| Dear , Last week, the House passed the Frederick Douglass Trafficking Victims Prevention and Protection Reauthorization Act, legislation I co-led. This legislation will ensure federal dollars go towards areas with ‘high-intensity child sex trafficking’ and prioritizes prevention education programs that focus on how social media is used to groom and entice children. These efforts are crucial to not only rescuing victims, but also ensuring vulnerable individuals are aware of the potential dangers online and in communities throughout the country. Also included in this bill is a program that will help give survivors the tools they need to restart their lives, whether it is assistance with education, job-skills and vocational training, or financial literacy.
I have worked with numerous survivors throughout my time in Congress, and one of the most important issues for these brave individuals is breaking the cycle of exploitation that traps victims in such horrifying situations. This bill gives survivors vital support on which they can rely. Read my press release here.
Recently, Treasury Secretary Yellen was unable to reply to my questions about the Biden Administration’s surveilling private citizens’ bank transactions. I asked the Director of FinCEN last week what legal authority they have to justify a search and request for individual bank customer records. Yet again, I could not get a direct answer. Watch this shameful response here.
I led a bipartisan group of my colleagues in calling on Congressional Leadership and Bicameral Appropriations Committee Chairs to include funding for the Crime Victims Fund (CVF) in upcoming appropriations legislation. The CVF is a critically important fund that supports victim assistance programs and comes at no expense to the taxpayer. With crime running amok around the nation, victims need Congressional support to receive vital resources that help them recover and find justice. Read my full letter here.
It is critical we unleash America’s energy potential and last week I voted to do just that. The Unlocking our Domestic LNG Potential Act would lift restrictions on the import and export of natural gas and ultimately lower prices at the pump.
China represents an urgent threat to the U.S. and its partners. We have an important advantage, however: a range of partnerships and alliances that are unshakeable and battle-tested, including AUKUS, a critical security partnership between the U.S., Australia, and the UK. The fact that the Chinese Communist Party finds AUKUS so terrifying is a clear sign that the partnership is the right path forward for the U.S., as we seek to defend Indo-Pacific partners from China’s predatory and bullying influence. China has disseminated false propaganda aiming to undermine this vital partnership and I questioned the Under Secretary for Arms Control and International Security on what the State Department is doing to counter this disinformation. Watch here.
I appreciated meeting with constituents Erin and Sofia who were in Washington advocating for increased funding for childhood cancer programs on behalf of Erin’s younger sister. Hearing personal stories like theirs is important as we work through the legislative process, and getting involved as college students is incredibly admirable.
 More than two years after the Biden Administration’s shameful, tragic, and utterly misguided flight from Afghanistan, it has become clear that the President was determined to abandon the country—at any cost, and with no conditions. The cost in lost military assets, in our credibility as a friend, ally, and global leader—and, most of all, in precious American lives, was incalculable. There has been no accountability for the Administration’s total failure to protect U.S. troops and citizens. During our Foreign Affairs hearing last week, I asked Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad, former U.S. Special Representative for Afghanistan, if countries in NATO argued against a full U.S. troop withdrawal. Watch here. 
Last week, Congress voted to impeach Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. He lied to Congress and flagrantly refused to do his duty and secure the border. During Joe Biden’s presidency, there have been over 8 million illegal crossings of our border, and over 175,000 illegal migrants were encountered in January alone, higher than any month under President Trump. It’s time the Biden Administration got serious about this crisis and took action to close our border and protect our communities from the rush of illegal migrants and drugs like fentanyl. Sincerely, 
Ann Wagner
Member of Congress | 
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