Washington, D.C.— Rep. Keith Ellison (D-MN), Co-Chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus and Chief Deputy Whip, released the following statement in response to President Obama’s speech the future of our fight against terrorism:

“Today President Obama made a commitment to bring U.S. counterterrorism policy more in line with American values. Establishing rules to govern our country’s drone program is a long overdue step to rein in the program and regain the trust and respect of the world community. I welcome the President’s call to work with Congress.  I have been working with fellow members of Congress to create rules to regulate drones for over a year now and am working on legislation to improve oversight and accountability of the program. Just last week, the Congressional Progressive Caucus, which I co-chair, held a hearing  on the consequences of our drone policy. 

WASHINGTON—In advance of a meeting with Deputy Secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Maurice Jones, Rep. Keith Ellison (MN-05) wrote HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan calling for the expansion of the Minneapolis Multi-family housing office. HUD announced on April 30^th that the Minneapolis multi-family field office staff would be relocated as part of a nationwide consolidation. In response, Rep. Ellison organized a meeting with Rep. Betty McCollum (MN-04) Deputy Secretary Maurice Jones and Marie Head, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Multi-Family Housing. 

WASHINGTON—Rep. Keith Ellison (D-MN), Co-Chair of the Progressive Caucus and Chief Deputy Whip, released the following statement today on the Northern Route Approval Act, which rewrites environmental laws to put more money in the pockets of oil companies :

MINNEAPOLIS--Today, Rep. Keith Ellison (MN-05) made the following statement in response to a sharp spike in gas prices in Minnesota:

“A week before the busiest car travel weekend of the year, millions of Minnesotans are suddenly having to pay more for gas than ever before. This takes money out of the pockets of working people in the middle of a slow recovery, and causes real economic pain for Minnesotans already struggling to get by.

WASHINGTON--Rep. Keith Ellison (D-Minn.) has reintroduced legislation to ban the herbicide atrazine, a potent toxin that is the most prevalent herbicide found in Minnesota’s waters. This is the fourth time Ellison has introduced the legislation.

MINNEAPOLIS—Rep. Keith Ellison (D-MN), Co-Chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus and Chief Deputy Whip, released the following statement after voting against the Patients’ Rights Repeal Act (H.R. 45), a Republican bill to repeal the Affordable Care Act for the 37^th time.

MINNEAPOLIS—Rep. Keith Ellison (D-MN) today released the following statement after Minnesota Governor Mark Dayton signed a bill into law legalizing same-sex marriage, making Minnesota the twelfth state in the Union to stand up for marriage equality:

MINNEAPOLIS—Rep. Keith Ellison (D-MN), Member of the House Financial Services Committee and Chief Deputy Whip, released the following statement after President Obama announced his intent to nominate Rep. Mel Watt (D-NC) to lead the Federal Housing Finance Agency, which supervises Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and the Federal Home Loan Banks.

Washington, D.C. – Rep. Keith Ellison (D-MN), Co-Chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus and Chief Deputy Whip, released the following statement today after voting against H.R. 1765, a bill to provide the Secretary of Transportation with flexibility to transfer funds to prevent reduced operations and staffing at the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA):  

WASHINGTON--Rep. Keith Ellison (D-MN), Rep. Erik Paulsen (R-MN), and Rep. Sean Duffy (R-WI) today reintroduced the bipartisan Money Remittances Improvement Act of 2013(H.R. 1694), 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.