Voter Fraud, Water Rights, Human Trafficking, Wetlands, Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement

Voter Fraud

On July 11, Congressman Gerald E. “Gerry” Connolly (D-VA, 11th) whined in a letter to Vice President Pence urging him to rescind the Presidential Advisory Commission on Election Integrity’s directive for sensitive voter data. Connolly said the directive “is a thinly veiled effort to carry out voter suppression on a national scale. States should not comply.” The Vice President serves as chair of the Commission.

In wake of the Huffington Post's report about hundreds of voters cancelling their registration cards, it seems to me that Democrats are getting worried that no one will be left to vote for them in the next election. The only voters being "suppressed", however, are the dead ones.

Water Rights

HR 23, the Gaining Responsibility on Water Act (GROW) passed overwhelmingly in the House of Representatives on June 13. The GROW Act modernizes water policies throughout the western United States and promotes improved water reliability in California. The bill expands water storage, develops water infrastructure, protects privately held water rights, and creates more abundant and reliable water resources to benefit both our communities and the environment. It also gives federal agencies the tools they need to help safeguard communities from the effects of future droughts.

The GROW Act prohibits past abuses of the Departments of the Interior and Agriculture that required private entities to relinquish their water rights to the federal government as a permit condition to continue operating on federal lands

Human Trafficking

Human trafficking is a serious problem across the globe, but it also exists in our communities. According to the National Human Trafficking Hotline, in Pennsylvania last year there were over 150 human trafficking cases reported and 575 human trafficking calls. The most common types of trafficking reported in Pennsylvania were sex trafficking and labor trafficking, and this week, the House passed two bills to assist in fighting both types.

The Enhancing Detection of Human Trafficking Act would help train Department of Labor inspectors to identify patterns and circumstances surrounding human trafficking so inspectors can assist law enforcement in recognizing and stopping this labor exploitation.

There is also the Empowering Law Enforcement to Fight Sex Trafficking Demand Act, a bill that would allow law enforcement agencies to apply for targeted grant opportunities through the Department of Justice. Law enforcement agencies and officials need a comprehensive approach to combatting human trafficking, but essential programs that are part of this approach are often expensive. The Department of Justice’s grant program can provide assistance in implementing programs that enable officials to better combat sex trafficking demand.

The Empower Educators to Prevent Trafficking Act (H.R. 2268) was included in a package of legislation - The Frederick Douglass Trafficking Victims Protection Act (H.R. 2200) that passed the House on June 12th. This bill would authorize grants to help school districts establish a program if one doesn’t already exist, expand an existing program, and receive continued support for their efforts to train school staff about human trafficking.

Wetlands

On June 13, the bipartisan Wetland Determinations Efficiency and Transparency Act was introduced in the House of Representatives. This legislation aims to enact permanent reforms that make the wetland determination process more efficient, accountable and transparent.

According to Congressman Collin C. Peterson (D-MN, 7th), "This bill is a needed step to help ensure producers in our region don't face a determination backlog when trying to make improvements to their land. Making drainage improvements to land can increase yields, improve water quality and reduce the risk of flooding. This common sense bill will simply make the process more efficient for producers to stay in compliance with conservation rules.”

The Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) is responsible for determining whether land qualifies as a wetland, and therefore, is protected for conservation purposes according to so-called “Swampbuster” rules. If property is determined to be a wetland, certain changes – such as laying drain tile in a field – are not allowed without a landowner losing the ability to participate in federal Farm Bill programs and crop insurance. In recent years, producers have faced a significant backlog in wetland determination.

Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement

There are still ongoing trade discussions towards completing a Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement.

The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) is a proposed regional free trade agreement (FTA) being negotiated among the United States, Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, and Vietnam. The economy of the State of Texas relies heavily on international trade, exporting $279.7 billion in goods in 2013, with 36.1% or $101.0 billion, sent to Mexico. Texas exports support thousands of jobs for Texas workers and sustain thousands of small and medium sized businesses based in Texas.

Plane Crash, Human Chain, Lawless Corporations, Voting, Russia, Navy Secretary

Marine special ops troops among 16 dead in plane crash
UPI
July 12, 2017
Federal Aviation Administration officials contacted the Marines when the aircraft disappeared from air traffic control radar as it flew over Mississippi, officials said. The plane burned after it struck the ground, and possible unexploded ordnance and ammunition could be surrounding the plane and hampering investigation, WLBT-TV, Jackson, Miss., reported.
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Good Samaritans form human chain to rescue swimmers caught in rip current off Florida coast
Good Morning America
July 11, 2017
“[Jessica and I] are no Olympic swimmers, not even Coast Guard swimmers but just two average people who spend a lot of time in the water,” Simmons said. “Everybody that was involved is a hero in my book.” The chain eventually grew to around 40 people, according to a police report obtained by ABC News. The report estimates the swimmers were stuck nearly 70 yards away from the shoreline.
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Judiciary Democrats Praise Rule to Restore the Rights of Hardworking Americans to Hold Lawless Corporations Accountable
David Cicilline (D-RI, 1st)
July 10, 2017
Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee applauded the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) for finalizing a rule to prohibit the use of pre-dispute, binding (“forced”) arbitration in contracts for consumer financial products such as checking or savings accounts, student loans, or credit cards.
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Clay Demands Swift Action from Ashcroft to Safeguard Missouri Voter Rolls, Election Day Operations from Foreign Tampering
William “Lacy” Clay, Jr. (D-MO, 1st)
July 10, 2017
Congressman Wm. Lacy Clay (D) Missouri is demanding that Missouri Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft identify immediate actions he intends to take to safeguard Missouri elections from foreign tampering. The Congressman’s letter to Mr. Ashcroft also denounced Missouri’s new Photo ID law. Mr. Clay, Missouri’s senior Democrat in Congress, first warned of Russian attempts to tamper with U.S. elections early last year during hearings before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee.
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Trump Sees Fake Russia During Meeting With Former KGB Agent Putin While Cohen Sees Real Russia at OSCE PA in Minsk
Steve Cohen (D-TN, 9th)
July 11, 2017
While at the annual Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Parliamentary Assembly last week in Minsk, Belarus, Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09), a member of the Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe (Helsinki Commission), witnessed the real Russia that votes against human rights, democratic values, free elections, and the territorial integrity of nations, while President Trump saw the fake Russia during his meeting at the G20 Summit in Germany with former KGB agent and Russian President Vladimir Putin:
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Senator Tom Cotton RIPS Obama’s departed Navy secretary
Allen West Republic
JULY 12, 2017
Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., on Tuesday told President Trump’s pick for Navy secretary, Richard V. Spencer, that he may be hindered in his new position by the legacy of his Obama predecessor, whom he called one of the most unpopular secretaries in modern history.
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