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New Dems Welcome Biden Administration Officials to Weekly Member Lunch for Conversation on Mental Health and Substance Use Disorders
This week, New Dems welcomed Biden Administration Officials to our weekly Member lunch for a conversation on their efforts to tackle the twin crises of mental health and substance use disorders. Members discussed what Congress can do legislatively to work with the administration and tackle these crises.
Guests included Director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse Dr. Nora Volkow, HHS Assistant Secretary for Mental Health and Substance Abuse Dr. Miriam Delphin-Rittmon, and Director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy Dr. Rahul Gupta.
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Rep. Gregory Meeks (NY-05) met with community leaders at the Haitian-Americans United for Progress Inc., Chhaya Community Development Corporation, and the Alpha Phi Alpha Senior Citizens Center during the district work period to provide them with a portion of the $16,300,000 in federal funding awarded to NY-05 for community projects.
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Rep. Sharice Davids (KS-03) toured three local roads in Wyandotte County identified for safety concerns and announced new Bipartisan Infrastructure Law funding to improve them. Wyandotte County will develop a new, comprehensive Vision Zero safety plan, the number one priority identified in their recently adopted goDotte countywide mobility strategy.
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Rep. Glenn Ivey (MD-04) joined the City of Laurel Mayor Craig Moe in hosting concerned citizens to clean up the Patuxent River on International Day of Action for Rivers. Dozens of volunteers came together with the Chesapeake Bay Foundation and Patuxent Riverkeeper to pick up trash and debris along the banks of the only river entirely contained within Maryland.
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Rep. Lucy McBath (GA-07) announced that the Gwinnett County Department of Transportation will be awarded a $1,053,400 Strengthening Mobility and Revolutionizing Transportation (SMART) grant from the United States Department of Transportation. The SMART grant award will fund technology innovations along the Singleton Road corridor, an area of Gwinnett County which has tragically seen several pedestrians killed by motorists.
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Rep. Derek Kilmer (WA-06) applauded an announcement from the U.S. Forest Service that it will commit $125,000 in federal funds to create a new Clallam County Community Wildfire Protection Plan, funded through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, to help communities and others plan for and mitigate wildfire risks as the nation faces an ongoing wildfire crisis.
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Rep. Eric Sorensen (IL-17) announced $3,741,866 in federal grant funding for Early Head Start education programs in Northwestern Illinois. This grant was awarded by the United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to SAL Family and Community Services in Moline to provide education to infants and toddlers under the age of three, and pregnant women.
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New Democrat Coalition Chair Kuster Applauds Biden Administration's Plan to Expand School Meals for Children
This week, New Democrat Coalition Chair Annie Kuster (NH-02) released the following statement applauding the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s new rule that would help provide millions more children with school meals:
“Last year, as part of the New Democrat Coalition’s Action Plan to Fight Inflation, our Members pushed the Biden Administration and Congress to extend school and summer meal flexibilities to ensure no child goes hungry.
“New Dems are thrilled to see the USDA’s action to help provide more school meals to low-income students across the country by lowering the threshold for the Community Eligibility Provision. Now, it’s time for Congress to come together to provide the necessary funding to execute this plan and get us closer to ending child hunger in America.”
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ICYMI: New Democrat Coalition Unveils Nine New Policy Task Forces & Outlines Robust Policy Agenda for 118th Congress
On March 10th, the New Democrat Coalition, led by Chair Annie Kuster (NH-02) and Vice Chair for Policy Derek Kilmer (WA-06) unveiled nine new policy task forces for the 118th Congress.
The nine NDC task forces and their leadership are:
- Climate Change and Clean Energy Task Force
- Chair Scott Peters (CA-50), Vice Chairs Sean Casten (IL-06), Eric Sorensen (IL-17), and Susan Wild (PA-07)
- Health Care, Substance Use, and Mental Health Task Force
- Chair Terri Sewell (AL-07), Vice Chairs Yadira Caraveo (CO-08) and Brittany Pettersen (CO-07)
- Trade Task Force
- Chair Lizzie Fletcher (TX-07), Vice Chairs Don Beyer (VA-08) and Jimmy Panetta (CA-19)
- Immigration and Border Security Task Force
- Chair Greg Stanton (AZ-04), Vice Chairs Salud Carbajal (CA-24) and Lou Correa (CA-46)
- Affordable Housing Task Force
- Chair Norma Torres (CA-35), Vice Chairs Greg Landsman (OH-01), Wiley Nickel (NC-13), and Emilia Sykes (OH-13)
- Workforce Development Task Force
- Chair Kathy Manning (NC-06), Vice Chairs Hillary Scholten (MI-03) and Gabe Vasquez (NM-02)
- Economic Growth and Fiscal Responsibility Task Force
- Chair Chrissy Houlahan (PA-06) and Vice Chair Nikema Williams (GA-05)
- Farm Bill Task Force
- Chair Kim Schrier (WA-08), Vice Chairs Jim Costa (CA-21) and Don Davis (NC-01)
- National Security Task Force
- Chair Marilyn Strickland (WA-10), Vice Chairs Jason Crow (CO-06), Ed Case (HI-01), and Jared Moskowitz (FL-23)
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Aguilar Reintroduces Legislation to Prevent Domestic Terror Incidents
Rep. Pete Aguilar (CA-33) introduced H.R. 1693, the REPORT Act, to prevent future incidents of domestic terrorism. The REPORT Act requires the Secretary of Homeland Security to collaborate with the FBI, Office of the U.S. Attorney General and National Counter Terrorism Center to submit a report to Congress in the wake of domestic terror incidents. This report will have recommended actions for Congress to implement to prevent future terror incidents.
Castro Leads 26 Members in Introducing the Transparency in Government Contracts Act
Rep. Joaquin Castro (TX-20) introduced the Transparency in Government Contracts Act alongside 26 Members of the U.S. House of Representatives. This legislation would support Congressional efforts to improve contracting opportunities for businesses owned by minorities, women, and people with disabilities by requiring the federal government to disaggregate the contracts it awards to businesses owned by socially and economically disadvantaged individuals by race, ethnicity, and gender, and disclose this information to the public.
Costa, Harder, and Panetta introduce Bipartisan Legislation to hold Foreign Shipping Monopolies Accountable
Reps. Jim Costa (CA-21), Josh Harder (CA-09), and Jimmy Panetta (CA-19) introduced H.R. 1696, the Ocean Shipping Antitrust Enforcement Act. This bipartisan legislation would repeal the exemption for foreign ocean carriers from all federal antitrust laws and address unfair practices that harm American businesses, producers, and consumers.
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Rep. Shontel Brown (OH-11) released a video celebrating the 13th anniversary of the Affordable Care Act on Thursday, a historic piece of legislation that advanced health equity for all Americans.
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Rep. Nikki Budzinski (IL-13) was featured in a Spectrum News article about how she is carving out her own bipartisan path in Congress during her first few months in office.
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Rep. Joaquin Castro (TX-20) led the Texas Democratic Congressional delegation in a letter calling on the DOE to prioritize Texas projects with strong labor standards for federal hydrogen energy development funding. The federal funding for these projects comes from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.
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Rep. Gerry Connolly (VA-11) was named the Most Effective Lawmaker of the 117th Congress by the Center for Effective Lawmaking. With a Legislative Effectiveness Score of 7.142, Connolly scored more than seven times higher than the average member of the House.
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Rep. Joe Morelle (NY-25) and local law enforcement leaders penned a letter to TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew about the recent rise in violence and automobile thefts promoted by viral videos on their platform.
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