In the News
National Wreaths Across America Day with Signal Hill NSDAR Chapter
The Wreaths Across America event was held across the country at the same time. We met on Saturday, December 14, 12:00 p.m.at Evergreen Cemetery, 600 Dundee, Ave., Barrington. There are 400 veteran grave sites that have been identified. Chapter member Volunteers and HODARS placed more than 343 wreaths on the headstones of our veterans.Deb Edlund led the memorial service. Guests in attendance who spoke about the dedication of veterans were: US Congressman Sean Casten (IL-06), and Village of … Continue Reading
December 20, 2019
House Votes to Repeal SALT Cap—But GOP-led Senate Looms
(Bloomberg)—Democrats from high-tax states scored a symbolic victory Thursday as the House voted to repeal a politically fraught portion of President Donald Trump's tax law: the cap on state and local tax, or SALT, deductions.The legislation would repeal the $10,000 cap in 2020 and 2021, and raises it to $20,000 for married couples for 2019. The measure is offset by raising the top individual tax rate to 39.6 percent from 37 percent.Republicans, with Democratic support, amended the legislation … Continue Reading
December 20, 2019
House Votes to Temporarily Repeal Trump SALT Deduction Cap
The House on Thursday voted to temporarily repeal much of the GOP tax law's cap on the state and local tax (SALT) deduction, a key priority for many Democrats.The bill passed on a near party line vote of 218-206. Republicans, though, got their own victory in the process when Democrats agreed to adopt their motion to amend, bringing changes to the legislation.Five Republicans voted for the bill — Reps. Brian Fitzpatrick (Pa.), Peter King (N.Y.), John Katko (N.Y.), Tom Reed (N.Y.), and Chris … Continue Reading
December 17, 2019
Immigration Issues the Topic of Casten Town Hall in Glen Ellyn
GLEN ELLYN - U.S. Rep. Sean Casten, D-Downers Grove, knows all too well how fear can emanate from stories of immigration.Casten kicked his Dec. 15 town hall meeting in Glen Ellyn by sharing what he called a hypothetical story in which a young Mexican couple falls in love, gets married and moves to the United States for work."A couple years in, they have a kid," Casten said. "The kid is given the option to either be a citizen of the United States, a citizen of Mexico or dual-citizenship status. … Continue Reading
December 16, 2019
Dems Have a Plan to Fight Trump on Climate Censorship
WASHINGTON — A freshman congressman, troubled by allegations of climate censorship by the President Trump administration, is attempting to make it harder for political appointees to scrub scientific information from government reports.U.S. Rep. Joe Neguse (D-Colo.) introduced legislation this month dubbed the "Stop Climate Censorship Act." If enacted, it would require political appointees at federal agencies to provide data to back up any decisions to remove climate change content from … Continue Reading
December 16, 2019
Residents Urged to Get Obamacare Insurance As Deadline Nears
With just days left to enroll for health insurance coverage through the Affordable Care Act, local, state and federal officials are encouraging residents to take advantage of the program.Anyone who doesn't have health insurance through an employer, Medicare, Medicaid, the Children's Health Insurance Program or another source has until the end of the day Sunday to enroll in a plan through the Health Insurance Marketplace at healthcare.gov.On Friday, Reps. Bill Foster and Sean Casten attended an … Continue Reading
December 16, 2019
Casten Discusses Climate Change After Participating in U.N. Conference
After participating in the United Nations climate conference in Madrid, Spain, U.S. Rep. Sean Casten, D-Downers Grove, told constituents at Barrington Village Hall that countries are working to get "more ambitious" when it comes to fighting climate change.As a member of a Democratic congressional delegation led by U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Casten attended the opening of the 25th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the U.N. Convention on Climate Change, also called COP25.A big … Continue Reading
December 13, 2019
Trump Impeachment: Vulnerable Illinois Democrats Lipinski, Underwood Reviewing Articles as Historic Vote Looms
WASHINGTON — With a historic vote to impeach President Donald Trump looming, two Illinois Democrats whose congressional seats are most at risk next year — Reps. Dan Lipinski and freshman Lauren Underwood — remained uncommitted Thursday, waiting until the articles of impeachment are finalized.The House Judiciary Committee held a marathon session Thursday, running into the evening, debating the two articles of impeachment proposed against Trump, one on abuse of power and another on obstruction … Continue Reading
December 13, 2019
Honoring Dr. Dieter Gruen
Just before Thanksgiving, U.S. Representative Sean Casten (IL-06) entered the name of longtime friend-of-the-Bulletin, Dr. Dieter M. Gruen, into the Congressional Record by nominating him for the Presidential Medal of Freedom. The nomination took place on November 21st, Dr. Gruen's 97th birthday."At 97, Dr. Gruen still sees the world as a place of vast opportunities for technological innovation. His optimism has been a source of inspiration and encouragement in my work as a Member of Congress … Continue Reading
December 13, 2019
AARP Illinois Applauds the House for Passing the Elijah E. Cummings Lower Drug Costs Now Act
SPRINGFIELD, Ill., Dec. 12, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- AARP Illinois State Director Bob Gallo released the following statement today, applauding Reps. Cheri Bustos, Sean Casten, Danny K. Davis, Bill Foster, Raja Krishnamoorthi, Dan Lipinski, Jesus "Chuy" García, Robin Kelly, Mike Quigley, Bobby Rush, Jan Schakowsky, Brad Schneider and Lauren Underwood of the U.S. House of Representatives for voting to pass H.R. 3, the Elijah E. Cummings Lower Drug Costs Now Act."AARP Illinois commends Reps. Bustos, … Continue Reading
December 13, 2019
Freshman Democratic U.S. Rep. Sean Casten, Who Flipped Republican Seat in 2018, Says He’ll Vote For Impeachment
Freshman Democratic Rep. Sean Casten of Downers Grove, who flipped a longtime Republican-leaning suburban district in 2018, said Thursday he will vote in favor of articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump."After reading, in full, the House Intelligence report, House Judiciary report, the articles of impeachment and hearing from constituents, I have decided to take the solemn step to vote to impeach the President for abusing the powers of his office for his own personal gain," … Continue Reading
December 13, 2019
Legislation Introduced to Fight Gun Violence by Examining Financial Information
Congresswoman Jennifer Wexton (D-Va.) is looking to combat gun violence by using credit card information.The Gun Violence Prevention Through Financial Intelligence Act, which would direct the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) to assist financial institutions, through its Financial Institutions Advisory Program, in identifying and reporting suspicious or illegal financial activity related to firearms."Banks, credit card companies, and retailers have unique insight into the behavior … Continue Reading
December 13, 2019
Casten, Underwood Cheer as House Panel Moves to Repeal SALT Cap
With a big push from two suburban Democrats, the House Ways & Means Committee late Wednesday voted to dump the tax clause that many Illinoisans have come to detest: the $10,000 a year cap on deducting state and local taxes on your federal income tax return.But it's far from certain that the measure will get by either the GOP-dominated U.S. Senate. The bill is temporary. And it's not certain it will be called for a vote before year's end even in the Democrat-dominated House—meaning that the … Continue Reading
December 11, 2019
Rep. Wexton Hopes to Crack Down on Gun Violence By Examining Financial Information
Congresswoman Jennifer Wexton (D-Va.-10th) is looking to combat gun violence by using credit card information.Wexton released details of a new proposal, the Gun Violence Prevention Through Financial Intelligence Act, in November.Should the bill makes its way through Congress, lawmakers would direct the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) to assist financial institutions through its Financial Institutions Advisory Program in identifying and reporting suspicious or illegal financial … Continue Reading
December 11, 2019
Underwood on Trump Impeachment: In Illinois, Folks Are ‘Familiar with Political Corruption. It’s Not A Foreign Concept’
WASHINGTON — House Democrats unveiled two articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump on Tuesday and then handed him a major legislative win — a pending deal on a new U.S.-Canada-Mexico trade pact.The coincidental byproduct of locking in the deal now is that endangered House Democrats can go home for the holidays and have bipartisan landmark legislation to talk about — as well as impeachment.That the two matters converged Tuesday was not part of a grand timing plan Democrats used to … Continue Reading
December 11, 2019
Casten to Hold Town Hall Dec. 15 in Glen Ellyn
GLEN ELLYN - U.S. Rep. Sean Casten, D-Downers Grove, will host his 21st town hall meeting to discuss how to reform the U.S. immigration system and address the actions taken by the Trump administration.The town hall will be held from 4 to 5:30 p.m. Dec. 15 at St. Mark's Episcopal Church, 393 N. Main St., Glen Ellyn. Doors open at 3:30 p.m.The topics discussed will include solidifying protections for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals [DACA] and Temporary Protective Status [TPS] recipients, … Continue Reading
December 10, 2019
House Democrats Unveil Plan for Temporary Repeal of State-Deduction Cap
WASHINGTON—The cap on state and local tax deductions would be repealed for two years under a new Democratic proposal that almost certainly won't become law while Republicans control the Senate and White House.The bill, slated for a House Ways and Means Committee vote Wednesday, signals the Democrats' position on a provision of the 2017 tax law particularly unpopular with residents of high-tax states such as New York, New Jersey and California.The cap, which expires after 2025, limits the … Continue Reading
December 09, 2019
OTA Revival Hits A Wall
Scientifically oriented members of Congress and think tankers from across the ideological spectrum have been pushing in a low-key but determined way over the past several years to revive the shuttered Office of Technology Assessment (OTA), the congressional agency that once advised committees and members on new developments in technology.While there appears to be broad support for enhancing the quality and quantity of homegrown tech assessment in the halls of Congress, at a Dec. 5 hearing of … Continue Reading
December 09, 2019
Pelosi Warns of 'Existential' Climate Threat, Vows Bold Action
Democrats on Friday warned of the "existential threat" posed by climate change, hammering President Trump's inaction on the topic while vowing to move aggressively next year on legislation designed to tackle the global issue."The reality of the crisis has to be met with the actuality of action that we take," Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) told reporters in the Capitol, calling it "the existential threat to this generation."Pelosi was joined by a group of Democrats who also participated this … Continue Reading
December 06, 2019
Effort to Restart Congressional Technology Arm Gains Traction
Congress isn't quite ready to resurrect a congressional technology assessment office killed off by Republicans in 1995. But the idea may be gaining momentum.Backers of reopening the Office of Technology Assessment include Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-Texas), chairwoman of the House Science, Space, and Technology Committee, and Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.).The House has also included $6 million in seed money to start reopening the OTA—closed in 1995 for ostensible budget reasons—in its fiscal … Continue Reading