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House Oversight opens probe into handling of reproductive health data
A House committee has launched an investigation into how companies are handling reproductive health data.
House Oversight 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 the potential misuse of sensitive, private data that 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 letter said.
They further stressed that reproductive health applications, which are known to share information with data brokers and other third parties, have also had recent data privacy concerns.
“Geographic data collected by mobile phones may be used to locate people seeking care at clinics, and search and chat history referring to clinics or medication create digital bread crumbs revealing interest in an abortion,” they added.
The letter addressed to the data brokers also emphasized how this data could also be used by private “bounty hunters” that have been authorized in some states to sue those who provide or obtain abortion care by purchasing location data from data brokers.
The committee has requested companies respond to their request by July 21.
Since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, concerns have arisen over how period and ovulation-tracking apps could potentially be used to prosecute people who seek an abortion, as well as health care workers.
Data from web searches, smartphone location pings and online purchases is easy to access with hardly any safeguards and there are multiple ways that data could travel from people’s personal devices to law enforcement or other groups, The Hill reported.
Period tracking app Flo also recently announced it would launch “anonymous mode” that will allow users to remove personal and identifiable data from the app.
This comes as senators last month introduced legislation targeting the sale of location data by third-party data brokers.
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US adds 372,000 jobs in June as market stays strong
The U.S. economy added 372,000 jobs and the unemployment rate held even at 3.6 percent in June as a strong labor market held firm amid rising inflation and recession fears.
Job growth in June far exceeded the projections of economists, who expected the U.S. to add roughly 278,000 jobs last month, according to consensus estimates.
The unemployment remained just 0.1 percentage points from its pre-pandemic level of 3.5 percent, which was a 50-year low.
The strong June jobs gain is a promising sign of resilience for the U.S. economy, which faces growing risks from inflation and the Federal Reserve’s efforts to stamp it out.
Even so, the strength of the job market could pose other challenges for policymakers as they attempt to curb a glut of consumer spending driving prices higher.
Developing
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Here are the 10 states losing the most jobs since the pandemic
Story at a glance
- A preliminary analysis from the Brookings Institution shows that New York has lost the greatest number of non-farm jobs since the pandemic began.
- The analysis used data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and tracked all 50 states throughout the pandemic.
- Pennsylvania and Michigan came in second and third for most jobs lost.
The COVID-19 pandemic has changed how and where Americans live with many choosing to move states to be closer to family, cheaper rent or better job prospects.
Migration to states like Texas, Florida, Arizona and North Carolina has boomed since March of 2020, according to U.S. Census data.
That shift in how the country’s population is spread out has taken an economic toll with some states still struggling to fully recover all the jobs lost during the pandemic.
America is changing faster than ever! Add Changing America to your Facebook or Twitter feed to stay on top of the news.
Many of the states that have suffered the greatest number of job losses since the virus reached American soil are blue states, or those where the majority tends to vote Democrat, with New York leading the way.
New York has lost 296,700 non-farm jobs since March of 2020, according to preliminary analysis of Bureau of Labor Statistics data from the Brookings Institution.
New York also ranked lower on Moody’s Analytics “back-to-normal” index scoring an 86.9 out of 100, the only other place that ranked lower was Washington D.C. which scored 83.
Moody’s has tracked the nation’s economic recovery since 2020 and crafted the index based on 13 metrics like employment levels, value of goods and services produced and retail sales.
Second place for most job losses since the pandemic goes to Pennsylvania, which is often seen as a red state but flipped blue during the 2020 presidential election.
The state has lost 118,300 non-farm jobs since the start of the pandemic, according to the Brookings Institution, just 13,500 more than third place holder, Michigan.
Here are the 10 states that have lost the most non-farm jobs since the pandemic began, according to Brookings:
- New York: -296,700 jobs
- Pennsylvania: -118,300 jobs
- Michigan: -104,900 jobs
- Ohio: -83,200 jobs
- Illinois: -73,300 jobs
- Minnesota: -61,400 jobs
- Louisiana: -59,700 jobs
- Hawaii: -52,200 jobs
- Wisconsin: -45,700 jobs
- Maryland: -37,200 jobs
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Pentagon looks to recoup money from Flynn for unsanctioned foreign payments: report
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.
Flynn did not “obtain the approvals of the Secretary of the Army and the Secretary of State,” resulting in “a violation of the Emoluments Clause,” according to army lawyer Craig R. Schmauder.
The Emoluments Clause of the U.S. Constitution requires that former members of the U.S. military must receive approval from the government before they are able to receive money from governments of other countries.
“When there is a finding that a military retiree has violated the Emoluments Clause, the United States Government may pursue a debt collection,” Schmauder wrote in a letter seeking the $38,557.06 sum from Flynn.
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The Hill’s Morning Report — UK’s Johnson out, other world leaders down
In the United States, United Kingdom and in other European capitals, presidents and prime ministers are scrambling to recalculate how to win and maintain support amid stumbles and economic troubles.
Boldness without scandal and self-dealing? British Prime Minister Boris Johnson tested the limits of Conservative Party loyalty and trust before he resigned on Thursday (more on that, below).
Two years ago, many U.S. voters said they were fed up with the combative, truth-challenged former President Trump, who was impeached and acquitted twice, struggled to manage a pandemic and hated to lose. They voted for a conciliatory empathizer in President Biden, now cast, even within his own party, as more milquetoast than mighty fighter (The New York Times).
“The economy seems to be running out of control. Fundamental rights are being stripped away. And the White House just isn’t coming with anything,” Bill Neidhardt, a former spokesman for Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), told The Times.
Do they favor social-media savvy and T-shirt-clad leaders, as embodied by President Volodymyr Zelensky, the telegenic wartime underdog?
Or are voters less focused on peace than their purses? President Emmanuel Macron — known for his swagger at international summits and his phone negotiations with the immovable President Vladimir Putin of Russia — is at the moment trying to hold onto a coalition government, wielding new measures aimed at sheltering French households from the shock of surging inflation (Bloomberg News).
Around the globe, it’s a summer of testing.
**** BREAKING **** In Japan, a nation where gun violence is almost unheard of and handguns are banned, former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, 67, was shot in the neck at a campaign event in Nara, Japan, and died Friday at a hospital. He was the longest serving prime minister and resigned in 2020. “This attack is an act of brutality that happened during the elections -— the very foundation of our democracy — and is absolutely unforgivable,” said a shaken Prime Minister Fumio Kishida before Abe’s death was announced (The Associated Press, The Guardian, NHK, NBC News). Police arrested a 41-year-old male suspect at the scene in Nara. NHK video of the shooting scene HERE.
Related Articles
▪ The Wall Street Journal: Macron seeks to step up France’s inflation fight.
▪ Bloomberg News: Chancellor Olaf Scholz promises Germans more support to cushion inflation’s blow.
▪ Reuters: UK economy gripped by uncertainty as Johnson resigns.
▪ CNN analysis: Why Johnson fell but Trump remains his party’s de facto leader … for now.
▪ Politico: Why a blowout jobs number this morning would be bad for Biden.
▪ The Washington Times: Not running until they’re running: Dems prep to replace Biden in 2024 race.
LEADING THE DAY
➤ POLITICS & CONGRESS
Pssst … Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) plans a private fundraiser with big donors in Utah the week of July 18, ostensibly to raise funds for his reelection during a period in which supporters are urging him to run for president in 2024 (CNBC). The event is expected to attract large-dollar Republican donors from around the country who may be sizing up conservative alternatives to Trump.
An assault weapons ban supported by Democrats remains an evergreen item on the party’s political and policy agenda — and a politically explosive goal that divides Congress and the country.
Passage is all but ruled out in the narrowly divided Senate, but nonetheless, Judiciary Committee member Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) and other leaders in her party would like to see a floor vote this year, reports The Hill’s Alexander Bolton. Klobuchar has pushed for years to ban the sale of such weapons. House Democratic leaders promised to consider legislation this summer (The Hill).
▪ Mark Leibovich, The Atlantic: The most pathetic men in America: why Lindsey Graham, Kevin McCarthy, and so many other cowards in Congress are still doing Trump’s bidding.
▪ The Hill: Gavin Newsom punches GOP to democratic applause.
The Hill’s Max Greenwood presents an early-July update describing six promising midterm contests for Democrats in what the party worries will be an overall gloomy midterm year. On the list: Senate races in Georgia and Pennsylvania, governors’ contests in Michigan and Pennsylvania and two California House races.
And speaking of Michigan … four leading GOP primary candidates who want to be governor debated this week and pledged loyalty to Trump ahead of an Aug. 2 primary election (NBC News). Candidate and real estate broker Ryan Kelley, who was at the Capitol on Jan. 6 and rocketed to the top of polls after his arrest by the FBI last month on misdemeanor charges related to the riot, on Thursday pleaded not guilty in a virtual federal court hearing. His defense: free speech.
“We were there protesting the government because we don’t like the results of the 2020 election, the process of how it happened, and we have that First Amendment right,” he said. “And that’s what 99 percent of the people were there for that day” (The Hill).
➤ INVESTIGATIONS
Lawmakers want an investigation into whether top former FBI officials had been illegally targeted for audits by the IRS under a Trump appointee (The Hill and The New York Times). The IRS controversy involves audits of former FBI Director James Comey and former Deputy FBI Director Andrew McCabe, who were fired by Trump and publicly assailed by the former president as left-leaning enemies.
Today, the House Jan. 6 committee will hear closed-door testimony under subpoena from former Trump White House counsel Pat Cipollone, who spoke with the panel off the record in the spring. The Hill’s Rebecca Beitsch reports on five key questions committee members would like him to answer under oath.
Business Insider: Using his Truth Social platform, Trump on Wednesday said it is “so bad” for the country and the future of the presidency that one of his former White House counsels is cooperating with the congressional probe.
The Jan. 6 committee will hold public hearings on Tuesday morning and Thursday in prime time after lawmakers return to Washington. The committee is expected to probe alleged evidence of connections between Trump and his allies and the assembly and mobilization of the mob that attacked the Capitol (The Guardian).
On Thursday, New York Judge Arthur Engoron began imposing a daily $10,000 fine against real estate giant Cushman & Wakefield for contempt of court for refusing to comply with subpoenas for information related to its business relationship with the Trump Organization.
The company has refused to comply with subpoenas for information related to its appraisals of three Trump-owned properties in Manhattan, Los Angeles and Westchester, N.Y., as well as information about Cushman’s larger business relationship with the Trump Organization, according to court documents (ABC News).
The New York attorney general’s office issued the subpoenas as part of its civil investigation into how Trump and his family business valued their holdings, including in loan documents and tax filings.
Cushman & Wakefield plans to appeal the contempt ruling, according to a company spokesman. “We have gone to great expense and effort to quickly identify, collect, review and produce the massive set of documents requested by the OAG, and we have now produced over hundreds of thousands of pages of documents and over 650 appraisals since the last subpoena was issued in February 2022,” the firm said in a statement.
The Hill: Trump this weekend will hold events in Nevada and Alaska while stumping for GOP midterm candidates.
IN FOCUS/SHARP TAKES
➤ UKRAINE & RUSSIA
WNBA star Brittney Griner on Thursday pleaded guilty in a Russian courtroom during her trial on charges of possession in February of vape cartridges containing cannabis oil while traveling in Moscow. She told the court that she had no intention of committing a crime. She faces up to 10 years in prison if convicted. Russian news reports quoted Griner as saying through an interpreter that she had acted unintentionally because she was packing in haste (The Associated Press). Elizabeth Rood, deputy chief of mission at the U.S. Embassy in Moscow, told reporters after the hearing that she spoke to Griner in the courtroom and shared a letter from Biden. The U.S. government has not made public its strategy in the case and the United States may have little leverage with Moscow amid the war in Ukraine.
The State Department has designated Griner as wrongfully detained, which put her case under the supervision of a special presidential envoy for hostage affairs, effectively the government’s chief hostage negotiator. Top Russian officials have bristled at the U.S. designation. “Attempts by the American side to make noise in public … don’t help the practical settlement of issues,” Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said.
During a Thursday interview with CNN, Zelensky said Ukraine is unwilling to cede any of its land to Russia, insisting that a concession of territory won’t be part of any diplomatic negotiations with Russia to end the war. “Ukrainians are not ready to give away their land, to accept that these territories belong to Russia. This is our land,” Zelensky said. “We always talk about that, and we are intending to prove it,” he added.
In Kyiv, Ukraine, Sens. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) and Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) met with Zelensky on Thursday and heard another pitch for U.S. air defense systems for use by Ukrainian forces against Russia. “Bicameral and bipartisan support is really important for Ukraine. We feel it, we feel this unity,” Zelensky said, according to a readout from his office (Politico).
Putin, during a meeting in Moscow on Thursday, warned Ukraine and its allies, “The West wants to fight us until the last Ukrainian. … It’s a tragedy for the Ukrainian people, but it looks like it’s heading in that direction. … Everybody should know that largely speaking, we haven’t even yet started anything in earnest.” After seizing territory in the eastern separatist provinces in Ukraine, Moscow is expected eventually to try to cut its neighbor off from its Black Sea coast all the way to the Romanian border. If successful, it would deal a crushing blow to the Ukrainian economy and also create a corridor to Moldova’s separatist region of Transnistria, where Russia maintains a military base (The Associated Press).
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OPINION
▪ The rise and fall of Boris Johnson, by The Wall Street Journal editorial board. https://on.wsj.com/3P4kQvi
▪ Liberals should welcome Ron DeSantis’s rise, by Rich Lowry, opinion contributing editor, Politico Magazine. https://politi.co/3anNJna
WHERE AND WHEN
The House will meet at 2:30 p.m. on Monday.
The Senate convenes at 3 p.m. on Monday to resume consideration of the nomination of Ashish Vazirani to be a deputy under secretary of Defense.
The president will receive the President’s Daily Brief at 9:30 a.m. Biden will be joined by Vice President Harris at 11:30 a.m. to speak from the Roosevelt Room about protecting access to reproductive health services following the Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v. Wade. He will visit the CIA in Northern Virginia to commemorate 75 years since the agency’s founding, arriving at 2:15 p.m. and speaking at 3:40 p.m. The president will depart the White House this evening to spend the weekend in Rehoboth Beach, Del.
The vice president at 4 p.m. will join state legislative leaders from Indiana, Florida, South Dakota, Nebraska and Montana in her ceremonial office to discuss their efforts to protect reproductive rights.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken today participates in the Group of 20 foreign ministers’ meeting in Bali, Indonesia. He is scheduled today to meet with counterparts from France, Germany, U.K., Indonesia, India, Japan and Argentina. His G20 schedule is to include his first meeting with Chinese counterpart Wang Yi since October, but no meeting is expected with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov (Reuters).
Economic indicator: The Labor Department at 8:30 a.m. will report on jobs created in June. Analysts anticipate a report of approximately 250,000 to 275,000 new jobs last month, down from the 390,000 reported in May (U.S. News).
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg is in Los Angeles today where he will join leaders at 12:30 p.m. PST with the city’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority, Rep. Karen Bass (D-Calif.), California Lt. Gov. Eleni Kounalakis (D) and LA Mayor Eric Garcetti (D) for a news conference to herald a new light rail line through communities to the Los Angeles International Airport, not yet opened.
The White House press briefing is scheduled at noon.
🖥 Hill.TV’s “Rising” program features news and interviews at http://thehill.com/hilltv, on YouTube and on Facebook at 10:30 a.m. ET. Also, check out the “Rising” podcast here.
ELSEWHERE
➤ INTERNATIONAL
The resignation of the U.K.’s Johnson shifted international attention to candidates in the Conservative Party who might rise from a behind-the-scenes selection process to replace him — and soon. “The process of choosing that new leader should begin now,” the embattled prime minister conceded, albeit with a timetable in mind that would stretch for months.
Johnson, speaking at a podium outside No. 10 Downing Street Thursday with his wife and baby daughter nearby, announced he would step down from what he called “the best job in the world.” His resignation, an abrupt surrender he had resisted for days, followed a dramatic Cabinet rebellion, a wave of government resignations and loss of party support over his handling of a recent sex-and-bullying scandal in his party and what his detractors called scandal-plagued and chaotic leadership (The New York Times).
Johnson said he planned to stay on in his post as a caretaker until his party chooses a new leader. That process may be accelerated by those who believe Johnson’s word is not to be trusted and worry that a long search before naming a successor would be unsustainable (Bloomberg News). The timetable for Johnson’s departure and the selection of the next prime minister will be set on Monday by a committee of senior Conservative lawmakers.
“It is clearly now the will of the parliamentary Conservative Party that there should be a new leader,” Johnson said just three years after leading his party to a landslide general election victory on a promise to “Get Brexit Done.”
Observers noted that Johnson said he was sorry to step aside but offered no public apology for his mistakes. “Them’s the breaks,” he said.
Selecting Johnson’s replacement could take some time because there is no obvious successor in the wings. The Conservative Party is said to be searching for a Brexiteer who can deliver stability, honesty and gravitas (and political savvy). Names in a swirl of potential party successors (thought to be a short list of about 10 people), include former health minister Sajid Javid; former Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak and his replacement Nadhim Zahawi; trade minister Penny Mordaunt; foreign secretary Liz Truss and defense minister Ben Wallace (CNN).
➤ PANDEMIC & POX
On Monday, the administration will begin shipping to states and jurisdictions an additional 144,000 doses of a monkeypox vaccine called JYNNEOS, the Health and Human Services Department said on Thursday. Monkeypox is spreading worldwide and is under renewed scientific examination at the World Health Organization to determine if it’s moving toward a pandemic designation.
Total U.S. coronavirus deaths reported as of this morning, according to Johns Hopkins University (trackers all vary slightly): 1,020,261. Current average U.S. COVID-19 daily deaths are 273, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
➤ WIMBLEDON
🎾 A torn abdominal muscle forced tennis great Rafael Nadal to pull out of his Wimbledon semifinal match against Nick Kyrgios scheduled today. Kyrgios will face either top-seeded Novak Djokovic or No. 9 Cameron Norrie in Sunday’s championship match. Nadal, who won the Australian Open and French Open early this year and hoped Wimbledon might be his career-capping calendar Grand Slam, has a 7-millimeter tear in one of his abdominal muscles, Spanish newspaper Marca reported (ESPN).
On Saturday, Ons Jabeur of Tunisia and Elena Rybakina, a Moscow-born Kazakh, will play for the Wimbledon women’s title in London (Yahoo Sports).
“It’s a dream coming true from years and years of work and sacrifice,” said Jabeur of her first major semifinal. “I’m really happy it’s paying off. I continue for one more match now.”
➤ BUSINESS
Elon Musk’s $44 billion bid to buy Twitter is in peril, reports The Washington Post. Talks with investors have cooled in recent weeks and Musk’s camp believes it can’t confirm Twitter’s claims about spam accounts. If Musk pulls out of the deal, it will potentially trigger a massive legal battle.
How’s the U.S. airline industry doing? Ask the groom whose canceled American Airlines flight made him late to his wedding over the Fourth of July weekend (CBS News NY). Staffing shortages and other root causes of flight disruptions remain evident amid huge demand for summer travel. Carriers canceled roughly 1,400 domestic flights between Friday and Monday, according to FlightAware, or 1.5 percent of flights.
THE CLOSER
And finally … 👏👏👏 Bravo to winners of this week’s Morning Report Quiz! Our trivia puzzle focused on recent headlines dealing with things that fell.
Here’s who guessed or Googled — and triumphed: John van Santen, J.A. Ramos, Candi Cee, André Leblanc, Michael Jarvis, Tim Burrack, Patrick Kavanagh, Don Swanson, Sandy Walters, Lori Benso, Edward Williams, Lou Tisler, Dan Mattoon, John Donato, Jaina Mehta and Steve James. =
They knew that in Britain, the prime minister’s dramatic political plunge this week followed a cascade of ministers who resigned and urged him to step down.
U.S. analysts said gasoline pump prices are falling slightly as recession fears, lower summer demand and rising oil stockpiles affected benchmark crude prices (Business Insider).
The water level in Lake Mead has fallen so low that a long-hidden World War II “Higgins boat” recently came into view from the drying lake bottom (KTLA).
Over the weekend, the box office haul for the movie “Lightyear,” released by Disney and Pixar, fell below that of “Minions: The Rise of Gru,” according to news reports (CNBC).
Stay Engaged: We want to hear from you! Email: Alexis Simendinger and Al Weaver. Follow us on Twitter (@alweaver22 & @asimendinger) and suggest this newsletter to friends!
We want to hear from you! Email: Alexis Simendinger and Al Weaver. Follow us on Twitter (@alweaver22 & @asimendinger) and suggest this newsletter to friends!
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Why we all need education in economics and international trade
As prices at the gas pump and on our store shelves rise, President Biden recently mentioned he would consider lifting some tariffs on China in an attempt to combat exorbitant inflation. It’s an issue he has addressed before, noting that inflation is his “top economic priority.” And while doing away with tariffs is a start, there’s more to be done to encourage international trade — the real solution to combating rising costs. Simply stated, all barriers to free global trade limit competition and allow domestic producers to increase prices, a contributing factor to inflation. But somewhere along the way, elected leaders have forgotten this basic economic concept and have turned to policies limiting an international marketplace.
A global pandemic and subsequent runaway deficit spending have contributed to a historic level of inflation. Now, Republicans and Democrats alike are questioning U.S. participation in international trade and suggesting that weaning ourselves from a global free market is the right answer. In doing so, they are ignoring a basic economic truth: voluntary trade creates wealth.
Look no further than the president’s State of the Union address: “Instead of relying on foreign supply chains, let’s make it in America,” Biden said, receiving applause from both sides of the aisle. And Democrats recently revved up support for this effort, including Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), who introduced the Supply Chain Resiliency Act. She noted, “Our ‘made in America’ economy has been neglected, exposing us to shocks that leave us unable to produce or acquire the things we need, putting our health, economy and security at risk.”
However, it isn’t just Democrats who want to curtail international trade. Others, such as Sen. Mike Crapo of Idaho, the ranking Republican on the Senate Finance Committee, have said the need to domestically produce critical items such as computer parts and semiconductor chips “was there solidly before, but the Russian invasion [of Ukraine] just puts an exclamation point on it” — making it clear that both parties have experienced an abrupt change on this issue over the past several years.
What has not changed, however, are the fundamental truths by which economies operate. And the benefits of free trade are more than just access to higher-quality, lower-priced goods — a point underscored by the recent baby formula shortage, caused in part by a limited number of domestic formula companies under strict government policies designed to keep out foreign producers. Studies show that globalization actually boosts the American economy by reducing inefficient domestic industries and providing resources and opportunity for innovation, in turn raising wages and improving living standards. In fact, the Bureau of Economic Analysis notes at least half of America’s imports are inputs for U.S. manufacturers, not consumer goods. These imports reduce imported-input costs, ultimately lowering a manufacturer’s production costs and facilitating economic growth.
These aren’t just important lessons for our nation’s elected representatives; they’re a vital message for all Americans. Basic economic literacy — including the role that global trade plays in building a flourishing economy — touches every facet of our lives, from the clothing we wear and food we eat to the cars we drive. At the Foundation for Teaching Economics, we understand the value of teaching young people and educators to think about economics. Our teacher training program on “Issues of International Trade” strives to do this through in-person and online programs for high school teachers, who then pass on these critical economic concepts to their students. Over 3,600 teachers have completed this program, which teaches core ideas such as supply and demand, comparative advantage, balance of trade and opportunity cost. More importantly, these teachers have introduced more than a half-million high school students to the benefits of trade — including an increasing number of them during the pandemic.
It’s my hope that by creating more informed citizens and expanding economic literacy across the country, American citizens will demand that our politicians follow sound economic reasoning, instead of the protectionist trade policies. By growing international trade, we will in turn grow a stronger, more economically sound society — one that includes a new generation of leaders who understand the benefits of a truly open market economy.
Ted Tucker is the executive director at the Foundation for Teaching Economics, a nonprofit educational organization that promotes experiential learning and the economic way of thinking. FTE was established in 1975 and operates as a program of The Fund for American Studies.
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Biden to announce executive action to protect abortion access
President Biden on Friday will sign an executive order intended to protect abortion and contraception access and bolster privacy in the aftermath of a Supreme Court ruling that struck down the precedent set by Roe v. Wade.
At Biden’s direction, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) will take additional action to protect access to abortion medication that is approved by the Food and Drug Administration.
The agency will also seek to protect access to emergency medical care for pregnant women and women experiencing miscarriage, including by reviewing guidance that outlines physician responsibilities under the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act.
Biden will also direct HHS to expand access to contraception like IUDs. The Affordable Care Act guarantees coverage of free birth control and contraceptive counseling.
The president’s executive order will additionally aim to protect patient privacy by addressing the transfer of sensitive health data and digital surveillance related to reproductive health care services.
HHS will also look into potential actions under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) to improve privacy protections around reproductive health care.
The order will also outline efforts to ensure the safety of patients seeking reproductive health care and providers and clinics, including mobile clinics being used to provide care for out of state patients.
The announcement comes two weeks to the day after the Supreme Court struck down Roe v. Wade, eliminating the nearly 50-year-old constitutional right to abortion and handing states authority to drastically limit or ban the procedure.
Biden will sign the executive order and deliver remarks from the Roosevelt Room of the White House alongside Vice President Harris and HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra.
Biden has been facing intense pressure from Democrats and activists to take action to protect abortion access in the two weeks since the Supreme Court ruling. Some lawmakers and strategists complained that the White House was caught flat-footed and had no ready-made response even though a draft of the ruling leaked a month earlier.
The president last week in Spain said he would support an exception to the 60-vote filibuster in the Senate in order to codify abortion access and other privacy protections, though all 50 Democratic senators do not support altering the filibuster.
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The Memo: How the Brittney Griner case is sparking calls for Biden to do more
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The plight of basketball star Brittney Griner has become a hot political issue. Griner has been detained in Russia since February amid allegations that she had cannabis oil in her luggage at an airport. Her trial began last week and, this week, she pleaded guilty.
President Biden has faced growing complaints that he has not done enough to bring Griner and another American held in Russia, Paul Whelan, home.
This week, Biden and Vice President Harris spoke with the WNBA star’s wife, Cherelle Griner, after Cherelle complained publicly about her lack of one-to-one contact with the president.
Griner’s case has political potency not only because of her basketball fame but because of her status as a Black, gay woman. A lot of people are watching the case with interest — and her supporters insist Biden needs to make it a higher priority.
Source: TEST FEED1
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Five questions Pat Cipollone could answer for the Jan. 6 committee
After weeks of resistance, White House Counsel Pat Cipollone is set to appear Friday for closed door testimony before the House committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol.
Cipollone was subpoenaed by the committee last week after he met with the panel’s investigators in April but pushed back against sitting for formal testimony.
His second meeting with the committee comes after numerous public pleas for his cooperation, with the panel’s members saying his actions to intervene on Jan. 6 could help supply crucial testimony for its investigation.
Here are five questions he may be able to answer for the committee.
What advice did he give Trump on Jan. 6?
Ex-White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson, a special assistant to Meadows, testified last month that Cipollone, frustrated by inaction with White House efforts to stop a mob from attacking the Capitol, went with then-White House chief of staff Mark Meadows to speak to the president.
Meadows turned over a trove of his text messages to the Jan. 6 panel but then abruptly refused to meet with the panel. But Cipollone could provide some insights.
The conversation mentioned by Hutchinson took place after Cipollone had issued a number of warnings surrounding Trump’s plans for that day and their risk for criminal charges, according to her testimony.
The committee has already cast Cipollone as one of the voices in the West Wing pushing Trump to do more to quell the violence unfolding at the Capitol.
“Our evidence shows that Pat Cipollone and his office tried to do what was right. They tried to stop a number of President Trump’s plans for Jan. 6,” Vice Chair Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) said at an earlier hearing.
Hutchinson fleshed out that picture.
“Mark, something needs to be done or people are going to die and the blood is going to be on your effing hands,” Cipollone told Meadows.
How did Trump respond to that counsel?
Cipollone could expand the committee’s view into Trump’s inaction on Jan. 6 – a future hearing topic for the panel as it looks to review what happened in the White House that day.
Testimony from Hutchinson indicates that Trump had little appetite for action that day.
“He doesn’t want to do anything, Pat,” Meadows told Cipollone.
Cipollone could also expand on testimony that Trump was unmoved by hearing that Vice President Mike Pence was in danger as rioters chanted for him to be hanged.
“You heard him, Pat. He thinks Mike deserves it. He doesn’t think they’re doing anything wrong,” Meadows said, according to Hutchinson.
It’s not clear how Trump responded to specific pleas from Cipollone, while the former White House counsel could also provide more details about his sentiment with regards to Pence that was one of the very first revelations teased by the committee.
Why did White House counsel advise against language in Trump’s speech at the rally, and who rejected their changes?
Hutchinson testified last week that White House lawyers expressed concern over a speech that repeatedly encouraged Trump’s supporters to “fight” for the president as well as to march to the Capitol. She said the speech even had “things about the Vice President at the time too.”
“In my conversations with Mr. [Eric] Herschmann, he had relayed that we would be foolish to include language that had been included at the President’s request,” she said.
“Both Mr. Herschmann and White House counsel’s office were urging the speechwriters to not include that language for legal concerns, and also for the optics of what it could portray the president wanting to do that day.”
But Trump ultimately included that language in his speech, telling his supporters to “fight like hell” and noting they would soon be marching over to the Capitol.
It’s not clear what additional conversation Cipollone’s office had with the speechwriters or who made the decision about what would make the final cut.
What conversations did Cipollone have with Trump about his plans to march to the Capitol?
Cipollone warned of being charged with “every crime imaginable” if Trump followed through on his desire to march to the Capitol alongside his supporters.
Cipollone also told Hutchinson a few days before the attack he was worried if Trump marched to the Capitol it could appear he was helping to incite a riot or abet other crimes.
“Pat was concerned it would look like we were obstructing justice or obstructing the Electoral College count … that it would look like we were obstructing what was happening on Capitol Hill,” she said.
It’s not clear however to what extent that was communicated to Trump or how he may have responded.
But Cipollone seemed to have realized it was a possibility Trump would try and make the trip.
“Please make sure we don’t go up to the Capitol, Cassidy,” Hutchinson told the select committee Cipollone said. “Keep in touch with me.”
Did Trump ever acknowledge there was no voter fraud?
Cipollone was also a front row witness to many of Trump’s numerous plots to stay in power based on his purported claims of election fraud.
The committee has thus far shown those around Trump had rejected the idea of widespread voter fraud and had even cautioned him against claiming victory but it’s not clear Trump accepted that – a factor needed for convictions that rely on proving he acted with corrupt intent.
“Not sure what Dems accomplished today. Some interesting sidelights (on, say, fundraising) but they had nothing to show Trump believed he lost,” Mick Mulvaney, who once served as Trump’s chief of staff, tweeted after one of the committee’s earlier hearings.
“In fact, they showed the exact opposite. They made the case that he probably should have known…but that is different.”
Cipollone or his office rejected a number of Trump’s proposals. Hutchinson said his office dismissed the fake elector scheme as not legally sound. And when Trump weighed dismissing his attorney general in favor of someone who would forward investigations into election fraud, Cipollone dismissed the idea as a murder-suicide pact.
Cipollone has otherwise publicly dismissed the idea of rejecting the outcome of a democratic election – an argument he made in Trump’s first impeachment trial.
“Put simply, you seek to overturn the results of the 2016 election and deprive the American people of the president they have freely chosen,” he said at the time.
Source: TEST FEED1