Press Releases

Elon Musk and President Trump are making life harder for middle-class families by freezing the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) funds they desperately need following flooding, tornadoes, wildfires, hurricanes, and other major disasters. They have already illegally frozen $10 billion in disaster aid, and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem told President Trump in a cabinet meeting: “We’re going to eliminate FEMA.” Additionally, on Friday, the Trump administration canceled FEMA’s lifesaving Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities grant program making their end goal crystal clear: destroy FEMA and leave States and territories on their own for the next disaster.

Today, Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro (D-CT-03), Ranking Member of the House Appropriations Committee, Congressman Robert C. “Bobby” Scott (D-VA-03), Ranking Member of the House Committee on Education and Workforce, Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Vice Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP), and Senator Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Ranking Member of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies, led a letter to Secretary Linda McMahon demanding a reversal of a new policy the Department of Education announced recently that suddenly upended departmental policy and imposed new red tape on states, which will prevent them from accessing pandemic relief funds they are counting on to support students’ learning.

Today, Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur (OH-09), Ranking Member of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development, and Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Vice Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee and Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development, responded to reports of plans for potential mass reductions in force (RIF) at the Department of Energy, which could reduce the Department’s staffing levels by nearly 50% and affect even critical offices charged with protecting our nation’s nuclear security.

U.S. Rep. Grace Meng (D-NY), Ranking Member of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies, released the following statement in response to the Trump Administration’s decision to cut federal funding for small and medium-sized American manufacturers.

House Appropriations Committee Ranking Member Rosa DeLauro (CT-03), Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration Ranking Member Sanford D. Bishop, Jr. (GA-02), and Subcommittee on Military Construction and Veterans Affairs and Related Agencies Ranking Member Debbie Wasserman Schultz (FL-25) released the following statement after receiving notification that next weeks’ hearings with U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins and Department of Veterans Affairs Secretary Doug Collins have been cancelled.

Congresswoman Chellie Pingree (D-Maine), the top Democrat on the House Appropriations Subcommittee that oversees the National Endowment for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Humanities, released a scathing statement in response to the Trump Administration's mass termination of National Endowment for the Humanities grants.

Appropriations Committee Ranking Member Rosa DeLauro (CT-03); Appropriations Energy and Water Development Subcommittee Ranking Member Marcy Kaptur (OH-09); Energy and Commerce Committee Ranking Member Frank Pallone, Jr. (NJ-06); Energy and Commerce Energy Subcommittee Ranking Member Kathy Castor (FL-14); Science, Space, and Technology Committee Ranking Member Zoe Lofgren (CA-18); Science, Space, and Technology Energy Subcommittee Ranking Member Deborah Ross (NC-02) sent a letter to United States Department of Energy (DOE) Acting Inspector General Sarah Nelson requesting an investigation into all financial assistance and contracts including any cancelled awards and contracts.

On March 24, 2025, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) illegally removed the transparency website that details how the White House—whether it is led by a Democrat or a Republican—spends taxpayer dollars.