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WASHINGTON—Congressional Progressive Caucus (CPC) Co-Chairs Reps. Raúl M. Grijalva (D-AZ) and Keith Ellison (D-MN) released the following statement after the House Rules Committee rejected a CPC amendment to the Intelligence Authorization Act requiring the Inspector General of the Intelligence Community to audit the use of targeted lethal force operations conducted by unmanned aerial vehicles.

“Congress must exercise its oversight authority and demand more transparency in the U.S. drone program. The White House acknowledged last month that a drone accidentally killed Warren Weinstein, an American hostage, while targeting al-Qaeda operatives.  Mr. Weinstein’s death is not an isolated tragedy; U.S. drone strikes have killed at least five Americans since 2002.  

“Targeted drone strikes claim the lives of innocent civilians too often, creating deep resentment towards the U.S. around the world. We are disappointed that the Rules Committee rejected this opportunity to begin bringing accountability to this program.”

The Progressive Caucus amendment would have required that the Inspector General of the Intelligence Community audit the effectiveness of existing U.S. efforts to report, track and investigate civilian deaths caused by the drone program. The Progressive Caucus also attempted to offer this amendment on last year’s intelligence authorization bill and has held ad-hoc hearings on accountability for the drone program.

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WASHINGTON—Congressional Progressive Caucus (CPC) Co-Chairs Reps. Raúl M. Grijalva (D-AZ) and Keith Ellison (D-MN) released the following statement after introducing an amendment to The Trade Act in the Rules Committee.

“The Trade Act continues to force seniors to pay for trade deals that destroy American jobs. Chairman Ryan is attempting to change how Trade Adjustment Assistance is funded in a separate bill, but it’s nothing more than a bait-and-switch effort to gin up support for a quick passage of Trade Promotion Authority. There is no guarantee the Senate will pass the separate bill removing Medicare cuts. The only way to ensure seniors won’t be hurt is to remove these cuts from The Trade Act itself. If Chairman Ryan recognizes the need to protect seniors from these cuts in separate legislation, why not remove the cuts completely?

“Seniors should not have to pay when trade deals go bad. A vote for The Trade Act is a vote to cut Medicare. Progressives will oppose any bill that includes Medicare cuts.”

The Progressive Caucus amendment removes the Medicare cut, increases overall funding for Trade Adjustment Assistance to $575 million and expands Trade Adjustment Assistance to include public sector workers.

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WASHINGTON—Congressional Progressive Caucus (CPC) Co-Chairs Reps. Raúl M. Grijalva (D-AZ) and Keith Ellison (D-MN), along with Rep. Mike Honda (D-CA) sent a letter to Attorney General Loretta Lynch requesting an audit detailing the enforcement of the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA).

The full text of the letter is below and a signed copy can be seen here. 

Dear Attorney General Lynch:

We write to request a formal audit detailing state level compliance and federal enforcement of the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA).

Our representative democracy is threatened by chronically low levels of voter turnout. In 2014, only thirty-six percent of eligible voters cast ballots, the lowest turnout since WWII. Even more alarming is the income disparity between voters and non-voters. In 2012, sixty-two percent of those making $150,000 a year or more voted, while only twenty-seven percent of those earning less than $10,000 a year voted.

The federal government should be doing more to ensure that our political system works for all Americans. A healthy democracy requires the highest possible rate of voter participation. One of the most successful ways to increase voter participation is to simply& the voter registration process.

This year marks the twentieth anniversary of implementation of the National Voter Registration Act. The goal of the NVRA is to simply the voter registration process and make it more accessible by requiring voter registration services to be provided where government delivers public services to its citizens. Since 1995, states subject to the NVRA have offered citizens the opportunity to register to vote whenever they obtain a driver’s license or apply for Medicaid, and in some states, at public libraries. Unfortunately, data suggests that voter registration at places like the Department of Motor Vehicles has remained stagnant in the twenty years that the NVRA has been in effect. This suggests significant problems with implementation, compliance and enforcement. Studies indicate that failure to comply with and properly enforce the NVRA has translated to millions of missed opportunities to register Americans to vote.

We write to request an audit of the NVRA that addresses the following questions:

I. How is state compliance with the NVRA currently measured, and what data is collected and reported?

2. What is the federal response to states that fail to comply with NVRA requirements?

 3. What kind of training is provided by state and federal officials to social service providers that are charged with implementing NVRA?

4. The NVRA stipulates that voter registration services must be provided where government delivers public services. What measures is the DOJ taking to ensure that the NVR.A is being implemented elsewhere beyond the Department of Motor Vehicles?

 5. What states are registering the most voters through the NVRA and how are their best practices being observed and implemented in states failing to register voters?

After twenty years, it is time to analyze the NVRA’s effects and implement meaningful changes to ensure that the goals set forth twenty years ago are being met.

We look forward to working with you on the important issue of improving access to voter registration.

Sincerely,

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WASHINGTON—Co-Chairs of the Congressional Progressive Caucus (CPC) Rep. Raúl Grijalva (D-AZ) and Rep. Keith Ellison (D-MN), Chair of the Congressional Black Caucus Rep. G.K. Butterfield (D-NC), Chair of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC) Rep. Linda T. Sánchez (D-CA), and Chair of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus (CAPAC) Rep. Judy Chu (D-CA) applauded the passage by voice vote through the House of Representatives of an amendment to prevent the Department of Justice, the FBI and local law enforcement from using money in the Commerce, Justice, Science and Related Agencies Appropriations bill to engage in profiling based on race, religion, ethnicity, national origin, gender and sexual orientation.

“When law enforcement profiles a person based on skin tone or appearance, they diminish that individual’s humanity,” said Rep. Grijalva. “It sews the seeds of distrust in the victim and their community, and sends a message that those enlisted to serve and protect will, in fact, do neither. Those sentiments could not be further from the truth for countless men and women who risk their lives as first responders, which makes the need to ban profiling all the more urgent.”

“Diversity is America’s strength, but discrimination by law enforcement undermines that strength,” Rep. Ellison said. “The amendment passed by the House of Representatives today will protect Americans from racial profiling. I want to thank my colleagues in the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, Congressional Black Caucus and Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus today for moving us closer to ending discrimination in our nation.”

“I applaud the passage of the amendment to end racial profiling.  It is critical that we, as members of Congress, work to take bold, vigorous, and steadfast action by challenging any and all policies that would permit racial discrimination and profiling,” said Rep. Butterfield. “Racial profiling is having a negative impact in communities across the country and we must continue our efforts to ensure such discriminatory policies cease.  Today is a step forward in our work to end profiling and policies based on race, religion, ethnicity, national origin, gender and sexual orientation.”

“Racial profiling has no place in our country, and as such, we should ensure that taxpayer dollars do not support law enforcement activity that uses discriminatory practices,” Rep. Sánchez said. “Latinos and minorities – like all other Americans – deserve equal justice under the law. The Congressional Hispanic Caucus joins the Congressional Black Caucus, Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus and the Congressional Progressive Caucus in leading this appropriations effort that is so critically important to protecting communities of color.”

“Racial profiling isn’t just a violation of our principles, it’s an ineffective practice that hurts our safety by weakening the relationship between law enforcement and the communities they protect,” Rep. Chu said. “It trains police to see people of color as threats, not individuals. The Federal Government should have no role in supporting this discrimination, and I am so pleased that our amendment was adopted today. Building on the new guidelines released by the FBI earlier this year, this amendment will take us one step closer towards a more just country for all.” 

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