MIL USHOR-2b Engine

Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Jim McGovern (D-MA)

WASHINGTON, D.C.—Today, Congressman Jim McGovern (D-MA), Ranking Member of the House Rules Committee and a Senior Member of the House Agriculture Committee, led 38 House Democrats in a letter to U.S. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins demanding answers after the Patrick Leahy Farm to School Grant Program was abruptly terminated without Congressional consultation or notice, harming farms and schools in communities across America, and making it harder to get healthy food into cafeterias across the country.

The letter was co-led by Representatives Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR), Stacey Plaskett (D-VI), and Chellie Pingree (D-ME), with strong support from Agriculture Committee Ranking Member Angie Craig (D-MN) and Appropriations Committee Ranking Member Rosa DeLauro (D-CT).

“Every child in America deserves access to nutritious food as part of the school day to fuel their learning,” the lawmakers wrote. “The highly successful Patrick Leahy Farm to School Program provides just that. As you know, it helps schools across the country purchase produce from local farmers to incorporate into tasty and nutritious meals for kis, as well as provide hands-on education activities related to agriculture and nutrition. The program is good for kids, good for families, and good for farmers.”

The Members expressed alarm that USDA inappropriately terminated the program’s grants on March 24, 2025, despite being authorized and funded by Congress. “To the best of our knowledge, there was no communication or consultation with Congress prior to the termination of this Congressionally authorized and funded program, and we are deeply concerned about the impact this program cancellation will have on students, schools, and farmers in our districts,” the letter states.

They also noted the broader trend of USDA eliminating nutrition and agricultural programs, writing that: “[i]n just the past few weeks, USDA has terminated at least four programs that achieve the goals of improving health and supporting our farmers.”

The Patrick Leahy Farm to School Program has awarded over $100 million in funding to 1,275 projects nationwide since 2013, with a particular focus on rural communities. The program helps schools incorporate locally grown foods into their meal programs, supports school gardens, and promotes nutrition education. In their letter, lawmakers cited USDA’s own findings that 61% of school food authorities using the program reported increased fruit and vegetable consumption among students, and 57% said it improved access to higher quality foods. They also noted that Farm to School grantees have already reached out to their offices expressing confusion and distress about how to continue their programs without support.

The letter demands a response by April 11, 2025, and asks USDA to clarify the scope of the termination, its legal authority to cancel funding, and what steps will be taken to fulfill the agency’s Congressionally mandated responsibilities.

The signed letter is available here.

The letter was signed by Representatives Becca Balint (D-VT); Nanette Barragán (D-CA); Sanford Bishop (D-GA); Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR); Julia Brownley (D-CA); Shontel Brown (D-OH); Nikki Budzinski (D-IL); André Carson (D-IN); Troy Carter (D-LA); Kathy Castor (D-FL); Angie Craig (D-MN); Sharice Davids (D-KS); Diana DeGette (D-CO); Rosa DeLauro (D-CT); Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ); Jahana Hayes (D-CT); Jared Huffman (D-CA); Seth Magaziner (D-RI); John Mannion (D-NY); April McClain Delaney (D-MD); Betty McCollum (D-MN); Kristen McDonald Rivet (D-MI); James McGovern (D-MA); Seth Moulton (D-MA); Brittany Pettersen (D-CO); Chellie Pingree (D-ME); Stacey Plaskett (D-VI); Mark Pocan (D-WI); Andrea Salinas (D-OR); Adam Smith (D-WA); Mark Takano (D-CA); Shri Thanedar (D-MI); Jill Tokuda (D-HI); Paul Tonko (D-NY); Lori Trahan (D-MA); Eugene Vindman (D-VA); Maxine Waters (D-CA); and Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-NJ).

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Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Bob Latta (R-Bowling Green Ohio)

Yesterday, Congressman Bob Latta (R-OH5) and Congresswoman Doris Matsui (D-CA7) reintroduced the National Telecommunications Information Administration (NTIA) Reauthorization Act. This legislation will improve the management of spectrum and update the mission and functions of the agency.

With Congress recently providing NTIA with $42.8 billion to address broadband deployment and digital equity and inclusion, Latta’s NTIA Reauthorization Act would give NTIA the tools to be successful in their mission and ensure American tax dollars are not wasted.

“NTIA plays a role in closing the digital divide for Americans who lack basic broadband Internet access, and it is the responsibility of Congress to re-evaluate these duties and ensure the agency has the tools and guidance to appropriately carry them out,” Latta said. “As the former Chair of the Communications and Technology Subcommittee, I’m pleased to reintroduce this legislation to reauthorize the NTIA for the first time in 30 yers. This important, bipartisan legislation I’m leading with my colleague, Congresswoman Matsui, will help the agency carry out their mission to connect more Americans while ensuring taxpayer dollars are not wasted.”

“Since NTIA was last reauthorized over three decades ago, the pace of technological innovation has accelerated exponentially,” Matsui said. “From spectrum governance to the digital economy, NTIA must be empowered to keep America the vanguard of global tech leadership. The bipartisan NTIA Reauthorization Act modernizes NTIA’s mission and provides new tools to ensure the agency can keep up with the pace of innovation.”

Congressman Latta and Congresswoman Matsui introduced the NTIA Resolution in the last Congress, where it successfully passed the House of Representatives.

Background on the NTIA:

NTIA plays a significant role in closing the digital divide, managing our nation’s spectrum, and advocating the United States’ telecommunications position on the world stage. NTIA has not been reauthorized since 1992, causing it to fall behind in new tools and direction to carry out the mission of connecting all Americans and finally closing the digital divide.

Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Steve Scalise (1st District of Louisiana)

WASHINGTON, D.C.—Today, House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) spoke on the House floor before the passage of House Republicans’ Continuing Resolution to keep the government open and allow President Trump to continue to carry out his agenda. Leader Scalise slammed Democrats for putting their hatred of President Trump above all else and voting to shut the government down.

Click here or the image above to view Leader Scalise’s full remarks. 
Leader Scalise’s remarks:“Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and I thank my friend from Oklahoma, the chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, Mr. Cole, for his leadership in helping negotiate a really important bill to keep government funded. As has been duly noted along the way, over the past year, roughly six months, this House, the last majority in the last Congress, passed over 70% of the government funding bills, Mr. Speaker. We passed them to the Senate. Back then, Chuck Schumer and the Democrats were in charge, and they chose not to pass a single House appropriations bill – not one. The House, under Republican majority, not always with help from the other side, but we still got it done on our own passed over 70% of the government funding bills and then eventually got to a point where we had to let the Senate try to get something done, which, unfortunately, they didn’t. And then we got to the verge of a shutdown, and we said we’re not going to let that happen. And we had a short-term funding bill, and here we are again. We’re on the eve of another potential shutdown, and this Republican majority said we’re not going to let that happen.“In fact, this Republican President, Donald Trump, said we’re not going to let that happen either; it would be irresponsible to have a government shutdown. And maybe it’s because Donald Trump said he’s for it that then the Democrat leadership decided they were going to be against it. And when did they decide they were going to be against this bill? Before the bill was even written, before it was filed, they came out against it and started saying things that were in the bill when it wasn’t even written, Mr. Speaker. You heard them talking about cuts to Medicare, cuts to veterans. The bill wasn’t even written, and they were already making up stories to try to figure out how to vote no and shut the government down.“That’s, sadly, where this Democrat Party has gotten; the Democrat Party of today is a leaderless, rudderless ship. They don’t have an agenda. You saw it at the State of the Union, Mr. Speaker. When you saw President Trump not only laying out his agenda that 77 million people, a majority of Americans, went to the polls to elect the mandate that President Trump got not just with a majority of Americans and a majority of electoral college, but all seven, seven out of seven swing states, all voted for President Trump because they wanted that agenda implemented. And what irritates the Democrats the most? The fact that President Trump is following through on the promises that he made, actually doing the things he said he would do. “He’s securing the border. That was the number one issue all across this country, no matter which state you went to, people wanted a secure border, and he’s following through on it. And yet the Democrat Party is criticizing him for doing that part of his job. Rooting out waste, fraud, and abuse in government, something that should be bipartisan. In fact, it used to be bipartisan, to root out waste, fraud, and abuse. But now, because Donald Trump is doing it, the Democrat Party of today up here in Washington is so consumed with hatred that they oppose even rooting out waste, fraud and abuse that has been not only highlighted up here, but people around the country are talking about getting rid of that waste once they’ve seen it. “A lot of this was a veil that was pulled down where people couldn’t even find out what was going on because the payment systems were being hidden by the Biden Administration. We couldn’t even find out about a lot of that spending that we were anecdotally hearing about. But finally, you saw it on full display. And it was so embarrassing that some of those employees have left. Fortunately, a lot of that taxpayer money that was being wasted is now being saved, and the money is being recouped so that we can shore up programs that were vital for people.“The President talked about Social Security, a program that we helped protect. When you’ve got somebody that’s listed as 300 years old in the Social Security system, that shows you the kind of fraud and abuse that’s going on, and the fact that President Trump is willing to confront that and take it on so that people who actually paid into the program their whole lives can get the benefits they deserve. That’s what people elected President Trump and this majority on the Republican side to do. “But you would think Democrats would want to join in and help accomplish that, and yet, here they are on this floor, talking about things that aren’t even in the bill, trying to scare people, talking about cuts to veterans in the bill. And maybe because they just didn’t read the bill, it’s only 99 pages long. I would urge them to go read it. They may actually vote for this bill in the next hour because they’ll realize, in fact, the cuts that they’re talking about are not true. They’re not in the bill. There’s an increase for veterans in this bill. You know what else is in this bill, Mr. Speaker – and I want to applaud again the chairman of the Appropriations Committee and his members for negotiating something that’s been needed for a long time, and that is the largest pay raise for our junior enlisted military personnel in over 40 years. Now, if somebody doesn’t think our men and women in uniform deserve that pay raise. Maybe they’ll vote no. I’m proud to say I’m going to be voting yes to support our men and women in uniform who have been waiting for that raise and deserve it. How can you justify a no vote on that, Mr. Speaker. That’s actually in the bill.“As they talk all day about what’s not in the bill because they were against it before it was even written, if they actually read this bill again, only 99 pages. It’s a pretty quick read. You would find out that pay raise for our troops is in the bill. Stronger funding for our veterans is in the bill. But why are they voting no, you would ask? Just because the name of the president is Donald Trump. I think the people of this country are fed up with the kind of hatred that consumes people here in Washington. Again, when you watch the State of the Union address, and the President is not even talking about his agenda, he’s introducing and paying tribute to a 13 year old boy who just beat cancer, and they couldn’t even stand up and applaud that on their side because of the person who said it. If the hatred is so consuming that you can’t even support what’s great about America, maybe you need to reevaluate what’s important in doing these jobs.“We are elected to represent the people. And if the president, no matter who he or she is, has a great idea, you support it. There were a lot of things about Barack Obama’s policies I disagreed with Mr. Speaker. Yet, when he said something that was good for America at the State of the Union, I stood up. We actually worked with the President, the chairman was part of that, Chairman Cole, in passing the 21st Century Cures Act, last bill that Barack Obama signed to help put more funding into NIH so we could cure major diseases. We protect those gains in this bill. But if they’re advocating to vote no, they’re advocating for a government shutdown. It’s a binary choice. It’s not like there’s a plan B behind door number two, Mr. Speaker. “So if the plan is to vote no, what you’re really saying is you want to shut down the government. And I know a lot of Democrats – we all get to bring a guest to the State of the Union, and they get to sit up in the balcony. You’ve got the First Lady and the President’s guests up there, and the 13-year-old boy who beat cancer, the widow of a slain police officer who was in the balcony that they would not even applaud and pay tribute to. But they were there too, but everybody else got to bring a guest. Most Democrats bragged that they were bringing federal workers as their guests. You saw a lot of them holding rallies out in front of federal offices with federal employees, some of whom hadn’t shown up for work in three years since COVID, but they found their way to the office not to work but to protest. Democrats are about to vote to furlough all of those federal workers. Why? Not because of what’s in the bill. They’ve been telling you stories that aren’t even true about what’s in the bill. They don’t like it because of the name of the President of the United States. Aren’t we bigger than that? Aren’t we a better country than that, Mr. Speaker? “This is our responsibility to get this job done and then turn the page and go to work. This is the business, frankly, of the Biden Administration that we’re cleaning up. And we all ought to join together and finish that, and then come together and start a real appropriations process where we move not just 70% of the bills in the House and zero in the Senate. And Senator Thune, to his credit, is the new majority leader has vowed to actually work on a true appropriations process. So we’re not working at the midnight hour on CRs, but where we can actually have a full functioning appropriations process, something we haven’t seen in this town in a long time. “We have to first take care of yesterday’s business before we can start on tomorrow’s appropriations process. And so it’s critical that we get this job done. Not to vote to lay off and furlough all the federal workers, the TSA agents, you won’t even be able to go to the airport or your favorite federal park if they got their way. Let’s actually get our work done so we can start a 12-bill appropriations process that moves through the Senate too, where you can actually have a negotiation between two sides of the aisle. Again, something we haven’t seen in a long time, but is long past due.“It’s a new day in America, and I applaud President Trump. We had Vice President JD Vance this morning come and talk about the importance of passing this bill, too, because they want to fix the problems of this nation. They want to fulfill the promises that were made during the campaign and follow through on the mandate that was given to President Trump, Vice President Vance, and this Republican majority in the House and Senate by 77 million people to turn this country around. Let’s get back to being the greatest country in the history of the world. We can do it. We can come together and solve big problems. But we solve big problems by first taking care of the basics of government, and that’s to keep the government open. Let’s pass the CR, let’s see a big vote to do it, too. I welcome both sides of the aisle. My friends, on the other side, they can criticize a bill they’ve never read, but once they look at this bill, I think you might even see some of them vote yes as well. Let’s get our work done, and let’s move on to the next challenges that the American people expect us to deliver on for them.”

Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Steve Scalise (1st District of Louisiana)

WASHINGTON, D.C.—Today, House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) appeared on Fox News’ The Story with Martha MacCallum to discuss tonight’s vote to keep the government funded as Democrats work against American families. Leader Scalise also highlighted Vice President Vance’s visit with House Republicans and shared how House Republicans are working with the White House to implement President Trump’s agenda.

Click here or the image above to view Leader Scalise’s full interview. 
On House Republicans working with the Trump-Vance Administration to keep the government open:“Yeah, great to be with you, Martha. When you just heard that comment from [Rep. Jim] McGovern, here he is trying to figure out how to blame Republicans as he’s also trying to engineer a government shutdown. Democrats are trying to have it both ways. Democrats are trying to unite everybody against this bill to shut the government down. You see President Trump pushing as well as all of us in our House leadership to get this bill passed. We had JD Vance, the Vice President, come and talk to our members this morning and did a great job of really laying out why it’s so important that we keep the government open and pass this bill so that we can continue on with the great work that’s being done to get our economy back on track, to get our country moving again.“There are a lot of problems that need to be worked out. You just saw President Trump again delivering by getting a peace agreement between Ukraine and Russia. President Trump is doing his job. The Democrats want to shut the government down to stop that progress. We’re going to do our job here in the House in just an hour, as you pointed out, and then let the Senate do their job.“Thomas Massie is the only hard no. We’re working, obviously, there are other members that have had some questions, which we always have when you move a big bill through the House. We had our budget just a few weeks ago, and that passed with just one vote extra. That was a bill where we were talking to members the morning and the day of the vote, which is no surprise on those kinds of votes. Today’s no different. We’re still having conversations with members, but at the end of the day, we’re going to pass the bill.”On Democrats rallying around a government shutdown:“Well, if there was a shutdown [from the Senate side], at that point, it would be Chuck Schumer’s shutdown because the Republicans are united in getting this done. Chuck Schumer has got to figure out what he’s going to do. We’ve heard him decry government shutdowns over the years. This is a clean CR to prevent a government shutdown. So if he voted to shut the government down now, how would he explain that when you compare that to his previous comments? And think about what’s in this bill, Martha. I’m not just talking about keeping the government funded. This bill also includes a pay raise for our troops. Our junior enlisted members of the military are going to be getting the largest pay raise in over 40 years. Why would you vote against that? Democrats are going to have to answer that question along with others if they vote no on this bill. Let’s go get it done.”

Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Steve Scalise (1st District of Louisiana)

WASHINGTON, D.C.—Today, House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) joined Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), House Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-Minn.), Conference Chairwoman Lisa McClain (R-Mich.), Congresswoman Celeste Maloy (R-Utah), and Congressman Andy Harris (R-Md.) to discuss Democrats prioritizing their hatred of President Trump over funding the government and protecting the federal workers, small businesses, and American families they claim to care about. Additionally, Leader Scalise called for the Senate to move on the budget reconciliation bill the House passed weeks ago to implement President Trump’s agenda.

Click here or the image above to view Leader Scalise’s full remarks. 
On President Trump’s record progress in his first six weeks:“Last week, all Americans who watched the State of the Union saw a very triumphant President Trump, who’s returned to the White House with even more energy, more vigor, and more focus to work for the American people than ever before, laying out in just six short weeks how much he’s already done to fulfill the promises of the campaign, to deliver on the mandate that 77 million Americans came to the polls and said, ‘We want to change the way Washington works’. They sent President Trump and J.D. Vance as the Vice President to go and accomplish those things. In six short weeks, so many of those things have already been accomplished, or the work and the foundation has been laid to get that done.”On Democrats’ misguided priorities:“What did we see from the Democrats? As Lisa McClain talked about, sitting down, not even celebrating a 13-year-old boy who just beat his battle with cancer. He was made an honorary member of the Secret Service, one of the most touching moments I’ve seen in a lot of State of the Unions, and they couldn’t even stand up for that. My friends, the Democrat Party of today is a leaderless, rudderless ship. They have no direction, they have no ideas, they have no concern about the successes of the American people. They can’t applaud victories for the American people. They couldn’t even applaud paying tribute to the widow whose husband, as a police officer, was slain in the line of duty. That’s who the Democrat Party in Washington is. “So many Americans who consider themselves Democrats have left that party because the Democrat Party has left them behind. A lot of those Democrats voted for Donald Trump and voted to put us in the majority, both in the House and Senate, because they’re tired of the hatred and the anger that fuels today’s Democrat Party. They want to see people that are going to go to work fighting for them. And that’s what we’re doing. Today is another example of the House doing its job. We have a responsibility to deliver for the American people, and we’re going to do it with or without the Democrat Party. A lot of Democrats, we all get to bring a guest to the State of the Union, a lot of them brought federal workers as their guests to the State of the Union. They seem to act like they care about federal workers. You saw a lot of Democrats over the last few weeks show up at federal buildings with some federal employees who haven’t been able to find their federal headquarters to go to work for the last three years, using COVID as an excuse. But they showed up to protest, to rally against rooting out waste, fraud, and abuse in government.“But ironically, those same Democrats who claim to care about federal workers, today, almost all of them will vote to furlough those federal workers that they claim to care about. How’s that for showing appreciation for the people who work for this federal government?All of them have said quotes, and the Speaker has laid out a great video that lays out a lot of the quotes that Democrats have made over the years about shutting down government.”On Democrats choosing personal animosity for President Trump over government funding: “Yet today, many [Democrats] will vote to shut down the government. For what reason? As it’s been pointed out, Hakeem Jeffries came out against the bill before the text was even filed. Still, to this day, if you watched in Rules Committee last night, you heard lie after lie by Democrats who were saying things that aren’t even in the bill. Maybe 99 pages is too long for some of them to read. We gave them the whole weekend to read the bill. They can still read it through today. The vote is going to be this afternoon. But they don’t want to read the bill. They don’t want to know what’s really in the bill. They’re just fueled by anger. Anger that Donald Trump won the election, anger that 77 million people went to the polls and demanded a change in the way Washington works.“Well, I’ve got a message from my Democrat friends out there: Whether you like it or not, the American people demand a change, and we’re going to deliver that change for them with or without this wild, reckless, far-left, progressive Democrat Party of today. They don’t represent the American people. They’re fighting against the will of the American people.”On Senate Republicans Needing to Move the Budget Reconciliation Bill:“But we, as the Republican majority, are going to deliver for those families who are struggling, who want relief, who want help, who want to get Washington off of their back, and want lower costs. We’re going to do that. We passed a bill over to the Senate. We’re going to urge our Senate once we finish this bill; the Senate’s got to start moving on the House budget that we sent to them weeks ago. Everybody’s got a job to do around here. We’re going to do ours today.”

Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Steve Scalise (1st District of Louisiana)

WASHINGTON, D.C.—Today, House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) appeared on Fox Business Network’s Varney and Co. to discuss the need for the Senate to act quickly to pass the House budget bill in order to move on President Trump’s whole agenda, following last night’s Joint Address. Leader Scalise highlighted how the resolution looks out for American families, workers, and small businesses by extending President Trump’s tax cuts and avoiding massive tax hikes that target lower and middle-income Americans.

Click here or the image above to view Leader Scalise’s full interview. 
On the importance of securing tax cuts:“[Trump tax cuts have] to get done. In fact, that’s why we came together in the House, Stuart, and passed the budget last week to lay the foundation not just for border and energy policy but for tax cuts. There was this debate over one bill versus two. I was always advocating for one, meaning let’s do it all in one big bill. Taxes are part of that because you’re not going to get certainty in the economy. You’ll see the stock market go up, go down, bounce all around until we have the certainty that there won’t be a massive tax hike on the American workers and small businesses of this country. That’s why it’s important we put that tax provision in the bill that also secures the border, funds the wall, border technology, energy policy, and regulatory reform.”On President Trump’s call to action for the Senate to pass the budget bill to prevent tax hikes:“Well, we continue to meet and work with them as we do with every element of our caucus on the Republican side. You go back and look at last week’s vote. Nothing is easy. We have a two-vote margin. One member voted no. If two members voted no, the bill would have been dead. And so we worked with everybody for weeks and weeks to thread that needle and get the budget passed. The Senate has it now, by the way. They need to do their part. They need to move. And I think last night was a call to action by President Trump to the Senate to say, look, the house delivered on my full agenda, it’s over in the Senate. Let’s get it moved through the Senate so we can get this agenda working for the American people. “The Democrats aren’t going to help us. They showed that last night. Sadly, they want to sit on their hands while American families face a massive tax hike. This isn’t the millionaires and billionaires we’re talking about. You’re talking about middle and low-income families.No tax on tips. The average tip worker makes about $32,000 a year. Elon Musk doesn’t make tip money, so it’s not people like him that would benefit. It’s the waiter and waitress working at your local restaurant that the Democrats don’t want to help. We will help them.”

Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Steve Scalise (1st District of Louisiana)

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) issued the following statement after President Trump’s Joint Address to Congress:“Tonight’s Joint Address from President Trump was a welcome change from what we heard for the last four years. In less than two months, President Trump has already taken action at a whirlwind pace to turn our country around, reversing the damage done by President Biden and Vice President Harris, and making serious down payments on the promises he made to the American people to put America first. President Trump is working tirelessly for families that have been struggling for four years, from securing the border, to combating Bidenflation and cutting wasteful spending, to unleashing American energy, and reinstating common sense in Washington.  “Starting on day one, President Trump issued critical executive orders to reverse the Biden border crisis, with immediate results: in February, Border Patrol recorded only 8,326 encounters and apprehensions at the southern border – the lowest documented numbers in history – compared to 189,913 in February 2024 under President Biden. That represents an over 90% drop in illegal border crossings in just one full month of Donald Trump’s Presidency!“President Trump has also begun dismantling the Biden Administration’s anti-American energy agenda, rescinding Biden’s production-killing regulations, pushing policies that unleash American energy, shoring up our energy security, and empowering consumer choice in everything from vehicles to household appliances.  “Through the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), the President has taken major strides to return common sense to the way Washington spends taxpayer money, cutting waste, fraud, and abuse from the government agencies, even while far left Washington progressives fight him at every turn. He also passed executive orders to cut harmful Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion mandates and reinstate merit-based hiring. To protect women, President Trump issued an executive order preventing biological males from participating in women and girls’ sports, preserving fairness and safety for female athletes. “Under the leadership of President Trump, America once again commands respect on the world stage. President Trump has stood up to terrorists, from Hamas to Mexican drug cartel members, and made clear that the United States will pursue peace through strength on a global level. As America’s greatest negotiator, he has fought against unfair trade policies and agreements that take advantage of the United States, empowering American workers and businesses. “Thanks to President Trump, the state of our union is finally getting stronger. Our President has already accomplished so much in just a few weeks, but the best is yet to come. There is much work left to do, and House Republicans will continue working closely with President Trump to enact his America First agenda and usher in the golden age of the United States of America. The renewal of the American Dream is finally here!”

Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Frank Pallone (6th District of New Jersey)

WASHINGTON, DC – Congressman Frank Pallone, Jr. (NJ-06) today blasted a sweeping education funding rollback by Donald Trump and Elon Musk that would gut federal support for public schools and result in the firing of nearly 300,000 teachers nationwide—including 6,914 in New Jersey and 399 in the Sixth Congressional District alone.

Pallone denounced the plan as part of a broader billionaire-driven effort to dismantle the U.S. Department of Education and eliminate Title I grants, which provide critical resources to schools serving low-income students.

“Donald Trump and Elon Musk are teaming up to destroy public education in this country,” said Pallone. “Their plan to eliminate Title I funding is a direct attack on working families. In New Jersey alone, millions of students would be left behind. This is cruelty masquerading as reform. At the same time, Trump and Republicans are working to give trillions of dollars in tax breaks to big corporations and billionaires.”

The proposed cuts stem from Trump’s recent executive order to dismantle the Department of Education and slash Title I grants, as well as Title II teacher support and IDEA special education programs. The result: fewer teachers, larger class sizes, and an increased burden on local taxpayers to keep schools afloat.

Pallone and members of the New Jersey congressional delegation sent a letter on March 24 to Education Secretary Linda McMahon warning that the Trump-Musk proposal would have devastating consequences for New Jersey’s students, educators, and school districts. The letter outlines how the plan would decimate education budgets, trigger mass layoffs, and force local governments to raise property taxes to cover the shortfall.

Pallone, who serves as the Ranking Member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, has long fought to preserve robust federal investments in public education and is now leading efforts to block what he calls “a billionaire power grab that leaves our kids in the dust.”

“Every student deserves a teacher who believes in them—not a billionaire who wants to balance the budget on their backs,” Pallone added. “We won’t let them get away with it.”

Pallone’s full March 24 letter can be found here.

Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Frank Pallone (6th District of New Jersey)

Washington, D.C. – Congressman Frank Pallone, Jr (NJ-06), the top Democrat on the House Energy and Commerce Committee, today lashed out at PJM, the organization that manages New Jersey’s electric grid, for raising electricity bills in the state.

Pallone explained over 27 years ago, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) Order 888 brought competition to electricity markets around the country. Since that time, the competition encouraged by these markets has broadly lowered wholesale energy prices and made the grid cleaner, all while ensuring reliability.

“But that’s not guaranteed, and I’m worried that some of the rules of the road that govern PJM and other Regional Transmission Organizations could start to harm consumers. Last year, partially as a result of poor market design, capacity prices in the PJM region exploded from $29 to $270 per megawatt-day. These price increases aren’t abstract – they are directly responsible for a roughly $25 per month increase in New Jersey power bills that my constituents will start feeling in June,” said Pallone.

“For the third time this Congress, we’re having an important hearing focusing on the reliability and affordability of electricity in this country. And for the third time, my Republican colleagues are going to purposefully ignore the fact they’re attempting to repeal the single biggest incentive to build electricity capacity in this country – the Inflation Reduction Act,” said Pallone. “Repealing billions of dollars in technology funding for all types of new energy is not the way you address the increasing need for energy.”

“It also ignores the fact that the Trump Administration is freezing federal funding and trying to rescind grants for grid reliability projects that the grid operators sitting before us today have said are vital to addressing increasing energy demand. It also ignores the fact that President Trump is attempting to put tariffs on electricity imports from Canada, which could seriously drive-up energy costs for people in the Midwest and Northeast,” Pallone continued.

Pallone mentioned that last week, yet another study came out – this time from Energy Innovation – showing that repealing the Inflation Reduction Act would increase American families’ power bills. Pallone said that Republicans are talking about the importance of affordability, but their actions don’t match their words.

“As we continue this discussion today, it’s important we recognize that in this time of increased demand for electricity, families are increasingly at risk of their power bills becoming unaffordable. Grid operators – and, frankly, FERC – must remember that they have a legal obligation to ensure that their policies are just and reasonable. Anything else does a disservice to the American people who depend on you,” Pallone continued.

The interconnection process — how regional grid operators like PJM approve new energy projects — has become one of the biggest bottlenecks to expanding affordable, clean electricity. It now takes up to five years for a typical wind or solar project to gain approval, compared to less than two years in 2008. In response, FERC issued Order 2023, which requires grid operators to shift from a “first-come, first-served” approach to a “first-ready, first-served” model that prioritizes viable projects and penalizes delays. While PJM has filed a plan to comply with Order 2023, FERC found the proposal lacking in detail and has yet to approve it. Until PJM fully complies and clears its interconnection backlog, consumers will continue bearing the cost of inaction — both in higher bills and in lost opportunity to add low-cost, low-carbon energy to the grid.

Source: United States House of Representatives – Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur (OH-09)

Toledo, Ohio — Today, Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur (OH-09) released the following statement in response to the economic impact and fallout of President Trump’s tariff announcements this week.

“America’s enemies around the world today are applauding. They also are plotting as they watch US stock markets plummet even further. Nearly $5 Trillion more in US wealth has been lost this week due to chaotic moves on tariffs arbitrarily imposed by the Trump administration. None of the tariffs that the President has proposed and implemented have ever had a single vote in the US Congress. This is unconstitutional.  

“Where is Speaker Johnson… asleep at the wheel?  Where is the Ways and Means Committee…asleep at the switch?  The Trump Administration’s dangerous overreach is totally damaging to the US economy and unnerving to America’s Allies around the globe. Crashing the US economy is not in the short nor long term interest of the American people. What has occurred in America’s markets this week is dangerous. Descent into economic chaos is consequential to every single citizen. Retirement plans are put at risk. Jobs are put at risk. Savings are put at risk. Investments are put at risk. 

“I have spent the majority of my time in the House trying to repair the economic damage to our economy of poorly conceived trade agreements that hollowed out the industrial and agricultural economy of our region. As a private businessman and billionaire, Donald Trump never lifted a finger to help us as industrial firms, his included, shipped jobs offshore or collapsed family farm after farm through consolidation. 

“Now this unnecessary market implosion has been forced on the American people without a single vote in Congress. I call on Speaker Johnson to do his job. Call the House back into Special Session to address this illegal tariff regime. Our grandparents and millions of Americans suffered through the ‘Great Economic Depression’ in the last century. That is not a route any American wants to endure.”

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