Let's be clear on what just happened here: one of the highest-ranking officials of Egypt’s security state, Abbas Kamel, used meetings with top American policymakers in Washington to try to intimidate an American citizen for his human rights advocacy.
politico.com/news/2021/07/1…
My constituent @soltan is a human rights defender sentenced to life in prison and tortured for *tweets*. The Obama Administration secured his release but years later Sisi's regime still feels so threatened that they took his family members hostage to intimidate him into silence.
The Sisi regime feels emboldened to threaten American citizens on U.S. soil because their widespread human rights violations have had no consequences. Now the head of Egyptian intelligence is trying to make Members of Congress accomplices to Egypt’s authoritarian crackdown.
If this incident does not cause American leaders to rethink and reevaluate our relationship with the Sisi regime – or question the wisdom of continued military aid and weapons sales without any conditions related to human rights abuses – I don’t know what will.

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More from @RepDonBeyer

13 Jul
Robert MacLean’s response to the killing of Bijan Ghaisar shows that he is the wrong person for this job, and I urge the Department of the Interior’s leadership to reconsider his appointment. My statement: beyer.house.gov/news/documents…
Secretary Haaland’s efforts to strengthen community trust and ensure reform after last summer’s violent crackdown on peaceful protesters in Lafayette Square are admirable and necessary. I worry the task force will not achieve these ends if it is led by Director MacLean.
I have not forgotten that Mr. MacLean refused for years to answer questions from community leaders and Members of Congress, including me, about the shooting of an unarmed man, Bijan Ghaisar, in my district by two officers who served under him in the U.S. Park Police.
Read 5 tweets
13 Jul
There's been a lot of talk about inflation, especially on days like today when we get consumer-price index data.

The top driver of price increases right now is cars. I know a few things about the auto industry, so let's look under the hood at what's going on with inflation. 1/
First, quick background on the economic conditions: they are extremely promising.

CBO projects record GDP growth, workers' wages are rising, we've added 3 million jobs so far this year, unemployment is falling sharply, and on Thursday the enhanced child tax credit kicks in. 2/
For over a year many Americans couldn't travel and were worried about the economy and their personal finances. Now we have the virus on the run, the American Rescue Plan is putting money in people's pockets, and many are ready to travel again. That brings us back to cars. 3/
Read 15 tweets
28 Apr
Over the past few days Republican politicians have amplified a tidal wave of lies and disinformation from rightwing media. Ridiculous conspiracy theories about the President banning meat, and about the Vice President's book.

A new claim about Climate Envoy John Kerry is worse.
Republicans are spreading the highly dubious claim that Kerry secretly informed Iran's foreign minister Javad Zarif about 200 Israeli strikes against Iranian targets in Syria, based on a 2020 recording of Zarif reported by NYT. Republicans say it's "a criminal act" and "treason."
Mike Pompeo, one of the worst Secretaries of State in American history, is again slandering a diplomat for his own political benefit.

Nikki Haley, who said "we can’t trust them" of Iran, has chosen to take the word of Iran's foreign minister over a decorated American war hero.
Read 9 tweets
10 Mar
House Republicans led by Marjorie Taylor Greene are attempting to block Covid relief for the American people by ending all business in the House for the day. It is 9:24 a.m.
House rules already provide mechanisms we all use to register opposition to legislation: debate, and our votes.

Greene and other House Republicans are trying to end debate before it starts and prevent us from voting at all.

Instead they'd just stop working for the day at 9:30.
Greene says Republicans "should do everything we can to stop" legislation to fund the safe reopening of schools. 3/4 of the House GOP are voting with her.

Republicans are now saying if they don't control the House, the House shouldn't pass bills at all.
Read 5 tweets
8 Mar
House Republicans led by Marjorie Taylor Greene are once again using process maneuvers to try to prevent the House of Representatives from functioning.

Last week they tried to adjourn the House for the day at 10:30 in the morning; today they are doing something even worse.
Congress speeds the consideration of uncontroversial bills, things like renaming post offices, bills that pass out of committees with unanimous support, legislation both parties agree on.

They pass on "voice vote," and if a single Member objects they can request a recorded vote.
This has always been a good way to fast track what we agree on to allow more time for consideration and debate of harder legislation. In in the pandemic it's especially important because we vote in groups to limit the danger of spreading the virus; a single vote takes 45 minutes.
Read 8 tweets
3 Mar
Marjorie Taylor Greene is once again trying to end all business for the day in the House. It's 9:30 in the morning.
The House is voting today on a major ethics and election integrity bill, H.R. 1, that would strengthen ethics requirements on federal officeholders, increase election security, end partisan gerrymandering, protect Americans' voting rights, and help get big money out of politics.
Votes are still coming in but clearly many Republicans in the House would rather stop working for the day at 10:00 in the morning than pass a bill that strengthens Congress' ethics rules and reduces the influence of money in politics:
Read 6 tweets

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