Thread by @RepJayapal

We’re LIVE at our UW town hall! Tune in and hear how I’m fighting for the people of Washington’s 7th district. 💻: facebook.com/RepJayapal/vid…

WA-07 is one of the most engaged districts in the country. It really matters that you're engaged and that you're paying attention.

Our office spends a lot of energy, effort and time. Please know that on anything related to a federal issue - we can help you navigate that!

Last year, we served over 1,500 individual constituents and got $1.6 MILLION dollars back to our constituents!

Your engagement matters. YOU ended Trumpcare. YOU stood up against Trump's vanity wall. YOU stood up for our values. And YOU elected the most progressive, diverse House of Representatives in our country's history.

In four and a half months, House Democrats have passed:

✅ two gun control measures
✅ the Paycheck Fairness Act
✅ a bipartisan War Powers Resolution to end the war in Yemen
✅ the #ForThePeople Act
✅ the #EqualityAct

and MUCH MORE.

We just had the FIRST EVER hearing on #MedicareforAll. And @AdyBarkan's powerful testimony showed exactly why we need to transform from a for-profit system to a universal system with coverage for ALL.

3 important takeaways from Mueller's statement today:

1⃣ Russian intelligence coordinated severe attacks on our election systems - and they helped Trump.
2⃣ Mueller did NOT exonerate the President of committing a crime.
3⃣ Mueller did his job - now Congress needs to do ours.

I was elected to uphold the Constitution. One of the differences between a dictatorship and a democracy is checks and balances. Congress WILL hold this President accountable for his actions.

Q: Do you have any advice for first time voters?

A: Research the positions and ask the candidates what they believe in. Look for the issues you care about, do your research and engage!

Q: How are we holding this administration accountable - and is it happening quickly enough? And how can we ensure our elections are free and fair?

A1: It's easy to get impatient, but please know the urgency is being taken very seriously. Taking it seriously means making sure we're taking the right amount of time to hold Trump accountable. It will take more time than we would like, but the urgency is felt.

A2: We passed the #ForThePeople Act, which has quite a few sections on election security. But, unfortunately, we don't have the same support in the Senate. We need to keep organizing around these issues.

Q: What can we do to accelerate how quickly people read the #Mueller report?

A: It's so important for us to read the report so that ALL of us understand the key points of Mueller's argument. Read the executive summaries, read some of the newspaper's reports. We're thinking about doing Teach-Ins on the report throughout the country. I'm open to your ideas!

Q: Will undocumented folks be covered under #MedicareforAll? And how are we addressing black and Latinx health disparities in #M4A?

A: Everybody in, nobody out. EVERYONE will get health care. I see this bill as a racial equity bill - addressing the failures in our health care system means addressing racial equity in health care.

Q: Do you think it's time for the federal government to step up and take a bigger role in addressing the housing and homelessness crisis?

A: This is a MASSIVE issue across the country. The federal government's role has typically been in funding. We need to spend more on our domestic infrastructure needs, like housing, rather than on military spending.

Q: With everything going on, how do you do it?

A: What keeps me going is you: people around the country that desperately want to see our country live up to its potential and want to make it happen.

Q: How can you keep our Constitution alive with this administration?

A: Don't agonize, organize. We need all of us to hold this administration accountable - both us in Congress and you as engaged voters.

Q: Will this administration ever be held accountable for family separation?

A: We are continuing to push to get more information about this. I am trying to restrict the money we give to DHS - they should not get money to put children in cages.

Q: Why was Barr held in contempt of House Judiciary but we haven't seen a House-wide vote on this issue?

A: You will see one coming in the next few weeks. The reason why they aren't happening right away is that, honestly, we have so many of them. You will see that happening.

Q: What are your thoughts on taxing carbon?

A: We need to make sure frontline communities are on the frontline of any climate solution, including a carbon tax. We need to find a solution that addresses these communities, workers and more. None of that happens if we don't take money out of politics.

Q: What can we do to accelerate progress in the fight against climate change?

A: We have to organize, organize, organize. We need to organize in districts all over the country and put pressure on our Republican colleagues to move things forward.

Thank you to everyone that showed up for tonight’s Town Hall at @UW! I’m proud to represent such a fantastic and engaged district!