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Soto Introduces New Bill to Protect the Kissimmee River

Source: United States House of Representatives – Representative Darren Soto (D-FL)

The Kissimmee River Wild and Scenic River Act directs the U.S. Secretary of the Interior to amend the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act and designate a restored segment of the Kissimmee River as a Recreational River

WASHINGTON, D.C. — This week, Congressman Darren Soto (FL-09) introduced the Kissimmee River Wild and Scenic River Actto direct the U.S. Secretary of the Interior to amend the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act and designate a restored segment of the Kissimmee River as a Recreational River. During the 117th Congress, the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2023 (page #1141) included parts of the Kissimmee River Wild and Scenic River Act to direct the U.S. Secretary of the Interior to complete a study of the Kissimmee River within three years to make it part of the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System. This legislation will keep up the pressure to ensure timely designation.

“It is critical for us to preserve the historic Kissimmee River as it is home to many of Florida’s endangered species, key for recreation, and protects the Everglades from harmful nutrients,” said Congressman Soto. “As we continue working on initiatives to protect our environment for future generations, we must ensure that this natural treasure can sustain the growth around it. We saw parts of our bill to complete a study passed in FY23, and it will soon be time to designate the Kissimmee River as Recreational River under the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act.” 

In 1968, Congress created the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System to “preserve certain rivers with outstanding natural, cultural, and recreational values in a free-flowing condition for the enjoyment of present and future generations.” If passed, the Kissimmee River Wild and Scenic River Act will ensure that restored segments of the river are preserved for future generations to enjoy.

The Kissimmee River Restoration Project was a partnership between the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the South Florida Water Management District to help wildlife species return to the river after efforts to prevent flooding destroyed habitats. The project was completed in 2021 and restored more than 40 square miles of the river floodplain ecosystem, 20,000 acres of wetlands, and 44 miles of the historic river channel. It was the largest river restoration in the world and cost nearly $1 billion to complete. 

For the full text of the bill, please click here.

For a video of Rep. Soto explaining the bill, click here.

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ICYMI: McCaul, Dr. Arthur Herman Highlight AUKUS as Key to Countering the CCP, Maintaining High-Tech Supremacy

Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Michael McCaul (10th District of Texas)

WASHINGTON – U.S. Congressman Michael McCaul (R-Texas) and Dr. Arthur Herman, a senior fellow and director of the Quantum Alliance Initiative at Hudson Institute, penned an op-ed in National Review highlighting how AUKUS — the security pact between the United States, United Kingdom, and Australia — provides a strategic advantage against the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), both at sea and in the high-tech realm. 

National Review

The U.S. Has a Game Changer in the Struggle for High-Tech Supremacy

Congressman Michael McCaul and Dr. Arthur Herman 

April 3, 2025 

In the great-power competition with the United States’ adversaries, none is more formidable than the Chinese Communist Party.

Emboldened by four years of appeasement policies, the CCP is on the march — escalating its military activities, conducting aggressive drills around Taiwan, and increasing its belligerence in the South China Sea.

The tension in the Indo-Pacific is nearing a breaking point. Given China’s unholy alliance with Russia, Iran, and North Korea — and America’s friendship with Taiwan and defense treaty with the Philippines — any surge of CCP aggression in the region could catapult the world into a snowballing conflict.

There is one key to avoiding this World War III scenario: deterrence. And as the future of warfare rapidly develops, high-tech supremacy will be the decisive key. That’s why — as President Trump has said — China’s recent DeepSeek challenge to American AI leadership serves as a wake-up call. We must commit greater focus and resources to high-tech supremacy — not only in AI, but in a range of technologies that will define military deterrence in peacetime and determine victory in a time of war.

[…]

Instead of peace through strength, the Biden presidency brought instability and conflict through weakness. But in the midst of its abysmal foreign policy record was one bright spot: a security pact established in 2021 between the United States, Australia, and the United Kingdom, to work together on a cluster of advanced technologies. 

AUKUS will change the game when it comes to countering the generational threat posed by China.

[…]

To ensure the program’s success, Congress passed an initiative, led by one of us (Michael McCaul, chairman emeritus of the House Foreign Affairs Committee), to exempt Australia and the U.K. from lengthy and burdensome licensing requirements. These requirements, while meant to protect our sensitive technology from falling into the wrong hands, also prohibited our trusted allies from using U.S. tech for our collective defense goals.

Congress was explicit: The administration “shall provide” defense articles and technology to these allies, whose export control regimes are similar to our own. But when the Biden administration removed the licensing requirements, it quickly nullified that action by releasing a list of excluded technologies. The list was so lengthy that it swallowed up the exemption. In other words, the Biden administration undermined congressional intent and re-created lengthy burdens for technology sharing with our allies, inexplicably undercutting its one true foreign policy success in the process.

The excluded-technologies list must be immediately trimmed if we want to keep up with China in the technology race that will determine the future balance of power.

[…]

In our brave new age of great-power competition, our high-tech posture will be as important as our military force posture; in fact, one will determine the other. Just as in World War II the integration of mass production by commercial companies was the key to victory, so too will integration of advanced technologies like AI, quantum, and autonomous systems be key to deterrence — and to victory if war breaks out.

Except this time, we won’t have to rely on American industry alone for needed breakthroughs and deployments. Instead, we can work with key allies to achieve our most important national security goals — including supremacy at sea — and prevent the next world war from breaking out.

As Ronald Reagan told us, “We know only too well that conflict comes not when the forces of freedom are strong, but when they are weak.” For too long, the forces of freedom have been weak in the face of CCP aggression. AUKUS can change that.

Click here to read the full op-ed in National Review.

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McCaul Applauds Record Low Border Crossings in March

Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Michael McCaul (10th District of Texas)

WASHINGTON – U.S. Congressman Michael McCaul (R-Texas) — chairman emeritus of the House Homeland Security Committee — released the following statement on March’s record-low border crossings under the Trump administration. 

“Month after month, the Trump administration continues to prove that deterrence works. I’ve dealt with the border for more than 25 years, and I’ve never seen border crossings this low. These numbers are a testament to the dedication of our brave border patrol agents and to President Trump’s strong immigration policies, which are restoring order to the chaos caused by Biden’s reckless open border.”

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Congressman Cohen Statement on Trump Tariffs

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

MEMPHIS – Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-9) took note of today’s stock market response to the Trump tariffs and made the following statement:

“Trump’s tariff wars are making everything more expensive. And it’s about to get worse. And while we’re paying more for food, medicine, appliances and car repairs, the GOP wants to slash Medicaid, Social Security, SNAP and more to give billionaires a tax cut. They do not care about working people. Tariffs are taxes. The stock market is a measure of Trump’s economic folly. Trump has wrecked our thriving economy and our social safety and health network. ‘47’ is a monstrous, out-of-control man-child. And Howard Lutnick is a cheerleader, not a commerce secretary.”

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Congressman Cohen Introduces the REAL AMERICA Act

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

WASHINGTON – Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-9) today introduced the Reward Each American’s Labor and Make Every Rich Individual Contribute Again (REAL AMERICA) Act, a bold tax reform bill that helps everyday working people while addressing Republican plans to sneak through a $2 trillion tax cut for millionaires and billionaires.

Congressman Cohen made the following statement:

“Donald Trump and Republicans want Americans to believe they support tax cuts for working people. But while they float limited tax reforms to mask their real agenda, their actual plan would require deep cuts to Medicaid, Medicare and Social Security in order to pay for their new round of tax giveaways to billionaires like Elon Musk, Trump’s wealthy donors, and others making more than $400,000 every year. 

“Democrats should not let that deception go unchecked. If Trump and the GOP want to talk about ‘Real America,’ then it’s time they stand with real Americans — like people who depend on tips, work overtime hours, and have worked hard their entire lives and now rely on Social Security. This bill gives them an easy chance to do that. The first two provisions — eliminating federal taxes on tips and overtime pay — came straight from President Trump’s campaign playbook. Add in tax relief for Social Security recipients and elimination of the carried interest loophole, and you’ve got a real pro-worker tax plan. If Republicans are serious about helping the people they claim to represent, they should support the REAL AMERICA Act.” 

The REAL AMERICA Act will deliver real tax cuts for real working people by: 

  • Eliminating Federal Income Taxes on Tips — Service workers shouldn’t be taxed on the tips they rely on to make ends meet;
  • Making Overtime Pay Tax-Free — If you put in extra hours, you should take home extra pay, not hand more over to the IRS;
  • Ending Federal Income Taxes on Social Security Benefits — Retirees paid into Social Security their entire working lives; it’s time to stop taxing their hard-earned benefits;  and  
  • Closing the Carried Interest Loophole — Billionaire hedge fund managers shouldn’t pay a lower tax rate than their clerical assistants. 

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McCaul Statement on 3-Year Anniversary of War in Ukraine

Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Michael McCaul (10th District of Texas)

WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Congressman Michael McCaul (R-Texas) — chairman emeritus of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs — released the following statement on the 3-year anniversary of the war in Ukraine.

“Three years ago today, Putin sent his army into Ukraine, shattering peace in Europe and threatening global stability. Putin’s autocratic friends in China, Iran, and North Korea quickly came to his aid — bolstering Russia’s defense industrial base and sending thousands of troops to fight and kill the Ukrainian people. Make no mistake: This unholy alliance formed by our adversaries seeks to undermine western values, weaken U.S. national security, and upend the global balance of power.

“I agree with President Trump that this would never have happened had he been in office. There’s a reason these hostile regimes did not attack sovereign territories during his first term: He projected peace through strength. All the pain and bloodshed in Europe could have been prevented if Democrats — under both the Obama and Biden administrations — had stood up to Putin sooner.

“This war has raged for three years too many. Putin could stop the killing today, but since he refuses — President Trump has answered the call to help put an end to the fighting. As he and his team continue negotiations, I urge them to ensure the agreement holds the Kremlin accountable for its crimes and contains serious teeth to ensure Putin cannot resurrect his quest to recreate the Soviet Union by taking Ukraine. Only then will lasting peace be secured.”

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McCaul Highlights U.S. Commitment to Afghan Allies

Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Michael McCaul (10th District of Texas)

WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Congressman Michael McCaul (R-Texas) — chairman emeritus of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs — released the following statement on honoring the U.S.’ commitment to our Afghan allies.

“I support President Trump’s efforts to eliminate programs at the State Department that do not put America first, including many of the wasteful, woke programs the Biden administration prioritized and that I tried to eliminate when I was chairman. But I’m concerned about reports that the Afghan relocation efforts may also be eliminated. During its chaotic and deadly withdrawal from Afghanistan, the Biden administration abandoned tens of thousands of our Afghan allies who fought and bled alongside our military. I urge Secretary Rubio to prioritize honoring the promises we made to those Afghan allies as he works to make State a more effective and efficient department.”

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Golden slams GOP budget priorities as fiscally irresponsible plan to juice elites at expense of working families

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

Senate plan features exploding deficits, health care cuts, giveaways to the wealthy

WASHINGTON — Congressman Jared Golden (ME-02) released the following statement regarding the House and Senate GOP’s budget plans, following a vote Thursday to advance a harmful budget resolution through the Senate: 

“Americans should be furious that the Senate GOP has picked up where their House counterparts left off, pushing a budget designed to slash taxes for the wealthy and corporations, paid for by cutting Americans’ health care and blowing up the deficit. Rather than pushing back against the many flaws in the House GOP budget resolution, Senate leaders are seeking simply to hide the cost of this plan from the American people with new budgeting gimmicks that, if successful, will set a dangerous precedent for future Congresses to ratchet up spending again and again without ever paying for it.

“We can do so much better than this naked attempt to further tilt the system against the many in favor of the few at the top. If we ask the wealthy and big corporations to pay their fair share, we could cut taxes for the middle class and reduce the deficit without harmful cuts to health care. The GOP’s majority is slim, and I know that some of my colleagues on that side of the aisle oppose this irresponsible, harmful approach to government. I am ready to work with them, and anyone else, to pass a responsible budget that puts middle class families first.” 

The House-passed budget resolution called for $4.8 trillion in deficit increases. Nearly all of that spending would fund extension of the 2017 Trump Tax Cuts, which disproportionately benefited the wealthiest households and corporations. The House plan offsets the cost with just $2 trillion in spending cuts, for a total $3.4 trillion increase to the national debt, including estimated interest payments. 

The Senate plan attempts to hide the cost of extending the Trump Tax Cuts by using an accounting trick known as the “current policy baseline.” (“It’s like taking an expensive week-long vacation and then assuming you can spend an extra $1,000 per day forever since you are no longer staying at the Plaza,” said Marc Goldwein, senior vice president and senior policy director for the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, in an interview with the New York Times.) 

An honest accounting of the Senate’s budget resolution shows that it includes $5.8 trillion in new borrowing — twice as much as the House plan and three times as much as the American Rescue Plan — while adding as much as $6.9 trillion to the national debt, including estimated interest payments. 

The Senate resolution also retains language from the House bill instructing the House Energy and Commerce Committee to cut $880 billion in spending, a sum impossible to achieve without substantial cuts to Medicaid. Medicaid provides health coverage to 236,000 people in Maine’s 2nd Congressional District — more than one-third of the population — according to KFF.

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Sánchez: Trump’s trade wars pushing U.S. economy toward disaster

Source: United States House of Representatives – Congresswoman Linda Sanchez (38th District of CA)

WASHINGTON – Ways and Means Trade Subcommittee Ranking Member Linda T. Sánchez (D-Calif.) released the following statement in response to President Trump’s announcement of expansive new tariffs:

“President Trump’s latest trade chaos has our economy teetering on the cliff’s edge. His trade wars have zero strategy behind them – other than lining the pockets of his billionaire friends and sticking families with the bill.

“Americans were promised lower prices ‘on day one,’ but instead, the president’s trade policies are hiking up the cost of everyday goods to pay for more tax cuts for the rich.

“And this is all being done behind closed doors. Backroom deals are something corrupt, anti-democratic countries do, not the United States. Congress must step up and take back its constitutional authority over trade. Instead, House Republicans have abandoned all power to President Trump and then fled town to avoid responsibility for the fallout from his disastrous decisions.”

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Moolenaar, Michigan GOP Representatives Call on SoS Benson to Explain Failures to Stop Illegal Voting

Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman John Moolenaar (4th District of Michigan)

Headline: Moolenaar, Michigan GOP Representatives Call on SoS Benson to Explain Failures to Stop Illegal Voting

Today, Congressman John Moolenaar, along with his Republican colleagues in the Michigan Congressional delegation, called on Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson to answer questions after her office reported at least an additional 15 noncitizens were found to illegally cast a ballot in the 2024 election.

Benson’s announcement comes after a Chinese national attending the University of Michigan, voted illegally as well. In a Congressional hearing last September, Benson claimed, “there is no evidence that non-citizens are voting.” The Secretary is publicly opposed to bipartisan legislation, the SAVE Act, which would require individuals to provide documentation proving they are a citizen, such as a REAL ID, to register to vote.

The lawmakers wrote:

“Your failure to secure Michigan’s elections continues to erode the public’s trust. Your department not only failed to prevent these noncitizens from voting, but your report casts further doubt about how many noncitizens actually voted on Election Day. House Republicans have repeatedly raised these concerns. Last year, the House of Representatives passed H.R. 8281 – SAVE Act with a bipartisan 221-198 vote and is poised to pass it again this Congress. The SAVE Act would require individuals to provide proof of citizenship, including REAL ID, when registering to vote in federal elections.

We have already raised these concerns directly with you. In November, we wrote to you about Haoxiang Gao’s vote, and you dismissed our concerns. Ironically, last year at a Committee on House Administration hearing, you stated “[t]here is no evidence that noncitizens are voting.” Further, you have continually promoted falsehoods about the SAVE Act. It is disheartening that our State’s chief election officer does not support basic election integrity measures.”
 

The letter concludes with the the members of Congress asking Benson questions about the illegal votes, how they were discovered, and Benson’s misrepresentation of the SAVE Act. The lawmakers’ letter to Benson can be found in full here.

Moolenaar was joined in his letter to Benson by Republican members of the Michigan Congressional delegation including, Jack Bergman (MI-1), Bill Huizenga (MI-4), Tim Walberg (MI-5), Tom Barrett (MI-7), Lisa McClain (MI-9), and John James (MI-10).