MIL USHOR-2b Engine

Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Brett Guthrie (2nd District Kentucky)

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressman Brett Guthrie (KY-02) issued the following statement following his vote in favor of S. 2, the Secure America Act, a budget reconciliation package to provide funding to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) through fiscal year 2029.

This action comes after months of obstruction from Democrats over their refusal to vote in favor of any bill that provided funding for border security and immigration funding, which resulted in the 76-day shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). S. 2 passed the House by a vote of 214 to 212. The bill, which initially passed the Senate on June 5, 2026, now heads to President Trump’s desk for signature.

“Our nation cannot afford to return to the open borders and catch-and-release policies that caused the worst immigration crisis in our nation’s history. I was proud to vote in favor of legislation to provide funding for essential border security and immigration enforcement operations through September 2029,” said Congressman Guthrie. “For months, Republicans attempted to negotiate in good faith with our colleagues on the other side of the aisle, offering reforms to ICE enforcement and operations. Sadly, Democrats continued to shift the goalpost and refused to find common ground. This bill will guarantee that ICE and CBP remain funded and operational in order to keep Americans safe.”  

Full text of S. 2, the Secure America Act, can be found HERE.

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

Bacon Lauds Progress on FY27 Defense Policy Bill

Washington, D.C. – Rep. Don Bacon (NE-02), Chairman of the House Armed Services Committee’s (HASC) Cyber, Information Technologies, and Innovation Subcommittee (CITI), voted in favor of advancing H.R. 8800, the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2027 (FY27 NDAA). The bill was reported out of committee on June 5 by a vote of 44-12. 

The annual legislation, which contains 33 amendments and provisions authored by Rep. Bacon, authorizes defense spending and sets the policy and priorities for the Armed Forces.

“Once again, the House Armed Services Committee has shown why it remains one of the most bipartisan and productive committees in Congress,” said Chairman Bacon after completing his tenth and final full-committee markup of the NDAA. “At a time when restoring American deterrence requires serious investment, this year’s bill makes clear that Congress is committed to providing for the common defense. In my final NDAA markup, our office delivered our strongest result yet, securing 33 provisions and amendments in this year’s bill. We are running through the finish line and continuing to deliver serious wins for military readiness, nuclear command and control, cyber defense, defense innovation, and support for our servicemembers and military families. I am grateful to my hardworking team and colleagues on the committee for months of work that made this possible. I look forward to advancing this important legislation through the House.”

Highlights from the committee’s FY 2027 bill include:

• Raises all servicemembers’ pay by 5 to 7% and improves housing, education, and access to childcare for military families

• Restores defense spending to 4.5% of GDP, the level needed to deter conflict and ensure America leads by example as our allies increase their own defense spending

• Expands U.S. production capacity, unleashes private sector investment, opens the door to new and innovative entrants, reduces needless regulations, and creates thousands of skilled jobs for Americans

• Rebuilds depleted stockpiles by providing the authorities and resources required to expedite the production and acquisition of munitions and key warfighting capabilities

• Invests in the capabilities needed to maintain a strong U.S. posture. It strengthens nuclear deterrence, expands missile defense, and provides resources and authorities to counter adversaries like China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea

• Ensures our warfighters have the capabilities they need to prevail in future conflicts by accelerating innovation and prioritizing cutting-edge technologies like hypersonics and autonomous systems

• Streamlines DoD operations and cuts billions in wasteful programs by standing up a new task force and providing necessary resources to achieve a full and clean audit within 24 months

In addition, the committee’s bill contains 33 Bacon-backed legislative proposals, amendments, and funding priorities, including:

• Requiring the Air Force to provide the timing and requirements for selection of Looking Glass-Next, including the feasibility and affordability of a business jet solution, platform dependencies, and a recommended acquisition strategy and multi-year funding profile

• Authorizing $2.2 billion in funding for the Survivable Airborne Operations Center

• Authorizing $660 million in funding for three EA-37B Compass Call aircraft

• Directing the Department to examine the feasibility and advisability of establishing a pilot program to deploy an advanced nuclear microreactor or small modular reactor to provide primary and redundant power to mission-critical facilities of U.S. Strategic Command

• Providing $175 million for the Baltic Security Initiative

• Directing the Army to report on the feasibility of establishing dedicated Army Prepositioned Stocks in each Baltic state and Romania

• Directing U.S. European Command to assess integrated air and missile defense in the Baltic region, including efforts to enhance Baltic IAMD in coordination with NATO allies and partners

• Directing U.S. European Command to assess the feasibility and requirements for expanding training ranges and live-fire opportunities in Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania

• Requiring the Department to carry out a program providing for long-range aerial transport of individuals infected with high-consequence infectious diseases

• Requiring a policy to guide the development and acquisition of quantum computing systems for the Department of Defense

• Directing the Department to provide a plan to transition hypersonic weapon technologies from science and technology, prototyping, and middle-tier acquisition efforts into major acquisition capabilities

• Providing $15 million in funding for the Pathfinder

Additional Bacon-backed priorities include provisions to advance physics-based alternative positioning, navigation, and timing capabilities; keep adversary AI companies excluded from Department of Defense systems and devices; develop emerging cryptographic capabilities faster to protect defense networks; provide Department research, development, test, and evaluation teams a dashboard to monitor construction projects; examine temporary facilities needed to support the next-generation airborne nuclear command and control aircraft; establish a Pentagon liaison for Medal of Honor recipients; assess medical response plans related to chemical, biological, and radiological weapons; continue traumatic brain injury research; provide recommendations on restoring Gen. John D. Lavelle’s rank; recognize Maj. Robert A. Lodge’s valor with a Medal of Honor; provide for an independent review of the Air Force missile community cancer study; assess bone marrow radiation shielding for nuclear survivability; expand digital engineering, including digital twins and digital threads, for construction and sustainment; establish the United States-Israel Defense Technology Cooperation Initiative; establish the Military Service Academy Panel on Athletics; report on the Space Force Continuous Fitness Assessment study; enhance American commercial remote sensing support to U.S. border operations; assess active and passive protection systems on aerial refueling tankers; include the National Guard Relief Foundation as a military welfare society; and report on interoperable multi-cloud solutions across the defense enterprise.

Thank you Mr. Chairman, I’d like to thank the members of the subcommittee for their collaboration in putting together a strong Cyber, IT, and Innovation subcommittee print for the FY27 NDAA. I’d also like to thank my friend and Ranking Member Congressman Ro Khanna for his partnership in this effort.

This mark affects several crucial areas of our national defense and takes ambitious strides to maintain our dominance in cyber, IT, and science and technology. The print supports the DOD’s incredible innovation enterprise, leverages the boundless potential of artificial intelligence, and strengthens and secures our IT networks. Most importantly, it focuses on rapidly delivering these improvements to the warfighter.

Taking meaningful steps to bridge the valley of death, this print amends Defense Innovation Unit authorities to require more formal collaboration between the DIU and the military services, speeding up the timeline by which cutting edge technology gets into the hands of the warfighter.

In addition, the print expands the geographical footprint of our nation’s test and evaluation enterprise and promotes better coordination between the Department and the T&E community.

Moreover, this portion of the NDAA sets the course for quantum computing by requiring the lessons learned from DARPA’s Quantum Benchmarking Initiative to inform development and acquisition of future DOD quantum computing systems.

The CITI print also streamlines adoption of new AI tools by directing the Chief Data and Artificial Intelligence Officer to establish a framework to enable rapid adoption and governance of AI systems across the DOD. It also directs the Department to update its policies governing autonomous weapon systems, creating risk-informed requirements for approval, oversight, testing, human involvement, and eventual operational use of such systems.

Additionally, in a time where cyber warfare is more prevalent than ever, this print takes steps to unencumber our cyber defense forces from bureaucracy by requiring a review of DOD’s cybersecurity, IT, network defense, and defensive cyber operations in order to reduce redundancy and create direct accountability in this crucial area of national security.

And, once again, the FY27 NDAA continues the great work of the Quality of Life Panel to deliver quality of life improvements to our servicemembers and their families.

Thank you to everyone who contributed to the compilation of this subcommittee print. And with that Mr. Chairman I yield back.

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

Today, House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries spoke on the House Floor against Republicans’ reckless ICE and CBP reconciliation package that gives Donald Trump another $70 billion to unleash brutality on our communities and reiterated Democrats’ commitment to lowering the high cost of living created by Republican policy failures.

LEADER JEFFRIES: Madam Speaker, I rise today in strong opposition to this Republican scheme to waste $70 billion in taxpayer money to give a blank check to ICE without any guardrails, any oversight or any accountability. Immigration enforcement in this country should be fair, it should be just and it should be humane. That’s not what is going on right now as it relates to Donald Trump’s violent mass deportation machine.

Donald Trump promised America that he would target violent felons who are here illegally, but instead taxpayer dollars are being used by ICE and his violent mass deportation machine to target and brutalize American citizens, in some cases, killing them, as was the case in Minneapolis with Renee Nicole Good and Alex Pretti, or to violently target law-abiding immigrant families, children and, in some cases, veterans who serve this country.

As Democrats, we believe that taxpayer dollars should be used to make life more affordable for the American people, as opposed to what the One Big Ugly Bill represented and continues to represent in this Congress: Republicans making a decision to rip away healthcare and nutritional assistance from the American people. The largest cut to Medicaid in American history alongside the largest cut to nutritional assistance in American history, literally stealing food from the mouths of hungry children, veterans and seniors in order, in the One Big Ugly Bill, to give ICE and Donald Trump’s violent mass deportation machine a $140 billion blank check. And as if that wasn’t enough, ripping healthcare and nutritional assistance away from vulnerable Americans, hardworking American taxpayers, working-class Americans, middle-class Americans and those who aspire to be part of the middle class. As if ripping healthcare and nutritional assistance in the One Big Ugly Bill wasn’t enough, Republicans have now come back for more to give ICE and Donald Trump’s violent mass deportation machine another $70 billion blank check with no oversight, no accountability and no guardrails.

We believe immigration enforcement should be fair, just and humane, that ICE needs to be brought under control and that ICE needs to conduct itself like every other cop, every other police officer and every other law enforcement agency in this country. But instead, Republicans have decided to continue to waste taxpayer dollars to jam Donald Trump’s extreme right-wing ideology down the throats of the American people. And so, as Democrats, we rise in strong opposition to this Republican scheme. Waste of taxpayer dollars.

Donald Trump promised that the cost of living, Madam Speaker, would go down on day one. Donald Trump promised to lower costs on day one. But costs in the United States of America haven’t gone down. They’ve gone up. The cost of living is totally out of control. Why? Because of Republican policies.

First, the Trump tariffs raising costs on everyday Americans by thousands of dollars per year. Second, in your One Big Ugly Bill, in order to fund the Republican violent mass deportation machine, ripping away healthcare and nutritional assistance from the American people at a time when health insurance costs are already out of control and grocery prices are through the roof. 

And third, Donald Trump and Republicans have gotten this country into a reckless and costly war of choice that has skyrocketed gas prices through the roof, burdening everyday Americans who are already struggling to survive, certainly can’t thrive, struggling to survive, living paycheck to paycheck. High rent, high groceries, high gas prices, high health insurance costs.

And when I look at the Republican scheme that this budget represents, not a single sentence about making life more affordable for the American people. Republicans want to cut healthcare and cut nutritional assistance, send us to a reckless and costly war of choice, impose tariffs that are raising prices on everyday Americans by thousands of dollars per year and then use taxpayer dollars to give a $70 billion blank check to ICE so that the Republicans’ violent mass deportation machine can continue to brutalize or kill American citizens like Alex Pretti and Renee Nicole Good or to violently target law-abiding immigrant families. Democrats here are not simply a no, we’re a hell no on this legislation. And we are going to continue to fight to make life better for the American people.

We believe that America is far too expensive. We believe that far too many people are working hard, playing by the rules, can’t thrive, can barely survive. We believe that in this great country, when you’re doing the right thing, when you’re working hard, you should be able to live an affordable life. That’s not happening right now. A comfortable life, that’s not happening right now for far too many people. You should be able to live a good life—a good-paying job, good housing, good healthcare, good education for your children and a good retirement, which, by the way, means we will always defend Social Security and Medicare.

And as a warning to the American people, the Speaker of the House recently said—in part as a result of what Republicans have done to skyrocket the debt and the deficit by trillions of dollars to give your MAGA donors massive tax breaks that they don’t need and do not deserve—that Republicans are coming next for the Social Security and for the Medicare of the American people. Madam Speaker, the Republican majority has failed. This Congress has failed. Life hasn’t gotten better over the last 18 months. Life has gotten worse, more expensive, because of policy choices that the Republicans have made to inflict policy violence and cruelty on the American people.

And this toxic piece of legislation is just another example of how Republicans have failed the American people. And so, we will be voting no against this Republican scheme, and we will continue to fight to drive down the high cost of living, fight to lower and fix our broken healthcare system, fight to get ICE under control, fight to end Donald Trump’s reckless and costly war of choice and fight for an America where everyone can afford a high-quality life for themselves and for their families. That’s not the America that we have right now because of Republican policy failures and continued schemes, like this Republican budget reconciliation bill, to waste another $70 billion on your extreme immigration policies that have failed America.

Full Floor speech can be watched here.

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Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Jared Golden (ME-02)

WASHINGTON — Congressman Jared Golden (ME-02) today voted against the Republicans’ fiscally irresponsible reconciliation bill that would have plowed nearly $70 billion of funds toward ICE and CBP, despite the agencies already sitting on enough funds to cover their operations. 

“I support the men and women who enforce our nation’s immigration laws, but this partisan spending bill is irresponsible and unnecessary,” Golden said. “Last year, Congress gave the Department of Homeland Security a huge budget increase, with ICE in particular receiving more than seven times its usual appropriation. Given our nation’s already shaky fiscal footing, I see no reason to circumvent the normal annual budget process by throwing tens of billions of dollars at agencies that are already able to cover their costs well into the future.”

The vote passed the House in a party-line, 214-212 vote. 

BACKGROUND: 

The Republicans’ so-called “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” a party-line reconciliation bill passed last year, provided $65 billion to Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and $75 billion to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) last year. Both sums far outpace prior years’ appropriations. 

According to OMB, the agencies have so far spent only a fraction of these windfalls: ICE still has roughly 84 percent of the funds, while CBP still has roughly 62 percent. 

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Source: {United States House of Representatives – Congressman Bobby Scott (3rd District of Virginia)

Headline: Scott Votes Against GOP Bill to Expand ICE Funding and Immigration Enforcement

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressman Bobby Scott issued the following statement after voting against the GOP’s budget reconciliation bill: 

“Instead of focusing on lowering costs and improving the lives of working families, Republicans are advancing a bill to give $70 billion more to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and immigration enforcement efforts. Americans have witnessed disturbing abuses of authority by ICE agents who have arrested and detained American citizens and legal permanent residents, pulled people from their cars, homes, and workplaces without warrants or probable cause, and even deported American citizens.

“While the bill no longer includes specific funding for Donald Trump’s extravagant White House ballroom or a slush fund to benefit violent insurrectionists, it still lacks safeguards to prevent federal funds from being used for those purposes and the bill remains completely unacceptable. Congress should be focused on ensuring ICE follows the law, not giving it billions more in funding after Republicans already handed the agency a staggering $75 billion increase in Donald Trump’s Big Ugly Bill last year. The American people deserve a Congress focused on lowering costs and protecting their rights, not escalating fear and abuse of power.”

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Source: United States House of Representatives – Congresswoman Lori Trahan (D-MA-03)

Hoy, la congresista Lori Trahan (MA-03) votó en contra del paquete de reconciliación republicano que asigna otros $70 mil millones al Servicio de Inmigración y Control de Aduanas de EE. UU. (ICE, por sus siglas en inglés) y a la Oficina de Aduanas y Protección Fronteriza (CBP, por sus siglas en inglés), financiando a ambas agencias por el resto del mandato del presidente Donald Trump mientras las familias continúan luchando con el alto costo de vida.
“Las familias en Massachusetts todavía están luchando para poder pagar los alimentos, la renta y la atención médica. Este proyecto de ley no hace nada por ellas”, dijo la congresista Trahan. “En cambio, los republicanos de la Cámara entregaron a Donald Trump casi $70 mil millones para expandir su máquina de deportaciones masivas. Voté no porque las familias de Massachusetts merecen algo mejor que un Congreso que trabaja para Trump en lugar de para ellas”.
El financiamiento aprobado por los republicanos de la Cámara incluye:

$38.5 mil millones para ICE

$26.0 mil millones para CBP

$5.0 mil millones para el Departamento de Seguridad Nacional de EE. UU.

Lo que falta en el imprudente presupuesto republicano:

Disposiciones para detener el fondo discrecional de $1.8 mil millones de Donald Trump para insurreccionistas condenados por los incidentes del 6 de enero, incluidos aquellos que admitieron haber golpeado a agentes de policía. 

Lenguaje para bloquear un acuerdo negociado con el Departamento de Justicia que eximiría a Trump de auditorías y eliminaría más de $100 millones en presuntas obligaciones fiscales y sanciones. 

Reformas de sentido común y supervisión para ICE y CBP, incluyendo exigir que los agentes se quiten las máscaras, muestren credenciales y presenten órdenes judiciales firmadas antes de realizar arrestos. 

La restauración de fondos de SNAP, Medicaid o la Ley de Cuidado de Salud Asequible que las familias necesitan para poner comida en la mesa y pagar su atención médica

El verano pasado, los republicanos de la Cámara usaron la reconciliación para aprobar el “Big Ugly Bill” de Donald Trump, que recortó más de $1 trillón de Medicaid y $187 mil millones de SNAP para financiar una reducción de impuestos que benefició de manera abrumadora a los estadounidenses más ricos. Esa misma propuesta asignó $140 mil millones en financiamiento para ICE y CBP. En conjunto, esos recortes pusieron a 326,262 personas en Massachusetts en riesgo de perder su seguro médico, y el proyecto aún añadió $4.7 trillones al déficit.
El proyecto de ley de reconciliación de línea partidista fue aprobado en la Cámara 214-212.

Source: United States House of Representatives – Congresswoman Lori Trahan (D-MA-03)

Today, Congresswoman Lori Trahan (MA-03) voted against the Republican reconciliation package that allocates another $70 billion for the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection Agency (CBP), funding both agencies for the remainder of President Donald Trump’s term while families continue struggling with higher prices.
“Families in Massachusetts are still struggling to afford groceries, rent, and health care. This bill does nothing for them,” said Congresswoman Trahan. “Instead, House Republicans handed Donald Trump nearly $70 billion to expand his mass deportation machine. I voted no because Massachusetts families deserve better than a Congress that works for Trump instead of them.”
The funding passed by the House Republicans includes:

What’s missing from the reckless Republican budget: 

Provisions to stop Donald Trump’s $1.8 billion slush fund for convicted January 6 insurrectionists, including those who admitted to beating police officers

Language to block a negotiated agreement with the Department of Justice that would exempt Trump from audits and erase more than $100 million in alleged tax liabilities and penalties

Commonsense reforms and oversight for ICE and CBP, including requiring agents to remove masks, display badges, and secure signed judicial warrants before making arrests

The restoration of SNAP, Medicaid, or Affordable Care Act funding that families need to put food on the table and afford their health care

Last summer, House Republicans used reconciliation to pass Donald Trump’s Big Ugly Bill, which cut more than $1 trillion from Medicaid and $187 billion from SNAP to fund a tax cut that overwhelmingly benefited the wealthiest Americans. That same proposal allocated $140 billion in funding for ICE and CBP. Together, those cuts put 326,262 people in Massachusetts at risk of losing their health coverage, and the bill still added $4.7 trillion to the deficit.
The party line reconciliation bill passed the House 214-212.

Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Joaquin Castro (20th District of Texas)

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

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

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Rep. Greg Casar (TX-35), joined by Reps. Pramila Jayapal (WA-07) and Steven Horsford (NV-04) introduced the Double the Wage for Overtime Act, which would increase the rate of overtime pay for the first time in nearly 90 years.

The bill would raise federal overtime pay to double a worker’s wage for every hour worked over 40 hours a week, instead of the current rate of time and a half. A worker making $25 an hour and working 10 hours overtime a week would make $6,500 more a year as a result of the bill. Analysis from the Economic Policy Institute, available here, shows the bill would help more than 13 million workers.

The bill is a key pillar of the Congressional Progressive Caucus’ New Affordability Agenda. Casar announced the bill would be introduced in remarks to the Communications Workers of America.

In addition to Reps. Casar, Jayapal, and Horsford, the bill is co-sponsored by Representatives Yassamin Ansari (AZ-03), Judy Chu (CA-28), Chris Deluzio (PA-17), Adriano Espaillat (NY-13), Jesús G. “Chuy” García (IL-04), Eleanor Holmes Norton (DC), Jonathan Jackson (IL-01), John Larson (CT-01), Summer Lee (PA-12), Sarah McBride (DE), Delia Ramirez (IL-03), Emily Randall (WA-06), Lateefah Simon (CA-12), Dina Tituts (NV-01), Rashida Tlaib (MI-12), and Bonnie Watson Coleman (NJ-12). 

The bill is endorsed by: Communication Workers of America (CWA), AFL-CIO, Service Employees International Union (SEIU), UNITE HERE, National Nurses United (NNU), the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), Groundwork Action, and the Economic Policy Institute.

“Too many Americans are working extra hours but still not making enough to get ahead. After nearly 90 years, our labor laws need to be updated,” said Casar. “If you work overtime, this bill would put money in your pocket by requiring your employer to pay you double for extra hours.”

“The American people are facing an affordability crisis, as skyrocketing inflation outpaces workers’ wages,” said Jayapal. “I’m proud to co-lead the Double the Wage for Overtime Act with Rep. Casar to both deter corporations from forcing workers into long, unsustainable hours and to ensure that hardworking Americans get the pay they deserve. This is a critical step in the effort to raise wages and protect workers.”

“For the first time in nearly 90 years, we are finally making changes to make sure workers who put in the hours actually get paid for them.” saidHorsford. “The Double the Wage for Overtime Act is a long-overdue reckoning that will deliver higher, more livable wages to the workers who have earned them. At a time when working families are stretched thin to afford groceries, gas, and basic necessities, this bill isn’t just about a paycheck – it’s about dignity. Workers who are putting in the work shouldn’t be fighting to get ahead. This legislation ensures they no longer have to.”

“CWA members across a number of industries and sectors have seen for years that employers would like nothing more than to work us to the bone,”  said CWA President Claude Cummings, Jr. “We have fought hard at the bargaining table to make sure that our members are compensated fairly for their hard work, but every worker in this country deserves to be guaranteed better compensation when they’re being routinely forced to give up time with their families, their kids, to miss important moments, or even simply to get a moment to relax. The Double the Wage for Overtime Act compensates working families for the sacrifices we make. I thank Representatives Casar, Jayapal and Horsford for their leadership on this important issue and encourage Congress to consider it quickly. 

“This legislation represents the most important change to the Fair Labor Standards Act since it was passed almost 90 years ago.” Dean Baker, economist, Distinguished Senior Fellow, Center for Economic and Policy Research.

Issues: Jobs, Labor, & the Economy