{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://hamadeh.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=490", "Year In Review: Congressman Hamadeh Advances America First Principles and Practices", "2025-12-31", "2025", "2025-12", "Republican", "House", "AZ", "Abraham J. Hamadeh", "H001098", "hamadeh.house.gov", "hamadeh", "https://hamadeh.house.gov/news/documentquery.aspx", "scraper", "Since before taking office, FOX News named Congressman Abe Hamadeh as one of the \u201crising stars\u201d in the Democratic and Republican parties expected to emerge in 2025, and that is what he set about doing.\n\nFrom working with President Trump and his Cabinet members to securing wins on the legislative front, Congressman Hamadeh has advanced America First principles and practices on behalf of his constituents in the nation\u2019s Capitol.\n\n\u201cI came to D.C. committed to fight for the principles embodied in the America First agenda as laid out by President Trump; the principles that best serve my constituents. I hit the ground running, and within a very short period of time, I was able to successfully secure a ban on Chinese propaganda from the People\u2019s House. The popularity of the ban even prompted a ban in the UK House of Commons, proving that these fundamental principles are universally what the public wants and following them will keep us on the right track,\u201d stated Congressman Hamadeh.\n\nBuoyed by that initial and almost immediate win, Congressman Hamadeh continued working tirelessly in a bipartisan manner to fight for his constituents\u2019 top priorities.\n\nIn his first year, Congressman Hamadeh and his team met with thousands of residents, conducting over 450 tours for visitors from Congressional District 8.\n\nCongressman Hamadeh\u2019s team has successfully closed over 600 constituent cases to date and returned nearly $2 million to constituents despite the democrats\u2019 government shutdown.\n\nKeeping his promise to veterans, two of the very first bills he introduced as a Member of the House Veterans Affairs Committee, the Edith Nourse Rogers STEM Scholarship Opportunity Act and the Health Professionals Scholarship Program (HPSP) Improvement Act of 2025, were unanimously passed in the U.S. House of Representatives.\n\nIn March, Congressman Hamadeh reached out to FBI Director Kash Patel, advocating for the men and women of the Phoenix Police Department who had been the victims of the Biden Administration's weaponization of the Department of Justice. Thanks to Congressman Hamadeh\u2019s doggedness, the DOJ officially ended its investigation into the Phoenix Police Department (PPD, retracting previous Biden-era findings of widespread constitutional violations, citing the move as ending a \"failed experiment\" with consent decrees and upholding local control.\n\nThat same month, Congressman Hamadeh\u2019s Congressional Fitness Challenge bill won the support of NFL Hall of Famer Brett Favre and former NFL player Antonio Brown (\u201cAB\u201d). \u201cIron Mike\u201d Tyson threw his support behind H.Con.Res.20, which establishes the Congressional Fitness Challenge, calling it \u201cbold\u201d and necessary. It was deemed so necessary that President Trump followed suit and reinstated the Presidential Fitness Challenge. Congressman Hamadeh and his team are preparing to support the President in bringing the fitness initiative to Congressional District 8 in order to build a stronger, healthier future for our kids.\n\nAt the end of the month, Congressman Hamadeh was honored to be invited to meet with Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard. Over dinner, Congressman Hamadeh participated in a discussion about how to advance President Trump\u2019s intelligence agenda.\n\nIn April, keeping his vow to his constituents to secure election integrity, Congressman Hamadeh introduced the Proving Residency for Overseas Voter Eligibility (PROVE) Act.\n\nThe legislation will amend the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (UOCAVA) to require non-military overseas citizens to prove their current residency in a state in which they are attempting to vote.\n\nIf they are unable to prove a current resident status by themselves, their spouse, parent, or legal guardian, U.S. citizens may still vote a federal ballot only in the District of Columbia.\n\nCongressman Hamadeh also co-led the Preventing Ranked Choice Corruption Act. The legislation, which amends the Help America Vote Act, will help American citizens vote by prohibiting the confusing and disenfranchising voting scheme of Ranked Choice Voting.\n\nCongressman Hamadeh then co-sponsored a bill to support and codify President Donald Trump\u2019s election integrity agenda.\n\nBy codifying President Trump\u2019s Executive Order 14248, entitled Preserving and Protecting the Integrity of American Elections, Congressman Hamadeh\u2019s bill would make law an extensive list of necessary measures, including government-issued proof of U.S. citizenship, security standards for voting equipment, enforcement of the voter-list maintenance, requiring voter-verifiable paper ballots, and prosecuting non-citizen voting and related crimes.\n\nIn May, Congressman Hamadeh joined President Donald Trump, along with top executives from companies including Nvidia, Johnson & Johnson, Eli Lilly, GE Aerospace, and SoftBank, to celebrate their increasing investment in the U.S.\n\nCongressman Hamadeh thanked President Trump for his bold leadership, which led to TSMC making the largest single foreign direct investment in U.S. history. Much of TSMC\u2019s investment is made in Congressional District 8.\n\nCongressman Hamadeh had the pleasure of meeting with Secretary of Veterans Affair Doug Collins in May to share the concerns of veterans in Congressional District 8 and how the VA can best serve them. They also discussed what legislative actions the Congressman could take to facilitate the vital reforms sought by the Trump administration.\n\nPeace through strength is a priority for both Congressman Hamadeh and President Trump; in fact, it is what CD8 residents voted for. As a result, Congressman Hamadeh has worked closely with Ambassador Tom Barrack Tom Barrack, U.S. Ambassador to Turkey and special envoy for Syria, to gain the Syrian government\u2019s assistance in locating and returning USA citizens or their remains, including the body of Kayla Mueller.\n\nIn August, Congressman Hamadeh made an unprecedented trip from Jerusalem to Damascus to meet with Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa and Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad Hassan al-Shaibani to discuss the Congressman's continuing effort to bring Kayla Mueller's body to her family in Arizona. Kayla was abducted by terrorists in 2013 while leaving a Doctors Without Borders hospital in Aleppo, Syria.\n\nOver the course of his first year in office, as a member of the House Armed Services Committee, Congressman Hamadeh worked across the aisle to secure wins for our national security, Arizona industry, and servicemembers during the National Defense Authorization Act development process.\n\nIn September, the FY26 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) was passed on a bipartisan vote of 231-196. Congressman Hamadeh was proud to vote in favor of this historic legislation that includes key support for our service members.\n\nCongressman Hamadeh successfully led the charge for Arizona\u2019s military communities, installations, and defense industrial base\u2014delivering bipartisan wins for Arizona:\n\nReliable Air Conditioning for Luke Air Force Base\n\nInvestment in the Sharpest Intelligence, Surveillance, Reconnaissance Satellite Imagery\n\nSuicide Prevention Oversight for Servicemembers\n\nCollaborative Combat Aircraft Propulsion Development\n\nIncreased Investment in Dump Trucks for the Arizona Army National Guard\n\nRecognition of Arizona State University-Led Irregular Warfare Consortium\n\nSaving Mesa\u2019s Apache Helicopter Factory Jobs\n\nCongressman Hamadeh was honored to be among a handful of Republican lawmakers who joined President Donald Trump for the inaugural event of the new \u201cRose Garden Club\u201d in September.\n\nClosing out the year, Congressman Hamadeh once again earned constituents\u2019 support and national attention when he was joined by Angel families in December to announce the introduction of the American Border Story Memorial Act.\n\n\u201cAngel families\u201d are those families who have lost loved ones to the ravages created by former President Joe Biden's broken border and the cartels\u2019 deadly drug trade. The bill has already amassed an impressive number of cosponsors.\n\nThis legislation would establish a permanent memorial in Washington, D.C. to honor the victims of the open border and illegal immigration. No taxpayer dollars will be used to build the memorial wall. The memorial complies fully with the Commemorative Works Act and will be established by The American Border Story (TABS), a nonprofit organization.\n\nCongressman Hamadeh believes that while these families are often featured in discussions advocating stricter immigration enforcement and border security, their personal loss should be memorialized, and the wall will also serve as a reminder of the costs of bad policy.\n\nAngel family members in attendance included Mary Ann Mendoza; mother of Sgt. Brandon Mendoza, Agnes Judit Gibboney; mother of Ronald Da Silva, Joe Abraham; father of Katie Abraham, Anne Fundner; mother of Weston Fundner, Jane Gray; mother of Nicole Gray, Wanda Dequardo; mother of Christian Knight, and Anatoly Varfolomeev; father of Anya Varfolomeev. The families shared their stories of loss and what this bill means to them during the holiday season.\n\nNow, Congressman Hamadeh is urging his colleagues to pass two bills he introduced, the Service Members Tax Relief Act and the Tax Cuts for Veterans Act, which amend the tax code to exempt all military income earned by active-duty and reserve service members and all service-related retirement payments from federal income taxes.\n\n\u201cThese bills are in keeping with my commitment to America First principles and advance President Trump\u2019s Peace Through Strength agenda by alleviating the burdens on our service members in some small measure,\u201d stated Congressman Hamadeh. \u201cOur service members face high operational demands and cost-of-living pressures that outpace pay tables. So, anything we can cost-effectively do to ease those pressures should be done.\u201d\n\n\u201cThese bills are fiscally conservative in that they offer relief through the tax code instead of new spending,\u201d explained Congressman Hamadeh. \u201cIt is a win-win; the exemption instantly improves take-home pay, while helping with recruitment and retention, which in turn keeps our war fighters strong.\u201d\n\n\u201cI am proud of what we have been able to accomplish this year, but there is more to do, and my team and I are ready,\u201d stated Congressman Hamadeh. \u201cI have full confidence that my bills to amend the tax code to exempt all military income earned by active-duty and reserve service members and all service-related retirement payments from federal income taxes will have wide support in 2026 from my fellow Republicans and even a few Democrats.\u201d\n\n\u201c2025 was exciting. I have learned so much from my constituents and colleagues about what we need to do to put America first and how to get that done,\u201d stated Congressman Hamadeh. \u201cFor 2026, my New Year\u2019s resolution is to never stop putting America First and never stop fighting for my constituents.\u201d", 1, "2026-06-27T21:44:12Z", "2026-06-27T22:31:39Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://hamadeh.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=490"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.0141809470951557, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}