Updates from Washington

I Vote in Favor of Passing Legislation to Help
Workers, Families and Communities 

On July 20th, I voted to pass H.R. 8294, a package of six government funding bills, which focuses on helping families and communities across America. The transformative investments in the bill will lower the cost of living, create good-paying American jobs, lift up working families and support small businesses.

As we fight growing inflation and rising costs of living, we must invest in the critically important programs that support people. This legislation contains many provisions that are of critical importance to Illinois, including several of my Community Project Funding requests. The investments in this package continue to reverse decades of disinvestment by helping the middle class, working families and small businesses.

My Bill, Reese’s Law Passes the House

Yesterday, my bipartisan legislation co-led by Reps. Jodey Arrington (R-TX) and Ted Lieu (D-CA), Reese’s Law, passed the House. This bill will protect children from ingesting button cell batteries. Reese’s Law is named for Reese Hamsmith, an 18-month-old child who tragically passed away after ingesting a button cell battery.

Button and coin batteries pose a dangerous risk to young children and infants, but products with these batteries lack proper safety standards. Swallowing button batteries can cause serious injuries for some children, especially if the battery becomes lodged in the esophagus.

There are so many products in our homes that contain these batteries and could pose a danger to children. I’m a mother and a grandmother, so I know how quickly children can get ahold of small items like button batteries. Making simple changes in safety standards for products with these batteries could save a child’s life

This legislation will direct the Consumer Product Safety Commission to create safety standards that prevent accidental ingestion of button batteries by children ages six and younger.

Oversight Committee Hearing with Gun Manufacturers

Yesterday, I participated in an Oversight Committee hearing to examine the role of the firearms industry in America’s gun violence epidemic. The Committee has released findings that five gun companies collected more than $1 billion over the last decade from the sale of military-style assault weapons to civilians, as gun violence and mass shootings surged across the United States.  These companies use disturbing sales tactics—including marketing deadly weapons as a way for young men to prove their masculinity and selling guns to mass shooters on credit—while failing to take basic steps to monitor the violence their products unleashed.  

Our hearing pressed manufacturers to stop these aggressive marketing tactics and help us keep guns away from individuals who should not have them.

A recording of the hearing is available here.

Updates from District

Black Women and Girls Symposium: “Reclaiming Our Wellness

On Saturday, August 6th, I will host a Caucus on Black Women and Girls Symposium, Reclaiming Our Wellness. The event will take place at Prairie State College in Chicago Heights, IL.  

The event will focus on addressing eight domains of wellness for women: mental, environmental, financial, intellectual, occupational, physical, social and spiritual.

The symposium will include the following speakers, among others:

- Dr. Mai Heath to discuss infant and maternal mortality. 

- Dr. Nichelle Bush to discuss research findings on how COVID impacted pregnancy and delivery.

- Dr. Hareder McDowell - Founder/Executive Director of P.R.E.T.T.Y Inc. - to discuss sexuality and body positivity.

- Ms. LaSaia Wade - CEO of Brave Space Alliance to discuss LGBTQ+ milestones and setbacks.

The event will be Saturday August 6th from 8:30AM – 1:00PM (CT) at the Prairie State College at 202 s Halsted St., Chicago Heights, IL 60411.

Those who plan to attend should pre-register by clicking here. 

Constituent Success Story

It is an honor to serve the people of Illinois’ Second Congressional District. It makes me so proud when constituents contact my office to thank my staff and I for the work we’ve done.

"When I originally applied for Social Security, I misread the application and selected part A Medicare but not part B. After realizing my mistake, I was told that penalty fees would be assessed for late enrollment in Part B. Although, it was my enrollment mistake, I came to Rep. Kelly's office to inquire if the penalty fees could be waived. About a month later, the local office called back informing me that I would be enrolled in part B without penalty and a new Medicare card would be issued to me. The bonus was my enrollment date was moved to up and I didn't have to wait six months!"

- Paul from Flossmoor, IL

Has my staff helped you deal with a federal agency? If so, I’d really like to hear from you! Please take a few minutes to fill out my Constituent Testimonial Form. If you’d like to read more positive stories from my office, please visit my Constituent Success Stories page.