Rep. Peters Leads 42 Colleagues in Effort to Stop ‘Early Dismissal’

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressman Scott Peters (CA-52) continued his effort to convince Speaker John Boehner that the House of Representatives should not adjourn early for seven weeks of campaigning. Yesterday, Rep. Peters led 42 of his colleagues in sending a letter to the Speaker demanding votes on important, pending legislation.

“Instead of sending Congress home for 7 weeks of campaigning, Speaker Boehner should allow us to do the legislative work that our constituents expect and deserve,” Rep. Peters said. “The proposals I have highlighted over the last week would help grow the economy and keep our country competitive, protect our communities and our environment, and ensure we serve our seniors and veterans.”

The letter to Speaker Boehner can be read HERE.

Background on the Fight Against ‘Early Dismissal’

As part of his fight against Speaker Boehner’s move to dismiss Congress early for a 7-week campaign break, Rep. Peters has highlighted legislative priorities that are awaiting action in Congress and should have been addressed before the House adjourned through mid-November. Over the last week and a half, Congressman Peters focused on several pending pieces of legislation:

• The need to pass the “Paycheck Fairness Act” to ensure women receive equal pay for equal work
• The need to pass the “Federal Student Loan Refinancing Act” to make college more affordable and reduce the burden of lower student loan debt
• The need to pass the “Protect Women's Health from Corporate Interference Act of 2014” to protect women’s access to birth control and their ability to make their own health care decisions
• The need to pass the bipartisan “Improving Access to Medicare Coverage Act” to ensure that seniors and their families are able to be reimbursed by Medicare for skilled nursing services
• The need to pass bipartisan comprehensive immigration reform that would expand the economy, secure the border, and reduce the national deficit
• The need to pass the “Pregnant Workers Fairness Act” to ensure that expecting mothers are not forced out of their jobs or denied reasonable accommodations
• The need to pass the “Homes for Heroes Act” and the “Shelter our Servicemembers Act” to reduce the number of homeless veterans, and ensure they are receiving the support we promised them
• The need to pass the “Wildfire Disaster Funding Act” that would allow federal agencies to draw from disaster contingency funds to fight wildfires instead of stealing annually from prevention.

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