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Scott Statement on Passing of Norfolk City Councilman Paul Riddick

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

Headline: Scott Statement on Passing of Norfolk City Councilman Paul Riddick

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressman Bobby Scott (VA-03) issued the following statement:

“I am saddened to learn of the passing of my friend, former Norfolk City Councilman Paul Riddick. Paul devoted more than 30 years to serving the people of Norfolk. He brought a deep understanding of his community and an unwavering determination to improve the lives of his constituents. This is a tremendous loss for the City of Norfolk. My thoughts are with his family, friends, former colleagues, and everyone whose lives he touched through his years of public service.”

 

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Democratic Veterans Celebrate Defeat of Republican Attack on Veterans’ Benefits

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

Headline: Democratic Veterans Celebrate Defeat of Republican Attack on Veterans’ Benefits

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, for the second time, U.S. House Republicans were forced to withdraw a flawed Republican bill, H.R. 9237, from floor consideration. This followed strong opposition from members of the Democratic Veterans Caucus highlighting how the bill would represent the largest cut to veterans’ benefits in history, including cutting benefits for common conditions like tinnitus and sleep apnea and raising fees on VA home loans.

Following today’s withdrawal of this bill to cut veterans benefits, members of the Democratic Veterans Caucus Chris Deluzio (PA-17), Pat Ryan (NY-18), Ted Lieu (CA-36), Bobby Scott (VA-03), Mike Thompson (CA-04), Seth Moulton (MA-06), Salud Carbajal (CA-24), Jimmy Panetta (CA-19), Maggie Goodlander (NH-02), and Herb Conway (NJ-03) released the following joint statement. 

“Today, the House rallied around veterans and rejected this partisan attack on veterans’ benefits and the VA. 

“Members of the Democratic Veterans Caucus led the fight against this bill, and we will always come together to stand up for our troops and our fellow veterans.  

“House Republicans should think twice before ever again taking benefits away from our veterans in the name of ‘fiscal responsibility’ after they added trillions to the debt with their One Big Beautiful Bill and are trying to force through $67 Billion supplemental to pay for the disastrous Iran War.” 

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Congressman Cleaver Named Co-Chair of House Democratic Task Force to Defend 14th Amendment

Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Emanuel Cleaver II (5th District Missouri)

Congressman Cleaver also delivers House floor remarks highlighting threats to equal protection, due process, and birthright citizenship

(Washington, D.C.) – Today, U.S. Representative Emanuel Cleaver, II (D-MO), announced his appointment as Co-Chair of the newly established House Democratic Defend the 14th Amendment Task Force, a coalition of Members dedicated to protecting the constitutional guarantees of equal protection, due process, birthright citizenship, and civil rights in the face of ongoing legal and political challenges. 

Rep. Cleaver joins Representatives Analilia Mejia (D-NJ), Emily Randall (D-WA), Lateefah Simon (D-CA), and Suhas Subramanyam (D-VA) in leading the Task Force, which will coordinate congressional oversight, engage constitutional scholars and legal experts, educate the public, and respond to efforts that undermine the rights secured by the Fourteenth Amendment. 

“As someone whose life has been shaped by the Civil Rights Movement and whose ministry and public service have always been rooted in the pursuit of justice, I know the promises of our Constitution are only as strong as our willingness to defend them,” said Congressman Cleaver. “The 14th Amendment is the constitutional foundation for equal protection, due process, and civil rights in America. When those protections come under attack, we cannot afford silence or complacency. I am honored to help lead this Task Force as we work to ensure these constitutional guarantees remain real and meaningful for every American.” 

“The 14th Amendment reminds us that the promise of the Constitution belongs to all of us. It serves as the basis for the civil rights movement and ensures that every American has equal rights in this country, no matter who they are or where they come from. As Trump and Republicans attempt to undermine these liberties, House Democrats stand united in fighting for equal opportunity and equal protection under the law, and I’m grateful to Reps. Mejia, Cleaver, Randall, Simon and Subramanyam for their leadership in this fight,” said Chairman Pete Aguilar. 

“We are witnessing a coordinated campaign by the Trump administration and a radicalized Supreme Court to dismantle the fundamental freedoms forged in the aftermath of slavery and protected by the 14th Amendment, including the right to vote, equal protection and due process under the law, and the citizenship of every child born on this soil. This is a deliberate strategy to silence the communities who fought hardest to build this democracy and to strip them of the rights they bled for,” said Rep. Analilia Mejia. “I formed the Defend the 14th Amendment Task Force with my colleagues because these rights have never been self-executing — they have been won through struggle, defended through sacrifice, and they will be defended again. Democracy is only possible with equality, and equality is only made possible by the 14th Amendment.” 

“Last week’s decision affirmed the actual words in the constitution — that if you are born in this country, you are a citizen of this country — but the fact the 4 justices dissented shows that we’re not safe from these continuous attacks from Donald Trump, his administration, and what is an activist and extremist conservative Supreme Court. We have to continue fighting to ensure that the citizens of the United States are protected and that nothing erodes that constitutional protection,” said Rep. Emily Randall. 

“The 14th Amendment granted citizenship BOTH to formerly enslaved people and all persons born in this nation. While the Supreme Court did their basic job in affirming the Constitution, threats to our constitutional and civil rights remain,” said Rep. Lateefah Simon. Republicans are hell bent on redrawing this nation in their image. The 14th Amendment was fought for – not given, and I join my colleagues as leaders of this Task Force and the continued effort to fight for and defend the 14th Amendment. 

“Birthright citizenship continues to be under attack by the President Trump and his administration. I am excited to join my colleagues as we push to protect the 14th Amendment and make sure we uphold it for generations to come. It is a core principle that belonging in this country is a right you are born with, not a gift that can be taken away,” said Rep. Suhas Subramanyam. 

Following the Task Force’s launch, Rep. Cleaver joined his fellow co-chairs on the House floor during a Special Order Hour focused on defending the Fourteenth Amendment and warning against efforts to erode constitutional rights incrementally.  

“History teaches us that constitutional rights are rarely lost all at once,” Rep. Cleaver said during his floor remarks. “They’re chipped away slowly – one exception, one excuse, one precedent at a time – until Americans wake up and discover that what once seemed guaranteed has quietly disappeared. We will defend equal protection. We will defend due process. We will defend birthright citizenship. And we will continue fighting until the promise of the 14th Amendment is not merely something we celebrate in history books, but something every American can experience in their daily lives.”

Watch Rep. Cleaver’s remarks from the House floor here.

Emanuel Cleaver, II is the U.S. Representative for Missouri’s Fifth Congressional District, which includes Kansas City, Independence, Lee’s Summit, Raytown, Grandview, Sugar Creek, Greenwood, Blue Springs, North Kansas City, Gladstone, and Claycomo. He is a member of the exclusive House Financial Services Committee and Ranking Member of the House Subcommittee on Housing and Insurance.

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Read More (Rep. Steube’s Years-Long Fight to “Lock the Clock” Clears the House)

Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Greg Steube (FL-17)

July 15, 2026 | Press Releases

Congressman Steube providing remarks on the House floor on Tuesday, July 14, 2026.
WASHINGTON–The U.S. House of Representatives on Tuesday passed the Sunshine Protection Act, legislation to end the twice-yearly changing of clocks and make daylight saving time permanent nationwide. The bill passed by a vote of 308-117 and now heads to the Senate. “This vote has been years in the making. In 2018, I was in a barbershop in Manatee County right after we changed our clocks, and I heard an entire room of Floridians frustrated about losing daylight in the evening,” said Rep. Greg Steube. “That conversation led me to introduce the Sunshine Protection Act in the Florida State Senate. We passed it that year and Governor Rick Scott signed it into law, but Florida couldn’t implement it until Congress acted. Now, after years of work, Congress finally gave Floridians and Americans across the country the vote we’ve been waiting for. It’s time to lock the clock!” For Rep. Steube, this week’s vote is the culmination of a fight that began eight years ago in the Florida Legislature. As a Florida state senator in 2018, Rep. Steube carried legislation creating Florida’s own Sunshine Protection Act, committing the state to permanent daylight saving time contingent on Congress changing federal law. Since arriving in Washington, Rep. Steube has continued that fight as a cosponsor of the federal Sunshine Protection Act, and in November 2024 filed a discharge petition to force a floor vote after the bill stalled in committee. The Sunshine Protection Act was introduced by Rep. Vern Buchanan (R-Fla.) and is led in the Senate by Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.). The legislation would end the practice of changing clocks twice a year, allowing states to remain on daylight saving time year-round. 
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Congressman Baird Introduces Bill to Give States, Territories, and Tribes a Stronger Voice at EPA

Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Jim Baird (R-IN-04)

Today, Congressman Jim Baird (IN-04) introduced H.R. 9663 the  State Standing Committee Act. This bill establishes a State Standing Committee to advise the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The committee would give on-the-ground experience from each state and region counseling EPA decisions.

“The federal government always does better when local input is paramount in its decision making, said Congressman Baird. The EPA is no different, and this State Standing Committee can provide the key information, context, and expertise that only come from the states, territories, and tribes where much of the EPA’s work originates. I strongly urge my fellow committee members to pass the State Science Committee Act. Local experts should have input in the decisions directly affecting their own communities.” 
 
The State Standing Committee (SSC) would serve as a complementary body to the Science Advisory Board (SAB), which is tasked with providing the EPA Administrator national-level scientific counsel. However, unlike SAB members, who are appointed based on a broad range of backgrounds and qualifications, SSC members would be employees of state, territorial, or tribal agencies. By creating a formal mechanism for submitting region-specific scientific and technical advice, the SSC would help ensure that local expertise is represented and more effectively integrates local perspectives into federal policymaking and regulatory actions. When appropriate, SSC members could convene working groups to address regional or multi-jurisdictional issues.
 
Additional Background: 
The State Standing Committee would include one member from each state, federal district, federal territory, and federally recognized tribe to advise the EPA on agency decisions. 

The bill also expands the Science Advisory Board’s authority to receive matters not only from the EPA Administrator but also appropriate congressional committees.
 
Member Qualifications:

  • Reside within their respective state, federal district, federal territory, or federally recognized tribe. 
  • Be employed by a government agency within their respective jurisdiction responsible for environmental protection, natural resources, agriculture, or regulatory compliance with environmental standards.
  • Possess relevant education, training, or professional experience to evaluate scientific or technical information.
  • To avoid conflicts of interest, State Standing Committee members may not simultaneously serve on or be employed by the EPA’s Science Advisory Board. 

 
Members would be selected jointly by the EPA Administrator and the Science Advisory Board through an open, competitive, and merit-based process. Service would be voluntary, unpaid, and performed on an ad hoc basis. Any vacancies must be filled within 90 days using the same selection process. 
 
Read the full bill text here.

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Larsen Demands Independent Investigations into Killings of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, Johan Sebastian Guerrero

Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Rick Larsen (2nd Congressional District Washington)

This week, U.S. Representative Rick Larsen (WA-02) joined nearly 200 House Democrats in calling for independent investigations into Lorenzo Salgado Araujo and Johan Sebastian Guerrero’s deaths and demanding that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) halt removal proceedings against the witnesses. 

“Both of these incidents have created enormous fear and outrage in the community, and raise serious questions about the safety of community members, regardless of immigration status,” wrote the Members. “Far too many people, Americans and noncitizens alike, are dead as a result of DHS’s reckless actions. There must be accountability and independent investigations.” 

On July 7th, ICE agents shot and killed Mr. Salgado Araujo, a father of three U.S. citizens who had resided in the country for 35 years. He was reportedly not ICE’s target in their operation, and despite ICE’s claims that Mr. Salgado Araujo “weaponized his vehicle,” no evidence to substantiate that claim has been presented, and it is disputed by witnesses in the vehicle.  

On July 13th, ICE agents shot and killed Mr. Guerrero, a father who also was reportedly not the target of enforcement actions. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) claims to have shot him in concern for “public safety” after he “attempted to flee.” The agency does not allege that at any point officers feared for their safety. Video of this killing shows ICE officers handcuffing Mr. Guerrero even after he had been shot in the head.  

DHS agents, including ICE agents, have shot at least 21 people just since the start of President Donald Trump’s second term. Six of these shootings have been fatal, resulting in the death of U.S. citizens and individuals who posed no public safety threat. In two previous shootings, ICE has claimed that victims were also “weaponizing” their vehicles, claims that have turned out to be false statements as evidence emerged. 

In addition to the demands for an independent investigation and the commitment that witnesses to the killing of Mr. Salgado Araujo not be deported, the Members are asking for a detailed breakdown of all training materials and guidelines around vehicle stops.  

The full text of the letter to DHS Secretary Mullin and ICE Acting Director Venturella can be read here. 

Larsen Demands ICE Accountability 

Last month, Rep. Larsen voted against a bill that would fund ICE without placing additional guardrails on the agency and requiring that the agency is required to follow the same rules as every other local, state and federal law enforcement agency.  

Rep. Larsen supports strengthening accountability and oversight of ICE operations and DHS detention facilities, including: 

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Rep. Angie Craig Pushes Trump Administration to Shut Down Notorious ICE Processing Center Run by Private Prison Operator, CoreCivic

Source: United States House of Representatives – Congresswoman Angie Craig (MN-02)

WASHINGTON, DC – Today, U.S. Representative Angie Craig joined 108 of her colleagues in pushing the Trump Administration to shut down the notorious Dilley Immigration Processing Center in South Texas run by private prison contractor, CoreCivic. In a letter to Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Markwayne Mullin, Rep. Craig and her colleagues blasted Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and CoreCivic for profiting off the detention of migrant families, including children. 

Dilley, where five-year old Liam Ramos was held after being picked up by ICE in Columbia Heights, MN, is the only ICE facility in the country dedicated to detaining families with children. Current and former detainees have been outspoken about the unacceptable and dehumanizing conditions at the facility, including food contaminated with worms and mold, a lack of adequate education for school-age children and delayed and denied medical care. Detainees blame both ICE and CoreCivic, a company in which President Trump owns stock. 

“Former and current detained families describe horrific conditions perpetuated by CoreCivic and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) that are meant to strip them of their dignity and make them feel hopeless,” the Members wrote. “Americans have watched ICE’s brutality play out in their communities, but what happens behind the walls of the Dilley detention facility remains out of sight by design. DHS must stop imprisoning families, end this inhumanity, and close the Dilley detention facility.”

The Members specifically called out CoreCivic for using President Trump’s mass deportation agenda to profit millions of dollars from its contract with ICE.

“Patrick Swindle, President and CEO of CoreCivic, recently boasted that CoreCivic provides the most humane, most efficient, most compliant, and best value to the government,” the Members continued. “Here, ‘best value’ means maximizing profit through lack of trained personnel, inedible food, and insufficient medical care. CoreCivic cares about their bottom line, not about the people in their care.”

“No child and family should be imprisoned for seeking safety by legitimately following United States immigration laws,” the Members concluded.

Rep. Craig has taken the Trump Administration to task over its reckless and lawless immigration agenda and has fought to bring home Minnesotans wrongfully detained by ICE. 

Last month, she successfully secured the release of her constituent, Andrea Pedro-Francisco, who was held in ICE detention while suffering from an untreated ovarian cyst. In May, she traveled to El Paso, TX to visit Pedro-Francisco and conduct oversight of two ICE detention facilities—Camp East Montana and the El Paso Service Processing Center. 

Earlier this year, she conducted four oversight visits of the ICE processing center at the Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building in Minneapolis. Following her third visit with Rep. Ilhan Omar (MN-05), she sent a letter to former DHS Secretary Kristi Noem expressing concern that no detainees were present during their visit despite reports that individuals were being held at Whipple and slamming Noem for previously denying them their constitutional right to conduct unannounced oversight visits. Rep. Craig also introduced articles of impeachment against former Secretary Noem in January before she was ultimately fired in March.

She has vocally opposed the opening of any new ICE facilities in Minnesota, including a proposed ICE detention center in Shakopee, which she successfully quashed alongside state and local leaders. And this Congress, she helped introduce the Humanitarian Standards for Individuals in ICE and CBP Custody Act to establish standards of care for individuals held in Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and ICE custody.

You can read the full text of the letter here.

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Jayapal Introduces Orlin’s Law Calling for the Protection of Children of Immigrants

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

WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Representative Pramila Jayapal (WA-07), Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Immigration, Integrity, Security, and Enforcement, is introducing Orlin’s Law, legislation named for Orlin Hernandez Reyes. Three-year-old Orlin was murdered after his mother was deported and he was sent to live with a violent uncle, despite his mother’s request to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) that her son be deported with her. As Jayapal introduces the legislation, she is also demanding answers from Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Markwayne Mullin and ICE Acting Director David Venturella as children continue to be separated from their parents. 

“Orlin was violently assaulted and killed after ICE took him from his mother — an immigrant with no criminal record who was picked up on her way to work. There are no words to express the outrage and heartbreak that we should all feel for this three-year-old boy,” said Jayapal. “There will never be justice for his family, because we cannot bring Orlin back. We can, though, in his memory demand that this never happen again, and ensure that the children of immigrants and immigrant families are protected and kept together.”

“I begged them not to take me without my son,” Wendy Hernandez Reyes, mother of Orlin Hernandez Reyes. “I told the officers Orlin was just a baby, that I would go wherever they sent me, as long as he came too. They didn’t listen. Just weeks later, Orlin was gone. No child should die alone because no one stopped to ask what would happen to them after their mother was taken away. I’m supporting Orlin’s Law because I don’t want another parent to endure the pain I have suffered. Nothing will bring Orlin back, but I hope his story can help save another child’s life.”

“Wendy did the one thing a mother in that moment could do: she begged ICE officers to keep her with her son,” Shalyn Fluharty, Lee & Godshall-Bennett, LLP, attorney for Wendy Hernandez Reyes. “Instead, she was deported alone, and Orlin was left with someone who would later kill him. This was not an unavoidable tragedy. It was the foreseeable consequence of separating a young child from his mother. Orlin’s Law will help ensure that families are not needlessly separated, that parents have the opportunity to make decisions about their children’s care if detained, and that no parent is deported without their child if they want to remain together. We owe that to Orlin, and to every child whose safety depends on the decisions our government makes.”

At the time of Orlin’s death, Acting ICE director Todd M. Lyons alleged that Orlin’s mother, Wendy Hernandez Reyes, had abandoned him and “chose to leave her son here with a violent murderer.” Lyon’s assertion is contradicted by court records and Ms. Hernandez Reyes’s account. 

Orlin’s Law would promote family unity and preserve parental rights by establishing a rule that prevents ICE from detaining parents and primary caregivers unless it can show, through clear and convincing evidence, that an individual poses a specific risk to public safety that cannot be mitigated through placement in a supervised release program. For any parent not released, the bill establishes an Office of Detained Parent Coordination to ensure that detained parents’ rights are respected and requires ICE to give parents every opportunity to make custody decisions for their child and to facilitate their participation in proceedings involving their child. It would also prevent ICE from deporting parents without their child, should they wish to take their child with them.

“We commend Representative Jayapal for introducing Orlin’s Law to ensure that families are not needlessly separated due to immigration enforcement and that parents are able to make decisions about what happens to their children,” said Wendy Cervantes, director of immigration and immigrant families of the Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP) and director of the Children Thrive Action Network. “The bottom line is that Orlin should never have been separated from his loving mother, and no child should live in fear of losing a parent. Children have suffered some of the direst consequences of the Trump Administration’s reckless mass deportation campaign, including CLASP’s research that documents how our youngest kids are having their childhoods taken away, with the terror spreading across entire communities. We call on Congress to pass Orlin’s Law to mitigate the harm of immigration raids on children and to hold the Administration accountable by demanding that the Department of Homeland Security release comprehensive data on the number of children impacted by immigration enforcement and to follow its own policy to ensure detained parents can make decisions about their children’s care.”

“Family separation did not end when the Trump administration’s border policy was struck down, it simply changed form. Under today’s mass deportation agenda, ICE is tearing young children from their parents, leaving them alone with no one to advocate on their behalf,” said Sarah Mehta, Deputy Director, Policy and Government Affairs for Immigration, American Civil Liberties Union. “Orlin’s Law would ensure that children can remain safely with their parents and loved ones, and that parents, not immigration agents, decide what is best for their children. We are grateful to Congresswoman Jayapal for leading this effort to keep children safe and families together.”

Jayapal worked closely with DHS officials to ensure Ms. Hernandez Reyes could return to the U.S. for Orlin’s funeral. 

The full text of Orlin’s Law can be read here, and the full text of the letter to Mullin and Venturella can be read here.

Jayapal is joined in introducing Orlin’s Law by Representatives Nanette Barragán (CA-44), André Carson (IN-07), Greg Casar (TX-35), Judy Chu (CA-28), J. Luis Correa (CA-46), Jasmine Crockett (TX-30), Danny K. Davis (IL-07), Mark DeSaulnier (CA-10), Maxine Dexter (OR-03), Maxwell Frost (FL-10), Jesús “Chuy” García (IL-04), Dan Goldman (NY-10), Henry C. “Hank” Johnson, Jr. (GA-04), Raja Krishnamoorthi (IL-08), Summer Lee (PA-12), Ted W. Lieu (CA-36), James P. McGovern (MA-02), Analilia Mejia (NJ-11), Ilhan Omar (MN-05), Mark Pocan (WI-02), Lateefah Simon (CA-12), Adam Smith (WA-09), Rashida Tlaib (MI-12), Paul D. Tonko (NY-20), Nydia M. Velázquez (NY-07), and Debbie Wasserman Schultz (FL-25). 

The legislation is endorsed by the ACLU; Acacia Center for Justice; All Our Kin; Amnesty International USA; AP-OD (Abriendo Puertas/Opening Doors); Asian Americans Advancing Justice | AAJC; Center for Gender & Refugee Studies; Center for Law and Social Policy; Children’s Rights; Community Change Action; First Focus Campaign For Children; Justice in Motion; Kids in Need of Defense; MoveOn; National Center for Youth Law; National Immigrant Justice Center; National Immigration Law Center; Unitarian Universalists for Social Justice; We are CASA ; Women’s Refugee Commission; Young Center for Immigrant Children’s Rights; ZERO TO THREE; The Children’s Partnership; Coalition for a Healthier Frederick County; Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights; Northwest Immigrant Rights Project; OneAmerica; Voices for Utah Children; Wisconsin Head Start Association.

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Bipartisan Support Grows for Pappas Bill to Strengthen Infrastructure for Local Police and Fire Departments

Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Chris Pappas (D-NH)

The Problem Solvers Caucus – a group evenly split between Republicans and Democrats – has endorsed Pappas’s BUILD Act

The Problem Solvers Caucus endorsedCongressman Chris Pappas (NH-01)’s bipartisan Building Up Infrastructure for Local Departments (BUILD) Act (H.R. 2979), legislation to help small and rural law enforcement agencies and fire departments modernize outdated facilities and better meet the demands of public safety in the 21st century. Pappas is a member of the Problem Solvers Caucus and has been rated among the most independent, bipartisan members of Congress.

Across the country, thousands of local law enforcement agencies and fire departments operate out of facilities that no longer meet the demands of modern public safety. More than 40 percent of all firehouses were built in the 1980s or earlier, with an estimated replacement cost of $70 billion to $100 billion, while many local law enforcement agencies face similar infrastructure challenges. This bipartisan legislation would help ensure small and rural departments have access to the modern infrastructure needed to meet today’s public safety challenges.

“Upgrading our public safety infrastructure to modern standards is critically important for community safety. I know from my conversations with local law enforcement, fire fighters, and town representatives that this legislation is desperately needed,” said Congressman Chris Pappas (NH-01). “I’m glad to have the bipartisan Problem Solvers Caucus endorse my legislation to provide police and fire departments with federal resources to make necessary facility upgrades, which will support our officers and improve public safety. I will continue to work alongside our local departments, officials, and with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to advocate for the resources our communities need.”

This legislation earned praise from New Hampshire law enforcement and local officials in the rural towns of Candia and Danville when it was first introduced in 2023. It is also supported by the National Sheriffs’ Association, the Law Enforcement Action Partnership, and GIFFORDS.

The BUILD Act would:

  • Authorize a new BUILD grant program at the Department of Justice to modify, upgrade, or construct facilities for small local law enforcement agencies serving jurisdictions of less than 50,000;
  • Authorize a new BUILD-FIRE grant program at the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to modify, upgrade, or construct facilities for small fire and fire/EMS departments serving jurisdictions of less than 50,000;
  • Require a GAO study of the sufficiency of the existing capital infrastructure of small public safety agencies over the near-term and long-term;
  • Require the Attorney General to conduct and publish a study of the met and unmet construction and renovation needs of a national sample of police departments; and
  • Require the Secretary of Homeland Security to conduct and publish a study of the met and unmet construction and renovation needs of a national sample of fire departments. 

Eligible projects could receive up to $4 million in funding for projects that would improve the provision of emergency services, training and development of public safety personnel, recruitment and retention of public safety personnel, community engagement, and overall community safety.

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VIDEO: Pressley Slams CFPB Director Vought for Gutting Consumer Protections for Families with Medical Debt

Source: United States House of Representatives – Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley (MA-07)

“So let me be clear to families throughout the country: the only people who should be ashamed of medical debt is the Republican Party because they have obstructed progress for affordable health care at every turn, and then they rescinded the rule that would have given you some relief.”

WASHINGTON – During a House Financial Services Committee hearing, Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley (MA-07) slammed Director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) Russell Vought for rescinding medical debt collection rules that provided essential consumer protections to families burdened by medical debt.

Congresswoman Pressley leads legislation to restore the CFPB’s advisory opinion that would protect consumers by preventing debt collectors from engaging in unfair or deceptive medical debt collection practices.

A transcript of Congresswoman Pressley’s remarks is available below and the video is available here.

Transcript: Pressley Slams CFPB Director Vought for Gutting Consumer Protections for Families with Medical Debt

House Financial Services Committee

July 15, 2026

REP. PRESSLEY: Director Vought, I too am, I’m glad that you’re leaving. 

Sadly, your harm will remain for generations to come. 

I have every reason to believe that history will judge you harshly, especially in that you were a key author of Project 2025—again, implications that we’ll be feeling for generations.

Like this: $500 billion.

Director Vought, that’s how much medical debt Americans hold. 

In fact, many families have medical debt over $50,000. 

Now, that may not be a lot of money to Republicans like Trump, who quote, “don’t think about Americans’ financial situation.” But that is a lot of money for most people. 

This is debt people accumulated during the most challenging times in their lives, like battling cancer or recovering from an accident. 

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, under Biden, issued rules making sure that medical debt would not be reported on credit reports and put guardrails around how that debt can be collected—commonsense things like companies not being able to come after you for bills you’ve already paid. 

Now, to be clear, these kinds of protections were supported by families throughout the country, Director Vought, in rural communities, in urban communities, in suburban communities and in Democratic and Republican districts.

But Director Vought, you took that away when you rescinded those rules. 

Director Vought, give me one reason why companies should be able to harass cancer survivors to collect more than they owe for a medical bill?

DIRECTOR VOUGHT: Well, they shouldn’t be able to harass, and we have laws on the books that, but the rules that we changed were specifically—

REP. PRESSLEY: Give me one good reason. You rescinded the rule where medical debt would not have been reported on credit reports—

DIRECTOR VOUGHT: Because the statute wouldn’t allow—

REP. PRESSLEY: You don’t have one good reason. Moving on.

DIRECTOR VOUGHT: The statute literally said—

REP. PRESSLEY: There is not one good reason. You claim, you avow that you are a self-proclaimed Christian nationalist, so I’m sure you spent some time in Sunday school.

DIRECTOR VOUGHT: That’s a pejorative—

REP. PRESSLEY: I’m sorry, did you happen upon a scripture that said, “Thou shall make their neighbor poorer, hungrier, sicker, and less safe?” That’s actually what you’ve done.

DIRECTOR VOUGHT: I—

REP. PRESSLEY: I didn’t ask you to speak. This makes no sense. You are as incompetent as you are cruel and callous. 

Seriously, there are millions of families who have had to deal with an unexpected medical crisis—including yours, I’m sure—because cancer and illness do not discriminate. They don’t care how fat your wallet is or what your zip code is. 

Everyone has been faced with some unexpected crisis that interrupted their life and destabilized their financial future—carrying the burden of caregiving, carrying the burden of sleepless nights, carrying the burden of debt unpaid, medical bills. 

But what upsets me most—please look at me. What upsets me most is the shame that people carry about that debt. 

So let me be clear to families throughout the country: the only people who should be ashamed of medical debt is the Republican Party because they have obstructed progress for affordable health care at every turn, and then they rescinded the rule that would have given you some relief—

REP. STUTZMAN: Will the gentle lady yield?

REP. PRESSLEY: I will not. This is my time. 

REP. STUTZMAN: Will the gentle lady yield?

REP. PRESSLEY: I will not yield. This is my time, and he’s on his way out the door, and he needs to know exactly the harm he has caused. But the American people deserve to know—

REP. STUTZMAN: We should talk about Obamacare—

REP. PRESSLEY: I will not yield. 

FSC CHAIR HILL: It’s Ms. Pressley’s time. 

REP. PRESSLEY: Why are you speaking to me? Why are you speaking to me when I didn’t yield to you? 

Director Vought, you have gutted the CFPB. 

You have dropped settlements the CFPB brought against predatory companies that were supposed to provide relief to customers. 

$360 million to help people—gone. 

Americans are in dire need of financial relief, but Trump and his co-conspirators, his cult of co-conspirators are making life worse for everyday people, and I mean everyone: women, the disabled, young people, seniors, veterans, immigrants, and especially people of color who are most burdened by debt and predatory collection reporting practices. 

That is exactly why I introduced legislation to stop you from hurting people, like getting rid of consumer protections related to medical debt. 

The American public deserves better. They deserve better than you. 

They deserve a CFPB director who puts the consumer protection in this, who actually gives a damn instead of attacking hardworking families who are financially trapped by Trump’s reckless policies.

Consumer protection should not be a partisan issue or a political game. 

You have dedicated your career to helping corporations get richer, making families sicker, poorer, and less safe, and there is nothing Christian about that.

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In May 2026, Congresswoman Pressley introduced a Congressional Review Act (CRA) resolution that would restore the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (CFPB) advisory opinion that would protect consumers by preventing debt collectors from engaging in unfair or deceptive medical debt collection practices. The Congresswoman’s resolution was included in a suite of CRA resolutions led by Ranking Member Maxine Waters (D-CA) and House Financial Services Committee Democrats that would restore critical CFPB guidance designed to protect consumers that were rescinded by the Trump Administration under Acting CFPB Director Russell Vought.

In March 2026, Congresswoman Pressley emphasized the need for consumers’ autonomy over their financial information and history and protection from big banks and FinTech companies sharing such data without explicit consent.

In February 2025, Congresswoman Pressley joined Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Ranking Member Maxine Waters (D-CA) at a rally with colleagues, workers and advocates to protest Donald Trump and Elon Musk’s unlawful takeover of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

In October 2019, Congresswoman Pressley introduced H.R. 5021, the Ending Debt Collection Harassment Act, legislation that requires the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) to regulate the debt collection industry. The legislation passed the House in May 2021.