MIL USHOR-2b Engine

Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Gregory W Meeks (5th District of New York)

Washington, D.C. – Representatives Gregory W. Meeks, Ranking Member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, and Joaquin Castro, Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere, today introduced a resolution condemning President Trump’s pardon of former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernández, who was convicted and sentenced in an American court to 45 years in federal prison for trafficking drugs into the United States.

“While the Trump administration carries out its reckless military buildup and potential war crimes in the Western Hemisphere under the guise of preventing drugs from entering our country, Trump’s pardon of Juan Orlando Hernandez—an actual, convicted narco-trafficker who flooded American communities with 400 tons of cocaine—illustrates the hypocrisy and corruption that are hallmarks of this administration. It further demonstrates that the administration’s real objective for its military buildup and lethal strikes is less about drugs and more about threatening a reckless and open-ended war with Venezuela’s Nicolas Maduro.

“President Trump owes an explanation to the families impacted by Hernández’s drug trafficking conspiracy, and to the American people, on why he pardoned someone who stated his goal to ‘shove the drugs right up the noses of the gringos.’ Our Congressional colleagues should join in condemning this lawlessness and scrutinizing Trump’s corrupt ties to a growing list of pardoned individuals. But one thing is crystal clear: Trump is not acting for the benefit of Americans.”

A PDF of the resolution can be found here.

Original cosponsors include every Member of the Western Hemisphere Subcommittee, including Representatives Dina Titus, Sara Jacobs, Greg Stanton, Jonathan Jackson, and Sydney Kamlager-Dove. 

Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Gregory W Meeks (5th District of New York)

Washington, D.C. – Representative Gregory W. Meeks, Ranking Member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, issued the following statement in support of the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) and the American Foreign Service Association (AFSA), which have filed a temporary restraining order to stop the State Department from moving forward with a reduction in force (RIF) in defiance of PL. 119-37, which the president signed into law and explicitly prohibits such actions:

“AFGE and AFSA should not have to file this injunction. Congress was clear when it passed the latest CR: the Trump administration must stop its efforts to fire career public servants. Yet, Secretary Rubio is ignoring the law and moving ahead with RIFs anyway. It’s shameful how far this administration is willing to go to put fellow Americans, who have dedicated themselves to our country at home and abroad, out of their jobs. The continued purge of expertise at the State Department is strategic self-immolation. It undermines our national security, and weakens America’s ability to lead. Secretary Rubio’s actions are completely unacceptable and must be reversed in accordance with the law.”   

Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Gregory W Meeks (5th District of New York)

Washington, D.C. – Representative Gregory W. Meeks, Ranking Member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, today issued the following statement after Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) signed a joint declaration recommitting to the Washington Accords.

“DRC and Rwanda recommitting to the Washington Accords peace agreement can be an encouraging step toward ending decades of conflict in eastern Congo, but a signing ceremony hosted by President Trump risks being more show than substance. Unfortunately, recent diplomatic promises have not resulted in tangible improvements for the Congolese people. Just yesterday, clashes between Congolese troops and the Rwanda-backed M23 militia continued in South Kivu, displacing civilians hoping to rebuild their lives and undermining implementation of the peace process.

“President Trump cannot simply declare this peace deal a success for the sake of stroking his own ego. Nor should he treat Congo’s suffering as a backdrop for exploiting critical minerals while millions of Congolese remain impoverished, as he did today. The administration must ensure the parties adhere to the terms of this agreement and that the Congolese people benefit from the country’s mineral resources. That is the only path to a durable peace and an end to this decades-long conflict.” 

Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Gregory W Meeks (5th District of New York)

“We must reject language that divides Americans and support those immigrants who contribute to our communities, economy and national security.”

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

WASHINGTON — Speaker Johnson released the following statement on S. 1017, The National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2026.

“This year’s National Defense Authorization Act helps advance President Trump and Republicans’ Peace Through Strength Agenda by codifying 15 of President Trump’s executive orders, ending woke ideology at the Pentagon, securing the border, revitalizing the defense industrial base, and restoring the warrior ethos.

“This legislation includes important House-passed provisions to ensure our military forces remain the most lethal in the world and can deter any adversary. It roots out Biden-era wokeism in our military and restores merit-based promotions and admissions to service academies, prohibits contracts with partisan firms, counters antisemitism, and halts harmful, unnecessary programs like CRT, DEI, and climate initiatives. 

“President Trump has made clear the past few decades of investments propping up Communist China’s aggression must come to an end, and this bill includes important guardrails to protect America’s long-term investments, economic interests, and sensitive data.

“The NDAA builds on the landmark investments included in the Working Families Tax Cut, ensuring America has both the economic strength and the military power to deter our enemies and protect our interests worldwide. The legislation improves the livelihoods of America’s brave men and women in uniform by giving them a well-deserved pay raise, and ensures our warfighters have access to the best and most innovative military technologies. 

“Under President Trump, the U.S. is rebuilding strength, restoring deterrence, and proving America will not back down. President Trump and Republicans promised peace through strength. The FY26 NDAA delivers it,” Speaker Johnson said.

“The FY26 NDAA delivers on President Trump’s promise of peace through strength and ensures America can deter our adversaries and protect our homeland. This legislation builds on the wins from the Working Families Tax Cut – revitalizing our defense industrial base, improving our servicemembers’ quality of life, and building out critical warfighting capabilities,” House Armed Services Committee Chairman Rogers said. “We’re also reforming the Pentagon’s broken, bureaucratic acquisition process so that our troops can quickly get the tools they need to deter our enemies, instead of waiting up to a decade while our adversary’s field new technologies within months. I’m eager to send this to President Trump’s desk so we can give our military the tools they need to remain the most ready, capable, and lethal force in the world.”

The FY26 NDAA Helps Deliver Peace Through Strength:

• Provides enlisted servicemembers with a 4% pay raise.
• Expands our counter-drone defenses and new technologies.
• Advances the Golden Dome and enhances America’s nuclear deterrent and new nuclear power technologies.
• Enacts guardrails to protect America’s long-term investments and economic interests.
• Fully supports the deployment of National Guard and active-duty troops at the southwest border to intercept illegal aliens and drugs.
• Enhances U.S. defense initiatives in the Indo-Pacific to bolster Taiwan’s defense and support Indo-Pacific allies. 
• Revitalizes American shipbuilding and expands the Maritime Industrial Base.
• Strengthens U.S.-Israel military operations and cooperative missile defense programs. 
• Strengthens our defense industrial base and supply chains.
• Reforms the defense acquisition process to eliminate regulatory barriers, enhance speed, and scale capacity for our Warfighters.
• Accelerates the development and delivery of space capabilities to counter Chinese and Russian nuclear arsenals and space surveillance.
• Streamlines operations by eliminating $20 billion in obsolete weapons, inefficient programs, and Pentagon bureaucracy.
• Prohibits contracts with advertising firms, like NewsGuard Technologies Inc., that blacklist conservative news sources.
• Restores merit-based promotions and admissions to service academies.
• Counters antisemitism and eliminates programs that discourage military readiness like CRT, DEI, and climate initiatives.

FY26 NDAA Bill Text, HERE.

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Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Ed Case (Hawai‘i – District 1)

(Washington, DC) – U.S. Senators Brian Schatz (D-HI) and Mazie Hirono (D-HI), and U.S. Representatives Ed Case (HI-01) and Jill Tokuda (HI-02) joined in a letter to the Federal Emergency Management Agency to “express their concern regarding execution challenges with several Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) grants and the negative effects on the people and institutions of Hawai‘i.”

In their letter to Secretary Kristi Noem, whose Department of Homeland Security oversees FEMA, and Karen Evans, FEMA’s Senior Official Performing Duties of Administrator, the delegation stated that they “have heard from various state and local agencies and nonprofits that they have experienced significant delays and obstacles” with grants that support much needed assistance in Hawai‘i but that “the related funds have not been properly awarded and obligated.”

After local and state agencies and nonprofits shared several examples of confusion over the way FEMA has administered the various grant programs, the delegation stated that “these examples suggest that FEMA’s current grant-making operations are experiencing significant difficulties marked by challenges in timelines, communication and procedural consistency.”

The delegation is calling for answers to several questions by December 31, 2025, which can be found here and below:

Dear Secretary Noem and Ms. Evans:

We write today to express our deep concern regarding execution challenges with several Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) grants and the negative effects on the people and institutions of Hawai‘i.

We have heard from various state and local agencies and nonprofits that they have experienced significant delays and obstacles with the Emergency Food and Shelter Program (EFSP), the Targeted Violence and Terrorism Prevention (TVTP) Grant Program, the Homeland Security

Grant Program (HSGP) and the Emergency Management Peformance Grant (EMPG) Program. These grants are critical to the execution of much-needed assistance in Hawai‘i, but as explained below the related funds have not been properly awarded and obligated.

EFSP Funding. FEMA announced the Fiscal Year (FY) 2024 EFSP funding (Phase 42) on December 6, 2024, with Hawai‘i allocated a total of $285,947 through Aloha United Way. After the announcement, the first step is typically to submit a plan to the EFSP National Board Program through an online portal, after which the funds are released. However, FEMA has not created an option for funding recipients to do so, and the steps to proceed have been unavailable all year.

In a letter dated September 16, 2025, the Department of Homeland Security wrote to Congress regarding EFSP: “As reviews are conducted, FEMA continues to process and release funding for grantees that meet all statutory and programmatic requirements to avoid disruption of vital services to eligible communities.” However, Aloha United Way, like other EFSP funding recipients around the country, still does not have access to its funds and has not received any communication regarding any statutory or programmatic requirements from FEMA noting any noncompliance.

While Aloha United Way administers EFSP funding for Hawai‘i, the organization distributes the funds to several key organizations that depend on this funding, including the Institute for Human Services, the Hawai‘i Foodbank, The Salvation Army and two federally qualified health centers – the Waimānalo and Wai‘anae Coast Comprehensive Health Centers. These organizations provide critical support for some of the most vulnerable in our communities.

For example, in FY 2023 the Hawai‘i Foodbank provided 150,000 meals on O‘ahu and Kaua‘i Islands with EFSP funds. Without access to FY 2024 EFSP funds all year, it was unable to serve as many meals in 2025. As yet another example, local service providers like the East and West Hawai‘i Domestic Abuse Shelters now have less capacity to provide meals and support to survivors escaping violence. Aloha United Way reports that food assistance is now the number one reason Hawai‘i residents call their 211 Statewide Helpline, surpassing housing assistance for the first time in many years. This truly underscores the need for food assistance, including through EFSP funding, in our communities.

Additionally, the Government Accountability Office found that FEMA violated the Impoundment Control Act by failing to award appropriated FY 2025 funds to the EFSP National Board Program in a timely manner (see 1). This has resulted in real harm as delays in both FY 2024 and FY 2025 EFSP funding are now having tangible and harmful effects on communities in Hawai‘i and across the country.

TVTP Funding. The State of Hawai‘i Office of Homeland Security was awarded $803,330 in FY 2024 TVTP funding to support the nation’s first-ever targeted violence prevention implementation plan (see 2). The plan is an effort to preemptively address mass shootings and other violent acts by ensuring the state has the resources needed to handle unexpected incidents.3 The VTP funding is intended to support payroll costs for two positions, as well as a framework for extending targeted violence prevention best practices, training and resources to the Territory of Guam.

Despite the award to a project that directly implements the statutory intent of the TVTP Program – preventing targeted violence and terrorism – the State of Hawai‘i’s FY 2024 TVTP funding was unfortunately abruptly terminated in July 2025. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has claimed that this termination, along with nearly $18 million in funding for other awardees, was “slashing waste” from projects that do not “prevent terrorism or targeted violence.”4

We question DHS’s reasoning for concluding that supporting the implementation of the nation’s first-ever targeted violence prevention plan is not preventing targeted violence. We are also concerned to hear that a 2025 TVTP Notice of Funding Opportunity was not published in Grants.gov, only afforded a three-day turnaround and was only advertised to certain states.

This approach not only runs the risk of eroding trust in DHS’s grantmaking process, but also jeopardizes the efforts to prevent targeted violence that DHS aims to prioritize.

HSGP and EMPG. There is significant confusion around the FY 2025 periods of performance (POP) for HSGP components – State Homeland Security Program and Urban Area Security Initiative – and EMPG. Typically, both grant programs carry three-year POPs to afford emergency managers and public safety partners adequate time to plan, coordinate with partners, procure resources and adapt to the highly dynamic nature of emergency management.

However, when FEMA sent award notices in September 2025, it detailed just a one-year POP, which is highly unusual and operationally unrealistic given that emergency grant managers have historically planned for three-year POPs. In the case of the EMPG Program, both FY 2024 and FY 2025 funding are scheduled to end on the same day: September 20, 2026.

This is unfortunately nowhere near enough time for awardees like the Hawai‘i Emergency Management Agency to complete its proposed projects, some of which were planned to run through 2027.

This shortened period of performance puts an unexpected burden on any subrecipients, like the City and County of Honolulu’s Department of Emergency Management. In its case, for the last several years $500,000 in EMPG funding has been used to directly fund relevant staff salaries.

Under the new timeline, these positions may no longer be financially sustainable, putting certain Hawai‘i residents at risk of losing their jobs and leaving communities across the state more vulnerable to emergencies due to reduced staffing and diminished capacity.

For HSGP, pending litigation may alter SHSP and UASI allocations, introducing further uncertainty for public safety agencies that depend on these funds to sustain intelligence and information sharing, violent crime reduction and counter–transnational drug trafficking operations. Compounding the problem, many jurisdictions, including Hawaiʻi, cannot access previously awarded funds (FY2021–FY2024) due to federal freezes and staffing issues at FEMA because of the government shutdown.

Taken together, these examples suggest that FEMA’s current grant-making operations are experiencing significant difficulties marked by challenges in timelines, communication and procedural consistency. These have unfortunately extended beyond routine administrative matters and are having concrete negative effects on our constituents, communities and local governing institutions.

With all of this in mind, we request that you respond to the following questions by December 31, 2025:

1. Why did FY 2024 EFSP awardees not receive their funding in a timely manner?

2. What steps are DHS and FEMA taking, in coordination with the EFSP National Board

Program, to ensure that FY 2024 EFSP awardees receive their funding expeditiously and

that the FY 2025 EFSP funding process experiences no further delays?

3. Why did DHS and FEMA terminate the State of Hawai‘i Office of Homeland Security’s

FY 2024 TVTP grant that supported the implementation of the nation’s first targeted

violence prevention plan?

4. How does DHS and FEMA plan to support targeted violence prevention in Hawai‘i and

other localities across the country?

5. Why did DHS, through FEMA, only allow a one-year POP for FY 2025 HSGP and EMPG awards?

6. Given that the one-year POP decision for HSGP and EMPG may reduce the capacity of emergency managers nationwide and potentially heighten community vulnerability, how does DHS and FEMA plan to address these potential impacts?

We look forward to engaging constructively with DHS and FEMA to clarify these matters and implement the solutions needed to correct them, all toward our mutual goal of making Americans and their communities safer across the nation.

With aloha,

1 Government Accountability Office. “Department of Homeland Security – Application of the Impoundment Control

Act to Federal Emergency Management Agency Fiscal Year 2025 Federal Assistance Appropriations,” September

15, 2025, https://www.gao.gov/assets/890/881507.pdf.

2 Department of Homeland Security. “Fiscal Year 2024 Targeted Violence and Terrorism Prevention Grantee

Abstracts,” last updated December 12, 2024, https://www.dhs.gov/fiscal-year-2024-targeted-violence-and-terrorism-prevention-grantee-abstracts

3 Department of Homeland Security. “State of Hawai‘i Office of Homeland Security Publishes a New Targeted

Violence Prevention Plan,” April 10, 2024, https://www.dhs.gov/archive/news/2024/04/10/state-hawaii-office-homeland-security-new-targted-violence-prevention-plan

4 Department of Homeland Security. “DHS Axes Wasteful, Misdirected Grants, Saves Taxpayers $18.5M,” July 17,

2025, https://www.dhs.gov/news/2025/07/17/dhs-axes-wasteful-misdirected-grants-saves-taxpayers-185m.

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Source: United States House of Representatives – Representative Eric Swalwell (CA-15)

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Rep. Eric Swalwell (CA-14), released the following statement:

“My best friend died 4 years ago.  

My head was spinning. My heart halved.  I didn’t know what to do.  But I did know that my friend’s high school daughter loved architecture.  

Distraught, I called up my friend Frank and asked for his advice.  He said, “Why don’t you just send me her portfolio?”  

Then Frank talked to her and asked, “Why don’t you just work for me?”  And he mentored her every summer at Gehry Partners since.

Frank Gehry, the most brilliant architect of our time, had the greatest eye and most visionary mind.  But his heart?  It towered over every magnificent building that will forever carry his name.

When you talk about the most creative, world-changing Californians of all time, I know Walt Disney, Steven Spielberg, and Steve Jobs may first come to mind. But always, always remember Frank Gehry. 

I know I will.”

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Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Jim Costa Representing 16th District of California

WASHINGTON – This week, Congressman Jim Costa (CA-21) joined a bipartisan coalition of 35 House Members, co-led by Reps. Josh Gottheimer (NJ-5) and Jen Kiggans (VA-2), to announce CommonGround 2025, a new framework aimed at lowering health care costs and protecting access to affordable coverage for American families. 
The bipartisan framework includes a two-year extension of critical health insurance premium savings, including one year of enhanced Premium Tax Credits (ePTCs) with targeted modifications. The group is urging House and Senate leaders to bring these measures to a vote by December 18, 2025. 
“Families in the San Joaquin Valley cannot afford higher health care costs or reduced access to care. Too many are already forced to choose between paying for health care and putting food on the table — an unacceptable reality in the richest nation in the world,” said Congressman Costa. “At the end of this month healthcare cost hikes are hitting millions of Americans. We do not have time to waste, and we must find a way forward. That’s why I joined this bipartisan effort. CommonGround 2025 puts people first by extending critical health care tax credits that keep healthcare costs from rising on hardworking Valley families. I’ll keep fighting for solutions that make health care more affordable for every American.”
The framework and letter, co-led by Reps. Gottheimer and Kiggans, were also signed by Reps. Adam Gray (CA-13), Juan Ciscomani (AZ-6), Vicente Gonzalez (TX-34), Maria Salazar (FL-27), Darren Soto (FL-9), Mike Lawler (NY-17), Jefferson Van Drew (NJ-2), Josh Riley (NY-19), Tom Kean (NJ-7), Susie Lee (NV-3), Jeff Hurd (CO-3), Jared Golden (ME-2), David Valadao (CA-22), Chris Pappas (NH-1), Ryan MacKenzie (PA-7), Ed Case (HI-1), Carlos Gimenez (FL-28), Maggie Goodlander (NH-2), Monica De La Cruz (TX-15), Sam Liccardo (CA-16), Robert Bresnahan (PA-8), Greg Landsman (OH-1), Don Bacon (NE-2), Jimmy Panetta (CA-19), Kevin Kiley (CA-3), Henry Cuellar (TX-28), Nick LaLota (NY-1), Don Davis (NC-1), Scott Peters (CA-50), Marie Gluesenkamp Perez (WA-3), Hillary Scholten (MI-3), and Tom Suozzi (NY-3). 
In addition to releasing the framework, participating Members co-signed a letter calling on congressional leadership to meet with them and chart a constructive, bipartisan path forward.
Find the full CommonGround 2025 framework here. Find the letter to House and Senate leadership here. 

Source: United States House of Representatives – Congresswoman Norma Torres (35th District of California)

Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Dan Newhouse (4th District of Washington)

Headline: Newhouse Welcomes Secretary Wright for Visit on Energy Innovation and Hanford Mission

TRI-CITIES – This week, Rep. Dan Newhouse (WA-04) hosted U.S. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright in the Tri-Cities for visits to Department of Energy projects including the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) and the Hanford Site.  

“It was a pleasure showing Secretary Wright how much Central Washington contributes to reliable, affordable, American energy. After several visits to some of our most important energy projects, the Secretary has seen firsthand how our region is leading the nation in both innovation and development,” said Rep Newhouse.  

Newhouse added, “At Hanford, Secretary Wright witnessed how decades of hard work have resulted in the world’s largest vitrification plant and reaffirmed his commitment to the success of the Hanford mission. 

This Administration understands the role our national lab plays in the future of our nation’s energy capabilities, that our Lower Snake River dams are the shining example of hydropower in our vast energy portfolio, and that Hanford is delivering on the government’s commitment to clean up the site.” 

On December 4, Rep. Newhouse and Secretary Wright visited PNNL to hear from leaders and scientists on how the lab is supporting developing energy technologies and commissioned new technology to advance the mission of the Department of Energy’s Office of Science, Biological and Environmental Research program. The Secretary explained how our National Labs are “crown jewels” of the scientific community and that PNNL is a world-class institution.

While at PNNL, Secretary Wright discussed President Trumps’ recent Executive Order launching the Genesis Mission, a new national effort to use artificial intelligence to transform how scientific research is conducted and accelerate the speed of scientific discovery. U.S. National Labs will be a key piece of the mission. 

The Secretary also spoke on the importance of the four Lower Snake River dams after visiting the Ice Harbor Dam. He discussed how important our dams are in keeping rates low and ensuring grid reliability, even during high demand. 

Secretary Wright leads a press conference at PNNL on December 4, 2025. (Office of Rep. Dan Newhouse) 

On December 5, Rep. Newhouse and Secretary Wright visited Hanford, where the Secretary saw for the first time the Tank Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant, also known as the Vit Plant. 

In October, Bechtel announced the plant had successfully converted the first batch of radioactive and chemical waste into glass through the vitrification process.   

The plant will process and stabilize much of the 56 million gallons of radioactive and chemical waste currently stored in underground tanks at the Hanford site. When fully operational, the plant will process an average of 5,300 gallons of tank waste per day. 

As a member of the Appropriations Subcommittee on Energy and Water responsible for funding the U.S. Department of Energy, Rep. Newhouse will work closely with Secretary Wright to support PNNL, the Hanford mission, and protect the Lower Snake River dams.

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