Author: MIL-OSI Publisher

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

WASHINGTON, D.C.—Today, House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) joined Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), House Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-Minn.), Conference Chairwoman Lisa McClain (R-Mich.), House Committee on Energy and Commerce Chairman Brett Guthrie (R-Ky.), and Congressman Nick Begich (R-Alaska) to discuss House Republicans’ America First agenda, including unleashing American energy, lowering premiums, and taking a stand against the radical left. Leader Scalise emphasized that President Trump and Congressional Republicans have been working to reverse President Biden’s record of failure.

Click here or the image above to view Leader Scalise’s full remarks. 
Excerpts from Leader Scalise’s remarks:On House Republicans hitting the ground running to deliver for American families:“It’s good to have the Democrat shutdown ended and the pain, the suffering that went on for way too long, finally be over. And now to see the House back doing its business. And of course, we missed a few weeks and so we’re making up for lost time.“We have a very robust schedule this week, as you can see, full five-day work week. We’re going to be working and having some late-night votes. Today, we have three vote series going into the night, and our members have rolled up their sleeves and are ready to get back to work, too. The committees are going to be meeting into the night this week and beyond to catch up and get back to focusing on those issues that we’ve been fighting for this entire Congress, and that is fighting for those families who have been struggling under the failed Biden agenda. All we saw under the Biden and Democrat agenda was higher costs for families, higher inflation, higher interest rates, open borders, chaos around the world. And President Trump has reversed that quickly. As you look at all of the things that this president has done, working with this Congress, we have been focused on fixing the problems that Biden created and then really setting a new course, getting this country back on track, lowering costs for families.”On President Trump and Republicans working to reverse Biden’s failed energy agenda:“You heard Chairman Guthrie and Congressman Begich talk about this great energy agenda that we’re continuing to deliver on. Of course, in the Working Families Tax Cut, we had a lot of provisions in that bill, in fact, Congressman Begich himself brought forward to open up areas in Alaska. I walked the Alaskan pipeline in section 1002 of the North Slope, and to see all of the ability to produce energy in America that had been shut down under Joe Biden. We couldn’t even produce the energy we know we have here in America because of stupid policies by the Biden Administration. And we’ve been reversing that. Many of those provisions that Congressman Begich campaigned on, he already delivered on in the Working Families Tax Cut. But there’s more to do.“We’re bringing some of those bills to the floor this week. You’re going to see the Department of Interior, probably this week, hopefully in the next two weeks, roll out their five-year leasing plan for the Gulf of America again, something that President Biden shut down that drove investment to foreign countries. We saw billions of dollars of energy investment moving to foreign countries because Biden shut down America. Well, America’s open up for business again, and that means more jobs here in America. But really importantly for families, lower energy costs and energy costs affect everything that we do. When you go to the grocery store, lower energy costs mean lower food costs for families. And so we’re going to keep delivering on that agenda. Obviously, this week. It’s going to be a very aggressive schedule, and we’re going to continue to move bills in the future.”On Democrats spiking health care premiums under the Unaffordable Care Act:“Something else the Democrats broke – we talked about this a lot during the shutdown here at this podium – and that is the health care crisis in America. The current law in health care is the Affordable Care Act. I think everybody would recognize it’s unaffordable for millions of American families. And yet they have dumped more families into that plan. And the cost increases are evident. 80% increase in cost for families since Obamacare passed. And yet, as the Affordable Care Act has failed to work for families, Democrats continue to try to shove hundreds of billions of dollars more into that failed program, and not giving relief to families, but giving COVID subsidies to insurance companies. That’s what Democrats were fighting for.“We’ve been working before the shutdown with our three relevant committees, Chairman Guthrie’s committee in Energy and Commerce, Chairman Jason Smith in Ways and Means, and Chairman Walberg over in Education and Workforce. The three committees that work on health care policy to focus on legislation that would actually lower costs for families and give families options so they’re not trapped in the Unaffordable Care Act policies that drive up their premiums. And so we’ve brought bills, we had some of those we talked about in the Working Families Tax Cut that didn’t make it all the way through the process. We’re going to be coming back to that.“We moved PBM reform last year, very bipartisan bill that Chuck Schumer sat on because he and Democrats don’t want to lower costs for families. We do. And we’re going to keep bringing those bills over the next few months.”On House Republicans standing against socialism:“We’re going to have a resolution Friday that says we stand up against socialism and the atrocities of it. It’s not just the bad policies. It’s led to murder all around the world where it’s been tried. And they don’t teach that history, unfortunately enough in our schools. And so a lot of young people don’t even get exposed to the atrocities of socialism. But we’ll surely be talking about it and voting on it this Friday. A pretty easy vote, I think, for most people. Hopefully, they say no, we believe in freedom, opportunity, and we stand against socialism. We’re going to have that opportunity this week as well, while we’re also focusing on affordability.”

Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Steny H Hoyer (MD-05)

WASHINGTON, DC – Today, Congressman Steny H. Hoyer (MD-05) released the following statement after Speaker Adrienne Jones announced she will step down from her position as Speaker of the Maryland House of Delegates:

“My dear friend Adrienne Jones has been a historic Speaker of the Maryland House of Delegates. I am sorry to hear that she will soon step down from the position – a great loss for the institution. She will remain a titan in Maryland politics and an important voice in the General Assembly.
 
“Adrienne has dedicated her entire life to serving Marylanders. From her early work for the Baltimore County Executive’s office to her decades representing Maryland’s 10th District to her six-year tenure as the first woman and first Black Speaker of the House of Delegates, she has proven to be a leader of great vision, strong character, and tremendous vision. Never was that more apparent than when she rose to the occasion after her predecessor, Speaker Michael Busch, passed away in 2019. She took on the responsibilities of that office with great poise and has performed them expertly ever since.
 
“She and I have worked closely together over the years to create new economic opportunities for Maryland families, bring the FBI headquarters to Prince George’s County, resist Donald Trump’s attacks on our state, and much more. I look forward to continuing to work with her to serve our communities during this pivotal moment for our state. No matter the task at hand, she is always an invaluable partner and an absolutely critical member of Team Maryland.”

Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Steny H Hoyer (MD-05)

WASHINGTON, DC – Today, Congressman Steny H. Hoyer (MD-05) delivered remarks during a panel discussion at the Urban Institute’s Improving Access to State Tax Credits through Research to Action event. Below is a full transcript of his remarks:

“Thank you. I’ve been involved in taxes for 68 years (audience laughter) – paying. But I’m pleased to be here at the Urban Institute, so thank you, Sarah, for all you do. I apologize because I’m going to say a few words and then I have to leave because we just [had] votes. You can’t always count on the time when you have votes. My job is to adopt policy that I believe is good for the citizens of our country and the citizens of my constituency, obviously. (Motions to panelists) Their job is to implement what I do and if they don’t implement it, it doesn’t get done. If we don’t facilitate people knowing what the policy is, it doesn’t get done and the purpose for which I vote does not get accomplished. And, I have a theory of why that does not happen, and it’s called the YOYO theory. The YOYO theory is a very simple one, which I think, frankly, is the major premise and policy of the party that I’m not in: You’re On Your Own. YOYO.

“Direct File, which Brooke Lierman talked about – I want to say we have the best comptroller in America. Not a lot of people don’t know what a comptroller is or does, but I will tell you that Brooke Lierman, as our comptroller – I have now served in office since 1967 [in] January. She has been the most involved in making sure that people aren’t on their own, that they know what their benefits are, they know how to access their benefits, and they are facilitating and doing exactly that. Brooke, thank you so much for being such a caring, involved, smart tax collector (audience laughter) because that’s what, technically, she is. We send it to Brooke Lierman, and she sends it back to us so soon, to me. But Direct File was a program that was tested, it wasn’t just thrown out there. It was tested to see: Does it work? Does it effectively carry out a policy of helping people know how to do their taxes? Because most Americans want to pay their taxes, because they want – because they’re honest and they want – you know, we call it a voluntary system, [but] for the large amount of our citizens it’s not so voluntary. Every week, every bi-week, every month, Uncle Sam gets his or her cut, depending upon your perspective, but the cut that is necessary for democracy to work. Taxes. The ‘price of freedom.’

“Direct File was tried on a relatively small number of people, a couple hundred thousand people, and it worked so well [that] they enlarged it. And then it worked so well with overwhelming support of the users with a savings that you mentioned [were an] average $160 to $170 on average for people, because they want to pay their taxes, they want to make sure they’re right and they sometimes have to pay people or spend an inordinate amount of time going through what are relatively complex directions. So, Direct File was a way to say, ‘You, by law, need to pay these taxes, and we’re going to help you follow the law,’ and not have the anxiety that ‘Oh my goodness,’ you hear these ads on TV, you know, ‘Ultimate tax system is going to make sure your wages garnished, your home foreclosed on,’ all this et cetera, et cetera. So, ‘You’re On Your Own’ says they’re not going to help. So, that program is now extinct. Why? Because they fired everybody who carried out that program, why because they thought, ‘We do not need to do this.’ We, being the government. ‘You’re On Your Own.’ And it’s like minimum wage, it’s like the Affordable Care Act, You’re On Your Own. It’s so many things. I have a long list that you don’t have the time for, nor do you have the interest (audience laughter).

“But remember the principle because it is the underlying concept that a lot of the reductions in services. The IRS is being decimated, not just on Direct File, decimated in terms of people who make sure that those who owe taxes pay them. Why? Because [if] those who owe taxes don’t pay them, guess what? Those costs of that are – and interest over the rest of us, so taxes need to be higher than they otherwise would be if everybody paid. But when I talk about that, we’re talking $600 billion, give or take, lost revenue every year. So that what I do as the Ranking Member on the committee that oversees the Treasury Department and IRS is to make sure that services are available. So, when you pick up the phone, somebody answers. That costs the government some money, but it is a service that we ought to be performing when people are trying to comply with the law.

“So I’ll leave it at that, because I could go on and on about what we’re doing at the federal level, which is not good in terms of everyday people trying to A), make their lives affordable – you talked about affordability, we work on affordability, it’s obviously the issue of the era, because so many people are finding it impossible to pay the cost of living that they want maintain for themselves and their families. Thank you. I’m going to jump ship, but not because – (gestures to panelists) these three who really, as I say, implement policy. What I do is make words on a piece of paper. I don’t make anything happen. Members of Congress don’t make anything happen. It is those of you who work every day, as you say, on helping people, helping them know what is due, and making sure America is all it can be. Thank you very much.”

Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Steny H Hoyer (MD-05)

WASHINGTON, DC –  Former Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer (MD-05), U.S. Representatives Adam Smith (WA-09), Ranking Member of the House Armed Services Committee; Gregory W. Meeks (NY-05), Ranking Member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee; Jim Himes (CT-04), Ranking Member of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence; Marcy Kaptur (OH-09), Co-Founder and Co-Chair of the Congressional Ukraine Caucus; and Bill Keating (MA-09), Ranking Member of the House Foreign Affairs Europe Subcommittee issued the following joint response to the Trump Administration’s initial 28-point proposal for ending Russia’s war on Ukraine:

“The Administration’s attempt to impose a pro-Russian, one-sided ‘peace’ deal on Ukraine is both a policy nightmare and morally bankrupt. Pressuring Ukraine while giving aid and comfort to Russia is wrong. Forcing Ukraine to give up more of its own territory, including some that Russia doesn’t even hold, is unacceptable. Crippling the Ukrainian Armed Forces would all but guarantee another Russian invasion once Moscow rebuilds its forces, further threatening NATO. Echoing Putin’s baseless accusations of Nazism amplifies Kremlin disinformation and provides Russia with a convenient excuse to claim Ukraine has violated this imposed edict.

“The Putin wing of the Administration cannot be allowed to abandon American interests by forcing Ukraine into an unjust and impossible-to-maintain surrender. Instead, after months of Ukraine’s success in further weakening Russia’s economy and military, the President should direct his National Security staff that ‘peace through strength’ does not mean copying Russian talking points to extort Ukraine into surrender. Such a capitulation would only lead to more attacks by Putin and encourage similar attacks against other peaceful democracies, further threatening global stability and undermining the national security of the United States.

“The best guarantor of peace going forward will be a well-armed Ukraine that can capably defend itself against a violent and untrustworthy Russia. What has reportedly been released as a potential counteroffer, and was developed with Ukraine and European allies over the weekend, is vastly closer to what an achievable peace agreement would look like. We urge the administration to abandon its initial plan to force Ukraine into capitulation and to continue its discussions with Ukraine and European allies. We look forward to supporting such efforts.”

Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Steny H Hoyer (MD-05)

WASHINGTON, DC – Congressman Steny H. Hoyer (MD-05) released the following statement today regarding the passing of Mark Mellman, CEO of The Mellman Group and founder of the Democratic Majority for Israel:

“I am very sad to learn of the passing of my dear friend Mark Mellman. Mark was not only a brilliant political strategist, seasoned policy expert, and respected pollster; he was a man of immense character. He could take the pulse of the public better than anyone, and clients across the country and around the world sought him out for that talent. Mark was also a champion of the U.S.-Israel relationship, working tirelessly to unite our two nations around shared values of democracy, freedom, and justice.

“Mark’s passing is a tremendous loss for the Jewish community, the Democratic Party, and our nation. My prayers are with his wife Mindy and the rest of his family. May his memory be a blessing.”

Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Steny H Hoyer (MD-05)

WASHINGTON, DC – Today, Congressman Steny H. Hoyer (MD-05), U.S. Senators Chris Van Hollen and Angela Alsobrooks (both D-MD), and U.S. Representatives Glenn Ivey (MD-04), Jamie Raskin (MD-08), Sarah Elfreth (MD-03), and April McClain Delaney (MD-06) announced $60,322,396 in federal funding to upgrade the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority’s (WMATA) bus transit system and to support the construction of a new transit maintenance and operations facility in Charles County.

WMATA will receive $50,322,380 to purchase 50 40-foot diesel-electric hybrid replacement buses, an investment that is expected to cut the system’s fuel consumption by 51,000 gallons each year. Charles County will receive $10,000,016 to build its modernized maintenance and operations facility that will better support bus operators and riders.

“Upgrading our public transit with cleaner, more efficient buses and improved bus infrastructure will help provide greater reliability for the thousands of Marylanders who ride WMATA and VanGO every day. Through the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, we are continuing to invest in public transportation that supports our growing communities while producing fewer emissions and keeping the region’s economy moving forward,” said the lawmakers.

The funds are provided through the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Low or No Emission Grant Program and Buses & Bus Facilities Program, which Federal Team Maryland fought to fund under the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.

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

WASHINGTON – Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-9) was saddened by the news of Steve Cropper’s passing and made the following statement:

“There was no music more associated with Memphis than – not white, not yellow, not Vidalia – but ‘Green Onions.’ It became the background music of so many movies and was a standard covered by countless bands in clubs, bars and restaurants. Some say Steve Cropper was the greatest guitar player in the world, and he was a great songwriter. I was present in 2016 when he donated three Fender guitars and an amplifier to the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History, one guitar played on Otis Redding’s ‘(Sittin’ on) the Dock of the Bay,’ another played in a scene from the movie ‘The Blues Brothers.’ A graduate of Messick High School and a founder of Booker T and the MGs, Hall of Famer Steve Cropper will always be known for his Memphis roots and his contribution to the Stax sound.”

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

WASHINGTON – Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-9) spoke from the House floor this morning after learning that President Trump has had the U.S. Institute of Peace renamed in his honor. Trump dismantled the institute shortly after taking office and had its president removed forcibly by police.

In his remarks, Congressman Cohen said in part:

“The United States Peace Institute was created by the Congress of the United States. It’s in a beautiful building and has served the function of trying to bring people together. 

“In February, President Trump issued an executive order dismantling the United States Peace Institute. Subsequently, law enforcement removed the president of the Peace Institute forcibly from his office. And then the Trump administration fired every employee…The District Court has ruled it acted improperly…because the president didn’t have the authority to dismantle it. 

“Today, I’ve learned that President Trump has had his name, in massive letters, put over the Peace Institute, calling it the Donald J. Trump Peace Institute, none of which is legal. Will his ego stop staining this city?”

See the entire floor speech here.

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

No relevant experience, potential conflicts, ethical issues are significant concerns

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

Goal is greater transparency and accountability in meeting the region’s energy needs