My office is hiring! If you are a veteran or a Gold Star family member who lives in our community, we would love to have you join our team at our Schaumburg District Office as part of the Green and Gold Congressional Aide Program (G&G CAP). The G&G CAP is open exclusively to recent veterans, Gold Star Families, and active-duty spouses who are interested in helping our neighbors with casework and serving as liaisons to local Veterans Service Organizations. To read more about the position and to apply, please click here.

On Monday, I joined Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart and other elected officials at Lurie Children's Hospital in Chicago to speak on combating youth vaping and to announce a new inquiry into illicit vaping products imported from the People’s Republic of China (PRC). These illegally smuggled products, often marketed to young people through targeted advertising and kid-friendly flavors, threaten our children with nicotine addiction. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has only authorized 34 flavored e-cigarettes, but the vast majority have not been approved through a safety review and are still illegal. During my press conference with Sheriff Dart, I made it clear that our kids are not for sale.

I am deeply concerned about the large number of illegal vaping products entering the U.S., often disguised as USB drives or other items. With the PRC producing approximately 95 percent of global vaping products, including the popular Elf Bar, it is crucial to address both the smuggling of these products and their presence on store shelves. The FDA must act to remove these illegal, highly addictive products, which are being deliberately marketed to children, from stores across Illinois and the country. Since initiating the first Congressional investigation into the youth vaping epidemic in 2019 and co-founding the Bipartisan Congressional Caucus to End the Youth Vaping Epidemic, I have remained committed to stopping the illegal practices and predatory tactics of Big Tobacco and their partners overseas. The fight must go on, and you can read about my press conference in the Chicago Sun Times here and watch the WGN segment here.

On Wednesday, I joined with a bipartisan coalition of members from the House and Senate calling for Congress to take up Pharmacy Benefit Manager (PBM) reform legislation before the end of the year. PBMs, which have positioned themselves as hugely profitable middlemen between drug companies and patients, are driving up prices of prescription drugs for consumers and killing competition by pushing independent and local pharmacies out of business. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC), 39 state attorneys general, and members from both parties in Washington agree: the way PBMs operate is unsustainable and unacceptable. The bipartisan consensus is evident, the need for reform is evident, and the desire for Congress to act is evident. Now is the time for Congress to end the stranglehold PBMs have on our health care system by moving to protect pharmacy competition and lower prescription drug costs for everyone. It is my hope that this week’s demonstration of strong bipartisan support for reform pushes Congress to act on this issue before the year ends, aiding our local pharmacies and saving Americans money on prescription drugs.

On Tuesday, the U.S. House unanimously passed my bipartisan Protecting American Industry and Labor from International Trade Crimes Act. As the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) continues to pursue trade policies that violate American trade laws, this bipartisan legislation will crack down on these crimes by establishing a new unit at the Department of Justice dedicated to strengthening enforcement and holding perpetrators criminally liable. Through countering the CCP’s illegal trade practices, such as violating the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act, dumping below-market iron and steel, and flooding the American market with illegal vapes, our bipartisan bill will protect American workers, consumers, and companies. In the wake of the House passage of the bipartisan bill, I hope the Senate will swiftly take up and approve the legislation to protect Americans, our economy, and our values. You can watch my full floor speech here.

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.