Economy

On Friday, the Supreme Court granted the Department of Justice’s emergency stay application in Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine v. FDA, preventing a lower court decision from going into effect that would have put women’s health at risk and undermined FDA’s medical judgment. For now, Mifepristone, which is used in 54% of all abortions, remains safe, legal, and available. But let me make it clear – the battle is not over. I will continue to fight and advocate for bodily autonomy and reproductive freedom.

As I am sure you are aware, former President Donald Trump has been indicted by a New York grand jury and will be arraigned on Tuesday. According to reports, Trump faces more than 30 counts related to business fraud for allegedly concealing hush money payments to Stormy Daniels in order to cover-up their extramarital affair from voters during the closing days of his presidential campaign.

I started out the week with Senator Dick Durbin and Attorney General Kwame Raoul speaking to University of Illinois Chicago law students about my legislation to stop illegal robocalls. Some constituents I have spoken with said they receive half a dozen or more calls per hour. These intrusive calls must end.

Last week, Republican chaos resulted in an early start to the August work period, leaving 11 appropriations bills to be discussed when we get back to Washington next month. To pass the budget on time, all these bills must be signed into law by the end of September. Unfortunately, many of my Republican colleagues would rather facilitate a government shutdown than support pragmatic policies in these must-pass bills.

We got some great news last week! Thanks to the hard work of President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, three Americans were released from wrongful detention in Russia. Evan Gershkovich, Marine Veteran Paul Whelan, and Russian-American radio journalist Alsu Kurmasheva are now back in the United States, returning home after unimaginable suffering. The Biden-Harris administration has now brought home over 70 Americans who were held in captivity. I’m grateful for their commitment and dedication to bringing Americans home. 

On Friday, I voted in favor of a continuing resolution to keep our government open and funded. While the continuing resolution did not include everything I had initially wanted, we could not let the government shut down. A government shutdown right before the holidays would have forced our troops to work without pay, harmed small businesses, risked air travel disruptions, endangered access to food assistance for millions of mothers and their children, and so much more.

In just his first two years in office, President Biden has created over 12 million jobs, lowered prescription drug costs for seniors, invested in our climate, and so much more. At 3.4%, the unemployment rate is the lowest it has been in over 50 years. We are bringing strong, good-paying union jobs back to America. Last week’s State of the Union proved that our best days are yet to come.

As I mentioned to you last week, extremist Republicans proceeded with yet another vote to impeach Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas over the Biden administration’s handling of the U.S.-Mexico border. Despite the fact that Republicans failed to produce any evidence that Secretary Mayorkas had violated his constitutional duties, the Republicans had enough votes this time around and Secretary Mayorkas was impeached by a vote of 214-213. Every Democrat present and three Republicans voted against the measure.