January 5, 2025

Gosar Introduces Legislation to Shore Up the Social Security Trust Fund

Last year, I hosted two Social Security roundtable discussions in my congressional district and hundreds of people attended.  Social Security embodies the values of compassion to Americans who are retired, disabled, or the survivors of deceased workers.  It is one of the most important programs in the United States, providing a safety net and a vital source of income for millions of Americans.

I wholeheartedly believe that Social Security is a sacred trust. Yet for years, many on the Left have repeatedly accused Republicans of wanting to reduce Social Security benefits.  The only reason that I can think of for why the Left does this is to scare and frighten our Seniors.  And that is a shame.  I do NOT support cutting Social Security, in fact, I have offered or cosponsored several bills to strengthen Social Security and Increase benefits.

For example, I introduced the No Tax on Social Security Act, legislation that would exclude Social Security benefits from being counted as annual gross income, thus exempting it from federal income taxation. I also support legislation that would eliminate any penalties for seniors who choose to continue to work.  I even proposed legislation to eliminate the Optional Practice Training Program, otherwise known as OPT. OPT allows foreigners to work here but not pay into social security, but they can claim it, thus giving employers an unfair incentive to hire inexpensive foreign labor while displacing American workers.  That’s just wrong, it should be illegal.  I’ve also cosponsored legislation to eliminate Social Security benefits to illegal aliens.  It makes no sense for the federal government to punish senior citizens who saved for retirement while rewarding noncitizens for taking advantage of a broken system.  I also highlighted in my recent newsletter legislation I cosponsored that repeals the Windfall Elimination Provision and the Government Pension Offset which have unfairly penalized thousands of Arizonans.

The bottom line is this:  I have been, and will continue to fight for more and better Social Security benefits for my constituents.

To start the new 119^th Congress off, my first bill introduced in the new congressional session this week was HR 34, the Land and Social Security Optimization (LASSO) Act. This legislation requires 10% of revenue generated by lands under the administrative jurisdiction of the Department of the Interior, including submerged lands on the Outer Continental Shelf, and the Forest Service to be deposited into the Federal Old-Age and Survivors Insurance Trust Fund.

My bill is a win-win. The LASSO Act shores up the component of the Social Security trust fund that pays Social Security benefits to retired workers, their spouses, their children, and survivors of deceased insured workers.

It also unlocks domestic energy potential by encouraging activities that generate revenue on public land, including onshore and offshore energy development, livestock grazing, and timber harvesting.  This maintains the federal government’s obligation to promote the highest use of public lands. Despite this obligation, our public lands are underperforming, and more than 1.6 million acres of public lands were locked up under the Biden Administration, threatening U.S. economic prosperity and national security.

For some greater perspective, if this bill had been enacted in Fiscal Year 2023, nearly $2 billion would have been deposited into the OASI Trust Fund, reducing the Trust Fund’s FY 2023 shortfall of $70.4 billion by 3%.

Mike Johnson Re-elected as Speaker of the House of Representatives

This week, Representative Mike Johnson was re-elected as House Speaker, securing the gavel on the first ballot.  All but one Republican, including me, cast their vote in support of Speaker Johnson.

As you know, President Trump won the 2024 election in a landslide, securing for himself and his agenda a clear mandate from the American people.  During the President’s first term in office, a fractured Republican coalition co-opted the language of “MAGA” and abused the President’s trust, stunting the advance of his mission to “Drain the Swamp,” once and for all.  Because President Trump knows that he needs a united front in Congress to push his agenda through, he endorsed Mike Johnson to lead that coalition as Speaker of the House of Representatives.

Voting against President Trump’s preferred man for the job and thus protracting the Speaker vote would not get us any closer to advancing his ambitious agenda.  In fact, it might have delayed the certification of President Trump’s election.  Democrats wanted nothing more than to see their opposition buckle, fracture, and splinter off.  They would much rather see liberal New York Representative Hakeem Jefferies assume the role of Speaker than Mike Johnson.  My colleagues and I were not about to let that happen.

I’ve had my share of disagreements with Speaker Johnson, but I voted for him so that this Congress could get on with the work that it was tasked with by the American people all the way back in 2016: “Making America Great Again.”  With a narrow majority in the House, Republicans need to be on the same page if we stand any hope of securing our border; ending pointless wars abroad; bringing jobs and manufacturing back to the United States; ensuring restitution for the victims of the Biden-Garland Department of Injustice; getting the federal government off of the backs of taxpayers; and stoking anew the flame of optimism in the hearts of the Americans.  A better America is possible, and I look forward to working alongside President Trump.  I will also be closely watching that Speaker Johnson does what he says he is going to do to deliver on President Trump’s agenda.  It’s time to get on to governing for the American people.

Judge Blocks Joe Biden from Selling Border Wall Material

I have an update to a story I wrote about a few weeks ago in my newsletterregarding reports that Joe Biden was spending his final weeks quietly clearing away unused southern border wall materials to put up for auction.  The materials were left unused following Joe Biden’s decision to halt the wall’s construction and roll back President Trump’s very effective immigration policies resulting in the massive surge of more than 13 million illegal immigrants crossing the southern border.  Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton sued and the good news is that a federal judge recently blocked Biden from disposing of any border wall material before President Trump takes office.  As we know all too well, Arizona is a hotspot for illegal crossings, and we need these materials so President Trump can conduct the much-needed work of completing the construction of the wall along the southern border.  The ruling halts Biden’s goal before he leaves office of flooding illegals into our country and making it difficult as possible for President Trump. 

It’s Mail Time!

I received nearly 70,000 letters in 2024, and I appreciated hearing from everyone. Here are a few letters I received this week:

Steve K. from Buckeye, AZ writes:

I like your legislative initiative on supporting the Social Security trust fund with 10% of public lands revenue! Unleash the energy we have and refill the national oil reserve and then sell baby, sell. 

Steve, thanks for the support and feedback.  As I noted above, my legislation is a win-win because it encourages energy development on public lands while requiring 10% of revenues generated to go to the Social Security Trust fund, which could be insolvent by 2033.   We must put our seniors and country first and work together to find a solution, that’s exactly what the LASSO Act does.

Joe K. from Bullhead City, AZ wrote in:

I supported Trump. However, I cannot support things like “taking over the Panama Canal”.  It is like any other capitalistic endeavor: they charge what they can and to get what’s necessary to develop their organization and to invest back into it.  Why should Panama be any different? Taking it by force is no different than Columbia taking Panama.  Let’s stick to protecting USA and not go after other countries.

Joe – As you note, President Trump recently suggested that former President Jimmy Carter “foolishly gave the Panama Canal away.” This was not President Trump’s first mention of the Canal transfer, either.  In an interview with Tucker Carlson, President Trump lamented that former President Theodore Roosevelt, under whom the Canal was constructed, “understood the strength of Naval Power and Trade.” President Carter, on the other hand, sold it for one dollar and so forfeited a critical strategic asset, undermining U.S. national security and trade primacy. 

America sits, by the providence of God, on an unparalleled expanse of naturally occurring minerals and fertile soil; it is guarded by oceans to its East and West; it has enjoyed military and fiscal dominance since the Second World War.  I stand by President Trump’s conviction to safeguard those natural assets and in so doing guard the American people against foreign threats, including Chinese military operatives, and the other hostile parties, all of whom are eyeing the Panama Canal to fulfill their own ambitions.  That noble sentiment – to protect “ourselves and our posterity,” as the Constitution put it – is the cornerstone of America First thinking.

As the New York Post points out, the threat to U.S. interests is obvious. Two-thirds of the Panama Canal’s commercial traffic either originates from or is bound for American ports. The canal is vital for the movement of U.S. naval forces between the Atlantic and the Pacific, an essential asset in the face of rising international tensions in the Asia-Pacific region – tensions that China could well inflame in the coming years.

President Trump is right to demand U.S. control of the canal.  With Chinese interests controlling the entry ports on both sides of the canal, disabling the waterway would be child’s play for our adversaries in Beijing and disastrous for America’s economy and safety.

Tweet of the Week:

Photo of the Week:

📸 It’s never too late to post a Christmas photo.  🎄 Dave Kiesling from Goodyear, AZ submitted this cool photo he describes as Santa leaving his calling card in our Goodyear community.  Thanks for sharing, Dave!

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.

Gosar in the News and Other Must-Read Stories:

📰 The Daily Signal: After Speaker Election, Johnson’s Right Flank Demands Action on Trump Agenda

🗞 PJ Media: ‘Tis the Season to Reflect on Cruel Animal Experiments and Other Beltway Boondoggles

📰 Post Millennial: DOJ employees leaked confidential information to hurt Trump ahead of election: IG report

🗞 Outkick: Trans-Identified Male Qualifies To Race In Female Division For 2025 Boston Marathon

📰 New York Post: Donald Trump is dead right — GOP must back Mike Johnson for speaker

🗞 Newsmax: Investors Say Trump is Great for Economy

⚠ 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.