Dear neighbor, 

This has been a somber week for our nation. Yesterday, former President Trump was indicted by a Manhattan grand jury. Indicting a former President sets a terrible precedent; the only worse precedent is not indicting a former President who committed a crime. Donald Trump is entitled to the presumption of innocence in a criminal court. We should let law enforcement and our judicial system do their jobs, without political interference.  

Just over a month ago, I sent one of these updates that began with tragic news of a mass shooting at Michigan State University in East Lansing, Michigan which just so happened to fall on the fifth anniversary of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting in Parkland, Florida. I am heartbroken to say that our country has suffered yet another mass shooting at a school, this time at the Covenant School in Nashville, Tennessee. Three of the victims were nine-year-old children. The other three victims were educators and staff at the school. My heart goes out to the families of the victims and the community grappling with this unimaginable loss. I also want to take a moment to commend the brave law enforcement officers who ran towards gunfire and saved lives. They are truly heroes. 

This cannot continue—we must take action to prevent gun violence. The day after this horrific shooting, House Republicans had a hearing set for the Judiciary Committee, on which I sit. They planned to discuss a bill that would make it easier for people to acquire pistol braces, which can make AR-15 rifles, like the one used by the shooter in Nashville, even more deadly. In the aftermath of the shooting, Republicans canceled this hearing. If they truly believed, as they claim, that more guns make Americans safer, they would have held the hearing and defended that claim. Instead, they ran and hid because they know that the talking points they spew are blatantly untrue. In fact, when asked what Republicans were going to do to address school shootings and gun violence, Republican Tim Burchett from Tennessee  said, “We’re not gonna fix it.” 

I, along with my House Democratic colleagues, hold a very different view. At every opportunity, we are committed to passing common sense gun violence prevention legislation, including universal background checks for all gun purchases and an assault weapons ban. Last term, I was proud to support the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, gun safety legislation signed into law by President Biden that will help keep deadly weapons out of dangerous hands; crack down on gun trafficking and straw purchases; enhance background checks for people under 21; and more. I know that we must do more to address the epidemic of gun violence, but this bill was a step in the right direction. While we mourn those lost in Nashville and all those who have died due to senseless gun violence, I will continue to do all that I can in Washington to protect our families and communities. 

BAD ENERGY: This week, extreme MAGA Republicans introduced H.R. 1, their Polluters Over People Act. This bill is a shameless giveaway to polluters consisting almost entirely of handouts and new loopholes for the oil, gas, and mining industries. This ill-conceived bill will not only increase the federal deficit by over $2.4 billion, but it will also worsen climate change and increase pollution in vulnerable communities. The Polluters Over People Act will put Americans in harm’s way by gutting critical environmental and public health laws and ignoring the climate emergency in favor of Republicans’ oil and gas industry buddies. 

Republicans claim that this legislation will lower energy prices for American families. But it doesn’t once mention clean energy, even though it’s proven to be the cheapest form of energy. Instead, the Polluters Over People Act will roll back many key provisions of Democrats’ historic Inflation Reduction Act, including those that provided tax incentives for clean home energy upgrades. The United States is already the world’s top producer of oil and gas. To achieve energy independence, we must invest in clean energy generated entirely here at home. I came to Congress in 2015 to address the climate crisis. Clean energy development will continue to play a critical role in that fight.  

I spoke on the House floor earlier in the week to highlight extreme MAGA Republicans’ failure to address energy costs and the climate crisis. Check it out here. 

Here’s what else I’ve been working on this week: 

• Joined House Democratic Whip Katherine Clark and our House Democrat colleagues to discuss gun violence prevention legislation and Republicans’ choice to prioritize guns over our kids. 
• Questioned the Inspectors General of USAID, the Department of State, and the Department of Defense about potential fraud, abuse, or waste in the allocation of aid funding for Ukraine. Spoiler alert: none of them found anything of the sort.  

BAGS PACKED? Please make sure that your passport is up to date! Processing times for passport renewals have increased recently due to normal seasonal demand. Standard processing times are now eight to eleven weeks, while expedited processing time has risen to five to seven weeks. If you need to apply for a new passport in person, please click here. If you have a passport that will expire within six months and need to renew it via mail, or if you need to correct or change your current passport, please click here. If you’ve already applied for a new or renewed passport and would like to check the status of your request, please click here. 

My office has been fielding an increased number of requests for passport renewal or support. The State Department is processing a record number of passport applications, and appointments for emergency passports are harder to obtain due to very high demand. If your passport has one year or less of validity, please visit the State Department’s website to renew your passport or call my Los Angeles office. 

For more on my work in Congress, please visit my website at lieu.house.gov and follow me on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube. If you have any questions or concerns, please call our D.C. office at (202) 225-3976 or our Los Angeles district office at (323) 651-1040. 

I look forward to updating you again soon. 

Sincerely, 

Ted W. Lieu 

Member of Congress