MIL USHOR-2b Engine

Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Jared Huffman Representing the 2nd District of California

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Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Ron Estes (R-Kansas)

In a major win for Kansans and President Trump’s America First agenda, Rep. Ron Estes (R-Kansas) and House Republicans passed the budget resolution that starts the process to secure our border and extend the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, ensuring Kansans don’t see a tax hike in 2026. Prior to the 216 to 214 vote today, Rep. Estes delivered remarks in support of the resolution during yesterday’s debate.

“Voting yes means voting for a secure border and economic growth,” said Rep. Estes. “By voting yes, we’re voting for a path to make the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act permanent. It means making economic growth provisions like research and development, the small business pass-through, interest deductibility and immediate expensing permanent parts of our tax code. A yes vote prevents the largest tax increase for Americans in history.”

Download video of Rep. Estes’ remarks here.

Full Remarks

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of advancing President Trump’s America First agenda.

It was less than two months ago that I stood on this House floor as Republicans passed our budget resolution, putting a marker in the ground to restore and secure our country, both physically and financially.

While I don’t think this resolution goes far enough, the resolution we’re going to pass today is a positive step forward, and it’s what Americans demanded five months ago.

Yesterday, I had the opportunity to talk directly with President Trump in the West Wing. He’s asking Republicans to support this budget resolution to move the process forward. This resolution is only one more step in the process to obtain these positive results.

Voting yes means voting for a secure border and economic growth. By voting yes, we’re voting for a path to make the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act permanent. It means making economic growth provisions like research and development, the small business pass-through, interest deductibility and immediate expensing permanent parts of our tax code. A yes vote prevents the largest tax increase for Americans in history.

As a fiscal hawk who will continue to work with the administration to rein in reckless spending, I’m voting yes for the American people.

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

WASHINGTON, DC – This week, Congressman Steny H. Hoyer (MD-05) joined a letter led by U.S. Representative Kweisi Mfume (MD-07) alongside U.S. Senators Chris Van Hollen and Angela Alsobrooks (both D-MD) and Representatives Jamie Raskin (MD-08), Glenn Ivey (MD-04), Sarah Elfreth (MD-03), April McClain Delaney (MD-06), and Johnny Olszewski (MD-02) calling on the Administration to detail the repercussions of newly announced tariffs on the Port of Baltimore. This letter, sent to United States Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick, raises the lawmakers’ concerns regarding the latest announcement on tariffs, the costs for the American consumer, and the potential shock wave to major ports, industries, and workforces.

“The Port of Baltimore is one of the nation’s most vital hubs for commerce, and it plays a crucial role in national supply chains,” said the lawmakers.

“We are especially concerned about the latest announcement on tariffs considering the economic consequences for the American consumer. These tariffs effectively serve as a sales tax on consumers, placing the burden of revenue raising on American families. While White House trade adviser Peter Navarro stated recently that these tariffs are expected to raise about $600 billion a year in revenue, economists have clarified that the impact to consumers on spending will significantly reduce these revenue estimates. Instead, experts indicate these tariffs will raise prices for already-struggling consumers, trigger layoffs in industries with customers who rely on imports, and plunge our nation into a recession,” the lawmakers continued.

The Members also emphasized the resiliency of the Port of Baltimore after the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in their letter and its ability to retain its standing as the nation’s top-ranked port for wheeled farm and construction machinery and the second most utilized port for importing cars in 2024.

Considering the importance of the Port of Baltimore’s function in the local, state, national, and global economies, the lawmakers requested a response from Secretary Lutnick to the following inquiries within the next 14 days:

1. What mechanism is the Department of Commerce utilizing to assess the feasibility and effectiveness of the tariffs issued under the Executive Order?
    
2. What efforts will the Department of Commerce take to track how these tariffs impact everyday costs for the American consumer, and national and local economies?
    
3. What are the long-term implications of these tariffs on our nation’s major ports, and on our national supply chains?
    
4. How, specifically, do you expect the announced tariffs will impact automobile and light vehicle imports, coal exports, and agricultural equipment imports and exports?
    
5. Will the Administration waive tariffs on certain goods or sectors, or provide aid to impacted small businesses, impacted workers (i.e. farmers, dockworkers, etc.), and industries, in response to significant negative economic outcomes in the United States?

Full text of the letter can be viewed here and below. 

April 7, 2025

The Honorable Howard Lutnick
Secretary of Commerce
1401 Constitution Avenue NW
Washington, D.C. 20230

Re: Implications of Newly Announced Tariffs on the Port of Baltimore

Dear Secretary Lutnick:

We write to you today to communicate our extreme concern about the implications of the recently announced tariff regime on the Port of Baltimore (the “Port”). On April 2, 2025, 
President Trump issued an Executive Order, titled Regulating Imports with a Reciprocal Tariff to Rectify Trade Practices that Contribute to Large and Persistent Annual United States Goods Trade Deficits (the “Executive Order”), that announced a minimum 10% tariff on all imported goods, to take effect April 5. On April 9, higher levels of “reciprocal” tariffs will be placed on goods imported from nations with which the United States has a trade deficit. This latest action comes one week after the Administration’s Executive Order titled, Adjusting Imports of Automobiles and Automobile Parts into the United States, which announced tariffs targeted at individual industries (i.e. automobiles, steel, aluminum) and countries (i.e. Canada, Mexico, China).

The Port of Baltimore is one of the nation’s most vital hubs for commerce, and it plays a crucial role in national supply chains. Last year, when the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapsed, the Port was closed for nearly two months, causing significant disruption to our economy. The state of Maryland estimates that approximately 15,000 direct jobs and 139,000 indirect jobs depend on the Port of Baltimore, generating an estimated $3.3 billion in personal revenue, $2.6 billion in business income, and more than $395 million in taxes. The local economic impact was such that the United States Small Business Administration and the United States Department of Labor responded by issuing Economic Injury Disaster Loans and Dislocated Worker Grants for businesses and workers that were directly affected by the bridge’s collapse and closure of the Port.

Despite the collapse, Baltimore’s resiliency speaks to the Port’s ability to retain its standing as our Nation’s top ranked Port for wheeled farm and construction machinery, and reigns as the nation’s second most utilized port for importing cars in 2024. In 2024, the Port of Baltimore exported more than $2.9 billion and imported nearly $23 billion in automobiles and light trucks. Additionally, the Port exported more than $2.92 billion in coal and more than $1.1 billion in agricultural equipment and materials. Overall, the Port of Baltimore exports roughly 28% of the nation’s coal, making it the second-largest coal exporting port in the United States.

We are especially concerned about the latest announcement on tariffs considering the economic consequences for the American consumer. These tariffs effectively serve as a sales tax on consumers, placing the burden of revenue raising on American families. While White House trade adviser Peter Navarro stated recently that these tariffs are expected to raise about $600 billion a year in revenue, economists have clarified that the impact to consumers on spending will significantly reduce these revenue estimates. Instead, experts indicate these tariffs will raise prices for already-struggling consumers, trigger layoffs in industries with customers who rely on imports, and plunge our nation into a recession. 

Considering the Port of Baltimore’s critical importance to the economic wellbeing of the city, state, and our nation, we request a response to the following inquiries within 14 days:

1. What mechanism is the Department of Commerce utilizing to assess the feasibility and effectiveness of the tariffs issued under the Executive Order?
    
2. What efforts will the Department of Commerce take to track how these tariffs impact everyday costs for the American consumer, and national and local economies?
    
3. What are the long-term implications of these tariffs on our nation’s major ports, and on our national supply chains?
    
4. How, specifically, do you expect the announced tariffs will impact automobile and light vehicle imports, coal exports, and agricultural equipment imports and exports?
    
5. Will the Administration waive tariffs on certain goods or sectors, or provide aid to impacted small businesses, impacted workers (i.e. farmers, dockworkers, etc.), and industries, in response to significant negative economic outcomes in the United States?

Thank you for your prompt attention to this important matter. We look forward to your reply.

Sincerely,

Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Scott DesJarlais (4th District of Tennessee)

(WASHINGTON, D.C.) –Yesterday, Congressman Scott DesJarlais (R-TN-04) gaveled in his first hearing as chairman of the House Armed Services Strategic Forces Subcommittee. 

The hearing was a posture review of the U.S. strategic forces’ capabilities.

Members of the subcommittee had the opportunity to hear from and question, Commander of U.S. Strategic Command General Anthony Cotton, Commander of U.S. Space Command General Stephen Whiting, Commander of U.S. Northern Command General Gregory Guillot, and Mr. John Hill, who is currently performing the duties of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Space Policy, within the Office of the Secretary of Defense

DesJarlais said in his opening statement, “I think it’s worth noting that the three officers in front of us today represent different combatant commands, with different missions, and different priorities, but they each face a common problem. All of you are responsible for mission areas where the United States once enjoyed superiority, but we are now increasingly confronted by adversaries.”

The Tennessee congressman was interested in hearing from witnesses about their assessment of the current threat environment.

“Our adversaries recognized the foundational role that each of these mission areas play in our defense strategy. They cannot compete with our conventional forces, so they have chosen to target our homeland, hold our space systems at risk, and expand their nuclear arsenals to challenge our deterrent. These threats have been building for some time, but the pace is accelerating.” 

 

DesJarlais concluded his opening statement with saying that he believes the House Armed Services Strategic Forcessubcommittee is the most important committee in Congress. 

 

“These growing threats and how we as a nation choose to respond to them is why I really do believe this is the most important subcommittee in Congress.”

 

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The full Strategic Forces Subcommittee hearing on April 9, 2025 can be found HERE.

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

WASHINGTON – Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-9), a senior member of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, raised concerns about the potential impact of Project 2025’s proposal to eliminate federal funding for transit systems. During a hearing of the Subcommittee on Highways and Transit reviewing federal transit policy, Congressman Cohen questioned witnesses about how such drastic cuts would affect the working Americans who rely on public transportation every day.

Congressman Cohen led off his questions to witnesses by asking how such cuts in federal support would affect major cities and the people who depend on public transit to get to work, to hospitals, or to grocery or drug stores.

“It would be devastating,” said witness Nathaniel P. Ford, the CEO of the Jacksonville Transportation Authority, speaking on behalf of the American Public Transportation Association.

Other witnesses said it would disproportionately harm low-income people and communities of color who rely on public transit.

Witnesses also endorsed a bill that Congressman Cohen has supported in previous Congresses, the Stronger Communities through Better Transit, which would establish a federal funding program for transit operations. 

See Congressman Cohen’s exchange with the witnesses here.

Witnesses at the hearing, besides Mr. Ford, were:

• Ms. Barbara K. Cline, Executive Director, Prairie Hills Transit; on behalf of the Community Transportation Association of America (CTAA);
• Mr. Matthew Booterbaugh, Chief Executive Officer, RATP Dev USA; on behalf of the North American Transit Alliance (NATA) 
• Mr. Baruch Feigenbaum, Senior Managing Director of Transportation Policy, Reason Foundation
• Mr. Greg Regan, President, Transportation Trades Department, AFL-CIO (TTD)  

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

Would prohibit spending on a military parade for Donald Trump’s June 14 birthday

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

Tells Subcommittee hearing on Sanctuary Jurisdictions Secretary Noem has not responded to his inquiries

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

WASHINGTON – Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-9) today announced that St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital will receive a grant of $897,250 to study “dynamic RNA-protein assemblies and neurological disease” from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke.

Congressman Cohen made the following statement:

“I am encouraged that this substantial investment in research at our premiere children’s research hospital from one of our prestigious National Institutes of Health has been made. This research may lead to discoveries to better understand how brains function.”

# # #

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

Bars debt collectors from bringing legal action after statute of limitations has expired

Source: United States House of Representatives – Congresswoman Carol Miller (R-WV)

Washington, D.C. – Today, Congresswoman Carol Miller (R-WV) participated in a Ways and Means annual hearing with the United States Trade Representative Ambassador Jamieson Greer following the release of President Trump’s Trade Policy Agenda.
 

Click here to watch the remarks.

 

Congresswoman Miller began by highlighting how the Biden administration’s inaction on trade has given other countries, including China, an advantage in global trade. 

 

“Thank you for being here today Ambassador Greer. It is my opinion that part of the reason President Trump has taken such drastic action on trade is due to the fact that the United States had virtually no trade agenda under the Biden administration, and I didn’t hear sniping from the other side about that. The past administration’s failure to engage in meaningful conversations with our trade partners has opened the door for countries to run afoul of World Trade Organization tariff agreements and impose excessive non-tariff barriers. These countries have had no incentive to negotiate, they were massively benefiting from the system as it is. For example, the hardwood companies in my district have been pummeled by China dumping their hardwood into the American market. China gained at our expense while we were asleep at the wheel. Thankfully, that is not the policy of the United States anymore. Due to President Trump’s swift action, more than 70 countries are knocking down our door, ready to negotiate a trade deal.”

 

Congresswoman Miller asked about the Trump administration’s commitment to the United States Mexico Canada Agreement (USMCA) and how it will improve U.S. manufacturing. 

“Today I want to focus on the future of our trade agenda. Looking to the very near future, the Administration is required, by statute, to undertake the United States Mexico Canada Agreement review process in 2026.  I cannot understate the importance of USMCA to my constituents. The growth in the manufacturing sector, spurred by our cooperation with Canada and Mexico, has helped sustain thousands of jobs in my district. I’m well aware this agreement is not perfect, and we are fortunate to have the review process in place to make the necessary improvements. Ambassador Greer, what commitments can you make to us today regarding the USMCA review? Specifically, how will you use this opportunity to advance President Trump’s goals of promoting domestic manufacturing and how will you engage with Congress to facilitate this process?” asked Congresswoman Miller.  

“I’ll note that goods coming from Canada and Mexico right now that comply with the rules of the agreement continue to enter duty free. This is an important agreement. We expect that we will initiate the public consultation process that’s required by the statute at some point at the time required. With the USMCA, it’s important that Canada and Mexico not be used as an export platform for third countries. That’s not what we want. USMCA should be an agreement that promotes manufacturing in America and we can rely on our partners to the north and south if needed. But it can’t be a situation where countries [like China or Vietnam] can just come in and build a factory in Mexico, assemble it with parts from there and send it across and get the benefit of an agreement where they’ve taken no obligations. I want to make sure that it truly is an agreement that helps America first,” said Ambassador Greer.

 
Congresswoman Miller continued by highlighting the importance of promoting U.S. digital trade while combatting China. 

“I have greatly appreciated your leadership in protecting American digital companies abroad. You and I agree about the dangers of South Korea’s anti-competitive policies toward American digital companies. I intend to re-introduce legislation that seeks to ensure that American companies are not being harmed by one of our closest allies, while Chinese companies are left unscathed. The digital trade sector is rapidly growing, and it is important we do not lose market share to China in this critical field. Several countries are considering legislation that mimics the European Union’s Digital Markets Act, which has undisputably caused a “digital winter” for American tech companies operating in Europe. What are your plans to address these harmful policies and to ensure the prosperity of American digital trade? Do you think that digital trade will play a part in the imminent trade discussions regarding the “Liberation Day” tariffs?” asked Congresswoman Miller.

“I understand that there’s obviously a national conversation going on about how digital trade should be regulated, and there are lots of views on that. We’re not going to outsource that regulation. We’re not going to let the European Union or [South] Korea, or any other jurisdiction set the rules for digital trade. It will be us, and they won’t be able to do it in a way that’s discriminatory. That is impermissible, especially when we have, as you noted, the Chinese competition out there. If we’re going to have companies that operate in this space and are so competitive in this space, we need to make sure that they’re American companies, right? This is certainly something that we can talk about in any negotiations that come up,” said Ambassador Greer.

Congresswoman Miller then asked about USTR’s commitment to building up the U.S. critical mineral supply. 

“We have historically forged some of our strongest alliances based on procuring critical minerals which are difficult or nearly impossible to obtain in the U.S. Will you commit to exploring great discussions and partnerships with like-minded partners to protect and build up our critical minerals today?” asked Congresswoman Miller.

“Yes,” said Ambassador Greer.