Tag Archives : Build House

House looks to take up climate, taxes, health care bill next Friday

The House is planning to reconvene next Friday and take up the Democrats’ sprawling climate, tax and health care bill, pending Senate passage of the multibillion-dollar package in the coming days.

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer’s (D-Md.) office sent out a floor update on Friday announcing that votes are expected on Friday, Aug. 12. The House is currently out of session for August recess.

“Members are advised that pending Senate action on the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, the House is expected to meet on Friday, August 12th, to consider the legislation,” the floor update reads.

“Members are further advised the House is expected to meet at 9:00 a.m. for legislative business, and multiple vote series are expected,” the memo adds.

The Senate is expected to pass the bill, titled the Inflation Reduction Act, in the coming days. The first vote on the package — which is being considered under budget reconciliation, a process that allows Democrats to pass the bill without Republican support — is set for Saturday at 12:30 p.m.

The initial vote will then tee up hours of debate followed by a vote-a-rama, when senators offer amendments in hopes of changing the legislation before it is brought up for a final vote.

Vote-a-ramas are not subject to time limits, leaving the schedule for final Senate passage up in the air.

Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) announced last week that they had reached a deal on what they called the Inflation Reduction Act, capping off months of intraparty negotiations on a climate, tax and health care bill. The measure includes $369 billion for an emergency and climate program and allocates more than $300 billion to bring down the deficit.

The legislation received a boost on Thursday night when Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.) said she would move forward with the measure after reaching a deal with Schumer.

Once the bill hits the House, it is expected to pass and head to President Biden’s desk for final signature. 

“The Democratic Congress will soon pass our historic Inflation Reduction Act, taking bold action to bring down the kitchen table costs – from health care premiums to prescription drug costs to energy prices – while closing tax loopholes and paying down the deficit,” Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said in a statement on Friday that applauded the July jobs report.

In November, the House passed a roughly $2 trillion social policy and climate package, titled the Build Back Better Act, but the legislation ultimately failed in the Senate after Manchin said he could not support it. The Inflation Reduction Act represents a slimmed-down version of that mammoth bill.

The House broke last Friday for its August recess, which was meant to last through the month. Leadership, however, warned that the chamber would have to reconvene if the Senate passed a reconciliation package.

Source: TEST FEED1

Biden on Griner case: 'I'm hopeful. We're working hard'

President Biden on Friday said he’s “hopeful” about Brittney Griner’s situation after the WNBA star was sentenced to nine years in prison in Russia.

“I’m hopeful. We’re working hard,” Biden told reporters when asked about Griner, who a day earlier was sentenced by a Russian judge on charges that she illegally brought drugs into the country.

White House officials declined to say if there were specific developments that led Biden to say he felt hopeful about Griner’s situation.

“He’s the president; he has to feel hopeful, right? This is something that is important to him,” press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said.

White House national security spokesman John Kirby told reporters that the U.S. is optimistic Russian officials are serious about considering a prisoner swap offer for Griner and Paul Whelan, another American imprisoned in Russia, now that Griner has been sentenced.

Kirby said he was not aware of additional conversations between U.S. and Russian officials on the matter since Friday morning.

Griner, a star in the WNBA and an Olympic gold medalist, was detained for bringing vape cartridges with hashish oil into Russia in February. Griner pleaded guilty earlier this month, but she has insisted she did not intend to break the law.

While Griner’s case has had a higher profile, it has also rekindled interest in the detention of Whelan, a former Marine who has been held in Russia since 2018 on spying charges that he vehemently denies. He has been sentenced to 16 years in prison.

The Biden administration had reportedly floated a potential prisoner swap in which Griner and Whelan would be released in exchange for convicted Russian arms trafficker Viktor Bout. Officials have publicly confirmed that they offered an exchange but have not explicitly said if it involved Bout.

“We have made a substantial offer to bring Brittney and Paul Whalen home. They need to be home. They should be home. They are being wrongfully detained,” Jean-Pierre said.

Source: TEST FEED1

Watch live: CPAC Day 2

The Conservative Political Action Committee continues its convention in Dallas with appearances by Ohio Republican Senate candidate J.D. Vance, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) and former White House strategist Stephen Bannon.

Coverage is ongoing.

Watch the live video above.

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Freedom Caucus chair drags Cornyn at CPAC Texas for crafting gun bill

Rep. Scott Perry (R-Pa.), the chairman of the House Freedom Caucus, publicly criticized Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) for helping craft a gun law while Perry was in Cornyn’s state at CPAC Texas on Friday, drawing boos from the audience.

In a speech on House Freedom Caucus successes, future plans and tactics, Perry said that Republicans in Washington have “got to know which team you’re on.”

“The red flag law that came out of the Senate and came to the House of Representatives, Sen. Cornyn not only — look, we understand that sometimes you got a bad vote. You know, you’ve got a bad situation, you’ve got to vote on something. But don’t help them write the bill and don’t co-sponsor the bill,” Perry said. “Sen. Cornyn does that and a bunch of Republican senators follow up on this thing. It’s [a] red flag law that takes away your right to due process.”

Boos could be heard on a CPAC livestream at the mention of Cornyn’s name.

Cornyn was a top Republican negotiator in crafting a bipartisan gun safety bill this year after a massacre in Uvalde, Texas, when a gunman killed 19 elementary school students and two teachers.

The legislation, which President Biden signed into law earlier this year, included provisions to incentivize states to pass “red flag” laws that prevent those deemed a danger to themselves or others from keeping or obtaining firearms.

A number of Republicans in the House argued that such laws infringe on due process rights without allowing gun owners an opportunity to defend themselves. However, it did not create a federal red flag law.

Cornyn similarly faced boos at a Texas Republican Party convention in June when talking about the gun bill. He is not speaking at the Texas CPAC event.

Though 14 Senate Republicans voted to advance the legislation, Perry said that the House Freedom Caucus pushed House GOP leaders to formally whip votes against the bill when leaders were originally only recommending a vote against it.

“They finally came around,” Perry said. “It’s a small victory, but it’s a victory, and we can win some of these things.”

Perry also called on Republicans to oppose upcoming appropriations bills, saying that Republicans need to find a “leverage point.”

He outlined some of the Freedom Caucus’s demands for rules changes in the House and in the House Republican Conference for next year. The group wants a formal “majority of the majority” to ensure that legislation passed in a GOP-controlled House is also supported by a majority of House Republicans and to restore the Holman rule, which allows members to make spending cuts targeted at specific federal programs or employees.

“It allows us to look at bureaucrats that work in the administration that we can’t fire, take their salary down to $1,” Perry said of the Holman rule. “Now, I’m thinking [White House chief medical adviser] Anthony Fauci, right? I’m thinking about [Attorney General] Merrick Garland. I’m thinking about the Homeland Security secretary. They can continue to work, we can’t fire them, but they shouldn’t make 1 dollar.”

Source: TEST FEED1

Older age, smoking deemed most important risk factors for any type of cancer: study

As more and more studies are conducted on cancer, it seems like an ever-growing list of risk factors can contribute to the disease’s occurrence. However, a large new study conducted by the American Cancer Society found older age and smoking are the most salient risk factors for relative and absolute five-year risk for any cancer type. 

Results are based on two prospective cohort studies carried out among 429,991 individuals with no prior cancer history. Individuals were followed-up for five years during which 15,226 invasive cancers were diagnosed. 

In addition to older age (50 or over) and being a current or former smoker, other risk factors among women included high body mass index (BMI), type 2 diabetes, hysterectomy, having ever given birth, a family history of cancer, hypertension, tubal ligation and physical inactivity. 

Additional risk factors in men were alcohol intake, family history of cancer, red meat consumption and physical inactivity. 

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“Single cancer type-specific screening recommendations are based on risk factors for that specific type of cancer,” Alpa Patel, senior vice president of population science at the American Cancer Society and the study’s co-author, said in a statement.  “Our findings are encouraging as we are working to define subgroups in the general population who could benefit from enhanced cancer screening and prevention,” Patel continued.  

Nearly all individuals studied aged 50 or older and current or former smokers had an absolute five-year risk of cancer greater than 2 percent. 

After five years, absolute risk of cancer among men was 29 percent, compared with 25 percent for women.

“As we consider the possibility that future tests may be able to identify several types of cancer, we need to begin understanding who is most at risk for developing any type of cancer,” Patel noted. 

“These types of data are not widely available, but necessary to inform future screening options, such as blood-based multi-cancer early detection tests that could help save lives.”

Overall, researchers suggest the identified individuals could benefit from enhanced cancer screening and prevention efforts.

The investigation did not include data on gene variants or chronic viral infections that could also increase cancer risks, marking a limitation. Researchers were also unable to stratify risks based on racial and ethnic groups. 

“These results suggest that more detailed risk assessment can identify currently non targeted groups in the general population younger than 50 years that are at equivalent or higher risk as populations older than 50 years,” they concluded. 

Source: TEST FEED1

Five of the most dramatic scenes from the Alex Jones trial

Far-right conspiracy theorist Alex Jones was ordered by a Texas jury on Thursday to pay the parents of a victim of the Sandy Hook massacre $4 million as part of a years-long legal battle stemming from his false statements about the shooting. 

During a trial that dominated news headlines this week, lawyers detailed how Jones had for years spread falsehoods about the mass killing on his online show and profited from them. 

The proceedings also featured a number of dramatic courtroom moments and unforeseen twists. 

Here are five of the most dramatic scenes and developments during the Jones trial. 

Jones’ lawyer accidently sent texts to plaintiff’s attorneys

An attorney for Neil Heslin and Scarlett Lewis, whose son Jesse Lewis was killed in the 2012 shooting, sparked one of the most memorable moments of the trial when he revealed in open court that Jones’ lawyer had “messed up” and sent him a complete digital copy of Jones’ cell phone records. 

“Mr. Jones, did you know that 12 days ago, your attorneys messed up and sent me an entire digital copy of your entire cell phone with every text message you’ve sent for the past two years?” Mark Bankston, the parents’ attorney asked Jones. “You know what perjury is right?” 

Bankston added that when he informed Jones’ attorney of the mistake, the pundit’s lawyers “did not take any steps to identify it as privileged or protected in any way,” saying the digital communications “fell free and clear into my possession.” 

“And that is how I know you lied to me when you said you didn’t have text messages about Sandy Hook,” Bankston said. 

Jones’ lead attorney, Andino Reynal, later asked judge Judge Maya Guerra Gamble to declare a mistrial over the mistake, which she declined to do. 

Jan. 6 committee looks to obtain Jones’ communications

Soon after the revelation that Bankston had come into possession of Jones’ text messages, Rolling Stone reported the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol was seeking to obtain them as well. 

Jones, who is among the most prominent boosters of former President Trump’s false claims about voter fraud, was near the Capitol before the assault and rallied with his supporters that day. 

“The Jan. 6 committee doesn’t have any more information about what’s on that phone than I do. I don’t know if it even covers the time period they are interested in,” Bankston told reporters. 

Jones, on his Infowars show Thursday, said he had “nothing to do with” the attack on Jan. 6. 

“And if anything, I say more radical things on air than I do on text messages. And the idea that there’s some type of criminal activity on there is preposterous,” he said.

Judge admonishes Jones for lying about his cooperation, financial status 

As he and his lawyers attempted to mount a defense, Jones addressed the parents of one of the children killed in the attack and argued he never intended to harm them. 

Jones and his lawyers also suggested that the far-right personality should not be compelled to pay the family the $150 million in compensation for defamation and intentional infliction of emotional distress they were seeking. The Jones team argued that Jones had already paid a heavy price by losing millions of viewers and listeners, significantly impacting his business and forcing him to file for bankruptcy. 

They also argued that Jones had complied with the discovery process in the trial, an assertion Judge Gamble pushed back on in court on Tuesday. 

“Mr. Jones, you may not say to this jury that you complied with discovery,” Gamble said. “That is not true. You may not say it again. You may not tell this jury that you are bankrupt. That is also not true. You may have filed for bankruptcy, I don’t know that but I’ve heard that. That doesn’t make a person or a company bankrupt.”

Mother of victim confronts Jones in court

Scarlett Lewis, the mother of one of the children killed in the attack, addressed Jones directly in court on Tuesday and explained to him how his false statements about the incident had harmed she and her family. 

“I wanted to tell you to your face because I wanted you to know that I am a mother first and foremost. And I know that you are a father and my son existed,” she told Jones. “And I don’t understand. Truth, truth is so vital to our world. Truth is what we base our reality on, and we have to agree on that to have a civil society. Sandy Hook is a hard truth. Hard truth. Nobody would want to ever believe that 26 kids could be murdered.” 

The mother said since her son’s death, she has dedicated her life to “keeping kids safe” and Jones’ spreading of conspiracies about Sandy Hook makes that work more difficult. 

Lewis admonished Jones for “trying to say that I’m, implying that I’m an actress, that I am deep state.” 

“This happened almost 10 years ago, we have to keep our kids safe,” she said. “Jesse was real. I am a real mom.” 

Jones acknowledges Sandy Hook massacre occurred 

Jones had repeatedly told his viewers and listeners that the massacre at the elementary school was a so-called “false flag” event that had been staged using crisis actors to inspire a national outcry and gun control. 

This week in court, he acknowledged that was untrue and called the incident “100 percent real.” 

“I unintentionally took part in things that did hurt these people’s feelings,” he said. 

Jones was not present in court on Thursday, but on his show he told his audience he admitted in court that he was wrong about Sandy Hook.

“I admitted it was a mistake. I admitted that I followed disinformation but not on purpose. I apologized to the families. And the jury understood that,” he said. “What I did to those families was wrong. But I didn’t do it on purpose.”

The Associated Press contributed reporting

Source: TEST FEED1

Climate activism can’t leave out the built environment — it generates half of emissions

With Indonesian islanders suing cement producers for climate damages recently, buildings are getting much-needed attention for their carbon-heavy footprint. The built environment generates nearly 50 percent of annual global emissions. Yet, buildings hardly receive the climate activism commensurate with their impact – despite concrete being the second-most consumed material after water. Lawsuits help change that.

Yes, buildings are getting attention. The industry is busy launching tools to calculate “embodied carbon.” The Inflation Reduction Act proposed in the U.S. Senate allocates billions of dollars to make buildings more efficient and drive low carbon procurement in buildings and construction. The U.S. and European cities are calling for resources to decarbonize buildings as our Carbon Neutral Cities Alliance members have been leading on this for years, and members of the European Parliament are pushing to ensure communities are leading this building transition. 

But the built environment isn’t on everyone’s mind. The public isn’t using “building decarbonization” and “net-zero buildings,” nor are they talking about “operational carbon” (the carbon emitted operating a building) and “embodied carbon” (the carbon emitted making a building).

When you talk with the public about climate action, they’ll point to recycling, electric vehicles, solar panels, mass transit, heat pumps and plant-based diets. This has been covered by the press, so it’s easier to reiterate. It’s less likely they’ll point to “the built environment”.

While they might reference a building’s operational emissions — turning lights off, turning down heating or cooling, or weatherizing for energy efficiency — it’s less likely they’ll think about the emissions embodied in their built office or home environments, and those material supply chains and construction processes.

How often do people talk about reducing drywall and insulation’s life-cycle carbon footprint — or steel, concrete or carpet’s footprint? It’s not on the tip of the public’s tongue.

We need to widen the public and policymakers’ lens so that it’s a part of everyday conversations on climate action. So that when we talk about electric vehicles, solar roof tiles or fair-trade and organic fashion, we can add the buildings in which we spend so much time working, sleeping and eating.

And not just for environmental reasons. There are a host of compelling health, energy and workforce benefits when decarbonizing buildings and greening building supply chains.

The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) highlighted potential savings in its 2022 report on Decarbonizing Buildings in Cities and Regions. They’re significant. Nearly $200 billion Euro is available in reduced health expenditures, and with every $1 million USD invested in building decarbonization, up to 30 jobs are created. Further, with low-income households facing energy poverty, building decarbonization is a just, equitable investment, especially when community-led.

These benefits extend to more sustainable building supply chains, too, which are not just about good green jobs and healthier environments for people and planet. It’s about building resilience to withstand future shocks, something the EU committed to pursuing post-pandemic. All these wins the public can understand.

Yet, cities — which are closest to the public, familiar with local building stock, and responsible for building and zoning regulations — need help making the case. When asked by the OECD what cities needed from national governments, while 95 percent of cities said financial support to advance pilot projects was top priority, 74 percent of cities asked for help raising awareness among the public. These two needs outpaced other requests. The third request, at 58 percent, was for help removing barriers in national regulation that inhibit local actions.

The first and third points above — on financial and regulatory support, respectively — will get a boost in the U.S. with the Inflation Reduction Act and in the EU from the recently agreed-upon Green New Deal, energy efficiency and energy performance directives, as well as efforts to strengthen them in order to decarbonize all EU buildings.

It’s that second priority, regarding public awareness-raising, that may get short shrift by governments who don’t understand the need.

Buildings could easily be on the tip of everyone’s tongue. How buildings and their materials are sourced, built, operated, renovated and recycled could be as much a priority as single-use plastics.

But the public needs to see it. The good and the bad that goes into a building. Imagine environmental activist Annie Leonard’s “Story of Stuff” but for the story of buildings. Imagine fashion’s carbon labeling but for the built environment.

Buildings need campaigns. With stories that illustrate how life is better in a decarbonized building, from the birth and building of it, to the operating of it.

Stories that illuminate the health benefits, cost savings benefits, and workforce benefits — all the things, all along the supply chain — for everyone and everything involved. From the miner to the manufacturer, the concrete to the countertop, the resourcing to the reusing, the assembling to the dissembling. The simpler and sooner the better.

Michael Shank, Ph.D., is the director of Engagement for the Carbon Neutral Cities Alliance.

Source: TEST FEED1

Schumer defends dropping carried interest tax change to win over Sinema

Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) says he had no choice but to remove a provision closing the so-called carried interest tax loophole for money managers from his climate and tax reform bill because Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.) threatened to block the legislation otherwise.

Dropping the carried interest tax provision from the Inflation Reduction Act cost $14 billion in projected revenue, but Schumer made up for it by adding an excise tax on stock buybacks that will generate $74 billion in revenue.  

Schumer told reporters that he pushed hard to close the carried interest tax loophole, which allows asset managers to pay a lower effective income tax rate than many middle-income Americans, but Sinema told him she wouldn’t vote to begin debate unless he dropped the provision.  

“I believe strongly in the carried interest loophole, I have voted for it, I have pushed for it, I have pushed for it to be in this bill,” he said. “Sen. Sinema said she would not vote for the bill, not even move to proceed unless we took it out so we had no choice.” 

The Wall Street Journal reported that Sinema told donors at a campaign fundraiser Wednesday night that it would be bad policy to hit the private equity industry with an increase in carried interest taxes at a time when the industry will be needed to finance infrastructure projects and semiconductor manufacturing.  

Other Democrats, including Sen. Joe Manchin (W.Va.), however, point out that ending the carried interest loophole would affect asset managers who advise on investments, not the investors who put their own money up finance a project or business. Under the loophole, money managers pay a 20 percent capital gains rate and a 3.8 percent net investment income tax on the income they earn from advising on a profitable investment.  

Schumer also noted that he reshaped the 15 percent corporate minimum tax to address Sinema’s concern that it would hit manufacturing companies.  

The Democratic leader said he agreed to take out “two pieces” of the corporate minimum tax provision, lowering the amount of revenue it will raise from $313 billion to $258 billion over the next decade. 

But he said that revenue loss will be made up for as well by applying the 1 percent excise tax on stock buybacks.  

“What we added is something that excites me and I think excites all Democrats and particularly progressives. We’re adding in an excise tax on stock buybacks that will bring in $74 billion,” Schumer said.

“I hate stock buybacks. I think they’re one of the most self-serving things that corporate America does,” he said. “They don’t do a thing to make their company better and they artificially raise the stock price just by just reducing the number of shares. They’re despicable,” he added.  

Asked when the effective date for the excise tax would be, Schumer said he would provide more information at a later time.  

Sinema touted the removal of the carried interest provision in a statement Thursday evening.  

Schumer said Democrats will try to pass the bill “as quickly as we can” but pointed out there are various tactics Republicans can use to slow the bill.  

But he predicted the bill would have the support of all 50 Democrats to pass sometime in the next few days.

“I’m pleased we have reached an agreement on the Inflation Reduction Act that I believe will receive the support of the entire Senate Democratic conference,” he said. 

Source: TEST FEED1

Biden takes victory lap on job numbers

President Biden on Friday took a victory lap on a jobs report that exceeded expectations, saying job growth was the fastest in history while the unemployment rate was the lowest in 50 years.

“Today there are more people working in America than before the pandemic began. In fact, there are more people working in America than any point in American history,” he said in remarks from the White House.

Data released on Friday showed the U.S. added 528,000 jobs and the unemployment rate fell to 3.5 percent in July.

Those figures are impressive, yet many Americans are feeling economic pain because of the highest inflation seen in generations.

Biden has not been reaping the political dividends from the historic job figures because of doubts about the economy linked to inflation.

The president while touting the figures sought to show he understood the pain people were feeling from rising prices.

“I know it’s hard to feel good about job creation when you already have a job and you’re dealing with rising prices, food and gas and so much more. I get it,” he said.

He also touted progress on inflation, notably in lower gas prices. And he noted the Senate is “on the cusp” of passing a sweeping climate and tax bill, the Inflation Reduction Act.

Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.) announced Thursday evening that she had reached a deal with Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) that could pave the way for Democrats to pass their budget reconciliation package in what would be a major victory for the White House.

Biden also took a shot at former President Trump, without mentioning his name, saying he was lowering deficits.

“The days of exploding federal deficits are over and I’ve kept my word,” Biden said, adding that the deficit is down a record of $1.7 trillion.

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Pentagon denies DC's request for National Guard to help with bussed migrants

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has turned down a request from Washington, D.C., Mayor Muriel Bowser (D) to deploy the National Guard to help with migrants being bussed into the city from Texas and Arizona, a defense official told The Hill.

Bowser requested the Guard in mid-July in a bid to help the city as Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) and Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey (R) bussed thousands of migrants from the southern border to the capital over President Biden’s immigration policy.

However, Austin “determined providing this support would negatively impact the readiness of the DCNG and have negative effects on the organization and members,” the official said.

“We understand SAMU First Response has received grant funding through FEMA’s EFSP [Emergency Food and Shelter Program], and has indicated that sufficient EFSP funds exist at this point to provide migrant assistance,” they added.

Bowser said in July that the city’s ability to manage the influx of migrants into the city was limited and blasted Abbott and Ducey for not working with the Biden administration on their issues but rather bussing migrants for “cruel political gamesmanship.”  

Reuters reported on Thursday that the request frustrated the White House and other aid organizations, who said it was unnecessary and played into GOP critics of Biden’s border policies.

Meanwhile, Abbott on Monday invited Bowser and New York City Mayor Eric Adams (D) to the border to see the “humanitarian crisis firsthand.” On Friday, he separately announced that he would also bus migrants to New York City in addition to Washington, D.C.

Bowser didn’t directly address the denied request during media availability on Friday, but she reiterated her need for the National Guard and a site that can be used to make the stop in D.C. as “humane as possible.”  

“If the federal government is not going to do it, they need to at least get out of our way and give us the resources that we need,” she said.

Source: TEST FEED1