Author: MIL-OSI Publisher

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

Napa County, CA — Congressman Mike Thompson (CA-04) yesterday presented an $850,000 federal funding check to the Napa Valley Vine Trail Coalition to support the development of a key segment of the Napa Valley Vine Trail between Yountville and St. Helena. The funding was secured by Thompson through the federal Community Project Funding process.

“Projects like the Vine Trail make our communities safer, healthier, and more connected,” said Thompson. “This investment will help move forward a key section of the trail that will give residents and visitors a safe place to walk and bike while strengthening connections between communities across Napa Valley. I’m proud to deliver this funding to support transportation alternatives and outdoor recreation throughout our region.”

“This community project funding is helping turn a long-envisioned project into reality,” said Shawn White, Executive Director of the Napa Valley Vine Trail Coalition. “Completing the design for the Yountville–St. Helena segment moves us one step closer to connecting communities across the valley with a safe and accessible trail system. We’re grateful for Congressman Thompson’s continued leadership and support for the Vine Trail.”

Once completed, the project will help close a key gap in the 47-mile regional bicycle and pedestrian transportation network that will eventually stretch from the Vallejo Ferry Terminal to Calistoga, allowing residents and visitors to travel much more of the Napa Valley without relying on heavily trafficked roadways.

Thompson secured the funding as part of the Community Project Funding (CPF) process for Fiscal Year 2026.

Each year, Members of Congress may direct federal funding to a limited number of community projects through the appropriations process. Under this program, each House member may submit up to 15 project requests on behalf of their district for competitive review by the House Appropriations Committee. Projects selected for funding must meet strict transparency and accountability requirements before being included in federal appropriations legislation.

Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Jared Golden (ME-02)

Northern Mainers facing nearly ten hour round-trip for in-person tax assistance during tax filing season

Source: United States House of Representatives – Congresswoman Haley Stevens (MI-11)

Farmington Hills, MI — Yesterday, Michigan Congresswoman Haley Stevens hosted a roundtable of local educators, school leaders, and union representatives focused on the growing national teacher shortage and her plan to strengthen the educator workforce.

The conversation centered on the challenges schools face in recruiting and retaining teachers and the severe cuts to federal education policy under the Trump administration.

Participants included Dr. Kelly Coffin, Superintendent of Farmington Public Schools; Christine Meussner, Principal of Farmington High School; and representatives from the Michigan Education Association, the Farmington Education Association, and the National Education Association.

“Michigan students deserve classrooms led by supported, well-prepared teachers,” said Rep. Stevens. “Across the country, teacher shortages are putting pressure on schools and educators. My Addressing Teacher Shortages Act invests in recruiting, training, and retaining the teachers our students need to succeed.”

“The educator shortage in this country is real and needs to be addressed at both the federal and state levels.  This includes rebuilding our teacher pipelines at state colleges and universities through incentives and the promise of a stable career that includes healthcare and defined benefits in retirement, while also providing quality programs for those professionals interested in switching to a career in teaching. Classroom teachers also benefit from having Educational Support Professionals working alongside them to serve our students. From our paraprofessionals to our food service workers to our bus drivers, we need to provide a livable wage and benefits in order to attract people into the profession who can provide the complete spectrum of services our students and community need. I am encouraged to see legislation proposed to address current teacher shortages, and to continue to invest in public education so that we can retain quality educators for their entire career.” said Christopher DeYonke, President, Farmington Education Association

The roundtable builds on Rep. Stevens’ ongoing work to support educators, including advocating for increased federal funding for public schools, supporting collective bargaining rights for teachers, and fighting back against President Trump’s effort to dismantle the Department of Education.

Stevens yesterday introduced her Addressing Teacher Shortages Act, which would create a competitive grant program through the U.S. Department of Education to help school districts recruit, prepare, and retain educators. Grants could support initiatives such as teacher residency programs, mentorship and “grow your own” pipelines, credentialing support, housing stipends for early-career teachers, and stronger pathways from community colleges and STEM fields into teaching.

Text of the bill is available here.

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Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman French Hill (AR-02)

Little Rock, AR – On Friday, March 13, 2026, at 10:00 AM CT, Chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, Rep. French Hill (AR-02), will hold a Field Hearing at the Central Arkansas Library System in Little Rock, Arkansas.

The Financial Services Committee’s Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, chaired by Rep. Dan Meuser (PA-09), will be coming to Little Rock to examine the failures of the Little Rock Housing Authority and the impact on residents.

Additional information will be available HERE.

WHO: Rep. French Hill, Rep. Dan Meuser, Subcommittee on Housing and Insurance Chairman Mike Flood (NE-01), Rep. Troy Downing (MT-02), and Rep. Tim Moore (NC-14)

WHAT: Field Hearing titled: “Broken Promises: Failures of the Little Rock Housing Authority and the Impact on Residents”

WHEN: 10:00 AM CT, Friday, March 13, 2026

WHERE:

Central Arkansas Library System
Library Square
100 S Rock St.
Little Rock, AR

Press:

Further inquiries can be directed to the Financial Services Committee’s Communications Director, Dan Schneider, or Rep. Hill’s Communications Director, Travis Evans.

Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Steve Scalise (1st District of Louisiana)

DORAL, Fla.—Today, at the Republican Members Issues Conference, House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) joined Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), House Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-Minn.), and Conference Chairwoman Lisa McClain (R-Mich.) to discuss President Trump and House Republicans’ work to lower costs for families and the contrast of Republicans’ results with Democrats’ record of opposing legislation that helps hardworking Americans.

Click here or the image above to view Leader Scalise’s full remarks.
Highlights from Leader Scalise’s remarks:On fixing the damage from Biden’s inflation and open borders:“Last night, we kicked off this member session where we’re planning for the future of this great America, celebrating 250 years, by hearing from our leader, the President of the United States, Donald Trump. And he had a great message talking about some of the things we’ve already done to work with President Trump as House Republicans to make life more affordable for working families. Something we set out to do starting last January, and we’ve been doing it because we had a lot of mess to mop up from four years of Joe Biden. Let’s not forget the record-high inflation, record-high interest rates, costs through the roof. Democrats never wanted to talk about affordability when they were jacking up costs on all families, making housing unaffordable for families, opening up our border, and letting violent criminals come into this country. And President Trump ran to fix that. And we, as House Republicans, ran to work with him to fix those problems for working families. And we’ve been delivering. And make no mistake, this work is far from finished. We’re just getting started, and we’re delivering real results for families.”On House Republicans putting more money back in Americans’ pockets:“They’re finally starting to see costs start coming down, not to the level they were before Joe Biden started racking up those costs, but they’re finally coming down. When people file their tax returns this year, 4 in 10 American families are getting real money back, over $1,000 back for most working families. And every Democrat voted against that money being put back in the pockets of working families. Think about this for senior citizens. Senior citizens are seeing a $6,000 tax credit, which for 85% of seniors means they’re not going to pay any taxes on Social Security. It’s a great benefit for senior citizens, not millionaires and billionaires. These are seniors who work their entire lives and living on fixed income, and they’re finally getting something back. And every Republican delivered on that, every single Democrat, House and Senate, voted no. And so that is the contrast that we’re laying out as we’re planning additional things that we’re working on to fix more of the mess that Joe Biden left behind. And there’s a lot of bills that are sitting over in the Senate. We’re going to be sending them more bills. Our committees, all the chairmen are here, and our members are going to be talking and hearing from all the chairmen about things that we’re going to continue to do. We’re working on a farm bill, just came out of committee to help America’s farmers across the nation.“You look at what we’ve done, again, on so many different issues to finally get control over spending, not just rooting out waste, fraud, and abuse, but to put more money back in the pockets of working families to get this economy moving again. It’s not been easy. Part of the reason it’s not been easy is because every step of the way, the Democrat Party, who is a rudderless ship these days, has been voting no on every single issue because they wake up every day and their only motivation, their only agenda is to block anything Donald Trump does because they hate the President.”On Democrats undermining American efforts to confront Iran:“Look at what [Democrats’] own elected leader said. They really don’t have a leader right now in the nation amongst Democrats, but their elected leader in the House basically said the Iran mission was going to end in failure. Just think about that for a second. You’ve got a mission going on where men and women in uniform are risking their lives to take out the world’s largest sponsor of terrorism, which everybody acknowledges the threat that Iran posed trying to get a nuclear weapon. But they had been killing hundreds of Americans for decades, and they want it to end in failure? That’s insane. That’s what we’re working against right now. We shouldn’t have to be working against that as House Republicans, but that’s okay. We’re going to keep our focus as House Republicans on working with President Trump to make life more affordable for working families. If Democrats want to keep voting, no, the voters are going to have something to say about this November.”

Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Joe Neguse (D-Co 2)

Washington, D.C. — Today, Colorado Congressman Joe Neguse and Senators John Hickenlooper and Michael Bennet, along with the Democratic members of Colorado’s House Delegation, called on the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to disclose which ICE field office is conducting the investigation into reports that ace of spade “death cards” were left in cars belonging to individuals detained by ICE agents in Eagle County.

This letter follows a February request from the lawmakers demanding DHS launch an immediate independent investigation. After the inquiry was passed between multiple offices, DHS said that the DHS Office of the Inspector General referred the case to the Office of Professional Responsibility, which then assigned the case to a field office for investigation. DHS failed to specify which field office is overseeing the investigation, which raises serious concerns about transparency and possible conflicts of interest.

“We remain deeply concerned by the allegations that federal agents were falsely acting as local law enforcement and that the ace of spades, long known as the ‘death card’, was used to intimidate Latino communities,” the lawmakers wrote.

“While the investigation is ongoing, we request a formal, detailed briefing on ICE activities in Eagle County, to include information on the field office that is conducting the investigation.” In addition, the lawmakers demanded, “… a report on findings of the investigation, and written confirmation of any disciplinary or corrective actions taken.”

These specific cards found in Colorado had the address and phone number of the Aurora ICE detention facility printed on them. 

Congressman Neguse, Senators Hickenlooper and Bennet, and their colleagues requested a response from DHS ahead of Secretary Noem’s last day at the agency, March 31. She was fired last week after Neguse and fellow members of the House and Senate Judiciary Committees — including Republican Senators John Kennedy and Tom Tillis — exposed her involvement in a $220 million, taxpayer-funded ad campaign that financially benefited her inner circle. 

Full text of the letter is available HERE and below: 

Dear Secretary Noem:

We are writing to follow up on our February 2, 2026 letter regarding disturbing reports about U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) activities in Eagle County, Colorado. Reportedly, ICE agents in unmarked vehicles with attached sirens conducted imitation traffic stops and ultimately detained ten Latino individuals who are now being held at the Aurora Detention Facility. Additionally, according to multiple news reports and local community organizations, family members of the detained individuals found ace of spades cards inside multiple abandoned vehicles, printed with the address of the Aurora Detention Facility:

We remain deeply concerned by the allegations that federal agents were falsely acting as local law enforcement and that the ace of spades, long known as the “death card”, was used to intimidate Latino communities. This behavior undermines public trust in law enforcement, raises civil rights concerns, and falls far short of the professional standards expected of federal agents. Additional death cards were reportedly also found in cars in other Colorado counties, heightening our concerns.

In our February 2 letter, we requested that DHS provide a formal, detailed briefing on ICE activities in Eagle County; a report on findings of the DHS investigation into the incident; an independent investigation by the DHS Office of the Inspector General into the activities of the Denver Field Office; and written confirmation of disciplinary or corrective actions taken. In response, DHS wrote that the DHS Office of the Inspector General referred the complaint to the Office of Professional Responsibility, who assigned the incident to a field office for investigation.

While the investigation is ongoing, we request a formal, detailed briefing on ICE activities in Eagle County, to include information on the field office that is conducting the investigation. We request immediate notification once the investigation is complete. At that time, we request a report on findings of the investigation, and written confirmation of any disciplinary or corrective actions taken.

Thank you for your attention to this matter. We respectfully request a response by March 20.

Sincerely,

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

Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi (8th District of Illinois)

WASHINGTON — Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi (IL-08) sent a letter to President Donald Trump urging the administration to immediately release oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) to help stabilize energy markets and bring down gas prices as the conflict with Iran disrupts global oil supplies. In the letter, Krishnamoorthi warned that the war is already imposing serious economic costs on American families, farmers, and businesses while the administration has yet to outline a clear strategy for ending the conflict.

“As the conflict escalates, Americans are already facing higher gas prices, disrupted global markets, and billions of dollars in new military spending,” Krishnamoorthi wrote. “Therefore, I urge you to immediately tap the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to help stabilize fuel markets and bring down the price of gasoline, in addition to outlining a clear strategy and conditions for ending this conflict.”

Oil prices have surged amid the conflict, with disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz pushing costs sharply higher. Krishnamoorthi noted that Americans are already feeling the effects.

“The costs of your war are already hitting Americans at the pump,” Krishnamoorthi noted. “Gas prices have risen fifty cents per gallon on average, as Iran’s blockade of the Strait of Hormuz—a critical artery for global oil shipments—has disrupted exports and rattled energy markets.”

He also noted that previous administrations have tapped the Strategic Petroleum Reserve during global crises to stabilize markets and provide relief to consumers.

“For families already struggling to afford everything from groceries to health insurance, this is not a small price to pay—especially for a war many Americans do not want or see an end in sight,” Krishnamoorthi wrote. “Releasing oil from our Strategic Petroleum Reserve, in coordination with allies and partners, would help provide Americans some relief.”

Beyond higher fuel costs, Krishnamoorthi warned the conflict could also drive up costs for farmers during the spring planting season as fertilizer shipments through the Strait of Hormuz face disruptions.

He also raised concerns about the growing financial and human toll of the war.

“At the same time, the direct cost of the war itself is mounting rapidly,” he wrote. “The American people should not be forced to carry the cost of your decision to go to war.”

Krishnamoorthi concluded by urging the administration to explain the war’s objectives and outline conditions for ending the conflict.

“The American people deserve a clear explanation of what this war is intended to achieve,” Krishnamoorthi wrote. “Without that clarity, the United States risks sliding into another prolonged conflict with mounting economic and human consequences.”

The full letter to President Trump is available here.

Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Jared Huffman Representing the 2nd District of California

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

MEMPHIS – Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-9) today welcomed the announcement that Shelby County has been added to the list of jurisdictions now eligible for Public Assistance funding from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to address the extensive damage caused by the January 22-27 winter storms. Congressman Cohen wrote to Governor Lee on January 30 and February 9 seeking his intervention in making the disaster relief request.

Congressman Cohen made the following statement:

“I am pleased that Shelby County will now receive needed Public Assistance funding from FEMA for the extensive damage done during the January storms. In my letters to Governor Lee seeking his request for the federal funding, I pointed out the Shelby County’s validated costs had already met the threshold for the funding and that the funding was necessary to reestablish critical services provided by both the county and its municipalities.”

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