u/cats_pajamas

I'll do this like I did with the last Town Hall recap and post the TL;DR here as the main post and then the more in-depth questions and answers as replies. I recorded the meeting and you can download the file here. Sorry about the audio quality - lots of rustling paper noises.

Before listener questions he talked about a few things:

• the committee he was just appointed to and all the other committees he is on
• the bills he debated in the Rules Committee this week including his Monitor Accountability Act
• said that as this is Police Week it's the perfect time to say goodbye to rogue shadow sheriffs. If you want to know more about that, listen to his most recent podcast episode on YouTube.
• leading a bipartisan effort (with Greg Stanton) to secure Arizona water rights.
• spoke about a resource fair his office held for seniors/veterans.
• urged people to call his office if they need help with a federal agency and listed off some things his office was able to help constituents with.

Listener questions

• Scott wanted to let Biggs know about a positive outcome trying to get a veteran's Silver Star upgraded to a Medal of Honor
• David wanted to know why Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessant was telling people to increase their deductions and wondered if we even needed to pay taxes because that was never ratified by Congress.
• Bob is having issues with robocalls and wanted to know what could be done about that.
• Karen heard that DeSantis is putting through a bill that will protect consumers from getting the bill for AI data centers and wants to know if there's anything to protect us from that happening here.
• Jeffrey wants to know what is the status of California to restructure or give up its Colorado River water rights?
• Larry had a question about the budget, namely that we don't have one and wanted to know when the last time was that Congress actually put one together since the law says Congress is supposed to do that but it hasn't been done in decades.
• Jeffrey wanted to thank Biggs for helping him with an issue he had with the IRS.
• Kim had a concern about Social Security. Said Congress has known for years that the trust fund was running out and now in a few short years we're looking at a 23% reduction. What's going to be done about it?
• Jacob said the Democrats passed the Affordable Care Act with 51 votes, none of them Republican so why can't we change the rules to do the same thing with the SAVE America Act?
• Kevin - wanted to know if Biggs would support desalinization plants as a way to increase our water supply.
• Patricia had issues in general with the federal government but a family member in particular had an issue trying to get classified as a veteran at the Post Office but was unable due to the wording on her discharge papers.

The poll questions:

1. Do you believe federal monitors should be allowed to have almost unrestricted control over our law enforcement agencies? Yes - 11% No- 68% Unknown - 21%
2. Were you previously aware of the ongoing negotiations over the Colorado River allotment for water? Yes - 74% No - 29% Unknown - 2%
3. As we approach our nation's 250th birthday, do you feel that America's future is brighter than ever? Yes - 43% No - 38% Unknown - 19%

Ended the Town Hall with talking about the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) and the reconciliation and then thanking law enforcement for all they do.

Dinos After Dark is back at the Arizona Museum of Natural History! On Wednesday May 6, the museum will be opened for extended hours (5-8pm) and from 6-7 there will be a scientific lecture as part of the Arizona Through Time Speaker Series. This month's topic is Devonian Deep Diving State 48: A Comprehensive History of Arizona in the Age of Fishes.

You can check the link to see future dates for this event. I only went to one last year but I was pleasantly surprised to see how well-attended it was!