   
Dear Neighbor,
I wanted to take a moment to share an update about how my staff and I have been working for the people of Maryland’s Eighth District. It remains a surpassing honor to serve as your Representative in Congress.
As always, I encourage all of my constituents across the Eighth District to connect with me on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. If you need help with a federal agency and want to request my assistance, please complete the online request form here, and my District Office will be in touch.
All Best,
Jamie Raskin
Rep. Raskin’s June in Photos
Engaging Students Across Maryland’s Eighth District
In June, I convened students across our district for a virtual town hall where we discussed gun safety solutions, voting rights, climate action, mental health access, reproductive health care access and more. The town hall proved a stunning reflection of the impressive civic engagement by students and young people in our community. Check out this newsletter to learn about opportunities with my office such as my internship program, the Congressional App Challenge, nominations to our nation's service academies, the Congressional Award program and much more.
Commemorating LGBTQ+ Pride Month
My District Office team joins Montgomery County Council President Evan Glass and community leaders for the Progress Pride flag-raising ceremony and to discuss LGBTQI+ rights and policy
During Pride Month, we honor the diversity and accomplishments of the LGBTQ+ community and pledge to keep standing strong for LGBTQ+ rights nationwide. I’m a proud vice chair of the Congressional Equality Caucus, a coalition of representatives advancing the rights of LGBTQ+ people and families. This Pride Month, I joined my Equality Caucus colleagues to introduce the Equality Act, legislation that would help end discrimination against LGBTQ+ Americans in housing, education, public accommodations and employment. You can read more about the Equality Act at the Equality Caucus website.
Working Hard for Maryland
This month, I introduced several important pieces of legislation that will defend press freedoms, civil rights and due process, and increase transparency of the criminal justice system.
Reining in Civil Asset Forfeiture
Reforming America’s civil asset forfeiture laws, which allow police to seize property, money, or assets if law enforcement merely believe they are connected to criminal activity, is a constitutional imperative that goes right to the heart of our Bill of Rights. This month Rep. Tim Walberg’s (R-MI) and my bipartisan bill, the Fifth Amendment Integrity Restoration Act, or FAIR Act, which would curb predatory asset forfeiture, passed unanimously out of the House Judiciary Committee. This important development brings us closer to eliminating lawless civil asset forfeiture and restoring due process rights.
Defending Press Freedom
Since my first term in Congress, I’ve advocated for a federal press shield law that would prevent journalists from being compelled to reveal confidential sources and stop federal law enforcement from abusing subpoena power. 49 states and the District of Columbia offer some form of shield law or reporter's privilege press protections, but those protections vary and no federal press shield law exists.
In June, I reintroduced the bipartisan, bicameral Protect Reporters from Exploitive State Spying (PRESS) Act with my colleagues Congressman Kevin Kiley (R-CA), Senator Wyden (D-OR) and Senator Mike Lee (R-UT). Our Constitution provides that no law shall abridge the freedom of the press, and the PRESS Act would uphold this guarantee by shielding journalists from unnecessary government surveillance that threatens the First Amendment rights of reporters.
Last Congress, the PRESS Act passed the House of Representatives with unanimous support from both my Democratic and Republican colleagues, and I plan to build on the legislation’s success to get the bill on President Biden's desk. You can watch previous remarks I made on the House floor about the importance of the PRESS Act here.
Ending Economic Racial Discrimination
This month, Congressman Glenn Ivey (D-MD) and Senators Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Ron Wyden (D-OR), and Cory Booker (D-NJ) and I introduced the Economic Inclusion Civil Rights Act to protect individuals from racial discrimination and foster economic inclusion. This bill strengthens protections against discriminatory practices in economic life, ensuring that people of color live free from economic discrimination.
Promoting Transparency and Accountability in Private Prisons
Private prisons, jails, and detention centers housed 15 percent of all federal inmates and about 79 percent of all immigration detainees in 2021, per the latest available data. Despite the fact that these for-profit detention facilities receive federal funding, they are not subject to even the most basic transparency measures required of their public counterparts. In June I introduced the Private Prison Information Act with Senator Ben Cardin to address this gap in oversight and accountability.
Our legislation would require government agencies to comply with Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests relating to private prisons, jails or detention facilities, including immigration detention facilities. Our democracy thrives when our people have access to critical information, and the Private Prison Information Act will help educate the public about ongoing injustices in the criminal justice system and support President Biden’s ultimate mission to end all contracts with privately owned and operated detention facilities.
Welcoming Governor Moore to the Capitol
With Governor Moore at the U.S. Capitol
As your Representative in Congress, I’m honored to work alongside our state and local leadership and the Maryland congressional delegation for the people we jointly serve. In June, the congressional delegation welcomed Governor Moore and members of his cabinet to Capitol Hill to discuss our shared priorities, like restoring the Chesapeake, securing a new FBI headquarters in Maryland, keeping our communities safe from gun violence, investing in our state and so much more.
Recognizing the Local Heroes of the Eighth District
Local Heroes Cathy Fink and Marcy Marxer, the Silver Spring-based Grammy award-winning duo, have spread laughter and cheer through their wonderful music for decades. I sat down with Cathy and Marcy to discuss their deep roots in the Eighth District and their ambitious project All Wigged Out, which documents Marcy’s seven-year fight against breast cancer with humor, wit and hopefulness.
Lee Blinder, Executive Director and Co-founder of Trans Maryland, has a resilient organizing spirit and an inspiring commitment to the belief that we are strongest when we treat everyone with respect and dignity. Lee’s advocacy for equal rights has benefited Marylanders of all identities. In June, I was honored to recognize Lee as a great MD-08 hero and thank them for their work to make Maryland a more welcoming place for all our people.
My Local Hero Roz Pelles is a veteran of the civil rights movement and the workers’ rights movement, and she has a legacy of social activism going back five decades. A longtime Montgomery County resident, Roz is currently the Assistant Director for Student Engagement and a lecturer at the Center for Public Theology and Public Policy at the Yale Divinity School. Roz reflected on the gains our society has made since the Civil Rights Movement and the dangers of the backlash to that social progress, and she inspired our team to keep working for positive change.
Local reproductive health workers Karen Gomez Morales and Jenny Marten of Planned Parenthood of Metropolitan Washington keep the DMV a safe haven for women’s reproductive health care. I was honored to name Karen and Jenny our Local Heroes. Karen and Jenny expertly communicated the wide range of services provided by Planned Parenthood and shared important insights about conversations on reproductive health that are happening in communities across the Eighth District and the broader National Capital Region.
I closed out Local Hero in June talking to a fixture of Montgomery County community service and Montgomery County baseball, Bruce Adams. Bruce founded the Bethesda Community Baseball Club and serves as its president. He shared how his work with the baseball club and the Bethesda Big Train collegiate team helped raised over $600,000 to improve fields across Montgomery County, and he invited everyone to attend a summer game!
Leading Democrats on the House Oversight Committee
This past month on the House Oversight Committee, I led Democrats in:
This mailbox cannot receive replies. To email me, please click here.
|
