MIL USHOR-2b Engine

Source: United States House of Representatives – Representative Debbie Wasserman Schultz (FL-23)

“The Executive Branch advances an interpretation of the TPS statute that, in essence, rewrites the statute to claim a power that Congress did not delegate,” said the Members in the brief’s introduction and summary. “Further, the Executive Branch asserts an interpretation of the TPS statute that leaves no role for the judiciary.”

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

WASHINGTON – U.S. Representative Pramila Jayapal (WA-07), Ranking Member of the Immigration Integrity, Security, and Enforcement Subcommittee, released the following statement regarding the Trump Administration’s newly announced travel ban:

“There are a myriad of reasons that people come to the United States, from travel and tourism to fleeing violent and dangerous situations. This ban, expanded from Trump’s Muslim ban in his first term, will only further isolate us on the world stage.

“This discriminatory policy, which limits legal immigration, not only flies in the face of what our country is supposed to stand for, it will be harmful to our economy and our communities that rely on the contributions of people who come to America from this wide range of countries. Banning a whole group of people because you disagree with the structure or function of their government not only lays blame in the wrong place, it creates a dangerous precedent. Further, banning people fleeing dangerous countries like Afghanistan — a country where many people are in danger due to their work assisting the U.S. military — the Congo, Haiti, and Sudan will only further destabilize global security.

“Trump is indiscriminately taking a chainsaw to our government — destroying federal agencies that keep us safe, indiscriminately cutting jobs, and hindering our progress across research fields. This will only further hurt our country and cannot be allowed to stand.”

This travel ban fully restricts and limits the entry of nationals from 12 countries: Afghanistan, Burma, Chad, the Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen.

The Travel Ban partially restricts entry of people from seven countries: Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan, and Venezuela.

Jayapal is a cosponsor of the NO BAN Act, legislation to prevent this exact type of discriminatory travel ban, as well as the lead sponsor of the Access to Counsel Act, to ensure that U.S. citizens, green card holders, and other individuals with legal status can consult with an attorney, relative, or other interested parties to seek assistance if they are detained for over an hour by Customs and Border Protection (CBP). She originally wrote this legislation following the first Muslim Ban in 2017, as legal residents were held at points of entry. 

Issues: Immigration

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

Griffith Delivers Remarks on House Floor to Commemorate 81st Anniversary of D-Day, National D-Day Memorial and Bob Slaughter

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

Bacon Speaks Out Against Diversion of Military Housing Funds

Washington – Yesterday, Rep. Don Bacon (NE-02) raised serious concerns regarding the reported diversion of $1 billion from critical military housing improvements to border security operations. During a House Armed Services Committee (HASC) hearing titled “Department of the Army Fiscal Year 2026 Posture,” Rep. Bacon highlighted how this reallocation would impact service members’ living conditions, particularly following Government Accountability Office (GAO) reports on substandard facilities. 

As Chairman of the HASC Quality of Life Panel, Rep. Bacon worked alongside Rep. Chrissy Houlahan (D-PA) to improve service members’ living conditions, including securing the largest junior enlisted pay raise in 40 years. Last year, their bipartisan panel report revealed the deterioration of military housing facilities and recommended funding in the 2025 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for extensive barracks renovations and essential infrastructure upgrades to ensure safe, healthy living conditions for service members.

View Rep. Bacon’s Remarks here, and written as delivered below: 

“I want to echo some of the concerns that we’ve heard today, the bipartisan concerns on the news reports that the Secretary of Defense has moved over $1 billion out of barracks and dorms for the border. We need a strong border. I get that. But I spent the last year chairing a subcommittee or a temporary subcommittee looking at quality of life, and in the midst of that, the GAO came out and gave our dorms and our barracks a failing grade an F, to include the Army. 

“We saw pictures of raw sewage in dorms, rodents, mold, dorms and barracks that had no air conditioner or heat working, and on and on. We spent the year trying to build a plan to help the services fix this. And what we did learn is over a decade, the services were moving money out of their dorms and barracks towards weapon systems. I get that we had finite resources, but we built a 10-year hole for our dorms and barracks. 

“Now, if the news reports are true, it’s very troubling. We were trying to help for the quality of life and feel like a decision was made that undermined this whole effort that we spent the last year doing.”

Source: United States House of Representatives – Congresswoman Haley Stevens (MI-11)

WASHINGTON, D.C. –– Michigan Congresswoman Haley Stevens released the following statement:

“Michiganders have known it for weeks, and now the CBO has confirmed it: Trump’s big, beautiful bill only benefits the rich and powerful, all while hurting Michiganders and hemorrhaging our financial future. 

“Kicking millions of Americans off their health insurance, including hundreds of thousands of Michiganders, is absurd and an insult to working families struggling with rising costs. This means even higher prices, less people in the workforce, less people getting the healthcare treatment they need, all while giving handouts to the very top of the 1%.

“Republicans need to stop their chaotic agenda and get serious about protecting Michigan’s health care.”

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Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Bill Huizenga (MI-02)

Today, Congressman Bill Huizenga (R-MI), Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on South and Central Asia, announced the introduction of H.R. 3719, the Restoring American Freedom Act. This commonsense measure bans employees at the State Department from silencing the free speech of American citizens by explicitly stating that no taxpayer dollars can be used to unconstitutionally limit the free speech of any American citizen. Additionally, this legislation stops the federal government from using third party entities to “blacklist” Americans or create censorship tools used against Americans.

“The Restoring American Freedom Act is a direct response to the Biden Administration’s effort to censor Americans, particularly conservatives and those who disagreed with the Administration’s policies,” said Congressman Bill Huizenga. “The federal government should not be censoring the speech of Americans, and they sure as heck shouldn’t be using taxpayer dollars to pay outside organizations to do it either. The Restoring American Freedom Act codifies President Trump’s executive order from April into law and makes sure that free speech is protected and the federal government is never weaponized in this manner against Americans again.”

The legislative text of the Restoring American Freedom Act can be found here. H.R. 3719 is cosponsored by Representatives Tim Burchett (R-TN), Jefferson Shreve (R-IN), Keith Self (R-TX), Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL), Michael Guest (R-MS), Abe Hamadeh (R-AZ), and Andrew Clyde (R-GA)

Background

The State Department’s Global Engagement Center (GEC) played a key role in facilitating the censorship of Americans protected free speech via its shadowy network of grantees and subgrantees. The GEC awarded grants to NGOs, not-for-profits, and for-profit entities that created and sold advertising blacklists that were used to target conservative media outlets and voices. Prior to the 2020 Presidential election, the GEC also quietly worked with a consortium of academic and media entities to monitor and censor political speech in the US by flagging posts to get taken down from social media websites.

In December 2024, following an investigation from House Foreign Affairs Committee and numerous other committees, Congress allowed the statutory authorization of the Global Engagement Center to lapse. Following the termination of GEC, the Biden Administration restructured the office into a Counter Foreign Information Manipulation and Interference Hub (R/FIMI).

On January 20, 2025, President Trump issued the Restoring Freedom of Speech and Ending Federal Censorship executive order to end all censorship of Americans by the federal government. On April 16, 2025, President Trump terminated the remaining 40 R/FIMI employees and shuttered the office.

Source: United States House of Representatives – Representative Mike Johnson (LA-04)

WASHINGTON — This morning, Speaker Johnson joined Annmarie Hordern on Bloomberg TV’s Bloomberg Surveillance to dispel myths about the One Big Beautiful Bill Act and discuss the House and Senate working together to send the final product to President Trump’s desk by July 4th.

Watch the full interview here

On falsehoods surrounding the One Big Beautiful Bill Act:

I think there’s a lot of confusion out there about what the legislation is, and there’s certainly a lot of misinformation. The Democrats have been engaged in this strategy for many, many weeks and months. But remember, it took us over a year to develop this piece of legislation. We have 11 different committees in the House, all the areas of jurisdiction that worked on the reconciliation effort to reconcile the budget. What we’re going to deliver here, again, is historic tax relief and savings.

At the same time, if we do not get this bill done, the tax cuts of 2017, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, will expire at the end of December. Every American will receive the largest tax increase in US history all at once. It’ll be devastating for the economy, so we’ve addressed that here. We’ve made the tax cuts permanent, and we’ve infused it with a pro-growth series of policies that will get the economy going again. It will be jet fuel to the economy because we’re going to reduce wasteful spending. We’re going to reduce taxes, and we’re going to reduce regulations as well, which is what will allow job creators and the energy sector and everyone else to get going again.

On the difference between budget reconciliation and appropriations:

I think everybody on Capitol Hill understands that this is not a spending bill. This is a budget reconciliation bill. And what we’re doing here is delivering the America First agenda. This is all the President’s priorities and all the priorities of the Republican Party. Everything we promised the American people, that is what we are delivering with this piece of legislation, and the reason we’re using the reconciliation process is because this is the only way to get around the 60-vote threshold in the Senate. Everybody probably recognizes Chuck Schumer and the Democrats are in no mood and not going to be helpful in delivering President Trump’s agenda for the people.

On working with the Senate:

Remember, it took us over a year to develop this piece of legislation. We have 11 different committees in the House, all the areas of jurisdiction that worked on the reconciliation effort to reconcile the budget. What we’re going to deliver here, again, is historic tax relief and savings at the same time. If we do not get this bill done the tax cuts of 2017, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, will expire at the end of December. Every American will receive the largest tax increase in US history all at once. It’ll be devastating for the economy, so we’ve addressed that here. We’ve made the tax cuts permanent, and we’ve infused it with a pro-growth series of policies that will get the economy going again. It will be jet fuel to the economy because we’re going to reduce wasteful spending. We’re going to reduce taxes, and we’re going to reduce regulations as well, which is what will allow job creators and the energy sector and everyone else to get going again. 

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Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Donald Norcross (1st District of New Jersey)

Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Jim Costa Representing 16th District of California

WASHINGTON – Congressman Jim Costa (CA-21) released the following statement after the Trump Administration announced it would rescind $4 billion from California’s High Speed Rail Project.   “President Trump just ripped roughly $4 billion from California’s High-Speed Rail (CAHSR). This undermines over 15,000 jobs created, growing local economies, and connecting both rural and urban communities alike.  He doesn’t understand the San Joaquin Valley or the legal challenges that have delayed this project. Instead, he is stalling progress and killing good-paying jobs to score political points. While President Trump remains stuck in the past, the people of California and the Valley are focused on building a cleaner, more connected future through modern rail infrastructure.  The President of the United States asked the question years ago, why America doesn’t have high-speed rail systems like those in Europe and Asia. The answer to that question is simple. He could provide the leadership to build high-speed rail corridors in America, as other countries have over the last 40 years in other parts of the world.”

Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Jim Costa Representing 16th District of California

FRESNO, Calif. – Congressman Jim Costa (CA-21) released the following statement after a violent antisemitic attack on Pearl Street in Boulder, Colorado. “This hateful act of terror against the Jewish community in Boulder on the eve of Shavuot is part of a disturbing rise in antisemitic violence that we must confront head-on.We must speak out, stand united against it, and make clear: there is no place for antisemitism in America. My heart is with the victims, their families, and every community shaken by this violence.”