by Elizabeth Troutman | Apr 8, 2024 | News
By Elizabeth Troutman |
Rep. Eli Crane, R-Ariz., honored Vietnam War Veterans last week.
Crane partnered with the America Vietnam War Veterans Commemoration to hold an inaugural pinning ceremony for local Vietnam War veterans at VFW Post 9907 in Show Low, Arizona.
The United States of America Vietnam War Commemoration program is a national 50th anniversary commemoration authorized by Congress. Thousands of organizations have joined the program.
Crane himself is a veteran. After 9/11, he enlisted in the Navy, eventually becoming a member of SEAL Team 3. The representative went on five wartime deployments, three of which were to Iraq. He served for a total of 13 years.
“As a veteran myself, it’s heartbreaking to know that many of these heroes who sacrificed so much for this country never received the appreciation and recognition they courageously earned,” Crane said in a news release. “This is a long overdue honor, and I’m humbled to have held the first in a series of Vietnam Veterans pinning ceremonies in Arizona’s Second Congressional District.”
Around 184,000 Vietnam War veterans live in the Grand Canyon state, and many have never been honored for their sacrifice. Crane said he hopes the commemoration changes that.
In his opening remarks at the commemoration, Crane said it was one of the best events he had been part of.
“This is one of the coolest events I have gotten to do since I became a congressman,” he said, “and it is a pleasure to be in the presence of so many of my brothers and sisters, even though I came from a different generation.”
Crane thanked the veterans for their efforts in changing the tone of the nation for returning veterans.
“I got treated better when I came home from Afghanistan than you did returning from Vietnam,” he said. “It is a shame that you got treated that way, and it is a stain upon our country.”
The men and women pinned included Douglas Anglemeyer, U.S. Navy; James Barden, U.S. Army; Joseph Castaldo, U.S. Marine Corps; Lee Crocker, U.S. Army: Jon Dahl, U.S. Navy; Kenneth Dominguez, U.S. Army; Loel Garrison, Jr., U.S. Marine Corps; Douglas Hixson, U.S. Army; Gary Josey, U.S. Marine Corps; Frederick Krieser, U.S. Army; John Lindsey, Jr., U.S. Air Force; Curtis Reed, U.S. Air Force; Richard Robinson, U.S. Army; Robert Schenfeld, U.S. Navy; Richard Thompson, U.S. Navy; Charles Tomlinson, U.S. Navy/Army; David Wright, U.S. Air Force; David Jones with his service dog, Charlie Brown, U.S. Marine Corps; Timothy Smith, U.S. Army; Mary Freeman, Army Reserve/National Guard; Richard Spies, U.S. Marine Corps Mark Reynolds, U.S. Air Force and on Crane’s Veterans Advisory Committee; Charles Baldwin, U.S. Army; Philip Cox, U.S. Army; Debra Anglemeyer, Civil Service; Jeff Denny, U.S. Army; Bruce Walton, U.S. Marine Corps; and John Jenkins, U.S. Army posthumously.
Elizabeth Troutman is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send her news tips using this link.
by Elizabeth Troutman | Mar 14, 2024 | News
By Elizabeth Troutman |
The House Committee on Natural Resources held a legislative hearing on March 7 for a bill introduced by Republican Rep. Eli Crane that would transfer federal land currently under the purview of the U.S. Forest Service to Navajo and Apache Counties.
The Pinedale and Alpine communities have struggled to find cemetery space for deceased loved ones for more than a decade, according to Crane’s news release.
“These communities of Pinedale have long and rich pioneer histories, and the residents are proud of that heritage. This bill will allow families to lay their loved ones to rest in the place that their family member loved so much,” Crane said. “This piece of legislation is one of the first bills I introduced in Congress and is a testament to the strength of the Latter-Day Saints Community in Northern Arizona.”
The legislation would expand the land adjacent to Alpine Community Center to prevent the need for deceased members of the community to be buried in a distant cemetery.
“The community of Pinedale has a long and rich pioneer history and the residents are proud of that heritage,” said Daryl Seymore, Navajo County Board of Supervisors, District I. “Pinedale is a community where generations of families live, grow, and raise their families. This bill will allow families to lay their loved ones to rest in the place that their family member loved so much.”
Seymour thanked Crane and his staff for their work on this bill and support of the Pinedale community.
Nelson Davis, Apache County Supervisor for District III, and vice-chairman of the Board of Apache County, said he has seen the “very real needs” of the communities firsthand.
“Recently, the effort put forth by you and your staff in securing the conveyance of USFS land immediately adjacent to the Alpine Community Cemetery is representative of meeting that ‘very real need,’” Davis said in a letter to Crane.
Elizabeth Troutman is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send her news tips using this link.
by Corinne Murdock | Feb 7, 2024 | News
By Corinne Murdock |
Reps. Andy Biggs (R-05) and Eli Crane (R-02), along with other House Republicans, failed to convince their colleagues to impeach Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas over his handling of the border crisis.
Biggs asserted that Mayorkas was in violation of the separation of powers, citing the secretary’s inaction on the removal of over one million illegal immigrants eligible for deportation, and neglect of Title 8.
“That has resulted in great injury to our communities, and that is why he must be impeached, because he falls within the definition of one of the Founders, James Iredell said, and he’s right on the money,” said Biggs.
Despite the number of illegal immigrant crossings and drug trafficking reaching unprecedented record highs under President Joe Biden, Mayorkas has maintained that the border crisis originated from decades of congressional inaction rather than the policy of this current administration.
Mayorkas and other Democratic leaders support the $118 billion Senate bill described as a border bill, though a majority of the funding goes to Ukraine and other countries.
Lawmakers opposed to the bill pointed out its increased leniency for illegal immigration, such as a provision allowing those who either make it over 100 miles or remain longer than 14 days in the country to avoid deportation. The bill also would create a new, nonimmigrant visa subcategory enabling noncitizens to visit family members, as well as removing illegal immigrants from countries other than Mexico or Canada out of total encounters.
The bill also included another $60 billion for Ukraine, while providing just over $20 billion for the border, over $14 billion for Israel, $10 billion in humanitarian aid, over $6 billion for a variety of over projects, nearly $5 billion for the Indo-Pacific, and over $2 billion for the Red Sea conflict.
President Joe Biden claimed the bill wasn’t perfect: not because it didn’t close the border more for illegal immigration, but because it didn’t go far enough to grant citizenship for those illegal immigrants within the country.
Some lawmakers have argued that Mayorkas would ignore limited enforcement measures passed.
During Tuesday’s debate on Mayorkas’ impeachment, Crane accused the secretary of that very inaction on immigration enforcement.
“How many Americans have to die of fentanyl, MS-13 gang members, having their kids raped and murdered?” asked Crane. “It’s high time that [Mayorkas] be held accountable for his complete dereliction of duty at our southern border.”
Rep. Greg Stanton (D-04), in a joint statement with the New Democrat Coalition (NDC), called the impeachment a “sham,” and blamed Republicans for the state of the border.
Three Republicans — Reps. Ken Buck (CO), Mike Gallagher (WI), and Tom McClintock (CA) — joined Democrats in defeating the impeachment measure, 214-216.
However, House GOP leadership say that Tuesday’s vote wouldn’t be the last attempt at impeaching Mayorkas. A spokesman for House Speaker Mike Johnson (LA) said he plans to whip more votes.
Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.
by Corinne Murdock | Jan 20, 2024 | News
By Corinne Murdock |
A Prescott mother blames Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas for her daughter’s death.
In testimony to Congress on Thursday, Josephine Dunn explained that her daughter, Ashley, overdosed from fentanyl trafficked through the border in May 2021. Dunn testified on the day that would have been her daughter’s 29th birthday. Mayorkas declined to appear for that hearing.
“In my humble opinion, Mr. Mayorkas’ border policy is partially responsible for my daughter’s death. His wide-open border policy allows massive quantities of poisonous fentanyl into our country. Arizona is the fentanyl superhighway into the United States,” said Dunn. “We need to close the fentanyl superhighway; we need to close the border.”
The border crisis initiated under President Joe Biden ushered in a tidal wave of fentanyl trafficking. The surge in overdoses and deaths from the potent drug has resulted in its classification as an epidemic.
The fatal overdose of Dunn’s daughter prompted several attempts to pass an eponymous law in the state legislature, the Ashley Dunn Act, to charge drug dealers with homicide if their product contributed to the death of a user. State Rep. Quang Nguyen (R-LD01) carried the law both times.
Lawmakers have shot down the bill during both the 2022 and 2023 sessions. Some have contended that the law would be unconstitutional since it allows homicide charges for individuals whose actions weren’t a direct cause for the victim’s death. Former users also have argued that such a bill would strip accountability from the users themselves. Proponents argued that it would result in fewer drug deaths and deter distributors from selling lethal drugs.
In response to Dunn’s testimony, Rep. Eli Crane (R-AZ-02) noted that the current Biden administration tasks Border Patrol with taking in and taking care of illegal immigrants more so than preventing illegal migration.
“The Biden Admin has tied the hands of our Border Patrol and sabotaged our national security,” said Crane. “The money the Biden Admin is requesting for ‘border security’ would be used to process more aliens into our communities NOT for protecting Americans.”
According to Maricopa County, fentanyl constitutes 60 percent of all drug-related deaths and has become the deadliest drug in the state.
In 2023, the Arizona Department of Health Services (AZDHS) documented over 1,600 confirmed opioid deaths in the state and over 4,000 non-fatal opioid overdoses. So far, the data indicates that there were less deaths than there were in 2022 and 2021, which had over 1,900 and over 2,000 opioid deaths respectively, but more overdoses: there were just over 3,400 opioid overdoses in 2022 and just over 3,700 overdoses in 2021.
Naloxone, the overdose reversal drug, was administered nearly 6,000 times this past year compared to over 8,000 times in 2022 and over 7,100 times in 2021.
However, AZDHS noted that the data may not be complete for the months of September through December of last year.
Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.
by Corinne Murdock | Dec 5, 2023 | Economy, News
By Corinne Murdock |
Rep. Eli Crane (R-AZ-02) says that President Joe Biden’s energy policies are to blame for the burgeoning energy and national security crises.
Crane linked the crises to “idiotic” actions by the Biden administration, citing the cancellation of the Keystone XL pipeline, ban on drilling on federal lands, and the resulting depletion of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR).
“The Biden Admin has sabotaged American energy & compromised our national security,” said Crane. “Not to mention, these idiotic moves impose crippling costs on Americans.”
Gas prices in Arizona average about $3.40, a decline from last year’s average of $3.90. The national average was lower as of the latest federal data, at about $3.20. Arizona’s average gas price reached a record high last March, surpassing the previous high set in June 2008.
Biden canceled the Keystone XL pipeline on his first day in office by revoking the permit necessary for the pipeline’s completion through executive order. About a week later, Biden issued another executive order paving the way for a ban on new oil and gas leases on public lands and waters. That ban has not come to fruition, though the administration has added other burdens to the oil industry.
In July, the Biden administration announced new rules that would increase the cost that oil companies must pay to drill on public lands by over 16 percent — ending a century-long rate of about 12 percent — and end the renewal of unused permits.
When the Russo-Ukrainian conflict escalated last year with Russia’s invasion into Ukraine, the Biden administration began tapping into the SPR to mitigate the resulting rise in oil prices.
The strategy resulted in a 40-year record depletion of the reserve, at 180 million barrels. Last week, the Department of Energy (DOE) reported that it bought back nearly nine million barrels.
According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) monthly data, domestic crude oil production increased at a greater rate under Trump than the past two years under Biden.
Under Trump (thousand barrels):
- 2017 produced 3.4 million; by September produced 2.5 million
- 2018 produced 3.9 million; by September produced 2.9 million
- 2019 produced 4.4 million; by September produced 3.3 million
- 2020 produced 4.1 million; by September produced 3.1 million
From 2017 to 2018, there were over 581,000 more barrels produced. From 2018 to 2019, there were over 496,000 more barrels produced. 2020 marked a decline, with about 351,000 less barrels produced. The first three months of 2020, prior to the pandemic’s likely impact, reflected record productions of crude oil that were higher than the first three months of this year’s production levels.
Under Biden (thousand barrels):
- 2021 produced 4.1 million; by September produced 3 million
- 2022 produced 4.3 million; by September produced 3.2 million
- Amount in 2023 produced so far (as of September): nearly 3.5 million
From 2021 to 2022, there were 234,000 more barrels produced. So far this year, there have been about 281,000 more barrels produced.
The Biden administration has made clear its commitment to swapping oil for total electrification. Their goal aligns with a globalist commitment to achieve net zero emissions by 2050.
Over the weekend, the Biden administration announced a new rule to reduce methane emissions from oil producers.
Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.
