Economy

It has been 24 days since Hamas’ horrifying terrorist attack on Israel, in which more than 1,400 Israelis were killed and over 5,400 injured. Hamas also captured over 200 hostages, including several Americans. Jewish communities around the world are in shock, grieving, and scared of the increased antisemitism and violence that have been spurred by the war. Israel has a right to defend itself and its citizens in accordance with international law.

A fundamental building block of our democracy is the right of American citizens to vote and choose their representatives. Election Day is Tuesday, November 5th. If you need information on your polling place, or would like to locate a ballot drop box location, please go to Elections.IL.Gov. I encourage everyone to make their voice heard if you have not already. 

After a fantastic district work period filled with constituent meetings and site visits, I am back in Washington, D.C. where we are working to pass federal funding bills by September 30th in order to avoid a government shutdown. But, right now, Congress is at a standstill. House Republicans have reneged on their budget agreement with the White House - the agreement they reached after holding our economy hostage and threatening to default on the debt. And now they want to further slash domestic spending levels and endanger critical services for the American people.

Right now, Congress has until the end of September to fund our government and avert a shutdown. It is my hope that we can quickly reach a bipartisan agreement to temporarily extend current spending levels. I will keep fighting to ensure that any continuing resolution we consider is free from poison pill policy provisions. Too much is at stake. This is not a game.

I am back in Washington this week, and tomorrow, the House of Representatives is poised to pass a clean continuing resolution to keep our government open and funded through the end of the year. I am glad Democrats and Republicans were able to reach a bipartisan agreement to put the needs of everyday Americans first. Too much was at stake. I will continue fighting to ensure that any future budget bill is free from poison pill policy provisions.

Hersh Goldberg-Polin was a courageous ray of light with a bright future ahead of him. I’m devastated to learn that he was killed by Hamas and his body was recovered from a tunnel in Rafah alongside five other hostages.