U.S. Congress
Here's a look at documents from all members of the U.S. House and the U.S. Senate
Congress
Featured Stories
Bipartisan HERO Act by Bilirakis and Ruiz to Help Schools Prevent Opioid Overdoses Advances
WASHINGTON, July 24 -- Rep. Gus M. Bilirakis, R-Florida, issued the following news release:
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Bipartisan HERO Act by Bilirakis and Ruiz to Help Schools Prevent Opioid Overdoses Advances
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Washington, D.C. -This week, the House Energy and Commerce Committee has advanced the Helping Educators Respond to Overdoses (HERO) Act, bipartisan legislation introduced by Representatives Gus Bilirakis (R FL) and Raul Ruiz, M.D. (D CA), sending the measure to the House floor for consideration. The HERO Act would help save lives by expanding access to opioid overdose reversal medications, such as Narcan, ... Show Full Article WASHINGTON, July 24 -- Rep. Gus M. Bilirakis, R-Florida, issued the following news release: * * * Bipartisan HERO Act by Bilirakis and Ruiz to Help Schools Prevent Opioid Overdoses Advances * Washington, D.C. -This week, the House Energy and Commerce Committee has advanced the Helping Educators Respond to Overdoses (HERO) Act, bipartisan legislation introduced by Representatives Gus Bilirakis (R FL) and Raul Ruiz, M.D. (D CA), sending the measure to the House floor for consideration. The HERO Act would help save lives by expanding access to opioid overdose reversal medications, such as Narcan,in schools while providing educators with critical training and equipping students and communities with educational resources to combat the opioid and fentanyl epidemic. The legislation comes as the nation continues to face an alarming rise in youth overdose deaths. Studies show that an average of 22 adolescents between the ages of 14 and 18 died each week in the United States in 2022 from drug overdoses, the equivalent of losing an entire high school classroom every week. That equates to a death rate of 5.2 per 100,000 adolescents. Expanding access to naloxone and providing schools with the tools to respond to overdose emergencies can help dramatically reduce these preventable deaths.
" The HERO Act gives educators the tools they need to recognize an overdose, respond quickly, and save live s," said Congressman Gus Bilirakis. " I'm proud to lead this commonsense, bipartisan legislation alongside my friend and colleague, Dr. Ruiz. By equipping schools with the training and resources they need to respond in an emergency, we can empower communities, protect students and staff, and help prevent needless tragedies"
" As an emergency physician, I have cared for many patients overdosing on opioids and comforted family members of patients who were not able to receive lifesaving Narcan in time. The opioid crisis is worsening in our country and impacting children and teens," said Dr. Ruiz. " Our children are at risk of drug overdoses, and our schools are not properly equipped to handle these situations. That is why I introduced and advocated for the Helping Educators Respond to Overdoses (HERO) Act, which will provide critical training for schools, Narcan, essential supplies, and educational resources to combat the opioid epidemic. We must continue to fight for families across the country who have been affected by this crisis and prevent the further loss of children's lives."
" As opioid related emergencies continue to tear apart families and communities, ensuring access to lifesaving opioid overdose reversal drugs in schools and improving education about overdose treatment are commonsense efforts that will help save young lives," said Aisha T. Terry, MD, MPH, FACEP, President of the American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP). " This legislation will equip educators and students with overdose reversal drugs like naloxone, provide education to improve emotional health and prevent substance use disorders among students, and ensure we have the necessary data to understand the effectiveness of our ongoing efforts to combat the opioid epidemic. This multi step approach will put critical resources where they need to be to prevent avoidable tragedies and the needless loss of young lives. ACEP extends its deep appreciation to Rep. Ruiz for their leadership in championing this vital legislation."
Issues : Health Care Education
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Original text here: https://bilirakis.house.gov/media/press-releases/bipartisan-hero-act-bilirakis-and-ruiz-help-schools-prevent-opioid-overdoses
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Bipartisan HERO Act by Bilirakis and Ruiz to Help Schools Prevent Opioid Overdoses Advances
*
Washington, D.C. -This week, the House Energy and Commerce Committee has advanced the Helping Educators Respond to Overdoses (HERO) Act, bipartisan legislation introduced by Representatives Gus Bilirakis (R FL) and Raul Ruiz, M.D. (D CA), sending the measure to the House floor for consideration. The HERO Act would help save lives by expanding access to opioid overdose reversal medications, such as Narcan, ... Show Full Article WASHINGTON, July 24 -- Rep. Gus M. Bilirakis, R-Florida, issued the following news release: * * * Bipartisan HERO Act by Bilirakis and Ruiz to Help Schools Prevent Opioid Overdoses Advances * Washington, D.C. -This week, the House Energy and Commerce Committee has advanced the Helping Educators Respond to Overdoses (HERO) Act, bipartisan legislation introduced by Representatives Gus Bilirakis (R FL) and Raul Ruiz, M.D. (D CA), sending the measure to the House floor for consideration. The HERO Act would help save lives by expanding access to opioid overdose reversal medications, such as Narcan,in schools while providing educators with critical training and equipping students and communities with educational resources to combat the opioid and fentanyl epidemic. The legislation comes as the nation continues to face an alarming rise in youth overdose deaths. Studies show that an average of 22 adolescents between the ages of 14 and 18 died each week in the United States in 2022 from drug overdoses, the equivalent of losing an entire high school classroom every week. That equates to a death rate of 5.2 per 100,000 adolescents. Expanding access to naloxone and providing schools with the tools to respond to overdose emergencies can help dramatically reduce these preventable deaths.
" The HERO Act gives educators the tools they need to recognize an overdose, respond quickly, and save live s," said Congressman Gus Bilirakis. " I'm proud to lead this commonsense, bipartisan legislation alongside my friend and colleague, Dr. Ruiz. By equipping schools with the training and resources they need to respond in an emergency, we can empower communities, protect students and staff, and help prevent needless tragedies"
" As an emergency physician, I have cared for many patients overdosing on opioids and comforted family members of patients who were not able to receive lifesaving Narcan in time. The opioid crisis is worsening in our country and impacting children and teens," said Dr. Ruiz. " Our children are at risk of drug overdoses, and our schools are not properly equipped to handle these situations. That is why I introduced and advocated for the Helping Educators Respond to Overdoses (HERO) Act, which will provide critical training for schools, Narcan, essential supplies, and educational resources to combat the opioid epidemic. We must continue to fight for families across the country who have been affected by this crisis and prevent the further loss of children's lives."
" As opioid related emergencies continue to tear apart families and communities, ensuring access to lifesaving opioid overdose reversal drugs in schools and improving education about overdose treatment are commonsense efforts that will help save young lives," said Aisha T. Terry, MD, MPH, FACEP, President of the American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP). " This legislation will equip educators and students with overdose reversal drugs like naloxone, provide education to improve emotional health and prevent substance use disorders among students, and ensure we have the necessary data to understand the effectiveness of our ongoing efforts to combat the opioid epidemic. This multi step approach will put critical resources where they need to be to prevent avoidable tragedies and the needless loss of young lives. ACEP extends its deep appreciation to Rep. Ruiz for their leadership in championing this vital legislation."
Issues : Health Care Education
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Original text here: https://bilirakis.house.gov/media/press-releases/bipartisan-hero-act-bilirakis-and-ruiz-help-schools-prevent-opioid-overdoses
BIA Office of Justice Services Principal Director Addington Testifies Before House Natural Resources Subcommittees
WASHINGTON, July 24 -- The House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations and Subcommittee on Indian and Insular Affairs released the following testimony by Charles Addington, principal director of the Office of Justice Services at the U.S. Department of the Interior Bureau of Indian Affairs, from a July 14, 2026, joint hearing entitled "Innovative Technologies and Initiatives to Tackle the MMIP Crisis in Indian Country." MMIP stands for missing and murdered indigenous persons.
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Chairmen, Ranking Members, and Members of the Subcommittees, thank you for the opportunity ... Show Full Article WASHINGTON, July 24 -- The House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations and Subcommittee on Indian and Insular Affairs released the following testimony by Charles Addington, principal director of the Office of Justice Services at the U.S. Department of the Interior Bureau of Indian Affairs, from a July 14, 2026, joint hearing entitled "Innovative Technologies and Initiatives to Tackle the MMIP Crisis in Indian Country." MMIP stands for missing and murdered indigenous persons. * * * Chairmen, Ranking Members, and Members of the Subcommittees, thank you for the opportunityto appear before you today to discuss the Department of the Interior's efforts to address the crisis of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Persons (MMIP) and improve public safety throughout Indian Country.
The MMIP Crisis in Indian Country
The Department is committed to protecting Tribal communities, bringing justice to victims and their families, and improving public safety across Indian Country. Addressing the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Persons crisis remains one of our highest public safety priorities. American Indians and Alaska Natives continue to experience disproportionately high rates of violent crime, victimization, and unresolved missing persons and cold cases. Behind every statistic is a family seeking answers, a community seeking justice, and a shared responsibility across all levels of government to act.
As of June 30, 2026, there were approximately 1,485 active missing persons entered in the Federal Bureau of Investigation's National Criminal Information Center (NCIC) identified as an American Indian or Alaska Native. These figures underscore the significant challenges facing Tribal communities and law enforcement agencies across the country.
Strengthening Public Safety
Through the Office of Justice Services, Indian Affairs works closely with Tribal, Federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies to investigate cases, support victims and families, and strengthen public safety throughout Indian Country. Recognizing the need for additional investigative resources and improved coordination, the BIA established its first dedicated cold case and missing persons offices under Operation Lady Justice in 2020. In 2021, those efforts evolved into the Missing and Murdered Unit (MMU), a specialized investigative support unit dedicated to assisting missing persons and unresolved homicide investigations involving American Indians and Alaska Natives. The MMU provides investigative and analytical support across jurisdictions by analyzing information, identifying leads, coordinating investigative resources, and assisting law enforcement agencies in resolving complex cases involving multiple jurisdictions and partners.
A Collaborative Problem-Solving Approach
The MMU employs a collaborative problem-solving approach that combines advanced forensic techniques, DNA analysis, artificial intelligence-assisted analytical tools, comprehensive case reviews, information sharing, and interagency coordination. DNA technologies continue to expand investigative capabilities and have proven invaluable in identifying victims, suspects, and investigative leads. Artificial intelligence-assisted tools help investigators organize large volumes of case information, identify patterns, prioritize leads, and review investigative materials more efficiently. This collaborative approach strengthens partnerships among Tribal, Federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies, ensures investigators have access to specialized expertise and resources, and helps provide families with greater transparency and support throughout the investigative process.
Fiscal Year 2027 Budget Request
The Fiscal Year 2027 Budget reflects the Department's continued commitment to improving public safety and addressing violent crime throughout Indian Country. The request includes more than $560 million for Public Safety and Justice programs supporting law enforcement operations, criminal investigations, detention programs, Tribal courts, corrections, and victim services. The request also includes approximately $11 million and 26 full-time positions dedicated to the Missing and Murdered Unit. These resources support specialized investigations, intelligence analysis, case coordination, and partnerships with Tribal and other law enforcement agencies.
Indian Country Violent Crime Task Force and Refocus of the MMU
In May 2026, Secretary Burgum signed Secretary's Order 3450 establishing the Indian Country Violent Crime Task Force and implementing additional public safety enhancements, including refocusing the Missing and Murdered Unit on its core investigative responsibilities. The Task Force strengthens coordination among Tribal, Federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies while focusing resources on violent crime, homicide investigations, missing persons cases, child exploitation, gang activity, narcotics trafficking, and other serious crimes affecting Tribal communities. The Department recently refocused the MMU on its core mission of supporting missing persons investigations and unresolved homicide cases, allowing personnel to dedicate additional time and investigative resources to complex cases and deliver more measurable results for victims and their families.
Secretary's Order 3450 complements existing initiatives such as the Missing and Murdered Unit by strengthening investigative services in Indian Country, improving information sharing, enhancing interagency coordination, and directing resources where they can have the greatest impact.
Partnership with Tribal Nations
The Department recognizes that addressing the MMIP crisis requires more than law enforcement action alone. Success depends on strong partnerships with Tribal governments, Tribal law enforcement agencies, victim advocates, service providers, community organizations, survivors, and families. We remain committed to working alongside Tribal Nations to strengthen investigations, improve data quality, enhance investigative coordination, support victims and survivors, and ensure meaningful consultation and collaboration. Together, these partnerships improve investigative outcomes, strengthen public safety, and help address the conditions that contribute to violence in Tribal communities.
Conclusion
The Department remains steadfast in its commitment to improving public safety throughout Indian Country and advancing justice for missing and murdered Indigenous persons. Through strengthened partnerships, specialized investigative resources, and coordinated law enforcement efforts, we are working to ensure every case receives the attention it deserves and that victims, families, and Tribal communities receive the support they need.
Thank you for the opportunity to appear before you today. I look forward to answering your questions.
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Original text here: https://docs.house.gov/meetings/II/II15/20260714/119433/HHRG-119-II15-Wstate-AddingtonC-20260714.pdf
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Chairmen, Ranking Members, and Members of the Subcommittees, thank you for the opportunity ... Show Full Article WASHINGTON, July 24 -- The House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations and Subcommittee on Indian and Insular Affairs released the following testimony by Charles Addington, principal director of the Office of Justice Services at the U.S. Department of the Interior Bureau of Indian Affairs, from a July 14, 2026, joint hearing entitled "Innovative Technologies and Initiatives to Tackle the MMIP Crisis in Indian Country." MMIP stands for missing and murdered indigenous persons. * * * Chairmen, Ranking Members, and Members of the Subcommittees, thank you for the opportunityto appear before you today to discuss the Department of the Interior's efforts to address the crisis of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Persons (MMIP) and improve public safety throughout Indian Country.
The MMIP Crisis in Indian Country
The Department is committed to protecting Tribal communities, bringing justice to victims and their families, and improving public safety across Indian Country. Addressing the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Persons crisis remains one of our highest public safety priorities. American Indians and Alaska Natives continue to experience disproportionately high rates of violent crime, victimization, and unresolved missing persons and cold cases. Behind every statistic is a family seeking answers, a community seeking justice, and a shared responsibility across all levels of government to act.
As of June 30, 2026, there were approximately 1,485 active missing persons entered in the Federal Bureau of Investigation's National Criminal Information Center (NCIC) identified as an American Indian or Alaska Native. These figures underscore the significant challenges facing Tribal communities and law enforcement agencies across the country.
Strengthening Public Safety
Through the Office of Justice Services, Indian Affairs works closely with Tribal, Federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies to investigate cases, support victims and families, and strengthen public safety throughout Indian Country. Recognizing the need for additional investigative resources and improved coordination, the BIA established its first dedicated cold case and missing persons offices under Operation Lady Justice in 2020. In 2021, those efforts evolved into the Missing and Murdered Unit (MMU), a specialized investigative support unit dedicated to assisting missing persons and unresolved homicide investigations involving American Indians and Alaska Natives. The MMU provides investigative and analytical support across jurisdictions by analyzing information, identifying leads, coordinating investigative resources, and assisting law enforcement agencies in resolving complex cases involving multiple jurisdictions and partners.
A Collaborative Problem-Solving Approach
The MMU employs a collaborative problem-solving approach that combines advanced forensic techniques, DNA analysis, artificial intelligence-assisted analytical tools, comprehensive case reviews, information sharing, and interagency coordination. DNA technologies continue to expand investigative capabilities and have proven invaluable in identifying victims, suspects, and investigative leads. Artificial intelligence-assisted tools help investigators organize large volumes of case information, identify patterns, prioritize leads, and review investigative materials more efficiently. This collaborative approach strengthens partnerships among Tribal, Federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies, ensures investigators have access to specialized expertise and resources, and helps provide families with greater transparency and support throughout the investigative process.
Fiscal Year 2027 Budget Request
The Fiscal Year 2027 Budget reflects the Department's continued commitment to improving public safety and addressing violent crime throughout Indian Country. The request includes more than $560 million for Public Safety and Justice programs supporting law enforcement operations, criminal investigations, detention programs, Tribal courts, corrections, and victim services. The request also includes approximately $11 million and 26 full-time positions dedicated to the Missing and Murdered Unit. These resources support specialized investigations, intelligence analysis, case coordination, and partnerships with Tribal and other law enforcement agencies.
Indian Country Violent Crime Task Force and Refocus of the MMU
In May 2026, Secretary Burgum signed Secretary's Order 3450 establishing the Indian Country Violent Crime Task Force and implementing additional public safety enhancements, including refocusing the Missing and Murdered Unit on its core investigative responsibilities. The Task Force strengthens coordination among Tribal, Federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies while focusing resources on violent crime, homicide investigations, missing persons cases, child exploitation, gang activity, narcotics trafficking, and other serious crimes affecting Tribal communities. The Department recently refocused the MMU on its core mission of supporting missing persons investigations and unresolved homicide cases, allowing personnel to dedicate additional time and investigative resources to complex cases and deliver more measurable results for victims and their families.
Secretary's Order 3450 complements existing initiatives such as the Missing and Murdered Unit by strengthening investigative services in Indian Country, improving information sharing, enhancing interagency coordination, and directing resources where they can have the greatest impact.
Partnership with Tribal Nations
The Department recognizes that addressing the MMIP crisis requires more than law enforcement action alone. Success depends on strong partnerships with Tribal governments, Tribal law enforcement agencies, victim advocates, service providers, community organizations, survivors, and families. We remain committed to working alongside Tribal Nations to strengthen investigations, improve data quality, enhance investigative coordination, support victims and survivors, and ensure meaningful consultation and collaboration. Together, these partnerships improve investigative outcomes, strengthen public safety, and help address the conditions that contribute to violence in Tribal communities.
Conclusion
The Department remains steadfast in its commitment to improving public safety throughout Indian Country and advancing justice for missing and murdered Indigenous persons. Through strengthened partnerships, specialized investigative resources, and coordinated law enforcement efforts, we are working to ensure every case receives the attention it deserves and that victims, families, and Tribal communities receive the support they need.
Thank you for the opportunity to appear before you today. I look forward to answering your questions.
* * *
Original text here: https://docs.house.gov/meetings/II/II15/20260714/119433/HHRG-119-II15-Wstate-AddingtonC-20260714.pdf
Baldwin Calls Out Trump Admin for Abruptly Canceling $94 Million for Health Research, Halting Clinical Trials
WASHINGTON, July 24 -- Sen. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wisconsin, issued the following news release:
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Baldwin Calls Out Trump Admin for Abruptly Canceling $94 Million for Health Research, Halting Clinical Trials
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WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Ranking Member on the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee for Labor, Health, and Human Services, and Education, blasted the Trump Administration for abruptly canceling $94 million in funding for 150 grants supporting health research and programs to train the next generations of scientists. As a result of these erratic cuts to ... Show Full Article WASHINGTON, July 24 -- Sen. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wisconsin, issued the following news release: * * * Baldwin Calls Out Trump Admin for Abruptly Canceling $94 Million for Health Research, Halting Clinical Trials * WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Ranking Member on the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee for Labor, Health, and Human Services, and Education, blasted the Trump Administration for abruptly canceling $94 million in funding for 150 grants supporting health research and programs to train the next generations of scientists. As a result of these erratic cuts togrants funded by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), clinical trials, health research, and training programs for researchers have ended. The grants include helping doctors catch lung cancer earlier, keeping babies and new mothers safe during childbirth, and using telehealth to improve access to care in rural communities. Canceling funding in the middle of these multi-year research projects wastes years of prior work and millions of taxpayer dollars.
"Once again, Donald Trump and RFK, Jr. are cutting groundbreaking research all to play petty politics-it's sowing chaos and taking away chances to improve Americans' health and well-being. We are talking about helping kids in hospitals, improving telehealth in rural parts of America, and stopping lung cancer from plaguing more Americans - but this administration is saying that is not a priority for them," said Senator Baldwin. "American families want lower costs and to live healthy lives, but this administration isn't listening. I will continue to use every lever I have to stand up to this chaos, support our Wisconsin scientists, and fight to make sure families can lead healthy lives."
Included in the abrupt cancelations is a University of Wisconsin project testing the use of artificial intelligence to improve the experiences of hospitalized children and their families. Prior to canceling the funding, the Trump Administration highlighted this specific program in a webinar on innovations to better deliver high-value pediatric care. A month later, HHS terminated the grant for being "inconsistent with agency priorities." In a Senate Appropriations hearing with Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. in April, Senator Baldwin shined a light on the absurdity of the administration holding up funding for this program earlier in the year, despite the Administration itself using it as a poster child for innovative work. Baldwin also demanded answers from AHRQ Director Dr. Roger Klein on the chaos and mismanagement at AHRQ during a private call in June. AHRQ is the only federal agency focused on studying how to improve health care delivery. In addition to terminating these grants, since Trump took office, the agency has failed to fund new research projects, left grantees in the dark, and allowed over $80 million in funding to lapse.
Senator Baldwin has been a leading voice in pushing back against cuts to critical health funding. Earlier this year, Senator Baldwin called out the administration for canceling $600 million in grants that were aimed at stopping the spread of HIV, connecting people to affordable health care, and growing the health care workforce. Baldwin also spoke out against the abrupt canceling, then reinstating, of $2 billion in funding for thousands of programs that support mental health and addiction treatment and prevention. As Ranking Member on the LHHS Appropriations Subcommittee, Senator Baldwin also fought for and successfully included provisions to put up stronger guardrails to ensure funding for Fiscal Year 2026 is spent as Congress intended and without delay.
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Original text here: https://www.baldwin.senate.gov/news/press-releases/baldwin-calls-out-trump-admin-for-abruptly-canceling-94-million-for-health-research-halting-clinical-trials
* * *
Baldwin Calls Out Trump Admin for Abruptly Canceling $94 Million for Health Research, Halting Clinical Trials
*
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Ranking Member on the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee for Labor, Health, and Human Services, and Education, blasted the Trump Administration for abruptly canceling $94 million in funding for 150 grants supporting health research and programs to train the next generations of scientists. As a result of these erratic cuts to ... Show Full Article WASHINGTON, July 24 -- Sen. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wisconsin, issued the following news release: * * * Baldwin Calls Out Trump Admin for Abruptly Canceling $94 Million for Health Research, Halting Clinical Trials * WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Ranking Member on the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee for Labor, Health, and Human Services, and Education, blasted the Trump Administration for abruptly canceling $94 million in funding for 150 grants supporting health research and programs to train the next generations of scientists. As a result of these erratic cuts togrants funded by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), clinical trials, health research, and training programs for researchers have ended. The grants include helping doctors catch lung cancer earlier, keeping babies and new mothers safe during childbirth, and using telehealth to improve access to care in rural communities. Canceling funding in the middle of these multi-year research projects wastes years of prior work and millions of taxpayer dollars.
"Once again, Donald Trump and RFK, Jr. are cutting groundbreaking research all to play petty politics-it's sowing chaos and taking away chances to improve Americans' health and well-being. We are talking about helping kids in hospitals, improving telehealth in rural parts of America, and stopping lung cancer from plaguing more Americans - but this administration is saying that is not a priority for them," said Senator Baldwin. "American families want lower costs and to live healthy lives, but this administration isn't listening. I will continue to use every lever I have to stand up to this chaos, support our Wisconsin scientists, and fight to make sure families can lead healthy lives."
Included in the abrupt cancelations is a University of Wisconsin project testing the use of artificial intelligence to improve the experiences of hospitalized children and their families. Prior to canceling the funding, the Trump Administration highlighted this specific program in a webinar on innovations to better deliver high-value pediatric care. A month later, HHS terminated the grant for being "inconsistent with agency priorities." In a Senate Appropriations hearing with Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. in April, Senator Baldwin shined a light on the absurdity of the administration holding up funding for this program earlier in the year, despite the Administration itself using it as a poster child for innovative work. Baldwin also demanded answers from AHRQ Director Dr. Roger Klein on the chaos and mismanagement at AHRQ during a private call in June. AHRQ is the only federal agency focused on studying how to improve health care delivery. In addition to terminating these grants, since Trump took office, the agency has failed to fund new research projects, left grantees in the dark, and allowed over $80 million in funding to lapse.
Senator Baldwin has been a leading voice in pushing back against cuts to critical health funding. Earlier this year, Senator Baldwin called out the administration for canceling $600 million in grants that were aimed at stopping the spread of HIV, connecting people to affordable health care, and growing the health care workforce. Baldwin also spoke out against the abrupt canceling, then reinstating, of $2 billion in funding for thousands of programs that support mental health and addiction treatment and prevention. As Ranking Member on the LHHS Appropriations Subcommittee, Senator Baldwin also fought for and successfully included provisions to put up stronger guardrails to ensure funding for Fiscal Year 2026 is spent as Congress intended and without delay.
***
Original text here: https://www.baldwin.senate.gov/news/press-releases/baldwin-calls-out-trump-admin-for-abruptly-canceling-94-million-for-health-research-halting-clinical-trials
At Farnborough Air Show, Shaheen Represents New Hampshire Aerospace Industry, Celebrates Record-High Participation from Granite State Businesses
WASHINGTON, July 24 -- Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-New Hampshire, issued the following news release:
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At Farnborough Air Show, Shaheen Represents New Hampshire Aerospace Industry, Celebrates Record-High Participation from Granite State Businesses
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(London, U.K.) - U.S. Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Ranking Member of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee and a senior member of the Armed Services and Appropriations Committees, recently led her final bipartisan Congressional delegation to the Farnborough International Air Show, the largest biennial trade show in the world. This year's ... Show Full Article WASHINGTON, July 24 -- Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-New Hampshire, issued the following news release: * * * At Farnborough Air Show, Shaheen Represents New Hampshire Aerospace Industry, Celebrates Record-High Participation from Granite State Businesses * (London, U.K.) - U.S. Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Ranking Member of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee and a senior member of the Armed Services and Appropriations Committees, recently led her final bipartisan Congressional delegation to the Farnborough International Air Show, the largest biennial trade show in the world. This year'sAir Show had the strongest U.S. presence in history, including a robust trade delegation from New Hampshire. Aerospace serves as New Hampshire's top export sector, supporting 24,000 jobs and representing $1.7 billion in exports in 2025 alone. The goal of Senator Shaheen's travel to Farnborough was to showcase this key industry and connect Granite State businesses with industry leaders from across the globe. This year, a record number of representatives from New Hampshire travelled to the United Kingdom to participate in the Air Show, a testament to the growth of Granite State businesses and the value the Air Show provides.
Earlier in the weekend, Shaheen welcomed businesses from the entire region during SENEDIA's fourth-annual New England Breakfast. During the celebration, SENEDIA also announced the Senator Jeanne Shaheen Aerospace and Defense Scholarship to support young women pursuing careers in aerospace and defense.
Photos from the Senator's trip can be found HERE.
"Our state's aerospace sector supports good jobs across New Hampshire, and I was proud to see this represented on the global stage at the Farnborough Air Show in my final year in the Senate," said Senator Shaheen. "With thanks to the hard work of the New Hampshire Aerospace and Defense Consortium (NHADC) and SENEDIA, I've seen our presence grow year after year-and there were a record-breaking number of New Hampshire businesses at this year's Air Show. The trade relationships fostered at the Air Show will bolster our state's economy and fuel the innovation that builds technologies to keep America and our allies secure."
"Thanks to Senator Shaheen's tireless work on behalf of aerospace, space, and defense for our nation, combined with the power of the STEP grant program, Members of NHADC are able to hire, grow, and prosper both domestically and on the international stage. She led us to this moment, and she will leave an even greater legacy. Her leadership inspires our present and future workforce. It is proof that hard work, dedication, and doing the right things for the right reasons always leads to success. We are now, and always will be, incredibly grateful for Senator Shaheen and her amazing accomplishments for the betterment of New Hampshire's leading industry," said Randy Makee, Executive Director of NHADC.
"Defense is a $119 billion industry in New England, representing more than 407,000 jobs. Senator Jeanne Shaheen is a champion for the sector and for the hardworking people filling those jobs, and we are grateful for her leadership at Farnborough and in all of her work," said SENEDIA Board Chair Tim DelGiudice.
Every two years, the aerospace, aviation and defense industries are invited to Farnborough International Exhibition & Conference Centre for the Farnborough International Airshow, where civilian and military aircraft are demonstrated to potential customers and investors in Farnborough, United Kingdom. Moran and Shaheen led a bipartisan delegation to the Paris Air Show in 2025 and 2023. Senator Shaheen welcomed Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment Michael Duffey, Deputy NASA Administrator Matt Andersen, U.S. Ambassador to the United Kingdom Warren Stephens and General Masiello, joint F-35 program director, to the opening of New Hampshire's booth at the Air Show on Monday.
The New Hampshire Department of Business and Economic Affairs, alongside New Hampshire's Aerospace and Defense Consortium (NHADC), directly connects Granite State talent with the state's $12.5 billion aerospace, space and defense sector, ensuring New Hampshire businesses remain competitive on the global stage. NHADC featured New Hampshire exhibitors at the Air Show this year through the State Trade Expansion Program (STEP), which provides export assistance to small businesses. Senator Shaheen created the STEP program in 2010 and continues to lead action in support of STEP in Congress, including through leading efforts to advance STEP's reauthorization out of the Senate Small Business Committee. Senator Shaheen's new legislation would streamline reporting and administrative requirements of STEP, making it easier for businesses to use. New Hampshire exported about $19 million in aerospace products to the United Kingdom in 2023. 22 percent of all exports from the state are in the aerospace industry.
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Original text here: https://www.shaheen.senate.gov/news/press/at-farnborough-air-show-shaheen-represents-new-hampshire-aerospace-industry-celebrates-record-high-participation-from-granite-state-businesses
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At Farnborough Air Show, Shaheen Represents New Hampshire Aerospace Industry, Celebrates Record-High Participation from Granite State Businesses
*
(London, U.K.) - U.S. Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Ranking Member of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee and a senior member of the Armed Services and Appropriations Committees, recently led her final bipartisan Congressional delegation to the Farnborough International Air Show, the largest biennial trade show in the world. This year's ... Show Full Article WASHINGTON, July 24 -- Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-New Hampshire, issued the following news release: * * * At Farnborough Air Show, Shaheen Represents New Hampshire Aerospace Industry, Celebrates Record-High Participation from Granite State Businesses * (London, U.K.) - U.S. Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Ranking Member of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee and a senior member of the Armed Services and Appropriations Committees, recently led her final bipartisan Congressional delegation to the Farnborough International Air Show, the largest biennial trade show in the world. This year'sAir Show had the strongest U.S. presence in history, including a robust trade delegation from New Hampshire. Aerospace serves as New Hampshire's top export sector, supporting 24,000 jobs and representing $1.7 billion in exports in 2025 alone. The goal of Senator Shaheen's travel to Farnborough was to showcase this key industry and connect Granite State businesses with industry leaders from across the globe. This year, a record number of representatives from New Hampshire travelled to the United Kingdom to participate in the Air Show, a testament to the growth of Granite State businesses and the value the Air Show provides.
Earlier in the weekend, Shaheen welcomed businesses from the entire region during SENEDIA's fourth-annual New England Breakfast. During the celebration, SENEDIA also announced the Senator Jeanne Shaheen Aerospace and Defense Scholarship to support young women pursuing careers in aerospace and defense.
Photos from the Senator's trip can be found HERE.
"Our state's aerospace sector supports good jobs across New Hampshire, and I was proud to see this represented on the global stage at the Farnborough Air Show in my final year in the Senate," said Senator Shaheen. "With thanks to the hard work of the New Hampshire Aerospace and Defense Consortium (NHADC) and SENEDIA, I've seen our presence grow year after year-and there were a record-breaking number of New Hampshire businesses at this year's Air Show. The trade relationships fostered at the Air Show will bolster our state's economy and fuel the innovation that builds technologies to keep America and our allies secure."
"Thanks to Senator Shaheen's tireless work on behalf of aerospace, space, and defense for our nation, combined with the power of the STEP grant program, Members of NHADC are able to hire, grow, and prosper both domestically and on the international stage. She led us to this moment, and she will leave an even greater legacy. Her leadership inspires our present and future workforce. It is proof that hard work, dedication, and doing the right things for the right reasons always leads to success. We are now, and always will be, incredibly grateful for Senator Shaheen and her amazing accomplishments for the betterment of New Hampshire's leading industry," said Randy Makee, Executive Director of NHADC.
"Defense is a $119 billion industry in New England, representing more than 407,000 jobs. Senator Jeanne Shaheen is a champion for the sector and for the hardworking people filling those jobs, and we are grateful for her leadership at Farnborough and in all of her work," said SENEDIA Board Chair Tim DelGiudice.
Every two years, the aerospace, aviation and defense industries are invited to Farnborough International Exhibition & Conference Centre for the Farnborough International Airshow, where civilian and military aircraft are demonstrated to potential customers and investors in Farnborough, United Kingdom. Moran and Shaheen led a bipartisan delegation to the Paris Air Show in 2025 and 2023. Senator Shaheen welcomed Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment Michael Duffey, Deputy NASA Administrator Matt Andersen, U.S. Ambassador to the United Kingdom Warren Stephens and General Masiello, joint F-35 program director, to the opening of New Hampshire's booth at the Air Show on Monday.
The New Hampshire Department of Business and Economic Affairs, alongside New Hampshire's Aerospace and Defense Consortium (NHADC), directly connects Granite State talent with the state's $12.5 billion aerospace, space and defense sector, ensuring New Hampshire businesses remain competitive on the global stage. NHADC featured New Hampshire exhibitors at the Air Show this year through the State Trade Expansion Program (STEP), which provides export assistance to small businesses. Senator Shaheen created the STEP program in 2010 and continues to lead action in support of STEP in Congress, including through leading efforts to advance STEP's reauthorization out of the Senate Small Business Committee. Senator Shaheen's new legislation would streamline reporting and administrative requirements of STEP, making it easier for businesses to use. New Hampshire exported about $19 million in aerospace products to the United Kingdom in 2023. 22 percent of all exports from the state are in the aerospace industry.
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Original text here: https://www.shaheen.senate.gov/news/press/at-farnborough-air-show-shaheen-represents-new-hampshire-aerospace-industry-celebrates-record-high-participation-from-granite-state-businesses
As Trump Moves to Politicize Federal Grants, Rep. Pettersen Leads Push to Protect Mental Health and Substance Use Treatment Funding
WASHINGTON, July 24 -- Rep. Brittany Pettersen, D-Colorado, issued the following news release:
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As Trump Moves to Politicize Federal Grants, Rep. Pettersen Leads Push to Protect Mental Health and Substance Use Treatment Funding
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WASHINGTON - Today, Representative Brittany Pettersen (D-CO) led 45 members in calling on the Trump Administration to reverse course on their policy effort to politicize the federal grantmaking process, allowing political appointees to have the final say on whether or not communities receive taxpayer funding. In her letter to Office of Management and Budget (OMB) ... Show Full Article WASHINGTON, July 24 -- Rep. Brittany Pettersen, D-Colorado, issued the following news release: * * * As Trump Moves to Politicize Federal Grants, Rep. Pettersen Leads Push to Protect Mental Health and Substance Use Treatment Funding * WASHINGTON - Today, Representative Brittany Pettersen (D-CO) led 45 members in calling on the Trump Administration to reverse course on their policy effort to politicize the federal grantmaking process, allowing political appointees to have the final say on whether or not communities receive taxpayer funding. In her letter to Office of Management and Budget (OMB)Director Russel Vought and Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Pettersen specifically highlights the importance of non-partisan grant making for programs under the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), which would also be at risk under the administration's proposal.
"My mom, like far too many Americans, struggled with substance abuse disorder for decades until she was finally able to get the help she needed and enter recovery. In the fight to save her life, I realized just how broken our health care system is, especially for mental health and substance use. I've spent 15 years in elected office building up our behavioral health system, and it has worked. Colorado recently saw a 35% reduction in fentanyl-related deaths," said Rep. Pettersen. "But Trump wants to backtrack on all the progress we have made. SAMHSA performs critical work, and its grants make sure communities in Colorado, especially our rural areas, have access to high-quality care when they need it. I am so lucky that my mom was able to get help, but that opportunity should be open to everyone who needs it. Federal grants are existential for many of these treatment programs, and we must ensure they continue to be awarded based on evidence, not by Trump's political goals and vendettas."
In the letter, the members wrote, "The proposed rule would fundamentally alter how federal grants are awarded by shifting decision-making away from an established, neutral criteria. Instead of relying on statutory requirements, expert agency review, and merit-based evaluation, the rule would allow appointed officials to decide which communities, institutions, and programs receive federal support. It's a sharp break from long-standing Uniform Guidance."
The members continued, "The proposed rule would undermine the longevity of vital programs, including those that support care for mental health and substance use disorder in the United States. By destabilizing the very framework that enables sustained federal investment in these services, the rule threatens the backbone of our national response and the programs that rely on predictable, reliable grant administration to reach the communities most in need."
SAMHSA operates grant programs that help states and local communities prevent and treat substance use disorder, expand mental health services, strengthen the behavioral health workforce, and support crisis response and suicide prevention efforts. These efforts have shown incredible success, with preliminary data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) showing a 14% drop in overdose deaths in 2025. But earlier this year, SAMHSA terminated over 2,000 grants -totaling more than $2 billion -deepening widespread insecurity across our federal grantmaking system. After pressure from Congresswoman Pettersen, the Trump Administration reversed this decision.
Trump's Office of Management and Budget's (OMB) so-called " Regulation for Federal Financial Assistance " would fundamentally alter how federal grants are awarded by shifting away from an established, neutral criteria, instead allowing political appointees to determine which communities, institutions, and programs receive federal support. This is an unprecedented move, which would further their efforts to use the federal government as a tool to settle political scores against certain states and communities rather than a non-partisan support for the American people.
Colorado has been a consistent target of the Trump Administration's politically motivated funding attacks. The Administration has moved to freeze more than $300 million for child care and other essential services, $94 million from Jefferson County Public Schools, and canceled $109 million in transportation grants for rail safety improvements, public transit, and electric vehicle infrastructure. These were resources already approved to help Colorado families and communities, but the Administration withheld them because Colorado would not fall in line with its political agenda. This proposed rule would give the Administration broad authority to deny federal funding from specific communities and localities, further jeopardizing the services and development projects that Coloradans rely on.
This rule also comes in the aftermath of over two years of grant instability caused by widespread impoundment, cancellations, and delays of federal funding under the Trump Administration. Millions of organizations, local governments, and providers in every state depend on federal funding through the grantmaking process to perform essential services and critical scientific and medical research. One-third of nonprofits reported experiencing a disruption in government funding in the first months of 2025, including 21 percent that lost funding and 27 percent that experienced a delay, pause, or freeze. These disruptions have forced child care providers, schools, local governments, health care organizations, and research institutions to operate under constant uncertainty, threatening the services families rely on and the research that drives American innovation and strengthens our global standing.
Rather than correcting the instability of recent years, this rule risks deepening it -creating new barriers, injecting additional uncertainty into the grantmaking process, and undermining the ability of communities to plan and deliver the programs Americans depend on.
Rep. Pettersen has consistently spoken out against the Trump Administration's politicization of federal funding and its targeting of Colorado and the resources families rely on. Rep. Pettersen led 83 members of the Democratic delegation alongside Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi in demanding that the Trump Administration immediately reverse course on its freeze of over $10 billion in child care funding for five Democratic-led states. After this pressure, the Trump Administration recently announced that it would lift its freeze.
The full version of Pettersen's latest letter can be found here and below:
Dear Director Vought:
We write to express our deep concerns with the Office of Management and Budget's (OMB) proposed rule, "Regulation for Federal Financial Assistance," released on May 29, 2026. This rule would revise Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards, otherwise known as "Uniform Guidance," and it carries significant implications for our mental health and substance use disorder services and systems. Uniform Guidance has existed for over a decade. It serves as the framework for managing financial assistance while also consolidating OMB requirements for federal awards. This guidance has historically supported the financial and physical security of federal grant operations, providing a durable oversight structure that safeguards federal dollars, preserves interagency integrity, and anchors the stability that the proposed rule now places at risk.
The proposed rule would fundamentally alter how federal grants are awarded by shifting decision-making away from an established, neutral criteria and toward processes that could allow for political influence over funding determinations. Instead of relying on statutory requirements, expert agency review, and merit-based evaluation, the rule would invite political actors to decide which communities, institutions, and programs receive federal support. It's a sharp break from long-standing Uniform Guidance.
The proposed rule would undermine the longevity of vital programs, including those that support care for mental health and substance use disorder in the United States. By destabilizing the very framework that enables sustained federal investment in these services, the rule threatens the backbone of our national response and the programs that rely on predictable, reliable grant administration to reach the communities most in need. Our concerns arise from recent instances that have demonstrated the importance of safeguarding the foundation, stability, and predictability of Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) grants.
In January 2026, SAMHSA announced the abrupt termination of over 2,000 grants, totaling more than $2 billion. Upon notification, awardees received minimal justification regarding the cancellation. Only twenty-four hours later, administration officials rescinded this decision confirming that all impacted grant funding would be restored. Despite this reinstatement, the unanticipated announcement sent awardees across the country into widespread alarm. The whiplash of termination, reinstatement, and subsequent recovery time demonstrated how fragile program stability becomes when foundational guardrails are weakened, underscoring the critical need to safeguard predictability for SAMHSA grantees and the communities they serve.
Funding for substance use disorder treatment and mental health services is not a partisan priority; it is a responsibility of the government and must not be left to the priorities of political actors. All fifty states and the District of Columbia offer programs and strategically invest in resources and services to support individuals with substance use disorder and those living with mental health conditions. Combatting this epidemic and reducing overdose deaths remains a collaborative effort. Preliminary data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) demonstrates a 13% decline in U.S. overdose deaths this year. This decline is the result of long-term investment in substance use disorder funding and resources, and further progress must not be delayed or threatened. Individuals, communities, and families across the nation are depending on reliable resources that are anchored to dependable funding sources, including the federal investments that sustain critical mental health and substance use disorder programs.
Given the overwhelming support to preserve and protect grant funding that expands access to treatment and resources for mental health and substance use disorder, we request that OMB immediately repeal any proposed changes to Uniform Guidance. At a moment when progress against overdose deaths is finally emerging and demand for mental health services continues to rise, it is essential that we maintain, not weaken, the foundation that allows these lifesaving programs to operate. Fracturing that foundation would jeopardize the future of critical services that individuals, families, and communities depend on every day.
We appreciate your attention to this matter.
Sincerely,
To access downloadable, high-quality photos, click here. To stay up-to-date on what Pettersen is doing in Congress, follow her on Twitter here, Facebook here, or Instagram here. Residents can also sign-up for her e-newsletter subscription here.
***
Original text here: https://pettersen.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=1818
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As Trump Moves to Politicize Federal Grants, Rep. Pettersen Leads Push to Protect Mental Health and Substance Use Treatment Funding
*
WASHINGTON - Today, Representative Brittany Pettersen (D-CO) led 45 members in calling on the Trump Administration to reverse course on their policy effort to politicize the federal grantmaking process, allowing political appointees to have the final say on whether or not communities receive taxpayer funding. In her letter to Office of Management and Budget (OMB) ... Show Full Article WASHINGTON, July 24 -- Rep. Brittany Pettersen, D-Colorado, issued the following news release: * * * As Trump Moves to Politicize Federal Grants, Rep. Pettersen Leads Push to Protect Mental Health and Substance Use Treatment Funding * WASHINGTON - Today, Representative Brittany Pettersen (D-CO) led 45 members in calling on the Trump Administration to reverse course on their policy effort to politicize the federal grantmaking process, allowing political appointees to have the final say on whether or not communities receive taxpayer funding. In her letter to Office of Management and Budget (OMB)Director Russel Vought and Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Pettersen specifically highlights the importance of non-partisan grant making for programs under the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), which would also be at risk under the administration's proposal.
"My mom, like far too many Americans, struggled with substance abuse disorder for decades until she was finally able to get the help she needed and enter recovery. In the fight to save her life, I realized just how broken our health care system is, especially for mental health and substance use. I've spent 15 years in elected office building up our behavioral health system, and it has worked. Colorado recently saw a 35% reduction in fentanyl-related deaths," said Rep. Pettersen. "But Trump wants to backtrack on all the progress we have made. SAMHSA performs critical work, and its grants make sure communities in Colorado, especially our rural areas, have access to high-quality care when they need it. I am so lucky that my mom was able to get help, but that opportunity should be open to everyone who needs it. Federal grants are existential for many of these treatment programs, and we must ensure they continue to be awarded based on evidence, not by Trump's political goals and vendettas."
In the letter, the members wrote, "The proposed rule would fundamentally alter how federal grants are awarded by shifting decision-making away from an established, neutral criteria. Instead of relying on statutory requirements, expert agency review, and merit-based evaluation, the rule would allow appointed officials to decide which communities, institutions, and programs receive federal support. It's a sharp break from long-standing Uniform Guidance."
The members continued, "The proposed rule would undermine the longevity of vital programs, including those that support care for mental health and substance use disorder in the United States. By destabilizing the very framework that enables sustained federal investment in these services, the rule threatens the backbone of our national response and the programs that rely on predictable, reliable grant administration to reach the communities most in need."
SAMHSA operates grant programs that help states and local communities prevent and treat substance use disorder, expand mental health services, strengthen the behavioral health workforce, and support crisis response and suicide prevention efforts. These efforts have shown incredible success, with preliminary data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) showing a 14% drop in overdose deaths in 2025. But earlier this year, SAMHSA terminated over 2,000 grants -totaling more than $2 billion -deepening widespread insecurity across our federal grantmaking system. After pressure from Congresswoman Pettersen, the Trump Administration reversed this decision.
Trump's Office of Management and Budget's (OMB) so-called " Regulation for Federal Financial Assistance " would fundamentally alter how federal grants are awarded by shifting away from an established, neutral criteria, instead allowing political appointees to determine which communities, institutions, and programs receive federal support. This is an unprecedented move, which would further their efforts to use the federal government as a tool to settle political scores against certain states and communities rather than a non-partisan support for the American people.
Colorado has been a consistent target of the Trump Administration's politically motivated funding attacks. The Administration has moved to freeze more than $300 million for child care and other essential services, $94 million from Jefferson County Public Schools, and canceled $109 million in transportation grants for rail safety improvements, public transit, and electric vehicle infrastructure. These were resources already approved to help Colorado families and communities, but the Administration withheld them because Colorado would not fall in line with its political agenda. This proposed rule would give the Administration broad authority to deny federal funding from specific communities and localities, further jeopardizing the services and development projects that Coloradans rely on.
This rule also comes in the aftermath of over two years of grant instability caused by widespread impoundment, cancellations, and delays of federal funding under the Trump Administration. Millions of organizations, local governments, and providers in every state depend on federal funding through the grantmaking process to perform essential services and critical scientific and medical research. One-third of nonprofits reported experiencing a disruption in government funding in the first months of 2025, including 21 percent that lost funding and 27 percent that experienced a delay, pause, or freeze. These disruptions have forced child care providers, schools, local governments, health care organizations, and research institutions to operate under constant uncertainty, threatening the services families rely on and the research that drives American innovation and strengthens our global standing.
Rather than correcting the instability of recent years, this rule risks deepening it -creating new barriers, injecting additional uncertainty into the grantmaking process, and undermining the ability of communities to plan and deliver the programs Americans depend on.
Rep. Pettersen has consistently spoken out against the Trump Administration's politicization of federal funding and its targeting of Colorado and the resources families rely on. Rep. Pettersen led 83 members of the Democratic delegation alongside Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi in demanding that the Trump Administration immediately reverse course on its freeze of over $10 billion in child care funding for five Democratic-led states. After this pressure, the Trump Administration recently announced that it would lift its freeze.
The full version of Pettersen's latest letter can be found here and below:
Dear Director Vought:
We write to express our deep concerns with the Office of Management and Budget's (OMB) proposed rule, "Regulation for Federal Financial Assistance," released on May 29, 2026. This rule would revise Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards, otherwise known as "Uniform Guidance," and it carries significant implications for our mental health and substance use disorder services and systems. Uniform Guidance has existed for over a decade. It serves as the framework for managing financial assistance while also consolidating OMB requirements for federal awards. This guidance has historically supported the financial and physical security of federal grant operations, providing a durable oversight structure that safeguards federal dollars, preserves interagency integrity, and anchors the stability that the proposed rule now places at risk.
The proposed rule would fundamentally alter how federal grants are awarded by shifting decision-making away from an established, neutral criteria and toward processes that could allow for political influence over funding determinations. Instead of relying on statutory requirements, expert agency review, and merit-based evaluation, the rule would invite political actors to decide which communities, institutions, and programs receive federal support. It's a sharp break from long-standing Uniform Guidance.
The proposed rule would undermine the longevity of vital programs, including those that support care for mental health and substance use disorder in the United States. By destabilizing the very framework that enables sustained federal investment in these services, the rule threatens the backbone of our national response and the programs that rely on predictable, reliable grant administration to reach the communities most in need. Our concerns arise from recent instances that have demonstrated the importance of safeguarding the foundation, stability, and predictability of Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) grants.
In January 2026, SAMHSA announced the abrupt termination of over 2,000 grants, totaling more than $2 billion. Upon notification, awardees received minimal justification regarding the cancellation. Only twenty-four hours later, administration officials rescinded this decision confirming that all impacted grant funding would be restored. Despite this reinstatement, the unanticipated announcement sent awardees across the country into widespread alarm. The whiplash of termination, reinstatement, and subsequent recovery time demonstrated how fragile program stability becomes when foundational guardrails are weakened, underscoring the critical need to safeguard predictability for SAMHSA grantees and the communities they serve.
Funding for substance use disorder treatment and mental health services is not a partisan priority; it is a responsibility of the government and must not be left to the priorities of political actors. All fifty states and the District of Columbia offer programs and strategically invest in resources and services to support individuals with substance use disorder and those living with mental health conditions. Combatting this epidemic and reducing overdose deaths remains a collaborative effort. Preliminary data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) demonstrates a 13% decline in U.S. overdose deaths this year. This decline is the result of long-term investment in substance use disorder funding and resources, and further progress must not be delayed or threatened. Individuals, communities, and families across the nation are depending on reliable resources that are anchored to dependable funding sources, including the federal investments that sustain critical mental health and substance use disorder programs.
Given the overwhelming support to preserve and protect grant funding that expands access to treatment and resources for mental health and substance use disorder, we request that OMB immediately repeal any proposed changes to Uniform Guidance. At a moment when progress against overdose deaths is finally emerging and demand for mental health services continues to rise, it is essential that we maintain, not weaken, the foundation that allows these lifesaving programs to operate. Fracturing that foundation would jeopardize the future of critical services that individuals, families, and communities depend on every day.
We appreciate your attention to this matter.
Sincerely,
To access downloadable, high-quality photos, click here. To stay up-to-date on what Pettersen is doing in Congress, follow her on Twitter here, Facebook here, or Instagram here. Residents can also sign-up for her e-newsletter subscription here.
***
Original text here: https://pettersen.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=1818
Appropriators Drive Conversation on Preventing Government Shutdowns
WASHINGTON, July 24 -- Rep. Tom Cole, R-Oklahoma, chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, issued the following news release on July 22, 2026:
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Appropriators Drive Conversation on Preventing Government Shutdowns
The power of the purse is a fundamental responsibility - the Founders made that unmistakably clear in Article I. Yet, too many members have disregarded and obstructed that mandate, which was never intended to become a partisan bargaining chip or a casualty of political dysfunction. After Senate Democrats instigated the two longest government shutdowns in American history, ... Show Full Article WASHINGTON, July 24 -- Rep. Tom Cole, R-Oklahoma, chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, issued the following news release on July 22, 2026: * * * Appropriators Drive Conversation on Preventing Government Shutdowns The power of the purse is a fundamental responsibility - the Founders made that unmistakably clear in Article I. Yet, too many members have disregarded and obstructed that mandate, which was never intended to become a partisan bargaining chip or a casualty of political dysfunction. After Senate Democrats instigated the two longest government shutdowns in American history,broke bipartisan and bicameral funding agreements, and forced reconciliation pathways simply to fund certain agencies, there is no denying that the American people - and this institution - deserve better.
House Republican Appropriators refuse to accept government shutdowns as business as usual. This week, Chairman Cole convened all committee members to renew attention on the consequences of lapses. The hearing titled "Funding Lapses: Analyzing Shutdown Reform," elevated a conversation that Congress too often postpones until the brink of a funding deadline, examined reform proposals, and reinforced the need for a more stable, predictable process in both chambers.
While the House Appropriations Committee hasn't wavered from its work - advancing all twelve annual appropriations bills through the full committee, moving individual funding bills and conference packages, and repeatedly voting to prevent and ultimately end government shutdowns instigated by partisan politics - Article I cannot be upheld by the House alone. Congress, as a whole, cannot expect to preserve its constitutional prerogatives while repeatedly allowing political posturing to replace good governance. Every manufactured funding crisis chips away at the institution's credibility and its constitutional role.
Read on for some member highlights and perspectives from the hearing:
House Appropriations Committee Chairman Tom Cole opened the hearing by focusing on the broader structural failures that contribute to funding delays, arguing that responsibility extends beyond the Appropriations Committee. He questioned how Congress can complete its work when the President's budget and congressional budget resolution routinely arrive late, and he also raised constitutional questions about whether Congress can statutorily require changes to Senate procedures. Chairman Cole emphasized that appropriators often shoulder the blame for a process held up elsewhere, observing, "We've got other players in this that set us behind and make life very difficult."
LHHS Subcommittee Chairman Robert Aderholt focused his questioning on the structural issues that contribute to government shutdowns, examining both the relationship between authorizing committees and appropriators, in addition to the procedural differences between the House and Senate. Focusing on the broader institutional challenge, Aderholt asked Sen. Lankford, "How do you see the shutdown dynamics play out differently from your perspective in the House and now being in the Senate?"
Interior and Environment Subcommittee Chairman Mike Simpson focused on restoring regular order as the key to preventing government shutdowns, arguing that Congress must return to passing budget resolutions and completing appropriations on time. He also stressed the importance of compromise and greater accountability from authorizing committees, warning that narrow majorities have made governing more difficult. As Simpson put it, "Too many people in Congress, frankly, have forgotten what the word compromise is...That's what this place operates on - or should."
Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Subcommittee Chairman John Carter emphasized the constitutional responsibility of Congress to fund the government while highlighting the real-world consequences of shutdowns for federal workers and contractors. Drawing on his experience as a judge, he argued that government functions depend on consistent adherence to the law and asked how proposed shutdown reforms would protect civilian employees and contractors, particularly those supporting military installations, from funding disruptions. Carter stated the issue simply: "I think we can all agree that Congress has a basic duty to fund the government. That's why we're here."
Defense Subcommittee Chairman Ken Calvert focused on the national security consequences of failing to implement full-year, stable appropriations, arguing that governing through last-minute stopgaps and shutdown threats undermines military readiness and weakens Article I authority. He called for a return to regular order and urged lawmakers to seriously consider reforms. Calvert warned, "This is a problem within the family... we have to come to a determination that this cannot continue."
Vice Chairman and NSRP Subcommittee Chairman Mario Diaz-Balart focused on ensuring any shutdown reform creates stronger incentives to govern rather than new opportunities for political theater. While acknowledging the appeal of "off ramps" to avoid shutdowns, he cautioned that lawmakers could exploit them instead of completing the appropriations process. As he put it, "There are some folks who are less interested in getting the job done, more interested in just... being celebrities."
Transportation and Housing Subcommittee Chairman Steve Womack argued that Congress's inability to complete its most basic constitutional responsibility - funding the government - is both embarrassing and in need of structural reform. He praised proposals to streamline Senate consideration of appropriations bills and highlighted his own support for a biennial budgeting process as a way to improve the congressional calendar and reduce recurring funding crises. Womack underscored the urgency of reform, calling it "a shame... that the legislative body of this country... is having this conversation 250 years after we were founded."
Agriculture, Food and Drug Administration Subcommittee Chairman Andy Harris argued that the budget process requires more than incremental fixes. He maintained that the federal government has grown too large and complex for the current annual budgeting system. Harris summed up his view bluntly: "We're just applying a tourniquet to a hemorrhaging wound."
Energy and Water Development Subcommittee Chairman Chuck Fleischmann focused on the need for lasting reforms to prevent government shutdowns while ensuring Congress remains accountable for completing the appropriations process. He asked how the shutdown landscape has evolved over the past decade and questioned whether accountability measures tied to funding reforms could help keep lawmakers focused on finishing their work. As Fleischmann stated, "I firmly believe that we should never shut the federal government down... It's just wrong to the American people."
Rep. Ashley Hinson focused on the practical and economic consequences of government shutdowns, emphasizing the disruption they cause for federal agencies, workers, and the public. She asked former OMB Director Shalanda Young to explain the behind-the-scenes planning required even when a shutdown is only threatened, highlighting the costs, inefficiencies, and strain placed on essential services. Hinson stressed that Congress should work toward reforms that end the cycle of funding crises, saying, "I know that we've talked about the cost of government shutdowns. They do cost a significant amount of money. They're fiscally irresponsible, and they're inefficient."
Rep. Stephanie Bice emphasized the real-world impact of government shutdowns on federal employees and their families, arguing that funding lapses create unnecessary financial uncertainty even when workers eventually receive back pay. Reflecting on the burden shutdowns place on workers, Bice shared a constituent's concern: "I had a constituent stop me in the airport, and he said his son had taken a job a few months earlier with the TSA, and he was wondering why his son would do a job where a paycheck isn't guaranteed."
Rep. Juan Ciscomani focused on the need to reform the incentives surrounding government shutdowns, arguing that the consequences should fall on Congress, not the American people. Reflecting on his experience during multiple past funding crises, he said the current guardrails are no longer sufficient because the culture around shutdowns has changed, and he asked what reforms could restore accountability and prevent a small group of lawmakers from driving funding lapses. As Ciscomani put it, "The pain of a shutdown should be felt primarily by this body and not by the people at home, because they're not the ones that have failed."
Rep. Chuck Edwards focused on the impact government shutdowns have on disaster recovery efforts, drawing on Western North Carolina's recovery from Hurricane Helene to illustrate how funding lapses disrupt assistance for communities in crisis. He argued that political brinkmanship has real consequences for constituents trying to rebuild and criticized lawmakers who support additional disaster aid while also allowing shutdowns, saying, "I've seen what happens in a government shutdown... money that was due to folks looking to recover was brought to a halt."
Rep. Celeste Maloy focused on preserving congressional accountability in the appropriations process, arguing that annual funding bills force lawmakers to justify spending decisions to taxpayers each year. She questioned whether procedural reforms could improve the process without weakening that accountability and asked how Congress could better communicate the work that goes into drafting appropriations bills. Maloy summarized her concern by saying, "The process of how we do that is only supposed to be a means to an end... the means has become the end."
Rep. Julia Letlow closed out the hearing by emphasizing the need to strengthen congressional accountability during government shutdowns, arguing that lawmakers should share in the consequences of funding lapses rather than continue receiving pay while federal employees go without. She asked whether measures such as withholding members' salaries should be part of broader shutdown reform efforts aimed at restoring public trust in the appropriations process. As Letlow stated, "I know the American people expect us to do our job, and when we shut this place down, I just believe that we should not receive a paycheck."
The bottom line is simple: Government shutdowns are not inevitable - they are the product of choices. This hearing made clear that while members may differ on the specific reforms, there is broad recognition that Congress can and must do better. Protecting the power of the purse requires more than meeting the next funding deadline - it requires restoring a process that rewards responsibility over brinkmanship, results over political theatrics, and regular order over governing by crisis. House Republican Appropriators remain committed to advancing that effort and ensuring government funding leaves the nation stronger, more secure, and better prepared for the challenges ahead.
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Original text here: https://appropriations.house.gov/news/press-releases/appropriators-drive-conversation-preventing-government-shutdowns
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Appropriators Drive Conversation on Preventing Government Shutdowns
The power of the purse is a fundamental responsibility - the Founders made that unmistakably clear in Article I. Yet, too many members have disregarded and obstructed that mandate, which was never intended to become a partisan bargaining chip or a casualty of political dysfunction. After Senate Democrats instigated the two longest government shutdowns in American history, ... Show Full Article WASHINGTON, July 24 -- Rep. Tom Cole, R-Oklahoma, chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, issued the following news release on July 22, 2026: * * * Appropriators Drive Conversation on Preventing Government Shutdowns The power of the purse is a fundamental responsibility - the Founders made that unmistakably clear in Article I. Yet, too many members have disregarded and obstructed that mandate, which was never intended to become a partisan bargaining chip or a casualty of political dysfunction. After Senate Democrats instigated the two longest government shutdowns in American history,broke bipartisan and bicameral funding agreements, and forced reconciliation pathways simply to fund certain agencies, there is no denying that the American people - and this institution - deserve better.
House Republican Appropriators refuse to accept government shutdowns as business as usual. This week, Chairman Cole convened all committee members to renew attention on the consequences of lapses. The hearing titled "Funding Lapses: Analyzing Shutdown Reform," elevated a conversation that Congress too often postpones until the brink of a funding deadline, examined reform proposals, and reinforced the need for a more stable, predictable process in both chambers.
While the House Appropriations Committee hasn't wavered from its work - advancing all twelve annual appropriations bills through the full committee, moving individual funding bills and conference packages, and repeatedly voting to prevent and ultimately end government shutdowns instigated by partisan politics - Article I cannot be upheld by the House alone. Congress, as a whole, cannot expect to preserve its constitutional prerogatives while repeatedly allowing political posturing to replace good governance. Every manufactured funding crisis chips away at the institution's credibility and its constitutional role.
Read on for some member highlights and perspectives from the hearing:
House Appropriations Committee Chairman Tom Cole opened the hearing by focusing on the broader structural failures that contribute to funding delays, arguing that responsibility extends beyond the Appropriations Committee. He questioned how Congress can complete its work when the President's budget and congressional budget resolution routinely arrive late, and he also raised constitutional questions about whether Congress can statutorily require changes to Senate procedures. Chairman Cole emphasized that appropriators often shoulder the blame for a process held up elsewhere, observing, "We've got other players in this that set us behind and make life very difficult."
LHHS Subcommittee Chairman Robert Aderholt focused his questioning on the structural issues that contribute to government shutdowns, examining both the relationship between authorizing committees and appropriators, in addition to the procedural differences between the House and Senate. Focusing on the broader institutional challenge, Aderholt asked Sen. Lankford, "How do you see the shutdown dynamics play out differently from your perspective in the House and now being in the Senate?"
Interior and Environment Subcommittee Chairman Mike Simpson focused on restoring regular order as the key to preventing government shutdowns, arguing that Congress must return to passing budget resolutions and completing appropriations on time. He also stressed the importance of compromise and greater accountability from authorizing committees, warning that narrow majorities have made governing more difficult. As Simpson put it, "Too many people in Congress, frankly, have forgotten what the word compromise is...That's what this place operates on - or should."
Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Subcommittee Chairman John Carter emphasized the constitutional responsibility of Congress to fund the government while highlighting the real-world consequences of shutdowns for federal workers and contractors. Drawing on his experience as a judge, he argued that government functions depend on consistent adherence to the law and asked how proposed shutdown reforms would protect civilian employees and contractors, particularly those supporting military installations, from funding disruptions. Carter stated the issue simply: "I think we can all agree that Congress has a basic duty to fund the government. That's why we're here."
Defense Subcommittee Chairman Ken Calvert focused on the national security consequences of failing to implement full-year, stable appropriations, arguing that governing through last-minute stopgaps and shutdown threats undermines military readiness and weakens Article I authority. He called for a return to regular order and urged lawmakers to seriously consider reforms. Calvert warned, "This is a problem within the family... we have to come to a determination that this cannot continue."
Vice Chairman and NSRP Subcommittee Chairman Mario Diaz-Balart focused on ensuring any shutdown reform creates stronger incentives to govern rather than new opportunities for political theater. While acknowledging the appeal of "off ramps" to avoid shutdowns, he cautioned that lawmakers could exploit them instead of completing the appropriations process. As he put it, "There are some folks who are less interested in getting the job done, more interested in just... being celebrities."
Transportation and Housing Subcommittee Chairman Steve Womack argued that Congress's inability to complete its most basic constitutional responsibility - funding the government - is both embarrassing and in need of structural reform. He praised proposals to streamline Senate consideration of appropriations bills and highlighted his own support for a biennial budgeting process as a way to improve the congressional calendar and reduce recurring funding crises. Womack underscored the urgency of reform, calling it "a shame... that the legislative body of this country... is having this conversation 250 years after we were founded."
Agriculture, Food and Drug Administration Subcommittee Chairman Andy Harris argued that the budget process requires more than incremental fixes. He maintained that the federal government has grown too large and complex for the current annual budgeting system. Harris summed up his view bluntly: "We're just applying a tourniquet to a hemorrhaging wound."
Energy and Water Development Subcommittee Chairman Chuck Fleischmann focused on the need for lasting reforms to prevent government shutdowns while ensuring Congress remains accountable for completing the appropriations process. He asked how the shutdown landscape has evolved over the past decade and questioned whether accountability measures tied to funding reforms could help keep lawmakers focused on finishing their work. As Fleischmann stated, "I firmly believe that we should never shut the federal government down... It's just wrong to the American people."
Rep. Ashley Hinson focused on the practical and economic consequences of government shutdowns, emphasizing the disruption they cause for federal agencies, workers, and the public. She asked former OMB Director Shalanda Young to explain the behind-the-scenes planning required even when a shutdown is only threatened, highlighting the costs, inefficiencies, and strain placed on essential services. Hinson stressed that Congress should work toward reforms that end the cycle of funding crises, saying, "I know that we've talked about the cost of government shutdowns. They do cost a significant amount of money. They're fiscally irresponsible, and they're inefficient."
Rep. Stephanie Bice emphasized the real-world impact of government shutdowns on federal employees and their families, arguing that funding lapses create unnecessary financial uncertainty even when workers eventually receive back pay. Reflecting on the burden shutdowns place on workers, Bice shared a constituent's concern: "I had a constituent stop me in the airport, and he said his son had taken a job a few months earlier with the TSA, and he was wondering why his son would do a job where a paycheck isn't guaranteed."
Rep. Juan Ciscomani focused on the need to reform the incentives surrounding government shutdowns, arguing that the consequences should fall on Congress, not the American people. Reflecting on his experience during multiple past funding crises, he said the current guardrails are no longer sufficient because the culture around shutdowns has changed, and he asked what reforms could restore accountability and prevent a small group of lawmakers from driving funding lapses. As Ciscomani put it, "The pain of a shutdown should be felt primarily by this body and not by the people at home, because they're not the ones that have failed."
Rep. Chuck Edwards focused on the impact government shutdowns have on disaster recovery efforts, drawing on Western North Carolina's recovery from Hurricane Helene to illustrate how funding lapses disrupt assistance for communities in crisis. He argued that political brinkmanship has real consequences for constituents trying to rebuild and criticized lawmakers who support additional disaster aid while also allowing shutdowns, saying, "I've seen what happens in a government shutdown... money that was due to folks looking to recover was brought to a halt."
Rep. Celeste Maloy focused on preserving congressional accountability in the appropriations process, arguing that annual funding bills force lawmakers to justify spending decisions to taxpayers each year. She questioned whether procedural reforms could improve the process without weakening that accountability and asked how Congress could better communicate the work that goes into drafting appropriations bills. Maloy summarized her concern by saying, "The process of how we do that is only supposed to be a means to an end... the means has become the end."
Rep. Julia Letlow closed out the hearing by emphasizing the need to strengthen congressional accountability during government shutdowns, arguing that lawmakers should share in the consequences of funding lapses rather than continue receiving pay while federal employees go without. She asked whether measures such as withholding members' salaries should be part of broader shutdown reform efforts aimed at restoring public trust in the appropriations process. As Letlow stated, "I know the American people expect us to do our job, and when we shut this place down, I just believe that we should not receive a paycheck."
The bottom line is simple: Government shutdowns are not inevitable - they are the product of choices. This hearing made clear that while members may differ on the specific reforms, there is broad recognition that Congress can and must do better. Protecting the power of the purse requires more than meeting the next funding deadline - it requires restoring a process that rewards responsibility over brinkmanship, results over political theatrics, and regular order over governing by crisis. House Republican Appropriators remain committed to advancing that effort and ensuring government funding leaves the nation stronger, more secure, and better prepared for the challenges ahead.
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Original text here: https://appropriations.house.gov/news/press-releases/appropriators-drive-conversation-preventing-government-shutdowns
America First Policy Institute Vice Chair Shire Testifies Before House Oversight & Government Reform Committee
WASHINGTON, July 24 -- The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Task Force on Defending Constitutional Rights and Exposing Institutional Abuses released the following written testimony by Michael Shires, vice chair of education opportunity and senior policy officer at the America First Policy Institute, from a July 14, 2026, hearing entitled "Combating DEI in American Institutions." DEI stands for diversity, equity, and inclusion.
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Chairman Gill, Ranking Member Simon, and members of the task force, thank you for the opportunity to testify today. It is a privilege to be here and ... Show Full Article WASHINGTON, July 24 -- The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Task Force on Defending Constitutional Rights and Exposing Institutional Abuses released the following written testimony by Michael Shires, vice chair of education opportunity and senior policy officer at the America First Policy Institute, from a July 14, 2026, hearing entitled "Combating DEI in American Institutions." DEI stands for diversity, equity, and inclusion. * * * Chairman Gill, Ranking Member Simon, and members of the task force, thank you for the opportunity to testify today. It is a privilege to be here andI am grateful for your leadership and service to our nation.
I am honored to speak to you today on the subject of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion policies (DEI) and their devastating impact on one of our most important national treasures--America's universities and colleges.
I am testifying today in my capacity as the Vice Chair of Education Opportunity and Senior Policy Officer at the America First Policy Institute (AFPI)--a nonpartisan, nonprofit research institute whose work focuses on putting the interests of the American people at the forefront of American public policy. I lead our extensive work in higher education, including research on how DEI undermines the core quality of the educations provided to millions of Americans each year.
I also speak as someone who has spent nearly 40 years in higher education policy and leadership, including 25 years as a professor and administrator at the Pepperdine School of Public Policy and, most recently, a three-years stint as the founding Chief of Staff of one of America's most innovative new universities, the University of Austin.
In a few days, we celebrate the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, the proclamation that launched America on a path to freedom, opportunity, and prosperity unrivaled in human history. The central premise of that Declaration is the notion that "all men are created equal" and, even though we have not always lived up to that ideal, its pursuit has fueled 250 years of American success.
Yet our universities and colleges have set aside this principle, instead advancing a virulent DEI ideology rooted in the belief that the United States is a systemically racist, white supremacist project. DEI argues that certain disfavored groups (including whites, men, heterosexuals, even political conservatives) are "oppressors" who must give up their "privilege" in favor of those who are not. Today, this insidious ideology infects nearly every dimension of university practice and governance including hiring, promotions, tenure, admissions, and even academic publishing.
Over the last four decades, I have seen this contagion metastasize. I have sat in university committee meetings where I was personally lectured by peers because of the color of my skin. I have been asked to draft loyalty statements to this ideology to be considered for hire and explicitly told to hire candidates because of their race or gender rather than their ability to do the job. I have seen it devastate careers and close the door of opportunity to some of our best and brightest students.
This leftist monoculture undermines the very purpose of the American investment in higher education: to equip the next generation of Americans to think, debate, and make the best choices for our future based on evidence. The left only allows one perspective on campus--theirs.
On campus after campus, the conversation includes only the left, undermining the very intellectual diversity needed for higher education to fulfill its primary mission. Speakers are cancelled.
Students are failed. Shoutdowns, heckler's vetoes, violence and even murder are used to silence dissenting voices.
The American people collectively rejected this un-American divisiveness when they elected President Trump to restore the public interest to higher education.
And he has responded, taking bold steps to roll back the left's DEI stranglehold on higher education by revoking previous executive orders that mandated it, aggressively enforcing existing laws that ban discrimination in all forms--including those called for by DEI, reforming accreditation to increase accountability, limiting the use of the disparate impact doctrine in civil rights law, and demanding institutions be transparent and accountable to the American public.
As a result, DEI forces today appear to be in a state of apparent retreat. Do not be deceived. Many of these discriminatory processes are still at work, just reformulated or hidden for the moment.
AFPI supports and applauds the Administration's actions to reinstitute merit and to restore opportunity for all Americans in higher education.
We also welcome the chance to work with Congress and the Administration to codify these changes through legislation and rulemaking to ensure equal treatment for all Americans of every background in our colleges and universities, much as our founders would have envisioned 250 years ago.
Thank you for this opportunity. I look forward to your questions.
* * *
Original text here: https://oversight.house.gov/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/Shires-Written-Testimony.pdf
* * *
Chairman Gill, Ranking Member Simon, and members of the task force, thank you for the opportunity to testify today. It is a privilege to be here and ... Show Full Article WASHINGTON, July 24 -- The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Task Force on Defending Constitutional Rights and Exposing Institutional Abuses released the following written testimony by Michael Shires, vice chair of education opportunity and senior policy officer at the America First Policy Institute, from a July 14, 2026, hearing entitled "Combating DEI in American Institutions." DEI stands for diversity, equity, and inclusion. * * * Chairman Gill, Ranking Member Simon, and members of the task force, thank you for the opportunity to testify today. It is a privilege to be here andI am grateful for your leadership and service to our nation.
I am honored to speak to you today on the subject of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion policies (DEI) and their devastating impact on one of our most important national treasures--America's universities and colleges.
I am testifying today in my capacity as the Vice Chair of Education Opportunity and Senior Policy Officer at the America First Policy Institute (AFPI)--a nonpartisan, nonprofit research institute whose work focuses on putting the interests of the American people at the forefront of American public policy. I lead our extensive work in higher education, including research on how DEI undermines the core quality of the educations provided to millions of Americans each year.
I also speak as someone who has spent nearly 40 years in higher education policy and leadership, including 25 years as a professor and administrator at the Pepperdine School of Public Policy and, most recently, a three-years stint as the founding Chief of Staff of one of America's most innovative new universities, the University of Austin.
In a few days, we celebrate the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, the proclamation that launched America on a path to freedom, opportunity, and prosperity unrivaled in human history. The central premise of that Declaration is the notion that "all men are created equal" and, even though we have not always lived up to that ideal, its pursuit has fueled 250 years of American success.
Yet our universities and colleges have set aside this principle, instead advancing a virulent DEI ideology rooted in the belief that the United States is a systemically racist, white supremacist project. DEI argues that certain disfavored groups (including whites, men, heterosexuals, even political conservatives) are "oppressors" who must give up their "privilege" in favor of those who are not. Today, this insidious ideology infects nearly every dimension of university practice and governance including hiring, promotions, tenure, admissions, and even academic publishing.
Over the last four decades, I have seen this contagion metastasize. I have sat in university committee meetings where I was personally lectured by peers because of the color of my skin. I have been asked to draft loyalty statements to this ideology to be considered for hire and explicitly told to hire candidates because of their race or gender rather than their ability to do the job. I have seen it devastate careers and close the door of opportunity to some of our best and brightest students.
This leftist monoculture undermines the very purpose of the American investment in higher education: to equip the next generation of Americans to think, debate, and make the best choices for our future based on evidence. The left only allows one perspective on campus--theirs.
On campus after campus, the conversation includes only the left, undermining the very intellectual diversity needed for higher education to fulfill its primary mission. Speakers are cancelled.
Students are failed. Shoutdowns, heckler's vetoes, violence and even murder are used to silence dissenting voices.
The American people collectively rejected this un-American divisiveness when they elected President Trump to restore the public interest to higher education.
And he has responded, taking bold steps to roll back the left's DEI stranglehold on higher education by revoking previous executive orders that mandated it, aggressively enforcing existing laws that ban discrimination in all forms--including those called for by DEI, reforming accreditation to increase accountability, limiting the use of the disparate impact doctrine in civil rights law, and demanding institutions be transparent and accountable to the American public.
As a result, DEI forces today appear to be in a state of apparent retreat. Do not be deceived. Many of these discriminatory processes are still at work, just reformulated or hidden for the moment.
AFPI supports and applauds the Administration's actions to reinstitute merit and to restore opportunity for all Americans in higher education.
We also welcome the chance to work with Congress and the Administration to codify these changes through legislation and rulemaking to ensure equal treatment for all Americans of every background in our colleges and universities, much as our founders would have envisioned 250 years ago.
Thank you for this opportunity. I look forward to your questions.
* * *
Original text here: https://oversight.house.gov/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/Shires-Written-Testimony.pdf
Amata Co-Leads Bipartisan Resolution Celebrating 55 Years of U.S.-Fiji Relations
WASHINGTON, July 24 (Rep.) -- Del. Aumua Amata Radewagen, R-American Samoa, issued the following news release:
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Amata Co-Leads Bipartisan Resolution Celebrating 55 Years of U.S.-Fiji Relations
*
Washington, D.C. - Congresswoman Uifa'atali Amata is co-leading a resolution celebrating 55 years of diplomatic relations between the United States and the Republic of Fiji, and reaffirming commitment to this strategically important partnership.
Introduced this week, the resolution is co-led by Rep. Ami Bera, M.D. (D-CA), Rep. Aumua Amata Coleman Radewagen (AS), Rep. Ed Case (D-HI), and Rep. ... Show Full Article WASHINGTON, July 24 (Rep.) -- Del. Aumua Amata Radewagen, R-American Samoa, issued the following news release: * * * Amata Co-Leads Bipartisan Resolution Celebrating 55 Years of U.S.-Fiji Relations * Washington, D.C. - Congresswoman Uifa'atali Amata is co-leading a resolution celebrating 55 years of diplomatic relations between the United States and the Republic of Fiji, and reaffirming commitment to this strategically important partnership. Introduced this week, the resolution is co-led by Rep. Ami Bera, M.D. (D-CA), Rep. Aumua Amata Coleman Radewagen (AS), Rep. Ed Case (D-HI), and Rep.James Moylan (R-GU).Amata (approximately 1983) at Government House at Maugaoali'i with Fiji's first Prime Minister and later President H.E. Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara
"Malo lava to Fiji from my beautiful home islands to yours, as our nations celebrate 55 years of official relations, and the resulting friendships among many people working between our two countries," said Representative Aumua Amata. "My father, Uifa'atali Governor Peter T. Coleman, was good friends with one of Fiji's leading early statesmen, the late H.E. Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara, who was Chief Minister at the time of Fiji's independence, then Fiji's first Prime Minister when the U.S. and Fiji established relations in 1971, and later President. I also worked with Congressman Case and our colleagues on the South Pacific Tuna Treaty Act that codified diplomacy among our countries, an important partnership. I've been to Fiji's welcoming shores, and our nations have a bright mutual future for a secure, prosperous Pacific region."
The United States and Fiji share deep and enduring people-to-people ties, including welcome and respected residents of American Samoa. More than 50,000 Americans trace their roots to Fiji, and Rep. Bera highlights those strong connections in Sacramento County, home to the nation's largest population of Fijian immigrants.
The two nations formally established diplomatic relations on July 22, 1971. Since then, the relationship has strengthened through military training, maritime law enforcement, humanitarian assistance and disaster response, infrastructure investment, economic development, and educational and cultural exchanges.Congresswoman Uifa'atali Amata and Prime Minister of Fiji Sitiveni Rabuka
"For 55 years, the United States and Fiji have built a strong partnership rooted in mutual respect, shared values, and enduring people-to-people ties," said Representative Bera. "This partnership is especially meaningful in Sacramento County, which is home to the largest Fijian immigrant community in our nation. Fiji is a valued security partner and regional leader, and our continued cooperation is essential to advancing peace, stability, and prosperity throughout the Pacific. This bipartisan resolution makes clear that the United States will remain a strong, reliable, and active partner with Fiji for years to come."
"We celebrate and honor the strong relationship between our two great countries, which predates the establishment of diplomatic relations dating way back to the 'ohana (family) of Pacific Islanders," said Representative Case. "As the proud representative of the state with the highest percentage of Fijian Americans in our country, a proud part of our own Pacific Islander community, I also celebrate the deep historical and cultural connections between my state and Fiji, which were on full display in Honolulu two years ago during the Festival of Pacific Arts and Culture, a showcase of traditional arts, dances, languages and customary practices first held in Suva, Fiji, in 1972. Ours is an ongoing relationship built on shared values, mutual respect and assistance, and mutual security, including currently with the Republic of Fiji Military Forces participation again in the Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC), the largest international maritime exercise underway in Hawai'i. Vinaka vaka-levu!"
"It is with great joy that I join my colleagues in celebrating 55 wonderful years of friendship between the United States and Fiji. Our strong partnership is grounded in our cultural ties, mutual respect, and pursuit of a free and open Indo-Pacific," said Representative Moylan. "As associate members of the Pacific Island Forum, Guam also commends Fiji's commitment to regional solidarity, mutual security and economic resilience. We look forward to deepening our collaboration on sustainable development, marine resource conservation, and natural disaster preparedness. I look forward to the many more years of friendship between our two nations."
Fiji is the second-most-populous Pacific Islands country and is home to one of the region's largest economies. The country has played a significant role in promoting regional security, supporting United Nations peacekeeping operations, responding to humanitarian disasters, and advancing cooperation on sustainable fisheries, maritime security, economic development, and climate resilience.
The resolution underscores the importance of sustained U.S. engagement with our longstanding partners in the Pacific and strengthening relationships built on trust, mutual respect, and shared values.
Specifically, the resolution:
* Celebrates 55 years of diplomatic relations between the United States and Fiji;
* Commends Fiji's return to democratic governance and urges that its next general election remain free and fair;
* Supports the full implementation and strengthening of the Asia Reassurance Initiative Act of 2018, including deeper cooperation with Fiji on fisheries and marine resource conservation, environmental resilience, global health, trade, development, and people-to-people ties; and
* Recognizes Fiji's contributions to multinational security forces and multilateral institutions, including United Nations peacekeeping operations and the Pacific Islands Forum.
Issues : Foreign Affairs
***
Original text here: https://radewagen.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/amata-co-leads-bipartisan-resolution-celebrating-55-years-us-fiji
* * *
Amata Co-Leads Bipartisan Resolution Celebrating 55 Years of U.S.-Fiji Relations
*
Washington, D.C. - Congresswoman Uifa'atali Amata is co-leading a resolution celebrating 55 years of diplomatic relations between the United States and the Republic of Fiji, and reaffirming commitment to this strategically important partnership.
Introduced this week, the resolution is co-led by Rep. Ami Bera, M.D. (D-CA), Rep. Aumua Amata Coleman Radewagen (AS), Rep. Ed Case (D-HI), and Rep. ... Show Full Article WASHINGTON, July 24 (Rep.) -- Del. Aumua Amata Radewagen, R-American Samoa, issued the following news release: * * * Amata Co-Leads Bipartisan Resolution Celebrating 55 Years of U.S.-Fiji Relations * Washington, D.C. - Congresswoman Uifa'atali Amata is co-leading a resolution celebrating 55 years of diplomatic relations between the United States and the Republic of Fiji, and reaffirming commitment to this strategically important partnership. Introduced this week, the resolution is co-led by Rep. Ami Bera, M.D. (D-CA), Rep. Aumua Amata Coleman Radewagen (AS), Rep. Ed Case (D-HI), and Rep.James Moylan (R-GU).Amata (approximately 1983) at Government House at Maugaoali'i with Fiji's first Prime Minister and later President H.E. Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara
"Malo lava to Fiji from my beautiful home islands to yours, as our nations celebrate 55 years of official relations, and the resulting friendships among many people working between our two countries," said Representative Aumua Amata. "My father, Uifa'atali Governor Peter T. Coleman, was good friends with one of Fiji's leading early statesmen, the late H.E. Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara, who was Chief Minister at the time of Fiji's independence, then Fiji's first Prime Minister when the U.S. and Fiji established relations in 1971, and later President. I also worked with Congressman Case and our colleagues on the South Pacific Tuna Treaty Act that codified diplomacy among our countries, an important partnership. I've been to Fiji's welcoming shores, and our nations have a bright mutual future for a secure, prosperous Pacific region."
The United States and Fiji share deep and enduring people-to-people ties, including welcome and respected residents of American Samoa. More than 50,000 Americans trace their roots to Fiji, and Rep. Bera highlights those strong connections in Sacramento County, home to the nation's largest population of Fijian immigrants.
The two nations formally established diplomatic relations on July 22, 1971. Since then, the relationship has strengthened through military training, maritime law enforcement, humanitarian assistance and disaster response, infrastructure investment, economic development, and educational and cultural exchanges.Congresswoman Uifa'atali Amata and Prime Minister of Fiji Sitiveni Rabuka
"For 55 years, the United States and Fiji have built a strong partnership rooted in mutual respect, shared values, and enduring people-to-people ties," said Representative Bera. "This partnership is especially meaningful in Sacramento County, which is home to the largest Fijian immigrant community in our nation. Fiji is a valued security partner and regional leader, and our continued cooperation is essential to advancing peace, stability, and prosperity throughout the Pacific. This bipartisan resolution makes clear that the United States will remain a strong, reliable, and active partner with Fiji for years to come."
"We celebrate and honor the strong relationship between our two great countries, which predates the establishment of diplomatic relations dating way back to the 'ohana (family) of Pacific Islanders," said Representative Case. "As the proud representative of the state with the highest percentage of Fijian Americans in our country, a proud part of our own Pacific Islander community, I also celebrate the deep historical and cultural connections between my state and Fiji, which were on full display in Honolulu two years ago during the Festival of Pacific Arts and Culture, a showcase of traditional arts, dances, languages and customary practices first held in Suva, Fiji, in 1972. Ours is an ongoing relationship built on shared values, mutual respect and assistance, and mutual security, including currently with the Republic of Fiji Military Forces participation again in the Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC), the largest international maritime exercise underway in Hawai'i. Vinaka vaka-levu!"
"It is with great joy that I join my colleagues in celebrating 55 wonderful years of friendship between the United States and Fiji. Our strong partnership is grounded in our cultural ties, mutual respect, and pursuit of a free and open Indo-Pacific," said Representative Moylan. "As associate members of the Pacific Island Forum, Guam also commends Fiji's commitment to regional solidarity, mutual security and economic resilience. We look forward to deepening our collaboration on sustainable development, marine resource conservation, and natural disaster preparedness. I look forward to the many more years of friendship between our two nations."
Fiji is the second-most-populous Pacific Islands country and is home to one of the region's largest economies. The country has played a significant role in promoting regional security, supporting United Nations peacekeeping operations, responding to humanitarian disasters, and advancing cooperation on sustainable fisheries, maritime security, economic development, and climate resilience.
The resolution underscores the importance of sustained U.S. engagement with our longstanding partners in the Pacific and strengthening relationships built on trust, mutual respect, and shared values.
Specifically, the resolution:
* Celebrates 55 years of diplomatic relations between the United States and Fiji;
* Commends Fiji's return to democratic governance and urges that its next general election remain free and fair;
* Supports the full implementation and strengthening of the Asia Reassurance Initiative Act of 2018, including deeper cooperation with Fiji on fisheries and marine resource conservation, environmental resilience, global health, trade, development, and people-to-people ties; and
* Recognizes Fiji's contributions to multinational security forces and multilateral institutions, including United Nations peacekeeping operations and the Pacific Islands Forum.
Issues : Foreign Affairs
***
Original text here: https://radewagen.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/amata-co-leads-bipartisan-resolution-celebrating-55-years-us-fiji
Boyle Leads Floor Debate Against Republicans' 'America Last' Budget
WASHINGTON, July 24 -- Rep. Brendan Boyle, D-Pennsylvania, ranking member of the House Budget Committee, issued the following news release on July 22, 2026:
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Boyle Leads Floor Debate Against Republicans' "America Last" Budget
Today, Congressman Brendan F. Boyle (PA-02), Ranking Member of the House Budget Committee, led debate on the House floor against Republicans' "America Last" budget. Boyle slammed the budget resolution for wasting tens of billions of dollars on Trump's disastrous Iran war while doing nothing to lower costs for American families.
A new fact sheet on Republicans' "America ... Show Full Article WASHINGTON, July 24 -- Rep. Brendan Boyle, D-Pennsylvania, ranking member of the House Budget Committee, issued the following news release on July 22, 2026: * * * Boyle Leads Floor Debate Against Republicans' "America Last" Budget Today, Congressman Brendan F. Boyle (PA-02), Ranking Member of the House Budget Committee, led debate on the House floor against Republicans' "America Last" budget. Boyle slammed the budget resolution for wasting tens of billions of dollars on Trump's disastrous Iran war while doing nothing to lower costs for American families. A new fact sheet on Republicans' "AmericaLast" budget is available here (https://democrats-budget.house.gov/resources/fact-sheet/another-swing-and-miss-republican-budget-strike-30).
Remarks as delivered and video are below:
Ranking Member Boyle's remarks as delivered:
Mr. Speaker, as you may recall, two years ago in the election that my good friend, the chair, referenced, in which Donald Trump won a whopping landslide of one and a half points, one of the closest national popular votes in American history, for those keeping score.
But during that election, he campaigned in my state, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, more than any other in the country. And the promise he most often recited at every rally was, and these were his exact words, quote, "I will lower your costs on day one." Mr. Speaker, what an abject failure. This presidency and the rubber-stamp Republicans who enable him have pushed through an agenda that hasn't lowered costs for the American people.
It has only made things far more expensive. He started over a year ago with the Trump tariff taxes, a tax on most imported goods. On average, this has raised costs by about $1,800 a year for the American family. He then doubled down on that last summer, in July of last year, when the rubber-stamp Republicans passed and the president signed what he used to call the Big Beautiful Bill, which has become the Big Ugly Law for the American people.
That bill makes healthcare more expensive for the American people while cutting off their food assistance at a time that food prices are through the roof. And now here we are, after all of that, we have the Republican Reconciliation 3.0. Now, I think that both parties would agree -- in fact, the two presidential nominees two years ago happened to, a rare point of agreement, but they happened to agree -- that the number one issue on people's minds by far was the affordability crisis, that America had become too expensive.
Isn't it interesting, despite the fact that polls continue to show by an overwhelming majority that is the biggest issue that voters care about, we have in front of us the Republican Reconciliation 3.0, 47 pages, 6,560 words, not one word about affordability, not one word about how to bring down costs for the American people. Folks, they're not even trying.
We have a president who just doesn't care about the average American family and the affordability crisis. Don't take my word for it. Take the president's own words. Quote, "I don't think about Americans' financial situation." And this bill reflects that fact. We have in this bill almost $100 billion in new deficit spending.
Yes, that's right, the same crowd that loves to cry crocodile tears about deficit and debt whenever there's a president in the White House who's a Democrat. Cumulatively now, they have added $5 trillion to our national debt, more than any other 18-month period in the history of Congress, and they're about to add $100 billion more.
Most of that spending is for President Trump's Iran war, a reckless decision with absolutely no plan on how to achieve victory and how it would end. The American people have paid the price for President Trump's war. In terms of dollars and cents, just look at gas prices. The day before the war was launched, the national average for a gallon of gas was $2.98.
Today, it is over $4 a gallon and climbing. And here we have another reconciliation bill in front of us. Nothing in there whatsoever to bring down costs, nothing to lower gas prices, nothing to lower food prices, nothing to lower the cost of consumer goods, just more spending on the most unpopular war in American history.
That might sound like an exaggeration, a Trumpian exaggeration. No, it's a fact. Going back to the beginning of polling almost a century ago, there is no other war in American history in which the American people, by a more than two-to-one margin, disapprove over approve. Only 30 percent of the American people approve of what the president is doing in Iran.
It's no wonder. They are paying the cost. And of course, as expensive as it is for the American family, that doesn't measure up to the ultimate cost, those lives that we have lost already in this war. So, Mr. Speaker, it is quite clear from the president's own words and the written text of this bill, this president and the Republican majority has no plan whatsoever on how to bring costs down for the American people.
What's worse, they're not even trying.
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Original text here: https://democrats-budget.house.gov/news/press-releases/boyle-leads-floor-debate-against-republicans-america-last-budget
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Boyle Leads Floor Debate Against Republicans' "America Last" Budget
Today, Congressman Brendan F. Boyle (PA-02), Ranking Member of the House Budget Committee, led debate on the House floor against Republicans' "America Last" budget. Boyle slammed the budget resolution for wasting tens of billions of dollars on Trump's disastrous Iran war while doing nothing to lower costs for American families.
A new fact sheet on Republicans' "America ... Show Full Article WASHINGTON, July 24 -- Rep. Brendan Boyle, D-Pennsylvania, ranking member of the House Budget Committee, issued the following news release on July 22, 2026: * * * Boyle Leads Floor Debate Against Republicans' "America Last" Budget Today, Congressman Brendan F. Boyle (PA-02), Ranking Member of the House Budget Committee, led debate on the House floor against Republicans' "America Last" budget. Boyle slammed the budget resolution for wasting tens of billions of dollars on Trump's disastrous Iran war while doing nothing to lower costs for American families. A new fact sheet on Republicans' "AmericaLast" budget is available here (https://democrats-budget.house.gov/resources/fact-sheet/another-swing-and-miss-republican-budget-strike-30).
Remarks as delivered and video are below:
Ranking Member Boyle's remarks as delivered:
Mr. Speaker, as you may recall, two years ago in the election that my good friend, the chair, referenced, in which Donald Trump won a whopping landslide of one and a half points, one of the closest national popular votes in American history, for those keeping score.
But during that election, he campaigned in my state, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, more than any other in the country. And the promise he most often recited at every rally was, and these were his exact words, quote, "I will lower your costs on day one." Mr. Speaker, what an abject failure. This presidency and the rubber-stamp Republicans who enable him have pushed through an agenda that hasn't lowered costs for the American people.
It has only made things far more expensive. He started over a year ago with the Trump tariff taxes, a tax on most imported goods. On average, this has raised costs by about $1,800 a year for the American family. He then doubled down on that last summer, in July of last year, when the rubber-stamp Republicans passed and the president signed what he used to call the Big Beautiful Bill, which has become the Big Ugly Law for the American people.
That bill makes healthcare more expensive for the American people while cutting off their food assistance at a time that food prices are through the roof. And now here we are, after all of that, we have the Republican Reconciliation 3.0. Now, I think that both parties would agree -- in fact, the two presidential nominees two years ago happened to, a rare point of agreement, but they happened to agree -- that the number one issue on people's minds by far was the affordability crisis, that America had become too expensive.
Isn't it interesting, despite the fact that polls continue to show by an overwhelming majority that is the biggest issue that voters care about, we have in front of us the Republican Reconciliation 3.0, 47 pages, 6,560 words, not one word about affordability, not one word about how to bring down costs for the American people. Folks, they're not even trying.
We have a president who just doesn't care about the average American family and the affordability crisis. Don't take my word for it. Take the president's own words. Quote, "I don't think about Americans' financial situation." And this bill reflects that fact. We have in this bill almost $100 billion in new deficit spending.
Yes, that's right, the same crowd that loves to cry crocodile tears about deficit and debt whenever there's a president in the White House who's a Democrat. Cumulatively now, they have added $5 trillion to our national debt, more than any other 18-month period in the history of Congress, and they're about to add $100 billion more.
Most of that spending is for President Trump's Iran war, a reckless decision with absolutely no plan on how to achieve victory and how it would end. The American people have paid the price for President Trump's war. In terms of dollars and cents, just look at gas prices. The day before the war was launched, the national average for a gallon of gas was $2.98.
Today, it is over $4 a gallon and climbing. And here we have another reconciliation bill in front of us. Nothing in there whatsoever to bring down costs, nothing to lower gas prices, nothing to lower food prices, nothing to lower the cost of consumer goods, just more spending on the most unpopular war in American history.
That might sound like an exaggeration, a Trumpian exaggeration. No, it's a fact. Going back to the beginning of polling almost a century ago, there is no other war in American history in which the American people, by a more than two-to-one margin, disapprove over approve. Only 30 percent of the American people approve of what the president is doing in Iran.
It's no wonder. They are paying the cost. And of course, as expensive as it is for the American family, that doesn't measure up to the ultimate cost, those lives that we have lost already in this war. So, Mr. Speaker, it is quite clear from the president's own words and the written text of this bill, this president and the Republican majority has no plan whatsoever on how to bring costs down for the American people.
What's worse, they're not even trying.
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Original text here: https://democrats-budget.house.gov/news/press-releases/boyle-leads-floor-debate-against-republicans-america-last-budget