In the News

Do you think that Members of Congress get too many lifetime perks? Apparently some in Congress do.

Congressmen Ro Khanna (D-CA) and Ralph Norman (R-SC) have introduced the Stop Congressional Retirees' Accessing Perks (SCRAP) Act (H.R. 4981) in an effort to pare back on some of the perks.

It would end many of the benefits awarded to lawmakers after they leave office, including:

U.S. Rep. Ralph Norman of Rock Hill and another legislator are looking to end lifetime health care and other benefits for themselves and hundreds of other members of Congress.

Norman and U.S. Rep. Ro Khanna introduced the Stop Congressional Retirees' Accessing Perks — or SCRAP — Act. The bill would end some lifetime benefits to members of Congress, from health care to legislative access.

Norman is a South Carolina Republican, represending the 5th Congressonal District. Khanna is a California Democrat. Both were elected to their respective first terms since last summer.

CONGRESS APPROVES BUDGET DEAL: The House approved this morning a two-year budget deal that would increase federal spending by $300 billion and provide $90 billion in disaster aid — but not address immigration or the fate of DREAMers brought to the United States as children. The vote wasn't without some drama: the federal government entered the second shutdown of the Trump presidency for several hours early this morning after Congress failed to pass a spending bill by a midnight deadline. The Senate approved the measure just before 2 a.m. with a 73-26 vote.

Despite a rivalry between New York City and California in the world of technology, Reps. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) and Joseph Crowley (D-Queens/Bronx) have joined forces to share best practices for expanding high-tech sectors.

Last October, Google launched Grow with Google, a $1 billion nonprofit partnership program that aims to bring about professional opportunities for Americans in the digital economy.

Silicon Valley Congressman Ro Khanna sat down with ABC7 News' Larry Beil to discuss his thoughts on the GOP memo that was released on Friday.

The contents of the controversial Republican memo alleging abuses of government surveillance powers at the FBI and Justice Department have been debated, and now the American public is now be able to read them in detail.

Congresswoman Barbara Lee and Congressman Ro Khanna recently introduced the Marijuana Justice Act, the companion bill for Senator Cory Booker's S. 1689. The Marijuana Justice Act would reform unjust federal marijuana laws and empower communities of color that have been disproportionately impacted by the failed drug war.

If polling is correct, pot no longer gives Americans fits. Recent Gallup polls indicate that 64 percent of Americans approve of legalizing marijuana — the highest level of public support in almost 50 years. Nevertheless, we have an administration that is tone deaf to the will of the people and insists on reinstituting failed policies of decades past.

As if more evidence were needed that there are distressingly few, if any, grown-ups presently

working within the confines of the West Wing, the final days of 2017 saw the emergence of several reports that the Trump administration is considering launching a preemptive attack on North Korea.