The June 18th - 22nd Weekly Wrap-Up looks at a failed bill to amend policies on the separation of families at the border, as well as 1,267 public statements on topics including immigration, the 2018 Farm Bill, and the Opioid Crisis. Vote Smart also added the national ratings from the National Treasury Employees Union and FRC Action. Read it all and more on this week's Weekly Wrap-Up!
MAJOR EVENTS FROM THE WEEK:
The House failed to pass HR 4760:
The House failed to pass HR 4760, which would have amended policies on the separation of immigrant families at the border. Read more here!
This topic is significant in the news currently, so keep an eye out on votesmart.org for any statements from your representatives on the topic here. Candidate Count:
Vote Smart has officially entered more than 10,000 candidates for the 2018 elections! Make sure you know who is running to represent you here and what they stand for so that you can Vote Smart during primary elections and in November.
ELECTIONS:
National Ratings Released:
National Treasury Employees Union released their scorecard this week. The rating scorecard is a 2017 Scorecard, meaning that the National Treasury Employees Union is evaluating active Congress members based on their voting record in 2017. See their scorecard here.
- Family Research Council (FRC) Action also released their scorecard this week. The rating scorecard is a 2017 Scorecard, meaning that FRC Action is evaluating active Congress members based on their voting record in 2017. See their scorecard here.
Endorsements:
We have released over 10,500 endorsements for candidates 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.
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. This allows you to get a full look at who hopes to represent you so that you may make educated decisions in November.
OFFICIALS:
Public Statements:
There were 1,267 public statements added to the Vote Smart database this week. Some noteworthy topics include:
See immigration statements from Presidential Officials here.
- 2018 Farm Bill Statements Here.
- Opioid Crisis Statements here.
Key Votes:
This week there were 17 major bills that went through State capitals, and 4 that went through Congress. See the summaries from those four major bills by searching below.
- HR 476: This bill is known as the Securing America's Future Act, which pertains to the immigration vote that was mentioned previously.
- HR 5735: The THRIVE Act authorizes Section 8 vouchers for those recovering from opioid addictions. You can read more about your representatives statements on the topic here.
- HR 3: The Spending Cuts to Expired and Unnecessary Programs Act cuts $15 billion dollars' worth of funds from various agencies and departments. This bill failed in the Senate - HR 2851: The SITSA Act authorizes the Department of Justice to ban synthetic drugs.
UP NEXT:
Keep an eye out for these up-coming additions to Vote Smart!
Up Coming Primary Elections:
There is another big election day coming up on Tuesday, June 26, with primaries in Colorado, Maryland, New York, Oklahoma and Utah. This will be the last big election day until primaries pick back up again in August! If you are in any of these states, review who your candidates are by using the Congressional Candidates list above. This is the last big primary day before the elections pick back up again in August, Get to the polls and VOTE SMART!
Colorado Candidates Here
Maryland Candidates Here
New York Candidates Here
Oklahoma Candidates Here
Utah Candidates Here
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