Highlights from the Week
On July 19, 2023, the United States House of Representatives passed the Schools not Shelters Act. Passed on a vote of 222-201, this is a bill that prohibits using the facilities of certain schools that receive federal financial assistance to provide shelter or housing for any undocumented individual who has not been admitted for lawful entry. It will now move onto the Senate for consideration. To view the contents of the bill, as well as how your representatives voted, please click here. To read a statement from the bill sponsor, Representative Marc Molinaro of New York, click here. To read a statement from Representative Suzanne Bonamici of Oregon, click here. To read a statement from Representative Aaron Bean of Florida, click here. Lastly, to read a statement from Representative Bobby Scott of Virginia, click here.
On July 20, 2023, the United States House of Representatives passed the Securing Growth and Robust Leadership in American Aviation Act. Passed on a vote of 351-69, this is a bill that authorizes the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) through FY2028, including activities and programs related to airport planning and development, facilities and equipment, and operations. It will now proceed to the U.S. Senate for consideration. To read more about the bill and how your representatives voted, click here. To read a statement from the bill sponsor, Representative Sam Graves of Missouri, click here. To read a statement from Representative Garret Graves of Louisiana, click here. To read a statement from Representative Rick Larsen of Washington State, click here. To read a statement from Representative Scott Perry of Pennsylvania, click here. To read a statement from Representative Gerry Connolly of Virginia, click here.
On July 21st, 2023, President Joe Biden met with the CEOs and Presidents of seven of the largest artificial intelligence (AI) companies–Amazon, Anthropic, Google, Inflection, Meta, Microsoft, and OpenAI–and agreed on a nonbinding set of new rules to govern and regulate this technology. This includes external testing of AI technologies before their release, investing in cybersecurity protection for unreleased models, and rooting out bias and misinformation, among others. To read more about President Biden’s statement on this meeting, click here. To read a statement from Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York, click here. To read a statement from Senator Mark Warner of Virginia, click here. To read a statement from Representative Anna Eshoo of California, click here. Lastly, Representative Dan Crenshaw of Texas has introduced a bill to address biosecurity threats in AI. To read his statement you can click here.
On July 25th, 2023, President Joe Biden signed a proclamation designating monuments in Illinois and Mississippi to honor Emmett Till, a 14-year old black boy who, in 1955, was lynched after being accused of whistling at a white woman, and his mother, Mamie Till-Mobley. The proclamation was signed on what would have been Till’s 82nd birthday. The monuments were chosen in Illinois because that’s where Till lived, and Mississippi because that is where Till was lynched (he was visiting family in the Mississippi Delta at the time). To read a statement from President Biden on the matter, click here. To read a statement from Vice President Harris, click here. To read a statement from Representative Jonathan Jackson of Illinois, click here. To read a statement from Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith of Mississippi, click here. Lastly, to read a statement from Representative Tammy Duckworth of Illinois, click here. Lastly, to read a statement from Representative Dick Durbin of Illinois, click here.
Elections
By the Elections Research team: Nick, Zachary, Seth, and Caleb and Interns Riya, Francesca, David, Golsa, Nicholas, and Kelly
Biographies & Elections:
Want to learn more about the candidates running for special elections in Rhode Island and Utah this year? You can see the full list here:
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:
Want to learn more about the results of special elections happening around the country? You can see the list of elections that happened this week here:
Officials
By the Officials Research team: Sam, Johanan, Neal, Thomas, Quinn, Max, and Jessica. Interns: Mark, Laura, Alexa, Henry, Margaret, Nicholas, Sonali and Nicole.
Public Statements: 319 statements were added this week. See highlights from the week for notable statements.
Key Votes:
States: 38 new votes were added.
Maryland Governor signed HB 824 - Prohibits certain individuals on probation from receiving a concealed carry permit
Maryland Governor signed SB 5 - Authorizes victims of hate crimes to bring civil lawsuits against those who committed the act
Maryland Governor passed SB 290 - Authorizes the state attorney general to prosecute law enforcement officers involved in incidents resulting in death
New Hampshire Senate Ought to Pass Report Adopted HB 315 - Prohibits the use of the “gay panic” murder defense
Oklahoma Governor signed SB 674 - Authorizes the creation of an Oklahoma organized retail crime task force
U.S. Congress: 3 new votes were added.
Congress passed H Con Res 57 - Expressing the sense of Congress supporting the State of Israel
Congress passed HR 3941 - Schools not Shelters Act
Congress passed HR 3935 - Securing growth and robust leadership in American Aviation Act
Special Interest Groups (SIGs)
This year to date, the SIGs team has entered 18,766 ratings and 9,568 endorsements for candidates.