Politics
Opening Statement of Marie L. Yovanovitch to the House of Representatives Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, Committee on Foreign Affairs, & Committee on Oversight and Reform October 11, 2019
For the last 33 years, it has been my great honor to serve the American people as a Foreign Service Officer, over six Administrations — four Republican, and two Democratic. I have served in seven different countries, five of them hardship posts, and was appointed to serve as an ambassador three times — twice by a Republican President,and once by a Democrat. Throughout my career, I have stayed true to the oath that Foreign Service Officers take and observe every day: “that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic;” and “that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same.” more »
Weekly Legislative Update: Pregnant Worker Fairness Act, Runaway and Homeless Youth and Trafficking Preventing Act and Congressional Bills Introduced
Bills Introduced: A bill to amend the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act to provide for better protections for children raised in kinship families outside of the foster care system; A bill to amend the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act of 1998; A bill to improve the effectiveness of tribal child support enforcement agencies; A bill to require the Federal Communications Commission to incorporate data on maternal health outcomes into its broadband health maps; A bill to direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services to conduct a study to assess the unintended impacts on the health and safety of people engaged in transactional sex; A bill to direct the secretary of Veterans Affairs to provide abortion counseling to a veteran who has an unwanted pregnanc; A bill to amend the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act of 1998
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Pew Research Center: Stats Informed, Inspired and Challenged Us to Take On Some of Today's Most Pressing Issues
The public renders a harsh judgment on the state of political discourse in this country. And for many Americans, their own conversations about politics have become stressful experiences that they prefer to avoid. 85 percent said it had become "less respectful"; 76 percent said "less fact-based"; 85 percent said it had become "less respectful"; 60 percent said "less issues-focused". More Americans get news on social media than from print newspapers, and they expect it to be largely inaccurate, the Pew Research Center found. Antibiotic-resistant infections kill more than 35,000 Americans every year. A new federal proposal would roll back the Roadless Rule, which has prevented logging and other development in Earth's largest temperate rainforest for decades. more »
Trump EPA Proposes To Scrap Protections for Children From Pesticide Linked to Birth Defects, Cancer; Plan Would Also Allow 50 Percent More Atrazine in Rivers, Streams
“Restricting the spraying of atrazine is essential for protecting human health,” said Olga Naidenko, the Environmental Working Group’s vice president for science investigations. “Instead, the Trump EPA’s proposal would increase atrazine discharges, endangering children’s health and harming communities. Since the beginning of the Trump administration, the agency has been working overtime on behalf of chemical agriculture while acting against the interests of children’s health.” more »