Press Releases

"Early this month the Office of Personnel Management reported that hackers have accessed the Social Security numbers and personnel data of millions of federal employees. If you were impacted you should get a letter or an email -- in fact, you may have already gotten one. Click here to view a special website OPM has set up for those who have been impacted and click here to read a statement by OPM on this breach. In addition, late last month, reports emerged that hackers gained access to past tax returns of more than 100,000 people.

Washington, DC– Rep. Jan Schakowsky issued the following statement after the Senate trade agreement package failed to pass the House of Representatives:

“Today the House voted to derail ‘fast track’ authority that would not only be used to push through a highly-flawed Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement but that would prevent Congress from amending trade pacts for the next six years.

WASHINGTON, DC – Today Rep. Jan Schakowsky (IL-09), Sen. Dick Durbin (IL) and Sen. Sherrod Brown (OH) introduced the Patriot Employer Tax Credit Act, a bill that would provide a tax credit to companies that provide fair wages and good benefits to workers while closing a tax loophole that incentivizes corporations to send jobs overseas. The loophole costs the U.S. Treasury approximately $50 billion each year at a time when outsourced jobs and stagnant wages force more American families to turn to safety net programs to make ends meet.

WASHINGTON, DC – Rep. Jan Schakowsky released the following statement after news broke that 41 individuals in Bangladesh had been charged criminally for their role in the April 2013 Rana Plaza collapse:

“Justice has been a long time coming, but I am pleased to see criminal charges filed against many of those who bear some responsibility for this tragedy, including the owner of the Rana Plaza building, a number of factory owners and government officials. Their prosecution is a step in the right direction. I urge the Bangladeshi government to ensure that those affected by this horrific tragedy are made whole and to take necessary steps to protect workers throughout the country.

Victim of Takata Air Bag Failure, Consumer Advocates Urge Congress to Act

WASHINGTON, DC – On Tuesday, June 2, the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing, and Trade will hold a hearing on the Takata airbag recall.

CHICAGO – “I am very concerned about the recent IRS announcement that hackers gained access to past tax returns of more than 100,000 people. For information about the breach and how you can protect yourself, please visit: http://www.irs.gov/uac/Newsroom/Get-Transcript-Application-Questions-and-Answers.

Also you can click here to read a CNN Article which states that the IRS will be in touch with those impacted.

CHICAGO – Today, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) announced a final rule clarifying “waters of the United States” under the Clean Water Act. The rule includes protections for sources of drinking and recreational water, including streams and wetlands that are upstream from larger bodies of water. Rep. Jan Schakowsky issued the following statement in response to the rule:

CHICAGO – Today a federal appeals court denied the Obama administration’s request to lift a hold on the administration’s executive actions on immigration while the matter is being litigated. Rep. Jan Schakowsky issued the following statement in response:

“I am disappointed by the ruling of United States Court of Appeals that keeps an injunction in place delaying the President’s executive actions on immigration. The President’s actions are in line with those of previous Presidents – including Republican Presidents Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush – and I am fully confident that they are constitutional – a view widely held in the legal community.