Government Oversight & Ethics
With nuclear tensions rising around the world, particularly in Russia's ongoing war in Ukraine, and nuclear-weapon states coming closer to direct military conflict, Congressman Ted Lieu, '91, believes it's time for America to reevaluate its nuclear launch approval process.
"What happens if Vladimir Putin decides to use a nuclear weapon in Ukraine?" Lieu asked an audience Thursday, May 5, at the Bechtel Conference Center. "What constraints are there on the U.S. president if he decides to use a nuclear weapon in response? The short answer is, there are virtually no constraints."
WASHINGTON – Today, Congressman Ted W. Lieu (D-Los Angeles County) released the following statement in response to media reports, confirmed by Chief Justice John Roberts, of a draft Supreme Court decision overturning a 50-year-old precedent protecting Americans' right to choose what is best for their own bodies and health.
WASHINGTON – Today, Congressman Ted W. Lieu (D-Los Angeles County) announced the introduction of his bill, the Inspector General Notification Act, which would require the U.S. Attorney General (AG) to notify the Department of Justice (DOJ) Inspector General (IG) when data from a covered party – Members of Congress, Congressional staff, judges, and judicial branch employees – is collected. Specifically, Rep.
Torrance has received $1 million in federal funding to aid the city's homeless response, officials announced Monday, April 25.
The money, which came from Congress' recently passed bipartisan spending bill, will help support Torrance's 40-unit temporary housing program — set to open in June at the Civic Center — and city efforts to clean and make improvements at existing homeless encampments. Rep. Ted Lieu, D-Torrance, helped secure the federal money.
While the federal government needs a warrant to seize your laptop, it can access revealing details through what lawmakers say is a glaring back door: cloud-stored metadata, the information tucked within files that offers clues about who created them, when and how.
The data may seem innocuous, given that it doesn't reveal the full contents of any given document, video or image. But lawmakers say it can be used to identify key facts in an investigation, such as who was involved, what role they played and when the events took place.
WASHINGTON – Today, Congressman Ted W. Lieu (D-Los Angeles County) introduced legislation to require governmental entities to obtain a warrant before requesting that an electronic communications provider disclose a customer's metadata, often referred to as data that describes other data. The Warrant for Metadata Actamends Section 2703 of the Stored Communications Act (SCA), which protects some electronic communications from unauthorized disclosure, to include metadata that is also stored electronically.
WASHINGTON – Today, Congressman Ted W. Lieu (D-Los Angeles County) and Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR) sent a letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland requesting answers on the Department of Justice's use of secrecy orders, which prevent technology companies from informing their customers about government demands for their data. The Members express concern over the threat to Americans' privacy the indefinite secrecy orders present when individuals' personal data is obtained by the government without them ever knowing.
WASHINGTON – Today, Congressman Ted W. Lieu (D-Los Angeles County) announced that a number of his priorities to help veterans in Los Angeles and around the country were included in the 2022 Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, which was signed into law by President Biden last week. The bill allocates a total of $112.2 billion for the Department of Veterans Affairs, which is a $7.8 billion increase from the previous year.
WASHINGTON – Today, Congressmen Ted W. Lieu (D-CA-33) and Jimmy Gomez (D-CA-34) sent a criminal referral to Attorney General Merrick Garland alleging that former President Donald Trump violated the Federal Election Campaign Act and Federal Election Commission regulations. Earlier this week, the former President appeared to directly solicit help for his re-election campaign from Russian President Vladimir Putin by requesting that Putin share negative information about President Biden and his family.
WASHINGTON - Today, Congressman Ted W. Lieu (D-Los Angeles County) issued the following statement after the House passed the Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement Act, or MORE Act. If enacted, this bipartisan bill will decriminalize cannabis at the federal level, while enabling states to set their own regulatory policies without threat of federal intervention. It takes long overdue steps to address the devastating injustices of the criminalization of cannabis and the vastly disproportionate impact it has had on communities of color.