Letters from Capitol Hill that Members of Congress have written and signed on to lately.
Dec. 03 | Floor Schedule
Legislation Considered Under Suspension of the Rules From the Office of the Majority Whip Steve Scalise (LA)
On Tuesday, the House will meet at noon for morning hour and 2:00 p.m. for legislative business. First and last votes expected: 6:30 p.m.:
H.R. 7326 – To amend chapters 4, 10, and 131 of title 5, United States Code, as necessary to keep those chapters current and to correct related technical errors. (Sponsored by Rep. Bentz / Judiciary Committee)
H.R. 7324 – To make improvements in the enactment of title 41, United States Code, into a positive law title and to improve the Code. (Sponsored by Rep. Balint / Judiciary Committee)
H.R. 7341 – To make technical amendments to title 49, United States Code, as necessary to improve the Code. (Sponsored by Rep. Tiffany / Judiciary Committee)
H.R. 7316 – To make revisions in Title 54, United States Code, into a positive law title and to correct related technical errors. (Sponsored by Rep. Tiffany / Judiciary Committee)
H.R. 7339 – To make revisions in Title 51, United States Code, as necessary to keep the title current, and to make technical amendments to improve the United States Code. (Sponsored by Rep. Ross / Judiciary Committee)
H.R. 7177 – To amend title 28, United States Code, to consolidate certain divisions in the Northern District of Alabama. (Sponsored by Rep. Strong / Judiciary Committee)
H.R. 8666 – To amend title 28, United States Code, to authorize holding court for the Central Division of Utah in Moab and Monticello. (Sponsored by Rep. Maloy / Judiciary Committee)
H.R. 9563 – Protecting Americans from Russian Litigation Act of 2024 (Sponsored by Rep. Hunt / Judiciary Committee)
S. 3960 – A bill to amend title 35, United States Code, to provide a good faith exception to the imposition of certain fines, and for other purposes. (Sponsored by Sen. Coons / Judiciary Committee)
H.R. 9151 – Protecting American Industry and Labor from International Trade Crimes Act of 2024, as amended (Sponsored by Rep. Hinson / Judiciary Committee)
H.R. 7872 – Colorado River Salinity Control Fix At (Sponsored by Rep. Curtis / Natural Resources Committee)
H.R. 6395 – Recognizing the Importance of Critical Minerals in Healthcare Act of 2023 (Sponsored by Rep. Curtis / Natural Resources Committee)
H.R. 5103 – FISHES Act, as amended (Sponsored by Rep. Donalds / Natural Resources Committee)
H.R. 6107 – Urban Canal Modernization Act, as amended (Sponsored by Rep. Simpson / Natural Resources Committee)
H.R. 6826 – To designate the visitor and education center at Fort McHenry National Monument and Historic Shrine as the Paul S. Sarbanes Visitor and Education Center. (Sponsored by Rep. Mfume / Natural Resources Committee)
H.R. 7332 – Utah State Parks Adjustment Act, as amended (Sponsored by Rep. Maloy / Natural Resources Committee)
S. 3791 – America’s Conservation Enhancement Reauthorization Act of 2024, as amended (Sponsored by Sen. Carper / Natural Resources Committee)
H.R. 390 – Maurice D. Hinchey Hudson River Valley National Heritage Area Enhancement Act, as amended (Sponsored by Rep. Stefanik / Natural Resources Committee)
H.R. 8219 – Lahaina National Heritage Area Act, as amended (Sponsored by Rep. Tokuda / Natural Resources Committee)
H.R. 6843 – To expand the boundaries of the Atchafalaya National Heritage Area to include Lafourche Parish, Louisiana. (Sponsored by Rep. Scalise / Natural Resources Committee)
For a list of this week’s hearings and markups, click here. Track committee votes on bills and nominations here.
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Dec. 03 | Leadership Updates
Senate Democrats pick their leaders for the new Congress today
Schumer and Whip Dick Durbin (Ill.) are running again but the No. 3 role is open with the retirement of Policy and Communications Committee Chair Debbie Stabenow (Mich.). Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) will be tapped to replace Stabenow.
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Dec. 03 | On the Capitol Lawn
The Capitol Christmas Tree will be lit this evening
On the west lawn of the Capitol. This year’s tree is an 80-foot Sitka spruce from Alaska’s Tongass National Forest.
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Dec. 03 | Committee Report & Dear Colleague
MAJOR FINDINGS:
- The NIH funded gain-of-function research at the Wuhan lab.
- The Constitution can't be suspended in times of crisis.
- COVID emerging from a lab leak is "not a conspiracy theory."
- EcoHealth and Dr. Peter Daszak should "never again" receive taxpayer funds.
- Public health officials have lost the trust of the people.
- Trump's Operation Warp Speed was a success.
- The COVID response was "rampant" with fraud, waste and abuse.
- "The prescription cannot be worse than the disease," lockdowns had horrific consequences.
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Dec. 02 | PRESS
Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley (MA-07) issued a statement on President Biden’s use of his pardon authority and renewed her calls for him to use his clemency power in the final months of his presidency to reunite families, address longstanding injustices in our legal system, and set our nation on the path to ending mass incarceration.
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Dec. 02
Today members of the Congressional Dads Caucus, led by Rep. Jimmy Gomez (CA-34), sent a letter to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) calling for an investigation into the alarming increase in grocery prices that is impacting American families.
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Dec. 02
U.S. Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) led members of the Missouri Congressional delegation—including Senator Eric Schmitt (R-Mo.), Rep. Blaine Luetkemeyer (Mo.), Rep. Mark Alford (Mo.), and Rep. Jason Smith (Mo.)—in urging President Joe Biden to approve Missouri Governor Mike Parson’s request for a major disaster declaration following severe storms and flooding in Missouri last month. The storms generated at least two tornadoes, high winds, six to ten inches of rain, and flooding across eastern and southern Missouri.
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Dec. 02
Connolly Eyes Oversight
Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-Va.) said he is “obviously interested” in the top Democratic job on the Oversight Committee, which will open up thanks to current ranking member Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) running to helm the Judiciary Committee next year. Connolly said in a statement he’s “encouraged by the expressions of support” to lead Democrats on the panel.
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Dec. 02 | Schweikert Suggestion
“Rep. Schweikert suggests glancing through this spreadsheet that includes an extensive list of the Fiscal Year 2024 Community Project Funding requests to see just how many Members are unaware of the growing national deficit we're drowning in.”
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Dec. 01 | Fascinating Trivia
Counties voting for President Clinton in the 1990s and President Trump in 2024 (1981 counties voting for different candidates, 1162 counties voting for the Clinton and Trump, notably in spite of Party and ideological differences):
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Dec. 01
The No Stolen Trademarks Honored Act expands the prohibition against US federal courts enforcing rights to trademarks confiscated by Cuba then asserted by Cuban nationals. It bars the US Patent and Trademark Office from recognizing, enforcing, or otherwise validating any assertion of rights to such marks.
Congress sent the measure to the White House on Nov. 20.
The legislation stems from the 1950s when the Cuban government was accused of stealing trademarks, which triggered intellectual property fights over brands including “Cohiba” cigars and “Havana Club” rum. It stretches the existing ban to “executive agencies” to solidify a position in US law denying recognition to Cuba’s seizure of brands, or any transactions related to those confiscated assets.
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Dec. 01
Congressman James E. Clyburn (SC-06), Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley (MA-07), and Congresswoman Mary Gay Scanlon (PA-05) led 60 of their colleagues in sending a letter to President Biden urging him to use his executive clemency power in the final months of his presidency to reunite families, address longstanding injustices in our legal system, and set our nation on the path toward ending mass incarceration.
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Nov. 26
Rep. Earl L. “Buddy” Carter (R-GA), Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL), Deborah K. Ross (D-NC), and Cliff Bentz (R-OR) sent a bipartisan letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland calling on the Department of Justice to investigate the role pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) may have played in the opioid crisis
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Nov. 26
In recent remarks from the Senate floor, Senator Reverend Warnock called on his colleagues to immediately approve these additional federal investments for disaster assistance to get working families the support they need to continue recovering from Hurricane Helene.
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Nov. 25
Congressman Jared Golden (ME-02) today sent a letter to U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Thomas Vilsack and Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm calling for greater research into the impact of renewable energy development on America’s farmland.
“[Rates of energy development on agricultural land] are deeply troubling and raise the question of whether or not we are sacrificing our nation’s food security as we pursue an aggressive effort to reduce our dependence on fossil fuels…” Golden wrote. “…While our nation pursues an all-of-the-above approach to grow our domestic energy production, we must do so in a way that also protects our invaluable farmland. The collaboration between your agencies to gather this information is vital to both our national energy and food security.”
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Nov. 21
U.S. Senate Commerce Committee Ranking Member Ted Cruz (R-Texas) recently sent a letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland requesting the Department of Justice (DOJ) investigate whether foreign organizations had failed to register under the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) pursuant to efforts to influence U.S. AI policy.
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Nov. 20
Congressman Rudy Yakym (IN-02) sent a letter to Department of Transportation (DOT) Secretary Pete Buttigieg pressing him on the slow pace that DOT is executing grant agreements for awards under the 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA). In his letter, Yakym highlights how out of the 17 projects that DOT has touted in press releases under one program, only six of them actually have an executed grant agreement to date. Yakym underscores how this underwhelming grant agreement execution rate is due to all the bureaucratic red tape that DOT is saddling grant recipients with, and how this red tape is causing major delays and preventing projects from getting off the ground in the first place.
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Nov. 15
U.S. Representative Jared Huffman (D-CA), U.S. Senators Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), and Peter Welch (D-VT), along with Member of the European Parliament Paul Canfin, led international lawmakers in a letter calling on world leaders to enact conflict of interest policies and mandate the disclosure of lobbying activity ahead of INC-5. These actions would prevent producers and other industry officials from unduly influencing efforts by the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee on Plastic Pollution (INC) to combat the scourge of plastic pollution. The fifth session of INC will be held in the Republic of Korea later this month.
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