MIL USHOR-2b Engine

Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Hakeem Jeffries (8th District of New York)

Today, House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries held a press conference with Democratic leadership, the Reproductive Freedom Caucus, the Democratic Women’s Caucus and advocates to mark four years since the Supreme Court’s disastrous Dobbs decision that rolled back reproductive rights for millions of American women.

LEADER JEFFRIES: I’m so thankful for the extraordinary leaders who are here today, leaders within the House Democratic Caucus and leaders on reproductive freedom across the United States of America. The Dobbs decision was unjust, unacceptable and un-American, and has endangered the health, safety and well-being of millions of women across the United States of America,disproportionately impacting Black women across this country. As Democrats, we believe in a woman’s freedom to make her own reproductive healthcare decisions.It’s a decision that should be between a woman, her family and her doctor, not right-wing officials trying to jam their extreme ideology down the throats of women throughout the United States of America and their families. And as House Democrats, we will continue to push with the fierce urgency of now to protect the reproductive freedom of women, to stand up and forcefully advocate for the Women’s Health Protection Act and all other enlightened pieces of legislation designed to ensure that we are protecting the health and well-being of the women throughout the United States of America. 

This fight isn’t over, it’s just getting started. Republicans have decided that since they cannot get things done legislatively that undermine the will of the American people, they’ve been legislating from the bench with their extreme right-wing justices. And we’re committed to reversing the Dobbs decision the first opportunity that we get upon taking back control of the House and of the Senate. We know we stand on the right side of this issue. We know the American people believe in a woman’s freedom to make her own reproductive healthcare decisions. We know the American people are opposed to government-mandated pregnancies and this command and control effort by extreme right-wing forces to decide the fate of women and families in America. And we’re committed to doing everything to push back against it.

Full press conference can be watched here.

###

Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Bill Foster (11th District of Illinois)

Washington, DC — Today, Representatives Bill Foster (D-IL) and Brad Sherman (D-CA) led Members on the House Financial Services Committee in calling on the Chair of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Paul Atkins, to explain what oversight, guidance, and investor protections are in place as brokerage firms begin allowing AI agents to make autonomous trades on behalf of retail investors, and whether the agency has evaluated the risks these systems pose to market integrity and consumer protection.

The letter also asks Chairman Atkins to provide clarity on the legal responsibilities of broker-dealers, AI developers, and AI agents themselves, and whether existing securities laws are sufficient to regulate agentic trading or if additional action from Congress would be needed.

In the letter to Chairman Atkins, the Members wrote:

“While generative AI and associated agents have the potential to help investors make faster and better-informed decisions, the facilitation of agentic trading by retail brokerage platforms raises serious questions for investor protection, broker-dealer responsibilities, market integrity, and the accountability of AI developers.

“The AI firms developing and deploying these agents have thus far operated largely outside the securities regulatory framework, even though their systems are making or enabling consequential investment decisions on behalf of retail investors.

“It is essential that this technology be delivered in a manner that preserves the protections investors expect in regulated financial markets, and not as a tool to conceal conflicts of interest, evade broker-dealer responsibilities, manipulate markets, or provide unsound investment advice.”

This letter was cosigned by Representatives Stephen Lynch (D-MA), Jim Himes (D-CT), Sean Casten (D-IL), Rashida Tlaib (D-MI), Brittany Pettersen (D-CO), and Sylvia Garcia (D-TX). A full copy of the letter can be found here.

###

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

WASHINGTON, D.C.—Today, House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) joined Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-Minn.), Conference Chairwoman Lisa McClain (R-Mich.), and Financial Services Chairman French Hill (R-Ark.) to highlight how House Republicans are advancing solutions to lower costs for American families while Democrats continue their march toward socialism. Leader Scalise pointed to Republican efforts to lower taxes, unleash American energy, and expand housing affordability, while warning that the Democrat Party’s embrace of far-left policies is moving it further away from the concerns of working families.

Click here or the image above to view Leader Scalise’s full remarks. 
Highlights from Leader Scalise’s remarks:On Democrats embracing radical socialism:“I first want to express my condolences to Hakeem Jeffries for the devastating defeat that the voters of New York imposed upon him last night in his own backyard in Democrat primaries. You know, you could call it the Bolshevik Revolution of 2026, but the Mamdani takeover of the Democrat Party is official now. We’ve been talking about it for months, this move to the Marxist socialist left by the Democrat Party.“They’ve become an unrecognizable party. You cannot recognize who the Democrats are anymore. This is surely not your father or grandfather’s Democrat Party. They’ve fully embraced socialism. You look at some of the things that they talk about, it’s, you know, they want to defund the police, they want to basically just get rid of the free market capitalist system that we have. And they are backing it up with their votes here in Congress.”On unleashing American energy:”Our conference chair talked about it in relation to the Working Families Tax Cut. Today we look at global oil prices and they just dropped below $75 a barrel this morning. That’s because of President Trump’s leadership. And it’s also because Republicans worked with President Trump to lower gas prices, to put smart energy policy in place so that we can produce our own energy. “Now that the president has an agreement, an MOU with Iran, you’ve seen those prices drop dramatically in the last few days. That would not have happened if we didn’t pass laws that opened up American energy exploration everywhere from ANWR in Alaska down to the Gulf of America. We opened it up and every single Democrat voted no because they want higher gas prices. Democrats are not happy about it. They talk about gas prices, but when you see them dropping, it’s clear that the reason those prices are dropping is because we passed smart energy policies that every Democrat opposes.”On House Republicans working to lower costs for American families:“You’re going to continue to see this drumbeat of Republicans focusing on helping make life more affordable for working families on every front. Chairman Hill just talked about it with the housing bill, a really important bill to lower housing costs. We delivered for American families. We did it for energy costs. We’re doing it for a number of other issues, and we’re not done. “We’re still bringing bills to the floor to address, of course, the funding of government, to have proper, responsible funding of government, we’re going to keep moving those appropriations bills. NDAA is going to be coming up next week to properly fund our nation’s defense. We’ve got a major transportation bill, the Surface Transportation Bill is moving through the committee process. It’s been through two committees. It’s got Ways and Means still before it comes to the House floor. And I’m sure the Speaker’s talked about it because the Speaker’s been involved in this directly too.“We’ve been working hard on a Reconciliation 3.0 bill. We’ve done 1.0, 2.0, two reconciliation bills passed with only Republican votes because Democrats just don’t care anymore. They don’t care about national security. They’ve all voted against funding our Department of Homeland Security. And what we’re focused on now is fraud, trying to get fraud addressed with reconciliation 3.0.”We are not done working and delivering for the American people while the Democrats are fighting to see how far left to the socialist left they can go.”

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

WASHINGTON – At today’s House Homeland Security Committee markup, Chairman Emeritus Michael McCaul (R-Texas) urged his colleagues to support the Measuring Illicit Fentanyl Trafficking Act, legislation he introduced with Congressman James Walkinshaw (D-Va.) to combat the fentanyl crisis by strengthening information sharing across the Department of Homeland Security and establishing clear metrics for detecting, deterring, and seizing fentanyl. The legislation passed the committee unanimously.

Click to watch

Remarks as delivered:

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I want to thank my friend from Virginia for introducing this important legislation. I also want to thank you for this bipartisan markup. In my 22 years [in Congress], chairing this committee and foreign affairs, [I’ve learned] that is the way it’s supposed to be. That’s us at our best.

Fentanyl is the number one killer of young Americans between the ages of 18 and 45. My children have witnessed five funerals. One [friend] took fentanyl on Christmas Eve [and] did not wake up on Christmas Day. 

Every single day, moms and dads across Texas, and across this entire nation, are burying their children. This isn’t just a law enforcement crisis. It’s a generational crisis. It’s a national security threat to our youth and a moral failure if we do not use every tool at our disposal to crush it. 

I was proud to introduce the FEND Off Fentanyl Act, which was signed into law, to target illicit supply chains and sanction the dangerous cartels. And it goes after the chemical suppliers in China and money launderers in Mexico. 

But stopping the supply abroad is only half the battle. We must be just as coordinated within our own borders, which is why I’m proud to be a co-lead of this bill, the Measuring Illicit Fentanyl Trafficking Act. It’s essential to strengthening information sharing across the department and establishing clear performance metrics within the Department of Homeland Security. 

I believe that we owe [it] to every single American family that has been shattered by this epidemic to get this thing right. And I want to again thank my colleagues for their bipartisan support on this. And with that, Mr. Chairman, I yield back. 

Source: United States House of Representatives – Representative Mike Johnson (LA-04)

WASHINGTON — This morning, at the weekly House Republican Leadership press conference, Speaker Johnson addressed the New York primary elections and the socialist takeover of the Democrat Party. Speaker Johnson also addressed Republican efforts to advance a third reconciliation bill to continue lowering costs for working families.

“These radical candidates are self-described, self-identifying Marxists. They want to fundamentally transform this country. And sadly, many of these Democrat candidates and their voters just don’t have the same zeal and affection for America,” Speaker Johnson said. “They don’t appreciate the freedom that we have in this country. They’re not even going to celebrate on July 4. There’s a new NBC poll that came out. Did you see that only 29% of Democrat voters that they polled said they’re proud to be an American? What happened to the Democrat Party?”

Watch Speaker Johnson’s remarks here.

On Democrats embracing radical, socialist candidates:

Last night made crystal clear that Zohran Mamdani, AOC, and Bernie Sanders have just taken full control of the Democrat Party, or what was left of it. Across the country, Democrats have candidates winning primaries and rising through the ranks. Here’s a few of them. Vang in California, one of the Democrats – she won’t say the Pledge of Allegiance. Hamawy in New Jersey, Democrat candidate, socialist candidate, has ties to Al-Qaeda and other terrorists. Chevalier won last night in New York over Hakeem’s counter-endorsement. She says she wants to abolish the border; she doesn’t want a border for the country. Mendoza in Arizona wants to decriminalize trans prostitution, apparently that’s a thing. James in Iowa wants to apologize for being white. Garriott in Iowa performed a Satanist wedding, and Bennett in New Jersey stopped going to church because Trump voters were there. This is just a sampling. And these kinds of people have been popping up. You’ve been hearing me say for weeks. There are many mini Mamdani’s popping up all around the country. It is a dangerous thing. This is not a joke. We are in a fight right now to save the republic, and every American needs to take this seriously. You need to wake up.

On Democrats’ growing disdain for America:

Sadly, many of these Democrat candidates and their voters just don’t have the same zeal and affection for America. They don’t appreciate the freedom that we have in this country. They’re not even going to celebrate on July 4^th. There’s a new NBC poll that came out. Did you see that only 29% of Democrat voters that they polled said they’re proud to be an American? What happened to the Democrat Party? They compared the poll from just 20 years ago where it was 90%. Because that’s where Republicans are, above 90%. Over half of Democrats now say they would rather live in another country. What a split screen we’re seeing right now. We’re triumphantly hosting the World Cup games all around the country, and we’re seeing people from different countries come and get a little taste of America, a little taste of freedom, of our culture and our society. And they appreciated so much more than these socialists running for Congress.

Fans across the country are truly enjoying our world-class facilities and the incredible atmosphere on the field and off the field. Thanks to social media, we’re seeing a lot of these; it has been encouraging to see the visitors appreciate what we have. Dutch travelers are in Buc-ee’s; German players took a midnight trip to the Waffle House. They’re the greatest thing you’ve ever seen. English fans are roaming the Everglades. Japanese tourists marveling over free chips and salsa at Mexican restaurant in Texas. Don’t forget your blessings. People from Europe and Latin America, many countries around the world, many of whom, here’s the key, grew up under repressive, state-controlled economies. They’ve never known freedom. They’ve never known these kinds of things. And they’re seeing them for themselves the genius of America’s system. A system that rewards risk takers and entrepreneurs and job creators and innovators, and people who create jobs for others and expand the economy and opportunity and broaden the pathway out of poverty for more people. That’s what the Republicans stand for.

On Republicans securing American elections through a third reconciliation bill:

The President believes in election integrity. He talks about it all the time. And we do as well in act and in deed; we have stood for that. We passed the SAVE America Act. This is very important. That is the top priority because if you do not have safe elections in this grand experiment in self-governance that we have in a constitutional republic, you don’t have anything. And we have got to ensure it. And we have to press for election integrity measures. That’s why we’ve made it a top priority. It has been stuck in the Senate, and here’s why. Because no Democrat in the House or Senate will vote for the SAVE America Act. Those two things I just told you, they vote against that every single time. And they will. Why, you ask? That’s a rhetorical question. You should go ask them the actual question. Why are you against proof of citizenship and a photo ID? Why is that? They can’t give you a cogent answer. The reason is they do want to allow for cheating and fraud in the elections, because it is the only way that the Marxists can win. They cannot win on their ideas. That’s why this is so important to the president is to us.

You have to put it on a reconciliation bill. We believe that if you create a grant program that ties it to reconciling the budget and you allow blue states, if they come to their senses and they want to avail themselves to election integrity proposals and ideas and policies, they can draw down from a federal fund and use those funds. We’re willing to invest heavily in that. And House Republicans will put together a reconciliation bill, Reconciliation 3.0, that will have that.

###

Source: United States House of Representatives – Representative Mike Johnson (LA-04)

House, Senate Pass Bipartisan Housing Affordability Legislation to Help Restore American Dream for Working Families

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

Congresswoman Chellie Pingree (D-Maine) and Congresswoman Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.) today introduced the Paraquat Prevention Act, legislation that would cancel all registered uses of the pesticide paraquat under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) and permanently prohibit its reregistration. 

“Vermont just proved a paraquat ban is possible. Now Congress must make it national. This pesticide is already banned in more than 70 countries and linked to Parkinson’s disease, yet EPA has been reviewing its safety since 2022 without finishing the job,” said Congresswoman Pingree. “I’m proud to introduce this bill with Congresswoman Luna, because all Americans deserve the same protection from this poison. Our bill cancels paraquat’s registration outright. No more reviews, no more waiting, no more excuses.”

“Paraquat has been banned in over 70 countries, including every nation in the European Union, because the science is clear about the devastating neurological risks associated with exposure,” said Congresswoman Luna. “The United States has no business allowing a chemical linked to Parkinson’s disease to keep being sprayed on American farmland, and this bill ends that.”

The bill directs the Environmental Protection Agency to cancel all existing paraquat registrations, revoke any tolerances permitting paraquat residue in food, and ban the sale and use of existing stocks upon enactment.

This action comes amid growing concern over the health impacts of paraquat exposure, with multiple studies consistently linking this chemical to increased risks of Parkinson’s disease. Studies from the National Institutes of Health have found that individuals exposed to paraquat face a significantly elevated risk of developing the disease, with laboratory research demonstrating that the chemical directly damages the dopaminergic neurons whose destruction causes Parkinson’s. 

The European Union acted on this science in 2007, and more than 70 countries have since followed. Among them is China, which banned paraquat domestically in 2016 to protect public health while continuing to export the majority of its production, sending roughly 78 million pounds to American ports in a single year. 

Both the Parkinson’s Foundation and the Michael J. Fox Foundation have called for a ban on these grounds, which has found support on both sides of the aisle, which is why the bill has received bipartisan support.

“Independent scientific evidence has found that exposure to paraquat has lead to increased risk of Parkinson’s disease, yet the EPA has continued to allow this pesticide to be used in our communities,” said Andi Fristedt, Executive Vice President, Chief Strategy and Policy Officer for the Parkinson’s Foundation. “By banning paraquat, the Paraquat Prevention Act would protect Americans and help create a world where fewer people develop Parkinson’s disease in the first place. The Parkinson’s Foundation is grateful to the bipartisan leadership of Representatives Luna and Pingree to help bring the U.S. one step closer to joining the more than 70 countries that have already banned paraquat.”

“Paraquat exposure is one of the clearest preventable risks linked to Parkinson’s disease,” said Dan Feehan, chief policy and government affairs officer at The Michael J. Fox Foundation. “On behalf of the 1.2 million Americans living with Parkinson’s and related diseases, we thank Representatives Luna and Pingree for their bipartisan leadership on the Paraquat Prevention Act and look forward to supporting the bill throughout the legislative process.” 

The United States remains one of the few developed nations that still permits paraquat use, leaving American farmers, farmworkers, and rural families unprotected. This legislation would close that gap by removing paraquat from the market entirely and prohibiting any future pathway for reregistration.

“We applaud Representatives Luna and Pingree for highlighting the threat of paraquat to farmers and rural communities. The people who feed us should not face twice the risk of developing Parkinson’s disease. States across the country have a clear path and example to end the use of one of the most toxic herbicides and should pass their own paraquat bans,” said Geoff Horsfield, legislative director for the Environmental Working Group (EWG).

“MOFGA has long stood against toxic pesticides that harm farmers, families, and the land we all depend on. The evidence linking paraquat to Parkinson’s disease is overwhelming and undeniable,” said Bill Pluecker, Public Policy Organizer for Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association. “More than 70 countries worldwide have banned Paraquat. Farmers and rural communities in Maine and across this country have suffered from paraquat exposure for far too long. The time for federal action is now.”

View the full bill text here.

Pingree is a longtime farmer and member of the House Agriculture Committee. She and Luna recently celebrated a win for the “Make America Healthy Again” movement after they successfully stripped dangerous, industry-written language from the Farm Bill that would pre-empt state rights to regulate pesticide usage or labeling and provide a liability shield for pesticide manufacturers.

Earlier this year, President Trump signed an Executive Order to increase domestic production of glyphosate—a widely used weedkiller that has been linked to multiple health issues, including non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. Pingree and Massie introduced the No Immunity for Glyphosate Act, which would undo Trump’s Executive Order.

###

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

“Maine is the most forested state in the nation. The Forest Service is an essential partner in protecting Maine’s forests, supporting our working forest economy, and advancing the research and innovation that will shape the future of wood products. But the Trump Administration is trying to push through a sweeping reorganization with little transparency, little justification, and little regard for the people and regions that rely on Forest Service expertise,” Pingree said. “Today’s roundtable made clear that Maine’s forestry leaders are concerned about what this plan could mean for forest health, regional staffing, and critical research at the Massabesic, Howland and Penobscot experimental forests. USDA and USFS owe Congress and the public real answers before taking another step. I’m grateful to everyone who joined today’s discussion, and I will keep fighting to ensure this reorganization does not weaken the Forest Service or leave Maine behind.”

Participants included University of Maine President Joan Ferrini-Mundy, and Maine Department of Agriculture Conservation and Forestry (DACF) Commissioner Amanda Beal, as well as representatives from the Appalachian Mountain Club, The Nature Conservancy, New England Forestry Foundation, Professional Logging Contractors of the Northeast, and more. 

###

Source: United States House of Representatives – Congresswoman Aumua Amata (Western Samoa)

Washington, D.C. – Congresswoman Uifa’atali Amata is highlighting notice of two federal grants, one to American Samoa Department of Health for $33,200 supporting HIV services at LBJ Tropical Medical Center, and one to American Samoa Medical Center Authority for $86,554 supporting the Emergency Medical Services for Children (EMSC) program, also at LBJ. 

Congresswoman Amata with Secretary Kennedy

Both discretionary health services grants are through the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to fund one year of each project. 

“Supportive health funds are always important for our islands to have these services available,” said Congresswoman Aumua Amata. “Congratulations to Health Director Dr. Saipale Fuimaono, and special thanks to those working directly with these projects and ensuring American Samoa can receive our allotted federal funds, including Lata Allen working with emergency services for children, and Faafouina Sagaga working with important HIV care readiness.”

###

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