Dear Friend,
We hope all is well with you and your family, and that you are safe and healthy. We also hope you had a terrific holiday weekend.
This week, after the tragic shooting at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas Congressman Raja joined host Brian Mackey on Illinois' Public Media's '217 Today' broadcast, and Brian asked the Congressman about the findings of the House Committee on Oversight and Reform investigation into another mass shooting three years ago. The Congressman told Brian, "What came of it is we voted for various pieces of gun control measures in the House, [they] passed, and then [they] went to the Senate to die. Every single one of these measures has been filibustered including what's called a bipartisan background checks act, HR8, which by the way has the support of 90% of gun owners in America... that's really where most of our legislative attention needs to be focused..."
The Congressman also joined Chicago Tonight, along with Representative Danny Davis and Representative Robin Kelly for an on-air roundtable on the Uvalde shooting among other issues. The host asked Congressman Raja about the partisan upheaval in DC, and what is needed to bridge divides on the gun control issue legislation. Congressman Krishnamoorthi said that, "Well first of all I think all of us are thinking about the families tonight, it eerily resembles Sandy Hook, and unfortunately we thought that would be the catalyst for action and that did not result in gun reform laws... I think our inaction is recklessly leading to these horrible tragedies. What's actually going to bridge the divide: ending the filibuster in the Senate for one... it is now used as a tool for obstruction rather than protecting anybody's rights... In this case it's obstructing legislation that would be supported by the vast majority of American citizens. The second thing I would say is that we have to hold people accountable when they run for office, on this particular issue."
Later in the broadcast, the roundtable discussed foreign policy. Congressman Raja was asked about former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger's comment that the Ukrainian should concede territory to Russia to end the war. The Congressman said, "I think it's up to the Ukrainian people to decide that question, specifically Volodymyr Zelenskyy and his administration which has just heroically led Ukraine. We will support the Ukrainians in whatever decision they end up making. The Ukrainian people at this point have so fiercely and courageously defended themselves and fought off the Russians in many parts of the country and they are fiercely in the fight in the East and the South that I think we have to stick with them….I'm so glad we passed legislation to provide them with additional heavy armaments and weaponry. At the end of the day, whatever is decided at the negotiating table will hinge on the results on the battlefield, and so we have to make sure Ukrainians prevail or have the advantage on the battlefield even as they decide the final terms of whatever the future holds for them with the Russians.
The Congressman spoke with host of WGN Radio Lisa Dent to discuss the severe undercounting of Illinois citizens during the census and what that means for the amount of funds allocated to the state. Congressman Raja explained, "That's right, it looks like we were undercounted to the tune of a quarter million people. Some experts estimate that over a decade, so over ten years, it could mean as much as one billion dollars in federal dollars not flowing to Illinois because of that... Experts point to two sources of concern that might have plagued the counting in Illinois. One was the proposed citizenship questions that the Trump administration wanted to include in the census originally, and that ultimately got removed, but folks believe that might have intimidated people from being counted or filling out the census forms. The second is, we were just in a pandemic, so everything was unconventional about the count. So, I think those two factors may have played a role but I'm still waiting on answers to the questions I posed to the bureau."
We will continue to bring you news about Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi's work in D.C. and Illinois.
Please visit rajaforcongress.com for more updates as well.
Team Raja
Paid for by Friends of Raja for Congress
Raja for Congress
PO Box 681202
Schaumburg, IL 60168
United States
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