Press Release

While the jobs numbers released today demonstrate an improvement from the period after this pandemic first forced the closure of large parts of our economy, the sharp rise in COVID-19 cases and the subsequent decision in many states to pause or reverse re-opening plans threatens to halt the economic progress we had been making and further delay the recovery for millions of Americans who remain out of work.  Having recovered one-third of jobs lost to this crisis is good news; but the reality that two-thirds of Americans who lost their jobs are still out of work is a sobering reality.  As the extraordinary response of the CARES Act winds down, we are still a long way from a full recovery.
 

Because of its unfree and rigged process, we may never know the real results of today’s referendum in Russia. But the outcome will surely be many more years of dictatorial rule by Vladimir Putin, an autocrat with an iron grip over his people and whose record of aggression and human rights violations rivals that of the czars of old. This is the man praised and admired by President Trump.

I applaud the House Select Committee on the Climate Crisis and Chairwoman Castor for releasing their Climate Crisis Action Plan today, which calls for 100% clean, net-zero emissions across our economy by 2050.  This roadmap will help guide our nation in the years ahead as we seek to reclaim the mantle of leadership in addressing the challenge of the global climate crisis and seize the economic opportunities that come with meeting that challenge.

I was proud to support Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee’s resolution today marking the observance of Juneteenth on June 19, 2020.  I applaud her efforts to recognize Juneteenth in the House and make it a federal holiday – an effort I support. 

John Bolton should have testified before the House during its impeachment proceedings against President Trump. Instead, he withheld his damning evidence of the President’s abuse of power, preferring to enrich himself off a book deal instead of performing his patriotic duty to testify before the American people. Shame on him. 

President Truman used to have a plaque on his desk that said ‘The buck stops here.’ President Trump’s approach seems to be, dangerously, as he has said before, ‘I don’t take responsibility at all.’  Over the weekend, we learned of allegations that our intelligence services assessed in March that Russia has been offering a monetary reward for killing American troops in Afghanistan. 

Today, the House passed legislation that will help protect Americans from foreclosures, evictions, and unsafe housing conditions resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. With many newly out-of-work Americans facing rent and mortgage payments due on July 1, it is urgent that Congress address this issue.  This bill, sponsored by Chairwoman Maxine Waters of the Financial Services Committee, was included in the Heroes Act that the House passed in May but that the Republican-led Senate refuses to consider.