80 years ago today, U.S. and Allied Forces stormed the beaches of Normandy to safeguard our freedoms and liberate Europe from tyranny. Their great sacrifices didn't just win us a war, it secured America's future – we must never forget them. 

As we commemorate this monumental anniversary of one of the most consequential naval, air, and land operations in history, it is rather fitting to remember the prayer President Franklin D. Roosevelt shared with the nation on the night of June 6, 1944.

Click here or listen to the prayer speech below. 

This week, Rep. Barry Loudermilk (GA-11) supported critical legislation that stands strongly with our great ally Israel as well as honors our commitments to our nation's heroes by ensuring they get the best quality of care they've earned. Bills are as follows: 

H.R. 8282 – Illegitimate Court Counteraction Act – Rep. Chip Roy (TX-21)

House Republicans stand firmly with our ally, Israel, and support Israel’s right to defend itself following Hamas’ brutal October 7th attacks, which claimed the lives of over 1,200 Israelis. This legislation supports Israel in their fight against Hamas by requiring the President to impose sanctions against International Criminal Court (ICC) officials who investigate, arrest, detain, or prosecute a U.S. person or our allies.

• On May 20, 2024, the Prosecutor of the ICC, Karim Khan, announced arrest warrant applications for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant for alleged war crimes in Gaza.
• Hamas started this war and to this day continues to hold as many as 130 hostages. Israel has every right to defend itself in the wake of a vicious terrorist attack. The ICC’s actions against Israel are illegitimate and baseless and create a damaging precedent that threatens the U.S. and our allies.
• The U.S. and Israel are not parties to the Rome Statute nor members of the ICC, and therefore the ICC has no legitimacy or jurisdiction over the United States or Israel.
• Specifically, H.R. 8282:

• • Within 60 days of enactment, and on an ongoing basis thereafter, requires the President to impose sanctions against ICC officials who investigate, arrest, detain, or prosecute a U.S. person or lawful resident of an ally of the U.S. that has not consented to ICC jurisdiction or is not a state party to the Rome Statute.

• • • Sanctions include property blocking, ineligibility to receive visas or other immigration benefits, and revocation of currently held visas.
    • Requires notification to Congress no later than 10 days after the imposition of sanctions.
    • Provides the ability, on a case-by-case basis, to waive sanctions for up to 90 days if a waiver is vital for national security interests. The president must provide a detailed report to Congress when waiving sanctions.

• • Prohibits appropriations to the ICC.

H.R. 8580 – Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2025 – Rep. John Carter (TX-31)

The FY25 MilCon-VA Appropriations Act honors our commitment to our nation’s veterans by fully funding health care and benefits programs, bolsters our national security through robust funding for the Indo-Pacific region, and reins in the woke ideology pushed by the Biden Administration.

• The bill provides a total of $378.6 billion in overall funding, including $147.5 billion in discretionary funding for the Department of Defense (Military Construction and Family Housing), Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), and related agencies, and $231.1 billion for mandatory programs, namely medical care for toxic exposure.

• • Military Construction and Housing - $17.9 billion, $412 million above the FY25 President’s Budget Request, including $1.1 billion for 11 barracks projects, $1.1 billion for investments in the Indo-Pacific region, and $2 billion for Military Family Housing.
  • VA - $337.4 billion, $75.5 million above the FY25 President’s Budget Request and $30.2 billion above the FY24 enacted level, including $112.6 billion for medical care.
• Prohibits the use of funds to promote or advance critical race theory and implement the Biden Administration’s executive orders on diversity, equity, and inclusion.
• Maintains the prohibitions on closing Guantanamo Bay and the using military construction funds to build facilities for detainees on U.S. soil.
• Prohibits taxpayer dollars from being used for abortion using Hyde Amendment language.
• Protects the Second Amendment rights of veterans by preventing the VA from sending information to the FBI without a judge’s consent.
• Reaffirms existing law prohibiting the use of funds by the executive branch to lobby Congress and push a political agenda.

This week, Rep. Barry Loudermilk (GA-11) joined House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul (TX-10), Rep. Rich McCormick (GA-6) and thirteen of their House Republican colleagues in sending a letter to President Biden, Secretary of State Antony Blinken, and Special Presidential Envoy of Hostage Affairs (SPEHA) Roger Carstens urging immediate action to transfer the case of U.S. citizen Tigran Gambaryan, who is being wrongfully detained by the Nigerian government to SPEHA. 

“Mr. Gambaryan’s detainment has been marked by excessive and harsh treatment,” the lawmakers wrote. “Further, he is not permitted to meet with his legal team without the presence of government officials and armed guards. It is crucial to emphasize that the charges against Mr. Gambaryan are baseless and constitute a coercion tactic by the Nigerian government to extort his employer, Binance. Following these charges, Mr. Gambaryan qualifies as a ‘U.S. Citizen wrongfully detained by a foreign government,’ as defined in the ‘Robert Levinson Hostage Recovery and Hostage-Taking Accountability Act.'”

BACKGROUND

Mr. Gambaryan is a former federal agent with a background in cyber investigations and he currently serves as the Head of Financial Crime Compliance for Binance. Mr. Gambaryan was invited by the Nigerian government for high level meetings regarding compliance with Binance. On February 26, 2024, after two rounds of meetings,  he was taken hostage by the Nigeran government and later charged with baseless crimes. 

Recent developments in Mr. Gambaryan’s case have raised serious concerns about his health and well-being. He collapsed in court and tested positive for malaria, yet prison officials have not fully complied with court orders to ensure he receives adequate medical treatment.

Click here to read the full text of the letter. 

This week, Rep. Barry Loudermilk (GA-11) joined Reps. Darin LaHood (IL-16) and Suzan DelBene (WA-01) and 225 of his House colleagues as a cosponsor of H.R. 3238, the Affordable Housing Credit Improvement Act. This legislation would support the financing of more affordable housing by expanding and strengthening the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (Housing Credit), our nation's most successful affordable housing program.

H.R. 3238 would support the financing of nearly 2 million new affordable homes by:

• Increasing the amount of credits allocated to each state. The legislation would increase the number of credits available to states by 50 percent for the next two years and make the temporary 12.5 percent increase secured in 2018 permanent—which has already helped build more than 59,000 additional affordable housing units nationwide.
• Increasing the number of affordable housing projects that can be built using private activity bonds. This provision would stabilize financing for workforce housing projects built using private activity bonds by decreasing the amount of private activity bonds needed to secure Housing Credit funding. As a result, projects would have to carry less debt, and more projects would be eligible to receive funding.
• Improving the Housing Credit program to better serve at-risk and underserved communities. The legislation would also make improvements to the program to better serve veterans, victims of domestic violence, formerly homeless students, Native American communities, and rural Americans.

To read the full bill text, click here.

This week, Rep. Barry Loudermilk (GA-11), joined Rep. Russ Fulcher (ID-01) and 41 of their House Republican colleagues as a cosponsor to H.J. Res. 133, legislation under the Congressional Review Act to stop President Biden's Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) proposed rule for heavy-duty vehicle emission standards that would require 30-40% of all new trucks be electric in just eight years. 

This legislation is being introduced alongside CRA legislation by Senator Pete Ricketts (R-NE) and Rep. John James (MI-10) to overturn the new light-duty and medium-duty emission standards announced in April that will require two-thirds of new cars to be electric in just eight years.

BACKGROUND

Light and Medium Duty Vehicles Rule: On Wednesday, April 12, 2023, EPA announced the “Multi-Pollutant Emissions Standards for Model Years 2027 and Later Light-Duty and Medium Duty Vehicles,” a proposed rule to reduce emissions from light-duty and medium-duty vehicles starting with model year (MY) 2027 through MY2032. In this rule, EPA is proposing multipollutant emissions standards for light-duty passenger cars and light trucks and Class 2b and 3 vehicles (“medium-duty vehicles”). EPA estimates that due to this proposal electric vehicles (EVs) will make up two-thirds of new vehicles by MY2032, a whopping 67 percent of overall vehicle production. In 2022, EVs accounted for a mere 5.8 percent of new cars sold in the US. The administration unveiled its finalized light and medium-duty vehicles rule on March 20, 2024. See Ricketts and Sullivan’s joint statement on the announcement here.

Heavy Duty Vehicles Rule: On Wednesday, April 12, 2023, EPA announced the “Greenhouse Gas Standards for Heavy-Duty Vehicles - Phase 3” which would apply to heavy-duty vocational vehicles such as delivery trucks, refuse haulers, dump trucks, public utility trucks, transit, shuttle, school buses, and trucks typically used to haul freight. These standards build on the Heavy-Duty NOx standards for MY 2027 and beyond, which EPA finalized in December 2022, representing the third phase of EPA’s Clean Trucks Plan. The administration unveiled its finalized heavy-duty vehicles rule on March 29th, 2024. 

To read the full bill text, click here. 

This week, Rep. Barry Loudermilk (GA-11) joined Reps. John Curtis (UT-3) and Marie Gluesenkamp-Perez (WA-3) in cosponsoring H.R. 7944, the Water Systems PFAS Liability Protection Act. This legislation would ensure water utilities can continue to focus their efforts on strengthening and maintaining water quality.

BACKGROUND

In 2022, the EPA formally announced plans to designate two of the most common Per-and Polyfluorinated Substances (PFAS) — Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and Perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS) — as hazardous substances under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA). If finalized, this designation could put drinking water utilities at risk of incurring cleanup liability when they take necessary steps to remove and dispose of PFAS deposited into water supplies by upstream polluting industries. In addition, wastewater and stormwater utilities could also be put at risk as they receive PFAS chemicals through the raw influent that arrives at the treatment plan or through municipal stormwater runoff.

While EPA has announced an “enforcement discretion” policy that intends to focus on polluters that are responsible for the contamination and have profited from PFAS, such a policy will be insufficient to ensure that drinking water and clean water ratepayers will be permanently protected from CERCLA legal defense costs and cleanup liability for PFAS.

To read the full bill text, click here.

Fox News:

House GOP investigators are looking for more of former Rep. Liz Cheney's communications with ex-Trump administration staffers as they continue to probe the work of the now-defunct House select committee on Jan. 6.

Rep. Barry Loudermilk, R-Ga., who chairs the House Committee on Administration's oversight subcommittee, sent a letter to Alyssa Farah Griffin on Tuesday seeking records of her exchanges with Cheney, R-Wyo., as well as Cassidy Hutchinson, Trump White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, any Secret Service agents assigned to Meadows or former President Trump and communications with officials in the Fulton County, Georgia, district attorney's office.

Loudermilk asked for Griffin's communications surrounding Hutchinson specifically, citing claims that Griffin had convinced Hutchinson to testify in front of the select committee and accusing Hutchinson of having "drastically" changed her testimony after speaking with Griffin.

Just the News: 

House investigators have obtained evidence showing that former President Donald Trump’s Secret Service driver wanted to quickly refute testimony from Cassidy Hutchinson alleging a struggle in the presidential limousine during the Capitol riots but the Democrat-led January 6 committee rebuffed him for months.

The evidence was confirmed to Just the News both by Rep. Barry Loudermilk, the chairman of the House subcommittee that is investigating the Jan. 6 tragedy now for Republicans, and a transcript of the driver’s interview that was conducted months after he first offered to testify. 

Loudermilk on Tuesday evening decried the delay by the Democrat-led Jan. 6 committee, saying it kept Americans in the dark for months ahead of the 2022 midterm elections that there was firsthand testimony refuting Hutchinson’s sensational hearsay narrative that Trump tried to violently commandeer his Secret Service limousine on Jan. 6, 2021, to take it to the Capitol. 

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