BIG DUMB WALL. U.S. REPRESENTATIVE DAVID CICILLINE.

DavidNews from Representative David Cicilline SERVING YOU  |  MEDIA CENTER  |  LEGISLATIVE WORK  |  OUR DISTRICT   January 11, 2019     Dear David, Today marks 21 days since the start of the partial federal government shutdown. The shutdown is hurting federal workers, their families, and folks across our country. Two out of every five Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) employees are home. So are nearly half of the employees at the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Not even three weeks in, this shutdown is already posing real risks for transportation and food safety. Democrats - and even a few Republicans - in the House voted this week to re-open the government. The bills we passed were approved in the Senate 100-0 before the shutdown began. It’s time for the President to come to his senses and end this shutdown. Big Dumb Wall Over the past few weeks, however, the President has done nothing but double down on building his Big Dumb Wall at the U.S.-Mexico border. Let me be absolutely clear - the Big Dumb Wall is a complete waste of money that will do little to deter illegal immigration, which happens mostly when people stay here longer than their visa allows, or drug trafficking, which primarily takes place when narcotics are smuggled through a legal port of entry. I was reminded of this when I visited El Paso, Texas this week to investigate the deaths of two children in Department of Homeland Security custody. The ONLY crisis at the border is the one that President Trump and Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen created when they started separating children from their families. I’m going to continue holding this administration accountable and demanding that they do better. Save The Date Since President Trump shut down the government, we haven’t been able to discuss the important issues that he’d like to avoid talking about. That includes the chaos in his administration, the Mueller investigation, and the work that Democrats are doing to fix our broken political system. I want to hear from you. That’s why I’m holding my first Community Conversation of the year on Saturday, January 19th, at 11am. This event will take place at Hope High School in Providence. I’m looking forward to hearing your thoughts and talking about our bold plan to clean up corruption in Washington and legislation introduced to empower the American voter, end the influence of corporate money, and hold government officials to the strongest ethics requirements in decades. Click here to reserve your seat right now. I look forward to seeing you later this month. Gun Violence Prevention For the past eight years, Republican Leadership in the House of Representatives has done everything in their power to silence serious debate about combating the gun violence epidemic. On Tuesday, House Democrats took the first step in addressing that negligence by introducing H.R. 8, a bill requiring a background check for every firearm sale. As a member of the Gun Violence Prevention Task Force, I am proud to have contributed to the development of this legislation. Current federal laws only require background checks for sales by federally licensed dealers. H.R. 8 expands background checks to cover all gun sales, including sales at gun shows, on the internet, and private transactions. There is no doubt in my mind that this is a major step toward addressing an epidemic that has seen families torn apart by senseless and preventable violence. However, this is just the first of many actions that need to be taken. We need to keep fighting until every American can live their lives free from the threat of gun violence. That means passing legislation, including many bills I have introduced, to strengthen the background check system, permanently ban bump stocks, ensure law enforcement can seize guns from unlawful buyers, ban 3-D printed guns and ghost guns, and raise awareness of the importance of unloading and safely storing firearms. As always, if you or someone you know has any questions or concerns, please call my office at 729-5600 or send me an email at David.Cicilline@mail.house.gov. You can also click here to follow my work on Instagram. Warm Regards, David N. Cicilline Member of Congress   CONNECT WITH ME     Washington D.C. Office 2233 Rayburn HOB Washington, DC 20515 Phone: (202) 225-4911 Fax: (202) 225-3290 Pawtucket Office 1070 Main Street, Suite 300 Pawtucket, RI 02860 Phone: (401) 729-5600 Fax: (401) 729-5608   Unsubscribe | Privacy Policy