My Tuesday Zoom Town Hall on Climate Change and Other Updates

Dear Neighbors,

I hope this message finds you well. As always, if you have questions or concerns, please contact my office by calling (847) 413-1959, emailing me at [email protected], or sending a message through my website at https://krishnamoorthi.house.gov/contact/email. For more frequent updates, I encourage you to follow me on Twitter (X), Facebook, Instagram, and Threads.

My Tuesday Climate Zoom Town Hall

On Tuesday, May 21^st, at 12:15pm CDT, I will host a Zoom town hall with University of Illinois Professor of Atmospheric Sciences Donald J. Wuebbles, who served as Assistant Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy under President Barack Obama. Professor Wuebbles was also Coordinating Lead Author on several international climate assessments led by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) that resulted in IPCC being awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2007. As we answer your related questions, we’ll also discuss climate change, its effects on severe weather patterns in the Chicagoland region and nationwide, as well as the path forward. You can RSVP for my town hall here. I look forward to seeing you there.

My Bill to Rename the St. Charles Post Office in Honor of Vietnam Veterans Becomes Law

Last week, President Joe Biden signed into law my bipartisan legislation to rename the St. Charles East Side Post Office as the Veterans of the Vietnam War Memorial Post Office. My bill, which passed the House and Senate unanimously, is meant to serve as a thank you to the brave American servicemembers who lost their lives during the Vietnam War. It is my hope every time someone from our community visits this newly renamed post office, that they will be reminded of the courage, the dedication to our country, and the sacrifice made by those in uniform and their families. With the post office bill officially signed into law, I look forward to joining veterans and community leaders at a renaming ceremony to be held in the coming months.

2024 Congressional Art Competition Winners

Congressman Krishnamoorthi with the top three finishers for the 2024 Congressional Art Competition from Illinois’ Eighth Congressional District.

Last week, I held a ceremony to recognize our district’s three winners of the 2024 Congressional Art Competition at the Trickster Cultural Center in Schaumburg. Out of a wide range of impressive competitors, our top three finishers were Zarah from Barrington High School and runners up Abigail and Charlotte from Schaumburg High School. Zarah’s winning piece, “The Riverwalk,” which depicts the famous pathway in downtown Chicago, will be displayed on Capitol Hill in Washington for thousands of Americans to view every day.

My Bipartisan BIOSECURE Act’s Near-Unanimous Passage Through the Oversight Committee

Ranking Member Krishnamoorthi speaks on the importance of the Committee on Oversight and Accountability passing his BIOSECURE Act. (Click the image above to watch the full remarks.)

On Wednesday, the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability overwhelmingly passed my bipartisan BIOSECURE Act, clearing the way for a full vote of the House on the legislation. U.S. taxpayer dollars should not be funding People’s Republic of China (PRC) biotech companies that are actively working with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) and potentially collecting Americans’ genomic data and intellectual property. This legislation, which I introduced with my Republican colleague Brad Wenstrup, requires the executive branch to develop a list of foreign adversary-controlled biotech companies engaged in nefarious activities.

Our bill also names five entities of concern – all part of the BGI Group or the WuXi Group. We specifically identified these companies for three reasons. First, BGI and WuXi have both been found by the U.S. government and others to be involved in the perpetration of human rights abuses, specifically the Uyghur genocide. My committee even found evidence of BGI and WuXi operating the PRC’s 27 “genetic testing centers” with the PLA, which allows the CCP to help identify and separate Uyghurs from other residents, a key pillar of the CCP’s genocide.

Secondly, BGI not only worked with the PLA to develop its technology, but they also now collect data and send it back to Beijing that is used for continued research with the PLA. In 2021, a Reuters investigation uncovered that BGI took DNA from 8 million women from 52 different countries and sent that data back to be used in research studies with the military to develop fighting capabilities.

Finally, WuXi not only engages in human rights abuses, but there are reports that WuXi AppTec has stolen intellectual property from American companies and sent it back to the PRC to be replicated.

For these reasons and others, these companies and their affiliates should not be receiving U.S. taxpayer dollars, and I am grateful for the bipartisan support of my colleagues on the Oversight Committee and look forward to this important legislation coming to the House floor.

My Saturday Passport Fair in Elgin

On Saturday, my office will host a passport fair in collaboration with the Gail Borden Library. This event provides an opportunity for everyone in need of a new passport, whether for renewal or as a first-time applicant, to complete their application with expert assistance for any questions. The fair will take place at 270 N. Grove Ave. in Elgin from 9:00am to 1:00pm. You can find the necessary forms and additional information on the State Department’s website by clicking here and can RSVP for the event here.

Upcoming Mobile Office Hours

If you are unable to make it to our district office in Schaumburg, our staff are available at mobile office hours throughout the district. Share your concerns, questions, issues and get help navigating federal agencies at convenient locations across the district.

Our Next Wood Dale Office Hours: Wednesday, June 5^th: 10:00am – 1:00pm in the Wood Dale Public Library at 520 N Wood Dale Rd, Wood Dale, IL.

We will continue to hold additional office hours in Wood Dale on the first Wednesday of each month: July 3^rd, August 7^th, September 4^th, October 2^nd, November 6^th, December 4^th.

Our Next Elgin Office Hours: Tuesday, June 11^th: 10:00am – 1:00pm at the Gail Borden Public Library (Elgin Branch) at 270 N. Grove Ave, Elgin, IL.

We will continue to hold additional office hours in Elgin on the second Tuesday of each month: July 9^th, August 13^th, September 10^th, October 8^th, November 12^th, December 10^th.

Our Next Des Plaines Office Hours: Tuesday, June 11^th: 9:30am – 11:30am in the Des Plaines Public Library at 1501 Ellinwood St, Des Plaines, IL.

We will continue to hold additional office hours in Des Plaines on the second Tuesday of every other month: August 13^th and November 12^th.

Stay Updated Through My Social Media Accounts

The best way to stay up to date on these issues beyond our newsletter is through my social media accounts, which I update multiple times each day. You can follow my Twitter (X) here, my Facebook page here, my Instagram here, and my Threads here. Thank you for staying engaged in our community.

Warm Regards,