US

May 30, 2023 – This week, the Justice Department highlighted a series of initiatives aimed at preventing and addressing sexual violence, intimate partner violence, stalking, and other forms of gender-based violence (GBV). With its strong, longstanding commitment to upholding justice and pursuing equality for all, the Justice Department joins its partners across the federal government […]

LAWRENCE, May 30, 2023 — Any parent can tell you that work doesn’t stop when you leave the office and go home. Yet national and international economic statistics only consider the work that happens “at the market,” or outside the home — not caring for children, cooking, cleaning or caring for elders, tasks largely handled […]

Earlier this evening, Speaker McCarthy and I reached a budget agreement in principle. It is an important step forward that reduces spending while protecting critical programs for working people and growing the economy for everyone. And, the agreement protects my and Congressional Democrats’ key priorities and legislative accomplishments. The agreement represents a compromise, which means […]

May 23, 2023 – Today, a Montana District Court judge granted abortion providers’ request for a preliminary injunction to block several restrictions on abortion access. The challenge to the laws was filed by Planned Parenthood Federation of America, the Center for Reproductive Rights, and the ACLU of Montana on behalf of All Families Healthcare, Blue […]

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. May 22, 2023 — A group of Chinese citizens who live, work, study, and raise families in Florida, as well as a real estate brokerage firm in Florida that primarily serves clients of Chinese descent, are filing a lawsuit to combat Florida’s discriminatory property law, SB 264. Signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis, the […]

WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Secretary of the Treasury Janet L. Yellen sent a letter to all members of Congressional leadership regarding the debt limit. The full text of the letter can be found here and is available below. The Honorable Kevin McCarthy Speaker U.S. House of Representatives Washington, DC 20515 Dear Mr. Speaker: I am […]

WASHINGTON, May 22, 2023 – The NAACP Board of Directors issued a formal travel advisory for the state of Florida. The travel advisory comes in direct response to Governor Ron DeSantis’ aggressive attempts to erase Black history and to restrict diversity, equity, and inclusion programs in Florida schools.  The formal travel notice states, “Florida is […]

May 17, 2023 – Researchers from universities across the United States will arrive at the U.S. House and Senate on Wednesday for meetings with lawmakers and their staffs about the importance of fundamental science and funding for the National Institutes of Health, the National Science Foundation and the Department of Energy Office of Science. Their […]

Washington—Senators Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) and Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) today introduced the bipartisan Help Independent Tracks Succeed (HITS) Act, a bill that would allow independent music creators – including musicians, technicians, songwriters and producers – to deduct 100 percent of recording production expenses in the year they are incurred, rather than in later years.             Representatives […]

Geneva, May 12, 2023 – The International Organization for Migration (IOM) and UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency are calling for a collaborative approach to better respond to the mixed movement of refugees and migrants throughout the Americas. IOM and UNHCR welcome positive initiatives to expand resettlement and other regular pathways in the region but express […]

HELENA, May 9, 2023 – Transgender youth, their families, and their medical providers are challenging a sweeping new Montana law banning transgender youth from accessing age-appropriate gender-affirming health care in court. In a lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union, the ACLU of Montana, Lambda Legal, and Perkins Coie, two families with transgender youth […]

CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky announced today her intent to depart the agency at the end of June. Walensky has led CDC through a transition to greater normalcy across the country, after two years of COVID-19 related closures and waves of dangerous, new virus variants. She also launched Moving Forward – a wide-ranging set of […]

This was a generally solid jobs report, with the economy adding 253,000 jobs in April. However, there were sharp downward revisions to both the February and March jobs numbers, of 78,000 and 71,000, respectively. Taken together, the April figure is just 104,000 higher than the number previously reported for March. The household survey also showed […]

Washington. D.C. May 1, 2023 – On May 1, the Institute for Policy Studies and the Patriotic Millionaires released a critical new report exposing how private jet travel costs ordinary families money and exacerbates the climate crisis. Key highlights include 10 stunning facts about the high-flying private jet industry: “Private jet travel by billionaires and the ultra-wealthy imposes […]

WASHINGTON, May 1, 2023 – Today, U.S. Secretary of the Treasury Janet L. Yellen sent a letter to all members of Congressional leadership regarding the debt limit. The full text of the letter can be found here and is available below. The Honorable Kevin McCarthy Speaker U.S. House of Representatives Washington, DC 20515 Dear Mr. Speaker: […]

Washington, D.C. April 26, 2023 – Today, U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Chair of the Senate Armed Services Subcommittee on Personnel, released a new investigative report: “Pentagon Alchemy: How Defense Officials Pass Through the Revolving Door and Peddle Brass for Gold.” The investigation reveals that nearly 700 instances of former high-ranking DoD and other government […]

WASHINGTON D.C. — This evening, the Supreme Court of the United States granted the stay requested by the Department of Justice (DOJ) and Danco in Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine et al v. U.S. Food and Drug Administration et al. allowing mifepristone’s FDA approval to remain unchanged as the case proceeds through the Fifth Circuit Court […]

WASHINGTON, D.C., April 21, 2023 – Today the Supreme Court issued a stay blocking both lower court rulings that would have limited access to mifepristone, one of two drugs used in many abortions.  The FDA approved this incredibly safe drug over 20 years ago, but conservatives strategically brought a challenge to Trump-appointed judge Matthew Kacsmaryk, who tried […]

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Legislation supported by U.S. Senator Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) to reauthorize funding for the U.S. Fire Administration (USFA), the Assistance to Firefighters Grants (AFG) Program, and the Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) Grant program through fiscal year 2030 passed the Senate today by a vote of 95-2. Last year, Padilla spoke before the Senate Homeland […]