MIL USHOR-2b Engine

Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Morgan Griffith (R-VA)

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced new federal funding for U.S. communities through the Brownfields Multipurpose, Assessment and Cleanup grant program. The EPA awarded Giles County a $3,693,800 cleanup grant to support cleanup activities at local brownfield sites owned by the former Leas & McVitty/New River Tannery. 

Congressman Griffith continues to voice his support for the Brownfields Program, which delivers millions of dollars to Southwest Virginia communities to help with potential economic development projects. 

Following the EPA grant notice, U.S. Congressman Morgan Griffith (R-VA) issued the following statement:

“Redevelopment of brownfield sites in Virginia’s Ninth District are promising projects that account for economic growth potential. 

“This EPA Brownfields Grant for nearly $3.7 million helps Giles County conduct brownfield site cleanup activities.”

BACKGROUND

In 2025, Congressman Griffith announced that LENOWISCO Planning District Commission received multiple Brownfield-related grants from the EPA. That funding supported community-wide assessments of local brownfields.

Since 2019, other Ninth District communities to receive Brownfields Program funding include Pennington Gap in Lee County, Dublin and Pulaski in Pulaski County, Bluefield in Tazewell County, Martinsville City and Bristol City. Data available here.

Before his July 2025 appointment as Health Subcommittee Chairman, Congressman Griffith chaired the Subcommittee on Environment.

In March of 2025, Congressman Griffith chaired a hearing on the EPA’s Brownfields Program. Scott County Native and LENOWISCO Planning District Commission Executive Director Duane Miller testified to the panel and discussed the Program’s importance to Southwest Virginia communities.

LENOWISCO Planning District Commission serves the Counties of Lee, Wise and Scott and the City of Norton.

The Brownfields Program empowers states, communities and other stakeholders to work together to prevent, assess, safely clean up and sustainably reuse brownfields.

A brownfield site is real property, the expansion, redevelopment, or reuse of which may be complicated by the presence or potential presence of a hazardous substance, pollutant or contaminant.

Brownfield Assessment grants provide funding for brownfield inventories, planning, environmental assessments and community outreach.

According to the EPA, Assessment Coalition grants are designed for one “lead” eligible entity to partner with two to four eligible entities that do not have the capacity to apply for and manage their own EPA cooperative agreement and otherwise would not have access to Brownfields grant resources.

Congressman Griffith’s e-newsletter on the Program can be found here.

In March 2026, Congressman Griffith’s remarks during a legislative hearing on the EPA Brownfields Program can be found here.

Leas McVitty Inc. was a prominent tannery which opened in 1894 in Giles County due to the abundance of locally available timber which was used in the tanning industry.

Leas McVitty also owned facilities in Pennsylvania and Salem, Virginia.

###

Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Bob Latta (R-Bowling Green Ohio)

Latta Pushes for Full Energy and Commerce Committee Consideration of the Ratepayer Protection Act

Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Hakeem Jeffries (8th District of New York)

Today, House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries appeared on MS NOW’s The Briefing with Jen Psaki where he highlighted how Democrats remain laser-focused on the issues of importance to the American people, like lowering costs, fixing our broken healthcare system and cleaning up corruption.

JEN PSAKI: As promised, joining me now is House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries. I have so much to ask you about, including, of course, the races in New York last night. But before we get to that, you’re the Democratic Leader. It seemed like one of the craziest days on Capitol Hill in some time. And I just have to start by asking you about Trump’s abrupt refusal to sign this strikingly bipartisan housing legislation and his simultaneous demand that Republicans move forward with a voter suppression bill instead. What were you thinking as you watched that all happen this morning?

LEADER JEFFRIES: Yeah, listen, Donald Trump has once again made clear that Republicans would rather make it harder to vote than easier to live in an affordable way—in this particular instance, easier to purchase or rent a home that is affordable. And that’s consistent with basically what Donald Trump had been saying to the American people, that he believes the affordability crisis is a hoax, that he loves inflation and that he doesn’t care about the personal financial situation of the American people. And today was really powerful Exhibit A, that he would detonate a bipartisan housing bill. And I’m thankful for the leadership of Congresswoman Maxine Waters, Senator Elizabeth Warren. House Democrats stood squarely behind that leadership in the House, by once-and-future Chairwoman Maxine Waters, to get to a good place, take a meaningful step forward for the American people as part of our effort to continue to do all that we can to drive down the high cost of living. Donald Trump had a chance to try to tout a bipartisan success, and he blew it all up in ways that are extraordinary.

JEN PSAKI: I think he’s a little insecure about his own hold on power. That’s my calculation there. Let’s talk about the primaries in New York last night. I know you’ve spoken about it a little bit. Obviously, there were a diversity of candidates who won in different districts across the state of New York and other places in the country. But there were three races, and we got to talk about those, where you were on a different side than Mayor Mamdani. And he said in the last hour to my colleague Chris Hayes that what we saw last night was a rejection of status quo politics. What do you say to that?

LEADER JEFFRIES: Well, I was involved in two of those races, supporting my colleagues, Dan Goldman and Adriano Espaillat, and, of course, I’m deeply appreciative for their service to the country and the Congress. Certainly Dan Goldman and the role that he’s played in trying to hold Donald Trump accountable and Adriano Espaillat, who’s been a champion for immigrant communities, pushing back against ICE, fighting to bring resources back to the people of Harlem, Washington Heights and The Bronx. And I was proud to stand in support of them, and if I had to do it all over again, I’d do exactly the same thing. But we understand, in the House in particular, that primaries are a way of life. The House was intended by the framers to be the institution closest to the American people. We’re proud of that. To constantly try to reflect the hopes, the dreams, the aspirations, the fears, the concerns, the anxieties, the life experiences and the passions of the American people. And that’s why we stand for election every two years. And the reality of serving in the House is that every cycle, there’s often just a handful of incumbents who, for one reason or the other, fall short of reelection. And last night, of course, that happened twice.

JEN PSAKI: There’s been a lot of speculation out there about your relationship with the Mayor, and he was just asked about this on with Chris Hayes. I wanted to play that for you and talk about it with you as well.

RECORDING OF CHRIS HAYES: What are you looking for in your conversation with Leader Jeffries tonight?

RECORDING OF MAYOR MAMDANI: You know, I appreciate the relationship that I have with Leader Jeffries, and it’s one where we’re united in looking to deliver for the people of the city. And as you heard from him, we have disagreements about endorsements. And I think you mentioned a number of those candidates that I was proud to endorse in Darializa Avila Chevalier and Claire Valdez and Brad Lander. And also, at the end of the day, what we’re looking to do is to deliver to the working people of New York City, and I think last night we heard from New Yorkers a hunger for exactly that kind of work being done here in our city.

JEN PSAKI: Chris said you two are going to speak tonight. I don’t expect you to tell me everything you plan to say or talk about. But broadly speaking, what’s the message going to be? What are you hoping to get out of that phone call?

LEADER JEFFRIES: Well, I think as the Mayor indicated, the Congressional delegation, I won’t speak for them, but certainly we intend to continue to do all that’s necessary to work with our partners in state and city government, including the Mayor, to make life more affordable for the people that we’re privileged to represent and to improve their quality of life. At the end of the day, that’s why we’re all in office. And in a moment like this, we really have to move forward together on the governing side in an all-hands-on-deck fashion because we’re dealing with a level of extremism that Donald Trump and the Republicans are unleashing on the American people that is unprecedented. It’s one of the reasons why, of course, at the end of the day, our focus here in Washington is actually trying to defeat Republicans and to flip back control of the House of Representatives so we can end this national nightmare and continue to move our country toward a more perfect union. That’s not the place that we’re in right now. And so, I look forward to the conversation that will have. I think we’ve both been clear that we’ve agreed to disagree on some of these endorsements. There were two endorsements where we were on the opposite side. I, of course, standing with my colleagues in the New York Congressional Delegation, I’m proud of the fact that several other of my colleagues, of course, decisively won reelection, whether that’s Grace Meng or Ritchie Torres, Yvette Clarke, just to name a few. For whatever the reason, those races didn’t catch a lot of attention. I’m also thankful for the fact that we finally have some resolution. We had at least two strong candidates in New York’s 17th Congressional District currently being rented by Mike Lawler. But Cait Conley emerged. She’s a decorated, courageous, patriotic combat veteran. For whatever the reason, that race hasn’t gotten a lot of attention, even though Mike Lawler right now is shaking in his boots because Cait Conley is going to flip that seat in November and help us deliver a majority in the House of Representatives.

JEN PSAKI: She has a huge, huge shot in that race, and we’ll look forward to talking to her too. It wasn’t called by the time we had the show last night. Let me ask you about another issue because elections and the outcomes of them—it was a diverse array of candidates, as you just said, who won last night. You can reflect on where voters are, and maybe you can learn sometimes from where voters are. And one of the other things that Chris and Mayor Mamdani talked about was Israel and the issue of support for Israel. And this was a real issue in these three races where Mayor Mamdani endorsed candidates who did win. As you said, you were involved in two of those races. As you look to the outcome of those races, and you look to the people who are going to be coming and representing those districts, I mean, one of the things he said is that I think that Israel played a major role—he was asked about the Lander-Goldman race—”because New Yorkers have had to watch as tens of billions of our tax dollars have been spent on bombs that not only shred international law, but the lives of civilians.” How have you reflected on the message voters have sent on that particular issue coming out of last night?

LEADER JEFFRIES: Yeah, no, you know, that’s a very interesting question and New York City, like many other places, has a variety of different folks who have different views on a whole host of issues, both domestic, of course, which I think the affordability crisis continues to be the highest priority for the American people and our focus will continue to be drive down the high cost of living, make life more affordable, fix our broken healthcare system and, of course, clean up corruption wherever it may be found here in Washington, D.C., particularly as it relates to the Supreme Court and the Trump administration. Now, in terms of the issues related to Israel and the Middle East, I think at least I ca speak to my perspective, which is that I support Israel’s right to exist as a Jewish and democratic state. I support the aspirations of the Palestinian people to achieve the dignity, respect, autonomy and self-determination that they appropriately desire. And we need to find a just and lasting peace between Israelis and the Palestinian people, which for me means a real authentic commitment to a two-state solution. A safe and secure Israel living side-by-side with a prosperous Palestinian state designed to achieve dignity and self-determination for the Palestinian people. Now, in terms of the races in New York, what’s interesting is that it certainly was the case that in some of those districts, which tended to be higher-income districts in many parts of New York City, there was an outsized focus on issues connected to the Middle East. In other districts, for instance, in the South Bronx, Ritchie Torres was running against somebody who was heavily critical of Ritchie Torres’ position on Israel, and he won by 50 points. And so, listen, I think at the end of the day, individual congressional districts, the beauty of it all, are made up by a diverse group of people who have a diverse set of perspectives on a wide variety of issues. I think for us as House Democrats, we’re just hopeful that everybody recognizes once we get through this primary season that the enemy is Donald Trump and MAGA extremism, in terms of trying to bring about the type of America that we all desire, where when you work hard and play by the rules, working-class folks can live a comfortable life, an affordable life and a good life. That shouldn’t be too much to ask for in the United States of America, the wealthiest country in the history of the world.

Full interview can be watched here.

###

Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Ed Case (Hawai‘i – District 1)

(Washington, DC) – U.S. Representative Ed Case (HI-01) reported that his U.S. House Appropriations Committee today approved its final Fiscal Year (FY) 2027 funding bill – the Defense Appropriations Act. 

The measure, the twelfth of twelve annual federal funding measures considered by Appropriations, provides funding for federal agencies and programs in the Department of Defense (DoD) and intelligence community, including the military branches of services, the Central Intelligence Agency and the National Security Agency.

Case, who is in his eighth year on Appropriations, serves on its Subcommittee on Defense, which is responsible for developing the bill.  

Case voted against the FY 2027 Defense bill that proposes $1.1 trillion in discretionary spending, $234 billion more than the current fiscal year. Total defense spending would grow to nearly $1.5 trillion annually if combined with the proposed reconciliation, or mandatory spending, bill requested by the Present.

“While the measure funds many critical Hawai‘i and Indo-Pacific priorities I requested, I regrettably had to vote against this version because the proposed increase in total defense spending is not accompanied by any substantial Congressional oversight of such massive new spending levels, and comes as the Congressional majority and President Trump propose steep cuts to domestic programs that support working people struggling with the cost-of-living crisis,” said Case. (Click here to watch Case explain the flawed overall structure for the President’s funding request and the bill.)

Case also stressed that the bill embraced a partisan approach to various aspects of our nation’s security. For example, it fails to include the $400 million for the bipartisan Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative, continues funding for a National Guard Reaction Force to be deployed into American cities and fails to provide any checks on the President’s military operations in Iran.

During the Committee’s debate over the bill, Case also spoke in strong opposition to recent actions by the Secretary of Defense to fire qualified military leaders and undermine military promotion boards that have become political rather than merit based, which has disproportionally targeted women and minorities. He explained that two recent military leaders that served in Hawai‘i were harmed by these purges – General Charles “CQ” Brown (former head of Pacific Air Forces and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs) and Admiral Stephen Barnett (former Head of Navy Region Hawai‘i).

Case warned of the negative message sent throughout the current and future officer corps and enlisted ranks and implications for recruitment, retention and merit-based service and advancement, asking rhetorically what the 75% of Hawai‘i that are minorities would consider their opportunities in the military to be. (See Case’s speech here.) 

Case also warned about the dangers of approving further funding for the Golden Dome missile defense program when the Department of Defense has failed to provide an overall plan and detailed information on the program and proposed spending which even at conservative estimates would cost over $1 trillion. (See Case’s speech here).

Despite his opposition to the bill, Case highlighted programs and provisions that he requested and secured in the Defense funding measure that are especially critical to Hawai‘i, including: 

·        Protecting the special contracting preference for Native Hawaiian businesses. 

·         $10 million for Red Hill Bulk Fuel Storage Facility long-term environmental monitoring, additional scientific studies and targeted remediation efforts to facilitate the permanent closure of the site. 

·         $10 million of additional funding for the Readiness and Environmental Protection Integration (REPI) program, which help address shared environmental concerns affecting the military and local communities in Hawai‘i.

·         $10 million to advance Indo-Pacific-focused advance manufacturing efforts in Hawai‘i.

·         $10 million of additional funding for Regional Centers for Security Studies, to include the Daniel K. Inouye Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies (DKI-APCSS) in Honolulu.

·         $44 million to continue efforts to replace O‘ahu’s outdated air surveillance radar, which is needed to defend Hawai‘i from missile attacks. 

·        $309 million for the Navy’s Environmental Restoration program plus an additional $239 million for the cleanup of Formerly Used Defense Sites. These funds will help accelerate efforts to remediate per- and polyfluoroalkyl (PFAS) contamination and remove unexploded ordnance and discarded military munitions in Hawai‘i and throughout the nation. 

·        Funding for two Virginia-class fast attack submarines, which are critical to protecting the Indo-Pacific and are maintained at the Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard.  

·         $160 million for the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, which maintains critical scientific laboratories at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam.

·         $264 million for the Sea-Based X-Band Radar, which helps defend Hawai‘i from ballistic missile threats.  

·        $202 million for the National Guard Youth Challenge Program to help at-risk youth improve life skills, academic achievement and employment potential – an increase of $100 million. These funds will help support Hawaii’s Youth Challenge Academy.  

·        $50 million for Impact Aid and $20 million for Impact Aid for children with disabilities, which help Hawaii’s public schools by partially reimbursing the cost of educating military children.  

·        Blocked efforts to change the command and control structure of the U.S. Pacific Fleet. There have long been efforts within the department to “streamline” control of forces under one command structure, which would limit the ability of Navy forces in Hawai‘i to respond quickly to changing threats in the Indo-Pacific region.  

Case requested and supported other programs and provisions in the measure that are especially critical to the broader Indo-Pacific, including: 

  ·        $18 million for the Asia Pacific Regional Initiative (APRI) Program, managed by U.S. Indo-Pacific Command. APRI supports a wide range of exercises, humanitarian assistance, programs and training symposiums that help expand U.S. influence in the Indo-Pacific. The initiative is an important tool for the U.S. military to strengthen relationships throughout the Indo-Pacific region.  

·        Continued support for providing humanitarian and other assistance by U.S. military Civic Action Teams in the Freely Associated States.  

·        $1 billion for the Taiwan Security Cooperation Initiative to increase Taiwan’s defense, readiness and deterrence capabilities. 

·        Carveout allowing Hawai‘i-based military hospitals to treat civilian patients from American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, the Marshall Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, Palau and Guam. 

General military-related programs and provisions supported by Case related to the DoD overall include:  

·        Providing a military pay raise of 7% for all military personnel ranked E-5 and below, 6% for E-6 to O-4, and 5% for O-4 and above. 

·        $917 million for the Congressionally Directed Medical Research Program (CDMRP). The CDMRP fills research gaps by funding high impact, high risk and high gain projects that other agencies may not venture to fund.  

·        $15 million for the Military and Family Life Counseling Program, which provides counseling services to service members and their families to support operational readiness and resilience. 

A summary of the Defense Appropriations bill is available here. 

###

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

WASHINGTON, DC – Today, Congressman Steny H. Hoyer (MD-05) delivered remarks in support of Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur (OH-09)’s amendment to provide $400 million for the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative to support Ukraine’s military and national security forces in its war against Russia during the House Appropriations Full Committee Markup of the FY 2027 Defense bill. Below are a video and transcript of his remarks:

Click here to watch a video of his remarks.

“Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. I want to thank the gentlelady from Ohio, both for offering this amendment and for her extraordinary leadership and faithfulness in this cause. Helping the people of Ukraine defend their nation against Putin’s tyranny is a central battle in a global fight between democracy and despotism. That’s the issue here. It is not simply $400 million; it is whether or not America is going to continue to stay strong in the fight against despotism. America has a critical role to play in that fight, and this is something the House recognized recently on a bipartisan basis with passage of the Ukraine Support Act. 

“This amendment does not add any funding to this bill. It simply carves out $400 million from funds already appropriated herein and sets it aside specifically for [the] Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative. This is money well spent. This is money that will send a message. This is money that will reaffirm America’s continuing willingness to defend democracy. The Ukrainian military is making steady progress because of its growing technological edge, particularly in drone warfare. You already [know] about that. Our military is watching and learning so we can adopt those new technologies and tactics to strengthen our own capabilities. Spending $400 million to help Ukraine defeat Russia’s invasion is a much better bargain than spending $80 billion on a war in Iran. I hope the Senate will move swiftly on the Ukraine Support Act, and then we can come together to send the president’s legislation that includes funding for this program as well. 

“Ladies and gentlemen, two thirds of this committee [have] voted 12 times to support Ukrainian funding. 16 of the majority’s Members have supported it 100% of the time. Of those 12 votes, we only had one time when the majority of Republicans did not vote to support Ukraine – and that was [if] three votes changed on the Republican side, it would have been a majority of the Republicans. It was an extraordinary bipartisan statement – we were unanimous on our side – extraordinary statement of support for democracy, for freedom against the breaking of international law. And because we are an exceptional nation, we are the symbolic nation. We are the nation who says, ‘If we support you, you’re going to do well.’ And that is why our silence, essentially, for the last 24 months – actually [since] April of 2024 – is so deafening and so demoralizing for our Ukrainian friends and sends such a bad message to Putin of inaction.

“$400 million in a $1 trillion – $72 billion bill. But it will make a difference psychologically as well as militarily, because that $400 million will provide weapons that the Ukrainians badly need to meet the Russian threats of their bombing of Kyiv on a regular basis. 100% of the time, 16 of you have voted for Ukraine. I hope you do so one more time, because as the gentleman from Texas said, what America says matters. What America votes for matters. What this House does matters. As a result, I would hope that we could get a bipartisan vote on this piece of legislation. $400 million. During the course – I have 23 seconds – during the course of the amendment that we had on the Floor of the Ukraine Support Act, Member after Member rose and said, ‘You only have $300 million. We authorized $400 million. You’re cutting it $100 million.’ How ironic it would be for that debate to be that we cut $100 million when we can’t add the $400 million, which your side spoke about as us cutting, and therefore a reason not to support the Ukraine Support Act. This $400 million is exactly what has been authorized by the Defense Authorization Committee. We should take their advice, move on this, [and] send a message that America continues to be the defender of freedom and the opponent of despotism.”

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

WASHINGTON, DC – Today, Congressman Steny H. Hoyer (MD-05) delivered opening remarks at the House Appropriations Full Committee Markup of the FY 2027 Defense bill. Below are a video and transcript of his remarks:
 

Click here to watch a video of his remarks.

“Mr. Chairman, I rise in concern about this bill. And yes, I will oppose the bill as it’s currently written. I listened to my dear friend Mr. Ellzey. Mr. Ellzey and I have become dear friends. I have extraordinary respect for him, and I agreed with what he had to say up to a point. First of all, let me associate myself with the remarks of our Ranking Member about process. There is no 302(b). This bill could be any figure. I could offer $1 trillion in addition to this bill, and nobody could respond, the Chairman couldn’t respond, ‘Oh, this is beyond the 302(b).’ There is no 302(b). There is no budget, there is no concept of what the tradeoffs are in this bill. That is its procedural weakness. There is no ‘pay for’ for this bill because there is no 302(b), so we don’t know how much will need to be paid for [it]. So, that we are all speaking about a $1 trillion bill, and who’s going to pay for it? My children, your children, our grandchildren. 

“But we say this is critically important to put on the table to make our country secure. I think there’s nobody, probably, other than Hal Rogers in this committee who served longer and supported more defense bills than I have. I was a very strong supporter of the Reagan bill, though. The MX missile approval and the deployment of the Pershing missiles that the Russians thought we couldn’t get done politically in Europe, that accomplishment, in my opinion, led to Gorbachev’s being able to convince his military industrial complex, ‘You need to go Glasnost and Perestroika, because we cannot compete with the Americans.’ So, I believe that investing in our defense is important. But I think even more important than that is our performance with respect to defense. It is my belief – and I will discuss this further when the amendment on Ukraine is offered – that our failure of the West in 2014 to respond to the Russian stealing of Crimea is the mother of this war that we now have in Ukraine, because it said to Putin, ‘We’re not going to respond to your criminal act.’ Now, a President that I supported was President of the United States at that point in time. The Congress nor the President responded in a vigorous way that would say, ‘No, sir, you cannot do that.’ 

“Today, we have a bill that has $1 trillion plus in it. We have spent, apparently, somewhere in the neighborhood of $79 billion over the last four months for an effort in Iran. The failure to respond effectively to Crimea’s theft and the extraordinary chaos and ineffective action that we’ve taken – which I call, ‘The art of the sellout.’ There’s no deal. A deal implies both sides are going to do something. But very frankly, I would call your attention to an article in The Washington Post by Max Boot [from] three days ago on the extraordinary failure of this Administration, and of the Secretary of Defense, and the DNI and, frankly, the Secretary of State, who seems to be like Pontius Pilate, washing his hands of this effort in Iran because he thinks it is so abysmally a failure. We remove a naval blockade, we waive export Iran’s crude oil sanctions, we release $24 billion in frozen funds, we facilitate $300 billion for [reconstructing] economic development in the Islamic Republic of Iran, we terminate all types of sanctions, and we allow – after 60 days – for Iran to charge fees in international waters for passage. What kind of message does that send to Russia? What kind of message does that send to China? What kind of message does that send to Iran? Iran thinks, probably, at this point in time, they’ve won. And yet we are about to invest in that leadership $1 trillion plus. A failed leadership. This Secretary of Defense calls 800 of the top-ranking officers – flag officers in the world to come to the Pentagon for a meeting. Does he have anything substantively to say? He did not.

“Mr. Chairman, I’m going to vote against this bill, but I’m going to argue that we certainly need to spend money. We need to spend money on industrialization, we need to spend money on acquisition, and we need to spend money on personnel. But I would add – and thank you for your time – I would add that underfunding the civilians who are so critically important to our defense effort in the Pentagon and in other agencies and government is a very bad mistake, which we have avoided in the past by having some degree of equality between civilians and the military; both critically important to our national security. I yield back the balance of my time. I’ll have more to say later.”

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

“Republicans choke on scripture while they pass legislation that is both sloppy and fatal, and nothing Christian about it, denying women the right to essential abortion care.”

“I come before you today to offer a stark and damning picture, not to dissuade us from the work ahead, but to call us to action.”

WASHINGTON – Today, Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley (MA-07) led a press conference with House Democratic Leadership to mark the fourth anniversary of the devastating Supreme Court Dobbs decision and offer her vision of seeing true reproductive justice realized and essential reproductive healthcare protected and expanded. In her remarks, Rep. Pressley made plain how Republicans’ denial of life-saving abortion care has stolen the lives of many women and left their families traumatized.

A transcript of the Congresswoman’s remarks is available below and the video is available here.

Congresswoman Pressley joined impacted individuals and abortion storytellers last night to initiate a powerful day of action, offering a message of resilient community support and a commitment to ensure abortion care is treated as the fundamental human right it is. Video is available here.

In her time serving in Congress, Rep. Pressley has fought persistently to protect and advance reproductive justice and ensure fundamental life-saving reproductive health care for all.

Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Ken Calvert (CA-42)

Today, the House Appropriations Committee passed the Fiscal Year 2027 Defense Appropriations bill. The bill was drafted by Congressman Ken Calvert (CA-41), who serves as the Chairman of the Defense Appropriations Subcommittee.

“The passage of our annual defense appropriations bill fulfills our commitment to keep America safe and ensure the U.S. military remains the strongest fighting force in the world,” said Rep. Calvert. “Recent conflicts have highlighted the pressing need to acquire and produce the munitions, weapons, and technology our troops require to meet the moment in both modern and future warfare. The increased funding provided in this bill aims to achieve that urgent goal in addition to building off the defense innovation programs I have prioritized as Chairman. The Defense Innovation Unit, APFIT, and Civil Reserve Manufacturing Network (CRMN) are prioritized in the FY27 bill to get our warfighters access to game-changing technologies, weapons, and the tools they need to win on the battlefield. I appreciate the leadership of Chairman Tom Cole and support from members of our Committee in advancing this bill.”

Key Takeaways

Enhances America’s strategic military advantage by: 

• Providing $836 million to procure, for the first time, new-entrant low-cost munition systems and providing multiyear procurement authority.
• Providing over $7.5 billion for hypersonic weapons and test infrastructure.
• Providing over $2.9 billion for Defense Production Act (DPA), Office of Strategic Capital (OSC), and Industrial Base Analysis and Sustainment (IBAS).
• Accelerating delivery of capability to the warfighter through over $1.7 billion for Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) and Accelerate the Procurement and Fielding of Innovative Technologies (APFIT).
• Transforming autonomous and counter-small, unmanned aircraft system initiatives with $1 billion for the Defense Autonomous Warfare Group (DAWG) and $1.4 billion for the Joint Interagency Task Force 401 (JIATF 401).

Strengthens support for service members and military families by: 

• Supporting President Trump’s priority of a military pay raise of 7% for all military personnel ranked E-5 and below, 6% for E-6 to O-4, and 5% for O-4 and above.
• Providing an additional $15 million for the Military and Family Life Counseling Program, which provides counseling services to service members and their families to support operational readiness and resilience.

Disrupts transnational drug trafficking by:  

• Providing $1.2 billion for counter-drug programs.
• Increasing funding for the National Guard Counter-Drug Program.
• Providing $464.8 million for United States Southern Command, which supports enhanced detection and monitoring, theater-wide operations, improved command and control, and increased force protection to pursue drug cartels and terrorist networks. 
• Transferring Mexico from United States Northern Command’s jurisdiction to United States Southern Command for better coordination and prioritization.

Optimizes the Department of Defense and improves transparency by: 

• Supporting business modernization efforts, including $250 million to accelerate the transition to a modern, secure, and audit-ready financial management environment.
• Digitizing acquisition processes through $72.5 million for Acquisition Visibility.  
• Protecting and preserving competition and readiness by mandating a Modular Open Systems Approach (MOSA).  
• Modernizing requirements and resourcing by including $140.1 million for the Mission Engineering and Integration Activity and $92.7 million for Acquisition Integration and Interoperability. 

###

Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Mario Diaz-Balart (25th District of FLORIDA)

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressman Mario Díaz-Balart (FL-26), Vice Chair of the House Appropriations Committee and member of the Defense Subcommittee on House Appropriations, issued the following statement after the full committee approval of the Fiscal Year 2027 Department of War Appropriations Act.

Vice Chairman Díaz-Balart said, “I commend Chairman Tom Cole’s leadership for today’s achievement in advancing all twelve funding bills out of the full committee and fulfilling our duty to ensure regular order.

With the approval of this funding bill, we are once again delivering on our unwavering commitment to the men and women in uniform by ensuring they have the weapons, technology, and innovation needed to strengthen U.S. warfighting and combat readiness.

I also want to recognize Subcommittee Chairman Ken Calvert’s work in crafting a bill that prioritizes support for our service members and their families and strengthens our efforts to counter transnational drug trafficking, including transferring Mexico from NORTHCOM’s jurisdiction to SOUTHCOM for more effective coordination.

SOUTHCOM’s presence in the region is vital to safeguarding America and protecting our communities from the scourge of illicit drugs and transnational crime.”

Fiscal Year 2027 Department of War Appropriations Bill Key Takeaways

The FY27 Department of War Appropriations Bill provides a total discretionary allocation of $1.072 trillion and enhances America’s strategic military advantage, strengthens support for service members and military families, optimizes the Department of War, disrupts transnational drug trafficking, and delivers on Trump Administration priorities.

Disrupts transnational drug trafficking by:

• Transferring Mexico from United States Northern Command’s jurisdiction to United States Southern Command for better coordination and prioritization.
• Providing $1.2 billion for counter-drug programs.
• Increasing funding for the National Guard Counter-Drug Program. 1
• Providing $464.8 million for United States Southern Command, which supports enhanced detection and monitoring, theater-wide operations, improved command and control, and increased force protection to pursue drug cartels and terrorist networks.

Enhances America’s strategic military advantage by:

• Providing $836 million to procure, for the first time, new-entrant low-cost munition systems and providing multiyear procurement authority.
• Providing over $7.5 billion for hypersonic weapons and test infrastructure. o Providing over $2.9 billion for Defense Production Act (DPA), Office of Strategic Capital (OSC), and Industrial Base Analysis and Sustainment (IBAS).
• Accelerating delivery of capability to the warfighter through over $1.7 billion for Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) and Accelerate the Procurement and Fielding of Innovative Technologies (APFIT).
• Transforming autonomous and counter-small, unmanned aircraft system initiatives with $1 billion for the Defense Autonomous Warfare Group (DAWG) and $1.4 billion for the Joint Interagency Task Force 401 (JIATF 401).

Strengthens support for service members and military families by:

• Supporting a military pay raise of 7% for all military personnel ranked E-5 and below, 6% for E-6 to O-4, and 5% for O-4 and above.
• Providing an additional $15 million for the Military and Family Life Counseling Program, which provides counseling services to service members and their families to support operational readiness and resilience.

Optimizes the Department of War and improves transparency by:

• Supporting business modernization efforts, including $250 million to accelerate the transition to a modern, secure, and audit-ready financial management environment.
• Digitizing acquisition processes through $72.5 million for Acquisition Visibility.
• Protecting and preserving competition and readiness by mandating a Modular Open Systems Approach (MOSA).
• Modernizing requirements and resourcing by including $140.1 million for the Mission Engineering and Integration Activity and $92.7 million for Acquisition Integration and Interoperability.

Delivers on Trump Administration priorities by:

• Advancing the President’s Executive Order 14409, Promoting Advanced Artificial Intelligence Innovation and Security.
• Furthering the President’s Executive Order 14369, Ensuring American Space Superiority.
• Supporting the President’s Executive Order 14265, Modernizing Defense Acquisitions and Spurring Innovation in the Defense Industrial Base.
• Continuing to ensure that no funding supports diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs, Critical Race Theory, or abortion-related travel, consistent with Department of War policy.
• Prohibiting the use of funds to destroy surplus firearms or spent brass that are no longer of use to the United States military.
• Maintaining legacy provisions to prevent the closure or transfer of detainees from Naval Station Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

A summary of the bill is available here.

Bill text is available here.

###

Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Don Bacon (2nd District of Nebraska)

Bacon, Kelly Lead Bill to Award Artemis II Crew the Congressional Gold Medal

“From Apollo to Artemis, America’s pioneering spirit has long defined our leadership in space exploration,” said Rep. Bacon. “Commander Reid Wiseman, Pilot Victor Glover, and Mission Specialists Christina Koch and Jeremy Hansen carried that legacy farther than any humans have ever traveled from Earth, setting a new record of approximately 252,756 miles and marking the first crewed mission beyond low Earth orbit and around the Moon in 53 years. The Artemis II Congressional Gold Medal Act is a bipartisan, bicameral effort to honor this historic mission with the highest civilian honor Congress can bestow. I am grateful to our friends at Space for Humanity for bringing this idea to us, and to Sen. Kelly and our co-leads for working together to recognize these extraordinary astronauts.” 

“Reid, Victor, Christina, and Jeremy carried human space exploration farther than it has ever gone before,” said Sen. Kelly. “I’ve flown on four missions to space and I know how hard that crew and the teams on the ground worked. They made something incredibly complex and difficult look easy. They reminded Americans what we’re capable of when we work together. They inspired the next generation of scientists, explorers, and engineers. For pushing the boundaries of human achievement, the Artemis II crew deserves this honor.” 

“Few missions have captured our imagination the way Artemis II has. Its crew became the first humans in more than 50 years to experience the lunar Overview Effect — a perspective from which our world floats distantly in the darkness of space,” said Antonio Peronace, Executive Director of Space for Humanity. “We are at an important inflection point for our species. Space has the ability to bring people together, shape perspectives, and inspire us all. Artemis II’s record-shattering mission could not have happened at a better time. The images, experiences, and perspectives these remarkable explorers shared remind us that while we may come from different nations, backgrounds, and beliefs, we all live on the same fragile planet. We are all crewmembers on Spaceship Earth. Artemis proves our greatest achievements are the ones we accomplish together. That’s why this mission was not only a success for NASA and the United States, but a gift to all humanity. For these reasons and more, the Congressional Gold Medal is a fitting recognition for the inspirational crew of Artemis II.” 

“Artemis II marked a bold new chapter in American space exploration, with a groundbreaking crew that set records for the farthest humans have ever traveled from our planet. Their incredible accomplishments represent the very best of us and brought the country together in a collective moment of awe. I’m proud to pay tribute to their journey with the Artemis II Congressional Gold Medal Act which bestows the crew with Congress’ highest civilian honor,” said Rep. Whitesides. 

“The Artemis II mission represents the very best of America: courage, innovation, and a willingness to push beyond the horizon in pursuit of something greater than ourselves. As an Army veteran, I have tremendous respect for the dedication, discipline, and sacrifice required to undertake a mission of this magnitude. Commander Reid Wiseman, Pilot Victor Glover, and Mission Specialists Christina Koch and Jeremy Hansen carried forward a proud legacy of exploration while inspiring the next generation of scientists, engineers, service members, and explorers. Awarding the Congressional Gold Medal is a fitting tribute to their historic achievement and reaffirms America’s leadership in space exploration,” said Rep. Evans. 

“Artemis represents the next great chapter in American leadership in space exploration, and communities like ours that support the nation’s spaceflight missions are proud to help send astronauts farther than humanity has ever traveled before.  The Congressional Gold Medal Act is a fitting tribute to the courage, skill, and dedication of the Artemis II crew, whose service will inspire a new generation of scientists, engineers, and explorers across our nation.  I am proud to honor these outstanding astronauts as an original co-sponsor of this bill,” said Rep. Ivey. 

“The Artemis II mission was a historic achievement for American space dominance,” said Sen. Ricketts. “This is a fitting honor for the crew and all those who aided in the mission’s success. This includes the General Dynamics team in Lincoln who manufactured several components for the spacecraft, including the oxygen tanks.” 

“Earlier this year, Artemis II made history and showed the world that our greatest days of discovery are still ahead,” said Sen. Moran. “As we celebrate the mission’s success, we honor the Artemis II crew – Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch and Jeremy Hansen – alongside the NASA workforce whose contributions helped set new records in space exploration. America’s leadership in space would not be possible without the innovation, courage and dedication of the men and women who made this mission possible.” 

“The Artemis II mission took humanity further away from Earth than we have ever been before. This historic effort was built on contributions from NASA centers across the country – including the dedicated workforce at Goddard Space Flight Center – to send four brave astronauts around the moon. Artemis II will be remembered for the teamwork, dedication, and spirit that Pilot Victor Glover, Mission Specialist Christina Koch, Mission Specialist Jeremy Hansen, and Commander Reid Wiseman from our great state of Maryland shared with the world. This resolution marks their contributions and the contributions of all of those who made the Artemis II mission a success and an inspiration to us all,” said Sen. Van Hollen. 

“The brave Artemis II crew broke new frontiers for space exploration and proved to the next generation of young scientists that anything is possible,” said Sen. Duckworth. “Astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch and Jeremy Hansen and everyone behind the scenes at NASA that made this incredible mission possible deserve the highest praise, and I’m glad to join my colleagues in honoring their achievement.” 

“This crew did what no human has ever done, and their mission puts us one step closer to a sustained presence on the moon. I applaud their bravery and am proud to recognize the path they paved for the future of space exploration,” said Sen. Fischer. 

“The Artemis II mission demonstrated what Americans can achieve when we combine courage, innovation, and an unwavering commitment to exploration. As the first crew to travel farther from Earth than any humans in history, these astronauts inspired our nation and strengthened America’s leadership in space. I’m proud to support awarding the Congressional Gold Medal to recognize their extraordinary achievement and the generations of explorers they will inspire,” said Sen. Sheehy. 

Background

The Congressional Gold Medal is one of the highest civilian honors awarded by Congress. Since the American Revolution, Congress has used the medal to recognize individuals and groups whose achievements have had a lasting impact on American history and national life. 

The last astronauts to be awarded the Congressional Gold Medal were the Apollo 11 Crew in 2009. No other NASA mission crew has received the honor, reserving it for missions of extraordinary historic significance.  

###