Congresswoman Tenney Votes to Keep Government Open as Congress Works to Complete Full-Year Appropriations

Oswego, NY — Congresswoman Claudia Tenney (NY-24) today voted in favor of the Continuing Appropriations and Extensions Act, 2027, to keep the federal government open through December 11, 2026, while Congress continues its work to complete the Fiscal Year 2027 appropriations process.

The Continuing Appropriations and Extensions Act maintains federal funding at Fiscal Year 2026 levels through December 11, 2026, or until full year appropriations are enacted, whichever comes first. The legislation also prevents the expiration of important programs and authorities supporting veterans, agriculture, cybersecurity, transportation, flood insurance, and other federal priorities. The measure extends numerous veterans programs, including authorities supporting health care, suicide prevention, rural mental health care, family caregivers, housing assistance, and services for homeless and disabled veterans.

“Shutting down the federal government would disrupt essential services Americans rely on and distract Congress from the important work of advancing responsible, full-year appropriations,” said Congresswoman Tenney. “This short-term measure keeps the government open, maintains funding for programs serving our veterans and communities, ensures our servicemembers continue to be paid, and gives Congress additional time to finish its work. I remain committed to advancing responsible spending bills that protect taxpayers, strengthen our national security, and hold the federal government accountable to the American people.”


Congressman Tim Moore Votes to Extend Government Funding, Avert Shutdown

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, the U.S. House passed H.R. 6500, the Continuing Appropriations Act, 2027, to continue federal funding through December 11, 2026. This legislation prevents a September 30, 2026 government shutdown while allowing Congress to continue working on the full-year FY2027 appropriations bills.

"I'm proud to support this clean, straightforward continuing resolution that protects Americans from the costs of a shutdown and ensures election-year politics don't jeopardize the funding process," said Congressman Moore. "This short-term measure prevents a last-minute funding crisis, guards the critical services Americans rely on, and preserves the path to completing full-year FY27 appropriations without allowing political games to dictate the process."

This legislation continues programs at the funding rates and under the conditions established in the FY2026 appropriations laws. It also preserves funding authority for FEMA disaster relief and continues programs such as WIC, SNAP, flood insurance, small-business lending, and assistance for low-income families.

H.R. 6500 now advances to President Trump’s desk to be signed into law.


Rep. Dina Titus Secures Victory on Boulder City Data Center

Congresswoman Dina Titus today applauded a decision by the Interior Department’s Board of Land Appeals to halt development of a data center on federal land adjacent to Boulder City.

“The judge ruled for transparency and public accountability in granting a stay based on the BLM’s misuse of an environmental impact statement for a solar farm as justification for a data center. The two are vastly different.” Congresswoman Titus said. “I’ve said since day one that this was not only improper but illegal.”

Congresswoman Titus was the first public official to criticize BLM's rubber stamp of approval, sending a letter to the BLM in early July stating, “Residents of Boulder City and other communities in Southern Nevada have a right to know about any proposal to transfer federal land to data center developers. Data centers potentially can affect our scant water resources, energy usage, and the overall environment. The BLM allowed a private developer to switch from developing a solar farm on city-owned land in Boulder City to building a data center on adjacent federal land without any public review. This is unacceptable.”

Boulder City and several environmental groups filed an appeal with the Interior Department’s Board of Land Appeals. The proposed data center project would be the first data center built on BLM land, setting a precedent for how data center decisions will proceed across Nevada and the Western United States. There are currently 76 built or planned data centers in the Silver State.

Administrative Judge David Gunter wrote in granting the stay, "Appellants have made a persuasive showing that BLM violated NEPA and acted arbitrarily or capriciously when it determined that the data center project is 'substantially the same' as the solar plant project for purposes of its NEPA analysis."


Rep. Tlaib votes against funding bill

WASHINGTON – U.S. Rep. Rashida Tlaib (MI-12) released the following statement after voting against the Continuing Resolution to fund the Trump administration’s war and inhumane deportation agenda:

“I refuse to give another dime toward Trump’s reckless war and racist mass deportations. While this wannabe dictator claims there’s no money for healthcare, food assistance, or Social Security, he has no issue funding endless wars, genocide and DHS’s violent deportation machine. Our residents are burdened by skyrocketing gas prices and terrorized by ICE agents, but Congress keeps pushing more money to our already over-inflated defense and DHS budgets. Congress and this administration’s priorities are severely out of touch.”

The Continuing Resolution includes $839.2 billion for the Department of Defense, $8.4 billion more than the DOD requested. The recently passed funding bill also gives another $11 billion to the U.S. Customs and Border Protection for marine vessels, drones, and vehicles for law enforcement.


Representative Derek Tran Issues Statement Following House Refusal To Condemn The Communist Regime Of Vietnam

WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Representative Derek Tran (CA-45) issued the following statement after the House of Representatives voted onHouse Resolution 1490:

“As the son of Vietnamese refugees, the atrocities committed under the communist regime of Vietnam remain incredibly personal to me and to the diaspora I represent in Orange County. That is why today I voted against House Resolution 1490, legislation that yet again purports to denounce socialism and yet makes no mention of the suffering our community experienced under the communist regime of Vietnam.

Once again, House Republicans refused to advance an amendment I introduced to acknowledge the economic devastation, flight of hundreds of thousands of refugees by boat, and reeducation camps that imprisoned over a million people following the fall of Saigon. I am deeply disappointed that this is the second attempt in less than a year by House Republicans to divide our community through a toothless resolution that does not confront the true, brutal reality that our families lived through.

As a Member of Congress, I have been unafraid to stand against communist and socialist governments that flagrantly violate human rights. I’ve pressured the Trump Administration to demand the release of prisoners of conscience, including Le Huu Minh Tuan. And I have fought to uplift the stories of the Vietnamese diaspora so that the communist regime cannot erase its atrocities.

What’s more, House Republicans used this resolution to call for the enactment of the SAVE America Act, a bill that erodes our democracy through dangerous voter suppression measures. It places onerous requirements on service members abroad seeking to cast their ballot, and would prevent millions of U.S. citizens from voting. Rather than prioritizing the urgent challenges facing our country, House Republicans are focused on passing a resolution that seeks to limit Americans’ constitutional rights.

I am focused on delivering results for our community, not political games designed to divide us. My work countering the scourge of communism and defending our democracy is too important to be reduced to a hyper-partisan exercise.”

Tran introduced an amendment to H. Res. 1940 that would acknowledge the atrocities of the Vietnamese communist regime. Following a meeting of the House Rules Committee, the amendment was rejected by House Republican leadership.

As the son of Vietnamese refugees and the first Vietnamese American elected to represent the world’s largest Vietnamese diaspora in Congress, Representative Tran is committed to uplifting and representing the Vietnamese community on the national stage. In an April 2026 letter to General Secretary Tô Lâm, Representative Tran demanded to visit prisoners of conscience imprisoned by the Socialist Republic of Vietnam to monitor their well-being. Tran introduced a congressional resolution to formally mark April 30, 2026, as the 51st anniversary of Black April. In April 2025, Congressman Tran held a roundtable with Vietnamese human rights activists and former prisoners of conscience to uplift their firsthand accounts of the oppression they faced at the hands of the Vietnamese government. Tran, a vocal advocate for advancing human rights in Vietnam, co-led H.R. 3122, the bipartisan Vietnam Human Rights Act, to hold Vietnamese communist officials accountable for human rights abuses and establish human rights and fair-trade priorities for U.S.-Vietnam relations.

Representative Tran serves as the official sponsor of Le Huu Minh Tuan, a Vietnamese journalist who was wrongfully imprisoned by the communist government, through the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission’s Defending Freedoms Project, and continues to fight for the release of prisoners of conscience around the world. As his sponsor, Representative Tran wrote to Secretary of State Marco Rubio requesting immediate assistance in ensuring Le Huu Minh Tuan’s freedom.

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Representative Tran Issues Statement on CR Vote to Fund the Government through December 11

WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Representative Derek Tran (CA-45) issued the following statement after voting in favor of H.R. 6500, the Continuing Appropriations and Extensions Act, 2027, which will fund federal agencies through December 11, 2026:

“Today, I voted in favor of a continuing resolution to keep the government open through December 11. While this CR includes important safeguards — blocking the Administration from diverting funds to Border Patrol and halting a rule that would let political appointees interfere with grant decisions using taxpayer money — it is only a temporary fix. Congress must come together on a bipartisan basis to rein in the corruption, provide meaningful oversight, and ensure these agencies are truly focused on violent criminals instead of targeting and separating law-abiding families. I am determined to work with my colleagues across party lines to deliver a funding package that holds immigration enforcement accountable and keeps our Southern California communities safe,” said Representative Tran.

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Underwood Condemns Prime Healthcare Putting Profits Over Parents

JOLIET – Today, Representative Lauren Underwood released the following the statement after meeting with leadership at Prime Healthcare:

“Illinois deserves better than what Prime Healthcare is offering.

Six weeks ago, I requested a meeting with Prime leadership after reading news reports they were discontinuing inpatient pediatric services at Saint Joseph Medical Center in Joliet. After our initial request for a meeting was sent on July 22, Prime delayed several times in finding a time that worked for their leadership team, but finally agreed to schedule the meeting for September 1 at 11 a.m. CT.

At 11:00 a.m. today exactly, as our meeting started, Prime sent news outlets a press release announcing further closures to units that provide essential maternal health care, including obstetrics services at Saint Joseph and in Aurora at Mercy Medical. They were unable to provide substantive answers on the Saint Joseph pediatric closure – the topic I had requested the meeting to discuss – instead steering the discussion to the obstetrics closure announcements being made in real time. Then, 23 minutes into the meeting, we received an email from Prime with materials attempting to justify the obstetrics closures. This is not how a company with nothing to hide operates. I believe my community deserves to see that email, so I’m releasing it publicly here.

Based on my conversation with them today, Prime does not appear to have adequately prepared for the speedy closures announced this morning, which are targeted for October 1. They have made no plans to help moms who will have to travel for care access transportation, or even any efforts to understand how this decision will affect their health. Prime’s justification for the decision hinges on Silver Cross Hospital taking on St. Joseph patients, and Edward Hospital taking on Mercy Medical patients, but Prime confirmed in our meeting today that at least one of those transfer agreements isn’t even in place. This carelessness puts moms and babies in our community at risk.

As a nurse and founder of the Black Maternal Health Caucus, I’m especially concerned about the impact these closures will have on communities of color across Illinois. Prime’s assertion that consolidating obstetric care in the city of Chicago is somehow “addressing maternal health disparities” the families in Joliet and Aurora face is detached from reality. One in three Illinois counties is already a maternity care desert, and our moms need more support and convenient care, not less.

Unfortunately, these latest developments are consistent with the pattern of revenue-focused decisions and broken promises our community has witnessed since Prime announced its acquisition of the nonprofit Ascension system in 2024. The Illinois Health Facilities and Services Review Board can still stop these closures, and I hope the State will take quick action to preserve access to obstetric and inpatient pediatric care in the areas affected. Our country’s broken system is already on the brink of collapse after Donald Trump signed the biggest healthcare cuts in American history into law last year, and further closures will be devastating for Illinois families.”

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Rep. Gabe Vasquez Takes to Capitol Steps to Demand Real Stock Trading Ban Gets a Vote to Crack Down on Corruption

WASHINGTON, D.C. – On September 1, 2026, U.S. Representative Gabe Vasquez (NM-02) and U.S. Representative Seth Magaziner (RI-02), and other Democratic members from across the country made it clear that the stock trading ban battle is far from over in the House, re-upping their demand that Speaker Johnson bring a stronger stock trading ban bill — the Restore Trust in Government Act — up for a vote immediately.

The Restore Trust in Government Act would prohibit presidents, vice presidents, Members of Congress, and their families and trustees from owning and trading individual stocks. It would also require Members of Congress to divest from all assets covered under the bill within six months of the bill becoming law.

During the press conference, Rep. Vasquez and others called out egregious examples of member trading from both sides of the aisle and outlined why the Stop Insider Trading Act, which is currently languishing in the Senate, is a sham bill that does not go far enough to truly clamp down on corruption in Congress.

Some of these examples include:

Since January 2025 alone, members of Congress have made millions off of insider trading on individual stocks — individual stocks whose values are directly tied to decisions made by Congress.

The top five offenders — which included a fair number of Democrats — traded $329.3 million worth of individual stocks this Congress alone.

The President: since January 2025, President Trump has traded an estimated $2.5 billion in individual stocks and securities — that’s more than all members of Congress combined.

“The American people are sick of the self-enrichment, the wheeling and dealing, and the billions of dollars being harvested in this Administration, as members of Congress and others abuse their power to make themselves wealthier,” said Vasquez in his remarks. “Yet, the hardworking men and women of this country still wake up every single day, make it to their job on time, and do an honest day’s work, often juggling two jobs just to get by in this rigged economy. They scrape by, only to get sick, injured, or fall behind on a car or mortgage payment, before they’re underwater and making choices no Americans should have to make — rationing their medicine, going without healthcare, buying less food, and going bankrupt.”

“I personally don’t own or trade individual stocks. I didn’t come to Congress rich. I am lucky to have what I have and I’ve worked damn hard for it. And I find it disgusting that while hardworking families in states like New Mexico are working paycheck to paycheck, members of Congress sit in this building, vote on laws that impact the stock market, and then turn around and trade the very companies and industries that they’re legislating,” added Vasquez. “The people have had enough. If you serve this body or this administration, you should make a choice to use your privilege and power to make Americans lives better, not make yourself wealthier. ”

Rep. Vasquez is one of the few members of Congress who does not own or trade individual stocks. This latest push to pass a real stock trading ban for Congress builds on Rep. Vasquez’s long record of working to hold Washington accountable and fight corruption:

Championed the TRUST in Congress Act and the Restore Trust in Congress Act to ban stock trading for Members of Congress.

Called for a vote on H.R. 1908, the End Congressional Stock Trading Act, a bill introduced by Rep. Luna (R-FL) to ban members, their spouse or dependent children from buying stocks and increasing notice requirements.

Cosponsored thePublic Integrity in Financial Prediction Markets Act to ban public officials and federal employees from insider trading on prediction markets.

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Vindman Votes to Keep Government Open, Federal Employees Paid

Vindman Calls on Legislators to Sell Their Stocks or Step Down to Restore Public Trust and Ensure Politicians Pay Their Fair Share

Congressman Vindman Voluntarily Sold His Own Individual Stock Holdings Before Being Sworn into Congress...

Vindman Meets with Leaders from Fredericksburg Health Care Center, Productive Discussion on How to Decrease Wait Times

Fredericksburg, Va. — On Monday, August 24, immediately following a roundtable with...

Vindman Hears from the Virginians on the Merger Between Dominion Energy and NextEra Energy, 80% are Opposed

Washington, D.C. — Congressman Eugene Vindman (Va.-07) heard from more...

Vindman Applauds Over $69 THOUSAND in Federal Funding to Strengthen Public Safety, Ensure Access to Justice for Virginians

Washington, D.C. — Congressman Eugene Vindman (Va.-07) today celebrated that the U.S. Department of...

Vindman Applauds Implementation of His Hard-Fought Efforts to Help Kids Focus at School, DoDEA Bans Cellphone Use in the Classroom

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Congressman Eugene Vindman (Va.-07) applauded the implementation...

Vindman Announces Thousands of Dollars in Funding to Support Law Enforcement and Strengthen Public Safety

Washington, D.C. — Congressman Eugene Vindman (Va.-07) today celebrated the U.S. Department of Justice’s (DOJ)...

Vindman Applauds Over 2 MILLION in Federal Funding to Strengthen Head Start Programs in Caroline and Spotsylvania County

Washington, D.C. — Congressman Eugene Vindman (Va.-07) today celebrated that the U.S. Department of Health and...

Vindman Announces New Legislative Efforts to Tackle Corruption, Lower Utility Costs for Virginians

Washington, D.C. — Congressman Eugene Vindman (Va.-07) — introduced two pieces of...

Vindman Highlights Virginia Agriculture During Five-Stop Farm Tour

Culpeper, Va. — On Wednesday, August 5, Congressman Eugene Vindman (Va.-07), the only Virginian on...


Subcommittee Advances Walberg's Legislation to Accelerate Broadband Deployment

Today, the House Committee on Energy and Commerce's Subcommittee on Communications and Technology advanced the Proper Leadership to Align Networks (PLAN) for Broadband Act. The legislation, introduced by Congressmen Tim Walberg (R-MI) and Scott Peters (D-CA), would implement a national strategy to accelerate the deployment of critical broadband infrastructure across the country.

"As co-chair of the Congressional Rural Broadband Caucus, I understand how current gaps in broadband coverage affect opportunities for families, students, and small businesses," said Rep. Walberg. "The lack of a national broadband strategy has led to duplicative and wasteful efforts that delay the deployment of high-speed broadband across the nation. The PLAN for Broadband Act would increase coordination among all relevant agencies to streamline permitting, identify barriers to deployment, and ensure we can improve connectivity for rural communities. I am glad to see the subcommittee advance this vital legislation so we can bridge the digital divide."

Background

The PLAN for Broadband Act is based upon a Government Accountability Office report that found that federal broadband efforts are oftentimes fragmented and duplicative. While enough federal funding exists to bridge the digital divide, a national broadband strategy is needed to avoid duplicative efforts and ensure that funds are available to reach the truly unserved and underserved areas. The PLAN for Broadband Act would require the Administration to develop and implement a national strategy to close the digital divide.


Walberg Votes to Condemn the Horrors of Socialism

Today, Congressman Tim Walberg (MI-05) voted in favor of H.Res.1490, a resolution he cosponsored to condemn socialism in all its forms and the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA). The resolution also condemns specific DSA policies, including allowing noncitizens to vote in American elections, and pledges to protect Americans’ right to vote. The resolution passed with 192 Democrats voting in opposition.

"Over the past few years, Michigan and the United States as a whole have seen a concerning rise in support for the destructive policies of socialism and leaders who seek to replace freedom with government control," said Rep. Walberg. "From defunding the police to allowing noncitizens to vote in U.S. elections and seizing ownership of private corporations, the dangerous policies being pushed by the Democratic Socialists of America seek to undermine the very principles that have carried our nation through 250 years of freedom, ingenuity, and opportunity. America will not survive another 250 years by turning to extreme ideologies that have destroyed every society in history that they touched. We must reject these attempts and preserve the rights and freedoms of hardworking Michigan families."

You may view a video of Congressman Walberg speaking on the House floor in support of the resolution here.


Walberg Votes to Keep the Government Open and Prevent Another Democrat Shutdown

Today, Congressman Tim Walberg (MI-05) voted in favor of, and the House passed, the Senate Amendment to H.R. 6500, the Continuing Appropriations Act of 2027. The legislation would continue federal funding through December 11, 2026, while Congress completes work on the full-year fiscal year 2027 appropriations bills.

"Senate Democrats have refused to advance a single fiscal year 2027 appropriations bill, abandoning regular order and jeopardizing the funding process," said Rep. Walberg. "House Republicans will not allow the obstruction of Senate Democrats to trigger another government shutdown. This clean, short-term continuing resolution will keep the government open, providing stability for hardworking Michigan families while Congress continues to complete the appropriations process."

Background

House Republicans have advanced all 12 bills for fiscal year 2027 funding out of the House Appropriations Committee, including 3 that have passed the House with bipartisan support. However, Senate Democrats have refused to advance a single appropriations bill ahead of the September 30 funding deadline.


Walkinshaw Statement on Reports That USPS Defied Court Order in Implementing Trump Mail Voting Order

Washington, D.C. – Today, Congressman James R. Walkinshaw (VA-11), a Member of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, issued the following statement.

“The United States Postal Service appears to have defied a court order and moved forward with a 'slapdash' implementation of Trump’s Executive Order.

Postmaster General David Steiner has made a grave mistake in allowing USPS to become a partisan tool.”

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Rep. Watson Coleman Statement on Passage of Continuing Resolution

Congresswoman Bonnie Watson Coleman (NJ-12), a member of the Appropriations Committee, issued the following statement after her vote to pass a continuing resolution to fund the government through December 11, 2026.

“Today’s passage of this continuing resolution pushes the government funding deadline to December 11th. While keeping the government open and functioning is important, I’m disappointed in the Republicans in the House who have thus far failed to seek bipartisan agreements with Democrats on eleven of the twelve appropriations bills.

“Continuing resolutions are not a long-term solution and deny the people their due representation. I hope that we can return to the negotiating table and produce real funding bills that meet the needs of the American people and rein in the abuses of the Trump Administration.”


Rep. Weber’s Bipartisan PACK Act Advances Through E&C Subcommittee as Momentum Builds

Washington, D.C. - Today, the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing, and Trade (CMT) advanced Congressman Randy Weber’s (TX-14) bipartisan Packaging and Claims Knowledge (PACK) Act (H.R. 6832) to the full Energy and Commerce Committee.

The PACK Act establishes a uniform federal framework governing recyclable, compostable, and reusable claims on consumer product packaging, replacing the growing patchwork of conflicting state requirements that raises costs, complicates interstate commerce, and creates confusion for consumers.

“Whether you’re making a product, stocking a grocery store, or trying to figure out what in the world a label even means, you shouldn’t need fifty different rulebooks,” said Congressman Weber. “The PACK Act cuts through the confusion and brings some good old-fashioned common sense back to the process. If a business chooses to make a recyclable, compostable, or reusable claim, they should have one clear, voluntary federal framework to follow, not a regulatory maze that changes from state to state. That means more certainty for businesses, clearer information for consumers, and fewer costs passed down to hardworking families. The momentum is building, and we’re going to keep pushing until we get this across the finish line.”

During today’s markup, the Subcommittee adopted an amendment in the nature of a substitute offered by Congressman Russ Fulcher (ID-01), a cosponsor of the legislation. The amendment further clarified the role of Federal Trade Commission guidance and established minimum requirements for third-party certifications and certification bodies.

"It ends the confusion consumers face when going to the store and seeing different and conflicting environmental claims about the goods they buy and the resultant lower costs for goods and families," said Congressman Fulcher. "I'm proud to co-sponsor this bipartisan bill, along with my friend Mr. Weber of Texas, who I want to thank for his leadership on it."

The legislation has earned support from a broad coalition of manufacturers, retailers, consumer product companies, and trade associations. In a letter to the CMT Subcommittee ahead of the markup, the PACK Act Coalition wrote, “By reducing consumer confusion and enabling informed choices, we believe the PACK Act will promote proper management of packaging materials at end-of-life, diverting them from landfills and advancing a circular economy.”

The coalition includes the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, National Association of Manufacturers, Consumer Brands Association, American Beverage Association, Consumer Technology Association, General Mills, Kraft Heinz, PepsiCo, Nestlé USA, Keurig Dr Pepper, McCormick & Company, and dozens of additional organizations and companies.


Rep. Wilson Votes ‘YES’ to Keep the Government Funded, Protect Critical Programs, and Lower Costs

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Congresswoman Frederica S. Wilson (FL-24) released the following statement after voting for the bipartisan continuing resolution to fund the government through December 11.

“Today, I voted ‘YES’ to keep our government open and protect the vital services families across South Florida depend on. With the cost of living already stretching household budgets, hardworking Americans should not suffer because of dysfunction.

“This bipartisan bill protects critical housing, nutrition, healthcare, veterans, and infrastructure programs while temporarily blocking the Trump administration’s reckless attempt to politicize federal grants.

“Now, Congress must finish the job and pass full-year funding bills that lower costs, protect our communities, and put people first.”

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Congressman Wittman Releases Statement on Voting for Continuing Appropriations and Extensions Act

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Congressman Rob Wittman (VA-01) voted in favor of the Continuing Appropriations and Extensions Act of 2027, which will fund the federal government through December 11, 2026, avoiding a government shutdown.

“Today, I voted in favor of the Continuing Appropriations and Extensions Act of 2027 – a bipartisan continuing resolution that will fund the government through December 11th,” said Rep Wittman. “It’s important to keep the government open so that Americans continue to receive critical services and our troops continue to receive a paycheck, but we can’t keep kicking the can down the road. What we need is a return to regular order — passing each appropriations bill individually so that we can eliminate wasteful government spending, streamline programs, and address the national debt. I am grateful that my vote today helped avoid another costly government shutdown, but I will continue my push to hold Members of Congress accountable for our broken budget process.”

Congressman Wittman has consistently introduced numerous pieces of legislation to hold Members of Congress accountable for the budget process.

● No Budget, No Pay Act: Withholds members’ pay until a budget is passed.

● Stay on Schedule Resolution: Requires the House to stay in session through August instead of taking a month-long recess if all government funding bills are not passed by the end of July.

● Inaction Has Consequences Act: Withholds Member pay if all 12 government funding bills are not passed by the end of the fiscal year.


Womack Votes to Fund Government, Prevent End of Fiscal Year Shutdown

WASHINGTON, D.C.—September 1, 2026…Congressman Steve Womack (AR-3) today voted in support of the Senate Amendments to H.R. 6500–The Continuing Appropriations Act, 2027. This continuing resolution funds the federal government through December 11, 2026.

Congressman Womack said, “While Congress should always prioritize passing full-year appropriations before the fiscal year ends, another government shutdown would be far worse for the American people. But let’s be clear about what happens next: We cannot allow this additional time to pass only to end up in the same situation. Congress must make progress towards funding agreements that can be approved by both chambers and signed into law, providing American taxpayers a functioning government.”

The bill text is available HERE.

Congressman Steve Womack (AR-3) has represented Arkansas’s Third Congressional District since 2011. He is a member of the House Appropriations Committee.

womack.house.gov

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Blumenthal Blasts ICE Tactics; Demands Accountability from DHS After Surge Targeting Connecticut Residents at Schools, Workplaces

[WASHINGTON, DC] – Today, U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) wrote Secretary of Homeland Security Markwayne Mullin and the Acting Director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) David Venturella requesting a meeting and demanding information about a dramatic increase in immigration enforcement activity in Connecticut over the last several weeks. The surge has focused on Danbury and nearby towns, where people have been targeted dropping their children off at school and going to work.

“Over the past week, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (“ICE”) agents have sown fear and panic among parents, children, and workers as they detained scores of people in Danbury and other towns in Connecticut. What should have been a time of excitement and community as children in Connecticut return to school has quickly turned into a time of genuine terror,” Blumenthal wrote.

“ICE’s actions in Connecticut showcased cruelty and brutality, as well as disregard for the safety and well-being of community members, especially children. They fostered an environment of fear that will undoubtedly impact school attendance rates and the emotional health of students, generally.”

As Ranking Member of the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, Blumenthal has led an investigation into DHS’s abuses. Over the last year, Blumenthal and U.S. Representative Robert Garcia (D-CA), Ranking Member of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, have hosted four public forums as part of their ongoing inquiry into the lawless and abusive tactics used by federal immigration agents:

In March, Blumenthal and Garcia hosted a forum to receive public testimony from young people, mothers, and a school administrator about DHS’s reckless disregard for the safety of children. Prior to the forum, Blumenthal and Garcia released a report entitled “Cruelty is the Point: How Trump’s Immigration Agenda Endangers Children,” which documented 128 children who have been injured left unattended or otherwise put at direct risk of harm as a result of operations by DHS personnel.

In February, Blumenthal and Garica hosted a public forum on constitutional violations and abuses by ICE. The forum featured testimony from Ryan Schwank, a whistleblower who spoke publicly for the first time about his experience as an Instructor for the incoming “surge” of new ICE recruits at the ICE Academy at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center (“FLETC”) in Glynco, Georgia. Teyana Gibson Brown, a U.S. citizen and resident of Minneapolis, Minnesota, also testified about ICE agents forcefully entering her home without a judicial warrant, breaking down her door and pointing guns at her family. Stevan Bunnell, the General Counsel for the Department of Homeland Security from 2013 to 2017, testified as well.

Also in February, Blumenthal and Garcia hosted a forum to receive testimony on the violent tactics and disproportionate use of force by DHS agents. The forum featured testimony from Brent and Luke Ganger, brothers of Renee Nicole Macklin Good, and Antonio Romanucci, the attorney representing their family; Marimar Martinez, Aliya Rahman, and Martin Daniel Rascon, all of whom were violently assaulted by DHS agents; and Seth Stoughton, a former police officer and Professor at the University of South Carolina School of Law.

In December, Blumenthal and Garcia received testimony from five U.S. citizens who were assaulted, detained, and denied their constitutional rights by DHS agents. The forum featured testimony from Americans across the country: Wilmer Chavarria, from Vermont; Dayanne Figueroa, from Illinois; Javier Ramirez, from California; George Retes, from California; and Andrea Velez, from California.

The full text of Blumenthal’s letter is available here and copied below.

Dear Secretary Mulin and Acting Director Venturella:

Over the past week, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (“ICE”) agents have sown fear and panic among parents, children, and workers as they detained scores of people in Danbury and other towns in Connecticut. What should have been a time of excitement and community as children in Connecticut return to school has quickly turned into a time of genuine terror. In just a few days, individuals in Connecticut have been apprehended by masked agents in locations that children frequent such as parks, near an elementary school, and outside a daycare center in Danbury.[1] In one instance, an ICE agent detained a father who walked his child to a bus stop.[2] In another, ICE agents threatened to pepper spray a man detained in front of a preschool.[3] ICE’s actions in Connecticut showcased cruelty and brutality, as well as disregard for the safety and well-being of community members, especially children. They fostered an environment of fear that will undoubtedly impact school attendance rates and the emotional health of students, generally.

To date, reports indicate nearly 100 individuals have been arrested[4] but there are likely significantly more—many likely have legal status and no apparent serious criminal history. However, ICE has not released any information about them.[5] National trends indicate that ICE has arrested more immigrants without a criminal conviction this summer than at any other point since President Trump returned to office.[6] There is no reason to believe Connecticut is an exception. Indeed, nationwide reporting indicates that this surge in enforcement in Connecticut follows similar increases in ICE enforcement across the country, which have led to the arrests of 49,000 individuals in July alone.[7] Analysis of recent ICE arrests demonstrates that, in 10 states, “arrests of people who don’t have criminal records increased by 50 percent between last year and this year.”[8]

The Trump Administration committed to arresting “the worst of the worst,” but the facts show just the opposite. The senselessness of ICE’s recent surge in enforcement activity is compounded by ICE’s troubling track record of excessive use of force and unlawful behavior. Despite a change in leadership at the Department of Homeland Security (“DHS”) and at ICE, tragedy continues to follow surges in ICE enforcement, as evidenced by recent and tragic killings in Texas and Maine.[9]

The Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations has investigated abuses by DHS immigration officials for well over a year.[10] The Subcommittee has documented unlawful and egregious actions by ICE including the detention of United States citizens;[11] deployment of tear gas and pepper spray against children;[12] 128 children injured, left unattended, or otherwise put in direct risk of harm;[13] and extreme use of physical force such as using a battering ram to knock down a door while children were present inside a home.[14] As ICE continues to acquire dangerous equipment and technology, such as electric shock gloves that act as hand tasers,[15] I am deeply alarmed at the possibility of a future scenario in which such equipment is deployed to cause further harm.

As the deployment of ICE agents to America’s communities continues to surge and place community members at risk, including deployments similar to those seen in Connecticut, I demand answers to the following requests for information by September 11, 2026:

Does the Department of Homeland Security and/or the White House currently have a quota system in place for daily or monthly arrests of immigrants that must be met?

If so, what is that quota?

Please list the individuals detained in Connecticut disaggregated by name, age, criminal conviction, if any; applicable warrant, if any; and location of arrest;

Please indicate whether any detained individuals in Connecticut were U.S. Citizens or held any other legal status;

Please indicate whether any detained individuals in Connecticut were injured during the course of ICE’s operations;

If so, list the injury and the geographical location where the injury was sustained.

Has DHS or ICE received any complaints, formal or otherwise, against ICE agents for use of force during operations in Connecticut or in any other state since January 1, 2026?

If so, please provide documentation for each complaint, including the date, location, agent name, DHS component, and allegations against the agent; the process DHS took to impartially review each complaint; and any disciplinary action taken in response to such complaint.

Please indicate whether ICE agents involved in operations in Connecticut are wearing and operating body worn cameras during the entirety of their actions apprehending and taking into custody Connecticut residents;

Please indicate whether ICE agents involved in operations nationwide are wearing and using body worn cameras during the entirety of their operations;

Please indicate how ICE is identifying and targeting individuals for arrest in Connecticut.

I further request that you send a representative to meet with me and respond to these questions and others in my Hartford office sometime this week, or by September 11, 2026. Please contact the Subcommittee should you have any questions about responding to these requests.

Thank you for your attention to this matter.

-30-

[1] Ryan J. Foley & Russ Bynum, ICE Operation in Connecticut Highlights How Arrests are Rising Even in Blue States, AP News, (Aug. 27, 2026), https://apnews.com/article/dhs-ice-connecticut-danbury-arrests-immigration-d8695bbb883591669accaf266e8bb6a9.

[2] Id.

[3] Joshua Eaton, ICE Reportedly Arrested Nearly 100 People Across Connecticut This Week: What We Know and Don’t Know, CT Insider, (Aug. 29, 2026), https://www.ctinsider.com/news/article/ice-arrests-danbury-bridgeport-22408246.php.

[4] Id.

[5] Id.

[6] Albert Sun & Allison McCann, ICE Arrests Soar as People With No Criminal Record Are Increasingly Targeted, N.Y. Times, (Aug. 27, 2026), https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2026/08/27/us/ice-immigrant-arrests-trump-deportation-dhs.html.

[7] Id.

[8] David Nakamura & Emmanuel Martinez, How ICE is arresting soaring numbers of immigrants with no criminal record, Wash. Post, (Aug. 28, 2026), https://www.washingtonpost.com/immigration/2026/08/28/how-ice-arrests-immigrants-with-no-criminal-record-are-soaring-under-trump/.

[9] Letter from Sen. Blumenthal to Secretary Mullin (July 16, 2026), https://www.hsgac.senate.gov/wp-content/uploads/2026.07.16-Blumenthal-and-Garcia-to-Mullin-1.pdf.

[10] Letter from Sen. Blumenthal to Acting Director Todd Lyons, (Aug. 26, 2026), https://www.hsgac.senate.gov/wp-content/uploads/2025-08-26-Letter-from-Sen.-Blumenthal-to-ICE.pdf.

[11] See S. Minority Staff of S. Permanent Subcomm. on Investigations, 119th Cong., Unchecked Authority: Examining the Trump Administration’s Extrajudicial Immigration Detentions of U.S. Citizens (Dec. 9, 2025), https://www.hsgac.senate.gov/wp-content/uploads/2025.12.8_ICE-Report-revised-FINAL.pdf

[12] See S. Minority Staff of S. Permanent Subcomm. on Investigations and H. Minority Staff of H.Comm on Oversight and Gov. Reform, 119th Cong., Cruelty is the Point: How Trump’s Immigration Agenda Endangers Children (2026), https://www.hsgac.senate.gov/wp-content/uploads/03-24-2026-PSIOversight-Report-re.-DHS-Harm-to-Children.pdf.

[13] Id.

[14] Testimony of Teyana Gibson Brown, Public Forum: Our Values at Stake (Part III): Terrorizing communities without warrants and no restraint, 119th Cong., (Feb. 23, 2026), https://www.blumenthal.senate.gov/newsroom/press/release/blumenthal-and-robert-garcia-receive-testimony-about-ice-abuses-from-whistleblower-us-citizen-whose-rights-were-violated_former-top-lawyer-at-dhs.

[15] Letter from Sens. Blumenthal, Booker, and Padilla to Secretary Mullin and Acting Director Venturella, (Aug 27, 2026), https://www.booker.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/final-booker_letter_to_dhs_ice_re_shock_glovespdf.pdf.


Following New Whistleblower Disclosure, Blumenthal Demands USPS Provide Documents, Answers About "Shit Show" Process to Screen Ballots & Potentially Catastrophic Impact on Mail-In Voting

[WASHINGTON, DC] – After receiving information from a whistleblower, U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Ranking Member of the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations (PSI), wrote Postmaster General David Steiner demanding answers and documents about the United States Postal Service’s (USPS) rushed and potentially unlawful implementation of President Trump’s Executive Order seeking to restrict mail-in voting.

“This brave whistleblower has come forward with disturbing details about USPS’ seemingly illegal plot to interfere in November’s midterms,” Blumenthal said. “Their system is set up to fail – and risk the right to vote for millions of Americans who cast their ballots by mail. Given this new information, such sloppiness and haste seems clearly part of a purposeful attempt to create chaos and prevent people from voting. I am demanding answers and accountability.”

“The crown jewel of American democracy—our historic record of free and fair elections—deserves better than this reckless, slapdash effort,” said David Kligerman, Senior Vice President and Special Counsel at WhistleblowerAid.org, which represents the anonymous whistleblower. “Given this administration’s record on curtailing voting rights, these glaring issues in the ballot mail program raise a troubling question: are these bugs—or features? Now that these malignant flaws have been exposed by a brave whistleblower, the administration can choose to fix this dangerously haphazard program or barrel ahead toward a wholly preventable electoral disaster.”

An anonymous whistleblower disclosure provided to Blumenthal includes new details about USPS’s attempts to build an online system, known as “the Portal,” and accompanying IT which will be used to screen ballots submitted by state election officials prior to USPS agreeing to mail them to voters. According to this whistleblower, USPS began work on the Portal a mere three-and-a-half months before it was meant to be deployed and has not put it through the standard testing an online system and its related IT like this typically requires. USPS has also reportedly implemented an impracticable zero percent failure rate that could result in a massive number of rejected ballots with no opportunity for appeal.

Among other information, the whistleblower’s disclosure reveals:

USPS had plans to launch the Portal by today, September 1, 2026. USPS began building the Portal on or around June 15, 2026, just five months before the November 2026 midterm elections and less than four months before its planned rollout date to state election officials. USPS was only able to begin to connect the various constituent parts which would comprise the system as a whole, on or about the week of August 24, 2026.

“The project violates standard principles of testing and debugging new software before launch” and both individual parts of the Portal and the accompanying IT as a whole have not undergone meaningful testing.

The teams building the new Portal and accompanying IT were “siloed” such that “when elements were brought together, the teams were unaware of various developments, creating more work.” There are also “no clear written requirements” leaving workers to “glean requirements from opaque comments at meetings.” As late as August 21, 2026, workers were still receiving new requirements for the project. Without clear guidance, “[d]ifferent team members continued to have different understandings of how the system is supposed to work.”

As teams scrambled ahead of the planned launch, the whistleblower is aware of multiple USPS officials describing the development process as “a shit show.”

USPS adopted a zero-percent failure threshold, meaning that “if a barcode scanner fails to correctly read one barcode in a batch, the entire batch is rejected and returned to the state.” Despite the potentially widespread and catastrophic implications of this policy, “USPS does not have a clear policy as to how many ballots will be sampled in ballot mail batches.”

The project was halted due to a court order and an injunction issued by the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts in late June 2026. Several weeks later, on or around July 29, 2026, however, “the project was suddenly resumed without explanation of what authority permitted USPS to ignore the court order.”

In April, Blumenthal joined U.S. Senators Alex Padilla (D-CA), Gary Peters (D-MI), and Dick Durbin (D-IL) in introducing the Absentee and Mail Voter Protection Act (Absentee MVP Act), which would block President Trump’s illegal and unconstitutional executive order attacking mail and absentee ballots and protect the right to vote by mail.

Blumenthal’s letter to Postmaster General Steiner, which includes the whistleblower’s disclosure, is available here and copied below.

Dear Postmaster General Steiner,

My office is in receipt of an alarming whistleblower disclosure (the “Disclosure”) outlining the United States Postal Service’s (“USPS”) perilously rushed and potentially unlawful implementation of President Trump’s Executive Order seeking to restrict mail-in voting.[1] The whistleblower’s allegations make clear that USPS lacks the technical or operational capability needed to effectively implement the EO’s provisions in a way that safeguards every citizen’s right to vote in the upcoming midterm elections. Despite this, the Trump Administration appears intent on USPS moving forward with its flawed plans, no matter the chaos they may create.[2] The whistleblower’s allegations also provide disturbing information suggesting that USPS may have violated a court order by continuing to implement the EO despite being ordered to cease all such work. We urge you to abandon this ill-conceived, unconscionable plan and ensure that all Americans can exercise their constitutional right to vote, including by mail, without interference by USPS.

Historically, although USPS has issued guidance on various issues related to election ballots sent through the mail, like recommendations for ballot envelope design, it has not imposed specific rules or procedures that state election officials were required to follow in order to have USPS deliver ballot mail to voters. Under a new final rule issued on August 26, 2026 (the “Rule”), USPS will, for the first time, play a gatekeeping function and be in a position to refuse to mail ballots that state election officials have determined should be sent out.[3] This change is a marked and deeply troubling departure from USPS’s traditionally restrained role as a mail carrier.

The whistleblower’s Disclosure describes an unprecedented process that allows USPS to decide whether ballots issued by state election officials should be mailed. To do so, USPS is building an entirely new online system, the USPS Federal Ballot Mail Portal and related IT systems (the “Portal”), which will be used to screen ballots submitted by state election officials prior to USPS agreeing to mail them to voters. The Disclosure identifies problems at every stage of USPS’s development of the Portal, demonstrating deeply flawed plans for implementation.

According to the whistleblower, USPS’s effort to develop and deploy the Portal has been “rushed,” “risky and haphazard” because leadership has demanded an impossible timeframe.[4] In an effort to meet impossible deadlines, USPS has eliminated standard and needed testing, thereby creating substantial risk of a “catastrophic failure” of the system that could “derail the midterm elections.”[5]

USPS began work building the Portal on or around June 15, 2026 just three months before the date USPS planned to launch the system and just five months before the November 2026 midterm elections.[6] On or about June 25, 2026, USPS ordered work on the Portal to cease due to a court order enjoining implementation of the EO.[7] That work stoppage persisted for approximately a month, further reducing the time that USPS had to build the new system.[8] According to the whistleblower, building the information technology infrastructure necessary to complete the Portal could take a year or more.[9] Yet, USPS leadership demanded that the Portal be completed for a launch date of September 1, 2026, less than six months after the EO was issued.[10] As a result of this rushed process, USPS has been unable to conduct tests of the Portal to ensure its proper functioning, troubleshoot problems, or distribute instructions on use to state election officials. According to the whistleblower, the Portal “violates standard principles of testing and debugging new software before launch.”[11] Normal procedures at USPS for such systems include internal testing, customer acceptance testing, and a final development stage before release to public facing users.[12] The Portal has gone through none of these basic checks.

Not only is this system astonishingly untested, USPS has simultaneously implemented an impracticable zero percent failure rate.[13] When ballots are submitted to USPS in large-volume batches, if any one ballot in the batch cannot be verified against the Portal, all ballots in that batch will be rejected. For example, if a state election official brings a batch of 10,000 ballots to USPS and USPS is unable to match just one of those ballots against the Portal – because, for example, someone has recently changed their name after marriage or they’ve moved – then USPS would refuse to mail the remaining 9,999 ballots as well. As the whistleblower notes, “USPS expects the state to take back the entire batch to cure the issue with the single ballot…”[14] Should the slapdash Portal mistakenly mark a ballot as unverified, there is no clear process by which state election officials or voters themselves can challenge the rejection. The Rule simply vaguely states that they “will be informed of the escalation procedures should they decide to challenge a rejection.”[15] Voters intending to cast ballots by mail may not even be aware that their ballots have been rejected, or were part of a rejected batch, until it is too late to secure an alternative ballot or vote in person. Expecting a well-built, thoughtful Portal to return an accurate result 100 percent of the time is already a stretch—expecting a “rushed,” “risky and haphazard” Portal to do the same is a recipe for disaster.

These risks are compounded by other revelations in the Disclosure. USPS leadership has shown an incredible lack of effective management while building the Portal including siloed work streams, changing requirements, competing understandings of work output, and multiple actors having ownership of the same unique tasks. For example, there was little or no communication among teams working on the project to such an extent that “when elements were brought together, the teams were unaware of various developments, creating more work.”[16] Shockingly, there are also “no clear written requirements” for the information technology and infrastructure of the Portal, leaving workers to “glean requirements from opaque comments at meetings.”[17] As late as August 21, 2026, workers were still receiving new requirements for the project.[18] Without clear guidance, “[d]ifferent team members continued to have different understandings of how the system is supposed to function which caused ongoing and greater confusion among the group,” substantially increasing the risk that the system will fail and, ultimately, disenfranchise voters.[19]

Each of these problems: rushed development; a zero percent failure rate; and poor management are cause for concern on their own. Taken together they present a clear picture of a fatally flawed process that cannot and will not protect American voters. Put plainly: this process will likely lead to chaos, confusion, and the inability of many Americans to have their vote counted.

Finally, in addition to these significant concerns about the impact of the EO on Americans’ right to vote, I am troubled by allegations that USPS continued work on the Portal despite numerous court orders enjoining it from doing so. On June 25, 2026, the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts enjoined USPS, among other executive branch agencies, from implementing Section 3 of the EO as to the twenty-three states and the District of Columbia that had challenged the order.[20] The U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit affirmed the district court’s ruling on July 25, 2026.[21] USPS was also enjoined from “implementing, giving effect to, or enforcing Section 3” of the E.O. nationwide pursuant to the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts August 11, 2026 order.[22] It was not until August 24, 2026, that the Supreme Court stayed the June 25, 2026 injunction imposed on USPS by the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts,[23] and August 26, 2026 when the August 11, 2026 order was lifted.[24] Based on this timeline, USPS should have ceased all work on the Portal on June 25, 2026, with the earliest conceivable date to resume being August 26, 2026. The whistleblower allegations demonstrate that was not the case, with USPS directing work to continue on the Portal after the first court order to cease work and prior to the recent court decisions allowing USPS to proceed.[25] This pattern of defiance of court orders is particularly concerning in light of the Temporary Restraining Order issued on August 27, 2026, that has again halted USPS from performing any work on the Portal for 14 days.[26]

Every eligible American citizen must be able to exercise their right to vote, unencumbered by unlawful obstacles this Administration and USPS seem intent on putting in their way. Given the rapidly approaching election and to determine whether USPS’s actions may impede that fundamental right, please provide the following information immediately, and in no case later than September 4, 2026:

Please state whether USPS has halted work to implement the Executive Order, in compliance with the August 27, 2026 TRO.

Please provide the date on which USPS instructed its employees and/or its contractors to begin work implementing the new Rule including the development of the Portal;

Please list the individuals and their respective titles involved in issuing instructions to USPS employees and/or contractors on developing the Portal;

Please list the position titles of all individuals involved in developing the Portal;

Please name any and all entities USPS has contracted with to develop the Portal;

Please indicate whether USPS will perform beta testing on Portal;

If so, when will such testing begin?

Are there procedures in place under the Portal to identify and remedy false positives, whereby the verification system incorrectly deems a voter as unverified and fails to transmit a ballot?

What is the timeframe to rectify such false positives?

Please indicate when USPS anticipates launching the Portal for useby state election officials;

Has USPS engaged with any state officials on the development or use of the Portal?

If so, please list the names and positions of those state officials are

Please list the dates on which USPS or its contractors worked on the Portal.

Did USPS or its contractors continue development of the Portal at any time when a court order was in place enjoining the implementation of Section 3 of the EO?

If so, please provide the specific dates on which those activities occurred;

If so, please provide the rationale behind USPS’s decision to continue work in defiance of a court order

Please also provide the following records[27] by September 8, 2026:

All records or communications regarding the original plans for and development of the Portal and any initial estimates of the amount of time that would be necessary to develop the system;

All records or communications regarding the date on which the Portal would need to be completed and ready for use;

All records or communications regarding the Portal’s potential flaws or vulnerabilities;

All records or communications regarding a zero percent failure rate requirement for the Portal; and

All legal opinions or other communications regarding the legal permissibility of USPS developing the Portal while federal court orders enjoining implementation of Section 3 of the EO are in place.

-30-

[1] Executive Order No. 14399, 91 FR 17125, (2026).

[2] See Ballot Mail for Federal Elections, 91 Fed. Reg. 32,915 (Aug. 26, 2026) (to be codified at 39 C.F.R. pt. 111);

[3] Id.

[4] Disclosure Letter to Senator Blumenthal from Anonymous Whistleblower Re: USPS Rushed Implementation of New and Untested IT Systems Threatens U.S. Ballot Mail Delivery, (Aug. 29, 2026), 4.

[5] Id.

[6] Id.at 16.

[7] Id. at 12.

[8] Id. at 13.

[9] Id. at 6.

[10] Id. at 7.

[11] Id. at 7.

[12] Id. at 7.

[13] Id. at 9-12.

[14] Id. at 10.

[15] Ballot Mail for Federal Elections, supra note 2, at 58.

[16] Disclosure Letter to Senator Blumenthal, supra note 1, at 18.

[17] Id. at 17.

[18] Id. at 19.

[19] Id. at 17.

[20] California v. Trump, No. 26-cv-11581 (D. Mass. June 25, 2026).

[21] California v. Trump, No. 26-1774 (1st Cir. July 25, 2026).

[22] League of Women Voters of Massachusetts v. Trump, No. 26-cv-11549 (D. Mass. Aug. 11, 2026).

[23] Alabama et. al, v. California et al., No. 26A139, (U.S. Aug. 24, 2026).

[24] League of Women Voters of Massachusetts v. Trump, supra note 22.

[25] Disclosure Letter to Senator Blumenthal, supra note 1, at 12.

[26] League of Women Voters of Massachusetts v. Trump, supra note 22.

[27] “Records” include any written, recorded, or graphic material of any kind, including letters, memoranda, reports, notes, electronic data (emails, email attachments, and any other electronically-created or stored information), calendar entries, inter-office communications, meeting minutes, phone/voice mail or recordings/records of verbal communications, and drafts (whether or not they resulted in final documents).


ICYMI: Booker “Crisscrossed the State” on 21-County Tour

Booker met with New Jerseyans in every county to hear their concerns, highlight local successes, and discuss how he’s fighting for their priorities in the Senate

NEW JERSEY — In case you missed it, U.S. Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) went on his annual 21-County Tour, hosting and attending events in all 21 New Jersey counties to hear directly from New Jerseyans and bring their priorities back to the Senate. Across the state, Booker announced new legislation to help prevent drug overdose deaths, highlighted more than $33.5 million in federal investments he helped secure, honored veterans, supported families facing food insecurity, and met with farmers, small-business owners, medical researchers, college students, and more. The tour gave Senator Booker the opportunity to see firsthand what is happening in communities across New Jersey and identify new ways to work together to stand up for New Jerseyans in the Senate.

SEE FOR YOURSELF:

Press of Atlantic CitySenator Cory Booker Visits AtlantiCare Regional Medical Center City Campus in Atlantic City August 28, 2026

Senator Cory Booker visited AtlantiCare Regional Medical Center City Campus in Atlantic City today to highlight a $1 million federal infrastructure investment to strengthen critical hospital systems that support emergency, trauma, and surgical care.

HudPostSen. Booker Delivers $559,000 to Liberty Science Center for Portable Planetarium

By: James de los Santos

August 29, 2026

U.S. Sen. Cory Booker presented Liberty Science Center with a $559,000 federal grant on Tuesday, August 25, 2026, to launch a portable planetarium program that will bring astronomy and science education to students across New Jersey.

Paul Hoffman, President and CEO of Liberty Science Center: “This very generous grant to our center for the new portable planetarium programming is a sterling manifestation of his commitment to ensure that countless thousands of children across New Jersey can experience the same wonders of science that he did. School children and their parents across the state are equally thankful for his generosity.”

Senator Booker: “Today’s visits showcased the extraordinary breadth of New Jersey’s contributions to our nation. New Jerseyans fuel the global economy. Their skill, creativity, and determination strengthen our state and our country.”

Cape May County HeraldBooker Touts Ferry Service in Visit to North Cape May Terminal By: Bill Barlow

August 28, 2026

Senator Booker: “This ferry system right here is vital not just to Cape May County but to the entire region we’re in. It’s going to bring jobs to our state, economic vitality and just ease of transportation.”

Booker was at the terminal to discuss a grant through the Federal Transit Administration that will help fund construction of a second new ferry for the Delaware River and Bay Authority, which operates the ferry service. The money is part of a $665 million federal investment in ferries around the country.

The latest federal grant will go toward the second hybrid vessel, said Joel Coppadge, the DRBA's Executive Director. “The $30 million will be significant. It will help with the capital funding that is necessary for the second vessel,” Coppadge said. “This is a huge head start.”

Press of Atlantic CitySenator Booker visits Atlantic City’s Orange Loop district August 28, 2026

U.S. Senator Cory Booker toured the Orange Loop, meeting with Mayor Marty Small Sr., local developers, community leaders, and business owners to see firsthand the investment and energy taking place in the neighborhood.

After hearing about the vision that brought developers to Atlantic City and the opportunities they see ahead, Senator Booker had high praise for the city, calling Atlantic City an “urban gem” and saying it could become “one of the best stories in all of New Jersey over the next decade.”

He also recognized the local leadership, entrepreneurs and community connections driving the city forward.

WMBC-TV- Hometown NewsOfficials Present Medals to 57 Veterans at Memorial Home in Bergen County August 27, 2026

Officials say honoring that service also means making sure veterans have access to the care, benefits, and resources they earned.

Senator Cory Booker talks about the spirit of service embodied in many of the veterans he has met.

Senator Booker: “The thing I’ve been blown away by [with] New Jersey veterans is, once they put their uniform off, they don’t stop serving. They don’t stop contributing. They don’t stop making a difference. They don’t stop helping one another.”

The InquirerCory Booker says the U.S. needs a ‘food revolution’ in South Jersey visit

By: Aliya Schnieder

August 27, 2026

Booker visited Cathedral Kitchen in Camden, where he packed sandwiches as the nonprofit faces increased demand amid rising grocery costs and cuts to SNAP. He said he would work to direct federal resources to the organization and push to restore funding for Medicaid and Affordable Care Act subsidies.

Booker called for greater support for small farmers, criticizing agricultural subsidies that favor “massive commodity crops” like corn and soybeans used in ultra-processed foods over “specialty crops” like fruits and vegetables. “New Jersey farmers are suffering with tighter and tighter margins,” he said.

During his South Jersey tour, Booker presented a $2 million FY26 congressional allocation to Inspira Medical Center in Mullica Hill to expand technology and telehealth services and visited Salem Community College’s Glass Education Center.

The Franklin ReporterSen. Booker Visits Food Bank, Vows to Save Federal Nutrition Programs August 28, 2026

Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) told food bank leaders from across New Jersey on Monday that he intends to keep the U.S. Farm Bill bottled up in the Senate Agriculture Committee unless Republicans agree to stop cutting federal nutrition programs.

NJ GlobeBooker calls for generational change in Senate Democratic leadership: Senator in Trenton for his annual 21 county tour

By: Joe Seawald

August 26, 2026

Booker began Wednesday’s tour at Greater Mount Zion’s food pantry on Pennington Avenue, where food was being distributed to local residents. They also toured Back in Our Hands, Greater Mount Zion’s planned birthing center.

Booker said visiting community organizations helps him stay connected to the people whose work shapes his legislative agenda. “You need to stay connected to the communities doing the work, and this is one of them,” Booker said. He also pointed to his role in crafting the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act of 2022. Booker said his advocacy was informed by his experiences as mayor of Newark from 2006 to 2013 and by visits to organizations like the restorative justice hub.

Jersey Shore OnlineBooker Visits Brick to Promote Opioid Overdose Bill August 26, 2026

U.S. Sen. Cory Booker visited Brick Township to discuss proposed federal legislation aimed at preventing opioid overdose deaths.

The Rory Ahern Act would expand access to naloxone, commonly known by the brand name Narcan, as well as overdose response training and lifesaving equipment for bystanders and first responders.

Mayor Lisa Crate, Township Council Vice President Derrick Ambrosino, EMS/Rescue Chief James Riccio and members of Brick EMS/Rescue joined Booker for the discussion.

Local officials emphasized the importance of providing residents and emergency personnel with the training and resources necessary to respond quickly during an overdose.

TapInto Phillipsburg

Cory Booker Kicks Off 21-County NJ Tour in Phillipsburg to Address Food Access and Downtown Infrastructure Challenges for Small Businesses

By: Ally Shubert

August 22, 2026

U.S. Sen. Cory Booker kicked off a 21-county tour of New Jersey in Phillipsburg, making the town the first stop of his statewide trip and meeting with local farmers, community leaders, and residents to discuss food access, agriculture, and challenges facing the community.

Booker visited the Phillipsburg Fresh Stop Market, where a roundtable discussion focused on the organization’s farm share program, which connects residents with locally grown produce while supporting area farmers and addressing food insecurity.

Senator Booker:“When people have access to fresh healthy foods, their lives transform, and frankly, not only their health, but their well-being increases.”

WRNJ RadioU.S. Sen. Cory Booker Visits Morris, Warren, Hunterdon and Sussex Counties During Annual 21-County Tour By: Jay Edwards

August 24, 2026

U.S. Sen. Cory Booker kicked off his annual 21-county tour this past weekend with stops in Morris, Warren, Hunterdon, Passaic, and Sussex counties, visiting community events, a farmers market, a church and a historic mining museum.

Senator Booker: “Every year, I look forward to traveling across New Jersey and listening directly to the people who call our state home. As I kicked off this year’s 21-County Tour, I was reminded of how much pride New Jerseyans have in their communities and how much they do to make them stronger.”

Senator Booker: “New Jersey is full of remarkable places and stories that too often don’t get the attention they deserve. Visiting Sterling Hill was a reminder that some of the most extraordinary and scientifically unique places in the world are right here in our own state.”

Insider NJBooker in His Element at Wharton Event By:Tom Moran

August 22, 2026

Cory Booker was on the first leg of his annual 21-county state tour. And he began at the borough's Canal Day, a yearly celebration of the historic Morris Canal, which transported goods from the Delaware to the Hudson through much of the 1800's.

He posed for many photos, took many selfies with attendees, bought a Morris Canal cap for his wife, Alexis, who was with him, played a game of cornhole and more.

SEE ALSO:

8/28: Booker-concludes-2026-annual-21-county-tour

8/27: Booker Continues Annual 21-County Tour with Stops in Burlington, Camden, Gloucester, and Salem Counties

8/26: Booker Continues Annual 21-County Tour with Stops in Bergen, Ocean, Mercer, and Monmouth Counties

8/25: Booker Continues Annual 21-County Tour with Stops in Middlesex, Union, and Hudson Counties

8/24: Booker Continues Annual 21-County Tour with Stops in Essex and Somerset Counties

8/23: Booker Continues Annual 21-County Tour with Stops in Passaic and Sussex Counties

8/22: Booker Kicks Off Annual 21-County Tour in Morris, Warren, and Hunterdon Counties

8/21: Booker Announces 2026 Annual 21-County Tour


With Costs Skyrocketing, Cantwell & Colleagues Move To End Trump’s Tariff Taxes and Trade Wars

Trump’s 50% tariff on Canadian goods disproportionately harms WA businesses & customers - last year, WA imported $15.2B in Canadian goods

EDMONDS, WA – Today, U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA), ranking member of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation and senior member of the Senate Finance Committee, joined her colleagues in introducing legislation that would revoke President Donald Trump’s newest global tariffs and 50% tariffs on Canada, as well as curtail President Trump’s ability to continue waging his unilateral trade war.

“It’s time to stop taxing Americans at the border and provide working families relief from President Trump’s destructive tariffs. Repealing the outdated trade laws this Administration is abusing is the best way to end these senseless trade wars before they cause irreparable damage to our economy and alliances,” Sen. Cantwell said.

Since President Trump started his latest trade war, American families have paid the price. In just one year, Trump’s tariff tax cost the average family nearly $2,000, with hardworking Americans bearing 96% of the cost of the hundreds of billions of dollars in new tariffs. A report released last week by the National Taxpayers Union Foundation found that executive tariffs have cost the State of Washington over $7 billion since the beginning of the second Trump Administration, equivalent to $2,257 per Washington household, the 15th-highest total nationwide.

Today, Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) led the introduction of the End Trump’s Tariff Tax Act, legislation that would:

Revoke and refund Trump’s latest barrage of tariffs, and

Repeal the archaic authorities he has used to continue his trade war.

This legislation would apply to Trump’s newest global tariffs of 12.5% and 50% Canadian tariffs.

In addition to Sens. Cantwell and Schumer, the legislation is co-sponsored by U.S. Senators Patty Murray (D-WA), Ron Wyden (D-OR), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Mark Warner (D-VA), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Chris Coons (D-DE), Angus King (I-ME), Tim Kaine (D-VA), Elissa Slotkin (D-MI), and Peter Welch (D-VT).

According to a June report by the Seattle-based Washington Council on International Trade, Washington state imported $15.2 billion in Canadian goods from April 2025 to March 2026. Washington state businesses shipped $7.3 billion in goods to Canada.

Sen. Cantwell has been a steadfast champion of opening new markets for American manufacturers overseas, and of defending American businesses from the Trump Administration’s damaging tariffs.

Immediately following President Trump’s April 2, 2025, ‘Liberation Day’ tariffs, Senators Cantwell and Chuck Grassley (R-IA) introduced the bipartisan Trade Review Act to reaffirm Congress’ key role in setting and approving U.S. trade policy. The Trade Review Act of 2025, modeled after the War Powers Resolution of 1973, would reestablish limits on the president’s ability to impose unilateral tariffs without the approval of Congress.


Sen. Cramer: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Awards $667,064 to North Dakota

FARGO, N.D. – The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced the award of $667,064 to North Dakota for the following programs and initiatives:

$423,654 to the North Dakota Department of Health and Human Services to support local public health needs, including prevention services and outbreak control.

$243,410 to the University of North Dakota to support the North Dakota State Office of Rural Health.


Durbin, Duckworth, Sorensen Announce Funding Extension for Chicago-Quad Cities Rail Project

With this funding extension, the remaining federal funding can be used to proceed with the Chicago-Quad Cities Rail Project

[CHICAGO, IL] – U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) and U.S. Representative Eric Sorensen (D-IL-17) today announced that the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) has approved a grant extension for the remaining federal funding previously secured for the proposed Chicago-Quad Cities passenger rail project, an Amtrak route between Chicago and Moline, Illinois. The extension will allow the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) to use the remaining federal funding to complete the rail project after more than a decade of planning.

Today’s announcement comes after Duckworth, Durbin and Sorensen urged U.S. Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy and Federal Railroad Administrator David Fink to grant the extension for the remaining federal funding previously secured for the project. In their June letter, the lawmakers emphasized that the rail line, which Durbin has been advocating for since 2008, could finally move forward as long as the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) extended the availability of previously granted federal funds beyond the deadline of July 31, 2026.

“For too long, the Quad Cities have gone without a passenger rail line to Chicago, limiting Illinoisans’ options to get to school, businesses and visit loved ones. With this funding extension, we’re closer to delivering the passenger rail service that so many have long been waiting for,” Duckworth said. “Investments in our rail system connect communities, grow local economies and give Illinoisans more freedom to get where they need to go. This is a big milestone for our state, and Senator Durbin, Congressman Sorensen and I will continue working alongside our local leaders to strengthen our rail network and ensure it serves all Illinoisans for generations to come.”

“Illinois relies on rail to push our economy forward and to ensure statewide connectivity, but we’ve been missing a critical route between Chicago and the Quad Cities,” Durbin said. “For more than 15 years, we’ve worked with IDOT, Iowa Interstate and BNSF Railroads, and the federal government to make the Chicago-Quad Cities Rail Project possible. With this funding extension from FRA, we can finally make this long-planned project a reality and open up new transit possibilities for Illinoisans.”

“I’m very pleased to see this project move forward and bring us one step closer to completing the Chicago-Quad Cities rail connection,” said Sorensen. “This investment will strengthen transportation options, support economic growth, and better connect communities across Illinois. Most importantly, it will give our neighbors more reliable ways to get to work, visit family, and access opportunities across the region.”

In 2010, Durbin secured $177 million in federal funding for the rail project. The rail line was delayed for years because former Governor Rauner refused to provide state funding for it. In 2019, Governor Pritzker renewed the state’s commitment to the project by providing $225 million in state funding through the Rebuild Illinois Capital Program. Recent enactment of the state’s transit bill, along with other state funding sources, will provide the additional funding necessary for the project. Durbin has repeatedly secured extensions of the federal funding.

In June, Durbin met with IDOT Secretary Gia Biagi and Iowa Interstate Railroad (IAIS) CEO Joe Parsons to discuss the rail project.

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Durbin, Duckworth, Sorensen Announce Funding Extension For Chicago-Quad Cities Rail Project

With this funding extension, the remaining federal funding can be used to proceed with the Chicago-Quad Cities Rail Project

CHICAGO – U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), and U.S. Representative Eric Sorensen (D-IL-17) today announced that the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) has approved a grant extension for the remaining federal funding previously secured for the proposed Chicago-Quad Cities passenger rail project, an Amtrak route between Chicago and Moline, Illinois. The extension will allow the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) to use the remaining federal funding to complete the rail project after more than a decade of planning.

Today’s announcement comes after Durbin, Duckworth, and Sorensen urged U.S. Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy and Federal Railroad Administrator David Fink to grant the extension for the remaining federal funding previously secured for the project. In their June letter, the lawmakers emphasized that the rail line, which Durbin has been advocating for since 2008, could finally move forward as long as the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) extended the availability of previously granted federal funds beyond the deadline of July 31, 2026.

“Illinois relies on rail to push our economy forward and to ensure statewide connectivity, but we’ve been missing a critical route between Chicago and the Quad Cities,” Durbin said. “For more than 15 years, we’ve worked with IDOT, Iowa Interstate and BNSF Railroads, and the federal government to make the Chicago-Quad Cities Rail Project possible. With this funding extension from FRA, we can finally make this long-planned project a reality and open up new transit possibilities for Illinoisans.”

“For too long, the Quad Cities have gone without a passenger rail line to Chicago, limiting Illinoisans’ options to get to school, businesses and visit loved ones. With this funding extension, we’re closer to delivering the passenger rail service that so many have long been waiting for,” Duckworth said. “Investments in our rail system connect communities, grow local economies and give Illinoisans more freedom to get where they need to go. This is a big milestone for our state, and Senator Durbin, Congressman Sorensen and I will continue working alongside our local leaders to strengthen our rail network and ensure it serves all Illinoisans for generations to come.”

“I’m very pleased to see this project move forward and bring us one step closer to completing the Chicago-Quad Cities rail connection,” said Sorensen. “This investment will strengthen transportation options, support economic growth, and better connect communities across Illinois. Most importantly, it will give our neighbors more reliable ways to get to work, visit family, and access opportunities across the region.”

In 2010, Durbin secured $177 million in federal funding for the rail project. The rail line was delayed for years because former Governor Rauner refused to provide state funding for it. In 2019, Governor Pritzker renewed the state’s commitment to the project by providing $225 million in state funding through the Rebuild Illinois Capital Program. Recent enactment of the state’s transit bill, along with other state funding sources, will provide the additional funding necessary for the project. Durbin has repeatedly secured extensions of the federal funding.

In June, Durbin met with IDOT Secretary Gia Biagi and Iowa Interstate Railroad (IAIS) CEO Joe Parsons to discuss the rail project.

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Durbin Joins Illinois Wesleyan University For Roundtable Discussion On Health Care Workforce Shortage

In FY26, Durbin secured a $1 million earmark for IWU’s Nursing and Health Science Innovation Program, funding upgrades to lab equipment, simulators, and curriculum development for nursing students

BLOOMINGTON – U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today joined students and faculty at Illinois Wesleyan University (IWU) School of Nursing and Health Sciences for a roundtable discussion on educating health care professionals to address the troubling health care workforce shortage. During the event, Durbin learned about IWU’s Nursing and Health Sciences Innovation Program, which is supported by a $1 million earmark Durbin secured for the program in the Fiscal Year 2026 government funding bill. The program aims to enhance student success through technology upgrades, facility improvements, and academic support initiatives that include advanced simulations and hands-on training.

“Our health care professionals, especially our nurses, are on the front lines, providing critical care to patients. But they don’t have access to the resources they need to succeed. I’ve made it a priority to work alongside institutions, including Illinois Wesleyan University, to secure federal funding that can support stellar programs like the Innovation Program,” Durbin said. “This funding will help graduate more highly trained nurses to serve our entire region, making a difference in the lives of thousands of people.”

“It's an honor to have Senator Durbin visit campus to speak with our students,” said IWU President Sheahon Zenger. “We truly appreciate the $1 million in funding that he secured for Illinois Wesleyan, which allows us to improve classroom technology and continue preparing nursing students and health professionals who will contribute meaningfully to the health of our communities.”

Photos of the event are available here.

Nearly 100 million Americans live in communities with too few doctors. The U.S. is estimated to need 450,000 nurses over the next two years, and the country is projected to face a shortage of 120,000 physicians over the next decade. One of the biggest barriers to pursuing graduate education for health care providers is the high cost, which can leave new doctors with an average debt of more than $200,000.

To address the health care workforce shortage, Durbin has worked across the aisle to introduce legislation that would bring more health care professionals to rural areas, support health care educators, and build up the health care workforce. In March, Durbin reintroduced the bipartisan Rural America Health Corps Act, legislation that would incentivize more health professionals to serve and plant roots in rural communities by creating a new program under the Health Resources and Services Administration’s (HRSA) National Health Service Corps (NHSC) to test whether an increased loan repayment amount would improve the retention of health providers in rural areas.

In January, Durbin reintroduced the bipartisan Nurse Faculty Shortage Reduction Act to address the critical nursing faculty shortage by creating a pilot grant program to help nursing schools increase wages for nurse educators. In 2025, Durbin introduced the bipartisan Healthcare Workforce Resilience Act, which would allow for the recapture of 25,000 unused immigrant visas for nurses and 15,000 unused immigrant visas for physicians that Congress has previously authorized—providing a desperately needed boost to our health care system in rural and urban areas.

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Gallego Calls On USPS Leadership to Testify Before Congress In Response to Whistleblower Mail In Voting Report

WASHINGTON – Today, Senator Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) released the following statement in response to reporting of an anonymous whistleblower complaint from the United States Postal Service (USPS):

“A whistleblower just confirmed Trump’s mail-ballot verification system is broken enough to lose or reject people’s ballots ahead of the midterms. I am calling for an immediate stop to this rollout, and I am demanding that USPS leadership come before Congress to testify under oath. The American people deserve answers before a single ballot is put at risk.”

Last week, Senator Gallego spoke out against President Trump’s mail-in-voting executive order on MS NOW. In April, Gallego introduced the Absentee and Mail Voter Protection Act to block President Trump’s illegal and unconstitutional executive order attacking mail and absentee ballots and protect the right to vote by mail.


Gillibrand Calls For Trump Admin To Fully Restore Counterterrorism Funding Withheld From New York, Echoing Governor Hochul And Mayor Mamdani

AHEAD OF 25th ANNIVERSARY OF 9/11, TRUMP ADMIN MUST FULLY RESTORE ANTI-TERRORISM FUNDING

Today, less than two weeks before the 25th anniversary of the terrorist attacks in New York City on 9/11, U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) released the following statement after New York Governor Kathy Hochul and New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani called on the Trump administration to fully restore New York’s counterterrorism funding:

“President Trump is using New Yorkers as political pawns once again,” said Senator Gillibrand. “New York is the leading terrorist target in the nation. As we approach the 25th anniversary of 9/11, defunding our law enforcement and counterterrorism operations is especially egregious and unsafe. I will keep fighting to ensure New Yorkers are protected and our state receives the funding it needs to keep us all safe.”

Last year, the Trump administration cut $187 million, or 86%, from New York’s federal counterterrorism funding – the largest federal defunding of police operations in New York in decades. After pressure from state and federal leaders, the Federal Emergency Management Agency restored $100 million, leaving New York without $87 million to support local law enforcement and counterterrorism operations.

Specifically, the remaining $87 million would support security preparedness efforts including intelligence operations, mass gathering security, planning, equipment purchases, and training critical to sustaining and improving community prevention, protection, response, and recovery capabilities.

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Capitol Hill Report, 09-01-26

Audio from this morning’s call is available HERE.

Topics include: Defense spending, Sen. Grassley’s recent meeting in Aplington, Venezuelan oil, protecting small businesses, government funding and Grassley’s completion of his 46th year of 99 county meetings.


Grassley Applauds Eleventh Circuit Ruling Upholding Whistleblowers’ Ability to Help Fight Government Fraud

BUTLER COUNTY, IOWA – U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), Chairman of the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee and author of the legislation that strengthened the False Claims Act, welcomed today’s ruling from the United States Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals upholding the constitutionality of the law’s qui tam provision, which allows whistleblowers to bring lawsuits against fraudsters on behalf of the federal government and share in any recoveries. Grassley submitted an amicus brief to the Eleventh Circuit last year backing the qui tam provision.

“The Eleventh Circuit just delivered a major win for whistleblowers and taxpayers alike. The False Claims Act is the government’s greatest fraud-fighting tool, and patriotic whistleblowers who use the qui tam provision often contribute to the lion’s share of recoveries. It’s not an exaggeration to say this court decision saves billions of taxpayer dollars from being lost to fraud and deters would-be fraudsters from wasting even more.”

Background:

Grassley in 1986 updated the False Claims Act, the law enabling the government to recover taxpayer dollars from entities that defrauded federal agencies. A key provision in that update, qui tam, allows whistleblowers to sue alleged fraudsters on behalf of the government and share in the recoveries. Since Grassley’s 1986 updates, the False Claims Act has recovered approximately $85 billion in taxpayer dollars.

Fiscal year 2025 (FY2025) marked the largest single-year recovery in the history of the False Claims Act, with the government recouping over $6.8 billion in fraudulent payments. Whistleblowers helped recover over $5.3 billion of that sum.

Whistleblowers filed 1,297 qui tam lawsuits in FY2025, the highest number in a single year.


Trump Gains $15.5 Million From Oil & Gas Stocks Amid His War in Iran, Meanwhile New Mexicans Pay $526 Million More for Gas

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), Ranking Member of the U.S. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee and a member and former Chairman of the U.S. Congress Joint Economic Committee, highlighted a new analysis finding that New Mexicans have spent an additional $526.2 million on gas since the start of President Trump’s Iran War — an average of $666 per New Mexico household.

Meanwhile, according to the Joint Economic Committee’s analysis, President Trump’s portfolio of $45.6 million in oil and gas stocks has gone up since the end of 2025 by up to $61.1 million. That’s due to the sky-high oil and gas profits and stock prices tied to Trump’s war in Iran. And in just the first three months of 2026 – a period that covers both the U.S. operation in Venezuela and the start of the Iran War – the Committee found that Trump bought as much as $3.6 million in additional oil and gas stocks.

“President Trump continues to put his personal financial interests and the interests of his ultrawealthy friends ahead of New Mexico families – folks who are already struggling with higher costs created by the President’s tariffs and reckless, illegal war in Iran,” said Heinrich. “New Mexicans shouldn’t have to pay more at the pump while Donald Trump and oil and gas executives rake in record returns.”

Heinrich continued, “When a President uses the power of his office to benefit himself and his wealthy friends while working families are left to foot the bill, that’s corruption — plain and simple. We need energy policies that actually lower costs for families, not actions that pad the pockets of the President and his friends and family.”

As detailed in the new Joint Economic Committee report, throughout his campaign and early in his term, Trump received millions in donations from oil company executives, and his administration began to enact favorable rules and regulations for the industry – including billions in tax giveaways. These companies have seen massive profits since the President launched his war with Iran. Recent estimates show that oil companies reported more than $125 billion in profits so far this year, including $12 billion for Chevron in the second quarter – its highest quarterly profits in six years – and a sky-high $14.7 billion for Exxon Mobil in that same period.

Heinrich has been working to hold President Trump and his administration accountable for putting the President’s personal projects and financial interests ahead of New Mexico families.

In August, Heinrich demanded accountability from the Department of the Interior (DOI) following reports that agency officials destroyed official records and used disappearing-message applications to avoid preserving government communications. He also called for a full Government Accountability Office (GAO) audit of President Trump’s ballroom project and demanded a GAO investigation into potential conflicts of interest and preferential treatment in the Trump administration’s use of taxpayer dollars to invest in private mining companies. Heinrich also joined a letter calling for an investigation into what DOI officials knew about engineering failures at the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool and whether Department employees withheld evidence from federal prosecutors.

In June, Heinrich led a letter demanding answers from DOI Secretary Doug Burgum regarding the Department’s rushed rehabilitation project of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool. He also sent a letter with U.S. Senator Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.) pressing Burgum for answers about the Trump administration redirecting tens of millions of dollars from fees paid to the National Park Service — including fees collected at New Mexico sites such as Carlsbad Caverns National Park and Bandelier National Monument — to fund President Trump’s vanity projects in Washington, D.C.

In May, Heinrich successfully blocked Senate Republicans from funding Trump’s ballroom project with $1 billion in taxpayer dollars through their budget bill.

Read the Joint Economic Committee’s full report with state-by-state data here.

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In Tucson, Kelly Visits Community Food Bank to Hear from Arizonans Impacted by SNAP Cuts

Kelly also toured the Tucson Fire Department with Mayor Regina Romero and Chief Sharon McDonough, the first woman to lead the department

Kelly checked in with Boca Tacos owner and chef Maria Mazon on rising costs

Kelly delivered remarks at the University of Arizona’s ceremony to name its Integrated Business and Engineering Program

Today, Arizona Senator Mark Kelly visited the Community Food Bank of Southern Arizona to pack food boxes and hear directly from staff, volunteers, and families about the surge in demand for food driven by Republican cuts to SNAP and rising costs.

Republicans’ SNAP cuts have placed a growing strain on Arizona food banks after the passage of Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act in July. Kelly has been a vocal critic of the legislation, warning from the start that its steep cuts to SNAP and health care would come at the expense of working families in favor of tax cuts for billionaires. This proved to be true as SNAP cuts and rising costs are making it harder for Arizonans to put food on the table.

During a roundtable at the food bank, Kelly heard from Terra, a Tucson resident who lost her SNAP benefits after she was unable to meet the work requirement. Terra told Kelly that a disability makes it difficult for her to work even the roughly 60 hours a month she currently does, but she would need to work about 80 hours to qualify for SNAP. After four applications this year and repeated difficulties getting an interview, Terra said she now relies on the Community Food Bank and other food banks to get by.

Kelly also heard from Norah, a student parent at Pima Community College who described SNAP as a bridge while she goes to school, raises her son, and works toward greater financial stability. Norah receives about $500 a month in SNAP for herself and her son but told Kelly that even that amount has become tight as grocery prices rise.

Food bank staff told Kelly these stories are part of a broader increase in need. They are seeing more people who have not traditionally needed food assistance, including working teachers, students, seniors, veterans, and active-duty servicemembers. Staff said the need among military families has grown enough that they are working with partners to establish a pantry on a local military base.

Later in the day, Kelly and Tucson Mayor Regina Romero toured the Tucson Fire Department’s Central Station and met with Chief Sharon McDonough, the first woman to serve as Fire Chief in Tucson’s history. During their visit, they learned more about the department’s innovative Peak Volume Emergency Truck program. Kelly has recommended $1.3 million in FY27 federal funding for new ambulances and medical response vehicles for the department, which responded to more than 166,000 calls in 2025.

For lunch, Kelly stopped by Boca Tacos and talked to Maria Mazon, founder, owner, and executive chef of the restaurant. They discussed how rising costs are squeezing her business and how Tucson’s small business community is adapting and finding ways to keep moving forward.