Homeland Security

Hurricane Maria Response and Recovery Update September 28, 2017 The top priority of the federal government is continuing to provide life safety and life sustaining resources to Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. FEMA and its federal partners continue 24-hour operations to reach inaccessible areas of Puerto Rico to reach survivors, provide fuel to hospitals, and re-open. Roosevelt Roads is open to receive flights in addition to Aguadilla, freeing runways at the San Juan airport for commerci... Read More »

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressman Jim McGovern (D-MA) is joining with his fellow Members of Congress in calling for strong action by the White House to do all they can to help the more than 3 million American citizens in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands who are struggling to recover after Hurricane Maria. Families and loved ones of American citizens impacted by Hurricane Maria can find resources and information on recovery efforts below: Click here to view FEMA’s main page for up-to-date res... Read More »

ORANGE, MA – Today, Congressman Jim McGovern (MA-02) joined national and local leaders to announce $47,620 in new federal funding for the Orange Fire Department from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). The funding comes through the Assistance to Firefighters Grant (AFG) Operations and Safety program and will allow the Orange Fire Department to replace 30-year-old Jaws of Life hydraulic equipment used to rescue vehicle crash victims and others trapped in small spaces. “Today we are proud t... Read More »

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today Congressman Jim McGovern (D-MA), a senior House Democrat, delivered a blistering rebuke of Speaker Ryan and House Republicans for their refusal to answer the bipartisan call to end the outdated war authorization used by Presidents Obama and Trump. Click here for video of today’s speech. “We are 16 years into the war in Afghanistan, the longest war in American history. The costs are already in the hundreds of billions of dollars. And the human costs to our troops, our vet... Read More »

U.S. Congressman Jim McGovern (D-MA), a senior House Democrat and author of the bipartisan “Magnitsky Act” passed by Congress in 2012 to sanction Russia for corruption and human rights abuses, expressed deep concern about President Trump’s action today to lift sanctions on the FSB, the Russian Federal Security Service and successor to the KGB. Today the Treasury Department published a license that authorizes certain transactions between U.S. companies and the FSB and for the importation, distrib... Read More »

Congressman Jim McGovern (D-MA), a senior House Democrat and leading voice on U.S.-Russia policy, released the following statement today after President Obama ordered a full review of Russian interference in this year’s election: “With overwhelming evidence of Russian interference intended to influence the outcome of this year’s election, I am pleased that President Obama has ordered a full investigation to determine the extent of the Russian hacking. This was an attack on American democracy. Pl... Read More »

Today, U.S. Congressman Jim McGovern (D-MA) led a group of House Democrats in a letter to Secretary of State John Kerry and Defense Secretary Ash Carter to push for meaningful human control as a safeguard on lethal autonomous weapons systems, also known as fully autonomous weapons or so-called “killer robots – an emerging and concerning military technology. The letter comes ahead of the upcoming Fifth Review Conference of the Convention on Conventional Weapons (CCW) to be held at the United Nati... Read More »

Congressman Jim McGovern (D-MA), a senior House Democrat and leading voice on foreign policy and human rights, praised President Obama’s foreign policy speech tonight for calling Congress to task for their failure to vote on an Authorization for the Use of Military Force (AUMF) for the U.S. war against ISIS. In tonight’s speech, President Obama said, “Right now we are waging war under authority provided by Congress over 15 years ago…Two years ago, I asked Congress. Let’s update the authorization... Read More »

Today Congressman Jim McGovern (D-MA), the second-highest ranking Democrat on the House Rules Committee, joined House Democrats in calling for passage of legislation to require presidential candidates to disclose three years of their tax returns. This year, President-elect Donald Trump became the first presidential nominee in more than 30 years to not release his tax returns. Speaking on S. 2943, the FY 2017 National Defense Authorization Act Conference Report, Congressman McGovern emphasized t... Read More »

Today Congressman Jim McGovern (MA-02) announced that the City of Worcester will receive $327,312 from the U.S. Department of Justice to support the Safe and Successful Youth Initiative (SSYI) Project East, part of Worcester’s anti-gang and community policing efforts. The funding is through the FY 16 Comprehensive Anti-Gang Strategies and Programs. “Keeping our community safe starts with strong investments in our local police. This new funding will help to support the incredible work that Chief ... Read More »