WASHINGTON D.C. – I am writing to you mid-week to share an important Johns Hopkins University meta-analysis that meticulously looked at the data related to the global shutdown in 2020 related to the coronavirus pandemic.

As you recall, Dr. Anthony Fauci and the Center for Disease Control (CDC) insisted that the entire country, and indeed the world, shut down “for two weeks to flatten the curve.” Fast forward nearly two years later and many cities and states are still shut down in whole or part.  Florida, to its credit, saw the data early and completely opened for business last year.

The study is important because it found that lockdowns, school closures, border closures and limiting gatherings in the United States and Europe did nothing to stop the spread of COVID-19 and had no impact in reducing deaths caused from the pandemic. Nothing. Nada. Zero. Zilch.

Worse, the study further found that the shutdowns did have “devastating effects” on the economy, families and students. Specifically, the report found the lockdowns “have contributed to reducing economic activity, raising unemployment, reducing schooling, causing political unrest, contributing to domestic violence, and undermining liberal democracy.”

The study goes on to conclude that the timing of lockdowns, and unintended consequences, likely played a larger role than expected in affecting mortality. “Lockdowns have limited peoples’ access to safe (outdoor) places such as beaches, parks, and zoos, or included outdoor mask mandates or strict outdoor gathering restrictions, pushing people to meet at less safe (indoor) places,” the study found. “Indeed, we do find some evidence that limiting gatherings was counterproductive and increased COVID-19 mortality.”

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In the 1950’s and early 1960’s, the federal government tested nuclear weapons by detonating them in the Nevada desert just north of Las Vegas. Although nuclear radiation fallout was well known, at the time it was thought this testing was done at a safe and effective distance away from population centers in Las Vegas, Kingman, San Bernardino and smaller towns in Nevada, Arizona and California.

It turns out, it was not a safe and effective distance. The radiation plume caught the prevailing winds between 10,000 and 30,000 feet and travelled into Arizona, Utah, Nevada and elsewhere.  Some people living in these areas were exposed to radiation levels that then caused unique cancers noted to be linked to radiation exposure. Those impacted are referred to as “Downwinders.”

To help compensate the Downwinder victims, Congress created the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act (RECA). Designed to afford modest compensation, due to a drafting error it did not include Mohave County, one of the most impacted areas. Since 2015, I have pursued legislation to fix this oversight.

The tenth anniversary of the National Day of Remembrance for Downwinders was recognized last week, marking the anniversary of the first atmospheric nuclear test at the Nevada Proving Ground test site, approximately 65 miles northwest of Las Vegas, Nevada.

And it was an important reminder that Arizonans exposed to radiation and cancer-causing carcinogens and who developed cancer or other related illnesses deserve restitution for their suffering.

During my time on Congress, I have tirelessly fought to correct the error to wrongfully exclude Mohave and Clark Counties by helping to author and sponsoring the Downwinders Parity and Downwinders Compensation Act. Importantly, RECA is set to expire on July 7, 2022 and Congress has a moral responsibility to reauthorize it and update it by including both Mohave and Clark Counties as affected areas.

Recently the House Judiciary Committee passed a renewal and expansion of RECA that would include Mohave County. My efforts to bring this matter to the forefront has paid off and I will be voting yes when this bill comes before the floor of the House.

If you missed my special mid-week newsletter regarding the important Johns Hopkins University meta-analysis that looked at the data related to the global shutdown in 2020 in response to the coronavirus pandemic, don’t fret! Here’s a quick summary:

This week, the Johns Hopkins University released a detailed report finding that lockdowns, school closures, border closures and limiting gatherings in the United States and Europe did nothing to stop the spread of COVID-19 and had no impact in reducing deaths caused from the pandemic. In other words, the lockdowns were a waste of time, and harmful.

Worse, the report found the lockdowns “have contributed to reducing economic activity, raising unemployment, reducing schooling, causing political unrest, contributing to domestic violence, and undermining liberal democracy.” The study goes on to conclude that the timing of lockdowns, and unintended consequences, likely played a larger role than expected in affecting mortality.

What the what? Didn’t Dr. Fauci insist that lockdowns would “flatten the curve” and save the universe from certain doom?  Turns out, he was wrong.  He has always been wrong.  He’s a fraudster.

Click here to read my entire special mid-week newsletter further detailing the findings of this study.

This week, the Treasury Department announced that the United States national debt surpassed $30 trillion, nearly five times the nation’s annual national budget.

To put that into perspective, I’m told that if you stacked 30 trillion one-dollar bills on top of each other, the stack would be just shy of two million miles tall.  That’s enough to circle the earth 78 times or eight times the distance to the moon.

The national debt has reached a calamitous level, tripling in the last decade. I reiterate my call for a balanced budget.  If we cannot balance the budget rationally, we need a balanced budget constitutional amendment that would force Congress to live within its means, like everyone else.

Our debt crisis is unsustainable.  We cannot continue to print money and spend our way out of this mess.  Unfortunately, Joe Biden and the liberal Democrats who control Congress think the solution is even more spending, raising taxes and growing the size of the federal government.  That is the exact wrong answer that got us into hole.

Click here to read my press release about the debt crisis.

Joe Biden continues to weaponize federal agencies, targeting political enemies who disagree with his socialist policies. Just as Obama used the ATF to operate a gun running scheme called Fast Furious, and Obama used the IRS to attack conservative Tea Party groups, Biden is using the same unethical and illegal play book.

Now Biden has created a new police force to monitor and arrest American citizens.   What the NKVD was to the Soviet Union, or the Stasi in East Germany, Biden has created a personal police force to attack, indict and arrest dissenters in our country. This is illegal, unethical, immoral and unconstitutional.   However, the DOJ is not just silent—it is operating this illegal domestic jack-booted thug unit.

Biden’s DOJ announced the establishment of a new “domestic counterterrorism unit” to help tackle what officials say is an escalating threat posed by violent domestic extremists.  The faces of these so-called “domestic extremists” include moms and dads who attend school board meetings to express concern that Critical Race Theory is being taught in their child’s classroom. These are the people the Biden administration is now targeting for investigation and prosecution for domestic terrorism.

This week, my colleagues and I demanded answers from the DOJ on what safeguards were in place to protect parents from this new counterterrorism unit, how it plans to ensure documents would not be falsified to obtain warrants, and what protections are in place to safeguard against unlawful surveillance. The FBI’s counterterrorism unit should be investigating terrorists, not concerned parents.  This seems obvious.  At this point many of you have asked me why we even need an FBI anymore.

Reports of some organ transplant centers denying patients who refuse to get the COVID-19 shot are deeply disturbing. Mandates forcing people to get the jab, especially when they are waiting on a lifesaving transplant are immoral. This week, I cosponsored H.R. 6534, the Stop Arduous Vaccine Enforcement (SAVE) Act.  This important legislation would prohibit transplant centers from denying anyone receiving or donating an organ solely based on their vaccination status.

Pharmacists who refuse to fill lawful prescriptions and doctors who deny health care because they don’t like the patient’s views are acting unethically and should be suspended from practice.   All people deserve to be treated with dignity and respect.

This week, the House of Representatives voted on H.R. 4521, the America COMPETES Act, or as what I refer to as the America Concedes Act.

While I agree there is a substantial need for legislation to address ongoing issues with China, H.R. 4521 will do little to make America more competitive, and will instead provide a massive bailout for chip manufacturers and Democrat-aligned corporations, the woke education industry, and left-wing “climate” groups. In reality, the majority of the 3,000-page bill has little relevance to China and it could be reasonably argued that many of the provisions intended to address China would actually be to the benefit of the Chinese government.

For example, the bill gives American tech companies tens of billions of taxpayer dollars with no requirement that those companies change their business relationships in China. The legislation also provides billions of U.S. tax dollars to climate initiatives that are unrelated to China.  H.R. 4521 directs billions of dollars of research money and grants to higher education, many of which will be able to receive funding while still operating their Confucius Institutes and favoring Chinese doctoral students.

These are just a few of the egregious provisions contained in H.R. 4521. Congress should start over and pass legislation that actually counters the CCP and protects American interests, not those of corporations and far-left radicals. I voted against this garbage.

This week in history in 1848, the Mexican-American War ended when the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo was signed. As a stipulation of the treaty, the U.S. acquired Texas, California, New Mexico, and Arizona for $15 million.

…can we get a refund on California?

This one is actually an Instagram post but we just thought it was too good not to share. Courtesy of Donald Trump, Jr.

This photo was taken by Amy Waitkus and submitted by her mother, Debbie Waitkus. It features the South rim of the Grand Canyon .

Thank you Amy & Debbie!!

Now, who is next!?

Do you have photography skills? Do you want the chance for your photograph to be featured as our “Picture of the Week?” Send your best shots of our great state to jessica.lycos@mail.house.gov. We have a beautiful state, let’s show her off!

UPDATE: As this was going to print, I learned that the Arizona Republic published an article that quotes me as encouraging the riot on January 6.  The quote is malicious and false.  I never said anything like that, ever.  This far left newspaper has spread many malicious lies and slander every Arizona conservative.  This is just the latest, but it is by far one of the most egregious.  Anyone reading this newsletter should never subscribe to, or even clink on a link, from the Arizona Republic/AZ Central.  Get your news from trusted sources.  In the meantime, I will talk with my attorneys about a potential defamation lawsuit against Laurie Roberts and the newspaper for a knowingly publishing a false and malicious lie.

Gateway Pundit: Paul Gosar: ‘We Have No Dog in The Ukraine Fight’

The Hill: GOP faces divisions over siding with Ukraine against Russia

Epoch Times:  Biden Administration Backs Amnesty for Illegal Immigrants Separated During Trump Era

New York Post: Critical race theory is about to segregate America like an open-air prison yard

National Review: Johns Hopkins Analysis: ‘Lockdowns Should Be Rejected Out of Hand’

Townhall: More Eyebrows Raised Concerning the Latest Development in the Ashli Babbitt Case

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