July 2, 2022
Dear Friends,
Over the past few weeks, millions of Americans have tuned in as the Select Committee on the January 6th attack presented the findings of its comprehensive investigation into the insurrection and the events that led up to that dark and painful day. Over the months leading up to these hearings, the bipartisan Select Committee has conducted a clear-eyed, thorough investigation of the attack, completing more than a thousand interviews and reviewing more than 140,000 documents.
For the Committee’s first hearing in June, I joined some of my colleagues who were trapped with me in the House gallery on January 6th to attend in person. And though I will never forget the terror, chaos, and trauma of that day, I was chilled to the core once again by the never-before-seen footage shown by the Committee during that first hearing.
Seeing the venom and hatred in the eyes of the mob as they waved their “Trump 2020” flags, the shattered windows and broken-down doors, and the fear in the voices of our brave Capitol Police officers as they tried to hold the line reinforced just how close our democracy came to falling that day.
Most Americans have long known that Trump’s wild claims of election fraud that sparked the mob on January 6th were total fabrications. But now we know that Trump knew they were lies too, as some of his advisors repeatedly told him. Bill Barr, Trump’s former Attorney General, testified that he told Trump directly that his claims were “b******t,” yet Trump continued to lie to his supporters and work on an elaborate plan to cling to power.
The Committee also drew a clear and direct link between the former President’s incitement and the events of January 6th, and delivered alarming evidence that he not only convened and provoked the mob, but also wanted to join in marching to the Capitol to overturn the election. In this week’s bombshell hearing, ex-White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson gave behind the scenes details on that day and stated that the former president went as far as grabbing the steering wheel from a Secret Service agent in an attempt to drive to the Capitol. Hutchinson spoke of her disgust about Trump’s continued pressure campaign against his own Vice President to decertify the election, saying, “It was un-American. We were watching the Capitol building being defaced over a lie.”
In one of the more poignant moments of the hearings, we heard testimony from brave officials and ordinary election workers who had their lives turned upside-down when they refused to comply with the illegal demands of Trump and his cronies. Arizona House Speaker Rusty Bowers, a conservative Republican who supported Trump in 2020, grew emotional as he described “disturbing” protests that still continue outside his home after he honored his oath by refusing to go along with Trump’s scheme to overturn the election results in his state. Former Georgia election worker Shaye Moss, accompanied by her mother, Ruby Freeman, choked back tears as she described the threats and intimidation she experienced after Trump and his allies in far-right media concocted a preposterous story that she and her mother had somehow committed actions that would “prove” Democrats had stolen votes in their state. “There is nowhere I feel safe,” Moss said.
Their powerful testimony has made clear that the threat to our democracy has not faded. Republicans across the nation continue their efforts at the state and local level to suppress the right to vote, all while Trump and his allies propagate the Big Lie and violently pressure election officials and ordinary poll workers. The House has already acted to protect our democracy by passing H.R. 1, the For the People Act, and H.R. 4, the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, both of which I proudly supported. This legislation would strengthen access to the ballot box, secure election infrastructure, and combat voting discrimination, and I urge the Senate to take up these critical measures as soon as possible.
As we continue to uncover the full truth about that awful day and await the Committee’s recommendations to ensure no similar event occurs again, we must not delay in taking action to secure our democracy for future generations. As we’ve seen, those responsible for the attempted coup on January 6th remain fanatically committed to the subversion of democracy. Until we both hold them accountable for January 6th and take measures to prevent another insurrection, our Republic remains at risk.
As always, thank you for reading.
Your friend,
DID YOU KNOW?
My office and I are working to make sure you remain informed with the latest updates and recommendations from federal agencies. With that in mind, here is some information that may be of interest to you:
- Reproductive health care, including access to birth control and safe and legal abortion care, is an essential part of your health and well-being.
- While Roe v. Wade has been overturned, abortion remains legal in New York and in many other states, and other reproductive health care services remain protected by law.
- The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has created a fact sheet to provide you with accurate and up-to-date information about access to and coverage of reproductive health care and resources, and I’ve included some highlights from that document below.
- Your Right to Birth Control
- Under the Affordable Care Act, most health plans are required to provide birth control and family planning counseling with no out-of-pocket costs.
- This includes hormonal methods like birth control pills, implanted devices like intrauterine devices (IUDs), emergency contraception like Plan B, and other methods.
- To learn more about birth control coverage requirements for different types of health plans, click HERE.
- Your Right to Access Abortion Services
- Following the Supreme Court’s recent decision, access to abortion will depend on the state you live in even more than before.
- Medication abortion has been approved by the FDA since 2000 as a safe and effective option, and federal law permits these medications to be dispensed by telehealth or sent by mail, in addition to in-person dispensing in clinics, medical offices, and hospitals.
- Under federal law, Medicaid will cover abortion only in the circumstances of rape, incest, or if the patient’s life is in danger.
- If you need information on your state’s laws, legal assistance, or help paying for an abortion, please visit AbortionFinder.org to learn more.
- Other Information
- Most health insurance plans are required to cover women’s preventive health services, including regular reproductive health screenings, prenatal care, HIV screening and STI counseling, and more.
- If you do not have health insurance coverage, you have options.
- Visit ReproductiveRights.gov to learn more about your rights and available federal resources.
