Politics
Climate Change Response: *GAO Has Found that the United States Lacks a Clear Strategy for Geoengineering Research
Governmentwide coordination, planning, and research in climate change response needs to be improved, as does access to information and technical assistance for decision makers. These areas are part of GAO’s High Risk List designation for climate change. Policymakers have raised questions about climate engineering, or geoengineering — large-scale deliberate interventions in the earth’s climate system to diminish climate change or its impacts — and its role in a broader strategy of mitigating and adapting to climate change.
Key Issues > Climate Change Response
Climate Change Response
The federal government’s potential respons… more »
Updated: House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence Hearing; Whistle Blower Complaint Released
“Congress needs the full and unredacted whistleblower complaint. We need to speak with the whistleblower. We need records of the communications. We need to speak with those knowledgeable about efforts by the President, the Attorney General, and the President’s personal attorney to secure political help from Ukraine, the decision to freeze security assistance, and the attempt to cover it up. We also need the records that our Committees requested from the State Department and the White House — by tomorrow’s deadline — or we will subpoena them. These requirements are especially urgent now that the Department of Justice apparently has chosen to stand down, whitewash this investigation, and block Congress from obtaining this information.
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Weekly Congressional Week Update and Hearings: Helping Families Fly Act, STEM Opportunities Act, Racial and Gender Wealth Gap; Amend the Small Business Act to Improve the Women’s Business Center Program
This Week: On Tuesday, the House Financial Services Subcommittee on Diversity and Inclusion will hold a hearing, “Examining the Racial and Gender Wealth Gap in America;” On Wednesday a hearing, “Breaking the Silence: Addressing Military Sexual Trauma in the Military and Veteran Communities;” A bill to prohibit the approval of new abortion drugs, to prohibit investigational use exemptions for abortion drugs, and to impose additional regulatory requirements with respect to previously approved abortion drugs. more »
States Flubbed the Rollout of Their Health Insurance Exchanges. Now They’re Ready to Try Again
Notable Republicans also are supporting the shift to a state-based model. The previous governor in Nevada, Republican Brian Sandoval, initiated the effort in his state. And the Republican House majority leader in Pennsylvania, Bryan Cutler, has been a strong supporter of the move there. The final Pennsylvania bill passed both chambers this year without a negative vote. Cutler said creating a state marketplace is consistent with traditional GOP values. HHS has not signaled any opposition to state-based exchanges, and Cutler pointed out that President Donald Trump, in an executive order issued the day he took office, trumpeted his administration’s intent to “afford the States more flexibility and control to create a more free and open healthcare market.” That executive order, however, pertained to his goal of repealing the ACA, which has so far eluded him. more »