Sports and Fitness

A bill to require a study of federal agencies to determine which federal agencies have the greatest impact on women’s participation in the workforce; A bill to require that Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits for children be calculated with reference to the cost of the low-cost food plan, as determined by the Secretary of Agriculture; A hearing included testimony from a panel of experts who are working to prevent robocall scams throughout the United States. Also from last week: "The Improving Oversight of Women Veterans’ Care Act of 2017 requires VA to practice oversight not only on its VA facilities, but also on the community care providers it contracts with in order to provide gender-specific health care to women when its facilities do not have the equipment or specialist necessary to care for these veterans. We need to do a better job tracking the quality of care provided to women veterans and conduct effective oversight to ensure they are well served no matter where they get their care. I am also excited to lend my support for Congressman Coffman’s legislation to require VA to ensure that the veterans peer counseling program includes enough peer counselors for women veterans." more »

The trend is part of what drove the overall slight growth of the rural population in the United States from 2016 to 2017, for the first time since 2010, according to a Stateline analysis of census data. (Rural counties are those defined by the US Office of Management and Budget as outside cities and their suburbs.) The population in rural counties grew by only about 33,000 during that time, to about 46 million. While counties with large mining and farming industries shrank, counties with large recreation industries grew the most, by about 42,000, to about 6.3 million. more »

The nine largest states (California, Texas, Florida, New York, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Ohio, Georgia, and North Carolina), which account for more than half of the total US population, contributed only 3 out of 10 Olympians. Colorado’s workforce has one of the largest number of coaches, umpires and professional athletes on a per capita basis — about 2,000 per million population. more »

"We are a trusted resource for lawmakers when it comes to Refuge System issues, and our successful advocacy record speaks to our effectiveness on Capitol Hill. We partner with Friends groups in all 50 states, volunteers across the Refuge System, private businesses, and other conservation groups to make the most impact we can. The threat to the Arctic Refuge is more real than it has ever been. The Arctic Refuge belongs to all Americans, and this shared resource must not be irreversibly tarnished so that a select few can earn a quick profit. The Refuge Association has been fighting to defend the Arctic Refuge for decades and we have no intention of backing down now." more »