This week's Wrap-Up recaps three key votes in Congress, public statements on everything from Scott Pruitt's resignation to Chinese Tariffs, as well as the new addition of Virginia's General Election Candidate List! Read it all here!
MAJOR EVENTS FROM THE WEEK
Scott Pruitt Resignation:
You can now see what your representatives and other Congressional officials in Washington have to say about Scott Pruitt's resignation and the future of the EPA right here.
Failure of Border Security and Immigration Reform Act of 2018:
The House failed to pass the Border Security and Immigration Reform Act of 2018 last week amid a heated discussion from all sides about immigration policy and the current situation at the southern border. See what your representatives have to say on this issue here.
Virginia's General Election Candidate List:
Vote Smart has released Virginia's general election candidate list, which is the first general candidate list of the year! Keep an eye out for your state and candidates as we get closer to November's Midterm elections.
Chinese Tariff Statements:
There's been a lot of talk about tariffs on Chinese imports in the Capital this week. Check out what your representatives have had to say here.
ELECTIONS:
Endorsements: Vote Smart has released 12,000+ endorsements so far this year! See who is really backing your candidates here.
If you would like to see how your representatives or candidates are rated by Special Interest Groups, check out your candidate's ratings page, as shown by the example here.
Congressional Candidate Lists:
Vote Smart has released congressional candidate lists released for all 41 states that have released certified ballots for 2018 Primary Elections. These candidates are all found on the elections page of the website as searchable here.
OFFICIALS:
Public Statements:
Vote Smart added 1,298 statements to its website this week! ind them all through targeted key-word searches.
However, Congress was in recess for the week in celebration of the July 4th holiday, and so there were not as many public statements given. Check back next week to catch up on what more they have to say.
Some newsworthy topics include:
- Scott Pruitt/EPA
- Immigration/family separation
- Statements on ICE from Trump and Pence
- Trade with China
- Supreme Court
Key Votes:
There were twelve key state votes, and 3 Key Votes in Congress this week. Read all about both key votes by following the bolded links below.
The first is the Senate vote on the Agriculture and Nutrition Act of 2018, commonly known as the "farm bill". This is a status update on the vote. See the HR 2 Summary HERE!
The second is the Border Security and Immigration Reform Act of 2018 (mentioned above), which amends immigration law, including provisions for DACA and appropriations for a southern border wall. This bill failed in the House this week. See the full HR 6136 Summary HERE! The last is the Endangered Salmon and Fisheries Predation Prevention Act, which allows limited hunting of sea lions in order to protect salmon populations. See the full HR 2083 Summary HERE!
UP NEXT:
Keep an eye out for these up-coming additions to Vote Smart! Next week, Vote Smart will be releasing 50+ ratings scorecards over the course of the week! These scorecards will include ratings for over 8,000 politicians! Keep an eye out to see how you representatives are being rated by special interest groups to see if they are really representing YOUR interests!
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