How a Radical Proposal Saved the United States
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| WOMEN |
DEAR CONGRESS - Broadcom is taking its
increasingly contentious fight to buy Qualcomm to Congress. In a letter this morning, the Singapore-based semiconductor
company aims to set lawmakers at ease over the hostile acquisition, which the
Treasury Department determined earlier this week merits scrutiny because it could benefit Chinese competitors and
harm U.S. defense agencies. The Committee on Foreign Investment in the United
States is currently evaluating the deal.
- In the letter, Broadcom CEO Hock Tan reiterates the company's argument that it will make the U.S. a leader in next-generation
wireless technology by investing in 5G and training American engineers.
"Any notion that a combined Broadcom-Qualcomm would slash funding or cede
leadership in 5G is completely unfounded," Tan writes. He also says the
majority of Broadcom's executives, employees and investors are either based in
the U.S. or hold citizenship. The company itself is in the process of shifting
its headquarters to San Jose, Calif. The letter is addressed to 15 lawmakers
who have either raised questions about the proposed merger or hold positions of
power, including the heads of the House and Senate intelligence committees. [POLITICO's Morning Tech, March 9, 2018]
MARKEY HITS AT KENNEDY BILL - Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.), the sponsor of a Senate measure to undo the
FCC's net neutrality repeal via the Congressional Review Act, criticized a
separate net neutrality bill from Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.). Kennedy has
released companion legislation to a bill that Blackburn sponsored in the House (H.R. 4682 (115)) , which would bar ISPs from blocking and throttling content,
but does not address paid prioritization. "Senator Kennedy and
Congresswoman Blackburn's #NetNeutrality bills allow #BigBroadband to establish internet fast & slow lanes," Markey wrote in a tweet. Kennedy has said he's still considering signing onto
Markey's legislation. [POLITICO's Morning Tech, March 9, 23018]
TECH COMPANIES PUSH FOR CHANGES TO SEX
TRAFFICKING BILL: "Twitter, Yelp and Reddit are pushing Congress to make
changes to an anti-sex trafficking bill headed to a vote in the Senate next
week," POLITICO's Ashley Gold reports. "In a
letter to Senate leadership Wednesday, the group of tech companies, including
Pinterest, Medium and Cloudflare, urged lawmakers to tighten the text of the
the bill, H.R. 1865 (115) . They say language targeting websites that 'knowingly'
facilitate sex trafficking is too broad and will create confusion for law
enforcement and companies. '[W]e have weighed in to be constructive and ensure
that the bill doesn't create problematic ambiguity that will make it harder for
prosecutors and companies to support those underlying goals,' said Evan Engstrom, executive
director of Engine, which organized the
letter." [POLITICO Influence, March 9, 2018]
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| TECHNOLOGY |
Tech flocks to SXSW festival
Ali Breland
Technology and political leaders are
heading to Austin, Texas, this weekend for the annual South By Southwest (SXSW)
festival.
The 10-day showcase draws some of the
biggest names from technology, films and music, and gives policy makers a
chance to weigh in on some of the industry's biggest issues.
Topping the docket this year are
cybersecurity and Russian election meddling.
Sen. Mark Warner (Va.), the top
Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, is headlining two events on
Saturday. At the first panel, he'll discuss the "new battlefield" and
the efforts to create a cyber
strategy for the 21st century.
At the second panel, Warner will
address Russian
meddling in the 2016 presidential
election and how to prevent foreign interference in the coming midterms.
Also on Saturday, Sen. Jerry Moran
(R-Kan.) will join a panel to discuss his Startup
Actand how government can help
entrepreneurs. It will be a bipartisan gathering, with Rep. Jimmy Gomez (D)
joining the discussion.
On Sunday, Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.)
will headline
an event with the Information Technology
and Innovation Foundation on how technology firms can help innovation in legacy
industries, such as energy and manufacturing.
Texas Rep. Will Hurd will to speak at
the event on the future
of the transatlantic alliancebetween
the U.S. and Europe. Hurd has been a vocal voice in the House on tech issues as
the chairman of the House Oversight Subcommittee on information technology.
Expect tech to be an issue at the panel, as the European Union takes a tougher
stance on regulation of
American technology companies.
Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) will be
doing a doubleheader as he speaks at events on how tech is changing the workforce.
Fellow California Rep. Darrell Issa
(R) will speak about "the
persistence of patent trolls"in the technology industry at a panel alongside Evan Engstrom of
the startup trade association Engine.
Administration officials will also be at SXSW. Matt
Lira, from the White House Office of American Innovation, will join a
discussion titled "Tech
Under Trump: A 2017/2018 Scorecard" with Consumer Technology Association President
Gary Shapiro and others. [The Hill, Technology Issuewatch Newsletter,
March 9, 2018]
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| SCREEN |
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| REFUGEES |
SESSIONS LOOKS AT 'SOCIAL GROUP' STANDARD: Attorney
General Jeff Sessions will consider whether being a victim of private criminal
activity amounts to membership in a "particular social group," the
department announced in a legal filing Wednesday. The designation relates to
asylum claims. To seek asylum in the United States, an individual needs to demonstrate
fear of persecution on the grounds of race, religion, nationality, membership
in a particular social group, or political opinion. The social group category
"is the most controversial and ambiguous of the five protected
classes," Tina Zedginidze wrote in a related 2016 report. A clarification by Sessions
could affect a range of asylum claims, including those based on gender and gang
violence.
Archi Pyati, chief of policy at the
non-profit Tahirih Justice Center, ripped Sessions for failing to disclose
details about the case at hand. "While lawyers across the country have
been invited to provide input to this potentially momentous decision, the AG's
office is refusing to provide any information about the underlying case,
leaving advocates grasping in the dark," he said. "These procedural shenanigans
are entirely inappropriate in the development of legal precedent - especially
when the lives of thousands of vulnerable individuals fleeing persecution are
on the line." [POLITICO's Morning Shift,
March 9, 2018]
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| JUDICIARY |
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| READ |
 |
| GAMES |
HAVE A FEW TIERS: The FAA is planning
a four-tiered approach to remote drone identification and tracking, outlined at
a drone conference this week. Small drones flown in pre-approved sites wouldn't
need any special equipment, while all other models would, either on the ground
or on the drone itself, to broadcast its identification or location. It's a
potential solution to concerns raised by law enforcement about drones being flown
where they shouldn't be, innocently or otherwise. A White House official also
announced this week that they're working on legislation allowing DHS and law
enforcement agencies to take down drones on their own if they pose a threat.
No soup for you: The hope is that this
approach will satisfy both recreational users, who point to a "model
aircraft" exemption in drone law, and commercial drone operators who want
everyone obeying the same rules of the road. That exemption may not be long for
this world: Both acting FAA Administrator Dan Elwell and a staffer from the
Senate Commerce Committee mentioned at the conference that they hope to
"revisit" it in the pending FAA reauthorization bill, S. 1405 (115).
Step up: In a video message to the conference Thursday, Chao called the
response to the drone integration pilot program, which has attracted 149
applications, "especially gratifying." She said the department is on
track to announce the first 10 participants in May. The program allows cities
and states to loosen drone laws on their own. Chao also urged the audience to
"step up and help educate the public about the benefits of this new
technology and to address legitimate public concerns."
PAYING THEIR WAY: The Drone Advisory Committee
is meeting today to discuss, among other things, how to fund the FAA's work.
Drones don't pay fees to the agency like manned aircraft do, but they're taking
up an increasingly large share of its bandwidth. [POLITICO's
Morning Transportation, March 9, 2018]
OMNIBUS LIKELY TO INCLUDE SPENDING FLEXIBILITY FOR DoD, House
Appropriations Chairman Rodney Frelinghuysensays, via Connor: "A
full-year government funding bill will likely allow the Pentagon to more
flexibly spend a deluge of extra funding in the final months of the fiscal
year, House Appropriations Chairman Rodney Frelinghuysen said today.
''I think we have something,'
Frelinghuysen (R-N.J.) told POLITICO today. 'A lot more money's going to be
coming to all the services.'
"In the weeks since
congressional leaders struck a budget deal that boosts total defense spending
to $700 billion for the current 2018 fiscal year, H.R. 1892 (115),
lawmakers and Pentagon officials have warned the Defense Department may not be
able to effectively spend the extra cash with half the year gone." [POLITICO's Morning Defense, March 9, 2018]
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| CYBERSECURITY |
NOT PULLING IT TOGETHER ON RUSSIA - The
federal government isn't up to snuff on coordination to counter Russian cyber
threats, the top U.S. general in Europe told the Senate Armed Services
Committee Thursday. "I don't believe there's an effective unification
across the interagency with the energy and the focus that we could
attain," said Gen. Curtis Scaparrotti, commander of the U.S. European
Command. He also told the panel that the United States needs a better
understanding of Russia's cyber infrastructure. "Yes, we're trying to map
that out," he said. "We're getting a better understanding of it. I
would not characterize it as a good picture at this point. Not satisfactory to
me." But Scaparrotti said he's taken note of some of Russia's targeting in
the United States. "I've seen activity related to, you know,
infrastructure, reconnaissance, etc., within the United States," he said.
"And I'll leave it at that."
It's not all bad news, though. Scaparrotti said
he's in a position to strengthen those weaknesses. "I have had my cyber
operations center reinforced substantially. We've made good progress," he
told the panel. "And, over the next two years, thanks to both the funding
here in Congress, as well as from CYBERCOM, that will continue to give me the skills
that I need in my cyber center." What's more: "I also, upon request,
have the authorities that I've asked for with respect to Russia over the past
year to 18 months." [POLITICO's Morning
Cybersecurity, March 9, 2018]
RETRO GRID - A
Senate panel on Thursday approved a bill that would create a pilot
program exploring old-fashioned solutions for protecting the electric grid from
cyberattacks. Lead sponsors Angus King and Jim Risch won the Senate Energy and
Natural Resources Committee's endorsement of their legislation (S. 79 ) by voice vote. Under the pilot
program, the National Laboratories would study whether analog or human-operated
systems would be safer against cyber threats, inspired by Ukraine's 2015
experience where an attack was mitigated by the nation's manual operation of
the grid. "There is a clear, demonstrable need to develop techniques and
technologies to better secure our grid from cyber vulnerabilities," Risch
said. [POLITICO's Morning Cybersecurity, March 9, 2018]
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| FIRST LADY MELANIA TRUMP |
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| U.S. AGRICULTURE |
ROBERTS' FARM BILL TIMETABLE: Senate
Agriculture Chairman Pat Roberts hinted Wednesday that he is gearing up for an
April farm bill - the most specific the Kansas Republican has been so far about
the timing of the sweeping bill.
Roberts acknowledged that Congress has a lengthy to-do list this
spring. But on Wednesday he outlined about his committee's efforts to draft a
farm bill, which appear to be ramping up. He said that his staff is already
sharing legislative language with the minority staff members. Roberts also said
he would soon be meeting with ranking member Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.) to discuss
the bill.
"Staff is meeting these next couple of weeks," he
added. "I know they're doing the same thing in the House."
Roberts said that there were more than 60 amendments last farm
bill cycle yet the upper chamber was able to get it through the full Senate in
two days. He added, however, that Congress has several other pressing
priorities, including passing an omnibus spending bill later this month and
addressing school safety concerns.
Is the House still going first? Roberts
was asked if he still expects the House Agriculture Committee will be first to
release its version of the farm bill as has been widely expected. "I don't
know that," he said, adding: "Y'all ask me, 'Give me a specific
date.' I can't do that. 'When?' Well, I think early April. I had hoped March,
but we need to get it right and we need the time to get it right."
End of the first quarter coming quick: Over
on the House side, Chairman Mike Conaway has long suggested his goal is to
release a farm bill by the end of the first quarter. With few days left on the
Congressional calendar this month, that self-imposed deadline is quickly
approaching. [POLITICO's Morning
Agriculture , March 8, 2018]
The predicament: The section in need of fixing
is known as Section 199A, a special deduction for agricultural co-ops that
Thune and Sen. John Hoeven (R-N.D.) hastily added to the tax overhaul in the
final rounds of negotiations in order to preserve certain benefits in place
under the previous tax code.
The language allows farmers to deduct up to 20 percent of their
gross sales to cooperatives - a more lucrative tax break than
if they were to sell to a privately held grain elevator or other type of
company, which would allow a smaller deduction of 20 percent of a farmer's
income.
Thune, Hoeven and House GOP leadership have been working with
the National Council of Farmer Cooperatives and National Grain and Feed
Association on a solution to avoid unbalance in the marketplace. The parties
were looking at reverting back to the old deduction for co-ops, known as
Section 199, which allowed a roughly 9 percent tax break. Co-ops often passed
that on to their farmer members. . [POLITICO's
Morning Agriculture , March 8, 2018]
LAYING OUT A PLAN: Senate Democrats, looking for
$1 trillion to pay for infrastructure investments, rolled out a proposal to hike some of the taxes that just got cut. The
planks of that plan, Pro Tax's Toby Eckert reports, is pushing the corporate
rate up from 21 percent to 25 percent and the top individual rate back to 39.6
percent, expanding the Alternative Minimum Tax, taxing carried interest as
ordinary income and rolling back the estate tax parameters.
Democrats acknowledged that their proposal was largely a
political marker aimed at this fall, and Republicans rolled their eyes at the
idea of giving back any tax cuts. But the proposal, along with a recent
plan to especially target the new tax law's international changes from
Rep. Lloyd Doggett (D-Texas) and Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), does give a sense of how Democrats would
seek to chip away at the new tax cuts. [POLITICO's
Morning Tax, March 8, 2018]
Cold water: During a telephone town
hall with the
conservative group Americans for Prosperity Wednesday evening, House Speaker
Paul Ryan said, "Well, we're not going to raise gas taxes... There are
some people who are talking about that, but the last thing we want to do is
pass historic tax relief in December and then undo that, so we are not going to
raise gas taxes." [POLITICO's Morning Transportation, March 8, 2018]
SO WHO'S WINNING? What if there are even some
divisions within the parties on that question? Not One Penny, the coalition of
progressive groups at the forefront of the fight against the tax bill, is out
with a new memo this morning arguing that support for the tax bill has started
to plateau - after rising from what all sides basically agree was historically
low levels. "Progressives should capitalize on this opportunity to define
the law on our terms: that middle class Americans should not have the burden of
financing tax breaks for millionaires, billionaires, and wealthy
corporations," writes Bryan Bennett, the coalition's polling adviser.
Though to be fair: One finding, which could point to the law's
popularity still having room to grow, is that large majorities still haven't
seen much in the way of benefits. Stefan Hankin, a Democratic pollster, also
wrote this week that his side was losing the messaging war , and that his polling found that a plurality of voters
backed the tax cut. This part is contrary to lots of the conventional wisdom
surrounding the bill: "What may have been a surprise to many, and one of
the main reasons why Democrats are not winning the messaging war, is the fact
that most Americans view lowering taxes on corporations and the extremely
wealthy as beneficial to themselves." [POLITICO's
Morning Tax, March 9, 2018]
WAIT A SECOND: Sen. Ron Wyden of
Oregon, the top Democrat on the Finance Committee and a longtime opponent of
broader state power to collect sales tax on out-of-state online purchases,
is none too pleased about
the discussions in the House to add an online sales tax bill to the omnibus,
your Morning Tax author reports. Wyden, whose home state has no sales tax,
accused House Republicans of "plotting to sneak a massive internet tax
increase into a completely unrelated federal spending bill."
Rep. Kristi Noem (R-S.D.)
has been leading that House effort, but she might have even less time for lobbying than
first thought. House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.)
said Thursday that he hopes to vote on the spending bill next week, a full week
ahead of the March 23 deadline.
The Tax Foundation, which has
taken something of a middle ground on the online sales tax case the Supreme
Court has taken, also took some issue with Wyden's statement. John Buhl, a
spokesman for the group, said it's understandable that Wyden would be worried
about burdening Oregon companies, given that the state has no sales tax.
"However, the U.S. Supreme Court is poised to act on this issue. If
Congress doesn't take legislative action to provide some safeguards and
standards, it's likely that we could see states pursue sales tax collections
even more aggressively in the future," Buhl said. [POLITICO's Morning Tax, March 9,2018]
GOP Congress plans to strip protections for
thousands of acres of 800-year-old trees in Tongass National Forest.
14 days. That's all the time we've got left to stop Congress from
letting timber companies clearcut thousands of acres of Alaska's
17-million-acre Tongass National Forest, reducing 800-year-old trees to
stumps.
We've learned that Big Timber-backed Senators like Lisa Murkowski
plan to strip Tongass protection -- just to open up more old-growth timber for
sale to China, South Korea and Japan.
This can't happen.
We all have to stand up for Tongass and the 70,000 people who call
it home. But with only a handful of days to stop Congress from throwing open
these glacial fjords and lush valleys to mulchers and masticators,
Enacted in 2001 with broad public support, the Roadless Rule is
considered the last century's most significant forest conservation measure. The
Rule has saved not only millions in taxpayer dollars, but the 17-million-acre
"Crown Jewel" of the National Forest System.
If Murkowski and her friends succeed, the planet's largest intact
coastal temperate rainforest -- home to brown bears, coho salmon, and the
world's biggest bald eagle population -- could be lost forever. The felling of
these majestic 800-year-old trees will hurt Alaska's tourism and fishing
industries and accelerate climate change.
Roughly the size of West Virginia, the Tongass National
Forest is the largest national forest in the U.S., and indigenous
Alaskans, including the Tlingit, Haida, and Tsimshian, have continuously
inhabited the Tongass for more than 10,000 years. Living off the land is both a
cultural tradition and an economic necessity.
But Alaskans' way of life -- not to mention more than $1 billion
in tourism-related economic benefit and the state's burgeoning wild seafood and
cottage food enterprises -- are threatened by politicians beholden to Big
Timber.
It's up to us to protect the Tongass before its watersheds,
snow-capped mountains and old-growth forests are decimated by unsustainable
logging. And with Murkowski and her Big Timber-backed allies poised to
strip the forest of crucial protection in 14 days, we don't have a moment to
waste.
With determination,
Michael Brune
Executive Director
Sierra Club
Executive Director
Sierra Club
NOTE: The news sources here vary. Not all sources have the same credibility, but in an effort to share some different perspectives, they are included here. This compendium itself cannot claim to be unbiased. Please take into consideration where these different perspectives originate in assessing their value. Thank you
NOTE: I have no official connection to any organization from which information is shared.. Occasionally, I post informational material and/or an opportunity to donate or join as a "community service" announcement. These again are shared for their varying perspectives.
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