Another busy week in Washington
Dear Neighbor,
As you may be following, my colleagues and I are focused on passing the President’s Build Back Better agenda. That includes both the Bipartisan Infrastructure Framework to strengthen our nation’s crumbling infrastructure and the Build Back Better Act to invest in climate action, paid leave, pre-K and child care, lower prescription drug costs, and more. This is our moment to make historic, popular, and urgently needed investments for the American people, and I’ll keep fighting until we get it done.
Keep reading for an overview on some more legislative updates and highlights!
Legislative Updates
- I introduced the Nuclear Waste Task Force Act with Senator Markey, legislation to establish a new task force to consider the implications of amending the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 to remove exemptions from environmental laws for nuclear waste. Eliminating this loophole could help enable consent-based siting of long-term storage solutions for nuclear waste. The task force would also be responsible for providing a clear explanation of what constitutes “consent-based siting,” which is important to finding a viable solution for the waste.
- I also voted to pass legislation to fund the government through December and avoid a catastrophic government shutdown. By keeping the government’s lights on, we are ensuring that our nation stays on track to Build Back Better and continue rebounding from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Spent Fuel Caucus Inaugural Meeting
The bipartisan Spent Nuclear Fuel Solutions Caucus had our first meeting this week! We were joined by Dr. Matt Bowen to discuss his report, “Forging a Path Forward on US Nuclear Waste Management: Options for Policy Makers.” It was a great conversation and we’re more eager than ever to get the ball rolling on solutions for our districts.
In-Person House Veterans’ Affairs Committee Hearing
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A recent U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) study found that from 2015 to 2019, 11.1% of working-age veterans lived in a food insecure household and 5.3% lived in a household with very low food security. While the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and USDA have made progress in identifying veterans experiencing food insecurity and connecting them with resources like the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), the COVID-19 pandemic added new layers of financial and physical hardship to veteran families.
This hearing will examine trends in the prevalence of veteran hunger and how government agencies and non-profits adapted their service and resource delivery amid the pandemic.
