2024 Congressional District 5 Candidates

Candidates running for Congressional District 5 (1 seat):

• Congressman Andy Biggs (incumbent)
• Katrina Schaffner

Campaign Email Address: info@biggsforcongress.com
Campaign website or social media account: Biggsforcongress.com, www.facebook.com/biggsforcongress, twitter.com/andybiggs4az, www.instagram.com/andybiggsaz/
Community/Neighborhood of Residence: Gilbert
How many years have you lived in District 14?: 37
Name of Employer: US House of Representatives
Occupation or Title: Congressman for Arizona's Fifth District
Brief Summary of Employment: Attorney since 1985; U.S. Congressman, 2017-present; Arizona State Senate, 2011-2016; Arizona State House, 2003-2011.
Educational Background (List Format): B.A. in Asian Studies from Brigham Young University; M.A. in Political Science from Arizona State University; J.D. from University of Arizona
Community organizations to which you belong or regularly support: Coached girls fast-pitch softball, served as a Scout leader, active in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

What makes you a leading candidate to represent Congressional District 5?

As an Arizona native and a resident of Gilbert for 37 years, I understand the needs of my constituents. I have represented this district in Congress for nearly 8 years and represented various portions of the district in the Arizona state legislature for the 14 years before that. Each time I’ve been elected, I promised my constituents I would vote in line with the U.S. Constitution and fight for their interests. I have followed through on those promises. In my 4 terms in Congress, I have held fast to the Constitution, even when doing so was unpopular among my colleagues. I worked in a bipartisan fashion to pass 4 bills into law and, where appropriate, have offered many amendments to strengthen bills being considered in the House. To the best of my ability, I have clearly explained my positions and my votes to my constituents, so they know where I stand on every issue. I have developed a proven record of leadership in the House and been elected to lead and serve on diverse and bipartisan caucuses and task forces, ensuring our community always has a seat at the table. I served two years as Chairman of the House Freedom Caucus, founded the bipartisan War Powers Caucus, and serve as Co-Chairman of the Border Security Caucus. This term, I was also asked to serve on the Congressional Task Force to Combat Mexican Drug Cartels, a task force to identify unauthorized spending, a task force to reform authorization for use of military force, and a task force on improper payments. I also serve as the Chairman of the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security.

What would be the subject matter of the first bill you would introduce as a new member of the House?

I will not be a new member of the House and have introduced hundreds of bills that define the priorities of my constituents. I will reintroduce many of those bills when the new Congress begins on January 3rd, but there are a few areas the new Congress should prioritize. 1. Securing the southern border – roughly 10 million illegal aliens have entered the United States in the last four years. This has caused a humanitarian and national security crisis for our nation as we have neither the ability to care for that number of aliens nor vet their personal backgrounds. President Biden has significant authority to bring this crisis under control, but there is more Congress can do to close exploited loopholes in immigration law and hold the Biden administration accountable. I’ve introduced several pieces of legislation to achieve these goals, including the Fund and Complete the Border Wall Act, Stopping Border Surges Act, Grant’s Law, and the State Immigration Enforcement Act. 2. Reducing the national debt and lowering inflation – Since the last time I submitted this survey, our national debt has increased by $4 trillion to $34 trillion. This level of spending is unsustainable, and Americans are feeling the inflationary impacts in their everyday lives. Flooding the economy with trillions more dollars—as Biden and even some Republicans want to do—is not the solution. Congress must enact a structurally balanced budget, cut spending, dramatically reduce our national debt, reform our regulatory system, and cut taxes. These steps will put Americans on a fiscally responsible path that we can be glad to leave to future generations.3. Defend human life – I will continue to fiercely defend human life. I have fought to defund Planned Parenthood, ban late term abortion, and ensure health care workers are never forced to take an innocent life. No taxpayer dollar should ever be used to fund an abortion, and we must work to change the notion that a child’s death is necessary for a woman to thrive in life.

What do you believe is the federal government's role in regulating private businesses?

There is not a constitutional nexus for the federal government to regulate private businesses. Throughout my time in Congress, businesses in CD5 have regularly voiced their need to be free from burdensome federal regulations. Some recent examples include regulations on independent contractors, EPA regulations on dust, and regulations on new residential and corporate construction projects. Rarely does increased federal interference come without a cost. We should get the federal government out of the way so that state and local lawmakers can govern as our Founders intended and our economy can flourish.

What role, if any, should the federal government have in regulating and financing education at the state and local levels?

Education funding should be determined and provided at the state level, with zero input or interference from the federal government. Too many schools that receive federal funding focus on indoctrination instead of education, and too many education elites believe parents are irrelevant to the education of their children. I support giving families full freedom to choose what works best for their children, including public, private, online, or homeschool. States and communities have different educational needs, and teachers, parents, and local education officials are best equipped to make education policy decisions. I will continue to advance educational policies that focus on local control, maximum flexibility, and that ensure Arizonans have the most educational opportunities available to them.

Recognizing the current significant federal budget deficit, what program(s) would you prioritize for funding at the current level or increased funding, and which program(s) should be reduced in funding or cut?

Given our national debt and deficit, reducing spending is imperative. We do not have a revenue problem. In fact, since 2017, we have seen record levels of revenue. But the drastic growth in spending during the COVID-19 outbreak consumed that revenue and Congress has yet to have the courage to address it. During the FY 2024 appropriations cycle, I proposed to my colleagues reducing discretionary spending – for both defense and non-defense – to FY 2019, pre-COVID levels. Doing so would have reduced spending enough to prevent deficit spending for the year. There’s much more that will be required to get us on a path of fiscal stability, but pre-COVID spending levels is a good place to start.

Who would you consider to be your stakeholders and how would you propose to represent them?

My constituents are my stakeholders. I have and will continue to regularly engage with them to provide transparency on my efforts in Congress and to hear their ideas. During my 4 terms in Congress, I have held numerous telephone townhalls and in-person constituent meetings, directly responded to tens of thousands of constituent inquiries, and hosted several resource fairs to ensure they have access to the government services they need. My constituents elected me to shrink the size and scope of the federal government and restore the freedoms our Founders enshrined in the U.S. Constitution. I will continue striving to balance our budget and lower inflation, secure the border, restore parental choice in education, fix our broken health care system, restore election integrity, protect life, and protect our national security interests. My voting record is and will continue to be a record of promises kept to my constituents.

In the seemingly polarized climate in Congress, how will you demonstrate a commitment to honesty, civility, and respect that is lacking from local and national politicians and personalities?

I have always been honest with my constituents about my work in Congress. And I have developed relationships with many of my colleagues – both Democrat and Republican – because that’s what’s required to benefit our nation. When we identify areas of common ground, we work together to pursue our shared goal. As a recent example, I spent the last year working in a bipartisan coalition to reform the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. Our coalition spanned the far Left, including Congresswomen Jayapal and Lofgren and Congressman Nadler, and the far Right, including myself and Congressmen Jordan, Davidson, and McClintock. We’re an unlikely bunch, but we set aside our differences to pursue the reforms needed to protect Americans’ Fourth Amendment rights.

Congress has seemed unable to pass legislation dealing with security at the U.S. Southern border. If elected, what position would you take on the issue of increased security at the southern border and protecting the property and citizens of Arizona against those who illegally enter the United States?

The southern border has never been more of a crisis than it is today. But it will never get better until we stop incentivizing illegal activity and start enforcing federal immigration law. While statutory reforms to close exploited loopholes would be beneficial and strengthen our hand, the reality is that President Biden has the tools he needs to drastically reduce illegal crossings. I am in regular contact with U.S. Border Patrol, border county sheriffs, state and local officials, and border residents in Arizona and throughout the southwest border. I will continue to stay up to date on the trends, impacts, and actions of the Biden administration. We must regain control over our southern border to protect our national sovereignty, our national security, and the American people.

Do you have any final comments or thoughts you’d like to share?

It has been the honor of a lifetime to serve Gilbert and the Fifth District in Congress. Our nation’s Founders put their faith in a great experiment, creating a republic that is governed by the people and that guarantees freedoms that are the envy of the world. I am humbled by my constituents’ trust in me to defend our founding ideals and to represent their interests in Congress.