Today, I asked Senator Sessions: “How can Americans have confidence that you’re going to enforce anti-discrimination laws if you’ve accepted awards from these kinds of groups and associated with these kinds of individuals and you won’t return the awards?”
January is National Human Trafficking Awareness Month, and today marks a major victory in the fight against modern-day slavery. For years, Backpage’s adult section has enabled human trafficking by supporting an avenue for violence against women and children. As of today, the adult section is history. I have stood shoulder to shoulder with many of you in the struggle to shut down the section, and this welcome news is a critical step in the effort to end the scourge of human trafficking online. While we have won the battle, the fight continues. We must all work together to end human trafficking.
Civilian control of the military is a bedrock principle. At today’s Senate Armed Services Committee hearing, we discussed why this principle is important to our democracy and what circumstances justify a waiver. The standard for an exception is a high one, and General Mattis will need to meet this burden at his nomination hearing later this week. Watch footage of today’s hearing here:
No Cabinet member is more powerful—with more impact on the day to day lives of Americans and more unreviewable discretion—than the Attorney General of the United States. Today’s hearing will provide a critical opportunity to learn more about how Senator Sessions would use this power. I continue to have concerns about whether he will be a champion of the constitutional rights and freedoms that are the bedrock of our democracy. Protecting these rights is critical and we need a champion.
The Affordable Care Act is more than just a law. For millions of Americans, it has been the difference between financial security or bankruptcy. It has been the difference between seeing a doctor at the first signs of disease or waiting until it has spread too far for treatment. It has been the difference – for many – between life and death.
One woman wrote to me that her brother developed cancer when he was just 23. He is one of the 25,000 young people in Connecticut who ha...ve been able to stay on their parents’ plan, and thanks to that provision, he received the care he needed without going bankrupt.
I heard from a father whose daughter has Crohn’s disease. He asked me to tell politicians hoping to repeal the law that health insurance is “not a luxury, but a necessity” for his family.
I spoke with a woman who told me that before the ACA, her medications cost $250,000. Thanks to the health reform law, she has affordable health care, no lifetime caps, and knows she won’t be denied coverage because of her pre-existing condition.
As Republicans attempt to repeal ACA, I’ve been searching for how I can best capture what this law means to Americans. It isn’t through a statistic. It isn’t through rhetoric. It’s through you. It’s through these stories you have shared with me about how the law has helped your families. I challenge my colleagues who want to repeal this law to listen to listen to your constituents, and do not deny them health care.
