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Here’s every weapon US has supplied to Ukraine with $13 billion

The Biden administration has committed nearly $13 billion worth of military assistance to Ukraine since Russia invaded six months ago.

The scope and power of those weapons has increased over time, with Ukrainian officials arguing that firepower is crucial to defend not only their country, but democracy worldwide.

“Finally it is felt that the Western artillery — the weapons we received from our partners —  started working very powerfully,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said last month.

On Wednesday, the United States greenlighted another military assistance package to Ukraine, preparing to send nearly $3 billion in arms and equipment to meet Kyiv’s medium- and long-term needs as it beats back Russia’s military.

Major weapons

• High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS) and ammunition
  • The U.S. has committed 16 HIMARS since late-May. It is a lighter wheeled system that can allow Ukrainians to hit Russian targets within Ukraine from further distances.
• 1,500 Tube-Launched, Optically-Tracked, Wire-Guided (TOW) missiles
  • Manufactured by Raytheon, the TOW missiles are long-range precision, anti-tank and assault weapons that can hit targets up to 4,500 meters away.
• 155mm Howitzers
  • A towed field artillery piece that can hit targets up to 30 km, or 18 miles away. The U.S. has sent 126 of these howitzers, along with 806,000 155mm artillery rounds and 126 tactical vehicles to tow the howitzers.  
• 105mm Howitzers
  • The U.S. committed to sending 16 105mm howitzers and 108,000 105mm artillery rounds to go with the howitzers. The United Kingdom has already provided the L119 model, which is a light weight howitzer that can provide direct fire support at armored vehicles or buildings or indirect fire to support combat arms in ranges over 10 km, or 6 miles.
• 120mm mortar systems
  • The U.S. Army uses three versions of the 120mm mortar systems, but they are designed to provide close-range, quick-response indirect fire during tactical combat. The U.S. has sent 20 of these systems, as well as 85,000 rounds of 120mm mortar ammunition.
• National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile Systems (NASAMS);
  • The National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile System, also known as the Norwegian Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile System, are advanced air-defense systems that can hit targets up to 100 miles away. The U.S. has committed to sending eight NSAMS, along with munitions for the systems.
• Phoenix Ghost Tactical Unmanned Aerial Systems
  • The U.S. has committed approximately 700 Phoenix ‘Ghost’ drones to Ukraine between April and July. The systems, made by AEVEX Aerospace, are designed to attack targets.
• Switchblade Tactical Unmanned Aerial Systems
  • The U.S. has sent over 700 Switchblade drones to Ukraine since March. There are two types of Switchblade drones and the U.S. has sent both, those its unclear how many of each type Washington has sent.
  • The Switchblade 300 weighs about five pounds and can fly roughly 6 miles, and is intended to target personnel and light vehicles. However, the Switchblade 600 can fly more than 24 miles and can stay in the air for 40 minutes.
• Puma unmanned aerial systems
  • The Pentagon awarded AeroVironment $19.7 million in April to produce the Puma AE RQ-20 system for Ukraine. Designed for reconnaissance and surveillance, it has a range of 20 km, or about 12 miles, and has over three hours of flight endurance.
• Mi-17 helicopters
  • The U.S. has provided 20 of the Soviet-era transport helicopters that can also be used as a helicopter gunship. Can carry as many as 30 passengers or 9,000 pounds of cargo
• Harpoon coastal defense systems
  • The U.S. announced in June that it would provide two vehicle-mounted Harpoon systems, which are intended for coastal defense. The U.S. said in June that it would provide the launchers, while allies and partners would provide the missiles.
• Scan Eagle Unmanned Aerial Systems
  • The U.S. sent 15 Scan Eagle systems as part of its Aug. 19 package to Ukraine for reconnaissance, surveillance and target acquisition. These systems are just under four feet in length, and have an altitude of 16,000 feet above ground level. The Aug. 24 weapons package included support equipment for these systems.
• VAMPIRE Counter-unmanned aerial systems
  • The U.S. first committed to providing the VAMPIRE system in its $2.98 billion weapons package announced Aug. 24. Colin Kahl, the Pentagon’s top policy official, said the VAMPIRE uses small missiles to shoot drones out of the sky.
• Stinger anti-aircraft systems
  • The U.S. has provided over 1,400 Stinger anti-aircraft missiles. The Stinger has a range of 5 miles and can attack targets up to 15,000 feet.
• Javelin anti-armor systems
  • The U.S. has provided over 8,500 Javelin surface-to-air missiles. Javelin is a portable anti-tank system that can hit targets from 65 meters to 4,000 meters away in most operational circumstances.
• High Speed, Anti- Radiation Missiles
  • The Aug. 19 weapons package included an undisclosed amount of High-speed Anti-radiation (HARM) missiles. The Pentagon first disclosed in early August that it has sent these missiles, but didn’t specified which kind or how many. However, CNN reported that the U.S. has sent the AGM-88 HARM, an air-to-surface tactical missile that has a range of at least 30 miles, and is designed to find and destroy radar-equipped air defense systems.
• Over 27,000 other anti-armor systems

Other equipment and small arms

Radars

• 50 counter-artillery radars
• Four counter-mortar radars
• Four air surveillance radars
• Counter-battery radar systems

Vehicles/Boats

• Four Command Post vehicles
• Unmanned Coastal Defense Vessels
• Hundreds of Armored High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicles
• 50 armored medical treatment vehicles
• 200 M113 Armored Personnel Carriers
• 18 coastal and riverine patrol boats
• 40 MaxxPro Mine Resistant Ambush Protected Vehicles with mine rollers

Explosives, Small Arms, Ammunition, Munitions

• M18A1 Claymore anti-personnel munitions (command-detonated fixed-direction fragmentation weapon for use against personnel)
• C-4 explosives, demolition munitions, and demolition equipment
• Over 10,000 Grenade launchers and small arms
• Over 59,000, 000 Small arms ammunition

Equipment

• 75,000 sets of body armor and helmets
• 22 Tactical Vehicles to recover equipment
• Laser-guided rocket systems
• Tactical secure communications systems
• Night vision devices, thermal imagery systems, optics, and laser rangefinders
• Commercial satellite imagery services
• Explosive ordnance disposal protective gear
• Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear protective equipment
• Medical supplies
• Electronic jamming equipment
• Field equipment and spare parts
• Funding for training, maintenance, and sustainment
• Mine clearing equipment and systems

Sources:

Fact Sheet on U.S. Security Assistance to Ukraine – Aug. 24 (DOD)
Sources: $1 Billion in Additional Security Assistance for Ukraine – Aug. 8 (DOD)
Fact Sheet on U.S. Security Assistance to Ukraine – Aug. 8 (DOD)
Pentagon confirms anti-radiation missiles sent to Ukraine – Aug. 9 (The Hill)

Source: TEST FEED1

Establishment Democrats crow after latest victories

Establishment Democrats had a good night Tuesday — results that could be interpreted as a sign their voters want to play it safe in the midterms as they battle to hold on to the House and Senate majorities.  

In New York, Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney (D-N.Y.) defeated a progressive challenger by more than 30 percentage points.  

“Tonight, mainstream won,” the chairman of the House Democrats campaign arm said in his victory speech. “Common sense won. Democrats want candidates who get results and bring home the win.”  

In another House primary, former Democratic impeachment counsel Dan Goldman, who came under criticism for not being liberal enough, outpaced several progressive challengers, including Rep. Mondaire Jones, whose congressional career he halted at one term.

Progressives did clinch a notable win when gun control activist Maxwell Alejandro Frost (D) beat out a slew of candidates for an open seat in Florida left vacant by Rep. Val Demings (D), who is running for governor. 

But Democratic voters sided with the establishment favorite, Rep. Charlie Crist (D-Fla.), over state Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried (D) to take on Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) in November. 

Overall, Democratic voters on the season’s final major primary night did what Democratic voters have done throughout the year: They gave progressives glimmers of hope but as a whole put their faith behind the establishment.

Democratic strategist Jon Reinish said that’s because voters are weighing who has the best chance of winning a general election and the establishment candidates were able to build “broader electoral coalitions.”

“Especially given where Democrats need to win to either hold the majority, or at least keep losses, as low as possible. You know, it tends to be suburban districts, rural districts, ex-urban districts,” Reinish, a former aide to Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), said. 

“And that is where a center or center left candidate who’s more unifying will do well,” he added.

Progressives have had some good wins over the spring and summer, most notably when Lt. Gov. John Fetterman (D) won the primary to run for a Pennsylvania Senate seat, as well as Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes’ (D) victory in Wisconsin’s Senate primary.

But there have also been a number of disappointments, and establishment voices like Maloney’s were doing some crowing in the aftermath.  

In Ohio, former Bernie Sanders campaign co-chair Nina Turner lost her second House bid to Rep. Shontel Brown, who had establishment support. In a member-on-member primary for Michigan’s redrawn 11^th District, moderate Rep. Haley Stevens ousted progressive Rep. Andy Levin.

And in Texas, progressives were furious when Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and House Majority Whip James Clyburn (D-S.C.) helped propel nine-term Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-Texas), considered the last anti-abortion Democrat in the House, to a narrow win over progressive challenger Jessica Cisneros in a closely watched race.

Cuellar’s supporters argued a progressive candidate couldn’t win his district and House leadership was eager to keep his seat in a lower chamber that Democrats control by only five seats and is widely expected to flip in November.

In another race, though, Pelosi endorsed Jones, a progressive incumbent.

To be sure, not all Democrats chalked Tuesday night up as an unmitigated win for centrists, or a statement about the Democratic landscape as a whole.

Angelo Greco, who was a senior campaign adviser to Turner’s congressional campaign, argued that Crist’s win in Florida was in part because progressives coalesced around his candidacy. Democratic strategist Rodell Mollineau noted that Crist had already been a mainstay in Florida politics and had “a better mastery of the political Democratic machine.” 

In New York, Mollineau said Maloney had “access to funding, to establishment support, to democratic infrastructure.” And he said Goldman prevailed, at least in part, because several more progressive candidates split the vote.

Goldman, a Levi Strauss & Co. heir, had also poured millions of dollars into the race and had name recognition from his time as Democrats’ lead Trump impeachment counsel.

“Being known for something and having a financial advantage is always important in a crowded Democratic field,” Mollineau said, adding “and he had both.” 

Still, Mollineau said many Democrats’ perceptions of anti-establishment candidates do play a role.

“I feel as though, you know, those folks who have an anti-establishment, who have a ‘let’s go outside of the system, let’s tear this down’ mentality when it comes to their … ideas, their legislative ideas, so on and so forth, their worldview …  there are a growing number of people that are more … that are coming to believe that ideology, but it’s not a majority of the country, and it’s not a majority of Democrats,” he said. 

Natalia Salgado, director of federal affairs for the Working Families Party, pointed to eight candidates, among others, they endorsed — including Becca Balint for Vermont’s at-large congressional district and Jamie McLeod-Skinner, who ousted President Biden-endorsed Rep. Kurt Schrader (D-Oreg.) — as key wins in competitive races.

“The victories from our champions, even when dramatically outspent, are not just notable —  they are unprecedented. Because of those wins, the next Congress will be more responsible to working people than the last,” she said.

Still, progressives’ most prominent wins have come from Fetterman and Barnes, who Reinish says “run, in terms of their messaging, as very broadly uniting figures.” 

“They’re not bomb throwers. They’re not confrontational. They’re very uniting in the way that they message policy and how they conduct themselves and promote themselves as candidates.” 

Source: TEST FEED1

Ukraine can launch counteroffensive with new US support, says key Zelensky aide

KYIV, Ukraine — Mykhail Podolyak barely flinched as air raid sirens wailed in Kyiv, signaling incoming Russian missiles.

Sitting in his office at the heavily fortified presidential administration building in Ukraine’s capital, the adviser to the head of the office of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said the sirens have become a normal part of life six months into the war with Russia.

“We’re getting used to this new lifestyle — we are used to the wailing sirens now and to the bombardments, because the Russian Federation is mostly aiming at the civilian population and civilian infrastructure,” he said in an interview with The Hill, through a translator.

The interview took place on Wednesday, which also marked Ukraine’s Independence Day, the anniversary of its sovereignty after the fall of the Soviet Union 31 years ago.

Hours after the interview, Russian missile attacks in the eastern city of Chaplyne killed 25 people and wounded 50 others, when rockets hit a train station and residential areas. Air raid sirens sounded through much of the country on Wednesday signaling incoming Russian missiles.

Podolyak, speaking before the attack on the train station, called the threat of Russian attacks “the usual situation. Today’s not different than any other day.”

But Wednesday was different, in particular with the announcement by President Biden that the U.S. is providing Ukraine with $3 billion in additional assistance to the war effort, marking a significant tipping in the scales at the six-month mark of the fighting. 

“This means that we’ll be in a position now to effectively counterattack, to launch a counteroffensive,” Podolyak said, referring to the influx of assistance. “And we can defeat the enemy with the new equipment and with the new numerical value that is attached to our capacity and our capabilities.” 

The Ukrainian military is working overtime to strike deep into Russian-occupied Ukrainian territory with U.S.- and Western-provided heavy artillery — targeting arms depots, cutting off supply lines and destroying command and control posts. 

The attacks serve several purposes: taking the fight to Russia, strengthening Ukrainian morale while sending a signal or resiliency to the West, and bringing pain to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

At least 16 U.S.-provided High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) are on the ground to help in the effort.

Ukrainian officials and troops say these weapons can quickly turn the tide of the war, if they can get more of them faster. Maintaining strength on the battlefield and defense against Russia allows them to push back on Putin’s attempts to start negotiations — what Podolyak describes as a death sentence for Ukraine.

“President Zelensky is definitely against it [negotiations], and the Ukrainian society is adamant there, because we fully appreciate the risks,” he said.  

Podolyak warned that Russia would use any pause in fighting to remobilize and launch an even stronger attack on Ukraine. Absent negotiations, Podolyak said Putin is likely to focus on a war of attrition to grind down international support until his troops can get the upper hand. 

“They will start to manipulate, behind the scenes, moods, activities, to profess and to deepen this war fatigue,” he said, warning Russia is capable of manufacturing crises like sending an overwhelming number of migrants to Europe’s borders. He warned Moscow could also “think of some terrorist attacks against infrastructural facilities in Europe, so that they can arrive at some negotiation position, or standing for their own benefits and their own plans.”

“We understand this option very well and keep discussing it with our partners,” he said. 

Wearing track pants, sneakers and a traditional Ukrainian tunic, Podolyak leans over the large circular table in his office during the interview. His aide says he never sits at his desk, which is strewn with papers, books and folders.

The high-ceilinged, stark white walls of his office are almost bare. Of the only two photos hung up, one shows two wounded soldiers who were part of the defense of the Azovstal steelworks in Mariupol — standing on crutches in the darkened tunnels of the plant, each with an amputated leg — that marked the last stand of the city before it fell under complete Russian control in May. 

“There are people who I most admire and they actually surprise me, astonish me with their courage because they are at the front line. The front line is different,” Podolyak said, reflecting on his own role in the war.

“Ukraine is a unique country. This is a country that is capable of mobilizing itself especially when the hard times, dire straits come. So I can dedicate as much time and effort as I should, and as I physically can, to help such a country, because it deserves my contribution.”

Podolyak has been by Zelensky’s side since the start of Russia’s invasion on Feb. 24.

When Zelensky stepped outside of the presidential bunker on the second day of Russia’s assault to show the world proof that he was alive and in the capital, he highlighted Podolyak’s presence.

Looking to the next phase of the war, Podolyak said the $3 billion in U.S. assistance goes farther than just providing physical aid. It’s a call to mobilization and meant to “encourage other, more cautious, Western powers to join the hunt, so to speak.” 

“They all should appreciate what this war, waged by the Russian Federation, means for the people, and how it should be conducted, and what should be the correct outcome for this war,” he said.  

Podolyak said the problem with “so-called traditional Europe,” and highlighted Germany, France and Italy, is with the “promptness of the decisionmaking,” criticizing them as too slow in sending the needed assistance to Ukraine compared to the speed of the United States.

“We have to state clearly that they are pro-Ukrainian, of course,” he said of these countries, but added that “the power of the decisionmaking, which is now demonstrated by the United States, the old Europe can follow suit making their decisions more expedient.”

Podolyak also addressed how Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has elevated himself to a role as intermediary between Russia and Ukraine, acknowledging Erdoğan as largely motivated by Turkey’s own domestic politics. 

While Turkish Bayraktar drones have proven extremely effective in Ukrainian counterattacks against Russian forces, Erdoğan, as mediator, successfully brought Russia to an agreement to allow the export of grain from Ukrainian ports in Odesa — critical for Ukraine’s economy and essential to address the global food crisis. 

Erdoğan last week traveled to the Ukrainian city of Lviv, where he met with Zelensky. It followed a meeting he held with Putin in Sochi. Erdoğan reportedly offered to host peace talks between the two.   

Podolyak, aiming to reinforce the strength of the Ukrainian position, stressed how Ukrainian attacks inside Russian-held territory are meant to strike a psychological blow to the Russians on top of depressing their military capabilities.

“We clearly see some kind of panic is piling up, is building up in the Russian Federation, because [instead] of a blitzkrieg they’ve had this six months of continuous and, seemingly, endless special operation,” he said, referring to Putin’s refusal, and Russian law banning “war,” to describe the fighting in Ukraine.  

International officials observing the Ukrainian military strategy say attacks inside Russian-held territory could rattle Putin. They are aimed at increasing the cost for him to continue the war. 

Last week, Putin replaced the commander of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet, and that followed a series of significant attacks against Russian military installations on the occupied Crimean Peninsula.

Ukrainian military officials have reportedly claimed responsibility for at least one attack, on Russia’s Saki Air Base on Aug. 9, which destroyed at least seven Russian war planes. One person was killed and nine people reported injured. 

Podolyak, when asked what his assessment of what Putin’s goals are given the state of fighting, answered that while he’s not a “mind reader when it comes to the Russian side,” he said they clearly overestimated their capabilities.

“Russia is traditionally an irrational state, with a very low analytical capability. Russia, very clearly, overappreciated their own understanding of who is who in this world.”  

Source: TEST FEED1

T-Mobile partners with SpaceX to use Starlink satellites for mobile network access

T-Mobile will partner with Elon Musk’s SpaceX and use the company’s Starlink satellites to provide mobile networks for cellphone users in remote areas, both companies announced at an event on Thursday.

At SpaceX’s Starbase in Boca Chica, Texas, Musk and T-Mobile CEO Mike Sievert said the rollout would have a huge impact on enhancing cellphone service in rural, hard-to-reach areas.

Before they spoke, the company executives previewed a video featuring mobile phone users who voiced concerns about the lack of cellphone reception in rural, remote regions of the U.S. Some explained how their lives could be endangered in the event an accident occurs and they are unable to call for help.

Sievert said expanding network coverage into those remote areas is “important for safety, important for connectivity” and “important for all of us.”

“We have all — every single one of us — driven down that windy, country road through the hills and dales, beyond the reach of any cellular network,” the T-Mobile CEO said. “This partnership is about imagining a different future … where if you have a clear view of the sky, you are connected on your mobile phone.”

T-Mobile will enter a beta phase in late 2023 with Starlink strictly for messaging and texting apps, but the effort will eventually phase into more cellular services. T-Mobile also announced its intention to spread the service to rural areas across the globe.

Musk’s Starlink satellites are designed to connect high-speed internet to rural areas. The company has around 2,000 satellites currently in orbit above Earth.

Providers like T-Mobile generally use cell towers to provide network service to cellphones, so the technology of linking satellites for mobile network coverage is entirely new.

On Thursday, Musk said T-Mobile’s network coverage will be powered by a second-generation Starlink satellite with large, “extremely advanced” antennas. The satellites will only connect to cellphones when they enter a deadzone not covered by a cell tower.

T-Mobile, which recently acquired Sprint and is the second-largest carrier in the U.S., said the satellite service will be included for free in most plans provided by the company.

Musk said the goal of both companies was to save lives and ensure there are “no more deadzones” across the world.

“I hope the public understands the magnitude of the announcement,” the SpaceX CEO said. “This is a really massive game changer.”

Source: TEST FEED1

Biden portrays 'MAGA' Republicans as a threat to democracy

President Biden portrayed Republicans on the ballot this fall as a threat to democracy itself as he sharpened his midterm rallying cry at a campaign event in Maryland Thursday evening.  

Invoking former President Trump and his “Make America Great Again” slogan, Biden accused Republicans of seeking to take the country “backward” and warned voters that democracy is under threat from Trump and his allies.  

“Now need to vote to literally save democracy again,” Biden told a large crowd at the Democratic National Committee rally in Rockville, Md., just outside of Washington, D.C. “Trump and the extreme MAGA Republicans have made their choice — to go backwards full of anger, violence, hate, and division. But we’ve chosen a different path forward, the future, unity, hope, and optimism.”  

“We choose to build a better America,” Biden said.  

The event represented Biden’s largest campaign event this year and took place just more than two months until the midterm elections. Thousands of people were packed into a gymnasium and overflow space at Richard Montgomery High School, where the rally took place.  

Biden spent part of his speech touting his administration’s accomplishments, including the distribution of COVID-19 vaccinations and the job growth the country has seen under his watch. He cheered the decline in gasoline prices over the last several weeks, a sign of surging inflation potentially easing.  

The president also discussed recent legislative victories, including a bipartisan law that will sink billions into the domestic semiconductor industry and the sweeping climate and healthcare bill known as the Inflation Reduction Act that Democrats finally got across the finish line earlier this month.  

But he spent ample time attacking Republicans, warning that a GOP majority in Congress could move to enact a nationwide abortion ban and assailing Republicans for voting against the climate and health law.  

He portrayed Social Security as under threat from Republicans, pointing to a plan offered by Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) that proposed a sunset on all federal legislation after five years. Elements of the plan, which has run into criticism within the GOP, were displayed prominently on screens at the rally.  

Biden returned to the warning about democracy repeatedly, alluding to Trump’s failed attempt to overturn the results of the 2020 election and the violence at the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. Many Republican candidates who Trump has endorsed this election cycle deny the results of the 2020 election.    

Biden made a point to distinguish between what he called “conservative Republicans” and “MAGA Republicans,” citing Maryland’s current Gov. Larry Hogan (R), as an example of the former. 

“The MAGA Republicans don’t just threaten our personal rights and economic security. They’re a threat to our very democracy,” Biden said as he wrapped up his remarks. “They refuse to accept the will of the people. They embrace, embrace political violence. They don’t believe in democracy.” 

“This is why in this moment, those of you that love this country – Democrats, independents, mainstream Republicans – we must be stronger, more determined, and more committed to saving America than the MAGA Republicans are destroying America,” he said.  

Hours earlier at a fundraiser in Bethesda, Biden also accused Trump and his allies in the party of espousing a philosophy akin to “semi-fascism.”  

The comments represented perhaps the most forceful rebuke of Republicans to date from Biden, who ran in 2020 as a unifier and who has sought to work across the aisle during his presidency. They signal a sharper tone for Biden as he and other Democrats try to hold on to their narrow majorities in the House and Senate in November. 

Biden appeared at Thursday’s event alongside Maryland Democratic gubernatorial candidate Wes Moore and other Democratic representatives from the state. 

Biden has upcoming official trips planned to Pennsylvania and Ohio, both battleground states with critical races for Democrats, and the White House has signaled more plans for travel during the fall months.  

Source: TEST FEED1

Michigan Chipotle workers vote to unionize in first for chain

Chipotle workers in Lansing, Mich. overwhelmingly voted to become the first store in the restaurant chain to formally unionize Thursday.

Employees voted 11-3 to unionize with the International Brotherhood of Teamsters for better pay, work hours and relationships with management.

The election was administered and tallied by the National Labor Relations Board after a petition was filed last month.

Samantha Smith, 18, who has worked at the store for more than two years, said the successful unionization effort was an “amazing moment” for the 21-member team at the Michigan restaurant.

“We set out to show that our generation can make substantial change in this world and improve our working conditions by taking action collectively,” Smith said in a statement. “What this vote shows is that workers are going to keep taking the fight to big corporations like Chipotle and demand the working conditions we deserve.”

The Hill has reached out to Chipotle for comment.

A spokesperson told the Washington Post they were “disappointed that the employees at our Lansing, MI restaurant chose to have a third party speak on their behalf because we continue to believe that working directly together is best for our employees.”

The success comes a month after Chipotle closed down a location in Augusta, Maine, which had formed an independent union but did not officially unionize with the NLRB before corporate shuttered the store over low staffing concerns.

Service workers have rallied around unions or pushed for more rights in a newfound movement that took root during the pandemic.

Starbucks, Apple and Amazon have all seen their first unionization efforts during the pandemic-era shift for employee rights.

Chipotle’s Lansing store, the first of the international restaurant chain’s 3,000 stores to unionize, joins more than 2 million workers represented by the Teamsters union across the country and about 4,000 workers in Michigan.

Teamster General President Sean O’Brien said the union is “fighting for our brothers and sisters at Chipotle to get the rights and workplace protections they deserve.”

“Now is the time for working people in this country to take back what’s theirs. No matter your industry, no matter your age or how intimidating your employer may seem, you too can protect your labor with a union,” O’Brien said in a statement. “The revitalization of labor is really just beginning.”

Harper McNamara, 19, who has also worked at the Lansing store for more than two years, said the victory finally gives the workers a “true voice on the job.”

“I am so proud of all those who were involved in this effort, and showed the courage needed to take on a huge corporation,” he said in a statement.

Source: TEST FEED1

Five lingering questions on Biden's student loan forgiveness plan

President Biden’s plan to forgive up to $20,000 for Pell Grant recipients and $10,000 for other student loan holders is a controversial move cheered by many Democrats but jeered by Republicans, who say it will increase inflation.  

The effort — the largest student loan forgiveness plan in U.S. history — also leaves a lot of questions.  

Here are five of the biggest. 

Will it raise inflation? 

Biden’s plan immediately came under fire for the potential negative impact it could have on the already 40-year high inflation rate, with some economists warning it will be highly inflationary. Others have said any effect is likely to be more marginal. 

While Republicans are using inflation to hammer the White House, the criticism that the plan could raise inflation is also coming from at least some political allies to Biden.  

Jason Furman, a Harvard professor and former top economic adviser to President Obama, said Wednesday that it is “reckless” to pour “roughly half [a] trillion dollars of gasoline on the inflationary fire that is already burning.” 

The White House argued any risk on inflation will be mitigated by the fact that while it is extending the years-long payment pause on federal student loans through Dec. 31, the pause will end in January 2023. Officials argued that the combination of restarting loan payments while providing some relief will basically zero out any inflationary effect. 

The pause has long been seen as a program that could be adding to inflation, though other stimulus programs and the fact that consumers saved money during the pandemic are likely bigger factors. 

“It’s pretty clear that the pause in student loan repayment has probably been a little bit inflationary, that’s money that would have been drawn down from the economy and has stayed in peoples’ pockets,” said Kevin Miller, Bipartisan Policy Center associate director for higher education policy.  

Will colleges raise tuition in response? 

Many observers have questioned whether colleges will raise tuition in response to the Biden move, under the rationale that more forgiveness could be on the way. 

“It creates this problem of once you have forgiven or have canceled loans, just broadly … that sets a precedent and it gives people going forward an expectation and a reasonable argument,” said Neal McCluskey, policy analyst at the CATO Institution. “If people don’t think their loans will ever have to be repaid or repaid in full, they have incentive to take out more loans.” 

Others doubt it will have an immediate or substantial impact on tuition.   

“Most schools are basically multilevel organizations,” said Dalié Jiménez, director of the student loan law initiative at the University of California Irvine. “The process of setting tuition prices, there are just so many inputs that I don’t know that it would have any kind of immediate effect on average or overall.”   

The Department of Education will be “vigilant” and “laser-focused” with bad actors, according to officials, and plans to publish an annual “watch list” of institutions with the worst debt levels as a way to hold accountable colleges that have contributed to the student debt crisis.

Will this stand up to court challenges? 

Court challenges to Biden’s effort are expected, though their precise nature is a bit of a mystery. 

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said on Thursday that the White House is confident in its legal authority and that the steps will hold up in court. 

The legal authority the White House has pointed to is through the 2003 HEROES Act, which gives the Secretary of Education authority to take certain actions believed to be necessary to ensure a borrower is not placed in a worse position financially due to a national emergency, like the COVID-19 pandemic. 

McCluskey said it’s far from clear those holding student debt were made worse off during the pandemic.   

“College graduates were sort of the most insulated from the negative impacts of the pandemic and the associated economic problems that went with it and lockdown because they were most able to continue working,” he said.  

“They have been made much better off regarding their loans as they have been frozen,” he added.  

McCluskey also raised the issue that Biden is “essentially appropriating money,” which is a power that belongs to Congress. But, he noted, the Democratic-controlled Congress is not likely to challenge that.

“To say loans, which is money from the government that has to returned, now doesn’t have to be returned, that turns the loan into a grant,” he said.

Democratic Rep. Chris Pappas (N.H.) said on Wednesday that the decision “sidesteps Congress and our oversight and fiscal responsibilities.” 

Who is in and out in terms of eligibility? 

The policy appears to leave out a very small number of borrowers— estimated to be about 5 percent of those who have loans. 

The program caps eligibility for the program by income level; $125,000 for a single person and $250,000 for couples.  

If everyone who is eligible claims the relief, 43 million federal student loan borrowers will benefit and nearly 90 percent of the benefits will go to borrowers earning less than $75,000, according to the White House.  

Who pays for it? 

Taxpayers will pick up the bill for the program, though it isn’t clear how much the price tag will be and the White House has skirted questions on the issue.

Reporters pressed Jean-Pierre for a cost estimate at the White House briefing on Thursday and she leaned on saying it’s unclear how many borrowers will take up the offer. 

The White House has insisted the loan forgiveness will be fully paid for because of other policies it says Biden has taken to reduce the deficit.

Republicans are going on the attack, raising political issues that aren’t going away.

Sen. Ben Sasse (R-Neb.) said the plan is a “scheme” that “forces blue-collar workers to subsidize white-collar graduate students.” He and other Republicans have also argued the plan will help wealthy people, given the income levels are capped at $125,00 and $250,000. 

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) called the decision a “wildly unfair distribution” of wealth in favor of higher-earning Americans and a “slap in the face” to those in the workforce who made sacrifices to pay off their debt.  

How the arguments on both sides resonate with blue collar workers — a demographic Democrats worry they could lose to the GOP in the midterms — will be closely watched in November.

Biden is betting enough people will support the forgiveness, particular in minority communities, to ward off political hits from the GOP.

Source: TEST FEED1

Interior grants $560 million across 24 states to plug more than 10,000 orphaned wells

The Department of the Interior on Thursday announced a $560 million grant to 24 states to start plugging up and reclaiming abandoned oil and gas wells.

The Interior department estimates there are more than 10,000 of the so-called orphan wells across those 24 states that leak methane, significantly polluting communities and recreation spaces and contributing to climate change.

The funding to plug up the wells comes from President Biden’s historic infrastructure package passed last year. The law includes $4.7 billion specifically to address the orphan wells. Thursday’s funding is part of a phase one investment of  $1.15 billion.

Interior Secretary Deb Haaland said the infrastructure law “is enabling us to confront long-standing environmental injustices by making a historic investment to plug orphaned wells throughout the country.”

“At the Department of the Interior, we are working on multiple fronts to clean up these sites as quickly as we can by investing in efforts on federal lands and partnering with states and Tribes to leave no community behind,” Haaland said in a statement.

Interior officials say there are more than 129,000 abandoned oil and gas wells across the country, so the effort to plug them up in 24 states is just one step in the Biden administration’s larger goal of halting those methane leaks on the continental U.S.

Some of those 24 states have a large number of orphan wells. Kentucky, for example, is estimated to have up to 1,200 of them, while Kansas has more than 2,300 wells and Oklahoma has about 1,196.

As part of Thursday’s grant, six states, including California, Mississippi and West Virginia, will begin measuring methane emissions at wells they plug up and remediate.

Twelve states, including Kansas, New Mexico and Ohio, will prioritize plugging up wells in disadvantaged communities.

The Department of the Interior announced the phase one investment in January, the same month officials warned the U.S. has double the amount of abandoned oil and gas wells than previously thought.

The department also announced a $33 million package in May to plug up 277 wells on national lands.

The Biden administration has focused much of its attention on tackling climate change, including through the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act this month, which has allocated $369 billion for clean energy projects.

Methane is 25 times more potent than carbon dioxide at trapping heat in the atmosphere and significantly accelerates climate change once released.

Source: TEST FEED1

White House moves to make all federally funded research available to public for free by 2026

The White House put forth a policy guidance Thursday requiring all federally funded research to be made available to the public for free upon publication by 2026.

“All members of the American public should be able to take part in every part of the scientific enterprise—leading, participating in, accessing, and benefitting from taxpayer-funded scientific research,” the administration wrote in a statement.

A new memorandum from the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) seeks to make “all peer-reviewed scholarly publications authored or coauthored by individuals or institutions resulting from federally funded research” available without embargo or delay.

The move would end an optional 12-month publication embargo allowing journals to put work behind a yearlong paywall, which the administration says “has limited immediate equitable access” for Americans.

Data in peer-reviewed research articles is to be made available immediately upon publication, and other research data would be made available “within a reasonable time frame.”

The changes will help “level the playing field across a highly uneven funding landscape between academic disciplines,” the White House said, and allow other to “replicate, and build on, the primary research findings.”

“Public access to federally funded research data also helps to level the playing field across a highly uneven funding landscape between academic disciplines – providing possibilities to scholars, students, and the public for secondary use of data that would otherwise be unavailable,” the White House said.

The OSTP memorandum, signed by Deputy Assistant to the President and Deputy Director for Science and Society Alondra Nelson, asks federal agencies to update public access policies to reflect the new guidance and submit them to OSTP as soon as possible, but no later than Dec. 31, 2025.

Source: TEST FEED1