{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://cuellar.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=411836", "Congressman Cuellar Helps Advance Protect America\u2019s Workforce Act", "2025-12-11", "2025", "2025-12", "Democrat", "House", "TX", "Henry Cuellar", "C001063", "cuellar.house.gov", "cuellar", "https://cuellar.house.gov/news", "scraper", "U.S. Congressman Henry Cuellar, Ph.D. (TX-28), announced today that he voted yes on the bipartisan Protect America\u2019s Workforce Act (PAWA) after signing the successful discharge petition that forced the bill onto the House floor. PAWA, authored by Rep. Jared Golden (ME-2) and Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (PA-1), repeals an executive order that stripped union rights from roughly one million federal employees. The House passed PAWA by a bipartisan vote of 231 to 195. Twenty Republicans joined all Democrats to advance the bill.\n\n\u201cI supported this bill, and the original discharge petition, because federal workers deserve commonsense workplace protections,\u201d said Dr. Cuellar. \u201cThese men and women show up every day to serve the American people. Their collective bargaining rights are essential to ensuring they have a voice on the job and protection from outside interference. I want to thank Representatives Golden and Fitzpatrick for their leadership in bringing this bill to the floor and building a bipartisan coalition to move it forward.\u201d\n\nThe Protect America\u2019s Workforce Act repeals a presidential executive order that sought to eliminate collective bargaining at key federal agencies, including the Departments of Defense, State, Veterans Affairs, Justice, and Energy. Many of the affected federal workers are veterans, and all are already limited in what they can bargain over under existing law.\n\nPAWA ensures that current union contracts remain honored and reinstates fundamental protections for the workforce that keeps the federal government running. \u201cMy message is clear \u2013 stand with workers and strengthen our middle class,\u201d Dr. Cuellar added. \u201cI will continue working across the aisle to protect the people who serve our nation and keep our government functioning every day.\u201d\n\n###\n\nCongressman Henry Cuellar, Ph.D. is a senior member of the U.S. House Appropriations Committee. Previously, he served as a Texas State Representative and Texas Secretary of State.\n\nSign up to receive Dr. Cuellar\u2019s Email Newsletters", 1, "2026-04-04T05:28:40Z", "2026-04-04T05:30:10Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://cuellar.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=411836"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.4262888580560684, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}