Highlights from the Week
On June 3rd, 2023, President Joe Biden signed the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023. This comes on the heels of both chambers of Congress swiftly passing this bill, which we went into more detail in last week, and averting a default on the nation’s debt, which some economists say would cause a global recession. You can read more about the bill here. Additionally, you can read remarks by President Biden here. To read a statement from Senate President Pro Tempore Patty Murray of Washington State, click here. To read a statement from Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York, click here. To read a statement by Senator Chuck Grassley of Iowa, click here. Lastly, to read a statement by Senator Josh Hawley of Missouri, click here.
Over the past couple of weeks, we have seen more candidates announce their presidential campaigns. Since President Joe Biden announced his reelection campaign back in April, we have seen several Republican politicians announcing their campaigns. In addition to former President Donald Trump, former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley, and businessman Vivek Ramaswamy, other Republican candidates include former Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson, who announced on April 6; Larry Elder, who ran in the 2021 California Gubernatorial recall election, announced on May 1; South Carolina Senator Tim Scott, who announced on May 19; Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who announced on May 24; former Vice President Mike Pence, who announced on June 5; former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, who announced on June 6; and North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum, who announced his campaign on June 7. Additionally, on the Democratic side President Biden is being challenged by author and former 2020 presidential candidate Marianne Williamson and lawyer Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., who announced on March 4 and April 19, respectively. To learn more about these candidates, you can click on their names above, and to read about more candidates running for president, regardless of party, you can click here.
On June 7th, 2023, President Joe Biden vetoed H.J. Res 45, a resolution that would disapprove the Department of Education’s rule relating to “Waivers and Modifications of Federal Student Loans”. You can read more about the bill here. The Department of Education has proposed a generous plan, which will cut undergraduate loan payments in half. You can read more about the veto, including President Joe Biden’s statement on the matter, here. To read a statement from the U.S. Senator John Thune of South Dakota, click here. To read more on what U.S. Senator Brian Schatz of Hawaii had to say regarding reintroducing legislation to end the student loan debt crisis, click here; and for U.S. Representative Mark Pocan of Wisconsin, click here. To to see what U.S. Senator Michael Bennet of Colorado had to say and to further understand the vote explanation click here.
Elections
By the Elections Research team: Nick, Zachary, Seth, and Caleb and Interns Riya, Francesca, David, and Nicholas
Biographies:
Want to learn more about the candidates running for Virginia’s State Legislature this year? You can see the full list here:
Want to learn more about the leadership in each state legislature? You can see the full leadership rosters here:
Want to learn more about which committees elected officials are a part of? You can see the full list of committees for each state here:
Want to learn more about some special elections happening in 2023? You can see some of the elections that have been held so far this year here:
Officials
By the Officials Research team: Sam, Johanan, Neal, Thomas, Quinn, Max, and Jessica and Interns: Mark, Laura, Alexa, Henry, Jordan, Margaret and Nicholas.
Public Statements: 360 statements were added this week. See highlights from the week for notable statements.
Key Votes:
States: 29 new votes were added.
Texas House passed SB 1750 - Authorizing the removal of the county election administrator position
Texas Senate passed SB 260 - Establishes removal for individuals who have not voted in the previous 25 months
Texas Senate passed SB 220, Establishes a System of Election Marshals to Investigate Alleged Voting Violations
Texas Senate passed SB 990 - Repeals automatic voter registration at any polling place on election day
Texas House passed SB 1070 - Authorizes the state to discontinue participation in the interstate voter registration crosscheck program
U.S. Congress: 1 new votes was added
HR 3746 - Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023
Special Interest Groups (SIGs)
This year to date, the SIGs team has entered 10,686 ratings and 1,534 endorsements for candidates.