Gosar Votes Against Pelosi’s Continuing Resolution
This week, I voted no on the reckless continuing resolution legislation to kick the can down the road and fund our bloated federal government until December 20th of this year. Why would we continue three more months of Pelosi-Schumer spending that has already driven our debt to a staggering $35 trillion? The American people gave Republicans the majority in the House to fight for conservative policy wins, not back ourselves into a corner only to surrender to Joe Biden, Chuck Schumer and RINO Mitch McConnell. We cannot continue down this fiscally irresponsible path.
What makes this short-term spending resolution even more unacceptable is that it failed to include the SAVE Act, which would amend current law to require states to obtain documentary proof of United States citizenship when registering an individual to vote in a federal election. I wrote extensively about the SAVE Act in last week’s newsletter, if you missed you can get caught up quickly by clicking here. On a side note, here’s yet another story this week detailing how election officials in Oregon added 1,259 illegals to the voting rolls since 2021. Recall a few weeks ago I highlighted numerous reports of improper enrollment of illegals in states across the country. Add Oregon to the growing list of reasons why the SAVE Act is necessary.
What will now likely happen is that Washington D.C. swamp creatures are going to use the near-Christmas government spending deadline to force members of Congress to support an even more careless budget loaded up with wasteful spending. I assure you that I will not fall for this ploy.
Gosar Signs Discharge Petition to Repeal GPO and WEP
After receiving hundreds of letters from constituents, I recently signed onto a discharge petition for H.R. 82, the Social Security Fairness Act. H.R. 82 would repeal the government pension offset (GPO) and the windfall elimination provision (WEP).
A discharge petition is a tool used in Congress to bring a bill out of committee and to the floor for consideration, even if the committee has not approved it or if the leadership is opposed. It’s a way for members of Congress to bypass the usual legislative process when a bill is being stalled. Many discharge petitions have been attempted during the 118th Congress; however, this was the second successful one.
I strongly support repealing the WEP and the GPO which have unfairly penalized thousands of Arizonans who worked tirelessly their entire lives. If you paid into Social Security, the government should not punish you and take your lawfully earned benefits just because you’re a firefighter, police officer, or a teacher.
With broad support from lawmakers on both sides of the aisle, I expect Congress to finally vote on this important measure when we return in November. I will be sure to keep you updated.
Gosar Legislation Making Travel Easier for Disabled Veterans Advances
This week, H.R. 7365, the Veterans Expedited TSA Screening (VETS) Safe Travel Act, my bipartisan and common-sense legislation providing injured or disabled veterans a safer and more dignified experience when passing through domestic airport security checkpoints by enrolling them in the expedited PreCheck program free of charge was unanimously marked up in committee.
Under the VETS Safe Travel Act, the Department of Veterans Affairs would certify that a veteran is severely injured and therefore eligible to apply for the TSA PreCheck program. TSA would process the veteran’s application, granting free access to TSA PreCheck program provided they successfully pass the necessary background check and interview process.
According to the Transportation Security Administration, approximately 400,000 veterans would become eligible for this free PreCheck screening program. No American veteran, particularly disabled veterans, should be hassled at our airports. With this successful committee markup, it is time for Speaker Johnson to bring the VETS Safe Travel Act to the House floor for a final vote.
Gosar Introduces Legislation to Sue Big Pharma for Vaccine Injuries
Nearly four decades ago, Congress gave Big Pharma companies a special carveout that makes it nearly impossible to be sued for vaccine-related injuries. This carveout has resulted in hundreds of billions of dollars in profits for Big Pharma and hundreds of thousands of victims without the ability to seek legal justice and compensation for injuries caused by vaccines.
That is just plain wrong. In response, this week I introduced H.R. 9828, the End the Vaccine Carveout Act, legislation that strips away the immunity provisions that are unfairly shielding Big Pharma from the harms caused by their vaccines and allows those injured by vaccines to pursue a civil lawsuit in state or federal court.
Big Pharma doesn’t deserve a get-out-of-jail-free card for injuries caused by their harmful vaccines! If we want safe and effective vaccines, we need to end the liability shield, and my legislation does just that.
The following is letter I received this week from a constituent and addresses one of the many reasons why this bill is needed:
Dr. Majia N. from Cave Creek, AZ writes:
THANK YOU SO VERY MUCH for your proposed bill to eliminate pharma liability protection for vaccines.
I was mandated by my employer, ASU, to receive the covid-19 vaccine despite my misgivings because of my knowledge around the subject. Both my husband and I had life threatening adverse reactions to the Moderna vaccine. The responding physicians denied the vaccine effects, although my family doctor, neurologist, and my husband’s cardiologist confirmed the injuries as vaccine induced. My husband had full retinal detachments in both eyes and now has artificial retinas. The same condition afflicted his former colleague after vaccination. The retinal detachments were among many adverse events we experienced, including lupus, gastric bleeding, and pericarditis.
As a scholar studying autism, I was always ambivalent regarding claims about vaccine injuries in children. This view has changed as I have learned more about the absurdly inadequate testing for required vaccinations for children and the lack of any liability.
Lack of liability produces moral hazard. This formula has been acknowledged for over a hundred years, yet somehow vaccine manufacturers are allowed complete liability while their products are mandated.
This situation must stop – both mandates and the freedom from liability. This is not capitalism nor is it liberalism (in terms of self-ownership). It is instead a kind of state-corporate control that is untenable.
Doctor, thank you for your thoughtful note. Sadly, the safety of vaccines is anything but guaranteed and there is an unfortunate lack of science regarding their safety. As I note above, government officials responsible for allowing vaccines into the market rely on scientists who have been found to suffer from conflicts of interest stemming from association with the vaccine industry. Worse, vaccine manufacturers are provided generous liability protections. Vaccine manufacturers must once again be held liable by the injuries caused by their products and their special immunity from liability must be ended. That’s what my bill does!
As the month winds down, it is a good reminder that September is National Suicide Prevention Month. Unfortunately, more than 48,000 people die by suicide each year in the United States. Please remember, you are never alone. If you or a loved one are experiencing a mental health crisis, you can text or call 988 at any time. Together, we can break the stigma surrounding mental health and let our loved ones know that there is help available.
Reminder: Deadline Nearing for Military Service Academy Applications
🎗 Service Academy nomination applications are due soon! The deadline to submit your application is October 31. If you’re interested in attending a U.S. Service Academy, be sure to complete and submit all required materials before then.🎗
It’s Mail Time!
📬 To date, I received nearly 48,000 letters from constituents. Here are a few of those who wrote in this week:
📨 Gregory R. from Bullhead City wrote:
Absolutely HELL NO on the continuing resolution. As to the SAVE Act, pass it in the House even if it is struck down by the Senate and the fraud acting as President.
✍ Dear Gregory, I’m so fed up with these never-ending continuing resolutions that fund our government at the Pelosi-Schumer levels. In my opinion, if Congress were serious, it would pass a year-long budget at pre-COVID-19 levels. What else should we be doing? Congress should have passed all 12 separate appropriations bills. But we didn’t. Now Democrats want to grow the welfare state, and too many Republicans want to grow the military industrial complex. The result: we fund everything at the same level, or more, and don’t cut one penny of fat and waste. Sadly, most members of Congress are addicted to spending. Every family in America has to live within its means, yet Congress just keeps spending money and piling up the national debt. Regarding the SAVE Act, the House of Representatives passed the SAVE Act earlier this Summer, but it has died in the Senate because Chuck Schumer and Mitch McConnell refuse to take it up despite polls showing nearly 80% of voters oppose illegal aliens voting in any U.S. election.
📨 Greg C. from Lake Havasu City sent in:
Has our Congress lost their minds? Another CR was just passed and in the next moment this Administration hands over another $8 (expletive deleted) BILLION dollars to that crook Zelenskyy! When does this absurdity end? Please share my thoughts and outrage with your fellow congressmen.
✍ Greg, I will be brutally honest: the Speaker of the House of Representatives caved and stripped the SAVE Act from being included in the CR that just passed. It was a fight worth having, but once backed into a corner, the Speaker waved the white flag of surrender. As I noted earlier in this newsletter, I voted against the CR. Sadly, more than 300 of my colleagues, including more than half of the Republicans, voted in support of it.
Tweet of the Week:
Photo of the Week:
📸 Pat Newbert from Chino Valley, AZ sent in this unique photo of a recent sky in Chino Valley. Great picture, Pat. Thanks so much for sharing.
Do you want the chance for your photograph to be featured as our “Picture of the Week?” If so, send your best shots along with a brief description to Anthony.foti@mail.house.gov. Remember to include your name and where you live.
⚠ Warning!! The Gosar Weekly Newsletter is meant for discerning readers with above average intelligence. We link to interesting stories. We get stories a couple different ways: Google alerts, a third-party aggregator and sometimes readers send stuff. We don’t vouch for every publication or every author. If we link to a story, it is because of that story. The views expressed in any of the publications do not represent any promotion, endorsement or reflection of Congressman Gosar’s views. While we try our best, we cannot guarantee every news organization spouting hatred, animosity or divisiveness will be filtered from appearing in the Gosar Weekly Newsletter. We will endeavor to prevent that from happening by never linking to Fake News organizations including CNN, MSNBC, CNBC, Rolling Stone, the Arizona Republic, the Arizona Mirror, Media Matters or the New Republic. ⚠
