August 27, 2021

The Weekly Wrap-Up

(August 27)

A message from Rep. Lou Correa:

This week, I spent time in Washington D.C. and Orange County, ensuring my district and all Americans voting rights are always protected.

I am also continuing to work locally and on the federal level to make sure Americans, U.S. Troops, and Afghan allies evacuate Afghanistan quickly and securely. That includes joining my California congressional colleagues in working to provide a safe harbor for afghan allies and Special Immigrant Visa Applicants in our state.

In my district, my state staff attended a ribbon-cutting for a new business in Santa Ana and the dedication of the new McFadden Institute of Technology in Santa Ana, a revamped and state of the art Pre K-8 school for the Santa Ana Unified School District.

Additionally, I joined CHOC and the Santa Ana Unified School District in hosting a virtual vaccine town hall to encourage parents and students who are old enough to get vaccinated. In addition, I co-hosted a vaccine clinic at the Ponderosa Family Resource Center in Anaheim, which provided the second vaccine to residents in this area.

The Weekly Rundown

Afghanistan

The situation in Afghanistan is a humanitarian crisis. Congressman Correa has been working nonstop to get Americans and Afghan allies out of the country quickly and safely.  In addition to leading a letter with House Members urging that every effort be made to evacuate Afghans targeted by the Taliban and another to support of evacuating Afghan women and children, he also joined his colleagues in several efforts in support of Afghan allies and refugees, including letters to:

  • Secretary Blinken highlighting the threat to LGBTQ+ Afghans and urge him to expand Priority 2 visa designation.
  • President Biden expressing strong support for the placement of SIV recipients and refugees fleeing Afghanistan in California.
  • The Biden Administration to increase the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program cap to no less than 200,000 when issuing the Presidential Determination on Refugee Admissions for the Fiscal Year 2022 before October 1st.

Congressman Lou Correa cosponsored legislation for the Afghan and Iraqi Allies Resettlement Improvement Act to provide new resources to support SIV resettlement. This includes directing the Department of State to identify and implement additional ways to deliver information to SIV applicants about life in the United States to assist with their adjustment process.

This Week’s Votes

S. 325 – Amending the Alyce Spotted Bear and Walter Soboleff Commission on Native Children Act to extend the deadline for a report by the Alyce Spotted Bear and Walter Soboleff Commission on Native Children (Sen. Peters – Oversight and Reform)
This bill would require federal agencies to make budget justification materials available to the public on a website. The bill would also require the Office of Management and Budget to maintain a list of the agencies that submit budget justification materials to Congress, the dates that the materials are submitted, and links to the materials available to the public.

H.Res. 601 – Rule Providing for consideration of bills and adopting the Senate budget resolution

This rule set the debate parameters for consideration of H.R. 4 (John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act) and the Senate passed the Bipartisan Infrastructure Plan. The rule included language that ensures the infrastructure bill will be brought to the floor by September 27. The rule also deemed the Senate budget resolution (S.Con.Res. 14); thus greenlighting the reconciliation process.

H.R. 4 – John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act (Rep. Sewell – Judiciary)

Legislation that establishes a coverage formula that uses updated voting rights violations to determine which jurisdictions are required to submit voting changes to the Justice Department for pre-clearance before they can go into effect.  The bill also includes a 50 state practice-based coverage provision that applies to tactics that have often been used to discriminate against minority voters. H.R. 4 provides a path to block voting changes that make minority voters worse off, which have been enacted but not yet implemented, and further restores the standards for Section 2 claims against practices that result in the denial or abridgment of the right to vote.

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What We’re Reading

Looking Ahead

Congressman Correa will be in Washington D.C. next week in a Committee Work Week. Tune in next week as Rep. Lou Correa continues working with his congressional colleagues in the House to make resettlement efforts for our Afghan allies arriving in the United States.