MIL USHOR-2b Engine

Source: United States House of Representatives – Representative Zoe Lofgren (D-San Jose)

(Washington, DC) – This week, Ranking Member Zoe Lofgren (D-CA) sent a letter to Brian Stone, Chief of Staff at the National Science Foundation, demanding answers on the status of over one billion dollars of unspent congressionally appropriated funds. The money was due to be spent by the end of Fiscal Year 2026, which was September 30, 2026.

“NSF has violated Congress’ power of the purse and the rightful separation of powers in our constitutional system by refusing to spend $1.4 billion in congressionally appropriated funds last fiscal year (FY), or nearly 20 percent of the agency’s research budget,” Ranking Member Lofgren writes in her letter. “Contrary to the recent lofty – and unearned – rhetoric from NSF and the White House, NSF’s effectiveness has been diminished by these, at best, quasi-legal actions.”

The Ranking Member continued, “The Committee has yet to receive an explanation from NSF about why it chose not to spend nearly 20 percent of its congressionally appropriated research budget. But the amount of money withheld from FY 2026 award-making is broadly similar to the amount of funding that will reportedly be diverted to the OSTP-backed frontier initiatives agenda. The Committee has already obtained evidence that the Trump White House has routinely influenced decision-making at NSF in unprecedented ways. The damage to the U.S. research enterprise from a $1.4 billion cut in federal funding is significant.”

The letter can be found here. 

Source: United States House of Representatives – Representative Mike Levin (CA-49)

Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Rick Larsen (2nd Congressional District Washington)

Larsen Announces $7.67 Million in Federal Funding for Swinomish, Island County, Bellingham to Prevent Pedestrian Injuries and Deaths

Source: United States House of Representatives – Representative Bryan Steil (Wisconsin-1)

JANESVILLE, WI – Today, Congressman Bryan Steil (WI-01) announced FEMA is awarding nearly $1.1 million in federal funding to the state of Wisconsin to help Janesville recover following storm damage in Wisconsin this April.

“Many Wisconsin families were affected by the severe weather and damaging flooding in April,” said Steil. “Across our community, schools, homes, and critical infrastructure were impacted. This assistance will help deliver additional relief to the city of Janesville and the Janesville School District. I look forward to continuing to work with FEMA to support Wisconsin families.”

Funding from FEMA will help the City of Janesville and the Janesville School District with recovery efforts following April’s storms, including repairs to critical physical infrastructure damaged during that time.

This follows President Trump’s approval of a Major Disaster Declaration for Wisconsin in June 2026. The declaration authorized FEMA’s Individual Assistance program to provide relief to Wisconsin families and households, as well FEMA’s Public Assistance program, which is designed to reimburse state and local governments, and certain non-profits, for emergency work as a result of the disaster, such as debris removal and repairs to public infrastructure.

Background:

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Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Jerrold Nadler (10th District of New York)

Washington, D.C. – Today, Rep. Jerrold Nadler, Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on the Administrative State, Regulatory Reform, and Antitrust, Rep. Jamie Raskin, Ranking Member of the House Judiciary Committee, and Rep. Hank Johnson, Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Courts, Intellectual Property, Artificial Intelligence, and the Internet, submitted an amicus brief opposing the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) bizarre argument that there is some sort of national security exception to current copyright law that allows AI companies to train their models on copyrighted work, including New York Times journalism, without compensation.

The brief, filed in the Southern District of New York in In re OpenAI, Inc. Copyright Infringement Litigation, reminds the court that the arguments in DOJ’s brief violate the plain text of the Copyright Act, which does not contain any national security exception to allow private companies free and unfettered use of copyrighted materials.

“National security is not a fair use factor under the Copyright Act. […] To treat it as a fair use consideration would be to add to the Copyright Act a national security exception that Congress did not enact,” the lawmakers wrote.

The dispute stems from allegations that OpenAI and Microsoft used New York Times journalism without permission to build AI products that compete with the newspaper. On September 1, DOJ intervened to support AI companies, arguing that restricting their use of copyrighted texts would threaten American AI development and national security. DOJ’s filing reportedly surprised even the government’s own copyright and patent experts.

Copyright law allows some uses of copyrighted work without permission, under a set of rules known as “fair use.” But before “fair use” doctrine applies, the courts must consider the circumstances—including how the work was used, how much was copied and whether the copying harms the market for the original work. Instead, DOJ is inviting the court to jettison federal statutes and case law and rule that AI companies have special rights based on specious national security claims.

The lawmakers urge the court to reject DOJ’s arguments and uphold legal protections that ensure fair compensation to millions of American content creators including writers, journalists, and artists.

The full brief is available here.

Source: United States House of Representatives – Representative Judy Chu (CA2-27)

WASHINGTON, D.C. – This week, FEMA upheld its denial of California’s appeal for supplemental funding for the Disaster Case Management Program (DCMP), with no further opportunity to appeal. The program connects survivors of the January 2025 Eaton and Palisades Fires with case managers who help them navigate insurance claims, find housing, and access federal assistance. The supplemental funding would have sustained DCMP through the full 24-month timeframe that FEMA itself approved. 

The State of California has confirmed that the American Red Cross will continue funding DCMP services through Catholic Charities of California once the remaining federal funds are exhausted. The State anticipates that this funding will extend services through mid-2027, depending on when federal funds run out and how much the services are used.

Rep. Chu, who has led congressional efforts to secure federal disaster assistance, tax relief, and long-term recovery resources for Eaton Fire survivors, repeatedly pressed FEMA to release the outstanding DCMP funds. In September 2026, she led Rep. Sherman and Sens. Schiff and Padilla in successfully pressuring FEMA to release all installments of the original previously approved funding for the DCMP. 

Rep. Chu released the following statement:

“I am deeply disappointed that FEMA has denied California’s appeal for additional funding for the Disaster Case Management Program. Nearly two years after the Eaton Fire, thousands of survivors are still displaced and still working to come home, and case managers are the people who help them get there. I am grateful that the American Red Cross is stepping in to keep these services available, but our communities should not have to rely on charity to fill a gap the federal government has a responsibility to close. I will keep working with the state and our local partners to make sure every survivor still has the resources they need to recover.”

Source: United States House of Representatives – Congresswoman Angie Craig (MN-02)

RED WING, MN – Today, U.S. Representative Angie Craig announced that her office secured $10,161,985 in federal funding for the City of Red Wing and Red Wing Grain LLC to upgrade critical systems and infrastructure at the Port of Red Wing. 

 The funding, which came from the Maritime Administration (MARAD)’s Port Infrastructure Development Program (PIDP), will be used to reconstruct the Port of Red Wing’s barge loading system, conveyors, electric winch and dust collection systems. These upgrades will allow for safer and more efficient loading options by elevating loadout infrastructure above the Mississippi River floodplain.

 In May, Rep. Craig wrote a letter of support on behalf of the City of Red Wing and Red Wing Grain LLC, emphasizing the importance of this investment for farmers across Minnesota, including in CD2. 

“I am so proud to have helped secure this investment in the Port of Red Wing, which will have a profound impact not only on the City of Red Wing, but also on the greater Minnesota economy,” said Rep. Craig. “Red Wing Grain purchases soybeans and corn from over 1,200 farmers across the city of Red Wing and ships over 500 river barges of grain per year. These critical upgrades to the Port will expand local farmers’ access to global markets and ensure that port employees can do their jobs safely and efficiently.”

For 150 years, the Port of Red Wing has been the prominent hub connecting Minnesota’s agricultural products to America’s inland waterway system. The Red Wing Barge Loadout Expansion Project at Red Wing Grain LLC will replace a 50-year-old barge loader system and 70-year-old winch system. The infrastructure upgrades will accelerate the Port’s current load speeds and extend the truck unload hours for farmers during busy harvest times and large crop years. This project will also significantly increase employee safety by improving access to barges, reducing time spent on barges and limiting exposure to barge cable.

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Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Brad Sherman (D-CA)

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Congressman Brad Sherman (CA-32), Ranking Member of the House Financial Services Subcommittee on Capital Markets, is calling on Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to stand up for American investors and the integrity of U.S. stock markets. In two letters to the SEC, Congressman Sherman and his colleagues warned that new products and trading venues are allowing U.S. stocks to be traded outside the investor protections Congress put in place under federal securities laws.

Today, Congressman Sherman and Congresswoman Joyce Beatty (OH-03) called on the SEC to prevent a new category of high-risk financial products, known as “perpetual derivatives,” from launching on prediction market platforms as early as November 2nd. These products allow individuals to place highly leveraged bets on the price of a company’s stock and allow the platform to automatically close out the position under rules the platform itself sets and can change. As a result, an investor can lose the entirety of their investment, even if the stock eventually recovers. By ceding its authority to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, a far smaller agency that is not equipped to regulate products tied to individual stocks, the SEC is leaving Americans who trade them without the protections guaranteed under federal securities laws. The letter urges the Commission to assert its authority over these products and prevent them from trading until those protections are fully in place.

Last week, Congressman Sherman also led a letter with Representatives Bill Foster (IL-11), Stephen F. Lynch (MA-08), Joyce Beatty (OH-03), Sylvia R. Garcia (TX-29), and Nikema Williams (GA-05) urging the SEC to withdraw its new “Innovation Exemption,” which lets unregulated crypto companies avoid our securities laws and regulations. The exemption lets crypto platforms trade digital versions of U.S. stocks without following the rules that apply to traditional stock exchanges, rules that were put in place after hard lessons from past market crashes to prevent similar market failures and protect investors. The lawmakers warned this creates a second, lightly regulated stock market where investors have fewer protections and where criminals and foreign adversaries could quietly buy stakes in American companies. The letter urges the Commission to rescind the exemption in its entirety and require these platforms to register with the SEC and follow the same rules as every other stock exchange.

“Americans who invest their hard-earned money deserve the full protection of our securities laws, no matter what platform they use or what product they’re sold,” said Congressman Sherman. “Whether it’s a prediction market offering supercharged bets on individual stocks or a crypto platform trading digital copies of American shares, the result is the same: everyday investors are exposed to big losses, and our markets are opened up to manipulation and illicit money. The SEC has the authority to stop this. It must use it now, before Americans lose their savings, not after.”

To read the full letter on perpetual derivatives, click here.

To read the full letter on the Innovation Exemption, click here.

Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09)

More than $3.7 million in support for post-crash safety and highway-rail crossings projects

Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09)

WASHINGTON – Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-9) introduced his 500^th Legislative measure in Congress this week with a bill to revamp the regulation of controlled substances. Since entering Congress in 2007, he has cosponsored more legislation – by far – than any other member with 8,539 measures.

Congressman Cohen, who will retire at the end of his term, made the following statement:

“On Thursday, I introduced my 500^th legislative measure since coming to Congress in 2007, making me the fifth most prolific member over that nearly 20-year period. Last Congress, the Center for Effective Lawmaking, a joint project of the University of Virginia and Vanderbilt University, named me the fifth most effective Democratic member of the 118th Congress. The Center assessed bills I sponsored, how far into the lawmaking process they moved and how substantial the policy proposals were. I’ve spent my 20 years in Congress working – working hard. I studiously examine issues and vote for the interests of my constituents. As I prepare to leave Congress, I am proud of this legacy of accomplishment and how this legislation has improved the lives of Memphians.”