First NYC then the nation and now the globe: expanding beyond nationalism?
 |
| I Wonder What the King Is Doing Tonight? |
 |
| ENERGY |
A new biofuels bill may be tried: Sen. John Cornyn of Texas hopes to float a new bill to overhaul the
Renewable Fuel Standard within the next few weeks, but he still doesn't have
corn-state senators on board. The move is an effort to end the skirmish that
ratcheted up during last year's failed effort to alter the RFS. The impasse
also comes after Sen. Ted Cruz put a hold on Trump cabinet nominees to try to win
concessions for oil refinery firms. [POLITICOS Morning Agriculture, January
19, 2018]
 |
FOOD
& DRUG ADMINISTRATION
|
FDA PLEDGES FOOD RECALL FIXES: After the Food
and Drug Administration was assailed by the Inspector General over its poor
handling of food recalls, the agency said Thursday it was undertaking major
improvements. The agency published a 12-page draft guidance, and described in a
blog how it would improve its notification system. Among the changes: the
agency would include in its weekly enforcement report items it was investigating
for recalls, wrote Douglas Stearn, FDA's director in the Office of Enforcement
and Import Operations, which is part of the Office of Regulatory Affairs. Even
though recall classifications can take weeks or even months, "FDA has
decided that the public would benefit by having recall information about
FDA-regulated products as soon as possible, even though further evaluation
remains to be done," he wrote.
Grocer information -
sometimes: Later on Thursday, FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb
released a statement saying his agency
would start disclosing, in certain cases, which stores sold the food that was
later recalled - something that the USDA has done for many years. "In some
situations, identifying additional information - such as specific stores that
may have sold a potentially unsafe, recalled food - may help," said
Gottlieb.
More changes ahead: Gottlieb hinted
that 2018 may bring even more changes to FDA's recall system, saying: "The
draft guidance issued today is just the first in a series of policy steps we'll
take this year as part of a broader action plan to further improve our
oversight of food safety and how we help implement the recall process." [POLITICO's Morning Agriculture, January 19, 2018
- No to Brazil meat: The U.S. Cattlemen's Association has expressed that it
strongly opposes reopening meat imports from Brazil, after a food-safety audit
Brazil failed in several categories. [POLITICOS Morning Agriculture, January
19, 2018]
Hog slaughter proposal: The USDA Food
Safety and Inspection Service has proposed to amend the federal inspection
regulations for hog slaughter plants. Companies could opt in to a new system
and would face more offline inspection tasks but in exchange, they would not be
subject to maximum line speeds. [POLITICOS Morning Agriculture, January
22, 2018]
 |
| HOUSE INTELLIGENCE COMMITTEE |
 |
| IMMIGRATION |
STILL PUSHING FOR GUESTWORKER BILL: As
the budget battle continues, Rep. Bob Goodlatte's GOP
immigration bill is still floating around. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi urged
Speaker Paul Ryan this week to bring Goodlatte's bill - and a bipartisan
proposal from Reps. Will Hurd and Pete Aguilar - to a
vote, as many Democrats believe the House GOP bill would fail against the
bipartisan one. House Freedom Caucus Chairman Mark Meadows (R-N.C.) said Thursday evening that
GOP leaders agreed to push for a "conservative" immigration bill and
would begin to whip up votes for a measure from House Judiciary Chairman Bob Goodlatte(R-Va.),
although that legislation is unlikely to receive support in the Senate.
Refresher on
Goodlatte's bill: Goodlatte's contentious H-2A bill would essentially scrap
the current program and allow agricultural employers - such as meat processors
and dairy farmers - in need of year-round work to apply. That effectively
scraps the current program, which offers guestworker visas for temporary and
seasonal agricultural jobs that last under 10 months. [POLITICOS Morning
Agriculture, January 19, 2018]
 |
| JUDICIARY |
How a Florida judge is
keeping the mentally ill out of jail. Judge
Steve Leifman has helped cut the Miami-Dade County jail population by more than
half in the past decade by offering criminal offenders with mental illness and
drug addiction help instead of jail time. "These are illnesses," he
told POLITICO's Brianna Ehley. "These people shouldn't be locked up. They
should be getting help." [POLITICO Pulse, January
2, 2018]
 |
| WHIMSEY |
 |
| JARED KUSHNER “Jack of All Trades” |
 |
| MIKE PENCE Vice President of the U.S. |
The U.S. relationship
with China will be the world's most consequential in 2018. The two big issues,
straight from President Trump:
- "China's
hurting us very badly on trade,
but I have been soft on China because the only thing more important to me
than trade is war. O.K.?" he said in an interview with the New York Times.
"Caught RED HANDED - very disappointed that China is allowing oil to go
into North Korea. There will never be a friendly solution to the North Korea
problem if this continues to happen!" he wrote on Twitter. [Axios, China: 7 big things to watch in
2018, December 30, 2017]
"President Trump and President Xi
acknowledged the resumption of inter-Korean dialogue and expressed hope that it
might prompt a change in North Korea's destructive behavior. President Trump
committed to sustain the United States-led global campaign of maximum pressure
to compel North Korea to commit to denuclearization." [Playbook Power Briefing, January 16, 2018]
 |
H.R.
MCMASTER
Head of the National
Security Council |
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.
Any books listed are random or topic-related to something else in the post. Think of these as a "library bookshelf" to browse. They are shared for informational or entertainment value only, not as being recommended
Comments
Post a Comment