Four top U.S. gymnasts, Simone Biles, Aly Raisman, McKayla Maroney, and Maggie Nichols, testified at a Senate hearing Wednesday on how the FBI botched the investigation into sexual abuse allegations made against former USA Gymnastics doctor, Larry Nassar. Nassar is currently serving a life sentence for molesting hundreds of women and girls during his time […]
Biden Administration Appeals Ruling that Found DACA Illegal
The Biden administration appealed a federal district court ruling on Friday that declared the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program illegal and blocked new applicants from receiving the program’s benefits. The appeal challenges a ruling made by Texas federal district Judge Andrew Hanen in July. Judge Hanen ruled that DACA was unlawful because it […]
Activists Join Together to Rally for the Equal Rights Amendment on Women’s Equality Day
On Thursday afternoon, around 150 activists and women’s rights leaders from across the country gathered in front of the U.S. Supreme Court, across from the U.S. Senate, to rally for removal of the arbitrary timeline placed in the preamble of the Equal Rights Amendment. The U.S. House of Representatives voted to remove the time limit […]
House Approves $3.5 Trillion Budget Resolution
The House passed a $3.5 trillion budget plan on Tuesday that will enable Congress to pass legislation to address climate change, health care, immigration, and education. The budget, which is a legislative framework that does not require the president’s signature, was approved by a 220-212 vote along party lines. It will lay the groundwork for […]
Supreme Court Denies Biden Administration’s Request to Pause Reimplementation of “Remain in Mexico” Policy
The Supreme Court ordered the Biden administration Tuesday to reimplement former President Trump’s “Remain in Mexico” policy that requires migrants to wait in Mexico until their immigration hearing in the United States. Earlier this month, a federal judge in Texas ordered the Biden administration to revive the policy, which had been formally ended by the […]
House Passes John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act to Strengthen Landmark Voting Rights Act
The House passed on Tuesday the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, a bill that would strengthen and restore key provisions of the landmark 1965 Voting Rights Act. The legislation is named after the civil and voting rights leader John Lewis, who died a year ago. The bill, HR 4, would restore the preclearance provision […]
Senate Passes Biden’s $1 Trillion Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill
Today, the Senate passed President Biden’s expansive bipartisan infrastructure bill. The package contains $550 billion in new federal funds to invest in American infrastructure over the next five years. The bill will now move to the House. After months of difficult negotiations, the infrastructure measure passed in the Senate by a vote of 69-30. While […]
CDC Issues New Eviction Moratorium Due to Delta Variant
On Tuesday, the Center for Disease Control and the Biden Administration announced a new 60-day ban on evictions in areas of the country where transmission of the Covid-19 is high. The eviction moratorium will last until October 3 and is effective in counties where there is “substantial and high levels of community transmission” of the […]
Rep. Cori Bush Sleeps on Steps of U.S. Capitol to Protest Eviction Moratorium’s Expiration
This weekend, Representative Cori Bush (D-Mo) protested the expiration of the Center for Disease Control’s eviction moratorium by sleeping on the steps of the U.S. Capitol. On Saturday night, the CDC’s ban on evictions expired, threatening renters across the country with the possibility of eviction. The moratorium had been put in place 11 months ago […]
Biden Announces Plan to Protect “Long Covid” Patients Under Federal Disability Law on 31st Anniversary of Americans with Disabilities Act
On Monday, President Joe Biden honored the 31st anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act by announcing a new initiative to qualify “long Covid” symptoms as disability and grant Americans with “long Covid” protections under the ADA. People who suffer from “long Covid” experience serious and ongoing health issues that originated from a previous Covid-19 […]
Representative Joyce Beatty Arrested at Voting Rights Protest on Capitol Hill
On Thursday, Rep. Joyce Beatty (D-OH), Chair of the Congressional Black Caucus, was arrested while protesting for voting rights in a Senate office building. U.S. Capitol Police arrested Rep. Beatty and eight other activists who were demonstrating in the atrium of the Hart Senate Office Building. In a statement, police said they arrested the protestors […]
House Subcommittee Advances HHS Spending Bill without Hyde Amendment
On Monday, the House Appropriations Labor and Health and Human Services subcommittee advanced a spending bill for the Department of Health and Human Services that does not include the Hyde Amendment. The 1976 Hyde Amendment prohibits the use of federal funds, specifically Medicaid, for abortion care. It disproportionately affects women of color and low-income women […]
Gender Equity in Education Act Reintroduced in House and Senate to Advance Title IX’s Implementation
Last Wednesday, Senator Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI) and Representative Doris Matsui (D-CA), reintroduced the Patsy T. Mink and Louise M. Slaughter Gender Equity in Education Act (GEEA) in Congress. The House and Senate versions of the bill, H.R.4097 and S.2186, would support the implementation of Title IX by providing resources, funding, and training to reduce […]
Voting Rights Bill Blocked by Filibuster
Senate Republicans blocked an expansive voting rights bill with a filibuster on Tuesday despite Democrats’ efforts to move the bill forward. The For the People Act is one of the most comprehensive pieces of voting rights legislation to be introduced in years. It would expand and protect voting rights, create new campaign finance rules, and […]
Senate Approves Legislation to Make Juneteenth a Federal Holiday
Yesterday, the Senate unanimously passed a measure to make Juneteenth, the day that commemorates the end of slavery in the United States, a federal holiday. The bill will now be sent to the House of Representatives for approval. If passed by the House and subsequently signed into law by President Biden, June 19th will be […]
Senate Republicans Block the Paycheck Fairness Act
On Tuesday, Republicans in the Senate blocked the debate of the Paycheck Fairness Act, a bill aimed to eliminate pay discrimination against women. If passed, the Paycheck Fairness Act would require employers to demonstrate that any pay disparities between men and women are related to the job. It would also give more power to those […]
Members of Congress Reintroduce the Women’s Health Protection Act
On Tuesday, Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), Rep. Judy Chu (D-Calif.), Rep. Lois Frankel (D-Fla.), Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-Conn.), and Rep. Veronica Escobar (D-Texas) reintroduced the Women’s Health Protection Act (WHPA) in the Senate and the House, with 45 cosponsors and 179 cosponsors, respectively. The Women’s Health Protection Act was originally introduced […]
Biden Releases Historic $6 Trillion Budget, Eliminates the Hyde Amendment
On Friday, President Biden released a bold new $6 trillion federal budget for fiscal year 2022 aimed at growing the economy as the country recovers from the COVID-19 pandemic, and which for the first time since the Clinton administration does not include the Hyde Amendment, a provision which prevents federal funds from being used for […]
Senate Confirms Kristen Clarke to Lead Civil Rights Division at the Justice Department
On Tuesday, the Senate voted to confirm Kristen Clarke as Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights at the Justice Department. Clarke is the first woman and the first Black woman to lead the division. The Senate voted 51-48, with Sen. Susan Collins as the only Republican to vote in favor of her nomination. Clarke was […]
HHS Announces Grant for Domestic Violence Survivors Through American Rescue Plan
On Monday, the Department of Health and Human Services awarded $200 million to support the Family Violence Prevention and Services Act (FVPSA) Program grantees, funded through the American Rescue Plan. The Department’s funding is through the Family and Youth Services Bureau at the Administration for Children, Youth, and Families. These programs provide crisis intervention and […]
