JULY 25, 2025

Dear Fourth District Constituent,

 

The more Americans learn about President Trump's Big Ugly Law, the more they hate it. A new poll of American adults conducted by CBS News found that more than six out of ten Americans oppose President Trump's marquee piece of legislation. It should come as no surprise that at a time when the wealth of America's twelve richest billionaires has nearly tripled in the past five years, the American people strongly oppose additional tax breaks for billionaires, millionaires, and giant corporations. Republicans are giving tax breaks to people who don't need them while taking away health care and nutrition assistance from children, seniors, and working parents. It’s clear that the vast majority of Americans see the policies of Trump and his Congressional Republicans are wrong.

 

New polling of 2,343 American adults found that the vast majority oppose the Big Ugly Bill recently passed by Congressional Republicans and signed into law by President Trump.

 

Our long-standing economic strength is built on American ingenuity and innovation, and the values of hard work and fair play. Despite promising to lower costs for Americans, Trump and Congressional Republicans’ Big Ugly Law showers lavish rewards on millionaires and billionaires at the expense of working Americans and small businesses. Billionaire elites like Elon Musk and giant corporations get to benefit. Minnesotans are seeing through the unfairness of rewarding a few elites, while everyone else faces rising inflation, higher prices, and more instability and uncertainty for our economy.

 

According to IPS analysis of Saez and Zucman data, as America’s richest .01 percent have accumulated more wealth, they have paid a smaller share of total U.S. taxes. In 2018, the tax share of the top .01 percent was close to what it was in 1953. By contrast, their share of the nation’s wealth nearly quadrupled during that period, rising from 2.5 percent to 9.6 percent.

 

While Trump and Republicans look out for themselves and other billionaires and millionaires, I’ll continue fighting for you. I am working to strengthen our economy for America’s middle class families and those on fixed incomes.  We need to bring down costs, increase access to health care, and protect the critical services that millions of Americans rely on.

 

WASHINGTON, DC UPDATE

This week in Washington, I spent my time in marathon Appropriations Committee markups. But what happens in a markup? A markup is an opportunity for members of a congressional committee to introduce and vote on amendments, give remarks on a piece of legislation, and vote on whether or not to advance the bill to the floor of the House of Representatives for a vote by the full chamber. This week, the Appropriations Committee marked up the Interior-Environment Appropriations bill and the National Security and State Department Appropriations Bill

Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations Bill Markup 

On Tuesday, House Republicans advanced their Interior-Environment Appropriations bill for Fiscal Year 2026 that would increase your utility and energy bills. This bill makes our communities and property more vulnerable to severe storms and floods from climate change. It weakens protections for the air we breathe and the water we drink and efforts to prevent climate change by slashing the EPA by 23%. It guts funding for National Parks and Forests, and for local arts and humanities and the Smithsonian Museums. On top of all those cuts, the bill is loaded with incentives for fossil fuel companies and mining firms to exploit our public lands, attacks on endangered species protections, and rollbacks of regulations that protect human health from polluters.

Congresswoman McCollum spoke in strong opposition to Congressional Republicans' Interior-Environment Appropriations bill, which would cut the EPA budget by roughly a quarter.

While we stood united across party lines in maintaining our trust and treaty responsibilities to tribal nations, I will not support the devastating cuts in the rest of this bill. I voted no, and I will continue to fight to restore funding for the EPA, clean energy incentives, and protections for our cherished public lands and national parks.

National Security and State Department Appropriations Bill

On Wednesday, I rose in opposition to a Republican amendment to strike section 7065 of the National Security and State Department Appropriations Bill. As we all learned in history class, Article I of the Constitution gives the power of the purse to Congress, and to consult with the Executive Branch, not cave to a president’s whims. Section 7065 blocked the president from impounding — cutting off — funds without congressional authorization. Majority Republicans voted to remove it, making it easier for President Trump to ignore the Constitution. Why are we even wasting time writing, debating, and passing these bills if the Republicans are willing to fold whenever President Trump wants to usurp the authority of Congress when it comes to allocating your tax dollars?

Disability Pride Month Resolution

This Saturday, July 26th, marks the 35th anniversary of the landmark Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) that prohibited disability-based discrimination. I introduced a bipartisan resolution on Friday to officially designate July as Disability Pride Month. Originally brought to my attention by a group of 20 organizations led by Gillette Children’s Hospital of St. Paul during the 117th Congress, this marked the 4th time I have introduced this resolution. After the recent passage of the Big Ugly  Law that will strip away Medicaid coverage from millions of Americans, including people with disabilities, this resolution is as important as ever. Despite popular acceptance, Disability Pride Month has yet to be recognized at the federal level. I am committed to fighting for a commemorative month that raises awareness about this movement and their unique voices, and shines a light on the disability community's many contributions to our nation's rich diversity.

Speaking out on Benjamin Netanyahu's Starvation Campaign in Gaza

Since 2006, I have proudly defended the human rights of the Palestinian people living in Gaza and the West Bank. For two decades, I have maintained that the United States must not tolerate the apartheid policy of our ally, Israel. Let me be clear: I was horrified by the Hamas terrorist attack on October 7th, and my heart aches for the remaining hostages and their families who are waiting for them to return home. However, the disproportionate response to this attack by Benjamin Netanyahu’s extremist right-wing government has caused a spiral of death and destruction.

Prime Minister Netanyahu is only working with the extremists in his government who would prefer that there are no Palestinians. They have corralled an entire population into an unsafe, untenable, and inhumane situation, and Prime Minister Netanyahu has commanded a barbaric military campaign that has killed or injured more than 50,000 children. The current Israeli government has effectively weaponized aid by initially accepting the provision of food and medicine from third parties and then abruptly reversing course and rejecting aid from international aid groups. The reports of death and starvation in Gaza are agonizing, and now there is credible evidence that foreign doctors, journalists, and aid workers are facing starvation along with the people they are trying to save. Instead of working with our international partners to swiftly provide food and medicine to those who need it, the Trump Administration has hastily propped up the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) which has failed to get food, medicine, or clean water to the people of Gaza. In fact, what started as nearly 400 humanitarian aid sites for 2.1 million Gazans has now dwindled down to only four active sites run by GHF. The lack of distribution sites has caused mass chaos. Palestinians who are fighting for their lives and the lives of their loved ones face nearly impossible odds to get to these distribution sites. The Israel Defense Forces’ response has been to shoot first and ask questions later.

The Trump Administration is complicit in this staggering injustice. It is failing to work with other democracies and international organizations to get aid into Gaza, and the American people and the world are taking notice. Instead, this administration continues to support the failed policies of Prime Minister Netanyahu’s extremist government. Just yesterday, House Republicans rejected an amendment in the National Security and State Department appropriations bill that would have provided funding to the East Jerusalem Hospital Network – a faith-based hospital system providing vital services to both Israelis and Palestinians. Even more shocking, the Trump administration last week incinerated 500 metric tons of food meant to help hungry children all over the world, including in Gaza, in what can only be described as a shameful episode of America abdicating its humanitarian obligation. I, along with the world, watch in horror as the Trump Administration buoys Prime Minister Netanyahu’s extremist right-wing government. Never in my worst nightmares did I imagine things would get so bad. No child on this planet should be starved when the United States has the capacity to feed them. I implore my colleagues to consider: How will the world remember us?

MINNESOTA UPDATE

PBS NewsHour Interview

The Mississippi River is the source of drinking water for many of us in Minnesota. It’s also a vital, diverse ecosystem and economic connector for our nation — But the Mississippi faces major issues with environmental degradation and pollution that threaten to disrupt this delicate balance. I was glad to speak to PBS NewsHour to discuss how these issues impact Minnesotans, and how my legislation, the Mississippi River Restoration and Resilience Initiative Act, would help communities work in partnership with federal and state governments to address them to keep the Mississippi clean for generations to come. I encourage you to watch the whole special. My interview begins at the thirty minute mark. 

Last week, Congresswoman McCollum spoke to PBS NewsHour for their special Tipping Point: The Mighty Mississippi.

MINNESOTANS IN WASHINGTON, D.C. 

Welcoming the Vnak Family during their Visit to Washington, D.C.
It is always great to meet with constituents when they are out in Washington, DC. On Wednesday I was able to say a quick hello to the Vnak family before their Capitol tour. If you are planning a trip to DC in the coming weeks, I encourage you to visit my website for tour ideas and to fill out the tour request form to request tours of the Capitol, Library of Congress, Supreme Court and more.

Congresswoman McCollum with the Vnak family before their Capitol Tour.

Thank You
Thank you to the hundreds of new subscribers to my weekly newsletter! This update is designed to provide timely information about my work in Washington and Minnesota, and to provide resources that can be helpful to you. As always, please stay in touch: Voice your policy opinion, ask for help with a federal agency, or find all of my recent statements at mccollum.house.gov.

Sincerely,

Betty McCollum
Member of Congress