Press Releases

After meeting with Attorney General Loretta Lynch on Monday, President Obama announced new executive actions to respond to the country’s gun violence incidents. The actions will increase background checks, reporting, state and federal cooperation, and mental health resources.

Today, U.S. Senators Patty Murray (D-WA) and Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), and Representatives Diana DeGette (D-CO), Judy Chu (D-CA), Louise Slaughter (D-NY), and Marc Veasey (D-TX) led a group of 155 Democrats and 2 Independents in filing an amicus brief in the case of Whole Woman’s Health v. Cole, which is currently pending before the Supreme Court of the United States and represents the most comprehensive challenge to the Supreme Court’s historic ruling in Roe v. Wade in nearly a decade. In the brief, Democrats call on the justices to uphold Roe v. Wade and reject efforts to undermine a woman’s constitutionally protected right to make her own choices about her own body.

On Monday, Japan and South Korea announced an historic agreement regarding the issue of "comfort women" - women who were captured and used as sex slaves by the Japanese Army during World War II. Under the agreement, Japan will apologize to the Korean women for the physical and emotional pain and contribute approximately $8.3 million to a fund for the survivors. Rep. Judy Chu (CA-27) has repeatedly called on Japan to acknowledge this wrong, most recently during Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's visit to Washington in April.

Today, the House voted 316-113 to pass a $1.1 trillion bill to fund the government through 2016. The omnibus spending bill provides appropriations for all government agencies at the higher levels agreed to in the Bipartisan Budget Agreement that replaced much of the Sequester and includes health coverage for 9/11 first responders, a two-year delay of the ACA “Cadillac Tax”, funding for environmental programs, and more.

On Saturday night, after two weeks of negotiations in Paris, negotiators from 195 countries agreed to an historic agreement to curb emission and fight climate change. Under the Paris Agreement, every country has agreed to promote and pursue voluntary cuts to greenhouse gas emission to keep average global temperatures from rising significantly. Scientists have argued that an increase of 2 degrees Celsius would mean significant risks to people and the environment. Wealthier countries have also pledged financial support to help developing countries adopt new energy plans.

Today, Congresswoman Judy Chu (CA-27), Congressman Tom Marino (PA-10) and Congresswoman Barbara Comstock (VA-10) introduced H.R. 4241 – the Copyright Office for the Digital Economy Act or the CODE Act. This comes after months of discussion with various stakeholders, including several joint Member roundtables.

Today, Rep. Judy Chu (CA-27) introduced the Protecting Our Students by Terminating Graduate Rates that Add to Debt (POST GRAD) Act. The bill would once again make graduate students eligible to receive Federal Direct Subsidized Loans. That eligibility was ended by the Budget Control Act of 2011

On Thursday, the House voted 359-65 to adopt the conference report on H.R. 22, Fixing America’s Surface Transportation (FAST) Act, a five-year reauthorization of funds for highway, bridge, transportation safety, and public transit projects. California transportation agencies including the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans), Alameda Corridor East (ACE), the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro) and others stand to benefit from provisions that fund and create programs to improve transit in Southern California.