MIL USHOR-2b Engine

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

WASHINGTON — Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL), a member of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Ranking Member of the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee, and Congressman Ro Khanna (D-CA), a member of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, today sent a letter to Barclays Group Chairman Nigel Higgins seeking answers about Barclays’ handling of former CEO Jes Staley’s relationship with Jeffrey Epstein and the bank’s response after evidence emerged that Staley had misrepresented the nature of that relationship to regulators.

“As has now been extensively reported, however, Staley and Epstein maintained a close professional and personal relationship for nearly two decades, including during his tenure at Barclays. It is deeply unclear how Barclays, in supposedly investigating Staley’s connection to Epstein, failed to uncover this decades-long relationship.”

In October 2019, Barclays informed U.K. financial regulators that Staley had confirmed he “did not have a close relationship” with Epstein. As the lawmakers note, subsequent reporting has shown that Staley and Epstein maintained a close professional and personal relationship spanning nearly two decades, including during Staley’s tenure at Barclays. The letter also details that Staley defended Epstein while serving as a senior executive at JPMorgan, remained in close contact with him after Epstein’s 2008 conviction for soliciting sex from a child, exchanged more than 1,200 messages with him, visited Epstein’s private island, maintained contact after becoming Barclays’ CEO, and that Epstein reportedly sought to help Staley secure the bank’s top job.

“Barclays’ apparent failure to meaningfully investigate or address Staley’s relationship with Epstein raises significant governance questions regarding the bank’s ability to hold senior executives accountable for wrongdoing.”

Barclays maintains extensive U.S. banking operations, making the firm’s corporate governance and oversight of senior executives matters of significant interest to U.S. regulators and Congress.

The lawmakers are seeking information about Barclays’ due diligence before hiring Staley, its internal investigation into his ties to Epstein, its communications with regulators, the circumstances surrounding Staley’s resignation and compensation, and any contacts with U.S. banking regulators following the release of additional Epstein-related documents. The lawmakers requested responses by August 5, 2026.

The full letter is available here.

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

Washington (July 23, 2026) – Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal (WA-07) and Senator Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) today reintroduced the Health Over Wealth Act, legislation that would require greater transparency into private equity firms and for-profit companies that own healthcare entities, including hospitals, nursing homes, and mental or behavioral health facilities. The legislation would put safeguards in place to protect workers, patients, and healthcare quality, access, and safety; create stronger accountability measures for corporate greed; and close tax loopholes that benefit real estate investment trusts making money off of healthcare property.

The bill includes a new provision subjecting private equity companies that own suppliers of medical equipment, such as wheelchairs and hospital beds, to transparency requirements. Private equity-owned wheelchair companies are causing dangerously long waits for wheelchair repairs for Massachusetts residents.

“For decades, private equity firms have been aggressively acquiring health care entities. That’s all-around bad news for patients as consolidation in the healthcare industry leads to worse health outcomes, less transparency, and sky-high bills. We have a responsibility to protect patients from greedy corporations that are prioritizing their bottom line over patient care. I’m proud to be leading the Health Over Wealth Act with Senator Markey to crack down on private equity ownership in healthcare, increase transparency, close loopholes, and ensure that we are putting patients over corporate profits,” said Congresswoman Jayapal.

“Corporate greed is running rampant in every industry, but it is especially dangerous in healthcare,” said Senator Markey. “When private equity firms put profit over patients, our loved ones are harmed, health workers suffer, and communities are left to clean up the mess. The Steward Health Care crisis in Massachusetts was just one symptom of a larger infection in our healthcare system that allows corporate wealth to come before the public’s health. We need guardrails against reckless corporate greed—and that is exactly what the Health Over Wealth Act provides. I am thankful to my partners, including Congresswoman Jayapal and my Senate colleagues, for their leadership in putting people before profit.”

The Health Over Wealth Act is cosponsored by Senators Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Tammy Baldwin (D-Wisc.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), and Tina Smith (D-Minn.), and Representatives Chris Deluzio (PA-17), and Yvette Clarke (NY-09).

Specifically, the Health Over Wealth Act would:

• Require that private equity-owned healthcare entities—including suppliers of durable medical equipment—publicly report on their debt and executive pay, lobbying and political spending, health care costs for patients and insurance plans, and any reductions in services, wages, or benefits
• Require that private equity-owned firms set up escrow accounts to cover five years of expenses to ensure continuation of care in the event of a hospital closure or service reduction
• Authorize the Department of Health and Human Services to revoke investment licenses from private equity firms that price gouge, understaff, or create barriers to care
• Establish a task force to review the role of private equity and consolidation in healthcare, including how market trends create or exacerbate healthcare disparities
• Prohibit private equity firms from stripping assets from healthcare entities or undermining quality, safety, or access to healthcare
• Close tax loopholes for real estate investors to disincentivize healthcare entities from selling their property and then paying exorbitant rents to these investors

The legislation is endorsed by American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), AFT: Education, Healthcare, Public Services, Americans for Financial Reform, National Nurses United (NNU), Moral Injury of Healthcare, Private Equity Stakeholder Project, Public Citizen, and United Steelworkers (USW).

Issues: Health Care

Source: United States House of Representatives – Congresswoman Dina Titus (1st District of Nevada)

Congresswoman Dina Titus sent a letter to Governor Joe Lombardo today asking him to halt state tax abatements for data center projects on federal land until the 2027 Nevada Legislature has had an opportunity to review the issue. 

Congresswoman Titus cited the proposed data center on federal land adjacent to Boulder City and concerns raised by residents about its effects on the region’s water supply and other environmental issues when the project was first proposed on city land. The developers of the project then moved it to nearby Bureau of Land Management land where they previously had proposed a solar farm. 

“I am concerned that BLM approved Townsite Solar 2, LLC’s application to amend its ROW grant, without community input or adequate environmental analysis,” Congresswoman Titus said in the letter. “This is despite the fact that when the data center was proposed on an adjacent parcel owned by Boulder City, residents raised significant concerns about the potential impact of the project on our already dwindling water resources, extreme heat, and grid resilience, among other environmental concerns.”

Congresswoman Titus’s letter states: 

Given the community concern and issues raised in this letter, I respectfully request answers to the following questions by August 10, 2026:

1. Have you or anyone in your Administration had conversations with Townsite Solar 2, LLC about their proposed project in Boulder City qualifying for the State data center tax abatement?
2. Since the ROW grant has been revised to allow the construction of a data center, is it your position that Townsite Solar, LLC is still eligible for the State renewable tax abatements that your Administration previously approved?
3. As Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Governor’s Office of Economic Development (GOED), will you commit to refraining from approving data center tax rebates for projects on BLM land until the State Legislature reconvenes and has an opportunity to reconsider this issue, given the community concern around the Boulder City project and the precedent this would set for other public lands?
    
4. Do you agree that the regulatory approval process for any proposed projects to build data centers on public lands will be transparent and subject to robust public input?

Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Adrian Smith (R-NE)

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

Source: United States House of Representatives – Representative Paul Tonko (Capital Region New York)

WASHINGTON, DC — Representatives Paul D. Tonko (NY-20) and Brian Fitzpatrick (PA-1) today introduced the Disability Community Act, legislation that would bolster workers who support individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD). The bipartisan legislation would propose a Federal Medical Assistance Percentage (FMAP) increase for states over three years to support providers who rely on Medicaid funding and strengthen care for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD).

“Despite delivering compassionate, essential care to those with disabilities, our community-based providers have long been left without proper federal support, forced to shoulder continuously rising costs themselves,” Congressman Tonko said. “Our bipartisan legislation would right this wrong, bolstering these workers by covering costs and wages so that Medicaid-funded providers are able to deliver the best possible care. I urge my colleagues to join us in advancing this bill that will ensure our disability community and those who care for them receive the vital support they need.”

“Community-based care gives individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities the freedom to live more independently, remain connected to their communities, and pursue greater opportunity — and protecting that care must be a governing priority, not an afterthought,” Congressman Fitzpatrick said. “I have consistently worked with families, providers, and direct-support professionals to strengthen the system they rely on. The bipartisan Disability Community Act brings balance and accountability to that effort — supporting workers, equipping providers to meet new federal requirements, and ensuring that progress does not come at the expense of the individuals and families they serve.”

“ANCOR is immensely thankful to Representatives Tonko and Fitzpatrick for their continued leadership in supporting people with disabilities and community-based providers by reintroducing the Disability Community Act,” said Barbara Merrill, CEO of the American Network of Community Options and Resources (ANCOR). “Providers shouldn’t have to go it alone, and this bill will give states a way to ensure they don’t have to. We’re proud to support the Disability Community Act to make sure providers have the resources they need to deliver the quality services people deserve.”

The Disability Community Act amends Title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act to temporarily establish a higher federal matching rate with respect to Medicaid expenditures for certain services furnished to individuals with developmental disabilities if such expenditures are attributable to compliance with specified regulations.

Full bill text for the legislation can be found HERE.

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