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cori bush
Cori Bush Calls On Biden to Protect Reproductive Rights With ERA
"President Biden has two months," said the congresswoman.
Nov 13, 2024
With just over two months to go until U.S. President-elect Donald Trump takes office, U.S. Rep. Cori Bush on Wednesday urged President Joe Biden to take all the action he can to protect reproductive rights from Republican leader who has bragged about his role in ensuring Roe v. Wade was overturned.
Biden "must immediately direct the archivist of the United States to certify and publish the Equal Rights Amendment which can protect access to abortion care and contraception," said the Missouri Democrat, who co-chairs the Congressional Caucus for the Equal Rights Amendment.
Bush's call comes more than a year after the congresswoman and Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) introduced the ERA Now Resolution, urging Colleen Shogan, the archivist of the United States, to certify state ratifications of the amendment and publish it in the Federal Register, which would formally cement it as part of the U.S. Constitution.
First introduced 101 years ago, the ERA would guarantee legal equality for women and men in the U.S. It could push judges to overturn anti-abortion rights laws on the basis that they violate a constitutional right to gender equality. In Utah, a state-level ERA has successfully blocked an abortion ban.
Since first being proposed, the ERA was passed by Congress in 1972 and sent to the states for ratification. Virginia became the 38th state to ratify it in 2020, meeting the threshold for it to become law.
"Today the ERA has met all the constitutional requirements to become the 28th Amendment—all that's standing in the way is some paperwork," said Bush in July on the anniversary of the ERA's introduction. "As Republicans and the Supreme Court's extremist majority continue to attack access to abortion care, contraception, and LGBTQ+ rights, the ERA is needed now more than ever to protect our communities. I'm urging the archivist to fulfill her ministerial duty by certifying and publishing the Equal Rights Amendment and affirming it as the 28th Amendment."
The overturning of Roe in 2022 paved the way for at least 21 states to ban or restrict abortion care. Republicans in Congress have proposed a nationwide 15-week abortion ban. Trump has claimed he would not sign a national ban but Vice President-elect JD Vance has expressed support for one.
"There is always the possibility of a national ban," Brittany Fonteno, president of the National Abortion Federation, toldThe Cut on Wednesday.
In her July statement, Bush said that "one hundred and one years of advocacy have brought us to this moment, and we refuse to wait a minute longer to cement constitutional gender equality as the law of the land in St. Louis, Missouri, and across the nation."
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House Progressives Challenge Biden's 'Unauthorized' Mideast Militarism
"Absent an imminent or actual sudden attack on the United States, its territories or possessions, or its armed forces, the executive branch may not introduce U.S. armed forces into hostilities without Congress' prior approval."
Nov 01, 2024
A handful of progressive Democrats in the House of Representatives on Friday accused President Joe Biden of violating the Constitution and the War Powers Act by deploying U.S. troops to help Israel's war effort and urged his administration to pursue "de-escalatory action" in the Middle East.
"We are deeply concerned about the increasing role and involvement of the U.S. armed forces in expanding wars across the Middle East," Reps. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.), Cori Bush (D-Mo.), Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), Summer Lee (D-Pa.), and André Carson (D-Ind.)—who all sponsored last year's " Cease-fire Now" resolution—wrote in a letter to Biden.
"Congress has the sole power to declare war."
This includes the deployment of U.S. commandos and intelligence officers to Israel just days after last year's Hamas-led attack that left more than 1,100 Israelis and foreign nationals dead—some of them killed fratricidally—and over 240 others taken prisoner, as well as a crew to operate an anti-ballistic missile battery following Iran's barrage against Israel last month.
"Congress has the sole power to declare war under Article I, Section 8, Clause 11 of the Constitution," the lawmakers wrote. "As Section 5(c) of the War Powers Resolution of 1973 makes abundantly clear, Congress holds the power to direct the removal of any armed forces engaged in hostilities outside the territory of the United States without a declaration of war or specific statutory authorization."
"Absent an imminent or actual sudden attack on the United States, its territories or possessions, or its armed forces, the executive branch may not introduce U.S. armed forces into hostilities without Congress' prior approval," they stressed.
The letter—which came shortly before Election Day and is backed by over a dozen peace, progressive, and faith-based groups—continues:
Despite the administration's stated goal of avoiding a regional war, increasingly dangerous escalations have been made possible by transfers to the Israeli government of billions of dollars worth of weapons and military aid, comprehensive intelligence sharing and operational coordination, and diplomatic cover from the United States in the face of widespread condemnation from the international community...
Meanwhile, recent reporting indicates American military officials have discussed unauthorized U.S. military strikes against Iran. We have already seen an increase in U.S. service members deployed to the region in areas where there is a clear and present danger of hostilities.
"This current involvement, and any additional involvement or deployment, of the armed forces in the Israeli government's expanding regional war fall under the definition of 'hostilities' in the War Powers Resolution and are not in response to an imminent or actual attack against the United States," the lawmakers wrote. "As such, these actions are unauthorized and are subject to Congress' authorities pursuant to the Constitution and the War Powers Resolution."
The legislators ask Biden to explain his administration's "legal or constitutional justification" for "proposed hostilities" against Iran, whether the U.S. is "providing military services of any nature" for Israel, and for clarification of claims that U.S. attacks on Houthi rebels in Yemen were conducted in accordance with the Constitution's self-defense authority.
The lawmakers stressed:
De-escalatory action is urgent and essential. Since October of last year, the Israeli government has killed over 43,000 Palestinians in Gaza, with this number likely a significant undercount. This includes over 16,700 children. Over 90% of the population has been displaced, and Palestinians throughout Gaza continue to face famine and starvation. In this same period, the Israeli government has killed over 2,700 people in Lebanon, the vast majority of whom have been killed since the start of the Israeli military's ground invasion and bombing campaign last month. Over 1.2 million people in Lebanon have already been displaced. These campaigns of collective punishment have continued to spread, with sieges on Palestinian cities and refugee camps in the West Bank, the bombing of critical civilian infrastructure in Yemen, and escalations of belligerence with Iran and Syria.
"These destructive wars must end, as must any unauthorized U.S. involvement in them," the letter concludes. "The American public deserves a say on the issue of war. Thus, Congress' involvement and debate are necessary. Every day that passes without a cease-fire produces catastrophic loss of life and threatens further death and destruction. We have an obligation to both the living and the dead to put an immediate end to this devastation."
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'Unspeakable Cruelty': Israeli Strikes on Gaza Hospital, Refugee Camps Kill Dozens
"When will our country stop funding this madness?" asked U.S. Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib. "When?"
Oct 14, 2024
Dozens of Palestinians were killed and many more wounded Sunday and Monday by Israeli attacks on a Gaza hospital and multiple refugee camps, where victims included people queueing for food and a group of children at play.
The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) said at least 10 Palestinians were killed and at least 70 others wounded Monday by Israel Defense Forces shelling of hungry people waiting for flour at a food distribution center in the Jabalia refugee camp, where dozens of homes were reportedly destroyed since Saturday.
Medics said the victims from Monday's strike included many women and children. An Israel Defense Forces spokesperson said the IDF operates "only against terrorists" and that the attack is being investigated.
Earlier on Monday, at least four people were killed and dozens more wounded in an IDF airstrike on the al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital compound in Deir al-Balah, where Palestinians forcibly displaced by Israel's yearlong assault on Gaza were sheltering. The strike caused an inferno that raged through the densely packed tent encampment. Video footage of the attack recorded by journalist Saleh al Jafarawi showed at least one person burning alive as horrified bystanders looked on unable to help.
"We woke up to smoke, flames, fire, and burning pieces falling on the tents from every direction," survivor Om Ahmad Radi toldAl Jazeera. "The explosions terrified us in our tents and outside where we live behind al-Aqsa Hospital."
"The fire trucks couldn't get here," Radi added. "There were so many burned and charred bodies all over the place. The amount of fire and explosions was enormous. We witnessed one of the most horrible and brutal nights."
The Gaza Ministry of Health said most victims were women and children. An IDF spokesperson claimed without evidence that the airstrike targeted a "command and control center" used by Hamas, the Palestinian group that led the October 7, 2023 attack on Israel.
Responding to the attack on social media, U.S. Congresswoman Cori Bush (D-Mo.)
said that "Israeli forces launched missiles at al-Aqsa Hospital, where displaced Palestinians were sheltering in tents and receiving the very limited healthcare services available."
"ISRAELI FORCES BURNED THEM ALIVE! Can you see the hand?" she said, referring to a graphic image of one of the victims. "This is the extermination of a whole people!"
U.S. Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.)—the only Palestinian American member of Congress— called Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a "genocidal maniac" who "is burning Palestinians alive, bombing hospitals, starving people, and killing aid workers."
Last week, an independent panel of United Nations experts said that Israel "has perpetrated a concerted policy to destroy Gaza's healthcare system as part of a broader assault on Gaza, committing war crimes and the crime against humanity of extermination with relentless and deliberate attacks on medical personnel and facilities."
On Sunday, an IDF artillery attack targeting a school in the Nuseirat refugee camp housing forcibly displaced Palestinians killed at least 22 people including 15 children and injured at least scores more.
"There seems to be no end to the horrors that Palestinians in Gaza are forced to endure," U.N. Acting Undersecretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator Joyce Msuya
said in a statement Monday. "There really is no safe place in Gaza for people to go."
Earlier Sunday, at least five Palestinian children were killed and at least a dozen others, including women and children, were injured as Israeli forces bombed a group of children playing in the al-Shati refugee camp, according toThe Palestine Chronicle. Some observers said the massacre evoked memories of a 2014 Israeli attack that killed four boys playing soccer on a beach in Gaza City.
Hamas condemned the al-Shati attack as "a horrific crime and a moral degradation that exceeds all limits and norms." The armed group—whose political wing has ruled Gaza for nearly two decades—called for "filing lawsuits before all competent courts, most notably the International Criminal Court," whose chief prosecutor is seeking arrest warrants for Netanyahu, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, and three Hamas leaders—at least one of whom, political chief Ismail Haniyeh, has been assassinated by Israel—for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity including extermination.
Israel is also
on trial for genocide at the International Court of Justice.
Gaza Government Media Office Director-General Ismail Al-Thawabta said over the weekend that Israeli forces have killed more than 300 Palestinians in northern Gaza since the start of the latest IDF offensive there earlier this month. Al-Thawabta accused Israel of waging a "criminal war of extermination" and said it is blocking fuel and other critical supplies from reaching hospitals in northern Gaza.
Since the October 2023 attack, Israeli forces have killed or maimed more than 150,000 Palestinians in Gaza, including over 10,000 people who are missing and feared dead and buried beneath the rubble of hundreds of thousands of bombed-out buildings, according to Gazan and international officials. Nearly all of Gaza's 2.3 million people have been forcibly displaced, and at least hundreds of thousands of others have been starved or sickened.
Thousands more people have been killed by Israeli forces in the West Bank of Palestine and in Lebanon, where Hezbollah fighters have launched thousands of rockets and other projectiles at Israel, killing and wounding hundreds.
On Sunday, the United States—which has provided Israel with tens of billions of dollars worth of
military aid and diplomatic cover including vetoes of multiple U.N. Security Council cease-fire resolutions—said it would deploy around 100 troops to the key Mideast ally to operate an advanced anti-missile system, sparking further fears of a wider regional war that would likely include an attack on Iran.
"When will our country stop funding this madness?" Tlaib asked Monday. "When?"
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