MIL USHOR-2b Engine

Source: United States House of Representatives – Congresswoman Betty McCollum (DFL-Minn)

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Congresswoman Betty McCollum, Dean of the Minnesota Congressional delegation, issued the following statement after the State of the Union:

“Team USA made us proud as Americans – especially our fellow Minnesotans who led the nation to earn the most medals at this year’s games. They showed us all a shining example of what can happen through unity, hard work, and respect for others.

“Unfortunately, those who had the patience to listen to the President’s speech tonight had to endure more than 100 minutes of rambling self-aggrandizement and division.

“When it comes to the reality of the state of our union, we choose to believe our eyes rather than the lies.

“Here in Minnesota, we have seen what happens when President Trump gets his way and a Republican majority in Congress goes along.

“We’ve seen the damage from masked, unidentifiable federal agents invading and occupying our communities to sow chaos, violence, and division. We’ve seen Minnesotans racially profiled and assaulted. We’ve seen the killing of Renee Good and Alex Pretti by federal agents. 

“Minnesotans are paying a heavy price for Trump’s policies. His illegal tariffs are driving up costs – taxing each and every one of us an additional $1,000 last year alone. And more than 100,000 Minnesotans will see their health care and SNAP food assistance stripped away because of the Republicans’ Big Ugly Law. 

“President Trump has targeted our state in an effort to divide us and destroy our way of life, but Minnesotans are responding by doing what we do best: Caring for our neighbors and working to rebuild. We will continue to use every tool available to push back on Donald Trump, Republicans, and their extreme policies as we fight to make life better for the American people. We are united in our efforts to oppose Trump’s reign of chaos, division, and lawlessness. We are united in working for an economy that creates opportunity for families today and their children tomorrow. We are Minnesota Strong.” 

 

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

Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Robert Aderholt (AL-04)

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Tonight, Congressman Robert Aderholt issued the following statement in response to President Donald J. Trump’s State of the Union Address to Congress:

“Tonight, President Trump delivered a strong and inspiring State of the Union Address to Congress. As the President said, America is strong, prosperous, and respected as our nation celebrates its 250^th anniversary.

Under President Trump’s leadership, we are restoring peace through strength, defending our border, growing American manufacturing, and putting American families first. I stand beside the President in full support and will continue to deliver on his agenda and deliver real results for the American people. 

I commend the President for securing the border and making it a top priority to ensure that our American cities and communities are safe. This commitment has led to record low illegal border crossings, with nine straight months of no illegal aliens released into the United States. 

By focusing on law and order, thousands of American lives have been saved. We have made historic efforts from defending America’s border to fighting drug trafficking, all delivering peace through strength. The State of the Union is strong, because America is respected on the world stage, and I strongly support the President’s efforts to continue to strengthen America at home and abroad.

This year, the Working Family Tax Cuts are delivering Americans with the largest tax cut for working and middle-class families, including no tax on tips, no tax on overtime, and no tax on Social Security. President Trump has worked to put real money back in our pockets. Our economy is being rebuilt brick by brick, and this is because wages are up, jobs are up, and inflation is cooling under the current Administration. Prospective homeowners have seen the dream of owning a home become more realistic due to higher incomes and lower mortgage rates. 

In this new era of growth, rural America is thriving. The Rural Health Transportation Program that was established through the One Big Beautiful Bill, has directed over $203 million dollars to Alabama to ensure our citizens and rural communities benefit for years to come. I have long believed our rural communities deserve the same access to top-notch medical services, and this investment is a real step towards that goal. 

Alabama’s Fourth Congressional District believes in a government that puts Americans first and President Trump’s State of the Union Address shows the values of our district – family, freedom, and faith. I am proud to work alongside President Trump and my Republican colleagues to continue advancing an America first agenda that increases economic growth, protects the most vulnerable, upholds our national security, and delivers peace through strength. 

The state of our union is strong, and the American people have much to look forward to in the coming years.”

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 Morning Joe, where he highlighted the lies, propaganda and hatred spewed during the State of the Union address and the fact that Donald Trump has no plan to make life better or more affordable for everyday Americans.

MIKA BRZEZINSKI: Joining us now, House Minority Leader, Democratic Congressman Hakeem Jeffries of New York. Thank you very much for coming on this morning. Sir, the President blamed the nation’s challenges on you and other Democrats. How do you respond to the President and also to your fellow Republicans who repeatedly stood up and applauded his words?

LEADER JEFFRIES: Well, good morning. Great to be with you. The President’s speech was riddled with dirty, rotten lies, including his unwillingness to confront the affordability crisis that Donald Trump has made worse throughout his entire time in office. This is a guy who promised that he was going to lower costs on day one of his presidency. And, of course, costs haven’t gone down. Costs have gone up. Millions of people are working hard, they’re playing by the rules, but they’re struggling to live paycheck to paycheck. Can’t thrive, can barely survive. The American people know it. Donald Trump tried to lie about it, and he will be held accountable.

WILLIE GEIST: Leader Jeffries, good morning. As we’ve been detailing this morning, so much of what the President said in his speech last night simply isn’t true factually. And yet, Republicans leapt to their feet with every line he delivered. Not totally surprising, that’s standard in State of the Union addresses. But how do you explain, other than just fear of President Trump, fear of his supporters, their abdication of power, that you have the Speaker of the House standing and applauding when President Trump says, for example, ‘I don’t need Congress to place tariffs, I can do it on my own,’ and then the leadership of the Congress jumping up to applaud that. How do explain it as someone who sees it up close?

LEADER JEFFRIES: Yeah, the cult-like behavior of my colleagues on the other side of the aisle is a complete and total abdication of their responsibility to conduct themselves like a separate and co-equal branch of government. But what we’ve seen repeatedly from these folks is that they regularly bend the knee to Donald Trump and behave like they are nothing more than reckless rubber stamps for Donald Trump’s extreme agenda. It’s the reason why the American people are rejecting Republicans in election after election after election over the last 14 consecutive months because they’ve broken promises. They’re visiting extremism on the American people. They’ve failed to actually address anything that is designed to make life better for everyday Americans. And then they lie about it regularly. And so we’re going to continue, as Governor Abigail Spanberger did in such a phenomenal way, to contrast their corruption with our commitment to make life better for everyday Americans, to drive down the high cost of living, to fix our broken healthcare system and to make sure that immigration enforcement in this country is fair and just and humane.

JONATHAN LEMIRE: Leader Jeffries, good morning. The name Jeffrey Epstein was never spoken last night, but his presence hovered over the proceedings. A number of his victims, the survivors, were there in the House of Representatives as guests of Democrats. And the speech last night came just hours after a blockbuster NPR report matched by MS NOW that suggests that a lot of documents pertaining perhaps even to interviews with an accuser of Donald Trump were missing. Setting that aside, we don’t know if that’s true, at the very least DOJ has not, it appears, produced all it’s supposed to. Give us your reaction. What can Democrats do about this?

LEADER JEFFRIES: Yeah, there were at least 14 Epstein survivors who were in the chamber last night, and I had an opportunity to talk with several of them in advance of the so-called State of the Union Address to thank them for their strength, their courage, their resilience and their persistence in getting us to this point to try to push for maximum transparency and maximum accountability. And yet, of course, we all understood that the fight needed to continue because the Department of Justice has failed to comply with the law. This is a situation where ‘public sentiment,’ as Abraham Lincoln once said, ‘is everything. With it, nothing can fail. Without it, nothing can [succeed].’ And the American people are going to continue to demand, led by the survivors, that we get full transparency, full accountability, that the files are completely and totally released to the American people. We’ve made a lot of progress. There’s still millions of documents that remain hidden by the Department of Justice. But I am confident, led by these courageous survivors, that we are going to get to the place that we need to get to.

MARA GAY: Leader, President Trump is calling on Congress to pass a bill that would require Americans to show ID in order to vote. What can the Democrats—and in particular Democratic leadership—do right now to ensure that the vote this November is protected and that this President and his enablers do not take it away?

LEADER JEFFRIES: Well, first of all, we strongly oppose the so-called SAVE Act in the House, and Leader Schumer has made clear that it is dead on arrival in the Senate. Donald Trump is not interested, of course, in a free and fair election and this legislation is about voter suppression because the Republicans know that they are on their way to losing as has been the case for the last 14 months. Now, part of their scheme had to do with trying to gerrymander the national congressional map. And cynics and skeptics suggested that Democrats were just going to allow that to happen and Republicans would be able to steal 10, 12, up to 15 seats. Of course, that effort has been met forcefully and decisively, and that has failed. Successfully, we’ve stopped them in the courts from being able to federalize the National Guard, which certainly was part of his scheme. And now we’re involved in an all-hands-on-deck effort with civil rights groups, civil liberties groups, unions, civil society, Democratic governors, Democratic attorneys general, Members of the House and the Senate, partnering with state and local elected officials to unleash the largest voter protection effort that the country has ever seen, including in presidential elections, though this will be a midterm because we understand the stakes are so high.

MIKA BRZEZINSKI: House Minority Leader, Democratic Congressman Hakeem Jeffries of New York. Thank you very much for coming on this morning.

Full interview can be watched here.

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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 CNBC’s Squawk Box to discuss President Trump’s State of the Union address, which highlighted historic progress on border security, economic recovery, government accountability, and tax relief for working families and drew a sharp contrast with Democrats who refused to stand in support.

Click here or the image above to view Leader Scalise’s full interview. 
Highlights from Leader Scalise’s interview:On President Trump delivering the most secure border in history:“The number one election issue in 2024 was border security. It was the biggest issue everywhere you went. Border towns, places nowhere near the border, because people saw how crazy it was when Democrats opened the border. Joe Biden, for four years, let it happen. And you saw it, it wasn’t just millions of people. It was violent criminals. You saw crime spike. Every city was seeing violent crime because of this. President Trump said, ‘I’m going to stop it.’ And he did. And when he said – the easy question, Democrats call it a trap because they’ve lost their way as a party – will you stand up for America against people coming in illegally who want to do us harm? And they sat down, and it showed the country who’s on your side and who just wants to have wide-open borders and violent crime in communities. And they would not stand up when you had victims of crime. President Trump pointed out, by the way, in the audience, people whose daughters were murdered by these illegals who came in because of their open border policy. And here’s the mom saying, ‘Don’t let it happen to anybody else.’ And Democrats are sitting down like they’re okay with the murder. It’s insane. And so it showed the American people just what’s going on.”On Democrats refusing to celebrate tax cuts for hardworking Americans:“If you want to throw the bums out, voters saw last night who the bums were. The people who were sitting down when President Trump said: I want to give you a big tax refund. When you file your tax returns, you’re going to get over $1,000 back. No tax on tips, no tax on tips. No tax on overtime. And he said, and they – and he pointed to Democrats because every Democrat voted against that – he said, ‘They want to raise your taxes.’ And they all stood up and applauded. That was maybe the only time the Democrats stood up and applauded when they basically took ownership of the fact that they, as a party, want to raise your taxes. And you’re seeing it in New York, you’re seeing it in California, where they’re raising taxes to the point where they’re running their own people out of their state. Well, do you really want to get run out of America? Vote for Democrats if you do. But that’s going to be the contrast in November’s election.“I think people, they recognize, look, they lost $3,000 of buying power during the Biden years. Four years, they lost $3,000. They made up $1,200 of that in the first year of Donald Trump. It’s a lot more money in their pocket, but it’s not where they used to be before Biden took office. And so we need to keep that progress going. We need to keep delivering for those working families, and we will. But you saw last night who wants to go back to the days of taking money out of your pocket.”On President Trump rooting out fraud and protecting taxpayer dollars:“You saw when he started talking about fraud in Minnesota, and J.D. Vance is going to be the fraud czar in charge of rooting it out, you saw all the Minnesota Democrats yelling at him. I mean, how disgraceful is that? First of all, yelling at the President of the United States, yelling because he is stopping fraud of your money? $19 billion so far identified. We have whistleblowers in Minnesota. Many of them are Democrats who say we’re disgusted by the theft of our money by people. And the governor is looking the other way. The attorney general is looking the other way. That’s more money out of your pocket for theft. And we’re stopping it. President Trump is stopping it.”On building on the success of the Working Families Tax Cut:“Well, I’d like to see a reconciliation 2.0. I’ve been in meetings with some of our members. We put together cross-sections so that you have not just the ultra-conservatives or just the moderates or just the swing district members. We put them all in a room, about 15, kind of break them up. And then we start talking through, is there consensus? We have a two-seat majority. And as you saw last night, every single Democrat is going to vote against cutting your taxes. And so if we’re going to do it, it’s going to be done on our own only with Republicans. And so the consensus isn’t there yet. We have to obviously build that.“We did that for the Working Families Tax Cut. We built that bill over months of meetings and negotiations with our members, with the President, with his team. Then we put together a phenomenal bill that’s delivering now for American people, signed by July Fourth of last year. When you file your return this April, you’re going to get over $1,000 back because of that bill. Most families will. We’re not at that stage yet. We’re trying to see if we can find consensus. If we do, we’ll move it. We’ll do it on our own because, sadly, you saw Democrats just want to root against America because they don’t like Donald Trump. But the American people elected Donald Trump, and he’s delivering on the promises that he ran on. That’s what people are excited about.”

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

WASHINGTON — Congressmen Steve Cohen (TN-9) and Robert Aderholt (AL-4), co-chairs of the Congressional Azerbaijan Caucus, released the following statement in response to attacks on protesters in Washington, D.C. on Friday:

“We are very concerned with reports and videos we’ve seen of attacks on protesters outside the Waldorf Astoria by Azerbaijani security personnel on Friday. The Constitution of the United States protects peaceful protest, provided it does not interfere with normal activities, and there is no indication that was the case here. As guests of the United States, we expect Azerbaijani officials to respect American democratic principles such as the rights of free speech and free assembly. As this situation develops, we call for a full investigation into the incident and ask Azerbaijani officials to refrain from similar actions in the future.”

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

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Rep. Judy Chu (CA-28) led every Democrat on the Ways & Means Committee in introducing a Resolution of Inquiry (ROI) that would demand transparency into the Trump administration’s new “Defend the Spend” policy for childcare payments to states. 

Under the “Defend the Spend” policy, states cannot draw down their Child Care Entitlement to States (CCES) allocation until they provide unspecified data not required by law to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The CCES program provides mandatory funding to states, territories, and tribes to subsidize childcare expenses for low-income working families and to improve the supply and quality of childcare. But ever since the Trump administration reinstated their “Defend the Spend” policy in December 2025 after claiming unsubstantiated allegations of fraud in the CCES program, there have been anecdotal reports of states and counties unable to draw down funding. This violates federal law, which requires HHS to provide due process before suspending childcare funding due to allegations of misuse. Additionally, HHS thus far has failed to provide answers to Congress regarding which states are or are not able to access their funding, who at HHS is reviewing states’ submissions, or how that data is being used. 

“The “defend the spend” policy for childcare funding is a direct attack on working families,” said Rep. Chu. “Low-income parents rely on this funding to afford care for their kids so they can go to work, and childcare centers across the country depend on it to keep their doors open. It is disgusting that the Trump administration is putting this lifeline at risk by making states jump through new hoops before they can receive the funding they are owed under the law.”

Rep. Chu continued: “It is also deeply troubling that the Administration won’t tell us which states have received funding or who at HHS is responsible for reviewing and making decisions about the data states submit. Especially given the Administration’s recent nakedly political attempt to outright block childcare funding to five blue states, this raises serious concern that “defend the spend” could similarly be used to selectively target and punish Democratic states. We must demand transparency, and that’s exactly what my resolution would do.”

The Resolution of Inquiry would require President Trump and HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to provide all documents, records, audio recordings, memorandums, correspondence, contracts, and more to the House of Representatives relating to the following:

• The HHS Deputy Secretary’s December 30, 2025 tweet reinstituting “defend the spend” procedures.
• Drawdown of CCES allocations via the Payment Management System (PMS) by any State, Territory, or Tribal grantee any time after December 30, 2025.
• Payment management system delays and procedure for addressing funding delays and complaints.
• Trump administration social media posts alleging childcare fraud and resulting threats to, and harassment of, individual childcare providers.
• Warning letters, referrals to the Office of the Inspector General, or other disciplinary actions regarding alleged funding misuse by any CCES grantee.
• Communication with grantees regarding the submission of additional data in order to draw down CCES funds and the storage, use, and sharing of such data within and outside of HHS.
• Payments to contractors or consultants related to ‘‘Defend the Spend’’ requirements, procedures, or implementation.
• Legal opinions designating as “proprietary” information related to contracting, spending of legally authorized funding, referrals to the Office of the Inspector General, staffing assignments, or procedures related to CCES funding.
• Contracts, staffing assignments, and instructions to contractors and any HHS staff regarding the ‘‘Defend the Spend’’ criteria and process for CCES entitlements.
• Contracts with States, Tribes, and Territories governing any payment management system operative in 2025 and 2026 and used to provide grantee access to CCES funding.
• Meetings, discussions, or other actions involving the HHS Office of the General Counsel or outside legal advisors regarding the use of a payment management system by grantees or efforts to provide, delay, or prevent access to funding.

The full text of the Resolution of Inquiry is available HERE.

Source: United States House of Representatives – Congresswoman Betty McCollum (DFL-Minn)

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Congresswoman Betty McCollum, Dean of the Minnesota Congressional delegation, issued the following statement after the State of the Union:

“Team USA made us proud as Americans – especially our fellow Minnesotans who led the nation to earn the most medals at this year’s games. They showed us all a shining example of what can happen through unity, hard work, and respect for others.

“Unfortunately, those who had the patience to listen to the President’s speech tonight had to endure more than 100 minutes of rambling self-aggrandizement and division.

“When it comes to the reality of the state of our union, we choose to believe our eyes rather than the lies.

“Here in Minnesota, we have seen what happens when President Trump gets his way and a Republican majority in Congress goes along.

“We’ve seen the damage from masked, unidentifiable federal agents invading and occupying our communities to sow chaos, violence, and division. We’ve seen Minnesotans racially profiled and assaulted. We’ve seen the killing of Renee Good and Alex Pretti by federal agents. 

“Minnesotans are paying a heavy price for Trump’s policies. His illegal tariffs are driving up costs – taxing each and every one of us an additional $1,000 last year alone. And more than 100,000 Minnesotans will see their health care and SNAP food assistance stripped away because of the Republicans’ Big Ugly Law. 

“President Trump has targeted our state in an effort to divide us and destroy our way of life, but Minnesotans are responding by doing what we do best: Caring for our neighbors and working to rebuild. We will continue to use every tool available to push back on Donald Trump, Republicans, and their extreme policies as we fight to make life better for the American people. We are united in our efforts to oppose Trump’s reign of chaos, division, and lawlessness. We are united in working for an economy that creates opportunity for families today and their children tomorrow. We are Minnesota Strong.” 

Source: United States House of Representatives – Representative Suzanne Bonamici (1st District Oregon)

WASHINGTON, DC [2/25/2026] – Representatives Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR) and Earl L. “Buddy” Carter (R-GA) and Senators Brian Schatz (D-HI) and Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) introduced bipartisan legislation to strengthen marine carbon dioxide removal research and development in the United States.

Marine carbon dioxide removal (mCDR) can address climate change by enhancing the ocean’s natural ability to reduce carbon emissions through natural and technological strategies. Many of these technologies remain in the early stages of development, and the United States lacks a coordinated federal framework to guide research, monitoring, and public engagement.

The Removing and Sequestering Carbon Unleashed in the Environment and Oceans Act (ReSCUE Oceans Act) would establish the United States as a leader in mCDR research, development, and responsible testing by investing in science-based measurement tools, creating environmental and community safeguards, and strengthening coordination between federal research agencies.

“We must do all we can to reduce carbon pollution, which fuels more frequent and extreme weather events,” said Congresswoman Bonamici. “Marine carbon dioxide removal is a promising strategy that can enhance the ocean’s role as a natural carbon sink to absorb and store emissions. But we need more rigorous science, meaningful federal investment, and a clear research framework to safely deploy it. Oregon’s coastal communities understand the power and vulnerability of the ocean, and they should have a voice in studying mCDR. As Co-Chair of the House Oceans Caucus, I’m pleased to join my colleagues in leading this bipartisan legislation to explore responsible use of mCDR.”

“Marine carbon dioxide removal (mCDR) is an emerging tool to help us reduce and capture emissions while spurring economic innovation,” said Rep. Buddy Carter. “Our oceans absorb 30 percent of global carbon dioxide emissions. Funding further research for mCDR will help us better understand this emerging and exciting technology, and I am proud to colead this legislation with Congresswoman Bonamici, Congressman Tonko, Senator Murkowski, and Senator Schatz.”

“Carbon dioxide removal (CDR) is an essential tool in the fight against the climate crisis, in addition to being a driver of American innovation,” said Senator Brian Schatz. “Our bill will encourage research into marine CDR to ensure it’s safe, effective, benefits coastal communities, and protects ecosystems.”

“Alaska has unrivaled potential for carbon sequestration and carbon dioxide removal, both onshore and offshore. As the state with by far the most coastline, emerging marine options, such as seaweed and kelp farming, have shown great promise as we seek to responsibly reduce emissions on a net basis,” said Senator List Murkowski. “Our bipartisan, bicameral legislation will provide for new research and development of these technologies in close partnership with local governments, communities, and the private sector. As we seek to develop them the right way – fully protecting our marine environment – I’m excited by what lies ahead and the opportunities this will help create across Alaska.”  

Specifically, the ReSCUE Oceans Act would:

• Establish a dedicated research program and grants at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to evaluate mCDR efficacy and safety, including effects on ecosystems and coastal communities;
• Invest in monitoring infrastructure to evaluate environmental effects, measure outcomes, develop mCDR standards and protocols, and make findings publicly available;
• Develop a framework to designate mCDR field research sites to coordinate science resources and create clarity for researchers and communities;
• Establish an interagency working group co-chaired by NOAA and the U.S. Department of Energy to develop a federal mCDR research plan with monitoring goals, standards, and clear safeguards;
• Create a research code of conduct based on transparency and ecosystem protection to collect critical data to inform mCDR development, regulation, and siting; and
• Leverage research, workforce, measurement, and standards development resources across federal science agencies, including the National Science Foundation, National Aeronautics and Atmospheric Administration, and National Institute of Standards and Technology.

This legislation is endorsed by Carbon180, Carbon Removal Alliance, Carbon To Sea Initiative, ClearPath Action, Climate Innovation Action, Ocean Conservancy, Ocean Visions, World Resources Institute, and Third Way.

Additional statements of support can be found here.

A one-page summary of the ReSCUE Oceans Act can be found here and a section-by-section summary of the bill can be found here. The full text of the legislation is available here.

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Source: United States House of Representatives – Congresswoman Norma Torres (35th District of California)