On to Plan B. House Republican leaders were unable to win passage Wednesday night of a stopgap spending bill that would have kept the government funded at current levels into March.
The continuing resolution, which included a measure aimed at preventing non-citizens from voting in elections, failed 202-220. Fourteen Republicans voted against it. GOP leaders had pulled the same CR last week when it was apparent it wouldn’t pass.
House Appropriations Committee Chairman Tom Cole, R-Okla., said before the vote it was important to keep non-citizens from voting and to keep the government funded. But the committee’s top Democrat, Rosa DeLauro of Connecticut, said it didn’t make sense to punt spending issues into the new year “for a different Congress and a different White House to be confronted with.”
Lawmakers focus on school meals in Senate Ag subcommittee hearing
Nutrition advocates and lawmakers emphasized the importance of free and reduced school meals for kids’ nutrition at a Senate hearing Wednesday, with some speaking in favor of expanding access across the country.
The hearing by a Senate Agriculture subcommittee included witnesses from the Food Research & Action Center, Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture, a school district food and nutrition director, and others.
Crystal FitzSimons, interim president of FRAC, said Congress should allow all schools to offer free or reduced meals to all students through the Universal School Meals Program Act. She added Congress can provide grants or additional reimbursements to support innovative school reference prices, or bolster Community Eligibility Provision so schools can expand their free meal options.
By the way: Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., used the hearing to announce a bill he introduced Wednesday entitled the Safe School Meals Act. He said the legislation would set limits on heavy metals in school meals, reassess food additives like artificial dyes, ban certain pesticide residues and ban PFAS in school packaging. “This is a crisis,” Booker said. “School meals are one of the key ways, though, we can fight back and make sure that kids are getting the safest, most nutritious meals possible.”
Tyson sued over climate claims
A new lawsuit against Tyson Foods essentially asks, “Where’s the beef?” when it comes to the company’s claims about reaching net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 and its “climate-smart” beef.
The complaint was filed in D.C. Superior Court by Environmental Working Group, which is represented by lawyers from Earthjustice, FarmSTAND, Animal Legal Defense Fund and Edelson PC.
In a statement after the lawsuit was filed, Tyson said it has “a long history of sustainable practices that embrace good stewardship of our environmental resources. We will continue to support agricultural practices that further these efforts and work to strengthen the overall resiliency of the U.S. agriculture system.”
Read more in our article here.
Senate Republicans criticize Harris’ broadband oversight
Nine Senate Republicans led by Minority Whip John Thune of South Dakota are criticizing Kamala Harris’ performance as the Biden administration’s “broadband czar” while arguing that current efforts to distribute $42.45 billion in connectivity funds have been slowed by red tape.
in a letter to Harris, the senators argue Harris’ time overseeing federal broadband initiatives has been “marked by poor management and a lack of effectiveness despite significant federal broadband investments and your promises to deliver broadband to rural areas.”
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Rural and underserved communities “continue to wait for the connectivity they were promised” in 2021, the senators assert.
IG finds Trump-era retaliation against EPA scientists
EPA retaliated against three scientists who performed human health risk assessments of new chemicals because they expressed scientific disagreements, the agency’s Office of Inspector General has concluded in a series of reports.
Political appointees in the Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics pressured the employees during 2019 and 2020 under the Trump administration to “water down” reports, said Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, which is representing the three.
The scientists “had their performance ratings improperly downgraded, had awards withheld, were passed over for new positions within the agency, and were moved from the agency’s New Chemicals program despite an admitted critical shortage of scientists,” PEER said.
FDA announces Animal and Veterinary Innovation Centers
The Food and Drug Administration’s Center for Veterinary Medicine announced four centers that will receive funding to advance innovation in HPAI, other zoonotic diseases, intentional genomic alterations and other animal and veterinary health topics.
The four Animal and Veterinary Innovation Centers include the University of Wisconsin-Madison, University of California at Davis, Kansas State University and University of Arkansas.
Work at these centers will focus on HPAI and emerging zoonotic disease threats or One Health issues; IGAs in animals and advancing regulatory science in the field; and other veterinary medical needs in minor and major species that pose a significant animal or public health burden.
GAO: Army Corps lagging in reporting projects with potential environmental impacts
The Army Corps of Engineers is behind in providing Congress with yearly reports on the fish and wildlife impacts of construction projects, according to a Government Accountability Office audit.
The Water Resources Development Act requires the agency to provide the reports to Congress and the public, but the Corps hasn’t done so since fiscal 2020. The FY21 report is currently going through the agency’s approval process and the FY22 report is still being written, GAO said.
The Corps agreed with GAO’s recommendation to create “policy and procedures” to better track projects that require mitigation, which should simultaneously help it meet report deadlines.
Final word: "The removal of AM radio in vehicles could be detrimental to the many rural districts across America," Rep. Earl "Buddy" Carter, R-Ga., said before the House Energy and Environment Committee voted 45-2 to advance a bill that would require all new cars to have AM radio.
Communities not only tune into AM frequencies for alerts on fires, tornados, hurricanes and floods, but also to listen to sports, music or local news, Carter and other advocates for the measure noted.
