Dear Friend:

New Year Greetings and welcome to the first edition of my official e-newsletter in the 116th Congress! I was thrilled to meet with hundreds of constituents from across the 8th District who came to our Open House in our new suite in the Cannon House Office Building on Thursday, January 3, and I hope to have the chance to welcome many more of you to the Hill at some point in this Term. It is a surpassing honor to represent you in the new Congress, and please remember my door is always open! Don't forget to connect with me on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube to stay in touch daily.

The unexpected government shutdown, affecting 8 government departments (Agriculture, Treasury, Interior, Justice, State, Commerce, Homeland Security, and Housing and Urban Development), is already causing profound problems for our people. Tens of millions face uncertainty about when they will receive their tax refunds. According to the Washington Post, some 38 million SNAP recipients are looking at a cut-off in nutritional benefits and a particularly cold and bleak winter. National parks in Maryland and beyond are overflowing with trash and waste.

And of course, more than 800,000 federal workers—some 80,000 of whom live right here in the 8th District—are employed by the shuttered federal departments and have been subjected to furloughs or ordered to work without pay.

I believe this situation is unacceptable and am working round the clock to reopen the government.

We have an ambitious policy agenda in 2019 but, as your Representative, and a newly elected member of the House Democratic Leadership team, I have no higher priority at this moment than ending the shutdown.

P.S. I want to make sure your voice is heard during this stressful time, so if you would like to let me know how the government shutdown is affecting you, please share your story with me here: https://raskin.house.gov/share-your-story.

With all best wishes for 2019,

Jamie Raskin

Are you a federal employee or contractor who has been affected by the shutdown?
Yes
No

Click here to take Survey

Office Location Update:

My outstanding and devoted staff is working every day of the week to help constituents resolve difficult problems and is available to try to answer any questions that you may have, Monday through Friday, in two convenient locations:

Rockville Office
51 Monroe Street (Suite 503)
Rockville, MD 20850
301-354-1000

D.C. Office
412 Cannon House Office Building (note that we have moved from 431 to 412!)
Washington, D.C. 20515
202-225-5341

Mobile Office Hours Update:

Mobile office hours will remain the same for the 116th Congress! No appointment is necessary for mobile office hours, but constituents are encouraged to contact my District Office at 301-354-1000 ahead of their visit to ensure they bring with them proper documentation that may expedite service requests. As always, you may request assistance at my permanent District Office (51 Monroe Street, Suite 503, Rockville, MD 20850) Monday through Friday, from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

Silver Spring: the first Wednesday of every month from 5:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m.
Silver Spring Civic Building, Administrative Suite (Second Floor)
One Veterans Plaza
Silver Spring, MD 20910

Westminster: the second Wednesday of every month from 10:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
Westminster Branch Library
50 East Main St
Westminster, MD 21157

Thurmont: the second Wednesday of every month from 1:30 p.m. - 3:30 p.m.
Thurmont Regional Library
76 E Moser Rd
Thurmont, MD 21788

Committee Assignment Update:

I have been named in the 116th Congress to the powerful House Committee on Rules, the channel through which all legislation flows in the House! I will continue to serve proudly on the House Judiciary Committee, where I also served in the 115th Congress. Read more here.

Legislative Update:

Reopen the government:In one of our first acts in the new Congress, we passed legislation to reopen the government, with 235 Democrats and 5 Republicans voting to fund all of the Departments outside of the Department of Homeland Security and to fund a Continuing Resolution for one month for Homeland Security so we can make sure border officers and other employees are paid while we reach compromise language on border security. We also voted to guarantee that all federal employees affected by the shutdown will receive 100% retroactive pay for the salaries they have been denied during the shutdown.

It’s now up to the United States Senate to take similarly effective bipartisan action to end the shutdown. Meantime, we’re working on mitigating the harms that the shutdown has imposed on our constituents, not only 80,000 federal employees living and working here but tens of thousands of private contract workers and small business people whose livelihood has also been threatened. I want to make sure your voice is heard during this stressful time, so if you would like to let me know how the government shutdown is affecting you, please share your story with me here: https://raskin.house.gov/share-your-story.

Reopen the Democracy too: We have combined dozens of voting rights and political reform measures into H.R. 1, which will end the political crime of gerrymandering by establishing independent redistricting commissions in every state in the Union, usher in small-donor based public financing of Congressional elections, and overhaul ethics laws to guarantee public integrity throughout the federal government. On the first day of the new Congress, I stood with my House Democratic colleagues to introduce H.R. 1. I also joined Reps. Ted Deutch (D-FL), Jim McGovern (D-MA), and John Katko (R-NY) in introducing a bipartisan constitutional amendment to overturn Citizens United. Let's end the tyranny of big money and restore democratic power to the American people. Read more here.

Fair Rules: I’m thrilled that the Rules Package for the 116th Congress that the House adopted on day one included a repeal of the Holman rule, which was used in the last Congress used to target and undermine the federal workforce. It included a provision I advocated to guarantee that the House not vote on any substantive bills without a hearing and markup session. You can read more about my support for the Rules Package here.

Reminders:

Monday, March 11, 2019 – Congressional Art Competition submissions are due by 5:00 p.m.!

The Congressional Art Competition is open to all high school students in our District. The winning artwork of our district's competition will be displayed for one year in the U.S. Capitol along with the winning artwork from all participating districts from around the country. Entries must be submitted no later than 5:00 p.m. on Monday, March 11, 2019. Competition rules and additional information is available here.

2018 art competition winner Karis Lee of Einstein High School with her winning piece, "Renewal"

Unsubscribe | Privacy