Weekly Newsletter 04.17.24

Despite pressing national security and humanitarian issues facing the United States across the world and a key tool in collecting intelligence concerning foreign terrorism set to expire on April 19th, the House returned from a two-week recess last week to consider a slate of Republican messaging bills. For the seventh time this Congres. For the seventh time this Congress — half of which occurred under Speaker Johnson, legislative business ground to a halt when the Republican majority failed to pass a procedural vote known as “the rule”. The rule defines the debate and amendment process for legislation. Without it, a bill cannot be brought to the floor.  Eventually, a rule passed to consider FISA reauthorization. 

This week, the House will consider several national security bills in response to Iran’s drone and missile attack on Israel over the weekend, which was successfully repelled by U.S. and Israeli forces with the help of partners in the Region. In the meantime, I applaud efforts by the G7 nations to stabilize the situation, avoid further escalation, continue working towards an immediate and sustainable ceasefire and the release of hostages by Hamas, and deliver increased humanitarian assistance to Palestinians.    

Last week also saw a Joint Address to Congress by Prime Minister Fumio Kishida of Japan, the House Armed Services Committee held several hearings in preparation for the FY 2025 National Defense Authorization Act, and Black Maternal Health Week began. Read on to see what you missed last week! 
 

BLACK MATERNAL HEALTH WEEK

Black Maternal Health Week 

April 11th marked the start of Black Maternal Health Week, which was founded by The Black Mamas Matter Alliance seven years ago to foster awareness, activism, and community-building aimed at amplifying the voices of Black mothers, bringing visibility to Black-led maternal health initiatives, and centering the values and traditions of the reproductive and birth justice movements.

The United States has the highest maternal mortality of any high-income nation in the world. Black women are disproportionately impacted by the maternal mortality crisis and are three times more likely to die during childbirth than white women. These issues are being further exacerbated by abortion bans and restrictive abortion laws after Trump-appointed judges overturned Roe v. Wade. Fittingly, this year’s theme is “Our Bodies STILL Belong to Us: Reproductive Justice NOW!” 

The Biden-Harris Administration issued a proclamation that outlines actions taken by the Administration to address the Black maternal health crisis. These steps include:

• Launching a Blueprint for Addressing the Maternal Health Crisis, including investments in rural health care, protection from unexpected medical bills, expanded access to doulas and midwives, and more;
   
• Allowing states to expand Medicaid postpartum coverage from just 60 days to 12 months—impacting approximately 65% of births for Black mothers;
   
• Protecting and strengthening the Affordable Care Act, which requires insurers to cover pregnancy care, childbirth, and newborn care;
   
• Working to diversify the maternal health workforce so that Black women can receive care from culturally competent providers;
   
• Launching the Maternal Mental Health Hotline, where new and expecting moms can connect with professional counselors;
• Launching the first-ever White House Maternal Health Day of Action, led by Vice President Harris;
   
• Adopting new regulations under the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act that give millions of workers, many of them low-income women of color, access to unpaid leave for the first time.

As a Black mother who almost died during childbirth, I am keenly aware of the immense disparities and risks we face, and have fought for policies to address the maternal health crisis as a state legislator, including passing the Pregnant Worker Fairness Act of Virginia, expanding Medicaid postpartum coverage from 60 days to 12 months in Virginia, and passing the Reproductive Health Protection Act. 

Now in Congress, I am continuing to fight to end the maternal health crisis as a member of the Black Maternal Health Caucus and cosponsor of The Momnibus Act.

On Friday, I joined Birth in Color for its annual Black Maternal Health Summit to discuss our work at the federal level to address the Black maternal health crises.   

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THE WEEK IN WASHINGTON

FISA Reauthorization 

First passed in 1978 in response to privacy violations by the Nixon Administration, the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) governs the surveillance and collection of foreign intelligence in the United States. In 2008, Congress added Section 702 of FISA to authorize the U.S. intelligence community (IC) to collect, analyze, and share foreign intelligence information on individual terrorists, weapons proliferators, hackers, and other foreign intelligence targets. Last week, the House passed H.R. 7888 (The Reforming Intelligence and Securing America Act) to reauthorize FISA before its expiration on April 19th. I voted in support of this bipartisan bill to reform and reauthorize the U.S.’s most important foreign intelligence collection tool. The bill includes important reforms to Section 702 to improve accountability and balance privacy concerns with our national security priorities. The Senate has until the end of this week to pass the legislation and send it to President Biden’s desk for signature. 
 

Armed Services Committee Hearings 

The House Armed Services Committee is gearing up to consider the FY 2025 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) in May.  Last week, the full committee held a hearing on the United States’ military readiness and national security challenges in Europe.  My questions to witnesses from the Department of Defense and the U.S. European Command focused on our newest NATO allies and the challenges Europe faces with Russia’s increased aggression in Ukraine. You can watch here or below. 

The Subcommittee on Intelligence and Special Operations also held a hearing to assess the United States’ defense intelligence capabilities to identify and counter incoming threats. I asked experts from the Department of Defense, the Central Security Service, and the Defense Intelligence Agency about their collaboration across agencies and their work to deal with emerging technologies like artificial intelligence and machine learning. You can watch here or below. 

The Present and the Future of the Equal Rights Amendment

Last week, I joined Georgetown University Law Center and the ERA Project at Columbia Law School for their conference on analyzing the Equal Rights Amendment’s role in our democracy. I shared my story as part of a multigenerational group of women of color fighting for gender equality over the past 100 years. As a state senator, I was proud to lead the fight to make Virginia the 38th and final state necessary to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment in 2020. Yet, four years later, the ERA has not been published as the 28th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Now in Congress, as a Vice Chair of the first-ever Congressional ERA Caucus, I have not given up the fight to make the ERA the law of the land. You can watch my remarks here or below.

Biden-Harris Administration Executive Actions on Student Loans and Gun Violence Prevention 

In its latest move to provide relief from crushing student loan debt to millions of Americans, the Biden-Harris Administration announced $7.4 billion in student loan forgiveness for another 277,000 borrowers who signed up for the SAVE Plan and are eligible for its shortened time-to-forgiveness provision. Under the Biden-Harris Administration, 4.3 million Americans have received $153 billion in student debt relief. This is a major step to providing much-needed relief to borrowers. 

The Biden-Harris Administration and the Department of Justice announced new actions to close the “gun show loophole,” which allowed people to sell firearms online, at gun shows, and at other informal venues without conducting background checks on purchasers. As a state legislator, I worked for years to close this loophole in Virginia. I commend the Biden-Harris Administration for taking these significant actions to keep guns off our streets and our children safe. No one should have to live in fear of gun violence. These new common sense reforms will increase background check requirements and help prevent gun violence. 

REMINDERS

Congressional Art Competition

Calling all high school students interested in art! The 2024 Congressional Art Competition for Virginia’s Fourth is now open. Each year, the House of Representatives hosts a nationwide high school arts competition to recognize and promote interest in the arts. I encourage all eligible students to participate. The winning artwork from the Fourth will be displayed in the U.S. Capitol and will be featured on the Congressional Art Competition’s website.

The deadline to apply for entry in our district’s competition is April 22nd. You can learn more about the competition and apply here.

Congressional App Challenge

Pre-registration for the 2024 Congressional App Challenge is now open! This competition is open to all middle and high school students in our district who are interested in STEM. The App Challenge encourages students to create their own applications that will address problems locally, nationally, and globally. 

It was a pleasure to meet with last year’s App Challenge winners Agastyya and Irra Kala earlier this month. I was so impressed by their original app, Brainee, that they were kind enough to give me a demonstration in my office!

Pre-register for the 2024 challenge and receive more information by filling out this form.

I look forward to hearing from you. Make sure to follow @RepMcClellan on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Threads to stay up-to-date on my work in Washington and Virginia’s Fourth and to catch the next episode of Moments with McClellan!

Sincerely,

Rep. Jennifer McClellan
Member of Congress