In the News

Texas redistricting map sparks debate ahead of public hearing

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U.S. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries voiced his support for Texas Democrats at the state Capitol Thursday, just one day after Texas Republicans released a proposed congressional redistricting map. Jeffries emphasized the importance of transparency, saying, "First and foremost, we have to make clear to the people of Texas what's taking place." The proposed map, designed by the…

Democrats accuse GOP of racism in proposed Texas map

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House Democrats are hammering President Trump and GOP leaders for their effort to redraw the congressional map in Texas, accusing the Republicans of “rigging” the system to keep a grip on power — and purposefully disenfranchising millions of minority voters in the process. “The truth of the matter is: Somebody has to have the courage to say that it’s racism,” Rep. Al Green (D-Texas), a…

Texas Democrats in Congress vow to fight proposed new boundaries they say are illegal

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Texas Democrats in Congress vowed Wednesday to fight a Republican redistricting proposal, with several blasting the new map as an illegal effort to muffle the state’s minority voices. “This map is a disaster — crafted to divide neighborhoods and rig the game for Donald Trump,” U.S. Rep. Julie Johnson, D-Farmers Branch, said in a statement. “It’s a desperate move from a party losing its…

448,000 Texans could lose essential legal aid and justice services under Trump's proposed cuts

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Since the Nixon era, Congress has funded free legal aid for those with low incomes.  In 1974, it created a nonprofit, the Legal Services Corporation, to channel federal funding to local legal aid nonprofits. There, attorneys and paralegals help veterans apply for disability, domestic violence survivors secure child custody and renters stave off wrongful evictions. Now, the…

Federal government to review NWS hiring challenges, at request of Reps. Castro, Casar and others

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Responding to Rep. Joaquin Castro and several other congressional Democrats from Texas, the U.S. Department of Commerce said in a letter that it will review whether positional vacancies at the National Weather Service have "impacted the agency's ability to effectively respond to high-impact weather events"—including the recent floods that devastated the Hill Country.   The…

New Legislation Aims To Get Potentially Toxic Chemicals Out Of Your Beauty Products

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The reality of today's cosmetics industry is that stuff we slather over our skin or lather into our hair isn't subject to much government oversight. While there are some regulations on labeling and ingredients, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) doesn’t require that most over-the-counter beauty products be approved before they hit the market. As a result, it’s up to shoppers to figure…

Lizzie Fletcher demands Treasury Department investigate extra burden on women from Trump tariffs

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A Texas lawmaker is among those who sent a letter to the U.S Treasury Secretary urging the department to examine how President Donald Trump’s tariffs disproportionately cost women more than men. U.S. Reps. Lizzie Fletcher, a Houston Democrat, and Brittany Pettersen, of Colorado, sent a letter this past week on behalf of the Democratic Women's Caucus to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent…

Democratic Women in Congress Demand Treasury Address Gendered Impact of Trump Tariffs

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President Donald Trump’s trade wars continue to create global turmoil and churn for financial markets. Monday, May 12th’s move—a temporary suspension of his “Liberation Day” bombast and 90-day pause until massive tariffs are fully imposed on China—seemed in part prompted by warnings of a dire toy shortage and the sour reaction to Trump blathering about … dolls. “A young lady, a…

Democrats Try To Convince GOP To Restore Public Media Funding To Budget

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Over 100 Democratic lawmakers are pushing for Congress to restore $535 million for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting in the current federal budget. The two-year advance funding for public radio and television has been removed from the budget package by congressional Republicans, along with an additional $60 million for the public broadcasting interconnection system, which…

Nearly 100 House Democrats urge RFK Jr. to restore millions in family planning grants

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Nearly 100 House Democrats are calling on Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to restore tens of millions of dollars in federal family planning grants to more than a dozen organizations that have been frozen for more than two months. In a letter to Kennedy sent Friday and seen first by The Hill, 95 lawmakers said the organizations that had their Title X…