Brad's Newsletter

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.

Here at home, and around the world, we all still watch with horror as Vladimir Putin continues his unprovoked, genocidal assault on Ukraine. Over the weekend I attended two local vigils in solitarily with Ukraine, and everywhere I went, people asked me how we can help the Ukrainian people resist the Russian onslaught. Congress and the Biden Administration have been working nonstop to provide assistance to Ukrainian defense forces and humanitarian support to the Ukrainian people. Tomorrow, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will address the full U.S. Congress in a video session.

As I write this newsletter, President Biden has announced more sanctions against Russia, including a ban on Russian oil imports. More on that in a moment.