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Newsletter: Fighting Opioid Overdoses and Promoting Veteran-Owned Businesses

March 13, 2018
Brad's Newsletter

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Dear Friends,

Yesterday, President Trump announced his latest position on measures to address school safety. Unfortunately these proposals do not go nearly far enough to even begin to modestly address the national epidemic of gun violence. I agree with President Trump and support the Fix NICS bill which would improve the accuracy of our background check system, but believe we also need a universal background check law to prevent purchasers from evading the system altogether. On the other hand, measures that the White House supports, like arming teachers in the classroom, would actively worsen school safety. I'm also disappointed, but not surprised, to see the President go back on his support for raising the age to purchase some weapons to 21. I will continue to advocate for commonsense gun safety measures and make bipartisan progress wherever we can.

Separately, early voting began last week in Illinois, highlighting the need to take action to improve our election security. I remain concerned that neither President Trump nor the Administration is taking this threat seriously. Protecting our democracy from foreign interference must be a bipartisan effort.

Watch me speak on the House floor about election security here.

Please continue reading for more highlights from the week in Washington and throughout the district, as well as an invitation to our next Congress on Your Corner this Saturday in Glencoe!

FUNDING FOR OPIOID OVERDOSE ANTIDOTES

Last week, 18 Members of Congress joined my letter in support of robust funding for critical opioid-related research toward next-generation overdose antidotes and other developments to curb the opioid epidemic. Powerful synthetic opioids, like fentanyl, are a deadly and growing challenge in our effort to contain and treat the opioid epidemic. We must continue supporting expanded research to develop effective next-generation drugs to counter ever more dangerous synthetic opioids, while also working on non-addictive alternatives to treating pain. I hope the Appropriations Committee will consider our request for $5 billion over the next five years for the Opioid Initiative within the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

Read more about the letter on our website.

HELPING VETERANS SUCCEED IN BUSINESS

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Many of the leadership, problem solving, and communications skills learned in the armed forces translate well to entrepreneurial and business success. Last week, I joined with Rep. Rod Blum (R-IA) on bipartisan legislation to protect the successful Boots to Business (B2B) program. Since B2B launched in 2013, more than 50,000 service members and spouses have participated in the program for an introduction to business ownership. Our veterans served our country with honor, and they deserve our support as they transition from military to civilian life.

Read more about the program on our website.

CRACKING DOWN ON SEXUAL ASSAULT ON COLLEGE CAMPUSES

The Larry Nassar scandal, Jerry Sandusky scandal, and other less publicized scandals have exposed severe shortcomings in the processes universities use to handle incidents of sexual violence, including examples where university officials failed to act or claimed to be unaware of investigations into abuse.

Last week, I joined with Rep. Mike Bishop (R-MI) to introduce the bipartisan Accountability of Leaders in Education to Report Title IX Investigations (ALERT) Act, which is companion legislation to a similarly bipartisan Senate bill. The ALERT Act would hold universities that receive federal funding accountable for sexual abuse cases that threaten student safety by ensuring leadership is informed of incidents of employee sexual misconduct and held publicly answerable for their response.

Learn more about the legislation on our website.

YOU'RE INVITED: CONGRESS ON YOUR CORNER IN GLENCOE

Please join me this Saturday, March 17 for our next Congress on Your Corner in Glencoe. I'm looking forward to hearing from you and answering your questions!

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Saturday, March 17, 2018

10:00 – 11:00am

Glencoe Village Hall

675 Village Ct., Glencoe, IL 60022

NEIGHBORHOOD OFFICE HOURS

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Our office hosts frequent Neighborhood Office Hours for constituents to more easily meet with caseworkers and staff to discuss any federal issues that they may have and learn more about services our office can provide. We're here to help if you have issues with Medicare, Social Security, the Veterans Administration, immigration and more.

This week, we'll be in Waukegan, Grayslake, Zion, Highland Park, and Glencoe. Check out the full schedule on our website and come meet with us when we're in your community!

WEEKLY WRAP-UP

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On Friday, I had a mini education-tour to four schools throughout the district, speaking with and listening to students in elementary, middle and high school. I had a great time with students at Cristo Rey St. Martin College Prep in Waukegan, the business incubator program at Round Lake High School in Round Lake, and Gavin South Middle and Gavin Central Elementary in Ingleside. After days like these, I have both great confidence in our future, but also a renewed sense of responsibility to do right by these young people.

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I enjoyed seeking lots of friendly faces and dogs at the Pancakes for PAWS 8k in Glencoe on Saturday morning to benefit animal welfare work of PAWS Chicago. I was very proud this month to earn a 100% score from the Humane Society of the United States for my work on these issues.

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Last Wednesday was Great Lakes Day! I was honored to recognize the day with advocates and to discuss my bipartisan work to protect the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative and stop invasive species.

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Finally, I was pleased to join the hundreds of Tenth District constituents in DC for the AIPAC annual policy conference (we nearly filled the auditorium). It was great to share with them my work strengthening and promoting a strong US-Israel relationship, and working to bring stability and peace to the region.

Thanks for reading! Please continue to stay in touch and share your thoughts, either by calling our DC office at (202) 225-4835 or emailing via our website.