Energy & Environment
In this week's update, I discuss the 36-hour mark-up that we had in the Energy and Commerce Committee on the Build Back Better Act. #buildbackbetter#forthepeople#coronavirus#congressionalupdate#IL09
Here is my latest weekly update for constituents. This week I discuss Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Climate Change, online extremism, and several other topics.
Right now, we are only four days away from a government shutdown and Kevin McCarthy and the Republicans continue to put forth extreme legislation that has zero chance of passing the Senate. Republicans would rather shutdown our government than reach a bipartisan agreement. What we are seeing is a total collapse of the proper operations of government on the part of the Republicans.
Yesterday, the EPA and Army Corps of Engineers proposed a new rule to protect the waters of the United States. The rule would make clear that the EPA and the Army Corps have the authority and responsibility to protect smaller bodies of water from harmful pollution – an authority which had come into question due to recent interpretations of Supreme Court rulings. U.S. Representatives Jan Schakowsky (IL-09), Mike Quigley (IL-05), Luis Gutiérrez (IL-04), and Brad Schneider (IL-10) released the following statement on the proposed rule:
WASHINGTON – Today, both of Illinois' U.S. Senators and Members of the House of Representatives representing parts of Chicago's lakefront, sent a letter to the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers to address the emergency on our city's shoreline. Following substantial progress on rebuilding nearly 9 miles of the city's lakefront, the area experienced record high lake levels for most of 2020. The letter asks the Army Corps to evaluate the uncompleted segments of the project, which has already been authorized by both chambers of Congress.
The letter reads:
A new bipartisan report released yesterday, The Risky Business Project, paints a picture of the economic impacts for our country and American businesses if we fail to act on climate change.
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky (D-IL), Congressman.
WASHINGTON, DC -- On Earth Day, U.S. Reps. Mark Pocan (D-WI) and Jan Schakowsky (D-IL), members of the Safe Climate Caucus, introduced the Protect Our Public Lands Act, H.R. 1902. The legislation is the strongest anti-fracking bill introduced in Congress to date and would ban fracking on public lands.
I joined Paul Lisnek on WGN to talk about the Build Back Better bill and other recent events.