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Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Mark DeSaulnier Representing the 11th District of California

Washington, D.C. – Today, Representatives Mark DeSaulnier (CA-10) and Greg Stanton (AZ-04) introduced the HOV Lane Exemption Reauthorization Act (H.R. 4948) that would incentivize alternative fuel and electric vehicle (EV) use, alleviate roadway congestion, and protect the environment by reauthorizing the High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) Lane Exemption program under the Department of Transportation through 2031. This program allows states the option to grant electric vehicles and alternative fuel vehicles use of HOV lanes. Without an extension, the program is set to expire on September 30, 2025.

“The use of electric vehicles and alternative fuel vehicles should be incentivized and rewarded. These cars help reduce greenhouse gas emissions to address the threat of climate change, while also helping drivers save hundreds or even thousands of dollars in gas money annually. I have seen firsthand how California’s forward-looking policies on EVs, including its HOV Exemption program, has improved quality of life and helped to protect our planet, and I am proud to advocate for the extension of this program so California and states across the country can continue to support commuters, communities, and our planet,” said Congressman DeSaulnier.

“Solo EV drivers in Arizona have been able to use the HOV lane for years. The lane exemption program doesn’t just incentivize the transition to clean energy vehicles, it eases congestion for all drivers. But without a legislative fix, this common-sense policy will expire this year,” said Congressman Stanton. “I’m proud to work with my colleague Rep. DeSaulnier to extend this program.”

“This is important leadership from Rep. DeSaulnier who knows that HOV lanes are popular with drivers, create faster commutes and help encourage the adoption of alternative fuel and electric vehicles across the country. If Congress doesn’t act, this incentive expires on September 30, so we urge the passage of this commonsense policy that will keep HOV lanes open for any driver that chooses an alternative fuel or zero emission vehicle,” said John Bozzella, Alliance for Automotive Innovation, President and CEO.

“EDTA supports the HOV Lane Exemption Reauthorization Act and applauds Rep. DeSaulnier’s leadership on this important issue. High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) lanes have been part of the metropolitan tool kit for more than 30 years, giving transportation planners critical options to reduce the economic and environmental impacts of congestion. Extending their authority to allow HOV lane access for advanced vehicle technologies helps drivers reduce the cost and time of their commutes while helping communities to reduce congestion and air pollution. It’s a win/win and we look forward to working with the Congressman to ensure it becomes law,” said Genevieve Cullen, Electric Drive Transportation Association (EDTA), President.

“The discretionary authority for state, county, and local governments to permit alternative fuel vehicles to use high-occupancy vehicle (HOV) lanes on federal highways has been Congressionally authorized for twenty years. The HOV Lane Exemption Program Reauthorization Act simply reauthorizes this longstanding discretionary authority, which is currently set to expire on September 30, 2025. ZETA is grateful for Rep. DeSaulnier’s support of this important policy, and urges Members of Congress on both sides of the aisle to advance this commonsense piece of legislation,” said Rebecca Konolige, Zero Emission Transportation Association, Director of Federal Affairs.

“The Center for Transportation and the Environment (CTE) supports the reauthorization of the High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) Lane Exemption Program through 2031. This program provides states the flexibility to create exemptions for certified alternative fuel and electric vehicles, promoting the nationwide adoption of low- and zero-emission vehicles, shortening commutes, and reducing emissions. As experts in zero-emission medium- and heavy-duty vehicles, CTE recognizes the foundational role that light-duty alternative fuel vehicles play in developing infrastructure and supporting industry growth. CTE endorses Representative DeSaulnier’s High Occupancy Vehicle Lane Exemption Reauthorization Act for its benefits to both commuters and industry,” said Jaimie Levin, Center for Transportation and the Environment (CTE), Director of West Coast Operations.

“The hydrogen mobility industry is extremely grateful for the leadership of Representative Mark DeSaulnier and Greg Stanton in championing the HOV Lane Exemption Reauthorization Act,” said Frank Wolak, President & CEO of the Fuel Cell and Hydrogen Energy Association (FCHEA). “Ensuring states have flexibility to utilize alternative fuel vehicles like hydrogen on HOV corridors is an important step to advancing next-generation mobility and reducing America’s transportation emissions.”

The HOV Lane Exemption Reauthorization Act is supported by Alliance for Automotive Innovation, Center for Transportation and the Environment, Electric Drive Transportation Association, Fuel Cell and Hydrogen Energy Association, Renewable Fuels Association, Renewable Natural Gas Coalition, The Transport Project, Zero Emission Transportation Association.

Representatives DeSaulnier and Stanton are both members of the House Committee on Transportation & Infrastructure. Congressman DeSaulnier is also a former member of the California Air Resources Board and Chairman of the transportation committees in both the California State Assembly and the California State Senate.

Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Mark DeSaulnier Representing the 11th District of California

Washington, D.C. – Today, Congressman Mark DeSaulnier (CA-10) announced he is hosting a town hall in Lafayette on Thursday, August 21^st at 6:30 p.m. PT with special guest Congressman Jim McGovern, the top-ranking Democrat on the House Committee on Rules, to discuss how House Democrats are using every legislative tool at their disposal to stand up for the American people against the dangerous policies of Congressional Republicans and the Trump Administration.

In addition to sharing updates on the latest in Congress, including the harmful effects of Republicans’ Big Ugly Bill and their Republican leadership’s attempts to block release of the Epstein files, the Members will take questions from constituents. 

Town Hall with Special Guest Rep. McGovern
Thursday, August 21^st
6:30 – 7:30 p.m. PT
Lafayette, CA
RSVP for Location

The event is RSVP only and capacity is limited. To reserve your spot or request special accommodations, visit https://desaulnier.house.gov/town-hall-rsvp or call (925) 933-2660. 

This will be Congressman DeSaulnier’s 242^nd town hall and mobile district office hour since coming to Congress in January 2015.

Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Mark DeSaulnier Representing the 11th District of California

Walnut Creek, CA — Congressman DeSaulnier highlighted his multi-pronged “Not Here” gun violence prevention initiative to help local communities implement successful evidence-based solutions to firearm violence at the Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors’ Legislative Delegation Reception in Martinez. 

“While Republicans in Congress have been blocking federal legislation to address the gun violence epidemic for far too long, local and state officials have stepped up and made Californians safer and less likely to be the victims of gun-related crimes,” saidRep. Mark DeSaulnier (CA-10). “The “Not Here” initiative builds on the successes implemented by health services, police departments, and community-based organizations in Contra Costa and across California to help localities around the countries enact these evidence-based policies more widely. I am proud that our community has been a trailblazer on this front, and we must share the keys to our progress so that all Americans are safe from gun violence regardless of what state they live in.”

In addition to discussing his gun violence prevention work, Congressman DeSaulnier also joined leaders from the County and California state legislature in underscoring the threats to CA-10 residents passed in the Republicans’ Big Ugly Bill, including deep cuts to Medicaid services.

Source: United States House of Representatives – Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (District of Columbia)

On the same day D.C. sues Trump Administration, Norton introduces legislation to terminate the unlawful federalization of MPD with her colleagues in Congress.

Source: United States House of Representatives – Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (District of Columbia)

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC), Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD), Ranking Member of the House Judiciary Committee, Rep. Robert Garcia (D-CA), Ranking Member of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, and Senator Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) announced introduction of a joint resolution terminating President Donald Trump’s unprecedented federalization of the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) in Washington, D.C., pursuant to the District of Columbia Home Rule Act of 1973. 

The legislation would terminate the President’s unlawful federalization of the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department. In an effort to justify his outrageous move to federalize local police and militarize the streets of D.C., the President has concocted a false narrative around the city’s crime rates, which have been in decline for two years and just reached a 30-year low. While the President claims there is some sort of crime emergency in D.C., he seems to be more preoccupied with the state of grass in D.C. parks and medians and selecting honorees for the Kennedy Center. And while Trump claims that federal control of D.C. is necessary to combat crime, the President’s own actions are what is jeopardizing public safety in the District. He and his allies in Congress refuse to allow the District to access the $1 billion in locally-raised revenue that would have funded D.C. police, fire and emergency response services, and other public safety efforts. He fired and demoted dozens of D.C.’s most experienced career prosecutors, contributing to a larger backlog of criminal cases being held up in court and longer wait times for crime victims to obtain justice. He pardoned nearly 1,600 individuals who attacked the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021, including hundreds convicted of assaulting police officers.

“President Trump’s incursions against D.C. are among the most egregious attacks on D.C. home rule in decades. D.C. residents are Americans, worthy of the same autonomy granted to residents of the states. Our local police force, paid for by D.C. residents, should not be subject to federalization, an action that wouldn’t be possible for any other police department in the country. No emergency exists in D.C. that the president did not create himself, and he is not using the D.C. Police for federal purposes, as required by law,” Norton said. “I appreciate Ranking Member Raskin’s enduring support for D.C. and for working with me to end this unprecedented, dangerous, and disgraceful violation of D.C.’s right to govern its own local affairs.”

“The only emergency here is a lawless president experiencing a growing public relations emergency because of his close friendship with Jeffrey Epstein and his stubborn refusal to release the Epstein file despite his promise to do so,” said Ranking Member Raskin. “Trump has made clear that his efforts in D.C., where 700,000 taxpaying American citizens lack the protections of statehood, are part of a broader plan to militarize and federalize the streets of cities around America whose citizens voted against him. The legislation we are introducing today would stop this campaign by ending Trump’s hostile takeover of D.C.’s police force. Under the D.C. Home Rule Act, Congress has given the president the power only to direct the Mayor to make the Metropolitan Police Department available for a specific federal purpose but has given him no power simply to take over the Department. In any event, there is no federal emergency justifying such a takeover even if Congress sought to use its lawmaking power to effectuate it.” 

“Once again, President Trump is making every effort to distract America from Epstein. Republicans aren’t serious about public safety in D.C. If they were, they would not be blocking the city from using $1 billion of its own money, including funding meant to support the city’s law enforcement efforts,” said Ranking Member Garcia. “Today’s bill would end President Trump’s so-called ‘crime emergency’ and allow the 700,000 residents of D.C. to set their home’s public safety priorities.”

“Trump was AWOL when the District of Columbia actually needed support from the National Guard to protect it from an insurrectionist mob on January 6th. His current takeover is an abuse of power and nothing more than a raw power grab. It is a direct attack on the ability of the people of the District of Columbia to govern their own affairs. The District of Columbia has made important progress on public safety in recent years, and can do more if Trump and House Republicans get the hell out of their way and stop blocking D.C. from accessing $1 billion of its own funds to strengthen policing and provide other public services,” said Senator Van Hollen.

On Monday, President Trump issued an Executive Order titled “Declaring a crime emergency in the District of Columbia,” to federalize the city’s police department. Under the District of Columbia Home Rule Act of 1973, Congress can terminate the President’s emergency control of MPD with a joint resolution.

In their resolution, the Members cited that President Trump has failed to identify any special conditions of an emergency nature that require the federalization of the MPD even for a specific purpose. Indeed, violent crime in D.C. has been decreasing for the past two years, reaching a 30-year low.

Read the text of the resolution here.

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Source: United States House of Representatives – Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (District of Columbia)

WASHINGTON, D.C. – After Rep. Andy Ogles (R-TN) announced that he would introduce a bill to amend the Home Rule Act to allow the president to extend the federalization of D.C.’s Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) indefinitely, Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) said, “Rep. Ogles’ bill is another in a series of extreme attacks on D.C. home rule. His strange and unseemly fixation on bullying D.C., a District of more than 700,000 Americans who must tolerate daily intrusions because of their geographic proximity to the federal government, is unacceptable and disgraceful to D.C. and to the Congress where he and I are both members. His bill would allow indefinite federal seizure of D.C.’s local police, which is funded by local D.C. tax dollars. 

“D.C. pays more federal taxes per capita than any state and more federal taxes overall than 19 states, while being denied the same voting representation in Congress or full local self-government accorded to residents of the 50 states. I will do everything in my power to block this bill’s progress and passage and prevent D.C. from suffering additional indignities at the hands of the federal government.”

President Trump federalized the D.C. Police for the first time in history this week and deployed the D.C. National Guard under the auspices of a crime emergency, despite data showing violent crime in D.C. reached a more than 30-year low in 2024 and is down 26 percent this year compared to the same period last year. Republicans have introduced bills in both chambers of Congress to repeal the Home Rule Act, which aim to abolish the D.C. Council and Mayor’s office, and would leave D.C. to depend on members of Congress elected by other jurisdictions to control the District.

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Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi (8th District of Illinois)

WASHINGTON – Today, Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL), Ranking Member of the Oversight Subcommittee on Health Care and Financial Services, sent a letter to Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Administrator Mehmet Oz demanding answers on how the Trump administration plans to lower prescription drug prices after passing legislation that will delay and exempt costly drugs from Medicare price negotiations, a move the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) says will cost taxpayers at least $5 billion over the next decade.

“Americans are deeply concerned by the cost of prescription medications. The vast majority—including 70% of those who voted for Donald Trump—want to see costs come down,” Krishnamoorthi wrote in the letter. “President Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill will delay or rescind CMS’s ability to negotiate the prices of costly, life-saving drugs and will actually increase the cost of prescription drugs.”

Under the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, Medicare gained the power to annually negotiate certain high-cost drugs, saving taxpayers tens of billions and reducing seniors’ out-of-pocket costs. But Congressman Krishnamoorthi warns that the Trump Administration’s new law, signed in July, guts those provisions by delaying negotiations for some of the most expensive drugs and exempting others entirely, including advanced cancer treatments.

“The Trump administration has gifted drug companies higher profit margins while stripping health care access from millions,” Krishnamoorthi said, noting the bill’s nearly $1 trillion in Medicaid cuts could leave more than 15 million Americans without coverage, according to CBO analysis.

The congressman also criticized the legislation for failing to address the anti-competitive practices of Pharmacy Benefit Managers (PBMs), despite President Trump’s earlier acknowledgment of the problem. “Addressing these PBM practices is a commonsense, bipartisan reform that could lower drug prices without cutting coverage or handing giveaways to Big Pharma,” Congressman Krishnamoorthi wrote.

In his letter, Congressman Krishnamoorthi requested CMS provide detailed information by August 29, 2025, including:

• How the administration plans to achieve Trump’s claim of reducing drug prices by “500% to 1500%”

• All communications with pharmaceutical companies regarding expanded Medicare drug negotiation exemptions

• Plans to assist patients who cannot afford drugs now excluded from negotiations

• All actionable steps to lower costs through PBM reform

Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi (8th District of Illinois)

CHICAGO – Today, Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL) toured the HIRE360 Workforce Development & Green Economy Training Facility in Chicago’s South Loop, meeting with students, instructors, labor leaders, and contractors to discuss how career and technical education (CTE) is creating pathways to high-quality jobs across Illinois. The visit included stops in active classrooms, discussions with industry partners, and a tour of the solar training facility, which prepares workers for one of the nation’s fastest-growing industries.

In 2022, Congressman Krishnamoorthi secured $1 million in federal community project funding to help complete the HIRE360 facility, which now provides training, mentorship, and job placement services in more than 20 high-demand trades.

“HIRE360 shows what’s possible when government, labor, and private industry work together to open doors for working families and strengthen our economy,” Congressman Krishnamoorthi said. “I’m proud to have secured $1 million to complete this facility and authored the law delivering $1.4 billion annually for career and technical education nationwide. CTE isn’t just about skills; it’s about pathways to good-paying jobs, long-term careers, and an economy that works for all Americans.”

“Thanks to Congressman Krishnamoorthi’s leadership, our facility is a launchpad for careers in high-demand industries,” Jay Rowell, Executive Director of HIRE360, said. “By connecting workers to training, mentorship, and real job opportunities, we’re ensuring that communities across Illinois can access the good-paying, sustainable careers that will shape our economy for decades to come.”

A longtime champion of CTE, Congressman Krishnamoorthi authored the Strengthening Career and Technical Education for the 21st Century Act, a bipartisan law that reformed CTE programs for the first time in over a decade and secured nearly $1.4 billion annually to support workforce training nationwide.

HIRE360’s facility hosts pre-apprenticeship training programs, including those under the Illinois Works and CEJA initiatives, and features classrooms, networking areas, and dedicated spaces for skills practice — all designed to equip residents with the certifications and experience needed for lasting careers in construction, clean energy, and related industries.

Source: United States House of Representatives – Congresswoman Ann Wagner (R-MO-02)

Ballwin, MO – Congresswoman Ann Wagner (R-MO) released the following statement after the audit of St. Louis-area postal operations:

“The utter mismanagement of St. Louis area postal facilities has been a stain on our region that has severely impacted Missourians for too long.  I have repeatedly called for an audit and now that I have seen the results, it’s clear the problem is worse than we ever thought.  This goes beyond mere incompetence. Bad leadership and completely ineffective management have stopped Missourians from getting vital medications and legal documents and robbed citizens seeking to vote by mail of the opportunity to have their vote counted.  Our community deserves a Postal Service that fulfills its core responsibility—delivering mail—instead of abandoning basic job responsibilities like showing up and answering the phone.

“I have requested multiple meetings with previous and new leadership to address these issues.  The United States Postal Service serves the public, and such flagrant disregard for accountability is completely unacceptable.  The results of this audit demand an immediate and severe response: those in charge must be fired and new management must come in to clean house and ensure the Postal Service gets back to a level of service that families, workers, and small businesses can depend on for their day-to-day needs.  The people of Missouri deserve better, and they will get it.”   

Read the audit here. 

Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Brendan Boyle (13th District of Pennsylvania)

Analysis Requested by Ranking Member Boyle Confirms Republicans Voted for $536 Billion in Medicare Cuts