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☆ Senator Warren, Other Democrats Ask Commerce to Extend Gun Export Pause, Increase Oversight - Letter
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-24 | by ( Jan. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +1 min

By Mike StoneWASHINGTON (Reuters) - Congressional Democrats, including Senator Elizabeth Warren, again asked the U.S. Commerce Department to curb assault weapon exports and increase oversight of gun exports after a Trump-era rule change eased firearms export laws, according to a letter sent on Tuesday and seen by Reuters. The Commerce Department began a 90-day pause in an October order to assess the "risk of firearms being diverted to entities or activities that promote regional instability, violate human rights, or fuel criminal activities." The Commerce Department could decide to make the halt on export licenses permanent, return to previous practices, or impose other permanent restrictions. The letter, which was signed by Warren and Senator Richard Durbin as well as U.S. It voiced support for returning export authority oversight to the Department of State from Commerce - something which changed under then-President Donald Trump's tenure.

Persons: Mike Stone WASHINGTON, Elizabeth Warren, Richard Durbin, Representatives Joaquin Castro, Norma Torres, Gina Raimondo, Donald Trump's, Mike Stone, Jonathan Oatis Organizations: Congressional, U.S . Commerce Department, Reuters, The Commerce Department, Commerce Department, Warren, Representatives, Department of State from, Commerce Locations: Department of State from Commerce, Washington

☆ UAW wins Democratic senators' support for joint venture battery workers
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-28 | by ( David Shepardson | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

WASHINGTON, July 28 (Reuters) - More than half of the Senate's Democrats are backing the United Auto Workers' push for higher wages and benefits for workers at Detroit Three automakers' joint venture battery plants, they said in a letter released on Friday. UAW leaders have sought to secure support from Washington as negotiations opened earlier this month, with UAW President Shawn Fain meeting with lawmakers and President Joe Biden last week. In their letter to the CEOs of the Detroit Three and battery joint ventures, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer joined Senators Sherrod Brown, Ron Wyden, Bernie Sanders, Richard Durbin and others in urging the automakers to embrace the joint venture battery workers before the current contract expires. Stellantis said it respects the UAW's right to organize future hourly employees at its joint venture battery facilities, adding: " The joint venture intends to offer very competitive wages and benefits." Last month, the union chief criticized $9.2 billion federal loan to a Ford/South Korea's SK On joint venture.

Persons: Shawn Fain, Joe Biden, Chuck Schumer, Sherrod Brown, Ron Wyden, Bernie Sanders, Richard Durbin, Ford, Stellantis, Jim Farley, Bill Ford, Biden, Biden's, Fain, David Shepardson, Susan Heavey Organizations: United Auto Workers, Detroit, automakers, General Motors, Ford Motor, Chrysler, UAW, Workers, EVs, SK On, South Korea's SK Innovation, Reuters, Ford, Korea's SK, LG Energy, Thomson Locations: United States, Washington, South, KS, Ohio

☆ Democratic lawmakers seek Supreme Court investigation into Clarence Thomas
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-27 | by ( Jonathan Allen | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Associate Justice Clarence Thomas, left, talks to Chief Justice John Roberts during the formal group photograph at the Supreme Court in Washington, DC, US, on Friday, Oct. 7, 2022. A group of 18 House Democrats wrote a letter to Chief Justice John Roberts Tuesday urging him to establish an independent investigative arm within the Supreme Court — and pressing for that office to probe Justice Clarence Thomas' relationship with a wealthy GOP donor. The Goldman letter recommends the establishment within the court of an "independent investigative body" that can provide transparency and accountability by probing "alleged ethical improprieties." After the Thomas story broke in April, Roberts declined Senate Judiciary Chairman Richard Durbin's request for him to appear before the panel to discuss Supreme Court ethics. Roberts is under no obligation to respond to the Goldman letter, much less create new institutions within the court.

Persons: Clarence Thomas, John Roberts, Dan Goldman, Roberts, ProPublica, Thomas, Harlan Crow's, Samuel Alito, Paul Singer, Neil Gorsuch, Greenberg Traurig, Goldman, Alito, Mitch McConnell, Justice Thomas, Richard Durbin's Organizations: Democrats, Rep, NBC, GOP, Politico, Democratic, Republican Locations: Washington , DC, Alaska, Ky

☆ Lawmakers Grapple Over Whether Supreme Court Needs an Ethics Code
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-02 | by ( Jess Bravin | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +1 min

Video from the 1991 confirmation hearing for Justice Clarence Thomas played at a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on Supreme Court ethics. Photo: Chip Somodevilla/Getty ImagesWASHINGTON—Senate Democrats on Tuesday faulted the Supreme Court’s ethics rules following news reports that Justice Clarence Thomas accepted luxury vacations from and sold real estate to a billionaire friend, as Republicans said that scrutiny of the justices was grounded in the court’s conservative supermajority overturning precedents such as Roe v. Wade. The forum was the Senate Judiciary Committee, where Chairman Richard Durbin (D., Ill.) moved ahead with a hearing on Supreme Court ethics even after Chief Justice John Roberts declined an invitation to testify. The chief justice instead sent a statement signed by all nine justices saying that while they have no binding code of conduct or internal compliance office, they nonetheless “follow the same general principles and statutory standards as other federal judges.”

The hearing, they said, would focus on "the need to restore confidence in the Supreme Court's ethical standards." "And if the court does not resolve this issue on its own, the committee will consider legislation to resolve it," they told Roberts. ProPublica reported on Thursday that Thomas accepted expensive trips from Republican donor and real estate magnate Harlan Crow over decades without disclosing them. Thomas defended the trips on Friday, saying he had been advised he was not required to report that type of "personal hospitality." Crow told ProPublica he had "never sought to influence Justice Thomas on any legal or political issue."

☆ Biden and Senate Democrats set to close out historic two years in judicial confirmations, pledging more
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-15 | by ( Phil Mattingly | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

Biden and Senate Democrats, even while holding the barest of majorities, confirmed 97 Article III judges over the last two years, including a Supreme Court justice, 28 circuit court judges and 68 district court judges, according to White House data obtained by CNN. “You can be sure that judges will remain a top priority in the Congress to come,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said. For Biden and other Democrats, the filling of federal judicial openings took on a new level of significance in the wake of the historically successful push by former President Donald Trump and Senate Republicans. While a Senate rule change easing the pathway to confirmation rapidly accelerated McConnell’s efforts in Trump’s final two years, the pace Biden and Senate Democrats have maintained make clear what officials continue to pledge will be followed by action: that judicial nominations will remain a top priority. Biden’s senior team and counsel’s office tightly coordinated with their Senate counterparts throughout first two years to prioritize the efforts.

☆ Fact Check-Dietary supplement bill would not let FDA ‘ban’ supplements, herbs
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-03 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

A proposed bill that calls for dietary supplement manufacturers to list their products with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is being misconstrued online by users who claim it will give the FDA new power to approve or ban supplements. The FDA can take action to remove dangerous or illegal supplements from the market, but it cannot approve or ban products before they are marketed. “Currently, dietary supplement companies are not required to provide this information to FDA, leaving the agency - and consumers writ large - without vital information needed to ensure safety and transparency into the dietary supplement marketplace.”VERDICTMissing context. The proposed bill would require dietary supplement manufacturers to report information about their products to the FDA. It would not give the FDA a new power to approve or ban products before they are marketed.

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