Washington D.C. (May 22, 2024) | This week, the U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R. 5887, the Government Service Delivery Improvement Act introduced by Reps. Barry Loudermilk (GA-11), Ro Khanna (CA-17), Byron Donalds (FL-19) and William Timmons (SC-04).

This important legislation will improve the way federal agencies deliver critical services to the American people. It requires the heads of federal agencies to designate an existing senior official responsible for improving service delivery. It also directs the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to select a senior official to coordinate these efforts across federal agencies. These officials will help agencies implement best practices and measure progress to improve the public’s experience in-person, online or over the phone.

“Ensuring that our federal government works efficiently starts by requiring high-quality employees to fulfill their Constitutional responsibilities and carry out the mission. As a longtime advocate for creating a customer-focused government, I’m proud to join Rep. Khanna and my colleagues in supporting the Government Services Delivery Improvement Act, which promotes a more effective, reliable, and responsive federal government, and works to keep its promise to deliver quality services to the American people,” said Rep. Barry Loudermilk (GA-11).

“This bill will make it easier for Americans to access essential federal services from Social Security to Medicare to veterans’ benefits by designating officials to drive changes and increasing coordination across the government. The federal government has an obligation to deliver quality services efficiently and effectively and this bill will make good on that. I’m so glad to see this bill pass and the House and hope to see it signed into law by the president very soon,” said Rep. Ro Khanna (CA-17).

“The federal government is only as good as the quality of services it provides to the American people,” said the House Oversight and Accountability Committee’s Cybersecurity, Information Technology, and Government Innovation Subcommittee Ranking Member Gerry Connolly (VA-11). “That’s why it’s absolutely imperative that the public interacts with a modern, accessible, and customer-focused government. And it’s why it’s equally important that the federal government is able to measure its progress in that regard. I’m proud to join Rep. Khanna and my colleagues in promoting a federal government that works, first and foremost, for the people it serves, and I am proud to see our legislation pass the House today.”

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This week, the U.S. House of Representatives passed various pieces of legislation protecting American consumers and their right to financial privacy. They also voted on legislation that would prohibit non-citizens from voting in D.C. elections. Bills are as follows:

H.R. 4763 – Financial Innovation and Technology for the 21st Century (FIT21) Act – Rep. Glenn Thompson (PA-15)

This legislation creates a framework at the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) to federally regulate digital asset exchanges and crypto assets, and it establishes the unique American position that a digital asset is not itself a security, but that it can be offered as part of a securities contract.

• This distinction accommodates for the development of a digital asset project from centralization, where it’s controlled by developers and/or investors, to decentralization, where the technology runs on its own and is not controlled by anyone.
• Today, all online activity and transactions are intermediated by a third party. Digital assets and blockchain technology are powering the next iteration of the internet, a peer-to-peer digital economy where individuals can do business directly with each other online.
• Currently, the development of this technology in the United States is constricted by a lack of regulatory clarity about the treatment of digital assets when they are created, traded, and/or used, which hurts responsible actors and does little to protect digital asset users from bad actors.
• FIT21 addresses this problem by establishing two regulatory frameworks that create flexibility for innovators to develop digital asset projects and products that can transition from centralization, registered under the SEC, to decentralization, registered under the CFTC.

H.R. 192 – To prohibit individuals who are not citizens of the United States from voting in elections in the District of Columbia – Rep. August Pfluger (TX-11)

This legislation prohibits an individual who is not a U.S. citizen from voting in D.C. local elections and repeals the Local Resident Voting Rights Amendment Act (D.C. Law 24-0242), which allows noncitizens, including illegal immigrants and foreign diplomats, to vote in D.C. local elections.

• The right to vote is a fundamental tenet of American citizenship. Allowing noncitizens to vote dilutes U.S. citizens’ power at the ballot box.
• On March 9, 2023, the House passed H. J. Res. 24, a resolution disapproving of the Local Resident Voting Rights Amendment Act, which allows noncitizens to vote in D.C. local elections, by a bipartisan 260-162 vote. Unfortunately, the disapproval resolution did not receive a Senate vote, and the law went into effect.

• • In addition to allowing illegal immigrants to vote, D.C.’s law makes no exception for foreign diplomats or agents living in D.C., allowing foreign influence into the most critical issues facing American families.
  • Even the Washington Post opposed the D.C. law, noting that “Voting is a foundational right of citizenship” and that its enactment would allow roughly 50,000 noncitizen residents to cast ballots in local elections.
  • D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser expressed opposition to the law by withholding her signature, something she has done only a handful of times.

• Under the U.S. Constitution, Congress is granted “exclusive Legislation in all Cases whatsoever” over D.C., and H.R. 192 is in keeping with that role.

H.R. 5403 – CBDC Anti-Surveillance State Act – Rep. Tom Emmer (MN-6)

This legislation prohibits the Federal Reserve from issuing a surveillance style central bank digital currency (CBDC). Unless designed to emulate cash, a CBDC is government-controlled programmable money that could be used to choke off politically unpopular activity.

• Unlike decentralized digital assets, CBDCs are a digital form of sovereign currency designed and issued by the federal government and recorded on a ledger controlled by the federal government.
• In 2022, the Biden Administration signed Executive Order 14067, which placed urgency on the research and development of a surveillance-style CBDC. The Fed’s 2022 CBDC report, as well as all of the agency reports pursuant to that Executive Order, outlined the administration’s interest in researching and developing a surveillance-style CBDC.

• • We have already seen examples of foreign governments weaponizing their financial system against their citizens.

• • • In China, the Communist Party employs a CBDC that can be used, and may be used, to monitor citizens’ spending habits.
    • Closer to home in the Western hemisphere, Canada froze the bank accounts of the hundreds of truckers protesting the vaccine mandate in 2022.

• The CBCD Anti-Surveillance State Act prohibits the federal government from issuing such a tool and protects innovation that reflects American values.
• Specifically, this bill:

• • Prohibits the Federal Reserve from issuing a CBDC directly to anyone, ensuring the Fed can’t mobilize itself into a retail bank.
  • Prohibits the Federal Reserve from issuing a CBDC indirectly to individuals through financial institutions or other third parties.
  • Prohibits the Federal Reserve from using a CBDC as a tool to implement monetary policy and control the economy.
  • Requires authorizing legislation from Congress for the issuance of any CBDC.
  • Protects digital cash-like innovation that reflects American values.

In case you missed it, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) will be hosting public Memorial Day commemoration ceremonies at more than 130 of our national cemeteries this Memorial Day Weekend, and Rep. Barry Loudermilk (GA-11) is calling on all Georgia veterans to attend the Memorial Day Commemoration Ceremony being held at Georgia National Cemetery in Canton, Georgia, today, Saturday, May 25, 2024 from 10:00am-11:00am ET.

Click here for more details on tomorrow's event.

This week, Rep. Barry Loudermilk (GA-11) joined House Education and Workforce Committee Chairwoman Virginia Foxx (NC-5) and Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee Ranking Member Bill Cassidy (R-LA) and 128 other Members of Congress in sending a bicameral letter to Department of Education Secretary Miguel Cardona urging the Department to withdraw its latest attempt to transfer student loan debt onto hardworking American taxpayers. The Department's proposed rule will cost Americans an additional $147 billion and bring the total student loan debt transferred to taxpayers as much as $1 trillion.

In the letter, the Members write: “The latest Notice of Proposed Rule Making (NPRM) proposed by your Department of Education (Department) on April 17, 2024, represents the latest in a string of reckless attempts to transfer as much as $1 trillion of student loan debt from those who willingly borrowed to those who did not or have already repaid their loans. We strongly urge you to withdraw it. … This is even broader than the Department’s first attempt: at an estimated price tag of $147 billion, taxpayers are being forced to take on the debt of nearly 28 million borrowers.”

The Members continue: “In addition to the fiscally irresponsible nature of this backdoor attempt to enact ‘free’ college, the administration continues to use borrowers as political pawns knowing full well these proposed actions are illegal. The Supreme Court has made it abundantly clear that there is zero authority to write-off federal student loans en masse last June when the Department’s ‘Plan A’ was ruled unconstitutional. … ‘Plan B’ hinges on creating these extensive regulations based on scant statutory text written in 1965. … This statute has no history of broad use by any previous Secretary and was previously deemed by this administration as less likely to hold up in court than ‘Plan A.’”

The letter concludes: “Instead of exacerbating the problems of inflated college costs and low-value degrees, we urge you to withdraw this NPRM and work with Congress. It is past time that we fix our nation’s broken higher education financing system.”

The House signatories include: Reps. Allen, Armstrong, Babin, Bacon, Balderson, Banks, Barr, Bean, Bergman, Bice, Boebert, Bost, Burlison, Buddy Carter, Clyde, Comer, Crenshaw, DesJarlais, D'Esposito, Diaz-Balart, Donalds, Duncan, Dunn, Edwards, Estes, Ezell, Fallon, Ferguson, Finstad, Fitzgerald, Fleischmann, Flood, Franklin, Good, Sam Graves, Mark Green, Grothman, Guest, Guthrie, Hageman, Harris, Houchin, Hudson, James, Dusty Johnson, Mike Kelly, Trent Kelly, Langworthy, LaTurner, Lesko, Letlow, Loudermilk, McClain, McCormick, McMorris Rogers, Mary Miller, Max Miller, Moolenaar, Mooney, Norman, Ogles, Owens, Palmer, Pfluger, Posey, Reschenthaler, Mike Rogers, Rose, Rutherford, Austin Scott, Self, Sessions, Adrian Smith, Smucker, Steel, Stefanik, Strong, Tenney, Thompson, Tiffany, Timmons, Van Duyne, Van Orden, Walberg, Weber, Webster, Roger Williams, Wilson, Wittman, Womack, and Yakym.

The Senate signatories include: Sens. Barrasso, Blackburn, Britt, Braun, Budd, Capito, Cornyn, Cotton, Cramer, Crapo, Cruz, Daines, Ernst, Fischer, Graham, Grassley, Hawley, Hoeven, Hyde-Smith, Johnson, Kennedy, Lankford, Lummis, Marshall, McConnell, Moran, Mullin, Ricketts, Risch, Romney, Rounds, Schmitt, Tim Scott, Sullivan, Thune, Tillis, Tuberville, Wicker, and Young.

To read the full letter, click here.

This week, Rep. Barry Loudermilk (GA-11), joined members of the House Values Action Team in sending a join letter to House Appropriations Committee Chairman Tom Cole and Ranking Member Rosa DeLauro calling for a prioritization of funding legislation in Fiscal Year (FY) 2025 that respects the rights of conscience, protects the vulnerable, and promotes fairness and equality.

The following members of the House Values Action Team signed onto the letter: Reps. Aderholt, Alford, Allen, Babin, Bacon, Banks, Biggs, Bilirakis, Boebert, Burlison, Clyde, Crawford, Crenshaw, Duncan, Dunn, Fulcher, Gosar, Green (TN-07), Harshbarger, Hern, Higgins, Houchin, Hudson, Kelly (MS-01), Lamborn, Latta, Lesko, Loudermilk, McCormick, Miller (IL-15), Moore (AL-2), Murphy, Norman, Palmer, Self, Smith (NJ-4), Timmons, Weber, Webster, and Westerman.

To read the full letter, click here.

Qcells:

ATLANTA – May 22, 2024 – Qcells, a trusted provider of complete clean energy solutions and a leader in the residential, commercial and utility solar market segments, released new data today showing how its historic investments in solar manufacturing are driving massive economic benefits to Georgia.

According to a Chmura JobsEQ Q4 2023 report, provided by the Cartersville-Bartow County Department of Economic Development, Qcells’ manufacturing operations in Georgia generate the following potential economic impact annually:

• Estimated Direct Jobs in Bartow and Whitfield Counties: 3,800 jobs.
• Estimated Total Employment (direct, indirect and induced jobs) in Bartow and Whitfield Counties: 6,755 jobs.
• Total potential sales/output created in Bartow and Whitfield Counties: $2,091,896,919 (i.e., more than $2 billion).

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