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Energy & Environment — All 50 states hit gas-price milestone
Gas has surpassed $4 in every state for the first time ever, the White House tries to quiet senators’ worries on the investigation into solar panels and moderate Democrats are raising objections to a bill that opposes gas price-gouging.
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.
Gas prices cross $4 in every state for first time
Gas prices surpassed $4 in every state for the first time Tuesday, according to data released by AAA.
A spokesperson for AAA confirmed to The Hill that Oklahoma, Georgia and Kansas — the last three states with average gas prices under the $4 threshold earlier this week — crossed the line on Tuesday.
So what happened? The group attributed the prices primarily to soaring crude oil prices, saying that as crude nears $110 a barrel, the surge is canceling out other factors that would normally create some relief.
“The high cost of oil, the key ingredient in gasoline, is driving these high pump prices for consumers,” AAA spokesperson Andrew Gross said in a statement.
“Even the annual seasonal demand dip for gasoline during the lull between spring break and Memorial Day, which would normally help lower prices, is having no effect this year,” Gross added.
While gasoline demand is down slightly, AAA said this is failing to lower gas prices due to the continued erratic prices of crude, which are likely to stay above $105 per barrel and continue to drive gas prices up.
As of Wednesday morning, only 11 states had average prices in the $4.026 to $4.185 range, the lowest bracket:
- North Dakota
- Minnesota
- Iowa
- Nebraska
- Colorado
- Kansas
- Missouri
- Arkansas
- Georgia
- Oklahoma
- Mississippi
California continues to lead the nation in gas costs, averaging $6.05 per gallon.
What’s next? The Biden administration has taken several steps seeking to drive gas prices down, including ordering the largest-ever release from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve and removing summertime restrictions on the sale of more ethanol-heavy fuel blends. However, further pain at the pump is likely coming, particularly with the approach of Memorial Day weekend, when demand spikes with the unofficial start of summer.
Read more about the spikes here.
White House assures senators on solar investigation
White House officials told a group of Democratic senators this week that the Biden administration is working to temper the uncertainty associated with a federal investigation of solar panel manufacturers.
A bipartisan coalition of senators, led by Sen. Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.), has repeatedly warned Biden that the Commerce Department’s investigation of potential tariff circumvention by Asian panel manufacturers could devastate the industry.
However, only Democrats were present at a Monday meeting in which it was discussed, according to a source familiar who provided a readout to The Hill.
Which senators were there? In addition to Rosen, attendees included:
- Sens. Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.)
- Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.)
- Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.)
- Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.)
- Michael Bennet (D-Colo.)
- Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii)
- Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.)
- Tom Carper (D-Del.)
Administration officials on the call included National Economic Council Director Brian Deese, White House legislative affairs Director Louisa Terrell and Deputy National Climate Adviser Ali Zaidi.
The call was first reported by Axios.
The investigation concerns crystalline silicon modules produced in Cambodia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam, which collectively accounted for 65 percent of module imports worldwide in 2021. Numerous suppliers have canceled shipments due to the tariff burden created by the investigation.
During Monday’s call, the White House officials told the senators that the president will not intervene in the investigation but that the administration is “looking at every tool and authority at the President’s disposal to end the uncertainty the solar industry is feeling,” according to the source.
Read more about the call here.
Moderates share doubts about price-gouging bill
Democrats’ price-gouging bill is running into doubts and opposition from somemoderate members of the caucus.
While the bill is pretty much certain to face an uphill battle in the Senate, it’s also not totally clear whether it’ll be able to garner enough support in the House, where Democrats can only lose six votes.
The bill in question would make it illegal to sell fuel at a price that is “unconscionably excessive” and “exploiting” the situation during an energy emergency.
The legislation, which is expected to be voted on this week, would also empower the Federal Trade Commission to take legal action against companies that sell at such “excessive” prices.
But, some of the party’s more moderate members, including those from oil-producer Texas, are expressing concerns.
Rep. Vicente Gonzalez (D-Texas) told reporters on Wednesday that he’s “leaning no” because there’s “no solid proof” that gouging is occurring.
“If you show me the proof, you have my vote, but I haven’t seen it,” he said.
Clarissa Robles, a spokesperson for Rep. Lizzie Fletcher (D-Texas), also confirmed that she will vote against the bill.
Another Texas moderate, Rep. Sylvia Garcia (D), however, said that she was “leaning yes.”
Rep. Stephanie Murphy (D-Fla.) said she believes the bill will do more harm than good, even though she declined to comment directly on how she would vote.
“It has the potential to make the supply worse,” she said. “It’s not a good idea to implement price controls so I’m concerned about the potential unintended consequences.”
Democratic Chief Deputy Whip Dan Kildee (Mich.) said that he was working to whip votes and added, “with thin margins, it’s always tough.”
Read more about the dynamic here.
BIPARTISAN MEETING NO. 4
Lawmakers gathered on Tuesday evening for a fourth bipartisan meeting on climate and energy issues as Democrats’ spending bill remains in limbo.
Many of the lawmakers were tightlipped about the latest round of talks.
Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.) said that the latest round was about looking at “fewer issues and fleshing them out.”
Additionally, Cramer expressed skepticism about whether Democrats will be able to move a reconciliation bill, which would only require 50 votes to advance instead of the usual 60.
Getting Sen Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) on board with reconciliation has been a major hurdle, especially after the swing-vote senator came out against a Democratic proposal in December.
“It’s Joe’s decision not mine, but I don’t see him going through this exercise, and his staff’s doing a lot of work, if in fact reconciliation was still an option,” Cramer said.
However, another participant, Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.), said that “everything remains on the table” when asked about reconciliation.
ON TAP TOMORROW
Interior Secretary Deb Haaland will testify before the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee on the President’s proposed budget request for fiscal year 2023 for the Department of the Interior.
WHAT WE’RE READING
- EU plans ‘massive’ increase in green energy to help end reliance on Russia (The Guardian)
- Why tech giants’ cash is a hidden source of greenhouse gas emissions (The Verge)
- The Loop Current, a fueler of monster storms in Gulf, looks a lot like it did before Katrina (NOLA.com)
- Europe Rethinks Its Reliance on Burning Wood for Electricity (The New York Times)
And finally, something offbeat and off-beat: Eleph I know.
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 tomorrow.
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NotedDC — Beyond the formula shortage
The House will vote on two bills Wednesday night to address the ongoing nationwide baby formula shortage.
A $28 million supplemental bill introduced by Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.) would greenlight emergency funds to help the Food and Drug Administration address the shortage, including by increasing staff for inspections.
And another bill introduced by Rep. Jahana Hayes (D-Conn.) would ensure that families could buy formula with WIC benefits — a supplemental program for women, infants and young children — during emergencies or supply chain disruptions.
President Biden invoked the Defense Production Act (DFA) on Wednesday night, requiring suppliers to “direct needed resources to infant formula manufacturers before any other customer who may have ordered that good.”
“That was the first route I wanted to take,” DeLauro told NotedDC about invoking the Defense Production Act, saying earlier Wednesday she was working with the Biden administration to employ it.
DeLauro says she also plans to introduce a bill looking beyond the current shortage, giving “authority to the FDA to tighten up the process” of inspecting facilities.
The issue will be front and center on Thursday when the House Appropriations Committee, which DeLauro chairs, holds the first of two hearings examining the formula shortage and looking at possible changes.
The crisis began with supply chain issues and came to a head when Abbott Laboratories — one of the largest suppliers of formula — recalled its products and closed its formula plant in Michigan after reports of sick infants.
Welcome to NotedDC: Your guide to politics, policy and people of consequence in D.C. Have some news, juicy gossip, insight or other insider info? Send us tips: Elizabeth Crisp and Kelsey Carolan.
📨 Encourage your friends to sign up here: thehill.com/noted.
Alcohol delivery comes to the House
Members and staff in the House now have access to an exclusive perk that their Senate colleagues can’t tap into: Booze on demand.
According to information recently released to the House, members and staff can get alcohol delivered wherever their offices are located throughout the Capitol Complex.
But the prices may be stiff for some. Here’s a sampling on the House catering site from vendor Sodexo for same-day delivery:
- Wine (varies by type): $10-28
- Case of beer (varies by type): $35-42
- Tito’s vodka (750ml): $26
- Crown Royal whisky: $35
- 1800 Tequila: $30
- And for those feeling extra fancy… Veuve Clicquot: $75
The Senate notably has a separate vendor for its food services operation on its side of the Capitol and Senate office buildings.
A spokesperson for Restaurant Associates hospitality group tells NotedDC that they haven’t been asked by Senate leaders to consider offering alcohol services.
And while House members cannot use official funds to pay for the alcohol, Republicans have blasted Democratic leaders over the alcohol delivery and other perks for their offices.
“Millions of Americans are experiencing increased financial burden due to inflation, and Pelosi is wasting tax dollars on providing Peloton memberships and a liquor store to House staff,” Rep. Austin Scott (R-Ga.) told The Hill.
Cawthorn’s tenure in Capitol limited
Rep. Madison Cawthorn’s political controversies and scandals seemingly caught up to him on Tuesday night, with the House Republican losing a heated primary battle.
GOP voters in North Carolina’s 11th District picked state Sen. Chuck Edwards over Cawthorn, who at age 26 was one of the youngest people to ever serve in Congress.
While it was Cawthorn’s first reelection bid, he faced an uphill battle after he said on a podcast he had been invited to an orgy in D.C. and had seen colleagues do cocaine.
And a few weeks ago, leaked photos showing Cawthorn wearing women’s lingerie put another nail in his campaign’s coffin.
A big takeaway: The Hill’s Tal Axelrod and Max Greenwood noted that “Cawthorn’s loss showed that there are limits to what voters will tolerate.”
QUOTABLE
“Well, it’s good. I mean it’s good for the country, it’s good for the party.”
– Rep. Adam Kinzinger (Ill.), who is retiring, on CNN talking about
fellow GOP Rep. Madison Cawthorn losing his primary battle this week
Murkowski gets boost from GOP colleagues
Sen. Lisa Murkowski, a moderate Alaska Republican facing a Trump-backed challenger in her reelection bid this year, appears to be getting an extra boost from her GOP colleagues.
The three-term senator was front and center at a press conference Wednesday that included a deep roster of GOP heavyweights attacking the White House over high gas prices.
“All it would take is [for] President Biden to stand in front of a microphone and say, given what is happening in this country, the unprecedented place that we are at today, [and] the impact on everyday Americans, I’ve got an obligation to say Americans are going to come first and American energy production is going to come first,” Murkowski said at the event, which also featured GOP Sens. Ted Cruz (Texas), John Kennedy (La.), Cindy Hyde-Smith (Miss.), James Lankford (Okla.), Shelley Moore Capito (W.Va.) and John Barraso (Wy.), among others.
Murkowski is trying to fend off an opponent who has received Trump’s blessing, Kelly Tshibaka, ahead of the Aug. 16 primary.
Recent polls have suggested that Murkowski is still favored for reelection, but due to changes in Alaska’s primary election laws, she may have a narrower path to victory.
Murkowski was a rare Republican vote in favor of convicting then-President Trump on his impeachment charge following the Jan. 6, 2021 Capitol attack.
Still, Senate GOP Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.) has backed Murkowski as the party seeks to regain control of the upper chamber this year.
“We’re going to do everything we can to make sure she’s successful,” McConnell told Axios in an interview last month.
Of note: A Murkowski has served in the U.S. Senate representing Alaska for more than four decades: Her father, Frank, served in the chamber since 1981 and appointed her to succeed him when he stepped down to become governor in 2002.
HERE WE GO AGAIN
Former President Trump is urging celebrity physician Mehmet Oz to take a page out of his 2020 playbook and declare a premature victory in the Pennsylvania’s GOP Senate primary.
“Dr. Oz should declare victory. It makes it much harder for them to cheat with the ballots that they just ‘happened to find,’” Trump posted Wednesday on Truth Social, his social media platform, drawing parallels to his false claim of widespread election fraud in 2020.
Only a few thousand votes separate Oz and former hedge fund CEO David McCormick, putting them in potential recount territory, The Hill’s Max Greenwood writes.
On the other side of the aisle: The Hill’s Niall Stanage wrote that Pennsylvania Lt. Gov. John Fetterman was the clearest winner Tuesday night after beating Rep. Conor Lamb (D-Pa.) in the Democratic primary.
Read more about the winners and losers from Tuesday’s primaries.
Lawmakers urge more education on opioid crisis
Rep. Madeleine Dean (D-Pa.) offered a stark comparison on the number of people who have died of an overdose in the past year — about 110,000 — saying it equals about a “jetliner a day.”
The challenge for lawmakers, according to Dean: “How we land this plane.”
Speaking at The Hill’s The Opioid and Criminal Justice System event Wednesday, Dean told editor-in-chief Bob Cusack that “we’ve succeeded in talking about it more.”
“But I think we have a very far way to go with that when I think about how we educate young people,” she said.
On the topic of criminal justice and opioid abuse, Rep. Dave Joyce (R-Ohio) said that community-based education services are critical for people who get out of jail so they “don’t go right back into the situation that drove them into the addiction.”
He added that the government should provide more resources for those in jail since the goal is to “reintroduce them into society.”
“We abandoned mental health treatment programs and made the prison system a home for people with mental health issues,” Joyce said.
Watch the full interview and event here.
‘Hurricanes are coming our way’
As if there hasn’t been enough disaster lately … here’s your reminder that hurricane season is soon upon us.
President Biden on Wednesday met with leaders to discuss equitable emergency preparedness for hurricanes this season.
“We know hurricanes are coming our way,” he told reporters before the confab. “They grow more extreme every season.”
He also pleaded with people to heed hurricane warnings and follow guidance from local authorities.
- The Atlantic hurricane season “officially” starts June 1 and lasts through Nov. 30, but recent weather patterns have seen storms not only grow in intensity but also fall outside of the predicted guardrails.
- Weather experts also have noted that the water in the Gulf of Mexico is already warmer than average, which could make storms coming through the Gulf Coast even more powerful.
Watch Biden’s full briefing here.
Stay with TheHill.com for the latest and recommend NotedDC to others: thehill.com/noted. See you tomorrow.
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Democrats pounce on latest tax perk for the rich: falling audit rates
A new report from the government’s internal watchdog found that richer taxpayers are benefitting the most from a broader decline in audit rates by the IRS, adding impetus to criticism that the U.S. tax system favors the wealthy, and possibly bolstering a White House push to increase taxes on the wealthy.
During the 2010s, audit rates of individual income tax returns have fallen an average of 72 percent across all income levels and tax brackets. That means that while taxpayers had about a 1 percent chance of being audited in 2010, they had about a 0.25 percent chance of being audited in 2019.
But that 72-percent drop hasn’t been evenly distributed. People earning less than $25,000 were only 60 percent less likely to be audited than they were in 2010, while people earning more than $200,000 were roughly 90 percent less likely to be audited, the report from the Government Accountability Office (GAO) found.
Democrats seized upon the discrepancy to paint a picture of a bifurcated tax collection system that treats the rich one way and average Americans another.
“There cannot be one tax system for the wealthy and another for everyone else. And yet that is exactly what we have,” Rep. Bill Pascrell (D-N.J.), chairman of the House Ways and Means subcommittee on oversight, said during a hearing on the report.
Pascrell did not spare his own party in assigning blame for unfairness in both the design and implementation of the tax system.
“We have had multiple hearings on making our tax system fair. We haven’t done much in getting things accomplished, though. That’s interesting,” he said.
“Clearly, our tax code can be fair, and I have offered legislation to close that gaping loophole and many loopholes in our laws that have faced resistance by vested interests. And that’s not all Republicans. My own party, sometimes we can’t get out of our own way.”
Republicans, meanwhile, reacted to the report mostly with operational concerns related to the pandemic-induced backlog of unprocessed tax returns, showing general lack of interest in the ethical debate put forward by Democrats on biases in the tax system.
“I believe the most significant unfairness facing American taxpayers right now is the lack of customer service at the IRS,” Rep. Tom Rice (R-S.C.) told the subcommittee.
“The IRS is sitting on 13 million unprocessed tax returns and over 26 million tax returns that are waiting, needing further IRS action. At the same time, IRS phone service levels are at near all-time lows, making it nearly impossible to reach an IRS agent for help with tax or audit matters.”
Pascrell acknowledged that Democrats, Republicans and agency administrators were all talking past each other, saying, “we’re in two different worlds.”
“There’s this aspect of it – operations,” he said. “And the other aspect is the laws itself, of a secretary paying a higher percentage than her boss on her taxes.”
The GAO report notes that wealthy taxpayers are still more likely to be audited than low and middle-earners. In 2019, people making more than $5 million a year had about a 2 percent chance of being audited, while those making between $25,000 and $200,000 had about a 0.17 percent chance of being audited.
IRS officials said audit rates declined because of staffing decreases and because it takes more time and expertise to deal with complex higher-income audits, according to the GAO.
The overall trend toward looser tax enforcement on the rich is consistent with other longer-term tax policies benefiting the wealthy that have been pushed by both Democrats and Republicans.
One such loophole long supported by Democratic lawmakers like Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) is the tax exemption on carried interest, which allows managers of private investment funds simply to skip out on paying taxes on the bulk of their income.
Closing the carried interest loophole was notably not a part of the Biden administration’s “billionaire minimum income tax” proposal, which does include provisions on taxing capital gains like stock price earnings.
As Jared Bernstein of the White House’s Council of Economic advisors told CNBC last year, “This is a loophole that absolutely should be closed. But as you well know, when you go up to Capitol Hill and you start negotiating on taxes, there are more lobbyists in this town on taxes than there are members of Congress.”
One of those lobbyists is former Democratic North Dakota senator Heidi Heitkamp, now with consulting firm Alliantgroup, who led a campaign last year against a Democratic proposal to tax capital gains at death, arguing against a very similar measure to the Biden administration’s billionaire tax proposal.
“My point of view is you have to have a realization of that income” in order for it to be taxed, Heitkamp said in an interview. “Historically and consistently in America, it doesn’t apply until you realize the gain, and that’s the point that I’ve been making, is that taxing unrealized gains will have unintended consequences.”
“You could set the limit at $5 million, but if you had a small business that had $5 million worth of gains, you may be forced to sell your small business instead of having the family pass it on,” she added.
Of Biden’s billionaire tax, Heitkamp said, “It’s not likely going to pass.”
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More resources needed for America’s youth mental health crisis
“Mental illness and general mental health struggles affect nearly every teenager in the country. I’ve personally struggled with OCD and anxiety for many years. I would love to see more representation and interest in mental health in the government, because mental health is an issue that affects everyone.” – Teen patient at Nemours Children’s Health
When the COVID-19 pandemic began over two years ago, we didn’t know its impact on our physical, emotional, or mental health. We learned a lot over the past two years about managing the virus, but the pandemic didn’t only create new problems — it shined a spotlight on, and in many cases, worsened existing problems. This was especially true for mental health services across the country. Hospitals and mental health providers were already dealing with limited capacity before the pandemic. These past few years have pushed it to a breaking point. And while we know that Americans of every age faced mental health challenges, our children were dealing with a rapidly changing world, remote learning, and increased isolation.
According to the U.S. surgeon general, before the pandemic, up to one in five children ages 3 to 17 years old had a mental, emotional, developmental, or behavioral disorder. The challenges that came with the COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated these conditions in our children. For example, Nemours Children’s Hospital in Delaware saw an 80 percent increase in patients for suicidality or intentional harm as compared to 2020. Due to similar circumstances nationwide, the U.S. surgeon general issued the first-ever public health advisory on the youth mental health crisis, an advisory usually reserved for urgent issues that need immediate attention. We commend the surgeon general for joining the nation’s leaders in pediatric care including the American Academy of Pediatrics, Children’s Hospital Association, and the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatrists for sounding the alarm on the youth mental health crisis in America. We also appreciate that across multiple congressional committees with health jurisdiction, we have seen a series of hearings and bipartisan bill introductions that would make a meaningful difference for the mental health of our nation’s children.
When the pandemic began, children were exposed to unprecedented pressures including dramatic changes in their daily routines, education, home life, and communities. Lockdowns, quarantine, the sudden shift to online learning, lack of social interaction, and the increase in social media consumption — are just a few of the outside pressures children faced during the early part of the pandemic that took a toll on them. They also had to watch as their families were impacted by the hardships of the pandemic such as the shortage of safe and affordable housing, economic insecurity, and even the loss of a parent or grandparent to the virus. Combined, these issues fueled a pervasive youth mental health crisis, one that disproportionately affects communities of color, rural areas, and families with low incomes.
At the same time, waitlists in primary care for a broad range of developmental, psychological, and psychiatric services grew. Increased duties for school counselors and nurses to manage COVID-related illnesses among students prevented their ability to identify and manage mental health concerns. There’s an increasing number of children and youth who are left waiting for significant periods in the emergency department for placements and external referrals — a phenomenon known as “boarding.”
This landscape made clear the need for additional children’s mental health infrastructure in America. And now, it’s time for Congress to enact legislation to address this crisis. We need to give hospitals resources to expand capacity for pediatric behavioral and mental health services, improve behavioral health care integration and coordination, fund community-based activities, and support training and workforce innovations in pediatric health settings to meet our children’s needs.
There are three pieces of bipartisan legislation in Congress right now that would do just that. H.R. 4943, the Children’s Mental Health Infrastructure Act, H.R. 4944, the Helping Kids Cope Act, and H.R. 7236, the Strengthen Kids’ Mental Health Now Act. Collectively, these bills, all introduced or co-sponsored in the U.S. House of Representatives by Rep. Blunt Rochester, would improve access to pediatric mental and behavioral health services, increase Medicaid reimbursement for pediatric mental health services, promote pediatric mental health, and support the mental health workforce and care coordination efforts that the surgeon general recommended. These bills would also support community-based solutions like school partnerships and community health workers working with pediatric providers for urgent care, ongoing treatment, and follow-up. They also support telehealth services for mental health treatment — a lifeline used by many individuals throughout the pandemic to access care online.
We can manage and prevent mental health challenges with the appropriate attention and resources. We have to set our children up for success, and that starts with making sure they have access to the help and the tools they need to live long, productive, and happy lives. Today, we call on Congress and the Biden-Harris administration to prioritize the need for more funding and resources to combat this crisis because when we invest in our nation’s children, we’re investing in our future.
Lisa Blunt Rochester is Delaware’s sole member of the U.S. House of Representatives and serves on the House Energy & Commerce Committee. Kara Odom Walker, MD, MPH, MSHS, is chief population health officer for Nemours Children’s Health System.
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Moderates lukewarm on Democrats' gas price gouging bill
Democrats’ price gouging bill is running into doubts and opposition from several moderate members of the caucus.
While the bill is facing an uphill battle in the Senate, it’s also not totally clear whether it’ll be able to garner enough support in the House, where Democrats can only lose 6 votes.
The bill in question would make it illegal to sell fuel at a price that is “unconscionably excessive” and “exploiting” the situation during an energy emergency.
The legislation, which is up for a vote on Thursday, would empower the Federal Trade Commission to take legal action against companies that sell at such “excessive” prices.
But, some of the party’s more moderate members, including those from oil-producer Texas, are expressing concerns.
Rep. Vicente Gonzalez (D-Texas) told reporters on Wednesday that he’s “leaning no” because there’s “no solid proof” that gouging is occurring.
“If you show me the proof, you have my vote, but I haven’t seen it,” he said.
Clarissa Robles, a spokesperson for Rep. Lizzie Fletcher (D-Texas), also confirmed that she will vote against the bill.
Another Texas moderate, Rep. Sylvia Garcia (D), however, said that she was “leaning yes.”
Rep. Stephanie Murphy (D-Fla.) said she believes the bill will do more harm than good, even though she declined to comment directly on how she would vote.
“It has the potential to make the supply worse,” she said. “It’s not a good idea to implement price controls so I’m concerned about the potential unintended consequences.”
Democratic Chief Deputy Whip Dan Kildee (Mich.) said that he was working to whip votes and added, “with thin margins, it’s always tough.”
Gonzalez said he believes there will be enough opposition to quash the legislation.
Many Democrats have sought to pin the blame for high oil prices on corporations, citing high profits that companies are raking in and money they are returning to their shareholders through buybacks.
But, market analysts have expressed skepticism, saying they are not seeing evidence of price gouging.
“It’s all the people in the market — I mean thousands and thousands of people — that bid the price up. It’s not that ExxonMobil says ‘I’m going to sell my diesel for $200 a barrel,” Tom Kloza, global head of energy analysis at the Oil Price Information Service, previously told The Hill.
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Former NYC Mayor De Blasio eyeing US House run
Former New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio (D) has said that he is eyeing a possible run for a U.S. House seat.
In a tweet on Wednesday, De Blasio announced the creation of an exploratory committee in the state’s 10th Congressional District.
“Our neighborhoods need help as we recover from Covid. Our nation needs help as democracy is threatened and working people struggle,” De Blasio said in his tweet. “I am ready to serve to continue the fight against inequality. Today I am forming an Exploratory Committee for the new #NY10.”
Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.) now represents the 10th district, but redistricting has moved his address to a different House district. He announced this week that he would challenge Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.) to serve New York’s 12th Congressional District — a battle that would pit two veteran New York House Democrats against one another.
De Blasio, whose tenure as NYC mayor ended in January, announced earlier this year that he has no plans to launch a gubernatorial campaign in New York, saying that he intends to keep being involved in politics.
The former mayor was a candidate for the Democratic nomination for president in the 2020 cycle, though his bid never really took off and he eventually dropped out of the race after a series of debates.
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Massachusetts reports first confirmed U.S. case of monkeypox this year
Massachusetts on Wednesday reported the first confirmed U.S. case of monkeypox this year in a man who had recently travelled to Canada.
The case comes amid an ongoing outbreak of monkeypox cases in Europe occurring from an unclear source of transmission.
“The Massachusetts Department of Public Health today confirmed a single case of monkeypox virus infection in an adult male with recent travel to Canada,” the Massachusetts Department of Public Health said in a statement.
Initial testing was completed late Tuesday at the State Public Health Laboratory in Jamaica Plain and follow-up testing was completed today at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
“The case poses no risk to the public, and the individual is hospitalized and in good condition,” the statement added.
Officials are working to identify individuals who may have had contact with the man.
In the U.K., one cluster of cases was found among a family in which some members had recently travelled to Nigeria.
However, more cases were detected in London in an apparently unrelated cluster. British officials noted that four cases that were detected earlier this week were among men who have sex with men. The prevalence of cases among gay and bisexual men have led health experts to speculate that the pathogen may be spreading through sexual contact, and possibly need to be treated as an STI.
So far, cases have been detected in the U.K., Portugal and Spain.
Most monkeypox cases tend to occur in central and western Africa. Cases are rarely seen outside the continent, though Massachusetts health officials noted cases were reported in Texas and Maryland last year.
Symptoms of monkeypox tend to be mild and flu-like such as headaches, muscle pain, chills and swollen lymph nodes. However, patients often develop a rash on their face and body that progresses through several stages until the skin lesions scab over and fall off.
In an interview published on Wednesday, CDC epidemiologist Jennifer McQuiston expressed concerns of monkeypox spreading beyond the U.K.’s borders.
“We do have a level of concern that this is very different than what we typically think of from monkeypox. And I think we have some concern that there could be spread outside the U.K associated with this,” she said.
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British Royal Mint unveils new rainbow coin for 50th anniversary of UK Pride movement
The United Kingdom’s Royal Mint unveiled a brand new rainbow version of the country’s 50 pence coin on Wednesday ahead of this summer’s 50th anniversary of the country’s first LGBTQ+ Pride event.
The 50 pence coin is decorated with five rainbow arches. Scrawled on the middle rainbow arch is the word “pride,” while the other arches contain the words “protest,” “visibility,” “unity” and “equality.” A triangle composed of stripes in the colors black, brown, blue, pink and white points toward the arches in a symbol of unity and support for LGBTQ+ people of color and transgender people.
Images of the coin were shared on Twitter by the Royal Mint, and details about the design were posted on the service’s webpage.
The Royal Mint, which is owned by the U.K. government, said the country’s first coin to celebrate the LGBTQ+ community is “not only a celebration of Pride UK but also a numismatic tribute to the indomitable spirit of the UK’s LGBTQ+ community.”
“The coin encompasses the very essence of Pride’s history in the UK and marks the first time we have celebrated the UK’s LGBTQ+ community on a UK coin,” the Royal Mint said in a release on its webpage.
The coin will officially debut sometime this summer. The 50th anniversary of the U.K.’s Pride movement is July 1, commemorating the first Pride march organized by LGBTQ+ activists in the country in 1972.
Dominique Holmes, an East London artist and LGBTQ+ activist, designed the coin for the Royal Mint with the assistance of Pride in London, the organizers of an annual Pride festival and parade.
Asad Shaykh, the director of communications for Pride in London, said he helped coin the words incorporated into the design. He said the fact that those words will be displayed on the coin, with Queen Elizabeth on the opposite side, “humbles me greatly.”
“This queer brown immigrant has come a long way, powered by hope, love and this city,” he tweeted on Wednesday.
The U.K. is not the first to honor the pride community with coins. This year, the U.S. began shipping out its first quarters featuring an openly LGBTQ+ woman, astronaut Sally Ride.
In 2019, the Royal Canadian Mint announced a $1 coin emblazoned with the words “Equality” as a tribute to the 50th anniversary of the Canadian Parliament’s decriminalization of homosexuality. The coin was criticized by some for its suggestion that equality had been achieved, according to the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.
In the U.K., millions attend annual Pride events, but Pride in London says it is still fighting for more rights.
The British government recently banned conversion therapy — a controversial practice in which counselors attempt to change LGBTQ+ people’s sexual orientation or gender identity — but excluded the transgender community from the ban, according to The Washington Post.
Source: TEST FEED1
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Retailers press Biden to lift China tariffs to fight inflation
The National Retail Federation (NRF) on Wednesday urged President Biden to reduce or eliminate tariffs on Chinese goods as a way to help combat red-hot inflation.
The lobbying group claimed that lifting tariffs that were first imposed by the Trump administration could reduce consumer prices by as much as 1.3 percent.
“Consumers and businesses continue to feel the pain of higher prices across the board from everyday goods and services to rent and groceries and gas,” NRF President Matthew Shay wrote in a letter to Biden. “Removing the harmful China 301 tariff will alleviate some of the inflationary pressure on the U.S. economy.”
The NRF, which represents thousands of retailers, including Walmart and Target, noted that American importers have paid $136.5 billion on tariffs stemming from the U.S.-China trade war, costs that are largely passed onto American consumers.
Consumer prices rose 8.3 percent over the past 12 months ending in April, according to Labor Department data, with the price of gas, food, automobiles and other products skyrocketing.
The letter comes as Biden administration officials debate whether to provide tariff relief to consumers who are feeling the effects of 40-year high inflation.
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen told reporters on Wednesday that the Section 301 tariffs “impose more harm on consumers and businesses” and “aren’t very strategic in the sense of addressing real issues” with China.
U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai, who has defended tariffs on China as a way to combat what the U.S. sees as unfair trade practices, said earlier this month that reducing tariffs is a potential option to lower consumer prices.
In his letter, Shay also warned that the Federal Reserve’s decision to raise interest rates and reduce its balance sheet to fight inflation could “further hurt businesses, workers and consumers.”
“Overly broad action by the Fed alone could inflict significant and lasting damage to consumers,” he wrote. “Providing tariff relief now can alleviate inflation pressures in the economy and provide targeted relief to consumers until the Fed’s job is done.”
Source: TEST FEED1