Rep. Bush receives subcommittee assignments
U.S. Rep. Cori Bush, D-Missouri, on Feb. 4 announced her subcommittee assignments for the legislative session.
Bush is a member of the House Judiciary Committee and the House Committee on Oversight and Reform. She was assigned to the House Judiciary Committee in mid-December, at which time she said the appointment had been a long-time goal of hers, being something Bush said she aspired to since she first ran for office in 2016.
Bush will serve on the following committees in the House Judiciary Committee:
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Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism and Homeland Security, which has jurisdiction over the Federal Criminal Code, drug enforcement, sentencing, parole and pardons, internal and homeland security, the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure, prisons and criminal law enforcement.
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Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights and Civil Liberties, which has jurisdiction over constitutional rights, constitutional amendments, federal civil rights, voting rights, claims against the United States, non-immigration private claims bills, ethics in government, tort liability and other matters.
Bush will serve on the following committees in the House Committee on Oversight and Reform:
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Subcommittee on Economic and Consumer Policy, which has oversight jurisdiction over income inequality and policies that affect the growth and prosperity of the middle class, including education, housing, labor, trade, small business, agriculture; securities regulation; consumer protection; private-sector information technology security, policy, and management; intellectual property; telecommunications; and federal acquisition policy unrelated to national security and information technology.
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Subcommittee on the Environment, which has oversight jurisdiction over global climate change; environmental protection, public lands, endangered species, air and water quality; oceans; public health; conservation; international agreements; energy policy, research and development; and oversight and legislative jurisdiction over regulatory affairs and federal paperwork reduction.
“The people of Missouri’s First District sent me to Congress to do the most for all of us, starting with those who have the very least,” Bush wrote in a statement. “With our appointments to these subcommittees, St. Louis and I will fight to shape policy around our most urgent needs. Together, we will reimagine justice in America, hold our government and corporations accountable, take on the climate crisis, guarantee voting rights, and close the racial wealth gap. Our work has already begun, and I look forward to working with Chairman Nadler and Chairwoman Maloney to legislate like our lives depend on it — because they do.”
Later that day, Bush took part in her first hearing on the House Committee on Oversight and Reform, entitled “Accountability and Lessons Learned from the Trump administration’s Child Separation Policy.”
A release from her office stated that between April and June 2018, the Trump administration separated more than 3,000 children from their parents at the southern border as a result of the “zero tolerance policy” instituted by then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions.
The hearing revealed that DOJ officials knew the zero tolerance policy would lead to the forced separation of thousands of children and their families.
“I can never know the heartache of spending months, years without knowing if my child was in danger, hurt, or sick,” Bush said in the hearing. “But I do know that almost any parent would do anything to see their child again. It’s essential that we reunite these families. But it’s also essential that we fully redress the harms from this unspeakable tragedy. I strongly believe we must remove the threat of criminalization, provide these families with full amnesty, and clear their records. That is the absolute least we can do.”
Source: The St. Louis American staff