A Study in Contrast
Remember the end of last year? A Republican-led House and Senate delayed appropriations — the process in which Congress decides how to fund the entire government — until the very last minute, resulting in a 35-day government shutdown over ineffective and unpopular border wall funding that they didn’t end up getting.
It’s a stark difference from the 2019 House controlled by Democrats. Appropriations bills are already underway and are planned to be finalized, if not voted on, before the end of June. This early start on the appropriations process could avoid another government shutdown which costs the economy billions in real money and countless unknown costs, like airline safety and disease outbreak response times.
But it’s unlikely to be entirely smooth sailing. Without control of the House, Republicans have been resorting to obstruction to prevent Democrats from passing otherwise bipartisan legislation and other petty tactics like drawing out unnecessary votes for no reason other than wasting time.
Other than McConnell who refuses to bring most of the House legislation up for a vote in the Senate, a notable obstructionist in the House has been Chip Roy from Texas. Last week he called for roll call votes (the slow method) for each one of the dozens of amendments on the upcoming appropriations, instead of standard voice votes (the fast method) causing the session to run until 4am without affecting the likely outcome of any amendment vote.
Texas’ 21st district is on the short list for Democrats to take in the 2020 elections, and you can guess which House member currently holds that seat: Chip Roy.
You’re FIREd
Last week, Trump boasted that he would accept assistance from foreign governments to help his reelection campaign — a clearly illegal situation. Straightforward legislation requiring reporting of such outreach has been introduced in the Senate, demand McConnell and the GOP take up this important bill.
Call to Pass the FIRE Act
A Great Shame On Our Country
Human rights abuses are happening every day at immigrant detention centers across the country, from dirty and overcrowded living conditions to the death of children in custody. State and local lawmakers must demand transparency from facilities in their states and report the findings back to the public.
Call to Find Out What’s Happening in Detention Centers
Open The Investigation
KEEP CALLING EACH WEEK. It is time for the House to open an impeachment inquiry, and members of Congress need to hear from you. Every week we gain another few members in favor of opening formal impeachment investigations.
Call to Open an Impeachment Inquiry
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