Washington, D.C. – Today, 24 Republican and Democratic members of Congress, led by Congressman Keith Ellison (D-MN) and Congressman Mick Mulvaney (R-SC), sent a letter to President Obama and Congressional leadership urging them to include defense savings in the current budget negotiations. 

Washington, D.C. — Today 102 members of the House of Representatives, led by Reps. Keith Ellison (D-MN), Raúl M. Grijalva (D-AZ), Joe Crowley (D-NY), Joe Courtney (D-CT), and John Conyers, Jr. (D-MI), sent a letter to Speaker Boehner urging him to take cuts to Social Security off the table in the current budget negotiations.

WASHINGTON--Rep. Keith Ellison (D-MN) and Rep. Erik Paulsen (R-MN) today introduced TheMoney Remittances Improvement Act of 2012 (H.R. 6637), which helps address the difficulties Somali-Americans and others have sending money to loved ones in their countries of origin. The bill simplifies oversight for money services businesses (MSBs) and other nonbank financial institutions, and provides financial institutions that collaborate with MSBs more assurance that the federal and state regulators are coordinating.

 Rep. Keith Ellison (D-MN) released the following statement after voting against the STEM Jobs Act (HR 6429), which provides visas for graduates in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM): 

“While I support increasing visas for STEM graduates, this bill would make it harder for graduates from regions that typically have less immigration to the United States, such as Somalia, to come to our country.  Increasing American competitiveness in STEM fields should not be zero sum game. We can attract talented workers without eliminating visas for others aspiring to come to the United States.                                          

“More worrisome, the STEM Jobs Act demonstrates that Republicans are not serious about comprehensive immigration reform.  This bill fails to include a path to legalization for new Americans, fails to reform the backlog of visa applications of people aspiring to come to America, and has no meaningful way for families to be reunited with their loved ones who already live in the country.  Our nation’s immigration system is broken, and the elections in November showed us that Americans want Congress to fix it.”

WASHINGTON- Rep. Keith Ellison (D-MN), Co-Chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, released the following statement after Politico reported on the potential outlines of a deal, including $1.2 trillion in new tax revenue and $400 billion in changes to Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security

 WASHINGTON- Rep. Keith Ellison (D-MN) released the following statement in anticipation of the United Nations General Assembly vote to upgrade the status of the Palestinian Authority at the United Nations to non-member observer state:

“I am deeply concerned about the latest outbreak of violence between Israelis and Palestinians in Gaza. I urge both sides to practice restraint and take immediate action to reduce hostilities. I have been to Sderot, Israel and the Gaza, and conditions for ordinary people are horrific on both sides of the Gaza-Israel border. Israelis endure relentless rocket attacks fired at innocent Israeli citizens in violation of international law. At the same time, Gazans, 57% of whom are under 18, live in extreme isolation,  with limited access and deprivation of nearly everything including food, building materials, and water.

“Today I voted for the Russia and Moldova Jackson-Vanik Repeal Act of 2012 (H.R. 6156), which was paired with the Sergei Magnitsky Rule of Law Accountability Act and grants Russia permanent normal trade relations (PNTR) with the United States.  

Rep. Keith Ellison (D-MN), Co-Chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, released the following statement today after the Bureau of Labor Statistics announced that employers added 114,000 American jobs in September.

“This year, more than 200,000 women will be rattled by a diagnosis of breast cancer and thousands more will succumb to the disease. These women live in each of our neighborhoods, come from every walk of life and are our mothers, sisters, aunts, daughters, and friends. This tragic figure includes approximately 3,500 women and 30 men diagnosed with invasive breast cancer each year in Minnesota.  It’s very likely that each American family has been touched by the disease in some way.