Dear John,

Welcome to your Weekly Wrap, a recap of the week in Congress and highlights of my work. 

Last week, the House passed H.Con.Res.7, bipartisan legislation expressing support for the people of Iran. Additionally, the House considered the Strategic Production Response Act.  

For the full recap, please read below.  

Expressing Support for the People of Iran

For several months, protests and demonstrations have taken place across Iran following the death of Mahsa Amini, an activist who was arrested for violating Iran’s strict dress codes. These demonstrations have become increasingly violent at the hands of the Iranian regime.  It has been reported that Iranian security forces have killed more than 300 people.    

Last week, the House passed H.Con.Res.7, bipartisan legislation expressing support for the people of Iran. Specifically, the bill commends the bravery, courage, and resolve of the women and men of Iran, demonstrating in more than 133 cities and risking their safety to speak out against the Iranian regime’s human rights abuses. The legislation also calls for the continued sanctioning of the Iranian morality police.  

I joined my colleagues in passing this legislation to send a clear message - the U.S. will not stand for any acts of violent suppression from the regime and those responsible for continued human rights abuses will be held accountable.  

Additional information on H.Con.Res. 7 is available here.  

Strategic Production Response Act 

The Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) is the world’s largest federally-owned supply of crude oil. Oil from the SPR may be released when the President finds significant disruption to oil markets has occurred. Last year, releases from our petroleum reserve helped lower gas prices for working families amid a global energy crisis caused by the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine.

On Thursday, the House considered H.R. 21, the Strategic Production Response Act.  This legislation would prohibit the Department of Energy (DOE) from releasing oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) until the Secretary of the Interior issues a plan to increase oil and gas production on federal lands and waters.

I voted in opposition to this legislation because it restricts the ability of the administration to provide relief during times of crisis and because of concerns about increased drilling on public lands. Further, this bill would substantially increase profits for the fossil fuel industry, with no benefit to the American people.

Families in the Fifth District need relief at the pump and clean energy solutions, not decades more of climate pollution and dependence on fossil fuels.

Casework Highlight  

On Tuesday, my team held our monthly Casework on your Corner program at Danbury City Hall. This program is designed to help my constituents navigate federal agencies as well as learn more about the services provided by my office.  

We would like to express how thankful and grateful we are for Congresswoman Jahana Hayes, who helped us to get an emergency passport renewal appointment in Stamford, CT.  

My son’s passport was 2 weeks shy of making the 3-month passport expiration stipulation for international travel. Of course, we didn’t find this out until the 11th hour of leaving for our trip.  

On our own we were unsuccessful at getting an appointment at any of the nearby passport locations. The compassion and kindness expressed to us by our Caseworker in this time of a travel crisis is the type of leadership we need in our state and country.  

Without this appointment, we would not have been able to leave the country and would have missed out on a trip of a lifetime.  
               -  Alexia, New Britain  

Thank you for taking the time to read this update. As always, please continue to share your thoughts and priorities with me. 

 
Jahana Hayes  
Member of Congress