Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Jared Huffman Representing the 2nd District of California
Compliance delay for Big Oil is the latest decision in Republicans’ string of polluter handouts
November 19, 2025
Washington, D.C. – Today, Ranking Member Huffman released a statement on the Trump administration’s announcement to push back the compliance deadline for the Methane Waste Rule, clearing the way for polluters to ignore regulations and avoid paying royalties to public and Indian mineral owners.
“Their first week back after the longest shutdown in American history, Republicans haven’t done a single thing to lower costs or improve the lives of hardworking people. Instead, they’ve prioritized rolling out the red carpet for their billionaire donors,” said Ranking Member Huffman. “Trump is shirking the law and robbing taxpayers blind so Big Oil can keep pumping out emissions without having to pay a cent for polluting our air.
“It has been proven time and again that this pollution gives our kids asthma, spikes cancer rates, and causes miscarriages. Health care prices are about to skyrocket, but instead of solving this Republican-caused crisis, they are clearing the way for corporations to keep poisoning our communities just to pad their pockets.
“Meanwhile, the rest of the world is meeting at COP to work together on curbing this exact kind of pollution to address climate change – but Trump couldn’t be bothered to show up for America. He’s surrendering to China and driving our allies straight into Xi Jinping’s arms to partner with him instead on clean, cheap energy that addresses the climate crisis. Rolling back these safeguards is a complete abdication of our responsibilities and climate leadership on the global stage. This has got to stop. Americans want clean air and clean water––not handouts to polluters.”
Background
The Bureau of Land Management announced it is pushing back deadlines for oil and gas companies to comply with the Methane Waste Rule, which tightened rules on the venting and flaring of methane from oil and gas production on federal lands.
The rule would have charged oil companies royalties for the methane their operations produce but don’t deliver to market as natural gas to compensate public and Indian mineral owners.
BLM will delay enforcement by one year for two of the rule’s provisions that were scheduled to take effect on Dec. 10.
This decision is the latest in a string of attacks on the environment and public health by Republicans. On Monday, Trump’s Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Army Corps of Engineers announced their proposed revision of the Waters of the United States, which would further restrict which water bodies are protected from pollution and destruction under the Clean Water Act. This will let polluters dump in and destroy more waters all across the country.
On Tuesday, House Republicans voted to overturn a series of federal land protections to lock the American people into higher energy costs by sabotaging clean, renewable energy to prop up polluters. The three Congressional Review Acts will handcuff the Department of the Interior, making it illegal for the agency to stop prioritizing fossil fuels — even to protect communities from climate-induced wildfires, save collapsing habitats, or combat prolonged drought.
Source: United States House of Representatives – Julia Brownley (D-CA)
Washington, DC – Today, Congresswoman Julia Brownley (CA-26) reintroduced the Bidirectional Electric Vehicle Charging Act, legislation that would accelerate the deployment of bidirectional charging technology for electric vehicles (EVs) and electric buses. Bidirectional charging enables EV owners to send stored power back to their homes, businesses, and even a utility grid.
“As the impacts of the climate crisis become more severe, from stronger wildfires to more destructive storms, preparation and resilience are essential. Bidirectional charging allows electric vehicle owners to power their homes during a blackout or support the grid during peak demand. In effect, EVs can serve as a ‘mini power plant on wheels,’ helping families and communities maintain access to electricity during emergencies,” said Congresswoman Brownley. “Electric buses equipped with this technology can also supply power to schools, hospitals, and emergency operations centers during outages. Given these far-reaching benefits, my bill ensures this smart, innovative technology becomes more widely available throughout the United States.”
“Electric vehicle batteries can help keep the lights on and make electricity more affordable for everyone, even those who don’t own EVs,” said Ellie Cohen of The Climate Center, a climate and energy policy nonprofit. “To prepare for climate extremes from wildfires to floods, we should look to the batteries in our electric cars, trucks, and buses to avoid blackouts — not polluting fossil fuels. That’s why we support the Bidirectional Electric Vehicle Charging Act to make electricity cheaper and more reliable for millions of Americans.”
Background
To strengthen grid resilience and expand clean-energy solutions nationwide, the Bidirectional Electric Vehicle Charging Act would:
Direct the U.S. Department of Energy to develop a National Electric Vehicle Bidirectional Charging Roadmap.
Direct the U.S. Department of Energy to establish technical standards for EV manufacturers to ensure uniform bidirectional charging capabilities.
Require that all new electric vehicles manufactured beginning in 2029 be capable of bidirectional charging, unless exempted by the Secretary of Energy.
Direct the Federal Emergency Management Agency to require that state and local hazard mitigation plans incorporate bidirectional charging capabilities.
The Bidirectional Electric Vehicle Charging Act is endorsed by The Climate Center and Récolte Energy.
Source: United States House of Representatives – Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal (7th District of Washington)
WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S Representative Pramila Jayapal (WA-07) and U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren (MA) are introducing the Experts Protect Effective Rules, Transparency, and Stability (EXPERTS) Act to re-establish public trust in the federal regulatory process by prioritizing transparency and elevating the voices of subject matter experts over those of corporations with profit-driven interests.
“Many Americans are taught in civics classes that Congress passes a law and that’s it, but the reality is that any major legislation enacted must also be implemented and enforced by the executive branch to become a reality,” said Jayapal. “We are seeing the Trump administration dismantle systems created to ensure that federal regulation prioritizes public safety. At a time when corporations and CEOs have outsized power, it is critical that we ensure that public interest is protected. This bill will level the playing field to ensure that laws passed actually work for the American people.
“Giant corporations and their armies of lobbyists shouldn’t get to manipulate how our laws are implemented,” said Senator Warren. “While Donald Trump keeps selling away influence over our government, we’re fighting to ensure the rules are being written to help working Americans, not corporate interests.”
The federal rulemaking process is how governmental agencies implement and enforce the law. Rulemaking creates essential regulations that carry out the goals of legislation addressing issues ranging from health care to workers’ rights. It requires agencies to give the public notice of proposed regulations and the opportunity to comment or provide feedback. But presently, industry-backed lobbyists hold more negotiating power in the regulatory process than the general public. They are able to schedule private meetings with regulators, fund sham scientific studies to submit with public comments, and misrepresent the negative impact of stricter regulatory oversight.
Last year, in their Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo ruling, the Supreme Court overturned the Chevron deference doctrine that required courts to respect the expertise of federal agencies in implementing laws passed by Congress. This doctrine has led to a broad range of protections for Americans, including reducing worker exposure to hazardous substances, limiting predatory credit card fees, and promoting clean air and water. The Loper Bright ruling gives courts greater leeway to overturn expertise-based policies for the benefit of the Trump Administration and corporations.
The EXPERTS Act would:
CodifyChevronDeference: Require courts to defer to agencies’ reasonable interpretations of their rules that Congress empowered them to issue in order to implement statutes.
Establish Rulemaking Transparency: Require a full disclosure of who is funding the scientific, economic, and technical studies submitted to agencies during the rulemaking process, mandate a public explanation for the withdrawal of rules, and require the public disclosure of any changes made to a regulatory proposal during the rulemaking process.
Eliminate Industry-Backed Delays to Rulemaking: Accelerate the rulemaking review process by excluding private parties from using the negotiated rulemaking process.
Restore the Time Limit for Legal Challenges: Reinstate a 6-year time limit for legal challenges to agency actions, with the clock starting when the action is finalized.
Empower the Public in the Rulemaking Process: Fine corporations that lie to the government about whether a public interest rule would cost their shareholders, establish an Office of the Public Advocate to serve as an advocate for public interests, and require the government to respond to citizen petitions.
“The EXPERTS Act is urgently needed to respond to the rampant deregulatory efforts happening now. The bill is a comprehensive blueprint for modernizing, improving, and strengthening the regulatory system to better protect the public. The EXPERTS Act would enhance our government’s ability to deliver results for workers, consumers, public health, and our environment. And it would increase participation so that people – not just big corporations – can weigh in on potential rules that affect them,” said Rachel Weintraub, Executive Director, Coalition for Sensible Safeguards (CSS). “For most of the last century, policy, scientific, and technical experts were in charge of writing the rules that protect American workers, consumers, families, and our environment – and it made all of us better off. Expert regulators brought us cleaner air and water, safer food and consumer products, fairer workplaces and markets, and much more. Every year going back decades, studies showed the benefits to the public of new and existing regulations outweighing the costs to industry by a factor of 10-to-1 or more. This is what trusting the experts got us, and it’s what the EXPERTS Act will restore.”
“The EXPERTS Act is the marquee legislation to improve our regulatory system,” said Lisa Gilbert, Co-President, Public Citizen and CSS Co-Chair. “The bill aims directly at the corporate capture of our rulemaking process, brings transparency to the regulatory review process and imposes a $250,000 fine on corporations that submit false information, among other things. The bill is essential law for the future of our health, safety, environment, and workers. Public Citizen urges swift passage in both chambers.”
This legislation is sponsored by Representatives Alma Adams (NC-12), Gabe Amo (RI-01), Yassamin Ansari (AZ-03), Becca Balint (VT-AL), Joyce Beatty (OH-03), Suzanne Bonamici (OR-01), Brendan Boyle (PA-02), Julia Brownley (CA-26), André Carson (IN-07), Greg Casar (TX-35), Judy Chu (CA-28), Yvette D. Clarke (NY-09), Steve Cohen (TN-09), J. Luis Correa (CA-46), Madeleine Dean (PA-04), Rosa L. DeLauro (CT-03), Chris Deluzio (PA-17), Mark DeSaulnier (CA-10), Maxine Dexter (OR-03), Debbie Dingell (MI-06), Adriano Espaillat (NY-13), Dwight Evans (PA-03), Valerie Foushee (NC-04), Maxwell Frost (FL-10), Robert Garcia (CA-42), Jesus G. “Chuy” Garcia (IL-04), Sylvia Garcia (TX-29), Jahana Hayes (CT-05), Steven Horsford (NV-07), Jared Huffman (CA-02), Jonathan L. Jackson (IL-01), Henry C. (“Hank”) Johnson, Jr. (GA-04), Ro Khanna (CA-17), Raja Krishnamoorthi (IL-08), Summer Lee (PA-12), Mike Levin (CA-49), Ted Lieu (CA-33), Stephen Lynch (MA-08), Seth Magaziner (RI-02), Lucy McBath (GA-06), Jennifer L. McClellan (VA-04), Betty McCollum (MN-04), James P. McGovern (MA-02), LaMonica McIver (NJ-10), Jerrold Nadler (NY-12), Eleanor Holmes Norton (DC-AL), Ilhan Omar (MN-05), Chellie Pingree (ME-01), Mark Pocan (WI-02), Mike Quigley (IL-05), Delia C. Ramirez (IL-03), Andrea Salinas (OR-06), Linda T. Sánchez (CA-38), Mary Gay Scanlon (PA-05), Jan Schakowsky (IL-09), Brad Sherman (CA-32), Lateefah Simon (CA-12), Adam Smith (WA-09), Melanie Stansbury (NM-01), Shri Thanedar (MI-13), Dina Titus (NV-01), Rashida Tlaib (MI-12), Jill Tokuda (HI-02), Paul Tonko (NY-20), Lauren Underwood (IL-14), Juan Vargas (CA-52), Nydia Velázquez (NY-07), Bonnie Watson Coleman (NJ-12), and Nikema Williams (GA-05). The legislation is also sponsored by Senators Richard Blumenthal (CT), Cory Booker (NJ), Mazie Hirono (HI), Andy Kim (NJ), Ben Ray Luján (NM), Ed Markey (MA), Jeff Merkley (OR), Peter Welch (VT), Bernard Sanders (VT), Adam Schiff (CA), Chris Van Hollen (MD), and Ron Wyden (OR).
The legislation is endorsed by Coalition for Sensible Safeguards; Accountable.US / Accountable.NOW; AFL-CIO; AFT; American Atheists; American Bird Conservancy; American Economic Liberties Project; American Federation of State County and Municipal Employees; Americans for Financial Reform; Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization; Consumer Advocates Against Reverse Mortgage Abuse (CAARMA); Center for Auto Safety; Center for Digital Democracy; Center for Economic Integrity; Center for Economic Justice; Center For Food Safety; Center for Justice & Democracy; Center for Progressive Reform; Center for Science in the Public Interest; Clean Air Council; Coalition on Human Needs; Colorado Fiscal Institute; Consumer Action; Consumer Federation of America; Consumer Federation of California; Consumers for Auto Reliability and Safety; Cultivating Lives Educational Services; Delaware Community Reinvestment Action Council; Earthjustice Action; Endangered Species Coalition; Economic Policy Institute; GenDemocracy; Genesee Co-op Federal Credit Union; Good Jobs First; Government Information Watch; GreenLatinos; Greenpeace USA; Impact Fund; Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy; Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility; International Center for Technology Assessment; Interfaith Power & Light; International Union, United Automobile, Aerospace, and Agricultural Implement Workers of America (UAW); Jacobs Institute of Women’s Health; Jobs to Move America; Kettle Range Conservation Group; Lawyers for Good Government; League of Conservation Voters; Medical Students for a Sustainable Future (MS4SF); National Association of Consumer Advocates; National Consumer Law Center (on behalf of its low-income clients); National Consumers League; National Employment Law Project; National Federation of Federal Employees; National Health Law Program; New Jersey Association on Correction; NETWORK Lobby for Catholic Social Justice; Oregon Consumer Justice; Oregon Consumer League; People Power United; Physicians for Social Responsibility; Public Citizen; Rise Economy; Sciencecorps; Sierra Club; Small Business Majority; South Carolina Appleseed Legal Justice Center; Southern Environmental Law Center; Texas Appleseed; The Conservation Angler; Union of Concerned Scientists; Unitarian Universalists for Social Justice; United Steelworkers; United Way of Central Texas; U.S. PIRG; Virginia Citizens Consumer Council; Voices Organized in Civic Engagement (VOICE); WE ACT for Environmental Justice; Zero Hour; 20/20 Vision.
Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Hakeem Jeffries (8th District of New York)
Today, House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries held a press conference, where he emphasized that House Democrats know Americans deserve better then the extremism of the Trump administration and are laser focused on lowering costs, fixing the Republican healthcare crisis and fighting corruption, including with the release of the Epstein files.
LEADER JEFFRIES: Next week, throughout America, families will be gathered together at the dining room table, and millions of Americans are going to experience sticker shock as they prepare for Thanksgiving. The Trump administration itself acknowledges that the cost of turkeys has gone up 40% since last November. Grocery costs are through the roof, housing costs out of control, electricity bills through the roof. And the Trump administration and Republicans here in Congress continue to refuse to extend the Affordable Care Act tax credits. That means that tens of millions of Americans are about to experience dramatically-increased premiums, copays and deductibles. In some cases, health insurance costs are going to go up $1,000 or $2,000 per month. We have a cost of living crisis in the United States of America, and Donald Trump and Republicans haven’t done a damn thing about it. In fact, costs aren’t going down, costs are going up all throughout America, and the Trump tariffs are costing everyday Americans thousands of dollars in additional expense per year.
Now, House Republicans were on vacation for seven plus weeks, a taxpayer-funded vacation, until they were forced to crawl back into town. We have a week of legislative session that began on Monday and will last until Friday, and House Republicans haven’t brought a single bill to the Floor that actually addresses the high cost of living in the United States of America. It’s perplexing. What is wrong with these people? What did they not get from their shellacking two weeks ago, all across America, up and down the ballot, in state after state after state, where the American people have made clear we don’t support Republican extremism, Republicans have done nothing to make all life better, and we’re thankful for Democrats for continuing to lean in to driving down the high cost of living. And now we’re in the midst of this healthcare affordability fight, and Donald Trump’s response to it is, let’s repeal the Affordable Care Act. No credible plan to make healthcare more affordable for the American people. Donald Trump’s plan, adopted by House Republicans, is let’s repeal the Affordable Care Act, and we’re going to continue to refuse to extend tax credits that make healthcare more affordable for working-class Americans, middle-class Americans and everyday Americans. House Democrats are going to continue to stand on the side of the American people. Our fight will be to continue to lower the high cost of living, to address the Republican healthcare crisis, fix our broken healthcare system, extend the Affordable Care Act tax credits and actually do things that are designed to make life more affordable for the American people.
Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Hakeem Jeffries (8th District of New York)
Today, House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries appeared on MS NOW’s The Weekend, where he made clear that Democrats will continue fighting to end the Republican healthcare crisis and lower costs for everyday Americans.
EUGENE DANIELS: Joining us now is House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries. Leader Jeffries, thank you for coming to The Weekend again.
LEADER JEFFRIES: Good morning. Great to be with you.
EUGENE DANIELS: I want to get—to start with this discharge petition, because I assume that Marjorie Taylor Greene will sign on because that was her kind of first splintering from President Trump and other Republicans. But what are you doing as leader to get other Republicans to sign on? And who are you targeting?
LEADER JEFFRIES: Well, there are at least 25 different Republicans who, in a variety of different ways over the last several weeks during the Trump-Republican government shutdown, indicated that there absolutely needed to be an extension of the Affordable Care Act tax credits. And so our view is that we just need a handful to join us, to keep their word to their constituents so we can actually prevent tens of millions of people from experiencing these dramatically-increased premiums, copays and deductibles that will prevent them from being able to go see a doctor when they need one.
JONATHAN CAPEHART: So, Leader Jeffries, the point you just made is an excellent one. Unfortunately, Speaker Johnson doesn’t seem to be quite there yet in terms of holding a vote on ACA benefits. So I want to play for you something he said on Wednesday at the Capitol.
RECORDING OF SPEAKER JOHNSON: Who are you going to trust to fix healthcare? It’s the Republican Party because we have volumes of ideas on how to do this, on how to fix it, on how to drive costs down and how to increase access to care and quality of care. And you’re going to see all that vigorous debate. So the answer to your question is, am I going to guarantee a vote on ACA unreformed COVID-era subsidies that is just a boondoggle to insurance companies and robs the taxpayer? We got a lot of work to do on that.
JONATHAN CAPEHART: Leader Jeffries, Speaker Johnson says that Republicans have a whole lot of plans and everything to drive down costs. Have you seen any of them or is he selling wolf tickets?
LEADER JEFFRIES: He’s definitely selling wolf tickets. And Mike Johnson and the Republicans, particularly the leadership, they continue to bury their heads in the sand. They were on a taxpayer-funded vacation for seven plus weeks. Missing in action. Absent without official leave. Nowhere to be found. Uninterested in trying to extend the Affordable Care Act tax credits or deal with the Republican healthcare crisis that’s devastating people all across the country. We know what their plan is to the extent that it exists. It’s to destroy the Affordable Care Act. It’s to rip Medicaid away from millions of people. It’s to trigger, you know, closures of hospitals, nursing homes and community-based health centers that are closing all across the country as a result of what they’ve done in their One Big Ugly Bill. And, Jonathan, this is the same group of people who have tried to repeal the Affordable Care Act more than 70 different times over the last 15 years. These people are obsessed with ripping healthcare away from the American people, which is why we’re going to go around them in terms of this discharge petition effort to extend the Affordable Care Act tax credits for three years just like we’re going around them now to trigger a vote to release the Jeffrey Epstein files.
JACKIE ALEMANY: Leader Jeffries, I know you’ve been asked repeatedly this week about whether or not Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer has your stamp of approval for the way that he handled his group of Democratic colleagues. I’m not going to put you on the spot about that again. But what I am, what I would like to know is you and Leader Schumer obviously have to work very closely together as co-leaders of Democratic lawmakers in Congress. Has he indicated to you whether or not he’s seeking reelection again in 2028?
LEADER JEFFRIES: No, we haven’t had a conversation about that. Our conversation right now is focused on making sure that we can successfully move legislation in the House and in the Senate to deal with this vicious Republican healthcare crisis. I know in the Senate there’s a vote that will be planned over the next few weeks. We want to make sure that that vote is successful. And in the House, our view is that we want to continue to drive home the issues of importance to the American people. Lower the high cost of living, deal with the affordability crisis. And this is a situation where Donald Trump and Republicans lied to the American people repeatedly last year when they said they were going to lower costs. In fact, they said they were going to lower costs on day one. But we know costs haven’t gone down, they’re going up. Housing costs out of control. Grocery costs out of control. Utility costs, electricity bills skyrocketing. Child care costs out of control. And now tens of millions of people facing the possibility of their premiums going up, in some cases by $1,000 or $2,000 per year. These are working-class people and middle-class people. It’s unaffordable for folks to live in America because of the Republican policies that are making things worse right now.
JACKIE ALEMANY: Does it complicate Mr. Schumer’s ability to lead if he’s not seeking re-election?
LEADER JEFFRIES: Well, you know, the House has to run every other year. The Senate does have the privilege of the six-year term. And so, I mean, I think as it relates to Leader Schumer, he’s not even up for reelection until 2028. And we, of course, make these leadership decisions every two years. And so I think Senate Democrats are appropriately focused on making sure we finish the job, like we’re in this fight until we win this fight for the American people on all the things, certainly as it relates to dealing with the high cost of living, the affordability crisis and that certainly is the case in terms of dealing with our broken healthcare system that Republicans continue to destroy. And this is hurting people all across the country—rural America, working-class America, small town America, the heartland of America and Black and brown communities throughout America. This is not a partisan thing for us. It’s a patriotic thing to save the healthcare of the American people.
EUGENE DANIELS: When you talk to younger folks, when all of us talk to younger people, especially as they looked and saw the shutdown ending, they saw these eight Democrats come out. What they see is, like, you guys teased us with a fight, right? That the Senate Democrats teased folks with the fight for a long time. We might have another shutdown because we’re here, January 30th is the next time that you guys have to vote to fund the government. What—how should Democrats do this? How should they actually continue to fight but keep the government open? Do you see a fight coming or is this going to be a smooth sailing one this time around?
LEADER JEFFRIES: I definitely don’t think that it’s going to be smooth sailing if Republicans continue to adopt this my-way-or-the-highway approach, which is basically what they’ve done from the very beginning of Donald Trump’s first day in office, which is, you know, let’s try to jam their right-wing ideology down the throats of the American people. That’s what the One Big Ugly Bill was all about. And Democrats were united in pushing back against that in both the House and in the Senate. But think about it. Their signature legislative accomplishment this year was to rip Medicaid away from 14 million people, the largest cut to Medicaid in American history. And in that same bill, they cut SNAP benefits by $186 billion. By the way, that’s also the largest cut to SNAP in American history. And they did all of this so they could provide massive tax breaks to their billionaire donors. And they made those tax breaks permanent so they can eternally subsidize the lifestyles of the rich and shameless. These people are out of control. It’s extraordinary. And so we’ve got to continue to aggressively push back against that in terms of their toxic policies that are hurting the American people.
JONATHAN CAPEHART: Let me get you on one thing before we have to let you go. Michelle Cottle in The New York Times with the headline, ‘Democrats Need a Wartime Consigliere. Hakeem Jeffries Isn’t One.’ And here’s what she writes. ‘Mr. Jeffries’s fatal flaw is that he is too unobjectionable. He comes across as too smooth, too reasonable, too benign to cut a compelling opposition figure in the Trump era, when attention and attitude are everything…to grip the imagination of his political allies and opponents, the Minority Leader needs to find a way to be less even-keeled, maybe even a bit of a jerk.’ Leader Jeffries, when I read that as a Black man, I thought she has no idea what it means to be an African American leader at the level that you are. Just love your reaction to what I just read.
LEADER JEFFRIES: Yeah, you know, I’ve heard from outraged people all across the country, particularly African Americans, in terms of her assessment. You know, I don’t want to comment on her view one way or the other, other than to say we’ve been fighting hard collectively as House Democrats, aggressively pushing back from the very beginning of Donald Trump’s presidency. And we’re going to continue to do that standing on the shoulders of giants like John Lewis, who always told us, show up, stand up, speak up for what we know is right, be strategic in how you do it. Our civil rights leaders, of course, were strategic in how they approached the fight, but they always brought the righteous indignation toward that fight. And as House Democrats, that’s what we’re going to continue to do. And building on these off-year elections that just occurred, we are going to take back control of the United States House of Representatives. And I’m proud to help lead that fight to end this national nightmare in the United States of America, and continue our country’s great march toward a more perfect union.
JONATHAN CAPEHART: Go ahead, Leader Jeffries.
JACKIE ALEMANY: I have another question, but we’re going to have to keep it there. My EP’s going to kill us. House Minority Leader Congressman Hakeem Jeffries, thanks so much for joining us this morning. We always appreciate it.
WASHINGTON D.C. – Today, Congressmen David Scott (GA-13) and Barry Loudermilk (GA-11), both senior members on the House Financial Services Committee (HFSC), filed legislation to strengthen cybersecurity standards and data protection protocols at the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The bill would establish clear, uniform policies and procedures governing how the agency requests, handles, stores, and protects sensitive information obtained from investors, advisers, broker-dealers, and other market participants.
“The rise in cyber intrusions and data exposure incidents underscore the urgency in which the SEC must adopt strong, transparent, and uniform procedures that meet the moment,” said Congressman David Scott. “For years, market participants and cyber experts have warned Congress that the Commission, like many other financial regulators, does not have the modern, consistent cybersecurity safeguards in place to protect the highly sensitive information it collects. Continuing to rely on outdated data protection frameworks could significantly jeopardize the trust Americans have long placed on the U.S. financial system. The SEC Data Protection Act is an important and constructive step for implementing common sense reforms and guaranteeing regulators have a robust process in place when it comes to determining the necessity of highly sensitive, confidential information. Our proposal does not impede regulators from seeking the information they need, but it does ensure that the SEC meets basic, modern security standards consistent with best practices across the federal government and private sector.”
“I am proud to join my colleague, and fellow Georgian, David Scott in re-introducing the SEC Data Protection Act,” said Congressman Barry Loudermilk. “As a former small business owner and Air Force veteran with a background in IT and cybersecurity, I understand how critical it is to have hardened security infrastructure. Sadly, we have seen all too often that the federal government is the weakest link in the cybersecurity chain. The SEC Data Protection Act will bring the Commission’s cybersecurity infrastructure in line with industry best practices, provide vital oversight of the Commission’s cybersecurity posture going forward, and ensure that advisor-provided information is safe and secure.”
The SEC Data Protection Act of 2025 would ensure the Commission can prevent, detect, and respond to cybersecurity threats with modern tools, updated protocols, and greater internal accountability. More specifically, the bill:
Requires the SEC to develop, adopt and regularly update data protection cybersecurity protocols consistent with federal best practices and NIST standards.
Requires rulemaking to ensure integrity, security, and confidentiality of advisor-provided information.
Narrowly targets scope governing adviser-supplied information, excluding broader SEC systems and filings.
Bridges oversight gap with clarification of statutory basis for ongoing cybersecurity measures, which previously rested in administrative guidelines or informal practices.
List of Original Cosponsors: David Scott (D-GA), Barry Loudermilk (R-GA), Janelle Bynum (D-OR), Andre Carson (D-IN), Emanuel Cleaver (D-MO), Warren Davidson (R-OH), Scott Fitzgerald (R-WI), Bill Foster (D-IL), Vicente Gonzalez (D-TX), Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ), Jim Himes (D-CT), Young Kim (R-CA), Dan Meuser (R-PA), Maria Elvira Salazar (R-FL), Brad Sherman (D-CA) and Ann Wagner (R-MO)
Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Rick Larsen (2nd Congressional District Washington)
Today, Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Ranking Member Rick Larsen (D-WA), Chairman Sam Graves (R-MO), Aviation Subcommittee Chairman Troy E. Nehls (R-TX), and Aviation Subcommittee Ranking Member André Carson (D-IN) introduced bipartisan legislation to ensure that, during any future government shutdowns, the U.S. National Airspace System and those responsible for its safe, efficient operation are protected from any lapses in federal funding.
The Aviation Funding Solvency Act eliminates the additional strain on the U.S. aviation system that can build during government shutdowns by ensuring that air traffic controllers and other Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) professionals responsible for managing the airspace will continue to get paid. The bill will allow the FAA, during a shutdown, to access the Aviation Insurance Revolving Fund to cover critical services that will keep our aviation system running safely for the traveling public, while ensuring the Revolving Fund has a healthy balance to address potential claims.
The Aviation Insurance Revolving Fund covers war risk insurance claims by airlines when they are activated under the Civil Reserve Air Fleet (CRAF) program. The fund’s balance was originally funded by airline war risk insurance premiums, but that program has been terminated since 2014. Despite being largely unused, interest accumulation has increased the balance of the fund to more than $2.6 billion, which is significantly more than the fund has needed to cover CRAF claims.
Larsen said, “Thank you to our invaluable aviation safety workforce, who, during the longest shutdown in history, did not waver in their duties to keep the flying public safe – despite not knowing when their next paycheck would come. These hardworking women and men should never have to sacrifice pay – making an already difficult job even more stressful. Our bipartisan bill ensures air traffic controllers and other aviation safety personnel will continue to get paid during future shutdowns and allows the FAA to operate uninterrupted so the agency can focus on its critical airspace safety mission.”
Graves said, “I am grateful for our federal employees, especially our air traffic controllers, who showed up day-in and day-out throughout the shutdown to do their jobs, without pay, to ensure the safety of our aviation system and the nation. But we all saw that the system can be vulnerable when Congress can’t get its job done. This bill guarantees that controllers, who have one of the most high-pressure jobs in the nation, will get paid during any future funding lapses and that air traffic control, aviation safety, and the traveling public will never again be negatively impacted by shutdowns.”
Nehls said, “I’m proud to join my colleagues in introducing legislation that ensures the professionals responsible for ensuring the safety and efficiency of our airspace are guaranteed pay through a federal government shutdown. Shutdowns shouldn’t put the safety of our national airspace and the flying public at risk. To avoid unnecessary pressure and strain on our aviation system, we must ensure those who are responsible for the operation of our airspace aren’t financially affected in the event of a future federal government shutdown.”
Carson said, “A government shutdown should never affect our air travel the way it did earlier this month. Air traffic controllers already have one of the most stressful jobs in the country, and they deserve to be paid regardless of what’s happening in Washington. Our new, bipartisan bill will ensure FAA employees are paid and travelers don’t have to experience unnecessary interruptions.”
Source: United States House of Representatives – Reprepsentative Kathy Castor (FL14)
WASHINGTON, D.C. — This week, Representatives Kathy Castor (FL-14), Diana DeGette (CO-01), Jared Huffman (CA-02), Jan Schakowsky (IL-09) and Yvette Clarke (NY-09) reintroduced the Frack Pack, a set of five bills aimed at closing loopholes that allow the oil and gas industry to skirt key environmental and public health protections. The legislative package would hold the industry accountable for pollution that threatens clean air, safe drinking water and community health across the country.
The Frack Pack includes the CLEANER Act, the FRAC Act, the FRESHER Act, the SHARED Act and the CLOSE Act.
“Families deserve clean air to breathe and clean water to drink, and the CLEANER Act is a practical step to make that a reality,” said Rep. Kathy Castor. “By holding polluters accountable and closing loopholes that let dangerous toxins seep into our waterways and neighborhoods, we can make communities healthier. Encourage Congress to move this bill and build a healthier, safer future for every community.”
“For too long, oil and gas companies have enjoyed special exemptions from our nation’s bedrock environmental laws that no other industry gets,” said Rep. Diana DeGette. “The Frack Pack would finally put an end to that double standard. These commonsense reforms will protect our air, water, and communities while ensuring greater transparency and accountability in the fracking process. I’m proud to work with leaders like Reps. Huffman, Castor, Schakowsky, and Clarke on these important bills.”
‘”The fossil fuel industry gets to dump their runoff into stormwater thanks to special exemptions for no good reason – polluting our water supply and putting communities at risk,” said Rep. Jared Huffman. “Why should Big Oil billionaires get to skirt the rules? They shouldn’t. The FRESHER Act closes this loophole to even the playing field and stop them from destroying communities so we can get this public health and environmental crisis under control.”
“Hydraulic fracking is a serious risk to our water, no matter how much Big Oil and Gas insist it is safe. The truth is, these companies are not even required to report when their fracking activity contaminates the local water supply,” said Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky. “The SHARED Act is commonsense legislation that would require oil and gas companies to regularly test nearby water sources and disclose the results. Families deserve to know that the water coming out of their tap is safe to drink and use. I am committed to holding the fossil fuel industry accountable. Protecting our clean water is not optional, it is essential.”
“When a regulatory loophole within the Clean Air Act enables fracking and other environmentally harmful practices to bring dangerous toxins and climate-changing emissions into our communities unimpeded, it’s clear legislative action is necessary to correct the shortcoming and protect the public health. The ‘aggregation exemption’ has, for too long, allowed for an unacceptable status quo in climate policy in America, and it is past time for that to change,” said Rep. Yvette D. Clarke. “I am proud to introduce my legislation, the CLOSE ACT, to address this destructive exemption, just as I am proud to support the Frack Pack as a comprehensive solution towards amending the loopholes that put polluters first and leave the American people last.”
The CLEANER Act would make oil and gas companies responsible for cleaning up and disposing of hazardous waste generated by their operations under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), Subtitle C, the country’s hazardous waste management law.
The FRAC Act would eliminate the “Halliburton Loophole,” established under the Energy Policy Act of 2005, under which fracking fluids are exempted from regulation under the federal Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA). The FRAC Act would require fracking companies to publicly disclose the chemicals they are pumping into the ground and give the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) the authority to regulate the process under its Underground Injection Control initiative. The oil and gas industry remains the only economic sector exempt from this vital initiative.
The FRESHER Act closes a loophole for oil and gas companies in the Clean Water Act and establishes a study to better understand the effects of stormwater runoff from oil and gas operations.
The SHARED Act would require testing for water contamination near fracking sites.
The CLOSE Act would reduce toxic air pollution from oil and gas exploration and production activities and add hydrogen sulfide to the list of hazardous air pollutants regulated under the Clean Air Act. Hydrogen sulfide is an air toxic released during oil and gas exploration and production. Additionally, it would reverse the exemption of oil and gas companies from the Clean Air Act’s aggregation requirement, which allows multiple activities or facilities to be collectively permitted as one single source.
Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Ben Cline (VA-06)
Today, H.R. 2675, the Protecting Our Courts from Foreign Manipulation Act, sponsored by Congressman Ben Cline (VA-06), passed out of the House Judiciary Committee. If signed into law, the bill would protect American courts from potential threats posed by foreign entities seeking to manipulate legal and regulatory processes in the United States.
“Foreign adversaries like the CCP have no business secretly influencing America’s courts. My bill safeguards the integrity of our judicial system and ensures that the decisions made in U.S. courtrooms are driven by justice, not by hidden foreign interests. I am proud to see it pass out of the House Judiciary Committee today,” said Rep. Ben Cline.
Specifically, H.R. 2675 would:
1. Require disclosure from any foreign person or entity participating in civil litigation as a third-party litigation funder in U.S. federal courts;
2. Ban sovereign wealth funds and foreign governments from participating in litigation finance as a third-party litigation funder, either directly or indirectly; and
3. Require the Department of Justice’s National Security Division to submit a report on foreign third-party litigation funding throughout the federal judiciary.
Congressman Ben Cline represents the Sixth Congressional District of Virginia. He previously was an attorney in private practice and served both as an assistant prosecutor and a Member of the Virginia House of Delegates. Cline and his wife, Elizabeth, live in Botetourt County with their two children.
Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Gregory W Meeks (5th District of New York)
Washington, D.C. — Representatives Gregory W. Meeks (D-N.Y.), Ranking Member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee; Adam Smith (D-Wash.), Ranking Member of the House Armed Services Committee; Jim Himes (D-Conn.), Ranking Member of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence; Bennie G. Thompson (D-Miss.), Ranking Member of the House Homeland Security Committee; Jason Crow (D-Colo.), Ranking Member of the House Armed Services Subcommittee on Intelligence and Special Operations; and Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) introduced a War Powers Resolution to block the Trump Administration from continuing to use U.S. Armed Forces to conduct strikes in the Caribbean and the eastern Pacific, operations the administration has carried out for more than 60 days without congressional authorization.
“The Trump Administration has not provided a credible rationale for its 21 unauthorized military strikes on vessels in the Western Hemisphere, which have resulted in the extrajudicial killings of dozens of individuals. Nor has this administration explained why it has deployed an invasion-level force of roughly 15,000 troops, a carrier strike group, and military aircraft for a mission it claims is about counter-narcotics. This posture is wildly disproportionate to the stated objective and far more reminiscent of preparations for war.
“The administration has also failed to justify why these boats could not have been interdicted and their crews questioned for information and brought to justice, or why they posed an imminent threat to the United States. If these operations are truly intended to prevent illicit drugs from reaching the United States, then the administration must explain why this is not a mission for the U.S. Coast Guard and other law enforcement agencies, who the Congress has authorized to intercept suspicious vessels and to prosecute criminal suspects. The Congress has not authorized the use of military force.
“The Constitution grants Congress, not the president, the power to declare war; without Congressional approval, the president is not only circumventing the legislative branch, but grossly expanding his power to act as judge, jury, and executioner.
“The War Powers Resolution we’ve introduced would halt the Trump Administration’s unauthorized military actions. It’s time for every Member of the House of Representatives to go on record: do they support President Trump’s executive overreach, or do they stand with the Constitution?”