   
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 Month in Photos
Fighting Back Against MAGA Book Bans
In schools, libraries and universities across America, the MAGA Thought Police are stepping up their efforts to ban books and restrict the freedom to read, think, speak and write.
With the support of literary organizations, authors and readers alike, Senator Brian Schatz (D-HI) and I once again introduced a resolution to recognize Banned Books Week (September 22-28) and to reject these far-right book bans.
In the 2023-2024 school year alone, PEN America documented over 10,000 instances of individual books being banned, nearly triple the number in the previous academic year. Many bans have removed books from the shelves that share ideas targeted by Project 2025, including those reflecting the LGBTQIA+ experience, racial injustice or stories about grief and abuse.
I also challenged my colleagues in Congress and all Americans to read a passage from their favorite banned books and share them online using #ResolveToRead. I chose an excerpt from George Orwell’s 1984, which is a fitting target of authoritarian book bans because it is all about authoritarianism and censorship!
Young people come to learn about and appreciate different experiences and perspectives when they are exposed to a diversity of stories. We must close this chapter of censorship and, rather than following the world’s dictators and autocrats down the road of censorship, turn our attention to the resources students need to succeed.
Empowering All Voters in Our Elections
Alongside Senator Peter Welch (D-VT) and Rep. Don Beyer (VA-08), I introduced legislation to establish ranked choice voting (RCV) in U.S. congressional elections.
With RCV, voters rank candidates in order of choice. If a candidate receives more than half of the first choices, that candidate wins, just like in any election. If not, the candidate with the fewest votes is eliminated, and voters who picked that candidate as ‘number 1’ have their votes redistributed and counted for their next favored choice. This process continues until a candidate wins with more than half the votes.
States such as Maine and Alaska have already successfully implemented RCV in congressional races, and many other states have RCV legislation under consideration.
RCV focuses American elections and campaigns on positive majoritarian coalition-building instead of divisive negative politicking. Our legislation incentivizes candidates to reach a broader range of the voting public, making our elections—and our Congress—more positive, more efficient and more representative.
Tackling America’s Mental Health Epidemic
Our nation is plagued by a mental health epidemic, and too many families have experienced the anguish of losing a loved one to mental illness and suicide. During National Suicide Prevention Month, I introduced bipartisan legislation with Rep. Don Bacon (NE-02) to expand access to evidence-based stabilization care for individuals with serious thoughts of suicide.
The STOP Suicide Act will provide relief to Americans grappling with serious thoughts of suicide and crucial new resources and training for the health care professionals who treat them.
Individuals experiencing thoughts of suicide can reach a trained counselor 24/7/365 by calling the National Suicide and Crisis Lifeline at 988. Counselors can also be reached by text message or online chat. Visit their website for more information.
Supporting Strong Climate Standards in Clean Hydrogen
In August 2022, Congress passed the Inflation Reduction Act, our country’s largest climate and clean energy investment. The IRA provided $369 billion to spur our transition to clean energy and included a new tax credit for clean hydrogen.
Hydrogen fuel can be burned without releasing greenhouse gas emissions, making it an important tool for reducing emissions in industries that currently use heavily polluting fossil fuels, such as steelmaking and transportation. At the same time, hydrogen is extremely energy-intensive to make, which is why we must ensure it’s made from clean, renewable energy. Fossil fuel interests have been working to weaken the climate standards in this tax credit to make themselves eligible for more subsidies, which is why I teamed up with Senators Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), and Rep. Don Beyer (VA-08) in leading 66 of our fellow colleagues to call on the Treasury Department and the Biden Administration to finalize strong climate standards in its rules for this tax credit. Strong climate standards in this tax credit will help us ensure that we build a truly clean hydrogen sector, rather than one that subsidizes polluting fossil fuels. Check out this piece in Politico E&E News on our efforts.
Affirming Reproductive Freedom as a Human Right
After the MAGA justices on the Supreme Court ripped away abortion access from millions of Americans, it is more important than ever to recommit ourselves to the fight for reproductive freedom in America and across the globe. We can do this by upholding our obligations under international human rights treaties, including the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which requires state parties like the United States to protect reproductive freedom.
In September, I joined Rep. Nikema Williams (GA-05), Rep. Alma Adams (NC-12), Rep. Troy Carter (LA-02), Rep. Greg Casar (TX-35), and Rep. Jennifer McClellan (VA-04) in introducing a resolution affirming reproductive freedom as a basic human right. The resolution was inspired by efforts across the country to protect reproductive rights, including in our very own district, where the Montgomery County Council unanimously approved a similar resolution spearheaded by Vice President Kate Stewart earlier in the month.
Oversight Committee Work
In September, I continued to lead Oversight Democrats to put the common good over party politics and to stand up for families in MD-08 and across America.
Among other efforts, I, along with Rep. Robert Garcia (CA-42), demanded answers from Donald Trump after reporting first appeared in the Washington Post, that the former president may have illegally accepted a $10 million cash bribe from Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi during the final weeks of the 2016 presidential campaign and that, subsequently, his political appointees in the Department of covered it up. The serious and specific allegations raised by the reporting compelled the Committee to seek more information about this matter, especially on the heels of Oversight Democrats’ ongoing investigations into former President Trump’s conflicts of interests while in-office and as presidential candidate.
In bipartisan legislation, Chairman James Comer (KY-01) and I introduced the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) Reauthorization Act of 2024 (H.R. 9598) to reauthorize the ONDCP and ensure federal agencies are properly resourced to hold accountable those who are trafficking drugs into the United States. This bipartisan bill authorizes critical funding for the federal agencies that are working to end the opioid epidemic. From aiding federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement agencies to improving tools available for opioid treatment and recovery, Congress is stepping up in our efforts to get federal dollars to the American people.
After the school shooting in Winder, Georgia, I led Committee Democrats in urging the GOP to hold a hearing on the gun violence ravaging America. The request was met with silence. So, Oversight Democrats organized and held a roundtable on the long-term consequences of the gun violence epidemic for children, teenagers, and their communities with a panel of school leaders, advocates, and gun violence experts.
Recognizing the Local Heroes of the Eighth District
Our community turns to Patrick Campbell in moments of crisis. As deputy chief operating officer of Montgomery County Department of Health and Human Services, this MD-08 Local Hero is an expert emergency manager serving our people. During National Preparedness Month, we celebrated his dedication, resilience and creativity.
Antonio Tijerino is a local and national leader at the helm of the Hispanic Heritage Foundation. During Hispanic Heritage Month, we spotlighted this MD-08 Local Hero's work to share the powerful stories of people in our nation's Latina/o/x community.
Rockville native Tom Cove—visionary leader for exercise for all and a MoCo volunteer coach for kids' teams in soccer, baseball and basketball—has changed the world of sports in many ways. We salute this MD-08 Local Hero as he retires from the Sports and Fitness Industry Association.
Saul Vasquez and Robert Giron spread the power of financial literacy through their work at the Latino Economic Development Center’s Financial Empowerment Center. These MD-08 Local Heroes provide free one-on-one and group financial counseling for our community.
Constituent Corner: IRS Direct File
The average American spends $270 and 13 hours filing their taxes a year. Next tax season, I’m proud to share that IRS Direct file will be available in Maryland, allowing many taxpayers to independently complete their tax return online quickly and for free. I fought to have Direct File included in the Inflation Reduction Act and I know it will substantially reduce the cost of tax filing services for a lot of working families.
This mailbox cannot receive replies. To email me, please click here.
|
