by Matthew Holloway | Mar 11, 2025 | News
By Matthew Holloway |
Arizona Congressman Abraham Hamadeh introduced the Veterans Readiness & Employment Transparency Act last week in bipartisan collaboration with Rep. Juan Ciscomani along with Reps. Jonathan Jackson (D-IL), Rep. Greg Murphy (R-NC), Rep. Hank Johnson (D-GA), Rep. Sam Graves (R-MO), and Rep. Rob Wittman (R-VA).
According to Hamadeh, the bill is designed to increase the access and the responsiveness of the Veterans Readiness and Employment (VR&E) program.
At present the VR&E program, which assists veterans with job training, education, employment accommodation, resume development, and job-seeking skills coaching, lacks a hotline for veterans and there is no accessible contact information provided by the regional offices where average wait times by regional office ranges from 2 weeks to 158 days.
At the Phoenix regional office, the average wait time for a veteran in need of assistance currently stands at 68 days to see a Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor for an initial evaluation. Congressman Hamadeh said in a statement, “Many say VR&E program is the Department of Veterans Affairs’ best-kept secret, but many veterans and campus administrators can’t get the Department’s help with the onerous application process—or even know where to begin. Veterans are often ignored by their VR&E counselors – with no recourse, adding to often extreme wait times.”
In a post to X the Congressman wrote, “Our veterans did not delay when heeding the call of our nation, & our nation cannot delay when our veterans call for assistance Congressman Hamadeh’s Veterans Readiness & Employment Transparency Act is common-sense legislation that has bipartisan support.”
The new bill will require the establishment of a hotline, that all regional offices “must display a name, email, and number online for vets with VR&E questions,” and that regional offices hold Q&A sessions on the VR&E program at every school in their area of responsibility. The new bill will also require an annual report on vocational training extension waivers and requires that they be approved or denied within 30 days.
Rep. Juan Ciscomani, who joined Hamadeh on the bill, wrote “When our veterans return home, they deserve to be able to easily access the support and benefits their service earned.”
“Unfortunately, due to unnecessary bureaucracy, many veterans have difficulty accessing VR&E programs that help with job training, education, and employment accommodations, especially for those who were injured in the line of duty. I am proud to join my fellow Arizona colleague Rep. Hamadeh in a bipartisan effort to make VR&E programs more accessible to veterans in my district, and across the country.”
Matthew Holloway is a senior reporter for AZ Free News. Follow him on X for his latest stories, or email tips to Matthew@azfreenews.com.
by Matthew Holloway | Mar 6, 2025 | Economy, News
By Matthew Holloway |
Arizona Congressman Abe Hamadeh (R-AZ8) issued a statement following the announcement by President Donald Trump of a pivotal deal with TSMC (Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co.) to bring $100 billion in investment for chip manufacturing plants in the U.S. over the next four years.
“Earlier this month, my team met with representatives of TSMC to discuss their plans for future jobs in Arizona, which should focus on tapping into our veteran workforce,” Hamadeh said in the statement. “They are clearly committed to President Trump’s American First Manufacturing agenda, bringing high-paying employment opportunities to CD8 allowing US leaders to increase the quality of life for our residents.”
TSMC established itself during the Biden Administration through the controversial 2020 CHIPS Act. It was at the center of a lawsuit in November due to its hiring practices allegedly favoring Taiwanese nationals as previously reported by AZ Free News. Their current Arizona facility is located within Hamadeh’s congressional district.
In December, the development of TSMC’s Phoenix facility was placed at risk by an unfavorable nonattainment status of ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) by the EPA under Biden, leading then-Congresswoman Debbie Lesko, Hamadeh’s predecessor to intervene.
In December 2022, TSMC announced a commitment to build a second fabrication facility (fab) in addition to its North Phoenix facility, increasing its total investment to $40 billion.
As detailed by President Trump in a press conference on Monday, the new investment is set to bring Arizona’s total number of TSMC facilities to five, with thousands of new jobs.
President Trump told reporters, “This $100 billion in new investment will go into building five cutting-edge fabrication facilities in the great state that we just discussed, Arizona, and will create thousands of jobs — many thousands of jobs, and they’re high-paying jobs. In total, today’s announcement brings Taiwan Semiconductor investments to about $165 billion — they’ve started already — among the largest new foreign direct investments in the United States.”
The President added, “Taiwan pretty much has a monopoly on that market. And I think ‘pretty much’ is not a term that’s even appropriate. They do have a monopoly. And this is a tremendous move by the most powerful company in the world. It’s a matter of economic security. It’s also a matter of national security for us.”
TSMC expansion is expected to create approximately 80,000 jobs over the next 5 years.
Matthew Holloway is a senior reporter for AZ Free News. Follow him on X for his latest stories, or email tips to Matthew@azfreenews.com.
by Matthew Holloway | Feb 28, 2025 | News
By Matthew Holloway |
A series of posts to X on Tuesday sparked a firestorm of controversy when Merissa Hamilton of Strong Communities Action-EZAZ.org made a bombshell allegation that Maricopa County Election officials were made well aware of the potential for printing and supply issues during the 2022 statewide elections. Hamilton alleged that county officials moved forward without addressing the issues, citing a series of emails detailing the Maricopa County GOP raising concerns to then-Recorder Stephen Richer and Maricopa County Board of Supervisors’ Election Manager Scott Jarrett.
The post gained national attention when it was shared by X owner and de facto head of the Department of Government Efficiency Elon Musk.
In the initial post Hamilton wrote, “Remember in 2022 when the nearly 70% of voting centers in Maricopa County failed on Election Day causing massive, long lines and voter disenfranchisement resulting in @KariLake and @AbrahamHamadeh barely losing? Maricopa County knew in advance their Election Day plan was set up for failure, and THEY LET IT FAIL!”
Hamilton noted that the emails were obtained for Strong Communities Action by The Gavel Project and civil rights activist and Arizona election attorney Ryan Heath saying, “Without his legal muscle we wouldn’t have secured it!”
In the thread that followed, Hamilton released several emails from then-Chairwoman of the Maricopa County Republican Committee Mickie Niland to Richer and Jarrett saying, “I remember hearing from Scott (Jarrett) at some point after the primary that there was a problem during the primary with some tabulators not reading correctly due to low ink. How long does it take you to get paper or ink to them if they run out? Is there a process for the voting locations to report when they are half out of paper? How far are the restocking trucks from the voting centers? Are you using the length of the lines to help you determine when more supplies are brought to the centers?“ She also asked if there was any way she could help.
Jarrett responded, “We’ve been monitoring turnout and are prepared,” adding that there was plenty of ballot paper and normal paper to print control slips as well as “sufficient toner and printer drums.”
Hamilton explained, “Several days ahead of Election Day, the Maricopa County GOP leadership warned Maricopa County that their Election Day plan would fail and disenfranchise voters. The Maricopa County BOS Election Director Scott Jarrett insisted everything would be fine saying he was ‘confident.’”
Niland, representing the Maricopa County GOP, even followed up with an email warning, “Trust is low and voting in person is the topic everyone wants to discuss with us. To us if you are basing your decisions off of history, we think things are different now.” Niland added, “Please consider this email the official raising of that flag.”
According to an investigation of the 2022 Maricopa County Election, former Arizona Supreme Court Chief Justice Ruth McGregor found that “many of the Oki B432 printers were not capable of reliably printing 20-inch ballots on 100-pound paper under election-day conditions.”
McGregor added, “The combined effect of the heavy paper, longer ballot, and intermittent burst of print demand pushed the printers to perform at the very edge of or past their capability, so that any decrease in fuser performance in an individual printer could result in problems.”
Replying to the post by Musk, Hamilton thanked the X owner for “bringing attention to this vital matter!” She also raised allegations that Maricopa County Board of Supervisors Chairman Thomas Galvin has blocked newly elected County Recorder Justin Heap from accessing “the IT staff and responsibilities assigned to him in AZ law to secure and run our elections!”
Later in the afternoon, Maricopa County published a post to X that outlined the October 2024 agreement, which demarcated the election responsibilities of the Board of Supervisors and the Recorder’s Office. Galvin shared the post as well.
Matthew Holloway is a senior reporter for AZ Free News. Follow him on X for his latest stories, or email tips to Matthew@azfreenews.com.
by Matthew Holloway | Feb 26, 2025 | Economy, News
By Matthew Holloway |
Congressman Abraham Hamadeh (R-AZ8) has joined Arizona Reps. Andy Biggs (R-AZ5) and Paul Gosar (R-AZ9) in co-sponsoring the Senior Citizens Tax Elimination Act, H.R. 1040, which was introduced earlier this month by Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY). If enacted, the bill would eliminate the current regime of de facto double taxation on Social Security benefits.
In a press release, Hamadeh explained his support for the bill saying, “Amid all of the FAKE news about Social Security benefits and the Democrats’ fear-mongering weaponization of it, I am glad to bring some REAL news to the residents of Arizona’s 8th Congressional District. Help is on the way.”
He added, “’Prior to 1984, Social Security benefits were exempt from the federal income tax. Congress then enacted legislation to tax a portion of those benefits, with the share gradually increasing as a person’s income rose above a specified income threshold,’ noted a Congressional Research Service report. That is simply unfair, and unnecessary.”
Massie laid out the bill’s impact in his own release saying, “Although seniors have already paid tax on their Social Security contributions via the payroll tax, they are still required to list these benefits as taxable income on their tax returns. This is simply a way for Congress to obtain more revenue for the federal government at the expense of seniors who have already paid into Social Security. My bill would exempt Social Security retirement benefits from taxation and boost the retirement income of millions of older Americans.”
As Hamadeh’s office notes, Senators Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) and Tim Sheehy (R-MT) have already introduced corresponding legislation in the U.S. Senate with Tuberville recently telling Newsmax, “In a day and age where the cost of living has skyrocketed, our seniors should not experience a second tax on their Social Security when they’ve already paid income tax on their paychecks.”
The Senior Citizens Tax Elimination Act was first introduced by former Congressman Ron Paul and has been subsequently introduced by Massie every year since he took office in 2012.
Hamadeh called back to the introduction of the bill by Paul in a statement, “It is my honor – one of the highest honors – to support a bill first introduced by Congressman Ron Paul. The wisdom of the fiscal battles he waged over the years is now becoming evident to everyone thanks to President Donald Trump and his Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). My hope is that as DOGE dives deeper into our bloated and broken bureaucracies, we will find many opportunities to reduce taxes on hard-working Americans.”
“In fact, my colleagues and I are committed to delivering a ‘big, beautiful bill’ that will deliver tax relief to all taxpaying Americans,” said Congressman Hamadeh. “The Senior Citizens Tax Elimination Act delivers immediate relief to those who need it most — our seniors who built this country.”
Matthew Holloway is a senior reporter for AZ Free News. Follow him on X for his latest stories, or email tips to Matthew@azfreenews.com.
by Matthew Holloway | Feb 24, 2025 | News
By Matthew Holloway |
From a vocal young Generation Z activist supporting the candidacies of Kari Lake and Abe Hamadeh to driving election engagement in his own high school and becoming the youngest founder of a political action committee, Nico Delgado became an influential voice in conservative politics in Arizona, before he was even old enough to vote.
The prominence of Delgado and his ‘NicoPAC’ has extended to even commissioning one of the first polls in the 2026 Arizona gubernatorial race which, as reported by AZ Free News, favored Congressman Andy Biggs.
AZ Free News conducted a short interview with Delgado to discuss his career so far, along with his motivations and aspirations.
What was your motivation for becoming involved with conservative politics?
My motivation was to save the state I love. I was born and raised in Arizona, and I watched as homelessness, drugs, and crime increased, and I had enough of it. I knew I was young, but I still wanted to contribute in any way I could to help the right people represent our state.
What or whom would you describe as the single greatest influence on your political philosophy?
Losing my mother at 22 while I was only 15 years old had a huge impact on my philosophy. She passed away after an overdose just before the 2022 midterms. I gained a whole new perspective on the drug, mental health, and the national security problems our nation suffers from.
What shortcomings, if any, do you see in the present Republican power structure? How do you feel they can or should be corrected?
The Republican Party had many shortcomings before 2024. The party was too scared to speak out against what was really happening because they feared it would cause them to lose. Thankfully President Trump and MAGA showed that when you speak out against corruption, you win.
Delgado announced this month that not only is he busy with studies and running his political action committee, but he is now working for Congressman Abe Hamadeh as a Congressional Intern.
Matthew Holloway is a senior reporter for AZ Free News. Follow him on X for his latest stories, or email tips to Matthew@azfreenews.com.
