Wednesday, July 5, 2017

Renewable Energy, Trumpcare, North Korea, Hot Cars, Free Speech, Transgender Military, Privatization, Anti-Semitism, Prisoner Rights

Ernst on RFS Renewable Volume Obligations for 2018 and 2019
Senator Joni Ernst (R-IA)
July 5, 2017

U.S. Senator Joni Ernst (R-IA), a member of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works and Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry, released the following statement after the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released their proposed Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) renewable volume obligations (RVOs) for 2018 at 15 billion gallons of conventional ethanol, meeting the levels Congress prescribed in 2007, along with setting the 2019 RVOs for biodiesel at 2.1 billion gallons:
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Feinstein: Republican Health Care Bill Increases Costs
Senator Dianne Feinstein - (D - CA)
July 5, 2017

“Under the Senate Republican health care bill, between 3 million and 4 million Californians would have their health coverage taken away. Those Californians who are able to keep their coverage would end up paying much more for less health care.
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Fischer Statement on North Korea Missile Test-Launch
Senator Deb Fischer- (R - NE)
July 5, 2017

“The latest test-launch demonstrates a sobering reality: the threat of North Korea is quickly advancing. As the threat increases, we must bring greater pressure to bear on North Korea, and its international patrons, China and Russia, but we should have no illusions that they will solve this problem for us.
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Sen. Franken Announces Bill to Prevent Children from Becoming Trapped in Hot Cars
Senator Al Franken - (D - MN)
July 5, 2017

Tragically, an average of 37 children die each year in overheated cars, and more than 700 have died nationwide since 1998. The Helping Overcome Trauma for Children Alone in Rear Seat Act (HOT CARS Act) would seek to save the lives of children before they become trapped in a hot car. The bill would require newly manufactured cars to come equipped with technology to alert drivers if a child is left in the back seat once the car is turned off. Such technology exists and is available in some vehicles-including many of GM's 2017 and 2018 models-but has not yet been implemented on a larger scale.
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Michigan college stops T-Rex-clad student from speaking, acts as if free speech is extinct
Alliance Defending Freedom
July 5, 2017

In April, campus police approached three members of the Turning Point USA chapter at the college who were on a large open area of the MCC Clinton Township campus to raise awareness about the value fossil fuels provide to society. The police told the students, one of whom was wearing T-Rex dinosaur costume, that they could not talk to other students, offer educational literature, or collect signatures in support of the issue. They further warned the students that they were violating the college’s speech permit policies because they had not obtained pre-approval from an administrator on a different campus, and that they could be deemed to be trespassing if they did not immediately cease their activities.
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American Family Association Urges Congress to end military transgender policy
American Family Association
July 5, 2017

Next week Congress will be voting on a military funding bill known as the National Defense Authorization Act for FY 2018 (NDAA). Congress will then have an opportunity to put an end to the Obama administration's transgender military mandate.
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New Video: Why privatizing public services hurts everyone (except big business)
American Federation for Government Employees
July 5, 2017

A new video from the American Federation of Government Employees illustrates how Americans suffer when the government hands over our public services to for-profit corporations.
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AJC: United Church of Christ Continues Demonization of IsraelAJC: UNITED CHURCH OF CHRIST CONTINUES DEMONIZATION OF ISRAEL
American Jewish Committee
July 3, 2017

AJC denounced the United Church of Christ (UCC) for adopting a resolution that criticizes Israel but ignores Palestinian leadership responsibility for the human rights of Palestinian children. The resolution, “A Call for the United Church of Christ to Advocate for the Rights of Children Living Under Israeli Military Occupation,” passed at the UCC General Synod by a vote of 79 percent in favor, 13 percent against, and 9 percent abstaining.
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Lawsuit Accuses Los Angeles County Jail of Federal and State Civil Liberty Violations
Human Rights Defense Center
July 5, 2017

A national human rights organization is accusing the Los Angeles County Jail of federal and state civil liberty violations. The jail holds the largest number of pre-trial detainees in the United States, and was previously the target of a federal investigation that resulted in the conviction of the former sheriff and jail officials.
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Deported Veterans, Election Integrity, Chemotherapy, Gun Group Event, Agriculture and Food

Rep. Juan Vargas Welcomes Congressional Hispanic Caucus Members to San Diego for Meeting with Deported Veterans in Tijuana, Mexico
Juan Vargas (D-CA, 51st)
July 3, 2017

On Saturday, June 3, seven members of Congress visited the Deported Veterans Support House in Tijuana, Mexico to meet with veterans who have been deported from the United States. During the visit, Reps. Juan Vargas (CA-51), Joaquin Castro (TX-20), Michelle Lujan Grisham (NM-01), Lou Correa (CA-46), Vicente Gonzalez (TX-15), Raul Grijalva (AZ-03), and Nanette Diaz Barragán (CA-44) toured the facility and heard the veterans’ personal stories.
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Veasey Introduces Bill to Deny Funding for Trump’s Sham Commission on Election Integrity
Marc Veasey (D-TX, 33rd)
June 30, 2017

In the wake of President Trump’s request from all 50 states to hand over voters’ sensitive information in his ongoing effort to dismantle the voting integrity of our nation, Congressman Marc Veasey, TX-33, introduced H.R. 3029, the Combating the President’s Voter Suppression Act, to ensure no taxpayer funds will be used to support the Presidential Commission on Election Integrity.
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Durbin Calls On Illinois To Refuse Request To Release Illinois Voter Files To Trump Commission On Voter Fraud
Senator Richard J. Durbin - (D - IL)
July 2, 2017

“This Commission is a half-baked exercise setting out to prove President Trump actually won the popular vote, which under the clear language of the Constitution is irrelevant. The Vice-chair of the effort, Kris Kobach, is well-known in Washington for hair-on-fire conspiracy theories imagining massive voter fraud which somehow escapes the attention of thousands of appointed and elected officials from both parties who supervise our elections,” said Durbin. "It is understandable that election officials of both parties nationwide are telling Mr. Kobach and his Commission to stick his request where the sun never shines. Illinois should do no less."
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FDA clears expanded use of cooling cap to reduce hair loss during chemotherapy
U.S. Food and Drug Administration
July 3, 2017

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration cleared the expanded use of a cooling cap, DigniCap Cooling System, to reduce hair loss (alopecia) during chemotherapy. This is the first cooling cap cleared by the agency for use in cancer patients with solid tumors.
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The Well Armed Women Hosts 3rd Annual National Leadership Conference
Well Armed Woman
June 30, 2017

The Well Armed Woman [TWAW] Shooting Chapters nonprofit organization will hold its 3rd Annual National Leadership Conference in Jacksonville, Fla., from Sept. 30 to Oct. 2. Susan LaPierre, co-chair of the National Rifle Association’s Women’s Leadership Forum and wife of Wayne LaPierre, joins an illustrious group of seminar leaders and firearms trainers in this 3-day historic event at the Hyatt Regency Jacksonville Riverfront. More than 350 chapter leaders will meet, train and learn valuable skills to take back to their chapters across the country.
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President Donald J. Trump Signs H.R. 1238 into Law
White House
June 30, 2017

H.R. 1238, the “Securing our Agriculture and Food Act,” which requires the Assistant Secretary for Health Affairs of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to carry out a program to coordinate DHS efforts related to defending the food, agriculture, and veterinary systems of the United States against terrorism and other threats.
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