equipment from American manufacturers, buy overhead cranes, and other trade-specific equipment to be used for commercial, municipal, and federal agency projects.
Last year they were awarded a large Navy contract to build patrol boats, and currently they are building boats for the U.S. Army as well as other commercial vessel contracts. The continued contributions these shipyards make to our national security, and their unmatched support for our military branches help make America safer and more prosperous while making an important contribution to the Wisconsin economy.
CDC Schools Letter
This week I joined Rep. Mike Johnson (R-LA) in asking CDC Director Rochelle Walensky to revise the recommendations for reopening K-12 schools, an issue I have been incredibly focused on.
Throughout this pandemic, my message to educators and administrators has been clear: The CDC recommendations are not law and they are meant to be interpreted by local school administrators in the way that best fits the unique conditions of their community while serving the needs of their student population. Keeping that in mind, the new CDC guidelines under the Biden Administration are as follows. Schools will be cleared for full reopening after they reach a "blue" threshold meaning the disease burden in a given school district is within 0-9 positive cases per 100,000 residents. The "yellow" threshold, which clears students for hybrid learning is 10-49 cases per 100,000 residents, and the "orange/red" threshold ranges from 50-100+ cases per 100,000 residents and places students in full virtual learning. To put that in perspective, for a school to reach the "blue" threshold that would mean the number of positive cases in that district equal 0.009 percent. Under these thresholds, currently 90 percent of K-12 schools nationwide are in areas of high transmission, thereby directing them back to less-than-optimal virtual learning models for middle and high school students, and restricted hybrid models for elementary school.
The science has proven time and time again that children can return to in-person learning with virtually no risk of transmitting the virus in the classroom. I hope that Dr. Walensky will take this information seriously and recognize that these restrictive models are not only hurting the social and academic development of our children, but our working parents and our economy as well.
This week in Wisconsin our 7-day rolling average for positive COVID cases hit 545, once again reaching record lows not seen since July. In addition, our hospitals reached record lows for bed capacity in both the North Central and Northwest HERC regions at 76 percent and 68 percent of bed capacity filled respectively. On the vaccine front, our state hit 1.5 million vaccines distributed earlier this week, marking an amazing milestone in our vaccination efforts. More than 50 percent of all residents over the age of 65 have received their first dose putting the state in a comfortable place to open the next phase of vaccinations to teachers and childcare workers on Monday of this week. Keep in mind, for those of you over 65 still looking to receive a vaccine your eligibility still stands. Additionally, the FDA approved Johnson & Johnson's vaccine earlier this week, marking an exciting development as the J&J vaccine will be the only single dose shot on the market. The state expects to receive a one-time shipment of 47,000 J&J vaccines that will be distributed statewide early next week. We also want to highlight the Wisconsin vaccine registry database that is being operated through vaccine.wi.gov. The registry is still in the pilot phase operating in a number of public health departments, including Marathon County, however the state announced it should be fully operational by April 1 for registration and appointment placement. In the meantime the DHS website has an interactive map that will help you pinpoint the closest facility offering vaccine appointments. As always, please utilize the DHS website for any other COVID-related questions you may have. Source: CNBC
Resources
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.
Small businesses can also apply for assistance through the Economic Injury and Disaster Loan program. This program provides economic relief to businesses that are currently experiencing a temporary loss of revenue as a result of the pandemic.
The Congressional Art Competition is now open to high school students in the district. The deadline to submit artwork is April 14th, 2021. For rules and more information on the competition, visit my website.
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.