Dear Friends, While Americans are still feeling the sting of recent egregious Supreme Court decisions and understandably frustrated with the lack of legislative wins, I am doing all I can to make progress on things that matter for all Americans and especially for Oregonians. In the past two weeks the House has passed legislation to safeguard women’s reproductive rights, protect same sex marriage, improve healthcare for veterans, and tackle the urgent issue of climate change. My Formula Act to ease the infant formula shortage and bring down costs was even signed into law by President Biden last night. Read on for more details about recent House action:   Protecting Reproductive Freedom This week and last, the House passed three critical reproductive freedom bills: the Women’s Health Protection Act (for the second time!); the Ensuring Access to Abortion Act, which protects the right to travel across state lines to access health services; and the Right to Contraception Act, which creates a statutory right for individuals to obtain contraceptives and health care providers to provide them.   Ensuring the Freedom to Marry The Respect for Marriage Act was also approved by the House this week. It protects same sex marriages and provides additional legal protections for same sex couples.   Improving Veterans Healthcare  Taking care of our veterans is a priority. My Veterans Equal Access amendment, which passed last week, would allow veterans and their doctors to consult about cannabis in states with legal programs. Medical experts agree that cannabis can play a crucial role in treating PTSD and pain management while avoiding harmful side effects of commonly prescribed medications. Our veterans deserve no less.   Tackling Climate Change In a week where the U.S., Europe and Asia are experiencing record breaking heat waves it is stunning that the Federal Emergency Management Agency does not currently recognize “extreme heat” as a disaster. My Empowering Resilient Local Communities amendment, which passed the House last week, changes that. It also reforms the definition of “underserved communities” so that aid can reach those who need it most.   These bills now head to the Senate. While we don’t know their fate, I will do everything in my power to get them across the finish line and to the President’s desk.