Author: MIL-OSI Publisher

Source: United States House of Representatives – Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley (MA-07)

Honoring Rev. Jackson, Pressley Joined the Somerville Department of Racial and Social Justice, Community Leaders and Members for Civil Rights Discussion

“We are confronted daily with a layered, unrelenting, legislated assault on Black people, on Black bodies, on Black votes, on Black power, on Black history, on Black progress. And we have to name it.”

Video (YouTube)

SOMERVILLE, MA – This week, Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley joined community leaders and members for a panel discussion hosted by the Somerville Department of Racial and Social Justice and the NAACP Mystic Valley Branch to explore the evolution of civil rights advocacy across generations and reflect on how it informs the present-day fight to build a more just future. Rep. Pressley spoke of the inspiration and impact of her parents in coming to this work, her fight to combat systemic anti-Blackness, and her push to advance an affirmative civil rights agenda amid Trump’s attacks.

Titled “Lessons from the Past: Civil Rights Movement Then & Now,” the panel discussion entailed an insightful conversation between Rep. Pressley, Courtney Henderson, Co-President of the League of Women Voters of Massachusetts, Dr. Michael Curry, President & CEO of the Massachusetts League of Community Health Centers, and Catherine Nakato, Deputy Director of the Somerville Department of Racial and Social Justice.

The panel was organized with the partnership of Tufts University, the NAACP of Mystic Valley, the City of Somerville, and Mayor of Somerville Jake Wilson.

A transcript of an excerpt of Congresswoman Pressley’s remarks at the panel discussion is available below, and the video is available here.

Transcript: Pressley Underscores Commitment to Fight Anti-Blackness, Emphasizes How Civil Rights Movement Shapes Racial Justice Work Today
Somerville, MA

February 18, 2026

CATHERINE NAKATO: Thinking about now, modern day, what does protecting and fighting for civil rights look like in your daily work?

REP. AYANNA PRESSLEY: Since you’ve invited me here, you’ve invited me here to be me.

CATHERINE: Correct. 

REP. PRESSLEY: And since this is Black History Month, I just want to take a moment while I acknowledge my commitment to do the work of safety and liberation of all marginalized people—I just want to talk about Black folks for a moment.

Because in this moment, what I see as my responsibility, you know, I revisit the words of Anna Julia Cooper often, who said, “When and where I enter, the entire race enters – human race – with me.” 

As a Black woman, we have been the liberators, the patriots, the defenders of democracy, the truth tellers, the justice seekers, the table shakers, the movement builders. I was sharing with someone earlier today when someone they were asking me, “Can you expound upon what you mean when you say ‘anti-Blackness with this Administration is on steroids’?” 

I have too many examples to enumerate. I think the problem is that we actually don’t name anti-Blackness, it is conflated with racism. And so when you have a white supremacist – you know, a chief of white supremacy – Occupant in the Oval Office emboldening white supremacy, and we can talk about the ways in which he is xenophobic, and anti-woman and anti-LGBTQ and trans, very few people will name anti-Black. 

But pay attention. Pay attention, because we are navigating, we are confronted daily with a layered, unrelenting, legislated assault on Black people, on Black bodies, on Black votes, on Black power, on Black history, on Black progress. And we have to name it.

Because what’s happened is that the codified harm to Black folk in budgets, the legislative harm to Black folks is so systemic, so unrelenting, that it is unremarkable to people. 

But Black women are still dying of sepsis in parking lots because someone doesn’t believe their pain or the laws won’t allow them to treat them and to intervene. Black men are still being strung up from trees. Black voters are still being denied access to the ballot. Black men still have the shortest life expectancy. Black home ownership is still the lowest that it’s been in six decades. 

So in this moment, I feel a tremendous responsibility—one, to be a truth teller, two, to make sure that these harms are not normalized. 

We have extended a cultural grace to the occupant of the Oval Office by saying that’s just him being him, and that’s just more bluster. That’s—of course, he’s hateful and harmful. That’s what he does. But your silence is not going to save you. It is not going to save any of us. 

We have to resist, reject, condemn. And policy is my love language, because every harm done to Black folk and marginalized people was legislated. It wasn’t something that just like happened in the ether. 

So I remain focused on how to undo centuries of harm, how to mitigate active harm in this moment, while still advancing an affirmative vision. 

And I’ll close on this. I talk often about how, in that speech that Dr. King gave at the March on Washington for jobs and freedom, that was not the speech that he was supposed to give. That while he could have continued to sit in the inequities and disparities and injustices, he gave voice to a dream. And in a fascist state, they don’t want you to dream. Dreams are not hokey. The dream of the slave is what kept them alive. Freedom. 

So in order to do radical work, we must first have a radical dream. And so, while I’m doing the active work of mitigating harm, I still am seeking to advance an affirmative vision. 

So, when I reintroduced Reparations, people said, “Why would you do that? Dems don’t – you don’t even have all the Dems supporting that. You don’t have a majority in the House, the Senate, the White House. This is—you know, what we’re living in. Why would you do that?” 

I said this is a moment of anti-Blackness on steroids. And so, I’m going to unapologetically pro-Black. That’s why I’m doing it. 

So we still have to do the affirmative work, and I’ll get into some policies and stuff later, but that’s what I see as my role in this moment is—it’s to not allow the suffering of Black folks to be so normalized that it is no longer called out to be confronted, and that we enlist everyone actively as co- conspirators in the work of our safety and our freedom, because we have liberated everyone else. 

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Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Jim McGovern (D-MA)

***Full Text of Bill HERE (PDF)***

WASHINGTON—Congressman Jim McGovern (MA-02) and Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley (MA-07), alongside Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), announced the reintroduction of the Wigs as Durable Medical Equipment Act—a bill to help support individuals affected by alopecia and patients undergoing chemotherapy. Right now, many private insurance plans cover wigs for those undergoing treatments that cause hair loss or who are affected by alopecia areata. Unfortunately, Medicare does not. This bill would allow Medicare to cover wigs, ensuring many more people have access to this important treatment option.

“For people impacted by Alopecia or undergoing cancer treatment, a wig can make a major difference—providing them with the confidence and courage to live as normally as possible during a challenging time,” said Rep. McGovern. “But wigs can cost thousands of dollars, and despite the enormous and clear benefits they provide, Medicare doesn’t currently cover them. That needs to change. This bill is about helping make sure everyone can live their lives with dignity and confidence, regardless of who they are or how much money is in their bank account. Everyone deserves to be treated with respect, and that is what this bill is about.”

“For many impacted by medical hair loss, unaffordable and inaccessible wigs can deepen an already significant mental and physical burden,” said Rep. Pressley. “As someone living with Alopecia, I know what it feels like to endure a vulnerable transformation not of my choosing. Those experiencing medical hair loss deserve to step into their own beauty and power, and I’m proud to reintroduce this bill with Congressman McGovern and Senator Blumenthal to expand coverage for wigs, relieve financial barriers, and support dignity for all.”

“Our measure ensures patients struggling with hair loss can live their lives with dignity and confidence,” said Senator Blumenthal. “Medicare recipients who are undergoing cancer treatment, living with Alopecia, or suffering from other forms of traumatic hair loss shouldn’t have to pay hundreds or thousands of dollars out-of-pocket to look and feel their best. By expanding coverage for medical wigs, our legislation removes the financial burden patients impacted by hair loss face and gives them the self-assurance and comfort they deserve.”

Alopecia Areata is an autoimmune skin disease, with no known cause or cure, affecting approximately 6.9 million Americans. The disease disproportionately affects children and Black Americans, particularly Black women. Many individuals affected by Alopecia Areata utilize wigs as there are currently few effective treatment options. Unfortunately, these prosthetics can come with a significant out-of-pocket cost from $100 to several thousand dollars for individuals with low or fixed incomes. This is especially burdensome for children, who often want cranial prosthetics for attending school.

Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman John Garamendi – Representing California’s 3rd Congressional District

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today. Congressman John Garamendi (CA-08), a senior member of the House Armed Services Committee, announced that he is leaving his State of the Union Address guest seat empty in order to honor Harjit Kaur, a 73-year-old grandmother and local constituent who, despite living in the United States, was cruelly detained and later deported by ICE. In response to this announcement, Congressman Garamendi released the following statement:

“I am dedicating my State of the Union guest seat to my former constituent, 73-year-old grandmother Harjit Kaur. She is unfortunately unable to attend because she was cruelly deported to India in the dead of night. This seat is for her and every person across the country that’s been caged, detained, and killed at the hands of Trump’s secret police force. Let her empty seat be a stark symbol of the human cost of Trump’s cruel deportation agenda.

“President Trump promised to go after the “worst of the worst’ in his immigration policy. Yet his administration’s decision to cruelly deport a 73-year-old grandmother with no criminal record—who faithfully reported to ICE every six months for more than 13 years—is one more example of the thousands of individuals across the country whose lives and families have been upended by Trump’s ICE.

“Unfortunately, this has become far too common under Donald Trump’s mass deportation agenda. I dedicate this seat to Harjit, to her family, and to everyone affected by this rogue administration.”

Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Marc Veasey (33rd District of Texas)

Headline: Congressman Marc Veasey to Host Gun Violence Prevention Community Event in Fort Worth

FORT WORTH, TX – Congressman Marc Veasey (TX-33) will host a Gun Violence Prevention Community Event on Thursday, March 12, 2026 from 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM CST to bring together community leaders, families, educators, and advocates for a discussion on solutions to reduce gun violence and improve public safety across North Texas. The event will provide an opportunity for constituents to hear directly from Congressman Veasey and engage in dialogue about federal, state, and local efforts to prevent gun violence and build safer communities. 

RSVP: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfL2jk8msP9qhhdGIDzjOYtVk5qGu9rUW0EQ94wqffD22YnRw/viewform

Source: United States House of Representatives – Congresswoman Suzan DelBene (1st District of Washington)

DelBene on Trump’s Latest Tariff Scheme: ‘Illegitimate Use of the Law’

Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Chris Pappas (D-NH)

Today Congressman Chris Pappas (NH-01) held a roundtable conversation with local health advocates from organizations and hospitals, including New Futures, Speare Memorial Hospital, Home Care, Hospice and Palliative Care Alliance of NH, HealthFirst, to highlight the importance of telehealth for Granite Staters and his recently introduced bipartisan legislation to protect and expand access to telehealth.

Pappas’s Protecting Rural Telehealth Access Act would save patients time and money by making permanent Medicare coverage of telehealth services that began during the COVID-19 pandemic. The changes would enable patients to be treated at home, allow Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) or Rural Health Clinics (RHCs) to provide telehealth services, and expand coverage of audio-only services for certain conditions, among other changes. 

“Telehealth enables Granite Staters to virtually access the right care at the right time while saving them both time and money,” said Congressman Pappas. “I joined local health care leaders and advocates to talk about the importance of telehealth for families and providers in our state and hear from them on how my bipartisan Protecting Rural Telehealth Access Act will help protect and strengthen telehealth access and services.”

Telehealth enables the delivery of care when in-person visits aren’t possible. Virtual care can help patients, especially those in rural areas, avoid long trips for routine follow-ups or specialty consults. With 13 of 26 of New Hampshire’s acute care hospitals operating as critical access hospitals for rural communities, making Medicare coverage of telehealth services permanent is critical to meeting the health needs of all Granite Staters.

Background:

Last March Congressman Pappas introduced the Audio-Only Telehealth Access Act, which would make Medicare’s coverage of audio-only telehealth services permanent and the Rural Health Innovation Act, which would strengthen access to care in rural areas by establishing a competitive grant program for Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) or Rural Health Clinics (RHCs) to increase staff, equipment, technology, and more. He also introduced the Modernizing Rural Physician Assistant and Nurse Practitioner Utilization Act, the Rural Health Clinic Location Modernization Act, and the Rural Behavioral Health Improvement Act. The bipartisan package of legislation makes necessary updates and modifications to federal guidelines and regulations to modernize access to Rural Health Clinics (RHCs) and improve services for more than 40 million Americans living in non-urban and rural communities. The bills also remove regulatory red tape and empower rural health care professionals to better meet the needs of the communities they serve.

Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Mike Thompson Representing the 5th District of CALIFORNIA

Washington, D.C. – Today, Rep. Mike Thompson (CA-04) issued the following statement in response to the Supreme Court’s 6-3 ruling striking down the President’s unlawful tariffs:  

“This ruling is a win for the American people. For over a year, hardworking families and small business owners paid the price for the President’s trade war — literally. Experts report that the average family in our district paid over $1,900 more last year thanks to this President’s unlawful tariffs. Not to mention this trade war has damaged our country’s important relationships with our closest allies,” said Thompson.  

“The President never had the authority to put these tariffs in place without Congress’ approval, and I am glad that the Supreme Court chose to uphold the rule of law today. As a member of the Litigation Task Force and the ranking Member of the Ways and Means Subcommittee on Tax Policy, I remain laser-focused on lowering costs for Americans, compensating people for the costs of this tariff war, and ensuring we hold this administration to account for their harmful actions,” he continued. 

BACKGROUND 

Rep. Thompson leads two bills to compensate families and small business owners for the losses they experience due to the Trump Trade War. 

Rep. Thompson’s Illegal Tariff Refund Act, introduced today, compensates Americans for the higher prices they paid due to the Trump Trade War. The legislation creates an “individual tariff refund credit” that would return money from unlawful tariffs directly to American households instead of corporations. If a court strikes down a tariff and orders repayment, the Treasury Department would distribute the funds as IRS rebates calculated per person in each household. The premise is straightforward: tariffs operate economically like a tax on consumers through higher prices, so refunds should flow back to families who actually bore the cost.

The bill also includes a guardrail aimed squarely at corporate windfalls. Large companies would face a 100 percent excise tax on tariff refunds unless they can demonstrate they did not pass the tariff costs onto consumers. 

Our specialty crop growers and wine producers were also hit hard by these tariffs. With the enactment of Trump’s tariffs and trade barriers, our agricultural communities suffered significant losses while foreign competitors filled the gap left by declining U.S. exports, strengthening their position while American producers are struggling with new market uncertainties. 

That’s why Rep. Thompson introduced The Specialty Crop & Wine Producer Tariff Relief Act, which provides direct support to specialty crop growers and wine producers facing economic losses from tariffs. The bill creates a direct pay program through USDA for specialty crop growers and wine producers experiencing “covered losses” caused by increased foreign tariffs. It also allows USDA to purchase surplus specialty crops for use in nutrition programs such as school meals and SNAP.

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

Source: United States House of Representatives – Representative Nydia M Velázquez (D-NY)

WASHINGTON — Today, Congresswoman Nydia M. Velázquez (D-NY) released the following statement in response to the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s proposed rule to end federal housing assistance for mixed-status families:
 
“This rule would strip housing assistance from families where U.S. citizens and lawful residents live alongside undocumented loved ones. Mixed Status families are already paying their fair share and are receiving prorated benefits under strict eligibility requirements. This is a cruel and inhumane policy that seeks to force families into the impossible choice between family separation and homelessness. It is designed to terrorize immigrant communities, plain and simple.
 
“This policy will do nothing to solve our nation’s urgent housing crisis. Our country is nearly 4 million homes short of what we need, and kicking a select number of families out of HUD housing does nothing to change that. This administration is using immigrants as a scapegoat to distract from their failure to invest in affordable housing.
 
“I led the fight against this same policy during Trump’s first term and we beat it back. HUD programs should never be weaponized against the families they were designed to protect.”
 

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WASHINGTON — Hoy, la congresista Nydia M. Velázquez (NY-7) emitió la siguiente declaración en respuesta a la regla propuesta por el Departamento de Vivienda y Desarrollo Urbano (HUD) para eliminar la asistencia federal de vivienda a familias de estatus migratorio mixto:

“Esta regla despojaría de asistencia de vivienda a familias donde ciudadanos estadounidenses y residentes legales viven junto a seres queridos indocumentados. Las familias de estatus mixto ya están pagando lo que les corresponde y reciben beneficios prorrateados bajo estrictos requisitos de elegibilidad. Esta es una política cruel e inhumana que busca obligar a las familias a elegir entre la separación familiar y quedarse sin hogar. Está diseñada para aterrorizar a las comunidades inmigrantes, así de simple.

“Esta política no hará nada para resolver la urgente crisis de vivienda de nuestra nación. A nuestro país le faltan casi 4 millones de viviendas, y expulsar a un número selecto de familias de viviendas de HUD no cambia esa realidad. Esta administración está usando a los inmigrantes como chivo expiatorio para distraer de su fracaso en invertir en vivienda asequible.

“Yo lideré la lucha contra esta misma política durante el primer mandato de Trump y logramos derrotarla. Los programas de HUD nunca deben ser utilizados como arma contra las familias que fueron diseñados para proteger.”

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Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Jimmy Panetta (D-Calif)

Santa Cruz, CA – United States Representative Jimmy Panetta was joined by Santa Cruz Councilmember Scott Newsome, Supervisor Justin Cummings, and Parks and Rec Director Tony Elliot for a press conference on the Santa Cruz Wharf to announce $3.15 million in federal funding for the Wharf’s Resilience and Rehabilitation Project.

“Repairing and bolstering the Santa Cruz Wharf is crucial for our local culture, livelihoods, and public safety,” said Rep. Panetta.  “One in ten jobs in Santa Cruz is generated by the Wharf, so this $3.15 million in federal funding I’ve secured for our community is about more than just rebuilding our past, it’s about creating an economy that is resilient to climate change. I’m proud to have secured this federal funding to make sure that the Congressional power of the purse is felt right here in our 19^th Congressional District.”

This latest federal funding for the Wharf reflects Rep. Panetta’s continued staunch advocacy for the iconic structure. After the 2024 Winter Storms, he toured the damage in the immediate aftermath and has continuously supported efforts to unlock federal funding and support. 

The funding announced today is what Rep. Panetta worked for to be included in the most recent appropriations package. Rep. Panetta secured over $5.9 million in community project funding for local projects across Santa Cruz County, and a total of over $15 million to fund 14 local projects in California’s 19^th Congressional District.

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