119th Congress
Congressmen Subramanyam and Timmons Open Investigation in Wake of Crash of Flight 5342 and Push to Enhance Washington Airspace Safety
Washington, D.C. — Congressman Suhas Subramanyam, Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Military and Foreign Affairs, and Congressman William Timmons, Chairman of the Subcommittee on Military and Foreign Affairs, are opening an investigation into the U.S. military’s use of airspace in the National Capital Region.
This investigation follows the mid-air collision of a U.S. Army UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter and American Airlines Flight 5342 near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA) on January 29, 2025, which claimed the lives of sixty-seven people.
In a letter to the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) Secretary Pete Hegseth, the lawmakers request a member-level briefing on the circumstances surrounding the event and what measures the U.S. military is taking to ensure calamities of this nature do not occur in the future.
“Washington, D.C.’s airspace is among the most complex and heavily regulated in the nation. DCA operates within the tightly controlled Flight Restricted Zone (FRZ), making it one of the busiest and most sensitive airspaces in the country,” wrote the lawmakers. “DoD plays a critical role in managing and securing this airspace, with military aircraft frequently conducting operations in and around the National Capital Region.”
According to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), there have been thirty near-collisions in midair since 1987 around DCA, with one third of those incidents involving military aircraft and seven involving helicopters. Initial reports of the January 29 crash indicated a potential miscommunication between DCA air traffic control and the pilots of the UH-60 when the pilots were instructed to pass behind the incoming Canadair Regional Jet 700 (CRJ). Additionally, the crew of the UH-60 reportedly were wearing night vision goggles which may have impaired the pilots’ peripheral vision.
“As authorities continue to assess the circumstances of the incident, it will be critical to identify any contributing factors and ensure mitigation measures are implemented to enhance future airspace safety,” continued the lawmakers. “To assist with the Committee’s oversight of this matter, we request a member-level briefing as soon as possible but no later than April 1, 2025.”
Click here to read the letter to Secretary Hegseth.
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Congressman Suhas Subramanyam Statement on the Passing of Congressman Raul Grijalva
"I am heartbroken to hear of Representative Raul Grijalva's passing.
His dedication to Arizona was inspiring and his commitment to his constituents was admirable.
He will be deeply missed by all of us here in Congress.
My prayers go out to his family and friends during this hard time."
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Congressman Suhas Subramanyam Releases Statement on the Behalf of Sudiksha Konanki’s Family
“Our community is devastated by the disappearance of Sudiksha. I recently met with her family and learned about her contributions to the community and her dedication as a daughter, sister, and friend.
I share in their profound desire to see her come home and join them in requesting that all agencies involved in the investigation expedite their efforts.
As this investigation continues, the family has requested that people respect their privacy and space as they navigate this difficult time. In particular, they ask that people not post videos, pictures, or unsubstantiated claims about Sudiksha, especially surveillance footage of her in the Dominican Republic.
Instead, please keep Sudiksha and her family in your prayers while this investigation continues.
Thank you to all the people in our community who have offered their support and time to Sudiksha’s family.”
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Congressman Suhas Subramanyam Releases Statement On His Vote Against Continuing Resolution
“I came to Congress to deliver results for our community and build a stronger country. My constituents expect Congress to lower costs, build a strong economy, keep us safe and healthy, and support working families, including the tens of thousands of federal workers and contractors who live in our district.
Unfortunately, this partisan funding bill delivers on none of these things. This proposal enables the illegal, unconstitutional actions of this administration that have already thrown the lives of tens of thousands into turmoil. It will also drive-up costs, make us less safe, and undermine the health of every American.
Instead of making affordable housing more obtainable, this bill will kick thousands of families out of their homes.
Instead of honoring the pact we made with our veterans to ensure their wellbeing, this bill cuts tens of billions of dollars for their care.
Instead of upholding Congress’ power of the purse, this bill will surrender congressional authority and give President Trump and DOGE a blank check to engage in unrestrained corruption.
I will be voting against this bill and, instead, I call on the House to pass legislation to keep the government open and immediately resume work on bipartisan, full-year appropriations bills. A bipartisan plan will keep us safe, care for our most vulnerable, and enable our communities to thrive and prosper.
That’s what I was sent to Congress to do.”
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Congressman Suhas Subramanyam Issues Statement On Disappearance of Sudiksha Konanki
“I am very concerned about Sudiksha Konanki's disappearance in the Dominican Republic. I have been in touch with her family and friends since the incident to assist with the case.
I am actively working with federal and international agencies to leverage every possible resource available to bring her home safely.
We are all praying for her safe and immediate return home.”
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Congressman Suhas Subramanyam Statement on the Passing of Congressman Sylvester Turner
“I am heartbroken to hear of Representative Turner's passing. His commitment to service and his warm personality put a smile on every face when he walked into a room. As a fellow freshman member and the former Mayor of the city where I grew up, he and I became quick friends. My prayers go out to his family and friends during this difficult time.”
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VIDEO: Congressman Suhas Subramanyam Announces Guest for Joint Address to Congress – Medicaid Recipient with Stage 4 Cancer Whose Life Will Be Jeopardized by Trump’s Budget Cuts
Washington, DC – Congressman Suhas Subramanyam (D-VA) spoke on the House floor and announced his guest for President Trump’s Joint Address to Congress, Susan Perri.
Susan Perri is a retired special education teacher from Fauquier County. She worked for 16 years in Fairfax County and 12 years in Fauquier County. She has stage four Melanoma and is on Medicare and Medicaid. Her treatments have made it more difficult for her to speak. Within the last six months, doctors removed a 7-centimeter tumor from her adrenal glands.
Susan’s husband is a retired Postal Service employee who served for 44 years, worried about his retirement benefits getting cut.
She has a 38-year-old son with cystic fibrosis who relies on Social Security Disability Insurance. He has benefited from NIH research and lifesaving medication approved by the federal government has improved her son’s lung function.
Over 98,000 people in Virginia's 10th district, including 51,000 children under the age of 19, are on Medicaid and risk losing their health care under the Republican budget plan. Additionally, 14,000 people use SNAP to put food on the table for their families and their benefits are also now at risk.
See below for a transcript of remarks as delivered.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Last week, the first speaker in line at my Town Hall was Susan Perri.
You wouldn’t know it at first, but Susan has difficulty speaking. Within the last six months, she had a 7-centimeter tumor removed from her adrenal glands.
But Susan is refusing to stay quiet. She made sure to be the first in line to share her story, and how the Republican budget cuts to Medicaid and research will impact her, her family, and the American people.
And I could hear her loud and clear.
And that is why I am honored that Susan will be my guest at tomorrow’s Joint Address, because we should all hear her voice too.
Susan is a retired special education teacher from Fauquier County. Her husband is a retired Postal Service employee of 44 years, worried about his retirement benefits getting cut.
And her son has Cystic Fibrosis and has benefited from cutting edge NIH research and lifesaving medication approved by the federal government.
As this Administration is cutting the very science that saves lives, Susan’s fight gives me hope that we can all make our voices heard and fight for change.
So don’t underestimate Susan, and don’t underestimate the American people.
I yield back.
Congressman Suhas Subramanyam Joins Over 200 Colleagues in Reintroducing the American Dream and Promise Act to Provide a Pathway to Citizenship for Dreamers
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Congressman Suhas Subramanyam joined his colleagues in introducing the bipartisan American Dream and Promise Act of 2025. The bipartisan American Dream and Promise Act would provide a pathway to citizenship to Dreamers, undocumented immigrants who were brought to the United States as children.
“Dreamers shape every aspect of American life. They are our neighbors, classmates, nurses, police officers, teachers, community leaders. It’s hard to overstate the role they play in my district, and across the country,” said Congressman Subramanyam. “It’s long overdue that we give them citizenship and pass legislation that protects them and secures them the rightful recognition that they so deserve.”
The American Dream and Promise Act of 2025 would also include recipients of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) and Deferred Enforced Departure (DED) beneficiaries. The legislation has been cosponsored by over 200 Members of Congress and has been endorsed by nearly 120 organizations.
Dreamers have spent nearly their entire lives here in the United States. They have attended school, earned degrees, built careers, and contributed billions to our economy, all while calling this country home. Many have started families and raised children who are U.S. citizens. For example, it is estimated that the average DACA recipient came to this country at the age of six and has been here for 20 years. Likewise, TPS holders have been living and working in the United States for decades. They have built their families here and contribute significantly to their communities and our nation’s economy.
Dreamers and TPS recipients make major economic and fiscal contributions each year. DACA recipients pay approximately $6.2 billion in federal taxes and $3.3 billion in state and local taxes annually. The Center for American Progress estimates that the national GDP could grow by $799 billion over the next decade if Dreamers were provided a pathway to citizenship.
Economic models show a pathway to citizenship would increase wages for all workers in the U.S. and create hundreds of thousands of new jobs. It is estimated that DACA recipients in 2022 collectively earned nearly $27.9 billion and contributed nearly $2.1 billion to Social Security and Medicare, despite not being eligible for these benefits under current law.
The American Dream and Promise Act of 2025 is identical to the version that passed the House in the 117th Congress and reintroduced in the 118th Congress. Here is a copy of the bill text.
The bipartisan American Dream and Promise Act has been endorsed by nearly 120 organizations, including: United We Dream, Home is Here Coalition, FWD.us, Immigration Hub, CASA, AFL-CIO, Working Families United (WFU), Service Employees International Union (SEIU), Laborers' International Union of North America (LIUNA), International Union of Painters and Allied Trades (IUPAT), UNITE HERE, International Association of Ironworkers, United Food & Commercial Workers International Union (UFCW), National Immigration Law Center (NILC), American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA), Hispanic National Bar Association, University of California System, University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), University of California, Santa Barbara, American Federation of Teachers (AFT), National Education Association (NEA), Center for Popular Democracy, MoveOn, American Immigration Council, America’s Voice, UnidosUS, NAACP, American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), Hispanic Federation, League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC), National Hispanic Caucus of State Legislators (NHCSL), CHIRLA, American Business Immigration Coalition (ABIC), National Immigrant Justice Center (NIJC), National Partnership for New Americans, Center for American Progress (CAP), League of Women Voters of the United States, Planned Parenthood Federation of America, National Women's Law Center (NWLC), Association of Community College Trustees (ACCT), Association of American Universities, EdTrust, Immigration Project, Human Rights Campaign, Human Rights First, President’s Alliance on Higher Education and Immigration, National Hispanic Medical Association (NHMA), Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), Children’s Defense Fund, Children’s Defense Fund-Texas, Coalition for Asian American Children and Families, Church World Service, Bend the Arc: Jewish Action, National Council of Jewish Women, Anti-Defamation League (ADL), Global Refugee, Unitarian Universalists for Social Justice, Amnesty International, Make the Road Pennsylvania, Make the Road Nevada, Center for Gender and Refugee Studies, Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP), Columbia Law School Immigrants’ Rights Clinic, Voices for Utah Children, Grantmakers Concerned with Immigrants and Refugees, Labor Council for Latin American Advancement (LCLAA), Nicaraguan American Legal Defense and Education Fund (NALDEF), Haitian Bridge Alliance, NM Dream Team, Friends Committee on National Legislation, The Children’s Partnership, People Power United, Services, Immigrant Rights, and Education Network (SIREN), African Communities Together, People for the American Way, The Clinical Social Work Association, Central American Resource Center (CARECEN), Immigration Equality, Florida Immigrant Coalition (FLIC), Women’s Refugee Commission, MomsRising, Ayuda, Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition, Children's HealthWatch, American Council on Education (ACE), Freedom Network USA, Kids in Need of Defense (KIND), Child Welfare League of America, SchoolHouse Connection, Prevention Institute, National Center on Adoption and Permanency, NETWORK Lobby for Catholic Social Justice, Central American Resource Center of Northern California (CARECEN SF), Foster Care Alumni of America, Immigrants Act Now, Omaha Together One Community, ImmSchools, National Association of Counsel for Children, Children's Advocacy Institute, Young Center for Immigrant Children's Rights, Sayra and Neil Meyerhoff Center for Families, Children and the Courts at the University of Baltimore School of Law, Sull and Associates, Hope Border Institute, Immigrants Rising, New York Immigration Coalition, Immigrant Defenders Law Center (ImmDef), National Latina Institute for Reproductive Justice, UndocuBlack Network, Muslim Advocates, Rocky Mountain Immigrant Advocacy Network, Hindus for Human Rights, Arkansas United, Florence Immigrant and Refugee Rights Project, African Public Affairs Committee, Hindus for Human Rights, American Families United, Texas Equal Access Fund, Lilith Fund, Centro Hispano de East Tennessee, Union for Reform Judaism.
In addition to Congresswman Subramanyam, the bill has been cosponsored by: Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY-08), Democratic Whip Katherine Clark (D-MA-05), Democratic Caucus Chair Pete Aguilar (D-CA-33), Democratic Caucus Vice Chair Ted Lieu (D-CA-36), Assistant Democratic Leader Joe Neguse (D-CO-02) and Representatives Suzan DelBene (D-WA-01), Jamie Raskin (D-MD-08), Rosa DeLauro (D-CT-03), Bennie Thompson (D-MS-02), Bobby Scott (D-VA-03), Maxine Waters (D-CA-43), Frank Pallone (D-NJ-06), Richard Neal (D-MA-01), Adam Smith (D-WA-09), Angie Craig (D-MN-02), Gregory Meeks (D-NY-05), Mark Takano (D-CA-39), Rick Larsen (D-WA-02), Jared Huffman (D-CA-02), Jim Himes (D-CT-04), Joseph Morelle (D-NY-25), Jim McGovern (D-MA-02), Gerry Connolly (D-VA-11), Adriano Espaillat (D-NY-13), Greg Casar (D-TX-35), Grace Meng (D-NY-06), Teresa Leger Fernandez (D-NM-03), Shomari Figures (D-AL-02), Terri Sewell (D-AL-07), Yassamin Ansari (D-AZ-03), Greg Stanton (D-AZ-04), Raúl Grijalva (D-AZ-07), Mike Thompson (D-CA-04), Ami Bera (D-CA-06), Doris Matsui (D-CA-07), John Garamendi (D-CA-08), Josh Harder (D-CA-09), Mark DeSaulnier (D-CA-10), Nancy Pelosi (D-CA-11), Lateefah Simon (D-CA-12), Adam Gray (D-CA-13), Eric Swalwell (D-CA-14), Kevin Mullin (D-CA-15), Sam Liccardo (D-CA-16), Ro Khanna (D-CA-17), Jimmy Panetta (D-CA-19), Jim Costa (D-CA-21), Salud Carbajal (D-CA-24), Julia Brownley (D-CA-26), George Whitesides (D-CA-27), Luz Rivas (D-CA-29), Gil Cisneros (D-CA-31), Raul Ruiz (D-CA-25), Laura Friedman (D-CA-30), Brad Sherman (D-CA-32), Jimmy Gomez (D-CA-34), Norma Torres (D-CA-35), Linda Sánchez (D-CA-38), Robert Garcia (D-CA-42), Nanette Diaz Barragán (D-CA-44), Derek Tran (D-CA-45), Dave Min (D-CA-47), Mike Levin (D-CA-49), Scott Peters (D-CA-50), Sara Jacobs (D-CA-51), Juan Vargas (D-CA-52), Diana DeGette (D-CO-01), Jason Crow (D-CO-06), Brittany Pettersen (D-CO-07), John Larson (D-CT-01), Joe Courtney (D-CT-02), Jahana Hayes (D-CT-05), Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC-At-Large), Sarah McBride (D-DE-At-Large), Darren Soto (D-FL-09), Maxwell Frost (D-FL-10), Kathy Castor (D-FL-14), Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick (D-FL-20), Lois Frankel (D-FL-22), Frederica Wilson (D-FL-24), Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL-25), Sanford Bishop, Jr. (D-GA-02), Hank Johnson (D-GA-04), Nikema Williams (D-GA-05), Lucy McBath (D-GA-06), David Scott (D-GA-13), Jill Tokuda (D-HI-02), Sharice Davids (D-KS-03), Jonathan Jackson (D-IL-01), Robin Kelly (D-IL-02), Jesus "Chuy" Garcia (D-IL-04), Mike Quigley (D-IL-05), Sean Casten (D-IL-06), Danny K. Davis (D-IL-07), Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL-08), Jan Schakowsky (D-IL-09), Bradley Schneider (D-IL-10), Bill Foster (D-IL-11), Nikki Budzinski (D-IL-13), Lauren Underwood (D-IL-14), Eric Sorensen (D-IL-17), Frank Mrvan (D-IN-01), André Carson (D-IN-07), Morgan McGarvey (D-KY-03), Troy A. Carter, Sr. (D-LA-02), Lori Trahan (D-MA-03), Jake Auchincloss (D-MA-04), Seth Moulton (D-MA-06), Ayanna Pressley (D-MA-07), William Keating (D-MA-09), Johnny Olszewski (D-MD-02), Sarah Elfreth (D-MD-03), Glenn Ivey (D-MD-04), Steny Hoyer (D-MD-05), April McClain Delaney (D-MD-06), Kweisi Mfume (D-MD-07), Chellie Pingree (D-ME-01), Hillary Scholten (D-MI-03), Debbie Dingell (D-MI-06), Kristen McDonald Rivet (D-MI-08), Haley Stevens (D-MI-11), Rashida Tlaib (D-MI-12), Shri Thanedar (D-MI-13), Kelly Morrison (D-MN-03), Betty McCollum (D-MN-04), Ilhan Omar (D-MN-05), Wesley Bell (D-MO-01), Emanuel Cleaver (D-MO-05), Deborah Ross (D-NC-02), Valerie Foushee (D-NC-04), Alma Adams (D-NC-12), Donald Norcross (D-NJ-01), Herbert Conaway (D-NJ-03), Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ-05), Robert Menendez (D-NJ-08), Nellie Pou (D-NJ-09), LaMonica McIver (D-NJ-10), Mikie Sherill (D-NJ-11), Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-NJ-12), Melanie Stansbury (D-NM-01), Gabe Vasquez (D-NM-02), Dina Titus (D-NV-01), Steven Horsford (D-NV-04), Tom Suozzi (D-NY-03), Daniel Goldman (D-NY-10), Jerrold Nadler (D-NY-12), Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY-14), Ritchie Torres (D-NY-15), George Latimer (D-NY-16), Pat Ryan (D-NY-18), Paul Tonko (D-NY-20), Joyce Beatty (D-OH-03), Shontel Brown (D-OH-11), Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR-01), Maxine Dexter (D-OR-03), Val Hoyle (D-OR-04), Janelle Bynum (D-OR-05), Andrea Salinas (D-OR-06), Brendan Boyle (D-PA-02), Dwight Evans (D-PA-03), Madeleine Dean (D-PA-04), Mary Gay Scanlon (D-PA-05), Chrissy Houlahan (D-PA-06), Summer Lee (PA-12), Chris Deluzio (D-PA-17), Pablo José Hernández (D-PR-Resident Commissioner), Gabe Amo (D-RI-01), Seth Magaziner (D-RI-02), James Clyburn (D-SC-06), Steve Cohen (D-TN-09), Lizzie Fletcher (D-TX-07), Sylvia Garcia (D-TX-29), Al Green (D-TX-09), Veronica Escobar (D-TX-16), Sylvester Turner (D-TX-18), Joaquin Castro (D-TX-20), Henry Cuellar (D-TX-28), Jasmine Crockett (D-TX-30), Julie Johnson (D-TX-32), Marc Veasey (D-TX-33), Lloyd Doggett (D-TX-37), Jennifer McClellan (D-VA-04), Eugene Vindman (D-VA-07), Don Beyer (D-VA-08), Stacey Plaskett (D-VI-At-Large), Becca Balint (D-VT-At-Large), Emily Randall (D-WA-06), Kim Schrier (D-WA-08), Marilyn Strickland (D-WA-10), Mark Pocan (D-WI-02), Gwen Moore (D-WI-04).
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Congressman Suhas Subramanyam Blasts Republican Budget Scheme and Warns of Its Devastating Consequences
Washington, DC – On Monday, Congressman Suhas Subramanyam (D-VA) spoke on the House floor to address the proposed Republican budget and paint the disaster it would be for working families. In exchange for tax cuts for their billionaire friends, Republicans are torpedoing Medicaid and SNAP; programs that working Americans rely on.
Over 59,000 people in Virginia’s 10th district, including 30,000 children, are on Medicaid and risk losing their health care under the current Republican budget plan. Nearly 10,000 people use SNAP to put food on the table for their families and their benefits are also now at risk.
Link HERE to download the floor remarks.
See below for a transcript of remarks as delivered:
I am genuinely alarmed by the budget we may be voting on this week.
There's a lot not to like, but every American should be paying attention to the cuts being proposed to Medicaid and SNAP benefits.
These cuts will hurt millions and create irreversible damage to our communities.
Yes, it'll hurt my community, where tens of thousands of people benefit from these programs. But this is going to impact every community, and every district, across Virginia and across the country.
Is it because the richest country in the world can't feed hungry kids? Or get people the care they need?
No. Because this budget takes that money, and it gives it to the very richest corporations at the expense of small businesses and working families.
The unintended consequences of these cuts will hurt every American even if you're not on Medicaid or SNAP and force even more middle-class families to live paycheck to paycheck while giving the ultra-rich a tax break.
Let’s talk about a bipartisan budget that doesn’t hurt Americans - not a giveaway to companies that don't need it. I yield back.
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Ranking Members Subramanyam and Connolly Launch Investigation Into Trump’s Abrupt Firing of Senior Military Leaders, Call for Transparency
Washington, D.C.—Today, Congressman Suhas Subramanyam, Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Military and Foreign Affairs and Congressman Gerald E. Connolly, Ranking Member of the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, led Democratic subcommittee members in sending a letter to Secretary of Defense Peter Hegseth expressing concern about the abrupt firing of multiple senior military leaders, including the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Charles Q. Brown, Jr. In their letter, Ranking Members Subramanyam and Connolly requested information regarding the circumstances of these firings and transparency into the rationale for the Trump Administration’s seemingly inexplicable actions.
“At 7:30 p.m. on Friday, February 21, 2025, President Trump announced through a post on TruthSocial that General Brown had been terminated from his post as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Shortly thereafter, you issued a press release indicating that five other senior military officers had been dismissed: Admiral Lisa Franchetti, chief of Naval Operations and the highest-ranking officer in the Navy; General James Slife, vice chief of staff and second in command of the Air Force; and the top lawyers for the Air Force, Army, and Navy. Neither President Trump’s social media post nor your press release contained any basis or rationale for these brazen firings, let alone an indication that the actions were taken based on any standard of performance. These terminations follow the abrupt firing of Admiral Linda Fagan from her role as commandant of the Coast Guard on President Trump’s second day in office,” wrote the Ranking Members.
The Ranking Members criticized the decision to fire these seasoned military officers, noting that it would instantly wipe away decades of military experience and “could create a cascade of hasty promotions down the ranks that impact U.S. leadership across the globe.”
In addition, the letter points to the Trump’s Administration’s efforts to eradicate diversity initiatives throughout the military, despite the fact that diversity among U.S. armed forces is widely recognized as a strategic strength.
“The Administration’s predisposal to terminating senior officers without concern for their experience or capability undermines the ability of the military to execute its mission effectively and broadcasts weakness to our global adversaries. To understand the full nature and rationale of the abrupt firings, as well as plans of succession to preserve military readiness, and to explore whether legislation is necessary to address these actions, we request written responses to the following no later than March 10, 2025,” concluded the Ranking Members.
Click here to read the letter to Secretary Hegseth.
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