WASHINGTON, May 1 -- Rep. Raul M. Grijalva, D-Arizona, chairman of the House Natural Resources Committee, issued the following news release on April 30: Chair Raul M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) led a bicameral letter with 15 other Democratic lawmakers pressing the Department of the Treasury and the Internal Revenue Service to disburse overdue funds to Puerto Ricans suffering from the economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. The lawmakers point out that Puerto Rican officials sent Treasury and the IRS  more

WASHINGTON, April 29 -- The Government Accountability Office has issued a decision denying a bid protest filed by Bliss Pharmacy Services of Gilbert, Arizona. According to the GAO, Bliss Pharmacy Services, "protests the award of a contract to C&E Pharmacy Services, LLC, of Mount Pleasant, South Carolina, under request for quotations (RFQ) No. 36C24619Q1139, issued by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) for virtual pharmacy services at the Durham VA Medical Center. Bliss argues that the agen  more

WASHINGTON, April 30 -- The Government Accountability Office has issued a report (GAO-20-405) is entitled "NASA: Assessments of Major Projects". The report was sent to Sen. Jerry Moran, R-Kansas, chairman, Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-New Hampshire, ranking member of the Senate Appropriations subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science and Related Agencies, Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, chairman, Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, D-Arizona, ranking member of the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation subcommittee o  more

PHOENIX, Arizona, April 30 -- Rep. Ruben Gallego, D-Arizona, issued the following news release: Rep. Ruben Gallego proposed a new stimulus plan to help small businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic. In a letter to Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, Rep. Gallego laid out his Small Business Economic Assistance Program, which would immediately provide across-the-board payments to all small businesse  more

WASHINGTON, April 28 -- Rep. Paul A. Gosar, R-Arizona, issued the following news release: U.S. Congressman Paul A. Gosar, D.D.S. (AZ-04) released the most current funding data provided under the CARES Act Provider Relief Fund which he voted for and for which he joined with his colleagues in making sure Medicare providers were compensated for emergency and non-emergency treatment costs for COVID-19 cases. As of April 24, 2020, Arizona hospitals and healthcare providers received a total of $371  more

WASHINGTON, April 25 -- Rep. Paul A. Gosar, R-Arizona, issued the following statement after urging President Trump, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf and Labor Secretary Eugene Scalia to exercise their authority to expand the immigration moratorium to further protect U.S. workers: "At a time when more than 26 million Americans are out of work due to COVID-19, the very last thing we should be doing is authorizing additional foreign labor. "President Trump's   more

TUCSON, Arizona, April 29 -- Rep. Ann Kirkpatrick, D-Arizona, issued the following news release: Rep. Kirkpatrick sent a letter to Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and Small Business Administrator Jovita Carranza, sharing concerns over the uneven state-by-state distribution of Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) funds and asked that the Treasury Department and Small Business Administration (SBA) investigate this significant allocation disparity. According to reports, Arizona's small businesses   more

WASHINGTON, April 28 -- Rep. Tom O'Halleran, D-Arizona, issued the following news release: Congressman Tom O'Halleran (AZ-01) announced that his office had returned a total of $2,067,695.59 in owed benefits, backpay, and saved dollars to residents of Arizona's First Congressional District since he was sworn into Congress in 2017. "Ensuring that hardworking Arizona families, veterans, and seniors receive the benefits they are owed from federal agencies and programs has always been a top priori  more

WASHINGTON, April 29 -- Rep. Tom O'Halleran, D-Arizona, issued the following statement in response to the administration's guidelines that seek to expand and deregulate uranium mining operations across the desert Southwest, including lands surrounding the Grand Canyon: "Revamping uranium mine operations on lands throughout northern Arizona, and near the Grand Canyon especially, puts more than just the natural beauty and cultural significance of this area at risk--it threatens the health of Ariz  more

WASHINGTON, May 1 -- Rep. Tom O'Halleran, D-Arizona, issued the following news release: Congressman Tom O'Halleran (AZ-01) sent a leader to Congressional leadership outlining five areas that must be prioritized in the next legislative package to address the coronavirus, expected in the coming weeks. In the letter, O'Halleran names rural health care, small business assistance, tribal needs, high speed broadband expansion, and funding for state, local, and tribal governments as areas requiring t  more

WASHINGTON, April 30 -- Rep. Tom O'Halleran, D-Arizona, issued the following news release on April 29: Congressman Tom O'Halleran (AZ-01) joined a group of colleagues, including representatives Deb Haaland (NM-01) and Ruben Gallego (AZ-07) in calling on the Treasury Department to immediately release CARES Act funding to Tribes. The CARES Act included an $8 billion fund to ensure sovereign tribal governments have the resources needed during the coronavirus pandemic, and cover expenditures assoc  more

WASHINGTON, April 29 -- Rep. David Schweikert, R-Arizona, has issued the following news release: Congressman David Schweikert (AZ-06) hosted a conference call for business owners to ask questions about the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and discuss best practices for utilizing the loan with local Certified Public Accountants (CPA). "The Paycheck Protection Program has helped over 11,000 Arizona businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic. I hosted a call for business owners to learn more about   more

WASHINGTON, April 28 -- Rep. Greg Stanton, D-Arizona, issued the following news release on April 27: Rep. Greg Stanton urged President Donald Trump to take immediate action to eliminate the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) local cost share to help the Navajo Nation fight the COVID-19 pandemic. Navajo Nation President Jonathan Nez made the request nearly a month ago. The Trump Administration has not yet responded. During that time, the Navajo Nation has experienced a more than 700 pe  more

WASHINGTON, May 1 -- Rep. Raul M. Grijalva, D-Arizona, chairman of the House Natural Resources Committee, issued the following news release on April 30: Natural Resources Committee Chair Raul M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) and Vice Chair Deb Haaland (D-N.M) today strongly criticized the Department of the Interior's (DOI) efforts to open sacred tribal lands in New Mexico to new oil and gas extraction during the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) announced last night via pr  more

WASHINGTON, April 30 -- Rep. Raul M. Grijalva, D-Arizona, chairman of the House Natural Resources Committee, issued the following news release: Chair Raul M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) and Small Business Committee Chairwoman Nydia M. Velazquez (D-N.Y.) sent a letter to the Department of the Treasury and Small Business Administration (SBA) on disparities in the allocation of Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans in U.S. territories. New data shows that aid is not being allocated proportionately to U.  more

WASHINGTON, May 1 -- Sen. Martha McSally, R-Arizona, issued the following news release: U.S. Senator Martha McSally (R-AZ) announced that the U.S. Department of Defense will move forward with the Ground Transport Equipment Building at Fort Huachuca in calendar year 2020. The funding for the project was set to be awarded in FY2019, but was delayed due to an ongoing environmental cleanup. With the cleanup recently completed, the project has been fully refunded at $30 million. "During my time in   more

WASHINGTON, April 29 -- Sen. Martha McSally, R-Arizona, issued the following transcript of an interview with Stuart Varney on Fox Business: U.S. Senator Martha McSally (R-AZ) spoke with Stuart Varney on Fox Business this morning about the path forward for safely reopening Arizona. STUART VARNEY: In Arizona, April the 30th, this Thursday, the stay-at-home order is set to be either be renewed or expire. How do you see the state reopening, because I see a real demand to get out there, go shopping  more

WASHINGTON, April 29 -- Sen. Martha McSally, R-Arizona, issued the following news release: U.S. Senator Martha McSally (R-AZ) and a group of senators are urging Secretary of Defense Mark Esper and Secretary of the Interior David Bernhardt to support the development of a fully domestic rare earths supply chain and reduce U.S. dependence on foreign minerals that are critical for manufacturing our defense technologies and supporting our national security. In the letters to the secretaries, the se  more

WASHINGTON, May 2 -- Sen. Martha McSally, R-Arizona, issued the following news release: U.S. Senator Martha McSally (R-AZ) and a group of senators are requesting that the Small Business Administration (SBA) expedite the $10,000 Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) advances urgently needed by Arizona small businesses. In a letter to SBA Administrator Jovita Carranza, the senators urge the administrator to expedite the $10,000 advances to be received within three days, remove the per-employee ca  more

WASHINGTON, May 1 -- Sen. Martha McSally, R-Arizona, issued the following news release: U.S. Senator Martha McSally (R-AZ) and a group of senators sent a letter this week to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo urging him to request the Mexican government clarify their definition of essential businesses to resolve uncertainty in the U.S.-Mexico supply chain during the coronavirus pandemic. "We write to urge the State Department to coordinate with the Mexican government to clarify Mexico's definitio  more

WASHINGTON, April 29 -- Sen. Martha McSally, R-Arizona, issued the following news release: U.S. Senator Martha McSally (R-AZ) is requesting that the U.S. Department of the Treasury and the Small Business Administration (SBA) issue updated guidance on how financial institutions should process applications for the Payment Protection Program to allow all small businesses, regardless of size, the same opportunity for relief. In a letter to Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and Administrator Jovita  more

PHOENIX, Arizona, April 30 -- Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, D-Arizona, issued the following news release: Arizona senior Senator Kyrsten Sinema urged FEMA to increase the distribution of coronavirus tests to states based on population. Sinema highlighted Arizona's lack of testing and argued that if FEMA distributes tests based on confirmed coronavirus cases, many states with low testing numbers will never receive adequate resources to safely reopen their economies. "Adequate testing is critical to reop  more

WASHINGTON, April 30 -- Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, D-Arizona, issued the following news release: Arizona senior Senator Kyrsten Sinema joined the McCain Institute and Arizona State University for a virtual fireside chat on the importance of public service during crises, including the current coronavirus pandemic. "The coronavirus pandemic demonstrates the critical role of public service in meeting our nation's greatest challenges. I am proud to join the McCain Institute and ASU to honor the legacy o  more

PHOENIX, Arizona, April 30 -- Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, D-Arizona, issued the following news release: Arizona senior Senator Kyrsten Sinema and bipartisan group of Senators urged the Treasury Department and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to explore options for allowing non-filing Arizona Social Security beneficiaries with children who missed the arbitrary April 22 deadline to still receive the additional $500 per qualified dependent this year. Sinema also asked that consideration be given to oth  more