MIL USHOR-2b Engine

Source: United States House of Representatives – Congresswoman Chellie Pingree (1st District of Maine)

Congresswoman Chellie Pingree (D-Maine) and Congresswoman Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.) today introduced the Paraquat Prevention Act, legislation that would cancel all registered uses of the pesticide paraquat under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) and permanently prohibit its reregistration. 

“Vermont just proved a paraquat ban is possible. Now Congress must make it national. This pesticide is already banned in more than 70 countries and linked to Parkinson’s disease, yet EPA has been reviewing its safety since 2022 without finishing the job,” said Congresswoman Pingree. “I’m proud to introduce this bill with Congresswoman Luna, because all Americans deserve the same protection from this poison. Our bill cancels paraquat’s registration outright. No more reviews, no more waiting, no more excuses.”

“Paraquat has been banned in over 70 countries, including every nation in the European Union, because the science is clear about the devastating neurological risks associated with exposure,” said Congresswoman Luna. “The United States has no business allowing a chemical linked to Parkinson’s disease to keep being sprayed on American farmland, and this bill ends that.”

The bill directs the Environmental Protection Agency to cancel all existing paraquat registrations, revoke any tolerances permitting paraquat residue in food, and ban the sale and use of existing stocks upon enactment.

This action comes amid growing concern over the health impacts of paraquat exposure, with multiple studies consistently linking this chemical to increased risks of Parkinson’s disease. Studies from the National Institutes of Health have found that individuals exposed to paraquat face a significantly elevated risk of developing the disease, with laboratory research demonstrating that the chemical directly damages the dopaminergic neurons whose destruction causes Parkinson’s. 

The European Union acted on this science in 2007, and more than 70 countries have since followed. Among them is China, which banned paraquat domestically in 2016 to protect public health while continuing to export the majority of its production, sending roughly 78 million pounds to American ports in a single year. 

Both the Parkinson’s Foundation and the Michael J. Fox Foundation have called for a ban on these grounds, which has found support on both sides of the aisle, which is why the bill has received bipartisan support.

“Independent scientific evidence has found that exposure to paraquat has lead to increased risk of Parkinson’s disease, yet the EPA has continued to allow this pesticide to be used in our communities,” said Andi Fristedt, Executive Vice President, Chief Strategy and Policy Officer for the Parkinson’s Foundation. “By banning paraquat, the Paraquat Prevention Act would protect Americans and help create a world where fewer people develop Parkinson’s disease in the first place. The Parkinson’s Foundation is grateful to the bipartisan leadership of Representatives Luna and Pingree to help bring the U.S. one step closer to joining the more than 70 countries that have already banned paraquat.”

“Paraquat exposure is one of the clearest preventable risks linked to Parkinson’s disease,” said Dan Feehan, chief policy and government affairs officer at The Michael J. Fox Foundation. “On behalf of the 1.2 million Americans living with Parkinson’s and related diseases, we thank Representatives Luna and Pingree for their bipartisan leadership on the Paraquat Prevention Act and look forward to supporting the bill throughout the legislative process.” 

The United States remains one of the few developed nations that still permits paraquat use, leaving American farmers, farmworkers, and rural families unprotected. This legislation would close that gap by removing paraquat from the market entirely and prohibiting any future pathway for reregistration.

“We applaud Representatives Luna and Pingree for highlighting the threat of paraquat to farmers and rural communities. The people who feed us should not face twice the risk of developing Parkinson’s disease. States across the country have a clear path and example to end the use of one of the most toxic herbicides and should pass their own paraquat bans,” said Geoff Horsfield, legislative director for the Environmental Working Group (EWG).

“MOFGA has long stood against toxic pesticides that harm farmers, families, and the land we all depend on. The evidence linking paraquat to Parkinson’s disease is overwhelming and undeniable,” said Bill Pluecker, Public Policy Organizer for Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association. “More than 70 countries worldwide have banned Paraquat. Farmers and rural communities in Maine and across this country have suffered from paraquat exposure for far too long. The time for federal action is now.”

View the full bill text here.

Pingree is a longtime farmer and member of the House Agriculture Committee. She and Luna recently celebrated a win for the “Make America Healthy Again” movement after they successfully stripped dangerous, industry-written language from the Farm Bill that would pre-empt state rights to regulate pesticide usage or labeling and provide a liability shield for pesticide manufacturers.

Earlier this year, President Trump signed an Executive Order to increase domestic production of glyphosate—a widely used weedkiller that has been linked to multiple health issues, including non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. Pingree and Massie introduced the No Immunity for Glyphosate Act, which would undo Trump’s Executive Order.

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Source: United States House of Representatives – Congresswoman Chellie Pingree (1st District of Maine)

“Maine is the most forested state in the nation. The Forest Service is an essential partner in protecting Maine’s forests, supporting our working forest economy, and advancing the research and innovation that will shape the future of wood products. But the Trump Administration is trying to push through a sweeping reorganization with little transparency, little justification, and little regard for the people and regions that rely on Forest Service expertise,” Pingree said. “Today’s roundtable made clear that Maine’s forestry leaders are concerned about what this plan could mean for forest health, regional staffing, and critical research at the Massabesic, Howland and Penobscot experimental forests. USDA and USFS owe Congress and the public real answers before taking another step. I’m grateful to everyone who joined today’s discussion, and I will keep fighting to ensure this reorganization does not weaken the Forest Service or leave Maine behind.”

Participants included University of Maine President Joan Ferrini-Mundy, and Maine Department of Agriculture Conservation and Forestry (DACF) Commissioner Amanda Beal, as well as representatives from the Appalachian Mountain Club, The Nature Conservancy, New England Forestry Foundation, Professional Logging Contractors of the Northeast, and more. 

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Source: United States House of Representatives – Congresswoman Aumua Amata (Western Samoa)

Washington, D.C. – Congresswoman Uifa’atali Amata is highlighting notice of two federal grants, one to American Samoa Department of Health for $33,200 supporting HIV services at LBJ Tropical Medical Center, and one to American Samoa Medical Center Authority for $86,554 supporting the Emergency Medical Services for Children (EMSC) program, also at LBJ. 

Congresswoman Amata with Secretary Kennedy

Both discretionary health services grants are through the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to fund one year of each project. 

“Supportive health funds are always important for our islands to have these services available,” said Congresswoman Aumua Amata. “Congratulations to Health Director Dr. Saipale Fuimaono, and special thanks to those working directly with these projects and ensuring American Samoa can receive our allotted federal funds, including Lata Allen working with emergency services for children, and Faafouina Sagaga working with important HIV care readiness.”

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

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

Yesterday, U.S. Representative Rick Larsen (WA-02) voted for comprehensive, bipartisan legislation to make housing more affordable in Northwest Washington and across the United States (the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act).

“Too many families in Northwest Washington struggle to afford skyrocketing rent and don’t know if they will ever be able to own a home of their own,” said Rep. Larsen. “The 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act will bring down housing costs by making it easier to build new homes and by protecting homeowners from private equity homebuyers and renters from corporate landlords. While this bill is not a be-all-and-end-all fix, it achieves real progress toward making homeownership and renting affordable for working families.”

“Now, President Trump is refusing to sign this bipartisan legislation to lower your costs until Congress passes legislation to make it harder for women to vote,” Rep. Larsen continued. “The President should be helping Americans struggling with sky-high costs, not making it harder for Americans to vote him out of office. I will keep fighting to bring down the cost of housing, gas, groceries, health care and more.”

The 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act includes provisions to:

• Kickstart the construction of new homes by:
• helping local governments convert vacant commercial or industrial buildings into affordable housing units;
• lowering barriers in the way of developing manufactured, modular housing, and accessory dwelling units (ADUs);
• removing restrictions in the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) to allow cities and local governments, for the first time, to fund new affordable housing construction; and
• reauthorizing and expanding the HOME Investment Partnerships Program, the largest federal block grant designed exclusively to create and preserve affordable housing for low-income households.

• Prohibit large institutional investors that own more than 350 single-family homes from purchasing additional single-family homes;

• Create a renter complaint hotline and resource center for reporting, monitoring and resolving renter disputes with large institutional investor landlords;

• Help more veterans access affordable housing by:
• requiring Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac loan applications to inform veterans of their home loan benefits offered through the Department of Veteran Affairs (VA);
• excluding veterans’ disability compensation from counting against HUD-VASH benefits; and
• requiring Federal Housing Administration (FHA) loan applications to display VA loan options alongside conventional and FHA loans to help veterans better compare loan costs.

• Require large institutional landlords to report to the Department of Housing and Urban Development annually about renter disputes and the number and location of their properties; and

• Support community financial institutions that provide critical financing to homebuyers and housing developers by:
• streamlining the process of forming new community banks and credit unions in rural and underserved areas; and
• lowering funding costs and enhancing lending capacity at eligible community banks with less than $10 billion in assets by allowing them to reclassify certain deposits.

The House of Representatives passed the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act on a 358-32 vote, and the bill now goes to the President’s desk.

Rep. Larsen voted for prior versions of the bill in May and February. He has been calling attention to the skyrocketing prices of gas, groceries, health care and housing for months.

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Source: United States House of Representatives – Representative Zoe Lofgren (D-San Jose)

Ranking Member Zoe Lofgren’s (D-CA) opening statement as prepared for the record is below: 

Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Brad Sherman (D-CA)

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, President Trump refused to sign a bill into law that alleviates the housing crisis for millions of Americans. Yesterday, Congress overwhelmingly passed the bipartisan 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act, which included Congressman Brad Sherman’s (CA-32) bill for disabled veterans, the Housing Unhoused Disabled Veterans Act (HUDVA). 

The Housing Unhoused Disabled Veterans Act will remove an unfair barrier for disabled homeless veterans looking to access housing nationwide and particularly at the West LA VA Campus. This legislation would amend the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) definition of annual income to exclude disability payments received by a veteran for eligibility for housing built under the HUD-VASH Program. This bill would remove an unfair barrier for disabled homeless veterans looking to access housing at the West LA VA Campus. 

The 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act was set to be signed in the Capitol this morning and would have enacted the largest set of bipartisan measures that would help expand access to affordable housing, reduce unnecessary barriers for vulnerable Americans, and make homeownership more accessible and affordable for families across the country.

“The stage was set both physically and metaphorically for the President to sign a historic housing bill for the American people and instead Trump wants to have veterans sleep in the streets just to control California’s elections,” said Congressman Sherman. “Trump must put his ego aside and put the American people first and sign this bill into law.”

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

Washington, D.C. – United States Representative Jimmy Panetta (CA-19) and U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR) introduced a bicameral resolution to recognize the importance of pollinators to ecosystem health and agriculture in the United States.

The resolution designates June 22 through June 28, 2026, as “National Pollinator Week,” to emphasize the vital role native pollinators play in the health of our ecosystems and economies, and highlight the difficulties many pollinator species face, including the iconic western monarch butterfly.

“Pollinators, including the iconic western monarch butterfly, are increasingly threatened by climate change and habitat loss, putting our ecosystems at risk,” said Rep. Panetta. “Pollinator Week recognizes the vital role pollinators play in sustaining the beauty and bounty we are fortunate to enjoy in California’s 19th Congressional District and across our nation. I’m proud to shine a light on the growing challenges our pollinators face and the work needed at every level to rescue, restore, and revitalize these essential species.”

“In celebration of National Pollinator Week, this resolution recognizes that pollinators are critical to maintaining life as we know it. By working together to restore habitat and address the threats pollinators face, we can help iconic species like the Western Monarch recover and flourish in Oregon and across the nation. I will continue working to ensure America’s pollinators have the support they need to thrive,” said Sen. Merkley.

The resolution is endorsed by organizations including the Xerces Society, Nature Conservancy, National Wildlife Federation, Defenders of Wildlife, Sierra Club, and the Animal Welfare Institute.

“Pollinators are vital to life on our planet, and we are very happy to support designating June 22 through June 28, 2026, as ‘National Pollinator Week.’ Raising awareness through the National Pollinator Week designation is important to ensure pollinators continue to grace our farms, meadows and cities into the future,” said Scott Hoffman Black, Xerces Society Executive Director.

“Bees, bats, butterflies, and other wildlife play an important role in ensuring we all have food on the table. They pollinate approximately one-third of all food crops. Unfortunately, pollinators are under threat, due to such things as dwindling habitat, disease, and other threats. The Nature Conservancy fully supports resolutions like this one that raise awareness about the importance of pollinators,” said Sarah Murdock, Nature Conservancy Senior Director of U.S. Land and Water Policy.

“Fostering a nationwide culture that values and conserves pollinators is about nurturing a deeper connection to our natural ecosystems and the vital creatures that sustain them. By championing pollinators’ invaluable role in nature and recognizing the dire situation they face, Senator Merkley and Representative Panetta inspire a collective commitment to strengthen efforts to protect native pollinators for generations to come,” said Rebeca Quiñonez-Piñón, National Wildlife Federation Senior Scientist.

Full text of the resolution is available here.

Source: United States House of Representatives – Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal (7th District of Washington)

WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Representatives Pramila Jayapal (WA-07) and Rob Menendez (NJ-08) led 99 lawmakers today in introducing the Lifting Immigrant Families Through Benefits Access Restoration (LIFT the BAR) Act, which would remove unnecessary barriers and restore eligibility to federal public benefits for lawfully present immigrants. 

Under this legislation, Green Card holders, DACA recipients, and other immigrants with legal status would no longer be subject to five-year waiting periods to access Medicaid, the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), and the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program, programs in part funded by their tax dollars. In addition, the bill would repeal eligibility restrictions that Republicans passed in their Big Bad Betrayal bill, which deny food assistance and health coverage to people with legal status, including Temporary Protected Status (TPS) recipients, DACA recipients, and others.

“For too long, Republicans have painted immigrants as the boogeyman while they actively pass legislation to undermine healthcare and nutrition assistance for everyone. It’s not immigrants cutting your healthcare, its Republican lawmakers,” said Jayapal. “Today, our legislation works to end Republicans’ xenophobic crusade by reversing the arbitrary barriers that make it harder for lawfully present immigrants to use federal support programs, which they pay into through their tax dollars.”

“Immigrant families in New Jersey and across the country are integral to our communities, our workforce, and our economy, and it’s unacceptable to lock them out of the benefits they help fund,” said Congressman Rob Menendez. “I’m proud to join Rep. Jayapal in co-leading this effort to reverse the Trump Administration’s extreme anti-immigrant restrictions and remove arbitrary barriers to assistance that helps immigrants support their communities and families and access the American Dream.”

Republicans’ “Big Bad Betrayal Bill,” H.R. 1, cut nearly $1 trillion from healthcare and $200 billion from nutrition assistance. Under the guise of “protecting” federal programs and to distract from these cuts, Republicans prohibited lawfully present immigrants from receiving certain federal benefits, including Medicaid and SNAP. This created additional restrictions on top of a 1996 law that established an arbitrary five-year waiting period for immigrants with legal status to access critical federal healthcare and nutrition assistance programs. As a result of these xenophobic policies, countless lawfully present immigrants who have been vetted by the federal government and granted legal status cannot receive the support they need, including an estimated 105,000 children. 

The LIFT the BAR Act would change this by:

• Restoring access to federal public benefits for lawfully present immigrants, including people with Lawful Permanent Resident (LPR) status, DACA recipients, individuals granted Special Immigrant Juvenile Status (SIJS), and other federally authorized non-citizens residing in the United States.
• Restore eligibility for food assistance and health coverage stripped in the Big Bad Betrayal bill;
• Eliminating the five-year bar for Medicaid, CHIP, SNAP, TANF, and the SSI program.
• Removing arbitrary barriers by ensuring that immigrants with sponsors have access to services based on the income and resources that are actually available to them, removing state authority to impose additional restrictions on qualified immigrants, and restoring flexibility for states and localities to provide benefits to immigrants with their own funds; and
• Restore flexibility for states and localities to provide benefits to immigrants with their own funds.

“All children and their families, regardless of where they were born, deserve access to the supports they need to thrive, including health care and food assistance. The LIFT the BAR Act restores that access for lawfully present immigrants, including those who were wrongfully and cruelly excluded from coverage due to last year’s budget reconciliation bill. We know that children and families–and the communities where they live–flourish when they can meet their basic needs,” said Wendy Chun-Hoon, President and Executive Director for the Center for Law and Social Policy. “CLASP is grateful to Representatives Jayapal and Menendez who are true champions of children and families by ensuring that access to basic needs are more equitable and reach those who need them.”

“Everyone in the United States should be able to put food on the table, visit the doctor, and have a roof over our heads, regardless of immigration status,” said Kica Matos, President of the National Immigration Law Center. “But now, because of intentional government policies and the 2025 reconciliation bill, hundreds of thousands of green card holders, refugees, trafficking survivors, and others have lost access to basic supports and have no pathway to affordable health care. Removing cruel restrictions on public programs would correct an injustice and represent an important step toward ensuring all of us have the freedom to thrive. We thank Reps. Jayapal and Menendez for their leadership in introducing LIFT the BAR Act, and we call on Congress to swiftly pass this commonsense bill.”  

“Americans overwhelmingly want lawfully present immigrants to be able to get the care and help they need. The LIFT the BAR Act delivers what the American people want and reverses a fundamental injustice in health and social services policy,” said Maddie Geschu, Protecting Immigrant Families Coalition Director of Policy and Advocacy. “We thank Rep. Jayapal for her leadership in advancing this important legislation. Last year’s partisan budget bill is already doing damage to families and communities across the country. We urge Congress to act quickly to reverse these dangerous restrictions and restore access to basic needs programs.”

The LIFT the BAR is co-sponsored by Alma S. Adams, Ph.D. (NC-12), Gabe Amo (RI-01), Yassamin Ansari (AZ-03), Becca Balint (VT-At-Large), Nanette Barragán (CA-44), Wesley Bell (MO-01), Donald S. Beyer Jr. (VA-08), Suzanne Bonamici (OR-01), Salud Carbajal (CA-24), André Carson (IN-07), Greg Casar (TX-35), Sean Casten (IL-06), Joaquin Castro (TX-20), Judy Chu (CA-28), Yvette D. Clarke (NY-09), Steve Cohen (TN-09), J. Luis Correa (CA-46), Jasmine Crockett (TX-30), Jason Crow (CO-06), Danny K. Davis (IL-07), Madeleine Dean (PA-04), Diana DeGette (CO-01), Suzan DelBene (WA-01), Chris Deluzio (PA-17), Mark DeSaulnier (CA-10), Maxine Dexter (OR-03), Lloyd Doggett (TX-37), Veronica Escobar (TX-16), Adriano Espaillat (NY-13), Valerie Foushee (NC-04), Lois Frankel (FL-22), Maxwell Frost (FL-10), Jesús “Chuy” García (IL-04), Robert Garcia (CA-42), Sylvia Garcia (TX-29), Dan Goldman (NY-10), Jimmy Gomez (CA-34), Adelita Grijalva (AZ-07), Jahana Hayes (CT-05), Jared Huffman (CA-02), Glenn Ivey (MD-04), Jonathan L. Jackson (IL-01), Sara Jacobs (CA-51), Henry C. “Hank” Johnson, Jr. (GA-04), Sydney Kamlager-Dove (CA-37), Robin Kelly (IL-02), Ro Khanna (CA-17), Raja Krishnamoorthi (IL-08), Summer Lee (PA-12), Teresa Leger Fernandez (NM-03), Ted W. Lieu (CA-36), Zoe Lofgren (CA-18), Doris Matsui (CA-07), Jennifer McClellan (VA-04), James P. McGovern (MA-02), Gregory Meeks (NY-05), Analilia Mejia (NJ-11), Christian Menefee (TX-18), Grace Meng (NY-06), Gwen Moore (WI-04), Seth Moulton (MA-06), Kevin Mullin (CA-15), Jerrold Nadler (NY-12), Eleanor Holmes Norton (DC), Ilhan Omar (MN-05), Jimmy Panetta (CA-19), Chellie Pingree (ME-01), Mark Pocan (WI-02), Ayanna Pressley (MA-07), Mike Quigley (IL-05), Delia C. Ramirez (IL-03), Jamie Raskin (MD-08), Deborah Ross (NC-02), Andrea Salinas (OR-06), Linda T. Sánchez (CA-38), Mary Gay Scanlon (PA-05), Jan Schakowsky (IL-09), Terri A. Sewell (AL-07), Brad Sherman (CA-32), Lateefah Simon (CA-12), Adam Smith (WA-09), Melanie Stansbury (NM-01), Mark Takano (CA-39), Shri Thanedar (MI-13), Dina Titus (NV-01), Rashida Tlaib (MI-12), Jill Tokuda (HI-02), Paul D. Tonko (NY-20), Norma Torres (CA-35), Ritchie Torres (NY-15), Lori Trahan (MA-03), Juan Vargas (CA-52), Marc Veasey (TX-33), Nydia M. Velázquez (NY-07), James Walkinshaw (VA-11), Debbie Wasserman Schultz (FL-25), Bonnie Watson Coleman (NJ-12), Nikema Williams (GA-05), and Frederica S. Wilson (FL-24).

The legislation is also endorsed by over 140 organizations, including AFT; Alianza Nacional de Campesinas; Alliance to End Hunger; American Academy of Pediatrics; American Friends Service Committee; Asian Americans Advancing Justice | AAJC; Asian & Pacific Islander American Health Forum (APIAHF); ASISTA Immigration Assistance; Association of Asian Pacific Community Health Organizations (AAPCHO); Association of Farmworker Opportunity Programs (AFOP); Autistic Self Advocacy Network; Autistic Women & Nonbinary Network; Bend the Arc: Jewish Action; Care in Action; Caring Across Generations; Caring Ambassadors Program; Center for Gender & Refugee Studies; Center for Human Rights and Constitutional Law; Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP); Center for Science in the Public Interest; Center for the Study of Social Policy; Children’s Defense Fund; Children’s HealthWatch; Church World Service; Coalition on Human Needs; Common Threads; Community Catalyst; Community Change Action; Disability Rights Education & Defense Fund; Families USA; First Focus Campaign For Children; Food Research & Action Center (FRAC); Freedom Network USA; Friends Committee on National Legislation; Grantmakers Concerned with Immigrants and Refugees (GCIR); Health Care For America Now (HCAN); Immigration Equality Action Fund; International Rescue Committee; Justice for Migrant Women; Justice in Aging; Justice in Motion; Labor Council for Latin American Advancement (LCLAA); League of United Latin American Citizens; MAZON: A Jewish Response to Hunger; Muslim Advocates; National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum; National Association of Social Workers; National Center for Youth Law; National Council of Jewish Women; National Domestic Workers Alliance; National Education Association; National Health Care for the Homeless Council; National Health Law Program; National Immigration Law Center; National Latina Institute for Reproductive Justice; National Low Income Housing Coalition; National Network To End Domestic Violence; National Partnership for New Americans; National WIC Association; Network of Jewish Human Service Agencies; Oxfam America; People Power United; People’s Action Institute; Physicians for Reproductive Health; Planned Parenthood Federation of America; Prevention Institute; Public Advocacy for Kids (PAK); Refugee Congress; Reproductive Freedom For All; RESULTS; Southeast Asia Resource Action Center (SEARAC); Stop AAPI Hate; Tahirih Justice Center; The Urban League of Metropolitan St. Louis; UnidosUS; Union for Reform Judaism; Unitarian Universalist Service Committee; Unitarian Universalists for Social Justice; United Parent Leaders Action Network; We are CASA; Anne Arundel County Food Bank, Inc.; Anti-Hunger & Nutrition Coalition; Asian Counseling and Referral Service; Binational Institute of Human Development; Boston Medical Center Health System; CCWRO; Children’s Defense Fund-Texas; Chinese-American Planning Council (CPC); Church Women United in New York State; Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights (CHIRLA); Colorado Organization for Latina Opportunity and Reproductive Rights; Conference of Boston Teaching Hospitals; County Welfare Directors Association of California (CWDA); East Bay Sanctuary Covenant; Every Texan; Florence Immigrant & Refugee Rights Project; For All Families Oregon; Glide Foundation; Greater Chicago Food Depository; GROW Initiative GA; Hawaii Children’s Action Network Speaks!; Healthy Illinois Campaign; Her Justice; Hunger Free Colorado; Hunger Free Vermont; Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights; Latino Community Fund Georgia (LCF Georgia); Latino Texas Policy Center; Legal Council for Health Justice; Legal Key Partnership for Health and Justice; Majdal: Arab Community Center of San Diego; Massachusetts Health and Hospital Association ; Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition; Maui Economic Opportunity, Inc.; Michigan Immigrant Rights Center; Michigan League for Public Policy; Michigan’s Children; Minnesota Parents United ; Mutual Aid Worcester; National Health Law Program; New Jersey Association for Lifelong Learning; New York Immigration Coalition; North East Medical Services (NEMS); Northwest Immigrant Rights Project; Nourish California; Oasis Legal Services; Oklahoma Policy Institute; OneAmerica; Our Children Oregon; Parable of the Sower Intentional Community Cooperative ; Parent Engagement Academy ; Praxis Health Empowerment; Public Interest Law Project; Safety Net Project at the Urban Justice Center; Second Harvest Food Bank of Orange County; Services, Immigrant Rights and Education Network (SIREN); Serving at risk families everywhere, Inc.; St. Matthew Trinity Lunchtime Ministry; The Children’s Partnership; The Door; The Los Angeles Trust for Children’s Health; United African Organization; Voices for Utah Children; Washington State Budget and Policy Center.

Issues: Health Care, Immigration

Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Emanuel Cleaver II (5th District Missouri)

(Washington, D.C.) – Today, U.S. Representative Emanuel Cleaver, II (D-MO) announced that he, along with Jeff Van Drew (R-NJ), has submitted an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2027 (NDAA) to provide $5 million in federal funding for alpha-gal syndrome research. Alpha-gal syndrome is a life-threatening allergy triggered by tick bites that impacts approximately 500,000 Americans across the United States, including tens of thousands of Missourians.

“Due to the lack of research and monitoring systems, it is difficult to know for certain the exact number of Americans living with alpha-gal syndrome—but we know the number is rising and its impact is devastating to thousands of Missourians across our state,” said Congressman Cleaver. “As the alpha-gal syndrome community continues to grow, Congress owes it to these Americans to invest in life-saving research that will help discover new treatments and improve the lives of those dealing with the condition. I’m proud to lead the effort to provide dedicated federal funding for alpha-gal syndrome research, and I’m hopeful my colleagues on both sides of the aisle will support it.”

“Alpha-gal syndrome is a life-altering, tick-acquired allergy that changes the foods you can safely eat and the medications and medical procedures that are safe for you. For service members, a diagnosis can be disqualifying and career-ending, making it a direct threat to military readiness. More than half of all service members are stationed within the range of the lone star tick, which causes most cases of the disease, and studies show they are developing it in the course of their duties,” said Sharon Forsyth, Executive Director of Alpha-gal Alliance Action Fund. “Despite this burden, research into treatment and prevention has received only limited federal support. Representative Cleaver’s amendment addresses this need directly, directing $5,000,000 to alpha-gal syndrome research within the Combat and Operational Medicine Program without increasing overall spending. The Alpha-gal Alliance Action Fund commends Representative Cleaver for his leadership and urges Congress to support this amendment.”

Alpha-gal syndrome (AGS) is a serious, potentially life-threatening allergy and tickborne disease delivered primarily by the Lone Star Tick. When the tick bites, it can transfer alpha-gal into a person’s blood, triggering an allergic reaction. Symptoms, which can range from mild to life-threatening, often occur when individuals eat red meat or are exposed to other products made from mammals. There is no known cure for alpha-gal syndrome.

Official text of Rep. Cleaver’s amendment is available here.

Emanuel Cleaver, II is the U.S. Representative for Missouri’s Fifth Congressional District, which includes Kansas City, Independence, Lee’s Summit, Raytown, Grandview, Sugar Creek, Greenwood, Blue Springs, North Kansas City, Gladstone, and Claycomo. He is a member of the exclusive House Financial Services Committee and Ranking Member of the House Subcommittee on Housing and Insurance.