I stand in solidarity with community and elected leaders in the City of Hollywood who are making clear that our community should not glorify historic figures who embody our nation's painful past. For too long, these street signs have honored individuals who fall far short of embodying the type of American values that make our community and this country such a great place to live – an abiding pursuit of equality, justice and freedom. Fortunately, it is never too late to do the right thing. Read more »
Now we know just how mean this ïmean' Senate tax cut bill masquerading as health care legislation truly is. According to the Congressional Budget Office analysis, the Senate bill will leave 22 million more people without coverage, raise costs and steal key coverage protections from tens of millions more Americans. Read more »
The Supreme Court's decision to allow portions of President Trump's Muslim and refugee ban to take effect sends a terrible message to the world, does nothing to make America safer, and disregards our national values. This rash, discriminatory policy ultimately undermines our ability to fight terrorism, as it will certainly serve as a recruiting tool for those who would do us harm. It is my hope that the Supreme Court will conclude that this clear religious ban is discriminatory and inconsistent with our Constitution. Read more »
The $88.8 billion Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies Appropriations bill, which passed out of Full Committee today, funds crucial programs to ensure our veterans receive the care they deserve and need, and helps make certain that many of our military's infrastructure needs are addressed including the NATO Security Investment Program. This bill funds services vital to combat veterans' homelessness and suicide and provides our veterans with high quality and timely health care. It also improves the veterans' benefits claims process, and supports research on the most effective treatments for our veterans as they return home after serving our nation valiantly. Read more »
This a painful and difficult day for our Capitol Hill family. My thoughts and prayers are with Congressman Steve Scalise, the staff, Capitol Police, and all those who were injured and traumatized by this deplorable, cowardly shooting. I am also extremely grateful for the heroic actions of the Capitol Police and all the other first responders who undoubtedly prevented far worse injuries and saved lives in this tragedy. As a co-captain and founder of the Congressional Women's Softball Game I know I join my bipartisan teammates, staff and volunteers in sending our love, best wishes for a quick recovery and support for our colleagues who were injured, as well as our thanks to the Capitol Police and law enforcement for their expert response. Read more »
On this solemn anniversary of the mass shooting at Pulse Nightclub, my heart is with the victims, their loved ones, the survivors, and the entire Orlando community. We stand with all our LGBTQ brothers and sisters as we still grieve over this unspeakable tragedy that took 49 wonderful souls from us. Yet out of this act of evil, whether it was those who stood lines for blood banks or massive crowds at candlelight vigils, we saw how love will always conquer hate Read more »
Congress has a principal duty to protect consumers and investors, and guard against another financial collapse. The misleadingly-named Financial Choice Act that Republicans passed today flagrantly abandons those basic responsibilities. It guts the Dodd-Frank safeguards that Democrats passed in response to the worst economic meltdown since the Great Depression, financial protections which we know have worked for nearly a decade. Tellingly, America has not faced a similar economic crisis since, and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau that was created as a result, has returned billions of dollars to tens of millions of Americans. Read more »
We are truly encouraged by Secretary Shulkin's decision to move forward with a system that allows patient health data to reside in a single system, and brings our service members and veterans closer to uninterrupted care between the Departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs. In fact, this decision to adopt DoD's records system is long overdue.The federal government has expended valuable time and resources to ensure full interoperability and greater coordination between the VA and DoD, and we are pleased there is finally a path forward. Read more »
As a breast cancer survivor, this is a day that every year has come to fill me with hope and renews my determination to help others who face the same uphill fight that I did. National Cancer Survivors Day is a reminder that the inspiration, love, concern and support that I was so fortunate to receive, must be shared with all the other lives that have been touched by cancer Read more »
President Trump's reckless withdrawal from the Paris Climate Accord banishes America to the political and scientific fringes of the international community, and relinquishes any leadership role that the United States could play in tackling what is arguably the most pressing global crisis of our time. It's a craven and calamitous retreat on so many fronts. Trump's decision ignores the consensus opinion of the scientific community that humans are contributing to climate change, and it disregards the vast majority of Americans who recognize global warming as a real threat that must be addressed now. Read more »
