ICE, NFL, Graham-Cassidy Bill, Planned Parenthood, Alabama, Election, Terrorism, Earthquake, Taxes, Drugs, Overtime Rule, Title IX

The links can be accessed on this page: http://thepondernews.blogspot.com/2017/09/ice-nfl-graham-cassidy-bill-planned.html

Civil and Human Rights Organizations File Joint Complaint Against DHS on Behalf of Pregnant Women Detained by ICE
American Immigration Lawyer’s Association
AILA joined six other organizations filing a joint complaint today concerning ICE’s treatment of pregnant women in detention, highlighting inhumane conditions, inadequate medical care and failure to implement agency policy limiting the detention of pregnant women.
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The American Legion blasts NFL for disrespect
American Legion
The leader of the nation’s largest veterans organization characterized professional athletes and other Americans who fail to show respect for the national anthem as “misguided and ungrateful.”
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Planned Parenthood Obviously Celebrates Defeat of Graham-Cassidy Bill
American Life League
American Life League president Judie Brown stated: “Planned Parenthood's celebration over the defeat of the latest effort to repeal and replace Obamacare is but one more example of its demonic hatred for innocent babies, not to mention its disregard for mothers. We must work harder than ever to defund these bloodthirsty advocates of death by abortion.”
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APA Relieved Graham-Cassidy Bill Not Headed to Senate Vote, Encourages Bipartisan Solution to Health Care
American Psychiatric Association
The American Psychiatric Association (APA) today expressed its relief that the Graham-Cassidy bill, legislation that would have greatly harmed our patients, is not going to the Senate floor. GOP Senate leadership announced today that it did not have the votes to proceed.
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Maine Addiction Specialists Cheer Senator Collins’ Statement Opposing the Graham-Cassidy Proposal
American Society of Addiction Medicine
The Northern New England Society of Addiction Medicine (NNESAM), a Chapter of the American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM), commends Senator Susan Collins (R-ME) for her bold, thoughtful, and compassionate statement opposing the Graham-Cassidy proposal to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act (ACA). As Senator Collins notes, the bill would have a devastating impact on the Medicaid program, which is the largest payer of addiction treatment services in the country, and would weaken protections for persons with pre-existing conditions like addiction.
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Roy Moore win in Alabama a victory for the Trump agenda
Americans for Limited Government
“This election turned into a battle between Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Judge Roy Moore largely due to the sheer volume and vitriol of the spending by McConnell’s Leadership PAC which dumped millions of wasted dollars in advertising attacking Moore and Rep. Mo Brooks during the primary process in favor of appointed incumbent Senator Luther Strange. The net McConnell effect was to nationalize the election as a referendum on him and the Washington, D.C. swamp as a whole. Trump tried to bail McConnell out by campaigning from Strange, but like Trump himself, Judge Moore had a well-known record of standing up for his beliefs even in the face of those who could and did politically punish him. And it is that kind of drain the swamp persona that drew voters to Trump in the first place.
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Center Catalogues Allegations of Qatar’s Terrorism Support
Center for Security Policy
Following the recent meeting of U.S. President Donald Trump’s and the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, the Center for Security Policy is proud to announce the publication of its most recent occasional paper, The Role of Select Non-Governmental Organizations in Doha’s Support for Terrorism.
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ALLIANCE FAMILY IMPACTED BY MEXICO EARTHQUAKES
Christian and Missionary Alliance
On Tuesday, September 19, a 7.1 magnitude earthquake hit Mexico City. Only a few days later on Saturday, September 23, two more earthquakes with magnitudes of 6.1 and 4.5 rattled Oaxaca, a few hundred miles southeast of the capital. 420 people have died, over 3,000 buildings are in danger of collapse, and more than $8 billion of damage has occurred so far as a result of these quakes.
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Evangelist Alveda King: America, Take the Knee
Christian Newswire
There are challenges with today's young people wanting to "take the knee" and turn their backs on our National Anthem and American Flag. As we honor our nation, it would be good to extend the tradition of honoring America, not by attacking cherished symbols, but by including everyone in the conversations on peace and nonviolence. I for one would like to see the Negro National Anthem (Lift Every Voice and Sing) included in tributes to our nation.
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CLUB FOR GROWTH LEADS COALITION URGING TRUMP TO END TAXATION OF “PHANTOM INCOME;” ENCOURAGES EXECUTIVE ORDER
Club for Growth
Club for Growth along with nearly 30 other conservative groups sent a letter to President Trump and Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin asking that they issue an executive order that would index capital gains to inflation so that taxpayers are no longer forced to pay taxes on “phantom” gains. In the letter, the conservative organizations explain that this Executive Order can essentially serve as a pro-growth “down payment” to help ignite the broader conversation of tax reform ahead of the Big Six’s proposal.
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Video: Regulatory Dark Matter: A hidden tax on consumers and businesses
Competitive Enterprise Institute
The Competitive Enterprise Institute released a video, “Regulatory Dark Matter,” which explains a new, dangerous tool government bureaucrats are using to circumvent the law and Congressional review of new regulations. There are tens of thousands of executive branch and independent agency actions including guidance documents, proclamations, memoranda, bulletins, circulars, letters and more that are subject to little scrutiny or democratic accountability but carry practical, binding regulatory effects.
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Outrageous 35% Anthem Rate Hike Could Have Been Prevented, Creates New Urgency For California Medicare-For-All Legislation, Says Consumer Watchdog
Consumer Watchdog
Anthem is raising rates on 135,000 California consumers who buy individual polices 35 percent because California is one of the few states without the ability to say no to unjustified rate hikes.
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New FBI Report Shows Drug Arrests Increased in 2016, As Drug War Rages On
Drug Policy Alliance
According to the FBI’s latest Uniform Crime Report released today, law enforcement agencies in the US made more than 1.57 million arrests for drug law violations in 2016, a 5.63% increase over the previous year. That’s one drug arrest every 20 seconds – and over three times more arrests than for all violent crimes combined.
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Leftist Agenda Attacks Christian Ministry's Online Donations
Earned Media
"This is now the FIFTH major company or service to terminate with us for the same reason. It began with Amazon Smile, which rejected us from its charitable services program because American Vision is listed on the Southern Poverty Law Center's ridiculous and notoriously biased 'hate group' list which is used to target conservative Christian organizations who dare to stand up for truth, liberty, and justice."
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EPI submits comments to DOL on overtime rule
Economic Policy Institute
EPI Policy Director Heidi Shierholz filed comments today with the Department of Labor in response to a Request for Information (RFI) on the overtime pay rule. Shierholz writes that that the 2016 update to the rule was critically needed because the overtime threshold—under which workers were guaranteed time-and-a-half for working more than forty hours a week—had been allowed to erode dramatically, and urges DOL not to weaken the rule.
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FACE OPPOSES NEW YORK’S LAW TO NOTATE TRANSCRIPTS OF TITLE IX DISCIPLINARY ACTIONS
Families Advocating for Campus Equality (FACE)
Families Advocating for Campus Equality (FACE), a not for profit organization that advocates for fairness and due process on our college campuses, strongly opposes transcript notations of disciplinary actions involving sexual and intimate partner impropriety. Transcript notations are an unnecessarily punitive measure, akin to public shaming, that will serve to inflate the disciplinary action, a confidential process that is slim on due process and is conducted by students and faculty with no professional legal or judicial experience, into a life sentence so that the student is permanently barred from education and jobs
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Investigation into Alleged Pill Dumping in West Virginia Amid Opioid Crisis

Source: House of Representatives

Washington, D.C. - September 26, 2017 (The Ponder News) -- Congresswoman Diana DeGette (D-CO) and other Energy and Commerce Committee leaders have sent a letter to Miami-Luken, a drug distributor, expanding on their investigation into alleged pill dumping in West Virginia. The letter requests documents regarding what steps the company has taken to comply with Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) regulations regarding suspicious orders for drugs, as well as information about the dosage and amounts of drugs the company had shipped to regional pharmacies.

Signing the letter along with DeGette were Committee Chairman Greg Walden (R-OR), Ranking Member Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ), Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee Chairman Tim Murphy (R-PA) and Rep. David McKinley (R-WV).

The committee has been investigating alleged pill dumping in West Virginia since earlier this year. This work stems from news reports by the Charleston Gazette-Mail and The Washington Post detailing an unusually large opioid presence in the state of West Virginia.

“It would appear that the state of West Virginia may have received extraordinary amounts of opioids from distributors beyond what the population could safely use,” the five members of Congress wrote

“There are specific allegations in the public domain relating to Miami-Luken’s distribution of opioids,” they added, noting that the DEA was seeking to revoke the company’s ability to operate in West Virginia because it allegedly failed to maintain effective controls over distribution there, including the disclosure of suspicious orders for controlled substances including oxycodone and hydrocodone.

The lawmakers set a deadline of October 9 for the company to respond to their letter.

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Guthrie Releases Bipartisan Draft Legislation to Reform Over-the-Counter Approval System

Source: House Representative Brett S. Guthrie (R-KY, 2nd)



Washington, D.C. - September 12, 2017 (The Ponder News) -- Congressman Brett Guthrie (KY-02) and a group of bipartisan Members of Congress have released a discussion draft to reform the over-the-counter (OTC) monograph system. The bill was introduced by Rep. Bob Latta (R-OH) along with Energy and Commerce Committee members Rep. Michael Burgess (R-TX), Rep. Gene Green (D-TX), Rep. Diana DeGette (D-CO), and Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-MI).

The draft would modernize the “monograph” framework that allows the FDA to make scientific determinations for OTC ingredients through an administrative order processwith user fees, an approach closer to new drug application procedures. These updates will allow new, safe products to come to market more quickly, rapidly address safety issues, and expand consumer choice.

“As our medical and pharmaceutical technology rapidly advances, we must ensure that the FDA keeps up with innovations in over-the-counter drugs,” said Guthrie.“I was proud to join Rep. Latta and other members of the Energy and Commerce Committee to introduce this bipartisan legislation that will give the FDA more flexibility to help get new medicines to Americans faster.”

“The outdated OTC monograph system stifles innovation and harms consumer confidence,” said Latta.“Moving to a more flexible system that uses new information and scientific advancements ultimately means more certainty for manufacturers and better products for consumers. Working in a bipartisan manner, we’ve released this draft legislation that adds predictability to the monograph process and would create a more robust over-the-counter marketplace.”

“This bipartisan initiative is a victory for patients and consumers,” said Burgess. “The current over-the-counter monograph system is outdated and deters updates and innovations to over-the-counter medications. This bill will allow for meaningful modifications to the monograph that will equip manufacturers to continue to deliver high-quality products to consumers. We must continue to strive to do more to reform approval processes at the FDA and subsequently increase access to care.”

“Americans utilize over-the-counter products dozens of time every day” said Green. “The FDA’s regulatory framework for oversight of most over-the-counter products has not been updated for decades and is widely regarded as flawed. The current system is unable to keep pace with scientific discovery or respond quickly to safety concerns. We have been working in a bipartisan manner with the FDA and stakeholders to create a more flexible, modern process and give the FDA the resources is needs to respond to new drugs and keep patients safe. This draft is the next step in that process, and we will continue to work across the aisle to advance this important issue.“

“Virtually every American uses over-the-counter medications to treat headaches, colds, and other common ailments,” said DeGette. “The market for these products has grown substantially and the science has advanced, but the system for reviewing them remains outdated. It’s virtually impossible for the FDA to respond to safety risks promptly, which needlessly puts consumers in harm’s way. Our bipartisan bill will give the FDA new tools to protect consumers, provide badly-needed resources, and streamline the FDA review process.”

The OTC monograph system was established in 1972 by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to review the safety and efficacy of the OTC medicine ingredients then on the market, including doses, formulations, and labeling. Any OTC that conforms to a monograph may be manufactured and sold without an individual product approval. In the 45 years since the system was created, the process has not been completed and movement on unfinished items has been slow. The system has become a hindrance that does not allow for advances in science and new information concerning the safety of an ingredient.

The draft legislation updates the monograph process by specifically adding a new section to the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to:

· Move away from the cumbersome current monograph finalization process to an administrative order procedure. Additional processes will be in place to ensure recourse should issues arise.

· Create new pathways to innovation for monograph products benefitting consumers, where none currently exits.

· Provide standards for determining general recognition of safety and effectiveness for monograph drugs.

· Ensure the new drug approval pathway and other nonprescription drugs otherwise lawfully marketed are not affected.

· Include by reference existing OTC Review Final Monographs and deem final Tentative Final Monographs by statute.

Rep. Johnson Demands Accountability for Deadly U.S. Counter-narcotics Operations Abroad

Source: House Representative Henry C. (Hank) Johnson, Jr. (D-GA, 4th)



Washington, D.C. - September 5, 2017 (The Ponder News) -- Congressman Hank Johnson (GA-04) sent a letter to Attorney General Jeff Sessions and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson demanding answers as to what steps the Department of Justice and the Department of State plan in response to the killing of innocent bystanders in US-backed counter-narcotics operations abroad.

The letter, led by Johnson and signed by the ranking members of the Foreign Affairs and Judiciary committees and other colleagues, seeks answers regarding what steps are being taken to hold accountable officials found to be involved in “undermining Congressional oversight, undermining Chief of Mission Authority and obstructing an internal investigation.”

The letter focuses on pending questions and calls for accountability in the wake of a joint review from the Offices of the Inspectors General of Justice and State that presented shocking conclusions regarding the role of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) in several lethal shooting incidents during counter-narcotics operations in Honduras under “Operation Anvil.”

The most notorious and deadly of these, and the focus of the letter, was a May 11, 2012, incident in Ahuas, Honduras, in which four local villagers were shot and killed and several others seriously wounded. The episode, as detailed in the OIG report, was a joint operation involving DEA agents and Honduran police.

The OIG review also revealed efforts by DEA and the State Department’s Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL) to cover up the agencies’ responsibility for the deadly operations. The letter notes that officials who reviewed the aftermath of the Ahuas operation with Congressional staff were not honest in doing so, telling staff “that there was reliable evidence showing that passengers on the water taxi were armed and opened fire on Honduran and DEA agents. They also insisted that U.S. agents on the mission were not responsible for the discharging of firearms. In fact, there was no credible evidence to support these assertions.”

“We waited five long years for this Inspector General Review and, though it confirms our worst fears regarding what really happened during the tragic Ahuas incident, it also leaves many questions unanswered,” said Rep. Johnson. “The biggest question of all is: what is our government doing to fix this and make sure that, going forward, any U.S. agent involved in the loss of innocent life abroad is held accountable?”

The letter also discusses the findings of a recent ProPublica investigation into a 2011 DEA-related massacre in Allende, Mexico, that indicate that some of the serious problems noted in the joint OIG review may be part of a broader pattern of deficiencies hampering US counter-narcotics operations abroad. In response, the letter presses the Attorney General and Secretary of State on whether they are carrying out a “thorough review” of the system of US-vetted foreign police units and of the DEA methods related to “Sources of Information.”

Opioid Crisis

Washington, D.C. - August 28, 2017 (The Ponder News) -- The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently came to a decision decision to host a public meeting next month to seek the expertise of the Pediatric Advisory Committee about the use of prescription opioids containing hydrocodone or codeine to treat a cough in pediatric patients.

The decision comes less than two weeks after President Trump declared a national emergency on the opioid crisis in America. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 62 people died every day in 2015 from an overdose death involving prescription opioids.

In December 2015, Congressman Rogers and 14 of his colleagues signed a joint letter asking the FDA to reconsider its decision to approve OxyContin for use by children and urged the federal agency to allow an advisory committee to gather public input and expert testimony before making an official recommendation.

Earlier this year, the FDA changed labeling requirements for prescription codeine medications to better protect children from serious risks, including life-threatening respiratory depression and death. The new labels include a warning that codeine should not be used for any reason, including treatment of cough, in children younger than 12 years.

Congressman Bill Foster (D-IL) led a letter to President Trump with Rep. Evan Jenkins (R-WV), Rep. Tim Ryan (D-OH), and Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA), urging him to implement the recommendations of the President’s Commission on Combating Drug Addiction and the Opioid Crisis. It was signed by 52 Members of Congress.

The letter encourages the President to follow through with the report's recommendation to waive the Institution for Mental Diseases (IMD) exclusion within the Medicaid program. The IMD exclusion prohibits Medicaid from paying for care for patients in large residential mental health or substance abuse facilities. The commission has recommended this exclusion be waived.

“Since 1999, more than 300,000 Americans have died from opioid overdoses,” Foster said. “This epidemic has affected communities across this country, including the 11th District. Medicaid’s current IMD exclusion limits treatment for the most vulnerable populations. There is widespread, bipartisan agreement that eliminating the IMD exclusion will immediately help people get the treatment they need. I urge President Trump to grant these waivers and work with us to combat the opioid epidemic to save lives."

Below are statements and more information about this (please keep checking back for updates on this page):

House Representative Mike (AL) Rogers (R-AL, 3rd):

“I applaud FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb for taking preliminary steps to safeguard our children and educate prescribers about the unnecessary use of highly addictive painkillers to treat a child’s cough. The risk of addiction and other detrimental side effects should be primary considerations when prescribing opioids to children. It's encouraging to see the FDA take additional measures to make informed decisions before approving powerful painkillers for the nation’s smallest patients. Drug manufacturers who stand to profit from the sale of these medications should never be the sole advisors to the FDA."