Media

Today, Rep. Judy Chu (CA-27), called on Speaker of the House Paul Ryan to allow a vote on legislation that would prevent those on the No Fly list from being able to buy a gun before the House takes a week-long break on Friday. The bill, H.R. 1076, Denying Firearms and Explosives to Dangerous Terrorists Act of 2015, was introduced in December 2015 by Reps. Pete King (NY-02) and Mike Thompson (CA-05) and would allow the FBI and Attorney General to prevent suspected terrorists from buying lethal firearms and explosives. A similar bill in the Senate, introduced by Sen. Dianne Feinstein (CA), earned a majority of votes on Monday night, but failed to reach the 60-vote threshold needed to defeat a filibuster. Past attempts by Democrats in the House to bring this legislation up for a vote have been defeated thirteen times by House Republicans. Rep. Chu introduced the following statement:

Today marks the fourth anniversary of President Obama’s announcement of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. DACA allows undocumented immigrants who were brought to this country as children to temporarily stay and work in the U.S. without fear of deportation.

Today the U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R. 5325, the Fiscal Year 2017 Legislative Branch Appropriations Act. This bill appropriates $1.19 billion for the operations of the House of Representatives, as well as $2.29 billion for other legislative branch agencies and programs affiliated with the House, like the Capitol Police, the Library of Congress, the Government Accountability Office, and the Government Printing Office. The bill also includes report language that seeks to force the Library of Congress to continue using the term “illegal aliens.” This provision is in response to the Library’s March 2016 decision to replace this term with the words “noncitizens” and “unauthorized immigration” after a lengthy review process determined “alien” to be pejorative and recommend it’s use be discontinued. Due to the inclusion of this provision, Rep. Judy Chu (CA-27) voted against the bill. She released the following statement:

Today, Creative Rights Caucus Co-Chairs Representative Judy Chu (CA-27) and Representative Doug Collins (GA-09) hosted a panel on the process and impact of taking a movie from script to screen. The panelists, all women and men who brought the Academy Award®-winning film Spotlight to life, included Nicole Rocklin and Blye Pagon Faust, Producers; Ben Bradlee, Jr. and Mike Rezendes, The Boston Globe; John Slattery, Mad Men, Spotlight, Veep; Stephen H. Carter, Production Designer, Birdman, Spotlight; and Liz Biber, EVP, Publicity, Open Road Films. Reps. Chu and Collins released the following statements: "Movies like Spotlight help to move, educate and inspire us, and along with other copyright industries they also contribute over $1 trillion to our GDP each year. This would not be possible without the hundreds of people who spent countless hours scripting, pitching, designing, acting, building, and more," said Rep. Chu. "But without intellectual property protections, movies like Spotlight become harder to make and the below the line artists and craftsmen and women are the ones who suffer the most. That is why it is so important to host events like today’s that help educate Congress on the importance of these industries, how many people are involved, and how we can support them.” “The American film and television industry is a testament to the power of creativity and innovation,” said Rep. Collins. “The ideas these talented individuals bring to our televisions and movie screens are not only captivating and entertaining, but also challenge us with new stories and perspectives. It takes a great deal of hard work and long hours from many people, doing a diverse array of jobs, to make this industry thrive. Ideas have value, both economically and culturally, and are worth protecting. We must ensure intellectual property protections from theft and piracy, so as not to discourage future generations from pursuing creative careers that contribute so much to our country. I am proud that many filmmakers, directors, actors, and production staff have chosen Georgia as their creative home base, because the jobs created by their industry help grow our economy, both locally in Georgia and across the country. I thank my Creative Rights Caucus Co-Chair, Congresswoman Chu for joining me today to make this event happen, and I thank the panelists for taking time to share their expertise on bringing movies from ‘script to screen’.”