MIL USHOR-2b Engine

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

WASHINGTON – Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-9) today testified before the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee about his priorities for Tennessee’s 9^th Congressional District and for improvements to national safety programs he has long championed.

The Committee invited individual members to present their priorities during its “Member Day” hearing as it works on the surface transportation reauthorization bill. See that testimony here.

In his remarks, Congressman Cohen highlighted advancements made from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) and advocated for several bills he leads and champions. These bills include:

• Complete Streets Act
• Don’t Miss Your Flight Act
• Safe Streets and Roads for All Reauthorization and Improvement Act
• Language to request a U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) report to identify some of the major issues with disability parking placard misuse and accessibility.
• School Bus Safety Act
• Stop Underrides Act 2.0
• Federal-State Partnership for Intercity Passenger Rail Reauthorization
• Stronger Communities Through Better Transit Act
• Train Furtherance of Outstanding Onboard Dining Act (Train FOOD Act)
• Train Establishment of Appetizing Table Service Act (Train EATS Act)

TN-9 secured more than half a billion dollars through the IIJA including, just to name a few:

• Nearly $400 million to replace the I-55 bridge through the Bridge Investment Program; 
• Funding to modernize Memphis International Airport; 
• RAISE grants;
• PROTECT funding to safeguard the Memphis floodplain;
• Safe Streets and Roads for All funding to redesign our most dangerous intersection at Lamar Avenue, Kimball Avenue and Pendleton Street;  
• Grant support to study a new passenger rail connection; and  
• Millions more for broadband expansion and other critical investments across Tennessee.

Congressman Cohen hopes to build on this success and work with the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee to deliver surface transportation bill that meets the needs of Memphis and communities across the nation. 

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

Review would determine the Civil War battlefield’s suitability as a unit of the National Park system

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

WASHINGTON – Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-9) today announced that Tipton County will receive $146,880 from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) for debris removal following last April’s severe storms.

Congressman Cohen made the following statement:

“Last year’s tornadoes that swept through Tennessee, killing 10 people, hit Tipton County particularly hard. I am pleased to see this funding, which will help to put the remnants of those storms behind us.”

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

WASHINGTON – Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-9), a senior member of the Judiciary Committee, said Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents have limited law enforcement authority beyond immigration issues and had no right to stop Renee Nicole Good before an ICE agent shot and killed her last week.

At a committee markup today, Congressman Cohen also condemned the Trump administration’s baseless characterization of the 37-yer-old American citizen and mother of three as a domestic terrorist.

Congressman Cohen also observed that the shooter did not render aid after seeing the bleeding victim and instead drove away from the crime scene. “Law enforcement doesn’t drive off when someone’s been shot and is possibly dying. They try to render aid,” he said. “They split.”

Congressman also called for federal officials to turn over available evidence to Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison and state prosecutors so that an independent investigation the public will find credible can be conducted.

“The American public is not the enemy…This is a war against America and against due process and against justice,” he said. 

See Congressman Cohen’s complete remarks here.

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Source: United States House of Representatives – Congresswoman Kim Schrier, M.D. (WA-08)

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Congresswoman Kim Schrier (WA-08) announced that five of her Community Project Funding (CPF) requests were included in funding bills recently passed by the United States House of Representatives. These projects will help fund local law enforcement, bolster infrastructure, and address other pressing priorities for communities in the Eighth District. 

“I am proud to support these five projects that will play an integral role in bettering communities and critical services across the Eighth District,” said Congresswoman Schrier (WA-08). “As your member of Congress, I will continue to be laser-focused on bringing funding back to our district that will improve the lives of my constituents.” 

Community Project Funding allows members of Congress to advocate on behalf of their constituents by identifying local projects in need of federal funding. 

The five projects included in the recent funding package include:

• Carbonado Wastewater Treatment Plant Relocation: The Carbonado Wastewater Treatment Plant Relocation Project would make much-needed improvements to wastewater management for the Town of Carbonado while protecting critical habitats for Endangered Species Act-listed Puget Sound Chinook salmon, steelhead, and bull trout present in the Carbon River.
• Chelan County Sheriff’s Office De-escalation Tools: The Less Lethal Solutions for Law Enforcement De-escalation Program aims to make law enforcement encounters less risky and less lethal. The program, sought out by the Chelan County Sheriff’s Department, would support the integration of various less-lethal tools into the agency’s toolkit, including ways to restrain that don’t put police or arrestees at risk, and the use of tasers if de-escalation alone isn’t sufficient.
• Covington Water District Reservoir Construction Project: The Covington Water District Reservoir Construction Project would support the replacement of two water tanks with a new 5.7-million-gallon reservoir built to withstand an earthquake or other natural disasters. The project was identified within the Storage Capital Improvement Projects in the District’s 2016 Water System Plan as well as the District’s adopted 2020 Regional Hazard Mitigation Plan.
• Issaquah Police Department Body Worn Cameras Equipment: The City of Issaquah Police Body Worn Cameras Equipment Project would help fund body-worn cameras and associated equipment for the Issaquah Police Department. Body-worn cameras have been shown to de-escalate encounters in addition to providing an accurate record of what transpired. 
• King County Sheriff’s Office Air Support Unit Upgrade Program: The King County Sheriff’s Office Air Support Unit Upgrade Program will allow the King County Sheriff’s Office to complete upgrades on one of its two rescue helicopters. These helicopters are critical for search and rescue, and for fighting crime.  

 

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

WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Congressman Michael McCaul (R-Texas) — chairman emeritus of the House Foreign Affairs Committee — spoke at a full committee hearing titled, “Winning the AI Arms Race Against the Chinese Communist Party.”

McCaul discussed the importance of keeping American AI tech out of the CCP’s hands with former Deputy U.S. National Security Advisor Matt Pottinger.

Click to watch

Full Transcript of McCaul’s Exchange:

MCCAUL: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Thanks for bringing this issue to the forefront. I think it’s one of the most important issues facing this committee. The great power competition with China rivals, when I was growing up, the Cold War against Russia and the space race. And for years we thought we could work with China as business partners, as you, Mr. Pottinger and Mr. Finer, were covering China. At that time, I was a young federal prosecutor in the Justice Department investigating the case of the re-election of Bill Clinton and campaign dollars flowing from China into the campaign coffers of the DNC. Why? Because they wanted the competitive advantage of our technology. What I found were deposit slips in Johnny Chung’s bank account from China Aerospace and a meeting with the director of military intelligence, where they talked about this very issue. They wanted our technology back then in 1997, and they want it today. It’s even worse — far worse today than it was in 1997, and I think y’all have laid the case out very clearly in terms of what the threat is today. 

You know, they steal so much intellectual property from this country, but we don’t have to sell it to them. And that’s the axiom that led me to introduce the ENFORCE Act. [It says] very simply, you cannot sell military-grade AI technology to China. I marked it up out of this committee … and then it was blocked from a floor vote because of outside special interest groups at play in this debate. And let’s be honest, there are outside special interest groups trying to block this, what we were talking about today and that kind of legislation. I commend the chairman for his bill, and I support it.

My U.S. attorney in Texas, as these H200 chips were smuggled into China, said, “These chips form the building blocks of AI superiority and [are] integral to modern military applications.” So [on] this agreement with NVIDIA, we met the CEO, and I asked him, “You sold them the very chips that they used to create DeepSeek AI.” AI opens the windows, the chairman said, to military-grade applications. [NVIDIA] sold them the technology that now has given them DeepSeek AI. Granted, it was legal until we caught up with it with export controls, but it demonstrates why those controls are so important.

I want to ask Mr. Pottinger this question. You said the vice chairman — and I always love using the enemy’s words against them, right — that the vice chairman of the China Semiconductor Industry Association said that he believes that they need NVIDIA chips to “catch up.” Or in other words, Beijing needs NVIDIA chips to take the lead in this great power competition. Is than an accurate statement and can you expand on that?

POTTINGER: Very good to see you, sir, thank you. That’s right, I have a fuller quote in my submitted testimony, but Wei Shaojun is the vice chairman of the China Semiconductor Industry Association. So in China, industry associations aren’t like they are here in the United States; the founding charter of the China Semiconductor Industry Association says that their purpose is to uphold Marxism, Leninism, Mao Zedong thought, and Xi Jinping thought on socialism with Chinese characteristics for a new era, so it’s basically an appendage of the party state. What he was saying just last week is that we’re going to use NVIDIA chips to leapfrog NVIDIA over time, we’re going to use NVIDIA chips to leapfrog the United States in AI. That is the policy; it’s very explicit.

MCCAUL: And it’s essentially saying we’re going to use NVIDIA chips to defeat the United States in the great power competition. Those are my words, but I think it’s very clear, the intention behind his statement. Now [NVIDIA’s] argument is this, when you talk to them: you know, we just need to get [China] hooked on our chips. These are second-generation chips. We need to hook them on our chips, so they don’t manufacture them themselves. And by the way, we need to compete with Huawei in their own market, so we have market share against Huawei. Do you buy that statement, Mr. Pottinger? … Do you buy that statement, that we need to hook them on our technology and sell them our technology and compete with them in their own market?

POTTINGER: China’s leaders, in their own words, utterly reject the premise that they will allow their country to become addicted. And by the way, Chinese companies have, from what I’ve been reading, have ordered two million of these chips. The Chinese government may not actually let them import all of those chips because they want to mandate that Chinese companies continue to buy inferior Huawei chips at the same until Huawei, they hope, can catch up. …The more advanced AI that they’re getting from the American chips, they’ll use to compete with American companies and also to advance Huawei’s planning and designs to catch up. So NVIDIA may actually be sort of seeding its own demise.

MCCAUL: Any time we compete with China in their own market, we lose market share. I yield back.

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

Headline: Scott Statement on Hampton Roads Native Mike Tomlin’s Resignation as Head Coach of the Pittsburg Steelers

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressman Robert C. “Bobby” Scott (VA-03) issued the following statement on the resignation of Mike Tomlin as Head Coach of the Pittsburg Steelers:

“I want to extend my sincere appreciation to Coach Mike Tomlin for his extraordinary career and lasting impact on the game of football. His resignation marks the end of an era not only for the Pittsburgh Steelers, but for the entire National Football League.

“Coach Tomlin has been a model of leadership, consistency, and excellence. As one of the longest-tenured and most successful head coaches in the league, he demonstrated what it means to lead with integrity, resilience, and a commitment to both performance and people. His historic achievements—including never having a losing season—speak volumes about his discipline, preparation, and ability to bring out the best in those around him.

“For those of us in Hampton Roads, Coach Tomlin’s story is especially meaningful. A proud graduate of Denbigh High School in Newport News and a standout student-athlete at the College of William & Mary, he represents the very best of our region. His journey from our local schools to the pinnacle of professional football is a testament to the power of hard work, perseverance, and community support.

“Beyond the wins and championships, Coach Tomlin’s legacy is also defined by the doors he helped open. As one of the few Black head coaches in the NFL, he has been an inspiration to countless young people who now see what is possible when talent meets opportunity.

“I wish Coach Tomlin and his family the very best in this next chapter. His influence will continue to be felt for years to come—on the field, in locker rooms, and in the lives of the many players, coaches, and fans he inspired.”

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

(Washington, D.C.) – Today, U.S. Representative Emanuel Cleaver, II (D-MO) condemned the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) reported plans to open an immigration detention center in Kansas City, Missouri, calling for additional information on the process before the plan moves forward. According to the report, DHS intends to build several detention centers across the country, including in Kansas City, to hold approximately 80,000 immigrants. DHS recently awarded a $29.9 million no-bid contract to an organization that had no previous history of government contracts to facilitate the plan—which is just shy of the $30 million threshold that requires the administration to justify forgoing a competition process for the award.

“Since day one, this administration has fractured communities with ICE raids and severed families with hundreds of thousands of deportations, sweeping up legal residents and American citizens in the process. While we believe strongly in an orderly immigration system, Kansas Citians and I do not want to see the stench of these extreme mass deportation policies centralized in Kansas City,” Congressman Cleaver wrote in a letter to DHS Secretary Kristi Noem and ICE Acting Director Tom Lyons.

“No human deserves to be rounded up as cattle, shipped across the country, imprisoned in warehouses, and stripped of their dignity. The proposed plan will degrade our society, divide our communities, waste taxpayer dollars, and stress the civility of our institutions to the point of fracture,” Rep. Cleaver continued.

“America’s immigration system is far from perfect, and border security is a key component. But those millions of dollars for detention centers would be better spent on finding criminals rather than attacking families and those with no criminal history,” Cleaver concluded.

In addition to condemning the administration’s plans, Rep. Cleaver requested answers to the following questions by January 23:

1. Has the administration briefed Congress on the plans and locations of these facilities?
2. Why did the administration pursue a no-bid contract, as opposed to a competitive, transparent application process?
3. Will the administration provide Congress and the general public with the locations of the proposed facilities?
4. How has the administration coordinated with local governments? Will the administration honor the local zoning policies and process? 

The official letter from Rep. Cleaver is available 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.

Source: United States House of Representatives – Representative Judy Chu (CA2-27)

WASHINGTON, D.C. — In response to Louisiana’s indictment of a California doctor for providing abortion medication and its attempt to force extradition across state lines, Rep. Judy Chu (CA-28) issued the following statement:

“This is a dangerous escalation in the Republican campaign to end abortion everywhere,” said Rep. Chu. “Louisiana is trying to criminalize doctors in California for providing safe, legal health care that is protected under our state’s laws. That is an outrageous abuse of power.

“Abortion medication is FDA-approved, overwhelmingly safe, and used by millions of women nationwide. What truly puts women at risk is Louisiana’s extreme abortion ban, and now, its attempt to intimidate doctors nationwide by threatening them with prison sentences.

“This is not about patient safety. It is about exporting an extremist agenda beyond state borders and punishing providers for defying it. I support Governor Gavin Newsom’s decision to reject Louisiana’s extradition request and uphold California’s abortion shield laws. California will not be complicit in attacks on doctors or patients.

“I will continue fighting in Congress to pass my bill, the Women’s Health Protection Act, which would restore the right to abortion care nationwide, ensuring that no provider is treated like a criminal and no patient is denied care because of where they live or who is in power.”

Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Al Green (TX-9)

(Washington, DC) – On Wednesday, January 14, 2026, Congressman Al Green and Congresswoman Judy Chu (CA-28) reintroduced H.R. 7053 – the Preemption of Real Property Act. This bill seeks to address current and future efforts by state legislatures around the country to restrict or prohibit individuals from purchasing real estate based on their country of citizenship. A copy of the bill is accessible by clicking here.

“A foundational part of the American Dream for many of our immigrant families is the ability to purchase a home. Unfortunately, state legislatures across the country are seeking to undermine this right for nationals from the People’s Republic of China, Iran, North Korea, and other countries. Asian Americans and people of Asian descent now must endure unwarranted suspicion and racial profiling by realtors and lenders,” said Rep. Judy Chu. “Banning individuals from purchasing property on the basis of their citizenship, national origin, race, ethnicity, or immigration status is a blatant assault on civil rights and a betrayal of the core values on which America was founded. The Preemption of Real Property Discrimination Act will make sure that we do not repeat the shameful Alien Land Laws of the past and preempt these xenophobic state laws at the federal level.” 

Congressman Al Green stated: “I would like to thank Congresswoman Judy Chu, Chair Emerita of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus, for co-leading this legislation with me. Congresswoman Chu’s support of this bill and her leadership in the United States Congress are invaluable. This bill aims to preempt fifty states from introducing or enacting fifty different laws that restrict or outright prohibit individuals of certain nationalities from purchasing real estate property. While we must ensure that adversaries of the United States do not have direct or proxy ownership of land within our country, bills such as Texas’ SB 17 and Florida’s SB 264 cast far too wide a net and risk fueling increased xenophobia and invidious discrimination. The Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), an interagency body that is comprised of members from the Departments of Defense, Treasury, State, Commerce, and Homeland Security, is already empowered to review national security risks associated with foreign investment in the United States. CFIUS has had its authority strengthened multiple times during the past several decades to expand the scope of transactions covered. The discriminatory state bills introduced across the country do nothing to enhance CFIUS’s critical national security work. Instead, they will contribute to the denigration of immigrant communities.”