Conaway, Schiff Issue Joint Statement on Russia Investigation
Michael K. Conaway (R-TX, 11th)
May 11, 2017
“The House Intelligence Committee is determined to move forward with its Russia investigation in a thorough and nonpartisan fashion. As a part of our responsibilities, we will be conducting rigorous oversight to ensure that the FBI's own investigation is not impeded or interfered with in any way."
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Congressional Progressive Caucus Leaders Oppose Trump Administration’s Discriminatory Targeting of Haitian Refugees
John Conyers, Jr. (D-MI, 13th)
May 11, 2017
“The Temporary Protected Status Program is a humanitarian program meant to protect individuals from returning to unsafe conditions in their home country. The Trump administration’s request that the Department of Homeland Security pursue inquiries into the criminal records of Haitian immigrants before deciding whether to continue humanitarian protections for tens of thousands of people threatens the livelihood of many Haitians. This marks an unprecedented and disturbing new development in President Trump’s anti-immigrant agenda.”
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Well Armed Women: Promoting gun safety and awareness in Gibson County
Princeton Daily Clarion
May 15, 2017
Educate. Equip. Empower. That is the motto of The Well Armed Woman Gibson County chapter, dedicated to helping women protect themselves and have a little fun as well.
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Could you run a business and homeschool 12 kids?
Richmond:Palladium-Item
May 15, 2017
"I've told the kids that if at any time (Craig or) I feel like we can't handle it, that (school) comes first," she said. "Homeschooling has been a priority for us for 25 years now. They are learning, to be sure. But being involved in this business is also part of the educational experience for our kids."
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Pondering the Christian Viewpoint

FIRED, IN TRUE TRUMP FASHION, AND FBI DIRECTOR JAMES COMEY DIDN'T EVEN SEE IT COMING!
Breaking Christian News
May 10, 2017
President Donald Trump, at the recommendation of both Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein and Attorney General Jeff Sessions, fired FBI Director James Comey on Tuesdaynight over his handling of the investigation into former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
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CHRISTIAN BAKERS IN IRELAND, FINED FOR REFUSING TO BAKE CAKE FOR GAY MARRIAGE, GET A BIG SURPRISE
Breaking Christian News
May 10, 2017
Something quite surprising has happened to Christian bakers in Northern Ireland who were found guilty of discrimination for declining to make a cake that included the message "support gay marriage" on it: The bakery's profits have increased.
Read more...

James Comey's Firing Fishy or Long Overdue? Jay Sekulow Breaks It Down
CBN News
May 10, 2017
"James Comey over the last several years has overstepped his bounds," Sekulow charged, "has not understood the jurisdiction of his office, has been derelict in his duties in that regard, and also has, quite frankly, engaged in political activities that are in our lifetime unprecedented."
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'Nixonian': The Left's New Lie That Smears 2 Presidents
Charisma News
May 10, 2017
For weeks, Democrats had been demanding that President Donald Trump fire FBI Director James Comey, and then after he did it, they accuse him of staging a 21st century "Saturday Night Massacre."
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Welfare, FBI Director, Trumpcare, Bladder Cancer

The Ponder News Blog recently tried to reformat how people read the news on this blog, but it didn't work. So we are going back to the original format. It's easier, and better read.

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Trumpcare
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Budd To Support American Health Care Act
Ted Budd (R-NC, 13th)
May 4, 2017
“If history is any guide I’ll take around 2,000 votes this Congress. Most of them will be forgotten. This is not one of those votes. This vote marks the beginning of the end of Obamacare as we know it. The failure of that law can be seen in the double-digit premium increases and monopoly situation in the individual insurance market in our state. "
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Butterfield Statement on Trumpcare Vote
G.K. Butterfield (D-NC, 1st)
May 4, 2017
“I am deeply disappointed that Republicans have once again decided to abandon the interests of the American people. Today’s vote in favor of the latest version of Trumpcare, which repeals the Affordable Care Act (ACA), is shameful."
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Byrne Votes to Repeal and Replace Obamacare

Rep. Calvert Statement on the Passage of the American Health Care Act

REP. CARBAJAL STATEMENT ON PASSAGE OF THE AMERICAN HEALTH CARE ACT

Carson Statement on Today’s Health Care Vote


Carter Statement on Passage of the American Health Care Act

CARTER VOTES TO REPEAL, REPLACE OBAMACARE

Chabot Statement on Obamacare Repeal

Chaffetz Statement on House Passage of AHCA

CONGRESSMAN CHENEY’S STATEMENT ON PASSAGE OF THE AMERICAN HEALTH CARE ACT (AHCA)

Rep. Chu Decries "Heartless" ACA Repeal Vote

Clark Blasts House Trumpcare Vote

Clay Says House GOP TrumpCare Vote Will Cost Lives, Devastate Medicaid, Rob Medicare

Clyburn Floor Statement In Opposition to House Republicans' Pay More, For Less

Cole Statement on Passage of the American Health Care Act

Congressman Collins Votes to Repeal and Replace Obamacare

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FBI Director James Comey
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Bustos Statement on President Trump’s Firing of FBI Director James Comey
Cheri Bustos (D-IL, 17th)
May 9, 2017
“President Trump’s decision to fire the FBI Director, while the President’s ties to Russia are under FBI investigation, undermines the public trust and should distress all Americans. To allow President Trump to appoint a new FBI Director, who would be in charge of investigating him, would be like letting the fox decide who’s in charge of security at the hen house. This underscores why we need a truly independent investigation with a special prosecutor to go wherever the facts lead so the American people can get a clear understanding of the full extent of Donald Trump’s ties to the Kremlin."
Read more... Modern day McCarthyism, if you ask me.

Statement from Rep. Capuano on the Firing of FBI Director James Comey

Cárdenas Statement on Comey

U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor's statement regarding the firing of FBI Director

Castro Statement on Firing of FBI Director Comey

Cicilline Statement on Firing of FBI Director Comey

Congressman Cleaver Releases Statement Regarding James Comey

Coffman Statement on FBI Director Firing

Cohen’s Statement on the Firing of FBI Director James Comey

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Welfare
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Buchanan Legislation to Be Signed Into Law
Vern Buchanan (R-FL, 16th)
May 5, 2017
Buchanan’s bill, which was included in a sweeping government funding bill, directs the U.S. Departments of Labor and Health and Human Services to create a database of state practices that have proved successful in helping people leave welfare. Those best practices would then be made available to officials in all 50 states to be duplicated.
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Bladder Cancer
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Cartwright Introduces Resolution to Increase Bladder Cancer Awareness
Matthew Cartwright (D-PA, 17th)
May 4, 2017
Bladder cancer is the fifth most common cancer in the U.S. According to the American Cancer Society, nearly 79,000 people will be diagnosed with bladder cancer and over 16,000 people will die from bladder cancer in 2017.
Read more...

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.
Read more...

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.
Read more...

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.
Read more...

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.”
Read more...

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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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.”
Read more...

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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."
Read more...

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.
Read more...

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.
Read more...

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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.
Read more...

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).
Read more...

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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