Press Releases
WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Senator Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) and U.S. Representative Karen Bass (D-Calif.) reintroduced their legislation to improve our emergency response capabilities by creating systemic alternatives to police involvement in appropriate situations. Their legislation, The Community-Based Response Act, creates a new Community-Based Emergency and Non-Emergency Response Grant Program through the Department of Health and Human Services to establish programs to encourage local governments to develop additional options, beyond law enforcement, for certain kinds of community-based emergency response. The bill will help provide for the dispatch of professionals trained in mental and behavioral health, crisis response, or mediation instead of law enforcement. Too often, dispatching law enforcement to emergencies where a use-of-force response is not warranted has resulted in unnecessary escalation and tragic death.
WASHINGTON - Today, Reps. Karen Bass (D-CA) introduced the Physician Assistant Education Public Health Initiatives Act of 2021 and issued the following statement:
"PAs across the nation are providing high-quality healthcare to patients in both our largest cities and in America's most rural areas," said Rep. Bass. "In the next decade the demand for PAs is only going to increase and Congress needs to act today to make sure that we have the qualified health care professionals ready to meet the growing need."
WASHINGTON - Today, Rep. Karen Bass (D-CA), Chair of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health and Global Human Rights issued the following statement:
"I want to commend President Biden for recognizing that everyone around the world should have equal access to the COVID-19 vaccine. The United States has recently purchased 500 million Pfizer vaccines to be delivered by the end of June 2022 to several low and middle-income countries, including every African Union Member state.
WASHINGTON - Today, Rep. Karen Bass (D-CA), Chair of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Africa, issued the following statement:
"I encourage the Government of Nigeria to allow freedom of speech and expression to all of its citizens through all platforms, including Twitter. This is a way for citizens to express themselves freely. Nigeria is an economic and cultural stalwart on the continent, and the international community looks for it to set the correct example of upholding the human rights of all citizens.
WASHINGTON - Today, Rep. Karen Bass (D-CA), Chair of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Africa, issued the following Statement:
“I am outraged by the recent massacre that has taken place in a village in Burkina Faso’s volatile north near the borders of Mali and Niger.
WASHINGTON - Today, Congressmember Karen Bass (D-CA), Chair of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Africa, along with House Foreign Affairs Committee Chair Gregory Meeks (D-NY), House Foreign Affairs Committee Ranking Member Michael McCaul (R-TX), and Ranking Member of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Africa Christopher H. Smith (R-NJ) issued the following joint statement after introducing a resolution to condemn violence and human rights abuses in Ethiopia:
“We condemn, in the strongest terms, the continued fighting and atrocities ongoing in Tigray and the increasing violence and human rights abuses occurring throughout Ethiopia. The conflict in Tigray has devastated local communities, displaced more than one million people, pushed over five million people into near famine conditions and destabilized the broader Horn of Africa region.
WASHINGTON - Today, Rep. Karen Bass (D-CA), Chair of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Africa, issued the following statement:
“I urge the Qatari authorities to release Malcolm Bidali immediately. According to several reports, Mr. Bidali, a Kenyan human rights activist, was forcibly detained more than three weeks ago by Qatar state security services for peacefully exercising his right to protest the plight of migrant workers.
WASHINGTON - Today, Rep. Karen Bass (D-CA) and U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) introduced a sweeping infrastructure package to reform federal infrastructure programs and projects. The Build Local Hire Local Act would help raise wages and labor standards, strengthen unions, invest in American manufacturing, and create new opportunity for Americans who are struggling to get high-quality jobs.
“When a new infrastructure project is started in 37th District, it should be our community who gets the first shot at the new jobs associated with completing the project,” said Representative Bass. “It’s a common-sense step for our government to make it easier for companies to generate jobs in the very counties and states where their transportation projects are located.
WASHINGTON - Today, Rep. Karen Bass (D-CA), Chair of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Africa, issued the following statement:
“I call for the immediate release of President Bah Ndaw, Prime Minister Moctar Ouane, and Defense Minister Souleymane Doucoure, who were recently seized by the Mali’s military forces. There has been tension between the civilian government and the military since last August when former President Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta was overthrown.
WASHINGTON - Today, Rep. Karen Bass (D-CA), Chair of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Africa, issued the following statement:
“My heart goes out to the families of those who lost their lives and those who have been displaced after the eruption of Mount Nyiragongo in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The volcano eruption has damaged the water reservoir and affected water supplies, causing tens of thousands of residents to flee to neighboring Rwanda after the volcano erupted on Saturday evening.