url,title,date,year,month,party,chamber,state,member_name,bioguide_id,domain,scraper,source,date_source,text,has_text,collected_at,updated_at
https://www.mccain.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases?ContentRecord_id=DFAE6FFD-976A-468C-B53B-15D548E46BD7,McCAIN & GRAHAM ON NEW SANCTIONS AGAINST RUSSIA,2016-12-29,2016,2016-12,Republican,House,AZ,John McCain,M000303,www.mccain.senate.gov,,,legacy,"Washington, D.C. ­– U.S. Senators John McCain (R-AZ) and Lindsey Graham (R-SC) released the following statement today on the Obama Administration’s announcement of new sanctions against Russia for its cyberattacks on the 2016 election:
“The retaliatory measures announced by the Obama Administration today are long overdue. But ultimately, they are a small price for Russia to pay for its brazen attack on American democracy. We intend to lead the effort in the new Congress to impose stronger sanctions on Russia.”  
###",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z
https://www.flake.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases?ContentRecord_id=947A8CDE-F88D-40AE-B2FB-812A89DED0A2,"Flake, McCain Encouraged Arizona Not Included Among New Monument Designations",2016-12-28,2016,2016-12,Republican,House,AZ,Jeff Flake,F000444,www.flake.senate.gov,,,legacy,"PHOENIX – U.S. Sens. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) and John McCain (R-Ariz.) today released the following statement regarding reports that the president’s latest round of national monument designations does not include a proposed 1.7 million acre monument in Arizona:
“President Obama seems to have heard the message that Arizonans are not on board with plans for Washington to lock-up another 1.7 million acres in our state. As frustrating as it is to see federal land grabs in Utah and Nevada today, we are encouraged that the administration does not appear to be moving toward another national monument designation in Arizona at this time.”  
Background: 
 
On Dec. 5, Flake and McCain sent a letter to President Barack Obama following encouraging reports that he may abandon plans to abandon declaring a new national monument in Arizona. Flake and McCain’s signed letter can be viewed here.
On Dec. 5, Flake and McCain also sent a letter to Department of Interior Secretary Sally Jewell today asking about the department’s position on designation a new monument in Arizona. The signed letter can be viewed here.
On October 3, Flake and McCain sent a letter to President Obama asking him to refrain from designating any additional national monuments in Arizona without first engaging with affected stakeholders, including local governments and state agencies. Flake and McCain’s signed letter can be viewed here.
On September 22, at a Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee hearing, Flake advocated for stakeholder input on new national monument designations in Arizona. More information can be found here.
On Nov. 6, 2015, Flake and McCain sent a letter urging the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) to increase the pace of forest thinning efforts in order to reduce the risk of catastrophic wildfire and improve forest health. Flake and McCain’s signed letter can be viewed here. Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey simultaneously sent an identical letter to the USFS. Ducey’s signed letter can be viewed here. 
 
###",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z
https://www.mccain.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases?ContentRecord_id=86038892-7A03-42C7-8A8C-DE8857D73D46,STATEMENT BY SASC CHAIRMAN JOHN McCAIN ON SECRETARY JOHN KERRYS SPEECH ON ISRAEL,2016-12-28,2016,2016-12,Republican,House,AZ,John McCain,M000303,www.mccain.senate.gov,,,legacy,"Washington, D.C. ­– U.S. Senator John McCain (R-AZ), Chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, released the following statement on Secretary of State John Kerry’s speech on Israel today:
“Secretary Kerry’s speech today was at best a pointless tirade in the waning days of an outgoing administration. At worst, it was another dangerous outburst that will further Israel’s diplomatic isolation and embolden its enemies.
“Peace between Israelis and Palestinians is not up to Secretary Kerry or President Obama. It is not up to the United States or the United Nations. It is up to Israelis and Palestinians to negotiate that peace. Public lectures against Israel and UN resolutions attacking Israel do not aid the cause of peace. They only provide those seeking Israel’s destruction a convenient excuse to blame Israel for their own intransigence.
“I support a two-state solution for Israel and the Palestinians – one that ensures the Jewish state will be secure within its borders, and its right to remain so is recognized and respected by Palestinians and Israel’s neighbors. But this solution is simply not possible at this time because Israel has no viable partner for peace. Not when Israel’s right to exist is denied and threatened. Not when Hamas and Hezbollah continue deadly rocket attacks. Not when Palestinian leaders tolerate or even glorify terrorist attacks against innocent Israeli civilians by Palestinians armed with knives, meat cleavers, guns, and cars.
“No American interest in the Middle East is more important than the integrity and future of our friendship with Israel. That is why our priority must be to make it crystal clear to the entire world, both in word and deed, that the United States will stand by our ally Israel now and always.” 
###",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z
http://gosar.house.gov/press-release/early-christmas-gift-gosar-mccain-jobs-bill-signed-law,An Early Christmas Gift: Gosar-McCain Jobs Bill Signed into Law,2016-12-24,2016,2016-12,Republican,House,AZ,Paul Gosar,G000565,gosar.house.gov,,,legacy,"WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Congressman Paul A. Gosar, D.D.S. (AZ-04) released the following statement after the president signed into law the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for fiscal year 2017 which included a Gosar-McCain sponsored bill H.R. 4601, legislation that will resolve a non-controversial legal hurdle allowing for the pursuit of new economic development projects within the City of Flagstaff:
“Arizonans can celebrate an early, bipartisan Christmas gift this year in the form of new jobs and economic growth in Flagstaff at no cost to taxpayers. I’m proud to have worked closely with Senator McCain, BNSF Railroad and the City of Flagstaff to pass this important legislation into public law. This commonsense bill will ensure that private land is utilized for commercial development and will not revert back to the federal government as a result of an outdated provision from the 1860’s. As one of the fastest growing regions in the country, it is critical that federal law supports economic growth and not impede job creators from building a stronger Arizona.” 

					Background:
					H.R. 4601, legislation introduced by Congressman Gosar, was included in S.2943 as section 2824 and signed into law on December 23, 2016.
					S.2943 includes important funding for our troops and their missions. Congressman Gosar strongly supports our men and women in the military and voted in support of both versions of the NDAA that passed the House this year. 
This legislation is endorsed by the City of Flagstaff, which requested that this legislation be introduced, and BNSF Railroad, the two affected parties in this legislation.
The Railroad Act of 1866 granted land to various railroads for establishment of a large rail network to deliver goods throughout the United States.  When the land was given to the railroads from the Federal Government, the Act included a reversionary clause which stated that the land would revert back to the federal government if it wasn’t used as part of the national railroad network.
In 2006, the City traded land of equal value (a little less than 15 acres each) with the BNSF railroad.  The land exchange was appraised using federal standards.  The purpose of the trade at the time was to allow for construction and expansion of the Fourth Street Bridge. Shortly after the City obtained the new parcel, it was sold to a developer.  
Currently, the reversionary clause on the original BNSF parcel still exists. The developer that purchased the original BNSF parcel from the City cannot get title insurance on the land because of that reversionary interest clause. This bill simply transfers the reversionary interest clause from the original BNSF parcel to BNSF’s new parcel.  Such action will resolve the title insurance issue and allow for important economic development to occur within the City of Flagstaff.
PROPERTIES INVOLVED:
Parcel 1 14.98 Acres of Recently-sold City Land (Originally the BNSF Parcel)  
					Parcel 2 14.79 Acres of BNSF Acquired Land (Originally City Parcel)
###",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z
https://gosar.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=1551,An Early Christmas Gift: Gosar-McCain Jobs Bill Signed into Law,2016-12-24,2016,2016-12,Republican,House,AZ,Paul A. Gosar,G000565,gosar.house.gov,gosar,https://gosar.house.gov/news/documentquery.aspx,scraper,"Today, U.S. Congressman Paul A. Gosar, D.D.S. (AZ-04) released the following statement after the president signed into law the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for fiscal year 2017 which included a Gosar-McCain sponsored bill H.R. 4601, legislation that will resolve a non-controversial legal hurdle allowing for the pursuit of new economic development projects within the City of Flagstaff:

“Arizonans can celebrate an early, bipartisan Christmas gift this year in the form of new jobs and economic growth in Flagstaff at no cost to taxpayers. I’m proud to have worked closely with Senator McCain, BNSF Railroad and the City of Flagstaff to pass this important legislation into public law. This commonsense bill will ensure that private land is utilized for commercial development and will not revert back to the federal government as a result of an outdated provision from the 1860’s. As one of the fastest growing regions in the country, it is critical that federal law supports economic growth and not impede job creators from building a stronger Arizona.”

Background:

H.R. 4601, legislation introduced by Congressman Gosar, was included in S.2943 as section 2824 and signed into law on December 23, 2016.

S.2943 includes important funding for our troops and their missions. Congressman Gosar strongly supports our men and women in the military and voted in support of both versions of the NDAA that passed the House this year.

This legislation is endorsed by the City of Flagstaff, which requested that this legislation be introduced, and BNSF Railroad, the two affected parties in this legislation.

The Railroad Act of 1866 granted land to various railroads for establishment of a large rail network to deliver goods throughout the United States. When the land was given to the railroads from the Federal Government, the Act included a reversionary clause which stated that the land would revert back to the federal government if it wasn’t used as part of the national railroad network.

In 2006, the City traded land of equal value (a little less than 15 acres each) with the BNSF railroad. The land exchange was appraised using federal standards. The purpose of the trade at the time was to allow for construction and expansion of the Fourth Street Bridge. Shortly after the City obtained the new parcel, it was sold to a developer.

Currently, the reversionary clause on the original BNSF parcel still exists. The developer that purchased the original BNSF parcel from the City cannot get title insurance on the land because of that reversionary interest clause. This bill simply transfers the reversionary interest clause from the original BNSF parcel to BNSF’s new parcel. Such action will resolve the title insurance issue and allow for important economic development to occur within the City of Flagstaff.

PROPERTIES INVOLVED:

Parcel 1 14.98 Acres of Recently-sold City Land (Originally the BNSF Parcel)

Parcel 2 14.79 Acres of BNSF Acquired Land (Originally City Parcel)

###",1,2026-03-30T01:40:41Z,2026-04-08T21:09:43Z
http://gosar.house.gov/press-release/western-caucus-denounces-fish-and-wildlife-service%E2%80%99s-overreaching-compensatory,Western Caucus Denounces Fish and Wildlife Services Overreaching Compensatory Mitigation Policy,2016-12-23,2016,2016-12,Republican,House,AZ,Paul Gosar,G000565,gosar.house.gov,,,legacy,"WASHINGTON, D.C. - Congressional Western Caucus Chairman Paul A. Gosar, D.D.S. (AZ-04) and Executive Vice-Chairman Scott Tipton (CO-03) issued the following statements in response to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) announcing the agency’s final Endangered Species Act (ESA) Compensatory Mitigation Policy (CMP):
“Despite losing control of the House, Senate and White House on his watch, President Obama still doesn’t seem to get the message that the American people have rejected his extremist environmental agenda. By desperately seeking to enact almost 100 midnight regulations during the last few weeks of a lame duck presidency, Obama has selfishly put his own legacy ahead of the well-being of hard-working Americans,” said Chairman Gosar. “The Service’s final CMP is the direct result of a lawless directive issued by President Obama in November 2015. With help from his extremist environmental allies, the president has blatantly abused his executive power to instruct federal agencies to unilaterally rewrite environmental laws originally passed by Congress. The Service’s new CPM will have devastating consequences for local communities and job creators while causing significant regulatory confusion. You can add this misguided policy to the growing list of midnight regulations that Congress and the Trump Administration will expunge early in the 115th Congress.”
“This final rule further muddies the regulatory waters, creating unnecessary burdens, confusion and delays in the permitting process for everything from responsible, job-creating energy development projects to important environmental conservation projects,” said Vice-Chairman Tipton. “It's consistent with the Administration’s final push to do everything possible to make life difficult for rural Americans to earn a living.”
 
Background:
The “Presidential Memorandum” on mitigation seeks to provide new instructions and guidance for all federal agencies within the Executive Branch. The Fish and Wildlife Service proposed changes to the agency’s mitigation policy on March 7, 2016 as a result of this memo.
In June of 2016, Chairman Gosar and Vice-Chairman Tipton joined nine of his colleagues in contacting Dan Ashe, Director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, to raise serious concerns and request an extension of the comment period for proposed revisions to the Service Mitigation Policy. That letter can be found HERE.
(Courtesy of the House Committee on Natural Resources Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations):   
					Last November 3, 2015 President Obama issued another significant Memorandum to the Departments of Agriculture, Defense and Interior, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) requiring sweeping changes to their policies regarding mitigation of natural resource impacts from approved projects and activities. Specifically, the new policy requires agencies considering permitting of projects to incorporate a standard of ensuring a “net benefit” or at minimum “no net loss” of important, scarce, or sensitive natural resources before a permit can be issued.
The Memorandum mandates federal agencies to design policies to require more compensatory mitigation, including advance compensation prior to project approval and mitigation banking methods facilitated by environmental groups and other non-governmental entities that participate in the banking business.
The Memorandum appears to create sweeping new statutory authority through unilateral executive action, and represents a substantial re-write of public land use and water policy by the Obama Administration. The new “net benefit” standard exceeds statutory standards set in law by Congress, and represents a substantial raising of the threshold that will likely result in the rejection of a host of economic and energy-related projects that would otherwise have been approved under the law, and potentially increase the cost and regulatory burden for those projects that are already permitted.",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z
https://gosar.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=2335,Western Caucus Denounces Fish and Wildlife Services Overreaching Compensatory Mitigation Policy,2016-12-23,2016,2016-12,Republican,House,AZ,Paul A. Gosar,G000565,gosar.house.gov,gosar,https://gosar.house.gov/news/documentquery.aspx,scraper,"Congressional Western Caucus Chairman Paul A. Gosar, D.D.S. (AZ-04) and Executive Vice-Chairman Scott Tipton (CO-03) issued the following statements in response to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) announcing the agency’s final Endangered Species Act (ESA) Compensatory Mitigation Policy (CMP):

“Despite losing control of the House, Senate and White House on his watch, President Obama still doesn’t seem to get the message that the American people have rejected his extremist environmental agenda. By desperately seeking to enact almost 100 midnight regulations during the last few weeks of a lame duck presidency, Obama has selfishly put his own legacy ahead of the well-being of hard-working Americans,” said Chairman Gosar. “The Service’s final CMP is the direct result of a lawless directive issued by President Obama in November 2015. With help from his extremist environmental allies, the president has blatantly abused his executive power to instruct federal agencies to unilaterally rewrite environmental laws originally passed by Congress. The Service’s new CPM will have devastating consequences for local communities and job creators while causing significant regulatory confusion. You can add this misguided policy to the growing list of midnight regulations that Congress and the Trump Administration will expunge early in the 115th Congress.”

“This final rule further muddies the regulatory waters, creating unnecessary burdens, confusion and delays in the permitting process for everything from responsible, job-creating energy development projects to important environmental conservation projects,” said Vice-Chairman Tipton. “It's consistent with the Administration’s final push to do everything possible to make life difficult for rural Americans to earn a living.”

Background:

The “Presidential Memorandum” on mitigation seeks to provide new instructions and guidance for all federal agencies within the Executive Branch. The Fish and Wildlife Service proposed changes to the agency’s mitigation policy on March 7, 2016 as a result of this memo.

In June of 2016, Chairman Gosar and Vice-Chairman Tipton joined nine of his colleagues in contacting Dan Ashe, Director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, to raise serious concerns and request an extension of the comment period for proposed revisions to the Service Mitigation Policy. That letter can be found HERE.

(Courtesy of the House Committee on Natural Resources Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations):

Last November 3, 2015 President Obama issued another significant Memorandum to the Departments of Agriculture, Defense and Interior, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) requiring sweeping changes to their policies regarding mitigation of natural resource impacts from approved projects and activities. Specifically, the new policy requires agencies considering permitting of projects to incorporate a standard of ensuring a “net benefit” or at minimum “no net loss” of important, scarce, or sensitive natural resources before a permit can be issued.

The Memorandum mandates federal agencies to design policies to require more compensatory mitigation, including advance compensation prior to project approval and mitigation banking methods facilitated by environmental groups and other non-governmental entities that participate in the banking business.

The Memorandum appears to create sweeping new statutory authority through unilateral executive action, and represents a substantial re-write of public land use and water policy by the Obama Administration. The new “net benefit” standard exceeds statutory standards set in law by Congress, and represents a substantial raising of the threshold that will likely result in the rejection of a host of economic and energy-related projects that would otherwise have been approved under the law, and potentially increase the cost and regulatory burden for those projects that are already permitted.",1,2026-03-30T01:40:41Z,2026-04-08T21:09:43Z
https://www.mccain.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases?ContentRecord_id=0DFC6830-16A1-41CA-940D-8D18B78BBD13,STATEMENT BY SASC CHAIRMAN JOHN McCAIN ON U.N. SECURITY COUNCILS PASSAGE OF ISRAELI SETTLEMENTS RESOLUTION,2016-12-23,2016,2016-12,Republican,House,AZ,John McCain,M000303,www.mccain.senate.gov,,,legacy,"Washington, D.C. ­– U.S. Senator John McCain (R-AZ), Chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, released the following statement today on the U.N. Security Council’s vote to pass a resolution on Israeli settlements:
“Today's passage of an ill-conceived resolution on Israeli settlements marks another shameful chapter in the bizarre anti-Israel history of the United Nations. The abstention of the United States has made us complicit in this outrageous attack, and marks a troubling departure from our nation's long, bipartisan history of defending our ally Israel in the United Nations. This resolution will serve as yet another roadblock to peace between Israelis and Palestinians, and embolden the enemies of Israel.” 
###",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z
https://www.mccain.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases?ContentRecord_id=A05558A9-F2BF-4FD7-9A91-B367D39B171A,STATEMENT BY SASC CHAIRMAN JOHN McCAIN ON PRESIDENT OBAMA SIGNING THE NATIONAL DEFENSE AUTHORIZATION ACT INTO LAW,2016-12-23,2016,2016-12,Republican,House,AZ,John McCain,M000303,www.mccain.senate.gov,,,legacy,"Washington, D.C. ­– U.S. Senator John McCain (R-AZ), Chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, released the following statement today on President Obama signing the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017 into law:
“With the President's signature today, the National Defense Authorization Act has now been passed and signed into law for 55 consecutive years. The bold reforms achieved in this year's legislation on defense acquisition, military healthcare, military justice, and security cooperation are a worthy contribution to this historic legacy of bipartisan support for our troops. And I am especially proud that this legislation provides our troops with the largest military pay raise since 2010.”
A detailed summary of the bill is available here. 
###",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z
https://sinema.house.gov/latest-news/sinemas-sgt-daniel-somers-classified-veterans-access-to-care-act-signed-into-law/,Sinema's Sgt. Daniel Somers Classified Veterans Access to Care Act Signed Into Law,2016-12-21,2016,2016-12,Democrat,House,AZ,Kyrsten Sinema,S001191,sinema.house.gov,,,legacy,"FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:  
	December 21, 2016  
	Contact: Macey Matthews  
	Phone: 202-225-9888  
	Email: macey.matthews@mail.house.gov

	Sinema’s Sgt. Daniel Somers Classified Veterans Access to Care Act Signed Into Law

	WASHINGTON, D.C. – The President of the United States signed into law the Jeff Miller and Richard Blumenthal Veterans Health Care and Benefits Improvement Act (H.R. 6416), a package of legislation that includes Congresswoman Kyrsten Sinema’s Sergeant Daniel Somers Classified Veterans Access to Care Act.

	Sinema, working closely with Sgt. Somers’ parents, introduced the Sgt. Daniel Somers Classified Veterans Access to Care Act in honor of Arizona Army Veteran Sergeant Daniel Somers.  Sgt. Somers served two tours in Iraq and was diagnosed with both a traumatic brain injury and PTSD upon returning home. He sought treatment from the Phoenix VA but was tragically unable to get the care he needed. He lost his life to suicide in June 2013.

	“The VA has a responsibility to care for our veterans when they return home – and that includes treating the invisible wounds of war,” said Sinema.  “The Sgt. Daniel Somers Classified Veterans Access to Care Act ensures all veterans have access to appropriate mental health care. We have worked with Howard and Jean Somers for more than three years to pass this bill. Finally, this important piece of legislation is now law. There is still more work to do, and we will not rest until every veteran receives the care he or she has earned.”

	“Our son, Daniel, was one of the thousands of veterans who did not receive the care he needed, “ said Howard and Jean Somers. ""Now we’re working every day to fix the system and improve the lives of all veterans and military families. We worked closely  with Congresswoman Sinema to introduce the Sgt. Daniel Somers Classified Veterans Access to Care Act and are proud to see this important bill signed into law. Our work will not end here. We will continue working with lawmakers, veterans organizations, the VA and DoD, to ensure all veterans and members of the military receive the physical and mental health care that they need and deserve."" 

	 

	###",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z
https://www.mccain.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases?ContentRecord_id=C4BAC43C-9A08-4820-9A53-B2E34395D67E,STATEMENT BY SASC CHAIRMAN JOHN McCAIN ON NAVY RESTORING RATINGS TITLES,2016-12-21,2016,2016-12,Republican,House,AZ,John McCain,M000303,www.mccain.senate.gov,,,legacy,"Washington, D.C. ­– U.S. Senator John McCain (R-AZ), Chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, released the following statement today on the Chief of Naval Operations’ decision to restore ratings titles:
“The Chief of Naval Operations made the right decision in restoring Navy rating titles. Revoking these titles, many of which have been a part of the Navy’s identity for centuries, defied basic common sense and distracted from the real challenges confronting the men and women serving in our Navy. Unfortunately, this was not an isolated incident of pointless policy tinkering. A number of other recent policy changes also appear to have been made with shallow analysis and unnecessary urgency. I look forward to working with the next Secretary of Defense and service secretaries to review these personnel policy changes and roll them back where necessary and appropriate.”
###",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z
https://www.mccain.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases?ContentRecord_id=E0F16BB0-EDF4-4878-B9C8-BF9BD1485EF1,"STATEMENT BY SASC CHAIRMAN JOHN McCAIN ON RUSSIA, IRAN & TURKEYS MEETING IN MOSCOW",2016-12-21,2016,2016-12,Republican,House,AZ,John McCain,M000303,www.mccain.senate.gov,,,legacy,"Washington, D.C. ­– U.S. Senator John McCain (R-AZ), Chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, released the following statement today on reports that Russia, Iran and Turkey met in Moscow without the United States to discuss the conflict in Syria:
“Reports indicate that Russia, Iran and Turkey met in Moscow without the United States to decide the fate of Syria. That the Syrian people will be left to the tender mercies of Bashar Assad, Vladimir Putin, Qasem Soleimani, and Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi is the predictable consequence of President Obama’s reckless policy of disengagement from the Middle East. And it is ironic that after touting the power of diplomacy for years, President Obama’s refusal to back diplomacy with strength has left the United States without even a seat at the diplomatic table.”
###",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z
http://gosar.house.gov/press-release/western-caucus-members-reject-obama%E2%80%99s-unilateral-offshore-drilling-ban-pledge-work,"Western Caucus Members Reject Obamas Unilateral Offshore Drilling Ban, Pledge to Work with Trump to Immediately Overturn",2016-12-20,2016,2016-12,Republican,House,AZ,Paul Gosar,G000565,gosar.house.gov,,,legacy,"WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, President Obama took unprecedented unilateral action to block future mineral exploration and development of 118.8 million offshore acres in the Arctic and Atlantic oceans.
Congressional Western Caucus Chairman Paul A. Gosar, D.D.S. (AZ-04) and caucus members Congressman Don Young (AK-At large) and Congressman Garret Graves (LA-06) issued the following statements in response:
					“President Obama’s latest political maneuver unilaterally removes 118.8 million acres from U.S. mineral potential, jeopardizes our energy security and threatens to kill good-paying jobs throughout the country. This Christmas give-away for the president’s favorite special-interest groups is not based on merit or need. Making it tougher to produce oil and natural gas in America defies commonsense and could make us more dependent on volatile foreign markets,” said Chairman Gosar. “It has become abundantly clear that in his final desperate days in office, the president is more concerned with appeasing far-left ideological groups than with the well-being of the American people. This latest midnight executive action by a lame duck president won’t stand and I’ll work closely with the Trump Administration to reverse this misguided moratorium that jeopardizes affordable energy.”
“Hell-bent on locking away our resources and suffocating our already weakened economy, President Obama is one step closer to solidifying his place next to Jimmy Carter as Alaska’s worst nightmare,” said Congressman Young. “Frankly, this is a cowardly move by a lame duck President – eight years to take this action, yet it comes at the 11th hour with little to no support from Alaskans. I’ve been adamant with this administration; Alaska is not and should not be used as the poster child for a pandering environmental agenda. This decision only strengthens our resolve – as a resources oriented state – to overturn the heavy hand of government and empower our people and communities with new social and economic opportunities. The groundwork is already being laid to overturn this terrible decision.”
“Today’s White House announcement is disappointing, but unsurprising; it’s a continuation of Obama’s efforts to increase employment opportunities in Iran, Venezuela and other nations rather than the United States. Federal energy policy needs to strike a balance between environmental and economic priorities - not impose ‘government knows best’ mandates like this one. We’re looking forward to working with the next Administration to strengthen our national energy security and foster a job creation environment while responsibly stewarding the environment,” said Congressman Graves.

					Background:
The massive mineral withdrawal announced by President Obama today encompasses 3.8 million acres in the Atlantic Ocean and 115 million acres in the Arctic Ocean.
(Courtesy of the American Petroleum Institute)  
					The Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (OCSLA) Section 12(a) allows a President to withdraw OCS areas from leasing consideration – It does not say that these withdrawals are permanent. A permanent withdrawal would be entirely contrary to Congress' stated purpose in creating OCSLA, which was to make the OCS ""available for expeditious and orderly development.”
In addition, a permanent and unilateral withdrawal by the president would conflict directly with the special role that OCSLA gives governors in OCS leasing decisions. Past precedent shows that the President has power to undo a 12(a) withdrawal through a simple presidential memorandum.
Specifically, in 2008 George W. Bush used a simple memorandum to remove previous 12(a) withdrawal areas and open all OCS lands to leasing except marine sanctuaries. President Trump, once in office, can similarly rescind any areas withdrawn by President Obama with a simple memorandum.",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z
https://gosar.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=2336,"Western Caucus Members Reject Obamas Unilateral Offshore Drilling Ban, Pledge to Work with Trump to Immediately Overturn",2016-12-20,2016,2016-12,Republican,House,AZ,Paul A. Gosar,G000565,gosar.house.gov,gosar,https://gosar.house.gov/news/documentquery.aspx,scraper,"Today, President Obama took unprecedented unilateral action to block future mineral exploration and development of 118.8 million offshore acres in the Arctic and Atlantic oceans.

Congressional Western Caucus Chairman Paul A. Gosar, D.D.S. (AZ-04) and caucus members Congressman Don Young (AK-At large) and Congressman Garret Graves (LA-06) issued the following statements in response:

“President Obama’s latest political maneuver unilaterally removes 118.8 million acres from U.S. mineral potential, jeopardizes our energy security and threatens to kill good-paying jobs throughout the country. This Christmas give-away for the president’s favorite special-interest groups is not based on merit or need. Making it tougher to produce oil and natural gas in America defies commonsense and could make us more dependent on volatile foreign markets,” said Chairman Gosar. “It has become abundantly clear that in his final desperate days in office, the president is more concerned with appeasing far-left ideological groups than with the well-being of the American people. This latest midnight executive action by a lame duck president won’t stand and I’ll work closely with the Trump Administration to reverse this misguided moratorium that jeopardizes affordable energy.”

“Hell-bent on locking away our resources and suffocating our already weakened economy, President Obama is one step closer to solidifying his place next to Jimmy Carter as Alaska’s worst nightmare,” said Congressman Young. “Frankly, this is a cowardly move by a lame duck President – eight years to take this action, yet it comes at the 11th hour with little to no support from Alaskans. I’ve been adamant with this administration; Alaska is not and should not be used as the poster child for a pandering environmental agenda. This decision only strengthens our resolve – as a resources oriented state – to overturn the heavy hand of government and empower our people and communities with new social and economic opportunities. The groundwork is already being laid to overturn this terrible decision.”

“Today’s White House announcement is disappointing, but unsurprising; it’s a continuation of Obama’s efforts to increase employment opportunities in Iran, Venezuela and other nations rather than the United States. Federal energy policy needs to strike a balance between environmental and economic priorities - not impose ‘government knows best’ mandates like this one. We’re looking forward to working with the next Administration to strengthen our national energy security and foster a job creation environment while responsibly stewarding the environment,” said Congressman Graves.

Background:

The massive mineral withdrawal announced by President Obama today encompasses 3.8 million acres in the Atlantic Ocean and 115 million acres in the Arctic Ocean.

(Courtesy of the American Petroleum Institute)

The Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (OCSLA) Section 12(a) allows a President to withdraw OCS areas from leasing consideration – It does not say that these withdrawals are permanent. A permanent withdrawal would be entirely contrary to Congress' stated purpose in creating OCSLA, which was to make the OCS ""available for expeditious and orderly development.”

In addition, a permanent and unilateral withdrawal by the president would conflict directly with the special role that OCSLA gives governors in OCS leasing decisions. Past precedent shows that the President has power to undo a 12(a) withdrawal through a simple presidential memorandum.

Specifically, in 2008 George W. Bush used a simple memorandum to remove previous 12(a) withdrawal areas and open all OCS lands to leasing except marine sanctuaries. President Trump, once in office, can similarly rescind any areas withdrawn by President Obama with a simple memorandum.",1,2026-03-30T01:40:41Z,2026-04-08T21:09:43Z
http://gosar.house.gov/press-release/western-caucus-slams-obama%E2%80%99s-last-ditch-effort-continue-war-coal,Western Caucus Slams Obamas Last-Ditch Effort to Continue the War on Coal,2016-12-19,2016,2016-12,Republican,House,AZ,Paul Gosar,G000565,gosar.house.gov,,,legacy,"WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (OSM) announced the final Stream Protection Rule (SPR) that would supersede the existing Stream Buffer Zone Rule that was enacted in 2008 to regulate surface coal mining. 
Congressional Western Caucus Chairman Paul A. Gosar, D.D.S. (AZ-04) and caucus members Rep. Alex X. Mooney (WV-02) and Rep. Glenn ‘GT’ Thompson (PA-5) issued the following statement in response:
“The Obama Administration has squandered taxpayer money for eight years on this new regulation, tried to manipulate job loss numbers and even changed the name. You can’t put lipstick on this pig. Whether they want to call it the Stream Buffer Zone Rule or the Stream Protection Rule, this rule still stinks,” said Chairman Gosar. “The American people who want good-paying careers have missed out on hundreds of thousands of jobs around the country as a result of the president’s misguided ‘War on Coal.’ This overreaching new mandate is his latest attempt to put another nail in the coffin of an industry that provides 40% of the world’s electricity. Rest assured, this latest midnight regulation is in the crosshairs of the new administration and Congress.”  
					“The Office of Surface Mining released its devastating Stream Protection Rule this week as a final parting shot on the coal industry by President Obama. I can assure the people of West Virginia that I will work with President-Elect Trump and the new head of the Office of Surface Mining next year to make sure that the so-called ‘Stream Protection Rule’ will not go into effect and further harm the coal industry,” said Rep Alex  X. Mooney.
“Even in its final weeks, the administration continues to hammer coal country with excessive and costly mandates, which will achieve very few, if any, environmental benefits.  The Office of Surface Mining needs to back off this rule, consider the science, and further consult with the states before moving forward.” said Rep. Glenn ‘GT’ Thompson.

					Background:
					The text of the pre-published Stream Protection rule can be found HERE. 
The Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement has a history of producing job crushing regulations based on secret science.
This duplicative new rule conflicts with existing state regulations and will provide no discernable environmental benefit. This new regulation utilizes the fundamentally flawed and unlawful social cost of carbon model. This final rule puts President Obama’s climate change agenda ahead of the needs of the American people. The final Stream Protection rule seeks to implement parts of President Obama’s unlawful mitigation memo issued in November 2015.  This new regulation will cause permitting delays for important projects and kill jobs.
Even the Department of Interior admits that this new rule will increase costs for small businesses, estimating their compliance costs will increase by at least $81 million.
A 2012 Economic Impact Study found that the Obama Administration’s announced Stream Protection Rule could potentially sterilize between 30% and 43% of recoverable reserves which will have devastating effects for both surface and underground coal mines. The study also found that the associated decline in annual coal production as a result of the proposed rule could have a direct impact on our economy and employment, potentially killing between 133,441 and 273,227 mining-related jobs, and having an associated economic impact of $18 to $25 billion annually.
Information provided by the National Mining Association (NMA) confirms that approximately 40,000 coal jobs have been lost in America during the Obama Administration. NMA also stated that up to 64 percent of total U.S. coal reserves nationwide could be off limits to mining as a result of this new regulation. Production of U.S. coal has fallen to the lowest levels in the last 30 years. Since 2009 alone, more than 200 different plants have been forced to close their doors.
 In January of 2016, the House passed H.R. 1644 (Rep. Alex Mooney, R-WV), the Supporting Transparent Regulatory and Environmental Actions in Mining Act (STREAM Act).  This bill  sought to block this new regulation and provide transparency for future regulations.",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z
https://gosar.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=2339,Western Caucus Slams Obamas Last-Ditch Effort to Continue the War on Coal,2016-12-19,2016,2016-12,Republican,House,AZ,Paul A. Gosar,G000565,gosar.house.gov,gosar,https://gosar.house.gov/news/documentquery.aspx,scraper,"Today, the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (OSM) announced the final Stream Protection Rule (SPR) that would supersede the existing Stream Buffer Zone Rule that was enacted in 2008 to regulate surface coal mining.

Congressional Western Caucus Chairman Paul A. Gosar, D.D.S. (AZ-04) and caucus members Rep. Alex X. Mooney (WV-02) and Rep. Glenn ‘GT’ Thompson (PA-5) issued the following statement in response:

“The Obama Administration has squandered taxpayer money for eight years on this new regulation, tried to manipulate job loss numbers and even changed the name. You can’t put lipstick on this pig. Whether they want to call it the Stream Buffer Zone Rule or the Stream Protection Rule, this rule still stinks,” said Chairman Gosar. “The American people who want good-paying careers have missed out on hundreds of thousands of jobs around the country as a result of the president’s misguided ‘War on Coal.’ This overreaching new mandate is his latest attempt to put another nail in the coffin of an industry that provides 40% of the world’s electricity. Rest assured, this latest midnight regulation is in the crosshairs of the new administration and Congress.”

“The Office of Surface Mining released its devastating Stream Protection Rule this week as a final parting shot on the coal industry by President Obama. I can assure the people of West Virginia that I will work with President-Elect Trump and the new head of the Office of Surface Mining next year to make sure that the so-called ‘Stream Protection Rule’ will not go into effect and further harm the coal industry,” said Rep Alex X. Mooney.

“Even in its final weeks, the administration continues to hammer coal country with excessive and costly mandates, which will achieve very few, if any, environmental benefits. The Office of Surface Mining needs to back off this rule, consider the science, and further consult with the states before moving forward.” said Rep. Glenn ‘GT’ Thompson.

Background:

The text of the pre-published Stream Protection rule can be found HERE.

The Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement has a history of producing job crushing regulations based on secret science.

This duplicative new rule conflicts with existing state regulations and will provide no discernable environmental benefit. This new regulation utilizes the fundamentally flawed and unlawful social cost of carbon model. This final rule puts President Obama’s climate change agenda ahead of the needs of the American people. The final Stream Protection rule seeks to implement parts of President Obama’s unlawful mitigation memo issued in November 2015. This new regulation will cause permitting delays for important projects and kill jobs.

Even the Department of Interior admits that this new rule will increase costs for small businesses, estimating their compliance costs will increase by at least $81 million.

A 2012 Economic Impact Study found that the Obama Administration’s announced Stream Protection Rule could potentially sterilize between 30% and 43% of recoverable reserves which will have devastating effects for both surface and underground coal mines. The study also found that the associated decline in annual coal production as a result of the proposed rule could have a direct impact on our economy and employment, potentially killing between 133,441 and 273,227 mining-related jobs, and having an associated economic impact of $18 to $25 billion annually.

Information provided by the National Mining Association (NMA) confirms that approximately 40,000 coal jobs have been lost in America during the Obama Administration. NMA also stated that up to 64 percent of total U.S. coal reserves nationwide could be off limits to mining as a result of this new regulation. Production of U.S. coal has fallen to the lowest levels in the last 30 years. Since 2009 alone, more than 200 different plants have been forced to close their doors.

In January of 2016, the House passed H.R. 1644 (Rep. Alex Mooney, R-WV), the Supporting Transparent Regulatory and Environmental Actions in Mining Act (STREAM Act). This bill sought to block this new regulation and provide transparency for future regulations.",1,2026-03-30T01:40:41Z,2026-04-08T21:09:43Z
https://www.mccain.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases?ContentRecord_id=89C03446-D3A3-413D-A3DF-C5EFBDFD349D,INDEFENSIBLE: SASC CHAIRMAN JOHN McCAIN EXPOSES $13 BILLION IN WASTEFUL DEFENSE SPENDING IN NEW AMERICAS MOST WASTED REPORT,2016-12-19,2016,2016-12,Republican,House,AZ,John McCain,M000303,www.mccain.senate.gov,,,legacy,"Washington, D.C. –  U.S. Senator John McCain (R-AZ), Chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, released a new oversight report today as part of the ongoing America’s Most Wasted: Indefensible series, which identifies egregious Department of Defense (DOD) spending and mismanagement. In this latest oversight report, Chairman McCain exposes $13 billion in wasteful spending across DOD, including:
 
$12.4 billion for 26 Littoral Combat Ships with no proven combat capability
$458 million in inappropriate travel expense reimbursement payments
$375 million for Missile Defense Agency (MDA) targets that were never used or didn’t work
$58 million for the Navy’s experiments with alternative fuel sources for its Great Green Fleet
$12 million for defective spare parts that will need to be replaced or refunded
$1 million for travel claim reimbursements for unauthorized expenses at casinos and strip clubs
$1.3 million to research the mating habits of African Giant Pouched rats
 
“As our Armed Forces confront the most diverse and complex array of national security challenges since the end of World War II under extraordinarily constrained fiscal resources, we simply cannot afford to waste our precious defense dollars on unnecessary or poorly performing programs,” said Chairman McCain. “This oversight report exposes just a few examples of the wasteful spending at the Pentagon that is so detrimental to our national defense. It has never been more important to eliminate unnecessary defense spending and mismanagement so that we can reinvest savings into improving the training and equipment our warfighters need.”
To view past America’s Most Wasted reports, click here.
Read the full report here.
###",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z
http://gosar.house.gov/press-release/president-signs-gosar-bill-honor-arizona-wwii-veteran-and-survivor-uss-indianapolis,President Signs Gosar Bill to Honor Arizona WWII Veteran and Survivor of USS Indianapolis into Law,2016-12-18,2016,2016-12,Republican,House,AZ,Paul Gosar,G000565,gosar.house.gov,,,legacy,"WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Congressman Paul A. Gosar, D.D.S. (AZ-04) released the following statement after the President of the United States of America signed into law legislation sponsored by the Congressman, H.R.6304, to designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 501 North Main Street in Florence, Arizona, as the “Adolfo ‘Harpo’ Celaya Post Office”:
“I am very happy to see the president sign my bill honoring this great Arizonan into law without delay. Adolfo Celaya’s incredible story will now be officially and permanently commemorated  in his hometown of Florence, Arizona. This legislation ensures that future generations will learn about the incredible sacrifice that Mr. Celaya and the 317 survivors of the USS Indianapolis made for our country.
“Despite living through one of the darkest moments of WWII, Mr. Celaya has continued to inspire countless Arizonans through his eternal patriotism and commitment to serving all Americans. I would like to commend the Town of Florence for their leadership in making this tribute possible and recognize Mr. Celaya for his dedicated sacrifice to our nation and commitment to his local community.”
Background:
Harpo Celaya enlisted in the Navy at the age of 16 to serve his country in World War II. He was only 17 when the ship he was stationed aboard, the USS Indianapolis, was torpedoed by a Japanese submarine.  The ship sank in 12 minutes plunging Celaya and hundreds of his fellow sailors into the sea where they clung to sparse life vests or rafts, battling dehydration, exposure, and shark infested waters for more than four days awaiting rescue.  Of the nearly 1,200 sailors that had been stationed aboard the USS Indianapolis, only 317 survived and were pulled from the sea.
Mr. Celaya was awarded the Purple Heart and upon recovery returned to Arizona and continued a lifetime of service in his community. He is well known throughout Arizona for sharing his experiences with high school students as part of the Veterans Heritage Project in an effort to keep history alive.
###",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z
https://gosar.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=1834,President Signs Gosar Bill to Honor Arizona WWII Veteran and Survivor of USS Indianapolis into Law,2016-12-18,2016,2016-12,Republican,House,AZ,Paul A. Gosar,G000565,gosar.house.gov,gosar,https://gosar.house.gov/news/documentquery.aspx,scraper,"Today, U.S. Congressman Paul A. Gosar, D.D.S. (AZ-04) released the following statement after the President of the United States of America signed into law legislation sponsored by the Congressman, H.R.6304, to designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 501 North Main Street in Florence, Arizona, as the “Adolfo ‘Harpo’ Celaya Post Office”:

“I am very happy to see the president sign my bill honoring this great Arizonan into law without delay. Adolfo Celaya’s incredible story will now be officially and permanently commemorated in his hometown of Florence, Arizona. This legislation ensures that future generations will learn about the incredible sacrifice that Mr. Celaya and the 317 survivors of the USS Indianapolis made for our country.

“Despite living through one of the darkest moments of WWII, Mr. Celaya has continued to inspire countless Arizonans through his eternal patriotism and commitment to serving all Americans. I would like to commend the Town of Florence for their leadership in making this tribute possible and recognize Mr. Celaya for his dedicated sacrifice to our nation and commitment to his local community.”

Background:

Harpo Celaya enlisted in the Navy at the age of 16 to serve his country in World War II. He was only 17 when the ship he was stationed aboard, the USS Indianapolis, was torpedoed by a Japanese submarine. The ship sank in 12 minutes plunging Celaya and hundreds of his fellow sailors into the sea where they clung to sparse life vests or rafts, battling dehydration, exposure, and shark infested waters for more than four days awaiting rescue. Of the nearly 1,200 sailors that had been stationed aboard the USS Indianapolis, only 317 survived and were pulled from the sea.

Mr. Celaya was awarded the Purple Heart and upon recovery returned to Arizona and continued a lifetime of service in his community. He is well known throughout Arizona for sharing his experiences with high school students as part of the Veterans Heritage Project in an effort to keep history alive.

###",1,2026-03-30T01:40:41Z,2026-04-08T21:09:43Z
http://gosar.house.gov/press-release/chairman-congressional-western-caucus-fills-senior-staff-positions,Chairman of the Congressional Western Caucus Fills Senior Staff Positions,2016-12-16,2016,2016-12,Republican,House,AZ,Paul Gosar,G000565,gosar.house.gov,,,legacy,"WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, Chairman of the Congressional Western Caucus, U.S. Congressman Paul A. Gosar, D.D.S. (AZ-04), released the following statement announcing several senior staff roles in the Congressional Western Caucus and his official office: 
“President Reagan once said, ‘Surround yourself with the best people you can find, delegate authority, and don't interfere as long as the policy you've decided upon is being carried out.’ I couldn’t be more proud of the team we have put together to lead and deliver on Western priorities. We have high expectations and will hit the ground running. Rest assured, the Congressional Western Caucus will be a force in the 115th Congress.”
###
Jeff Small will lead the Congressional Western Caucus and serve as its Executive Director. He has served as Legislative Director in Chairman Gosar’s personal office and handled his Natural Resources Committee portfolio for the past three years. Jeff previously worked for several other Western Caucus Members including caucus Vice-Chairman Scott Tipton and caucus members Ken Buck and Mike Coffman. Jeff played college football and graduated cum laude from the University of Nebraska at Kearney. He was born and raised in Lakewood, Colorado where he grew up hunting and fishing. Jeff and his wife Kristie attend St. Peter’s on Capitol Hill. They are expecting their first child in January.
					Kelly Roberson will join the Congressional Western Caucus in the 115th Congress as Policy Analyst and Press Secretary. Formerly a part of caucus member Congressman David Schweikert’s office, she managed the energy, environment and natural resources portfolio as the Congressman’s Policy Advisor for the past several years. A native of Scottsdale, Arizona she grew up witnessing firsthand the beauty and amazing resources our federal lands offer. Kelly graduated summa cum laude from the Barrett Honors College at Arizona State University with a degree in Spanish Linguistics and International Business and Management. She is the President of the State Society of Arizona.
					Tom Van Flein, Chairman Gosar’s Chief of Staff, will assume the role of General Counsel for the Congressional Western Caucus. A graduate of the University of Arizona College of Law, where he studied mineral law and water rights, he is an avid user of federal lands and the great outdoors in general. He will continue to serve as Chairman Gosar’s Chief of Staff and Chief Legal Counsel in his personal office. 
					Leslie Foti will serve as the Financial Advisor for the Congressional Western Caucus. She will continue to serve as the Director of Scheduling & Administration in the Chairman’s personal office, a position she has held for nearly 5 years.  Mrs. Foti is also the Executive Director for Arizona Congressional Chiefs of Staff Organization.  A citrus grower and 7th generation Floridian, Leslie attended Florida Southern College where she obtained a degree in Political Science and a minor in History.  Leslie and her husband Anthony are proud parents to two wonderful boys, Grant and Phillip.
					Trevor Pearson has been promoted to serve as Chairman Gosar’s new Legislative Director in his personal office. Trevor previously served as the Chairmans’s Senior Legislative Assistant, managing his Oversight and Government Reform Committee and Interior Subcommittee portfolio. He has also managed healthcare, defense, transportation and infrastructure and other legislative issues. He graduated from Brigham Young University-Idaho with a bachelor’s degree in Political Science-Foreign Affairs. Trevor attended graduate school in Saint Petersburg, Russia where he earned a master’s degree in Russian and Eurasian Studies with an emphasis in energy security from European University at Saint Petersburg. Trevor is a 6th generation Arizonan and grew up near the South Rim of the Grand Canyon.",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z
https://gosar.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=1565,Chairman of the Congressional Western Caucus Fills Senior Staff Positions,2016-12-16,2016,2016-12,Republican,House,AZ,Paul A. Gosar,G000565,gosar.house.gov,gosar,https://gosar.house.gov/news/documentquery.aspx,scraper,"Today, Chairman of the Congressional Western Caucus, U.S. Congressman Paul A. Gosar, D.D.S. (AZ-04), released the following statement announcing several senior staff roles in the Congressional Western Caucus and his official office:

“President Reagan once said, ‘Surround yourself with the best people you can find, delegate authority, and don't interfere as long as the policy you've decided upon is being carried out.’ I couldn’t be more proud of the team we have put together to lead and deliver on Western priorities. We have high expectations and will hit the ground running. Rest assured, the Congressional Western Caucus will be a force in the 115th Congress.”

###",1,2026-03-30T01:40:41Z,2026-04-08T21:09:43Z
https://mcsally.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/us-rep-mcsally-s-office-expedites-blanket-delivery-tucson,U.S. Rep. McSallys Office Expedites Blanket Delivery to Tucson,2016-12-16,2016,2016-12,Republican,House,AZ,Martha McSally,M001197,mcsally.house.gov,,,legacy,"TUCSON – With temperatures falling and a widespread freeze expected Sunday, the Office of U.S. Representative Martha McSally has taken action to expedite the delivery of blankets to Tucson. The 10,000 blankets are being delivered through the Homeless Blanket Program, a congressionally funded program administered by the Department of Defense. The blankets were originally not scheduled to arrive in Tucson until middle to late January.
“As freezing temperatures become more frequent, we want to make sure our community is as prepared as possible to help those in need,” said Rep. McSally. “After hearing about reports of delayed blankets from Councilmember Fimbres’ office, I directed my staff to look into the situation and see what could be done. I’m very pleased to say the blankets requested by the Salvation Army of Southern Arizona will be delivered before the New Year, not in January as originally planned. I also want to recognize the tremendous response from our community and the efforts of so many individuals to donate blankets in the near-term. Southern Arizonans proved once again there’s no community more caring and willing to step up and help than ours.”
“This shows when our community has challenges, Tucson comes together, doesn’t scapegoat or place blame. We roll up our sleeves and solve them,” Tucson Councilmember Richard Fimbres said. “I want to thank Congresswoman McSally for her swift action in getting our allotment of blankets back on track. I also want to thank members of our community, who stepped up to donate blankets and help our most vulnerable and most needy citizens. The timing of this couldn’t be better since we received reports of upcoming cold weather changes.”
“We are happy to report that 10,000 disaster blankets requested from the Department of Defense for The Salvation Army Hospitality House will be arriving December 27th,” said Salvation Army Tucson Area Coordinator Major George Rocheleau. “When word went out on local TV stations that we had a shortage of blankets, the community responded. The Salvation Army would like to thank Congresswoman McSally for her leadership to get this delivery expedited and everyone in the community for their unselfish response in ensuring that anyone in need of a warm blanket is provided with one. Thank you for Caring and Sharing.”
“Our organization that serves homeless people is very appreciative of Congresswoman McSally stepping up, pushing the right buttons, and getting this moving so we can get blankets delivered sooner,” said Art Gage, Co-chair of Tucson Pima Collaboration to End Homelessness. “It’s been great to see a lot of different organizations coming together and dealing with this immediate problem to get it fixed.”",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z
https://www.mccain.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases?ContentRecord_id=2F4E4075-DD83-4F71-820C-489907F77E9C,STATEMENT BY SASC CHAIRMAN JOHN McCAIN ON CHINAS SEIZURE OF U.S. VESSEL IN SOUTH CHINA SEA,2016-12-16,2016,2016-12,Republican,House,AZ,John McCain,M000303,www.mccain.senate.gov,,,legacy,"Washington, D.C. ­– U.S. Senator John McCain (R-AZ), Chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, released the following statement today on the Chinese Navy’s seizure of a U.S. unmanned oceanographic vessel in the South China Sea:
“The Chinese Navy’s seizure of a U.S. unmanned oceanographic vessel in international waters is a flagrant violation of the freedom of the seas. China had no right to seize this vehicle. And the United States must not stand for such outrageous conduct.
“This brazen provocation fits a pattern of increasingly destabilizing Chinese behavior, including bullying its neighbors and militarizing the South China Sea. And this behavior will continue until it is met with a strong and determined U.S. response, which until now the Obama administration has failed to provide. Freedom of the seas and the principles of the rules-based order are not self-enforcing. American leadership is required in their defense. But that leadership has been sorely lacking.
“We are not witnessing a China committed to a ‘peaceful rise.’ Instead, we are confronting an assertive China that has demonstrated its willingness to use intimidation and coercion to disrupt the rules-based order that has been the foundation of security and prosperity in the Asia-Pacific region for seven decades. As I have said repeatedly, we must adapt U.S. policy and strategy to reflect this reality and ensure we have the necessary military forces, capabilities, and posture in the region to deter, and if necessary, defeat aggression.”
###",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z
https://www.mccain.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases?ContentRecord_id=2FD65270-1E15-4D0C-8AA3-16B3B149C55F,SASC CHAIRMAN JOHN McCAIN RELEASES OVERSIGHT REPORT ON DOD ACTIONS AGAINST THE UNIVERSITY OF PHOENIX,2016-12-16,2016,2016-12,Republican,House,AZ,John McCain,M000303,www.mccain.senate.gov,,,legacy,"Washington, D.C. ­– U.S. Senator John McCain (R-AZ), Chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, released a new oversight report today on the Department of Defense’s (DOD) unfair treatment of the University of Phoenix, and its impact on the active duty military students it serves. The report follows a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on this issue last month.
The report examines DOD’s decision to place the University of Phoenix on probation regarding its participation in the Voluntary Education Tuition Assistance Program, an important benefit that helps active duty service members pursue degrees in higher education. In making the decision, DOD cited allegations that the University had improperly used military trademarks on its challenge coins and obtained unauthorized access to military bases for commercial patriotic events. The decision not only prevented future service members from receiving tuition assistance to help pay for classes at the University of Phoenix, but also tarnished the University’s reputation and solvency.
The report shows that DOD’s decision was based on specious reasoning. By the time DOD made its decision, the University had already remedied its use of challenge coins and obtained the approval it needed from base commanders to access military installations.
The report concludes that DOD’s decision was made as a result of a lack of clear lines of authority, supervision, and accountability associated with how DOD reviews allegations of wrongdoing in the tuition assistance program. The decision was also the result of insufficient internal DOD processes to ensure educational institutions alleged to have engaged in wrongdoing are notified in a timely manner and given an opportunity to be heard. This allowed a mid-level DOD bureaucrat to be improperly influenced by an unaccountable interagency task force and at least one Member of Congress committed to eliminating for-profit colleges to play an outsized role in taking this adverse action against a private educational institution. 
“DOD’s unfair treatment of the University of Phoenix and its active duty military students was a gross abuse of power. It serves as a powerful case study of the Obama Administration’s ideologically driven effort to eliminate for-profit educational institutions,” said Chairman McCain. “Undoing the Obama Administration’s eight-year war on for-profit colleges through onerous rulemaking and regulatory actions should be a priority of the next Administration and Congress.”
The full report is here.
###",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z
http://gosar.house.gov/press-release/congressional-western-caucus-applauds-one-their-own-being-tapped-interior-secretary,Congressional Western Caucus Applauds One of Their Own Being Tapped for Interior Secretary,2016-12-15,2016,2016-12,Republican,House,AZ,Paul Gosar,G000565,gosar.house.gov,,,legacy,"WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, President-elect Donald Trump nominated Congressional Western Caucus member Rep. Ryan Zinke (R-MT) to serve as Secretary of the Interior.
					Congressional Western Caucus Chairman Paul A. Gosar, D.D.S. (AZ-04) and caucus members Rep. Kristi Noem (SD-AL) and Rep. Mike Simpson (ID-02) issued the following statements in response:
					“The Congressional Western Caucus applauds President-elect Trump for nominating a great champion of the West to serve as Secretary of the Interior. Congressman Zinke is a retired Navy SEAL and patriot who continues to honorably serve this great nation. Ryan is uniquely qualified for this critical role and the country will benefit from his experience as a member of the Congressional Western Caucus and the House Committee on Natural Resources. I look forward to working closely with the new Secretary throughout the 115th Congress to deliver on meaningful results that will improve the lives of all Americans. I will be inviting him to meet with our membership in early January.” said Chairman Gosar.
					“Americans will be well served by having the commonsense of a Westerner at the head of the Interior Department,” said Congresswoman Noem. “For years, we have battled the agency over the best way to approach land use, but I’m confident with Ryan as Secretary, our federal lands and natural resources can be enjoyed by the public, used to meet the needs of a nation, and preserved for future generations.”
“I applaud President-elect Donald Trump’s selection of Congressman Zinke as Secretary of the Interior,” said Congressman Simpson. “It is vitally important to have a Westerner leading the Department of the Interior. Having our neighbor from Montana leading the department will be good for Idaho because of our similar values on public lands and the importance of continued access to these special places we love to visit.”
 
Background:
(Courtesy of Zinke.house.gov)  
					Congressman Ryan Zinke serves the people of Montana as their sole Representative in the United States House.  Ryan is a fifth generation Montanan, former State Senator and a 23-year U.S. Navy SEAL veteran.  In 2014, Ryan became the first Navy SEAL elected to the House. He serves on the House Armed Services Committee and the House Committee on Natural Resources.
Congressman Zinke is a Constitutional conservative who believes in the vision the forefathers laid out which separates powers between the three branches and ensures the sovereignty of our states. As a Navy SEAL, State Senator and now a Member of Congress, Zinke swore an oath to defend the Constitution. His decisions are based on upholding the Constitution and doing what is right for Montana and America.",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z
https://gosar.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=1570,Congressional Western Caucus Applauds One of Their Own Being Tapped for Interior Secretary,2016-12-15,2016,2016-12,Republican,House,AZ,Paul A. Gosar,G000565,gosar.house.gov,gosar,https://gosar.house.gov/news/documentquery.aspx,scraper,"Today, President-elect Donald Trump nominated Congressional Western Caucus member Rep. Ryan Zinke (R-MT) to serve as Secretary of the Interior.

Congressional Western Caucus Chairman Paul A. Gosar, D.D.S. (AZ-04) and caucus members Rep. Kristi Noem (SD-AL) and Rep. Mike Simpson (ID-02) issued the following statements in response:

“The Congressional Western Caucus applauds President-elect Trump for nominating a great champion of the West to serve as Secretary of the Interior. Congressman Zinke is a retired Navy SEAL and patriot who continues to honorably serve this great nation. Ryan is uniquely qualified for this critical role and the country will benefit from his experience as a member of the Congressional Western Caucus and the House Committee on Natural Resources. I look forward to working closely with the new Secretary throughout the 115th Congress to deliver on meaningful results that will improve the lives of all Americans. I will be inviting him to meet with our membership in early January.” said Chairman Gosar.

“Americans will be well served by having the commonsense of a Westerner at the head of the Interior Department,” said Congresswoman Noem. “For years, we have battled the agency over the best way to approach land use, but I’m confident with Ryan as Secretary, our federal lands and natural resources can be enjoyed by the public, used to meet the needs of a nation, and preserved for future generations.”

“I applaud President-elect Donald Trump’s selection of Congressman Zinke as Secretary of the Interior,” said Congressman Simpson. “It is vitally important to have a Westerner leading the Department of the Interior. Having our neighbor from Montana leading the department will be good for Idaho because of our similar values on public lands and the importance of continued access to these special places we love to visit.”

Background:

(Courtesy of Zinke.house.gov)

Congressman Ryan Zinke serves the people of Montana as their sole Representative in the United States House. Ryan is a fifth generation Montanan, former State Senator and a 23-year U.S. Navy SEAL veteran. In 2014, Ryan became the first Navy SEAL elected to the House. He serves on the House Armed Services Committee and the House Committee on Natural Resources.

Congressman Zinke is a Constitutional conservative who believes in the vision the forefathers laid out which separates powers between the three branches and ensures the sovereignty of our states. As a Navy SEAL, State Senator and now a Member of Congress, Zinke swore an oath to defend the Constitution. His decisions are based on upholding the Constitution and doing what is right for Montana and America.",1,2026-03-30T01:40:41Z,2026-04-08T21:09:43Z
https://www.flake.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/in-the-news?ContentRecord_id=B9C76556-2164-43B3-9D9F-1F5755A8E27C,The Arizona Republic: Roberts: Is Donald Trump 'big' enough to listen to Jeff Flake?,2016-12-13,2016,2016-12,Republican,House,AZ,Jeff Flake,F000444,www.flake.senate.gov,,,legacy,"By Laurie RobertsDec. 13, 2016
Donald Trump may not realize it but Jeff Flake just did him a favor.
Trump has, of late, hinted that he may be softening his “deport ‘em all” stance on ""dreamers,"" those young immigrants brought here illegally as children.
During the campaign, Trump promised to “immediately terminate” Barack Obama’s Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, which offers qualified dreamers temporary protection from deportation.  About 1.2 million dreamers, including about 50,000 in Arizona, have been approved for DACA since Obama created the program in 2012.
Trump could (read: will) wipe it out next month with a simple signature -- just as Obama created it with one -- making DACA recipients ineligible to work, drive or qualify for in-state tuition in Arizona.
That would (read: will) delight the baser elements of Trump’s base – the ones who seem to think these young immigrants are all punks ... or worse.
Yet polls show that most Americans support allowing a legal pathway for dreamers to remain.
'We're going to work something out'Last week, Trump reiterated his pledge to end DACA, a program that Republicans have universally decried as an illegal executive order. But he went on to hold out hope for the possibility of a more reasoned, humane policy than his earlier “deport ‘em all” approach.
“We’re going to work something out that’s going to make people happy and proud,” he told Time. “They got brought here at a very young age, they’ve worked here, they’ve gone to school here. Some were good students. Some have wonderful jobs. And they’re in never-never land because they don’t know what’s going to happen.”
Now here comes one of Trump’s fiercest Republican critics with what that “something” could be – both to get dreamers out of never-never land and to keep Trump out of hot water with his supporters.
Flake is introducing a bill that would protect dreamers from deportation for three years. But it also would give undocumented immigrants who have committed serious crimes a quick heave-ho out of the country.
In other words, dreamers could remain though an act of Congress (read: not an executive order).
And the Department of Homeland Security would be forced to hold and quickly deport undocumented immigrants convicted of serious crimes – the ones we all want to get gone – rather than releasing them onto the streets.
Meet Apolinar, poster boy for the billFlake even handed Trump a poster boy for the bill: Apolinar Altamirano.
Altamirano was an undocumented immigrant and a convicted felon, awaiting his deportation hearing in 2015 when police say he went into a Mesa QuikTrip and killed 21-year-old Grant Ronnebeck over a pack of cigarettes.
Altamirano had previously been convicted of burglary and turned over to ICE in January 2013. ICE released him to await his deportation hearing. Two years later, he was still waiting.
Tragically, the only way to get this criminal off the streets was over Grant Ronnebeck's dead body. While the Obama administration has said the deportation of criminals is its highest priority, tens of thousands of convicted felons awaiting deportation hearings were released by ICE.
Under Flake’s Securing Active and Fair Enforcement Act, Altamirano would have been held and deported within 90 days.
Will Trump give the bill a serious look?Flake’s bill makes sense. It goes after criminals. It protects those whose only crime is wanting to live here and contribute to the only country many of them have ever known.
It makes him look tough on illegal immigration yet reasonable when it comes to the most sympathetic group of undocumented immigrants.
“It threads the needle between compassion for those brought into the U.S. illegally through no fault of their own and swift justice for dangerous foreign criminals,” Flake said.
Of course, there is one major downside to the proposal. It comes from Jeff Flake, one of the few Republicans who refused to back Trump.
Fortunately, we all know that Trump doesn’t hold a grudge, so I’m guessing Flake’s bill will get a serious look.
At least, it should.Click here to view the original article.",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z
https://www.flake.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases?ContentRecord_id=03111E09-CFA8-4049-8108-C977DF2A0390,Flake Statement on Tillerson Nomination,2016-12-13,2016,2016-12,Republican,House,AZ,Jeff Flake,F000444,www.flake.senate.gov,,,legacy,"Washington, D.C. – U.S. Sen. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.), a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, today issued the following statement regarding the nomination of Rex Tillerson for Secretary of State:
“The fact that former Secretaries of State James Baker, Condoleezza Rice, and Robert Gates are recommending Mr. Tillerson carries considerable weight. I look forward to the hearings.”
###",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z
https://www.mccain.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases?ContentRecord_id=E163D7D0-B23A-461F-9905-0762A72F7260,STATEMENT BY McCAIN & GRAHAM ON THE SLAUGHTER IN ALEPPO,2016-12-13,2016,2016-12,Republican,House,AZ,John McCain,M000303,www.mccain.senate.gov,,,legacy,"Washington, D.C. ­– U.S. Senators John McCain (R-AZ) and Lindsey Graham (R-SC) released the following statement today on the slaughter in Aleppo:
“The words ‘never again’ ring hollow today with reports that Aleppo is falling to Assad regime forces. For four long years, Aleppo has been at the center of the Assad regime’s war on the Syrian people. Together with its Russian and Iranian allies, the Assad regime has relentlessly targeted women and children, doctors and rescue workers, hospitals and bakeries, aid warehouses and humanitarian convoys.
“There are now reports that a ‘ceasefire’ has been reached in the city. This is not a cause to celebrate, but a sure sign of the fate that awaits other Syrian cities. Having consolidated its power in Aleppo and paid no price for its war crimes, the Assad regime will use the ceasefire to reset its war machine and prepare to slaughter its way to victory across the rest of the country, which will undermine U.S. national security interests and increase the risk to U.S. troops serving in Syria.
“It is heartbreaking that we have reached this point—a Syrian conflict that has killed more than 500,000 people, created the worst refugee crisis in Europe since World War II, spawned ISIL’s terrorist army, and forged an unholy alliance between a Syrian dictator, a Russian autocrat, and an Iranian theocrat. It did not have to be this way. But this is the inevitable result of hollow words and inaction, red lines crossed without consequences, tarnished moral influence, ‘leading from behind,’ and a total lack of American leadership.
“Just a few months after the revolution in Syria began in 2011, President Obama issued a Presidential Study Directive on Mass Atrocities, stating: ‘Preventing mass atrocities and genocide is a core national security interest and a core moral responsibility of the United States.’ Two years later, President Obama addressed the UN General Assembly: ‘[S]hould we really accept the notion that the world is powerless in the face of a Rwanda, or Srebrenica? If that’s the world that people want to live in, they should say so, and reckon with the cold logic of mass graves.’
“That reckoning is now upon us. The cold logic of mass graves confronts us yet again, and the name Aleppo will echo through history, like Srebrenica and Rwanda, as a testament to our moral failure and everlasting shame.”
###",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z
https://rubengallego.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/rep-ruben-gallego-congratulates-city-phoenix-housing-department-grant,Rep. Ruben Gallego Congratulates the City of Phoenix Housing Department on Grant Award to Expand Educational Opportunities,2016-12-12,2016,2016-12,Democrat,House,AZ,Ruben Gallego,G000574,rubengallego.house.gov,,,legacy,"Phoenix, AZ – The Department of Housing and Urban Development announced that the City of Phoenix Housing Department has been awarded a $452,000 grant to help low-income youth and their families to apply for federal student aid for college.
The “Education Navigators” program allocates grant funding to provide youth living in public housing with individual assistance to help them pursue post-secondary educational opportunities. Education Navigators are deployed to public housing sites and provide support with the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), financial literacy and college readiness, postsecondary program applications, and post-acceptance assistance.
Rep. Ruben Gallego issued the following statement:
“At a time when many young people are struggling to enter the job market, this grant award will help expand access to education and training opportunities. This new funding will help our local youth to obtain the guidance and support they need to pursue further education and a career, putting them on a path to success.
“I want to congratulate the City of Phoenix Housing Department on receiving this significant award, which will help young people in our community to realize their full potential.”
 
###",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z
https://www.mccain.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases?ContentRecord_id=1472FA8C-6CB2-417A-8DB8-6D770BB87299,"STATEMENT BY McCAIN, SCHUMER, GRAHAM & REED ON REPORTS THAT RUSSIA INTERFERED IN 2016 ELECTION",2016-12-11,2016,2016-12,Republican,House,AZ,John McCain,M000303,www.mccain.senate.gov,,,legacy,"Washington, D.C. ­– U.S. Senators John McCain (R-AZ), Chairman of the Senate Committee on Armed Services, Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Member of the Senate Committee on Armed Services, Charles E. Schumer (D-NY), Senate Democratic Leader-elect, and Jack Reed (D-RI), Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Armed Services released the following joint statement today in response to news reports on the CIA’s analysis of Russian interference with the 2016 election:
“For years, foreign adversaries have directed cyberattacks at America’s physical, economic, and military infrastructure, while stealing our intellectual property. Now our democratic institutions have been targeted. Recent reports of Russian interference in our election should alarm every American.
“Congress’s national security committees have worked diligently to address the complex challenge of cybersecurity, but recent events show that more must be done.  While protecting classified material, we have an obligation to inform the public about recent cyberattacks that have cut to the heart of our free society. Democrats and Republicans must work together, and across the jurisdictional lines of the Congress, to examine these recent incidents thoroughly and devise comprehensive solutions to deter and defend against further cyberattacks.
“This cannot become a partisan issue. The stakes are too high for our country. We are committed to working in this bipartisan manner, and we will seek to unify our colleagues around the goal of investigating and stopping the grave threats that cyberattacks conducted by foreign governments pose to our national security.”
###",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z
https://mcsally.house.gov/media-center/in-the-news/sierra-vista-herald-mcsally-bill-aimed-mental-health-issues,Sierra Vista Herald: McSally bill aimed at mental health issues,2016-12-09,2016,2016-12,Republican,House,AZ,Martha McSally,M001197,mcsally.house.gov,,,legacy,"Legislation sponsored by Congresswoman Martha McSally would fund treatment programs to help people with mental health issues who currently end up in the Cochise County jail.
McSally’s Mental Health and Safe Communities Act passed the House of Representatives last week. The bill now needs to be approved by the Senate and signed by President Obama to become law.
Provisions of the Act may support local efforts already underway that seeks to provide mental health treatment for people who commit minor criminal offenses and end up being housed at the Cochise County Jail.
Last December county Supervisors approved the Step Up program, an initiative aimed at helping non-violent offenders.
“If you look at the population of those who are in jail, as much as 60 percent at any given time can be for these kinds of nonviolent offenses, and maybe 40 percent of those inmates have mental health issues that lead to behavior that puts them in jail,” public defender Mark Suagee told board members.
McSally’s legislation would fund services that are similar to what Cochise County is attempting with its Step Up program. The congresswoman’s Act would set a program for mentally-ill offenders reentering the community, expand assistance to people with co-occurring substance abuse and mental health disorders, and improve training for law enforcement to better identify and respond to instances involving mental illness.
“For too long, our failed mental health care system has left families and communities with nowhere to turn. Today, that changes,” McSally said. “The House-passed legislation includes provisions I sponsored to help communities better respond to mental health crises and provide better treatment options for families and individuals struggling with mental illness.”
Sheriff Mark Dannels said the Step Up program is an attempt to balance how the corrections system handles different kinds of offenders.
“The priority has to be deterrence,” Dannels said.
The Sheriff said he supports McSally’s bill and agrees that additional mental health services are needed in Cochise County. Dannels said the congresswoman joined him on a “ride-along” earlier this year, and he did discuss the Mental Health and Safe Communities Act.
Read the full article HERE.",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z
https://rubengallego.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/rep-ruben-gallego-statement-faa-flight-path-language-included-senate,Rep. Ruben Gallego Statement on FAA Flight Path Language Included in the Senate NDAA,2016-12-09,2016,2016-12,Democrat,House,AZ,Ruben Gallego,G000574,rubengallego.house.gov,,,legacy,"Washington, D.C. – Today, the Senate passed a bill that includes an amendment that will require the Federal Aviation Administration to re-evaluate the flight path changes implemented at Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport in 2014.
Rep. Ruben Gallego issued the following statement:
“The aircraft noise resulting from flight path changes at Sky Harbor has caused severe disruptions for many of my constituents - eroding their quality of life, impacting their health, lowering their property values, and disrupting their businesses.
“The language in the NDAA is a step in the right direction toward holding the FAA accountable for the consequences of their opaque decision-making process and making sure they are responsive to our concerns.
“I want to thank Senators Flake and McCain for taking steps to address this ongoing problem. I am committed to working with them and my colleagues in the House until the FAA takes action and peace and quiet is restored to the greater Phoenix Metropolitan area.”
###",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z
https://www.flake.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases?ContentRecord_id=6337D00E-5319-4C39-9C84-5E41AFEFC5F5,"Flake Introduces Two-Pronged Bill to Extend DACA for Children, Expedite Deportation of Violent Criminals",2016-12-09,2016,2016-12,Republican,House,AZ,Jeff Flake,F000444,www.flake.senate.gov,,,legacy,"Washington, D.C. – U.S. Sen. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) today introduced the Securing Active and Fair Enforcement (SAFE) Act; two-pronged legislation that maintains protections for those qualifying for the current Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program and also ensures the rapid and effective deportation of criminal aliens convicted of serious and violent crimes.  
Under DACA, a person brought to the United States as a child – who has not been convicted of a crime and otherwise poses no threat to national security or public safety – may request deferred action of removal proceedings for a period of two years, subject to renewal. To ensure that enforcement resources are focused on high priority cases, the SAFE Act allows the individual to stay in the United States for three years.
Additionally, the SAFE Act includes language from Flake and Sen. John McCain’s (R-Ariz.) Criminal Alien Deportation Act that would put an end to the Obama Administration’s policy of releasing illegal immigrants with pending criminal charges from prison. Specifically, it requires Department of Homeland Security officials to detain undocumented immigrants arrested or convicted of serious crimes and deport them within 90 days.
“The SAFE Act seeks to make it safe for Dreamers and safe for Arizonans. It threads the needle between compassion for those brought into the U.S. illegally through no fault of their own and swift justice for dangerous foreign criminals,” said Flake. “I believe we should protect these Dreamers just as we need to expedite the deportation of those criminal aliens who are a threat to the safety and security of Arizonans.”
Background: 
 
Today, Flake also co-sponsored Sens. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and Dick Durbin’s (D-Ill.) Bar Removal of Individuals who Dream and Grow our Economy (BRIDGE) Act. The BRIDGE Act would provide temporary relief from deportation and work authorization to young undocumented individuals who were brought to the United States as children.
 
 
In July 2015, Flake and McCain introduced the Criminal Alien Deportation Act following the shooting of 21-year-old QuikTrip clerk Grant Ronnebeck of Mesa, Arizona by an illegal immigrant who had been prematurely released by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) despite having been previously convicted of a felony as he awaited the outcome of his deportation proceeding. In addition, 32-year-old Kathryn Steinle was fatally shot in San Francisco, California by an undocumented immigrant with seven felony convictions who had been released due to a law that deemed him ineligible for extended detention.
 
 
According to DHS, between 2010 and 2014, 122 undocumented immigrants who were released from prison while awaiting deportation trials were later charged with homicides.
 

###",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z
https://www.mccain.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases?ContentRecord_id=5B7DA655-608E-461B-9869-D427EC581F18,STATEMENT BY SENATOR JOHN McCAIN ON DESIGNATING ESTRELLA MOUNTAINS PEAK IN MEMORY OF CHARLES KEATING IV,2016-12-09,2016,2016-12,Republican,House,AZ,John McCain,M000303,www.mccain.senate.gov,,,legacy,"Washington, D.C. ­– U.S. Senator John McCain (R-AZ) released the following statement today on the Maricopa Board of Supervisors’ petition to name the Estrella Mountains peak in honor of Charles Keating IV:
“I strongly support the Maricopa Board of Supervisors’ petition to name the Estrella Mountains peak in honor of Charles Keating IV, who was killed in action in support of the U.S. mission against ISIL. Charlie represented the very best among us. He was a star athlete, an elite military officer, a trusted friend, and a devoted husband, son and brother. He was a courageous leader and loyal adviser, and gave his life serving a cause greater than his own. I’ll do everything I can to support this designation, which will serve as a reminder of Charlie’s incredible life to all those who visit this Arizona treasure.”
###",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z
https://www.mccain.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases?ContentRecord_id=EE1D159D-AA91-4402-B183-13C5EE5C817B,STATEMENT BY SASC CHAIRMAN JOHN McCAIN ON CYBERSECURITY PRIORITIES IN THE NEW CONGRESS,2016-12-09,2016,2016-12,Republican,House,AZ,John McCain,M000303,www.mccain.senate.gov,,,legacy,"Washington, D.C. ­– U.S. Senator John McCain (R-AZ), Chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, released the following statement today on cybersecurity priorities in the new Congress:
“As threats to our national security in cyberspace continue to grow in speed and severity, I intend to make cybersecurity a major oversight priority of the Senate Armed Services Committee in the new Congress. My focus will be on ensuring the Department of Defense and our military have the resources, personnel, and capabilities necessary to defend, deter, and respond to our adversaries in cyberspace. Beyond the Department of Defense, it is increasingly clear that cybersecurity threats touch every aspect of our lives. That is why I will work collaboratively with my Senate colleagues and the executive branch to examine other important issues related to cybersecurity, including Russia’s attempted interference in America’s elections.”
###",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z
http://gosar.house.gov/press-release/rep-gosar-introduces-jobs-bill-encourage-economic-development-rural-arizona,Rep. Gosar Introduces Jobs Bill to Encourage Economic Development in Rural Arizona,2016-12-08,2016,2016-12,Republican,House,AZ,Paul Gosar,G000565,gosar.house.gov,,,legacy,"WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Congressman Paul A. Gosar, D.D.S. (AZ-04) released the following statement after introducing legislation, H.R. 6491, which would authorize the Secretary of the Interior to convey land to La Paz County, Arizona, in order to create economic development opportunities and facilitate renewable electricity generation for the western United States:
“The potential for renewable energy development throughout the West has never been greater. When advancing such opportunities we must pursue a balanced approach that partners with local stakeholders and isn’t dependent on federal subsidies. The massive size of the federal estate poses real challenges for some western counties, including La Paz County in my home state of Arizona. This creates a serious economic challenge for local governments that desperately lack the tax base to support basic public services.
“H.R. 6491 addresses these obstacles by initiating a land exchange between the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and La Paz County, Arizona that will create jobs, support a true all-of-the-above energy strategy and empower local communities. I applaud Supervisor Irwin and the County for their great work in helping craft this commonsense legislation.”
Following the introduction of H.R. 6491, La Paz County Supervisor Holly Irwin stated, “This legislation is the result of a bottom-up approach, driven by La Paz County officials and others interested in balancing critical economic development concerns with our public lands in Arizona. Congressman Gosar has delivered on his commitment to help our rural, Arizona County through legislation that seeks to create an economic development zone through the County’s ability to purchase 8,800 acres (less than .005%) from the more than 1,848,763 millions of acres controlled by the BLM in our jurisdiction. Congressman Gosar recognizes the challenges inherent to almost 95% of the County’s land being owned by Federal, State and Tribal governments and has championed a legislative effort that if successful could jumpstart our economy and attract new industries.”
 
Background:
The full text of H.R. 6491 can be found HERE.
La Paz County currently is working with Congressman Paul Gosar, from the Fourth Congressional District in Arizona, to request the purchase of 8,000+ acres of property from the BLM with the intent to develop large scale, solar generation facilities. The La Paz County Board of Supervisors’ intent is to create long-term, lease contracts with renewable energy project developers that respond to national demand to increase renewable power generation while also helping to create new sources of revenue to address the economic challenges inherent to a jurisdiction with almost 95% of the County’s property owned by Federal, State or Tribal governments.
There are a number of precedents setting examples of other Western Counties using legislation to seek the conveyance of federal lands to stimulate economic development in rural locations. La Paz County proposes to use a similar process to acquire a large parcel of property that could interconnect with the Ten West Link currently being proposed to transect La Paz County.  
###",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z
http://gosar.house.gov/press-release/western-caucus-members-score-monumental-victory-commonsense-water-solutions,Western Caucus Members Score Monumental Victory for Commonsense Water Solutions,2016-12-08,2016,2016-12,Republican,House,AZ,Paul Gosar,G000565,gosar.house.gov,,,legacy,"WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, the House of Representatives passed the conference report for S. 612, the Water Infrastructure Improvements for the Nation Act  (WIIN) by a vote of 360 to 61. This legislation aims to advance water infrastructure throughout the country and includes the Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) of 2016.  
					Congressional Western Caucus Chairman Paul A. Gosar, D.D.S. (AZ-04) and caucus members Rep. David G. Valadao (CA-21)  and Rep. Tom McClintock (CA-24) issued the following statements in response:
“Today, communities all across the West scored a major victory in the fight for commonsense water solutions. Critical provisions in this important legislation will increase water storage, facilitate outstanding tribal water settlements and advance water delivery for millions of Americans while still ensuring responsible environmental protections,” said Chairman Gosar. “I am proud that Western Caucus Members were instrumental in crafting this bill and I am grateful for leadership on both sides of the aisle that helped us reach this rational solution.”
“As we head into the winter rainy season, including these temporary provisions in S. 612, the Water Infrastructure Improvements for the Nation Act, to strengthen California water infrastructure and increase water deliveries is both dire and extremely judicious,” said Rep. Valadao. “These provisions will not solve California’s water crisis, but they will provide interim relief, which my constituents desperately need. I am encouraged by today’s passage of the bill and look forward to working with the new Republican Administration and my colleagues in both the House and the Senate to reach a complete agreement.”
“WRDA is an important step forward in protecting California against devastating future droughts and protecting Lake Tahoe against catastrophic wildfires,” added Rep. Tom McClintock.
					The text of the WIIN Act can be found HERE.
This legislation is primarily the biannual water resources infrastructure authorization package, however the conference report includes important natural resource and western water provisions.
TITLE II–WATER AND WASTE ACT OF 2016
					Subtitle A – Safe Drinking Water
					• Authorizes contaminated water cleanup for Flint, MI and other communities. Authorizes $170 million to be appropriated in the continuing resolution.
					Subtitle C – Control of Coal Combustion Residuals
					• Sec. 2301, authorizes state-based programs for control of coal combustion residuals (coal ash) with EPA approval.
					                                                                                                                                     
					TITLE III—NATURAL RESOURCES
					Subtitle A—Indian Dam Safety
					• Includes language from Chairman Barrasso’s Dam Repairs and Improvements for Tribes Act.
					Subtitle B—Military Land Withdrawals
					• Includes language from Chairman Barrasso’s IRRIGATE Act, which provides tribes the ability to improve, replace, and maintain tribal irrigation projects.
					Subtitle C—Weber Basin Prepayments
					• Includes language from Chairman Bishop’s standalone bill for the repayment of certain repayment obligations under contracts between the United States and the Weber Basin Water Conservancy.
					Subtitle D—Pechanga Water Rights Settlement
					• Includes language from Chairman Calvert’s standalone bill settling a long-standing dispute with the Pechanga tribe.
					Subtitle F – Miscellaneous Provisions
					• Includes several district-specific changes to Bureau of Reclamation activities, the Lake Tahoe Restoration Act, tribal, and other water-related issues.
					Subtitle G – Blackfeet Water Rights Settlement
					• Includes language from both Rep. Zinke (H.R. 5633) and Senator Tester’s (S. 1125) Blackfeet Water Rights Settlement Act. This settles a longstanding water dispute between the Blackfeet Tribe and the United States, allowing for tribal management of water facilities and storage.
					Subtitle H – Water Desalination
					• Amends the Water Desalination Act of 1996 to consolidate and focus federal desalination research. This is part of the smaller western water compromise agreement.
					Subtitle J – California and Western Water
					• This language clears the way for increased pumping of water from California's Bay Delta region to agricultural regions and other areas hit by drought. It also allows water users to accelerate repayments of water projects and authorizes increased water storage throughout the West.
TITLE IV—OTHER MATTERS
					• Sec. 5004. Gold King Mine Spill Recovery  - Language allows for claims to be made from damages paid for by the EPA, as well as authorizing a water quality program.  
					 
The House Natural Resources Committee has also provided detailed summaries:
					For Chairman Bishop’s release click HERE.
					Summary of western water provisions click HERE.
					Summary of all Natural Resources provisions click HERE.
					Summary of the WIIN Act click HERE.",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z
https://gosar.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=1961,Rep. Gosar Introduces Jobs Bill to Encourage Economic Development in Rural Arizona,2016-12-08,2016,2016-12,Republican,House,AZ,Paul A. Gosar,G000565,gosar.house.gov,gosar,https://gosar.house.gov/news/documentquery.aspx,scraper,"Today, U.S. Congressman Paul A. Gosar, D.D.S. (AZ-04) released the following statement after introducing legislation, H.R. 6491, which would authorize the Secretary of the Interior to convey land to La Paz County, Arizona, in order to create economic development opportunities and facilitate renewable electricity generation for the western United States:

“The potential for renewable energy development throughout the West has never been greater. When advancing such opportunities we must pursue a balanced approach that partners with local stakeholders and isn’t dependent on federal subsidies. The massive size of the federal estate poses real challenges for some western counties, including La Paz County in my home state of Arizona. This creates a serious economic challenge for local governments that desperately lack the tax base to support basic public services.

“H.R. 6491 addresses these obstacles by initiating a land exchange between the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and La Paz County, Arizona that will create jobs, support a true all-of-the-above energy strategy and empower local communities. I applaud Supervisor Irwin and the County for their great work in helping craft this commonsense legislation.”

Following the introduction of H.R. 6491, La Paz County Supervisor Holly Irwin stated, “This legislation is the result of a bottom-up approach, driven by La Paz County officials and others interested in balancing critical economic development concerns with our public lands in Arizona. Congressman Gosar has delivered on his commitment to help our rural, Arizona County through legislation that seeks to create an economic development zone through the County’s ability to purchase 8,800 acres (less than .005%) from the more than 1,848,763 millions of acres controlled by the BLM in our jurisdiction. Congressman Gosar recognizes the challenges inherent to almost 95% of the County’s land being owned by Federal, State and Tribal governments and has championed a legislative effort that if successful could jumpstart our economy and attract new industries.”

Background:

The full text of H.R. 6491 can be found HERE.

La Paz County currently is working with Congressman Paul Gosar, from the Fourth Congressional District in Arizona, to request the purchase of 8,000+ acres of property from the BLM with the intent to develop large scale, solar generation facilities. The La Paz County Board of Supervisors’ intent is to create long-term, lease contracts with renewable energy project developers that respond to national demand to increase renewable power generation while also helping to create new sources of revenue to address the economic challenges inherent to a jurisdiction with almost 95% of the County’s property owned by Federal, State or Tribal governments.

There are a number of precedents setting examples of other Western Counties using legislation to seek the conveyance of federal lands to stimulate economic development in rural locations. La Paz County proposes to use a similar process to acquire a large parcel of property that could interconnect with the Ten West Link currently being proposed to transect La Paz County.

###",1,2026-03-30T01:40:41Z,2026-04-08T21:09:43Z
https://gosar.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=2337,Western Caucus Members Score Monumental Victory for Commonsense Water Solutions,2016-12-08,2016,2016-12,Republican,House,AZ,Paul A. Gosar,G000565,gosar.house.gov,gosar,https://gosar.house.gov/news/documentquery.aspx,scraper,"Today, the House of Representatives passed the conference report for S. 612, the Water Infrastructure Improvements for the Nation Act (WIIN) by a vote of 360 to 61. This legislation aims to advance water infrastructure throughout the country and includes the Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) of 2016.

Congressional Western Caucus Chairman Paul A. Gosar, D.D.S. (AZ-04) and caucus members Rep. David G. Valadao (CA-21) and Rep. Tom McClintock (CA-24) issued the following statements in response:

“Today, communities all across the West scored a major victory in the fight for commonsense water solutions. Critical provisions in this important legislation will increase water storage, facilitate outstanding tribal water settlements and advance water delivery for millions of Americans while still ensuring responsible environmental protections,” said Chairman Gosar. “I am proud that Western Caucus Members were instrumental in crafting this bill and I am grateful for leadership on both sides of the aisle that helped us reach this rational solution.”

“As we head into the winter rainy season, including these temporary provisions in S. 612, the Water Infrastructure Improvements for the Nation Act, to strengthen California water infrastructure and increase water deliveries is both dire and extremely judicious,” said Rep. Valadao. “These provisions will not solve California’s water crisis, but they will provide interim relief, which my constituents desperately need. I am encouraged by today’s passage of the bill and look forward to working with the new Republican Administration and my colleagues in both the House and the Senate to reach a complete agreement.”

“WRDA is an important step forward in protecting California against devastating future droughts and protecting Lake Tahoe against catastrophic wildfires,” added Rep. Tom McClintock.

The text of the WIIN Act can be found HERE.

This legislation is primarily the biannual water resources infrastructure authorization package, however the conference report includes important natural resource and western water provisions.

TITLE II–WATER AND WASTE ACT OF 2016

Subtitle A – Safe Drinking Water

• Authorizes contaminated water cleanup for Flint, MI and other communities. Authorizes $170 million to be appropriated in the continuing resolution.

Subtitle C – Control of Coal Combustion Residuals

• Sec. 2301, authorizes state-based programs for control of coal combustion residuals (coal ash) with EPA approval.

TITLE III—NATURAL RESOURCES

Subtitle A—Indian Dam Safety

• Includes language from Chairman Barrasso’s Dam Repairs and Improvements for Tribes Act.

Subtitle B—Military Land Withdrawals

• Includes language from Chairman Barrasso’s IRRIGATE Act, which provides tribes the ability to improve, replace, and maintain tribal irrigation projects.

Subtitle C—Weber Basin Prepayments

• Includes language from Chairman Bishop’s standalone bill for the repayment of certain repayment obligations under contracts between the United States and the Weber Basin Water Conservancy.

Subtitle D—Pechanga Water Rights Settlement

• Includes language from Chairman Calvert’s standalone bill settling a long-standing dispute with the Pechanga tribe.

Subtitle F – Miscellaneous Provisions

• Includes several district-specific changes to Bureau of Reclamation activities, the Lake Tahoe Restoration Act, tribal, and other water-related issues.

Subtitle G – Blackfeet Water Rights Settlement

• Includes language from both Rep. Zinke (H.R. 5633) and Senator Tester’s (S. 1125) Blackfeet Water Rights Settlement Act. This settles a longstanding water dispute between the Blackfeet Tribe and the United States, allowing for tribal management of water facilities and storage.

Subtitle H – Water Desalination

• Amends the Water Desalination Act of 1996 to consolidate and focus federal desalination research. This is part of the smaller western water compromise agreement.

Subtitle J – California and Western Water

• This language clears the way for increased pumping of water from California's Bay Delta region to agricultural regions and other areas hit by drought. It also allows water users to accelerate repayments of water projects and authorizes increased water storage throughout the West.

TITLE IV—OTHER MATTERS

• Sec. 5004. Gold King Mine Spill Recovery - Language allows for claims to be made from damages paid for by the EPA, as well as authorizing a water quality program.",1,2026-03-30T01:40:41Z,2026-04-08T21:09:43Z
https://www.flake.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases?ContentRecord_id=318C1076-C37C-4CEB-8920-B25D3635FF0F,VIDEO: Flake Tackles ADA Abuse in Speech,2016-12-08,2016,2016-12,Republican,House,AZ,Jeff Flake,F000444,www.flake.senate.gov,,,legacy,"Washington, D.C. – U.S. Sen. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) today spoke on the Senate floor in support of his ADA Education and Reform Act, legislation that would stop drive-by lawsuits from unscrupulous lawyers abusing the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) in order to extort cash settlements from small businesses. The bill would afford small businesses 120 days to fix minor violations, such as an incorrectly placed sign, before a lawsuit can proceed. Flake’s speech comes days after a ""60 Minutes"" investigation into the practice, which has been become a growing problem for Arizona businesses in recent years.  
“I think these reforms will help business owners and persons with disabilities achieve their mutual goal of ADA compliance,” said Flake. “It’s essential that business owners continue to see it as a tool to ensure fairness for people with disabilities, and not as a weapon to line the pockets of unscrupulous lawyers.”

Video of Flake’s remarks can be viewed here.  Video of the ""60 Minutes"" investigation into drive-by lawsuits can be viewed here.  Additional information on the ADA Education and Reform Act can be viewed here.
A transcript of Flake’s prepared remarks can be viewed below.
***  I come to the floor today to speak in support of legislation I recently introduced, the ADA Reform and Education Act.
This bill serves two purposes: first, it ensures timely compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act. It does so while also relieving small businesses of the burden of frivolous litigation. My legislation addresses a problem known as “drive-by lawsuits.”
These lawsuits involve a few bad actors who are abusing a provision of the ADA in a way that is inconsistent with its intent, and detrimental to small businesses. In a drive-by lawsuit, an attorney will drive by a place of business and look for technical ADA violations. These are usually minor violations that are easily correctable, like the width of a parking space or the height of a van accessible sign. If a technical violations exists, the attorney will either send a demand letter or threaten the business with a lawsuit. Oftentimes, the demand letter will request a settlement that is just under what it would cost the business to litigate so the business owner picks the lesser of two evils and pays the settlement.
The scope of the problem is only growing.
From the first six months of 2015 to the first six months of 2016 there was a 63 percent increase in the number of suits brought under Title III of the ADA. This year is on pace to see almost 7,000 of these cases brought forward. Compare 7,000 to the 4,800 lawsuits filed in 2015 and 2,700 in 2013, and you can see what a boon this has become for trial lawyers.
In fact this past Sunday, 60 Minutes did a special report on drive-by lawsuits and the toll they’re taking on small businesses throughout the country.
While California, Florida, and New York have the highest incidence of these drive-by lawsuits, my home state of Arizona has seen a dramatic increase in these suits over the last three years. In 2013, there were three ADA Title III suits brought in Arizona. By 2015, that number was up to 207. As of September 1st of this year, Arizona had already seen 284.
It’s clear that the problem is only getting worse. And my legislation goes a long way to solve it.
If enacted, property owners must be given notice of their alleged ADA violation, at which point they will get 120 days to cure the violation before a lawsuit can be brought. If the property owner fails to address the violation in a timely manner, they can then be sued. The bill also instructs the Department of Justice to promote further ADA compliance through education so small business owners know what’s expected of them.
I think these reforms will help business owners and persons with disabilities achieve their mutual goal of ADA compliance. The ADA has been a great success in its 25 year history.
It’s essential that business owners continue to see it as a tool to ensure fairness for people with disabilities…and not as a weapon to line the pockets of unscrupulous lawyers.
###",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z
https://www.flake.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases?ContentRecord_id=7F1E69E9-19B1-4B83-B73A-2B9415724781,Flake Introduces Clean Up the VA Act,2016-12-08,2016,2016-12,Republican,House,AZ,Jeff Flake,F000444,www.flake.senate.gov,,,legacy,"Washington, D.C. – U.S. Sen. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) today introduced the Clean Up the Department of Veterans Affairs Act, requiring the VA to fire any employee who has a felony conviction or whose medical license has been suspended or revoked. In addition, this legislation would prohibit the VA from hiring or transferring any employees that meet those criteria. Felony convictions include, but are not limited to: rape, sexual assault, molestation, or any other sex crimes, theft, battery, kidnapping, sale of drugs, gun crimes, and bank robbery.
The introduction of this bill comes on the heels of the news that the Phoenix VA Health Care System is rated as one of the worst in the nation.
“If Congress wants to see improvements at the VA, it needs to put an end to the carousel of criminals passing through its doors,” said Flake. “It’s time to clean up the VA so we can focus on recruiting the best and brightest to care for our veterans.”
Examples of VA employees that have been charged with or convicted of felonies include:

 
Another VA employee participated in an armed robbery and was convicted and was given time off to serve her sentence. She then returned to work while on GPS-monitored probation. The VA later lied about her employment status to Congress.
 
 
A VA employee with a previous conviction for illegal firearm possession and known associate of drug traffickers was shot and killed with illegal gun in August.

The chief of staff at the Tomah VA Medical Center was assigned to administrative duties even though his VA clinical privileges had been suspended due to concerns that, according to the Wisconsin Department of Safety and Professional Services, his “medication prescribing practices did not meet accepted standards of practice and potentially constituted an imminent threat to patient welfare.” The employee was ultimately fired a year after his VA clinical privileges suspension.  

 
In addition, one employee at the Phoenix VA Health Care System has been indicted on charges that he embezzled more than $115,000 from a VFW post in Avondale. If convicted, that employee could be fired under this bill. 
###",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z
https://www.flake.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases?ContentRecord_id=F8FDB9BB-3273-44FC-9476-A218BB787163,Flake and McCain Statements on AZ Priorities in Senate-Passed National Defense Authorization Act,2016-12-08,2016,2016-12,Republican,House,AZ,Jeff Flake,F000444,www.flake.senate.gov,,,legacy,"Washington, D.C. ­– Today, the United States Senate delivered final passage of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017 (NDAA). The legislation includes additional priorities for the state of Arizona, including a provision that addresses flight path changes at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport and provisions that support wildfire management and water conservation. U.S. Sens. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) released the following statements on these provisions:
FLIGHT PATH CHANGES AT PHOENIX SKY HARBOR INTERNATIONAL AIRPORTIn addition, the NDAA includes a provision that would require the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to review flight path changes like those in Phoenix and take steps to mitigate the negative effects these changes have had on the community. It would also ensure that other airports and communities have the opportunity to fully engage with the FAA before any future changes are made.
“I am pleased this bill includes measures to address complaints of Arizonans who have been negatively impacted by the flight path changes at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport. The provisions we were able to add establish a process to address those hardships and ensure the FAA will better consult with affected communities on future flight changes,” said Flake.
“This legislation provides an important step forward in making sure Phoenix residents impacted by flight path changes at Sky Harbor International Airport have the opportunity to make their voices heard,” said McCain. “This legislation would require the FAA to mitigate the negative effects of flight path changes that have already been implemented, while providing impacted communities and airports a seat at the table before any future changes are made.”
WILDFIRE MANAGEMENT AT CAMP NAVAJOThe legislation includes a provision aimed at enabling forest thinning activities using Camp Navajo, an Arizona National Guard facility located near Flagstaff, Arizona. Especially, the provision would effectively transfer federal land under Camp Navajo from the Forest Service to the Department of Defense, which would help streamline an Arizona National Guard program to lease portions of the facility as an industrial park. Currently, the land is technically owned by the Forest Service but its uses are largely limited to military functions under the 1940’s Public Land Order issued by the U.S. Department of Agriculture that originally established the depot. The provision will save the National Guard from any claims of triggering a “reversionary interest” right through non-military use activity, which would return Camp Navajo to full Forest Service jurisdiction. 

Camp Navajo is strategically located near the interchange of Interstate 40 and Interstate 17, and supports many miles of railroad tracks that connect the facility to much of northern and eastern Arizona. Northern Arizona University Ecological Restoration Institute has identified Camp Navajo as a promising host of a “world-class center” for public-private industry partnerships establishing a timber mill, biomass plant, or wood products research facility.
“We must use every resource at our disposal to prevent devastating wildfires. Forest thinning efforts help restore Arizona’s forests, reduce the risk of out-of-control wildfires, and protect rural communities,” said Flake.

“Catastrophic wildfire continues to be one of the top environmental challenges for Arizona in the 21st century,” said McCain. “This provision will help unlock Camp Navajo’s business potential, particularly as it relates to enhancing industry’s role in thinning our overgrown forests and reducing the threat of wildfire. I applaud the Forest Service, notably the leadership team at Kaibab National Forest, and the Arizona Department of Emergency and Military Affairs, for working together to develop and advance this project.""
Roughly 300,000 acres of national forest land in Arizona are slated to be ecologically restored using industry partners, according to the Forest Service’s Four Forest Restoration Initiative (4FRI).SAN PEDRO RIVER WATER CONSERVATIONThe NDAA also includes a provision that would provide federal recognition of the Cochise Conservation Recharge Network (CCRN), a project by the City of Sierra Vista, Arizona, and Cochise County that will harvest tens of thousands of gallons of rainwater every year and use it to recharge nearby underground aquifers that support flows in the San Pedro River. Today, the San Pedro River, one of the last free-flowing rivers of the southwest, is threatened by drought and excessive groundwater pumping. The NDAA provision would authorize the Secretary of the Army or the Secretary of the Interior to enter into agreements in support of the CCRN project.
“Water conservation is a top priority in Arizona and it is crucial that we continue to develop solutions that will give drought-stricken states the tools to tackle this issue,” said Flake.  
“The San Pedro River is a precious desert gem,” said McCain. “I applaud the city and county for developing the Cochise recharge project, and I hope this federal recognition will help preserve the San Pedro for the enjoyment of future generations.”

###",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z
https://www.flake.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/videos?ContentRecord_id=B8F2C8E2-703D-4D1D-B315-EFD9DB5939D0,Sen. Flake Tackles ADA Abuse in Senate Floor Speech,2016-12-08,2016,2016-12,Republican,House,AZ,Jeff Flake,F000444,www.flake.senate.gov,,,legacy,"U.S. Sen. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) today spoke on the Senate floor in support of his ADA Education and Reform Act, legislation that would stop drive-by lawsuits from unscrupulous lawyers abusing the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) in order to extort cash settlements from small businesses. The bill would afford small businesses 120 days to fix minor violations, such as an incorrectly placed sign, before a lawsuit can proceed. Flake’s speech comes days after a ""60 Minutes"" investigation into the practice, which has been become a growing problem for Arizona businesses in recent years.",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z
https://www.mccain.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases?ContentRecord_id=670C3F53-8178-468B-ABCC-F70260BAAFFA,STATEMENT BY SASC CHAIRMAN JOHN McCAIN ON MEETING WITH BALTIC DELEGATION,2016-12-08,2016,2016-12,Republican,House,AZ,John McCain,M000303,www.mccain.senate.gov,,,legacy,"Washington, D.C. ­– U.S. Senator John McCain (R-AZ), Chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, released the following statement on meeting with a delegation of parliamentarians and ambassadors from Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania today:
“Today my colleagues and I on the Senate Armed Services Committee had a productive and substantive meeting with a delegation of parliamentarians and ambassadors from Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. We conveyed our abiding bipartisan commitment to the NATO alliance, to our obligations under the North Atlantic Treaty, and to the defense of our Baltic allies against Russian aggression. I am pleased that today the Senate will vote on final passage of the National Defense Authorization Act, which authorizes $3.4 billion for the European Deterrence Initiative, representing a four-fold increase from last fiscal year. This effort reinforces America's dedication to a strong transatlantic relationship and complements NATO's Enhanced Forward Presence initiative to move multinational battalions into each of the Baltic states and Poland. I look forward to visiting the Baltic states later this month to emphasize the commitment of Congress as a coequal branch of government to upholding our alliance commitments and strengthening security cooperation.”
###",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z
https://www.mccain.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases?ContentRecord_id=6F079258-3536-43AB-8448-BA7CEE49722D,STATEMENT BY SENATOR JOHN McCAIN ON THE PASSING OF JOHN GLENN,2016-12-08,2016,2016-12,Republican,House,AZ,John McCain,M000303,www.mccain.senate.gov,,,legacy,"Washington, D.C. ­– U.S. Senator John McCain (R-AZ) released the following statement today on the passing of John Glenn:
“I’m deeply saddened by the passing of my dear friend Senator John Glenn, who defined what it means to be an American hero. John spent his life in service of the country he loved.
“He distinguished himself as one of America’s finest pilots and officers in World War II and the Korean War. He inspired us to reach new heights when he became the first American to orbit the Earth and put America on a path to victory in the space race. His passion for exploration never wavered in his long, distinguished career in the United States Senate, where he fought to ensure America remained a leader in science, space, and discovery.
“More than anything else, John served his country with profound humility. He extended kindness and courtesy to all those who had the pleasure of being in his company. John held many titles throughout his life: war hero, astronaut, and senator. But none so aptly described John as the title of ‘good man.’
“Cindy and I send our deepest condolences to John’s wife Annie, their children, and the entire Glenn family. We join the entire nation in declaring one last time, ‘Godspeed, John Glenn.’”
###",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z
https://www.mccain.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases?ContentRecord_id=776FF47C-3180-4815-9E8F-4C9F81EC9D53,SENATE PASSES SASC CHAIRMAN JOHN McCAINS NATIONAL DEFENSE AUTHORIZATION ACT,2016-12-08,2016,2016-12,Republican,House,AZ,John McCain,M000303,www.mccain.senate.gov,,,legacy,"Washington, D.C. ­– The U.S. Senate today overwhelmingly passed with a vote of 92-7 the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017 (NDAA). The legislation, championed by Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman John McCain (R-AZ), authorizes critical support for America’s national defense, service members, and military families. The bill will now be sent to President Obama for his signature. Chairman McCain released the following statement on provisions in the NDAA that are of significant importance to the Arizona’s defense community:
“Arizona has a rich history supporting our military service members and national security, and I’m proud that this year’s national defense bill once again recognizes that unique and essential role,” said Chairman McCain. “In addition to advancing major reforms to the Defense Department and reinvesting savings into greater resources, training and pay raises for our troops, this bill ensures Arizona will continue to make important contributions to our national defense. From keeping the A-10 at Davis-Monthan and elsewhere flying combat missions against ISIL, to maintaining the last search and rescue unit in the country at Marine Corps Air Station Yuma, and strengthening security and drug interdiction efforts on our southern border, the NDAA will provide Arizona’s military community the support they need to rise to the challenges of a more dangerous world.”
Leaders from Davis-Monthan 50 and the Southern Arizona Defense Alliance also praised Chairman McCain for leading passage of this legislation:
“On behalf of the DM50 and the entire Tucson community, we are so pleased with the announcement of the passing of the National Defense Authorization Act for FY 2017,” said Bob Logan, President of Davis-Monthan 50 (DM50). “What does this mean specifically for Davis-Monthan AFB and the Tucson region? It means that two of our signature flying missions — the A-10 as well as the EC130H Compass Call – are preserved at Davis-Monthan for the foreseeable future. This is not only good for Tucson and DM, but much more importantly, it is good for our national defense. The A-10 is still playing a significant role in close-air support in theaters all over the world, and the EC130H electronic jamming mission is absolutely critical in protecting our troops on the ground. What does the NDAA passing mean for the Tucson economy? It means that one of the three largest employers in this region, Raytheon Missile Systems, will continue to thrive with the announcement of a doubling of the budget to build additional missiles from multiple platforms. What does this mean for the people of our region? It means that this major defense industry from all across Southern Arizona — from Yuma to Tucson to Sierra Vista — will continue to grow and thrive. A special thanks needs to be extended to Senator John McCain for his tireless efforts to push this initiative through to the finish line. Speaking strictly from a Tucson and Davis-Monthan perspective, we truly appreciate his work on bringing this to fruition.”
“The Southern Arizona Defense Alliance acknowledges the leadership of the members of the Arizona congressional delegation who are on the Armed Services Committee, including Chairman and Arizona's Senator John McCain, in producing and passing the National Defense Authorization Act of FY2017,” said Larry Lucero, President of the Southern Arizona Defense Alliance (SADA). “SADA truly appreciates the Chairman’s support for Arizona’s military installations, including Davis Monthan Air Force Base, the U.S. Army's Fort Huachuca, and Marine Corp Air Station Yuma and Yuma Army Proving Ground – whose community support organizations are all members of SADA. In a time of increasing global uncertainty, Chairman McCain’s steadfast leadership is a national asset.”
ARIZONA-RELATED DEFENSE PRIORITIES IN THE FY17 NATIONAL DEFENSE AUTHORIZATION ACT
KEEPING THE A-10 FLYING AT DAVIS-MONTHAN AIR FORCE BASE
The NDAA once again prevents the premature retirement of the A-10 Warthog, which continues its vital role in the fight against ISIL and supporting NATO’s efforts in Eastern Europe to deter Russian aggression. Despite the Obama Administration’s repeated attempts to retire the A-10 fleet, the NDAA fully funds the flight hours, pilot training, fuel, maintenance and ammunition for all A-10s for the upcoming year. The NDAA also prohibits any retirement of A-10 aircraft until Air Force senior leaders provide an assessment of the outcome of F-35A operational testing with regard to its suitability to accomplish current A-10 missions by ensuring comparison testing between the two aircraft.
PRESERVING THE EC-130H COMPASS CALL ELECTRONIC ATTACK FLEET AT DAVIS-MONTHAN AIR FORCE BASE
The NDAA fully funds the EC-130H Compass Call electronic attack airplanes stationed at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Tucson. Last year’s NDAA prohibited the Air Force from retiring the EC-130H Compass Call for another year. These jamming and surveillance aircraft are critical to protecting our ground troops from sophisticated electronic attacks in conflicts across the Middle East such as Libya, Iraq and Afghanistan as well as against potential threats in the Pacific and Europe. The NDAA also authorizes the Air Force to proceed with recapitalization of the EC-130H Compass Call fleet to a more capable and efficient aircraft platform.
TRAINING THE NEXT-GENERATION OF FIGHTER PILOTS
The NDAA funds 63 F-35 fighter jets for the Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps. Luke Air Force Base and Marine Corps Air Station Yuma will provide unparalleled training at the Barry Goldwater Range complex for many of America and our allies’ next-generation of fighter pilots.
MAINTAINING SEARCH AND RESCUE CAPABILITY IN YUMA
The NDAA prohibits the Marine Corps from retiring the last search and rescue unit in the country at Marine Corps Air Station (MCAS) Yuma. This unique search and rescue mission provides critical assistance not only for military air operations, but also for civilian and local law enforcement in the region. More than half of all Marine aviation sorties are flown out of MCAS Yuma, which necessitates keeping this asset for safety reasons for our military pilots as well as for local needs.
ENHANCING ROLE OF ARIZONA’S MILITARY INDUSTRY
The NDAA ensures that Arizona’s defense industry continues to manufacture and innovate new weapons systems and defense technologies that our troops need to defend and protect the nation:
CHANDLER
 
Directs a study of increased utilization of excess solid rocket motors currently being stored in Arizona for new space launch opportunities.
 
MESA
 
Fully funds the Army’s request of $1.14 billion for 52 Apache helicopters to be remanufactured at Boeing in Mesa and authorizes the Army to enter into a long-term contract with Boeing for Apaches. This will provide Mesa with stability and predictability for Apache manufacturing for several years and save critical taxpayer dollars.
 
PHOENIX
 
Directs the Air Force to increase the use of commercial and next-generation communications satellite constellations provided by Arizona’s satellite industry.
 
SIERRA VISTA
 
Requires the Army to plan for the growth of Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) throughout the military, including the increased use of training resources and ranges at Fort Huachuca.
 
TUCSON
 
Nearly doubles the budget for Raytheon to manufacture 96 additional Tomahawk missiles for a total of 196 missiles in 2017 and over 500 Sidewinder missiles which will be manufactured at Raytheon in Tucson.
Fully funds the Navy’s request for 125 SM-6 missiles to be developed and produced at Raytheon in Tucson.
Fully funds the Navy’s request for 2 Coastal Battlefield Reconnaissance and Analysis (COBRA) airborne payloads that will enable Navy units to detect sea mines.
Increases funding to the Missile Defense Agency to procure 35 SM-3 Block IB missiles, which are engineered and developed in Arizona.
 
SUPPORTING NEW MILITARY CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS
The NDAA provides much-needed funding for military construction projects in Arizona, including:
 
Luke Air Force Base, Phoenix: $20 million for F-35 Flightline Operations and Maintenance Facilities;
Fort Huachuca, Sierra Vista: $1.87 million at Fort Huachuca for communications facility renovations for the Defense Information Systems Agency; and
Army Reserve, Phoenix: $30 million for a new Army Reserve Center in Phoenix that will meet force protection and training standards. This will support more than 600 Army Reservists in the Phoenix area.
 
STRENGTHENING BORDER SECURITY
 
Requires the Department of Defense to coordinate with the Department of Homeland Security on military training operations in Arizona and along the southern border, which will enhance the military’s ability to share information and intelligence collected during training that could benefit the drug interdiction and border security operations of the Department of Homeland Security and civilian law enforcement. These provisions will not only increase military readiness, but also help Arizona to stop illegal drug trafficking and secure its borders through enhanced intelligence and information sharing.
Requires the Secretary of Homeland Security to develop metrics to measure the effectiveness of security along the border, including at ports of entry, between ports of entry, and in the maritime environment. These metrics will enhance the ability to more accurately assess progress in securing the border by using consistent and robust performance measures and will help inform how our border security capabilities can be most effectively employed.
Authorizes the creation of Department of Homeland Security Joint Task Forces to enhance situational awareness of threats and trends concerning illicit trafficking and to more effectively conduct joint operations to secure the land and maritime borders of the United States.
Codifies the authority of the Secretary of Defense to provide support to federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement for countering drug smuggling and transnational organized crime operations.
 
STRENGTHENING ARIZONA MILITARY COMMUNITIES AND FAMILIES
The NDAA funds $30 million in supplemental impact aid to local educational agencies with military dependent children and $5 million in impact aid for schools with military dependent children with severe disabilities in Arizona and around the nation.
###",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z
https://www.mccain.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases?ContentRecord_id=C41E7E31-FEA7-4E00-A0CC-26D774F8FBF0,STATEMENT BY McCAIN & FLAKE ON ADDITIONAL ARIZONA PRIORITIES IN SENATE-PASSED NATIONAL DEFENSE AUTHORIZATION ACT,2016-12-08,2016,2016-12,Republican,House,AZ,John McCain,M000303,www.mccain.senate.gov,,,legacy,"Washington, D.C. ­– Today, the United States Senate delivered final passage of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017 (NDAA), legislation championed by Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman John McCain (R-AZ). The legislation includes additional priorities for the state of Arizona, including provisions that support wildfire management and water conservation; address flight path changes at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport; and transfer Fort Wingate to the Navajo Nation. Senators McCain and Jeff Flake (R-AZ) released the following statements on these provisions:
WILDFIRE MANAGEMENT AT CAMP NAVAJO
The legislation includes a provision aimed at enabling forest thinning activities using Camp Navajo, an Arizona National Guard facility located near Flagstaff, Arizona. Specially, the provision would effectively transfer federal land under Camp Navajo from the Forest Service to the Department of Defense, which would help streamline an Arizona National Guard program to lease portions of the facility as an industrial park. Currently, the land is technically owned by the Forest Service but its uses are largely limited to military functions under the 1940’s Public Land Order issued by the U.S. Department of Agriculture that originally established the depot. The provision will save the National Guard from any claims of triggering a “reversionary interest” right through non-military use activity, which would return Camp Navajo to full Forest Service jurisdiction. 
Camp Navajo is strategically located near the interchange of Interstate 40 and Interstate 17, and supports many miles of railroad tracks that connect the facility to much of northern and eastern Arizona. Northern Arizona University Ecological Restoration Institute has identified Camp Navajo as a promising host of a “world-class center” for public-private industry partnerships establishing a timber mill, biomass plant, or wood products research facility.
“Catastrophic wildfire continues to be one of the top environmental challenges for Arizona in the 21st century,” said Chairman McCain. “This provision will help unlock Camp Navajo’s business potential, particularly as it relates to enhancing industry’s role in thinning our overgrown forests and reducing the threat of wildfire. I applaud the Forest Service, notably the leadership team at Kaibab National Forest, and the Arizona Department of Emergency and Military Affairs, for working together to develop and advance this project.”
“We must use every resource at our disposal to prevent devastating wildfires. Forest thinning efforts help restore Arizona’s forests, reduce the risk of out-of-control wildfires, and protect rural communities,” said Senator Flake.
“Restoring forest health requires the removal and processing of massive amounts of small trees and biomass,” said Dr. Wally Covington, executive director of Northern Arizona University’s Ecological Restoration Institute. “Creating a place that can use this biomass would improve forest health and reduce the amount of smoke from forest restoration activities. Since 1996 the private sector has indicated interest in locating a processing facility at Camp Navajo. This action can help make this a reality.”
Roughly 300,000 acres of national forest land in Arizona are slated to be ecologically restored using industry partners, according to the Forest Service’s Four Forest Restoration Initiative (4FRI).
SAN PEDRO RIVER WATER CONSERVATION
The NDAA also includes a provision that would provide federal recognition of the Cochise Conservation Recharge Network (CCRN), a project by the City of Sierra Vista, Arizona, and Cochise County that will harvest tens of thousands of gallons of rainwater every year and use it to recharge nearby underground aquifers that support flows in the San Pedro River. Today, the San Pedro River, one of the last free-flowing rivers of the southwest, is threatened by drought and excessive groundwater pumping. The NDAA provision would authorize the Secretary of the Army or the Secretary of the Interior to enter into agreements in support of the CCRN project.
“The San Pedro River is a precious desert gem,” said Chairman McCain. “I applaud the city and county for developing the Cochise recharge project, and I hope this federal recognition will help preserve the San Pedro for the enjoyment of future generations.”
“Water conservation is a top priority in Arizona and it is crucial that we continue to develop solutions that will give drought-stricken states the tools to tackle this issue,” said Senator Flake.  
FLIGHT PATH CHANGES AT PHOENIX SKY HARBOR INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT
In addition, the NDAA includes a provision that would require the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to review flight path changes like those in Phoenix and take steps to mitigate the negative effects these changes have had on the community. It would also ensure that other airports and communities have the opportunity to fully engage with the FAA before any future changes are made.
“This legislation provides an important step forward in making sure Phoenix residents impacted by flight path changes at Sky Harbor International Airport have the opportunity to make their voices heard,” said Chairman McCain. “This legislation would require the FAA to mitigate the negative effects of flight path changes that have already been implemented, while providing impacted communities and airports a seat at the table before any future changes are made.”
“I am pleased this bill includes measures to address complaints of Arizonans who have been negatively impacted by the flight path changes at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport. The provisions we were able to add establish a process to address those hardships and ensure the FAA will better consult with affected communities on future flight changes,” said Senator Flake.
FORT WINGATE LAND TRANSFER
The NDAA transfers Fort Wingate, a decommissioned Army depot located near Gallup, New Mexico, to the Navajo Nation. For decades, the Navajo government has been seeking to restore its jurisdiction over the fort, which has long been managed by the federal government. In the 1990’s the Fort was closed during the Base Realignment and Closure Process.
###",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z
https://www.mccain.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases?ContentRecord_id=DFAA8859-3108-46B1-98AA-F7214E918D85,SENATE PASSES NATIONAL DEFENSE AUTHORIZATION ACT,2016-12-08,2016,2016-12,Republican,House,AZ,John McCain,M000303,www.mccain.senate.gov,,,legacy,"Washington, D.C. ­– U.S. Senator John McCain (R-AZ) and Representative Mac Thornberry (R-TX), Chairman of the Senate and House Armed Services Committees, released the following statement on the Senate’s passage of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017 with a 92-7 vote. The NDAA authorizes funding for the Department of Defense and the national security programs of the Department of Energy:
“With today’s overwhelming 92-7 vote in the Senate, the NDAA has now passed the Congress with veto-proof majorities in both houses. This legislation marks another important step toward reforming our defense enterprise to meet current and future threats. The NDAA delivers bold reforms on defense acquisition, military healthcare, military justice, and security cooperation. And we achieved these reforms while upholding our commitments to our troops by providing the largest military pay raise since 2010, boosting funds to address the military readiness crisis, and stemming the dangerous drawdown of the Army and Marine Corps. Reform is not easy, but this NDAA shows it is possible. Building on this year’s NDAA, the Senate and House Armed Services Committees will continue to champion the cause of defense reform in the new Congress.”
A detailed summary of the bill is available here.
###",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z
https://www.mccain.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/floor-statements?ContentRecord_id=D632C19A-2F2E-45D7-9FB6-4557C51E45B1,FLOOR STATEMENT BY SENATOR JOHN McCAIN ON VICE PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN,2016-12-07,2016,2016-12,Republican,House,AZ,John McCain,M000303,www.mccain.senate.gov,,,legacy,"Washington, D.C. ­– U.S. Senator John McCain (R-AZ) delivered the following remarks on the Senate floor today in tribute to Vice President Joe Biden:
“Mr. President, I join my colleagues today in addressing a few thoughts directly to the occupant of the chair, to commend his long and honorable service to the United States, and to thank him for his friendship.
“Mr. President – and I know how much you enjoy me calling you Mr. President – you and I have served together in this body for three decades. We’ve been friends for almost forty years, since I was the Navy’s Senate liaison and used to carry your bags on overseas trips. I joked recently that I’ve resented it ever since.
“But that was part of my job description, escorting and handling logistics for Senate CODELS, including making certain everyone’s luggage arrived at our destinations. Back then, some senators – unlike the hundred egalitarians who occupy the Senate today – could be a little haughty and high-handed. A few held an exalted opinion of themselves that exceeded the esteem which their colleagues and constituents held them in. If they paid any attention to staff, it was only because we had annoyed them somehow.
“But not my friend, Joe Biden. He was fair and courteous to everyone, even people who didn’t always deserve it. He is always an example of how a powerful person with character and class treats anyone in a subordinate position. He treats them with humility, as God’s children with dignity equal to his own.
“In the book, The Nightingale’s Song, the late journalist, Bob Timberg, wrote about one military liaison officer escorting a CODEL to Athens, who joined some of the members in a tavern for a little afterhours merriment, and was later observed dancing on a table top with Senator Biden’s lovely wife, Jill. I don’t recall witnessing the event myself, and I can’t testify to it having actually happened. Neither can I imagine the temerity of that rascal, whoever he was. He was lucky the Senator whose spouse he made endure the awkward moves he euphemistically called ‘dancing’ was Joe Biden. Few other senators would have seen the humor in it. 
“Many years have passed since we shared those adventures, and many events have transpired, personal and public, that enriched our lives with rewards and disappointments, blessings and challenges. We were still young men when we came to the Senate. We’re old men now. Although you can’t tell from looking at us, the Vice President’s actually a little a younger than me, though we’ve both passed the biblical ‘threescore and ten.’
“This place, the United States Senate, has been central to both our lives. Here we worked together on our country’s challenges. Here we fought and argued over the country’s direction. Here we compromised and joined forces to serve the public interest. Here we watched history made, and made our small contributions to it.
“Neither of us is the shy and retiring type. We’ve both been known to hold a strong opinion or two, and, when circumstances warrant, we would rather make our points emphatically than elliptically. I think Joe appreciates the adage I’ve tried to follow in my public life: ‘A fight not joined is a fight not enjoyed.’
“When we’ve had differences of opinions over the years, we managed to make our positions crystal clear to each other. Perhaps, in the persistent triumph of hope over experience, we both still cling to the expectation that we can persuade the other that he is mistaken. I think, deep down, we probably know better.
“In addition to being regularly mistaken, here’s what I’ve also always known about my friend and occasional sparring partner. He is a good and decent man, God fearing and kind, a devoted father and husband, and a genuine patriot who puts our country before himself. I know, too, that it has been a great privilege to call him my friend.
“Mr. President, if I haven’t made clear to you over these many years how much I appreciated your friendship, and have admired you, I beg your forgiveness. We’ve both been privileged to know members of this body who were legends in their own time, and are remembered as important historical figures. But I haven’t known one who was a better man than you.
“You are an exemplary public servant, a credit to your family, to the Senate and to the country. On behalf of the country and the Senate, thank you for your lifetime of service to America. Thank you for your example of how to represent your constituents with honor and humility, and for how to remain the same good guy that you were when you first got here. And thank you most of all for your friendship, my life and the lives of many have been enriched by it.
“Thank you, Mr. President.""
###",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z
https://www.mccain.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/floor-statements?ContentRecord_id=ED5050FB-3190-4A60-9069-75E63032EB7C,FLOOR STATEMENT BY SENATOR JOHN McCAIN ON SENATOR KELLY AYOTTE,2016-12-07,2016,2016-12,Republican,House,AZ,John McCain,M000303,www.mccain.senate.gov,,,legacy,"Washington, D.C. ­– U.S. Senator John McCain (R-AZ) delivered the following remarks on the Senate floor today in tribute to Senator Kelly Ayotte (R-NH):
“Mr. President: I come to the Floor today to pay tribute to my dear friend and colleague, the Senator from New Hampshire, Kelly Ayotte.
“I first met Senator Ayotte in 2010, when I joined her for a town hall meeting in Nashua, New Hampshire. My affection for the state of New Hampshire dates back to my bid for President in 2000, so it was a familiar setting to join so many old friends in support of her campaign for the U.S. Senate. I was impressed with Senator Ayotte’s deep understanding of the top challenges facing the country, the seriousness with which she approached her work, and the ease with which she engaged with members of the audience – gracefully handling spirited debates and sparring matches with voters—a staple of town hall meetings in New Hampshire I always admired. I knew we’d be fast friends.
“In the Senate, Senator Ayotte brought that same tenacity to her work, distinguishing herself as a rising star in the Republican Party and a leader willing to work across party lines to get things done. Senator Ayotte has approached every issue candidly and pragmatically—something that is all-too-often lacking in politics today. ‘I call them like I see them,’ she once said. ‘And that means not just with the opposing party, but with my own party.’
“Senator Ayotte took this mantra on the road, continuing the tradition of the New Hampshire town hall meetings by holding more than 50 town halls in small cities and towns where she spoke directly with her constituents about the issues impacting their families.
“But, in my view, Senator Ayotte’s very best work lies in her contribution to defense and national security as member of the Armed Services Committee. Coming from a military family, her commitment to strengthening our Armed Forces is deeply personal. That has contributed to her tireless advocacy on issues important to New Hampshire; to Pease Air National Guard Base and the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard; and to all military and civilian personnel supporting our national security who call New Hampshire home.
“As Chairman of the Subcommittee on Readiness, Senator Ayotte has called attention to the dangerous military readiness crisis and has been a consistent advocate for making sure the men and women in our Armed Forces have the resources they need to defend the nation.
“Senator Ayotte has authored numerous legislative proposals to eliminate wasteful and duplicative spending at the Department of Defense so that we can reinvest savings into rebuilding our military. She successfully passed legislation to save over $1 billion in the Pentagon’s budget and to keep U.S. tax dollars out of the hands of America's enemies. And she’s been a leading advocate for repealing arbitrary budget cuts and the mindless mechanism of sequestration, which continue to weaken our military and put the lives of our service members at greater risk.
“Senator Ayotte’s fight to prevent the Air Force from precipitously mothballing its fleet of A-10 Warthog attack planes saw the very best she has to offer. As the wife of a retired A-10 pilot who flew combat missions in Iraq and an expert in defense policy, Senator Ayotte understood the critical role this aircraft plays in providing close-air support for our fighting men and women. So, year after year, she relentlessly led the fight to prevent the Obama Administration from following through on its plan to retire that fleet—pushing through measures in annual defense authorization bills that would prevent any premature divestment of this aircraft. At the end of the day, she was right. The Air Force conceded to this aircraft’s value in the fight against ISIL overseas and reversed its decision, delaying any divestment until at least 2022.
“Anyone who has watched Senator Ayotte question a witness in the Armed Services Committee will not be surprised to learn of her background as New Hampshire’s first female attorney general. I have been a fortunate observer of more than one occasion in which a bureaucrat withered under skilled cross-examination by Senator Ayotte. She takes her oversight role extremely seriously and believes in holding our nation’s leaders accountable. 
“In every way, Senator Ayotte rose to meet the responsibilities and opportunities of her office. There are many qualities that are important to being a good senator. But none in my opinion is more important than standing firm for what you believe. That is what Senator Ayotte has done. She has never wavered in her commitment to principle. And this body is better for it. 
“On a more personal note, I have cherished the friendship and partnership of Senator Kelly Ayotte. The kindness and courtesy she has extended to her colleagues has made this institution a better place, and her principled leadership has served as an example to all of us. In Senator Ayotte, you could always find a warm smile that served as a reminder that serving here is truly a joy and a privilege.
“While I will miss Senator Ayotte’s daily presence in the Senate, I will continue to rely on her wise counsel and friendship. And I’m confident our nation will continue to benefit from her talents for many years to come.
“With this in mind, I thank my dear friend and valued colleague, Senator Kelly Ayotte, for her service to the nation in this body. And until the nation calls on her again, I wish Senator Ayotte, her husband Joe, and their children, Katherine and Jacob, fair winds and following seas.”
###",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z
https://www.mccain.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases?ContentRecord_id=55F66174-00C9-4AB5-9C9D-DA78E0E047C4,STATEMENT BY SASC CHAIRMAN JOHN McCAIN ON MEETING WITH GENERAL JAMES MATTIS,2016-12-07,2016,2016-12,Republican,House,AZ,John McCain,M000303,www.mccain.senate.gov,,,legacy,"Washington, D.C. ­– U.S. Senator John McCain (R-AZ), Chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, released the following statement on meeting with General James Mattis today:
“Today I had a productive meeting with General James Mattis. As he has throughout the many years I have known him, he demonstrated exceptional command of the issues confronting the United States, the Department of Defense, and our military service members. I am confident he will make an excellent Secretary of Defense, and I will continue to offer my full support throughout the confirmation process to ensure he can get to work on behalf of our nation and our service members as soon as possible.”
###",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z
https://www.mccain.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases?ContentRecord_id=C5A222B5-872E-4CBD-8BCE-69DE581CE115,STATEMENT BY SENATOR JOHN McCAIN ON GENERAL JOHN KELLY,2016-12-07,2016,2016-12,Republican,House,AZ,John McCain,M000303,www.mccain.senate.gov,,,legacy,"Washington, D.C. ­– U.S. Senator John McCain (R-AZ) released the following statement today on reports that President-elect Donald Trump intends to nominate General John Kelly to be Secretary of Homeland Security:
“I am pleased by reports that President-elect Donald Trump intends to nominate General John Kelly to be Secretary of Homeland Security. I have had the privilege of knowing General Kelly for many years, and appreciate his more than 40 years of service in uniform, during which time he gave to our country more than can ever be asked of a military officer or citizen. Our nation has benefitted from his honesty and candor, which has been refreshing as it has been valuable to the work our military men and women do each day to keep this country safe.
“The United States is confronting an array of challenges around the world, but none more immediate to the people of my home state of Arizona than the security of our southern border. General Kelly has a unique understanding of the challenges facing our southern communities, border personnel, and national and economic security. I hope he will have the opportunity to serve this nation once again.”
###",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z
https://www.mccain.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/speeches?ContentRecord_id=5A6B2E3E-8AD6-4F41-B0B5-B63B6731DC6F,McCAIN COMMEMORATES 75TH ANNIVERSARY OF PEARL HARBOR,2016-12-07,2016,2016-12,Republican,House,AZ,John McCain,M000303,www.mccain.senate.gov,,,legacy,"Washington, D.C. ­– U.S. Senator John McCain (R-AZ), Chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, delivered the following remarks at the Pearl Harbor 75th Anniversary Commemoration at the World War II Memorial in Washington, D.C.:
“Thank you.
“It’s a privilege to be here to join you in commemorating the events of December 7, 1941, to pay our respects to the sacrifice and heroism displayed that day, and to remember the day America entered the Second World War, and began our leadership of the free world, which has continued now for three-quarters of a century.
“December 7, 1941 was one of the dates on which history swung on its great hinge and the world was forever changed. But for some of us, it’s a personal memory, as it is for my mother, Roberta, and for me.
“It is one of my earliest memories. I was five years old, playing in the front yard of our family’s home in New London, Connecticut. A black sedan pulled up in front of the house, a Navy officer in uniform rolled down the window and shouted at my father that the Japanese had bombed Pearl Harbor. My father left immediately for the submarine base where he was stationed, and I rarely saw him again for the next four years. He commanded submarines in both theaters of the war, surviving depth charges and other terrifying undersea encounters with the enemy.
“My grandfather held commands in the Pacific, first, of all land based aircraft during the Guadalcanal campaign. In the last year of the war, he commanded a fast carrier task force for his friend, Admiral Halsey. He stood on the deck of the USS Missouri as the Japanese formally surrendered. He came home from the war exhausted from the burdens he had borne and died the same day.
“During the war and whenever my father was at sea, the job of raising my sister, brother and me fell to my mother alone. She gave us her strength, her love of life and her deep interest in the world. I wouldn’t be here today but for her character and example.
“Many American families were changed on that day, many endured the pain of separation from loved ones, and many suffered the pain that time never completely heals, the loss of children and parents and siblings.
“America, too, was changed forever. For the events of that infamous day, the day that summoned the might and courage and compassion of the American people to a world war, and the beginning of our country’s rise to its preeminence among the nations of the world, a preeminence we maintain to this day to our benefit and the benefit of humanity
“It began when officers and sailors of the Pacific Fleet were awakened shortly before 8:00 on the morning of December 7, 1941 by the alarm to General Quarters. A little after 8, the first torpedo bomb struck a gun turret on the USS Arizona, and glanced off the deck without seriously damaging the ship. A minute or two later, another bomb struck the ship, and detonated its ammunition magazine, starting a holocaust that would burn for two days and send the Arizona, and the 1,177 men, over half of the casualties suffered that day, entombed on her to the bottom of Pearl Harbor Bay, where she remains to this day as a military cemetery.
“The Arizona was the flagship of Rear Admiral Isaac Kidd, a friend of my grandparents and parents, who raced to her bridge at the first warning. The Arizona’s last skipper, Captain Franklin Van Valkenburgh joined him there. Both men fought valiantly, and perished in the fire.
“Countless acts of valor and self-sacrifice were witnessed that day on the Arizona and other ships of the fleet, on Hickam Field and Wheeler Field and Bellows Field, in the cockpits of outgunned Hawks and Warhawks and Dauntless dive bombers.
“That we were defeated by our enemy for a moment does not diminish the nobility of the sacrifices made by Americans that day for the sake of duty, honor and country. Neither does it obscure the magnitude of their real achievement: they fought the first battle and set the first example in the long campaign of America’s enlightened leadership of the free world.
“Many battles followed and many challenges were offered and met. With our allies we defeated our enemies in the Pacific and Europe. We defeated our Cold War adversary. And we will prevail over the challenges we face today.
“But it began with the courage and faith of those Americans who answered their summons to duty at Pearl Harbor, who gave all that duty asked of them.
“It’s important that we keep the memory of their patriotism alive. It’s important that we guard against the complacency that is always a threat to our security. 
“For decades, they say, hot oil from the hold of the Arizona bubbled to the surface. It was not only a living testament to the destruction wrought on December 7, 1941. It was a warning that freedom is never cheap and those who lead this great and bravely defended nation must do our duty always to be watchful and to provide for the common defense with the resources at our disposal, so that the best men and women in America will not be forced to provide for it with their lives.
“Thank you all for remembering, and for inviting me to join you.”
###",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z
https://sinema.house.gov/latest-news/sinema-votes-to-support-arizona-defense-jobs-give-troops-pay-raise/,"Sinema Votes to Support Arizona Defense Jobs, Give Troops Pay Raise",2016-12-06,2016,2016-12,Democrat,House,AZ,Kyrsten Sinema,S001191,sinema.house.gov,,,legacy,"WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congresswoman Kyrsten Sinema joined a bipartisan majority to pass the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017, which authorizes funding and sets defense policy for the coming year.

	“We’re working every day to defeat the terrorist threat and keep our communities and families safe,” said Congresswoman Sinema. “This bipartisan legislation responsibly funds our military to ensure our men and women in uniform have the tools they need to protect our country.


	“The bill gives our troops a pay raise, funds programs like the Apache, A-10 and F-35 that support good Arizona jobs, and protects and improves the benefits our servicemembers have earned. By working together, we can keep our country safe and support servicemembers, veterans, and their families.”",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z
https://www.flake.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases?ContentRecord_id=3B51540D-BCC7-458D-A50A-529981680D24,Flake Seeks Answers from Pentagon over $125 Billion in Egregious Bureaucratic Waste,2016-12-06,2016,2016-12,Republican,House,AZ,Jeff Flake,F000444,www.flake.senate.gov,,,legacy,"Washington, D.C. – U.S. Sen. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) today sent a letter to Defense Secretary Ash Carter seeking information related to $125 billion in egregious bureaucratic waste at the Pentagon uncovered during a recent investigation by The Washington Post:
“Then-Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Michael Mullen stated in 2010 that 'the most significant threat to our national security is our debt.' Since that time, Pentagon officials have come before Congress to scare off efforts to reduce unnecessary spending at the Department with nightmare scenarios including reduced combat readiness and cuts to military operations.
 
“The recent findings by the Defense Business Board that nearly a quarter of the Pentagon’s $580 billion budget is being spent on overhead and operations is, therefore, of both great concern and promise.”The signed letter can be viewed here.Text of the letter can be viewed below.
***  December 6, 2016
The Honorable Ash Carter  Secretary of Defense  1300 Defense Pentagon  Washington, DC 20301
Dear Secretary Carter,
National defense is the single most important role the federal government serves.  As such, I am committed to ensuring our courageous men and women in uniform are equipped with the best and most sophisticated gear, weapons, and machinery to protect our nation, defend our rights and interests, and ensure decisive victory in every potential battlefield.
Then-Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Michael Mullen stated in 2010 that “the most significant threat to our national security is our debt.”  Since that time, Pentagon officials have come before Congress to scare off efforts to reduce unnecessary spending at the Department with nightmare scenarios including reduced combat readiness and cuts to military operations.
The recent findings by the Defense Business Board that nearly a quarter of the Pentagon’s $580 billion budget is being spent on overhead and operations is, therefore, of both great concern and promise. 
The Defense Business Board outlined “a clear path to saving over $125 billion in the next five years” while avoiding any dire consequences to our national defense.  In fact, more resources for the troops and weapons could be achieved by simply reallocating billions of dollars currently being wasted on excessive bureaucracy.  This is a win-win scenario for taxpayers and the military.
I understand that providing for the nation’s defense comes at a steep price, but with our national debt approaching $20 trillion we all need to be focused combatting the new red menace threatening our national security, which is red ink.
In January I will be releasing the annual Wastebook report, which includes hundreds of millions of dollars in spending by the Pentagon that I consider frivolous or unnecessary.  I hope that we can work together to cut wasteful spending while strengthening our nation’s defenses.
Would you please provide answers to the following questions:
 
What actions, if any, are being taken to address the findings of the Defense Business Board?
Following the presentation of the Board’s findings, what directives or action items were made to implement the recommended cost savings and are those efforts still underway?  What office is overseeing those efforts to ensure compliance?  How are savings being calculated?
What statutory obstacles may exist that would require legislative fixes from Congress to achieve these savings?
Which of the Board’s findings and cost savings suggestions do you think should be included in the Department’s Fiscal Year 2018 budget request?
 
Thank you for your service.
Sincerely,
JEFF FLAKEUnited States Senator",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z
https://www.flake.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/videos?ContentRecord_id=96F56F9A-162A-4AF2-9691-D8F7813500E7,Sen. Flake on CBP HiRe Act,2016-12-06,2016,2016-12,Republican,House,AZ,Jeff Flake,F000444,www.flake.senate.gov,,,legacy,"U.S. Sens. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) joins KOLD to discuss a bill he introduced with Sen. Heidi Heitkamp (D-N.D.) called the Customs and Border Protection Hiring and Retention (CBP HiRe) Act. The bill aims to boost manpower at strained ports of entry along the U.S. border by giving CBP new tools to eliminate recruitment and retention obstacles that have left the agency nearly 1,000 CBP officers short of congressionally-mandated staffing levels.",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z
https://www.mccain.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/floor-statements?ContentRecord_id=176171B9-70F7-484C-9120-C0487FD9D6E4,OPENING STATEMENT BY SASC CHAIRMAN JOHN McCAIN AT HEARING ON EMERGING DEFENSE CHALLENGES & WORLDWIDE THREATS,2016-12-06,2016,2016-12,Republican,House,AZ,John McCain,M000303,www.mccain.senate.gov,,,legacy,"Washington, D.C. ­– U.S. Senator John McCain (R-AZ), Chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, delivered the following opening statement today at a hearing on emerging defense challenges and worldwide threats:
“The Senate Armed Services Committee meets this morning to receive testimony on emerging U.S. defense challenges and worldwide threats. We are fortunate to have with us three distinguished witnesses:
 
“General Jack Keane, Chairman of the Institute for the Study of War and former Vice Chief of Staff of the Army;
 
 
“Mr. Shawn Brimley, Executive Vice President and Director of Studies at the Center for a New American Security; and
 
 
“Dr. Robert Kagan, Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution’s Project on International Order and Strategy.
 
“Our next president will take office as the United States confronts the most diverse and complex array of global security challenges since the end of the Second World War.
“Great power competition—once thought a casualty of the ‘end of history’—has returned as Russia and China have each challenged the rules-based order that is the foundation of our security and prosperity.
“Rogue states like North Korea and Iran are undermining regional stability while developing advanced military capabilities that threaten the United States and our allies.
“Radical Islamist terrorism continues to pose a challenging threat to our security at home and to our interests abroad. And the chaos that has spread across the Middle East—and on which our terrorist enemies thrive—has torn apart nations; destroyed families; killed hundreds of thousands of men, women and children; and sent millions more running for their lives. But today, President Obama will deliver a speech in Florida touting his counterterrorism successes. Yet even a glimpse at the chaos enveloping the Middle East and spreading throughout the world reveals the delusion and the sophistry of this president and his failed policies.
“In short, when our next president is inaugurated just six weeks from now, he will look out on a world on fire and have several consequential strategic choices to make: how to address Russian or Chinese aggression; how to confront threats from North Korea; whether to alter our relationship with Iran; how to improve and quicken our campaign against ISIL; how to counter the instability radiating from Syria; how to ensure victory in the war in Afghanistan. And I could go on. 
“Our next president will not have the benefit of time and cautious deliberation to set a new strategic course for the nation. That work begins with a series of decisions that will present themselves immediately on Day One. That’s why it is so important to get these right from the outset.
“As we ponder these strategic questions, we must also consider our military posture around the world. We must decide the appropriate military presence in Europe and reverse reductions made by the Obama administration under the assumption that Russia was a partner. We also need fresh look at further steps to enhance U.S. presence in the Asia-Pacific region.
“We need to uphold our commitments to allies and partners, including by finally providing lethal assistance to Ukraine and standing by the opposition in Syria.
“We need to push back against the spread of Iranian malign influence in the Middle East. This starts in Iraq, where the eventual liberation of Mosul will intensify the sectarian struggle for power and identity.
“And we need to finally give our troops in Afghanistan what they need to succeed: permanent and flexible authorities to engage the enemy and troop levels based on security conditions on the ground.
“Here at home, we need to return to a strategy-based defense budget. Our next president would need more than $100 billion over and above the Budget Control Act caps just to execute our current defense strategy—which is insufficient, since it predates Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and ISIL’s rampage across Syria and Iraq.
“This will require our next president to negotiate a broad bipartisan budget agreement that brings an end to the dangerous and misguided Budget Control Act. Such an agreement has eluded President Obama and the Congress not because of disagreements on defense policy, but because we have lacked the political will to prioritize defense.
“Since the election, many have discussed domestic priorities, including reviewing Obamacare, increasing infrastructure spending, and implementing tax cuts.  But there can be no greater priority than preserving and increasing America’s position of strength and military advantage in the face of increasing global dangers. That Rebuilding our military must be a political priority, not just a talking point.
“We must not only provide stable and increased defense budgets, but the next president’s administration must also implement reforms to the nation’s defense. This will include changes to the defense enterprise passed by the Congress over the last two years. I am proud of the work we have done on modernizing military retirement, improving military healthcare, reforming defense acquisition, trimming Pentagon bureaucracy, and more.
“But the ultimate success of these reforms will depend on years of faithful implementation and dedicated follow-through by the Department of Defense.
“The president-elect’s selection of General James Mattis to serve as Secretary is an encouraging sign in this regard. But there are dozens of senior civilian and military nominations still come. And it will be the job of this committee and the full Senate to provide advice and consent these nominations. We will be watching closely to see what choices the next president makes.
“I encourage the next president to be bold. We need innovators for the future, not imitators of the past. We need thinkers open to new ideas, not functionaries wedded to old ways. We need people who understand the bureaucracy, but will not be captured by it. Put simply, to ensure the success of defense reform, we need reformers throughout the leadership of the Department of Defense.
“Finally, our next president needs to repair the relationship between the executive and legislative branches.
“The constitutional mandate to provide for the common defense is one the president and the Congress share together. This is not a defect, but the design of our Founders. To deter adversaries, defeat our enemies, fix our defense budget, and implement critical reforms to our defense enterprise, the executive and legislative branches must work together as coequals.
“We need our next president, our next secretary of defense, and those elected to the next Congress to uphold this essential constitutional principle. The American people and the men and women who serve in our Armed Forces deserve and expect nothing less.”
###",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z
https://www.mccain.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases?ContentRecord_id=0D4139EC-A121-4E3B-A0B6-FFFEBB0DA072,ISAKSON & McCAIN REAFFIRM COMMITMENT TO MAKING THE VETERAN CHOICE PROGRAM PERMANENT IN THE 115TH CONGRESS,2016-12-06,2016,2016-12,Republican,House,AZ,John McCain,M000303,www.mccain.senate.gov,,,legacy,"Washington, D.C. ­– U.S. Senator Johnny Isakson (R-GA), Chairman of the Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, and Senator John McCain (R-AZ) released the following statements today on their commitment to making the Veteran Choice Program permanent in the 115th Congress:
“Every veteran deserves access to the health care they were promised, whether it’s provided through the VA medical system or through care in the community,” said Chairman Isakson. “I applaud Senator McCain’s work on the Veterans Choice Program, and I admire his passion for serving our nation’s veterans. Next year, I look forward to hitting the ground running alongside Senator McCain and the Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs to enact the necessary reforms to ensure that the Choice program can continue to be available for all veterans.”
“I am grateful that Chairman Isakson is committed to making permanent the Veteran Choice Program and ensuring our veterans never again have to face unending wait-times for appointments with no recourse,” said Senator McCain. “Since the Veteran Choice Program went into effect, more than six million appointments have been made using the Choice Card and 350,000 more doctors, nurse practitioners, and physician assistants now deliver care to veterans than ever before. Today, the Veteran Choice Card is being used at 700 hospitals and nearly 10,000 clinics nationwide. This more than triples the number of hospitals treating veterans who would otherwise be forced to drive far from their homes to visit a VA facility, or face unreasonable wait-times for appointments. Having made so much progress, we can’t afford to allow this critical program expire. I look forward to working closely with Chairman Isakson to make the Veteran Choice Program permanent next Congress, and appreciate his ongoing leadership of the Veterans Affairs’ Committee to improve the care of all those who have served.”
###",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z
https://www.mccain.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases?ContentRecord_id=0D4A8274-066B-45D1-AA98-A8243924377F,STATEMENT BY McCAIN & THORNBERRY ON DEFENSE BUSINESS BOARD FINDINGS ON PENTAGON BUREAUCRACY,2016-12-06,2016,2016-12,Republican,House,AZ,John McCain,M000303,www.mccain.senate.gov,,,legacy,"Washington, D.C. ­– U.S. Senator John McCain (R-AZ) and Representative Mac Thornberry (R-TX), Chairman of the Senate and House Armed Services Committees, released the following statement today on the Washington Post’s report on the Defense Business Board’s findings concerning Pentagon bureaucracy:
“The Defense Business Board's key findings -- that the Department of Defense could save as much as $125 billion over five years by eliminating unnecessary back-office bureaucracy -- are not a surprise. Nor are the problems identified by the Board new. We have known for many years that the Department's business practices are archaic and wasteful, and its inability to pass a clean audit is a longstanding travesty. The reason these problems persist is simple: a failure of leadership and a lack of accountability.
“That is why, over the past two years, the Senate and House Armed Services Committees have mandated a 25 percent reduction to administrative support functions, a 25 percent reduction to bloated headquarters staffs, a 12 percent reduction to the number of general and flag officers, and a 12 percent reduction to the number of Senior Executive Service civilian employees. The committees also imposed qualification standards for service secretaries and other positions to emphasize the importance of management experience and capability for senior defense leaders. And we have initiated an effort to reform the management of the defense agencies, which have operated for too long with too little scrutiny.
“The Defense Business Board’s report provided valuable data and findings for the committees’ recent work, even if reasonable people can differ over the report’s assumptions about the unique challenge of government reform. However, the reported restrictions imposed on key data relating to this study may have denied taxpayers the transparency they deserve. We urge the Department to take appropriate action to ensure all materials associated with the Defense Business Board study are made publicly available.
“The Senate and Houses Armed Services Committees will carry on the effort to root out and eliminate wasteful spending in the Department of Defense and to redirect savings toward the urgent needs of our warfighters. But make no mistake, reform is not a replacement for sufficient resources. Even if it were possible, achieving every efficiency proposed by the Defense Business Board would not undo the damage of arbitrary defense cuts and the resulting military readiness crisis. That is why we will continue our efforts to end sequestration once and for all and give our men and women in uniform the resources, training, and equipment they need to meet the challenges of a more dangerous world.”
###",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z
https://www.mccain.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases?ContentRecord_id=BFB4AF34-4EFE-4372-8069-845B37DA669D,STATEMENT BY SASC CHAIRMAN JOHN McCAIN ON PRESIDENT OBAMAS COUNTERTERRORISM SPEECH,2016-12-06,2016,2016-12,Republican,House,AZ,John McCain,M000303,www.mccain.senate.gov,,,legacy,"Washington, D.C. ­– U.S. Senator John McCain (R-AZ), Chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, released the following statement today on President Obama’s counterterrorism speech:
“President Obama’s speech was nothing more than a feeble attempt to evade the harsh judgment of history. But to the American people, our emboldened enemies, and our dispirited allies, his legacy on counterterrorism is unmistakably clear: a disastrous withdrawal from Iraq, the terrorist rampage of ISIL, an indecisive approach to the war in Afghanistan that has empowered the Taliban, and an indifferent approach to the carnage in Syria on which our terrorist enemies have thrived. No rhetorical conceit will alter history’s verdict.” 
###",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z
https://www.mccain.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases?ContentRecord_id=EA3EFA22-2902-4B78-A70D-0FAA5A4A913B,STATEMENT BY SENATOR JOHN McCAIN ON SENATOR JEFF SESSIONS,2016-12-06,2016,2016-12,Republican,House,AZ,John McCain,M000303,www.mccain.senate.gov,,,legacy,"Washington, D.C. ­– U.S. Senator John McCain (R-AZ) released the following statement on President-elect Donald Trump’s intention to nominate Senator Jeff Sessions for Attorney General:
“Yesterday, I had a productive meeting with my friend and colleague Senator Jeff Sessions. I respect and appreciate Jeff’s decades-long service to his state and our nation in the Armed Forces, law and government. While we have had our disagreements over the years, I believe Jeff has the right knowledge and experience to effectively lead the Justice Department and I look forward to supporting his nomination for Attorney General when it is considered by the Senate next year.”
###",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z
http://grijalva.house.gov/index.cfm?sectionid=13&itemid=2259,106 Members of Congress Call on Obama to Protect Immigrants' Private Data,2016-12-05,2016,2016-12,Democrat,House,AZ,Raúl Grijalva,G000551,grijalva.house.gov,,,legacy,"Washington, DC – Today, 106 Members of Congress sent a letter to President Obama requesting that he take action to protect the names and private information of those who enrolled in the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA). The letter, led by Reps. Raúl M. Grijalva (AZ-03), Judy Chu (CA-27), Zoe Lofgren (CA-29), Lucille Roybal-Allard (CA-40), and Luis Gutierrez (IL-04), specifically suggests an Executive Order that would prohibit the use of DACA enrollees’ information for purposes other than originally intended, including for purposes of deportation. The letter was endorsed by National Immigration Law Center (NILC), the Coalition for Humane Immigration Rights of Los Angeles (CHIRLA), and Immigrant Legal Resource Center (ILRC). The authors of the letter released the following statements:

	“The men and women who courageously stepped out of the shadows to apply for DACA must not be punished,” Rep. Grijalva said. “The federal government promised to ensure their safety; we cannot waver on that commitment or allow the next administration to undermine it. The safety of every DACA applicant is at stake. I urge President Obama to ensure this program and the information it has collected are never used to harm the very people it intended to help.”

	“When the government offered protection to immigrants if they worked hard, laid roots, went to school, and followed the laws, thousands acted on trust. Now that they’ve handed us names, addresses, birth certificates, and biometric information, we have to honor that trust,” said Rep. Judy Chu. “Further, President-elect Trump has said that his priority is to deport those who are a danger to our country. By qualifying for DACA, these immigrants are by definition not a threat to our country, but rather assets. I urge President Obama to take immediate executive action to protect these Dreamers before he leaves office.”

	“The President, along with many Democratic Members of Congress, urged these young immigrants to come out of the shadows, and to register with the government on the premise that they may live without fear of deportation,” said Rep. Lofgren. “Now, with that assurance shattered, those of us who urged for and help implement the DACA program have a moral responsibility to do what we can to protect these young people from deportation under a Trump administration.”

	“To misuse personal DACA information to tear away young men and women from the only home they know, the United States, would be more than legally misguided: it would be categorically wrong,” said Rep. Roybal-Allard. “The DACA application, which recipients signed in good faith, clearly states that no information ‘can be shared for the sole purpose of removal.’  It would be unconscionable to remove young Americans covered under DACA from the U.S.  I strongly urge President Obama to use his executive authority to protect them.”

	“We are going to do everything we can to protect the DREAMers who came forward to register under DACA, but that is only the beginning,” said Rep. Gutierrez. “If the new President is contemplating mass deportation of immigrants, he will have to go through us first.”

	The letter was signed by: Reps. Judy Chu (CA-27), Luis Gutierrez (IL-04), Lucille Roybal – Allard (CA-40), Mike Honda (CA-17), Danny K. Davis (IL-07), Marcy Kaptur (OH-09), Jerold Nadler (NY-10), Rick Larsen (WA-02), Eleanor Holmes Norton (DC-AL), Barbara Lee (CA-13), Mike Doyle (PA-14), Debbie Wasserman-Schultz (FL-23), Sanford Bishop (GA-02), Susan Davis (CA-53), Michelle Lujan Grisham (NM-01), Julia Brownley (CA-26), Xavier Becerra (CA-34), Bobby Scott (VA-03), Grace Meng (NY-06), Joseph Crowley (NY-14), Katherine M. Clark (MA-05), Jared Huffman (CA-02), Beto O’Rourke (TX-16), Zoe Lofgren (CA-19), Raul Grijalva (AZ-03), Tammy Duckworth (IL-08), Joaquin Castro (TX-20), Mark DeSaulnier (CA-11), Bill Keating (MA-09), Ted Lieu (CA-33), Marc Veasey (TX-33), Ruben Kihuen (NV-04) (Elect), Brenda Lawrence (MI-14), Jim Costa (CA-16), Lois Frankel (FL-22), Grace Napolitano (CA-32), Karen Bass (CA-37), Earl Blumenauer (OR-03), Bill Foster (IL-11), Ruben Gallego (AZ-07), Jared Polis (CO-02), Mark Takano (CA-41), Juan Vargas (CA-51), Tony Cardenas (CA-29), G.K. Butterfield (NC-01), Jan Schakowsky (IL-09), Joe Courtney (CT-02), Betty McCollum (MN-04), Sheila Jackson Lee (TX-18), David Price (NC-04), John Conyers (MI-13), Adam Schiff (CA-28), Louise Slaughter (NY-25), Jackie Speier (CA-14), Paul Tonko (NY-20), Bennie Thompson (MS-02), Alcee Hastings (FL-20), Al Green (TX-09), Lloyd Doggett (TX-35), Nydia Velazquez (NY-07), Bill Pascrell (NJ-09), Donna Edwards (MD-04), Alan Lowenthal (CA-47), Donald Payne Jr. (NJ-10), Bonnie Watson Coleman (NJ-12), Eric Swalwell (CA-15), Alma Adams (NC-12), Joseph Kennedy Jr. (MA-04), Don Beyer (VA-08), Maxine Waters (CA-43), Ben Ray Lujan (NM-03), Earl Perlmutter (CO-07), Kurt Schrader (OR-05), John Garamendi (CA-03), Elliot Engel (NY-16), Gene Green (TX-29), Rosa DeLauro (CT-03), Ted Deutch (FL-21), Yvette Clarke (NY-09), Albio Sires (NJ-08), Doris Matsui (CA-06), Carolyn B. Maloney (NY-12), Peter Welch (VT-AL), Diana DeGette (CO-01), Mike Thompson (CA-05), Frank Pallone (NJ-06), Anna Eshoo (CA-18), John Lewis (GA-05), Mark Pocan (WI-02), Gregorio Sablan (N. Mariana-DD), Filemon Vela (TX-34), Suzanne Bonamici (OR-01), Jim McGovern (MA-02), Dina Titus (NV-01), Colleen Hanabusa (HI-01), Cedric Richmond (LA-02), William Lacy Clay (MO-01), Ruben Hinojosa (TX-15), Gwen Moore (WI-04), Brad Sherman (CA-30), Jose Serrano (NY-15), Adam Smith (WA-09), John Yarmuth (KY-03), Kathy Castor (FL-14), Norma Torres (CA-35), Mike Quigley (IL-5), Sam Farr (CA-20), David Cicilline (RI-01), Gerry Connolly (VA-11), Keith Ellison (MN-05), Bobby Rush (IL-01).

	The letter can be found here and is pasted below:

	The Honorable Barack Obama  
	President of the United States  
	The White House  
	1600 Pennsylvania Ave, NW  
	Washington, DC 20500

	Dear President Obama:

	We write to express our concerns about the potential misuse of the personal information of enrollees in the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program.  We urge you to consider taking executive action to prevent DACA enrollees’ personal information from being used for purposes other than originally intended, including for the purposes of removal.

	When your Administration first introduced the DACA program in 2012, it gave hope to many children of immigrants—commonly referred to as “Dreamers”—who were brought to this country at very young ages.  Since the implementation of DACA, we have been able to see firsthand the profound effect that the program has had on the lives of the children and young adults it protects. Over 740,000 young Dreamers have been issued Social Security numbers and work permits, and many have used the benefits provided under DACA to seek job opportunities openly for the very first time. The DACA program allowed these individuals to enjoy many of the essential benefits, privileges, and responsibilities of American society that they had been denied for so long. Dreamers granted deferred action under DACA were freed from the constant fear of deportation to countries that many of them do not even know and do not call home; they responded by enriching their communities and becoming civically engaged in American life.

	As a condition of receiving the guarantees of DACA, these children and young adults submitted to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) numerous sources of information to verify identity, including fingerprints and other biometric data.  They also underwent background checks and provided their home addresses, where family members may also reside.  Other sensitive information, such as documentation of an arrest or charge of a misdemeanor in the United States or any other country, was also requested of applicants for DACA.  In asking these undocumented youth for extensive personally identifying information, the Administration effectively asked them to place their trust in the government.  Now many of those same Dreamers are wondering whether their trust was misplaced, fearing for their future in the United States, and questioning whether they can or should seek protection under DACA.

	Countless community advocates, organizers, and public servants have promoted the DACA program to Dreamers on the premise that the information they supply to DHS would not be used to deport them in the future.  We cannot stand by and allow the Trump Administration to exploit the trust these young Americans placed in us and the government.

	We believe that when government makes promises it should keep them.  We urge you to do everything within your power to safeguard the personal identifying information of DACA enrollees, including issuing an Executive Order prohibiting the use of DACA enrollee information for purposes other than originally intended.  While this program is a significant part of the Administration’s legacy, it is more importantly a lifeline for hundreds of thousands of young Dreamers looking to lead productive and peaceful lives as members of American society.",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z
https://rubengallego.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/rep-ruben-gallego-statement-nomination-general-james-mattis-defense,Rep. Ruben Gallego Statement on Nomination of General James Mattis as Defense Secretary,2016-12-05,2016,2016-12,Democrat,House,AZ,Ruben Gallego,G000574,rubengallego.house.gov,,,legacy,"Washington, DC – Rep. Ruben Gallego issued the following statement on President-elect Donald Trump’s announcement that he will nominate General James Mattis as Defense Secretary:
“As a fellow Marine, I greatly admire General James Mattis’ dedication and leadership. We all should be incredibly grateful for his many years of service to our nation.
“As a veteran, I believe strongly in the principle of civilian leadership of the military. Current law requires that a military officer be out of active duty for at least seven years before taking the job of defense secretary. I do not believe this long-standing check should be cast aside, and I will oppose a waiver of this rule, even for someone as exceptionally qualified as General Mattis.”
Rep. Ruben Gallego is a veteran of the U.S. Marine Corps, and served in Iraq with the combat unit Lima 3/25. He currently serves on the House Armed Services Committee.
###",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z
https://www.flake.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases?ContentRecord_id=0DE669B4-7BB9-4648-8D1B-7023AE39AA6C,"Flake, McCain Encouraged by Reports POTUS May Abandon AZ Monument Declaration",2016-12-05,2016,2016-12,Republican,House,AZ,Jeff Flake,F000444,www.flake.senate.gov,,,legacy,"Washington, D.C. – U.S. Sens. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) and John McCain (R-Ariz.) today sent a letter to President Barack Obama following encouraging reports that he may abandon plans to lock up 1.7 million acres in Arizona by declaring a new national monument. The development comes during a multi-year effort by both senators, state and local lawmakers, and Arizona stakeholders to prevent another executive branch land-grab in a state which has had 23 total monuments designated by presidential decree.
“We have heard from a number of credible sources that both USDA and DOI have significant unresolved issues that prevent their recommending the designation of a new national monument. We continue to insist that no action be taken related to a monument designation during this administration without robust consultation with all the affected stakeholders. We are encouraged by recent reports that the administration appears not to be moving toward a monument designation at this time,” wrote the senators.
The signed letter to Obama can be viewed here.  Text of the letter can be viewed below.
Background: Flake and McCain also sent a letter to Department of Interior Secretary Sally Jewell today asking about the department’s position on designation a new monument in Arizona. The signed letter can be viewed here.
 
On October 5, Flake and McCain sent a letter to Department of Agriculture Secretary Thomas Vilsack asking for details on the department’s participation in evaluating a possible new monument in Arizona. The signed letter can be viewed here.
 
 
On October 4, Flake and McCain sent a letter to President Obama asking him to refrain from designating any additional national monuments in Arizona without first engaging with affected stakeholders, including local governments and state agencies. Enclosed with the letter were 16 statements from 42 elected officials, towns, and other stakeholders expressing concerns about a new designation including statements from Arizona Governor Doug Ducey, Arizona Game and Fish Department, Arizona State Lands Department, State Senator Gail Griffin, State Senator Steve Pierce, Mohave County Supervisor Buster Johnson, Town of Tusayan, and the Arizona Chamber of Commerce and Industry. The signed letter and supporting statements can be viewed here.
 
 
On September 22, during a Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee hearing, Flake advocated for stakeholder input on new monument designations in Arizona. Video of Flake’s opening statement can be viewed here.
 
***
December 5, 2016
The Honorable Barack ObamaPresidentU.S. Department of Interior1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NWWashington DC, 20500-0004
Dear Mr. President,
We write to ask for clarification on the status of the administration’s actions relating to a possible new national monument in Arizona.
Our offices have received reports from within the administration that there have been efforts underway this year in the Department of Agriculture (USDA), Department of Interior (DOI), and the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) to prepare a national monument designation similar to the one proposed in H.R. 3882, The Greater Grand Canyon Heritage National Monument Act. We sent you a letter on October 3, 2016 urging you to listen to the wide range of Arizona stakeholders who have expressed concern over the potential impacts of a new monument.
Since that time, we have heard from a number of credible sources that both USDA and DOI have significant unresolved issues that prevent their recommending the designation of a new national monument. We continue to insist that no action be taken related to a monument designation during this administration without robust consultation with all the affected stakeholders.
We are encouraged by recent reports that the administration appears not to be moving toward a monument designation at this time.  We respectfully request that CEQ provide us with a briefing detailing the administration’s position, the actions CEQ has taken, and the current status of consultations between USDA, DOI and CEQ, regarding a potential new national monument designation in Arizona.
As always, we ask that this matter be handled in strict accordance with all applicable agency rules, regulations, and ethical guidelines.
Sincerely,
JEFF FLAKE                                                                                                            United States Senator                                                             
JOHN McCAINUnited States Senator
 
cc: The Honorable Sally Jewell, Department of the InteriorThe Honorable Thomas Vilsack, Department of AgricultureChristy Goldfuss, Council on Environmental Quality
 
###",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z
https://www.flake.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases?ContentRecord_id=A7FA844B-D287-43F6-A129-884C5E533FFE,"Flake, Heitkamp Introduce CBP HiRe Act",2016-12-05,2016,2016-12,Republican,House,AZ,Jeff Flake,F000444,www.flake.senate.gov,,,legacy,"Washington, D.C. – U.S. Sens. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) and Heidi Heitkamp (D-N.D.) today introduced the Customs and Border Protection Hiring and Retention (CBP HiRe) Act. The bill aims to boost manpower at strained ports of entry along the U.S. border by giving CBP new tools to eliminate recruitment and retention obstacles that have left the agency nearly 1,000 CBP officers short of congressionally-mandated staffing levels.
In 2014, Flake helped secure congressional funding for the hiring of 2,000 additional CBP officers to address understaffed U.S. ports of entry and increase trade opportunities with Mexico and Canada. Two years later, half of those CBP officer positions remain unfilled due to high attrition rates, a lengthy hiring process, and difficulty finding applicants willing to work in remote locations.
Heitkamp, the ranking member on the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs subcommittee that oversees the federal workforce, has long been working to address challenges border security officials face in recruiting and retaining quality officers to help keep communities safe. In July, Heitkamp introduced her Flexible HIRE Act which aims to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the federal hiring process so that federal agencies, particularly those located in rural or remote areas, can better attract and maintain personnel. Additionally, Heitkamp’s bipartisan Northern Border Security Review Act – which has passed both the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives – would work to assess the comprehensive security challenges along the nation’s 5,500-mile long Northern Border and help make sure more remote and rural areas receive the resources they need to recruit and retain workers to help keep communities safe.
Building on the success of the Flake-McSally-McCain Border Jobs for Veterans Act signed into law last year, the Flake-Heitkamp CBP HiRe Act would continue the effort to resolve CBP’s recruitment and retention problems with:
 
Retention Incentives - Currently, 13 percent of CBP’s attrition is to other federal agencies and departments within DHS. Permitting the use of retention incentives would allow CBP to compete with employment opportunities at other federal agencies and keep CBP Officers in their current positions.
 
 
Special Salary Rate Pilot - Finding applicants willing to accept employment in remote locations has been a challenge for the agency. This legislation would create a two year pilot program that would allow CBP to use their existing budget to offer a special salary rate to recruit and retain officers in these hard-to-fill remote locations.
 
 
Eliminating Disincentives for Polygraph Testing - Prospective applicants fear long-term career damage if they fail to pass the agency’s rigorous polygraph exam. Under this legislation, CBP would be prohibited from disclosing an applicant’s polygraph results with another federal agency.
 
 
Greater Transparency in the Hiring Process - The CBP’s lengthy hiring process has discouraged candidates from applying to the agency. Requiring CBP to disclose at the beginning of the application process a list of disqualifiers would ensure that agency does not needlessly utilize time and resources vetting unqualified candidates unsuitable for employment.
 
“Arizona can’t afford for its ports to go on strained and understaffed. By tackling CBP’s hiring problems head-on, this bill will help strengthen border security and facilitate the cross-border trade that is critical to Arizona’s economy,” said Flake.
“In my visits with border security officials and personnel in Portal last month and Pembina last year, a key concern I heard over and over from agents on the ground was about their abilities to both attract and retain quality workers to best protect our communities – and it’s those challenges that our bipartisan bill would work to address. This effort expands on my work in the U.S. Senate to make it easier to hire and retain federal employees, like border patrol agents, at remote locations such as at the Northern Border. And my bipartisan bill to assess threats to the Northern Border and examine employee recruitment and retention issues is expected to soon be signed into law. Our border patrol agents work to keep our borders protected, and they need to have the resources and support to keep our communities safe,” said Heitkamp.
Background: 
 
On October 17, Flake sent a letter to Department of Homeland Secretary Jeh Johnson requesting additional information on CBP’s polygraph examinations. The signed letter can be viewed here.
 
 
On June, 29, during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing, Flake sought answers from Johnson on several border and immigration-related issues impacting Arizona, including the hiring rate of CBP officers. Video of Flake and Johnson’s exchange can be viewed here.
 
 
On May 11, Flake hosted a meeting with DHS officials, local port authorities, and other cross-border trade stakeholders to discuss the critical need to fully staff ports of entry.
 
 
On Oct. 19, 2015, the Border Jobs for Veterans Act was signed into law. This bill was sponsored by Flake and Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Rep. Martha McSally (R-Ariz.) to help put veterans to work as CBP officers at understaffed U.S. ports of entry by requiring the Department of Defense and DHS to cooperate on efforts to recruit and expedite the hiring of outgoing U.S. military service members.
 
 
Supporters of the CBP HiRe Act include: Fresh Produce Association of the Americas, Border Trade Alliance, Nogales-Santa Cruz County Chamber of Commerce, Greater Nogales Santa Cruz Port Authority, Arizona-Mexico Commission, Douglas International Port Authority, Greater Yuma Economic Development Corporation, Transportation and Trade Corridor Alliance, Tucson Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, San Luis Industrial Park Association, and Douglas Regional Economic Development Corporation.
 
###",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z
https://mcsally.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/mission-accomplished-final-defense-bill-includes-major-s-az-wins,Mission Accomplished: Final Defense Bill Includes Major S. AZ Wins Championed by U.S. Rep. McSally,2016-12-02,2016,2016-12,Republican,House,AZ,Martha McSally,M001197,mcsally.house.gov,,,legacy,"Bill Includes Funding for Missions at DM, Fort Huachuca, S. AZ. Defense Suppliers
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The U.S. House of Representatives today passed the Fiscal Year (FY) 2017 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), comprehensive defense legislation that contained numerous Southern Arizona priorities tirelessly championed by U.S. Representative Martha McSally. The legislation contains full funding for the A-10 and EC-130H Compass Call, two aircraft stationed at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, as well as provisions to retain and help expand missions at Fort Huachuca.
“Today’s bill is a win for Southern Arizona and our national defense,” said Congresswoman McSally. “The legislation includes provisions I advocated for to protect Southern Arizona’s critical military assets, including the A-10 and EC-130H and missions at Fort Huachuca, as well as language I authored to mandate an A-10/F-35 fly-off. It also increases end strength, preserves our most vital aircraft, includes the largest pay raise for troops in six years, and funds weapon systems, like the Tomahawk missile produced in Southern Arizona, we need to take on ISIS and other emerging threats. Providing for the common defense is the most important obligation we have to the American people. I’m proud to see this legislation begin to reverse the atrophying of our armed services and ensure our military has the training, resources, and manpower it needs to keep Americans safe.”
“On behalf of the DM50, I want to thank Congresswoman McSally for her efforts to preserve Southern Arizona’s all-important military assets in this legislation,” said Bob Logan, President of the DM50. “Both of Davis-Monthan’s signature flying missions, the A-10 and EC-130H, are given full authorization in this bill. We also recognize her work to protect Southern Arizona’s growing defense industry, including one of the area’s largest employers in Raytheon Missile Systems that is receiving orders to build additional missiles for multiple platforms. These are important victories for everyone in our community, and we appreciate Congresswoman McSally’s leadership to keep our valuable defense assets strong at Davis-Monthan AFB and in Southern Arizona.”
""While we are still in the process of reviewing the Bill for issues affecting Fort Huachuca, we are thrilled that it recognizes our consistent efforts to preserve and replenish water resources in Southern Arizona,” said Kevin Peterson, President of the Huachuca 50. “We look forward to continued support from CM McSally on enhancing critical capabilities and advocating for new missions for the Fort.""
“The Southern AZ Defense Alliance (SADA) appreciates the leadership of the Arizona congressional delegation regarding the passage of the FY17 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), including that of US Rep. Martha McSally in her service on the US House Armed Services Committee,” said Larry Lucero, President of SADA. “Her steadfast support for the USAF Davis Monthan Air Force Base and for the US Army’s Fort Huachuca is greatly valued, including preserving current missions but also creating the possibility of bringing additional missions to these great military installations in Southern Arizona.”
In addition to providing full funding for the aircraft stationed at Davis Monthan Air Force Base and missions at Fort Huachuca, today’s legislation includes a provision authored by Rep. McSally to mandate an A-10, F-35 fly-off before any A-10 can be retired. The legislation details what capabilities a fly-off must test, including Close Air Support and Combat Search and Rescue, two missions currently performed by the A-10. More about that fly-off can be read in Rep. McSally’s op-ed HERE.
 Additional Southern Arizona priorities contained in today’s legislation include:
 Provisions to retain and help expand missions at Fort Huachuca, including the laboratory and testing evaluation center, Electronic Proving Grounds, and Remotely Piloted Aircraft;
	Language to address pharmacy wait times at military medical treatment facilities;
	Language to facilitate growth capabilities within the electromagnetic spectrum, a key Fort Huachuca priority;
	Funding for 196 Tomahawk missiles to be produced by Raytheon Missile Systems;
	Provisions supporting Raytheon’s Joint Air to Ground missiles;
	And an amendment to streamline the hiring of veterans as Customs and Border Protection Officers and Agents along the border.",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z
https://rubengallego.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/congressional-hispanic-caucus-selects-leadership-team-115th-congress,Congressional Hispanic Caucus Selects Leadership Team for the 115th Congress,2016-12-02,2016,2016-12,Democrat,House,AZ,Ruben Gallego,G000574,rubengallego.house.gov,,,legacy,"Washington, DC- Yesterday, the Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC) selected its leadership team for the 115th Congress. Congresswoman Michelle Lujan Grisham will chair the CHC, Congressman Joaquin Castro, Congressman Ruben Gallego, and Congressman Pete Aguilar will join her on the leadership team.
 
115th Congress -- CHC Leadership Team
 
CHC Chair: Congresswoman Michelle Lujan Grisham (NM-01)
 
CHC First Vice Chair: Congressman Joaquin Castro (TX-20)
 
CHC Second Vice Chair: Congressman Ruben Gallego (AZ-07)
 
CHC Whip: Congressman Pete Aguilar (CA-31)
 
CHC Chairwoman Michelle Lujan Grisham: “I want to thank my colleagues for entrusting me with the great responsibility of leading the Congressional Hispanic Caucus in the 115th Congress. As the next Chairwoman, I intend to continue building on the many accomplishments we have achieved this Congress and ensure that the Caucus is leading the fight to support Hispanic communities and protect families across this country.
“CHC will face many challenges given the outcome of the presidential election and the political environment in the next Congress. However, now more than ever, the CHC needs to demonstrate unity and strength in order to effectively combat dangerous rhetoric and regressive policies proposed by President-elect Trump aimed to tear families apart and hurt the communities we represent.
“Hispanics represent $1.9 trillion in purchasing power, and we will shape the future of our great nation. Hispanic businesses have been a driving force in my home state of New Mexico; we have specifically seen significant growth among Hispanic women entrepreneurs. It’s up to the CHC to develop a strong economic agenda to highlight the economic impact of Hispanic communities and create more opportunities for Hispanic-owned business and entrepreneurs.
“I am proud to say that CHC received unprecedented support from voters in this election, which increased our membership to a record-breaking total of 31 Caucus members.  We must build off this momentum and support, and I believe that the CHC has an obligation to step up and lead during these uncertain times.”
CHC First Vice Chair Joaquin Castro: “I am grateful to my CHC colleagues for entrusting me with this new responsibility. As we look ahead to the 115th Congress, great challenges loom. We will need to contend with a new administration and a President who displayed appalling hostility toward the Hispanic community throughout his campaign. More than ever, the CHC must be united, determined, and strategic in its efforts to improve educational outcomes, expand economic opportunity, and pass meaningful immigration reform. I am eager to tackle these and other matters with my fellow Caucus members. I thank outgoing CHC Chair Linda Sánchez for her leadership, and I look forward to working with incoming CHC Chair Michelle Lujan Grisham to advance our Caucus’ goals in Congress.”
CHC Second Vice Chair Ruben Gallego: “I am honored to have been elected to serve as 2nd Vice Chair of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus for the 115th Congress. I look forward to working with my fellow CHC members and Congressional leadership on issues that are important to the Latino community, including expanding educational and economic opportunities, protecting immigrant families, and making sure our seniors and veterans have the care they need and the benefits they have earned.”
CHC Whip Pete Aguilar: “I’m grateful to have been chosen to serve as the Whip of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus. The CHC’s priorities include comprehensive immigration reform with a pathway to citizenship, creating good-paying jobs, accessing affordable health care, and investing in quality education for our kids – all issues that are significant in my community. He added, “San Bernardino is representative of many of the regions throughout the nation that would benefit from these priorities, so I’m glad to take on a new role to help push those policies forward.”
 
###
 
The Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC), founded in December 1976, is organized as a Congressional Member organization, governed under the Rules of the U.S. House of Representatives. The CHC is dedicated to voicing and advancing, through the legislative process, issues affecting Hispanics in the United States, Puerto Rico and U.S. Territories.",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z
http://gosar.house.gov/press-release/western-caucus-chairman-elect-rep-gosar-statement-final-blm-20-rule,Western Caucus Chairman-elect  Rep. Gosar Statement on Final  BLM 2.0 Rule,2016-12-01,2016,2016-12,Republican,House,AZ,Paul Gosar,G000565,gosar.house.gov,,,legacy,"WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Chairman-elect of the Congressional Western Caucus, U.S. Congressman Paul A. Gosar, D.D.S. (AZ-04), released the following statement on the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) final Planning 2.0 rule:
“Once again, the Obama Administration believes that Washington knows best and continues to defy the principles of federalism. Subjugating Americans to another erroneous rule and more government red tape that strips away the authority and expertise of local land managers will not improve the planning process. BLM 2.0 is a bureaucratic nightmare that will kill jobs and create unnecessary permitting delays.
""In fact, this latest Obama regulation shortens the public comment period on draft Environmental Impact Statement amendments proposed by federal agencies, seeks to make it easier for federal agencies to implement President Obama's flawed mitigation memos and climate change executive orders, and adds several new steps to the beginning of the planning process that even the BLM admits will make the process slower.

""This fundamentally flawed regulation will impose costly and duplicative mandates on job creators and local communities. Local planning decisions should be made by the experts on the ground at the local level, not Washington bureaucrats. The Congressional Western Caucus will work with the Trump Administration, Republican leadership and local stakeholders to scrap misguided directives imposed by Obama’s political hacks during their waning days.""

Ethan Lane, Executive Director of the Public Lands Council and National Cattlemen’s Beef Association federal lands stated: ""This process radically alters federal land management planning and moves the agency away from its mandate to manage for multiple use on federal lands. We are continuing to review how much, if any, our input has been incorporated into the final plan, but regardless, we object to the Administration moving forward in the final days of the President’s term with this hastily-released regulation - particularly with one that will have such dramatic economic impact on western states...The BLM must scrap BLM 2.0 and go back to the drawing board, this time with real input from stakeholders across the West.""
Background:
The full text of the BLM’s press release on the final Planning 2.0 rule can be found HERE.
The Bureau of Land Management, an agency of the U.S. Department of Interior, was tasked with managing roughly 10% of the nation’s land through the Federal Land Policy and Management Act (FLPMA) of 1976.  As part of FLPMA, the BLM must develop and implement land use agreements with local partners. According to the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service, the BLM currently manages 247.3 million acres of public land and administers about 700 million acres of federal subsurface mineral estate throughout the nation.
(Information courtesy of the House Committee on Natural Resources)
The BLM published its proposed Resource Management Planning rule, part of its Planning 2.0 initiative, on February 25, 2016. According to BLM, the goals of the proposed rule were to: “(1) Improve the BLM’s ability to respond to social and environmental change in a timely manner; (2) provide meaningful opportunities for other Federal agencies, State and local governments, Indian tribes, and the public to be involved in the development of BLM resource management plans; and (3) improve the BLM’s ability to address landscape-scale resource issues and to apply landscape-scale management approaches.”
The proposed rule made a number of changes to the procedures BLM follows to prepare resource management plans (“RMPs”) and affected the ability of state and local governments to participate in the planning process. In the past, BLM has prepared most RMPs at the field office level, but the draft rule sought to dramatically shift planning away from local communities and to BLM headquarters in Washington, D.C., opening the door for special interests to have a greater effect on BLM’s planning process than those who live near and rely on public lands. 
Many local and state governments are concerned that the changes in the Planning 2.0 rule may diminish local input and make it more difficult for counties, conservation districts, and other local authorities to be meaningfully involved in the land use planning process. 
###",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z
http://grijalva.house.gov/index.cfm?sectionid=13&itemid=2258,"Grijalva, Sanders Condemn Continued Use of For-Profit Prisons & Detention Centers",2016-12-01,2016,2016-12,Democrat,House,AZ,Raúl Grijalva,G000551,grijalva.house.gov,,,legacy,"WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressman Raúl M. Grijalva (D-AZ) and Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) reacted today to the release of the Homeland Security Advisory Council (HSAC), report of the subcommittee on Privatized Immigration Detention Facilities.

	The Department of Justice (DOJ) announced in August that as a result of an internal review finding that private prison facilities are less effective and more dangerous than those run by the government, DOJ would phase out its contracts with for-profit prison companies. Less than two weeks later, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced that it would conduct a similar internal review of its reliance on the industry.

	The lawmakers’ statements today come amid reports that DOJ renewed contracts after their claim in August that they would substantially reduce them, and as DHS announced that it will not end its use private for-profit detention as a result of the HSAC subcommittee report.

	“To see the Obama Administration waver on something with such clear moral and ethical implications about our values as a nation is unacceptable,” Rep. Grijalva said. “This administration has allowed incarceration and detention profiteers to flourish under its leadership, with revolving doors between agencies and corporations ensuring lucrative contracts and cozy lobbying ties. The federal government cannot turn a blind eye to the suffering of adults and children, their inadequate care, and the erosion of justice in our society. And now, just when the administration had the opportunity to move our nation in the right direction, they’ve decided to double down on for-profit captivity.

	“We already know that the next administration will embrace for-profit incarceration; Trump is clear in his support for the industry, as is the industry’s support for Trump, too,” Grijalva continued. “The Obama Administration should be minimizing any precedent for Trump to point to once he’s in office. Instead, they’re laying the groundwork for him to embrace profit-driven incarceration and detention to an extent we have never seen before.”

	“Due in large part to private detention centers, incarceration has been a source of major profits for private corporations,” Senator Sanders said. “But study after study after study has shown private prisons and detention centers are not cheaper, they are not safer and they do not provide better outcomes for either the prisoners or the state. We have got to end the private prison racket in America as quickly as possible.”

	Rep. Grijalva and Senator Sanders have been tireless opponent of the for-profit prison industry for years. In December 2015, they joined forces to introduce the Justice Is Not For Sale Act, legislation that would end the federal government’s use of private detention facilities and implement justice reforms to help address mass incarceration in the United States. In addition, in September 2016, they jointly sent a letter to Attorney General Loretta E. Lynch urging her to push further in DOJ’s reliance on private prison contracts in directing the U.S. Marshals Service (USMS) to follow the Bureau of Prisons’ (BOP) lead in phasing out these contracts as they come up for renewal.

	###",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z
https://gosar.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=2334,Western Caucus Chairman-elect  Rep. Gosar Statement on Final  BLM 2.0 Rule,2016-12-01,2016,2016-12,Republican,House,AZ,Paul A. Gosar,G000565,gosar.house.gov,gosar,https://gosar.house.gov/news/documentquery.aspx,scraper,"For Immediate Release

Date: 12/1/2016

Contact: Steven D. Smith

Steven.Smith@mail.house.gov

Today, Chairman-elect of the Congressional Western Caucus, U.S. Congressman Paul A. Gosar, D.D.S. (AZ-04), released the following statement on the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) final Planning 2.0 rule:

“Once again, the Obama Administration believes that Washington knows best and continues to defy the principles of federalism. Subjugating Americans to another erroneous rule and more government red tape that strips away the authority and expertise of local land managers will not improve the planning process. BLM 2.0 is a bureaucratic nightmare that will kill jobs and create unnecessary permitting delays.

""In fact, this latest Obama regulation shortens the public comment period on draft Environmental Impact Statement amendments proposed by federal agencies, seeks to make it easier for federal agencies to implement President Obama's flawed mitigation memos and climate change executive orders, and adds several new steps to the beginning of the planning process that even the BLM admits will make the process slower.

""This fundamentally flawed regulation will impose costly and duplicative mandates on job creators and local communities. Local planning decisions should be made by the experts on the ground at the local level, not Washington bureaucrats. The Congressional Western Caucus will work with the Trump Administration, Republican leadership and local stakeholders to scrap misguided directives imposed by Obama’s political hacks during their waning days.""

Ethan Lane, Executive Director of the Public Lands Council and National Cattlemen’s Beef Association federal lands stated: ""This process radically alters federal land management planning and moves the agency away from its mandate to manage for multiple use on federal lands. We are continuing to review how much, if any, our input has been incorporated into the final plan, but regardless, we object to the Administration moving forward in the final days of the President’s term with this hastily-released regulation - particularly with one that will have such dramatic economic impact on western states...The BLM must scrap BLM 2.0 and go back to the drawing board, this time with real input from stakeholders across the West.""

Background:

The full text of the BLM’s press release on the final Planning 2.0 rule can be found HERE.

The Bureau of Land Management, an agency of the U.S. Department of Interior, was tasked with managing roughly 10% of the nation’s land through the Federal Land Policy and Management Act (FLPMA) of 1976. As part of FLPMA, the BLM must develop and implement land use agreements with local partners. According to the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service, the BLM currently manages 247.3 million acres of public land and administers about 700 million acres of federal subsurface mineral estate throughout the nation.

(Information courtesy of the House Committee on Natural Resources)

The BLM published its proposed Resource Management Planning rule, part of its Planning 2.0 initiative, on February 25, 2016. According to BLM, the goals of the proposed rule were to: “(1) Improve the BLM’s ability to respond to social and environmental change in a timely manner; (2) provide meaningful opportunities for other Federal agencies, State and local governments, Indian tribes, and the public to be involved in the development of BLM resource management plans; and (3) improve the BLM’s ability to address landscape-scale resource issues and to apply landscape-scale management approaches.”

The proposed rule made a number of changes to the procedures BLM follows to prepare resource management plans (“RMPs”) and affected the ability of state and local governments to participate in the planning process. In the past, BLM has prepared most RMPs at the field office level, but the draft rule sought to dramatically shift planning away from local communities and to BLM headquarters in Washington, D.C., opening the door for special interests to have a greater effect on BLM’s planning process than those who live near and rely on public lands.

Many local and state governments are concerned that the changes in the Planning 2.0 rule may diminish local input and make it more difficult for counties, conservation districts, and other local authorities to be meaningfully involved in the land use planning process.

###",1,2026-03-30T01:40:41Z,2026-04-08T21:09:43Z
https://mcsally.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/us-rep-mcsally-hammers-arbitrary-force-level-restrictions,U.S. Rep. McSally Hammers Arbitrary Force Level Restrictions,2016-12-01,2016,2016-12,Republican,House,AZ,Martha McSally,M001197,mcsally.house.gov,,,legacy,"WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Representative Martha McSally today hammered the Administration’s arbitrary Iraq and Afghanistan troop level restrictions, known as Force Management Levels, and their impact on completing the mission. Questioning former military generals and a member of a government watchdog agency during a House Armed Services Committee hearing, Rep. McSally referenced her own experience commanding an A-10 fighter squadron and leading CODELs to Afghanistan to highlight flaws in the Administration’s current troop policy.
“I led a CODEL back to Afghanistan, and have been there myself in uniform, and have deep concerns seeing what we’re talking about here first-hand – with also commanders and others spending a tremendous amount of time to find workarounds and measure the jerry-rigging in order to comply,” she said.  
	 
  
	Responding to the question of what the alternative to establishing “random numbers” would be, Rep. McSally said:
“It would be to set strategic objectives in these theaters, identify what we’re trying to do, and figure out what we need to get the mission done – and then that ends up being the number.”
In 2015 and 2016, Rep. McSally led a Congressional delegation of women lawmakers to Afghanistan to meet with U.S. service members and commanders on the ground and receive mission briefings on military operations in the region. In her questioning, she highlighted the practice of commanders using temporary workarounds, such as placing units on Temporary Duty Assignment (TDY), in order to deploy units to combat zones while staying below force level caps.
“When I was there in the spring, we had entire units TDY’ed to Helmand Province to help stop the bleeding there. You don’t go TDY to Helmand Province, you go TDY to Nellis Air Force Base. To be calling TDY to a combat zone, to be out there addressing the combat situation is ridiculous and that’s what these random force management levels have created.”   
Closing out her questioning, Rep. McSally requested from the Government Accountability Office an analysis of the costs of hosting critical capabilities, such as Combat Search and Rescue (CSAR) and Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR), outside of countries where they are needed to include financial costs and the risk to troops’ lives.",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z
https://rubengallego.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/house-democrats-pass-key-leadership-reforms,House Democrats Pass Key Leadership Reforms,2016-12-01,2016,2016-12,Democrat,House,AZ,Ruben Gallego,G000574,rubengallego.house.gov,,,legacy,"Washington, DC – Today, House Democrats passed two motions, introduced by Reps. Ruben Gallego (AZ-07), Seth Moulton (MA-06), and Kathleen Rice (NY-04), requiring key leadership positions to be elected by Members of the Caucus, instead of appointed by the Democratic Leader. The Caucus will now directly elect the chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, as well as three co-chairs of the Democratic Policy and Communications Committee.
Reps. Gallego, Moulton, and Rice issued the following joint statement:
“In the wake of the 2016 election, it is more clear than ever that the Democratic Caucus needs to bring more voices into leadership, with new ideas that will help us to forge a strong path forward, evolve as a Party and earn back the support of the American people.
“The conversations we have had over the past few weeks about the future of our Caucus were difficult and contentious, but also necessary and inspiring. As a result, our Members worked together to select a leadership team and make dramatic reforms that will increase the diversity of our leadership team and make our leadership accountable to our Members.
“In order to be successful, all Members of the Democratic Caucus need to play a role in recruitment, messaging, fundraising and strategy. The changes adopted today are a true victory that will help us to empower our Members and make our Caucus stronger.
“Democrats can’t afford to back down in the face of a Donald Trump presidency and the regressive agenda he stands for. Today’s outcome was a good first step towards our goal of reclaiming the majority in 2018.” 
###",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z
https://www.mccain.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/floor-statements?ContentRecord_id=B618CA78-4EE8-4F56-B72B-8721051A2426,OPENING STATEMENT BY SASC CHAIRMAN JOHN McCAIN AT OVERSIGHT HEARING ON THE NAVYS LITTORAL COMBAT SHIP,2016-12-01,2016,2016-12,Republican,House,AZ,John McCain,M000303,www.mccain.senate.gov,,,legacy,"Washington, D.C. ­– U.S. Senator John McCain (R-AZ), Chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, delivered the following opening statement today at a hearing on the oversight, acquisition, testing, and employment of the Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) and LCS mission module programs:
“The committee meets this morning to receive testimony on the oversight, acquisition, testing, and employment of the Littoral Combat Ship and LCS mission module programs.  We welcome our witnesses who are key officials responsible for acquiring, testing, employing, and overseeing these programs.
 
“The Honorable Sean Stackley, Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Research, Development and Acquisition, has been the Navy’s acquisition executive since 2008.
 
 
“Vice Admiral Thomas Rowden, Commander of Naval Surface Forces, is responsible for manning, training, and equipping Navy’s in-service surface ships.
 
 
“The Honorable J. Michael Gilmore, Director of Operational Test and Evaluation, has been the senior advisor to the Secretary of Defense for operational and live fire test and evaluation of weapon systems since 2009.
 
 
“And Mr. Paul Francis, Managing Director of Acquisition and Sourcing Management at the Government Accountability Office, whose 40-year career with GAO has focused mostly on major weapons acquisitions, especially shipbuilding.
 
“The Littoral Combat Ship, or LCS, is an unfortunate yet all too common example of defense acquisition gone awry.  Since the early stages of this program, I have been critical of fundamental LCS shortcomings.  And here we are 15 years later with an alleged warship that according to Dr. Gilmore’s assessments can’t survive a hostile combat environment and has yet to demonstrate its most important warfighting functions, and a program chosen for affordability that, as the GAO has reported, has doubled in cost with the potential for further overruns. 
“Like so many major programs that preceded it, LCS’s failure followed predictably from an inability to define and stabilize requirements, unrealistic initial cost estimates, and unreliable assessments of technical and integration risk, made worse by repeatedly buying ships and mission packages before proving they are effective and can be operated together. 
“What is so disturbing is that these problems were not unforeseen. In 2002, the Navy first requested Congress authorize funding for the LCS program.  After reviewing the Navy’s plan, the consensus of the Members on the two Armed Services committees was ‘LCS has not been vetted through the [Pentagon’s top requirements-setting body, called the] Joint Requirements Oversight Council,’ and ‘the Navy’s strategy for the LCS does not clearly identify the plan and funding for development and evaluation of the mission packages upon which the operational capabilities of LCS will depend.’ 
“Despite such serious concerns, it will not come as a surprise to many of you that Congress then approved funding for LCS. And when the Navy awarded the first LCS construction contract in 2004, it did so without well-defined requirements, a stable design, realistic cost estimates, or a clear understanding of the capability gaps the ship was needed to fill.  
“Taxpayers have paid a heavy price for these mistakes. The LCS was initially expected to cost $220 million per ship. But the cost of each ship has more than doubled to $478 million. The LCS’s first urgently needed combat capability in mine countermeasures was supposed to deliver in 2008. That capability is still not operational, nor is it expected to be until 2020. 12 years late. 12 years late.
“Today, 26 ships of the planned 40-ship LCS fleet have either been delivered, are under construction, or are on contract. In other words, taxpayers have already paid for 65 percent of the planned LCS inventory.
“LCS’s combat capability is supposed to come from three mission packages—mine countermeasures, surface warfare, and anti-submarine warfare. Taxpayers have invested more than $12 billion to procure LCS seaframes and another $2 billion in these three mission packages.
“Yet for all this investment, all three of these mission packages are years delayed with practically none of the systems having reached initial operational capability. So far, the LCS has fielded only the most basic capabilities—a 30 millimeter gun with a range of two miles and the ability to launch and recover helicopters and small boats. The surface package was 5 years late. The mine package is 12 years late. The anti-submarine package is 9 years late.
“The Navy failed to meet to its own commitment to deploy LCS seaframes with these mission packages in part because, for some reason, Navy leaders prioritized deploying a ship with no capability over completing necessary mission package testing. 
“In other words, the taxpayers have paid for—and are still paying for—26 ships that have demonstrated next-to-no combat capability. This is unacceptable. And this committee wants to know, Secretary Stackley, who is responsible and who has been held accountable. 
“And let me be the first to say that Congress belongs on the list of those responsible. We could have intervened more forcefully and demanded more from the Department of Defense and the Navy. We did not. But as long as I am chairman, this committee will.
“Mission packages are not the only problem. Keeping the LCS seaframe underway at sea has also been challenging.  Despite commissioning the first ship eight years ago in 2008, the Navy continues to discover “first-of-class” problems. Since 2013, five of the eight LCS delivered have experienced significant engineering casualties, resulting in lengthy in port repair periods.
“Amazingly, despite nearly no proven LCS combat capability and persistent debilitating engineering issues in both design and operation, the Navy is charging ahead with an ambitious plan that keeps most ships deployed more than half the time, stationed around the world far from support facilities in the United States.  In contrast, most Navy destroyers are planned to be deployed from the United States for less than 25 percent of their service lives.  The rush to put four ships forward in Singapore by 2018 without proven combat capability, and to maintain a deployment tempo more than twice that of destroyers, is a recipe for more wasted taxpayer dollars. 
“Although the LCS may yet deliver some capability, the Nation still needs a capable small surface combatant that addresses the LCS’s critical shortfalls, including the ability to: attack enemy surface ships at over-the-horizon ranges with multiple missile salvos; defend nearby non-combatant ships from air and missile threats as an escort; conduct long-duration missions, including hunting enemy submarines, without frequent refueling; and exhibit robust survivability characteristics.
“The recently concluded LCS review was long overdue. And it yielded some promising initiatives. But I am concerned that several critical foundational assumptions of the program were not challenged, including: excessive operational availability goals, insufficient in-house technical support for LCS, unexamined manpower requirements, and no urgency in transitioning to a new small surface combatant. 
“Fortunately, the Department of Defense is curtailing the LCS program at 40 ships and down-selecting to a single ship design.  Given the cost overruns, mission package testing woes, and rate of engineering failures, reducing the size of this program is a necessary first step. And I’m prepared to go even further by taking a hard look at any further procurement of ships until all of the mission packages reach IOC.
“It is up to the Navy to explain to this committee and to American taxpayers why it makes sense to continue pouring money into a ship program that has repeatedly failed to live up to its promises.
“The LCS continues to experience new problems, but it is not a new program. That is why the Department’s leaders must not delay in reconciling their aspirations for the LCS with the program's troubled reality by demanding accountability and reducing the size of this program.”
###",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z
https://www.mccain.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases?ContentRecord_id=14C8C726-2848-4857-AA41-E3BFEEA626E3,STATEMENT BY SENATORS JOHN McCAIN & LINDSEY GRAHAM ON EGYPTIAN LEGISLATION REGULATING NGOS,2016-12-01,2016,2016-12,Republican,House,AZ,John McCain,M000303,www.mccain.senate.gov,,,legacy,"Washington, D.C. ­– U.S. Senators  John McCain (R-AZ) and Lindsey Graham (R-SC) released the following statement today on the Egyptian parliament’s passage of legislation regulating non-governmental organizations (NGOs):
“The Egyptian parliament’s passage of draconian legislation regulating non-governmental organizations (NGOs) undermines Egypt’s stated commitment to protecting constitutionally-guaranteed rights and to furthering Egypt’s democratic transition. We urge President al-Sisi to reject this legislation and uphold Egypt’s constitutional commitment to freedom of association and assembly. 
“This legislation would effectively subject the operation of independent NGOs to powerful Egyptian security agencies. Egypt’s longstanding and vibrant civil society would be placed under unprecedented pressure to cede control of nearly all of their activities to the Egyptian government, or risk massive fines or lengthy prison sentences.
“The intent of this legislation is clear: to starve independent Egyptian civil society of funding and bring all of their activities under state control, and make it essentially impossible for foreign NGOs to operate in Egypt. These include organizations that have worked in Egypt for decades to improve the lives of Egyptians by increasing access to education, basic health and medical services, and employment opportunities.
“Moreover, this legislation will only deepen the NGO crisis that began in 2011 with dozens of American and international NGO workers wrongfully convicted and a number of NGOs shut down. For years, we have asked the Egyptian government to resolve Case No. 173 and pass a new NGO law that would enable Egyptian and international non-governmental organizations to operate without undue restrictions in the country. Yet the Egyptian government has rebuffed those requests. And the passage of this legislation would make resolution of this issue nearly impossible.
“Egypt has legitimate security and economic concerns to address. But passing a law which aims to effectively shut down civil society in Egypt will do nothing to make the country more safe or more prosperous. Instead, closing crucial channels for peaceful expression and association – and the delivery of much-needed food and health services – will only exacerbate Egypt’s problems and threaten long-term stability.
“Should President al-Sisi sign into law this draconian legislation, we will endeavor to strengthen democratic benchmarks and human rights conditions on U.S. assistance for Egypt in fiscal years 2017 and 2018.”
###",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z
https://www.mccain.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases?ContentRecord_id=2EF40E1E-63C3-4B46-9624-510552D83299,STATEMENT BY SASC CHAIRMAN JOHN McCAIN ON GENERAL JAMES MATTIS,2016-12-01,2016,2016-12,Republican,House,AZ,John McCain,M000303,www.mccain.senate.gov,,,legacy,"Washington, D.C. ­– U.S. Senator John McCain (R-AZ), Chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, released the following statement today on President-elect Donald Trump’s intention to nominate General James Mattis for Secretary of Defense:
“I am pleased that the President-elect has selected General James Mattis to be his nominee for Secretary of Defense. As Chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, I look forward to moving forward with the confirmation process as soon as possible in the new Congress.
“I have had the privilege of knowing General Mattis for many years. He is without a doubt one of the finest military officers of his generation and an extraordinary leader who inspires a rare and special admiration of his troops. General Mattis has a clear understanding of the many challenges facing the Department of Defense, the U.S. military, and our national security. America will be fortunate to have General Mattis in its service once again.”
###",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z
http://gosar.house.gov/press-release/rep-paul-gosar-named-chairman-congressional-western-caucus,Rep. Paul Gosar Named Chairman of the Congressional Western Caucus,2016-11-30,2016,2016-11,Republican,House,AZ,Paul Gosar,G000565,gosar.house.gov,,,legacy,"WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Congressman Paul A. Gosar, D.D.S. (AZ-04) released the following statement after being elected Chairman of the Congressional Western Caucus:
“I want to thank Western Caucus Chairman Lummis, Chairman Emeritus Pearce and Chairman Emeritus Bishop for all their good work over the years. As a result of their efforts the Caucus is a force to be reckoned with and well-respected by leadership, industry and people throughout the nation. I also want to thank the other great candidates I competed with for Caucus Chairman. They put up a heck of a fight and I look forward to working with them closely in the 115th Congress. I want to offer a special thank you to Cynthia and her exceptional staff. She has been a model Conservative, friend and mentor who will be sorely missed.
“I am honored to have earned the confidence of my colleagues to lead the Western Caucus. Having lived in the West all my life, I’m very familiar with the pertinent regional issues. Westerners desperately need allies in Congress that fight on their behalf. The Western Caucus deserves bold leadership that empowers its members to take real action and enact practical solutions. The future is bright for Western communities. I can’t wait to work with the outstanding members of this Caucus so we can deliver meaningful results for Americans throughout the country.”
 
Background:
Congressman Gosar ran on a five-point platform. To view his presentation that was distributed to Caucus members in attendance click HERE.
The mission of the Western Caucus is to enhance, sustain and preserve the West’s dynamic and unique culture, and to find innovative solutions that address the distinctive concerns facing western and rural communities. We believe economic growth and conservation are not mutually exclusive goals and can be accomplished by promoting balanced, common-sense reforms.
To accomplish this mission, the Western Caucus is committed to advancing the following key principles: protecting private property, strengthening local control, promoting economic growth, and increasing energy independence. As part of our advocacy of these principles we will focus on an agenda which will increase energy independence and security, protect and promote multiple use access to federal lands, help educate the public and eventually bring about common-sense reforms to outdated environmental statutes such as the National Environmental Policy Act and the Endangered Species Act, and to reevaluate and reorient current views and policies on federal land ownership.
###",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z
http://grijalva.house.gov/index.cfm?sectionid=13&itemid=2257,Grijalva Responds to 15th Death of Immigrant Held at Eloy,2016-11-30,2016,2016-11,Democrat,House,AZ,Raúl Grijalva,G000551,grijalva.house.gov,,,legacy,"WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressman Raúl M. Grijalva (D-AZ) responded today to the death of a 36-year-old woman being held in Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody at Eloy Detention Center, a for-profit detention center in Arizona. Raquel Calderón de Hildago is the third detainee to die in the past two months in ICE facilities, and the 15th immigrant fatality at Eloy since 2003.

	“I am disturbed to learn of yet another life lost in Eloy Detention Center,” Rep. Grijalva said. “Raquel Calderón de Hildago is the latest victim in a long and tragic history of fatal neglect at for-profit prisons and detention centers. Sadly, Eloy plays a leading role in establishing this troubling history, and its continued operation outside of Phoenix is tarnishing our state.

	“Transparency and accountability about the rising number of detainee deaths is desperately needed for the families seeking closure, and for our nation to ultimately end this public health crisis. The Department of Homeland Security should make public the results of its investigation into Raquel’s death at the earliest possible opportunity. They should do the same with the results of any other death investigations that are not yet public. It is also imperative that the Homeland Security Advisory Council subcommittee’s evaluation of private detention facilities take into consideration the grave record of care and the resulting deaths in these facilities. This latest heartbreak is another reason why our federal government should cut ties with the for-profit prison industry once and for all.”

	Rep. Grijalva has consistently called for accountability and action following deaths at the Eloy Detention Center. In July 2014, he called for the release of DHS’s internal reviews of the Eloy facility after José de Jesús Deniz Sahagún was found dead in his solitary confinement cell. Grijalva later shared Deniz Sahagún’s story in an op-ed raising awareness about medical neglect at for-profit detention centers.

	Grijalva also joined forces with Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) to introduce the Justice Is Not For Sale Act, legislation that would end the federal government’s use of private detention facilities and implement justice reforms to help address mass incarceration in the United States.

	###",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z
https://gosar.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=2243,Rep. Paul Gosar Named Chairman of the Congressional Western Caucus,2016-11-30,2016,2016-11,Republican,House,AZ,Paul A. Gosar,G000565,gosar.house.gov,gosar,https://gosar.house.gov/news/documentquery.aspx,scraper,"Today, U.S. Congressman Paul A. Gosar, D.D.S. (AZ-04) released the following statement after being elected Chairman of the Congressional Western Caucus:

“I want to thank Western Caucus Chairman Lummis, Chairman Emeritus Pearce and Chairman Emeritus Bishop for all their good work over the years. As a result of their efforts the Caucus is a force to be reckoned with and well-respected by leadership, industry and people throughout the nation. I also want to thank the other great candidates I competed with for Caucus Chairman. They put up a heck of a fight and I look forward to working with them closely in the 115th Congress. I want to offer a special thank you to Cynthia and her exceptional staff. She has been a model Conservative, friend and mentor who will be sorely missed.

“I am honored to have earned the confidence of my colleagues to lead the Western Caucus. Having lived in the West all my life, I’m very familiar with the pertinent regional issues. Westerners desperately need allies in Congress that fight on their behalf. The Western Caucus deserves bold leadership that empowers its members to take real action and enact practical solutions. The future is bright for Western communities. I can’t wait to work with the outstanding members of this Caucus so we can deliver meaningful results for Americans throughout the country.”

Background:

Congressman Gosar ran on a five-point platform. To view his presentation that was distributed to Caucus members in attendance click HERE.

The mission of the Western Caucus is to enhance, sustain and preserve the West’s dynamic and unique culture, and to find innovative solutions that address the distinctive concerns facing western and rural communities. We believe economic growth and conservation are not mutually exclusive goals and can be accomplished by promoting balanced, common-sense reforms.

To accomplish this mission, the Western Caucus is committed to advancing the following key principles: protecting private property, strengthening local control, promoting economic growth, and increasing energy independence. As part of our advocacy of these principles we will focus on an agenda which will increase energy independence and security, protect and promote multiple use access to federal lands, help educate the public and eventually bring about common-sense reforms to outdated environmental statutes such as the National Environmental Policy Act and the Endangered Species Act, and to reevaluate and reorient current views and policies on federal land ownership.

###",1,2026-03-30T01:40:41Z,2026-04-08T21:07:19Z
https://mcsally.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/house-passes-us-rep-mcsally-mental-health-legislation,House Passes U.S. Rep. McSally Mental Health Legislation,2016-11-30,2016,2016-11,Republican,House,AZ,Martha McSally,M001197,mcsally.house.gov,,,legacy,"WASHINGTON, D.C. – The U.S. House of Representatives today passed legislation sponsored by U.S. Representative Martha McSally to help local communities better treat mental health. The legislation, a part of Congresswoman McSally’s Mental Health and Safe Communities Act, includes provisions to provide support to mentally-ill offenders re-entering the community, expand assistance to individuals with co-occurring substance abuse and mental health disorders, and improve training for law enforcement to better identify and respond to instances involving mental illness.
“For too long, our failed mental health care system has left families and communities with nowhere to turn. Today, that changes,” said Rep. McSally. “The House-passed legislation includes provisions I sponsored to help communities better respond to mental health crises and provide better treatment options for families and individuals struggling with mental illness. These provisions were the result of months of hard work and the bipartisan support of a diverse group of lawmakers and organizations, including mental health advocates and law enforcement. Today’s landmark bill also overhauls our mental health system for the first time in 50 years. I’m proud to see these important reforms pass the House and will continue to work to get them passed in the Senate and signed into law.”
“One way we can help those with mental illness get the treatment they need is by ensuring that families, law enforcement and our criminal justice system are equipped to respond to mental health crises and provide treatment to mentally ill individuals in need of help,’” said Sen. John Cornyn, who introduced the Mental Health and Safe Communities Act in the Senate. “Fixing our mental health system is more important than ever, and I’m glad these bipartisan reforms are included in the 21st Century Cures legislation.”
Rep. McSally’s legislation that passed the House today was originally included in the Mental Health and Safe Communities Act, which she introduced on October 8, 2015. The bill has bipartisan support in the House and has been endorsed by a wide array of organizations including mental health and law enforcement advocates.
Since taking office, Rep. McSally has placed a strong focus on helping families and communities better respond to mental health issues. In January, she held a roundtable with over 30 representatives from Southern Arizona non-profits, hospitals, mental health and veterans organizations, and law enforcement to discuss addressing mental health. She participated in a ride-along with a Pima County Sheriff’s deputy to view the department’s mental health programs first-hand. She has visited the Arizona Superior Court Mental Health Court to meet with Judge Danelle Liwski and toured the federal prison in Tucson and the UA Emergency Room to hear how mental illness is currently being treated at those facilities. She also recently toured and met with leadership at the Sonora Behavioral Health Center in Tucson.
Legislation introduced by Rep. McSally that passed the House today include provisions to:
 Expand funding for the creation of mental health response and corrections programs;
	Develop and implement specialized residential substance abuse treatment programs that provide treatment to individuals with co-occurring mental health and substance abuse disorders.
	Authorize grants to be used for the creation of court-ordered outpatient treatment programs to prevent the escalation of mental health crises;
	Divert low-level offenders from incarceration to treatment programs;
	And allow funds to be used to develop and operate school-based mental health crisis intervention teams that include coordination with law enforcement agencies and specialized training for school officials.
 For a full list of Rep. McSally’s mental health provisions to pass the House today, click HERE (the provisions begin on page 29, Title XIV, Sec. 140001-14029).",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z
https://sinema.house.gov/latest-news/sinemasupported-legislation-to-advance-medical-innovation-passes-house/,Sinema-Supported Legislation to Advance Medical Innovation Passes House,2016-11-30,2016,2016-11,Democrat,House,AZ,Kyrsten Sinema,S001191,sinema.house.gov,,,legacy,"WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, the House of Representatives passed the 21st Century Cures Act, bipartisan legislation cosponsored by Congresswoman Kyrsten Sinema, to accelerate the development of new medical treatments, cut red tape for biomedical innovation, and improve community mental health services.
				
					“Too many American families have watched their loved ones struggle with diseases that have no cure,” said Congresswoman Sinema. “The 21st Century Cures Act is a creative, bipartisan solution that allows innovators to focus on life-saving discoveries, rather than government bureaucracy. This health reform legislation is the type of commonsense solution that will lead to lower cost and better quality care for Arizona families.”
				
					The 21st Century Cures Act modernizes research programs at the National Institute of Health and the drug approval process at the Food and Drug Administration to accelerate bringing cures to market while protecting patients. This legislation promotes promising medical breakthroughs to address some of our most costly health challenges including, $1.8 billion for the cancer “moonshot” program, $1 billion over two years to combat the opioid epidemic, and $1.6 billion for brain-related diseases like Alzheimer’s. The bill also restructures behavior health programs to improve the quality of care delivered to individuals facing mental health crises.
				
					###",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z
https://www.flake.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/roundup-report?ContentRecord_id=586D8535-B938-4CC1-8B4F-27028360130E,"Roundup Report: Week of Nov. 28, 2016",2016-11-30,2016,2016-11,Republican,House,AZ,Jeff Flake,F000444,www.flake.senate.gov,,,legacy,"THIS WEEK IN THE SENATE   
The Senate will consider legislation on the use of technology to deliver health care in rural areas. 

 ROUNDUP REPORT   
Cutting Wasteful Spending- CBSN reports that Sen. Flake spoke out against the House proposal to lift the congressional ban on earmarks. Sen. Flake helped ban this practice of wasteful spending when he was a member of the House. View Sen. Flake’s interview with CBSN here.  
Sen. Flake also made a speech on the Senate floor on the ramifications of bringing back earmarks. View the floor speech here.
 
Key Takeaway: “Having spent years fighting wasteful spending, I am disappointed that one of the first votes after the election will be on a Republican-led proposal to bring back earmarks. Congress should instead immediately pass legislation to make the ban on earmarks a permanent statutory prohibition. After all, you can’t drain the swamp by feeding the alligators pork.”
 
Constituent Services- In a letter to the editor at the Arizona Daily Star, a Tucson resident described how Sen. Flake’s staff helped her with obtaining a copy of her father’s military discharge papers so that he could be buried at a veterans’ cemetery. Read the full story here.
 
Key Takeaway: “My father, who was drafted and served in the Korean war, passed away September 1. We wanted him to be buried at a veterans' cemetery. The only problem was that we couldn't find his discharge papers, and the official government copies had been destroyed in a fire. When I asked for help, Bob Brubaker jumped into action. He was efficient, professional, compassionate and successful, and brought great peace and comfort to my family. Thank you Bob Brubaker and Senator Flake for your selfless service to America and to your constituents, including to this grateful Democrat.”
 
Expanding HSAs- National Review reports that Sen. Flake’s Health Savings Account Expansion Act would help expand health care options and repeal some of the restrictions that were put in place by Obamacare. Read the full story here.  
 
Key Takeaway: “Under the Flake/Brat plan, a family could save up to $18,000 annually in a tax-free HSA, and use that money to pay for insurance premiums or out-of-pocket health-care costs. What they didn’t spend could be saved or invested, offering them yet another opportunity to buy into the economy. More importantly, the type of HSA envisioned by Flake and Brat would put workers in control of their own health-care dollars.”
 
Southern Arizona VA- 12 News reports that the Inspector General has found that the Southern Arizona Veterans Administration Health Care System was altering wait-time data in order to hide long wait times. Read the full story here.
 
Key Takeaway: “The two Republican senators from Arizona say a separate investigation found employees failed to properly schedule approximately 400 orthopedic appointment requests and an additional 600 urology appointment requests.”
 

 UPCOMING OFFICE HOURS 
In order to make his staff more available to citizens of Arizona, Sen. Flake will send a member of his staff to hold office hours at various locations throughout the state to help residents with any problems they may be having with federal agencies, or to get messages to the senator.
Office hours serve as an opportunity for residents having problems with Social Security, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services or other federal agencies to seek assistance. Appointments are not necessary.
Nogales   When: Tuesday, Dec. 13                11am-12pm
Where: Nogales City Hall                777 N. Grand Ave                Nogales, AZ 85621
*Help will be available in both English and Spanish*

 TRIVIA CHALLENGE 
The famous bridge that was reconstructed in Lake Havasu City in the 1960s was the London Bridge.
Our last winner asks- When did Arizona become a state?
The 2 nd correct e-mailer gets to submit the next question. Please email your answer to this week’s question to press@flake.senate.gov and we will notify you by the end of the week if you have won. 

 TWEET OF THE WEEK 


 STAY UP TO DATE",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z
https://www.mccain.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases?ContentRecord_id=69440FEB-E863-4956-B9E8-9CDA2A4C43F6,SENATOR JOHN McCAIN COMMEMORATES OPENING OF GRANITE MOUNTAIN HOTSHOTS MEMORIAL STATE PARK,2016-11-30,2016,2016-11,Republican,House,AZ,John McCain,M000303,www.mccain.senate.gov,,,legacy,"Washington, D.C. ­– U.S. Senator John McCain (R-AZ) sent a letter for the dedication of the new Granite Mountain Hotshots Memorial State Park, which officially opened to the public in Yarnell, Arizona today:
“This Memorial State Park is a most fitting tribute to these remarkable firefighters who selflessly risked their own lives to protect others and their community in the beautiful Arizona town of Yarnell,” wrote Senator McCain. “I thank Arizona State Parks and the Yarnell Hill Memorial Site Board, who made this designation possible. With this wonderful memorial, I hope the family and friends of those Hotshots who passed may find peace and comfort in this historic designation, which will forever preserve and honor the memory of these brave souls.”
The letter is below and here. 
November 30, 2016
Arizona State Parks and Trails
Granite Mountain Hotshots Memorial State Park
Yarnell, AZ 
Dear Friends,
In a proud but solemn moment for all Arizonans, today we celebrate the dedication of the Granite Mountain Hotshots Memorial State Park.
The 2013 Yarnell Hill Fire was a tragedy that resulted in the lives of 19 brave and fearless Granite Mountain Hotshots.  That fateful day on June 30, 2013 was the greatest loss of life for firefighters in a wildfire since 1933 and the greatest loss of firefighters in the United States since the September 11th attacks.  This Memorial State Park is a most fitting tribute to these remarkable firefighters who selflessly risked their own lives to protect others and their community in the beautiful Arizona town of Yarnell.
I thank Arizona State Parks and the Yarnell Hill Memorial Site Board, who made this designation possible.  With this wonderful memorial, I hope the family and friends of those Hotshots who passed may find peace and comfort in this historic designation, which will forever preserve and honor the memory of these brave souls.
My thoughts and prayers are with you all on this occasion, and I send best wishes for a memorable event.
Sincerely,
John McCain
United State Senator
###",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z
https://www.mccain.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases?ContentRecord_id=9DAA6A8F-4F3F-4274-8ED8-87670353CF57,STATEMENT BY SASC CHAIRMAN JOHN McCAIN ON NATIONAL DEFENSE AUTHORIZATION ACT CONFERENCE REPORT,2016-11-30,2016,2016-11,Republican,House,AZ,John McCain,M000303,www.mccain.senate.gov,,,legacy,"Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator John McCain (R-AZ), Chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, released the following statement after the completion of the conference on the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017, which authorizes funding for the Department of Defense and the national security programs of the Department of Energy:
“I am tremendously proud of this NDAA, which provides our troops with the largest pay raise since 2010, begins to reverse the dangerous drawdown of the Army and Marine Corps, boosts investments in rebuilding readiness, firmly establishes innovation as a primary mission of the Department of Defense, and delivers bold reforms on defense acquisition, military healthcare, military justice, and security cooperation. Thanks to these provisions and many more, the NDAA will enable our troops to rise to the challenges of a more dangerous world.
“I thank each of my colleagues – Senator Jack Reed, Rep. Mac Thornberry, and Rep. Adam Smith – for their hard work in a collaborative and thoughtful conference process. I am grateful to have such committed partners in upholding the Armed Services Committees’ proud tradition of bipartisan cooperation in support of the brave men and women of our Armed Forces.”
###
MAJOR HIGHLIGHTS
Providing for the Common Defense
The NDAA authorizes a total of $619.0 billion for defense discretionary spending, which is $3.2 billion above President Obama’s budget request. The conference report authorizes $543.4 billion in base funding, including $523.7 billion for the Department of Defense and $19.4 billion for the Department of Energy. The agreement authorizes $67.8 billion in Overseas Contingency Operations (OCO) funding, which includes the $5.8 billion in supplemental funding requested by President Obama for operations in Iraq, Syria, and Afghanistan.
The Goldwater-Nichols Act and Reforming the Defense Enterprise
This year, the Senate Armed Services Committee conducted a comprehensive review of the roles, missions, and organization of the major actors in the Department of Defense (DOD)—the Office of the Secretary of Defense and the defense agencies, the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the Joint Staff, the Combatant Commands, and the military services. This review was borne out of a general concern that the organization of DOD too often inhibits, rather than enables, the talented people serving there to fulfill their duties at a time of major strategic and technological change.
Building on this work, the conferees sought to address the problem of roles and missions in the Department of Defense—clarifying them and ensuring that all players are maximizing their effectiveness and playing their unique roles on the team. Too often DOD and the interagency are hampered by stovepipes, duplications, and lack of communication. This problem requires a recalibration of the roles and missions of the senior officials in DOD, as well as their relationships with each other, to enhance strategic integration across the defense enterprise.
Office of the Secretary of Defense
The conference report contains a provision to improve strategic integration across functional components of the Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD). At a time when the Department of Defense faces numerous threats that all span different regions, functions, and military domains, the conferees believed the Secretary of Defense needs better tools to more effectively develop integrated solutions and strategies for critical Department objectives.
Functionally-aligned organizations often inhibit, rather than enable, strategic integration. In the case of the Department of Defense, the Secretary and the Deputy are currently the only individuals who can perform cross-functional, strategic integration.  To address this problem and help integrate the expertise and ingenuity within the Department’s functional organizations, the conference report includes a provision that would allow the next Secretary of Defense to create and delegate decision-making authority to a series of cross-functional teams to achieve core objectives of the Department. These cross-functional teams would support the Secretary and the Deputy in performing integration more effectively and efficiently.  The conferees emphasize that the authority of the cross-functional teams, which will be established and directed by the Secretary and will support the Secretary, derives from the authority of the Secretary.
While it is difficult to accomplish cultural change through legislation, the Goldwater-Nichols Act is an example that such change is possible. In that spirit, the conference report promotes a more collaborative culture through such practical steps as training, directives and guidance, and performance reviews.
General and Flag Officers
The conference report directs a reduction of 110 general and flag officers on Active Duty by no later than December 31, 2022, and the redistribution of authorized general and flag officers across the military departments and the joint pool. The agreement also requires the Secretary of Defense to conduct a study of general and flag officer requirements with a goal of identifying and justifying each general or flag officer position in terms of overall force structure, scope of responsibility, command and control requirements, and force readiness execution. The study will also identify an additional 10 percent reduction in the number of general and flag offices in addition to the reduction in the conference report.
This provision is necessary because the size of the general and flag officer corps has become increasingly out of balance with the size of the force it leads. Over the past 30 years, the end-strength of the joint force has decreased 38 percent, but the ratio of four-star officers to the overall force has increased by 65 percent. Especially at a time of constrained defense budgets, the military services must right-size their officer corps and shift as many personnel as possible from staff functions to operational and other vital roles.
Staff and Headquarters
The conference report includes a provision to reduce the number of Senior Executive Service civilian employees in the Department of Defense commensurate with the reduction to flag and general officers. The agreement also imposes limitations on funds used for staff augmentation contracts in the Office of the Secretary of Defense and the military departments.
National Security Council Staff
The conference report includes a provision to cap the size of the National Security Council (NSC) staff at 200 over the course of an 18-month transition period. This would not apply to technical and administrative personnel, but rather only to permanently assigned professional staff and detailees from the Department of Defense and other departments and agencies.
The NSC was created by the Congress to be a small group of the President’s staff, focused on developing whole-of-government national security strategy and coordinating it across the interagency. The execution of daily operations was to remain with the cabinet secretaries and senior leaders of the departments and agencies subject to congressional oversight.
Unfortunately, the past 25 years have brought a consistent and steady growth of the NSC staff—from 40 during the George H.W. Bush administration, to more than 100 in the Clinton administration, to more than 200 during the George W. Bush administration, to reports of nearly 400 under the current administration. In addition to the growth in size, and largely enabled by it, we have seen an expansion of the NSC staff’s role into tactical and operational issues. The conference report seeks to push the NSC staff toward prioritizing the strategic mission that led Congress to create it in the first place.
Reforming the Defense Acquisition System
For years after the end of the Cold War, the United States enjoyed a near monopoly on advanced military technologies such as stealth, precision-guided munitions, unmanned systems, and the advanced communications that enable network-centric warfare. That is changing rapidly. From China and Russia, to Iran and North Korea, we see militaries that are developing, fielding, and employing long-range precision guided weapons, advanced fighter aircraft, anti-access and area-denial systems, and growing space and cyber capabilities. The result is that we are at real and increasing risk of losing the military technological dominance that we have taken for granted for thirty years.
That is why innovation cannot be an auxiliary office at the Department of Defense. It must be the central mission of its acquisition system. Unfortunately, that is not the case with the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics (AT&L). It has grown too big, tries to do too much, and is too focused on compliance at the expense of innovation.
Therefore, the conference report disestablishes AT&L by February 2018, and divides its duties between two new offices: a new Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering and an Under Secretary for Acquisition and Sustainment. The job of Research and Engineering will be developing defense technologies that can ensure a new era of U.S. qualitative military dominance. The job of Acquisition and Sustainment will focus on the execution of acquisition functions, ensuring compliance, and lowering risks to taxpayers.
These organizational changes complement the additional acquisition reforms in the conference report. The agreement creates new pathways for the Department of Defense to do business with non-traditional defense firms. It streamlines regulations to procure commercial goods and services. It provides new authorities for the rapid prototyping, acquisition, and fielding of new capabilities.
The conference report also establishes a preference for fixed-price contracts. The overuse of “cost-type” contracts, and the complicated and expensive government bureaucracy that goes with them, serves as a barrier to entry for commercial, non-traditional, and small businesses that are driving the innovation our military needs.
Reforming the Military Health System
Building on the work of the Military Compensation and Retirement Modernization Commission, the NDAA initiates a comprehensive reform to modernize the military health system and provide beneficiaries with higher quality care, better access to care, and a better experience of care. These reforms constitute an important first step in the evolution of the military health system from an under-performing, disjointed health system into a high-performing integrated health system that gives beneficiaries what they need and deserve: the right care at the right time in the right place. 
The conference report includes provisions that expand DOD telehealth capabilities, reform TRICARE healthcare plans, modernize TRICARE medical support contracts, streamline the administration of the Defense Health Agency and military medical treatment facilities, and establish high-performance military-civilian integrated health delivery systems.
The conference report upholds the Armed Services Committees’ commitment to maintaining battlefield medicine as a pocket of excellence in the military health system. The agreement seeks to improve trauma care for military servicemembers and other individuals eligible for trauma care at military hospitals by establishing a Joint Trauma System within the Defense Health Agency and a Joint Trauma Education and Training Directorate. This directorate will develop enduring partnerships with civilian academic medical centers and large metropolitan teaching hospitals with level-one trauma centers and embed combat casualty care teams, led by military trauma surgeons, within the trauma centers of those medical centers and hospitals.
Supporting the All-Volunteer Force
As threats to our nation grow more diverse and complex and impose greater demands on military servicemembers, we are counting on young Americans to enlist or commit to serve in the All-Volunteer Force that defends our security. The NDAA sustains the quality of life for the men and women of the total force and their families and addresses the needs of our wounded, ill, and injured servicemembers. The conference report:
 
Authorizes a 2.1 percent across-the-board pay raise for members of the uniformed services, the largest military pay increase since 2010.
Reauthorizes over 30 types of bonuses and special pays aimed at encouraging enlistment, reenlistment, and continued service by active-duty and reserve component military personnel. The conference report also boosts the aviation retention bonus to $35,000 per year up from $25,000 per year.
Directs a fair adjudication of cases for members of the California National Guard caught up in the issuance of improper bonuses by holding the Department of Defense responsible for expediting the review process, reaching out to each impacted servicemember, and notifying credit reporting agencies when debts have been forgiven.
Authorizes $30 million in supplemental impact aid to local educational agencies with military dependent children and $5 million in impact aid for schools with military dependent children with severe disabilities.
Eliminates the different treatment under the Survivor Benefit Plan accorded members of the reserve component who die from an injury or illness incurred or aggravated in the line of duty during inactive-duty training, as compared to the treatment of members of the Armed Forces who die in the line of duty while on Active Duty.
Extends the Special Survivor Indemnity Allowance through May 31, 2018.
 
Reforming the Military Justice System
The NDAA implements the recommendations of the Department of Defense Military Justice Review Group by incorporating the Military Justice Act of 2016 as amended by the committee. Taken together, the provisions contained in the conference report constitute the most significant reforms to the Uniform Code of Military Justice since it was enacted six decades ago. The conference report:
 
Strengthens the structure of the military justice system. 
Enhances fairness and efficiency in pretrial and trial procedures.
Reforms sentencing, guilty pleas, and plea agreements.
Streamlines the post-trial process.
Modernizes military appellate practice. 
Increases transparency and independent review of the military justice system.
Improves the functionality of punitive articles and proscribes additional acts.
Incorporates best practices from federal criminal proceedings where applicable.
 
Modernizing the Force to Meet Current and Future Threats
Arbitrary defense budget caps have forced the Department of Defense to fund growing operational requirements and the expense of modernization and procurement. As a result, delayed modernization and aging equipment continue to have a dangerous impact on the readiness and combat effectiveness of our Armed Forces. The conference report prioritizes modernization to provide critical military capabilities to our warfighters and enable them to meet current and future threats. The conference report:
 
Authorizes $10.5 billion for the Joint Strike Fighter program, including $8.5 billion for procurement of 63 aircraft, including 43 F-35As, 16 F-35Bs, and 4 F-35Cs.
Authorizes $2 billion for procurement of 11 P-8 Poseidon aircraft and $185 million for 2 F/A-18 Super Hornet fighter aircraft.
Authorizes $5.0 billion to procure 2 Virginia-class attack submarines and provide for advance procurement of future Virginia-class submarines.
Authorizes $3.3 billion for the procurement of 2 Arleigh Burke-class destroyers.
Authorizes $1.6 billion to procure the next amphibious assault ship, including incremental funding authority for fiscal years 2017 and 2018.
Authorizes $1.5 billion to fully support the Ohio-class ballistic missile submarine replacement program.
Authorizes an increase of $440 million for procurement of an amphibious transport dock (LPD) or the amphibious ship replacement (LX(R)), including incremental funding authority.
Authorizes $264 million for the Tomahawk missile program to maintain production of Tomahawk missiles at the minimum sustaining rate and adds $33 million to boost production of the AIM-9X Block II Sidewinder. The NDAA fully supports the Department of Defense’s request for vital munitions including the Long Range Anti-Ship Missiles (LRASM), Standard Missile 6 (SM-6), and Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air Missile (AMRAAM).
Authorizes $2.6 billion for the procurement of Army aircraft including 52 AH-64 Apaches, 36 UH-60 Blackhawks, and 22 CH-47 Chinooks. The conference report also authorizes $590 million for Army aircraft operational systems development to support the Army’s Aviation Restructuring Initiative.
Authorizes $1.6 billion for upgrades to M1 Abrams tanks, M2 Bradley infantry fighting vehicles, and Stryker armored combat vehicles to improve the lethality and survivability of U.S. Army ground combat systems and to deter aggression in Europe.
Authorizes increases in procurement and RDT&E funding of $94 million for Active Protections Systems for ground combat vehicles and $211 million for Aircraft Survivability Systems for combat aircraft.
Fully supports modernizing the nuclear triad of ICBMs, bombers, and nuclear submarines, and ensuring that U.S. nuclear forces are survivable, well-exercised, and increasingly ready to counter Russian nuclear provocations while reassuring allies. The NDAA also provides full support for Department of Energy programs to extend the life and modernize our nuclear weapons and infrastructure, and to secure nuclear materials and dangerous pathogens worldwide.
 
Addressing the Military Readiness Crisis
The combination of rising threats, declining budgets, aging equipment, shrinking forces, and high operational tempo has produced a military readiness crisis. The services are still recovering from the damage inflicted by sequestration in 2013, which in the case of the Air Force may take more than a decade. Through a combination of added funds and redirected savings identified in the President’s budget request, the conference report directs $4.6 billion to reduce training shortfalls, support weapons maintenance, and sustain facilities. Critically, the conference report stems the drawdown of military end strength that has exacerbated the readiness crisis. The agreement authorizes 476,000 soldiers in the Active Army; 323,900 sailors in the Active Navy; 321,000 in the Active Air Force; and 185,000 marines in the Active Marine Corps. 
Demanding Accountability and Transparency in Service Acquisition Programs
Given the increasing diversity and complexity of the national security challenges, our nation simply cannot afford to waste precious defense dollars. To root out and eliminate wasteful spending and improve the Department of Defense acquisition system, the NDAA contains several oversight provisions that ensure accountability for results; promote transparency; protect taxpayers; and drive the Department to deliver our warfighters the capabilities they need on time, on schedule, and at reasonable cost. The conference report:
 
Extends the prohibition on retirement of the A-10 until F-35 Joint Strike Fighter initial operational testing (IOT&E) and evaluation is completed. The NDAA also ensures the F-35 IOT&E includes comparison testing and detailed assessment of A-10 and F-35A abilities to conduct close air support, combat search and rescue, and airborne forward air controller missions.
Enhances oversight on the F-35 Follow-on Modernization by imposing reporting requirements similar to major defense acquisition programs.
Increases transparency on the B-21 Long Range Strike Bomber program by enhancing reporting requirements on program performance data and ensuring close and continuing oversight by the Government Accountability Office.
Limits the availability of funds for the Joint Surveillance Target Attack Radar System (JSTARS) recapitalization program unless the contract for engineering and manufacturing development uses a firm fixed-price contract structure. The conference report allows the Secretary of Defense to wave this restriction if he believes it is in the national security interests of the United States.
Limits funds for the Ford-class aircraft carrier program until the Navy establishes lower end cost targets of $11.0 billion and 12.0 billion for the USS John F. Kennedy (CVN-79) and USS Enterprise (CVN-80), respectively.
Limits funds and enhances reporting requirements for the Advanced Arresting Gear (AAG) for the Ford-class aircraft carrier, a troubled program that has breached critical cost growth thresholds.
Prohibits revisions to or deviations from the current LCS acquisition strategy, which includes procurement of both LCS designs in 2017, a down-select to a single variant no later than 2019, and a reduction in the inventory objective to 40 ships.
Requires an annual report on development, production, sustainment, and testing of LCS mission packages.
Requires the Department to certify the LCS mission package program of record quantities.
Reduces authorization for the LCS by $28 million due to unjustified unit cost growth.
Cuts $76.8 million for LCS mission packages due to a program cancellation and delayed operational testing.
Reduces procurement authorization for the Distributed Common Ground System-Army (DCGS-A) by over $24 million and directs the Army to acquire a non-developmental, commercially-available solution. The conference report also requires the Secretary of the Army to improve and tailor training for units equipped with the DCGS-A Increment 1.
 
Driving Defense Innovation in R&D
A strong and agile research and development enterprise has always been the backbone to defense innovation and to cutting-edge military technology. Throughout history, the defense research enterprise has produced such breakthroughs as advanced nuclear weaponry, precision-guided munitions, stealth technology, and global positioning systems. While the defense research enterprise continues to operate at an advanced level, in recent years it has been hampered by an increasingly restrictive and encroaching set of rules and regulations imposed by the Department of Defense. To begin the process of making the research enterprise more efficient and effective, and to continue to support the high-tech work performed by defense researchers, the conference report:
 
Fully funds the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, the Strategic Capabilities Office, and basic research at the level of the President’s budget request.
Adds significant funding to accounts meant to drive advancements in the Department’s Third Offset Strategy, including emphasizing the need for enhanced efforts to advance directed energy technology.
Makes important changes to lab management, funding, and purchasing policy to allow directors of defense laboratories to operate more autonomously with a view toward efficiency.
Makes permanent the Department of Defense Rapid Innovation Program.
 
Strengthening Homeland Security
The NDAA takes several steps to bolster the defense of the homeland:
 
Enhances information sharing and coordination of military training conducted on U.S. borders between the Department of Defense and the Department of Homeland Security in order to support military readiness, increase situational awareness of the border by civilian law enforcement, and improve the effectiveness of drug interdiction and border security operations.
Authorizes $933 million for Department of Defense counterdrug programs.
Codifies the authority of the Secretary of Defense to provide support to federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement for counterdrug and countering transnational organized crime operations.
Authorizes the creation of Department of Homeland Security Joint Task Forces to enhance situational awareness of threats and trends concerning illicit trafficking and to more effectively conduct joint operations to secure the land and maritime borders of the United States.
Requires the Secretary of Homeland Security to develop metrics to measure the effectiveness of security along the border, improving the ability to more accurately assess progress in securing the border by using consistent performance measures.
 
Strengthening Cybersecurity
The conference report elevates U.S. Cyber Command to a unified command. As our senior military leadership has testified, this step is critical to providing the Commander of U.S. Cyber Command with the necessary unity of command and streamlined decision making.
The conference report also prevents the premature termination of the “dual hat” arrangement under which the Commander of U.S. Cyber Command also serves as the Director of the National Security Agency (NSA). The agreement prohibits the Secretary of Defense from terminating the “dual hat” arrangement until the date on which the Secretary and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff jointly certify that a number of conditions have been met to include the full operational capability of the cyber mission force. Prior to any decision to terminate the “dual hat,” the provision would also require the Secretary and Chairman to jointly assess the operational dependence of Cyber Command on the NSA; the ability of Cyber Command and NSA to carry out their respective roles and responsibilities independently; and whether a robust and sufficient operational infrastructure, command and control system and processes, and cyber capabilities have been deployed.  
Supporting Allies and Partners
Strong allies and partners are now, and always have been, vital to America’s national security. As the challenges to our common security continue to grow in diversity and complexity, the NDAA bolsters support for allies and partners who are fighting alongside us, sharing the burden, and defending our values. The conference report:
 
Authorizes $3.4 billion for the European Deterrence Initiative to deter Russian aggression, a four-fold increase from last fiscal year. The agreement focuses these funds on increasing the size, capability, and readiness of U.S. forces in Europe as well as the ability of allies and partners to defend themselves against growing threats to their security and territorial integrity.
Extends and increases security assistance to the Government of Ukraine to $350 million, including the authorization to provide lethal military assistance. The agreement requires needed Ukrainian defense institutional reforms that will enable Ukraine to fully leverage security assistance investments to maximize defense capabilities and ensure that those capabilities are sustained.
Authorizes $3.4 billion for the Afghanistan Security Forces Fund to preserve the gains of the last 15 years and continue to degrade and defeat terrorist organizations with transnational operational reach and intent to harm U.S. national security interests.
Extends the Afghanistan Special Immigrant Visa program for translators and other Afghans performing sensitive and trusted activities in support of the U.S. Government mission who are threatened by reprisal from the Taliban, the Islamic State in Khorasan Province, and other extremist groups. 
Creates a $1.2 billion Counter-ISIL Fund providing flexible resources to support training and equipping the properly-vetted Syrian opposition, Iraqi Security Forces, the Iraqi Kurdish Peshmerga, Sunni tribal elements, and other local security forces with a national security mission such as local security forces that are committed to protecting highly vulnerable ethnic and religious communities. The agreement provides up to $480 million for stipends and sustainment through the Government of Iraq to the Iraqi Kurdish Peshmerga to assist in liberating Mosul. Additionally, this fund will reimburse border security operations in countries most vulnerable to ISIL aggression to preserve stability and security, including Jordan, Lebanon, Egypt and Tunisia.
Adds an additional $455 million to the $146 million requested by the President to modernize Israeli’s layered missile defense system.
Increases the obligation authority for the Special Defense Acquisition Fund (SDAF) to better anticipate the acquisition needs of coalition partners and allies, including $500 million to be used to procure and stock precision guided munitions to enhance the effectiveness of counterterrorism operations conducted or supported by the United States.
Increases security cooperation between the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom and Australia by reducing barriers and integrating them in the National Technology and Industrial Base. 
Enhances security cooperation between the United States and India.
Refocuses security assistance to Pakistan on activities that directly support U.S. national security interests and conditions a significant portion of funding on a certification from the Secretary of Defense that Pakistan is taking demonstrable steps against the Haqqani Network in Pakistani territory.
Urges the Secretary of Defense to carry out a program of exchanges of senior military officers and senior officials between the United States and the Government of Taiwan designed to improve military-to-military relations.
 
Reforming Security Cooperation
The conference report contains the most sweeping reform of the Department of Defense’s security cooperation enterprise in over 20 years by streamlining the cumbersome patchwork of legal authorities, funding sources, and organizational structure for the management and oversight of DOD security cooperation programs and activities.  Specifically, the agreement consolidates security cooperation authorities from Title 10 and elsewhere in public law into a single chapter of U.S. code. For the first time, the conference report requires the Secretary of Defense to submit a consolidated security cooperation budget. The agreement would also modernize the security cooperation workforce responsible for the planning, monitoring, execution, and evaluation of such programs and activities. Together, these steps will improve operational outcomes, program management, congressional oversight, and public transparency.  By breaking down existing stovepipes, these reforms will greatly enhance DOD’s ability to address the wide-ranging and evolving nature of global threats and better align security cooperation activities to strategic objectives. 
Importantly, these reforms are not meant to create a DOD mission that competes with security assistance overseen by the Department of State. Rather, the conference report seeks to enable the DOD to more effectively meet its own defense-specific objectives in support of broader defense strategy as well as better integrate Title 10 security cooperation activities into the broader United States Government approach to security sector assistance.
The conference report would increase coordination between the Department of Defense and the Department of State in the planning and implementation of security sector assistance programs by requiring the Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of State to jointly develop and plan “train and equip” programs. Similarly, the agreement requires the secretaries to coordinate the implementation of such programs in order to enhance visibility and collaboration earlier in the planning process and through execution so as to avoid unnecessary duplication and enhance overall unity of effort.
Detention Policy
The NDAA extends prohibitions related to Guantanamo Bay previously enacted by Congress. The conference report:
 
Extends the prohibition on the use of funds for transfer to the United States of individuals detained at Guantanamo Bay.
Extends the prohibition on the use of funds to construct or modify facilities in the United States to house detainees transferred from Guantanamo Bay.
Extends the prohibition on the use of funds to transfer or release of individuals detained at Guantanamo Bay to Libya, Somalia, Syria, or Yemen.
Extends the prohibition on the use of funds for realignment of forces at or closure of United States Naval Station, Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
 
###",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z
http://gosar.house.gov/press-release/rep-gosar-%E2%80%9C-end-fidel-castro-should-signal-end-cuban-adjustment-act%E2%80%9D,Rep. Gosar: The End of Fidel Castro  Should Signal the End of the Cuban Adjustment Act,2016-11-29,2016,2016-11,Republican,House,AZ,Paul Gosar,G000565,gosar.house.gov,,,legacy,"WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Congressman Paul A. Gosar, D.D.S. (AZ-04) released the following statement after Cuban State television announced the death of former dictator Fidel Castro over the past weekend:
“The death of Fidel Castro signals a new hope for the Cuban people who suffered under one of the most brutal dictatorships in modern history. However, until all remnants of the Castro regime are removed from power, Cuba will never be free. I join many of my Congressional colleagues in calling on President-elect Donald Trump to undo President Obama’s misguided executive actions on Cuba.
“Additionally, the end of Fidel Castro should signal the end of the Cuban Adjustment Act and the end of the Wet Foot/Dry Foot policy. These outdated amnesty programs cost U.S. taxpayers billions of dollars and provide Cuban nationals with an unfair benefit not available to any other country in the world. Further, Congress should immediately act and pass my commonsense legislation, the Ending Special National Origin-Based Immigration Programs for Cubans Act, in order to prevent such abuse from future administrations.”
 
Background:
Congressman Gosar’s bill repeals the 1966 Cuban Adjustment Act, calls for termination of the Wet Foot/Dry Foot policy and requires that all immigrants from Cuba are treated in the same manner as any other person seeking to immigrate to the United States.
The full bill text of H.R. 3818, the Ending Special National Origin-Based Immigration Programs for Cubans Act can be found HERE. 
The bill is endorsed by: Federation of American Immigration Reform (FAIR) and NumbersUSA.
Earlier this year, Congressman Gosar penned an op-ed for Conservative Review titled “Ending Instant Amnesty for Cubans”. The full op-ed can be found HERE.
The Ft. Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel published a series of investigative articles exposing billions of dollars of waste at the expense of U.S. taxpayers as a result of Cuban immigration fraud. Click on the respective link to read each article: End The Fraud In Cuban Immigration; Cubans Retire To Florida – With Help From U.S. Taxpayers; U.S. Welfare Flows To Cuba.
The Cuban Adjustment Act of 1966 initially allowed for “any native or citizen of Cuba” who had been “inspected and admitted or paroled into the United States subsequent to January 1, 1959” and who had been physically present in the United States for two years, to be lawfully admitted for permanent residence.
This law was later amended to change the physically present requirement to one year and Cuban immigrants are currently allowed to stay in this country to work and are also put on a path to citizenship. This is a luxury and benefit that no other country in the world enjoys, and given that the president unilaterally reestablished diplomatic relations with Cuba, such actions are unwarranted and defy commonsense. 
Perhaps the most disturbing part of this flawed immigration policy is that Cuba does not allow Cuban citizens convicted of crimes in the U.S. to be repatriated to Cuba. The Miami Sun-Sentinel reported that “Cubans are allowed to enter the United States without visas or background checks of their criminal histories in Cuba. Unlike other immigrants seeking political asylum, Cubans can return home without jeopardizing their status, aiding crime rings that recruit accomplices and hide stolen money in Cuba...They also make it nearly impossible to deport criminals to Cuba after they serve their sentences in the U.S., as would be the case with criminals from most other countries.” As a result, the Cuban Adjustment Act has allowed Cuban thieves to rob American taxpayers of more than $2 billion, creating a “criminal pipeline” from the U.S. to Cuba.
###",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z
https://gosar.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=2169,Rep. Gosar: The End of Fidel Castro  Should Signal the End of the Cuban Adjustment Act,2016-11-29,2016,2016-11,Republican,House,AZ,Paul A. Gosar,G000565,gosar.house.gov,gosar,https://gosar.house.gov/news/documentquery.aspx,scraper,"Today, U.S. Congressman Paul A. Gosar, D.D.S. (AZ-04) released the following statement after Cuban State television announced the death of former dictator Fidel Castro over the past weekend:

“The death of Fidel Castro signals a new hope for the Cuban people who suffered under one of the most brutal dictatorships in modern history. However, until all remnants of the Castro regime are removed from power, Cuba will never be free. I join many of my Congressional colleagues in calling on President-elect Donald Trump to undo President Obama’s misguided executive actions on Cuba.

“Additionally, the end of Fidel Castro should signal the end of the Cuban Adjustment Act and the end of the Wet Foot/Dry Foot policy. These outdated amnesty programs cost U.S. taxpayers billions of dollars and provide Cuban nationals with an unfair benefit not available to any other country in the world. Further, Congress should immediately act and pass my commonsense legislation, the Ending Special National Origin-Based Immigration Programs for Cubans Act, in order to prevent such abuse from future administrations.”

Background:

Congressman Gosar’s bill repeals the 1966 Cuban Adjustment Act, calls for termination of the Wet Foot/Dry Foot policy and requires that all immigrants from Cuba are treated in the same manner as any other person seeking to immigrate to the United States.

The full bill text of H.R. 3818, the Ending Special National Origin-Based Immigration Programs for Cubans Act can be found HERE.

The bill is endorsed by: Federation of American Immigration Reform (FAIR) and NumbersUSA.

Earlier this year, Congressman Gosar penned an op-ed for Conservative Review titled “Ending Instant Amnesty for Cubans”. The full op-ed can be found HERE.

The Ft. Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel published a series of investigative articles exposing billions of dollars of waste at the expense of U.S. taxpayers as a result of Cuban immigration fraud. Click on the respective link to read each article: End The Fraud In Cuban Immigration; Cubans Retire To Florida – With Help From U.S. Taxpayers; U.S. Welfare Flows To Cuba.

The Cuban Adjustment Act of 1966 initially allowed for “any native or citizen of Cuba” who had been “inspected and admitted or paroled into the United States subsequent to January 1, 1959” and who had been physically present in the United States for two years, to be lawfully admitted for permanent residence.

This law was later amended to change the physically present requirement to one year and Cuban immigrants are currently allowed to stay in this country to work and are also put on a path to citizenship. This is a luxury and benefit that no other country in the world enjoys, and given that the president unilaterally reestablished diplomatic relations with Cuba, such actions are unwarranted and defy commonsense.

Perhaps the most disturbing part of this flawed immigration policy is that Cuba does not allow Cuban citizens convicted of crimes in the U.S. to be repatriated to Cuba. The Miami Sun-Sentinel reported that “Cubans are allowed to enter the United States without visas or background checks of their criminal histories in Cuba. Unlike other immigrants seeking political asylum, Cubans can return home without jeopardizing their status, aiding crime rings that recruit accomplices and hide stolen money in Cuba...They also make it nearly impossible to deport criminals to Cuba after they serve their sentences in the U.S., as would be the case with criminals from most other countries.” As a result, the Cuban Adjustment Act has allowed Cuban thieves to rob American taxpayers of more than $2 billion, creating a “criminal pipeline” from the U.S. to Cuba.

###",1,2026-03-30T01:40:41Z,2026-04-08T21:07:19Z
https://rubengallego.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/rep-ruben-gallego-backs-tim-ryan-democratic-leader,Rep. Ruben Gallego Backs Tim Ryan for Democratic Leader,2016-11-29,2016,2016-11,Democrat,House,AZ,Ruben Gallego,G000574,rubengallego.house.gov,,,legacy,"Washington, DC – Today, Rep. Ruben Gallego announced his support for Rep. Tim Ryan to serve as the next Democratic Leader.
Rep. Ruben Gallego issued the following statement:
“One of the unmistakable messages of the 2016 election is that the American people are fed up with business as usual in Washington. At this critical juncture, we face a choice – will we preserve a broken status quo or will we set our party on a new course?
“I believe we must do more than simply paper over the cracks. We can’t just say the right things – we must take concrete steps to move our party in the right direction. That’s why I’m proud to announce my support for Congressman Tim Ryan for Democratic Leader.
“Congressman Ryan has been a relentless advocate for working families and progressive policies. He is young and energetic, and I believe he will lead our Caucus in standing up to President-elect Trump and his administration and their plans to roll back civil liberties and our country’s social advancement.
“Congressman Ryan has also proposed far-reaching reforms on how our Caucus is governed. These reforms will bring more voices into leadership, with new ideas that will help us to energize the diverse base of our party. He has emphasized accountability, and demonstrated that he is willing to be answerable to our Members.
“Nancy Pelosi helped deliver great progressive victories like the Affordable Care Act during her Speakership. She has steered the Democratic Caucus through a series of tough fights, and I respect and admire her long record of dedicated service to our party and our country. I was heartened to read that she is now heeding the younger voices in our caucus. However, let’s be clear: these changes are necessary but not sufficient.
“We can’t walk away from the 2016 election without learning an important lesson. What we’re doing now is not working. We have an opportunity for change, and we should take it. I encourage my Democratic colleagues to join me in supporting Tim Ryan for Democratic Leader.”
 
###",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z
https://www.mccain.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/floor-statements?ContentRecord_id=DB070508-7F49-4102-B60A-0BF9616CE371,OPENING STATEMENT BY SASC CHAIRMAN JOHN McCAIN ON DOD ACTIONS CONCERNING VOLUNTARY EDUCATION PROGRAMS,2016-11-29,2016,2016-11,Republican,House,AZ,John McCain,M000303,www.mccain.senate.gov,,,legacy,"Washington, D.C. ­– U.S. Senator John McCain (R-AZ), Chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, delivered the following opening statement at a hearing on Department of Defense actions concerning voluntary education programs:
""The Committee meets this morning to review the Department of Defense’s (DoD) decision last year to put the University of Phoenix on probation, pending possible termination, with respect to its participation in its Voluntary Education Tuition Assistance Program.
""I welcome our witnesses and appreciate their appearance before the Committee today:                                                                  
 
""Peter Levine, Acting Undersecretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness;
""Stephanie Barna, Acting Principal Deputy Undersecretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness; and
""Dawn Bilodeau, Chief of Voluntary Education for the Department of Defense
 
""This hearing is about how the Department of Defense—consistent with the Obama administration’s ideological hostility to for-profit universities, under pressure from one member of Congress, and having performed very little due diligence of its own—placed on probation a reputable and fully accredited for-profit university that provides valuable educational programs to thousands of military service members. This probation decision, which constitutes nothing short of a gross abuse of power, resulted from a process that was fundamentally unfair and not supported by sufficient evidence. Indeed, the alleged violations that led to the probation decision were not substantively different than alleged violations by 15 other universities. 
""While the probation decision was ultimately reversed, it was not before significant damage had already been done. The decision immediately impeded the university’s ability to provide educational programs to the military community. For the duration of the probation, countless veterans and active duty service members were prevented from enrolling in University of Phoenix courses. Not surprisingly, this also did significant harm to the university’s reputation and financial position. In 2009, the company’s stock reportedly traded at $86.54 per share. Prior to the release of the Reveal News ‘hit piece’ it was trading at around $16 per share and reached a low of around $6 a share shortly after DoD's unfair probation decision.  
""Had this probation decision not been overturned—thanks to the intervention of the Chairmen of the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, the Veterans Affairs Committee, and the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, among others—the university would have been driven into financial ruin. Terminating the University’s participation in the TA program, as I believe the DoD had intended all along, would have left the over 9,000 service members attending it without a school to complete their education, effectively extinguishing the time and effort they had already invested in pursuit of a degree. It would also likely have resulted in decisions by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to prohibit the University from participating in the Post 9/11 G.I. Bill and the Department of Education, regarding Title IV funding. And that would have most certainly devastated the University, just as the Administration did with ITT Tech in forcing it close or with DeVry, forcing it to sell-off its campuses.
""The purpose of this hearing, in short, is accountability—how such a misguided decision was made, the non-transparent and flawed ways in which it was made, why it was made, and who was responsible. In this way, today’s hearing is bigger than this one case, because if the University of Phoenix could be singled-out in this flawed and suspect way, that suggests a deeper failing at the Department of Defense that requires the continued oversight of this Committee.
""For the background of my colleagues, this Committee learned after the fact of the Department’s October 7, 2015 decision to place the University of Phoenix on probation. The stated reason for the decision was unauthorized base access and the improper use of ‘challenge coins.’ Shortly thereafter, I and other committee chairmen with jurisdictional interest in this case requested additional information on the decision, specifically the role played by the Department of Education’s interagency task force that had been established to enforce the President’s executive order on for-profit universities. What ensued was a meeting with these Senators and attended by representatives of some eight federal agencies, including the Department of Defense, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)—literally dozens of executive branch personnel. Rather than providing responses to our concerns, this meeting raised additional troubling questions about the administration’s hostility toward for-profit education, including at the Department of Defense.
""For purposes of today’s hearing, the relevant sequence of events begins on June 30, 2015, when the Center for Investigative Reporting (CIR) published a report in Reveal News, entitled ‘[the] University of Phoenix sidesteps Obama order on recruiting veterans.’ Dawn Bilodeau, the DoD’s Chief of Voluntary Education, who recommended the probation decision and drafted and signed the probation letter against the University, participated in that article, acknowledging that the Department was “cracking down” on questionable recruiting practices among for-profits.
""That same day, the Ranking Member of the Defense Appropriations Subcommittee, Senator Dick Durbin, wrote Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter and urged the DoD, among other actions, to suspend the University from the DoD’s voluntary education programs, to investigate and prosecute the University for its use of challenge coins, and to bar it from any further access to military bases. It appears that this letter was enough to propel the DoD into action—for just two weeks later, Ms. Bilodeau reached out to military bases regarding the alleged access violations, stating that 'Congress has urged DoD to investigate the allegations cited in the Reveal article.'
""On July 15, 2015, in a letter from then-Acting Undersecretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness Brad Carson to Ranking Member Durbin, Mr. Carson ‘confirmed … that DoD was completing a full review of University of Phoenix’s TA participation.’ This confirmation would serve as the basis for an increasingly hostile attack by Durbin and others against the University.
""On October 22, 2015, I sent a letter to Secretary Carter raising concerns about the decision to place the University of Phoenix on probation. This decision appeared to rely on questionable and overly technical interpretations of the Memorandum of Understanding that governed the interaction of for-profit schools with the Department of Defense. It failed to acknowledge the corrective actions that the University had immediately undertaken. And it was based, in part, on allegations made by a news article and other agencies that had been neither initiated nor confirmed by the DoD. Following additional correspondence and several meetings with Committee staff, the Department removed the University of Phoenix from probation in January 2016. By then, however, major damage had already been done to the university and its mission.
""For this reason, I directed staff to investigate, among other things, the facts and circumstances that led to the DoD’s decision to put the University of Phoenix on probation; the rules, processes, and procedures in place at the DoD that govern its administration of the tuition assistance program; and the interagency enforcement actions against for-profit educational institutions. The facts that have emerged suggest that that the reasons that the DoD provided in support of its decision are demonstrably specious. Let us review some of those key facts in greater detail.
""First, in its October 2015 probation letter, the DoD cited the allegations in the Reveal News article as a basis for apparent violations of the Memorandum of Understanding, specifically the University’s alleged failure to obtain approval for base access from DoD educational advisers.
""This was wrong. 
""The fact is, the University acted in good faith regarding base access by obtaining approval from base commanders prior to taking any action. The DoD’s concerns about base access appear to reflect overly technical violations of the MOU that should not have warranted adverse action.
""It is also a fact that, throughout the relevant period, there was considerable confusion among the military services and participating educational institutions about the requirements of the MOU on base access. This arose from the lack of a process at DoD to implement base access compliance rules by the services themselves. In each incident of a perceived base access violation, DoD ultimately found that the base itself failed to comply with the MOU. So again, in this broader context of confusion, singling out the University of Phoenix was unfair. And while subsequent actions by the DoD to clarify proper compliance with the MOU may have been helpful to other universities, it did nothing for the University of Phoenix, which was already paying the price for actions that preceded this additional guidance and was being held to a standard that was shifting.
""Second, in its letter explaining its decision to place the University of Phoenix on probation, the DoD cites “transgression of Defense Department policies regarding use of its official seals and other trademark insignia” relative to challenge coins. This, too, was in error.
""In that very same letter, and in subsequent interviews with staff, Ms. Bilodeau stipulated that the University had already responded to these infractions with appropriate corrective action by the time the letter was sent, and that they were no longer a concern of the Department. Moreover, 15 other universities (9 public, 5 private, and 1 for-profit) were found to have violated the policies regarding the unauthorized use of challenge coins, but they were never placed on probation.                               
""Third, the Department cited civil investigative demands for documents by the Federal Trade Commission and the California State Attorney General as reason for its probation decision on the University of Phoenix. This was completely erroneous. A mere request for documents is hardly evidence of misconduct. Indeed, the fact is, the DoD never undertook its own, independent review of the allegations raised by the FTC or California Attorney General investigations. Rather, it merely reviewed their document requests and accepted that they were sufficiently related to the University of Phoenix case to be cited as a basis for the probation decision. As of today, neither of these investigations have found any wrongdoing by the University.
""So if the facts undercut the Department’s own case against the University of Phoenix, why did this happen? It was certainly true that the Department lacked uniform guidance to govern its own interaction with for-profit universities and alleged violations of the tuition assistance program. The Department also clear lines of authority, supervision, and accountability, as well as sufficient processes to review allegations of violations of the MOU. These circumstances created an opportunity for an abuse of discretion; led to the inconsistent and unfair enforcement of the DoD’s policies on institutions of higher education; and allowed for a single member of Congress to improperly influence adverse action against a reputable institution of higher education.
""The facts of this case also raise troubling questions about the abuse of executive orders to enact an ideological agenda, the role of the Department of Education’s unaccountable interagency task force in carrying out that agenda, and to what extent actions such as these usurp the legitimate role of the Congress. 
""None of this should have ever been allowed to happen. And the purpose of this hearing is to ensure that a similar abuse of authority never happens again—for there is little reason to believe that the circumstances and events that led to the mistreatment of this one university could not be present, or could not manifest themselves, elsewhere in the Department of Defense.
""Finally, to our witnesses, I want to be clear that I do not take lightly requiring civil service employees, who are not confirmed by this body, to testify before this Committee. This is necessary, however, because of the extraordinary circumstances of this particular case, but also what it represents more broadly: a gross abuse of power, through a flawed and arbitrary process, with insufficient accountability. 
""Indeed, the Department came perilously close to extinguishing one of its own valuable partners in voluntary education programs and the higher education option chosen by thousands of non-traditional students, especially active-duty service members. I shudder to think how a similar lack of transparency and accountability could manifest itself in other vital DoD missions. I truly hope that we will never see anything like this again at the Department of Defense. But, if we do, for as long as I am chairman of this Committee, there will be accountability.
""I look forward to hearing from the witnesses. And I thank them for their service to our nation.
""Thank you.""
###",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z
https://www.mccain.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases?ContentRecord_id=4396494E-F7C7-40AE-A2AF-E08D19089C2F,STATEMENT BY SASC CHAIRMAN JOHN McCAIN ON RETIREMENT OF GENERAL RAHEEL SHARIF,2016-11-29,2016,2016-11,Republican,House,AZ,John McCain,M000303,www.mccain.senate.gov,,,legacy,"Washington, D.C. ­– U.S. Senator John McCain (R-AZ), Chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, released the following statement on the approaching retirement of General Raheel Sharif, Chief of Army Staff of Pakistan:
“I congratulate, and express my gratitude to, General Raheel Sharif upon his retirement as Pakistan’s Chief of Army Staff. General Sharif has been an important partner for the United States in the battle against terrorism. Since taking office in November 2013, General Sharif has made a concerted effort to target terrorists operating within the borders of Pakistan and has carried the fight to the northwest frontier provinces of Pakistan. In doing so, General Sharif has demonstrated that taking action against extremist groups is firmly in the national security interests of Pakistan. I wish General Sharif well as he enters a well-earned retirement. I know he will continue to serve the cause of Pakistan.
“As we look to the future, Pakistan must demonstrate that the commitment to fighting domestic terrorism is not dependent on a single individual. In that spirit, I look forward to working with General Qamar Javed Bajwa, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s selection to be the next Chief of Army Staff. And I congratulate Pakistan on carrying out a second consecutive transition of power in the military according to the processes established by the civilian government.”
###",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z
http://grijalva.house.gov/index.cfm?sectionid=13&itemid=2256,"Grijalva, Huffman Demand Accountability for Brutal Law Enforcement Tactics at DAPL",2016-11-28,2016,2016-11,Democrat,House,AZ,Raúl Grijalva,G000551,grijalva.house.gov,,,legacy,"WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Representatives Raúl M. Grijalva (D-AZ) and Jared Huffman (D-CA) today requested an immediate meeting with White House and Department of Justice officials to demand accountability for alarming treatment of Water Protectors and peaceful demonstrators at the Dakota Access Pipeline in North Dakota, and to denounce the closure of the Oceti Sakowin camp. The lawmakers, who jointly led 21 Members of Congress in urging President Obama to deescalate the tension at Standing Rock in a November 14 letter, noted today that circumstances since then have only deteriorated:

	“[H]eadlines of mass injuries, frigid water being sprayed at demonstrators in sub-freezing temperatures, and of rubber bullets and similar anti-riot weapons being fired at peaceful, unarmed civilians, make it clear that this situation is only getting worse.  Additionally, the Army Corps of Engineers letter announcing the closure of the Oceti Sakowin camp to demonstrators represents a concerning and disappointing course of action by the federal government.  

	“We question the plan and reasoning given by the Army Corps of Engineers to close the Oceti Sakowin camp to the Water Protectors. The members of the Standing Rock Sioux and the hundreds of Americans who join them in opposing the Dakota Access Pipeline are constitutionally protected in their right to peaceably assemble.”

	The full text of Reps. Grijalva and Huffman’s meeting request is available here.

	###",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z
https://www.flake.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases?ContentRecord_id=1DB36AD7-649A-40D7-BBFC-7641A8836FC5,Flake Statement on the Death of Fidel Castro,2016-11-26,2016,2016-11,Republican,House,AZ,Jeff Flake,F000444,www.flake.senate.gov,,,legacy,"Washington, D.C. - U.S. Sen. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) today released the following statement regarding the death of Fidel Castro: 
""Fidel Castro's death follows more than a half-century of brutal repression and misery. The Cuban people deserve better in the years ahead.""
###",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z
https://www.mccain.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases?ContentRecord_id=35CED400-DB79-4E91-9799-06751CE1491D,STATEMENT BY SENATOR JOHN McCAIN ON THE TRANS-PACIFIC PARTNERSHIP,2016-11-22,2016,2016-11,Republican,House,AZ,John McCain,M000303,www.mccain.senate.gov,,,legacy,"Washington, D.C. ­– U.S. Senator John McCain (R-AZ), Chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, released the following statement today on the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP):
“The President-elect’s announcement that he intends to withdraw from the Trans-Pacific Partnership, though anticipated, is still a disappointment to those of us who still believe in free trade and the importance of America’s strategic role in the Asia-Pacific region. This decision will forfeit the opportunity to promote American exports, reduce trade barriers, open new markets, and protect American invention and innovation. And it will create an opening for China to rewrite the economic rules of the road at the expense of American workers. Already, China is intensifying its push for a new regional trade agreement, which excludes the United States.
“America and the world paid a heavy price in the 1920s and 1930s when we tried to isolate ourselves from the world, including through disastrous protectionist policies. With challenges mounting around the world, this is a time when America can least afford to ignore the lessons of history. Whatever happens to TPP, America must press forward with a positive trade agenda in the Asia-Pacific that will keep American workers and companies competitive in one of the most economically vibrant and fastest-growing regions in the world. But have no doubt, withdrawing from TPP will have serious consequences for American workers and American national security.”
###",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z
http://grijalva.house.gov/index.cfm?sectionid=13&itemid=2254,Grijalva Denounces Hostilities Against Dakota Access Water Protectors,2016-11-21,2016,2016-11,Democrat,House,AZ,Raúl Grijalva,G000551,grijalva.house.gov,,,legacy,"TUCSON – Congressman Raúl M. Grijalva (D-AZ) released the following statement today in response to reports that tear gas, freezing water and rubber bullets were used Sunday night against a crowd of approximately 400 Water Protectors and demonstrators at the Dakota Access Pipeline. The altercation injured more than 150 demonstrators and one law enforcement officer.

	“The escalating violence targeting peaceful demonstrators at the Dakota Access Pipeline is utterly unacceptable,” Rep. Grijalva said. “By attacking with the kind of force intended to quell riots, local and state law enforcement are acting like a hired security firm for a private corporation whose pipeline threatens Native American burial and sacred sites, and clean drinking water. Every American watching these events unfold should rightly be wondering: whose side are they on?

	“As a nation, we deserve better than what is happening at Standing Rock right now,” Grijalva continued. “I will continue to urge President Obama to ensure the safety and Constitutional rights of the Water Protectors in North Dakota, and of every American who chooses to exercise their Constitutionally protected right to assemble peacefully.”

	Grijalva’s remarks come just days after he and 22 of his Congressional colleagues wrote to President Obama outlining actions the federal government can take to immediately de-escalate growing tensions and protect the safety, rights and civil liberties of water protectors. Among many measure, the letter called for: denial of the easement, which the Army Corps of Engineers must issue for drilling to commence; the deployment of observers from the Department of Justice; withdrawal of National Guard and other law enforcement personnel deployed around the camp.

	###",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z
https://www.mccain.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases?ContentRecord_id=34D6278A-F436-4BA1-AA8E-E017B598668B,STATEMENT BY McCAIN & FLAKE ON ARIZONA GOVERNOR DOUG DUCEYS STATE-TRIBAL RESOLUTION TO GLENDALE CASINO DISPUTE,2016-11-21,2016,2016-11,Republican,House,AZ,John McCain,M000303,www.mccain.senate.gov,,,legacy,"Washington, D.C. ­– U.S. Senators John McCain (R-AZ) and Jeff Flake (R-AZ) released the following statement today applauding Arizona Governor Doug Ducey’s effort to modernize the Indian gaming compact and resolve the long-running dispute over the Glendale casino:
“We applaud Governor Ducey for his leadership in developing a state-tribal resolution to the Glendale casino issue. We have long opposed the air-dropping of Indian casinos on land that is not contiguous to an existing Indian reservation. The controversy involving the Tohono O'odham gaming facility in Glendale has divided Arizona's Indian tribes for years, and we hope this agreement will heal those divisions and eliminate the need for federal legislation.” 
###",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z
https://www.mccain.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases?ContentRecord_id=850B61BC-F3F8-4418-8A1C-E632E80556F5,STATEMENT BY SASC CHAIRMAN JOHN McCAIN ON GENERAL JAMES MATTIS,2016-11-21,2016,2016-11,Republican,House,AZ,John McCain,M000303,www.mccain.senate.gov,,,legacy,"Washington, D.C. ­– U.S. Senator John McCain (R-AZ), Chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, released the following statement today on General James Mattis:
“I am pleased that the President-elect found General Jim Mattis as impressive as I have in the many years I have had the privilege of knowing him. General Mattis is one of the finest military officers of his generation and an extraordinary leader who inspires a rare and special admiration of his troops. He is a forthright strategic thinker. His integrity is unshakable and unquestionable. And he has earned his knowledge and experience the old-fashioned way: in the crucible of our nation's defense and the service of heroes.
“General Mattis has a clear understanding of the many challenges facing the Department of Defense, the U.S. military, and our national security. I hope he has an opportunity to serve America again.”
###",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z
https://www.mccain.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases?ContentRecord_id=AB15D834-13F2-435E-B2D0-41EB31DC15EF,SASC CHAIRMAN JOHN McCAIN URGES SECRETARY ASHTON CARTER NOT TO PURSUE MIDNIGHT REGULATIONS AT DOD,2016-11-21,2016,2016-11,Republican,House,AZ,John McCain,M000303,www.mccain.senate.gov,,,legacy,"Washington, D.C. ­– U.S. Senator John McCain (R-AZ), Chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, sent a letter to Defense Secretary Ashton Carter today urging him not to move forward with the implementation of any new rules or regulations that would change long-standing policy during the presidential transition and lame-duck session of Congress.
The text of the letter is below and here.
Dear Secretary Carter:
I write to urge you to suspend all efforts on the development and implementation of rules and regulations at the Department of Defense that would change long-standing policy, including with regard to military personnel ratings, standards, uniforms, job titles, and related issues. Many of the Department's recent actions in this regard have been questionable and misguided, and any effort to continue in that direction during a presidential transition and lame-duck session of Congress would be inappropriate.
Military personnel policy will continue to be a priority for the defense committees during the next Congress, building on the landmark reforms that have begun over the past two years. This important, bipartisan work will proceed with the transparency, public scrutiny, and congressional oversight that it deserves. Until that time, please refrain from making and further implementing any major policy changes through executive action.                                                                 
Sincerely,
John McCain
Chairman
###",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z
https://www.mccain.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases?ContentRecord_id=F41A349C-0275-42A4-ABEE-3C8332D15916,STATEMENT BY McCAIN & GRAHAM ON ASSAULT ON ALEPPO,2016-11-21,2016,2016-11,Republican,House,AZ,John McCain,M000303,www.mccain.senate.gov,,,legacy,"Washington, D.C. ­– U.S. Senator John McCain (R-AZ), Chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, and Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) released the following statement today on the ongoing assault on Aleppo:
“As Syrian regime and Russian forces continue their brutal assault on Aleppo, killing scores of civilians and destroying the last remaining hospitals in the eastern part of the city, President Obama and his administration continue to summon only words of condemnation, but no meaningful action.
“After an exchange of pleasantries with Vladimir Putin in Peru this weekend, President Obama’s answer to the carnage unfolding in Aleppo was to note the need for Secretary of State John Kerry and the Russian foreign minister to continue pursuing initiatives ‘to diminish the violence and alleviate the suffering of the Syrian people.’
“The delusion captured by such a statement is nothing short of stunning. After hundreds of thousands of Syrians have been killed in a merciless campaign of inhuman slaughter aided and abetted by Russia, what could possibly give President Obama or any thinking person the impression that Vladimir Putin has any interest in alleviating the suffering of the Syrian people?
“Putin and Assad will not do what we ask of them out of the goodness of their hearts, or out of concern for our interests, or the suffering of others. They do not want to broker peace. They want to win a war. And American inaction is helping them to do it. Until President Obama and his administration recognize that diplomacy not backed by strength will always be ineffectual at best and dangerous at worst, the carnage in Syria will grind on.”
###",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z
https://www.mccain.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases?ContentRecord_id=7BA0B4F1-4A3F-4881-BF6B-52011691C2DA,STATEMENT BY SASC CHAIRMAN JOHN McCAIN ON ADMIRAL MIKE ROGERS,2016-11-20,2016,2016-11,Republican,House,AZ,John McCain,M000303,www.mccain.senate.gov,,,legacy,"Washington, D.C. ­– U.S. Senator John McCain (R-AZ), Chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, released the following statement today on reports that the administration is considering removing Admiral Mike Rogers from his positions as head of the National Security Agency and U.S. Cyber Command:
“I have known and worked closely with Admiral Rogers for many years. He is an officer, a professional, and a warrior of the highest caliber. All too often, Admiral Rogers and the forces he leads have struggled to perform their mission because of the administration’s inability to formulate a clear cyber strategy and provide sufficient authorities. Any suggestion that Admiral Rogers should be fired is certainly unwarranted. He has my full confidence, and I hope he will have further opportunities to serve our country.” 
###",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z
http://gosar.house.gov/editorial/arizonans-agreeno-new-national-monument,Arizonans Agree...No New National Monument,2016-11-18,2016,2016-11,Republican,House,AZ,Paul Gosar,G000565,gosar.house.gov,,,legacy,"Arizonans Agree: No New National Monument
The Hill
					By: Congressman Paul Gosar
					November 18, 2016
During President Obama’s two terms in office, we have undoubtedly witnessed the rise of the greatest threat to our Republic: the unprecedented abuse of Executive overreach. The president has openly bragged about using his “phone and pen” as a loophole to avoid the Constitution, the legislative process and accountability to the American people. It is a dangerous precedent that is nearly impossible to undo.
One of the powers given to the president is the ability to set aside land for monuments and national parks which comes from the outdated Antiquities Act of 1906.  This law was originally intended to protect prehistoric Indian ruins and artifacts on federal lands in the West and included language to limit these designations to “the smallest area compatible with proper care and management of the objects.” President Obama has exceeded the intent of the Antiquities Act more than any other president. To date, he has designated or expanded 27 national monuments. These unilateral declarations have locked up 548,744,157.31 acres of land and water. There is no possible way that 548 million acres is “the smallest area compatible” for these new monuments.
					National monument designations under the Antiquities Act typically have significant consequences for energy development, grazing rights, water rights, wildfire prevention and other important land management activities. These declarations also result in some of the most restrictive land-use regulations possible and negatively affect hunting, fishing, OHV and other recreational activities. Unilateral designations that circumvent Congress typically result in devastating costs for rural America and our future economic prosperity. For every new acre claimed for the federal government, there is an acre of private land lost. Such actions exacerbate challenges for local communities to fund things like education and infrastructure as lands that are added to the federal rolls can no longer be put to beneficial use.
Since 2010, extremist environmental groups have been pushing a far-left proposal that explicitly seeks to lock-up 1.7 million acres in the Grand Canyon Watershed. Shamefully, proponents have lied to the American people by stating this idea was initiated by tribal governments. This proposal was put forth by the Sierra Club, the Center for Biological Diversity and the Wilderness Society. The real intentions of these shortsighted self-interest groups are clear as they boldly state in their communications that this land grab is needed to prevent hunting, fishing, mining, timber harvesting, OHV use, grazing and energy development on this massive swath of land.
					To put the size of this land grab in perspective, the proposed 1.7 million acre Grand Canyon Watershed Monument would be significantly larger than the 1.2 million acre Grand Canyon National Park. It’s a watershed though so there will be no new monies from Congress, no significant tourism dollars and no significant jobs created as a result of this land grab. It’s important to remember that the Grand Canyon National Park is already protected by the Grand Canyon Protection Act, Clean Air Act and Clean Water Act as well as multiple other regulations and laws. The proposed national monument is miles away from the actual Grand Canyon itself.
In April, I held a listening session on this potential monument where hundreds of people showed up in person and watched live on Facebook to voice their opposition. Jim Parks, representing the Arizona Farm Bureau, testified, “Within the bounds of the proposed Grand Canyon Watershed National Monument are over 64,000 acres of Arizona State Trust lands and almost 28,000 acres of private land. This alone violates federal and state laws, as it amounts to a ‘taking’ of these state and private lands.” Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey stated, “The Grand Canyon Watershed National Monument [proposal] is not narrow, targeted, warranted, or being considered through an open cooperative public process.”
Eric Duthie, Town Manager of the Town of Tusayan, testified, “Tusayan would become the only municipality entirely swallowed up in this monument.” Bob Lynch, an Arizona water law expert, stated, “The designation will only complicate the ability of the United States and the State of Arizona to work together to improve [the Four Forest Restoration Initiative] for watershed purposes and to protect it from catastrophic wildfire...Designation of the monument will tie up not only any future surface water use but any future groundwater use as well.”
This widespread opposition was confirmed in April of this year by a scientific poll conducted by Coleman Dahm and Associates which found that 71.6% of Arizonans are against the proposed national monument. While some special-interest groups have commissioned push polls and manipulated job numbers in attempting to show support for this misguided proposal, Arizonans have made it clear that they oppose this land grab and that future management of this area should be driven by a collaborative process that includes local stakeholders. Affected communities deserve to have a voice in the land designation process before President Obama circumvents Congress and bars the people of Arizona from even more land.
Rep. Paul Gosar represents Arizona’s 4th District and is a member of the Natural Resources Committee.",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z
https://www.flake.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases?ContentRecord_id=C750207E-5D97-44E1-B147-E6EF15EC443C,Flake Statement on Attorney General Selection,2016-11-18,2016,2016-11,Republican,House,AZ,Jeff Flake,F000444,www.flake.senate.gov,,,legacy,"Washington, D.C. - U.S. Sen. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) today released the following statement on the nomination of Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) to be U.S. Attorney General:
""Senator Sessions is well liked and well regarded, even by those who don't always agree with him. I look forward to supporting his nomination.""
###",1,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z,2026-03-30T12:14:52Z