Water

Today's News about Water Issues

Harder Announces SAVE Water Resources Act to Address Central Valley Water Needs
Source: Josh Harder (D-CA, 10th)
April 24, 2019
Representative Josh Harder has announced the Securing Access for the Central Valley and Enhancing (SAVE) Water Resources Act. The bill provides a wraparound approach to addressing water issues facing the Central Valley by increasing storage opportunities, spurring innovation, and making long-overdue investments in our aging water infrastructure. Although water politics are often adversarial, Rep. Harder has spent months sourcing water ideas directly from a wide array of local stakeholders and experts to ensure the final bill attends to the needs of a diverse set of interests. The bill has broad bipartisan support from over a dozen local organizations and elected officials.

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Energy

Today's News about Energy Issues

REPS LIEU, GONZALEZ-COLON, AND PLASKETT INTRODUCE BILL TO PROMOTE RENEWABLE ENERGY IN PUERTO RICO AND THE US VIRGIN ISLANDS
Source: Ted Lieu (D-CA, 33rd)
April 23, 2019
Congressman Ted W. Lieu (D-Los Angeles County), Congresswoman Jenniffer González-Colón (R-Puerto Rico), Congresswoman Stacey Plaskett (D-Virgin Islands) introduced the “Renewable Energy for Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands Act,” which will empower local communities to develop and use renewable energy sources. The bill creates a grant program for investments in renewable energy, energy efficiency, energy storage, smart grids and micro grids projects as well as training local residents. The grants will be awarded to non-profit organizations and the Department of Energy’s National Laboratories may provide technical assistance.

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Coast Guard

Today's News about the Coast Guard

Chairs DeFazio, Maloney, Reps. Garamendi, Larsen, Young Applaud Major Step Forward in Coast Guard’s Plan to Build New Polar Security Cutter
Source: Rick Larsen (D-WA, 2nd)
April 23, 2019
The Chair of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure Peter DeFazio (D-OR), Chair of the Subcommittee on Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation Sean Patrick Maloney (D-NY), Congressman John Garamendi (D-CA), Congressman Rick Larsen (D-WA), and Congressman Don Young (D-AK) applauded the U.S. Coast Guard’s announcement that it has awarded a contract for the detail design and construction of the first Coast Guard Polar Security Cutter, the first of six planned polar icebreakers. Chairs DeFazio, Maloney, Reps. Garamendi, Larsen, and Young have long championed efforts to address a substantial gap in the Coast Guard’s operational capability in the High North, citing the importance of heavy icebreakers to ensure national security, facilitate commerce, and conduct scientific research and maritime safety missions. Most recently, the members worked successfully to ensure that Congress included $655 million in the Fiscal Year 2019 Consolidated Appropriations Act to begin work on the first icebreaker, as well as $20 million to begin acquiring long lead time materials for a second icebreaker.

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Endangered Species

Today's News about Endangered Species

Golden Asks NOAA Fisheries to Postpone New Right Whale Management Proposals, Challenges Data Behind Potential New Restrictions on Maine Lobstermen
Source: Jared Golden (D-MN, 2nd)
April 23, 2019
“Given the importance of the lobster fishery to Maine’s economy, I am deeply troubled by the manner in which the TRT intends to carry out its goal of reducing right whale mortalities by sixty to eighty percent and the impact its actions may have on the future viability of our lobster fleet,” wrote Golden. “I find it difficult to understand how a comprehensive strategy to protect an endangered species can be developed and agreed upon when the management tool relies on outdated inputs and was only made available days before the TRT meeting… I encourage NOAA Fisheries and the TRT to postpone its rulemaking so that it can develop an improved risk assessment tool that has the support of impacted stakeholders.”

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UN Arms Treaty

Today's News about the UN Arms Treaty

Trump withdraws from UN arms treaty as NRA crowd cheers in delight
Source: The Guardian
April 26, 2019
Addressing the National Rifle Association (NRA) in Indianapolis, the president said he would revoke America’s status as a signatory of the arms trade treaty regulating conventional weapons including small arms, battle tanks, combat aircraft and warships.

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Banking and Finance

Today's News about Banking and Finance Issues

As House Convenes on Predatory Lending, Consumer Advocates Press for Congressional Action on Payday Debt Traps
Source: Americans for Financial Reform
April 25, 2019
The hearing on payday lending comes at a time when the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is nearing the end on a public comment period on its plan. The CFPB is proposing to rescind key consumer protections on payday lending, namely the ability-to-repay provision that mandates that lenders offer affordable loans.

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Foster Introduces Bipartisan Resolution to Promote Financial Literacy for Students
Source:
April 25, 2019
“In our increasingly complex financial marketplace, young people often find themselves lacking the knowledge to make tough financial decisions that can have profound effects on their futures,” Congressman Foster said. “Studies have shown that promoting financial literacy at an early age helps equip young people to make sound financial decisions that will set themselves up for success.”

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Medicaid

Today's News about Medicaid

FINKENAUER LEADS LETTER TO HHS INSPECTOR GENERAL
Source: Abby Finkenauer (D-IO, 1st)
April 24, 2019
Congresswoman Abby Finkenauer (IA-01) led members of the Iowa delegation in a letter supporting the US Department of Health and Human Services’ investigation into whether Medicaid managed care organizations have complied with federal requirements when denying patients access to requested services and prescriptions. Finkenauer was joined by Congresswoman Cindy Axne (IA-03) and Congressman Dave Loebsack (IA-02) in the letter to HHS Inspector General Daniel Levinson.

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ACE Kids Act Becomes Law
Source: Jaime Herrera Beutler (R-WA, 3rd)
April 23, 2019
“This health care solution to benefit low-income children has been a long time coming, and I couldn’t be more proud to finally have it signed into law. Now, tens of thousands of low-income kids who suffer complex medical diagnoses like cancer or congenital heart disease will have an easier time accessing the life-saving treatment they need. Families should be able to pursue the best doctors and facilities for their kids, regardless of where they live or how much they make – and with the ACE Kids Act finally becoming law, that’s now a reality for more of them,” Herrera Beutler said.

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Noise Pollution

Today's News about Noise Pollution

Eshoo, Speier, Panetta Release Further Updated FAA Initiative Response to Address Aircraft Noise Concerns of the Constituents of Congressional Districts 14, 18 and 20
Source: Anna G. Eshoo (D-CA, 18th)
April 23, 2019
“The Federal Aviation Administration released their updated response to the collective recommendations of the Select Committee on South Bay Arrivals and the San Francisco International Airport/Community Roundtable,” the Representatives said. “These two bodies developed consensus-based recommendations and sub-recommendations, which the FAA has worked to address.”

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Who Wants to Impeach the President?

Today's News about People Who are Talking about Impeachment

The Ponder does not support impeachment.

DeGette: The president’s actions constitute a prima facie case to merit an impeachment investigation
Source: Diana Degette (D-CO, 1st)
April 23, 2019
The Mueller report details many instances in which President Trump actively attempted to interfere with the investigation into his campaign’s potentially treasonous ties with Russia. The president's actions are clearly beneath the high personal, ethical and legal standards our founders envisioned in the executive branch, and, as such, constitute a prima facie case to trigger an impeachment investigation.

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Social Media

Today's News from the Lawmakers

Facebook expects up to $5B FTC fine
Source: Politico
April 24, 2019
...Facebook faces scrutiny over a cascade of other privacy mishaps over the past year. Researchers this month revealed hundreds of millions of records on the social network's users were left unprotected on Amazon's cloud servers. Facebook disclosed in March that it had insecurely stored hundreds of millions of user passwords. And The Wall Street Journal reported in February that a slew of well-being apps shared sensitive user data with the company.

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