
Chanikarn Thongsupa

LBJ Library

Brendan Smialowski, Agence France-Presse
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42, Florida — 17, R
A fifth-generation Floridian and veteran of the Army JAG Corps, with a degree in Animal Science whose district is the largest citrus-producing district in the nation.
Greg served in the Army’s Judge Advocate General Corps and deployed to Iraq as a Captain in Operation Iraqi Freedom. After his military service, Greg was elected to the Florida House of Representatives and the Florida State Senate.
Being a veteran himself, Greg has always prioritized the needs of veterans and their families, which is why he re-introduced last week a series of veteran-focused bills. The VA Fiscal Responsibility Act calls for greater efficiency on the part of the VA to improve its third-party billings and collections procedures, thus easing the financial burdens of veterans. The second is the Modern GI Bill Act, which would allow veterans entitled to post-9/11 educational assistance to use eligible funds to repay federal student loans incurred prior to military service. Kudos to Greg for always looking out for fellow vets. Oh, and kudos his district’s newest Super Bowl Champs too! FYI, Tom Brady is actually older than Greg.
As transgender rights continue to have a bigger presence in our culture and one of the areas of contention is in women’s sports. President Biden signed an executive order prohibiting discrimination against transgender students in school, but many feel that transgender girls should not be participating with other female classmates in competitive sports. Greg reintroduced a bill to protect women and girls in competitive sports. The Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act ensures that women and girls are allowed a fair playing field in competitive sports by ensuring that school athletics comply with the Title IX recognition of a person’s reproductive biology and genetics at birth. This essentially would ensure that transgender girls could not play on women’s sport teams. Where do you stand on this complex issue?
Greg has been one of Trump’s most staunch supporters throughout his presidency. That support did not falter after the attacks on the Capitol. Greg issued a statement condemning the violence, but still joined 146 other Republicans in objecting the certification of Joe Biden’s election to the presidency. Now, what has Greg irked is the Democrats’ push to impeach Trump for a second time. Greg dismissed the efforts as an “opportunity to politicize”, though he fell in the minority, as the House passed the articles of impeachment yesterday. The debate about unity and accountability continues to press on in the aftermath of last week’s events – do you agree with Greg?
Most Congress people in the voting minority rejecting the recent stimulus relief bill lamented its page count on twitter, or that the deal was brokered behind closed doors. But Greg took the bill to task in a lengthy press release succinctly detailing the reasons for his “No” vote. He sets the stage by pointing out its blatant politicization due to the fact that by dragging this to the last minute, Democrats killed all the allotted time for meaningful debate and compromise. He lays out the laundry list of Democrat agenda items he says this bill shamelessly helps, all while unnecessarily contributing to soaring federal spending. Ultimately, Greg wanted a strictly covid-centric relief bill, not this behemoth of a handout. How would you have voted?
Greg has been a strong supporter of the President’s message about voter fraud and he and a few other Republicans just introduced a bill to repeal ‘motor voter’ law over fears of illegitimacy. You might recall standing at the DMV counter and being asked if you wanted to “opt in” for voter registration. The 1993 National Voter Registration Act required states to allow voters to register when applying for a driver’s license or at some public assistance offices. Under the law, each license application must serve also as a voter registration application. It also updates any prior registration. The Republicans believe this registration is too lax. Do you agree with Greg or think this is taking things too far?
Greg joins several of his Republican colleagues in pushing hard for more restrictions when it comes to the U.S. relationship with China. He has recently introduced a bill that would require certain visa applicants to disclose if they receive funds from the Chinese government or the Chinese Communist Party. His main rationale? TikTok. That may be a little deductive, but Greg is essentially concerned that apps like TikTok and other entities bankrolled by the Chinese Communist Party pose a threat to our intellectual property and national security. So what do you think? Will regulating the ‘Tok and imposing these visa restrictions make you feel a little less in the hands of the Chinese government or is this an overreach?
Greg successfully battled back his young Democratic challenger Allen Ellison for the second time in consecutive election cycles (back in 2018, Allen, 39, was a last-minute replacement for the candidate who died just six days before the election… sad face). Neither time has the progressive-leaning Allen been any match for Greg, who ran as a staunch supporter of Trump and garnered almost 63 percent of the vote, with most of the counties going to Trump as well. Greg also benefited from a significant advantage in campaign funds. If anything has become clear in this election, it’s that strong public alliance with the President did not hurt Republican House members in the ways that Democrats had thought/hoped.
A fierce advocate for veterans affairs, Greg recently wrote a letter to the President urging him to take executive action to prevent what he says is the wrongful, and unconstitutional, removal of firearms from veterans. Interestingly enough, much of this stems from Congresswoman and Political Playlist leader Lauren Underwood’s recent initiative to better treat mental illness and prevent suicide. As such, veteran’s who have been assigned a fiduciary (after being determined financially incompetent by the VA) are therefore treated as persons prohibited from possessing or purchasing a firearm. While some argue this is a preventative measure, Greg forcefully contends this is a clear violation of Veterans’ second amendment rights. If you were given executive power, would you intervene to prevent the confiscation of firearms from veterans determined to be financially incompetent?
As an Army JAG Corp combat veteran of the Iraq war and a member of the House Veteran Affairs committee, Greg cosponsored two bipartisan bills aimed at hiring practices for VA facilities. One bill addresses the staffing of mental health providers within the VA. The other prohibits VA child care centers from hiring anyone who’s been charged with a sex crime, crime involving a child, a violent crime, or a drug felony. Given our legal system of innocent until proven guilty, does this legislation take a forward leap towards a stronger and safer Veterans community, or a misstep backwards towards unfair discrimination in the workplace?
Photo: Cornell Capa, JFK Library
40, California — 15, D