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This Week in Research: June 20 – June 24

Highlights from the Week

1. In the face of rising inflation and skyrocketing gas prices, President Biden gave a speech on Tuesday, June 22, laying out his plan to tackle the crisis. He proposed that the government suspends the federal gas tax, alleviating pressure on consumers, while relying on increased tax revenue over the past year to continue infrastructure projects. To see Biden’s statement, click here. To see Republican Senate Leader Mitch McConnell’s June 21 statement on inflation, click here.


2. On Tuesday, June 22, the Supreme Court ruled against the state of Maine in the case of an education program which excluded religious schools. The court ruled that it is illegal to exclude schools from programs on the basis of religious curriculum. Over the course of the next week, the Supreme Court is expected to release several more decisions on cases. To see statements from members of Congress on judicial issues, click here. To see statements from members of Congress on issues of religion, click here.


3. This week marks the 50th anniversary of the Title IX act, which enshrined into sex based protections from discrimination for students and student athletes. The Title IX act is perhaps best known for its wide ranging impact on the history of collegiate women’s athletics; the number of girls that participated in high school sports increased by more than 450% between 2006 and the bill’s signing in 1972. To see statements from members of Congress regarding Title IX, click here. To see President Biden’s statement on the anniversary of Title IX, click here.


Elections

By the Elections Research team (Noah, Seth, Nick, Caleb, & Anthony) and Elections Interns (Andres, Liam, Luke, Muzhi, Ephriam, Hugh, Riley, Mia, & Charles)

Elections: Want to learn more about the candidates running in primary elections? You can see the full list of candidates running for various offices by state below:

Want to learn more about the results from the Virginia Congressional primary elections this week? You can see the results of the election here.

Want to learn more about the results from the primary runoff elections this week? Please click on the office you would like to view for the states below:

Biographies: Want to learn more about the candidates running in Congressional primary elections? You can see the full list of candidates running in various states below:

If you want to learn more about a candidate, click on a candidate and go to their ‘Bio’ tab to learn more. Issue Positions/Political Courage Test:

Want to learn more about the candidates who are currently being tested and their responses to the Political Courage test? You can see the full list of candidates, their responses, and response rates running for various offices below:

Officials

By the Officials Research team: Thomas, Bibi, Eliana, Johanan, Neal, Jake, Craig, Israel, Wyatt, and Katie


Public Statements: 4,077 statements were added this week. See highlights from the week for notable statements.

Key Votes:

  • States: 41 new votes were added, 9 bills were updated with new information.

    • The state of Washington passed and signed into law HB 1630 which prohibits the possession of any weapon on public or private school property, in state or local government buildings, and at voter registration offices or ballot counting centers. The bill includes exceptions for law enforcement, unloaded and sealed weapons, and weapons authorized for use in safety instruction or demonstration.

    • The governor of Tennessee signed SB 2247 into law, which requires approval from a 10 member state commission for all textbooks used in public schools. Under this bill, the commission will also issue guidance to public and charter school libraries on appropriateness of materials for students.

    • In Virginia, both chambers of the legislature voted to pass HB 4, a bill which requires school principals to report student misdemeanors to law enforcement. Under this law, school principals must immediately report to law enforcement and guardians when a student is found committing a variety of offenses, including possession of alcohol, marijuana, or steroids, written threats against school personnel or property, and false bomb threats.

  • Federal Legislation: 3 new votes were added.

  • The US House of Representatives passed HR 2542, the Federal Reserve Racial and Economic Equity Act, by a 215 to 207 vote. This bill requires the Federal Reserve Board to carry out its duties in a manner that supports the elimination of ethnic disparities in employment, wealth, income, and access to affordable credit.

Special Interest Groups

  • There were 263 endorsements and 22 ratings released to the live web this week, which can be viewed here (organized by group). This year to date, the SIGs team has rated 68,890 candidates and entered endorsements for 8,875 candidates.


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