Weekly Newsletter, 9.23.25
In 1786, Thomas Jefferson wrote in a letter to James Currie, “our liberty depends on the freedom of the press, and that cannot be limited without being lost.” This sentiment was embodied in the Virginia Declaration of Rights, penned by George Mason. It was adopted by the House of Burgesses one month before the Continental Congress adopted Jefferson’s Declaration of Independence, which declared that “freedom of the press is one of the greatest bulwarks of liberty and can never be restrained but by despotic governments.” Drafting the Bill of Rights, James Madison enshrined freedoms of speech and the press into the First Amendment.
Our Founding Fathers would be appalled by ABC suspending Jimmy Kimmel Live! Indefinitely after Federal Communications Commission Chair Brendan Carr suggested they do so, threatening, “We can do this the easy way or the hard way.” A known attack dog for Trump, Carr has said retaliation against Kimmel for comments made in the wake of Charlie Kirk’s killing is “not the last shoe to drop.”
This is not how a normal, thriving democracy functions. These threats from the FCC and ABC’s subsequent capitulation should be a wake-up call for all of us: our First Amendment rights are under attack. Even Republicans like Tucker Carlson, Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) and Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) decried the threat to free speech that Kimmel’s suspension represents. While ABC’s parent company reversed course, its affiliated stations owned by Sinclair plan to preempt the show anyway.
This evolving situation with Jimmy Kimmel! Live is exactly why I introduced an amendment to the Energy & Commerce Committee Oversight Plan earlier this year to ensure the committee investigates instances of censorship by the FCC and weaponization of the FCC to quash freedom of the press and speech. Committee Republicans rejected the amendment after a debate you can watch here and below.
I also joined Communications and Technology Subcommittee Ranking Member Doris Matsui (CA-07) to introduce The Broadcast Freedom and Independence Act to prohibit the FCC from revoking broadcast licenses or taking action against broadcasters based on the viewpoints they broadcast. Now, I join the Energy & Commerce Democratic leadership in calling on the FCC Inspector General to launch an investigation into Chairman Carr’s illegal and unconstitutional censorship campaign.
I will continue fighting to protect the essential freedoms of speech and the press against the Trump Administration’s efforts to quash dissenting voices. Read on for more from the past week.
GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN LIKELY AS CONGRESSIONAL REPUBLICANS TURN THEIR BACK ON THE AMERICAN PEOPLE
It’s déjà vu all over again as we once again count down to a potential government shutdown when federal funding runs out at midnight on October 1st.
We live in uncertain times, and millions of Americans already struggling to make ends meet now face a full-scale affordability crisis. Republicans control both chambers of Congress and the White House after promising to lower prices and address kitchen table issues Americans care about. Instead, prices have skyrocketed under the Trump Administration’s senseless tariffs, with grocery inflation now reaching its highest rate since 2022.
From day one of the 119th Congress, House and Senate Democrats stood ready to pass bipartisan funding bills that improve the health, safety and economic well-being of every American, as we have so many times before. Instead, Congressional Republicans doubled down on economic uncertainty with their Big Ugly Law, which ripped billions in funding away from programs and resources supported by households across our nation. Meanwhile, the Trump Administration unlawfully froze or canceled funding previously appropriated by Congress, fired thousands of federal employees and demanded a “recissions package” clawing back funding Congress previously approved for foreign aid and public broadcasting-based culture wars or petty grievances.
Instead of reaching across the aisle to craft funding legislation both parties could agree to, House Republicans have continually insisted they do not need Democrats’ help — from their six-week temporary funding extension passed in March, to the Big Ugly Law, to their latest effort to kick the funding can down the road jammed through the House on Friday. I voted no on this latest funding extension, which fails to address a looming health care crisis of Republicans’ making. The Senate promptly rejected it on a 44-47 vote.
Medicaid cuts pose a very real threat to our health care system. As hospitals and health clinics close or reduce services, premiums rise and people lose their health insurance, we can’t afford to sit by and do nothing. Yet Republicans have done nothing to extend the Affordable Care Act (ACA) enhanced premium tax credits set to expire at the end of this year. On top of the 15 million set to lose their health insurance due to cuts to Medicaid and the ACA under the Big Ugly Law, an additional 4 million more Americans risk losing insurance once these premium tax credits expire. In an Energy & Commerce Committee meeting last week, I sounded the alarm on this looming health care crisis.
I also joined Protect Our Care Virginia to share my thoughts on Congressional Republicans’ Medicaid cuts and inaction on the ACA enhanced premium tax credits.
You can watch the entire conversation here.
HOW TRUMP ADMINISTRATION POLICIES IMPACT EFFORTS TO LOWER ENERGY COSTS AND CLOSE THE DIGITAL DIVIDE
When I ask people across the district about which of their expenses has risen the most in the past year, I almost always hear about their energy bills. Energy efficiency programs provide an important tool to managing increasing demand while lowering costs by reducing wasted energy. Programs like the Weatherization Assistance Program reduce energy costs for low-income households by increasing the energy efficiency and safety of their homes, while ensuring their health and safety. The program supports 8,500 jobs and each year provides weatherization services to approximately 32,000 homes, saving families an average of $372.
Last week, I discussed how workforce cuts at the Department of Energy threaten the success of this important cost-cutting program and how bills like Rep. Paul Tonko’s (NY-20) Weatherization Enhancement and Readiness Act can ease the burden of low-income families trying to meet their energy expenses month by month.
At a Communications & Technology Subcommittee hearing later that week, I emphasized the importance of the Broadband Equity Access and Deployment (BEAD) Program, the single largest federal investment in broadband in our nation’s history. Though Republicans have repeatedly bemoaned the BEAD Program implementation timeline and blamed permitting for delays, I discussed how infrastructure plans and providers must be determined beforehand to avoid wasteful spending and stressed the value of a holistic approach — with reliability, affordability and long-term connectivity at the center if no community is to be left behind.
MY BRIGHT SPOT: CELEBRATING DIVERSE CULTURES
Virginia boasts a diverse tapestry of cultures that deserve to be celebrated. Last week, I celebrated the contributions of Hispanic, African and Nottoway culture.
Long before explorers landed on the shores of the North American continent, several distinct groups of Iroquoian-speaking people lived in the Virginia-North Carolina coastal plain. The Nottoway lived along the Nottoway River in parts of the present day counties of Southampton, Nottoway, Dinwiddie, Sussex, Surry and Isle of Wight. As colonists began expanding into Nottoway land, the Treaty of Middle Plantation in 1677 and the Spotswood Treaty with the Nottoway in 1713-1714 established a relationship between the Virginia colony and several Tribes, including the Nottoway. The Commonwealth of Virginia granted official state recognition of the Nottoway Indian Tribe in 2010.
Over the weekend, the Nottoway Indian Tribe of Virginia held its annual Pow Wow in Surry to celebrate its history and culture. I joined the Grand Entry ceremony to announce legislation I filed to grant federal recognition to the Tribe as a sovereign nation.
September 15th kicked off Hispanic Heritage Month, honoring the past while looking forward to build community and celebrate the diverse cultures and traditions of all Spanish-speaking people. In 1565, Spanish explorer Pedro Menéndez de Avilés founded the first permanent Spanish settlement in what is now the United States. For the past 460 years, Hispanic heritage has continued to influence and inspire American culture, even when those stories often went untold. I’m eager to continue sharing those stories as we continue through Hispanic Heritage Month.
From the first Africans kidnapped from their homes and brought involuntarily to America to the African immigrants who arrived to pursue the American dream, the African Diaspora has profoundly influenced the American culture, economy and communities. As a state legislator, I led efforts that made Virginia the first state in the country to recognize September as African Diaspora Month. Last Tuesday, I attended African Diaspora Heritage Day on the Hill to announce my federal legislation designating September as African Diaspora Heritage Month.
REMINDERS
Nominations for my 2025 Veteran of the Year Program are due by Friday, October 24th!
Thursday, October 30th is the deadline to apply for the Congressional App Challenge and for a Service Academy Nomination.
Keep the faith, friends!