Dear John,

As a member of the Democratic Border Security Task Force, I joined 14 House Democrats in calling on President Biden to take executive action to restore order at the Southern border in a letter last week.

In the letter, we urged the President to use all the tools at his disposal, including executive action, to better address security at the Southern border, prohibit the flow of illicit fentanyl from entering the country, and allow for orderly legal immigration efforts.

It is well past time for both parties to come together and agree on common sense, bipartisan immigration reforms.

As a senior member of the House Appropriations Committee and Ranking Member of the Commerce, Justice and Science Subcommittee, I voted to increase funding for Customs and Border Protection in this year’s Homeland Security budget by more than $1 billion.

This additional funding provides new resources to stop the flow of fentanyl across ports of entry, prioritizes the hiring of thousands of Border Patrol agents, increases overtime funding for agents, and funds improvements for border security technology.

I am committed to restoring order at our southern border, and I will continue to update you on how we are doing this in Congress.

To read our letter to the President, click here.

This week, I joined the House Ways and Means Social Security Subcommittee Ranking Member John B. Larson (CT-01) and Assistant Democratic Leader Joe Neguse (CO-02) on the House floor to protest cuts to Social Security proposed by House Republicans and support the passage of the Social Security 2100 Act.

I will continue to advocate for the protection and enhancement of Social Security on behalf of the 191,000 people from Northeast Pennsylvania who depend on monthly Social Security checks. Nearly half of these recipients look to those checks as the only visible means of support that they have.

The Social Security 2100 Act will ensure the continuation of Social Security, increase benefits by 2% across the board for all beneficiaries for the first time in 52 years and improve the Cost-of-Living Adjustment so it reflects the inflation actually experienced by seniors without adding a penny to the national deficit.

As an original cosponsor of the Social Security 2100 Act in 2014, to my recent remarks on the House floor in defense of Social Security, I remain committed to protecting our promise and keeping our seniors from retiring in poverty.

To learn more, click here.

As a member of the Financial Services and General Government (FSGG) Appropriations Subcommittee, I took part in the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) FY25 Budget Hearing yesterday.

During the hearing, I asked FSGG Chair David Joyce (OH-14) to enter in the official record an FTC complaint alleging pricing collusion by a former American oil company executive while addressing witness Lina Khan, chair of the FTC, the bipartisan federal agency that enforces the nation’s antitrust and consumer protection laws.

On behalf of Americans all over this country, I want to thank Chairwoman Khan, and everyone at the FTC, for their important efforts at enforcing the antitrust laws that protect consumers against anti-competitive behavior, unfair collusion, anti-competitive behavior, excessive consolidation of American companies and more.

You can watch a clip of my remarks from the hearing above, or to read the full transcript, click here.

Yesterday, I introduced the Public Service Freedom to Negotiate Act alongside my Republican colleague Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA-01) and Senator Mazie Hirono (D-HI) to protect the right of public employees to join unions and engage in collective bargaining on behalf of middle-class workers.

Text of this legislation can be found here.

Organized labor is a main pillar of the strong American middle class. Research shows union members employed by a state government earn 17 percent more than their non-union counterparts, and union members employed by a local government earn 35 percent more than their non-union counterparts.

Unfortunately, many states outright prohibit their public-sector employees from engaging in collective bargaining to improve wages or working conditions.

This commonsense legislation, with strong support from both Democrats and Republicans, would empower the Federal Labor Relations Authority to determine whether a state, territory, or locality provides public employees and supervisors the right to form, join or assist unions and to join together to engage in other activities to improve their working conditions and more.

With all of the progress workers of all stripes have made, now is not the time to turn back the clock on fair pay and workplace protections when struggling families need it the most.

To learn more, click here.

Be safe and well,