This Week In Research: September 18th - September 22nd, 2023

Highlights from the Week

1. On September 14th, 2023, Congress - specifically the House, passed The Preserving Choice in Vehicle Purchases Act, H. R. 1435. The purpose of this act is to amend the Clean Air Act to prevent the elimination of the sale of internal combustion engines. The current action highlights the act has been received, read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works. H. R. 1345 now moves to the Senate for consideration. To read H. R. 1435 Bill text and how your representatives voted, click here. To read a statement from Representative and Bill Sponsor John Joyce of Pennsylvania, click here. To read a statement from Representative Michael McCaul of Texas, click here. To read a statement from Representative Marjorie Tyalor Green of Georgia, click here. To read a statement from Representative Mark DeSaulnier of California, click here. Lastly, to read a statement from Representative Kevin Mullin of California, click here.

2. On September 19th, 2023, five Americans who were considered “wrongfully detained” by Iran were released in a prisoner swap deal negotiated between the Biden Administration and President Ebrahim Raisi of Iran. In exchange for the release of these five Americans, who were either Iranian nationals or dual citizens in the United States at their time of arrest, the Biden Administration agreed to unfreeze $6 billion in frozen oil revenues in addition to the release of five people in U.S. custody. To read a statement from President Joe Biden on the exchange, click here. To read a statement from former President Donald Trump, click here. To read a statement from the Chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Senator Bob Menendez of New Jersey, click here. To read a statement from Senator Ben Cardin of Maryland, click here. To read a statement from Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, click here. Lastly, to read a statement from Senator Ted Cruz of Texas, click here.

3. On September 15th, 2023, the United Auto Workers (UAW), a union representing workers in automotive manufacturing, started a strike against three of the biggest automakers in the United States: Ford, General Motors, and Stellantis (a first in the union’s history). The UAW’s concerns are centered mostly around a new labor contract negotiated between the union and the automakers, with demands including increased wages to keep up with inflation, an end to the tiered employment system that might disadvantage newer hires, an improvement on overtime and retirement benefits, and improved worker protections against plant closures, among others. Currently, the UAW is striking three plants in Michigan, Ohio, and Missouri, but could expand the strike to other locations the longer it continues. To read a statement from President Joe Biden, click here. To read a statement from Michigan Senator Debbie Stabenow, click here. To read a statement from Michigan Representative Elissa Slotkin, click here. To read a statement from Representative John Moolenaar of Michigan, click here. To read a statement from Representative John James of Michigan, click here. Lastly, to read a statement from Representative Val Hoyle of Oregon, click here.

Elections By the Elections Research team: Nick, Zachary, Caleb, Seth, Jessica, and Max and Elections Research interns Ionut, Spencer, Molly, Rachel, Emma, Kaia, and Brenda Biographies & Elections: Want to learn more about the results of elections happening around the country? You can see the list of elections that happened this week here:

• New Hampshire Special State Legislative Election

• Pennsylvania Special State Legislative Election

• South Carolina Special State Legislative Runoff Election

Want to learn more about elected officials in your state? You can see the full list here:

• Congressional Officials

• Nebraska State Legislative Officials

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

Want to learn more about the candidates who are currently being tested and their responses to the Political Courage Test ahead of the general election? You can see the full list of candidates, their responses, and response rates running in various states by office below:

• Kentucky Gubernatorial Candidates

• Louisiana Gubernatorial Candidates

• Louisiana Statewide Candidates

• Louisiana State Legislative Candidates

• Mississippi Gubernatorial Candidates

• Mississippi Statewide Candidates

• Mississippi State Legislative Candidates

• New Jersey State Legislative Candidates

• Virginia State Legislative Candidates

Officials By the Officials Research team: Sam, Johanan, Neal, Thomas, Quinn and Interns: Justin, Skylar, Jami, Abby, Claire, Heather, Kaitlin, Sophia, Tristen, Arola and Nischay. Public Statements: 379 statements were added this week. See highlights from the week for notable statements. Key Votes: States: 35 new votes were added.

• Washington Governor signed SB 5599 - Authorizes discretion for homeless shelter reporting of “at-risk” youth seeking healthcare services

• Louisiana Governor signed SB 162 - Requires parental consent and age verification for minor social media access

• Louisiana Senate Bill HB 321 Sent to Committee - Authorizes the release of certain juvenile criminal records to the public

• Rhode Island House Bill S 71 Sent to Committee - Appropriates state funds to provide free school breakfast and lunch in all K-12 public schools

• Rhode Island Governor signed H 5006 - Requires all state employees and individuals on Medicaid continue to receive abortion coverage

• U.S. Congress: 1 new vote was added.

• Congress passed HR 1435 - Preserving Choice in Vehicle Purchases Act

Special Interest Groups (SIGs)

• This year to date, the SIGs team has entered 30,949 ratings and 11,187 endorsements for candidates.