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Pennsylvania's GOP-led Senate advances constitutional amendment on abortion

The Pennsylvania state Senate advanced a proposal Thursday that would amend the state constitution to include clear language that states there is no constitutional right to abortion.

The proposal, advanced by the Republican-led upper chamber, states that there is no constitutional right to a taxpayer funded abortion or any right whatsoever to abortion in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

The amendment was added on to a bill that included many constitutional amendments, including on that would require Pennsylvania residents to show legal identification in order to vote in state elections.

The Pennsylvania state constitution does not give the governor the power to veto constitutional amendments, nor do constitutional amendments require the governor’s support to be enacted.

Amendments to the constitution in Pennsylvania are passed after they’re proposed in the state’s House or Senate and then approved by the majority in each chamber during two elective sessions.

The amendment also must be published for Pennsylvanians to see at least three months prior to the next election, and then be approved by the majority in the state’s House and Senate once more following the election.

Afterwards, to finalize the outcome of the amendment, it would then go to the Pennsylvanians’ ballot for a vote.

Pennsylvania Sen. John Costa (D) stated that the Republican bill was “designed to prevent abortions in this commonwealth.” He wrote on Twitter that “the governor is elected statewide to have a final say on the issues that impact citizens statewide,” and claimed that the proposal was a political work-around.

However, the bill’s sponsor, Republican Sen. Judy Ward of Blair County, said that the measure would simply give the legislature the ability to determine abortion law for itself, according to The Associated Press.

“Our Abortion Control Act will still remain in place,” said Ward.

“And this constitutional amendment will just go to the people and it allows us in the Legislature the ability to set these rules and laws concerning abortion in this commonwealth,” Ward added, according to AP.

Costa rebutted this defense of the bill by Ward, writing on Twitter, “If that’s the truth – and this really doesn’t have anything to do with boldly restricting the right of bodily autonomy – it should be done through the regular legislative process.”

The issue in Pennsylvania comes following the Supreme Court’s recent overturning of Roe v. Wade, which found that a person’s right to abortion was constitutional.

It also comes before a tight midterm election this November for state governor and an open seat to represent Pennsylvania in the U.S. Senate.

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Health Care — Biden signs executive order on abortion access

Now that we’re halfway through the summer, it’s good to remember that you still have until September to take part in Maryland’s ice cream trail. What could be better than competitively eating ice cream? 

In health news, President Biden on Friday signed an executive order aimed at protecting access to some abortion services, though he reiterated Congress has the ultimate power. 

Welcome to Overnight Health Care, where we’re following the latest moves on policy and news affecting your health. For The Hill, we’re Peter Sullivan, Nathaniel Weixel and Joseph Choi.

Biden unveils order to protect abortion access 

President Biden signed an executive order Friday aimed at preserving some access to abortion services, but again acknowledged Congress has ultimate control over the issue right now. 

“If you want to change the circumstance for women, and even little girls in this country, please go out and vote,” Biden said. 

The executive order builds off some of the administration’s previously announced efforts and is limited in scope. It provides some incremental measures to protect access to emergency medical care for women who will seek abortions in states that ban it. 

Pressure: Facing mounting pressure from Democrats and abortion rights advocates to be more forceful, Biden said voting in the midterm elections is the fastest way to ensure abortion rights are enshrined into law.   

“Let me be clear. While I wish it had not come to this, this is the fastest route available,” Biden said. “The fastest way to restore Roe is to pass a national law codifying Roe, which I will sign immediately upon its passage on my desk.” 

More action: Democrats generally praised Biden’s order, though progressives called it a first step and called for more action.  

• Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass) tweeted: “Today’s actions are important first steps. The Administration should continue to explore every available option to protect access to abortion care.”  
• Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.) released a statement, saying “I welcome the President’s actions today and urge him to work with us … by declaring a public health emergency to unlock critical flexibilities and resources to get patients the care they need now.” 

Read more here. 

House Democrats tee up votes on abortion bills 

House Democrats are planning to vote next week on a pair of bills aimed at protecting access to abortion as lawmakers try to chart a path forward in the post-Roe world. 

As lawmakers return to the Capitol for the first time since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, the House plans to vote on legislation that will protect women who need to travel to seek an abortion if they live in a state that now bans it. 

Some Republican governors and anti-abortion groups are already eyeing laws that would criminalize women who try to seek abortions out of state.  

A second bill is an updated version of the Women’s Health Protection Act, which would codify abortion rights into law and expand on Roe’s protections. That bill passed the House last fall after every Democrat except one voted in favor.  

Filibuster looms: Both bills face long, if not impossible odds in the Senate since they don’t have enough support to overcome the filibuster’s 60-vote threshold.  

The Senate twice failed to pass the Women’s Health Protection Act after bringing it to a vote in both February and May of this year.  

Read more here. 

ADMINISTRATION TO DISTRIBUTE 144,000 DOSES OF MONKEYPOX VACCINE 

The Biden administration announced on Thursday that it will distribute 144,000 more doses of the Jynneos vaccine across the country to address a recent spike in confirmed cases of monkeypox. 

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) said in a press release it would begin shipping the vaccines from the Strategic National Stockpile (SNS) on Monday. 

HHS has already distributed more than 41,000 doses of the Jynneos vaccine, which was made to combat smallpox, a cousin of monkeypox, since the first cases of the virus were detected in the nation in May. 

Steve Adams, the director of the SNS, said health officials were “using every tool we have” to accelerate vaccination among at-risk populations. 

“These are critical components of our overall effort to combat this virus, and we will continue to coordinate closely with states and jurisdictional partners to make sure they have the vaccines, testing, and treatments needed to respond to the current outbreak,” Adams said in a statement. 

Read more here. 

NEWSOM SAYS CALIFORNIA WILL PRODUCE ITS OWN ‘LOW-COST’ INSULIN 

California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) announced on Thursday that his state will be producing its own “low-cost” insulin, saying, “People should not go into debt to get lifesaving medication.” 

Newsom said that the state budget he recently signed includes $100 million for California to “contract and make [its] own insulin at a cheaper price, close to at cost, and to make it available to all.” 

The California governor said $50 million of that budget will go to the development of the low-cost insulin, while the additional $50 million will go toward a California-based manufacturing facility for the drug, which Newsom claims “will provide new, high-paying jobs and a stronger supply chain.” 

“Nothing epitomizes market failures more than the cost of insulin,” Newsom stated, going on to say that “many Americans experience out-of-pocket costs ranging anywhere from $300 to $500 per month for this lifesaving drug.” 

The action comes amid a push on Capitol Hill to cap insulin costs. A bipartisan insulin bill from Sens. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.) and Susan Collins (R-Maine) is expected to be voted on as soon as this month. 

Read more here. 

Rep trying to expand Texas abortion law nationwide 

A congressman from Texas said he plans to introduce legislation in the House that would ban abortion at the federal level. 

Rep. Jodey Arrington (R-Texas) said he is working on modeling the legislation after a Texas law that bans abortion at six weeks of pregnancy, significantly reducing abortion access in the state. 

“I’m working on it actually, right now,” Arrington said Thursday at a press conference. “I’d like to have that [Texas’s law] the law of the land and I think that is the ideal for me.” 

The Supreme Court struck down the constitutional right to an abortion last month, upholding a Mississippi state law that bans abortion after 15 weeks of pregnancy.

People in more than a dozen states with “trigger laws” — abortion bans designed to take effect after the court overturned Roe v. Wade — are now facing limited or no access to abortions. 

“I understand and respect and also support the decision that the Supreme Court made, which is until such time there is legislation that passes the legislative body at the federal level then we delegate it to the states,” Arrington said.  

“It’s a steeper hill to climb in Washington, but that doesn’t mean we don’t have to start climbing it now,” he added. 

Even if Republicans controlled Congress in November, they would be unlikely to achieve 60 votes in the Senate on any abortion ban, and it is almost guaranteed President Biden would not sign it into law. 

Read more here.

WHAT WE’RE READING

• FDA appears to hold off on crackdown on synthetic nicotine products, despite calls from Congress (Stat) 
• Lobbying heats up to protect evidence in potential abortion cases (Politico) 
• Tear gas: Senators decry lack of federal safety assessment (Associated Press) 

STATE BY STATE

• Judge allows Louisiana abortion ban to go into effect (Axios) 
• “Forever chemicals” potentially hazardous to human health found in Florida oysters (CBS News) 
• Federal court allows Indiana to ban 2nd-trimester abortion procedure (Indianapolis Star) 

THE HILL OP-EDS

• Medical provider wellness incentives save lives and strengthen profits 

That’s it for today, thanks for reading. Check out The Hill’s Health Care page for the latest news and coverage. See you next week.

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Defense & National Security — CBP to discipline Border Patrol agents

Four Border Patrol agents will face disciplinary action after agents on horseback in Del Rio, Texas, last year corralled Haitian migrants seeking to cross into the U.S. 

We’ll dive into the findings of the investigation into what happened. Plus, we’ll talk about Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee’s (R) push to get exemptions from the military’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate approved for members of the state’s National Guard.  

This is Defense & National Security, your nightly guide to the latest developments at the Pentagon, on Capitol Hill and beyond. For The Hill, I’m Jordan Williams.

Agents face discipline for treatment of migrants

Four Border Patrol agents will face disciplinary action after agents on horseback in Del Rio, Texas, last year corralled Haitian migrants seeking to cross into the U.S. 

A 511-page report from the U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s (CBP) Office of Professional Responsibility found “failures at multiple levels of the agency, a lack of appropriate policies and training, and unprofessional and dangerous behavior by several individual agents,” according to a CBP statement. 

A quick rewind: Images of the September incident went viral, drawing attention to the plight of some 15,000 Haitian migrants who had camped under a bridge near the U.S.-Mexico border.  

The images showed officers chasing some migrants and initially raised questions about whether the agents whipped any migrants with the horses’ reins. 

The report determined that agents did not strike “intentionally or otherwise, any migrant with their reins.” 

‘Unsafe,’ ‘unprofessional’ behavior: The report detailed other behavior by agents on horseback, including grabbing one migrant by their shirt and spinning them around and making disparaging remarks about Haiti. 

“One BPA [Border Patrol agent] acted in an unprofessional manner by yelling comments related to a migrant’s national origin and sex, stating in part, ‘Hey! You use your women? This is why your country’s shit, you use your women for this,’” the report found.  

“The same BPA acted in an unsafe manner by pursuing the individual he had yelled at along the river’s edge forcing his horse to narrowly maneuver around a small child on a slanted concrete ramp.” 

Orders from Texas: Border Patrol agents were following orders from the Texas Department of Public Safety (TXDPS), the report found. 

“As a result of a lack of command, control, and communications, [Horse Patrol Unit] personnel carried out an operation at the request of TXDPS which directly contravened [U.S. Border Patrol] operational objectives and resulted in the unnecessary use of force against migrants who were attempting to reenter the United States with food,” the report found. 

The reality of Del Rio: The Del Rio incident marked a turning point for the Biden administration’s border policy, highlighting a measure of chaos and confusion in federal border and immigration policy. 

Among the administration’s opponents, the incident sparked cries of chaos at the border that have consistently grown and continue to dog the Biden White House and energize the far right. 

A large swath of Biden’s supporters, particularly in the immigrant advocacy community, saw a violation of human rights that essentially went unpunished. 

Read the full story here.  

TN governor asks for Guard vaccine exemptions

Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee (R) is pressing the Department of Defense to approve requests for exemptions from the COVID-19 vaccine mandate made by members of his state’s National Guard. 

In a letter to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin obtained by The Hill, Lee says his state’s Guard has recommended approving the requests and are awaiting final decisions from Army and Air Force officials. 

‘Choice to reduce force:’ “Our force is medically ready, regardless of COVID-19 vaccination status, and has proven this even as the science on COVID-19 changed drastically,” Lee wrote. 

“Rejecting these exemptions would be a choice to reduce the force at the risk of both our state preparedness and our national security,” he added. 

Last week’s demonstration: Lee’s letter comes a week after a group of Tennessee National Guard members who feared being discharged held a demonstration urging him to take action over the mandate. At the time, the governor’s office told Fox 17 Nashville that no one would be terminated based on vaccination status. 

A spokeswoman for Lee told The Hill that the governor still has no plans to terminate unvaccinated Guard members. 

“As you know, the COVID-19 vaccine mandate is a DoD requirement, but we have approved every exemption request at the state level and are advocating for the same exemptions federally,” the spokeswoman said. 

The current stats: According to data from the Army released Friday, 89 percent of National Guard members have received at least one dose of a coronavirus vaccine and 87 percent are fully inoculated. 

More than 12,000 Guard members have refused the vaccine, but none have been separated. 

Meanwhile, more than 7,000 temporary exemptions have been approved for Guard members, while only six medical exemptions and no religious exemptions have been granted. 

Read the full story here.  

Army looks to recoup money from Flynn 

The Department of Defense is seeking to recoup thousands of dollars from former national security advisor Michael Flynn after determining that the retired general failed to disclose foreign payments. 

Flynn, who served for three weeks under then-President Donald Trump, received hundreds of thousands of dollars from Turkish and Russian entities in 2015 without approval from the U.S. government, according to documents obtained by The Washington Post. 

The U.S. Army told Flynn in May that it is seeking a sum of $38,557.06 after finding that the former general received the same amount from the Russian government for attending a dinner in celebration of Russian news agency RT. 

This finding, among others, was released in a January memo to the Army that dealt with the results of an investigation of Flynn. 

Read more here.  

ON TAP FOR MONDAY

• The National Defense Industrial Association will host the “JADC2: All Domain Warfare Symposium” at 9 a.m. 
• The House Veterans’ Affairs Subcommittee on Economic Opportunity will hold a hearing on “Ending Veteran Hunger: Examining the Impact of COVID-19 on Food Insecurity” at 10 a.m. 
• The Wilson Center will host a discussion on “AMLO’s Visit to Washington: Key Issues on the Bilateral Agenda” at 11 a.m. 
• The Carnegie Endowment for International Peace will host “Carnegie Connects: Getting the Intel Right with James Clapper” at 1 p.m. 
• The Center for Strategic and International Studies will host an event on “The U.S.-Australia Alliance: Aligning Priorities in the Indo-Pacific with Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles” at 3 p.m.

WHAT WE’RE READING

• Why Shinzo Abe was such a towering figure in Japan 
• Biden ‘stunned’ and ‘outraged’ by Abe assassination 
• Five questions Trump’s ex-lawyer Cipollone could answer for the Jan. 6 committee 
• Oath Keepers leader pushes to testify publicly before Jan. 6 panel 
• Abbott authorizes troopers, Guard members to arrest and return migrants 
• The Hill Opinion: US must strengthen its defense industrial base 

That’s it for today. Check out The Hill’s Defense and National Security pages for the latest coverage. See you next week!

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Biden calls Paul Whelan's sister after criticism

President Biden on Friday placed a phone call to Elizabeth Whelan to pledge his commitment to securing the release of her brother Paul, who has been detained in Russia since 2018.  

The phone call took place after the White House endured criticism from Elizabeth Whelan herself and others for the lack of outreach to the Whelan family after the White House set up a call between Biden and the wife of WNBA star Brittney Griner – who is also detained in Russia – earlier this week.  

“President Biden reaffirmed that he is committed to bringing Paul home as soon as possible, and the U.S. government will continue its efforts to secure the release of Paul as well as Brittney Griner and all other Americans who are held hostage or wrongfully detained around the world,” a White House official said.  

“The U.S. government will continue to be in regular contact with Paul’s family, and with the families of other Americans held hostage or wrongfully detained abroad, to provide support and assistance and keep them updated on efforts to secure the release of their loved ones,” the official added.  

David Whelan, Paul Whelan’s brother, confirmed in an email to The Hill that the call happened but the family has not commented yet on the engagement. 

The White House was forced to defend its handling of communications with the Whelan family earlier this week.

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre described regular contact between the Biden administration and the family during a Thursday briefing when peppered with questions about a potential presidential call.  

White House staff joined a call between Elizabeth Whelan and Special Envoy for Hostage Affairs Roger Carstens earlier this week, she said.  

“This is top of mind,” Jean-Pierre added.  

Consular officials and others in Carsten’s office are in regular touch with the Whelan family as well as other families of Americans detained abroad. Still, a presidential phone call signals greater attention to any one individual’s case.  

Elizabeth Whelan had openly criticized the administration’s outreach earlier this week, tweeting Wednesday that she as “crushed” that Biden hadn’t phoned her family after the news about the call with Griner broke. She later clarified that she did not “begrudge” the Griners’ access to the president.  

The call to Griner’s wife, Cherelle, also came after the administration withstood criticism from the family after the basketball star sent a handwritten note to Biden.  

Whelan was jailed in Russia in 2018 on espionage charges that he has consistently and vehemently denied. The U.S. has called his detention as well as that of Griner “wrongful.”  

The White House successfully secured the release of former U.S. Marine Trevor Reed from a Russian jail earlier this year through a prisoner exchange. That development came after Reed’s family secured a meeting with Biden after protesting outside the White House to demand his attention.  

At the time, the Whelan family praised Reed’s release but also questioned the administration’s commitment to freeing Paul.  

The White House has been tightlipped about the administration’s strategy in seeking the release of Griner and Whelan.  

Source: TEST FEED1

Energy & Environment — Watchdog dings Trump EPA for how it changed rule 

A government watchdog is criticizing how the EPA went about changing a rule related to “forever chemicals.” Meanwhile, the Biden administration is announcing efficiency assistance for low-income households and claiming credit for falling gasoline prices.  

This is Overnight Energy & Environment, your source for the latest news focused on energy, the environment and beyond. For The Hill, we’re Rachel Frazin and Zack Budryk. Someone forward you this newsletter? Subscribe here. 

IG: Trump EPA failed to disclose PFAS rule changes 

During the Trump administration, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) failed to inform the public of “substantive” changes it made to a rule governing uses of toxic chemicals, an internal watchdog said.  

• The Biden administration has said that one of those changes weakened the rule, which is related to the use of a group of chemicals known as PFAS.
• The EPA made the changes to the rule after it was signed by then-Administrator Andrew Wheeler in 2020 but did not inform the public, the inspector general’s office said.  

The rule in question bars the manufacturing of goods such as carpet, textiles and appliances that contain a subset of PFAS known as long-chain PFAS without the EPA’s approval.  

A PFAS refresher: Exposure to PFAS, or per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances, has been linked to health issues including kidney and testicular cancer as well as thyroid disease. They’re sometimes called “forever chemicals” because they linger in people and the environment.  

In its report issued Thursday, the inspector general’s office said that changes were made to the rule after the rule was approved, including removal of language clarifying which imported items were considered coated with the substances.  

Wheeler later issued a compliance guidance on that matter, but current Administrator Michael Regan withdrew it, saying it weakened the rule. 

EPA staff told the watchdog that the changes in question were made by someone in the Trump White House, but the report said that staff did not identify the person.  

The probe was requested by Senate Environment and Public Works Committee Chairman Tom Carper (D-Del.), who warned of “potential irregularities” during the rule’s finalization. 

Read more about the IG report here.  

DOE funds climate upgrades for low-income homes

The Biden administration on Friday announced more than $40 million in funds toward weatherization and electrification of low-income areas.  

“This investment addresses a critical gap in federal assistance, and it’s just the latest action this administration is taking the lower energy costs for working families,” Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm said on a call with reporters Friday.   

The bipartisan infrastructure law, which President Biden signed in November 2021, included $3.5 billion toward the department’s Weatherization Assistance Program, which Granholm described as an increase of more than 10 times what the program typically spends over the course of a year. 

• The additional funds, she added, will allow some 450,000 households to afford upgrades to their homes that result in hundreds of thousands of dollars per year in collective savings.
• The funding includes $36.5 million to go towards community organizations through the department’s Enhancement and Innovation Program and another $5.1 million toward state weatherization agencies.  

Read more here.  

BIDEN CLAIMS CREDIT FOR GAS PRICE DROP 

President Biden on Friday claimed some credit for a decline in gasoline prices, though presidential policies typically have little influence on the matter.  

• “Gas prices, still way too high, have fallen now 25 days in a row, and this week we saw the second-largest single-day decrease in gas prices in a decade,” Biden said Friday according to a transcript of his remarks.  
• “There’s a lot more work to do.  But I am suggesting we’re making progress.  The program is working,” he added.  

On Friday, gasoline prices stood around $4.72 cents per gallon, down nearly 30 cents from highs of $5.01 last month. But, that’s still considered relatively high. 

Experts told The Hill this week that the downward trend was related to reasons including a drop in oil prices and recession fears.  

White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre doubled down, saying  “all the work the president has done has helped to blunt the price increase.” 

ON TAP NEXT WEEK

    Wednesday 

• Interior Secretary Deb Haaland will appear before the Senate Appropriations Committee to testify on the department’s budget 
• The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee will hold a hearing on energy prices 
• The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee will hold a hearing on three bills related to pollution 
• The House Science, Space and Technology Committee will hold a hearing on nuclear waste cleanup that features Energy Department officials. 
• The House Agriculture Committee will hold a hearing on forestry in the farm bill 

    Friday 

• President Biden is expected to begin his trip to Saudi Arabia — a major oil producer – amid high gasoline prices 
• The House Select Climate Crisis Committee will hold a hearing on the food supply chain 

WHAT WE’RE READING

• The federal office focused on health impacts of climate crisis has no permanent staff or funding (CNN) 
• Top U.S. LNG producer Cheniere asks Biden admin to drop pollution rule (Reuters) 
• Wildfire in Yosemite National Park grows (The Fresno Bee) 
• Bumble Bee Canned Smoked Clams Recalled Because of Dangerous PFAS Chemicals (Consumer Reports) 
• Maine requires larger communities to step up fight against stormwater pollution (Portland Press-Herald) 

That’s it for today, thanks for reading. Check out The Hill’s Energy & Environment page for the latest news and coverage. We’ll see you next week.  

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By blocking AIR Commission, Congress ensures veterans get the best care

America’s veterans earned the best in health care through their service to our country. 

Yet 17.4 million veterans nearly lost their access to quality care under a set of recommendations that would have closed large segments of the VA health care system through a process called the Asset and Infrastructure Review (AIR) Commission, created by the MISSION Act. Thankfully, at the urging of veterans groups, independent experts, community advocates, and my union, AFGE, a bipartisan group of 12 senators, including a majority of the members of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee, announced late last month that they would not allow the AIR Commission process to move forward. 

The VA’s recommendations to the AIR Commission would have closed or radically downsized dozens of full-service VA medical centers across the country. If that had happened, hundreds of thousands of veterans who need surgery, inpatient mental health care, intensive or emergency care, or substance abuse treatment would have had to fend for themselves in an already strained private health care market where veterans pay more for worse outcomes.

AFGE opposed the MISSION Act because we have seen the negative effects of this type of privatization on the veterans our members serve. Since the MISSION Act became law, over one-third of all veterans’ medical visits have been sent outside the VA system, and more than one-fourth of VA health care dollars have been diverted to the private, for-profit sector. 

But the private sector is not delivering better outcomes for veterans. A study conducted by Stanford University found that veterans had a 46 percent lower mortality rate at VA emergency rooms compared to private sector ERs. Studies consistently show VA facilities deliver better health outcomes at lower costs than the private sector. And all too often, the veterans who are pushed into the private sector cannot find timely, specialized medical or mental health care. 

Still, proponents of closing hospitals for veterans and sending our nation’s heroes into the private health care market to fend for themselves argue that older VA facilities are simply not worth renovating. They say those hospitals are too old and renovations too costly. 

However, as the studies previously cited show, those same hospitals, outpatient clinics, and nursing homes are currently providing quality care to veterans despite being historically underfunded and understaffed. Investing in modernization and full staffing for existing VA facilities is clearly a more cost-effective strategy for delivering world class care to our nation’s veterans than closing VA hospitals that, despite years of neglect, are already providing high quality care at prices that the for-profit private sector will never match.

Likewise, the VA claimed that its closure recommendations were meant to “modernize” the VA. But modernizing does not mean closure and outsourcing. It means assessing the true needs of veterans and investing in facilities and staff to meet those needs. The MISSION Act, and thus the VA recommendations, had no authorization or funding for upgrades or new construction. However, it did require that all recommended closures begin within three years, regardless of whether recommendations for new facilities were set to move forward. 

Allowing the VA to shutter vast sections of its infrastructure with no replacement would have been calamitous for veterans. Senators who acted to halt the AIR Commission process understand this.

The senators who rejected the fast-track AIR Commission process understood the VA secretary’s recommendations were based on flawed, outdated health care market data collected prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Government Accountability Office, a VA expert panel, and the VA Office of Inspector General all agreed that the data behind the VA’s recommendations were now invalid. The market assessments also failed to consider the imminent need to care for the more than a million additional veterans over the next nine years who will begin receiving VA health care under the bipartisan burn-pit legislation Congress is about to enact. The market assessment data also failed to account for already significant pre- and post-pandemic health care shortages in rural areas and the challenges private health providers have faced during the pandemic that limit their ability to accept an influx of new patients when VA facilities close.

Even VA Secretary Denis McDonough has admitted that he was “skeptical of the market assessments.” McDonough said in his testimony to the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee that because private care is more costly than VA care, it threatens to eat up the whole VA budget, despite large proposed increases. 

In the end, the MISSION Act and the Air Commission Process it spawned were deeply flawed. That is why my union held rallies around the country opposing the VA’s AIR Commission recommendations and helped lead a coalition of veterans, advocacy groups, lawmakers, and union members who all understood that modernizing our VA health care system begins with investment, new facilities, and adequate staffing, not hospital closures. 

Congress can put a final stop to the fatally flawed AIR Commission by enacting the bipartisan McGovern-Fitzpatrick amendment to the 2023 National Defense Authorization Act. The amendment would repeal the AIR Commission process entirely and allow Congress to focus on the essential work of funding and rebuilding VA’s infrastructure.

As we move forward, our coalition is ready to join the conversation about how we can continue to improve services at the VA. I hope that our leaders look to these voices on the ground, rather than to another AIR-type privatization process driven by high-priced consultants, to understand what makes our VA health care system truly great and how we can improve upon it further. 

Everett B. Kelley, P.hD., is National President of AFGE.

Source: TEST FEED1

Hillicon Valley — Dems probe collection of reproductive data

House Democrats are probing personal health apps and data broker companies over their handling of reproductive health data amid growing concerns over the sensitive data following the Supreme Court’s decision to strike down Roe v. Wade.  

Meanwhile, the company behind several popular dating sites is halting all donations to Democratic and Republican attorneys general associations following the court’s decision, which cleared the way for states to ban or severely restrict abortion. 

This is Hillicon Valley, detailing all you need to know about tech and cyber news from Capitol Hill to Silicon Valley. Send tips to The Hill’s Rebecca Klar, Chris Mills Rodrigo and Ines Kagubare. Someone forward you this newsletter? Subscribe here.

Oversight Committee tackles health data 

A House committee has launched an investigation into how companies are handling reproductive health data. 

House Oversight and Reform Committee Chair Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.) and Reps. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-Ill.) and Sara Jacobs (D-Calif.) sent separate letters to personal health apps and data broker companies expressing their concerns. 

• The letters seek information on how the sensitive, private data could be used to invade the privacy of those seeking reproductive health care. 
• “In an era of unprecedented digital surveillance, the distribution of personal health data further threatens the health, safety, and privacy of people and health care providers across the country,” the letters said. 

They detailed data privacy concerns surrounding reproductive health applications, which they said are known to share information with data brokers and other third parties, and data brokers, which they said have been found to sell users’ sensitive location data. 

Read more here.  

Match halts donations to AGs

Match Group, which owns several dating sites and apps, including Hinge and Tinder, will suspend all political donations to both the Democratic and Republican attorneys general associations. 

A source within Match Group confirmed the news to The Hill. This comes after the company received criticism over contributions to GOP attorneys general who supported the U.S. Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade and the 50-year constitutional right to abortion last month. 

• The New York Times was the first to report that Match Group was suspending some political donations to the two organizations. The source within Match Group confirmed that was accurate but said all donations would be halted to both groups. 
• Last year, Match Group donated more than $100,000 to the Republican Attorneys General Association, an organization that has supported restricting abortion access in states and worked to overturn Roe v. Wade, according to the Times. The company also donated more than $100,000 to the Democratic Attorneys General Association last year. 

Read more here.  

AMAZON HUB NOT COMING TO NJ

Amazon canceled its plans on Thursday to establish a new cargo hub in Newark, N.J., after experiencing resistance from local groups. 

“Unfortunately, the Port Authority and Amazon have been unable to reach an agreement on final lease terms and mutually concluded that further negotiations will not resolve the outstanding issues,” said Port Authority Chief Operating Officer Huntley Lawrence. 

The cargo hub, which would have been located at the Newark Liberty International Airport, was set to create 1,000 jobs and invest millions of dollars during the course of its 20-year lease, according to The New York Times. 

This marks the second change in plans for Amazon’s expansion plans near New York and New Jersey resulting from opposition from various groups. 

Read more here.  

BITS & PIECES

An op-ed to chew on: We can do more than we think without a Fed digital dollar  

Notable links from around the web: 

Google Offers Concessions to Fend Off U.S. Antitrust Lawsuit (The Wall Street Journal / Miles Kruppa, Sam Schechner and Brent Kendall) 

In its battle with Big Tech, the CFPB is building an army of engineers (Protocol / Issie Lapowsky) 

Amazon Workers Who Commute Across the US-Mexico Border Every Day Are Organizing for Better Working Conditions (Motherboard / Lauren Kaori Gurley) 

One more thing: Flight cancellation woes

Airlines endured a better-than-expected Fourth of July holiday weekend, but staffing shortages and other root causes of flight disruptions continue to loom large over the busy summer travel season.  

U.S. carriers canceled roughly 1,400 flights between Friday and Monday, according to data from flight analytics firm masFlight. The number is down from Memorial Day weekend and last month’s Juneteenth holiday, when U.S. airlines canceled more than 3,400 flights over four days.  

The data indicates that Independence Day wasn’t a total meltdown as some predicted. 

Read more here.  

That’s it for today, thanks for reading. Check out The Hill’s Technology and Cybersecurity pages for the latest news and coverage. We’ll see you tomorrow.

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Climate communication has moved us from denial to deliberation — now we must act

Now that the Supreme Court has kneecapped the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) ability to regulate power plant emissions, we must rethink how we confront climate change. This is our generation’s man-on-the-moon moment. Except this time, it’s our own planet that’s at stake.

We must change who is talking about climate, what they are saying and to whom.

For practitioners like me, the climate conversation isn’t about shifts in global atmospheric patterns. It is about how many days this summer people will make the choice between groceries or medicine and running their air conditioner. A cooling center in a rural community doesn’t help much if the closest one is 30 miles away. Those people need fans, information on how to lower their body temperature and to understand how to identify and lower their exposure and risk.

For the last decade of my career, I’ve watched America move through the initial phases of disaster: denial, deliberation of solutions, then decision to act. Climate communication has effectively moved us from denial to deliberation. We know it is happening, and we know the solutions. And this is where we are currently stuck. We need to move through deliberation to decision and to action.

First, this means changing the message. What we stand to lose is much less powerful a message than focusing on what we will gain. Risk is difficult for most people to process, as it is fraught with uncertainties. Depending upon people to decide the risk of inaction is greater than the risk of action is ineffective, particularly in an environment with so many competing narratives flooding social media.

We should no longer be talking about whether or not climate change is real. Instead, we should be exciting imaginations with detailed, specific plans showing how we can change the world. The impact will be comparable to the advances of indoor plumbing, antibiotics and the automobile.

Second, the conduit of delivery for climate information needs to shift. We needed scientists to get us from denial to deliberation. Now we need to hear from the people who can lead us from deliberation to decision: the practitioners who are doing the hard work of merging science with action. Every day, we are identifying who is at risk and how, pinpointing the limits of proposed solutions and helping communities build resilience and adapt.

This is not to downplay the role of science or scientists. Both are crucial. The birth of a generation of science and climate communications experts means we are now able to act.

Finally, we need to acknowledge that a political solution may not get us to our desired end point. Our current political environment is not conducive to action on climate, even with broad public support. As with gun safety regulations, the process has been hijacked by gerrymandering and the influx of private dollars into the political process. The space race generation believed the government could be a leader in a technological revolution. This system no longer exists. The ground has shifted. Lobbying politicians to act is not a winning strategy.

This doesn’t mean we abandon hope of policy solutions. It means we also engage with private industry to bring about policy change. It means we empower town and county leaders to create cultures of preparedness and 30-year recovery programs, because they are the front line against the worst impacts that are happening right now.

It can be surprising to learn that in most disaster situations, crowds remain calm. Some survivor accounts from 9/11 describe people descending the staircases with little panic. Unlike 9/11, climate change isn’t a sudden event, but I think we are seeing a similar human phenomenon at work.

We’ve accepted it is real. The disaster is happening. We’ve deliberated on the actions that we need to take. We have the solutions. But our period of decision, of action, seems to be slow-moving, taking much more time than experts believe we have to act.

The window is closing. We still have time, but we cannot generate the needed urgency by continuing to describe the disaster. Research shows the most common reaction to disaster is not panic but doing nothing at all. That won’t help. Instead, we must chart a new path, with new methods, within the system we have, not the one we desire. The only question left is whether we will be leaders in this modern-day space race, or merely observers.

Ashley Ward is a senior policy associate at the Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions at Duke University.

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Musk terminates agreement to buy Twitter

Elon Musk terminated his agreement to buy Twitter on Friday, less than three months after reaching a deal to acquire it.

“…Mr. Musk is terminating the Merger Agreement because Twitter is in material breach of multiple provisions of that Agreement, appears to have made false and misleading representations upon which Mr. Musk relied when entering into the Merger Agreement, and is likely to suffer a Company Material Adverse Effect,” a lawyer wrote on his behalf in a letter to Twitter’s chief legal officer, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filing. 

The letter alleged that the social media platform had rejected or ignored Musk’s requests for information he sought to “make an independent assessment of the prevalence of fake or spam accounts on Twitter’s platform.”

DEVELOPING

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