Democrats Vote to Protect Transgender Troops

by: Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-Delaware at Large)

Washington, D.C. - March 28, 2019 - (The Ponder News) -- Congresswoman Lisa Blunt Rochester (DE-AL) issued the following statement voting protect transgender members of our armed forces.

“No one with the strength and determination to serve in our military should ever be turned away because of who they are. Transgender service members serve with distinction and are prepared to make the sacrifice to our nation. The Trump Administration’s ban on transgender individuals serving in uniform is misguided, discriminatory, and contrary to our values. Despite their honorable commitment, this ban demeans their service and must be ended,” said Congresswoman Blunt Rochester. “By voting to end this ban, we met prejudice with love and intolerance with support. Today, we took an important step forward in fighting for equality, protecting the dignity of our military, and affirming the values that our country stands for.”

See Also:

Brooks Votes Against Taxpayer Funding for Gender Reassignment Surgery

Congressman Blumenauer Introduces Bill to Bolster Alzheimer’s Care Planning

by: Earl Blumenauer (D-OR, 3rd)

Washington, D.C. - March 28, 2019 - (The Ponder News) -- U.S. Representative Earl Blumenauer (D-OR), co-chair of the Congressional Neuroscience Caucus, along with several members of Congress, has introduced H.R. 1873, the Improving HOPE for Alzheimer’s Act. This bipartisan legislation that would require the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to inform healthcare providers about care planning benefits available through Medicare. The bill would also require HHS to identify other barriers individuals may be facing in accessing care planning.

“Alzheimer’s is the signature disease of boomers, and it’s a disease that touches everybody,” said Rep. Earl Blumenauer. “Prevention, early intervention, and care planning with health care providers are key to cutting in half the suffering, the cost, and the trauma that individuals and their families go through every day. The Improving HOPE for Alzheimer’s Act will result in better treatment outcomes and help families to better face the challenges that an Alzheimer’s diagnosis brings.”

Congressman Blumenauer was one of the lead Democrats on the HOPE for Alzheimer’s Act in the 114th Congress, a law that improves Medicare coverage by creating a benefit for comprehensive care planning services following a dementia diagnosis. Unfortunately, many health care providers remain unaware that this benefit is available. As a result, many eligible Medicare beneficiaries are not receiving the assistance that a comprehensive care planning visit can provide. This legislation will increase access to this vital benefit by ensuring more providers are informed and ready to offer it.

Congressman Blumenauer Leads a Letter to FDA in Support of Plant-Based Food Products

by: Earl Blumenauer (D-OR, 3rd)

Portland, OR - March 28, 2019 - (The Ponder News) -- Congressman Earl Blumenauer (D-OR), along with several members of Congress, wrote a letter to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in support of plant-based alternative food products like almond milk and coconut butter. The lawmakers wrote to urge FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb and the agency to preserve use of terms like “milk, cheese, yogurt, and butter” in product labels of plant-based alternatives.

“American consumers seek these [plant-based] alternatives for many reasons, including allergies or intolerance to dairy, nutritional needs, religious and ethical beliefs, sustainability, and, quite often, taste preference,” the lawmakers wrote in the letter. “To prevent these food products from including the names of dairy foods in their labels would only lead to confusion in the marketplace.”

“We applaud Congressman Blumenauer and his colleagues in the House for advocating for food innovation by asking the FDA to not make unnecessary and harmful labeling changes,” said Michele Simon, Executive Director of the Plant Based Food Association. “The FDA’s proposed labeling changes would undermine our members’ ability to communicate to consumers who are seeking out healthier and more sustainable plant-based options.”

In 2018, FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb announced FDA’s Nutrition Innovation Strategy (NIS) in a speech to the National Food Policy Conference. As part of its strategy, the FDA is considering approaches to modernize “standards of identity,” which are regulations that set forward requirements for the content and sometimes the methods used to produce certain foods.

Click here to read the letter.

THE PAYCHECK FAIRNESS ACT

by: Sanford D. Bishop, Jr (D-GA, 2nd)

Washington, D.C. - March 28, 2019 - (The Ponder News) -- Congressman Sanford D. Bishop, Jr (D-GA, 2nd) issued the following statement after the House approved H.R. 7, 242 to 187. The Paycheck Fairness Act introduced by Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro (D-CT), will strengthen the Equal Pay Act of 1963 and close loopholes that have allowed many employers to avoid responsibility for discriminatory pay:

“Pay discrimination in the workplace is real. The Paycheck Fairness Act is an important step toward ending gender-based wage discrimination and ensuring all women receive equal pay for equal work. The impact of the wage gap grows throughout a woman’s career. Based on today’s wage gap, a woman who worked full-time, year-round would typically lose $406,760 over a 40-year career. This woman would have to work nearly ten years longer than her male counterpart to make up this lifetime wage gap.

"The wage gap is even larger for women of color: African-American women on average earn only 61 cents for every dollar paid to white, non-Hispanic men. When women bring home less money each day, it means they have less for the everyday needs of their families – groceries, rent, child care, and doctors’ visits. It also means they have far less savings for retirement. I was proud to support this legislation and I urge my Senate colleagues to do the same.”

See also:

Bonamici Praises Passage of Paycheck Fairness Act

Let's Catch Up on Some News, Shall We?

Someone got into my files and deleted my House of Representative Press Links, so I am having to rebuild from the bottom up. Gonna take some work and a lot of time. There are a lot of them. Anyway, here is what I got done today:

Today's News from the Lawmakers

Congressman Biggs Upholds President Trump’s Lawful Right to Declare a National Emergency
by: Andy Biggs (R-AZ, 5th)
March 26, 2019
The U.S. House of Representatives tried – and failed – to override President Trump’s veto on the resolution of disapproval of his national emergency for border security. Congressman Biggs voted to uphold President Trump’s lawful right to declare the national emergency and issued the following statement:

Read more...

Okay, let me get this straight: The House votes to enact a resolution disapproving of something the President did, and really expects the President to approve it? Hilarious!

Bergman Questions Top Defense Official on PFAS Contamination at Michigan Bases
by: Jack Bergman (R-MI, 1st)
March 26, 2019
"PFAS contamination is an emerging threat across the First District of Michigan and throughout the country. Every family has the right to know that the water they drink is clean and safe. I appreciate Acting Secretary Shanahan's statement today, and his commitment to addressing this issue. With multiple known PFAS contamination sites - including Alpena, Grayling, Marquette, and Escanaba - this emerging water crisis significantly impacts Michigan’s First District. Government at all levels, across the country, should work to address this epidemic and protect our impacted communities," said Bergman.

Read more...

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Statement on Summary of the Mueller Report
by: Joyce Beatty (D-OH, 3rd)
March 25, 2019
“This is a time for full transparency, and a summary report is not sufficient. The American people want the full report. That is why I join my Democratic and Republican colleagues in calling on Attorney General Barr to release Special Counsel Mueller’s entire report and all of its findings.

Read more...

Bishop Statement on Attorney General Barr’s Summary
by: Joyce Beatty (D-OH, 3rd)
March 25, 2019
Barr made his summary known via a letter, in which it is stated that “the Special Counsel’s investigation did not find that the Trump campaign or anyone associated with it conspired or coordinated with Russia in its efforts to influence the 2016 U.S. presidential election.”

Read more...

Now, can we please move on?

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BILIRAKIS AND CARTWRIGHT INTRODUCE BILL TO HELP AMERICANS AFFORD PET MEDICATIONS
by: Gus M. Bilrakis (R-FL, 12th)
March 8, 2019
The Fairness to Pet Owners Act allows pet owners to receive a copy of their pets’ prescriptions without having to request it, pay an extra fee for it, or sign a waiver or liability disclaimer. That way, they can decide to buy their pets’ medications at their local or online pharmacy, a big box retailer, or another location of their choosing.

Read more...

Whatever happened to the U.S. Attorney investigations into the Deep State and the Clinton Foundation?

by: Americans for Limited Government

Fairfax, VA - March 21, 2019 - (The Ponder News) -- Americans for Limited Government President Rick Manning today issued the following statement urging Attorney General William Barr to follow through on the investigation of FBI misconduct during the 2016 presidential campaign, during the transition and during the Trump administration:

“Then Attorney General Jeff Sessions directed the U.S. Attorney of Little Rock, Arkansas to investigate various corruption charges against the Clinton Foundation and the U.S. Attorney of Salt Lake City to investigate the malfeasance within the Justice Department related to the attempt to undo the results of the 2016 presidential election.

“It has been almost a full year since it was learned that the investigation into potential Justice Department misdeeds was being conducted by U.S. Attorney John Huber, and it is time that new Attorney General William Barr follow through on the investigation and prosecute any wrongdoers to the fullest extent of the law. One of the reasons that the investigation was housed in Salt Lake City was to take it out of the glare of the D.C. media and allow a thorough job to be done. However, it would be a disservice to the nation if the current AG did not aggressively push this investigation with those responsible for abusing their authority brought to justice.

“One simple example is the abuse of the Christopher Steele dossier paid for by the DNC and the Clinton campaign as the basis for obtaining FISA court warrants against Trump campaign, transition and political appointees, when Steele himself testified under oath that he used unverified Internet rumors in the report. At the same time former FBI Director James Comey was testifying to Congress that the Steele dossier was ‘salacious and unverified,’ Comey was signing documents using that same report to obtain warrants. Either he was lying to the FISA Court or he was lying to Congress, either way perjury was committed, and the former FBI Director should be subjected to the full weight of the law as a result.

“The United States is a nation of laws, and the revelation that the Obama Administration’s Justice Department sought to tip the scales toward their own partisan ends should chill every American regardless of partisan affiliation. If those responsible are not prosecuted, then it will be clear to future Administrations that there is no personal downside to election tampering and abuse of power and this current dark moment of abuse by our intelligence agencies will be viewed as an acceptable risk in the quest for power. This can never be allowed again, and it is time for the new Attorney General to begin bringing light onto the initial finding of the investigations in Little Rock and Salt Lake City.”

American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten on President Donald Trump's Executive Order on Free Speech

by: American Federation of Teachers

Washington, D.C. - March 21, 2019 - (The Ponder News) -- AFT President Randi Weingarten issued the following statement after President Trump signed an executive order on free speech on college and university campuses:

“President Trump’s concept of free speech is speech that he agrees with, which is, in fact, the antithesis of what the First Amendment seeks to protect. He has repeatedly indicated his interest in ‘shutting down’ journalists and media outlets that criticize him, and he uses hateful and many times inciteful words on a daily and public basis. With a track record like this, there is no reason to believe that the speech he wants to ‘protect’ on college campuses won’t both suppress speech and enable incitement. If the framers of the Constitution were alive today, they would tell President Trump: ‘No, no, no, sir. You can’t use executive orders to suppress the speech of those with whom you disagree.’

“As educators, we are staunch supporters of a free exchange of ideas, the free expression that is crucial to intellectual discourse, and the responsibility that all speech must be coupled with an ability to reject that which will incite hatred or violence. Free and unfettered speech is supposed to be exactly that—free and unfettered—not subject to executive branch policing and interference.

“This order also sets a dangerous precedent that makes public activities at our nation’s colleges and universities susceptible to punitive action if they don’t meet a predetermined, purposefully ambiguous benchmark set by a White House with a very obvious political agenda. When schools are committed to civilized discussion and debate, we should be investing in more research to defend those democratic ideals, not denying them resources.”

EEOC Union Condemns Drastic $23.7M Budget Cut to Civil Rights Enforcement in #MeToo Era

by: American Federation for Government Employees

Washington, D.C. - March 21, 2019 - (The Ponder News) -- President Trump’s proposed budget for the fiscal year that starts Oct. 1 would slash the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s historically low budget by $23.7 million, which will make it harder for workers facing discrimination to get the help they need, the union representing EEOC workers said today.

“The EEOC enforces federal laws barring workplace discrimination, including sexual harassment, and cutting our budget frustrates those efforts,” said Gabrielle Martin, president of American Federation of Government Employees Council 216, the National Council of EEOC Locals. “Victims of workplace discrimination will feel the punch of this cut when they can’t get an appointment or an investigation of their complaint.”

The administration is proposing to slash EEOC’s current budget from $379.5 million to $355.8 million in fiscal 2020, even while the agency is facing rising workloads. EEOC had a backlog of 49,608 cases in fiscal year 2018, and cases continued to pile up while EEOC was closed during the 35-day shutdown. It takes workers months to get an appointment with EEOC and over an hour to reach a live person by telephone. EEOC’s workload this year included 200,000 inquiries, 76,418 charges, 40,000 interviews, and 105,600 calls.

Sexual harassment claims were up 13.6 percent in 2018. While Congress modestly increased EEOC’s budget in response to the #MeToo movement, the agency still has not been able to keep up with demand. Last year, the EEOC’s workforce dropped below 2,000 employees for the first time since before 1980. The president’s budget plan would slash another 180 positions, including mediators, judges, intake representatives, and 50 investigators. The agency’s budget justification concedes there will be a “steady rise in pending inventory” as “there will be no replacement of staff.”

“In a time of rising awareness of sexual harassment in the workplace, it sends the entirely wrong message to cut funding and staff at the agency that handles those complaints,” Martin said.

One consequence of the massive workload and short staffing is a push by EEOC to swiftly close cases by tagging them as “C charges” under the agency’s triage system.

“Ravaging the budget will make matters worse,” Martin warns. “The vast majority of workers who come to EEOC for help receive a dismissal with a ‘right to sue’ letter and are left to find help on their own. Likewise, federal employees with discrimination complaints are affected by EEOC pressing a shrinking unit of administrative judges to hit unattainably high quotas by closing cases through summary judgement or without discovery.”

Martin called upon Congress, civil rights groups, and concerned citizens to take action. “Contact your lawmakers to save EEOC from drastic cuts. Email the EEOC to request a budget in line with its workload. Tweet #StopEEOCbudgetcut. The #MeToo era is not the time to slash EEOC’s budget.”

AAM Letter to Congress: Support Legislation to Keep Federal Funds from Enriching Chinese SOEs

by: Alliance for American Manufacturing

Washington, D.C. - March 21, 2019 - (The Ponder News) -- The Alliance for American Manufacturing is urging members of Congress to support the bipartisan Transit Infrastructure Vehicle Security Act, introduced by U.S. Sens. John Cornyn (R-Texas), Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) and Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio). This vital legislation would ban Federal Transit Administration (FTA) funds from being used to award a contract or subcontract to a Chinese state-owned, controlled or subsidized enterprise (SOE).

In a letter submitted today, Alliance for American Manufacturing President Scott Paul wrote:

"America's tax dollars should not be used to support Chinese state-owned firms seeking to undermine market competition."

Letter reads as follows:

Dear Senators and Representatives:

On behalf of the Alliance for American Manufacturing (AAM), a partnership between the United Steelworkers (USW) and leading U.S. manufacturing companies, I am writing to express our support for the Transit Infrastructure Vehicle Security Act. This legislation would ban Federal Transit Administration (FTA) funds from being used to award a contract or subcontract to a Chinese state-owned, controlled, or subsidized enterprise.

Backed by deep government support and Beijing's "Made in China 2025" initiative, China's electric bus and rail state-owned enterprises (SOEs) are rapidly altering the U.S. competitive landscape for rolling stock manufacturing. This is having a profoundly negative impact on established, private-sector U.S. firms and jeopardizing supply chains that employ tens of thousands of American workers.

China Railroad Rolling Stock Corporation (CRRC) – a Chinese SOE – has drastically altered the competitive landscape for domestic railcar manufacturing. Since 2014, CRRC has secured major metro transit car contracts in Boston, Philadelphia, Los Angeles, and Chicago with impossibly low bids. In Boston, CRRC's bid was hundreds of millions of dollars below the next lowest bidder. In Philadelphia, another bidder was quoted as saying, "I cannot grasp how they are able to do it at that cost." There should be no doubting CRRC's strategy to establish itself in the U.S. market and to eliminate legitimate competition through any means necessary, even if it means losing substantial sums of money along the way. With deals in DC, Atlanta, and Miami within CRRC's sights, it is vital for U.S. national security, innovation, and jobs that we stop subsidizing the destruction of our domestic rolling stock manufacturing base with federal dollars.

The electric bus industry is also in Beijing's sights. BYD, or Build Your Dreams, assembles electric buses in the United States and is both influenced and subsidized by the Chinese government. BYD has been plagued by quality issues and a recent OIG investigation by the City of Albuquerque suggests that "the majority, if not all, parts were manufactured in China and shipped to the United States" – including the bus frame, chassis, walls, drive train, axels, motor, lights, seating and seat belts, and more. BYD not only aggressively undermines healthy market competition in the electric bus procurement market, it threatens to displace supply chains here in the United States with imported parts and components shipped in from China.

It is vital that the United States act to prevent the destruction of the U.S. competitive landscape for rolling stock manufacturing before it is too late. America's tax dollars should not be used to support Chinese state-owned firms seeking to undermine market competition. Please support the bipartisan Cornyn-Baldwin-Crapo-Brown Transit Infrastructure Vehicle Security Act.

Sincerely,

Scott N. Paul

President

Alliance for American Manufacturing

President Trump issues executive order supporting free speech at universities

by: Alliance Defending Freedom

Washington, D.C. - March 21, 2019 - (The Ponder News) -- The following quote may be attributed to Alliance Defending Freedom Senior Counsel Tyson Langhofer, director of the ADF Center for Academic Freedom, regarding President Donald Trump’s executive order Thursday that requires public universities to respect the constitutionally protected free speech rights of students in order to continue receiving federal research funds:

“The administration is right to recognize the threats to freedom of speech on public university campuses and the need to do something about preserving the marketplace of ideas. In the course of winning more than 400 legal victories since 2006, the ADF Center for Academic Freedom has continued to encounter massive free speech and other First Amendment violations, unconstitutional policies, and many repeat offenders. We appreciate the administration’s understanding of this problem as well as actions it has taken to help, including the briefs that the Department of Justice has filed in support of ADF clients who have stood up for their freedoms in the face of having those freedoms jeopardized. Today’s university students will be tomorrow’s voters and civic leaders. That’s why it’s so important that public colleges and universities exemplify the First Amendment values they are supposed to be teaching to students.”

Three ADF Center for Academic Freedom clients—Ellie Wittman, Bernadette Tasy, and Isaac Edikauskas—are scheduled to be present on stage with President Trump for the announcement of the executive order.