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☆ Ahead of Zelenskiy address, U.S. Senate backs new ambassador to Russia
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-21 | by ( Patricia Zengerle | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

WASHINGTON, Dec 21 (Reuters) - The U.S. Senate on Wednesday confirmed Lynne Tracy as President Joe Biden's nominee to be ambassador to Russia, hours before Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy was to give a rare wartime address to a joint meeting of Congress. Tracy, a career diplomat and current ambassador to Armenia, will be the first woman to serve as U.S. ambassador to Russia. It was not immediately clear when she will assume the post, because Russia must agree to accept her. Washington has been sending a steady supply of weapons and economic assistance to Zelenskiy's government as Ukraine fights Russian troops. Moscow has an ambassador in Washington, Anatoly Antonov.

☆ Ahead of Zelenskyy address, U.S. Senate backs new ambassador to Russia
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-21 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Ambassador to Armenia Lynne Tracy testifies before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee during her confirmation hearing to be the next ambassador to Russia in the Dirksen Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill on November 30, 2022 in Washington, DC. The U.S. Senate on Wednesday confirmed Lynne Tracy as President Joe Biden's nominee to be ambassador to Russia, hours before Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was to give a rare wartime address to a joint meeting of Congress. Tracy, a career diplomat and current ambassador to Armenia, will be the first woman to serve as U.S. ambassador to Russia. It was not immediately clear when she will assume the post, because Russia must agree to accept her. Washington has been sending a steady supply of weapons and economic assistance to Zelenskyy's government as Ukraine fights Russian troops.

That journey hit a milestone Monday, when Congress passed a law named after Salas' son, Daniel Anderl. "We can't forget that Judge Salas was not just targeted for being a judge. "Judge Salas and her family were victims of a horrific hate crime." Congress ultimately passed the Daniel Anderl Judicial Security and Privacy Act on Thursday as part of the annual defense authorization bill. Marshals Service to hire additional analysts, security specialists and other personnel to help prevent threats to federal judges.

It would assign over $17.6 billion in Medicaid funds to Puerto Rico over the next five years. That temporarily changed after the pandemic, when Congress passed legislation increasing Medicaid funding by 6% to states and U.S. territories. The current bill seeks to increase the federal government’s share of Medicaid costs paid to Puerto Rico to 76 cents. The bill's failure would also trigger a significant decrease in the allotment Puerto Rico gets to fund its Medicaid program. Since the start of the pandemic, Puerto Rico has received roughly $3 billion annually for its Medicaid program based on an interpretation of the Medicaid funding cap provision from Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

The Daniel Anderl Judicial Security and Privacy Act, named for the son of a federal judge who was fatally shot in 2020, was attached to the annual must-pass defense policy bill that the Senate endorsed 83-11. The defense bill passed the U.S. House of Representatives last week and now heads to President Joe Biden for his signature. The judicial security measure, which the federal judiciary backed, had long languished in Congress before its supporters were able to tack it on to the National Defense Authorization Act. The measure remained in the 4,000-plus page defense bill despite criticism from public interest groups who say it could chill free speech and undermine efforts to scrutinize judges' conflicts of interest. Sponsors of the bill, including Senator Bob Menendez, a New Jersey Democrat, say it is narrowly tailored to protect judges.

☆ A student-loan company's 'abysmal servicing' for public servants requires a federal investigation, a Democratic lawmaker says
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-16 | by ( Ayelet Sheffey | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Sen. Bob Menendez urged the CFPB to investigate student-loan company MOHELA. MOHELA manages accounts for public servants, and it has been criticized for bad customer service. Borrowers have reported hours-long wait times and delays processing PSLF paperwork. On Thursday, New Jersey Sen. Bob Menendez criticized student-loan company MOHELA during a Senate Banking committee hearing on the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and called for the agency to investigate its practices. "I cannot overstate the negative economic impacts caused by MOHELA's abysmal servicing for public service employees."

REUTERS/Tom BrennerWASHINGTON, Dec 15 (Reuters) - Over 200 advocates from around the United States converged on Capitol Hill this week with an 11th-hour mission: persuade lawmakers to provide citizenship to "Dreamer" immigrants who illegally entered the United States as children. Addinelly Moreno Soto, a 31-year-old communications aide who came to the United States from Mexico at age 3, trekked to the Capitol from San Antonio with her husband hoping to meet with her state's U.S. Senator John Cornyn, an influential Republican whose support could help advance a deal that has eluded Congress for more than a decade. The end-of-year push comes as a window is closing for Congress to find a compromise to protect "Dreamers", many of whom speak English and have jobs, families and children in the United States but lack permanent status. Tillis himself has been skeptical about whether Congress will have time to pass the legislation before the year’s end.

☆ What to know about a judicial privacy bill Congress is passing with a major defense package
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-14 | by ( Tierney Sneed | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +11 min

But the legislation is also rankling court watchdogs who contend the bill could complicate efforts to scrutinize the judicial branch for ethics issues. The bill does not displace the ethical disclosure requirements judges already face, the congressional aide noted to CNN. And it extends the threat-monitoring programs that are being offered to Article III judges to administrative judges as well. Now that the bill has been added to the National Defense Authorization Act, a massive defense package that Congress passes annually, Paul’s options for scuttling it are limited. “Because, if I am sued, someone is going to be bringing it to a federal judge.

WASHINGTON, Dec 9 (Reuters) - Thursday's release of U.S. basketball star Brittney Griner in exchange for a convicted Russian arms dealer has resurfaced an old question: Do prisoner swaps do more harm than good? The details of Griner's release highlight the painful trade-offs confronting the Biden administration. In one such case in 2016, North Korea detained American college student Otto Warmbier during a dispute with the international community over that country's missile launches. Many of the families argue that the U.S. should be willing negotiate and discount the argument that prisoner swaps lead more countries to grab Americans. Those hard choices meant Washington could either leave Whelan in Russian custody or else return empty-handed after months of negotiations.

☆ U.S. military bill features up to $10 billion to boost Taiwan
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-07 | by ( Patricia Zengerle | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] Flags of Taiwan and U.S. are placed for a meeting in Taipei, Taiwan March 27, 2018. Beijing responded angrily when the Senate Foreign Relations Committee approved broader Taiwan legislation in September despite concerns within President Joe Biden's administration that the bill could go too far in heightening tensions with China. The $858 billion military policy bill is expected to pass Congress and be signed into law this month. The "Taiwan Enhanced Resilience Act" included in the NDAA authorizes appropriations for military grant assistance for Taiwan up to $2 billion per year from 2023 through 2027, if the U.S. secretary of state certifies that Taiwan increased its defense spending. It also includes a new foreign military financing loan guarantee authority and other measures to fast-track Taiwan's weapons procurement, as well as creation of a new training program to improve Taiwan's defense.

Rep. Pete Aguilar, a California Democrat, is taking on the highest-level job ever held by a Latino in the House, the party's No. 3 position in House leadership, from No. His colleagues shouted, "We want Petey Pie," a nickname from his grandmother, during elections, according to a source who was in the room during the closed-doors leadership elections. “I think it’s important to have a Latino to be in the top three in House leadership. Some have seen him as potentially becoming the first Latino House speaker.

☆ Biden nominee to be ambassador to Russia pledges to prioritize prisoner release
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-30 | by ( Patricia Zengerle | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

WASHINGTON, Nov 30 (Reuters) - President Joe Biden's nominee to be ambassador to Russia, Lynne Tracy, pledged on Wednesday to make the release of detained Americans a priority if she is confirmed to one of most important, and challenging, U.S. diplomatic posts. Tracy, a career diplomat and current ambassador to Armenia, promised to visit detained Americans, including basketball star Brittney Griner and former Marine Paul Whelan. It was not immediately clear when Tracy would assume the post, if she is confirmed as Russia must agree to accept her. A Russian speaker, she would be the first woman to serve as U.S. ambassador to Russia. "She's tested, she's eminently qualified," said Senator Rob Portman, who represents Tracy's home state of Ohio and introduced her at the hearing.

The United States on Saturday granted Chevron a six-month license to operate in Venezuela, reinstating oil trading privileges it had, while preventing exchanges of cash and requiring the crude cargoes go to U.S. refiners. Executives at Venezuelan state firm PDVSA initially welcomed the authorization for a partial return to the United States, once the country's most important market. In addition, European oil companies Eni (ENI.MI) and Repsol won U.S. approvals to take Venezuelan crude for debt repayment. Chevron's Venezuelan oil cargoes face potential seizures by creditors that have arbitration claims and court judgments, said trading experts and lawyers. Washington placed tight reins on the oil imports to win support from a Congress skeptical of deals with Maduro.

☆ Biden eases Venezuela sanctions as opposition talks resume
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-26 | by ( The Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +2 min

WASHINGTON — The Biden administration on Saturday eased some oil sanctions on Venezuela in an effort to support newly restarted negotiations between President Nicolás Maduro’s government and its opposition. The Treasury Department is allowing Chevron to resume “limited” energy production in Venezuela after years of sanctions that have dramatically curtailed oil and gas profits that have flowed to Maduro’s government. Under the new policy, profits from the sale of energy would be directed to paying down debt owed to Chevron, rather than providing profits to PDVSA. Talks between the Maduro government and the “Unitary Platform” resumed in Mexico City on Saturday after more than a yearlong pause. The official said the U.S. would closely monitor Maduro’s commitment to the talks and reserved the right to reimpose stricter sanctions or to continue to ease them depending on how the negotiations proceed.

BOLD PAC spent a record $6 million supporting the candidates in their races. There are currently 38 Latinos in Congress, 28 of them Democrats and 10 Republicans, according to the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials Educational Fund. After the elections, that number has increased to at least 45 in the next Congress that starts in January, with 34 Democrats and 11 Republicans, which would make it a record number of Latinos in Congress, according to NALEO. The Congressional Hispanic Caucus was founded as a bipartisan caucus, but as Republicans numbers grew, GOP members broke off and formed the Congressional Hispanic Conference. Talk to Latino voters early and recruit Latinos and Latinas to run and not just in majority Latino districts.

☆ Wife of Sen. Bob Menendez Draws Scrutiny in Federal Probe
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-18 | by ( Corinne Ramey | James Fanelli | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Bob Menendez has been a U.S. senator since 2006 and is chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Federal prosecutors investigating U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez are examining whether his wife received gifts or services from individuals who sought favors from the New Jersey politician, according to people familiar with the matter. The U.S. attorney’s office for the Southern District of New York has subpoenaed associates of Mr. Menendez’s wife, Nadine Arslanian , whom he married in 2020, the people said. Subpoenas issued in recent months have asked for information about both Ms. Arslanian and Mr. Menendez, according to the people.

☆ Memorable Moments From Nancy Pelosi’s Political Career
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-17 | by ( Ariel Zambelich | Natalie Andrews | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

November 14, 2002Mrs. Pelosi celebrates her victory in an intraparty election to be the new House minority leader for the 108th Congress with Reps. Robert Menendez and James Clyburn, making her the first woman to lead a party in the U.S. Congress. Alex Wong/Getty

☆ A fatal strike in Poland involving a 'Russian-made missile' could pose biggest test yet to Biden's vow to defend 'every inch' of NATO territory
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-16 | by ( John Haltiwanger | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Poland is a NATO member, and there's rampant speculation about the implications of this incident. The reported strike could pose a major test to Biden's vow to defend "every inch" of NATO territory. Biden's vow could be facing its biggest test yet following fatal strike in Poland, a NATO ally, that the Polish foreign ministry said involved a "Russian-made missile." "When it comes to our security commitments and Article 5 we've been crystal clear that we will defend every inch of NATO territory," Pentagon spokesperson Brig. To fire missiles at NATO territory!

☆ A top Senate Democrat warns that if Russia is behind the fatal strike in Poland then it's 'definitely an enlargement' of the Ukraine war and raises questions for NATO: report
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-15 | by ( John Haltiwanger | Lloyd Lee | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

A US intelligence official told The AP that Russian missiles landed in Poland and killed two people. Poland is a NATO member, which means an attack against it could trigger a response from allies. Sen. Bob Menendez told Politico that the attack could mark an escalation of the Ukraine war. Obviously, if it was intentional, that has all kinds of consequences to it," Menendez told Politico. It stipulates that an attack against one NATO country, such as Poland, is considered an attack against all members of the alliance.

☆ Erdogan says Republican Senate control would help Turkey's F-16 buy: media
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

ISTANBUL, Nov 12 (Reuters) - Turkey's effort to complete its purchase of F-16 jets would be "much easier" if Republicans end up controlling the U.S. Senate, President Tayyip Erdogan was quoted by Turkish media as saying on Saturday. "My hope is that the next month is filled with some good news and we progress in a very positive direction on the F-16 issue," state-run Anadolu and other media quoted Erdogan as telling reporters on a flight from Uzbekistan. "If the Republicans claim the few seats they need in Senate, things will be much easier for us." While the F-16 purchase has critics and supporters in both parties, Bob Menendez, Democratic chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, could stand in the way given his repeated criticism of Turkey's human rights record under Erdogan. Erdogan said in September that he had received "positive" feedback from two U.S. senators he met in New York on their potential support for the F-16 sale.

☆ Federal Prosecutors Probe New Jersey’s Sen. Bob Menendez
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-28 | by ( James Fanelli | Corinne Ramey | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

The Justice Department is investigating Sen. Bob Menendez , according to a representative for the New Jersey Democrat, five years after federal public-corruption charges against him fell apart. “Senator Menendez is aware of an investigation,” said Michael Soliman , a political consultant and adviser to Mr. Menendez, adding that he didn’t know the scope of the probe. “As always, should any official inquiries be made, the senator is available to provide any assistance that is requested of him or his office.”

Dozens of federal grand jury subpoenas have been issued in the past several months as part of the federal criminal investigation involving several people in New Jersey and the powerful Democratic chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Bob Menendez, three people familiar with the matter told NBC News. Two people familiar with the matter said one of the entities involved in the investigation is IS EG Halal of Edgewater, New Jersey. According to a filing by Lustberg, federal agents seized cellphones, computers, tablets, USB drives, business documents, notepads, a photo album, $5,943 dollars in cash, jewelry and Hana’s passport. The court filings do not specify why federal investigators conducted the search, and NBC News could not confirm whether it was tied to the current investigation involving Menendez. Federal prosecutors decided in 2018 not to retry him.

☆ Lawmakers urge tech CEOs to do more to help Iranian protesters circumvent internet censorship
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-28 | by ( Lauren Feiner | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

A bipartisan group of 13 lawmakers urged several U.S. tech CEOs to do more to help Iranian people stay connected to the internet as their government seeks to censor communications amid ongoing protests. The lawmakers said these types of tools would help Iranian citizens stay connected to the internet in secure ways amid government-imposed shutdowns and reduce their reliance on domestic infrastructure. The availability of multiple secure communications tools would make it harder for the Iranian regime to shut down all of them at once, they wrote. A Google spokesperson said in a statement the company is working on ways to "ensure continued access to generally available communications tools like Google Meet and our other Internet services." The Facebook-owner had made Instagram and WhatsApp available in Iran, but the services have been restricted by the government.

☆ Sen. Warren says big banks fail to prevent 'rampant' fraud on payment platform Zelle, urges CFPB to tighten regulations
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-27 | by ( Chelsey Cox | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

Truist reported 9,455 fraud and scam claims on Zelle in 2020 and 22,045 in 2021, according to the senator. Its customers are on track to make 160,977 scam and fraud claims on Zelle in 2022. The value of the scam and fraud claims received by PNC, Truist, U.S. Bank and Bank of America exceeded $90 million in 2020. The data that Wells Fargo released revealed that customers reported fraud and scams on Zelle at a nearly 2.5 times higher rate in 2022 than in 2019. "And that is more than twice as high for Wells customers compared to customers of other banks," Warren wrote.

WASHINGTON — Sen. Robert Menendez, D-N.J., is under federal criminal investigation by the U.S. Attorney's Office in Manhattan, according to two people familiar with the matter and a spokesperson for the senator. "Senator Menendez is aware of an investigation that was reported on today, however he does not know the scope of the investigation," Menendez’s adviser Michael Soliman said Wednesday in a statement. News of the investigation was first reported by the website Semafor. A spokesperson for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York declined to comment. He has served in the Senate since 2006 and previously served in the House.

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