In West Virginia, Oklahoma, Kentucky, and other states around the nation, teachers have taken to the streets to protest low wages, cuts in benefits, and inadequate funding for education. This comes at a time when the US is facing a potential shortage of teachers in STEM and special education. In addition, retention of good teachers is becoming increasingly difficult as teachers face the prospect of low pay compared to what they could earn in other jobs, lack of professional development, and stressful working conditions. In fact, our economy is losing $7 billion a year due to high rates of teacher turnover and retraining.

Teachers build the foundation of our country’s future by educating our children. They have the monumental task of preparing students for jobs that have not been invented yet. They build positive and supportive relationships with their students that allow instruction to take place. These relationships also support the development of positive school climates and real-life lessons that instill in students the social-emotional skills needed in a 21st century workforce.

So why not support teachers in the extraordinary work they do every day? We pay football coaches millions and praise them for building successful programs because the best coaches can take any group and turn them into champions. Teachers are the coaches of the classroom and they too can turn ordinary groups into extraordinary high achievers.

Unfortunately, we do not support our teachers the way we support our coaches. We are expecting more and more out of teachers without providing them adequate wages and the professional tools to keep up with growing academic and social demands of the classroom. This has resulted in significant increases in teacher stress, resulting in teachers reporting the highest rates of daily stress among occupations.

Congressman Tim Ryan on Twitter

Our teachers go above and beyond for their students. They spend countless nights and weekends preparing for class, ready to teach the next generation of leaders, artists and scientists. We in Congress and state legislatures must do better to support them. #TeacherAppreciationWeek

It is undeniable that high levels of stress are adversely affecting teachers’ health. Stress affects teachers’ physical health, compromises teaching performance and negatively impacts student well-being and academic growth. These levels of stress are not just bad news for educators, but also for our students who depend on them every day.

Taking action to support teacher health and well-being is necessary to elevate the profession and ensure that each teacher has the skills and tools necessary to give every student the education they deserve. Luckily, there are programs available that focus on workplace wellness, social emotional learning, and teacher stress management to help our nation’s educators perform at their best. That is why I introduced the Teacher Health and Wellness Act which provides support for teachers by creating a pilot study at the National Institute of Health aimed at reducing teacher stress and increasing teacher retention and well-being.

We believe that addressing ways to alleviate teacher stress is an essential first step to demonstrating support for our nation’s teachers. However, this will involve providing adequate funding for education and supporting teachers in their day-to-day activities in the classroom. We need to support teachers’ efforts to build healthy relationships with their students, provide them with adequate tool kits to address challenging disciplinary situations, and opportunities to collaborate and take on leadership positions that will allow them to provide solutions for their students in real time.

Our goal as a nation should be to eliminate those conditions that create teacher stress and in doing so, improve teacher performance and increase student engagement, proficiency and educational achievement.

It is getting to be that time of the year when our New Year’s resolution to eat healthier starts to waver. Everywhere you look there are fast food restaurants, junk food, super-size meals, and 20 oz. sodas to no end. As a nation, it’s a challenge to escape the onslaught of cheap, unhealthy food — especially for those families living in food deserts. With a staggering number of Americans struggling with diabetes and heart diseases, it’s more critical than ever to consume nutritious meals and support our farmers. It’s for these reasons that I’m committed to promoting healthy eating in schools and providing farmers with resources and funding to grow the food we need.

The lack of nutrition education and access to fresh produce has contributed to our country’s ongoing obesity epidemic. Seven out of ten deaths among Americans each year are from chronic diseases that can be prevented and treated through diet and lifestyle changes. Even among children and adolescents, obesity has more than tripled since the 1970s. In addition to encouraging healthy eating at home, Congress can do its part by including more nutritious options in schools.

Over the last few years, I’ve helped lead an initiative aimed at putting a salad bar in every school in the United States. It provides students with daily access to fresh fruit and vegetables, and ensures they are focused and ready to learn. Since 2017, the Salad Bars to Schools initiative led by the Chef Ann Foundation, the United Fresh Start Foundation, and Whole Foods Market has donated more than 5,000 school salad bars and provided over 3 million children with access to nutritious food. In my Congressional district alone, 12 salad bars have been donated through the program. We always talk about feeding our young people’s minds with a good education, but a good education relies on feeding their bodies through adequate and proper nutrition. Investing in our students’ healthy eating habits means investing in their educational and future success.

But before we can make this nationwide investment, we have to fix our broken food system. As a member of Congress, I have seen firsthand how government action has contributed to the problem. Currently, the vast majority of food subsidies go to big producers for corn, soy, and wheat, while little goes to smaller, regional farmers producing diversified specialty crops. We need to change that. While 98 percent of farms are family-owned operations, only a small percentage receive those agricultural subsidies. This is particularly important to me because Ohio’s agriculture industry employs more than 60,000 workers at 1,106 production plants, and contributes more than $98 billion to the state’s economy each year. It is time for government support to reflect the positive role it can play in making our country healthier through policies that promote more sustainable agriculture practices and specialty crops.

I’ve made it a priority to advocate for a more robust, comprehensive Farm Bill that fixes our broken food system from top to bottom. Congress has that opportunity this year, but under Republican-control that opportunity is already being squandered. Instead of negotiating a new bipartisan Farm Bill to reform our agriculture system or to develop policies and practices that prioritize the local, family farmer, we’re doing to opposite. Rather than moving the needle of our country’s food system in a direction that promotes sustainable farming practices, emerging local and organic farms, urban agriculture, conservation practices, and specialty crops, this Farm Bill takes us backwards. Many “tiny but mighty” agriculture programs that receive relatively small funding allocations but historically have provided outsize benefits for American family farmers and food-producing communities would see their budgets cut dramatically. This hyper-partisan Farm Bill would also slash the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) by $15-$20 billion over the next decade, hurting those most in need of healthy, fresh food. Furthermore, environmental advocates are raising the alarm that this Farm Bill would take a hammer to ongoing conservation efforts at a time when we should be redoubling our efforts to move toward environmentally sustainable agriculture techniques.

Congressman Tim Ryan on Twitter

One of the best things we could do for our overburdened healthcare system is fixing our broken FOOD system. Every American deserves access to healthy and nutritious foods. This is a must read/watch: https://t.co/5jyI6gxV2Q

Investing in programs and legislation that promote nutritious food can help lead the United States to a healthier tomorrow. It can lower the direct medical costs attributed to chronic diseases each year: $190.2 billion for obesity, $316.6 billion for heart disease, and $245 billion for diabetes. These staggering numbers emphasize the need for Congress to take increased access to nutritious food seriously. After all, lack of access is a problem that impacts not only the physical health of a community’s residents, but also the economic and social health of the community as a whole. Whether it’s through legislation, public-private partnerships, or community initiatives, we must continue to promote new ways of eating and finding innovative solutions to make nutritious food more accessible and affordable. Rather than rise to the occasion, the new GOP Farm Bill falls flat. America deserves a better bill.

Tim Ryan is a champion for working families in Ohio’s 13th District and is known for challenging both parties to do more to rebuild the middle class. Tim believes that every hardworking family deserves a good job, a quality education for their kids, affordable healthcare, and the security of knowing they can retire with dignity.

Tim was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 2002 and has been fighting for working people ever since.

You can learn more at: https://timryan.house.gov/

As we prepare to celebrate Thanksgiving this week with our families, we should also remember those families who will have an empty seat at their table reserved for their deployed servicemember. Others will bow their heads, hold hands, and celebrate with an extra bit of love that, this year, their servicemember or Veteran is home. November is National Veterans and Military Family Appreciation Month and I want to extend my personal gratitude to every family experiencing, looking back on, or anticipating holidays without their loved one.

As a member of the House Appropriations Subcommittees for Defense and Veterans Affairs, I always keep our servicemembers and their families top of mind. As the holidays draw close, I think of the soldiers I sat with this spring as they were going through their final training exercises. I know their families, and many more, are now bearing the burden of a long set of holidays without their father, mother, spouse, child, sibling, or friend. From talking with these servicemembers and Veterans, I know their service is often dedicated to, and made possible by, the support from their families who are taking care of things at home.

I am proud that this November, we were able to offer our thanks with actions that match our words. The National Defense Authorization Act passed the House this month with several important clauses protecting our military families. We provided servicemembers with a 2.4% raise, the largest pay raise in eight years. The bill also took important steps to address the severe and unacceptably high rate of military spouse unemployment and underemployment by addressing childcare needs and providing compensation for professional licensing required due to duty station moves. We also protected benefits for our surviving spouses.

We still have a long way to go, and frankly we owe our military families more, much more. We must return to regular order, pass funding bills on time, stop sequestration and threats of a government shutdown so our servicemembers and veterans have the services and benefits they deserve and expect. We owe better job options for our military spouses. We must continue to strive for better physical as well as mental healthcare for our Veterans.

We, in Congress and throughout America, cannot forget our military families’ sacrifices. We owe them a tremendous debt of gratitude for lending us their loved ones. The strength and grace they show through long periods without their family members allow our country to protect our freedom and democracy throughout the world. That does not come without a cost, and we are grateful for their service.

Veterans Day is a time to pause in gratitude for those brave men and women who served our nation in the Armed Forces. A single day of the year is not sufficient to pay tribute to the cost of service for our Veterans — holidays away from their families, grueling days without sleep, missed moments with family they can never get back, the weight of constant vigilance, and a lifetime of missing friends who do not make it home. We have a responsibility to not only thank them on this day, but also to show appreciation through action every day of the year.

When our Veterans raised their hands and pledged to defend our democracy, we, as a nation, made a promise in return. We promised healthcare, support, and education. These are not “benefits” provided by a grateful nation; they are commitments made by those of us who enjoy freedom to those who have borne the costs of that freedom. I have stood firmly against attempts to strip benefits from our Veterans and our military families. We cannot count dollars and cents over the integrity of our nation, especially when we ask our young men and women to put their lives on the line and answer the call of service.

There is one more way we can show appreciation to our Veterans: by being a nation that is worthy of their sacrifice. Our Veterans, while they share a patriotic love of country, come from every walk of life. There are generations of America’s finest from every race, creed, origin, gender, and sexual orientation. Their stories are moving — from immigrants who gave their lives to the nation that embraced them to the young man continuing his family’s legacy of military service that goes back to the Revolutionary War. By respecting one another, embracing diversity, and striving for unity, we thank our Veterans by being a nation they can be proud to serve. We are not a nation of fear. We are a beacon of hope for the world.

This Veterans Day, I ask you to join me in expressing our gratitude and fidelity to our Veterans through engaging them in our communities, respecting their service through our actions, and championing the values that make this country great.

As I drive through Youngstown, Ohio, I’m met by empty storefronts and vacant factories. Americans living in areas like mine are struggling: The cost of living keeps going up, families are underemployed and many have not seen a raise in more than a decade. All the while, their corporate employers have seen record profits. Something is wrong with this equation.

Among the many factors contributing to this situation is America’s broken corporate tax code. It prioritizes large corporations with the resources to avoid paying taxes over smaller and medium-sized businesses who pay the full rate. In the 31 years since Congress last reformed our tax system, 96 percent of income growth has gone to the top 10 percent of Americans. Hourly wages for the bottom 90 percent of workers have stagnated or declined. Families have struggled to afford their medical bills, put food on the table and pay their mortgage. The only thing Democrats and Republicans seem to agree on these days is that it is time for a change.

At a time when half of all Americans are living paycheck-to-paycheck, profits at America’s largest corporations have skyrocketed. But instead of investing in our economy and the American family, these large corporations pay armies of accountants to exploit every loophole in the book. When that is not enough, they send lobbyists to Washington to create even more exemptions and special interest tax breaks.

Through these loopholes, large corporations have stashed trillions of dollars outside the United States to avoid taxes. General Electric reportedly has $83.5 billion overseas. Pfizer reportedly has $80 billion. One in 5 corporations even manage to pay no federal income tax. Add in the loopholes and special interest giveaways, and the 35 percent statutory rate becomes only an 18.6 effective tax rate.

So how do we achieve revenue-positive tax reform that holds corporations accountable and ensures the middle class is not picking up the slack? My conversations with tax experts all point to the same solutions.

First, eliminate the vast majority of special interest tax breaks. Corporations have riddled our tax code with loopholes that leave us vulnerable to tax cheats and drain revenue from the federal treasury. Americans go to work, collect their paychecks and pay the taxes they owe. As a matter of fairness, corporations have an obligation to do the same. Second, move tax liability from corporations to the people who own them. Individual owners and shareholders benefit from corporate profits and should be taxed accordingly. This means lowering the corporate tax rate while making up the difference through higher taxes on capital gains and dividends. Aside from it being easier to tax a person than a corporation, which only exists on paper, this reform would shift the tax burden away from a corporations’ hardworking employees, whom the Congressional Budget Office estimates pay at least 25 percent of the corporate tax.

Unfortunately, President Trump and congressional Republican have not shown a good-faith interest in making the needed changes to our tax system that would give working-class Americans the hand up they deserve. We have seen this show before. Republican tax plans always fall back on the same discredited supply-side, trickle-down economics that enrich large corporations and corporate owners at the expense of the middle class and smaller, less tax-savvy businesses. That is not meaningful tax reform, and that is not a tax policy that Democrats will support.

Meaningful reform would include a $1 trillion expansion of the earned income tax credit that will put $12,000 in the pockets of working families earning less than $75,000 every year. Meaningful reform would drastically simplify the tax code and allow millions of Americans to file a pre-populated return online for free without having to pay for TurboTax or QuickBooks. Meaningful reform would expand the child tax credit to help parents balance the demands of work and family. Meaningful reform would setup new, private investment structures that would make it easier for businesses in distressed communities to receive investment capital.

Americans and communities across the country are hurting. They need relief, not rhetoric. They need a tax code that promotes fairness, grows the economy, creates jobs by keeping our businesses competitive globally, and eases the burden on middle-class taxpayers. They need to know that when Congress takes up the debate on tax reform, we will advocate for policies that put working families first. Meaningful reform should work for everyone, not just those at the top.

Ryan represents Ohio’s 13th District.

You can read the Op-Ed as it was originally published in The Hill here:

As an elected official in Ohio for over 17 years, I certainly have not appreciated every news article or story that has been published in the media. But after hearing President Trump’s tirade last night, I believe it is necessary for public officials to state clearly and unequivocally that a free press is essential to the functioning of our democracy. It isn’t always fun to have the scrutiny of the press analyzing and critiquing our policies, our initiatives, and even our personalities. But it is exactly that friction that forces elected officials to answer publicly those who question certain ideas and policies.

A free press gives voice to a free people. If we can’t fiercely and articulately defend our positions and policies publicly then those ideas won’t, and shouldn’t, become the law of the land. That is why President Trump feels the need to lash out at the press every chance he gets. They are constantly shedding light on his hyperbole, his hypocrisies, his misrepresentations and his ever more increasing falsehoods.

Congressman Tim Ryan on Twitter

A free press gives voice to a free people. If @realDonaldTrump doesn't like the free press, what would he have in its place?

Our system isn’t perfect, social media has gotten a bit out of control, making political discourse a lot noisier. But the alternative is the secretive, government controlled media system that we see in Russia, China, and developing countries around the world where power brokers are able to operate in the shadows and against the interests of their own people. If President Trump does not like the free press, what would he have in its place?

With Results in Short Supply, Promises Stack Up

In Ohio, people expect their President to deliver. They expect their elected leaders to make the concerns of the people their own, and to labor every day to solve them. Yesterday the President of the United States visited Youngstown, Ohio. But this wasn’t Donald Trump’s first visit. On the campaign trail, Donald Trump spent a lot of time and energy trying to sell his message in Youngstown, Pittsburgh, and Detroit and cities like them. It is no secret that his surprise victory came in large part from relentlessly pitching a simple yet effective economic message to regions of the country that were left behind in the global economy. In communities like Youngstown we judge politicians by one standard: have they delivered on their promises. Now that President Trump sits in the Oval Office, it’s clear that he has NOT delivered on his long list of promises to working class Americans.

I’ve lived in the Youngstown-area my whole life, and our community wants to know that leaders are going to try to solve our problems. But the view from the heartland is that the President is overwhelmed with trying to solve his own problems. The voters that supported him did so because they have struggled economically for decades. I have seen the destruction first hand. Jobs have been replaced by machines; industries have moved overseas; shops, restaurants and businesses closed from lack of demand; municipal budgets cratered. Yet year after year, politicians and public officials come here promising that they can bring back the ‘glory days’. Donald Trump is just the latest in a long line of politicians peddling snake-oil, trying to get my friends and neighbors to believe that someone can wave a magic wand and make all our problems disappear.

Last night, President Trump told my constituents that he would re-open closed coal mines and shuttered steel mills by turning back environmental protections. We have heard this before. He campaigned on this for two years. And now Donald Trump is President, but I don’t see any new coal mines. Where are these new steel mills? Where are the jobs? These are promises he can’t keep and, worse yet, he hasn’t even tried. Where is the trillion dollar transportation and infrastructure bill? Where is the strategy to deal with globalization? Automation? Crickets. New economy jobs? Crickets. President Trump has no focus, just chaos.

We want a strategy forward, not tweets and applause lines. Right now there are amazing opportunities to make long lasting investments into our future. The typical wind turbine has over 8,000 component parts: ball bearings, steel tubing, and electrical components — all things that can be manufactured and assembled in places like Youngstown, Pittsburgh and Detroit. And these are jobs that we can keep here in the United States. They can be built by American workers, they can be installed and be maintained by American workers. The solar industry alone employs three times as many people as the coal industry — a complete reversal from just a short time ago.

With the President’s Russia scandal growing by the hour and his party’s domestic agenda in a rut, it is safe to assume the President’s visit to Youngstown, an area he perceived to be friendly territory, was meant to be a sort of reset, or refresher on his declining approval numbers. To try to remind voters about his promises to the hard working American family.

It is ironic that President Trump’s visit fell on the same day that the Senate voted to start debate on the disastrous TrumpCare bill. In Northeast, Ohio we are home to some of the world’s finest healthcare institutions — the Cleveland Clinic, University Hospital, Akron Children’s Hospital, Mercy Health. Yet instead of supporting these institutions, President Trump stood in front of crowds in Youngstown and advocated for legislation that will not only cause at least 22 million people to lose their health insurance and cause immeasurable human suffering and loss, but some studies show could cost Ohio up to 98,800 jobs by 2026. How is this going to help my constituents and the people of Ohio?

We’re not fools, and we’re not a prop. President Trump cannot hide from his lack of action or this legislation, and we will hold him accountable for his decisions since taking office. Because while he is preoccupied with scoring cheap political points, it is critical that we stay focused and continue to push for a 21st Century economy that recognizes the need for good paying jobs, quality, affordable healthcare, and embraces the challenge of global change ahead. Forging a comprehensive plan forward rather than promising to bring back the past is hard. The politics of fear and envy are easy compared to genuine innovation and leadership, but the stakes are too high not to pursue a future where every one of our sons and daughters can live the American Dream.

Congressman Tim Ryan represents the 13th District of Ohio. Learn more about him at: timryan.house.gov

It is Time for a New AUMF

Following the unprecedented September 11th attack on America, Congress took swift action. A piece of legislation known as the Authorization for Use of Military Force (AUMF) passed both chambers of Congress in just three days to dedicate troops for the protection of our nation. Since that day, approximately 3 million veterans have served in our nation’s Armed Forces and more than 6,901 have paid the ultimate sacrifice. Today, we have 1.7 million active duty members serving the United States military. All together, 4.7 million lives were forever changed by 62 words tucked into a one page document written 16 years ago.

Since that day, the AUMF has been used as justification for countless military operations overseas, without Congressional oversight or debate. It is powerful and right that we passed this amendment immediately before our 241st Independence Day; I was proud to join with the other members of the House Appropriations Committee, both Democrats and Republicans, in supporting an amendment that will establish a sunset date for the AUMF. Unfortunately, after passage of this amendment, House Republican leadership have signaled that they will intervene and strip the language from the final bill, despite the broad bipartisan support it received. This amendment would allow our country’s defense strategy to have proper accountability and ends the blank check we have been using to deploy our forces anytime, anywhere in the world without Congressional authorization. The sunset provision included in the Fiscal Year 2018 Defense Appropriations bill would end the blanket AUMF eight months after the legislation becomes law; continued use our forces after that date would require a new authorization by Congress. The Speaker has said there is a time and place for this debate, but that this amendment isn’t the proper way. That may be so, but my question to the Speaker would be “if not now, when?” It has already been far too long since Congress reasserted its proper role in the decision of war and peace.

Rep. Barbara Lee on Twitter

Whoa. My amdt to sunset 2001 AUMF was adopted in DOD Approps markup! GOP & Dems agree: a floor debate & vote on endless war is long overdue.

To be clear, this amendment would not mean we are done fighting terrorism. This is not a George W. Bush banner proclaiming “mission accomplished”. It is designed to order Congress to roll up its sleeves and get to work in the manner that the Constitution requires to establish a coherent national policy. It acknowledges that we have now engaged in numerous military operations in the war against terrorism that were never imagined in 2001. While we are still fighting the Taliban, we are now engaged in an effort to eradicate ISIS, a terrorist organization that did not exist in its current form in 2001. The Trump Administration is now discussing deploying even more troops to Syria, a country that no one envisioned would be a war zone in 2001 when this authorization was signed.

The American people deserve the opportunity to have their voices heard. The Constitution grants Congress the sole power to declare war. We owe our voters their Constitutional right to have their elected officials debate and approve where and when our brave men and women in uniform are deployed.

I sit on the House Defense Appropriations Committee and previously sat on the House Armed Services Committee. I take my Constitutional responsibility for the men and women who serve our country past and present very seriously. As I am briefed by Secretary Mattis and our top defense commanders, I understand that the risks we face in the Middle East are not ending and that the situation continues to escalate. I can no longer return home to Ohio and look in the eyes of the veterans and active duty servicemember in my district and know that Congress is refusing to perform its full Constitutional duty.

Every member of Congress owes accountability to our country when we ask our brave men and women to risk their lives for our democracy and security. We cannot shirk from this discussion by continuing to extend the AUMF passed just three days after the worst terrorist attack in history.

Now I know that this is a tough debate and difficult conversation. But it is one Congress must have.

Learn more about Congressman Tim Ryan at https://timryan.house.gov/

The Internet’s Net Neutrality Day of Action is Underway

Imagine. If. Your. Internet. Browser. Loaded. Content. At. This. Speed. Unless your preferred websites had previous agreements with your internet service provider (ISP)? What would it mean for America if ISPs could decide what content consumers should or should not see? Abandoning net neutrality would destroy the internet as we know it, and you should be very concerned.

When talking about the regulation of the railroad industry, President Theodore Roosevelt said, “Above all else, we must strive to keep the highways of commerce open to all on equal terms.” Today our highway of commerce is the internet, and President Roosevelt’s belief still rings true — we must have an internet that is open to all on equal terms. In February 2015, when the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) under President Obama first voted to classify the internet as a utility, I was among the strongest supporters of their efforts to implement and enforce net neutrality protections. This decision was important because it allowed the creation of clear rules and regulations to ban paid prioritization of content and services across all internet platforms — including mobile broadband, which makes up 63% of all usage.

Congressman Tim Ryan on Twitter

3.7 million comment on Internet regulations, w/ fewer than 1% opposing #netneutrality. Its definitive..we must ensure a free & open Internet

Congressman Tim Ryan on Twitter

The internet is a nececessity, not a luxury. That is why this court decision is great news for all Americans. https://t.co/z7X5bkLpAT

Would it be right to prioritize access to clean drinking water only to certain customers who are willing and able to pay a higher price? What about electricity? In an age where the internet has become an indispensable tool of commerce, education, and entertainment, that answer is a resounding “NO.” Lack of access to reliable internet can compound economic inequality and limit access to quality education.

Sadly, President Trump is yet again standing on the side of big business when it comes to net neutrality. Since he was elected president, Donald Trump has moved swiftly to undue the progress we have made. He appointed Ajit Pai to head the FCC — a man who opposed and wants to replace Obama-era net neutrality protections, calling them “an intrusive example of government overreach.” Under President Trumps leadership, Pai has already begun the formal process to roll back net neutrality.

But we are not helpless, it is within our power to stand up and stop this attack on our right to a free and open internet. Today I join millions of Americans and over 80,000 websites including Google, Facebook, and Amazon in celebrating Net Neutrality Day and protesting online against the rollback of net neutrality rules. We need your voice now more than ever before.

Today’s testimony from former FBI Director James Comey was many things: shocking, unnerving, explosive. But I think it is important to remember that above all else today was a sad day for our republic. Just a little over a hundred days into the Trump Administration, our country has already been subjected to an inordinate amount of trauma as we work to get to the bottom of Russia’s officially-sanctioned attack against our democratic institutions.

The scandals that began on the campaign trail have reached a high-water mark with a former Director of the FBI swearing under oath for the first time that the sitting President sought assurances of loyalty not to the U.S. Constitution, but to himself. Not to truth and justice, but to his cronies and staff. When Director Comey rebuffed the President’s inappropriate efforts to insert himself into the ongoing Russia investigation, particularly as it related to his then-National Security Advisor Michael Flynn, he was unceremoniously fired.

We’ve seen the lengths that President Trump went to interfere in that ongoing investigation. It is painfully clear that when Director Comey signaled that he would not put loyalty to Donald Trump above his commitment to the pursuit of truth, he paid for it with his job. The message that sends across the government could not be more clear: be loyal to Donald Trump, or get out. That ethos is diametrically opposed to the founding ideals of our system of government. Our Founding Fathers designed a system in which power would be broken up and spread across three separate but co-equal branches of government.

When the President bullies officials in the Executive Branch to put his own well-being over their sworn duties, he’s engaging in the same destructive behavior as when he smears the courts and federal judges who disagree with him, or attacks Congress for going through the legislative process laid out in the Constitution. Pushing back against President Trump’s overreach is not so much a matter of party, as it is patriotism. Democrats and Republicans must stand shoulder to shoulder to signal that we support the wisdom of our Founders who knew that the type of power our President wishes he could wield is far too dangerous to have concentrated in one man.

The President of the United States is not above the law. We have seen the President lash out at democratic norms that he thinks are working against him time and time again, and we must all hold him accountable for his actions. Undue executive influence and flagrant contempt of other branches of government weakens our nation. The picture that Director Comey painted today of President Trump was of a person unworthy of the office he holds. And for the United States, which James Comey correctly described as a “shining city on a hill,” it is a particularly sad day in our nation’s history.