Press Releases

WASHINGTON, D.C. – On Tuesday, June 9, 2026 128 members of the Democratic Women’s Caucus (DWC) and House Democratic Caucus led by DWC Executive Steering Committee Member Debbie Dingell (MI-06) with co-leads DWC Vice Chairs and House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Members Emilia Sykes (OH-13) and Hillary Scholten (MI-03) and DWC Chair Teresa Leger Fernandez (NM-03) sent Speaker Johnson a letter urging him to remove a dangerous provision from the BUILD America 250 Act that would likely shield rideshare companies, such as Uber and Lyft, from liability when passengers are sexually assaulted, injured, or killed during their rides.

Opening the door for Uber and Lyft to receive a liability shield is likely to disproportionately harm women and girls. It would also reduce available recourse for survivors of crashes, sexual assaults, and other incidents that occur when using rideshare services. The letter argues Congress should strengthen rideshare safety protections and corporate accountability—not create pathways for immunity for multibillion-dollar corporations amid ongoing reports of sexual assault tied to rideshare platforms. The Members demand that Speaker Johnson must remove this provision from the BUILD America 250 Act before the bill moves to the House floor.

In their letter, the Members explain that rideshare companies’ failures to adequately adopt policies to protect passengers and drivers from sexual misconduct are well-documented and chilling:

“Since the beginning of 2026 alone, Uber has been found liable for two separate sexual assault cases involving drivers, including cases in Arizona and North Carolina. Publicly reported safety data has also shown alarming rates of sexual assault and misconduct reports tied to rideshare platforms. These ongoing incidents demonstrate why Congress should be strengthening oversight, improving transparency, and encouraging stronger safety protocols, rather than clearing the path for unprecedented liability shields for multibillion-dollar corporations.”

The Members also argue that survivors must have the right to hold companies accountable when corporate failures contribute to preventable harm:

“The bill as amended sets the stage for corporations to be shielded from liability when passengers who allege sexual assault, are seriously injured, or are killed when using rideshare apps such as Uber and Lyft. As this Congress engages in a bipartisan effort to reform our own practices to keep women safe from sexual misconduct, it is unthinkable that we create pathways to immunity for corporations if sexual assault or other harm occurs when using their services. In addition, the amendment would likely be interpreted to preempt longstanding state liability laws so that a rideshare company cannot be held liable if a driver harms a passenger. This creates not only an extraordinarily high legal threshold for victims to pursue accountability, but also discourages companies from taking necessary steps to keep passengers safe. While supporters claim the amendment would reduce transportation costs and curb frivolous litigation, in practice it would hamstring the rights of survivors to hold companies accountable when harm occurs because of failures to implement reasonable safety measures, adequately vet drivers, monitor dangerous conduct, or respond appropriately to complaints…Survivors deserve the right to hold companies accountable when corporate failures contribute to preventable harm.”

Read the full letter here.

In addition to letter leads Debbie Dingell, Members Emilia Sykes and Hillary Scholten, and DWC Chair Teresa Leger Fernandez, the letter was signed by Gabe Amo, Jake Auchincloss, Becca Balint, Nanette Barragán, Joyce Beatty, Wesley Bell, Suzanne Bonamici, Brendan Boyle, Julia Brownley, Shontel Brown, Nikki Budzinski, Janelle Bynum, Salud Carbajal, André Carson, Troy Carter, Greg Casar, Kathy Castor, Judy Chu, Yvette Clarke, Emanuel Cleaver, Angie Craig, Jasmine Crockett, Danny Davis, Madeleine Dean, Diana DeGette, Rosa DeLauro, Suzan DelBene, Christopher Deluzio, Maxine Dexter, Lloyd Doggett, Sarah Elfreth, Veronica Escobar, Lizzie Fletcher, Bill Foster, Valerie Foushee, Lois Frankel, Laura Friedman, John Garamendi, Jesús García, Robert Garcia, Sylvia Garcia, Daniel Goldman, Maggie Goodlander, Adelita Grijalva, Jahana Hayes, Pablo Hernández, Chrissy Houlahan, Val Hoyle, Jared Huffman, Glenn Ivey, Jonathan Jackson, Pramila Jayapal, Julie Johnson, Sydney Kamlager-Dove, Ro Khanna, Summer Lee, Susie Lee, Ted Lieu, Zoe Lofgren, Seth Magaziner, Lucy McBath, Sarah McBride, April McClain Delaney, Jennifer McClellan, Morgan McGarvey, James McGovern, LaMonica McIver, Analilia Mejia, Grace Meng, Dave Min, Gwen Moore, Kelly Morrison, Frank Mrvan, Kevin Mullin, Jerrold Nadler, Joe Neguse, Eleanor Norton, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Johnny Olszewski, Ilhan Omar, Jimmy Panetta, Chris Pappas, Nancy Pelosi, Brittany Pettersen, Ayanna Pressley, Mike Quigley, Delia Ramirez, Emily Randall, Jamie Raskin, Luz Rivas, Deborah Ross, Raul Ruiz, Patrick Ryan, Andrea Salinas, Linda Sánchez, Mary Gay Scanlon, Janice Schakowsky, Bradley Schneider, Robert Scott, Terri Sewell, Lateefah Simon, Eric Sorensen, Melanie Stansbury, Greg Stanton, Haley Stevens, Marilyn Strickland, Shri Thanedar, Mike Thompson, Dina Titus, Rashida Tlaib, Jill Tokuda, Paul Tonko, Norma Torres, Lori Trahan, Derek Tran, Lauren Underwood, Gabe Vasquez, Marc Veasey, Nydia Velázquez, James Walkinshaw, Debbie Wasserman Schultz, Bonnie Watson Coleman, Nikema Williams, and Frederica Wilson.