MIL USHOR-2b Engine

Source: United States House of Representatives – Congresswoman Doris Matsui (D-CA)

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Congresswoman Doris Matsui (CA-07), Ranking Member of the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Communications and Technology, released the following statement in response to the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in FCC v. Consumers’ Research. In a 6-3 decision, the Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of the Universal Service Fund. 

“Reliable, high-speed broadband access is no longer a luxury—it’s a fundamental pillar of modern life. The Universal Service Fund has been a savior for millions of Americans, expanding broadband access for our schools, libraries, rural hospitals, and underserved communities across the nation,” said Congresswoman Matsui. “Today, the Supreme Court rightfully upheld the constitutionality of this critical program.”

“Universal service has been the bedrock of U.S. telecommunications policy for decades. It remains as relevant as ever, with artificial intelligence and other emerging technologies supercharging our reliance on connectivity to spur innovation and improve people’s lives,” Matsui continued. “I am committed to ensuring the Universal Service Fund remains resilient for years to come, and I look forward to working with my colleagues on the bipartisan USF Working Group to ensure this program is sustainable and meeting Americans’ evolving connectivity needs.”

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Source: United States House of Representatives – Congresswoman Doris Matsui (D-CA)

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Congresswoman Doris Matsui (D-CA) and Congressman Dan Crenshaw (R-TX) introduced the Mapping America’s Pharmaceutical Supply (MAPS) Act, bipartisan legislation to strengthen the federal government’s ability to prepare for and mitigate future drug shortages by identifying vulnerabilities in the pharmaceutical supply chain.

The MAPS Act would require the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to update its Essential Medicines List and create a map of the pharmaceutical supply chain. The map would include the country of origin, quantity manufactured, and other key information about critical drug products to identify supply chain weaknesses that could lead to shortages or other challenges in a future public health emergency. With this insight, HHS will be better equipped to predict disruptions, identify bottlenecks, and build resilience into the system—ultimately helping to prevent future public health emergencies. 

The bill would also require the Secretary to conduct a comprehensive risk assessment of these supply chains.  The assessment would examine the key ingredients needed to manufacture essential medicines, overreliance on high-risk foreign sources, sole-sourced products, current domestic manufacturing capabilities, cybersecurity threats, and any other gaps that may reduce the federal government’s ability to identify health and national security risks related to our essential medicine supply chains.

“Recent drug shortages have exposed serious gaps in our pharmaceutical supply chain — gaps that put lives at risk,” said Congresswoman Matsui. “Right now, we lack full visibility into where and how our essential medicines are made. We don’t know the extent of our reliance on foreign agents for key drug ingredients, or how a natural disaster would impact the drug supply. The MAPS Act is a crucial step to provide us with a comprehensive roadmap. By increasing transparency, we can bolster the weaknesses in our supply chain, better prepare for future public health emergencies and protect the well-being of all Americans.”  

“Too often, we fail to recognize domestic drug manufacturing for what it truly is—a national security issue,” said Congressman Crenshaw. “Every time we rely on foreign nations, especially our adversaries, for essential medicines or their ingredients, we hand them dangerous leverage over us. This bill is a critical step forward: it gives us the tools to map our pharmaceutical supply chains, identify vulnerabilities, and better prepare for threats before they arise.”

According to the Association of Health System Pharmacists (ASHP), ongoing and active drug shortages continue to be dangerously high, with 270 drugs currently in shortage. Despite progress from the FDA in preventing and mitigating drug shortages, these efforts are largely reactive. Shortage prevention efforts could be more effective if they were proactive and targeted to the most vulnerable and essential drugs.  

Active pharmaceutical ingredients (API) – the key ingredients that give a drug their intended effect – are largely manufactured overseas in China or India. The MAPS Act would establish a supply chain map including the origin of each drug, the location of the facilities used to manufacture them, and associated inspections and risks, such as recalls and import alerts.

Endorsing organizations include: California Hospital Association, Texas Hospital Association, Association for Clinical Oncology (ASCO), American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP), Angels for Change, CivicaRx, U.S. Pharmacopeia (USP), the Society of Gynecologic Oncology (SGO), Phlow and Vizient.

“ASHP strongly supports the MAPS Act. By requiring the Department of Health and Human services to coordinate with other agencies and the private sector to map the pharmaceutical supply chain, threats to the U.S. pharmaceutical supply chain can be identified and addressed before they place patients at risk,” saidTom Kraus, Vice President of ASHP Government Relations.  

“ASCO applauds the introduction of the MAPS Act, in the House of Representatives. This legislation aims to improve stakeholder visibility into the supply of critical prescription drugs in this country and ultimately used to mitigate the harms patients face amid drug shortages,” saidLynn M. Schuchter, MD, FASCO, Board Chair of the Association for Clinical Oncology. “We applaud Representatives Matsui and Crenshaw for their bipartisan dedication to improving access to cancer drug treatments and other critical medications.”

“Prolonged and persistent drug shortages over the past two decades are jeopardizing Americans’ access to critical treatments and increasing our vulnerability to disruptions from natural disasters, pandemics, and geopolitical instability,” said Ronald T. Piervincenzi, Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer, U.S. Pharmacopeia. “Building meaningful and lasting resilience across this complex supply chain requires comprehensive reform. The MAPS Act will improve our ability to leverage tools, like USP’s Medicine Supply Map, to detect risks, anticipate shortages, and safeguard national security. As we seek further insight on the sourcing of key starting materials and API for producing our most vulnerable medicines, these collaborations are critical for understanding our vulnerabilities, as well as unlocking innovative solutions, like advanced manufacturing and scalable synthesis technologies.”  

“Angels for Change proudly supports the MAPS Act—a vital step toward ending drug shortages and protecting patients,” saidLaura Bray, Founder and Chief Change Maker of Angels for Change. “This bipartisan legislation will strengthen transparency and coordination across the entire drug supply chain, helping to detect and prevent disruptions before they impact care. Building the reliable supply chain patients deserve will require collaboration across government and industry. We applaud Representatives Matsui and Crenshaw for their leadership in prioritizing the safeguarding of Essential Medicines that will benefit all US patients.”  

Full text of the bill is available HERE. 

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Source: United States House of Representatives – Congresswoman Doris Matsui (D-CA)

Washington, D.C. – The Co-Chairs of the House Sustainable Energy and Environment Coalition (SEEC) Lands, Waters, and Nature Task Force Reps. Doris Matsui (CA), Don Beyer (VA), and Maxine Dexter (OR) sent a letter to the Department of the Interior (DOI) Secretary Doug Burgum in response to DOI’s Regulatory Reform Request for Information (RFI) published on May 20, which aims to undermine public land management on behalf of polluting industries.

“In carrying out its duties, the Department is guided by multiple statutes and a well-developed suite of regulations promulgated over many decades. While we can appreciate the goal of establishing a more efficient regulatory program at DOI and agree wholeheartedly with the importance of effective stewardship of our public lands and resources, it appears the true intent of the RFI is the ‘deconstruction of the overbearing and burdensome administrative state.’ This goal is contrary to existing law, Congressional intent, and the continued exercise of the DOI’s many responsibilities,” the Task Force wrote.

“Existing regulations protect human health and the environment from harmful practices and polluting from bad actors. Eliminating them means that companies could fail to clean up oil spills in waterways that are sources of drinking water, neglect to install equipment that prevents air pollution, and destroy the scenic landscapes where we hike, fish, and play. Our children deserve to inherit a safe and habitable planet where they can breathe clean air and drink clean water.”

Read the full letter here.

 

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Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Sanford D Bishop Jr (GA-02)

WASHINGTON – Today, Congressman Sanford D. Bishop, Jr. (GA-02) voted against H.R. 1, a budget reconciliation bill authored by United States House and Senate Republicans that will gut billions of dollars from healthcare, food, and other programs as well as add trillions of dollars to the federal budget deficit to pay for tax breaks that overwhelmingly benefit billionaires.

“I opposed this bill in May when it was first debated by the U.S. House of Representatives and now it comes back to us from the U.S. Senate in even worse shape. The bill explodes the federal budget deficit and will lead to more uninsured Americans as well as the closure of hospitals, especially in rural and underserved areas in Middle and Southwest Georgia and across the country,” said Congressman Bishop. “The bill attacks Medicare, Medicaid, and the Affordable Care Act. It makes it harder for the most vulnerable to put food on the table. We need to fight fraud, waste, and abuse – not use those words as political cover for billionaire tax giveaways and ballooning the country’s budget deficit.”

H.R. 1 was initially considered in the U.S. House of Representatives and approved on May 22, despite bipartisan opposition to the bill. Congressman Bishop voted against the bill at that time. It was then sent to the U.S. Senate where many of the House bill’s provisions were found to violate Senate rules.

The Senate-amended version of the bill kicks 17 million people off their health care and causes premiums, deductibles, and copays to soar for millions more. Among the health care provisions in H.R. 1:

• It cuts more than $1 trillion from health care, including the largest Medicaid cut ever.
• It will cause a $500 billion cut to Medicare.
• It will make healthcare more expensive and less affordable for people not on Medicare and Medicaid due to greater distances and increased strain on the healthcare system due to hospital closures, staff reductions, loss of services, and increased reliance on emergency rooms for basic healthcare.

H.R. 1 also cuts the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) by 20 percent. It forces states to cover more of SNAP’s cost, which likely will lead to dozens of states eliminating SNAP entirely. New red tape requirements will cause 5 million people to lose food assistance and put tens of millions of kids at risk of losing school breakfast and lunch. This bill also provides unnecessary exceptions for Alaska, which places additional, disproportionate burdens on states like Georgia.

H.R. 1 makes devastating cuts to energy programs that will reduce American energy independence and innovation, cause families to pay an average of $400 more per year nationwide, and puts seniors and low-income people at risk of losing assistance to pay their energy bills.

Additionally, these cuts threaten more than 840,000 energy sector jobs in just the next five years and an additional 790,000 jobs over the next 10 years, including jobs lost in the electric vehicle industry which Georgia Democrats and Republicans have fought to create and make the state an industry leader.

Finally, H.R. 1 adds $4 trillion to the national debt to support tax breaks for the wealthiest 1%. The poorest 20% of American families, however, will see their taxes increase over the lifespan of the bill while their healthcare, food, and energy costs rise.

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Source: United States House of Representatives – Congresswoman Robin Kelly IL

WASHINGTON – U.S. Rep. Robin Kelly (IL-02) condemned U.S. House Republicans for jamming through the Big, Ugly Bill to meet an arbitrary deadline. Due to the $1 trillion cuts to Medicaid, 17 million Americans will lose their healthcare, including nearly half a million in Illinois and almost 40,000 in the Second District.

“House Republicans did the unconscionable: they passed the Big, Ugly Bill that would steal people’s healthcare, rob food out of children’s mouths, cut clean energy jobs, and flood our streets with dangerous weapons like gun silencers. After one call from President Trump, so-called hardline conservatives folded like cowards, voting to raise the deficit by $3.4 trillion. While House Republicans bent the knee to President Trump, every House Democrat stood up for the American people to vote no in one resounding voice.

“If people do not have healthcare, they will die. That’s not hyperbolic – that’s fact. The Big, Ugly Bill rips healthcare away from 17 million people and closes hospitals, all the while exacerbating public health crises like maternal mortality and gun violence. President Trump promised not to touch Medicaid – but he lied, and House Republicans were complicit in his scam. Shame on House Republicans, and shame on President Trump for betraying the American people.”

Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Andy Harris (MD-01)

Washington, D.C. – Today, Congressman Andy Harris, M.D. (MD-01) issued the following statement in response to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) determination that the Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE) improperly issued its final permit decision for the U.S. Wind offshore wind project off the coast of Ocean City, Maryland.

In a letter issued to MDE Secretary Serena McIlwain, the EPA outlined multiple legal errors in the agency’s approval of the US Wind permit, including providing misleading information about the public’s right to appeal under federal law. The EPA is now requiring MDE to reissue the permit in accordance with proper federal procedures, a move that if left uncorrected, could lead to the invalidation of the permit on appeal.

Statement From Congressman Harris:

“The EPA has confirmed what many of us knew for years — this project was approved with glaring procedural and legal flaws. The Maryland Department of the Environment had no business directing the public to appeal a federal permit to a state court, and such a decision showed both incompetence and a disregard for public input from my affected constituents in Worcester County. For many years, my constituents across the First Congressional District have been overwhelmingly clear: they do not want offshore wind off their coast. This ruling is a major victory for the Eastern Shore, the environment, and our local economies that are existentially threatened by this project.”

The EPA letter can be read HERE.
For media inquiries, please contact Anna Adamian at Anna.A@mail.house.gov

Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Andy Harris (MD-01)

WASHINGTON, D.C. —Today, H.R. 1, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA), passed the House of Representatives in a vote of 218-214 with unanimous support from the Freedom Caucus. The passage of the OBBBA marks a major victory for the American people, President Donald Trump, and the House Freedom Caucus. From day one, HFC Members worked closely with the President, his team, congressional leadership, and conservative colleagues to strengthen this reconciliation package—making it more fiscally responsible and more conservative at every step. We have delivered Republican priorities with Republican votes and ensured Democrats cannot derail the America First agenda.

Historic Border Wins: HFC was an early proponent of providing full border security and immigration enforcement funding in reconciliation. These priorities are now central to the OBBBA. The bill delivers historic investments to finish the border wall, ramp up deportations of illegal aliens, and support critical DHS personnel.

Fiscal Wins: Republicans—led by HFC and fiscal conservatives—achieved over $1.5 trillion in deficit reduction, five times more than originally proposed at the start of this process. This is an historically unprecedented level of spending cuts, and we look forward to working with the White House to continue to cut waste, fraud, and abuse – reining in the Democrats’ out of control spending that fuels inflation. We remain determined to restore pre-pandemic federal spending levels, and there will be more developments on restoring fiscal sanity in the weeks to come.

Ending the Green New Scam: The OBBBA will unleash American energy dominance by ending key “Green New Scam” subsidies for harmful wind and solar projects in President Trump’s term and opening up reliable energy production by reinstating oil and gas lease sales from Alaska to the Gulf of America. In fact, we believe our provisions will stop more than 90 percent of new “green” projects from getting taxpayer subsidies.

Welfare Reform & Work Requirements: Republicans secured major mandatory spending cuts and reforms that conservatives have long sought, such as work requirements in entitlement programs like food stamps and in Medicaid – requirements of which were significantly tightened in negotiations prior to the original House passage of the OBBBA in June. The OBBBA cuts waste, fraud, and abuse in these programs, and takes meaningful steps to ensure that illegal aliens are not receiving benefits funded by federal tax dollars. 

Medicaid: Critically, the OBBBA targets the “money laundering” by states through Medicaid provider taxes, a gimmick states can use to double or even triple their federal reimbursement funding. Many states take advantage of this scam to backfill their own unbalanced budgets and in some cases (e.g., California) use it to provide free healthcare to illegal aliens. The OBBBA phases down the provider tax safe harbor from 6% to 3.5% in Medicaid expansion states to halt this racket. Not only will this save hundreds of billions of dollars, but it will also discourage further growth of Obamacare’s ruinous Medicaid expansion that prioritizes the able-bodied over the most vulnerable Americans.

Tax Cuts: The OBBBA delivers on and expands President Trump’s 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, one of the President’s key campaign promises. This avoids the largest tax hike in history, provides new tax relief for hard-working Americans, and incentivizes economic growth and investment in America. HFC Members also secured key tax wins like ending the taxation of suppressors, short-barreled rifles, short-barreled shotguns, and establishing a remittance tax on illegal aliens sending cash abroad. 

Bottom Line: The House Freedom Caucus fought to make this bill better at every stage—and we succeeded. We secured transformational wins for fiscal responsibility, border security, energy independence, welfare reform, and tax relief. We secured significant commitments on continuing to move the ball forward on the American First agenda, and thanks to President Trump’s leadership, the work to dismantle the Swamp’s agenda isn’t finished—it’s just getting started.

Source: United States House of Representatives – Congresswoman Aumua Amata (Western Samoa)

Pago Pago — Congresswoman Uifa’atali Amata was delighted to take part in welcoming home American Samoa’s athletes upon their arrival at Pago Pago International Airport, where they were greeted enthusiastically by their families, friends and supporters. 

“It’s good to have our athletes, coaches, and parents home from competing in the Republic of Palau. Our excellent athletes brought home gold and silver medals and represented our islands very well. We are all proud of their successes and competitive performances, but also all the hours of unseen hard work, training, nutrition efforts and dedication that go into these achievements, and set a good example for young aspiring athletes. Welcome home!” said Congresswoman Amata. “Thank you to our people who came out to the airport to show love and appreciation to our athletes, I could see how they enjoyed and appreciated that warm support.” 

Team American Samoa competed in various sports in the Pacific Mini Games, earning an impressive number of awards, and arrived back to flags, congratulatory signs, and people wearing red, white, and blue in celebration.

More pictures here

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Source: United States House of Representatives – Congresswoman Aumua Amata (Western Samoa)

Thanks U.S. Education Secretary Linda McMahon for Continued Support

Source: United States House of Representatives – Congresswoman Aumua Amata (Western Samoa)

Washington, DC – Congresswoman Uifa’atali Amata released the following statement celebrating U.S. Independence Day:

“Happy Fourth of July! Today we stand with millions of Americans in celebrating the creation of a great and free nation, and commemorating the historic Declaration of Independence that announced a new nation to the world. 

“American Samoa proudly became a part of the United States in 1900, taking part as the U.S. has held a major leadership role in the free world, and working with allies to encourage liberty and human rights around the world. We salute the honorable and patriotic service of thousands of our Toa o Samoa, past and present. Fa’afetai tele to all the brave men and women serving in many places and our military families at home for your sacrifice!

“The founders of the United States in 1776 had a vision for an exceptional nation where the people had God-given rights and the responsibility in determining their own destiny. Our own matai forefathers in 1900 and 1904 had in mind a vision of their own that included long-term protection and freedom for our people. Have a joyous holiday, and may God bless American Samoa and the United States!”