Engel, Velázquez, Meng Lead NYC Delegation Letter to NYCHA Calling for Immediate Action to Provide Heat This Winter

Representatives Eliot L. Engel (NY-16), Nydia M. Velázquez (NY-7), and Grace Meng (NY-6) led the New York City Congressional Delegation on a letter to NYCHA Chair and CEO Gregory Russ calling on the Housing Authority to take immediate action to ensure NYCHA residents have adequate heat this winter.

In 2016, the New York City Congressional delegation was successful in passing an amendment as part of the Housing Opportunity Through Modernization Act, which directed the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to issue federal guidelines establishing minimum heating requirements for federally-supported public housing units such as NYCHA. These guidelines were issued on November 19, 2018. Yet despite these guidelines, NYCHA has been unable to keep all of its boilers working and its units at a proper temperature.

In their letter to Chairman Russ, the Members demanded details of NYCHA’s proposed “Action Plan” to provide consistent heat to NYCHA residents.

“It is completely unacceptable for any resident to be forced to live in these cold, and, often unsafe, conditions,” The Members wrote. “While we understand that the Action Plan is still under review by the Federal Monitor, we are becoming increasingly concerned about the lack of transparency of the Action Plan. Many of our constituents are already reporting heating outages in their NYCHA units.”

“Access to safe, quality housing is a human right. That includes ensuring that everyone has a warm home during the cold winter months. But for too many of my constituents who live in NYCHA housing, a warm home is often a dream,” said Rep. Engel. “Three years ago, Representative Meng and I authored a provision, which was later signed into law, requiring strict guidelines for NYCHA to follow when providing heat to residents. But since its passage, reports of faulty boilers, poorly insulated walls and windows, and other drastic problems are still prevalent. These failures on the part of NYCHA are entirely unacceptable. Our letter makes clear to Chairman Russ that NYCHA needs to start treating their residents with dignity and respect, and that begins with meeting our heat guidelines.”   

“It is simply unconscionable that working families, seniors and other vulnerable neighbors who live in NYCHA facilities are entering the winter months with no assurance we won’t again see widespread heat outages,” said Rep. Velázquez. “I’ve authored legislation to make a historic federal investment in public housing, helping reverse decades of disinvestment. However, we must also have transparency and accountability at the local level. NYCHA’s winter heating plan must be approved and released to the public as soon as possible so we know how the agency’s leadership will address these issues.”

“Nobody should be forced to endure frigid temperatures,” said Rep. Meng. “NYCHA’s troubling history of heating problems has been reckless and unacceptable, especially after we passed minimum heating requirement guidelines into law. My district includes three NYCHA public housing units: Pomonok, Latimer and Bland Houses. As winter sets-in, I demand that NYCHA residents in my district and throughout the city have warm homes during the cold weather. I am thankful to and proud to work alongside my colleagues, Representatives Engel and Velázquez in holding NYCHA accountable. I await Chairman Russ’ response to our letter.”

A copy of the letter is below.

Gregory Russ

Chair and Chief Executive Officer

New York City Housing Authority

250 Broadway

New York, NY 10007

Dear Chair Russ:

As winter approaches, we urge the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) to ensure that all its residential buildings are properly heated.  

NYCHA is the nation’s largest public housing authority, and houses approximately 380,000 residents in 316 developments across the City. These residents depend on NYCHA to fulfill an important need: keeping their apartment units warm during the winter season. 

In the past, NYCHA has often struggled to fulfill this responsibility. In 2013, press reports surfaced that NYCHA would shut down boilers unless temperatures fell below 25 degrees Fahrenheit. This ill-advised practice forced residents, including young children and the elderly, to go without heat for some of the coldest months of the year.

In 2016, the New York City Congressional Delegation was successful in passing an amendment as part of HR 3700, the Housing Opportunity Through Modernization Act (Pub. Law 11-201) that directed the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to issue model guidelines establishing minimum heating requirements for federally-supported public housing units such as NYCHA. HUD issued guidelines on November 19, 2018.

Yet despite these guidelines, NYCHA has been unable to keep all of its boilers working and its units at a proper temperature. It is completely unacceptable for any resident to be forced to live in these cold, and, often unsafe, conditions.

As you know, on January 31, 2019, NYCHA, HUD, and the City of New York entered into a Consent Decree in order to remedy the living conditions across NYCHA. Among other things, the Consent Decree requires NYCHA to maintain the following temperatures in apartments between October 1 and May 31 (the Heating Season):

A - between the hours of 6:00 a.m. and 10:00 p.m., a temperature of at least 68 degrees Fahrenheit whenever the outside temperature falls below 55 degrees; and 

B - between the hours of 10:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m., a temperature of at least 62 degrees Fahrenheit.^[1] 

The Consent Decree further required NYCHA to establish an Action Plan that identifies, for each development, how NYCHA will respond to heating outages, taking into account resident populations, historical data about prior outages, the availability of on-site and remote maintenance personal, and response times by October 1, 2019.^[2]  It is our understanding that NYCHA established an Action Plan and submitted it to the Federal Monitor by the required date of October 1, 2019. 

However, last month, Congresswoman Nydia Velázquez organized a meeting for the New York City Congressional Delegation and the New York Senators in Washington, D.C. so that we may discuss the future of NYCHA. At that meeting, we all made clear to you that we expected to see the details of the Action Plan as soon as possible so that we might review and discuss NYCHA’s plan for maintaining units at the designated temperatures, as set forth in Consent Decree outlined above. 

While we understand that the Action Plan is still under review by the Federal Monitor, we are becoming increasingly concerned about the lack of transparency of the Action Plan. Many of our constituents are already reporting heating outages in their NYCHA units.

Therefore, we write to you today to reiterate our expectation that the heating Action Plan be made available for our review as soon as possible. Further, we wish to make clear that should NYCHA’s heating Action Plan be returned to NYCHA without Federal Monitor approval we expect to be notified of such an event and be provided a detailed understanding of why the Plan was not approved. 

As the City prepares for the coldest months of the year, when temperatures frequently fall below the freezing point, we must all work together to ensure the temperature in NYCHA units are properly maintained and the health and safety of NYCHA residents are guaranteed. 

ENGEL, NADLER, LOFGREN, JAYAPAL, ESPAILLAT Question CBP Move of Detainees

Reports Indicate CBP May Have Relocated Detainees to Keep Members of Congress from Seeing the Conditions of their Confinement 

  Representatives Eliot L. Engel, Chairman of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs; Jerrold Nadler, Chairman of the House Committee on the Judiciary; Zoe Lofgren, Chairwoman of the Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration and Citizenship; Pramila Jayapal, Vice-Chair of the Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration and Citizenship; and Adriano Espaillat, member of the Foreign Affairs Committee, today released the following statement after reports surfaced that Customs and Border Protection (CBP) may have misled the Members on their recent trip to El Paso. According to reports, CBP moved asylum seekers who were being held in overcrowded conditions under a bridge to other unfit locations, potentially to hide them from the Members on their tour.

“It is deeply concerning that CBP would spend taxpayer dollars to move families and children from one grossly inadequate outdoor facility to another. If CBP intentionally chose to do this to hide the truth from Congress, it would be of great concern.

“As Members of Congress, we have the responsibility of asking hard questions of any Administration, including to ensure that federal agencies are following the law and working in the best interest of the American people.  In this case, part of our duties was to ensure that CBP was enforcing the law consistent with its responsibility to protect the health and safety of individuals coming to our borders.

“The Department of Homeland Security and CBP must immediately respond to us with a full explanation of this possible misuse of resources that misled lawmakers.”

CHAIRMEN CUMMINGS, ENGEL, SCHIFF STATEMENT RESPONDING TO WHITE HOUSE LETTER ON TRUMP-PUTIN COMMUNICATIONS

  Today, the Chairmen of the House Oversight, Foreign Affairs and Intelligence Committees responded to a letter sent by the White House Counsel responding to the Committees’ request for documents from and interviews with personnel of the Executive Office of the President related to communications between President Donald J. Trump and President Vladimir Putin of the Russian Federation.

Attributable to Chairmen Elijah Cummings, Eliot Engel and Adam Schiff:

“Our Committees are in receipt of the White House Counsel’s letter, which continues a troubling pattern by the Trump Administration of rejecting legitimate and necessary congressional oversight with no regard for precedent or the constitution. 

“We are also concerned by the disingenuous assertions and representations in the letter. In previous Democratic and Republican Administrations, the White House made officials available for interviews and produced to the Congress all manner of internal documents and communications regarding ‘the conduct of foreign relations’ by the President and White House and National Security Council staff. In fact, the Obama Administration produced records describing the President and Secretary of State’s calls with foreign leaders. The Congress also received voluminous records from agencies involved in the conduct of U.S. foreign relations, such as the State Department, Defense Department, and other agencies. President Trump’s decision to break with this precedent raises the question of what he has to hide.

“We will be consulting on appropriate next steps. Congress has a constitutional duty to conduct oversight and investigate these matters, and we will fulfill that responsibility.”

The Committees’ original request to Acting White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney and Secretary of State Michael Pompeo can be found here.

Engel, Dinowitz, Biaggi, Cohen Statement on Student Protest at Ethical Culture Fieldston School

  “The students of the Ethical Culture Fieldston School have very real concerns that must be heard by school administrators and the community. We cannot bury our heads in the sand—the rise in racism, anti-Semitism, and extremism is real and must be confronted all fronts. Accountability is key. Students of color shouldn’t be made to feel unsafe or uncomfortable, period. We will continue to monitor this peaceful demonstration, which can hopefully bring about some lasting, positive changes.”  

EDITOR'S NOTE:

All one has to do is watch the parade of school buses leaving the school to see that the students are not from the local Riverdale area.

Engel, House Dems Reintroduce Paycheck Fairness Act

  Congressman Eliot Engel and House Democrats have reintroduced H.R.7, the Paycheck Fairness Act, legislation that would build on previous laws to close the pay gap and ensure equal pay for equal work.  

Ten years after President Obama made the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act the first bill he signed into law, Democrats are building on that progress with this critical legislation to unlock women’s full economic potential, empower families and grow the economy.

“We made great progress with the Lilly Ledbetter Act in 2009, which was the first bill President Obama signed into law. Now that Democrats have retaken the House, we’re making sure equal pay for equal work is a top priority again,” Engel said. “If women and men do the same job, they should get the same pay. It’s unfortunate that in 2019 we still need to say this obvious truth, but we do. Equal pay for equal work will also result in a much stronger economy and greater stability for workers and their families across the board. We need paycheck fairness and we need it now.”   

Engel, Brooks, DeGette, Herrera Beutler Introduce Poison Control Bill

  Congress Members Eliot Engel (D-NY), Susan Brooks (R-IN), Diana DeGette (D-CO), and Jaime Herrera Beutler (R-WA) have introduced H.R. 501, the Poison Center Network Enhancement Act of 2019, to assist with potential poison exposures and help combat the national opioid epidemic.

Poison control centers are vital to preventing toxic exposure and poisoning injury and deaths, including opioid and other drug overdoses. This bill reauthorizes funding for the Poison Center Network, including their national toll-free number (800) 222-1222. It also clarifies that poison control centers can be called upon to assist with public health emergencies, responses, and preparedness; and requests that enhanced communications capabilities like texting be established.

“The Poison Control network is a valuable tool to help keep families safe and to combat the nationwide opioid crisis. In Westchester County, 124 people died due to opioids in 2016. In the Bronx, more New Yorkers died of overdoses than in any other borough. This bill shows an ongoing bipartisan commitment to continuing support for the nation’s poison control centers that millions of Americans rely on every year. I am proud that we were able to introduce it so early in the 116^th Congress,” said Rep. Engel.  

“On behalf of the 1,852 Hoosiers who died of an opioid overdose in 2017, I am proud to join my colleagues to introduce this bill because poison control centers are essential to combatting the deadly opioid crisis. These centers across the country are fielding almost 192 cases a day of opioid abuse and misuse and compile data that can be used to discover hotspots for opioid abuse and misuse. It is important we reauthorize the national network of poison control centers because they save lives by offering free, confidential, and expert medical advice 24 hours a day, seven days a week,” said Rep. Brooks.

 “Our poison control centers play a vital role in the fight to combat the nation’s growing opioid epidemic. Not only do these centers help us identify communities at a heightened risk of opioid abuse, they also provide training and education programs on safe opioid prescribing practices. If we, as a country, are going to be serious about protecting the public from the dangers of opioid misuse, funding these centers is a must,”said Rep. DeGette.  

“We are facing a crisis level of opioid overdoses in our country and Congress has to continue combatting this devastating epidemic. One important tool we have is the network of Poison Control Centers, which are on the front lines of preventing drug overdoses in our communities. I am proud to join my colleagues in this bipartisan effort to ensure the Poison Control Network is equipped to educate, raise awareness, and continue their work to save lives in Southwest Washington and communities across our country,” said Rep. Herrera Beutler.

Engel, Bipartisan House Members Introduce Permanent Extension of 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund

  Congressman Eliot L. Engel joined bipartisan Members of Congress to introduce H.R. 7062, Never Forget the Heroes; Permanent Authorization of the 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund.

In the aftermath of September 11, 2001, tens of thousands of Americans have fallen ill and lost their lives due to toxic pollutants that filled the air surrounding the wreckage. Responders and survivors have been promised permanent health care through legislation signed into law in 2015. However, the 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund, which offers financial assistance to these Americans and their families, will expire in 2020 without action from Congress.

H.R. 7062, of which Engel is an original cosponsor, will permanently fund this program.

“The heroes of 9/11 came from far and wide to help their fellow Americans in their time of need. The least we can do is take care of them, and do it permanently,” Engel said. “I was proud to support the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act and its 2015 reauthorization—two bills I fought hard to get through the Energy and Commerce Committee—and I am tremendously proud to support this legislation. It is my honor to represent the people of New York, including the heroes this program serves, and I will fight to keep this program running for them.”

CONGRESS MEMBERS SMITH, ENGEL, AND SCHIFF JOINT STATEMENT DEMANDING ACTION ON THE DISAPPEARANCE OF SAUDI JOURNALIST JAMAL KHASHOGGI

  Today, House Armed Services Committee Ranking Member Adam Smith (D-WA), House Foreign Affairs Committee Ranking Member Eliot Engel (D-NY), and House Intelligence Committee Ranking Member Adam Schiff (D-CA) released the following joint statement in response to the disappearance of Jamal Khashoggi:

“As attacks on the press have proliferated in Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and other countries around the world, the disappearance and possible death of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi is deeply alarming. If the reports detailing the involvement of the Saudi government are true, the United States should not be afraid to take bold action to demonstrate to the world that we will not stand by in the face of such an appalling violation of international human rights. 

“We fully support the Senate Foreign Relations Committee’s letter to the administration invoking the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act to trigger an investigation and determination of sanctions. If Saudi Arabia is found to have been involved in the disappearance of Mr. Khashoggi, inaction is simply not an option. The United States should leverage our support and strong relationship with Saudi Arabia to advocate for respect for human rights and push back against these types of actions, which isolate Saudi Arabia. As Congressional leaders, we must show that the United States will stand up against injustices and human rights violations in any country, including our partners. We wish the administration would do the same.”

Engel, House Democrats Work to Protect Mueller Investigation with H.R. 3654, the “Special Counsel Independence Protection Act”

  Congressman Eliot L. Engel and House Democrats are working to protect the integrity of Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into the Trump-Russia ties by sponsoring legislation designed to insulate the Special Counsel from interference and arbitrary action by the President.

H.R. 3654, the Special Counsel Independence Protection Act, would limit the President’s ability to unilaterally end the Mueller investigation by requiring that a Special Counsel may be removed only upon the following conditions:

1. The attorney general files an action in federal district court in Washington, D.C., and files a contemporaneous action with the House Judiciary Committee and the Senate Judiciary Committee; and,

2. A panel of three federal judges sitting in Washington, D.C., finds removal appropriate based on a finding of misconduct, dereliction of duty, incapacity, conflict of interest or other good cause. 

“According to various reports, the President has already demonstrated his willingness to fire Robert Mueller, which would trigger a Constitutional crisis,” Engel said. “If the President is willing to go to those lengths to hide the truth surrounding the Trump-Russia scandal, then Congress has no choice but to act in defense of our Constitution and country by passing legislation to stop him.

“The Mueller investigation must be allowed to continue unimpeded, and House Republicans need to stop shielding the White House from scrutiny by stifling our efforts. Protecting the integrity of our country shouldn’t be a partisan issue. Yet right now we have a Republican party that is openly trying to discredit the FBI by releasing a highly misleading, dishonest memo, all for their own political gain. Their behavior is shameful and all the more reason why we must protect Robert Mueller and his team at all costs.”  

Serrano, Engel, Espaillat, and Crowley Urge Mayor de Blasio to Open LGBT Community Center in the Bronx

Bronx is only Borough in NYC without an LGBT Community Center

Bronx Members also Urge Mayor to Address Other LGBT Needs As It Sets Priorities for Second Term

  Bronx U. S. Representatives Serrano, Engel, Crowley, and Espaillat today sent a letter to Mayor Bill de Blasio urging him to make a priority addressing the LGBT community needs a priority in his upcoming terms as Mayor. Among the recommendations, the members emphasized the need to open an LGBT community center in the Bronx – the only borough that doesn’t have one to this date. The members also urged Mayor de Blasio to address the issues of homelessness and other housing needs that affect the LGBT community and those who are gender non-conforming (TGNC), particularly teenagers; as well as the rise in violence and other human rights violations against LGBT people. 

“The Bronx remains without an LGBTQ Community Center, and continues to be the sole borough in New York City without one. As you may know, community centers play a vital role in enriching the lives of residents and the neighborhoods they call home. Whether providing easy access to quality, safe programs and services or directing families to the appropriate channels to receive the much-needed assistance they are seeking, community centers are a crucial safety net for many. We strongly believe that no one should be forced to travel outside of their neighborhood in order to obtain essential care readily accessible in neighboring communities. For these reasons, we ask that you work to improve LGBTQ services in the Bronx by helping open an LGBTQ community center,” the members wrote. 

December 14, 2017

Dear Mayor de Blasio:

Thank you for all that your administration has done to date with regard to helping the LGBTQ community in our city.  Great progress has been made in the past several years at both the national and local levels, and we appreciate your role in helping our constituents.  As you begin to set priorities for your second term in office, we hope you will consider these issues important to our LGBTQ constituents in the Bronx.

First, the Bronx remains without an LGBTQ Community Center, and continues to be the sole borough in New York City without one. As you may know, community centers play a vital role in enriching the lives of residents and the neighborhoods they call home. Whether providing easy access to quality, safe programs and services or directing families to the appropriate channels to receive the much-needed assistance they are seeking, community centers are a crucial safety net for many. We strongly believe that no one should be forced to travel outside of their neighborhood in order to obtain essential care readily accessible in neighboring communities. For these reasons, we ask that you work to improve LGBTQ services in the Bronx by helping open an LGBTQ community center.

We would also like to stress the overwhelming experience of homelessness that transgender and those who are gender non-conforming (TGNC) face within our City. As you may know, TGNC individuals are more than twice as likely to experience homelessness as those who are non-transgender. Unfortunately, a significant amount of the City’s TGNC homeless population are teenagers. Typically, these individuals become homeless under traumatic family circumstances, including being thrown out of their homes, being abandoned, or because they feel forced to run away. According to the Human Rights Campaign in 2017, across the nation 27 TGNC individuals were brutally murdered and most victims TGNC people of color.  It is clear that we must act to address the devastating impact violence has on TGNC individuals and their families.  A recent study authored by Strength in Numbers and published by the LGBT Health and Human Services Needs showed that both people of color and TGNC individuals were much more likely to experience homelessness at some point in their lives relative to their white and non-TGNC counterparts. 

Right now, New York City only has one LGBTQ-specific shelter, Marsha’s House, and it only has 90 beds, which falls well below meeting the needs of the LGBTQ homeless community. It is for these reasons that we ask the City to take greater strides to ensure everyone has equal access to affordable and supportive housing regardless of their socioeconomic background, gender, or sexual orientation.

It is important to recognize the structural and systemic barriers that both LGBTQ and TGNC people face especially those of color who are disproportionately marginalized. Additionally, we must remain steadfast and committed to implementing programs that seek to address and remove these harmful obstacles. This can only be accomplished by working with those who directly understand the challenging times we currently find ourselves in.

With that, we ask that as the City begins implementing policies to address TGNC specific housing needs, that it strongly considers employing members of the LGBTQ community and collaborate with local LGBTQ community leaders and activists to establish LGBTQ specific housing projects.  Lastly, we ask that wherever possible priority be given to people of color and those who are historically marginalized – since many of these individuals are our constituents. 

  

We appreciate all the steps taken over the past four years, and we look forward to working with you to protect the lives and livelihoods of our LGBTQ constituents in the Bronx. 

Thank you for your attention to this matter and we look forward to your response.

Engel, House Dems Introduce Resolution to Censure President

  Congressman Eliot L. Engel issued the following statement after cosponsoring a resolution to censure President Trump for his response to the violence in Charlottesville, Virginia:

“President Trump’s response to the violence in Charlottesville was a disgrace to the office of the President. In equating the actions of counter protesters to those of white supremacists and Nazis, he displayed a callousness that cannot be ignored or trivialized. His defense of individuals who stood on the side of white nationalists, saying some of them were ‘very fine people,’ was outrageous. His words were an affront to our shared American values and deserve our condemnation, which is why my colleagues and I have taken this extraordinary step to introduce a resolution to censure. We must send a clear message to the President that this type of rhetoric is not acceptable from the Commander-in-Chief.”   

RESOLUTION

Censuring and condemning President Donald Trump.

Whereas on August 11, 2017 in Charlottesville, Virginia, a gathering of white supremacists, including neo-Nazis, Ku Klux Klan (KKK) members, and other white nationalist groups, marched through the streets with torches as part of a coordinated ‘Unite the Right’ rally spewing racism, anti-Semitism, bigotry and hatred;

Whereas on August 12, 2017 in Charlottesville, Virginia, a car driven by James Alex Fields, Jr. rammed into a crowd of counter-protestors, killing Heather Heyer and injuring 20 others;

Whereas President Donald Trump’s immediate public comments rebuked “many sides” for the violence in Charlottesville, Virginia, and failed to specifically condemn the ‘Unite the Right’ rally or cite the white supremacist, neo-Nazi gathering as responsible for actions of domestic terrorism;

Whereas on August 15, 2017 President Donald Trump held a press conference at Trump Tower where he re-asserted that “both sides” were to blame for the violence in Charlottesville, Virginia, and attempted to create a moral equivalency between white supremacist, KKK, neo-Nazi groups and those counter-protesting the ‘Unite the Right’ rally;

Whereas President Donald Trump has surrounded himself with, and cultivated the influence of, senior advisors and spokespeople who have long histories of promoting white nationalist, racist and anti-Semitic principles and policies within the country;

Whereas President Donald Trump has provided encouragement and little to no denunciation of white supremacist groups and individuals who promote their bigoted, nationalist ideology and policies;

Whereas President Donald Trump has failed to provide adequate condemnation and assure the American people of his resolve to opposing domestic terrorism: Now, therefore, be it

Resolved, That the House of Representatives—

(1)   does hereby censure and condemn President Donald Trump for his inadequate response to the violence in Charlottesville, Virginia on August 12, 2017, his failure to immediately and specifically name and condemn the white supremacist groups responsible for actions of domestic terrorism, for re-asserting that “both sides” were to blame and excusing the violent behavior of participants in the ‘Unite the Right’ rally, and for employing people with ties to white supremacist movements in the White House, such as Steve Bannon and Sebastian Gorka; and

(2)   does hereby urge President Donald Trump to fire any and all White House advisors who have urged him to cater to the white supremacist movement in the United States.

Members have signed on as cosponsors:  Joe Crowley (D-NY), Sheila Jackson-Lee (D-TX), Grace Napolitano (D-CA), Nydia Velazquez (D-NY), Bill Foster (D-IL), Diana DeGette (D-CO), Adriano Espaillat (D-NY), Scott Peters (D-CA), Donald Payne, Jr. (D-NJ), Marcia Fudge (D-OH), Carolyn Maloney (D-NY), Paul Tonko (D-NY), Al Lawson (D-FL), Rick Larsen (D-WA), Frank Pallone (D-NJ), Raul Grijalva (D-AZ), Greg Meeks (D-NY), Steve Cohen (D-TN), Tim Walz (D-MN), Yvette Clarke (D-NY), Stephen Lynch (D-MA), Julia Brownley (D-CA), Eliot Engel (D-NY), David Loebsack (D-IA), Jan Schakowsky (D-IL), Debbie Dingell (D-MI), Barbara Lee (D-CA), Anthony Brown (D-MD), David Cicilline (D-RI), Jared Huffman (D-CA), Hank Johnson (D-GA), Jose Serrano (D-NY), Jamie Raskin (D-MD), Bennie Thompson (D-MS), Al Green (D-TX), Mark Takano (D-CA), Grace Meng (D-NY), Mark Pocan (D-WI), Maxine Waters (D-CA), Luis Gutierrez (D-IL), Brenda Lawrence (D-MI), Don Beyer (D-VA), Carol Shea-Porter (D-NH), Ted Lieu (D-CA), Karen Bass (D-CA), Adam Smith (D-WA), William Lacy Clay (D-MO), Brad Schneider (D-IL), Gerald E. Connolly (D-VA), Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY), Chellie Pingree (D-ME), Norma Torres (D-CA), Dwight Evans (D-PA), Albio Sires (D-NJ), Mike Quigley (D-IL), Donald McEachin (D-VA), Earl Blumenauer (D-OR), Brian Higgins (D-NY), Bill Pascrell, Jr. (D-NJ), Ben Ray Lujan (D-NM), James Langevin (D-RI), Dan Lipinski (D-IL), Jacky Rosen (D-NV), Brad Sherman (D-CA), Nita Lowey (D-NY), Mark DeSaulnier (D-CA), Ruben Kihuen (D-NV), Louise Slaughter (D-NY), Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR), Michelle Lujan Grisham (D-NM), Alan Lowenthal (D-CA), Alma Adams (D-NC), Robin Kelly (D-IL), Jimmy Gomez (D-CA), Jim McGovern (D-MA), Michael Capuano (D-MA).

Engel, House Dems Continue Push to Improve the Affordable Care Act

  Congressman Eliot Engel, a top member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, cosigned a letter with close to 90 House Democrats calling on Speaker Ryan to take up key reforms to help improve the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA) individual markets and expand options for consumers.

The four reforms, devised by Democrats, include reauthorizing and making permanent federal reinsurance programs; ensuring funding for the cost-sharing reduction payments – which President Trump has threatened to cut off – that help millions of American families purchase affordable health insurance; expanding premium assistance to bring down costs; and affording retirement-age Americans the option to buy into Medicare.

“Democrats have long said that, while the ACA has done a wealth of good for the American health care system, it is not perfect. But just because something isn’t perfect doesn’t mean it needs to be scrapped entirely. You don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater,” Congressman Engel said. “Every major piece of legislation, including Medicare and Social Security, has required tweaking after its initial passage to make the law work better. The ACA is no different. But, instead of working with Democrats to build on the ACA’s progress, Republicans have clung to their political crusade against the law. They have worked to sabotage the ACA at every turn, and made a mockery of the legislative process as they rushed to pass bills that would steal health care away from millions. It is time for the GOP to move on from the disaster that was Trumpcare and get down to the business of actually governing.

“Democrats have real ideas on how to restore certainty to insurance markets, bring down costs, and expand consumer choices. Now, we must come together in a bipartisan way to make those ideas a reality. I urge my Republican colleagues to carefully consider our proposals, so we can meaningfully improve the health and lives of our constituents.”

Engel, House Colleagues Introduce Disaster Assistance Equity Act for Co-op and Condo Owners

Engel, Sanford, Nadler, Zeldin, King Introduce Disaster Assistance Equity Act

  Congressman Eliot L. Engel joined Congress Members Sanford, Nadler, Zeldin, and King in introducing H.R. 3238, the Disaster Assistance Equity Act, a bipartisan bill which would make common interest communities, including co-ops and condominiums, eligible for the same FEMA assistance available to other homeowners.

This bill would make two changes to the Stafford Act:

• Make homeowners associations eligible for the Public Assistance Program for debris clearance and repair of common infrastructure; and 
• Enable condominium associations and housing cooperatives to be eligible for the Individual Assistance Program.

“This bipartisan bill fixes an obvious flaw in current federal law as it pertains to disaster assistance for co-op and condo owners,” Congressman Engel said. “We saw after Superstorm Sandy how vital it is for FEMA funds to be accessible to all homeowners, not just some or even most. Co-op and condo owners should not be treated like second class citizens by FEMA, especially in those difficult times after a natural disaster hits. I am proud to reintroduce this bill with my colleagues Rep. Sanford, Rep. Nadler, Rep. Zeldin, and Rep. King and will work hard to ensure its swift passage.” 

“I find it strange that FEMA treats the 70 million Americans who live in common interest communities differently than it does those who live in other types of communities,” said Congressman Sanford. “In my experience, storms don’t discriminate between different kinds of communities. As such, it seems to me that FEMA should treat them all equally when it comes to the assistance available in the wake of a disaster. I want to thank my colleagues for signing on as original co-sponsors of the bill, and we will be working in the weeks ahead to build support.”

“In the aftermath of Superstorm Sandy, thousands of New Yorkers were shocked to learn they could not restore their condos and co-ops to livable condition because their common areas were not eligible for assistance,” said Congressman Nadler. “Millions more Americans have come to the same startling realization after natural disasters in the five years since Sandy. A storm doesn’t care what type of home you live in before destroying it, and FEMA should treat all homeowners fairly when helping them rebuild. I am proud to join Representatives Sanford, Engel, Zeldin, and King in re-introducing this critical bill, which builds on my ongoing efforts to ensure that every American can rebuild their home and their lives in the aftermath of natural disasters.”

Congressman Zeldin said, “Superstorm Sandy devastated our coastal communities and businesses in New York. Unfortunately, many New Yorkers learned the hard way that FEMA does not treat all homeowners equally. Condos, co-ops, and homeowners associations did not have the same access to federal disaster assistance as single family homeowners, which made it difficult to restore their homes and communities. Joining with Congressmen Sanford, King, Nadler, and Engel, the Disaster Assistance Equity Act would make important reforms to ensure that all homeowners are able to recover after a natural disaster.”

“As we saw in the aftermath of Superstorm Sandy, residents of condominiums and cooperatives should be eligible for FEMA Individual Assistance just as other home owners are,” said Congressman King. “This legislation will correct that inequity.”

ENGEL, PELOSI, HOYER INTRODUCE HOUSE VERSION OF SENATE RUSSIA-IRAN SANCTIONS BILL

Bill Resolves All Procedural Issues, Clearing the Way for House Vote

  Representative Eliot L. Engel, Ranking Member of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs; House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi; and House Democratic Whip Steny Hoyer today introduced a House version of the Russia-Iran sanctions bill (H.R. 3203) that passed 98-2 in the Senate last month. Identical to the original Senate-passed bill, this legislation resolves procedural concerns that have delayed House action on the tough sanctions package.

“It's time to stop the delays and vote on this sanctions bill. Our legislation puts to rest all the technical questions and allows the House to finally vote on the same legislation that won overwhelming bipartisan support in the Senate,” said Ranking Member Engel. “We need to hold Russia and Iran accountable for their aggressive behavior, and I urge House leaders to act on this bill without delay.”

“For weeks, Republicans have dragged their feet and used every trick in the book to avoid holding Russia accountable for its brazen interference in our election,” said House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi. “While Republicans shirk their constitutional duty to protect our democracy, House Democrats are introducing the bipartisan Senate-passed Russia sanctions bill and challenging House Republican leadership to bring it to the floor for an immediate vote. After this indefensible delay and the explosive new Trump-Russia revelations, Republicans must also immediately join Democrats to create an outside, independent commission to get to the bottom of Russia's assault on our democracy and to prevent it from ever happening again.”

“Tonight I joined Leader Pelosi and Ranking Member Engel in introducing the Senate’s bill in the House because Congress must hold the Administration accountable on Russia sanctions. It is critical that the House join our Senate colleagues in sending a clear, bipartisan message that we support strong sanctions against Russia and Iran. I hope that we can act together without delay,” said House Democratic Whip Steny Hoyer. 

As a House bill, this legislation avoids the so called “blue-slip” problem that delayed action on the Senate-passed version. Additionally, this bill ensures that provisions allowing tough, bipartisan oversight of potential sanctions relief would remain intact. 

Engel, Congressional Dems File Lawsuit Against President Trump Over Foreign Emoluments Clause

  Congressman Eliot L. Engel, the Ranking Member on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, and 195 House Democratic colleagues have filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court against President Trump alleging a serious violation of the U.S. Constitution’s Foreign Emoluments Clause. The lawsuit stems from multiple reports that the President is profiting from foreign officials staying at Trump International Hotel in Washington D.C., in addition to entities owned by foreign states leasing space in Trump Tower in New York City. The Foreign Emoluments Clause in the Constitution provides that “no Person holding any Office of Profit or Trust under [the United States], shall, without the Consent of the Congress, accept any present, Emolument, Office, or Title, of any kind whatever, from any King, Prince, or foreign State.” 

“By not completely and transparently divesting of his business interests prior to taking office, the President has created significant conflicts of interest that we believe violate the Constitution,” Congressman Engel said. “Foreign entities are staying or doing business at Trump properties as a means of building goodwill with the President and his family. Under this ‘pay to play’ culture, foreign governments are paying the Trump Organization to further their interests—potentially at the expense of the United States. Let’s be clear here: the Office of the President must not be for sale. Our Founding Fathers knew this, which is why they included the Foreign Emoluments Clause in the Constitution. No one should ever be allowed to buy influence in the White House, most especially if you represent a foreign entity. My Democratic colleagues in both the House and Senate understand and believe this fervently. That is why we have taken this important step.”

Engel, Energy & Commerce Dems Fight Through the Night to Defend ACA

  Congressman Eliot L. Engel, a top member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, issued the following statement on this week’s marathon Energy and Commerce Committee mark-up of the Republican bill to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act:

“This week, House Republicans unveiled their long-promised bill to repeal the Affordable Care Act (ACA).

“Congressional Republicans have spent seven years demonizing and sabotaging the ACA. They had plenty of opportunities to collaborate with Democrats to modify the parts of the law they didn’t think were working. In fact, most large pieces of legislation need to be tweaked once implemented. But instead, the GOP chose to vote 60+ times to repeal the ACA and destroy the progress it has shepherded for millions.

“Now, after seven years of grandiose promises, they’ve finally unveiled their ‘better way,’ in the form of a bill that would take health care from millions, push new costs onto seniors and the sick, deny women the chance to see the provider of their choice, ration health care for children, overburden hospitals – and the list goes on.

“Their legislation was shared for the first time on Monday night – less than two days before the Energy & Commerce and Ways & Means Committees were set to debate the bill. On top of that, the GOP bill arrived without a readout from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) – an analysis that details how much money a bill would cost to implement and, critically, the number of Americans that would lose their health insurance because of the bill.

“House Republicans may have thought they could pull the wool over Americans’ eyes – but not on our watch.

“Energy and Commerce began to consider this GOP repeal bill at 10:30 on Wednesday morning. For more than 27 hours, I fought alongside my fellow Committee Democrats to debunk Republican myths about the ACA, get answers to important questions about their bill, and defend the progress shepherded by the ACA for our constituents.

“I am pleased to have had this opportunity to speak out on substantial problems within the GOP bill, including:

·  A radical restructuring of Medicaid that will put a huge financial burden on states, forcing them to ration health care

·  A repeal of the Medicaid expansion, which afforded quality coverage to millions of Americans

·   Policies that will harm seniors’ access to long-term supports and services

·   A senseless rescission of funding for Planned Parenthood

“I also offered an amendment that would have required the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to assess whether Medicaid changes within the GOP bill might force hospitals into the red, or to close their doors altogether. According to America's Essential Hospitals, ‘this legislation could place a heavy burden on the safety net…our hospitals could not sustain such reductions without scaling back services or eliminating jobs.’

“I felt that Republicans and Democrats alike ought to have supported my amendment to ensure the GOP bill wouldn’t inhibit hospitals’ ability to care for our constituents. Sadly and predictably, Republicans defeated my amendment on a party-line vote.

“So the Republicans have voted to advance their ill-advised repeal bill – but Democrats aren’t giving up.

“The GOP repeal would ration Americans’ health care and force them to pay more for less. I will continue fighting to defend my constituents against this disastrous bill.” 

Engel, House Pass Puerto Rico Relief Bill

   Congressman Eliot Engel, a senior member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, and House colleagues last week passed a bill aimed at helping Puerto Rico resolve its debt crisis. The Puerto Rico Oversight, Management and Economic Stability Act (PROMESA) will allow the island to restructure its $70 billion debt, though other provisions in the bill have raised concern among lawmakers who feel it will hurt Puerto Rican workers.

“This is a deeply flawed bill, but the reality is that without swift action, Puerto Rico’s already tenuous economic situation is going to balloon into a humanitarian crisis,” Congressman Engel said. “I voted in favor of this legislation because the people of Puerto Rico cannot wait any longer. They don’t deserve to live in a place where hospitals and schools are shutting down because there’s no money to keep them open. But there are parts of this bill that I find deeply problematic. I was disappointed that House Republicans insisted on extracting concessions from Puerto Rican workers in order to secure basic legal protections for the island that every American municipality enjoys. These men and women are American citizens and they do not deserve to be treated—quite literally—like second-class citizens by House Republicans.

“I am hopeful the Senate will give swift consideration to this legislation and send it to the President for his signature. Puerto Rico needs this legislation to address their debt crisis and avoid defaulting on their legal obligations which come due July 1.”