House Democrats Advance Legislation to Ensure Equality, Justice, and Opportunity for All

Statement

A MESSAGE FROM THE MAJORITY LEADER

Following two productive committee work weeks, House Democrats returned to session this week and passed legislation to further advance our nation's principles of equality, justice, and opportunity for all. Thursday's passage of the Comprehensive Debt Collection Improvement Act, a package of bills to reform and curb abuses in the debt collection industry, was an important step to modernize federal laws around debt collection and protecting consumers. Today, the House passed the bipartisan Pregnant Workers Fairness Act, which would require that employers provide reasonable accommodations for pregnant workers -- and guarantee that pregnant workers can seek those accommodations without fear of retaliation or discrimination.

In addition, Congressional Democrats remain focused on strengthening voting rights and access to the ballot box. Protecting the right to vote is essential to protecting our democracy, and I was glad to see the Senate Rules Committee mark up S. 1, the Senate companion to the House-passed For The People Act. The raft of voter suppression legislation moving through Republican-led statehouses across the country demonstrates the need for urgency in enacting this legislation. I was dismayed to see the Arizona governor sign a bill that would rob up to 200,000 Arizonans of the ability to vote by mail, yet another example of partisan attacks on Americans' right to vote. Congress has a duty to preserve and protect the right to vote and I hope the Senate will do the right thing by passing S. 1 so that we can prevent these undemocratic voter-suppression laws.

Next week, I will bring legislation to the Floor focused on rejecting hate and protecting our democratic institutions. We will consider the Senate-passed COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act, which includes the Jabara-Heyer NO HATE Act. We will also take up a resolution by Rep. Judy Chu, Chairwoman of the Congressional Asian Pacific Heritage Caucus, condemning the shootings that occurred in Georgia on March 16th. Today I announced I will be bringing bipartisan legislation to the Floor to establish a bipartisan commission to investigate the 1/6 Capitol insurrection. I hope that my colleagues will all join me in supporting this bipartisan proposal.

Sincerely yours,

Steny H. Hoyer

Source