Get Monday going with the FACTS! This week's new additions include Congressional Statements on separated families at the border, Trump's agricultural aid package, and the GDP Growth Report. You can also find resources on primary elections and voting to prepare for the second half of primaries beginning next week. Keep reading for more!
MAJOR EVENTS FROM THE WEEK:
Trump's Agricultural Aid Package
Have you been hearing things about President Trump's agricultural aid package? Curious about your representatives' views on the topic? Read all Congressional statements on the bailout HERE!
Primary Season Pick-Up
We are back into the Primary election season starting next week! There are 18 states that have yet to have their 2018 Primary elections, and 14 of them are happening in August. You can keep track of election dates using our downloadable elections calendar on this page of the website: Downloadable Election Calendar HERE
Tennessee Primaries
Tennessee will be the next state to have a Primary election on August 2nd, 2018. See our complete full biographical research on all Congressional candidates here. Continue reading for additional resources on the Tennessee candidates and voting.
Separated Families at the Border
The deadline to reunite families separated at the border passed this week. Read up on what your elected officials have been saying HERE!
GDP Growth Report
The Bureau of Economic Analysis released its report on GDP growth in the second quarter of 2018. See what your politicians have to say about the findings HERE!
ELECTIONS: By Pete and the Elections Research team
Endorsements: Vote Smart has released 12,500+ endorsements so far this year. See who is really backing your candidates HERE.
If you would like to see how your representatives or candidates are rated by Special Interest Groups, check out your candidate's ratings page, as shown by the example HERE.
Vote Smart's researchers are currently working on state level ratings for Tennessee candidates. Tennessee is kicking off the second half of the Primary season with their elections on August 2nd, 2018. All state level endorsements are released, and you will can see them on this page: Tennessee Endorsements HERE Ratings: We have released over 60,000 ratings for politicians so far this year! They are listed on the Interest Groups page of the website, which you can browse HERE!
You can filter these rating scorecards by both STATE AND ISSUE, which allows you to easily find how interest groups are rating your representatives based on the subjects that matter to you. Political Courage Test & Elections Info: The Primary election season starts up again next week! There are 18 states that have yet to have their 2018 Primary elections, and 14 of them are happening in August. You can keep track of election dates using our downloadable elections calendar on this page of the website: Downloadable Election Calendar HERE
Tennessee will be the next state to have a Primary election (8/2/18). We have completed full biographical research on ALL Congressional candidates, including those from Tennessee and other states with up-coming primaries. See the TN candidates HERE.
Not registered to vote in Tennessee or a state with an up-coming primary election? Find the Tennessee Voter Registration and Polling Place Page HERE!
What is the Political Courage Test? Find out HERE!
Congressional Candidate Lists:
Vote Smart has released congressional candidate lists released for all 41 states that have released certified ballots for 2018 Primary Elections. These candidates are all found on the elections page of the website as searchable here.
All 49 states with Primary elections have released their candidate lists! Our researchers have completed full biographical research for all Congressional candidates in these races. These candidates are all found on the elections page of the website HERE.
OFFICIALS:
By Annie and the Officials Research team
Public Statements:
Vote Smart added 1,769 statements to its database this week! Find them all through targeted key-word searches.
Some Newsworthy topics include:
- Agricultural aid Package - Economic growth - Family separation deadline
- Russia
Key Votes:
There were nine key state votes, and five Key Votes in Congress this week. Read all about the vote by following the bolded links below!
- S Res 584: A resolution expressing the Senate's opposition to making current and former diplomats, officials, and members of the Armed Forces available for questioning by Russia.
- H Con Res 119: A resolution expressing the sense of Congress that a carbon tax would be detrimental to the United States economy. This resolution passed in the House on July 19th, 2018.
- HR 6147: Interior, Environment, Financial Services, and General Government Appropriations Act, 2019 , which appropriates funds to the EPA and Department of the Interior. This bill passed in the House on July 19th, 2018.
- HR 50: Unfunded Mandates Information and Transparency Act of 2017, which places restrictions on and limits unfunded federal mandates.This bill passed in the House on July 13th, 2018.
- PN 1931: Confirmation of James Blew to be Assistant Secretary for Planning, Evaluation, and Policy Development for the Department of Education.
UP NEXT:
The next major primary election in on August 7th, which leads us into the bulk of the midterm election season. Tennessee has their primary election on August 2nd.
If you are in Tennessee, Kansas, Michigan, Missouri, or Washington:
Know who your candidates are and what they stand for. Use our tools so that you can go to the polls and VOTE SMART!
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