Letters from Capitol Hill that Members of Congress have written and signed on to lately.
Nov. 26
Senators Ted Budd (R-NC), Thom Tillis (R-NC), Jon Ossoff (D-GA), Reverend Raphael Warnock (D-GA), Mark Warner (D-VA), and Tim Kaine (D-VA) sent a letter to Senate leadership urging both the Senate and House “to bring a robust supplemental appropriations bill to the floor the first week of December.”
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Nov. 26
U.S. Senators Ron Wyden, D-Ore., and Jerry Moran, R-Kan., today urged President Joe Biden to complete necessary revisions of the executive order governing America’s classification and declassification system.
Wyden and Moran have long led the bipartisan effort to reform America’s classification and declassification system, including by pressing for revisions to the executive order that governs this system. In October 2021, Wyden and Moran urged DNI Director Haines to coordinate with the National Security Council and report on progress on the revisions. In May 2022, the senators followed with another letter urging that the White House treat the revisions of the executive order as an urgent priority. In August 2022, Director Haines responded on behalf of President Biden that the revision process had begun.
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Nov. 26
Senator Tom Cotton (R-Arkansas) today sent a letter to President Joe Biden condemning the Biden-Harris administration’s continued delay of critical weapons shipments to Israel amid its ongoing conflict. Despite public declarations of “ironclad support” for Israel, the administration has repeatedly slowed the approval process for key munitions or denied their delivery. Senator Cotton highlighted the harmful impact of these delays on Israel’s security, America’s credibility, and efforts to counter Iran’s growing influence in the region.
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Nov. 26
Senate Finance Committee Chair Ron Wyden, D-Ore., today issued a statement after the Biden-Harris administration announced a proposed rule for Medicare Advantage and Medicare Part D:
“Today’s announcement marks an important step to update and strengthen the Medicare guarantee for Americans,” Wyden said. “In Medicare Advantage, there are a number of promising actions to limit the overuse of prior authorization, crack down on the prevalence of ‘ghost networks’ that leave seniors unable to find a doctor, and prevent unscrupulous brokers from taking advantage of seniors by enrolling them in a plan that may not work for them. The proposed rule also takes strides to lower the cost of behavioral health care and rein in aggressive marketing tactics.
Nov. 25
U.S. Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), alongside Representatives Barbara Lee (D-Calif.), Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.), and Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), led lawmakers in sending a bicameral letter to President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, urging the administration to make further progress on federal marijuana law before the end of the administration. The lawmakers applauded the historic steps the administration has taken to lessen the harms of marijuana criminalization and pushed the administration to take additional steps before the end of its term, including issuing another round of clemency and an updated memorandum on prosecutorial discretion for marijuana offenses.
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Nov. 25
Yesterday, U.S. Representatives Andy Barr (R-KY-06) and French Hill (R-AR-02) led their Republican colleagues on the House Financial Services Committee in urging Martin Gruenberg, Chair of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), to withdraw the partisan proposal released in July which would rewrite the rules governing brokered deposits.
"This FDIC rule would likely force banks, including ones that do not face restrictions on acceptance of brokered deposits, to significantly alter their liability structures," said Reps. Barr and Hill. "The proposal does not address the actual risks that contribute to bank instability."
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Nov. 25
Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), an Iowa corn farmer and member of the Senate Agriculture Committee, joined Sen. Todd Young (R-Ind.) and bipartisan, bicameral colleagues in urging U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai and Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack to maintain open market access for American corn exports to Colombia. The lawmakers’ letter follows recent reports that Colombia may pursue an investigation into U.S. corn subsidies, which could limit American producers’ export options.
The letter was co-signed by Sen. Michael Bennet (D-Colo.), Reps. Adrian Smith (R-Neb.) and Dan Kildee (D-Mich.), and 34 additional members of the House and Senate.
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Nov. 25
Democratic Sens Elizabeth Warren, Edward J. Markey and House Rep. Richard Neal ask the Department of Defense for the Air Force fleet of Bell Boeing V-22 Ospreys to be grounded until their persistent safety issues are resolved, according to a letter to Secretary Lloyd Austin.
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Nov. 25
Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro (CT-03) led a letter with 22 House lawmakers to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) urging the agency to finalize a ban on the carcinogenic food dye FD&C Red No. 3, known as Red 3, in the use of foods.
“A ban on Red 3 is not only statutorily required, but it is also feasible – alternatives are widely available,” the lawmakers wrote. “Thirty-four years of inaction is far too long. We are calling on the FDA to use its regulatory authority to ban Red 3 from our nation’s food supply before the end of this Congress.”
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Nov. 25
Iowa Republican Sen. Joni Ernst began proposing ways to cut government spending to the Trump team this weekend, but she’ll need to convince her colleagues in Congress if her ideas are going to have any chance of taking effect — like ending the manufacture of pennies and nickels and curbing overpayments for Pentagon goods.
Ernst, chair of the newly created government efficiency caucus in the Senate, hand-delivered her letter to President-elect Donald Trump this weekend at Mar-a-Lago in Florida, according to her office.
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Nov. 22
U.S. Senator Katie Britt (R-Ala.) joined Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), Representatives Chris Smith (R-N.J.), Robert Aderholt (R-Ala.), and Claudia Tenney (R-N.Y.), and 107 additional Members of Congress in writing a bicameral letter to the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to investigate and report on the amount of federal funding awarded to abortion providers—including the Planned Parenthood Federation of America and the International Planned Parenthood Federation—over the past three years.
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Nov. 20
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. 20
Congressman Jim Costa (CA-21), a third-generation farmer and senior member of the House Agriculture Committee, announced in a letter that he is seeking to serve as Ranking Member of the United States House Agriculture Committee.
“With the incoming return of Donald Trump to the Presidency, our Caucus needs a leader who will fight to protect the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), defend the historic investments we made through the Inflation Reduction Act, and bring a strong Democratic message back to rural America.
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