Tag Archives: legislation

Dems Say Boehner Blocking Farm Bill, Wants More Food Stamp Cuts

by Onopriyll7 Posted on November 27, 2013

Mother Jones

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Over the past month, the House and Senate have been working to come up with a compromise farm bill—the five-year piece of legislation that funds agriculture and nutrition programs. The main sticking point is the level of cuts to the food stamp program. House Republicans want to cut $40 billion from the program, while the Senate wants to trim $4 billion. Last week, the talks fell apart, and the two sides are fighting over why.

A Democratic aide tells Mother Jones that House Speaker John Boehner shot down several informal compromise farm bill proposals because the food stamps cuts were not deep enough. Boehner’s spokesman denies this.

The Democratic aide says the joint House-Senate panel that is trying to work out a deal presented Boehner with a few proposals that contained food stamps levels close to what the Senate wants. Even though Rep. Frank Lucas (R-Okla.)—the chairman of the House agriculture committee and a top member of the compromise panel—was willing to give a lot of ground to the Senate on food stamps, he says, Boehner rejected the proposals. “Boehner is playing spoiler,” he adds. “That’s why negotiations fell apart.”

Another source familiar with the negotiations echoes the Dem aide’s claim, saying that the House leadership has Lucas on a tight leash. Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa), who is on the compromise committee, told Congressional Quarterly the same thing last week. “I’m hearing that the speaker still keeps inserting his people into the process,” and that House members on the farm bill compromise panel “have to go and check with the speaker’s people who say they want this and this and this. I hear that’s one of our major problems.”

But a spokesman for Boehner says the assertion that Boehner shot down the food stamps proposals “is absurd.” He adds that “the Speaker has full confidence” in Lucas and the rest of the House GOP team that is working out a compromise farm bill. On Friday, Lucas said negotiations stalled because of differences over the crop subsidy provisions in the legislation.

If Boehner did reject the compromise committee’s food-stamp proposals, he adhered to something called the Hastert rule—an informal measure used to limit the power of the minority—which says that a “majority of the majority” party must support a bill before it is brought up for a vote. It was first used by former House speaker Dennis Hastert in the mid-90s.

Boehner may not use the Hastert rule on the farm bill, but time is running out to reach an agreement. The two sides were supposed to have a final compromise bill on the House floor by December 13. A Senate agriculture committee aide says that negotiations are technically still ongoing, but the deadline may be pushed into next year. The farm bill is already more than a year behind schedule.

If fruitless negotiations end up delaying a farm bill for another year, Democrats may be the unlikley winners. Some Dems have been considering voting against any compromise farm bill in order to kill the bill. If that happens, food stamps would continue to be funded at current levels.

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Denial dries up: Americans finally seeing the light on climate change

by ErvinMcGuinness Posted on November 14, 2013

Denial dries up: Americans finally seeing the light on climate change

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Looks like Fox News and Congress are becoming ever more intellectually isolated from the American people, perched together on a sinking island of climate denialism.

Stanford University Professor Jon Krosnick led analysis of more than a decade’s worth of poll results for 46 states. The results show that the majority of residents of all of those states, whether they be red or blue, are united in their worries about the climate — and in their desire for the government to take climate action.

“To me, the most striking finding that is new today was that we could not find a single state in the country where climate scepticism was in the majority,” Krosnick told The Guardian.

In every state surveyed for which sufficient data was available:

At least three-quarters of residents are aware that the climate is changing.
At least two-thirds want the government to limit greenhouse gas emissions from businesses.
At least 62 percent want regulations that cut carbon pollution from power plants.
At least half want the U.S. to take action to fight climate change, even if other countries do not.

This map shows the percentage of state residents who believe global warming has been happening:

Committee on Energy & CommerceClick to embiggen.

Meanwhile, Republicans in Congress continue to block climate action. Many of them are so idiotic as to claim that global warming doesn’t exist, that it’s not a big deal, or that it’s caused by forces beyond the control of humans. How could Congress be so out of touch with the people it represents? Fossil fuel campaign contributions and lobbyists don’t help, nor does the bubble in which the lawmakers live. Here are some reflections from the research summary:

We have seen through these surveys that contrary to expectations, Americans support many of the energy policies that have been discussed over the years and are willing to pay some amount to have them enacted. This runs contrary to the idea that the reason why congress is not enacting these policies is because there is not public support and that the public would be unwilling to pay. It is unfair to blame the public for the lack of policies enacted by the federal government on these issues. Why has legislation action been so limited with regard to reduction of greenhouse gas emissions? Two possibilities include that legislators have decided to ignore their constituents or that they are simply unaware of the public consensus on these issues.

“These polls are further proof that the American people are awake to the threat of climate change, and have not been taken in by the polluting industries’ conspiracy of denial,” said Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), one of the co-chairs of a congressional climate change task force. “Now it’s time for Congress to wake up and face the facts: climate change is real; it is hurting our people, our economy, and our planet; and we have to do something about it.”

Want to know what your neighbors think about climate change? Click here for fact sheets on all the states studied. You might be pleasantly surprised.


Source
Majority of red-state Americans believe climate change is real, study shows, The Guardian
Does the American Public Support Legislation to Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions?, Stanford University

John Upton is a science fan and green news boffin who tweets, posts articles to Facebook, and blogs about ecology. He welcomes reader questions, tips, and incoherent rants: johnupton@gmail.com.

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GOP Food Stamp Cuts Would Kick 170,000 Vets Out of the Program

by IolaHopkins Posted on November 11, 2013

Mother Jones

Republicans will salute America’s veterans Monday, while simultaneously trying to deny them benefits. In addition to reducing housing aid, and denying health care to vets, the GOP is also trying to remove thousands of vets from the food stamp program, known as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP.

At least 900,000 veterans rely on SNAP. The House Republican version of the farm bill, the five-year piece of legislation that funds nutrition and agriculture provisions, would slash funding for the food stamps program by nearly $40 billion and boot 2.8 million people off the program next year. That includes 170,000 veterans, who would be removed through a provision in the bill that would eliminate food stamps eligibility for non-elderly jobless adults who can’t find work or an opening in a job training program.

CHARTS: The Hidden Benefits of Food Stamps.

Veterans returning home from service have more trouble finding work than other folks, and rely more heavily on the food stamp program. The unemployment rate for recent veterans—those who have served in the past decade—is about 10 percent, almost 3 points above the national unemployment rate. War-related disabilities are one reason why. About a quarter of recent veterans reported service-related disabilities in 2011. Households that have a disabled veteran who is unable to work are twice as likely to lack access to sufficient food than households without a disabled service member, according to the nonprofit Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.

This month, SNAP funding was reduced by $5 billion as extra stimulus money for the program expired. While the Senate will never approve the $40 billion in further cuts to the food stamps program that House Republicans want, deeper cuts are pretty much inevitable. The two chambers are in the middle of negotiating a final version of the farm bill, which will contain food stamp reductions somewhere in between the $4 billion level the Senate wants and the level the Republicans want.

Whatever the final number, veterans will likely feel the pinch.

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The Texas Tribune: Using the Law to Battle Zebra Mussels and Other Unwanted Pests

by Myrna Posted on August 10, 2013

Legislation passed this year aims to increase boaters’ awareness of how to prevent the spread of the mussels and other invasive species. Read more:   The Texas Tribune: Using the Law to Battle Zebra Mussels and Other Unwanted Pests ; ;Related ArticlesAlbany, Long Buried in Paper, Resolves to Save a Small ForestOn Fate of Wild Horses, Stars and Indians SparDolphin Deaths Off East Coast Worry Federal Wildlife Officials ;

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California, Illinois lawmakers welcome frackers

by cur07jqm Posted on June 3, 2013

California, Illinois lawmakers welcome frackers

By John Upton

Lawmakers rolled out red carpets for frackers last week in California and Illinois.

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California’s Assembly rejected, by a 37-24 vote, AB 1323, which would have imposed a moratorium on fracking until state regulators issue environmental and safety guidelines. Apparently the rush to cash in on oil and gas deposits just cannot wait for such trivial matters. “Let’s unleash this magnificent potential for jobs,” Assemblyman Jim Patterson (R) said, according to the AP.

A separate bill requiring scientific studies, water testing, and public notification of chemicals used by frackers — but imposing no moratorium — passed California’s Senate and will now move on to the Assembly for a vote.

Fracking for gas and oil is well underway beneath private land in California, though there are no requirements for energy companies to tell anybody what they’re up to, meaning it’s difficult to know how widespread the practice is. (Fracking for oil on federal lands in the state, meanwhile, is on hold pending an environmental review ordered by a federal judge.)

The practice of fracking is pitting farmers against energy companies in California. From The New York Times:

By all accounts, oilmen and farmers — often shortened to “oil and ag” here — have coexisted peacefully for decades in this conservative, business friendly part of California about 110 miles northwest of Los Angeles. But oil’s push into new areas and its increasing reliance on fracking, which uses vast amounts of water and chemicals that critics say could contaminate groundwater, are testing that relationship and complicating the continuing debate over how to regulate fracking in California.

“As farmers, we’re very aware of the first 1,000 feet beneath us and the groundwater that is our lifeblood,” said Tom Frantz, a fourth-generation farmer here and a retired high school math teacher who now cultivates almonds. “We look to the future, and we really do want to keep our land and soil and water in good condition.”

“This mixing of farming and oil, all in one place, is a new thing for us,” added Mr. Frantz, who is also an environmentalist and is pressing for a moratorium on fracking.

In Illinois, a bill that clears the way for fracking to get rolling in the state is headed for the desk of Gov. Pat Quinn (D), who says he’ll sign it. The Natural Resources Defense Council reported last week that some fracking has already been happening in the state, unbeknownst to most Illinoisans, but many companies have been waiting for the state to establish its regulatory framework before sinking their drills. This bill imposes “some of the toughest disclosure laws in the country” on frackers, the Chicago Tribune reports, but it’s not nearly as tough as green activists had wanted. From the Tribune:

Under new regulations which would take effect as soon as Quinn signs them into law, companies who wish to frack for oil or gas … must disclose a wealth of new information to the public, which has the opportunity to appeal permits and launch lawsuits against energy firms who attempt to skirt the law.

Environmental groups who helped hash out the bill say they would have preferred a moratorium on fracking.

So, yes, some safeguards are being put in place. But overall, lawmakers seem to hope the legislation will spur an oil boom in the state. The Chicago Tribune summed up the news this way: “Let the fracking begin.”

John Upton is a science fan and green news boffin who tweets, posts articles to Facebook, and blogs about ecology. He welcomes reader questions, tips, and incoherent rants: johnupton@gmail.com.

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North Carolina might ban Tesla’s business model

by Polly Browder Posted on May 14, 2013

North Carolina might ban Tesla’s business model

By John Upton

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This guy wants to sell you a Tesla.

North Carolina lawmakers are rushing to protect the state’s car dealers from Tesla’s subversive direct-to-consumer business model.

Silicon Valley-based Tesla sells its all-electric roadsters and sedans online and over the phone. It seems to be doing a pretty good job of it so far. It doesn’t sell its cars on the concrete lots or in the sterile showrooms of car salesmen, who take commissions that hike prices. The company considers dealerships unnecessary.

And that rubs the powerful North Carolina Automobile Dealers Association the wrong way.

The association wants a piece of the Tesla pie, and it’s accustomed to getting its way. State law already bars anybody other than a licensed dealer from selling more than four motor vehicles in a year.

The association has backed Senate Bill 327, sponsored by state Sen. Tom Apodaca (R), which would broaden the scope of that protectionist law to also cover internet and telephone sales.

From the Raleigh News & Observer:

The whole misunderstanding would go away, the dealers say, if Tesla sold its cars through licensed dealerships. [Tesla Business Development Vice President Diarmuid] O’Connell countered, in essence, that displaying a Tesla in a showroom of subcompacts and SUVs would be akin to selling Dom Perignon in the food court at the local mall.

Oh, snap.

But it’s not Tesla per se that worries the dealers. It’s the precedent. The prospect threatens the livelihood of North Carolina’s 7,000 licensed dealers, who invest millions in building big lots and showrooms to efficiently move product, say supporters of the bill.

“We care about the franchise system,” said Robert Glaser, president of the N.C. Automobile Dealers Association. “The whole point of the retail system is to protect the consumer.”

The local dealer is the customer’s point of contact on malfunctions, defects and recalls, Glaser said. Automakers are designers, manufacturers and wholesalers that remain largely invisible to the car buyers, he said.

“You tell me they’re gonna support the little leagues and the YMCA?” Glaser asked, directing his glance at the Tesla contingent milling about a few feet away in the legislative building.

Oh, snap back atcha, out-of-town tech company.

The North Carolina Senate’s Commerce Committee unanimously approved the legislation last week. Apparently, not a single committee member saw a problem with passing a law that would force a company to incorporate an old-fashioned and costly middleman into its business model.

John Upton is a science aficionado and green news junkie who

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New bill in Congress would require GMO labeling

by Guadalupe Williams Posted on April 25, 2013

New bill in Congress would require GMO labeling

By John Upton

Some federal lawmakers want you to be warned before you put food made from genetically engineered plants and animals into your mouth.

It’s just common sense, right? Yeah, well, tell that to the Food and Drug Administration.

Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) and Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-Ore.) introduced legislation with bipartisan support Wednesday that would require genetically engineered foods to be clearly labeled. Such commonsense labeling is unpopular with big agribusiness, which fears that consumers would avoid many of their products if they knew about their freaky ingredients. But the idea is overwhelmingly popular with Americans.

Last year, 55 members of the U.S. Senate and House called on the FDA to mandate such labeling, but the effort failed.

The San Francisco Chronicle reports on this year’s bill:

The legislation … has support from both sides of the aisle, including more than 20 co-sponsors combined in the Senate and House of Representatives.

It has been hailed by food labeling advocates as a boon for consumers who have repeatedly tried to get such laws passed. California’s Proposition 37, a referendum on requiring genetically engineered food labeling last year, failed to pass. Boxer tried to pass a similar bill, without success, in 2000. But activists say that Boxer and DeFazio’s proposed legislation shows that demand for a genetically engineered labeling law has reached critical mass.

“This is big because for the first time in 13 years the U.S. Senate has recognized consumers’ right to know,” said Colin O’Neil, director of government affairs for the Center for Food Safety, of the federal proposal. “Labeling has become a nonpartisan issue. It’s no longer an issue of if, but when.”

Why label GMOs? You already know, but here are some commonsense arguments from the lawmakers behind the bill:

“Americans have the right to know what is in the food they eat so they can make the best choices for their families,” Senator Boxer said. “This legislation is supported by a broad coalition of consumer groups, businesses, farmers, fishermen and parents who all agree that consumers deserve more — not less — information about the food they buy.”

“When American families purchase food, they deserve to know if that food was genetically engineered in a laboratory,” Representative DeFazio said.

Did we mention that this is really just common sense?

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We condemn anti-RFS legislation proposed today

by Posted on April 10, 2013

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We condemn anti-RFS legislation proposed today

Posted 10 April 2013 in

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The bill introduced today by Rep. Goodlatte (R-VA) would impede the progress made by the renewable fuel industry and take choice out of the hands of consumers, all while protecting the virtual monopoly that oil companies have over America’s transportation fuels.

As this legislation is introduced, let’s remember that instead of protecting oil companies, Congress should address what is actually hurting America’s families and businesses: high gas prices and dependence on foreign oil. Continuing to develop our renewable industry is the only way to address both. Rep. Goodlatte’s bill would keep gas prices at the mercy of global oil markets and rob consumers of clean, competitive fuels.

The legislation also ignores the fact that renewable fuel is good for the country. Renewable fuel creates jobs, gives consumers savings and choice at the pump, promotes our nation’s energy security and brings environmental benefits.

We must avoid near-term energy policy changes that imperil America’s communities, families, and businesses. Maintaining the RFS ensures that America’s renewable fuel industry – from traditional, advanced or cellulosic sources – can continue to feed and fuel the country.

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Sharks and Manta Rays Earn Stronger International Protection

by 9ji7g4x Posted on March 12, 2013

Underwater photographer and conservationist Shawn Heinrichs made this haunting video in order to celebrate and draw attention to the plight of rapidly declining manta rays. Now, his and others’ efforts have finally paid off.

If all goes well, some species of sharks will no longer turn up in a bowl of sharkfin soup, and manta rays will no longer have their gill rakers cut out for use in traditional Chinese medicine—at least not legally. In Bangkok this week, countries from around the world voted to give all manta rays and several species of shark official protection under the Convention on the International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES). The decision will be announced officially on Thursday, but things look good.

To gain the new protective status, a handful of countries, including the U.S., Brazil, Colombia, Denmark, Mexico and Ecuador, nominated the species they felt needed further protection. On that list was three species of hammerhead sharks, oceanic white tip sharks, porbeagles (a kind of mackerel shark) and all manta rays. Each of these four groups received more than 90 country votes. Two-thirds of the CITES 177 member countries must vote in favor for new status labels to pass.

The Guardian explains the severity of the current situation for sharks:

Sharks are highly sought after but are slow to mature and have few offspring, making them extremely vulnerable to overfishing.

The fins of the scalloped hammerhead are among the most valuable of all and it is estimated that 2 million a year are killed.

Scientists estimate that about 100m sharks are killed by humans every year, representing 6-8% of all sharks and far above a sustainable level.

As for manta rays, the Guardian continues:

Their populations are being devastated off Sri Lanka and Indonesia to feed a newly created Chinese medicine market in which their gill plates, used to filter food from the ocean, are sold as a purifying tonic. Around 5,000 a year are killed, generating $5m for traders, but where protected they bring in $140m from tourism.

The New York Times Green Blog explains what the protection would mean for species:

If the animals gain protection under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species, or Cites, their trade will have to be regulated by the countries from which they are exported. Shipments of manta gill rakers or other parts will require permits, and the exporting country will need to assure that hunting of the species is sustainable.

Of course, just because trade in manta rays and some sharks will likely soon be regulated does not mean they will shake off the threat of extinction overnight. Many of the world’s most endangered and vulnerable species—think tigers and black rhinos—are fully protected but still turn up on the wildlife black-market. Cultural demand for many of these species runs deep. Shark fin soup, for example, is a traditional staple of Chinese weddings so probably will not be dropped from the menu lightly, one delegate told the Guardian. “It would be like telling the French not to have champagne at their wedding,” she said.

But still, the new status rulings will hopefully bring more attention to the problem and make it easier for officials to enforce protective rules and prosecute those who violate them.

More from Smithsonian.com:

Dance with the Devilfish  
What’s In Your Shark Fin Soup? 

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Whole Foods to label frankenfoods by 2018

by gt67dx1 Posted on March 8, 2013

Whole Foods to label frankenfoods by 2018

By Susie Cagle

Out of the pure goodness of its big corporate heart, Whole Foods wants you to know if there are any GMOs in your $8 kombucha and $30 take-out salad.

Several states are kicking around proposals to require labels on genetically modified foods, but the (w)holier-than-thou natural foods giant waits for no government! It will wait for its suppliers, though. Whole Foods announced today that, by 2018, it will require genetically modified foods be labeled as such.

“We are as excited about this announcement as we are dedicated to supporting transparency and our customers’ right to know what’s in their food,” read the statement from Whole Foods co-CEO Walter Robb and COO A.C. Gallo. “By 2018, we will require our supplier partners to label products containing GMO ingredients, and we will work in collaboration with them as they transition to sourcing non-GMO ingredients or to clearly labeling products with ingredients containing GMOs.”

Here’s Robb reading more Whole Foods PR off a teleprompter. (Also, when I think Whole Foods offices I think earth tones, not hot pink, but that’s not a judgment.)

“We are the first national grocery chain to set a deadline for full GMO transparency,” the statement reads. But the announcement comes on the heels of rumblings that its food culture foil and market dominator Walmart has been kind of on the same trip. Lately even Monsanto is kind of open to the idea of GMO labels. Are these really proactive policies, or are companies just seeing the writing on the wall and the legislation to come?

Either way, cool moves, Whole Foods. But I still kind of hate you, John “Crazy Eyes” “What’s the Big Deal About Climate Change?” “Unchecked Capitalism Rocks” Mackey.

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