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Source: United States House of Representatives – Reprepsentative Kathy Castor (FL14)

Today, U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor (FL‑14) released the following statement calling on Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to resign, citing a serious threat to America’s public health due to failed leadership and dangerous policies.

“Secretary Kennedy’s complete disregard for facts and basic science has disqualified him from leading the nation’s health agency. His outright destruction of lifesaving medical research and purge of America’s leading health experts will cost lives.

“For the sake of the American people – especially children, seniors and those with underlying health risks – the nation needs leadership grounded in expertise, based in science and committed to transparency. Secretary Kennedy is clearly unfit for the job, and he must resign immediately.”

Castor’s extensive list of reasons includes, but is not limited to, the following actions by RFK Jr. :

• Dismantling public health infrastructure, putting Americans’ health and the nation’s medical system at severe risk. Sec. Kennedy has enacted massive layoffs across HHS , indiscriminately firing nearly 25% of the department’s workforce and trying to eliminate agencies illegally without congressional approval.
• Promoting a chaotic, anti‑science agenda that is undermining vaccines and increasing the risk of preventable disease spread. This includes firing all 17 members of the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) and replacing them with vaccine skeptics, fostering misinformation. It also includes a botched response to the measles outbreak, endorsing unscientific and harmful treatment alternatives and discouraging vaccination – leaving children at risk.
• Slashing funding for life-saving medical research and innovation, including for treatments and cures for diseases like Alzheimer’s, cancer and diabetes. This will hurt families, eliminate thousands of good-paying jobs, and cede American dominance in health research to our foreign competitors like China.
• Freezing or cutting vital public health funding to states, including $2.5 billion to Florida, impeding immunization efforts, infectious disease control, and local health operations.
• Issuing confusing and contradictory guidance that undermines trust in the federal government. His “radical transparency” rhetoric is misleading – HHS has eliminated communications teams, restricted expert engagement, paused taxpayer-funded data releases and curtailed public access to information. This has hindered researchers’ and Americans’ ability to understand health trends and local impacts.
• Rolling back access to high-quality, affordable health coverage, putting millions at risk of losing coverage and destabilizing health care systems.
• Nearly eliminating funding for health care navigators, vital to serving Americans in appropriate ACA coverage, especially in Florida.
• Attempting to halt fluoridation of drinking water – one of the major public health advancements in the U.S.
• Allowing pervasive conflicts of interest among himself and senior advisors – including maintaining a law‑firm referral arrangement that awards him 10% of fees from pharmaceutical injury cases, despite leading HHS – raising additional ethical questions. 

Source: United States House of Representatives – Representative Don Beyer (D-VA)

Congressman Don Beyer (D-VA), who serves on the House Committee on Ways and Means, which has jurisdiction over health care, issued the following statement today after Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s attacks on vaccine science and public health prompted the attempted firing of Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Director Susan Monarez and the departures of other key CDC leaders:

“President Trump must fire Robert F. Kennedy Jr. before he further endangers millions of American children, mothers, and families. If Trump does not remove Kennedy before this kook fully unleashes his crackpot conspiracy theories on America’s vaccination efforts, Trump will bear the responsibility for the unnecessary and preventable illnesses and deaths that result.

“Kennedy has already shown that he is incapable of running this agency by his appalling callousness towards the workforce he leads following the recent attack on the CDC. As Dr. Houry, the CDC’s chief medical officer suggested, that attack was inspired by the very anti-vaccine quackery Kennedy and others have peddled.”

“Vaccines are safe, and they are essential to saving lives and ensuring that children are healthy and protected. RFK Jr.’s threat to vaccines represents a clear and present danger to the health and wellbeing of ordinary Americans, and any mentally capable president would recognize that and remove him at once.”

In addition to Director Monarez, other departures of top public health leaders from the CDC in the past 24 hours reportedly include Dr. Debra Houry, CDC chief medical officer; Dr. Jen Layden, Director of the Office of Public Health Data, Surveillance and Technology; Dr. Daniel Jernigan, Director of the National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases; and Dr. Demetre Daskalakis, Director of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, who published a scathing resignation letter accusing Kennedy of using the “CDC as a tool to generate policies and materials that do not reflect scientific reality and are designed to hurt rather than to improve the public’s health.”

After testifying that he would not be “anti-vaccine” during his Senate confirmation hearing, Kennedy fired all members of the CDC Advisory Committee for Immunization Practices, and went on to replace them with prominent vaccine skeptics and allies.

Vaccines developed, tested, and approved by rigorous scientific vetting processes remain both safe and essential tools for protecting the American public from preventable disease. They have saved tens of millions of human lives, especially of children at risk of death from illnesses including measles, polio, tetanus, diphtheria, pertussis, tuberculosis, and smallpox.

Source: United States House of Representatives – Representative Salud Carbajal (CA-24)

U.S. Representative Salud Carbajal (D-CA-24), a senior member of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, announced he secured significant federal funding for the Santa Maria Airport for infrastructure improvements. The grant provides $3,846,219.00 for improvements to Runway 12/30. The rehabilitation project will strengthen the structural integrity of the runway and extend its useful life. 

“The Santa Maria Airport is an essential link for residents and businesses across the Central Coast,” said Rep. Carbajal. “This federal grant will make needed infrastructure upgrades so that the airport can continue serving travelers safely for years to come.”

“We sincerely thank Congressman Carbajal for his instrumental role in securing funding for this vital project. His continued support is invaluable to the Santa Maria Airport’s mission of serving our community. We deeply appreciate his ongoing commitment to bringing resources that strengthen and enhance our airport’s operations and future growth,” said Martin J. Pehl, A.A.E., General Manager of the Santa Maria Public Airport District.

This funding is from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law’s Airport Infrastructure Grant (AIG) program, which provides federal grants for airport infrastructure projects such as runways, taxiways, signage, lighting, and markings.

Since its passage in 2021, the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law has delivered more than $1 billion in funding to projects up and down the Central Coast of California. As a senior member of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, Carbajal played a key role in crafting and passing the landmark legislation in partnership with the Biden administration.

Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Sam Graves (6th District of Missouri)

KANSAS CITY, MO — Congressman Sam Graves (MO-06) presented military service medals that he was able to recover to the family of a Northwest Missouri veteran. Graves presented medals to the family of William Edgar Taul for his role in WWII. Mr. Taul served in the US Army, beginning in 1944. His military service records were lost in a fire at the National Personnel Records Center in St. Louis in 1973. However, Graves was able to obtain several medals for his service. 

“I’m grateful for all of our veterans in North Missouri,” said Graves. “It’s an honor to be able to present these medals to Mr. Taul’s family so they can always remember his service to our nation.”

​Congressman Graves presented the Bronze Star Medal, the World War II Victory Medal, the Combat Infantry Badge 1st Award, and the Honorable Service Lapel Button WWII to Taul’s family members including his grandson, Ryan Wright, his daughter Peggy Boulware, and his son in law Barry Boulware. 

(Pictured left to right, Barry Boulware, Ryan Wright, Congressman Graves, Peggy Boulware)

Veterans or their family members are encouraged to reach out to Graves’ office if they are trying to obtain service medals that they earned. Graves office is also able to assist if there is an issue accessing Veterans Affairs benefits.  Anyone in need of assistance can call 816-792-3976.

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Source: United States House of Representatives – Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley (MA-07)

Pressley Has Led Efforts to Abolish Federal Death Penalty, Successfully Urged President Biden to Commute Federal Death Row

BOSTON – Today, Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley (MA-07) issued the following statement on Donald Trump’s comments this week that his administration will seek the reinstatement of the death penalty for murder cases in Washington, DC. For years, Congresswoman Pressley has led efforts in Congress to abolish the federal death penalty and successfully urged President Biden to commute the sentences of individuals on death row last year.

“In 1989, Donald Trump paid for multiple ads calling for the execution of five innocent teenagers of color who were coerced and beaten to confess to a murder they did not commit. To this day, he has yet to change his views or apologize to these men—who have since been exonerated—and is now seeking to expand capital punishment in Washington, DC and across the country.

“Like Donald Trump himself, the death penalty is flawed and deeply racist. It is a fundamentally unjust punishment that has no place in any society. It has been disproportionately weaponized against Black and brown communities and failed to make America any safer—which is why we’ve worked persistently to abolish it and successfully partnered with President Biden to re-sentence most of federal death row.

“Rather than militarize our cities, weaponize the federal government to terrorize communities, and continue distracting from his many broken promises, Donald Trump should instead prioritize what actually keeps people safe: community-based, trauma-informed solutions like affordable housing, mental health care, and gun violence prevention programs—the same initiatives he has attacked and defunded since taking office. That’s how we break cycles of violence and build safe, healthy, and thriving communities.”

Since 2019, Congresswoman Pressley has introduced and championed the Federal Death Penalty Prohibition Act, bicameral legislation with Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) to prohibit the use of the death penalty at the federal level and require re-sentencing of those currently on death row.

Congresswoman Pressley has also led calls for President Biden to use his clemency authority to address mass incarceration, commute federal death row, and reunite families. She applauded the President for granting pardons to 39 individuals and commuting the sentences of nearly 1,500 individuals on home confinement, and has encouraged him to continue using that authority. She also commended President Biden for commuting the sentences of 37 individuals on death row and re-sentencing them to life in prison.

Rep. Pressley has been an outspoken advocate for abolishing the federal death penalty and her Federal Death Penalty Prohibition Act is informed by her People’s Justice Guarantee, a comprehensive, decarceration-focused resolution that outlines a framework for a fair, equitable and just legal system.

• In July 2019, Rep. Pressley and Senator Dick Durbin introduced bicameral legislation to prohibit the use of the death penalty at the federal level and require re-sentencing of those currently on death row. The legislation was reintroduced in 2021 and 2023.
• In December 2024, on Human Rights Day, Rep. Pressley and advocates renewed their calls for clemency and urged President Biden to commute the death sentences of the individuals on federal death row and resentence them to a prison term.
• In November 2024, Rep. Pressley and her colleagues wrote to President Biden urging him to use his clemency authority to address longstanding injustices in our legal system before taking office, including by granting clemency to those on death row.
• In January 2024, Rep. Pressley and Senator Durbin issued a statement on the Department of Justice’s decision to seek the execution of Payton Gendron, who committed the heinous, racially-motivated mass shooting at a Buffalo supermarket in 2022.
• In January 2023, Rep. Pressley and Senator Durbin submitted a comment letter in response to a Department of Justice (DOJ) Request for Information (RFI) regarding the regulations governing federal executions. 
• In March 2022, Rep. Pressley issued a statement condemning the Supreme Court’s reinstatement of the death penalty in the Dzhokhar Tsarnaev case, urging passage of the Federal Death Penalty Prohibition Act, and calling on President Biden to take executive action to halt federal executions, commute the sentences of those on death row, and more.
• In December 2021, Rep. Pressley and Chair Raskin wrote to the Department of Justice requesting information about whether the DOJ plans to resume federal executions and procure pentobarbital sodium for use in such executions.
• In May 2021, Rep. Pressley announced that the Federal Death Penalty Prohibition Act now has the support of over 90 Members of Congress and 265 national and grassroots organizations across the country.
• In January 2021, Congresswoman Pressley and Congresswoman Cori Bush (D-MO) led more than 35 of their House colleagues in sending a letter to President Biden calling on him to commute the sentences of every person on federal death row. 
• Later that month, Congresswoman Pressley and Reps. Adriano Espaillat (NY-13) and Robin Kelly (IL-02) wrote to then-Attorney General-nominee Judge Merrick B. Garland urging him to prioritize President Biden’s commitment to working with Congress to end the federal death penalty and incentivizing states to end capital punishment across the country. 
• In December 2020, Congresswoman Pressley led 41 of her House colleagues and three Representatives-Elect on a letter calling on President-Elect Joe Biden to end the use of the federal death penalty on his first day in office.
• In November 2020, Congresswoman Pressley and Senator Durbin, along with Senators Patrick Leahy and Cory Booker, wrote to Attorney General Bill Barr calling for a halt on all scheduled federal executions during the presidential transition period.

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Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Jerrold Nadler (10th District of New York)

Representative Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.) and U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) opened a new investigation into the Trump administration’s gutting of the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (FBI) teams that investigate public corruption. 

“By shuttering the public corruption work of both the FBI and DOJ, you and President Trump are giving the green light to would-be lawbreakers. This is just part of the Trump Administration’s creation of a two-tiered system of justice—one for large corporations and President Trump’s wealthy friends, and another for everyone else,” the lawmakers wrote in a letter to the DOJ and the FBI. 

DOJ’s Public Integrity Section (PIN) plays a critical role in investigating and prosecuting public officials who engage in corruption. The Section operates with prosecutorial independence and brings cases without regard to political parties. But since President Trump took office earlier this year, PIN’s staffing has been slashed from more than 30 attorneys to just a handful. The division has also been stripped of its authority to open new cases, leaving a gap in enforcement of federal anti-corruption laws.

The work of PIN has long been complemented by the FBI’s “elite” squad of federal agents who investigate public corruption. The team has helped uncover corrupt and unethical acts by elected members of both parties, as well as other government employees and lobbyists. But now the squad is being dissolved and its members fired or reassigned to other units that do not focus on public corruption—including entirely unrelated topics such as immigration.

Cuts to these teams come in the midst of an unprecedented wave of corruption in the Trump Administration, including President Trump’s blatant abuse of the presidency to enrich himself through crypto schemes, accepting a $400 million giftfrom a foreign government, issuing pardons to major donors, and more.

“Robust, independent investigations into public corruption are needed now more than ever to shore up Americans’ waning trust in the integrity of their representatives and public officials,” wrote the lawmakers. 

The members of Congress requested the DOJ and FBI provide, by September 5, 2025, a list of the public corruption cases that remain open under their departments, along with information about potential partisan enforcement of federal anti-corruption laws. 

Senators Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Peter Welch (D-Vt.), and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) joined in signing the letter. 

Representatives Yassamin Ansari (D-Ariz.), Becca Balint (D-Vt.), Nanette Barragán (D-Calif.), Donald Beyer (D-Va.), Julia Brownley (D-Calif.), André Carson (D-Ind.), Troy Carter (D-La.), Sean Casten (D-Ill.), Joaquin Castro (D-Texas), Judy Chu (D-Calif.), Yvette Clark (D-N.Y.), Emmanuel Cleaver (D-Mo.), Steve Cohen (D-Tenn.), Jasmine Crockett (D-Texas), Danny Davis (D-Ill.), Madeleine Dean (D-Pa.), Maxine Dexter (D-Ore.), Lloyd Doggett (D-Texas), Veronica Escobar (D-Texas), Adriano Espaillat (D-N.Y.), Cleo Fields (D-La.), John Garamendi (D-Calif.), Jesus Garcia (D-Ill.), Maggie Goodlander (D-N.H.), Glenn Ivey (D-Md.), Jonathan Jackson (D-Ill.), Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.), Henry Johnson (D-Ga.), Sydney Kamlager-Dove (D-Calif.), Marcy Kaptur (D-Ohio), Robin Kelly (D-Ill.), Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-Ill.), Summer Lee (D-Pa.), Stephen Lynch (D-Mass.), Sarah McBride (D-Del.), Jennifer McClellan (D-Va.), Betty McCollum (D-Minn.), Dave Min (D-Calif.), Seth Moulton (D-Mass.), Kevin Mullin (D-Calif.), Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.), Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), Chris Pappas (D-N.H.), Mark Pocan (D-Wis.), Mike Quigley (D-Ill.), Delia Ramirez (D-Ill.), Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), Deborah Ross (D-N.C.), Andrea Salinas (D-Ore.), Mary Gay Scanlon (D-Pa.), Lateefah Simon (D-Calif.), Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.), Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.), Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.), Paul Tonko (D-N.Y.), Nydia Velazquez (D-N.Y.), Eugene Vindman (D-Va.), and Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-N.J.) joined in signing the letter. 

The full text of the letter can be found here.

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Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Morgan Griffith (R-VA)

The U.S. Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) has contracted with Mount Rogers Community Services, based in Wytheville, Virginia, for an award of $76,202,871. As part of a three-year contract, this funding supports the production of combat flame-resistant type II and type III shirts. U.S. Congressman Morgan Griffith (R-VA) issued the following statement:

“For years, Mount Rogers Community Services has manufactured high-quality products for our military.

“This DLA awarding contract for more than $76 million helps Mount Rogers Community Services produce combat flame-resistant shirts for the American Army.”

BACKGROUND

Mount Rogers Community Services is a non-profit organization that employs people with disabilities.  

Among other things, they manage a manufacturing network for combat flame-resistant shirts, as well as combat helmet covers and field packs. Their manufacturing facilities are based in Atkins, Hillsville and Wytheville.

Since 2010, Mount Rogers Community Services has produced combat flame-resistant shirts.

DLA manages the global defense supply chain for the five military services, 11 combatant commands, and other federal, state and local agencies.

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

Larsen Releases Statement on the Passing of Maggie Hanson

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

Dear Speaker Mike Johnson & Leader John Thune:

The September 30th funding deadline will be upon us shortly. It is therefore imperative that we immediately meet upon our return to Congress next week to discuss the need to avert a painful, unnecessary lapse in government funding and to address the healthcare crisis Republicans have triggered in America.

The government funding issue must be resolved in a bipartisan way. That is the only viable path forward. At the same time, it is critical we come together to stop the Trump administration’s assault on healthcare in America. Unfortunately, it appears the Republican-controlled Congress lacks a plan to address the mounting healthcare crisis your budget reconciliation bill has set in motion. Hospital closures and staffing reductions are wreaking havoc on everyday Americans, particularly in rural communities. This Fall, millions of people will confront dramatically increased health insurance premiums, co-pays and deductibles.

With the September legislative work period soon upon us, it is imperative we receive clarity about the following questions:

1. What is your proposal to fund the government in a bipartisan manner and avoid unnecessary harm to the American people?

2. Are there any plans to address the looming healthcare crisis caused by Republican policies, including the so-called “One Big Beautiful Law”?

3. Has the President or any member of the Trump Administration indicated to either of you that the Office of Management and Budget will submit another rescissions package?

As we made clear earlier this month, Democrats stand ready to work together to lower healthcare costs for the American people, while responsibly completing the appropriations process. It is past time you reveal your plans to meet the needs of the American people. Otherwise, it is clear that you have abandoned bipartisanship altogether and are preparing to shut down the government.

Sincerely,
Leader Charles Schumer & Leader Hakeem Jeffries

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