Letters from Capitol Hill that Members of Congress have written and signed on to lately.
Dec. 25 | Christmas Day concerns on critical minerals re China
According to the business community on the 25th, U.S. Representative Eric Swalwell said in an official letter to U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Jose Fernandez that South Korea and the U.S. should work closely to counter China's resource weaponization, referring to the management dispute over Korea Zinc.
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Dec. 24 | A “pfew” words on PFAS
Congressman Michael Rulli from Ohio’s 6th district and Congressman Chris DeLuzio from Pennsylvania’s 17th district sent a letter to the Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin.
Polyfluoroalykyl substances, better known to many as PFAS or “forever chemicals,” can build up in people, animals and the environment over time but a pair of congressmen are trying to make sure that doesn’t happen to their territories.
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Dec. 23 | Writing on human rights
Letter expresses concerns regarding the human rights situation in Ethiopia and the ability for international investigations into human rights to be conducted
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Dec. 23 | Rumblings over rulemakings
House Committee on Natural Resources Chairman Bruce Westerman (R-Ark.) sent five letters to outgoing Biden administration agency officials to ensure they comply with all record retention requirements and avoid last-minute partisan rulemaking in advance of the incoming Trump administration. The letters were sent to the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ), the U.S. Forest Service (USFS), the Indian Health Service (IHS), the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI).
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Dec. 23 | AI Rx
U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) wrote to Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Chair Lina Khan, urging the agency to closely scrutinize pharmaceutical wholesaler Cardinal Health’s $3.9 billion proposed acquisition of a majority stake in GI Alliance, the country’s largest gastroenterology management services organization.
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Dec. 22 | 101 years of fighting for Equal Rights
As the President prepares to leave office in 29 days, prominent leaders & organizations are joining federal lawmakers in calling for ERA publication.
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Dec. 21 | More flights for football championships
U.S. Senator and Bobcat alum Steve Daines sent a letter to airline CEOs urging them to increase flight options from Montana to Dallas in advance of the FCS National Championship game. The letter was sent to the CEOs of Delta, American, United, and Southwest airlines.
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Dec. 20 | Mail fraud forgiveness request
Congresswoman Yvette D. Clarke (D-NY) led 20 of her colleagues in a letter to President Biden urging the exoneration of Marcus Mosiah Garvey for a 1923 conviction for the fraudulent use of the mail.
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Dec. 20 | Election reports raising red flags
Congressman Bryan Steil (WI-01) and Senator Ron Johnson (R-WI) sent a letter to Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson requesting answers regarding how the Central Count was conducted on November 5th in the City of Milwaukee.
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Dec. 20 | Musk and Chinese investments a concern for some in Congress
Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro (CT-03), Ranking Member of the House Appropriations Committee, sent a letter to congressional leadership raising concerns that Elon Musk may have upended the government funding process to remove a provision that would regulate U.S. investments in China.
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Dec. 19 | A machine translated message from the Chairman
John Mulryner, the Chairperson of the U.S. House of Representatives Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party, urged the International Trade Commission (ITC) to prohibit the entry of products from China's largest display corporations, BOE, into the U.S. for reasons of national security.
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Dec. 19 | Umbridge with USPS
U.S. Representatives Emanuel Cleaver, II (D-MO) and Jack Bergman (R-MI) announced a letter to Postmaster General Louis DeJoy, rebuking the United States Postal Service (USPS) leadership for lowering their delivery standards for Fiscal Year 2025. The bipartisan letter stressed the need for the unelected and unaccountable DeJoy to address these service issues within his agency, as millions of Americans depend on timely deliveries.
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Dec. 19 | Grave Guatemalan grievances
Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.), House Natural Resources Committee ranking member Rep. Raúl Grijalva (D-Ariz.) and Rep. Delia Ramirez (D-Ill.) led a letter calling on Secretary of State Antony Blinken to condemn the Guatemalan government’s prosecution of Indigenous environmental activists and the recent assassination of another.
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Dec. 18 | Voicing concerns on the SIV
Congressman Jason Crow, a former Army Ranger who served in Afghanistan, joined Reps. Zach Nunn (R-IA-3), Earl Blumenauer (D-OR-3), and Brad Wenstrup (R-OH-2) in leading a letter with 51 of their colleagues urging leadership on the House Appropriations Committee and Subcommittee on State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs to prioritize the life-saving Afghan Special Immigrant Visa (SIV) program in the final Fiscal Year (FY) 2025 appropriations package. Essential provisions include an authorization of an additional 20,000 visas and an extension of the program through December 31, 2027.
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Dec. 17 | A letter on grievances with Azerbaijan
A powerfully worded U.S. Congressional letter to President Joe Biden, spearheaded by Congressman Adam Schiff (D-CA), called for decisive U.S. action in response to Azerbaijan’s blockade of Artsakh, a bipartisan reaffirmation of demands to stop U.S. military aid to Azerbaijan and restart humanitarian assistance to the Armenians of Artsakh, the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) reported.
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Dec. 17 | Blaming the BLM
U.S. Senators Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), Jim Risch (R-Idaho) and Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.) led 22 of their colleagues in sending a letter to Heather Gottry, the U.S. Department of the Interior Ethics Office Director, urging her to identify conflicts of interest throughout the department and advise the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Director and others to recuse themselves from any pending agency business for the duration of their service.
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Nov. 20 | Missing Ballots in Minnesota
Congressman Brad Finstad (MN-01) led Minnesota’s Republican congressional delegation in sending a letter to Minnesota Secretary of State Steve Simon demanding transparency after it was confirmed that 20 ballots were likely illegally disposed of in Shakopee’s 10th precinct.
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