Stephan: I am sure you have already heard this news, and probably lengthy commentary on it. I am running this story to make two points. First, this is entirely Democratic legislation. While the Republicans are talking about Dr, Seuss characters, Mr. Potatohead, and trying to set up an investigation of Britney Spears finances, the Democrats under Biden, Sanders, Pelosi, and Schumer have crafted and passed the most wellbeing fostering legislation in decades. Second, it is going to lift half, HALF, of the poverty-stricken children in the U.S. out of poverty.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of Calif., walks from the House floor, during the vote on the Democrat’s $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief bill, on Capitol Hill, Wednesday, March 10, 2021, in Washington. Credit:Alex Brandon/AP
House lawmakers Wednesday gave final approval to President Biden’s $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package, sending the legislation to his desk for his signature. The White House says Biden plans to sign it on Friday.
“This legislation is about giving the backbone of this nation — the essential workers, the working people who built this country, the people who keep this country going — a fighting chance,” Biden said in a statement Wednesday.
The House voted 220-211 with no Republicans voting in favor of the bill, despite calls for bipartisan support from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and other Democratic leaders.
One Democrat, Rep. Jared Golden, voted against the bill, citing concerns over changes to the legislation from the Senate.
“Although I support the Senate’s effort to reduce the number of wealthier households that will receive stimulus checks, they did not go far enough, and other changes — like removing the minimum wage […]
Dino Grandoni and Juliet Eilperin, Environmental Policy Reporter - The Washington Post
Stephan: More good news from the Biden administration. I think we finally have an administration making national policy that will put America on track to exit the carbon energy era.
Deepwater Wind turbines off Block Island, R.I., in 2016. Credit: Michael Dwyer/AP
The Biden administration took a crucial step Monday toward approving the nation’s first large-scale offshore wind farm about 12 nautical miles off the coast of Martha’s Vineyard, Mass., a project that officials say will launch a massive clean-power expansion in the fight against climate change.
In completing a final environmental review of Vineyard Wind, the Interior Department endorsed an idea that had been conceived two decades ago but had run into a well-funded and organized opposition from waterfront property owners near the tony island, including then-Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (D), who died in 2009, and the billionaire industrialist William I. Koch.
The $2.8 billion project is set to be built several miles south of the original plan fought by the Kennedy family and will be out of sight from the family’s Hyannis compound.
The Biden administration framed Monday’s decision as a way to increase the nation’s renewable energy capacity while creating well-paying construction jobs building turbines and other clean-energy equipment.
Stephan: More good news from the Biden Administration. After four years of Trump and his orcs trying to gut the EPA, and service their corporate overlords in polluting industries, Biden has appointed someone who understands the environmental issues and has a track record for effectively addressing them to foster wellbeing. And he is a Black man, the first to ever head the agency.
Regan at his confirmation hearing on Feb. 3. Credit: Caroline Brehman/CQ Roll Call/Bloomberg/Getty
The Senate voted 66-34 on Wednesday to confirm Michael Regan, North Carolina’s top environmental regulator, as head of the Environmental Protection Agency.
Background: Regan previously held several senior roles with the Environmental Defense Fund and served at the EPA for a decade prior to that, with a focus on air quality and radiation under Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush.
His record in North Carolina includes a major settlement with utility giant Duke Energy on cleaning up waste from coal-fired power production.
Stephan: I have been covering America's baby food pollution problem for several years. Under Trump, of course, nothing happened. But under Biden we are in a very different world, and here is more good news from his administration.
Gerber organic baby food products are seen on a supermarket shelf in New York City. Credit: Mario Tama/Getty
The Biden administration said Friday it plans to clamp down on toxic heavy metals commonly found in baby food.
The move comes after a House Oversight subcommittee last month released a report finding that major baby food companies sold products that their own internal testing showed contained arsenic, lead and cadmium at levels far higher than what most health experts consider safe for infants. The findings panicked parents already under considerable stress during the pandemic.
What’s new: The Food and Drug Administration plans to soon begin the lengthy process of setting more standards for heavy metals in baby foods.
Stephan: I don't know how much clearer the Republicans could make it that they do not support or desire America to be a democracy. They are a shrinking race party, and know America is going to be a majority-minority nation within 20 years. What to do? The answer is simple. Control who can vote so that only their supporters are likely to be able to vote. Basically, keep the form of democracy, but not its substance. There is no question about this. The facts are very clear and indisputable.
State Sen. Mike Dugan, R-Carrollton, second from left, shakes hands with Gov. Brian Kemp on the rotunda during the opening day of the year for the general session of the state legislature, Monday, Jan 13, 2020 in Atlanta. Credit: AP/John Amis
After record turnout in 2020, Republican-controlled states appear to be in a race to the bottom to see who can pass the most egregious new barriers to voting.
According to a new analysis by the Brennan Center for Justice, 253 bills to restrict voting access have been introduced in 43 states already this year. Georgia is ground zero for the GOP’s escalating war on voting, targeting the voting methods that were used most by Democratic voters in 2020 and which contributed to flipping the state blue and electing two Democratic senators.
On Tuesday, Georgia’s Republican Senate Majority Leader Mike Dugan introduced a bill repealing no-excuse absentee voting, which 1.3 million Georgians used in 2020, including 450,000 Republicans. Under his proposal, only a small subset of voters, such as those who are out of town, disabled, or over 65 (a […]
