Most-Viewed Bills In Congress: Week of June 19

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Each week, Causes.com updates the most-viewed bills and resolutions in Congress. 

Causes.com provides a video summary, text summary, link to the full bill, and ways to Contact Your Reps. Take action now: Tell them if you SUPPORT or OPPOSE this popular legislation.

This is the legislation currently consuming your senators, representatives, and Americans...

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BILL: Should the U.S. Leave the World Health Organization? - WHO Withdrawal Act - H.R.79

• The bill requires the president to immediately withdraw the U.S. from the World Health Organization (WHO). It prohibits the use of federal funds for WHO projects.
• The bill also repeals the 1948 act authorizing the U.S. to join the WHO.
• It will prevent taxpayer dollars from being used to fund the organization. According to the Illinois Freedom Caucus, the U.S. has sent over $4 billion to WHO since 2010

Tell your reps to support or oppose the bill

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BILL: Should We Reduce Online Privacy in Fight Against Child Abuse? - EARN IT Act of 2023 - S.1207

 

• Reintroduced from previous sessions, the legislation incentivizes the tech industry to take online child sexual exploitation seriously.
• The bill removes blanket immunity for violations of laws related to online child sexual abuse material (CSAM).
• It amends Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, which states that users are legally responsible for the content they upload and not the platforms themselves.
• Service providers and platforms will now be responsible for helping to combat child sexual exploitation and to eradicate CSAM.
• The bill establishes a National Commission on Online Child Sexual Exploitation Prevention that will be responsible for developing voluntary best practices. 

 

 

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BILL: Increase Social Security Benefits for Public Sector Workers - Social Security Fairness Act of 2023 - H.R.82

• The bill would ensure that public sector employees like firefighters, police officers, teachers, and their families, receive full Social Security benefits regardless of other benefits they are entitled to receiving.
• The bill would repeal provisions that reduce Social Security benefits for individuals already receiving other benefits, like a state or local government pension.
• The changes proposed in the bill will be effective for benefits payable after Dec. 2023.
• The Social Security Fairness Act would repeal the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and the Government Pension Offset (GPO) from the Social Security Act. Both provisions were aimed at reducing high payouts and retirement windfalls.
• The bill is identical to the Senate version of the bill, the Social Security Fairness Act (S. 597), reintroduced by Sens. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) and Susan Collins (R-ME) on March 1.

Do you support increasing Social Security benefits?

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BILL: Should We Cut Spending on Social Programs? - Limit, Save, Grow Act of 2023

 

• The GOP-backed bill is designed to raise the debt ceiling while cutting government spending, implementing "commonsense spending reforms" targeted at wasteful spending.
• The plan would lift the debt limit by $1.5 trillion or until March 31, 2024, whichever comes first.
• The goal of the bill is to avert a historic default by the U.S. on its debt obligations by raising the debt ceiling, and ensuring that spending on social programs is reduced.
• The U.S. Treasury reached the current debt limit of $31.4 trillion in February, and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has employed "extraordinary measures" to avoid a default.
• The bill is designed to end the labor shortage "killing Main Street businesses" while reducing Democrat handouts to corporations.

 

H.R.2811 - Limit, Save, Grow Act of 2023

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BILL: Should We Ban Assault Weapons? - Assault Weapons Ban of 2023 - S.25

 

• The bill bans the sale, manufacture, transfer, and importation of 205 military-style assault weapons by name.
• It exempts more than 2,200 guns from the ban, which can still be used for hunting, household defense, or recreational purposes.
• It shall be unlawful for a person to import, sell, manufacture, transfer, or possess a semi-automatic assault weapon.
• It requires a background check on any future sale, trade, or gifting of an assault weapon banned under the bill.
• It will impose secure storage procedures for grandfathered semi-automatic assault weapons like a trigger lock.
• Anyone in possession of a grandfathered weapon can not keep it in a place where it is accessible to an individual prohibited from possessing the firearm.

Are we doing enough to address gun violence?

S.25 - Assault Weapons Ban of 2023 

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BILL: Secure the Border Act of 2023 – H.R.2 – Tell Your Senators How To Vote

 

• Sponsored by Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart (R-FL), the Act passed in a 219-213 vote.
• The GOP's "Secure the Border Act of 2023" (H.R. 2) would severely restrict the right to seek asylum in the U.S., limit lawful immigration avenues, pressure border communities, and establish new criminal penalties related to immigration law.
• It would restart border wall construction, increase enforcement personnel and defund NGOs that provide services to migrants.
• H.R. 2 would limit access and eligibility for asylum as well as roll back safeguards for children in detention by making it easier for families with minor children to be held in detention indefinitely and fast-tracking removal proceedings for vulnerable minors.
• The bill would limit executive branch parole powers and criminalize visa overstays with up to six months in prison for a first offense.

Tell your senators to support or oppose the act

H.R.2 - Secure the Border Act of 2023

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BILL: Should Parents Control School Curriculum? - Parents Bill of Rights Act - H.R.5

• The bill passed in a 213-208 vote, ensures the rights of parents are honored and protected in the nation's public schools.
• The bill enshrines parents' rights to know what is going on in their children's education and a right to have access to teacher-parent meetings, school budget decisions, curriculum and books, and the ability to speak before a school board. 
• The bill encapsulates other GOP priorities, such as policies on transgender students.
• While there were no Democrat votes in support of the bill, some amendments received bipartisan support. One of these includes a requirement to provide parents with notice of major cyberattacks and the GAO to submit a report evaluating the impact of the bill on protecting parents' rights.
• The bill offers a national expansion of Florida's "Parental Rights in Education" Act, signed into law by Gov. Ron DeSantis.
• The bill has a slim chance of passing the Democratic-controlled Senate or being signed by President Biden.

 

BILL: Should Transgender Athletes Be Banned From Women's Sports? - The Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act - H.R.734

What's in the bill?

• Last month, a GOP-backed 'Save Women's Sports' bill passed the House 219-203, with Democrat lawmakers calling it an example of "transgender bullying."
• The Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act aims to prevent transgender women and girls who were assigned male at birth from competing in women's sports.
• In a recent poll by the Washington Post and the University of Maryland, 55% of Americans opposed trans athletes in women's sports at the high school level, while 58% opposed it at the college level.
• Over two dozen states have banned transgender youth from playing on girls' and women's teams since 2021.
• Republican supporters say the bill will protect biologically female athletes from competing against biological men, who often dominate them in speed, strength, and endurance due to biological differences and "physical advantages."

How do you feel about the GOP-led ban on transgender athletes?

The Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act - H.R.734

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BILL: Should Kids Be Banned From Social Media? - The Protecting Kids on Social Media Act

• The bipartisan bill would ban children under 13 from using popular social media sites and apps like TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, and more, effectively creating a national minimum age.
• Children would still be able to view content on the sites without logging in but would not be able to create accounts or interact with other users.
• Teens under 18 would need parental consent to utilize social media sites.
• The legislation would put in place an age verification scheme to make it harder for kids to bypass the restrictions.

Do you support restrictions on social media use for kids under 18?

The Protecting Kids on Social Media Act

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BILL: Should We Expand American Domestic Energy Production? - Lower Energy Costs Act - H.R.1

What's in the bill?

• The Act will reverse policies that put domestic energy production and exports on the back burner.
• Streamlines energy infrastructure and export procedures to boost trade and the earning potential of American industry.
• Will take full commercial advantage of American minerals and energy deposits.
• The Act will repeal all restrictions on the import and export of natural gas.
• The aim of the legislation is to prevent federal regulations from being weaponized to block, stall, or politicize energy projects according to Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman Sam Graves.
• Energy and Commerce Committee Chairwoman Cathy McMorris Rodgers said it will lift "regulatory burdens for the construction of more energy infrastructure" and what many Republican lawmakers feel is excessive bureaucratic red tape.
• Will repeal both the natural gas tax in Section 136 of the Clean Air Act and the greenhouse gas reduction fund in Section 134 of the Clean Air Act.
• Will bolster the resilience of American supply chains and energy security by reducing reliance on foreign supply chains, such as those controlled by the Chinese Communist Party.

Do you support expanding American energy infrastructure, including pipelines?

H.R.1 - Lower Energy Costs Act

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Bill: Should We Go Back to a Gold Standard? - H.R. 2435

What's in the bill?

• The "Gold Standard Restoration Act" seeks to define the dollar as a fixed weight of gold and make Federal Reserve notes redeemable for - and exchangeable for - gold at a fixed price.
• This price would be determined by the Secretary of the Treasury based on the market price of gold. Within 24 months of its enactment, theTreasury would be required to define the dollar in terms of a fixed weight of gold and make Federal Reserve notes redeemable for gold at this rate. 
• The bill claims that the purchasing power of the Federal Reserve Note has declined significantly since the passage of the Federal Reserve Act in 1913 and that the Fed's policy of long-term inflation has made American manufacturing uncompetitive.
• The bill argues that the gold standard would put control of the money supply with the market instead of the government and discourage excessive spending.
• The Secretary of Treasury and Federal Reserve would be required to make publicly available their holdings on gold, purchases, sales, swaps, leases, redemptions, and transfers of U.S. gold since 1971.

Should we return to the gold standard?

Gold Standard Restoration Act - H.R.2435 

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BILL: Should We Protect Milk From Plant-Based Alternatives? - The Dairy Pride Act - S.549

What's in the bill?

• The longer title of the act indicates the purpose of the bill: "Defending Against Imitations and Replacements of Yogurt, Milk, and Cheese To Promote Regular Intake of Dairy Everyday Act."
• The purpose of the bill is to ensure that no plant-based foods are sold under the designation of "milk" because they don't meet the definition or criterion set forth for dairy products.
• The DAIRY PRIDE Act would require the FDA to take enforcement action against manufacturers labeling dairy imitators as milk.
• The bill reinforces the stance of the Dietary Guidelines of America, which states that dairy products are an important part of a healthy diet for both children and adults.
• Congress finds that approximately 90% of the population of the United States does not meet the daily dairy intake recommendation.
• The bill purports that imitation dairy products, such as plant-based products derived from rice, nuts, hemp, coconut, and oat are inadequate in their nutritional profiles. 
• The bill would invalidate the Food and Drug Administration's recent guidance that allows plant-based products to market themselves as milk.
• In their guidance the FDA allows producers to qualify the word milk by including the true ingredient in the label, i.e almond milk, oat milk, or coconut milk.

Do you support protecting the dairy industry?

The Dairy Pride Act - S.549

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Banning TikTok - The RESTRICT Act - S.686 

Updated - April 5, 2023

• TikTok creators from an array of industries continue to voice opposition to a potential Congressional ban.
• Bon Appétit, for example, recently wrote:

"For budding chefs and food creators, the app has been vital for their career. They’re worried about what would happen if a ban becomes reality."

What's in the bill?

• Grants the Secretary of Commerce new powers to ban Chinese-owned TikTok and any foreign-based technologies that pose a risk to national security.
• There has been growing concern that American data could be compromised or shared with the Chinese government. 
• TikTok rejects spying accusations and said it has spent more than $1.5 billion on data security efforts.
• The White House backed the legislation which would create a formal process for the government to “deter, disrupt, prevent, prohibit, investigate, or otherwise mitigate” potentially dangerous technologies. 
• Comes a week after a vote on the DATA Act, which would enable Biden to sanction TikTok if user data was leaked

Tell Congress: Ban TikTok or Save TikTok

S.686 - Restricting the Emergence of Security Threats that Risk Information and Communications Technology (RESTRICT) Act

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BILL: Protecting Speech from Government Interference Act (H.R.140)

What's in the bill?

• The bill aims to prohibit federal employees from censoring the speech and content of private entities, particularly on social media platforms. The bill defines censor or censorship as influencing or coercing an individual or entity to remove or modify lawful speech with respect to social media and other forms of public discourse.  
• Disallows employees of federal agencies from censoring a private entity while on duty, wearing a uniform, while in a government building or vehicle, or while using official government property. The bill also prohibits censorship of lawful speech outside of normal duty hours.
• The bill is a reaction to what some Republican politicians believe is government meddling in social media platforms, including efforts to remove unsavory or controversial opinions, which some politicians say include topics like COVID-19 and Hunter Biden.
• The bill states:

“It is the policy of the Congress that employees acting in their official capacity should neither take action within their authority or influence to promote the censorship of any lawful speech, nor advocate that a third party, including a private entity, censor such speech."

Do you support the GOP's bill to ban government censorship?

H.R.140 - Protecting Speech from Government Interference Act 

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Denouncing the Horrors of Socialism - H.RES. 9

What's in the bill?

• The resolution, Denouncing the Horrors of Socialism, states:

“...socialist ideology necessitates a concentration of power that has time and time again collapsed into Communist regimes, totalitarian rule, and brutal dictatorship.”

• Rep. Patrick McHenry (R-NC) said:

“[the resolution] outlines the pain and hardship experienced by millions around the world who have suffered under a socialist regime…It speaks to people who have known all too well the atrocities of socialism and it gives voice to their pain.”

• Many argue that the atrocities that McHenry pointed to, and the crimes that the resolution highlights, would more accurately be defined as authoritarian communism, not socialism.  

Want your reps "denouncing the horrors of socialism?"

H.Con. Res. 9 - Denouncing the horrors of socialism

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End Vax Requirement for Air Travelers to the U.S. - H.R. 185

What's in the bill?

• The Bill will end the vaccination requirement for air travelers entering the U.S. 
• No federal funds are to be used to enforce air travel vaccination requirements
• CDC to submit statistics on travelers who were denied entry 

Do you support terminating air travel vax requirements?

H.R.185 - To terminate the requirement imposed by the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for proof of COVID-19 vaccination for foreign travelers and for other purposes.

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Fair Tax Act 0f 2023 - Abolish IRS, Eliminate Income Tax - H.R. 25

What's in the bill?

• Abolishment of personal and corporate income taxes 
• Shutters the IRS
• Abolishes death, gift, and payroll taxes
• A 30% federal sales FairTax
• Provides a prebate - a monthly stipend to offset the tax liability for essential goods and services

Do you support or oppose the Fair Tax Act of 2023?

H.R.25 - FairTax Act of 2023

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Sunshine Protection Act of 2021 - S.23, H.R. 69

What's in the bill?

• The Sunshine Protection Act of 2021 would make Daylight Saving Time (DST) permanent across the U.S. on November 5, 2023.
• Most of the U.S. operates under eight months of DST from the second Sunday in March to the first Sunday in November, with the remaining four months on Standard Time.
• Under this bill, the U.S. would transition to year-round DST by not “falling back” in November, thus eliminating the need to reset clocks twice a year.
• Should the U.S. Adopt Permanent Daylight Saving Time?

Do you support ending daylight saving time?

S.623 - Sunshine Protection Act of 2021

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Designate AR-15 as the National Gun of the U.S. - H.R. 1095

What's in the bill?

• AR-15 will become a formal national symbol, along with the American flag
• Acknowledges the place of the AR-15 in American life
• Reinforces the GOP's pro-Second Amendment position

Should the AR-15 become a national symbol of America?

 H.R. 1095 - To declare an AR-15 style rifle chambered in a .223 Remington round or a 5.56x45mm NATO round to be the National Gun of the United States.

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Leading Against White Supremacy Act of 2023

What's in the bill?

• The bill would prosecute white supremacist-inspired hate crimes
• The bill would strengthen legal actions against individuals involved in promoting, publishing, and spreading white supremacy-related content 
• A crime can be considered a conspiracy even if there is only one perpetrator
• The Justice Department would have enhanced authority to mitigate threats

Should we criminalize White Supremacist hate crimes?

H.R.61 - Leading Against White Supremacy Act of 2023

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Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 - H.R. 5376 

Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023 - H.R. 2617

$1.7 Trillion Federal Spending Bill Covering Election Reform, Aid to Ukraine, TikTok Bans

What's in the bill?

Overhaul the 1887 Electoral Count Act by including a version of the Electoral Count Reform Act of 2022.

• Explicitly states the vice president’s role in overseeing the counting of Electoral College votes is purely ceremonial
• Any legal challenge to state electors would be heard by a District Court panel of two appellate judges and one district judge.
• Appeals head straight to the Supreme Court.

$45 billion in emergency assistance to Ukraine

Natural disaster assistance

• $40.6 billion for communities in the U.S. recovering from tornadoes, drought, hurricanes, flooding, wildfire, and other natural disasters.

Food assistance

• Establish a permanent nationwide Summer EBT program
• Children in rural areas would be allowed to take home or receive delivery of up to 10 days of meals. 
• The Children's Health Insurance Program - CHIP - will offer 12 months of continuous coverage for children

Military & Veterans 

• 4.6% pay raise for troops
• 22.4% increase in support for Veteran Administration medical care

Bans TikTok on all government-issued devices over security concerns.

Do you support the spending bill?

H.R.5376 -  Inflation Reduction Act of 2022

H.R.2617 - Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023

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