After Nine Months, Rep. Clarke Submits Bill

Nine months into her tenure as congresswoman for New York's 11th district in Brooklyn, a freshman Representative, Yvette Clarke, submitted her first bill this week. She was the only remaining first-term congresswoman to have not yet introduced legislation. Her lack of activity contributed to her earning a "D" grade last month from a congressional watchdog, CBC Monitor.

Ms. Clarke's bill, the Citizenship Immigration Backlog Reduction Act, would require the FBI to submit a plan to expedite background checks on legal immigrants applying for citizenship. "Introducing legislation that addresses the backlog that countless honest immigrants face is just the right thing to do," she said.