MIL USHOR-2b Engine

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

Follows Monday’s announcement of four NIH grants totaling $2.6 million to the Memphis-based children’s research hospital

Source: United States House of Representatives – Representative Bryan Steil (Wisconsin-1)

(August 14, 2025) Janesville, WI – Today, Congressman Bryan Steil (WI-01) and other members of the Wisconsin Congressional delegation wrote to Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem to request assistance expediting a Joint Preliminary Damage Assessment (PDA) to support recovery efforts across Wisconsin following historic flooding. A PDA is the first step in establishing a Major Disaster Declaration, unlocking federal assistance for recovery efforts in Wisconsin. Today’s letter follows earlier outreach from Congressman Steil to FEMA and the White House on this issue.  

“As our community continues to rally around those impacted by last week’s floods, I remain committed to helping Wisconsin families affected by this disaster access available resources,” said Steil. “I look forward to working with the Administration to secure the resources necessary to help families in our community recover from this storm.”

For a copy of the letter, click HERE.

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

Reps. Chu, Meng, Vargas, and Colleagues Raise Alarm and Demand Answers on Trump Administration’s Language Access Roll Backs

WASHINGTON, DC – Reps. Judy Chu (CA-28), Grace Meng (NY-06), and Juan Vargas (CA-52) led 58 of their colleagues in a letter to the Trump administration demanding answers regarding its rollback of language access across federal agencies. The letter raises alarm over new Department of Justice (DOJ) guidance implementing Executive Order (EO) 14224, which seeks to declare English as the official language of the United States and rescinds EO 13166, a decades-long policy that established meaningful language accessibility across federal agencies and funding recipients. 

The DOJ memo instructs agencies to phase out “unnecessary multilingual offerings” and instead consider English-only services, redirect funding for translation services to “English proficiency and assimilation” programs, and immediately withdraw all public-facing materials related to language access. The DOJ has already eliminated several of its language access resources — including LEP.gov, a website that provided data, and best practices to agencies and funded entities on effectively communicating with individuals with limited English proficiency (LEP). Additionally, as a result of this memo, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has already threatened to eliminate non-English language tax services such as translated documents and over-the-phone and in-person translation services. 

In their letter to President Trump and Attorney General Pam Bondi, the Members write, “President Trump does not have the authority to declare English as the national language. The issue of a national language has been debated in Congress, and the legislative branch has not made such an establishment… The memo attempts to roll back decades of progress and weakens the legal framework to combat national origin discrimination by treating language access as an unnecessary privilege rather than a civil right.”

Stories from communities nationwide, including in California, Kentucky, New Mexico, and New York, prove that translation and interpretation services can mean the difference between life and death. 

The letter concludes with the Members demanding accountability and answers from the Trump administration. This letter builds upon the previous oversight letter sent by Reps. Chu, Meng, and 54 House Democratic colleagues on April 11, 2025 regarding the initial release of President Trump’s EO 14224. 

This letter is endorsed by: National Immigration Law Center (NILC), Asian & Pacific Islander Health Forum, Asian Americans Advancing Justice- Southern California (AJSOCAL), Chinese for Affirmative Action (CAA), Stop AAPI Hate, AAPI Equity Alliance, South Asian Network, National Hispanic Health Foundation, Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP), Justice in Aging, AIDS Foundation Chicago, Hawai’i Health & Harm Reduction Center (HHHRC), CenterLink, Hep Free Hawai’i, Association of Asian Pacific Community Health Organizations (AAPCHO), Chinatown Service Center, Thai Community Development Center, Pacific Asian Counseling Services (PACS), Mixteco/Indígena Community Organizing Project (MICOP), CalCenter, League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC), National Association of the Deaf (NAD), UnidosUS, National Council of Asian Pacific Americans (NCAPA), Respond Crisis, Disability Rights California, South Asian Public Health Association (SAPHA), National Asian American Pacific Islander Mental Health Association (NAAPIMHA), Congregation of Our Lady of Charity of the Good Shepherd, U.S. Provinces, and the National Advocacy Center of the Sisters of the Good Shepherd.

Click here to access the full letter in English. One pagers with a modified version of this press release can also be found in English, Spanish (Español),Simplified Chinese (简体中文), Traditional Chinese繁體中文  Vietnamese (Tiếng Việt), and Korean (한국인).

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Source: United States House of Representatives – Congresswoman Betty McCollum (DFL-Minn)

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Congresswoman Betty McCollum (MN-04) and Glenn “GT” Thompson (R-PA) introduced a bipartisan resolution on Friday to designate August 17^th as National Nonprofit Day, recognizing the 1.3 million nonprofit organizations and 12 million nonprofit employees in the U.S. who serve local, national, and international needs.

“By officially recognizing National Nonprofit Day, we uplift and support the contributions of the millions of Americans who serve and support our communities,” Congresswoman McCollum said. “The nonprofit sector is crucial to American communities and is an essential provider of service, support, and generosity to those in need. Nonprofits are the nation’s third largest employer, employing more than 12 million workers and represent 5.6% of the nation’s GDP. In Minnesota, there are over 370,000 nonprofit employees.” 

“Nonprofits in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania employ more than 15 percent of the state’s workforce, and their impact on individual communities runs deep,” said U.S. Rep. Glenn “GT” Thompson (R-PA). “I am pleased to offer this resolution with Congresswoman McCollum to recognize National Nonprofit Day and honor those who lend their guidance, service and generosity to help neighbors in need.” 

In addition to introducing this resolution recognizing National Nonprofit Day, Congresswoman McCollum has long worked in partnership with nonprofit organizations to strengthen the sector and its relationship with the federal government through the Nonprofit SEAT Act.  The legislation is designed to facilitate mechanisms for nonprofits to have a more direct voice in policy decisions that affect their work and the communities they serve.

Read the text of the National Nonprofit Day resolution here.

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Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Chris Pappas (D-NH)

The New Hampshire Congressional delegation sent a letter to U.S. Department of Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lee Zeldin opposing the Trump administration’s move to end the Solar for All program and unlawfully rescind the existing grant for New Hampshire. If the EPA terminates this grant from the Inflation Reduction Act, New Hampshire would lose over $43.5 million to help reduce energy costs for Granite State communities and families who need it most.

The delegation wrote, in part: “We write with concern in response to the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) decision to end the Solar for All program, which Congress created in order to help reduce energy costs for families. If EPA rescinds existing, legally obligated grants under this program, New Hampshire will lose $43.5 million that would have lowered energy bills for Granite State communities who need it most. This unlawful action would directly contradict our shared goal of lowering costs for American households.”

They continued: “Beginning in 2025, the Community Loan Fund planned to use this funding to support energy projects for up to 20 resident-owned manufactured home communities. Similarly, NH Housing planned to use this funding to install community solar on workforce housing projects, which would improve housing affordability for working families. The NH Department of Energy, as the lead applicant, planned to expand community energy programs across the state for communities not covered by its partners. These projects were designed to reduce costs for low-income households and would reduce utility bills for those households by 20 percent or more […] These organizations are already preparing to put this money to work and are incurring costs to do so. By rescinding these grants, the Administration would force costs onto nonprofits and deny low income households much-needed relief from increasing energy costs.

They concluded: “Unlawfully terminating the Solar for All grants would only lead to chaos at the state agencies and impede New Hampshire’s efforts to lower energy costs for working families. We urge you to continue this grant in accordance with the law for the benefit of Granite State communities.”

Funding from the Solar for All program supports a comprehensive approach to bringing solar energy to those least able to afford the technology and will be administered by the New Hampshire Department of Energy (NHDOE), The New Hampshire Community Loan Fund, and New Hampshire Housing Finance Authority. Much of the funding will also support affordable housing — the Community Loan Fund will target funds to resident-owned manufactured housing parks, and NH Housing will use funding to install residential-serving community solar on workforce housing projects. The NHDOE will scale up its existing community solar program to support communities or projects that do not neatly fit into the Community Loan Fund and Housing Finance Authority programs. 

You can read the full letter HERE.

The New Hampshire Congressional delegation has championed work to secure federal investments in clean energy and energy efficiency initiatives and lower energy costs across New Hampshire. Shaheen, Hassan and Pappas were key supporters of the Inflation Reduction Act, which included provisions for clean energy and climate investments in New Hampshire.  

Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Chris Pappas (D-NH)

On the 90th anniversary of the enactment of the Social Security Act of 1935, Congressman Chris Pappas (NH-01) released the following statement:

“When the Social Security Act was signed into law, it represented a promise made to the American people – that if you work hard, pay into Social Security, and play by the rules, your earned benefits will be there for you when you retire. President Trump and his administration are threatening that promise on every front. From firing staff and closing offices to releasing Americans’ sensitive financial data to unqualified staff and planning behind the scenes to privatize the entire system, there is no question that this administration is willing to gamble away Granite Staters’ hard-earned retirement. That is backward, that is wrong, and that is something I will never support.

“We cannot ignore the warning signs that Republicans cannot be trusted to safeguard Social Security or protect the millions who rely on it. I am committed to making Social Security work better for Granite Staters and ensuring that everyone can retire with dignity by protecting our seniors’ hard-earned benefits for this generation and all those to come.”

Background:

Earlier this year, Pappas called on Acting Social Security Administration (SSA) Commissioner Leland Dudek to halt its plans to gut the SSA by laying off SSA employees and shuttering field or hearing offices.

In 2024 he helped lead a successful bipartisan effort in the House to force a vote on the Social Security Fairness Act, which was signed into law by President Biden in early 2025. The legislation eliminated the Windfall Elimination Provision and the Government Pension Offset that unfairly reduced or eliminated Social Security benefits for millions of Americans working in public service, including federal employees, police officers, firefighters, and educators.

Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Josh Harder (CA-10)

Video from the Port of Stockton tour is downloadable here

STOCKTON – Today, Rep. Josh Harder (CA-09) joined local county supervisors and water infrastructure managers in a tour of golden mussel colonies at the Port of Stockton to highlight the dangers of these stinking invaders and discuss new legislation to halt their exploding population.

“They may look small, but these sharp, slimy, stinking invaders are part of an exploding invasion that clog our waterways with sludge and threaten our fragile Delta ecosystems,” said Rep. Harder. “We have to act right now to stop their advance and actually begin eradicating this infestation before it’s too late. I’m leading legislation to do just that, and I’m grateful for the support of our local water leaders in this fight.” 

A single female mussel can produce up to one million offspring a year, and if left unchecked, the infestation could threaten the water supplies relied upon by 27 million Californians and $50 billion in agriculture. Harder’s bill, the Golden Mussel Eradication and Control Act, will invest in a rapid response program and new technology to combat the invasion and begin eradicating golden mussels from the Delta.

Harder was joined by Port of Stockton Director Kirk DeJesus, Contra Costa County Supervisor Diane Burgis, and representatives from the Delta Counties Coalition.

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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.