MIL USHOR-2b Engine

Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman David G Valadao (CA-21)

Congressman Valadao Releases Statement Upon Passage of Continuing Resolution

Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman David G Valadao (CA-21)

WASHINGTON – Today, Congressman David Valadao (CA-22) joined Rep. Josh Riley (NY-19) in reintroducing the Strengthening Rural Cooperatives and Communities Act. This bipartisan bill reauthorizes and makes improvements to the Rural Cooperative Development Grant Program (RCDG), which helps individuals and businesses start, expand, or improve rural cooperatives or other mutually owned businesses through Cooperative Development Centers.

“Cooperatives are the backbone of rural communities, providing critical services like healthcare, housing, and childcare,” said Congressman Valadao. “By strengthening federal support for these businesses, we can help our rural economies grow and ensure Central Valley families have access to the resources they need. I’m proud to reintroduce this bill with Congressman Riley to invest in the future of our rural communities.”

“Cooperatives put funding directly into the hands of the people who build and sustain our rural communities,” said Rep. Riley. “I’m proud to work across the aisle with Congressman Valadao on this commonsense, bipartisan effort to invest in Upstate New York and the Central Valley, not big corporations and monopolies.”

Background:

A cooperative is a business that is owned and controlled by people who use its services, often for the mutual benefit of a community. This model empowers rural communities to collectively address economic challenges and meet common needs. For instance, a rural community might establish a cooperative to collectively purchase bulk goods like seed and fertilizer, sell members’ farm products to larger markets, or offer utilities like electricity which would otherwise be unavailable to individual families.

The Strengthening Rural Cooperatives and Communities Act reauthorizes the Rural Community Development Grant program and prioritizes cooperatives in RCDG awards. It also cuts burdensome red tape, steers funding toward underserved communities, and measures progress on cooperative development. Specifically, the bill:

• Reauthorizes funding for Rural Community Development Grants at $40 million annually from FY25 to FY29.
• Ensures scoring for grants does not disadvantage under-resourced organizations.
• Reduces regulatory burden by implementing multi-year grants.
• Prioritizes grants for socially vulnerable, underserved, or distressed communities.
• Requires the Working Group on Cooperative Development submit an annual report detailing their activities to Congress.

Read the full bill here.

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Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman David G Valadao (CA-21)

WASHINGTON – Congressman David Valadao (CA-22) joined Rep. Gabe Vasquez (NM-02) to reintroduce the Veteran Education Assistance Adjustment Act. This bipartisan bill would provide additional financial support for veterans who are pursuing vocational training or higher education and would help ensure a successful transition to civilian life.

“Our veterans have sacrificed so much for our country, and the federal government has a duty to support them as they transition back to civilian life,” said Congressman Valadao. “The Veteran Education Assistance Adjustment Act takes necessary steps to modernize the Post-9/11 GI Bill by increasing the annual stipend for educational materials, ensuring it keeps pace with rising costs. This is a common sense, bipartisan effort to give our veterans the resources they need to succeed in the classroom and beyond, and I’m proud to join my colleagues in support.”

“Veterans across New Mexico have made incredible sacrifices for our country, which is why I’m proud to lead the bipartisan Veteran Education Assistance Adjustment Act,” said Rep. Vasquez. “By updating the outdated book supply stipend, this bill ensures that veterans have the resources they need to thrive as they pursue their education.”

The Veteran Education Assistance Adjustment Act would: 

• Update the outdated book/school supply stipend afforded to veterans from $1,000 to $1,400.

• Allows for regular adjustments of the stipend to keep up with inflation.

Read the full bill here.

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Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman David G Valadao (CA-21)

Congressman Valadao Releases Statement Following Tonight’s Presidential Address

Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman David G Valadao (CA-21)

WASHINGTON – Today, Congressman David Valadao (CA-22) joined Rep. Susie Lee (NV-03) to reintroduce the Eliminating the Marriage Penalty in SSI Act (EMPSA). This bipartisan bill, which removes the marriage penalty for Supplemental Security Income (SSI) for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities, ensures that married adults are not penalized by the federal government. 

“No one should have to choose between love and financial security, yet outdated SSI rules unfairly penalize married individuals with disabilities,” said Congressman Valadao. “This bill is a common sense solution that ensures those with intellectual or developmental disabilities can receive the benefits they need while protecting their right to marry.”

“No one should be penalized for getting married, especially when it comes to accessing the critical benefits that so many people in our community rely on,” said Congresswoman Susie Lee. “The Eliminating the Marriage Penalty in SSI Act is a much-needed step toward ensuring married adults with diagnosed intellectual and developmental disabilities get every dollar of the Supplemental Security Income they deserve.”

“We applaud Congressman Valadao and Congresswoman Susie Lee for the reintroduction of the Eliminating the Marriage Penalty in SSI Act (EMPSA) Act,” said National Down Syndrome Society President and CEO, Kandi Pickard. “Marriage should never have to be a distant dream. No one should have to choose between marrying the person they love and securing the vital benefits they need to live and thrive in their communities.”

“This bill would remove the marriage penalty in Supplemental Security Income (SSI) for people with Down syndrome and other intellectual/developmental disabilities so that they will be able to get married without significantly reducing or even losing their SSI benefits,” said National Down Syndrome Congress Executive Director, Jim Hudson. “We are grateful to Rep. Valadao and Rep. Lee for their leadership on this important piece of legislation.”

“No one should have to choose between love, family, and financial stability. Yet, for married couples with disabilities, including autism, the current SSI rules create unnecessary hardships, forcing them to risk losing essential benefits just to be together,” said Keith Wargo, President & CEO of Autism Speaks. “We are grateful to Representatives David Valadao and Susie Lee for taking action to address these outdated policies. Their bipartisan bill will help protect the financial independence of people with disabilities and ensure they aren’t penalized for building a life with the person they love.”

“Eliminating the marriage penalty for people with disabilities on social security insurance makes sense for a population that overwhelmingly earns less than the average American because of their disability,” said Hampus Hillerstrom, President & CEO of LuMind IDSC Foundation. “I see this progress as removing a discriminatory regulation and supportive of their human rights.” 

“The Autism Society strongly supports efforts to eliminate the marriage penalty in Social Security benefits,” said Christopher Banks, President & CEO of the Autism Society of America. “For individuals with autism and other disabilities, these policies create unnecessary financial barriers that undermine the ability to form supportive, stable relationships. By removing this penalty, we ensure that individuals and families can pursue meaningful connections without fear of losing crucial benefits.”

Supporting organizations include: National Down Syndrome Society, National Down Syndrome Congress, Autism Speaks, LuMind IDSC Foundation, and Autism Society of America.

Background: 

• Supplemental Security Income (SSI) is a federal income supplement program designed to help aged, blind, and disabled individuals with limited income and resources meet basic needs. 
• Currently, benefits for a married couple, both of whom receive SSI and have no other income, amount to 25 percent less than the total they would receive if they were living together, but not as husband and wife. 
• For example, if each person receives $841 per month, they will receive $1,261 together after marriage.

Summary: 

The EMSPA Act excludes a spouse’s income and resources when determining eligibility for Supplemental Security Income (SSI), and disregards marital status when calculating the SSI benefit amount, for an adult who has a diagnosed intellectual or developmental disability.

Read the full bill here.

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Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman John Larson (1st District of Connecticut)

Rep. Larson wrote the following Letter to the Editor that appeared in the  Washington Post: 

The July 24 editorial, “The national debt can be tamed,” identified Social Security as one of the “three most urgent areas for reform,” but it is a great misnomer that Social Security adds to the national debt.

Operating independently of the federal budget, Social Security is funded through payroll contributions collected from workers and employers. Though the program is facing insolvency — and a 21 percent cut in benefits — by 2033 if Congress fails to act, it has never missed a payment.

Raising the retirement age — as the editorial proposed — represents a further cut in benefits. Every year the retirement age is raised translates to a 7 percent benefit cut. Raising the age to 70, a proposal embraced by the right-wing Heritage Foundation, would be about a 21 percent cut. This would disproportionately affect many blue-collar workers, who perform physically demanding jobs and often have to retire earlier.

Social Security is the safety net of capitalism and entrepreneurialism. It allows people to take risks while ensuring no one will work all their lives just to end up in poverty.

There are better ways to make Social Security more efficient than cutting benefits. President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, along with The Post’s editorial, call for scrapping the payroll cap on high-income earners. This would extend solvency and allow Congress to enhance benefits.

John B. Larson, East Hartford, Conn.

The writer, a Democrat, represents Connecticut’s 1st Congressional District in the U.S. House.

Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman John Larson (1st District of Connecticut)

Rep. Larson wrote the following op-ed that appeared in Newsweek:

When former President Donald Trump appeared on Fox News promising “big changes” to Social Security, he again demonstrated why he has earned the title of “Conman-in-Chief.” His latest scam is a tax cut that is unpaid for, and in truth, will deplete the Social Security Trust Fund. Thankfully, Newsweek covered the real impact of what the former President has put forward. As the press continues to shine a light on candidates’ plans, it holds them accountable for their actions and their impact on the public.

While some may find his empty promises appealing, the facts put his proposals in perspective. As economic analyst Steve Rattner recently pointed out that Trump’s unpaid for changes to Social Security would move up the Trust Fund’s insolvency date, resulting in an automatic 21 percent benefit cut for beneficiaries.

In last week’s interview, Trump again falsely claimed that undocumented immigrants are “destroying” the system by receiving Social Security. This myth has been disproven by nonpartisan experts like Social Security Chief Actuary Steve Goss, who recently testified before the Ways and Means Committee on the matter. Ironically, undocumented immigrants strengthen the system because they pay into it without ever receiving benefits.

Trump continues to pander with false platitudes. Democrats have put forward a plan that is actually paid for. President Biden and Vice President Harris have called to “scrap the payroll cap” on the wealthy so they pay into the program throughout the year like everyone else. This will both extend the program’s solvency and enhance benefits for the first time in more than 50 years, and it’s paid for!

Facts are telling, and Trump proposed cuts to Medicare and Social Security when he was in office, while at the same time passing massive cash breaks for the wealthiest one percent. This alone added $1.9 trillion to the national debt.

The Republican Study Committee, the largest conservative caucus in Congress, released a budget that would put $1.5 trillion in cuts to Social Security on the table, and also called for raising the retirement age. Raising the age to 70 would be at least a 21 percent across-the-board cut!

House Republicans are currently advancing a government funding bill in line with Project 2025 that includes cutting funding for the Social Security Administration by $453 million. This would close field offices, extend wait times, and delay claims decisions for beneficiaries.

At a time when 70 million Americans rely on Social Security and 10,000 Baby Boomers a day are becoming eligible for the program, they are becoming keenly aware of what impacts their wallets, and these plans could decimate Americans’ retirement savings.

Donald, some seniors may have been born at night, but they weren’t born last night. They know a con when they hear it.

The humorist Finley Peter Dunne famously stated, “Trust everybody, but always cut the cards.” When it comes to the “Conman-in-Chief,” Donald Trump, the nation needs to not only to cut the cards—it needs to re-shuffle the deck. The people need the real deal.

The writer is the U.S. Representative for Connecticut’s First Congressional District, and currently serves as Ranking Member of the House Ways and Means Social Security Subcommittee.

The views expressed in this article are the writer’s own.

Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman John Larson (1st District of Connecticut)

Rep. Larson co-authored the following op-ed with Rep. Joe Courtney (CT-02) that appeared in the Connecticut Mirror:

Whether watching March Madness, the Super Bowl, or even the Oscars, TV viewers in Connecticut for the last three years have been saturated with ads by America’s premier submarine builder, Electric Boat, offering job seekers an opportunity to embark on good-paying careers.

BuildSubmarines.com, a national campaign funded by the U.S. Navy, has echoed this push with logos on the ballfields at Fenway Park and Yankee Stadium and the WNBA floor at Mohegan Sun arena in Uncasville. This unprecedented effort is visible proof that a huge hiring spree is underway, as Congress and the Navy are in a full-throttle push to recapitalize our nation’s undersea fleet. Make no mistake, it is also proof that this is not just a regional phenomenon. The volume of work will require people and supply chain support from across Connecticut.

On July 15 in East Hartford, the Navy, industry, and workforce experts came together to launch “Hire Hartford” which signals the geography and demography of submarine construction will extend beyond the shoreline and into Connecticut’s capital region.

This new initiative, made possible by federal funding we secured, will raise awareness for careers in submarine manufacturing, skill up students and workers of all ages, and connect them to good-paying careers at Electric Boat and suppliers statewide.

Last year, Electric Boat made record strides in building up its workforce with 5,300 new employees and is on track to hit 5,200 new employees this year between the Groton and Quonset Point shipyards. Over the next decade, the submarine industrial base will need to hire 100,000 trained workers at both primary construction yards in Connecticut and Virginia and another 17,000 people at supply chain vendors nationwide.

The Columbia program has been the Pentagon’s and the Navy’s top priority to replace the aging Ohio class submarines. These vessels of technological wonder, which are two and half times larger than a Virginia class submarine, will require a substantial and dedicated workforce well into the 2040s to meet the one boat per-year build rate requested by the Navy beginning in fiscal year 2026. Columbia construction will continue alongside a projected two-per-year construction rate of the Virginia program until 2040 when the Navy expects to begin construction of the Virginia’s successor at a two-per-year cadence well into the 2050s.

In 2021, the United States also entered into a historic trilateral security agreement with Australia and the United Kingdom, called AUKUS. The mission is focused on strengthening collaboration between the three countries to combat China’s coercive and illegal behavior in the Indo-Pacific. It is widely recognized that the Virginia class submarine is the queen of the chessboard in terms of deterring this behavior and protecting peace and prosperity in the region. As part of the AUKUS mission, Congress has authorized the United States Navy to sell three Virginia submarines to Australia to recapitalize the nation’s aging diesel-powered fleet and strengthen our great ally’s presence in the Indo-Pacific.

Fulfilling the Columbia and attack submarine missions, as well as meeting our AUKUS obligations, requires a manufacturing workforce and supply chain that has not been seen in America since the Cold War era.

To meet these workforce demands, manufacturers must expand their recruiting radius beyond traditional shoreline hiring markets.

In 2023, the Navy launched Project Providence — similar to Hire Hartford — to increase the submarine industrial base workforce in Rhode Island. The campaign significantly boosted training and hiring outcomes, leading to 155 accepted offers at Electric Boat’s 2023 and 2024 Rhode Island Signing Day compared to just 14 accepted offers in 2022.

Days ago, the Biden-Harris administration delivered $50 million to Michigan to train workers at local community colleges in skills for maritime construction, particularly welding and machining. The Navy has also targeted funds in areas with high concentrations of submarine suppliers, including Virginia, Pennsylvania, Long Island, and across the Gulf Coast. These efforts are part of a larger $15 billion commitment from the Navy and Congress to ultimately increase the build rate of our two submarine programs.

nd through the AUKUS mission, more investments are in the pipeline. Australia has committed to invest $3 billion in the U.S. submarine industrial base in recognition of the historic undertaking, which will turbocharge American manufacturing capacity, joint research partnerships in academia and industry, job creation, and workforce development initiatives like Hire Hartford.

After decades of a decline in American manufacturing, students and workers in Connecticut’s capital region, and Americans from coastal towns to Midwest communities, are beginning to see more opportunities for good-paying careers across the submarine industrial base. This renaissance in American manufacturing will strengthen our Navy’s fleet and protect Americans at home and abroad.

U.S. Rep. John Larson represents Connecticut’s 1st Congressional District and U.S. Rep. Joe Courtney represents the 2nd District.

Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman John Larson (1st District of Connecticut)

Rep. Larson and Nancy Altman, President of Social Security Works, wrote the following op-ed for Data for Progress:

When Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) was elected speaker of the House, he immediately called for a “debt commission” designed to slash Social Security and Medicare behind closed doors. 

In January, the House Budget Committee approved a bill to create such a commission, with every Republican voting in favor. During the committee’s mark-up of the bill, Democrats offered amendments to protect Social Security and Medicare, which Republicans immediately voted down. The committee’s chairman, Rep. Jodey Arrington (R-TX), has openly discussed plans to have Congress pass the commission into law as part of a must-pass government funding bill.

This is not just idle talk from Johnson, Arrington, and their fellow congressional Republicans. It is an existential threat to Social Security and Medicare. Any cuts to these programs would be fast-tracked with no opportunity for amendment, and could be voted on in the lame-duck Congress, including by those who had just been defeated or were retiring. It is as undemocratic as it can get, designed to exclude any meaningful input from the American people. 

Two major government funding deadlines are approaching in March. If Republicans get their way by leveraging these deadlines to force through a commission, they will do so against the will of the American people — including their own voters.

In the words of White House spokesman Andrew Bates: “The House GOP is now threatening to single-handedly shut the American government down unless they can jam a death panel for Medicare and Social Security down the country’s throat.”

New polling from Data for Progress shows that voters across party lines reject a commission designed to cut government spending, including Social Security and Medicare. Seventy percent of voters, including 71% of Republican voters, oppose the idea.

Furthermore, 70% of voters think the future of Social Security should be decided through the regular lawmaking process in Congress, not through a new closed-door commission. That is the way changes to Social Security have always happened in the past. Even the Greenspan Commission of the 1980s (on which one of us, Nancy Altman, served as staff) only issued recommendations. Unlike the commission Republicans are currently trying to pass, it did not have any force of law.

This commission is designed to give a small group of lawmakers, along with unelected “experts,” the power to craft and vote on a plan for Social Security’s future. What is the purpose of such an undemocratic process? To do what the American people don’t want: cut their Social Security and Medicare.

The new Data for Progress polling shows that 92 percent of voters, and 94 percent of Republican voters, reject the idea of cutting Social Security to reduce the national debt. Yet that’s what Republican politicians want to do. 

The facts are clear: Because Social Security is self-funded, it cannot add to the debt or deficit. At the end of 2022, the trust funds actually had $2.83 trillion in reserves.  

Yet, under the guise of debt reduction, Republicans have their sights set on slashing Americans’ earned benefits. The Republican Study Committee (RSC), a group of about 75 percent of House Republicans, including Speaker Johnson, proposed a budget plan that makes huge cuts to Social Security. The cuts include raising the full retirement age to 69 and decimating middle class benefits. But tellingly, Republicans haven’t actually held a vote on this budget, because they know how unpopular it is with their own base.

Instead, the Republicans want to go behind closed doors with Democrats and emerge with a plan to cut benefits. That way, both parties will have their fingerprints on the cuts and voters won’t know whom to blame.

Fortunately, Democrats have a better idea: protect and expand Social Security benefits, and pay for it by requiring the wealthiest Americans to contribute their fair share. 

Ninety-four percent of Americans contribute to Social Security all year long, but the wealthy stop paying after their first $168,600 in wage income, and they don’t pay in at all on their unearned investment income. That means that someone who makes a million dollars a year is done paying into Social Security for the entire year right around now, the end of February! 

One of us, Rep. John Larson (D-CT), has introduced the Social Security 2100 Act, which is cosponsored by nearly 200 House Democrats. This legislation enhances benefits for all beneficiaries for the first time in more than 50 years, and keeps Social Security strong for decades to come. It is fully paid for by requiring the wealthy — those making over $400,000 a year — to contribute into Social Security on more of their income, including unearned investment income.

The best part about the Social Security 2100 Act? There’s no need for a closed-door commission to pass it into law, because it’s what the American people want to do.

Instead of going behind closed doors, Speaker Johnson should be honest with the American people. What Americans need to see is where Congress stands on Social Security. Congressional Republicans’ commission is one idea, but so is Social Security 2100, which enhances benefits and pays for them, something Congress hasn’t done in more than 50 years.

We need to provide the 70 million Americans who pay into the system and rely on these benefits with the security to know it is solvent and working for them — and they deserve a direct answer on how Congress is going to address it. For more than 40 percent of them, Social Security is the only retirement plan they have. That’s why — across party lines — Americans are so adamant about fixing, maintaining, and enhancing Social Security, not cutting their hard-earned benefits.

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Rep. John Larson (@RepJohnLarson) is the U.S. representative for Connecticut’s 1st Congressional District.

Nancy J. Altman is the President of Social Security Works (@SSWorks).

Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman John Larson (1st District of Connecticut)

Rep. Larson co-authored the following op-ed with Rep. Adrian Smith (NE-03) and American Veterinary Medical Association President Dr. Rena Carlson that appeared in The Hill:

Veterinarians strengthen our domestic and global food supply — from the farm to the dinner table. They help ensure the health and welfare of animals that produce eggs, milk, meat, wool and other protein and fiber products. Timely veterinary care is key to detecting and preventing highly contagious animal diseases, as well as maintaining a healthy, safe food supply. 

For years, rural communities have struggled with inadequate access to livestock and public health veterinarians. Shortages of these essential veterinarians can leave our food supply and farm animals at risk, all while weakening the nation’s critical animal health infrastructure. This impacts both animal and human welfare. 

The number of United States Department of Agriculture-designated shortage areas continues to increase. In Fiscal Year 2024, we have the highest number of shortage areas ever, with 240 in 47 different states. These shortages jeopardize animal and public health, endanger the nation’s food supply and agricultural economy, and compromise our ability to prevent the introduction and spread of disease.  

More than 80 percent of veterinarians graduate with educational debt that averages more than $185,000. This has a major impact on the ability to attract veterinarians to food animal or public health medicine, as these career opportunities typically pay less than companion animal practices. This earning disparity can make it financially difficult or even impossible for veterinarians to pursue food animal and public health careers.  

We must act now to increase veterinary services in these underserved rural communities by incentivizing more food animal and public health veterinarians to practice in the areas most in need.  

Given the urgency to fill these veterinary voids across the country, it’s time for Congress to pass the Rural Veterinary Workforce Act, which assists the USDA in the placement of veterinarians in designated shortage areas.  

Established in 2003 by Congress, the Veterinary Medicine Loan Repayment Program (VMLRP) has been highly successful in helping place veterinarians in USDA-designated veterinary shortage areas by repaying up to $75,000 in educational debt in exchange for their service; however, unlike similar programs for physicians and other human health care providers, VMLRP awards are federally taxed. Currently, the USDA is required by law to pay the tax on behalf of the award recipient.  

The bipartisan Rural Veterinary Workforce Act would simply end federal taxation on the program and allow more veterinarians to utilize the VMLRP and practice in USDA-designated shortage areas. Without this change, USDA must continue paying an additional 39 percent to the U.S. Treasury, on top of each loan repayment, reducing the number of shortage counties which can be addressed.  

Since the VMLRP’s inception, it has helped establish 795 veterinarians in areas with veterinary shortages; meanwhile, over 2,000 applications have been received by the USDA. In 2023, the program’s applications exceeded available funding due to the then record-high 237 veterinary rural shortages in 47 different states. Enhancing and optimizing the VMLRP would allow the USDA to provide an additional award for every three awards currently made under the program without any additional appropriations.  

Rural communities need and deserve ready access to veterinarians, which is why we are encouraging more veterinarians to join the rural workforce. Allowing more veterinarians to participate in the VMLRP would make a tremendous difference in addressing rural veterinary shortages throughout the country, help remove the financial obstacles blocking veterinarians who want to work in our underserved communities, and increase access to the essential services veterinarians provide nationwide. 

Addressing this vulnerability in our nation’s first-class food safety system calls for a legislative solution. The Rural Veterinary Workforce Act paves the way to further address current rural veterinary shortages while maintaining animal and public health. 

Dr. Rena Carlson, DVM, is president of the American Veterinary Medical Association, Rep. Adrian Smith represents the 3rd District of Nebraska and Rep. John Larson represents the 1st District of Connecticut.