This Week in Research: May 30-June 2

Highlights from the Week

1. American citizens and elected officials continue to wrestle with the policy implications of a mass shooting at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, last week that left 19 children and two teachers dead. Debate regarding gun control and school safety led many officials to release statements. Click here to see statements from members of US Congress on guns.

2. Conversations have continued to develop regarding the role of police officers in public safety after questions arose about the actions of the Uvalde police and Texas State Troopers during the May 25th shooting. Proposals for arming teachers with guns and calls for inquiry into the event have increased as the timeline surrounding the shooting shifts and changes. Click here to see statements from members of US Congress on criminal justice.

3. The Russian invasion of Ukraine has pushed into its third month, with no end in sight for the conflict. Sweden and Finland have expressed their interest in becoming the 31st and 32nd NATO members, but Turkish President, Recep Erdoğan, has threatened to block their membership on grounds that both countries support Kurdish militants. The US and Germany have continued to send military aid to Ukraine, including air defense and tracking systems. Click here to see statements from members of US Congress regarding international relations, or click here to see statements from members of US Congress regarding foreign aid.

Elections

By the Elections Research team 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:

• Washington

• Congressional Primary Candidates

• Statewide Primary Candidates

• State Judicial Primary Candidates

• New York

• State Assembly District 58 Primary Candidates

Biographies: Want to learn more about the candidates running in Georgia’s State Legislative Primary Elections? You can see the full list of candidates running here.

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:

• Alabama Congressional Primary Candidates

• Arkansas Congressional Primary Candidates

• California Congressional Primary Candidates

• Colorado Congressional Primary Candidates

• Georgia Congressional Primary Candidates

• Idaho Congressional Primary Candidates

• Illinois Congressional Primary Candidates

• Indiana Congressional Primary Candidates

• Iowa Congressional Primary Candidates

• Kentucky Congressional Primary Candidates

• Maryland Congressional Primary Candidates

• Mississippi Congressional Primary Candidates

• Montana Congressional Primary Candidates

• Nebraska Congressional Primary Candidates

• Nevada Congressional Primary Candidates

• New Jersey Congressional Primary Candidates

• New Mexico Congressional Primary Candidates

• North Carolina Congressional Primary Candidates

• Oklahoma Congressional Primary Candidates

• Oregon Congressional Primary Candidates

• Pennsylvania Congressional Primary Candidates

• South Carolina Congressional Primary Candidates

• Virginia Congressional Primary Candidates

• West Virginia Congressional Primary Candidates

Officials

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

Public Statements: 974 statements were added this week. See highlights from the week for notable statements.

Key Votes:

• States: 24 new votes were added, 19 bills were updated with new information.

• The California Assembly passed AB 2408, also known as the Social Media Platform Duty to Children Act. This bill declares that the state of California will be taking appropriate steps to ensure that children are not harmed by social media addiction. Measures enacted by the bill include a ban on the sale of user data collected from minors and penalties punishing platforms that have developed, designed, or maintained features that are known to be addictive to children.

• The Colorado House of Representatives passed HB22-1414, also known as the Healthy Meals for All Public School Students bill. This bill provides funds for grants that allow school food authorities to purchase local, Colorado-grown food and increase the wages/stipends for individuals who prepare the food. Participating schools must provide free meals to all students enrolled in the school and coordinate with a student/parent leadership committee to choose meal plans.

• New Hampshire’s House of Representatives voted to pass HB 1503, which adopts the Uniform Commercial code to regulate blockchain technology and cryptocurrency. The legislation is intended to boost New Hampshire’s ability to grow the crypto economy within the state.

• Congress: 1 bill was added and 1 bill was updated. Click here to see all US congressional bills from this session.

• A Joint Resolution to disapprove of the Biden administration’s policy on asylum seekers failed the US Senate on May 26, 2022. The resolution was intended to show congressional disapproval of the rules for screening credible fear when considering refuge for asylum seekers. Under Biden’s recently finalized immigration policy, Immigration Services officers can approve migrants’ asylum claims rather than send all asylum seekers into the backlogged court system.

Special Interest Groups

• There were 130 endorsements and 74 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 54,771 candidates and entered endorsements for 6,964 candidates.