Unfortunately, for many Americans, this Christmas season has been unusually difficult.  Skyrocketing prices will force families to pay 15% more for their Christmas dinner, unless of course you’re unvaccinated.  In that case, Dr. Fauci made it clear that you cannot spend Christmas with your family and he is cancelling your holiday celebration. Many other Americans are experiencing financial hardships caused by Bidenflation and the rampaging crime spree in cities across the country have people living in fear.  For many others, supply-chain shortages have led to bare cupboards and fewer gifts under the tree for their children.  If that wasn’t bad enough, a new COVID-19 variant just in time for the holidays has given Mr. Biden and the liberals the ammo they need to push for more vaccine mandates and shutdowns.  I’d say the radical, left-wing policies have proven to be very challenging these past 11 months.

Our traditional values are under attack and our country seems to be in a worrisome state of affairs.  However, it’s time like these that we are drawn closer to God and, importantly, to celebrate the miracle of Christmas.  It’s also a reminder to pray for our country this Christmas.  Romans 8:28 tells us that God causes all things to work for the good – even hopelessness, fear and uncertainty.  Our hope comes from our savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.  So, as you gather around the Christmas tree, find comfort in the angel of the Lord who reminds us to “fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.”

Click above to watch a very special Gosar Minute: Holiday Edition – My take on the 12 Days of Christmas.

Merry Christmas and God Bless!

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has reported that approximately 534,000 out of 8.83 million VA enrollees receive VA dental care. The VA also offers the option to purchase dental care to certain veterans through VA’s Dental Insurance Program (VADIP), which provides coverage to an estimated 614,000 veterans.

In response, this week I cosponsored H.R. 914, the Dental Care for Veterans Act.  Thisbipartisan bill expands dental services to all veterans provided by the VA.  Specifically, the bill makes all veterans who are enrolled in the VA health care system eligible for VA-provided dental services. The VA should be working to improve the physical health and welfare of all veterans enrolled in the VA’s healthcare system. This crucial bill to extend oral health care services is a long overdue correction and one that I am proud to support.

Unfortunately, only military retirees with at least 20 years of service and a disability rating of at least 50 percent are able to collect both benefits at the same time. For all other retires, current law requires a dollar for dollar offset of these two benefits, meaning they have to forfeit a portion of the benefits they earned in service.

Veterans who were medically retired as a result of injuries incurred in combat or combat-related training deserve all their benefits earned through their extraordinary sacrifice in defending our nation.  Sadly, more than 42,000 retirees, including thousands in Arizona, whose military careers were cut short due to combat related injuries have been denied their full benefits.

In response, this week I also cosponsored H.R. 1282, the Major Richard Star Act.  This important legislation provides that combat-disabled veterans with less than 20 years of creditable service may concurrently receive, without reduction, veterans’ disability compensation and retired pay or combat-related special compensation. By repealing this offset, this legislation would ensure veterans are treated fairly and receive both their retirement pay and disability compensation pay.

I am proud to cosponsor this important legislation that is supported by the Wounded Warrior Project. Collecting both benefits should never be considered “double dipping,” and no retiree should be subject to the offset.

I have to express my sadness, however, in not having Yavapai County, Pinal County and Gila County in my new district.   Over the last ten years I have made so many friends, and I had the pleasure of traveling from Florence to Chino Valley,  Jerome to Apache Junction, and all points in-between.  I will continue to visit and stop by as often as I can, and I will always be available to help with issues, talk, and work for all Arizonans.

For a year, he has been promising to fix the lack of testing capacity in the United States since he took in office.  Why has it taken Mr. Biden so long for his administration to get serious about providing tests to Americans?   Asked this question by reporter, Mr. Biden snapped: “Come on, ‘What took so long’? It didn’t take long at all. What happened was the Omicron virus spread more rapidly than anyone thought.”

Upon closer review, Biden simply dropped the ball.  Here’s a short history of his broken promises regarding COVID testing:

Jan. 22 : Biden promises “a war footing to aggressively speed up our Covid-19 response, especially on vaccines and testing and reopening our schools.”

Feb. 17: Biden announces “a series of new actions to expand Covid-19 testing, improve the availability of tests, and better prepare for the threat of variants.”

March 11: Biden says, “We continue to work on making at-home testing available.”

July 6: Biden says, “We’re going to deploy things like testing to expand detection of the virus.”

Sept. 9: In a major speech, Biden says, “From the start, America has failed to do enough Covid-19 testing.” He promises to: 1) “use the Defense Production Act to increase production of rapid tests, including those that you can use at home,” 2) ensure that retailers such as Walmart, Amazon and Kroger “sell at-home rapid test kits at cost for the next three months,” and 3) “purchase nearly 300 million rapid tests for distribution … so that every American, no matter their income, can access free and convenient tests.”

Dec. 2: In a major speech, Biden says, “This winter, we are going to make free at-home tests more available to Americans than ever before,” principally by mandating that “health insurers must cover the cost of at-home testing.”

Dec. 6: In a White House press briefing, a reporter asks press secretary JEN PSAKI whether the Biden reimbursement plan is needlessly cumbersome: “Why not just make them free and give them out to — and have them available everywhere?” Psaki mocks the question, responding, “Should we just send one to every American?

In his pathetic speech this week, Mr. Biden admits his attempts to expand testing haven’t been adequate.  Not adequate?  C’mon, let’s be candid, he’s not been honest with the American people from day one. “Because Omicron spreads easily, especially among the unvaccinated, it’s critically important that we know who’s infected,” he says. “That means we need more testing. And on that score, we are [not] where we should be.” In the meanwhile, Americans can’t find tests anywhere and cars are lined up for miles at test centers as people wait for hours trying to get tested.

Thank you Matt!

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!

@RNRenewal: There was no one more deserving of our America First Patriot Award than the great @DrPaulGosar.

Replying to: Mark Ivanyo

@MarkIvanyo: It was a great honor and privilege to present the well-earned America First Patriot award to @RepGosar at @RNRenewal‘s “It’s a Wonderful Nation” Christmas reception. He is a perfect example of what a Republican member of Congress should be like. God bless you, Rep. Gosar!

Gosar in the News and Other Stories We Think You Might Want to Know

New York Post: Biden Delivers a Double Dose of Ineptitude

New York Post: Bette Midler’s insult to West Virginians shows the real heart of the demeaning left

I want to serve my constituents in any way I can. Whether you need help with a federal agency, are trying to find out if federal grants are available for your project, or are considering applying to a service academy, my office is always here to help.

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Additionally, the phone numbers for all of my offices are listed at the bottom of this email.

A CHRISTMAS MIRACLE IN THE ARDENNES

That mother was Elisabeth Vincken, from the German city of Aachen near the German-Belgian border. The Vincken family’s home and bakery was destroyed by an Allied bombing raid in April 1944, forcing them to seek a new home. Elisabeth’s husband knew of a small cottage in the Ardennes, where he had stayed on hunting weekends before the war. He had Elisabeth and their 12-year-old son Fritz move there, hoping the isolation will mean safety. He himself had been drafted into a civil-defense fire squad in the nearby border town of Monschau, some four miles from the cottage. The relative proximity allowed him to visit his family regularly, and, in fact, they were planning to spend Christmas together.

Sometime on the evening of the 24th, a sudden knock came on the door of the cottage. Elisabeth quickly blew out the candles. Fritz went to open the door, but his mother overtook him and opened it herself. Three young American soldiers were outside, one of them deathly pale and lying in the snow. They had been separated from their battalion three days prior, and were trying to evade German forces and get back to their own lines; one of them was shot in the leg. They didn’t speak German, and Elisabeth spoke no English, but she looked at the desperate men and invited them in.

One of the soldiers and Elisabeth both spoke a little French and started to communicate. The three Americans were Jim (the one who spoke French), Robin and Harry, the wounded one, who quickly fell asleep, probably in large part from the blood loss. Elisabeth told Fritz to fetch six potatoes and Hermann – the three young men needed a warm Christmas meal more than her husband.

Harry’s leg was soon bandaged with cloth Elisabeth ripped from one of her bed-sheets, and the smell of roast chicken started filling the room. A new knock came. Fritz believed it would be more lost Americans and opened the door. This time, however, it was four young German soldiers. Seeing them, Elisabeth quickly stepped outside and greeted them with “Fröhliche Weihnachten” – “Merry Christmas.” The soldiers returned the greeting, and the corporal explained their presence. They have lost their regiment and were afraid they’ll freeze to death at night. They were hoping to stay at the cottage until daylight.

The German corporal asked if the men inside were Americans. Elisabeth replied. “Listen, you could be my sons, and so could they in there. A boy with a gunshot wound, fighting for his life, and his two friends, lost like you and just as hungry and exhausted as you are. This one night, this Christmas night, let us forget about killing.”

The first few moments of the meeting were tense for both sides, but Elisabeth took control and started to arrange her guests on the three chairs around the dinner table and the side of her bed. She whispered to Fritz to quickly get more potatoes and some oats to make more food: “These boys are hungry, and a starving man is an angry one.”

The men started to relax on both sides. Two of the Germans, Heinz and Willi, were both 16 and hailed from Cologne. Their corporal was 23. They produced a bottle of red wine and a loaf of rye bread and shared it with the Elisabeth, Fritz and the Americans. Half of the wine was set aside for Harry to help him recover.

The two groups spent the night in peace and prepared to part ways in the morning. Harry was given some broth and a drink made from the German wine, some sugar, and the only egg in the household, while the others had oatmeal. Two poles and Elisabeth’s best tablecloth were used to fashion a stretcher for Harry.

The details of this story have survived thanks to young Fritz Vincken. Later in life, he moved to Honolulu, opened a European-style bakery and became an American citizen. He tried to track down the American and German soldiers who have spent that miraculous Christmas night with him and his mother, but with no luck for a long time.