This Week In Research: April 24 - 28

Highlights from the Week

1. On April 20, 2023, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act of 2023. This bill, which passed on a party-line vote of 219-203, would prohibit school athletic programs from allowing individuals whose biological sex at birth was male to participate in programs that are for women or girls. It additionally establishes this as a violation of Title IX, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex in federally funded education programs or activities, including in public schools and colleges and universities. It will now move on to the U.S. Senate for consideration. To learn more about this bill, as well as how your representatives voted, please click here. To read a statement from Representative Deborah Ross of North Carolina, click here. To read a statement from Representative Mark Takano of California, click here. To read a statement from Representative Lauren Boebert of Colorado, click here. To read a statement from Representative Andy Ogles of Tennessee, click here.

2. On April 20, 2023, the U.S. Senate passed the Fire Grants and Safety Act. This bill, which passed by a vote of 95-2, would amend the Federal Fire Prevention and Control Act of 1974 to authorize $95 million in total appropriations for the United States Fire Administration and firefighter assistance grant programs. It additionally requires the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to conduct an audit of and issue a publicly available report on the United States Fire Administration. To read more about the bill and how your senators voted, click here. To read a statement from Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York, click here. To read a statement from Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, click here. To read a statement from Senator Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota, click here.

3. On April 25, 2023, U.S. President Joe Biden announced that he was running for the Democratic Party’s nomination for reelection as president. In a video announcing his campaign, Biden stressed his record over the past two years in office and highlighted protecting democracy and growing the economy as the main themes of his campaign. To read a statement from Biden, click here. To read a statement from one of Biden’s potential opponents, former President Donald Trump, click here. To read a statement from Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy, click here. Lastly, to read a statement from the Democratic nominee for Vice President in 2016 and Senator Tim Kaine of Virginia, click here.

Elections

By the Elections Research team: Nick, Zachary, Seth, and Caleb, and Elections Interns Reid, Hunter, and George

Biographies:

Want to learn more about the candidates running for Pennsylvania’s State Supreme Court this year? You can see the full list here:

• Pennsylvania State Judicial Candidates

Want to learn more about the leadership in each state legislature? You can see the full leadership rosters here:

• Legislative Leadership

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:

• State Legislative Committees

• Kansas State Legislative Committees

• North Dakota State Legislative Committees

• Pennsylvania State Legislative Committees

Want to learn more about some special elections happening in 2023? You can see the elections that have been held so far this year here:

• Wisconsin State Judicial Election

• Wisconsin State Senate Special Election

• Wisconsin Ballot Measures

Officials

By the Officials Research team: Noah, Johanan, Neal, Thomas, Israel, Quinn, and Jessica and Officials Interns: Caroline and Morgen

Public Statements: 221 statements were added this week. See highlights from the week for notable statements.

Key Votes:

• States: 43 new votes were added.

• Idaho’s House and Senate passed H 314, which seeks to require schools to teach Native American history in every social studies course related to American history.

• Illinois’s House passed HB 3600, which seeks to require that schools send a notice to families if a student with a disability is removed from the classroom.

• Iowa’s House passed SF 496, which establishes new educational standards and “Parental Rights” which would give parents more choices over their child’s education.

• U.S. Congress: 2 new votes were added

• S 870 - Fire Grants and Safety Act

• HR 734 - Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act of 2023

Special Interest Groups (SIGs)

• This year to date, the SIGs team has entered 9,454 ratings and 1,494 endorsements for candidates.