Free Press Action Hails Committee Passage of the Save the Internet Act as Landmark Net Neutrality Bill Advances to House Floor

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by: Free Press

Washington, D.C. - April 4, 2019 - (The Ponder News) -- On Wednesday, the House Energy & Commerce Committee passed the Save the Internet Act of 2019 (H.R. 1644) out of committee with a 30-22 vote. The legislation, which would restore the FCC’s strong Net Neutrality rules and Title II legal framework for broadband, is expected to move to the House floor, where it could receive a vote as early as next week.

Introduced in early March, the legislation had already drawn the support of 187 sponsors in the House by the time of today’s markup. It would reinstate the Federal Communications Commission’s 2015 Open Internet Order.

Free Press Action Government Relations Director Sandra Fulton made the following statement:

“The Energy and Commerce Committee has responded to the overwhelming public support for strong Net Neutrality protections. It’s now the full House’s turn to pass the Save the Internet Act and take the next step toward restoring the Net Neutrality protections the public demands.

“Support for the Save the Internet Act is growing every day, and it’s easy to see why. People need the open internet to connect with loved ones, search for jobs, learn, and fight for justice. Without Net Neutrality rules and FCC oversight grounded on the strong legal foundation of Title II, our ability to seek and share information is in jeopardy.

“People are calling on lawmakers in huge numbers to bring back effective open-internet rules to safeguard their online civil rights. Such protections are exactly what this bill delivers. It takes a light-touch approach to restoring the FCC’s Title II authority over broadband internet-access providers.

“When those rules were in place from 2015 to 2017, they did nothing to prevent such companies from investing in deployment and improving services and speeds while recording healthy profits. The actual numbers tell the story. Don’t believe anyone in the pocket of the phone and cable lobby who says otherwise.

“Companies like AT&T and Comcast, of course, don’t care about telling the truth or why Net Neutrality is so popular. Industry lobbyists are resorting to their usual tricks to torpedo this bill, hiring an army of lobbyists, lawyers and PR flacks to spread lies about Title II. Today’s vote demonstrates that people in and out of Congress aren’t buying it anymore.

“Efforts to paint this legislation as partisan ignore public polling, which shows that overwhelming majorities of Democratic and Republican voters oppose the Trump FCC’s repeal of Title II Net Neutrality safeguards, and support passing this bill to restore those good rules.

“We thank the committee majority for rejecting any industry-friendly amendments that might have truly undermined this legislation, and we call on lawmakers to keep listening to their constituents and take this bill to the House floor for a vote as soon as possible.”

FAIR: New Report Reveals How the Southern Poverty Law Center Scams the Media

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by: Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR US)

Washington, D.C. - April 4, 2019 - (The Ponder News) -- Last month, the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) imploded. Its founder, Morris Dees, was fired for “workplace misconduct.” Its president, Richard Cohen, and its legal director, Rhonda Brownstein, were forced to resign. Numerous current and former staffers publicly accused the SPLC of institutional racism and ignoring widespread sexual harassment.

To anyone who has followed the SPLC, these developments were not surprising. A new report by the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR) details a three-decade record of private and public misconduct on the part of the SPLC. A Journalist’s Guide to Understanding the Tactics of the SPLC examines dozens of investigative reports about the group over the past 30 years. These reports, carried out by highly respected journalists and scholars from across the political spectrum, all reach the same conclusions:

The SPLC falsely and maliciously labels political opponents as “hate groups.”

The SPLC uses these designations to raise massive amounts of money, while doing little to combat the “hate” they claim to be fighting.

The SPLC leadership has systematically discriminated against minority and women employees, including subjecting them to demeaning behavior.

“Ironically, even as journalists from news outlets as diverse as The Nation and National Review have detailed decades of lies and unethical behavior on the part of the SPLC, others in the media have continued to serve as enablers for this thoroughly discredited organization,” stated Dan Stein, president of FAIR. “As a respected editor of a philanthropy watchdog asked, ‘Why do so many reporters cite the SPLC blacklist as if it were some kind of neutral Consumer Reports guide to what’s intolerable in cultural advocacy?’”


And yet, many media outlets continue to treat the SPLC as an objective arbiter of those whose views are fit to be part of important social and political policy debates. “Reporters have an ethical obligation to make a good faith effort to determine if third party accusations have merit and to determine the motives of the accusers. Many have flatly failed to uphold the ethical canons of their profession,” Stein charged.

A Journalist’s Guide to Understanding the Tactics of the SPLC is available here. The publication includes hyperlinks to dozens of source articles and reports examining various aspects of the SPLC’s operations.

FAITH & FREEDOM COALITION STATEMENT ON BORN ALIVE ABORTION SURVIVORS PROTECTION ACT DISCHARGE PETITION

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by: Faith and Freedom Coalition

Washington, D.C. - April 4, 2019 - (The Ponder News) -- Faith & Freedom Coalition Executive Director Timothy Head released the following statement in response to the discharge petition filed in the U.S. House of Representatives to force a floor vote on the Born Alive Survivors Protection Act.

“It is unconscionable that the Democratic leadership in the U.S House will not allow a vote on legislation to protect infants from an excruciating death without any medical care or comfort merely because they dared to survive a botched abortion. Once a baby is born, both sides of the political aisle should be able to agree without argument that it is a heinous and criminal act to withhold medical care to a newborn baby. But, unfortunately, House conservatives are having to force Democrats to vote whether or not to protect the most innocent human life.”

President Proposes to Close the U.S. – Mexico Border

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by: Lizzie Fletcher (D-TX, 7th)

Washington, D.C. - April 4, 2019 - (The Ponder News) -- Congresswoman Lizzie Fletcher (TX-07) released the following statement concerning President Trump’s proposal to close the United States – Mexico border:

“Closing the United States-Mexico border is not a solution — it is a problem,” said Rep. Fletcher. “In Texas alone, trade with Mexico represents an estimated $180 billion each year—and more than a third of Texas’ exports. And it’s not just Texas. Closing the border will negatively affect large sectors of the American economy. While we need to address border security and immigration matters, closing the border is simply not a responsible way to address these important issues.”

Congresswoman Fletcher serves as co-chair of the Trade Task Force in the New Democrat Coalition.

Fleischmann on Border Crisis

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by: Chuck Fleischmann (R-TN, 3rd)

Washington, D.C. - April 4, 2019 - (The Ponder News) -- Congressman Chuck Fleischmann (TN-03) issued the following statement in response to the crisis at the southern border:

“I recently visited the southwest border and clearly observed a crisis situation. In the past week, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen – as well as President Obama’s former Department of Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson – agreed the crisis has rapidly escalated to an unprecedented level.

“The core of our immigration crisis, stemming from our broken asylum laws, has resulted in an overwhelming surge of migrant caravans, unaccompanied minors, and family units. In 2018, Border Patrol apprehension of family units surpassed 100,000. That is a sharp contrast from the previous status quo of single males that migrated across the southern border. In response to the surge of family units, I advocated for additional ICE detention beds and fought to ensure an 18% increase in the number of detention beds was included in February’s conference committee report. However, it is painfully clear we must revisit this topic of discussion and respond to worsening conditions and inundated facilities.

“The way to effectively and honestly address the border crisis is for my colleagues from across the aisle to heed the remarks from Former DHS Secretary Johnson, who did not mince words when responding to the apprehension of over 4,000 migrants in a single day. We are a country of law and order, but our broken immigration system is crippling the ability of our border patrol personnel to enforce the rule of law. Congress must work with the Administration to fix our broken immigration system and secure our sovereignty.”

Finkenauer Votes to Protect Affordable Care Act

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by: Abby Finkenauer (D-IO, 1st)

Washington, D.C. - April 4, 2019 - (The Ponder News) -- Congresswoman Abby Finkenauer (IA-01) voted in favor of H. Res. 271, a Resolution Condemning the Trump Administration’s Legal Campaign to Take Away Americans’ Health Care.

The Trump Administration announced last week that it would not defend any part of the Affordable Care Act after a Texas judge struck down the entirety of the law. This would jeopardize coverage for people with pre-existing conditions, re-open the prescription drug donut hole, and prevent young adults from staying on their parents health insurance until they are 26. Over 130 million Americans have pre-existing conditions, including the 1,290,000 Iowans.

The Administration's decision to not defend the ACA follows its proposed $845 billion in cuts to Medicare and $241 billion in cuts to Medicaid.

Finkenauer co-sponsored the resolution and joined Iowa Democrats in sending a letter to the Justice Department calling on it protect the Affordable Care Act.

“Iowans can’t afford another attack on their health and well-being,” said Congresswoman Finkenauer. “This would return people with heart disease and diabetes and other pre-existing conditions to a time when paying for the medicine they need means bankruptcy. Instead of undermining health care, we need to focus on lowering prescription drug prices, improving Medicare for our seniors, and expanding tax credits to make health care more affordable for middle class families, while working towards adding competition into the marketplace to deal with skyrocketing premiums.”

Senate Debate Rule Change

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by: Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA)

Washington, D.C. - April 4, 2019 - (The Ponder News) -- Senate Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) today released the following statement on the Republican Senate rule change to reduce post-cloture debate on many nominees from 30 hours to two hours:

“Changing the rules is not only unnecessary, but also is dangerous, especially when we are talking about lifetime appointments. Further, given this administration’s failure to properly vet its own nominees, the Senate should not restrict critical vetting and due diligence.

There is simply no need to limit debate on President Trump’s judicial nominees. In fact, President Trump’s judicial nominees have been confirmed at a record pace.

Through his first two years in office, President Trump had more circuit court nominees confirmed than any other President had at the same point in their tenure – 30 total. And that is on top of two Supreme Court Justices and 53 district court judges.

Further, the current administration’s circuit court nominees have been confirmed nearly twice as fast as President Obama’s – 256 days for President Obama’s nominees versus 139 days for President Trump’s nominees.

The rules change is also unnecessary because Senate Democrats are in no way obstructing confirmations. Senate Democrats have not required cloture votes on more than half of President Trump’s district court nominees.

On average, the Senate has used only three hours of floor time for debate on President Trump’s district court nominees.

In addition, a higher percentage of President Trump’s district court nominees have been confirmed by voice vote as compared to President Obama’s district court nominees – 49 percent versus 35 percent. In other words, Senate Democrats have not required the majority to hold roll call votes on nearly half of President Trump’s nominees to the federal district courts.

Finally, Democrats have worked with the Trump administration to identify qualified judicial nominees.

For example, Delaware’s two Democratic Senators – Senators Carper and Coons – worked with the White House to identify two qualified nominees to be judges on the United States District Court for the District of Delaware.

And Senators Durbin and Duckworth of Illinois worked with this administration to identify two highly qualified nominees to be judges on the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. Both of those nominees were confirmed unanimously.

In addition, we are right now in post-cloture time on the nomination of Roy Altman to the Southern District of Florida. Several Democrats voted for Mr. Altman in committee, and Democrats have not demanded a full 30 hours of debate time on Mr. Altman’s nomination.

Despite all of this, Republicans are nevertheless breaking the rules and pushing the Senate closer to a body that is governed simply by the whim of the majority.

All of this leads to an unmistakable conclusion – shortening debate time is unnecessary. It is a response to a non-existent problem, and it is simply a power grab meant to stack the courts at an even faster rate.

It is also important to stress why it is so dangerous to allow the Trump administration to stack the courts in this way, without adequate debate time.

We have seen this administration fill lifetime positions with young, inexperienced nominees who are often outside the legal mainstream. And we have seen them try to do this without properly vetting those same nominees, as in the case of Brett Talley, who failed to disclose to the Judiciary Committee nearly 15,000 online comments, including one in which he defended the founder of the KKK.

The Senate needs sufficient time to scrutinize the records of these nominees. Nominees like Matthew Kacsmaryk and Patrick Wyrick, who have led efforts to undermine the Affordable Care Act.

Nominees like Brian Buescher, who has argued that states should go after women’s reproductive rights “bit by bit.”

And nominees like Wendy Vitter, who refused to acknowledge that Brown v. Board was correctly decided and who falsely claimed there is a connection between the use of contraceptive pills and the incidence of cancer.

Two hours is simply not enough time to scrutinize these nominees’ records, especially when so many of this administration’s judicial nominees fail to disclose materials to the Judiciary Committee.

In conclusion, Mr. President, all Senators – and not just those on the Judiciary Committee – need adequate time to review the records of these judicial nominees, who, if confirmed, will serve for life.

All Senators need adequate time to make an informed decision about whether these nominees are qualified to decide the fate of thousands of people’s lives. After all, the American people deserve to know that if they find themselves in a federal court, they will have an impartial, qualified, mainstream jurist who has earned the right to sit on the bench.

This decision to break the rules and reduce debate time on judicial nominees not only harms the institution of the Senate, but also harms the federal judiciary.”

LEGISLATIVE PACKAGE TO DEMAND TRANSPARENCY AND ACCOUNTABILITY FROM THE WHITE HOUSE INTRODUCED

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by: Adrianno Espaillat (D-NY, 13th)

Washington, D.C. - April 3, 2019 - (The Ponder News) -- Representative Adrianno Espaillat (D-NY, 13th) introduced a series of legislation to specifically address impropriety of the Trump administration and to demand transparency and accountability from the White House as new policy proposals are introduced.

“Donald Trump’s ascent to the presidency has been marred by impropriety, an abandonment of decency, and endless propagation of falsehoods,” said Rep. Adriano Espaillat (NY-13). “Whether it is the constant distortion of news and ongoing efforts to undermine a free press, or the proliferation of blatant conflicts of interest by the president and high-level appointees, the Trump administration has continuously endangered the public’s trust in our government and undermined the general ethical standards to which government officials are held.

“Given these alarming truths, I am reintroducing a legislative package of three bills that aim to reestablish morality and civility in our government by making our government safe, opposing alternative facts, and draining the swamp of the Trump administration’s corruption.”

Make Our Government Safe Act: would amend the National Security Act of 1947 to prevent someone who has threatened to destroy the U.S. government from participating in or attending National Security Council meetings.

Opposing Fake news and Alternative Facts resolution: a measure that calls on President Trump to immediately acknowledge his support of the First Amendment and express his support for U.S. democracy. The White House spokespersons who offer “alternative” or inaccurate facts should retract their statements immediately.

Drain the Swamp and the President’s Assets Act: amends the Ethics in Government Act of 1978 to prohibit the president from holding any asset that would be considered a disqualifying financial interest under applicable criminal code provisions. The president may place any such asset into a blind trust. The trustee or other entity who is involved in the management or control of the blind trust shall divest the blind trust of such asset. Finally, the bill makes clear that a violation of its provisions constitutes an impeachable offense.

Bill to Safeguard DREAMers’ Private Information from Use for Deportation Introduced

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by: Veronica Escobar (D-TX, 16th)

Washington, D.C. - April 3, 2019 - (The Ponder News) -- U.S. Representatives Veronica Escobar (D-TX) and Norma J. Torres (D-CA) introduced the Protect DREAMers Confidentiality Act of 2019 to protect DREAMers’ private information, such as addresses and phone numbers, from being used by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) for deportation purposes. The Trump administration ended the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, effectively stripping recipients of their protective status, in September 2017. Judicial rulings have forced the administration to reinstate the program, but they could be overturned at any time, putting DREAMers in limbo.

“Dreamers are part of the rich and beautiful fabric of our nation. Congress has a duty to protect them against the Trump administration, and take real steps to ensure the confidential information they provided about themselves and their families is never used against them,” said Congresswoman Escobar. “That is why I’m proud to join Congresswoman Torres to introduce the Protect DREAMer Confidentiality Act and help thousands of Dreamers across the country, including the almost 9,000 from El Paso.”

“When we look at the Homeland Security Department’s actions throughout the Trump administration, it’s clear that Secretary Nielsen can’t be trusted to protect DREAMers’ personal information. These young people are teachers, doctors, and small businessowners—valuable members of our communities who pose no national security threat to our nation,” said Congresswoman Torres. “We should be affording them the same protections for their personal data as we would for any American citizen. I’m proud to join with Congresswoman Escobar to help provide DREAMers with the peace of mind that they won’t be uprooted from the only country they’ve known as home.”

Specifically, the bill would safeguard the confidentiality of information submitted in requests for the DACA program from disclosure to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement or U.S. Customs and Border Protection for any purpose other than implementing the DACA program, unless there are national security concerns or other limited exceptions.

The Protect DREAMer Confidentiality Act of 2019 was first introduced by U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich (D-NM) in January. The bill is co-sponsored by Representatives Adriano Espaillat (D-NY), James P. McGovern (D-MA), Ilhan Omar (D-MN), Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC), and Jan Schakowsky (D-IL).

DUCKWORTH, DURBIN HELP RE-INTRODUCE BILL REQUIRING PRESIDENT AND VICE PRESIDENT TO FULLY DISCLOSE AND DIVEST CONFLICTS OF INTEREST

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by: Senator Tammy Duckworth (D - IL)

Washington, D.C. - April 1, 2019 - (The Ponder News) -- U.S. Senators Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) and Dick Durbin (D-IL) joined U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and 28 of their colleagues in re-introducing legislation requiring the President and Vice President to disclose and divest any potential financial conflicts of interest. The Presidential Conflicts of Interest Act would also require presidential appointees to recuse themselves from any specific matters involving the president's financial conflicts of interest that come before their agencies.

"It should never be a question whether the President and the Vice President of the United States are doing what's best for themselves or what's best for the American people,” said Duckworth. “That's why I am joining Senators Warren and Durbin in re-introducing the Presidential Conflicts of Interest Act to ensure every presidential administration meets what have been the strongest ethical standards for decades. Government officials must do everything in their power to eliminate conflicts of interest because the American people-not personal profit-always come first.”

“Elected officials have a solemn responsibility to always put the interests of the American people above their own,” Durbin said. “I’ve been concerned that President Trump and his cabinet’s financial entanglements could impact their ability to lead our nation and make choices without conflicts of interest. I’m reintroducing this bill because transparency and accountability is sorely needed in this Administration.”

“Corruption has always been the central stain of this presidency,” said Senator Warren. “This bill would force President Trump to fully divest from the same Trump properties and assets that special interests have spent two-plus years patronizing to try and curry favor with this administration – all while lining the President’s pockets.”

Currently, Presidents and Vice Presidents are exempt from many federal financial conflicts of interest laws, but for decades presidents have addressed concerns regarding foreign and domestic conflicts of interest by divesting their financial interests and placing them in a true blind trust or the equivalent. To ensure compliance with the Constitution's Emoluments Clause, the bill would codify this longstanding practice by:

Requiring the President, Vice President, their spouses, and minor or dependent children to divest all interests that create financial conflicts of interest by placing those assets in a true blind trust, which would be managed by an independent trustee who would oversee the sale of assets and place the proceeds in conflict-free holdings;

Adopting a sense of the Congress that the President's violation of financial conflicts of interest laws or the ethics requirements that apply to executive branch employees constitute a high crime or misdemeanor under the impeachment clause of the U.S. Constitution; and

Prohibiting presidential appointees from participating in matters that directly involve the financial interests of the president.

In June of 2017, Duckworth and Durbin both joined a lawsuit alleging President Trump has violated the Constitution’s Foreign Emoluments Clause. Last October, they wrote a letter to President Trump asking for full disclosure on any financial ties between the Trump Organization and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

In addition to Duckworth, Durbin and Warren, the legislation is cosponsored by Senators Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Michael Bennet (D-CO), Richard Blumenthal (D-CN), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Maria Cantwell (D-WA), Ben Cardin (D-MD), Tom Carper (D-DE), Bob Casey (D-PA), Chris Coons (D-DE), Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Kamala Harris (D-CA), Mazie Hirono (D-HI), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Patrick Leahy (D-VT), Edward Markey (D-MA), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Chris Murphy (D-CT), Patty Murray (D-WA), Gary Peters (D-MI), Jack Reed (D-RI), Tina Smith (D-MN), Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), Tom Udall (D-NM), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), and Ron Wyden (D-OR).