Women's Issues
Ahead of Labor Day, I was thrilled to welcome Secretary of Labor Marty Walsh to Chicago to tout the Biden administration's efforts to help hardworking labor workers and retirees get the pension funds they deserve. The American Rescue Plan, which was signed into law last year, created a Special Financial Assistance (SFA) Program to avert the immediate multiemployer pension crisis threatening the retirement security of workers, retirees, and their families.
As a longtime consumer advocate, I have worked very closely with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), which is tasked with keeping the public safe from consumer products that pose an unreasonable risk of injury or death. In addition to its own work, the CPSC relies on online marketplaces, like Meta, to keep consumers safe by preventing the posting for sale of products that are known to be dangerous.
This week, I was excited to begin welcoming guests to my new office in the Rayburn House Office Building. Now, I have a magnificent view of the United States Capitol. I am so appreciative to my staff who worked so hard to make this move happen. If you are ever in Washington, please come by and check out my wonderful new space!
To finish out the legislative year in Washington, the House of Representatives voted on the Fiscal Year 2024 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). This bill authorizes a staggering $886 billion in new spending for the Department of Defense. Our greatest security threats have no military solutions, and it is time our budget reflected that. Therefore, I could not, in good faith, support its final passage.
In this week's weekly update, I discuss our success at preventing the House and Senate Republicans from shutting down the government. I also talk about the arguments before the Supreme Court that will impact abortion rights in our country.
This week, I talk about the new Postal Reform legislation that we passed in the House, and a ban on forced arbitration in matters of sexual harassment and assault.
As Republicans threaten cuts to Social Security and other essential federal programs, I have now introduced legislation that would expand Social Security benefits by $2,400 a year and ensure Social Security is fully funded for the next 75 years – all without raising taxes by one penny on over 93% of American households that make $250,000 or less. The Social Security Expansion Act will help ensure that everyone in America can retire with the security and dignity they deserve after a lifetime of hard work.
Welcome to the 118th Congress! In all my years in Congress, I have never experienced a week quite like last week. Instead of fighting for the American people, Republicans spent the week fighting against each other. Now that we finally have a Speaker of the House, and I have officially been sworn in for the 118th Congress, I can finally continue my work on behalf of Illinois’ 9th Congressional District.