In The News
Where’s the final report? Lawmaker grills Pentagon officials on who’s being held accountable for Niger ambush
Soldiers salute as taps play at the U.S. Army Special Operations Command Fallen Special Operations Soldier Memorial ceremony on Fort Bragg, N.C. (Andrew Craft/The Fayetteville Observer via AP) The final report on the fatal Niger ambush, which will include who is being punished, awards, and a redacted investigation into the deaths of the four fallen U.S. soldiers, is tied up in the offices of the secretary of defense. That … Continue Reading
March 07, 2019
Congressman urges Pentagon to stop hiding details of fatal Niger ambush
General Thomas Waldhauser, commander of U.S. Africa Command, and Senior Leadership of the Libya External Office debark a U.S. Marine Corps MV-22 Osprey with Special Purpose Marine Air-Ground Task Force-Crisis Response-Africa in Tunisia in 2018 U.S. Marine Corps photo by Staff Sgt. Britni M. Garcia Green) WASHINGTON — Pentagon officials continue to wrestle with different framing of reports as to what occurred in a deadly ambush in Niger in the fall of 2017, officials have said in … Continue Reading
February 15, 2019
Reps. Ruben Gallego and John Lewis Introduce Bill Paving the Way to Higher Ed for DREAMers
WASHINGTON - Today Rep. Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) joined Rep. John Lewis (D-GA) in reintroducing the Higher Education Dream Act of 2019 as a response to discriminatory action states have taken, and some intend to take, to block the attendance of some immigrants to college and university education. This bill would prohibit institutions that receive federal funds from refusing to admit, enroll, or grant in-state tuition benefits to qualified students based on their immigration status. It would also … Continue Reading
January 31, 2019
Gallego, Kirkpatrick call for 'Health Care Congress' to fight for ACA
The partisan battle over health care continued Tuesday as the liberal group "Protect Our Care Arizona" demanded that Congress keep fighting for the Affordable Care Act amid ongoing attacks by President Donald Trump's administration. Joined by Reps. Ruben Gallego and Ann Kirkpatrick, the Democratic coalition known for defending former President Barack Obama's signature health-care-reform law — which critics on the right dubbed "Obamacare" — called for the new 116th Congress to right the wrongs … Continue Reading
August 02, 2018
POLITICAL NEWS Trump needs to step up public statements against Russia after WH show of force, Dem says
(CNN) President Donald Trump must support the efforts of the national security apparatus to combat Russian cyberattacks with strong public rhetoric, a Democratic member of the House Armed Services committee said Thursday. Trump's national security and intelligence officials announced at a White House news briefing Thursday that the Trump administration is taking unified steps to combat election interference and other cyberattacks, particularly from Russia. Following the briefing, Rep. … Continue Reading
June 06, 2018
House Democrats seek independent commission on Hurricane Maria deaths
WASHINGTON (Circa) — Members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus announced Wednesday they are preparing legislation to create an independent commission to investigate the federal response to Hurricane Maria, in the wake of new data indicating at least 1,300 more people died in Puerto Rico due to the storm than initially reported. "The evidence is making it clear, Maria may be one of the worst natural disasters in U.S. history," said Rep. Nydia Velasquez, D-N.Y., at a Capitol Hill press … Continue Reading
June 05, 2018
Reports of staggering death toll in Puerto Rico prompt calls for a hearing
Prominent Democrats are calling for a hearing into the death toll in Puerto Rico following Hurricane Maria last fall. A study published last week showed that the death toll may have been 70 times greater than the official number provided by the government.Members of the House Natural Resources Committee asked Chairman Rob Bishop (R-UT) to address findings that the death toll in Puerto Rico may be closer to 4,645 and as high as 5,740, according to a Harvard report in the New England Journal of … Continue Reading
May 30, 2018
Dem lawmaker: Trump must be held accountable for Puerto Rico deaths
Rep. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.) is demanding President Trump be held accountable after a new study concluded that the death toll in Puerto Rico due to Hurricane Maria is nearly 70 times higher than the official government estimate.Gallego on Wednesday said in a statement that "these lives were lost in no small part due to the Trump administration's gross negligence.""The Trump administration's failure to deliver timely and sufficient aid to United States citizens in Puerto Rico was an utterly … Continue Reading
November 15, 2017
We will fight for our DREAMers
As the most unproductive congressional year in recent history winds down, House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) will be under tremendous pressure to pass an omnibus spending package that keeps the federal government open beyond Dec. 8, when the current funding authority expires. With a 239 member majority, Republicans should not need any help from Democrats to pass this bill. Yet, if anything has been made clear over the past ten months, it is the utter inability of Republicans and their president … Continue Reading
September 21, 2017
Ruben Gallego: Why we should not build Trump's border wall
Congressman: The biggest problem with Donald Trump's border wall is that it was never about border security. (Photo: The Republic) 1072CONNECTTWEETLINKEDIN 2COMMENTEMAILMORE Donald Trump promised a "big, beautiful wall" on the campaign trail. He promised it would be an impenetrable concrete wall, running the full 2,000 miles along the southern border. And Trump promised Mexico would pay for it. All of those promises are falling apart. Trump now admits the … Continue Reading
June 28, 2017
5 Democratic Reps: The U.S. Can Turn Putinism Into An Opportunity
Our country faces a new crisis, one which endangers the underpinnings of representative democracy and freedom worldwide. The threat emanates from Putinism, a philosophy of dictatorship fused with kleptocratic economics. It views popular participation in government, a free and open capitalist economic system, and transparency in governance as ideological challenges that must be extinguished in order to "make the world safe for autocracy." Its proponents have been acting aggressively against the … Continue Reading
June 27, 2017
Democrats push for a bigger military pay raise
WASHINGTON — A group of House Democrats wants to boost military pay by almost 3 percent next year, arguing that annual trims to troops' planned raises have left a troubling gap between their wages and private-sector paychecks. On Tuesday, the lawmakers introduced the "give our troops a raise" act, which would set the 2018 pay raise for servicemembers at 2.9 percent. That's 0.5 percentage points above the mark that House Republican leaders are suggesting ant 0.8 percentage above what … Continue Reading
May 15, 2017
US Rep, a Marine veteran, defends his vocal slam of Republican health care bill
"Where's the score?"I shouted the question to House Speaker Paul Ryan during debate on the Republican health care bill and - not for the first time - earned myself a reprimand. But the real transgression against the best traditions of the House wasn't my boisterous inquiry. Instead, it was the Republican leadership's insistence on forcing a vote on a bill that will transform one-sixth of the American economy without meaningful hearings and without an estimate, or "score," of its impact by the … Continue Reading
April 27, 2017
Surge of community events aims to quell undocumented immigrants’ fears, teach legal rights
PHOENIX - Children kept themselves busy with coloring books and chased each other with masks in the corner of the cafeteria at Isaac Middle School, but school had long since ended and adults soon came over to keep them quiet. Parents sat in rows of chairs across the large room and listened intently to a presentation in Spanish, detailing how they can keep their families together if faced with deportation. Community meetings like this have cropped up across Phoenix in recent weeks, … Continue Reading
April 12, 2017
Dems to Trump: Are you seeking regime change in Syria?
A pair of Democratic congressmen is pushing President Trump to clarify whether regime change in Syria is now his administration's official policy as leaders have given conflicting statements about if President Bashar Assad can remain in control in Damascus.In a letter delivered Wednesday, Reps. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.), a Marines veteran, and Brendan Boyle (D-Pa.) ask Trump to clarify his administration's "confusing and contradictory" statements in the wake of his decision to launch U.S. … Continue Reading
January 04, 2017
Seven rising Democratic stars
A big problem for ambitious Democrats in the House is a leadership power structure that makes it difficult to move up.Reps. Nancy Pelosi (Calif.), Steny Hoyer (Md.) and James Clyburn (S.C.) have occupied the top three rungs on the leadership ladder for more than a decade.Other Democrats, from Sen.-elect Chris Van Hollen (Md.) to Rep. Xavier Becerra (Calif.), who is nominated to serve as California's attorney general, have left the House.Both Van Hollen and Becerra were seen by some as possible … Continue Reading
November 17, 2016
Not every congressional Democrat shares leadership’s desire to work with Trump
Democrats in Congress appear to be taking the idea of “give Trump a chance” seriously, with Jennifer Steinhauser reporting on a surprisingly wide consensus ranging from Chuck Schumer to Elizabeth Warren that Democrats should try to work with Trump on an infrastructure bill and perhaps other priorities in order to distance him from congressional Republican leaders. Jonathan Chait says this is political malpractice, and Brad Plumer’s explainer on the actual content of Trump’s infrastructure … Continue Reading
September 23, 2016
Latinos back national monument status for areas near Grand Canyon
WASHINGTON - Anakarina Rodriguez traveled from southern Arizona to Washington with a message for President Barack Obama: designate 1.7 million acres around the Grand Canyon as a national monument. “I remember being a little girl and traveling to the Grand Canyon for the first time ever,” Rodriguez said. “I remember seeing vividly this amazing wonder of the world, which I had just learned about in Miss Brown’s fifth-grade class.” Rodriguez was in Washington Thursday to share her experiences … Continue Reading
September 16, 2016
U.S. Veterans Push for Legislation to Correct ‘Bad Paper’ Discharge Effects
Veterans, politicians, advocates rally to support legislation that would ease reclassification of discharges for vets suffering from conditions such as PTSD, Traumatic Brain Injury, or Military Sexual Trauma.Kristofer Goldsmith served with the Army's Third Infantry Division in Iraq in 2005 as a Forward Observer, in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom III. Being prepared to call in artillery strikes was not his only responsibility however, while he was deployed."Part of what I had to do was … Continue Reading
September 12, 2016
12 Washington Leaders the Tech Community Needs
With the 24/7 media news cycle dominated by the high-wattage presidential contest, it's easy to lose sight of the other races also on the ballot in November. The tech community would be wise to focus on-and support accordingly-current and potential members of the House and Senate who have made a huge difference for the industry and U.S. innovation. Among those who deserve your support: Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla: Rubio was the only Republican presidential candidate who raised important technology … Continue Reading