MIL USHOR-2b Engine

Source: United States House of Representatives – Representative Sean Casten (IL-06)

Source: United States House of Representatives – Representative Salud Carbajal (CA-24)

Senior Member of the House Armed Services Committee, Congressman Salud Carbajal (CA-24), led a group of 69 House Democrats in a letter to National Security Advisor Michael Waltz, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio over the incredible incompetence displayed by their use of Signal to communicate highly sensitive national security information.

“The Trump Administration’s national security team demonstrated incredible incompetence and carelessness by using Signal to communicate highly sensitive national security information,” said Rep. Carbajal. “These reckless actions not only jeopardized the safety of our country, but it also put the lives of servicemembers at risk. Secure communication channels are essential to protecting our national security, and the use of platforms like Signal to communicate highly classified information is a clear failure in safeguarding the trust placed in our government. There must be accountability for this dangerous lapse in judgment, starting with the immediate resignation of Secretary Hegseth. We cannot afford to allow this negligence to go unaddressed.”

The full text of the letter is available here and below.

The letter was also signed by: Representatives Veronica Escobar, Marilyn Strickland, Sarah Elfreth, Derek Tran, Brad Sherman, Greg Stanton, LaMonica McIver, Patrick Ryan, Gilbert Cisneros, Jr., Norma Torres, Ritchie Torres, Jonathan Jackson, Mark Pocan, Gabe Vasquez, Jill Tokuda, Brendan Boyle, Juan Vargas, Nydia Velázquez, Rick Larsen, Luis Correa, Brittany Pettersen, Robin Kelly, Jan Schakowsky, James McGovern, Sarah McBride, Dave Min, Wesley Bell, Nellie Pou, Jared Huffman, André  Carson, Steve Cohen, Nikema Williams, Raul Ruiz, Jim Costa, Mark Takano, Madeleine Dean, Julie Johnson, Marc Veasey, Sara Jacobs, Yassamin Ansari, Val Hoyle, Debbie Wasserman Schultz, George Latimer, Dina Titus, Darren Soto, Chris Pappas, Ted Lieu, Judy Chu, Nanette Diaz Barragán, Mike Levin, Glenn Ivey, Dwight Evans, Melanie Stansbury, Jerrod Nadler, Marcy Kaptur, Mikie Sherrill, Yvette Clarke, Paul Tonko, Eleanor Holmes Norton, Robert Menendez, Maggie Goodlander, Bradley Schneider, Eric Swalwell, Jennifer McClellan, Vicente Gonzalez, John Garamendi, Alma Adams, Janelle Bynum, and Teresa Ledger Fernandez.

March 26, 2025

Dear Secretary Hegseth, Secretary Rubio, Director Gabbard, and Mr. Waltz,

We write to express grave concern over your handling of sensitive information regarding military operations in Yemen and potential risks to our servicemembers carrying out this mission. The Atlantic reported that their Editor-in-Chief Jeffrey Goldberg was added to a Signal group chat on March 13 titled “Houthi PC small group.” Fortunately, an American journalist was added and not anyone who could have used this information to cause significant harm to the United States.

As more evidence has come to light, the misconduct in the group chat has become further undefendable and inexcusable. You all jeopardized the lives of servicemembers. There must be accountability starting with the immediate resignation of Secretary Hegseth.

The degree of incompetence, carelessness, and irresponsibility is difficult to underscore. It is incomprehensible that the heads of the world’s most powerful government were unknowingly sharing secret military plans and knowingly using an unsecure communications method to do so. A bad actor or foreign contact could have easily been added to this Signal group instead of Mr. Goldberg. This experience was so absurd that Mr. Goldberg thought it more likely to be a disinformation campaign or artificial intelligence than several key members of our government, many who sit on the National Security Council.

This encounter calls into question the way in which this operation was discussed. It was reported that classified or highly sensitive information was being shared over Signal. Information that if leaked to the wrong sources could have resulted in dire national security consequences. As the article goes on to state, there are legitimate questions on whether laws like the Espionage Act or laws on preserving official federal records were violated.

If you had not added a non-government individual to this Signal group, then this breach would never have come to light. This does not inspire confidence that other classified communications have been handled through proper channels or that this national security team is taking these issues seriously.

We hope you understand the gravity of this situation. The decisions you make have a significant impact on our national security and the safety of our servicemembers. We will be demanding accountability and transparency in what transpired. For the sake of our national security, we ask that you fully and willingly cooperate with Congress in any forthcoming hearings or investigations.

Source: United States House of Representatives – Congresswoman Chellie Pingree (1st District of Maine)

Senate Interior-Environment Appropriations Subcommittee Ranking Member Jeff Merkley (D-OR) and House Interior-Environment Appropriations Subcommittee Ranking Member Chellie Pingree (ME-01) denounced plans by Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lee Zeldin to eliminate all of the agency’s offices and positions related to environmental justice and diversity, equity, and inclusion. Their letter follows Administrator Zeldin submitting the EPA’s statutorily required reorganization plans to the House and Senate Committees on Appropriations. This reorganization was slated to take effect as soon as yesterday.

“We reject and oppose the so-called reorganization actions submitted to our Committees…that would not reorganize, but instead eliminate, all diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) offices and all environmental justice offices and positions at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) by March 26, 2025,” wrote the Ranking Members of the Appropriations subcommittees that oversee funding for the EPA. “Additionally, in violation of the above referenced section, the Agency failed to comply with longstanding reorganization and reprogramming requirements.  We are alarmed at the President’s and your efforts to dismantle programs designed – and funded on a bipartisan basis – to address the disproportionate environmental harms predominantly suffered by low-income, rural, and racially diverse communities.”

“Countless other examples show how communities are persistently marginalized, such as ‘Cancer Alley’ in Louisiana where a concentration of many petrochemical plans and refineries contaminate the air and land of surrounding Black and underrepresented communities; when the state of Mississippi neglected to repair a failing drinking water system for decades that serves 160,000 people in the minority-majority city of Jackson, exposing the entire population, including children, to high levels of lead and sewage; and when the Tennessee Valley Authority moved four million cubic yards of spilled coal ash, which has been shown to cause brain cancer, lung cancer, and leukemia, to a predominantly Black community of Uniontown, Alabama,” they continued.The Senate and House Interior-Environment Appropriations Subcommittees funded, on a bipartisan basis, these programs at the EPA. For environmental justice, the EPA programs provided $100 million for fiscal year 2022, $108 million for fiscal year 2023, $100 million for fiscal year 2024, and most recently $100 million for fiscal year 2025. The senior lawmakers stressed, “This funding must be allocated through dedicated programs by staff with knowledge and experience to support marginalized communities like these – a task made impossible by firing staff and closing these critical offices.”

“We reject and oppose these office closures and staff terminations as well as the illegal impoundment actions that have already been taken to eliminate funding for these annual appropriations and funding provided under the Inflation Reduction Act for environmental justice and DEI programs,” the Appropriators strongly concluded.

Full text of the letter can be found by clicking here and follows below:

Dear Administrator Zeldin:

We reject and oppose the so-called reorganization actions submitted to our Committees on March 20, 2025 pursuant to section 442 of Division E of the Further Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2024 (P.L. 118-42) and subsequently carried forward in the Full-Year Continuing Appropriations and Extensions Act, 2025 (P.L. 119-4)  that would not reorganize, but instead eliminate, all diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) offices and all environmental justice offices and positions at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) by March 26, 2025.  Additionally, in violation of the above referenced section, the Agency failed to comply with longstanding reorganization and reprogramming requirements.  We are alarmed at the President’s and your efforts to dismantle programs designed – and funded on a bipartisan basis – to address the disproportionate environmental harms predominantly suffered by low-income, rural, and racially diverse communities. 

The concept of environmental justice is not new.  It began nearly 50 years ago when wealthy residents in Warren County, North Carolina, protested the siting of a toxic waste plant near their neighborhood.  Instead, the plant was constructed in a rural and low-income area, polluting the area with PCBs, cancer-causing toxic chemicals.  

Countless other examples show how communities are persistently marginalized, such as “Cancer Alley” in Louisiana where a concentration of many petrochemical plans and refineries contaminate the air and land of surrounding Black and underrepresented communities; when the state of Mississippi neglected to repair a failing drinking water system for decades that serves 160,000 people in the minority-majority city of Jackson, exposing the entire population, including children, to high levels of lead and sewage; and when the Tennessee Valley Authority moved four million cubic yards of spilled coal ash, which has been shown to cause brain cancer, lung cancer, and leukemia, to a predominantly Black community of Uniontown, Alabama.

These events and others prompted the EPA to convene the first Environmental Equity Work Group in 1990, followed by the establishment of the Office of Environmental Justice in 1992. By 1994 the federal government ordered the integration of environmental justice into federal agency missions and work. This work is not new to the federal government or EPA and environmental justice at the EPA has always been about all Americans having the right to the same environmental protections and benefits regardless of race, color, national origin, or income.

Our Committees have specifically provided funding – again, on a bipartisan basis – for environmental justice programs, including $100 million for fiscal year 2022, $108 million for fiscal year 2023, $100 million for fiscal year 2024, and most recently $100 million for fiscal year 2025.  This funding must be allocated through dedicated programs by staff with knowledge and experience to support marginalized communities like these – a task made impossible by firing staff and closing these critical offices.

We reject and oppose these office closures and staff terminations as well as the illegal impoundment actions that have already been taken to eliminate funding for these annual appropriations and funding provided under the Inflation Reduction Act for environmental justice and DEI programs.

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

WASHINGTON – Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-9) today wrote to Russell Vought, the acting director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), with concern at the damage done by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) after mass dismissals of the bureau’s personnel.

The letter seeks answers to a series of questions, including “When do you anticipate CFPB investigations resuming?”

The letter reads in part:

“I write with concern regarding the unlawful actions taken by the Trump Administration to undermine the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB or ‘Consumer Bureau’) and what it means for consumers in my congressional district. This includes illegal orders to stop work, the plans for a mass dismissal of employees on top of the 10 percent of employees that were already dismissed, and the incursion of Elon Musk’s ‘Department of Government Efficiency’ (DOGE) to access sensitive data on millions of consumers and competitors to businesses owned by Mr. Musk. The CFPB is the only Federal agency solely dedicated to protecting consumers from financial fraud, scams, and other unfair, deceptive and abusive products and practices in the financial marketplace, and halting CFPB supervision and enforcement is placing consumers at greater risk.

“Since its inception, the Consumer Bureau has returned more than $21 billion to consumers of which $3.3 billion came from relief from the Civil Penalty Fund. In my state of Tennessee, we have seen over $67 million returned to more than 145,000 consumers—from the Civil Penalty Fund alone.  Furthermore, 133,589 consumers in my state have submitted complaints about various financial products and services since December 2011, including 8,203 servicemembers, with consumer complaints rising by 97 percent from 2023 to 2024.”

See the entire letter here.

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Source: United States House of Representatives – Congresswoman Debbie Dingell (12th District of Michigan)

Congresswoman Debbie Dingell (MI-06) sent a letter to Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert Kennedy Jr. requesting the Secretary commit to protecting long-term care and support services for seniors.

“By the year 2050, nearly 20 percent of the United States population will be 65 or older, compared to 15 percent today,” Dingell writes. “As the nation ages, experts are also contemplating what the increase in the aging population will mean for the workplace, economy, healthcare, and senior living, and what needs to be done to support seniors and the caregivers they rely upon now.”

“Medicaid is the primary source of payment for long-term care in America. Medicaid covers long-term services and supports (LTSS) for roughly 9.3 million older adults and people with disabilities, with roughly 700,000 of those people living in nursing homes,” Dingell continues. “Among people aged 65 and over, about 70 percent will need LTSS in their lifetime. To provide this coverage, Medicaid spends about $200 billion on all LTSS, with $59 billion spent specifically on nursing home care. In addition to funding care in institutional settings, states can seek waivers through Medicaid to provide coverage of Home and Community Based Services (HCBS) which allow people to receive services in the comfort and safety of their own homes.”

“House Republicans are proposing to structurally change the Medicaid program by implementing at least $880 billion in crippling cuts. Because the proposed cuts are so severe, states will have to re-evaluate the level of services they provide. Medicaid cuts would place an enormous financial burden on older adults, people with disabilities, and their families, especially for those who have already spent down their assets and resources to qualify for Medicaid,” Dingell concludes. “Consumers could have to forego needed care entirely, or their family members would be forced to choose between covering their children’s expenses, saving for their own retirement, or helping their loved one.”

Specifically, Dingell requested answers to the following questions:

1. Will you commit to ensuring that the quality of care for long term care services will not be impacted by the actions of the Trump administration?
2. Have you considered how a minimum $880 billion cut to Medicaid will impact access to LTSS?
3. What is the administration’s plan to support seniors who rely on LTSS?

The letter is also signed by Representatives Sanford Bishop, Eleanor Holmes Norton, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Yvette Clarke, Troy Carter, Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick, Dwight Evans, Timothy Kennedy, LaMonica McIver, Terri Sewell, Seth Magaziner, Bennie Thompson, Jennifer McClellan, Lori Trahan, Maxine Waters, Marilyn Strickland, Lou Correa, Hank Johnson, Sarah McBride, Seth Moulton, Mark Pocan, Tom Suozzi, Stephen Lynch, Pramila Jayapal, Nanette Barragan, John Larson, Rashida Tlaib, Andre Carson, Chris Pappas, Maggie Goodlander, Julia Brownley, and Jim McGovern.

View the full text of the letter here.

Dingell has long been a leader in Congress on expanding access to care, specifically home- and community- based services, and supporting the care workforce. She has introduced the Better Care Better Jobs Act and HCBS Access Act to enhance Medicaid funding for home care, strengthen the caregiving workforce, improve quality of life for families, and boost the economy by creating good paying jobs to make it possible for families and workers alike to thrive.

Source: United States House of Representatives – Congresswoman Debbie Dingell (12th District of Michigan)

Dingell Statement on Trump Auto Tariffs

Source: United States House of Representatives – Congresswoman Ann Wagner (R-MO-02)

Washington, D.C. – Congresswoman Ann Wagner (R-MO) reintroduced legislation to protect U.S. citizens from violence directed by foreign powers.  She was joined by her colleagues Congressman Nathaniel Moran (R-TX) and Congressman Brad Schneider (D-IL).

Congresswoman Wagner said: “The United States of America must and will make it clear to the entire world that our adversaries will face consequences for attempting to harm Americans, especially at home within our borders.  As the most powerful nation in the world, we have a solemn responsibility to ensure the safety of our citizens.  Following Iran’s plots to assassinate President Trump, the DETERRENCE Act is even more critical as part of our efforts to confront foreign influence operations and deter any further attacks on our fellow Americans.”

Congressman Schneider said: “Iran’s demonstrated willingness to target Americans with murder-for-hire plots, including elected officials, should shake all Americans and is a clarion call for decisive Congressional action. That’s why I am proud to introduce the bipartisan DETERRENCE Act with my colleagues, increasing the penalties and helping deter these heinous crimes. Our legislation sends a clear message to Iran and other nations or individuals thinking about conspiring against Americans: they will be held to full account for such acts of violence.”

Congressman Moran said: “Assassination attempts and threats against President Trump and other U.S. citizens by Iran underscore the urgent need for strong and practical deterrence against all foreign regimes who seek to harm Americans in our country.  This bipartisan, bicameral legislation is a testament to America’s unwavering commitment to protecting its people and leaders. The DETERRENCE Act delivers a clear and resolute message: any attempt to harm Americans will be met with swift and decisive punishment.”

Source: United States House of Representatives – Congresswoman Ann Wagner (R-MO-02)

Washington, D.C. – Congresswoman Ann Wagner (MO-02), Chair of the Financial Services Subcommittee on Capital Markets, and Congressman Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ) released the following statement after they reintroduced the Financial Exploitation Prevention Act:

“Seniors in our community can be particularly vulnerable to scammers and other bad actors seeking to take advantage of them. The last thing they need after a lifetime saving for retirement is for their hard-earned investments to be stolen from them, and that’s why I reintroduced the Financial Exploitation Prevention Act,” said Congresswoman Ann Wagner (MO-2), Chair of the Financial Services Subcommittee on Capital Markets.  “This legislation will provide essential protections for seniors and ensure their retirement accounts are safe when they need them most.”

“Millions of seniors across the country, including my own mother, have been the victims of financial scams, and far too many have been cheated out of their hard-earned retirement savings. It’s appalling, it’s offensive, and it’s unacceptable,” said Congressman Josh Gottheimer (NJ-5), a member of the House Financial Services Committee. “That’s why I’m proud to co-lead the bipartisan Financial Exploitation Prevention Act, which will take senior fraud and scams head-on by equipping the financial industry with better tools to protect our seniors. We must do everything in our power to stop bad actors from preying on our most vulnerable and ensure seniors can retire with dignity.”

Background

The Financial Exploitation Prevention Act would give the financial industry better tools to address suspected financial exploitation and abuse of seniors and those with mental and physical disabilities. First, the bill requires the Securities and Exchange Commission to report to Congress on recommendations for legislative and regulatory changes on how to combat financial exploitation of seniors and vulnerable adults. Second, the bill permits a registered open-end investment company or transfer agent for that company, including mutual funds, to better protect seniors by delaying the redemption period of any redeemable security if it was reasonably believed that such redemption was requested through the financial exploitation of a security holder who is a senior or an individual unable to protect their own interests.

Seniors aged 65 and over will make up 18% of the U.S. population by 2030. As more investors age into retirement, their risk of exploitation increases. Currently, about 1 in 5 senior investors are victimized by financial fraud, and these investors lose an estimated $3.4 billion per year as a result of financial exploitation.

Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Mario Diaz-Balart (25th District of FLORIDA)

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Congressional Colombia Caucus Co-Chairs, Reps. Mario Díaz-Balart (R-FL-26) and Henry Cuellar (D-TX-28) relaunched the Congressional Colombia Caucus in the 119^th Congress and hosted a meeting with members of Congress of the Republic of Colombia.

The historic relationship between the U.S.-Colombia, spanning over two centuries, cannot be understated. As co-chairs, both Reps. Díaz-Balart and Cuellar have worked to strengthen this alliance, which has greatly benefitted both countries. They look forward to continuing to combat narcoterrorism and further the security interests of the United States and Colombia, as well as working with the people of Colombia and their Congress to advance common goals of stability, prosperity, and democratic governance.

The Congressional Colombia Caucus was founded in 2009 and has been active since.

The following members of the Congress of the Republic of Colombia were in attendance:

• Senator Efrain Cepeda Sarabia, President of the Colombian Congress
• Senator Mauricio Gomez Amin
• Senator Berenice Bedoya
• Senator Lorena Rios
• Senator Carlos Jimenez
• Senator Juan Carlos Garces
• Senator Nicolas Echeverri
• Senator Ana Paola Agudelo
• Senator Honorio Enríquez
• Representative Katherine Miranda
• Representative Carolina Arbelaez

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

– As Delivered –

Mr. Speaker,

Today I rise in disbelief at the troubling stories in The Atlantic magazine, of classified attack plans carelessly leaked by the US Department of Defense in reckless and dangerous fashion. Congress must conduct full independent, public, and private Congressional hearings. The highest national security, and intelligence leaders of our nation put American servicemembers lives at high risk.

All responsible must be held fully accountable, including through removal or resignation from their positions, and these include Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, CIA Director Ratcliffe, Director of National Intelligence Gabbard, Secretary of State Rubio, National Security Adviser Waltz, Chief of Staff Wiles, and Vice President Vance were among those involved in the plans Hegseth shared against DoD policy on a Signal group chat, on unsecured, non-government devices vulnerable to espionage. 

Hegseth failed to notice the group chat included a news editor and reporter with no security clearance. Only Lady Luck graced our nation, as their haphazard approach to war didn’t result in the death of American servicemembers who could have ended up at the bottom of the Red Sea or over foreign soil. Their reckless leak risked American lives and our security. 

As our Marine Corps Uncle would say: Shape up. 

Thank you, Mr. Speaker, I yield back.  

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