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Reps in the News: Gallagher Introduces Go to Work Act

Congressman Mike Gallagher

Rep. Gallagher and Rick Nolan (D-MN) introduced the Go to Washington, Go to Work Act of 2018. The bipartisan legislation prohibits members of Congress and congressional candidates from attending, speaking, and participating in political fundraising activities while Congress is in session. The bill aims to end the excessive amount of time members of Congress spend fundraising in Washington, D.C. for reelection, instead of working on behalf of their constituents. “Our nation was founded on the principle that government should be by the people and for the people, not government by and for special interests,” Gallagher said. “Over the years, members of Congress have strayed from this founding principle by focusing on fundraising for their next election rather than doing the people’s work.” He continued, “As a result, our nation’s problems have grown worse, and people’s trust in government’s ability to fix them continues to shrink. The common sense reforms in this bill are critical to helping reduce the influence of money in politics and get Congress working again.”

Source:  Gallagher press release

 

Senator Tammy Baldwin

Sen. Baldwin cosponsored the bipartisan Defending Elections from Threats by Establishing Redlines (DETER) Act introduced by Senators Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) and Marco Rubio (R-FL). The legislation sends a powerful message to Russia and any other foreign actor seeking to disrupt our elections: if you attack American candidates, campaigns, or voting infrastructure, you will face severe consequences. The DETER Act uses the threat of powerful sanctions to dissuade hostile foreign powers from meddling in our elections by ensuring that they know well in advance that the costs will outweigh the benefits. “Russia’s interference in our elections cannot be dismissed or ignored. Congress has a responsibility to take action and impose costs on those who would attack American democracy,” Baldwin said. “This bipartisan effort puts country over party, stands up for our democracy and will send a powerful message to bad actors like Putin’s Russia and other adversarial nations that future attacks on our elections will be met with severe consequences.” The legislation is also cosponsored by Senators Mark R. Warner (D-VA), Cory Gardner (R-CO), Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Chris Coons (D-DE), Ben Sasse (R-NE), Maria Cantwell (D-WA) and Charles Grassley (R-IA).

Source:  Baldwin press release

 

Senator Ron Johnson

With reports that the Department of Agriculture plans to announce a $12 billion assistance package for farmers who have had trouble exporting commodities because of Trump’s tariffs against China, Mexico and Canada, there was immediate pushback and criticism from Republicans who say the administration is distorting the free market and trying to put farmers on “welfare.” “They want trade, not aid,” Sen. Johnson said of farmers caught in the middle of the trade war. “This is becoming more and more like a Soviet-type of economy here. Commissars deciding who should be granted waivers. Commissars in the administration trying to figure out how they’re going to sprinkle around benefits. Farmers actually want the free market system to work as best as possible and they want access to these overseas markets. I’m very exasperated. This is serious.”

Source:  thehill.com

 

President Donald Trump

On Tuesday night, any pretense that Michael Cohen might still be in President Trump’s camp ended. That’s the moment when the previously secret recording of a 2016 conversation between Trump’s personal fixer and the then-presidential candidate aired on CNN’s Cuomo Prime Time. The recording, in which the two men discussed a potential payoff tied to allegations of an affair made by a former Playboy model named Karen McDougal, was provided to CNN by Lanny Davis, the newly hired attorney for Cohen. Davis, in an interview with Cuomo following the playing of the tape, made very clear that Cohen had now broken free of his oft-pledged total loyalty to Trump and was now looking out for himself and his own interests.
“What is this about?” Davis asked rhetorically. “This is about honesty versus false disparagement of Michael Cohen. Why is (Trump lawyer Rudy) Giuliani out falsely disparaging Michael Cohen – because they fear him.”
Davis isn’t wrong. And the release of the tape suggests that we have now entered a new phase in the ongoing drama surrounding Cohen and Trump – one in which the man who once pledged he would take a bullet for his boss has now turned on him amid the possibility of major criminal charges following the raid of Cohen’s hotel, house and office by the FBI in April.
Source:  CNN

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