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Today is a solemn day for the United States House of Representatives. For the first time in U.S. history, the House has voted to remove a speaker. The final vote was 216-to-210, with eight Republicans voting with 208 Democrats to remove Kevin McCarthy.

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.

I am sorry that I am not writing to you with better news, but Congress remains at a standstill. We are now only 10 days away from the September 30th deadline to pass our federal funding bills. House Republicans continue to make extreme demands and are still plotting a government shutdown unless they can inflict their radical agenda on the American people. Extreme MAGA Republicans have done nothing to make life better or more affordable for everyday Americans.

Sensitive information consumers never chose to disclose – like their behavior, medical history, or sexual orientation – has been put up for auction, literally. I introduced legislation to help safeguard consumers online. For too long, online platforms have used surveillance advertising to capitalize on consumers’ private information. My bill removes the financial incentive for companies to exploit consumers' personal information.

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.

On our first day back in Washington, what did Kevin McCarthy decide to do? Call for a baseless impeachment inquiry to appease the MAGA extremists. Meanwhile, I am working to ensure that our government does not shut down. The lives of Americans are not a game.

For far too long, our laws have allowed Big Pharma to rake in record profits by increasing the costs of lifesaving prescription drugs. Americans pay two to three times as much as people in other countries for the same prescription drugs. Thanks to the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act last year, Medicare will be able to negotiate for lower drug costs. Not a single Republican in Congress voted for this bill. 

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.