The Tiffany Telegram: May 14, 2021

Table of Contents
Committee Update
Legislative Update
District Update

Dear Friend,

In just over 100 days, we have seen the results of one-party rule with no meaningful checks or balances. But those consequences really came into sharper focus this week.

Huge sections of America are facing 1970's-style gas lines, bone-dry service stations, skyrocketing energy prices, surging inflation, job openings employers can't fill because of work-discouragingunemployment benefits, nearly $7 trillion in proposed government spending that we can't afford, renewed Hamas terrorist attacks in the Holy Land, and total chaos on America's southern border.

Folks, it's not working.

This week's Colonial Pipeline shutdown is affecting people across the country – not just those in the region serviced by the 5,500-mile network. The good news is, there is no need to panic purchase – which will only make the problem worse. The bad news is that what we are witnessing is a result of market responses set in motion by the misguided policy choices of President Biden. Remember, on day one of his administration, President Biden canceled the Keystone XL pipeline project and moved to block energy development on public land.

And President Biden isn't the only one moving ahead with an anti-energy agenda. Michigan's Governor Gretchen Whitmer is seeking to shut down a key pipeline in our region, the "Enbridge line 5" conduit, which is headquartered right in our district in Superior, serving several states and Canada. Not only will the closure of this line jeopardize access to motor fuels, but also propane – something nearly one-third of 7th Congressional District homeowners rely on to heat their homes.

Source: Enbridge

The message is clear: Abundant and affordable energy is not important to this White House or its backers. And we are all witnessing the fallout.

Energy prices – which have surged by almost 36 percent in the Midwest region according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics – aren't the only thing going through the roof. If you've noticed that everything seems to be costing more these days, it isn't your imagination. The Consumer Price Index shows that prices since March have risen faster than at any time since 1982. And if we continue down the road Speaker Pelosi and President Biden are taking the country, things are bound to get worse.

We also saw a change in House leadership this week, and a few new developments in the national debate over so-called "Critical Race Theory," but more on that later.

We hope you enjoy this week's edition of the Telegram, and wanted to thank those of you once again who share our weekly updates with your friends and neighbors.

Sincerely,

Tom Tiffany
Member of Congress

Protecting the rights of pregnant women
This week I filed an amendment to legislation seeking to bar employers from forcing pregnant women to receive a COVID vaccine as a condition of employment. Like many of you, I have been disturbed by recent reports of employers mandating COVID vaccines for expectant mothers – forcing women to choose between taking a vaccine they may not be comfortable with – or getting fired from their job. Unfortunately, House Democrats refused to allow consideration of my amendment as part of a broader bill we considered this week regarding workplace accommodations for pregnant women. Even so, I continue to believe that the decision about whether or when to get a COVID vaccine should be a decision between pregnant women and their doctors.

Republican Conference leadership change
Many of you have probably seen news about House Republican lawmakers making a change in our leadership. This week we held a vote on whether to keep or remove Rep. Liz Cheney of Wyoming as the Chair of the Republican House Conference. The position of Conference Chair is the third ranking member of House GOP leadership, after the Minority Leader and the Minority Whip. Like most of my colleagues, I supported this change. Much of the mainstream press has portrayed this shift as being driven by Rep. Cheney's frequent disagreements with former President Trump. But I can tell you, for my part, those disagreements were a minor part of the decision. My support for this change was driven by a belief that we need a Conference Chair who is focused on pursuing our shared policy goals, which is a requirement of this leadership position. You can see what I had to say about that vote here.


Pentagon official aiding Communist China's propaganda efforts?
This week Rep. Scott Perry of Pennsylvania and I wrote a letter to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin in response to disturbing reports that a Pentagon official openly aided a notorious Chinese Communist Party (CCP) propaganda organ. That CCP outlet, known as "The Global Times," is an English language misinformation factory that is fully controlled by the Chinese regime and well-known for disseminating anti-American lies – including claims that the Wuhan Coronavirus was developed by the American military. The fact that an administration official inside the Pentagon is allegedly contributing to the psychological warfare efforts of a hostile foreign government – one which has been labeled as a perpetrator of genocide by human rights groups and the U.S. Department of State – is shocking to say the least. We asked for answers. You can read more about our efforts here.

Combating the corrosive cancel culture
I joined several of my colleagues Tuesday night in a discussion on the House floor about the rising threat of cancel culture and the threat it poses to our cherished American institutions of free speech and free expression. Some of you may recall that children's author Dr. Seuss – whose classic books have been enjoyed by generations of kids around the world – became a victim of this dangerous phenomenon earlier this Spring. I paid homage to the beloved writer with some brief remarks during that conversation. I hope you'll take a look.

WATCH: My House floor comments on cancel culture

Committee Update
House Committee on Natural Resources
On Monday, I sent a letter to USDA Secretary Vilsack, asking to quickly disburse the $200 million worth of relief funds for the timber industry appropriated in December, but which have remained unspent. I was joined by three of my Wisconsin colleagues, Representatives Grothman, Steil and Fitzgerald. Like many sectors of our economy, the Wisconsin timber industry has been hit particularly hard by pandemic disruptions and closures. We have seen multiple mills close in Wisconsin, which has had a ripple effect on the logging companies, employees and truckers who transport the timber. The timber industry needs these dollars now, and yet they remain held up by bureaucratic delays. The administration needs to release these funds. You can read a copy of my letter here.

Recent Legislation
Race-based rewriting of American history?
As many of you have seen in the past few weeks, some policymakers are obsessed with overhauling our American History and Civics curriculum across the K-12 school system to rewrite our nation's history and inject destructive racial overtones – including the infamous "1619 Project," a highly controversial set of essays, photos, and poems drafted by the New York Times. These identity politics based teaching practices force white students to "own their privilege," by indoctrinating students with the false dogma that America is a hopelessly racist country founded on slavery, and that some students are "oppressors" and others are "victims" based solely on the color of their skin. This is doubly disturbing given that many schools throughout the country are already doing a poor job teaching civics and failing to equip students with the tools they need to responsibly participate in our democratic system of government. The good news is that public opposition to these dangerous indoctrination efforts is growing. After weeks of pushback from employees, Disney decided to pull their "Critical Race Theory" program, which included checklists for "white privilege" given to white employees, and segregated "affinity groups" that divided employees by race. Employees at Disney had also reported conservative and Christian employees "were actively discouraged from expressing their views," during the training.

Protecting equality in the classroom
In response to these race-based absurdities in our schools and corporate America, I have signed on to several pieces of legislation and an inquiry to the Department of Education expressing my outrage that we are introducing such divisive practices amongst children as young as elementary school age. The first, introduced by my friend, Rep. Burgess Owens from Utah, is a resolution explaining that critical race theory serves as a prejudicial ideological tool, not an educational tool, and should therefore be removed from all K-12 classrooms. I also signed on to Congressman Burgess's letter to Biden Education Secretary Cardona expressing concerns that critical race theory is undermining civil rights and as such the Department has chosen to remove all assertions that racially exclusive practices may violate Title VI of the Civil Rights Act in an effort to protect this divisive curriculum. I also signed on to the Saving American History Act introduced by Rep. Ken Buck from Colorado, which prohibits K-12 schools from using federal funds to teach the 1619 Project. We should not allow the Biden Administration to reward schools who are using this curriculum that is not only divisive, but also contains critical inaccuracies in its account of American history.

Standing with Israel
On Friday I joined more than 50 of my House colleagues in introducing legislation to reaffirm America's support for Israel, which is once again facing indiscriminate rocket attacks unleashed on civilian targets by Palestinian terrorist groups, who often unleash these attacks from schools and hospitals, using civilians as the equivalent of human shields. Sadly, in a departure from the long history of bipartisan support for the U.S.-Israel alliance, some progressive lawmakers have chosen to espouse a false equivalence instead of defending Israel's basic right to exist and defend its civilian population from these outrageous terrorist attacks.

Reopening the People's House
This week I signed on to a letter, along with several of my colleagues, to Speaker Pelosi and Majority Leader Schumer urging them to lift COVID-19 restrictions limiting access to the United States Capitol. The Capitol is America's most recognizable symbol of democracy. It is the people's house, and Americans should be allowed to come visit their representatives, something they have been unable to do for far too long. You can read that letter here.

District Update
Congratulations to the 2021 Congressional Art Competition Winners!
This year we had many impressive submissions to the Congressional Art Competition. I am honored to recognize these talented young artists for their hard work.

All submissions will be on display in an exhibit at the Center for Visual Arts Loft Gallery in Wausau, WI from May 14, 2021 through July 10, 2021.

Sophie Madej of Wausau West High School won first place for The Sandwich,Elizabeth Van Rixel of Athens High School won second place for The Runner's Mind, and Emmery Nielsen of Shell Lake High School won third place for Break Through. Ellise Markevitch of Wausau West High School won honorable mention for Facets.

COVID-19/Vaccine Update
Wisconsin continues to see a downward shift in case numbers each week, with this week's average reported daily cases hovering around 490 reported cases per day. On the hospitalization side, both the North Central and Northwest HERC regions saw decreases in admissions this week.

On the vaccine front, Wisconsin has administered more than 4.7 million doses with 2.3 million residents now fully vaccinated. Additionally, following guidance released by the CDC, the Wisconsin Department of Health Services announced children ages 12-15 are now eligible to receive the Pfizer vaccine. This is based on a preliminary study conducted by Pfizer-BioNTech, which showed a 100 percent antibody response in all participants. Children 12-15 are eligible to be vaccinated at the same locations for adults—community-based vaccination clinics, pharmacies, local and tribal health departments or through your regular healthcare provider. For more information please utilize the DHS website here: https://www.dhs.wisconsin.gov/covid-19/vaccine-registry.htm.

Additionally, as of yesterday the CDC has advised that fully vaccinated individuals no longer need to wear masks indoors or outdoors and no longer need to maintain any kind of social distancing. As of Wednesday, more than 154 million Americans, or 55 percent had received at least a first dose, putting us well on the path to reach herd immunity by July. The CDC does remind individuals that the phrase "fully vaccinated" indicates two full weeks after the second dose, and some instances such as planes and private businesses may continue to require masks at their discretion. For more information on the CDC guidance please visit their website here: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/fully-vaccinated.html .

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.

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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.