Brad's Newsletter
The swirl of emotions after the murderous attack on the Highland Park Independence Day Parade is something unlike anything I've ever experienced. All the senses are distorted. Things don't sound quite right. The world doesn't look quite right. Time stops. Grief wells up from a deep, dark reservoir, only to be supplanted by waves of white-hot anger.
It's been over a week since evil attacked Highland Park, yet our hearts still ache for the families who lost their loved ones and everyone else touched by the events of that day, and the days that followed.
Con el horrible ataque en el desfile del Día de la Independencia de Highland Park todavía fresco en nuestra memoria, y la zona del tiroteo siendo una escena del crimen activa, nuestras almas se compadecen de las familias de los asesinados y de todos los afectados por los acontecimientos del día. El asesino destrozó lo que debería haber sido una celebración de la libertad, arrebató las vidas de siete personas cariñosas y cambió para siempre las vidas de innumerables personas.
With the horrific attack on the Highland Park Independence Day Parade still fresh in our memory, and the area of the shooting still an active crime scene, our souls ache for the families of those murdered and all those impacted by the events of the day. The killer shattered what should have been a celebration of freedom, stole the lives of seven loving individuals, and forever changed the lives of countless others.
I am writing to you from the plane home from D.C., still reeling from the Supreme Court's devastating decision today to overturn Roe v. Wade, upending nearly 50 years of established law protecting women's reproductive rights.
I wanted to start today's newsletter with a quote I think many of us can relate to:
"Like so many working moms across the country, I'm tired. I'm tired of working so hard day after day and still worrying about the bills. I'm tired of making impossible choices and robbing Peter to pay Paul." This is how Donna Price, a nurse and mother, described our country's economic situation in a Ways and Means hearing this morning.
Another week, more mass shootings. More than 250 already this year. More than 30 just since Uvalde. As so many others have said, other countries have mental health problems, but only the United States has daily mass shootings. More on that below.
I am saddened to once again start my weekly letter with reflections on the gun violence afflicting our nation. Last week we were consumed with the murder of 19 children and two teachers at Robb Elementary School in Ulvade, Texas. I am still trying to get my head around the horrifying details of that day. And yet the pace of shootings continues unabated in our country. Already this year there have been at least 231 mass shootings in the U.S.—at least 20, TWENTY, just since the Ulvade massacre last Tuesday.
May is certainly off to a wild start, perhaps with the only constant being that it's still raining. It's been great to be home this week after a busy week in Washington last week. But before I talk about what I've been doing of late, I want to begin with a brief reflection on the pending Supreme Court decision on Roe v. Wade.
Last week the House was in session all five days, with a busy schedule of hearings, briefings and meetings, plus some legislating. Of particular note was the passage of a bill to cap the cost of insulin at $35 per month. It was also the first week since March 2020 that the Capitol Campus was open again to visitors. I really enjoyed seeing so many folks from home stopping by the office, even if just for a minute as they were starting for finishing their Capitol tours.
Vladimir Putin's horrific war against Ukraine continues. Last week Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky addressed both the House and the Senate in an emotional and compelling video session.