Milwaukee City Wire

Issued the following announcement on June 19

Another week of Washington, D.C. is in the books! Here’s what you need to know from this week:

Called on Gov. Evers to End the $300 Federal Unemployment Bonus 

This week I joined my Wisconsin Republican colleagues in a letter calling on Governor Tony Evers to clarify his past and present efforts to prevent unemployment fraud during the pandemic. Recent reports indicate that up to $400 billion may have been stolen by criminals and foreign adversaries, both wasting taxpayer dollars and undermining U.S. national security. 

In the letter we write:

“The COVID-19 pandemic has been a challenge for federal, state, and local government officials. One of the most significant changes was the advent of increased federal payments and flexibilities in state unemployment programs. This expanded those eligible to receive benefits, loosened verification requirements, and provided eligible individuals with hundreds of extra dollars per week on top of state unemployment benefits. Now, new reporting has indicated that up to half of U.S. unemployment benefits—as much as $400 billion—may have been stolen from state unemployment programs.

“As your Administration continues to draw down the additional federal unemployment payments, we ask that you ensure these funds are not getting into the hands of criminals. We must do everything to ensure that U.S. taxpayers are not financing criminal activities at home and abroad.”

You can read the full letter here.

Reminded Dept. of VA to Follow the Law and Protect Unborn Life 

I joined over 130 Republican colleagues in a letter sent to U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Secretary Denis McDonough reminding him of the legal prohibition against the VA from offering abortion services to veteran patients.

38 Code of Federal Regulations § 17.38(c)(1) and the Veterans Health Care Act of 1992 (Public Law 102-585) both prohibit the VA from providing abortion services to the veterans they serve. This letter was sent at a critical time amid the relentless pro-abortion push from the left and President Biden. In the letter, we write:

“It is our belief – and the law maintains – that VA must never use taxpayer dollars to provide abortions or abortion counseling to veterans. To do so would be contrary to the God-given right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness that generations of veterans fought to defend. We trust that you agree and that you will continue to protect and preserve the sanctity of life in VA.”

You can read the full letter here.

President Biden Meets with Vladimir Putin 

This week, President Biden met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in what amounted to a slap on the wrist and a list 16 critical infrastructure entities 'off limits' to cyberattacks…

Yes, you read that correctly.

At a summit where President Biden should have been holding Putin accountable for the cyberattack on the Colonial pipeline, sanctioning Nord Stream 2, and condemning the abuse of his political opponent, Alexei Navalny, he instead gave Putin a list of prime U.S. hacking targets.  

If President Biden can’t stand up to President Putin, how can we expect him to stand up to China and Iran?

Asked HHS Secretary Becerra Questions on Future COVID-19 Mandates

The Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra testified before the House Education and Labor Committee this week, and after dodging Republicans one after another on whether his department would use tax dollars to publicly fund abortions, I asked the Secretary several questions about the Administration’s stance on mandates should a COVID-19 variant arise in the future. On par with his posture on abortion, Secretary Becerra largely dodged the questions.

Secretary Becerra’s refusal to commit to a position on publicly funded abortions and COVID-19-related mandates was disappointing. Americans deserve answers from unelected bureaucrats on these fundamental issues.

You can watch our exchange here.