Highlights from the Week
On December 12th, 2023, the United States House of Representatives passed the Ensuring Accountability in Agency Rulemaking Act. This bill, which passed by a vote of 218-203 would require, with limited exceptions, that any agency rule promulgated under notice and comment procedures must be issued and signed by an individual who was appointed by the president and confirmed by the Senate. It will now likely move on to the United States Senate for consideration. To read more about the bill, as well as how your representatives voted, click here. To read a statement from the sponsor of the bill, Representative Ben Cline of Virginia, click here. To read a statement from Representative Frank Mrvan of Indiana, click here. To read a statement from Representative Jared Golden of Maine, click here. Lastly, to read a statement from Representative Greg Murphy of North Carolina, click here.
On December 13th, 2023, the United States House of Representatives voted to pass a resolution condemning antisemitism on University campuses and the testimony of university presidents in the House Committee on Education and the Workforce. Passed by a vote of 303-126, this bill comes in response to statements made by presidents from Harvard, MIT, and the University of Pennsylvania in a hearing about antisemitism on college campuses. When asked if calls for the genocide of Jewish people would violate their schools’ codes of conduct, the presidents gave answers that did not necessarily answer the question. To read more about this bill, as well as how your representatives voted for it, click here. To read a statement from Representative Zoe Lofgren of California, click here. To read a statement from Representatives Betty McCollum of Minnesota and Jamie Raskin of Maryland, click here. To read a statement from Representative Tim Walberg of Michigan, click here. Lastly, to read a statement from Representative Virginia Foxx of North Carolina, who leads the House Education Committee, click here.
On December 13th, 2023, the House passed HR 1147 on a vote of 330-99, and is a bill pertaining to the Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act of 2023. This bill amends requirements for milk provided by the National School Lunch Program of the Department of Agriculture (USDA), allowing schools who participate in this program to serve whole milk. Additional components include, offering students a variety of milk: flavored, unflavored, organic, non-organic whole, reduced-fat, low-fat, fat-free fluid milk, and lactose-free fluid milk. The secretary prohibits schools who are part of the program from purchasing milk from China state-owned organizations. For students whose disability creates dietary restrictions, the school shall provide a fluid milk substitute when provided written confirmation from a licensed physician. To read more about the bill and how your representatives voted, click here. To read a statement from Cory Mills of Florida, click here. To read a statement from Jim Costa of California, click here. To read a statement from Mary Miller of Illinois, click here. Lastly, to read a statement from Bobby Scott of Virginia, click here.
Elections
By the Elections Research team: Nick, Zachary, Caleb, Seth, Jessica, and Max
Biographies & Elections:
Want to learn about some of the elections that happened this week? Click on the state below to view the results:
Want to learn more about candidates running for elected office in 2024? Click on the states below to see the full list:
Want to learn more about elected officials in your state? 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:
Officials
By the Officials Research team: Sam, Johanan, Neal, Thomas, Quinn and Interns: Arola
Public Statements: 31 statements were added this week. See highlights from the week for notable statements.
Key Votes:
States: 33 new votes were added.
Virginia House passed SB 898 - Requires Safety Courses for Conceal-Carry Licenses
Virginia House passed HB 2467 - Requires Photo ID for the Purpose of Purchasing a Firearm
Virginia House passed HB 2298 - Repeals Restrictions on Switchblades and Adds them to Stiletto Knives
Wisconsin House passed SJR 78 - Prohibits the Use of Privates Funds to Pay for Election Equipment and Administration
Wisconsin House & Senate Concurrence (Action by which one house agrees to a proposal or action that the other chamber has approved) passed SJR 21 - Authorizes a Special Election to fill Secretary of State
U.S. Congress: 6 new votes were added.
House passed HR 357 - Ensuring Accountability in Agency Rulemaking Act
House passed H Res 927 - Condemning antisemitism on University campuses and the testimony of University Presidents in the House Committee on Education and the Workforce
House passed HR 1147 - Whole Milk for healthy Kids Act of 2023
Congress Conference Report Adopted (Document including an agreement reached by a joint temporary committee negotiating compromise between both Senate and House) HR 2670 - National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2024
House passed HR 4531 - Support for Patients and Communities Reauthorization Act
Special Interest Groups (SIGs)
This year to date, the SIGs team has entered 56,353 ratings and 15,105 endorsements for candidates.