Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman John Larson (1st District of Connecticut)
Larson Visits Connecticut Foodshare Mobile Pantry in East Hartford
AnnMarie.Kaupe…
Larson Announces $750,000 for Connecticut Trolley Museum
Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman John Larson (1st District of Connecticut)
Larson Announces $750,000 for Connecticut Trolley Museum
AnnMarie.Kaupe…
Larson and Democratic Colleagues Announce Legislative Response to Trump-Musk Attacks on Social Security
Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman John Larson (1st District of Connecticut)
Larson and Democratic Colleagues Announce Legislative Response to Trump-Musk Attacks on Social Security
AnnMarie.Kaupe…
CONGRESSMAN BISHOP OPPOSES BILL THAT AGAIN FAILS TO ADDRESS HEALTHCARE CRISIS AND FALLS SHORT OF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE’S NEEDS
Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Sanford D Bishop Jr (GA-02)
WASHINGTON – Yesterday, Congressman Sanford D. Bishop, Jr. (GA-02), a senior member of the U.S. House Appropriations Committee, opposed the passage of H.R. 5371, a partial, temporary funding bill. During debate on the bill, Congressman Bishop noted the bill left behind millions of Americans facing the imminent, drastic increase in their health insurance premium costs as well as the ongoing attacks by the administration against nutrition programs that benefit farmers and families.
“While this bill included some bipartisan work to provide investments in agriculture and rural America, the rest of the bill does more to harm Americans than to help them. As such, I had to oppose this bill,” said Congressman Bishop. “This summer, the big ugly bill made drastic cuts to Medicaid, Medicare, and SNAP. While it made tax breaks for billionaires permanent, it let ACA tax credits that millions of hardworking Americans rely on to get affordable healthcare expire. Now, millions of Americans have seen their premiums skyrocket and, for over a month, Congressional Republican leaders refused to negotiate with Democrats to avoid this fiscal cliff and lead us out of this shutdown.
“I have heard, first-hand, from so many Georgians in the Second Congressional District that this is a matter of life and death,” noted Congressman Bishop. “Families should not have to choose between putting food on the table or going broke because of medical bills. We cannot afford to have hospitals and nursing homes cut services or close outright.”
Congressman Bishop concluded, “Since January, this Administration has used DOGE and executive orders to illegally deconstruct programs, eliminate federal workers, and withhold funds required by law. Even when challenged by the courts, the Administration has either refused to comply or dragged its feet in doing so. During the shutdown, this continued when the White House refused to distribute emergency SNAP funds that were available and required to be used, by law and court order. Even though today’s bill passed, how can we trust that the President will respect this law?”
The Congressman spoke in opposition to the bill during the debate. You can watch his remarks on his website and the transcript of remarks, as delivered, follow:
Thank you, Ranking Member DeLauro.
As Ranking Member of the Agriculture, Rural Development, and FDA Subcommittee, I rise to oppose this bill. Though it does represent, for the most part, solid bipartisan work to provide investments in agriculture and rural America, I am disappointed that the rest of it falls far short of the needs of most Americans.
Healthcare providers and patients are frustrated and frightened by the imminent skyrocketing of healthcare costs caused by the loss of the ACA tax credits and cuts to Medicaid, Medicare, and lifesaving biomedical research.
My constituent, Angela Hoomes, is unable to walk without debilitating pain. She is worried that, without the tax credits, she won’t be able to afford health insurance to complete the multiple back surgeries she needs.
For many Georgians, healthcare is a matter of life and death.
Our Republican colleagues could have corrected this in the Rules Committee, but they rejected an amendment last night that would have lowered health premium costs.
To me, that is unconscionable.
So are the Administration’s actions during the shutdown.
As a Christian, I am outraged that USDA used the shutdown to illegally withhold SNAP from 42 million Americans. USDA had the chance to do the right thing and use designated contingency funds but rejected it. And, when ordered to do so by the courts, they fought all the way to the Supreme Court to keep hungry families from receiving food.
America produces the highest quality, safest, most affordable, and abundant food, fiber, and medicine anywhere in the world.
To that end, this bill provides many welcome investments.
It fully funds SNAP and WIC, replenishes the SNAP and WIC contingency funds, and fully funds cash value vouchers for fruits and vegetables for women and children.
It also helps rural America by providing $1 billion in single family direct home loans – $120 million over the House level – and funding water and wastewater programs at $446 million, both issues that Democrats tried to address in full committee.
The bill provides $1.8 billion for the Agricultural Research Service and $1.6 billion for NIFA—protecting farmers, small businesses, and families against President Trump’s budget request to eliminate land-grant university research and extension activities across the country.
I am pleased to see the bill language requires the USDA to notify Congress before cancelling grants over $1 million.
The agriculture portion of this bill does make positive steps in the right direction.
The bill discards many of the harmful policy riders in the House bill, yet it does not go far enough to negate House language falsely questioning the safety of Mifepristone and encouraging the FDA to explore liability protections for certain infant formula manufacturers, over which the agency has absolutely no jurisdiction.
And while the overall funding package may reopen the government for a month or two, this bill does not address the breach of trust this Administration has demonstrated since January.
They failed to follow the law, and we cannot trust that they will even execute this bill if we vote on it today.
They cut SNAP by 20% in the big ugly bill this summer, dismantled and defunded federal programs, fired federal workers, and illegally ignored court orders.
This bill fails to address the healthcare crisis, and bipartisan outrage has erupted over language in this bill to pay millions of dollars, taxpayer dollars, to a handful of Senators whose phone records were subpoenaed in relation to the January 6 investigation.
It is a bad bill. Oppose it.
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BISHOP URGES ADMINISTRATION TO FOLLOW THE LAW, RESPECT COURT RULINGS TO RELEASE SNAP FUNDS IMMEDIATELY
Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Sanford D Bishop Jr (GA-02)
COLUMBUS, Ga. – Today, Congressman Sanford D. Bishop, Jr. (GA-02), the Ranking Member of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Agriculture, responded to rulings by federal judges in Rhode Island and Massachusetts that require the Trump Administration to use existing contingency funds to support the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) beyond November 1.
“Once again, federal courts have ruled actions by this Administration unlawful. Two federal judges have now ruled that the Administration has a mandate – by law – to use the $5 billion in dedicated SNAP contingency funds, and that it also has the authority to transfer more funds to SNAP to ensure full benefits can be paid in November. The administration must take this action now to help prevent over a million Georgians and millions more people across this country from going hungry,” noted Congressman Bishop.
“Last week, my colleagues and I sent a letter to USDA urging them to use these contingency funds and their full legal authority to provide SNAP benefits. Not only did our request go unanswered, but the Administration has falsely claimed, repeatedly, that it could not do so and passed the buck and blame,” added Congressman Bishop. “Today’s rulings show once again that the Administration is not being honest with the American people, and now Americans risk going hungry because of it.”
You can read the October 24 letter from Congressman Bishop and House Democrats sent to the USDA, on the U.S. House Agriculture Committee Democrats’ website.
Earlier today, Congressman Bishop was in Midland, Georgia, visiting Feeding the Valley and meeting with community organizations to talk about the importance of SNAP to Georgia’s families and farmers.
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PHOTO: Congressman Bishop with community leaders and nutrition program advocates in Midland, GA
CONGRESSMAN BISHOP CALLS FOR FUNDING BILL THAT RESTORES AFFORDABLE HEALTHCARE THAT WAS TAKEN FROM THE AMERICAN PEOPLE
Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Sanford D Bishop Jr (GA-02)
COLUMBUS, Ga. – Congressman Sanford D. Bishop, Jr. (GA-02), a senior member of the United States House Appropriations Committee, issued the following statement regarding the ongoing effort to fund the federal government:
“I remain committed to working with my colleagues, on both sides of the aisle, to get the government open and working for the people. Unfortunately, since January 20, we have witnessed a relentless effort to dismantle the federal government and eliminate its ability to serve the American people.
“This past March, Congress passed – and the President signed – an inadequate, interim federal spending bill. Despite that, the Administration continued to illegally withhold funds and services dictated by that very law. Without Congressional approval and regardless of court rulings against them, they have used DOGE and the Office of Management and Budget Director Russ Voght – the architect of Project 2025 – to gut federal departments and agencies, including those responsible for veteran care, air travel safety, food safety, and even nuclear safety.
“As part of the Big Ugly Bill in July, this Administration pushed Congressional Republicans to take healthcare away from tens of millions of Americans by cutting Medicaid, Medicare, and tax credits for Affordable Care Act premiums. In the coming days, Americans will see their healthcare premiums skyrocket. And we are already seeing hospitals, healthcare centers, and nursing homes either cutting back services or closing outright because of this. All of that was to pay for permanent tax breaks for billionaires at the cost of permanently cutting healthcare used by most Americans.
“It is hypocritical for Republican leaders to say that they want the government to be open when they have been systematically dismantling it since January. It is unreasonable for Republican leaders to expect Democrats to agree to any funding bill without guarantees that they will stick to the deal when they have repeatedly caved to the President on illegally withholding funds or granting rescissions to spending he does not like.
“I opposed the current bill because I stand with Georgians against the Republican effort to strip away their lifesaving healthcare. With the imminent increase in healthcare premiums days away, millions of Americans cannot wait for Congress to deal with this later. Congressional Republican leaders need to come to the negotiating table, right now, with Democrats and pass a funding bill that truly reopens the government, protects their healthcare, and provides the resources to meet the immediate, ongoing needs of all Americans.”
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Rep. Kelly votes no on Republican partisan funding bill
Source: United States House of Representatives – Congresswoman Robin Kelly IL
WASHINGTON – U.S. Rep. Robin Kelly (IL-02) released the following statement after voting no on the Republican partisan funding bill that does not extend the Affordable Care Act tax credits:
“Republicans gutted our healthcare, handed billionaires a $4.5 trillion tax break, shut down the government, and returned after a 54-day paid vacation to do nothing to lower healthcare costs. I absolutely voted no on their partisan funding bill,” said Rep. Kelly. “The American people cannot and should not trust President Trump with their healthcare. For years, Republicans have tried to dismantle the ACA, which has allowed millions of Americans to receive affordable health insurance. Without the ACA tax credits, 15,000 of my constituents will see their premiums skyrocket, and Illinoisans will experience a 78% increase next year. That’s unacceptable. With my strong no vote, I will continue to fight for people’s healthcare today and every day.”
Rep. Kelly thanks Speaker Emerita Pelosi on historic public service
Source: United States House of Representatives – Congresswoman Robin Kelly IL
WASHINGTON – U.S. Rep. Robin Kelly (IL-02) thanked Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi (CA-11) for her historic career in Congress following her announcement that she will not seek reelection.
“For nearly 40 years, Speaker Emerita Pelosi has remained committed to fighting for her constituents and hardworking Americans across the country. She made history as the first woman to be House Speaker, then wielded her immense power to pass the Affordable Care Act, the American Rescue Plan, and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Act. She’s shown generations of women what it means to know and use their power to build a better America. Even beyond her service in Congress, I know she’ll continue to protect our democracy.”
Rep. Kelly condemns Trump’s decision to unlawfully withhold SNAP benefits
Source: United States House of Representatives – Congresswoman Robin Kelly IL
CHICAGO – U.S. Rep. Robin Kelly (IL-02) condemned the Trump administration’s decision to suspend Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits, despite being legally required to fund SNAP benefits through November.
“While President Trump is building a $300 million ballroom to host luxurious dinners with his billionaire buddies and bailing out Argentina to a tune of $40 billion, he’s letting Americans starve. Seniors, children, and veterans all rely on SNAP to put food on the table. In Illinois alone, nearly 2 million people won’t know where to get groceries this weekend due to President Trump’s cruel decision. Senate Republicans bowed to his decision by blocking a bill that would have funded SNAP benefits for 42 million Americans. President Trump and his Congressional Republicans are making this government shutdown hurt as much as possible for hardworking Americans, proving they cannot negotiate in good faith to put people over politics.”
Nearly 2 million people in Illinois rely on SNAP, including 187,000 people in the Second District.
Quigley Honors Life of Dr. Jane Goodall
Source: United States House of Representatives – Representative Mike Quigley (IL-05)
Today, U.S. Representative Mike Quigley (IL-05), Co-Chair of the Congressional Animal Protection Caucus, introduced a resolution honoring the life, leadership, and legacy of beloved conservationist, Dr. Jane Goodall. The resolution recognizes the importance of Dr. Goodall’s lifelong efforts to understand and protect chimpanzees, including her support of the Captive Primate Safety Act, which Quigley introduced earlier this Congress.
“We lost a tireless environmental advocate with the passing of Dr. Jane Goodall. From establishing the modern understanding of chimpanzees to empowering people worldwide to protect our planet, she devoted her entire life to nature. My time working to end the pet primate trade has given me a deep appreciation for the significance of Dr. Goodall’s chimpanzee research. Reflecting on her legacy has reinvigorated my work,” said Quigley. “Dr. Goodall once said that the greatest danger to our future is apathy, a sentiment I fully agree with. We should all strive to emulate her passion, leadership, and dedication. I am honored to introduce this resolution in partnership with the Jane Goodall Institute to commend Dr. Goodall for all she has done, and all that we must continue to do.”
To read the full text of the Dr. Jane Goodall Resolution, click HERE.
To learn more about the life and work of Dr. Jane Goodall, click HERE.