Today's News Updates

FDA User Fees are Critical to Bringing Safe, Effective Cures to Patients
Bipartisan Policy Center
April 26, 2017
Provisions in draft legislation reauthorizing the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) user fee programs will play a critical role in accelerating the development and delivery of safe and effective treatments and cures to patients. That’s the message of a new Bipartisan Policy Center report released today to help inform Congress as they consider updating and reauthorizing fee agreements the FDA collects from industry for prescription drugs, medical devices, and biosimilars. The fees make up a significant part of the agency’s budget and are set to expire on September 30, 2017, risking staff layoffs and timely approvals of new treatments and cures.
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Tell Congress to pass bill to defund Planned Parenthood
American Family Association
APRIL 26, 2017
Planned Parenthood is America's largest abortion provider and it carries out over 300,000 abortions each year. In recent years the gruesome practice of abortion by Planned Parenthood was highlighted through undercover videos. These videos showed Planned Parenthood employees discussing the barbaric sale of baby body parts. Not only is this inhumane, it is likely a felony. Such an organization should not receive taxpayer dollars.
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Fraud in the "Credible Fear" Process
Center for Immigration Studies
April 24, 2017
Since the 2016 presidential campaign, significant attention has been focused on refugees to the United States and the potential dangers that they may pose. Scarce attention has been directed to aliens in expedited removal proceedings with "credible fear" claims, even though they may pose a greater risk to the United States than potential refugees.
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Elections have consequences, build the wall
Americans for Limited Government
April 24, 2017
“One of the fundamental promises Trump made was to secure the border by expanding the nation’s border wall infrastructure, which already consists of about 600 miles of walls, fencing and other barriers. This is not a binary choice of wall or no wall. We already have walls. It’s about whether the Republican Congress can keep the basic promise the President made to secure the border that was one of the major issues that united Trump’s electoral coalition and propelled Republicans to majorities in both houses of Congress, and not cave into the temper tantrum of the left still trying to figure out how it lost everything in 2016.”
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FCC Chairman Ajit Pai Begins to Free the Internet From Burdensome Overregulation
Citizens Against Government Waste
April 26, 2017
Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW) praised Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Ajit Pai today after his announcement of a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) that is intended to reconsider the imposition of an outdated regulatory regime on the internet.
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Citizens Against Government Waste Praises President Trump's First 100 Days
April 24, 2017
Citizens Against Government Waste
Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW), America’s largest taxpayer watchdog group, applauded the numerous effective actions taken by President Donald Trump during his first 100 days in office to curb rampant waste, fraud, abuse, and mismanagement in the federal government.
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CLUB FOR GROWTH ON TRUMP TAX PROPOSAL: THIS IS WHAT PRO-GROWTH TAX REFORM LOOKS LIKE
Club for Growth
April 26th, 2017
“The Trump Administration’s tax reform proposal is massively pro-growth,” said Club for Growth president David McIntosh. “Cutting rates and eliminating deductions will put the U.S. squarely on the path of sustained economic growth, and allowing small and mid-size businesses to use a new 15% business tax rate is crucial to that growth. This is the tax plan that the American people supported when they elected President Trump, so House Republicans would do well to give it their full support.”
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CLUB FOR GROWTH CELEBRATES 100 DAYS OF PRO-GROWTH PROGRESS
Club for Growth
April 26th, 2017
“Imagine the economic devastation we’d be talking about today if Hillary Clinton had been elected: Higher taxes, more job-crushing government regulations, an expansion of government-run health care, and massive government overreach into the private sector,” said Club for Growth president David McIntosh. “In less than 100 days, President Trump and his administration have not only prevented that nightmare, but they have halted the economic destruction caused by eight years of Obama Administration policies, and have restored consumer and business confidence with strong and effective pro-growth policies (see below). The result of these policies has been a 15% gain in the stock market, which has added at least $2 trillion of wealth to all Americans in their retirement funds and savings.”
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COUNCIL ON FOUNDATIONS STATEMENT REGARDING WHITE HOUSE TAX CUT STATEMENT
Council on Foundations
APRIL 26, 2017
“Today’s White House statement on its tax reform position clarifies the first step in what will be a long process towards meaningful tax reform. We are especially pleased to see the White House recognize the importance of the charitable deduction. We look forward to seeing even greater clarity from the White House in the coming months on its position."
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RNC Statement on President Trump’s Tax Reform Proposal
Republican Party
April 26, 2017
“This proposal represents a bold step to enact much needed tax reform,” said Chairwoman McDaniel. “For too long businesses and people in this country have been burdened by an unnecessarily complex and overreaching tax code that has stifled wage and job growth. President Trump’s proposal will go a long way toward restoring economic prosperity by prioritizing middle class tax cuts, enacting business tax reform, and encouraging investment and job growth.”
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RETAILERS RESPOND TO PRESIDENT TRUMP’S TAX PLAN
Retail Industry Leaders Association (RILA)
April 26, 2017
"We welcome President Trump's outline for tax reform. Retailers pay among the highest effective tax rates of all U.S. businesses and provide jobs to more Americans than any other industry. Reform that substantially lowers the rates that retailers ultimately pay will generate job growth and benefit American families in countless ways. The President's tax reform plan recognizes the importance of a globally competitive tax code that allows American businesses to compete around the world and grow, and for consumers to have more money to save or spend. We will continue to fight back against the harmful border adjustment tax proposed by House Republicans and look forward to working with President Trump to exact pro-growth tax reform this year," said Brian Dodge, senior executive vice president for public affairs."
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U.S. Chamber of Commerce Welcomes Trump Administration’s Tax Reform Outline
U.S. Chamber of Commerce
April 26, 2017
“As an advocate for pro-growth tax reform, the U.S. Chamber welcomes the White House’s strong push today to advance tax reform. We’ve got a once-in-a-generation chance to do tax reform, and if we do it right, it can be the single most important step our leaders take to drive economic growth.
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Internet

FCC Chairman Ajit Pai Begins to Free the Internet From Burdensome Overregulation
Citizens Against Government Waste
April 26, 2017
Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW) praised Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Ajit Pai today after his announcement of a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) that is intended to reconsider the imposition of an outdated regulatory regime on the internet.
Read more...

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See Also Media and the Press
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Discrimination and Hate

AJC PRAISES PRESIDENT TRUMP’S COMMITMENT TO FIGHT ANTI-SEMITISM, HOLOCAUST DENIAL
American Jewish Committee
April 25, 2017
AJC praised President Trump for his passionate address today at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum’s National Days of Remembrance ceremony in the Capitol Rotunda.
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Media and the Press

RSF’s index stresses threats against journalists in Asia, audiences’ need for free press
Broadcasting Board of Governors
April 26, 2017
The media environment in Radio Free Asia’s broadcast region further declined, according to Reporters Without Borders’s 2017 Press Freedom Index. Radio Free Asia (RFA) President Libby Liu said the report’s findings underscore the importance of RFA’s mission in countries that censor and restrict access to independent, reliable news and information. Seven of RFA’s nine language services operate in countries that were ranked in the bottom 10 percent of the survey, with North Korea ranked dead last, and China and Vietnam named the world’s biggest jailers of bloggers and journalists.
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9th Circuit urged to uphold First Amendment freedoms of investigative journalists
Alliance Defending Freedom
April 21, 2017
Alliance Defending Freedom attorneys representing the pro-life Susan B. Anthony List Education Fund filed a friend-of-the-court brief Friday with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit that encourages the full court to take up the case of David Daleiden of the Center for Medical Progress and uphold First Amendment freedoms for investigative journalists.
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Nutrition

Dennis M. Bier presents the ARS W.O. Atwater Memorial Lecture at the Experimental Biology meeting in Chicago on April 25.
U.S. Department of Agriculture
April 25, 2017
ARS established the W.O. Atwater Memorial Lecture in 1968 to honor the memory of Wilbur Olin Atwater (1844-1907) and to recognize scientists who have made unique contributions toward improving the diet and nutrition of people around the world. Considered the father of modern nutrition research and education, Atwater was the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) first chief of nutrition investigations.
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50 Years Ago, Sugar Industry Quietly Paid Scientists To Point Blame At Fat
NPR Red River Radio
September 13, 2016
In the 1960s, the sugar industry funded research that downplayed the risks of sugar and highlighted the hazards of fat, according to a newly published article in JAMA Internal Medicine.
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Prisons

Policy Shifts Reduce Federal Prison Population
Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts
April 25, 2017
A decline in the number of federal prosecutions and in the severity of sentences for drug-related crime in recent years has resulted in a significant drop in the federal prison population, according to statistics from the Judiciary, the U.S. Sentencing Commission (USSC), and the Bureau of Prisons (BOP).
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Abortion

Shaheen, Blumenthal Lead Call for UN Ambassador Haley to Reverse Course, Reaffirm U.S. Commitment to Global Reproductive Rights
Senator Jeanne Shaheen - (D - NH)
APRIL 20, 2017
U.S. Senators Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) and Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) today led a letter calling on United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley to reverse course and reaffirm the United States’ commitment to global reproductive rights. The U.S. has long supported sexual and reproductive rights abroad through foreign aid and development programs, but the Trump Administration has taken actions recently threatening these rights. In their letter, the Senators said that recent actions, such as stating at the Commission on the Status of Women that the U.S. does not recognize an international right to abortion, demonstrate a blatant disregard for the integral role that sexual and reproductive health play in women's lives and hinder the U.S.’s ability to achieve its foreign policy and development goals.
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Religion

Shaheen, Senators Question DHS About Revoking Global Entry Status Based on Religion
Senator Jeanne Shaheen - (D - NH)
APRIL 21, 2017
U.S. Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) joined a group of Senators on a letter questioning the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) about reports that it is revoking the membership of dozens of people enrolled in its Global Entry Program on the basis of religion. The Global Entry Program allows expedited clearance for certain travelers arriving in the U.S. who have undergone significant background checks. The letter to DHS Secretary John Kelly was also signed by Senators Cory Booker (D-NJ), Tom Carper (D-DE) Ed Markey (D-MA), Patrick Leahy (D-VT), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Bernie Sanders (D-VT), Chris Coons (D-DE), and Ben Cardin (D-MD).
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Farmers and Ranchers

SCHUMER SPEAKS TO TRUMP ABOUT CANADA’S UNFAIR DAIRY PRICING POLICY
Senator Charles E. Schumer- (D - NY)
April 21, 2017
“President Trump and I spoke yesterday about reversing Canada's new and unfair dairy-pricing policy. It is an unwise policy that violates our agreements and hurts our farmers, and we agreed to work together to immediately address the issue. Since Canada’s damaging policies also impact dairy farms in Wisconsin, I suggested reaching out to Speaker Ryan. The three of us, in conjunction with Senator Tammy Baldwin and other stakeholders, will develop a comprehensive plan to tackle this issue. We can all agree that, it is critical to level the playing field for our hard-working dairy farmers and make sure our Canadian neighbors rescind their unfair policy and again play by the rules,” said U.S Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer.
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Weather

Thune Statement on Enactment of Weather Research and Forecasting Innovation Act
John Thune - (R - SD)
April 19, 2017
U.S. Sen. John Thune (R-S.D), chairman of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, which has legislative jurisdiction over the National Weather Service (NWS), issued the following statement on the announcement that President Donald Trump has signed into law H.R. 353, the Weather Research and Forecasting Innovation Act of 2017. The bill, of which Thune was the lead Senate sponsor, includes sweeping reforms to federal forecasting to improve seasonal forecasting, monitoring and clearly communicating information about extreme weather events, the availability of aircraft systems for hurricane tracking, and the use of commercial data that have been collectively called “the first major piece of weather legislation adopted since the early 1990s.”
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Schatz-Thune Weather Research And Forecasting Legislation Signed Into Law
Brian Schatz - (D - HI)
April 19, 2017
Leaders on the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation and the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology which exercise legislative jurisdiction in their respective chambers over the National Weather Service (NWS) today, issued the following statements on the announcement last night that President Donald Trump has signed into law H.R. 353, the Weather Research and Forecasting Innovation Act of 2017. The bill includes sweeping reforms to federal forecasting to improve seasonal forecasting, monitoring and clearly communicating information about extreme weather events, the availability of aircraft systems for hurricane tracking, and the use of commercial data that have been collectively called “the first major piece of weather legislation adopted since the early 1990s.”
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