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☆ Russian president's behavior is 'speeding' the energy transition, U.S. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse says
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-17 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailRussian president's behavior is 'speeding' the energy transition, U.S. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse saysSheldon Whitehouse, U.S. member of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works, says Russian President Putin’s behavior is "speeding" the energy transition.

Jan 30 (Reuters) - A U.S. appeals court on Monday shot down Johnson & Johnson's (JNJ.N) attempt to offload tens of thousands of lawsuits over its talc products into bankruptcy court. The appeals court ruling revives those lawsuits. Monday's decision by the U.S. 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia dismissed the bankruptcy filed by the J&J subsidiary in 2021. The appeals court decision could force companies considering the strategy to more carefully consider its risks, two legal experts said. The Texas two-step has garnered criticism from Democratic lawmakers in Washington, and inspired proposed legislation that would severely restrict the practice.

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☆ Senators push for airline passenger protections after holiday travel meltdown
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-31 | by ( Leslie Josephs | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Two Senate Democrats on Tuesday reintroduced legislation to strengthen airline passenger protections following a year of travel disruptions that was capped by chaos that stranded thousands of people over the December holidays. The Airline Passengers' Bill of Rights, which is co-sponsored by Sens. Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., is planning to hold a hearing on the latest airline disruptions in the coming weeks. The bills also follow a push by the Biden administration for stricter airline passenger rules, including for traveler refunds. Airlines for America, said its members, the largest U.S. carriers, "abide by — and frequently exceed – all DOT regulations regarding consumer protections."

The U.S. government’s system for labeling and tracking classified documents appears to be broken, with potentially serious consequences for the country’s national security, lawmakers, former officials and scholars said Tuesday. Democratic and Republican lawmakers said there was a “systemic failure” if both the Obama and Trump administrations could not keep track of classified documents after their tenures ended. I don’t know how anybody ends up with classified documents. “We clearly don’t have an effective management system to oversee where classified documents go and how they’re retrieved,” said Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah. Goitein and others said the recent discoveries of classified documents present a political opportunity for the White House, and possibly Congress, to at last tackle the problem.

☆ U.S. lawmakers praise Zelenskiy for fighting corruption, back continued aid
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-24 | by ( Patricia Zengerle | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

WASHINGTON, Jan 24 (Reuters) - Democratic and Republican U.S. lawmakers praised Ukraine's government on Tuesday for taking swift action against corruption and insisted that U.S. military and humanitarian aid to President Volodymyr Zelenskiy's government should continue. We expect that President Zelenskiy will follow through with a promise he made that Ukraine is going to change on the corruption front," Republican Senator Lindsey Graham told a news conference days after returning from Kyiv. "We're confident this is a first step in a long journey to change the way business is done," Graham said. "It demonstrates what President Zelenskiy has told us, that there will be zero tolerance for fraud or waste," he said. Democratic Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, who was also on the Kyiv trip, praised the Ukrainian military for keeping track of equipment provided by Washington.

☆ Sen. Lindsey Graham said he's 'tired of the s*** show' and that the US and Germany should send tanks to Ukraine: 'World order is at stake'
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-22 | by ( Kelsey Vlamis | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

After meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Graham urged the West to send tanks. To achieve that goal, the Ukrainian military needs tanks," Graham said during a press conference after the meeting and on Twitter. "I am tired of the shit show surrounding who is going to send tanks and when are they going to send them. "To the Germans: Send tanks to Ukraine because they need them. It is in your own national interest that Putin loses in Ukraine," Graham said Friday.

☆ Trump's campaign plans to push Facebook to let him back on the site — and use House Republicans' power as leverage: report
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-18 | by ( Chris Panella | Madison Hall | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Trump's campaign plans to leverage House Republicans' power to get his Facebook account reinstated early, according to NBC News. A Trump campaign adviser told NBC News that "keeping Trump off Facebook just looks political." Trump was suspended after the Capitol riot two years ago, with Facebook planning to review his suspension this year. A Trump adviser told NBC News that they plan to use House Republicans to pressure Meta into letting him access his account if Meta doesn't reinstate him. "If Facebook wants to have this fight, fine, but the House is leverage, and keeping Trump off Facebook just looks political," the adviser told NBC News.

Republican state lawmakers and members of Congress are attempting to stifle the growth of sustainable investing and to punish corporate efforts at climate-related financial risk management. This is a closely coordinated political effort driven by a network of dark money organizations fronting for climate denial groups and fossil fuel interests. This is usually anonymous dark money, and it is often traceable back to the fossil fuel industry. They are attempting to bully financial institutions and regulators into ignoring market demand and market risk. Imagine elected officials telling investment firms they cannot offer large-cap or small-cap funds, or emerging market funds, or value funds — or, for that matter, sector funds with exposure to energy companies.

☆ It's still not clear what the Senate Ethics Committee is doing with a 2-year-old January 6 probe into Ted Cruz and Josh Hawley
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-06 | by ( Bryan Metzger | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Democrats lodged an ethics complaint against Josh Hawley and Ted Cruz nearly two years ago. No one's heard anything since from the Senate Ethics Committee, which one advocate calls a "black hole." Democratic Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island led the complaint against Cruz and Hawley. Democratic Sen. Chris Coons of Delaware and Republican Sen. James Lankford of Oklahoma, the chairman and vice-chairman of the Senate Ethics Committee. Little has emerged in the last two years to suggest that Cruz and Hawley were intimately involved in the assault on the Capitol.

☆ Facebook considering whether to allow Trump to return, decision expected in ‘coming weeks’
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-02 | by ( Donie O'Sullivan | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

CNN —Facebook’s parent company Meta is considering whether to allow former President Donald Trump back on to its platforms and is due to announce its decision in the coming weeks, a company spokesperson told CNN on Monday. Trump was banned from Meta’s platforms Facebook and Instagram after the attack on the US Capitol in January 2021. Nick Clegg, Meta’s president of global affairs, said he is overseeing the decision. In a blog post in June 2021, Clegg explained how the company would consider allowing Trump back on its platforms. “Based on Meta’s own statement on standards for allowing Trump back on the platform, his account should continue to be restricted.”

☆ Pressure builds to keep Donald Trump off Facebook ahead of his possible reinstatement
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-24 | by ( Nicole Gaudiano | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Left-leaning groups point to his Truth Social posts pushing false election fraud claims and QAnon content. Another study by Accountable Tech found more than 350 of Trump's Truth Social posts would violate Facebook's safety guidelines. He has said prefers Truth Social. "His activity on Truth Social speaks to his potential activity if he's allowed back on some of these more mainstream platforms, like Facebook," Gogarty said. Democratic members of Congress, meanwhile, are urging Meta to uphold Trump's suspension beyond January, arguing that the risk of violence persists.

☆ Democratic lawmakers urge Meta not to restore Trump's Facebook account in January
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-14 | by ( Brian Fung | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

The letter from California Rep. Adam Schiff and Rhode Island Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse cites numerous news reports about Trump’s postings on Truth Social, the former president’s Twitter alternative. On Truth Social, Trump has also reportedly amplified adherents of the QAnon conspiracy theory that Meta banned from its platforms in 2020, the lawmakers wrote. “For Meta to credibly maintain a legitimate election integrity policy, it is essential that your company maintain its platform ban on former president Trump,” the letter said. The company suspended Trump for two years after the Jan. 6 Capitol riots, over concerns he had fomented violence. A key metric in determining whether Trump’s account will be restored will be whether there is a continued risk of real-world violence, Meta has said.

☆ Democratic senators won't say whether the party should support Kyrsten Sinema's re-election in 2024
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-12 | by ( Bryan Metzger | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

"It doesn't change my life one bit," said Democratic Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island. "I don't think anybody's announcing anything," Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly of Arizona told reporters, saying he didn't want to get into "hypotheticals." Democratic Sen. Gary Peters of Michigan, the head of the DSCC for 2022, also declined to say whether the party should back Sinema. But she too declined to say whether the party should back Sinema in 2024, waving as the elevator closed. Asked by reporters on Monday what he made of Sinema's announcement, Democratic Sen. Chris Coons of Delaware dramatically shrugged as he boarded an elevator.

Come next year, Democrats will have unilateral subpoena power in many committees to compel investigative targets to provide documents and testimony — without needing GOP support. “Our committees will have greater oversight ability, subpoena power. Subpoena power can deal with corporate corruption and inequities, and other problems throughout the country,” he said. “And if using subpoena power becomes necessary, then that’s something we can do.”Other Democrats floated industries that could be the targets of the party's subpoena powers. “But having subpoena power for CEOs and billionaires who think they don’t have to come to Congress to explain themselves will be very valuable.”

☆ How an arcane 96-year-old law stopped the rail strike
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-02 | by ( Chris Isidore | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

The Railway Labor Act was passed in 1926 as one of the very first labor laws in the nation. Because of the law, the House was able to vote Wednesday to impose unpopular contracts on four rail unions whose members have already rejected the terms, followed by a vote by the Senate vote late Thursday that did the same. The Railway Labor Act, passed in 1926, is the reason Congress could intervene this week to block a strike by freight railroad unions. But under the Railway Labor Act, management can fall back on hopes that Congress will give them the deal it wants. When he served in the Senate, Biden voted against an earlier effort to impose a contract on the rail unions to keep them on the job.

☆ Supreme Court’s Lawyer Dismisses Ethics Allegations Against Justice Samuel Alito
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-29 | by ( Jess Bravin | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Justice Samuel Alito wrote the majority opinion in Burwell v. Hobby Lobby, which found that some firms could deny coverage of contraceptives to female employees. WASHINGTON—The Supreme Court’s staff lawyer rejected allegations that Justice Samuel Alito may have disclosed to conservative activists the outcome of a 2014 case on contraceptive access before it was published. “There is nothing to suggest that Justice Alito’s actions violated ethics standards,” Ethan Torrey , the Supreme Court’s legal counsel, wrote in a letter responding to queries from two Democratic critics of the court’s ethical practices, Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island and Rep. Hank Johnson of Georgia.

The 2014 decision in the case called Burwell v. Hobby Lobby, like the June abortion decision, represented a victory for religious conservatives. The Hobby Lobby decision exempted family-owned businesses that objected on religious grounds from a federal requirement that any health insurance they provide to employees must cover birth control for women. Durbin urged passage of legislation that would create a code of ethics for the Supreme Court. Schenck, according to the Times, wrote to Roberts about his claim. Schenck said one of the Wrights then told him that Alito had authored the Hobby Lobby opinion and that it would favor the company, the newspaper reported.

☆ The Senate Judiciary Committee will review reports that Alito's Hobby Lobby decision was leaked to an anti-abortion leader: 'another black mark on the Supreme Court's increasingly marred ethical recor
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-21 | by ( Katherine Tangalakis-Lippert | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Anti-abortion leaders knew about a 2014 Supreme Court decision before it was official, NYT reported. Alito's Hobby Lobby decision on contraception would be the second of two known leaks from the court. The Senate Judiciary Committee will investigate the allegations, AP reported. The Burwell v. Hobby Lobby decision held that corporations can refuse on religious grounds to pay for contraception as mandated by the Affordable Care Act. Representatives for the Senate Judiciary Committee, Senator Durbin, and the Supreme Court did not immediately respond to Insider's requests for comment.

WASHINGTON, Nov 19 (Reuters) - A New York Times report of a former anti-abortion leader's claim that he was told in advance about the outcome of a major 2014 U.S. Supreme Court case involving contraceptives triggered calls on Saturday for an investigation of a court still reeling from the leak of a landmark abortion rights ruling. Rob Schenck was quoted by The Times as saying he was informed weeks before the public announcement of the 2014 ruling shortly after two conservative allies had dinner at the home of Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito and his wife. Alito said in a statement that any allegation that he or his wife leaked the 2014 decision was "completely false." Alito had called the Roe leak, which was confirmed when the ruling was announced in June, a "grave betrayal." Schenck said one of the Wrights then told him that Alito had authored the Hobby Lobby opinion and that it would be in its favor, The Times said.

But Pryor mocked the notion that the 60,000-member professional organization was working "in the shadows" to reshape the courts. He also took aim at liberal commentators who frequently criticize the Federalist Society. He also took issue with criticism of society's role in the judicial nomination process. Leonard Leo, a long-time conservative legal activist, while serving as a Federalist Society executive helped compile a list of potential U.S. Supreme Court nominees that Trump drew from during his tenure. "Are there members of the Federalist Society who are involved in that process?

After oil prices soared following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, European governments already have imposed windfall taxes on their oil industries. But most U.S. lawmakers show little appetite to reverse that trend after oil companies like Exxon Mobil Corp and Chevron Corp <CVX.N. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse and Representative Ro Khanna, both Democrats, are among legislators who have already introduced bills to tax excess oil company profits. Democratic Senators Kyrsten Sinema from Arizona and Joe Manchin from West Virginia would likely oppose a windfall profits tax, dimming its prospects, congressional sources and research groups said. Administration officials conceded privately that it may be difficult to enact a federal windfall profits tax, and said no deadline has been set for a next step.

WASHINGTON — Which party controls Congress next year could have big implications for Twitter — and its new “Chief Twit,” Elon Musk. A Jordan spokesman had no comment about Musk and Twitter, but Republicans expect the company will be more cooperative with any future GOP investigations with Musk at the helm. But upon taking control of Twitter, Musk said he would first form a “content moderation council,” and Yoel Roth, head of Safety and Integrity at Twitter, insisted that the company’s policies on hate speech have not changed. “If Elon Musk has said now that he’s going to start a content moderation board, that was one good sign, but I continue to be concerned about that,” Klobuchar said. Other Democrats are raising national security concerns about how Musk financed the $44 billion Twitter deal.

☆ House Democratic leadership finally released the text of their bill to ban members of Congress from trading stocks. Here's what's in it.
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-28 | by ( Bryan Metzger | Dave Levinthal | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

The text comes after months of back-and-forth between Pelosi and lawmakers, and a vote may come this week. Interest in lawmakers' stock trades rose after Insider's "Conflicted Congress" investigation. House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, who himself does not trade stocks, said earlier this year that he'd consider barring members of Congress from trading stocks if the GOP wins the House in November. Here's what the bill includes:The bill would ban top officials across all three branches — as well as the spouses and dependent children of members of Congress — from owning or trading stocks, as well as cryptocurrencies. Members of Congress would also be required to file financial disclosures electronically, eliminating a long-standing problem with lawmakers submitting illegible information about their personal finances.

The Democratic-led Senate confirmed four new circuit court judges in the last two weeks, most recently U.S. District Judge Florence Pan to the powerful U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. By contrast, Trump had installed 69 judges at this point in his tenure. The most recent two-term presidents, Barack Obama and George W. Bush, each secured 325 Senate-confirmed judges for district courts, circuit courts and the Supreme Court over eight years. McConnell's allies say a GOP-run Senate would force Biden to pick judges who are acceptable to conservatives in order to get floor votes. Republicans ended the tradition for circuit judges in the Trump era and some liberals want to end it for district judges so that GOP senators in red states cannot block Biden’s nominees for vacancies.

☆ Republican senators vote to block a bill requiring dark-money groups to disclose their donors: 'I don't want to see them doxxed'
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-22 | by ( Bryan Metzger | Oma Seddiq | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Democrats teed up a procedural vote Thursday on a bill to disclose dark-money groups' donors. Super PACs, on the other hand, are subject to federal campaign finance disclosure laws, but their funding often comes from dark money groups. "Unfortunately, the Republican party has become as dependent on dark money as a deep-sea diver is on his air hose," said Whitehouse. Win McNamee/Getty ImagesA bipartisan problemSince the Citizens United ruling 12 years ago, dark money spending has exploded in elections. Nonprofits have poured around $2 billion into elections, most of which can be linked to dark money groups, OpenSecrets found.

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