mcmorris rodgers Rep 5%

==

oversight 5 24energy and commerce ~ NPR

See hit on green ngo russia BS below w/ upton

off my radar till trump nod, but

https://scorecard.lcv.org/moc/cathy-mcmorris-rodgers

22*5% life

2021 Scorecard Vote

Increasing Awareness and Reporting of Hate Crimes

House Roll Call Vote 145

Issues: Other, Justice and Democracy

Representative Grace Meng (D-NY) sponsored H. R. 1843, the COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act, a companion to S. 937, which expedites reviews of hate crimes and reports of hate crimes. This legislation requires the Department of Justice is required to issue state, local, and tribal guidance for hate crime reporting statistics and establish grants to create state-run hate crimes reporting hotlines. Additionally, the Departments of Justice and Health and Human Services will issue guidance raising the awareness of hate crimes during the COVID-19 pandemic. On May 18, the House approved the COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act by a vote of 364-62 (House roll call vote 145). YES IS THE PRO-ENVIRONMENT VOTE. The president signed S. 937 into law on May 20.

2021

427Supporting Tribal Management of BisonWildlife, Environmental Justice, Public Lands/Forests 

2021385Transformative Climate, Jobs, and Justice Investments (2x Score)Climate Change, Air, Clean Energy, Environmental Justice, Transportation, Public Lands/Forests, Water, Other 

2021385Transformative Climate, Jobs, and Justice InvestmentsClimate Change, Air, Clean Energy, Drilling, Environmental Justice, Public Lands/Forests, Transportation, Water, Other 

2021379Censuring Paul GosarJustice and Democracy 

2021272Taking Action on PFAS ContaminationToxics/Public Right to Know 

2021260Restoring the Voting Rights ActJustice and Democracy 

2021247Pro-Environment Funding PackageOther, Climate Change, Clean Energy, Clean Air, Clean Water, Environmental Justice 

2021217Protecting People from PFASToxics/Public Right to Know; Water 

2021208Investing in Transportation and Water InfrastructureClimate Change, Transportation, Water, Clean Energy, Environmental Justice 

2021206Building Climate-resilient Wastewater InfrastructureWater, Climate Change 

2021201Investing in Climate-Smart and Pro-Wildlife InfrastructureTransportation, Climate Change, Wildlife 

2021196Removing Confederate Statues from the U.S. CapitolLands/Forests, Justice and Democracy 

2021185Repealing Assault on Methane Pollution SafeguardsClimate Change, Dirty Energy 

2021169Corporate Climate Risk Disclosure RequirementsClimate Change; Other 

2021145Increasing Awareness and Reporting of Hate CrimesOther, Justice and Democracy 

2021132Washington, D.C. StatehoodJustice and Democracy 

202191Protecting Dreamers and Immigrants Fleeing DisastersJustice and Democracy, Other 

202170Protecting the Rights of Workers to OrganizeOther, Justice and Democracy 

202162Voting Rights and Democracy ReformsJustice and Democracy 

202145Protecting Public Lands and Waters Across the WestPublic Lands/Forests 

202117Impeachment for Incitement of InsurrectionJustice and Democracy 

202111Certifying Pennsylvania’s Electoral VotesJustice and Democracy 

202110Certifying Arizona’s Electoral VotesJustice and Democracy 

2020242Phasing Out Harmful Fishing GearOceans, Wildlife 

2020203Increasing Funding for Renewable Energy Research & DevelopmentClean Energy, Climate 

2020182Protecting the U.S. Postal ServiceJustice and Democracy 

2020166Pro-Environment Funding PackageOther, Environmental Justice, Water, Dirty Energy, Drilling, Lands/Forests 

2020164Slashing EPA FundingOther, Water, Air, Environmental Justice 

2020163Blocking Trump’s Inadequate Soot StandardAir, Environmental Justice 

2020156Removing Confederate Statues from the U.S. CapitolOther  pro

pro  0155   Great American Outdoors Act Lands/Forests

2020    147Protecting the Grand Canyon and Colorado’s public landsPublic Lands/Forests, Dirty Energy

2020142Maintaining Suspension of Nuclear Weapons TestingDirty Energy

2020138Investing in Climate-Ambitious InfrastructureClimate Change, Clean Energy, Transportation, Water, Environmental Justice

2020136Eliminating Lead Service Lines to Protect Public HealthWater, Environmental Justice

2020135Harming Workers by Rolling Back Wage ProtectionsOther

2020122Washington D.C. StatehoodJudiciary, Justice and Democracy

2020109Heroes Act COVID-19 Relief PackageOther

202069Protecting Wilderness Across the WestLands/Forests

202054Emergency and Climate Disaster Aid for Puerto RicoClimate Change

202050Protecting the Rights of Workers to OrganizeOther

202036  Great Lakes Restoration Initiative  Water

202013Protecting People from PFAS PollutionToxics/Public Right to Know; Water

202011Closing the PFAS Clean Water LoopholeToxics/Public Right to Know, Water

2019701USMCA Trade DealClimate Change, Other

2019666Attack on Marine Mammal Protections from Harmful Air Gun BlastingWildlife, Oceans, Drilling

2019654Protecting the Right to VoteOther, Justice and Democracy

2019634Shark Finning BanOceans, Wildlife

2019609Protecting Colorado's Public LandsLands/Forests

2019602Protecting the Grand Canyon from Toxic Uranium MiningDirty Energy, Lands/Forests

2019597Protecting Chaco Canyon from Oil and Gas DevelopmentDirty Energy, Drilling, Lands/Forests

2019530Restoring Protections for the Arctic RefugeDirty Energy, Lands/Forests, Drilling

2019525Banning Offshore Drilling in the Atlantic and Pacific OceansDirty Energy, Drilling, Oceans

2019521Stopping Future Drilling in the Eastern Gulf of MexicoDirty Energy, Drilling, Oceans

2019408Pro-Environment Funding BillClimate Change, Lands/Forests, Clean Energy

2019395Preserving the Mercury & Air Toxics StandardsClean Air, Toxics/Public Right to Know

2019390Eliminating EPA's Chemical Hazard Assessment Program, IRISToxics/Public Right to Know, Clean Water, Clean Air

2019385Methane Pollution SafeguardsClimate Change, Dirty Energy, Drilling

2019384Halting Oil Drilling in the Arctic RefugeDrilling, Dirty Energy, Lands/Forests, Wildlife

2019383Blocking the EPA from Reducing Carbon PollutionClimate Change

-=-=

-=-=

9 26 WIRED MAG CENSUS FUCKERY

Jeff McCrea is from Seattle, Washington, and serves as an Engineer with AFPI’s Office for Fiscal and Regulatory Analysis. He holds an M.S. in Computer Science and Software Engineering from the University of Washington and has published research on applying reinforcement learning to large-scale distributed graph computing.

Before joining AFPI, Jeff served as Campaign Manager for Congresswoman Cathy McMorris Rodgers, held a range of roles across the technology sector, and ran a small IT consultancy delivering personalized IT and software solutions. Outside of work, he enjoys hiking, trying to improve his golf game, and restoring classic cars.

//

Matthew Jensen is from Bloomington, Indiana and serves as the Executive Director, Office for Fiscal and Regulatory Analysis and in the Center for American Prosperity at AFPI. For over a decade, he has contributed to building budgetary and economic modeling facilities that are used extensively by US policymakers and those in numerous states and countries around the world. He was the Founding Director of the American Enterprise Institute’s Open Source Policy Center and co-creator of projects and organizations including the Policy Simulation Library and Open Research Group. His work in these roles contributed to the design of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act and major pandemic fiscal responses in the US and elsewhere, among other policy achievements. Beyond scorekeeping, he has experience in government information security and Internal Revenue Service oversight in addition to private sector experience in technology product development. Jensen and his wife live in Atlantic Highlands, New Jersey with their two boys.

PAXTON https://www.supremecourt.gov/DocketPDF/22/22O155/163550/20201211132250339_Texas%20v.%20Pennsylvania%20Amicus%20Brief%20of%20126%20Representatives%20--%20corrected.pdf

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ymail 6 24

exxonknews

:{big Oil wants to increase federal criminal penalties for pipeline protests

https://substack.com/app-link/post?publication_id=20607&post_id=145728083&utm_source=post-email-title&utm_campaign=email-post-title&isFreemail=true&r=7ymjw&token=eyJ1c2VyX2lkIjoxMzM3Mjg0NCwicG9zdF9pZCI6MTQ1NzI4MDgzLCJpYXQiOjE3MTg2NDM3MDksImV4cCI6MTcyMTIzNTcwOSwiaXNzIjoicHViLTIwNjA3Iiwic3ViIjoicG9zdC1yZWFjdGlvbiJ9.C6F6cpGna7T-ycibrfO161934vAmtCaOa22mHk4zGDo))

Fossil fuel companies and trade groups are using essential pipeline safety legislation to further criminalize pipeline protests.

Emily Sanders is senior reporter for ExxonKnews.

*This story is being co-published with The Lever.

At the urging of their fossil fuel donors, lawmakers are quietly working to massively expand criminal penalties against people who protest pipelines as part of negotiations over essential new federal pipeline safety regulations.

Congress is negotiating the pipeline safety legislation, a reauthorization of the Pipeline Hazardous Materials and Safety Administration program, in the wake of disastrous carbon dioxide pipeline leaks that have endangered nearby communities, stumped emergency responders, and left residents with health issues for years to come. In total, 124 new oil, gas, hydrogen, and carbon dioxide pipelines have been announced or are in the preconstruction or construction phase in the U.S., according to data from fossil fuel infrastructure tracker Oil and Gas Watch.

The federal penalty for damaging or destroying interstate pipelines is already a felony charge mandating up to 20 years in prison. But the industry’s proposed additions, described in executives’ congressional testimony and policy briefs posted online, would widen the definition of and punishment for “attacks” on pipelines using vague language that could implicate a far broader set of activities used to protest fossil fuel infrastructure. Such language has already begun to make its way into the legislative effort to reauthorize the pipeline safety administration as Congress decides the agency’s funding and legislative mandates for the next few years.

According to a policy brief on “2023 Pipeline Safety Reauthorization Legislative Priorities” published last year by the American Petroleum Institute — a major trade group representing oil and gas companies — new pipeline safety legislation should “fill gaps in current law” with “additional measures covering disruption of service and attacks on construction sites.”

The House Energy and Commerce Committee’s draft reauthorization bill, approved in March, would add “impairing the operation of” interstate pipelines, “damaging or destroying such a facility under construction,” and even “attempting or conspiring” to do so as felony activities punishable by up to 20 years in prison.

It’s unclear what “impairing the operation of” a pipeline could entail. If interpreted broadly, climate advocates say such provisions could send activists to prison for exercising their free speech rights.

The Energy and Commerce Committee’s chair, Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-Wash..), has received nearly $289,000 from the oil and gas industry for the 2024 election cycle and is currently number 12 on a list of the top 20 recipients from the industry this year. Rep. August Pfluger (R-Texas), who is also on the committee, is the top recipient on that list, having received more than $579,000.

The expanded criminal-penalty language in the pipeline safety agency’s reauthorization bill comes on the heels of another committee’s version of the legislation, which would also increase penalties for pipeline disruptions.

The pipeline safety agency’s reauthorization accompanies new safety rules now being considered as a long-awaited federal agency response to a devastating carbon dioxide pipeline rupture in the village of Satartia, Mississippi, which sent nearly 50 people to the hospital with “zombie-like” conditions in 2020. That disaster, along with a leak at an Exxon-owned carbon dioxide pipeline in Sulphur, Louisiana, this April, has rekindled concerns over the risks that pipelines can pose to public health and safety.

As The Lever and ExxonKnews reported in April, Big Oil is lobbying to limit the scope of those rules in order to expedite the construction of carbon capture and storage infrastructure, since it stands to benefit from the work thanks to incentives passed under the Biden administration.

Now, advocates fear, the industry is trying to capitalize on the effort to increase pipeline safety protections in order to criminalize the actions of those who speak out against its plans to build more pipeline infrastructure.

“What rights do these corporations have to come through our communities and wreak havoc and not be held accountable for anything they do?” said Anne White Hat, a member of the Sicangu Lakota tribe who helped lead Indigenous resistance to the Bayou Bridge oil pipeline in Louisiana. By criminalizing protest, she said, “they are able to work with impunity.”

In written testimony from a January hearing by the committee overseeing the pipeline safety program reauthorization, American Petroleum Institute lobbyists commended the reauthorization bill for “strengthen[ing] protections for pipeline infrastructure by criminalizing activities that impair the operation or construction of facilities, or cause damage that could result in harm to people, the environment and the pipeline itself.”

The American Petroleum Institute donated $7,500 to Rodgers, and thousands more to other Energy and Commerce Committee members including Reps Pfluger, Jeff Duncan (R-S.C.), Marc Veasey (D-Texas), and Richard Hudson (R-N.C.), this year. The lawmakers' offices and the American Petroleum Institute did not respond to requests for comment.

Tim Donaghy, senior research specialist at the environmental activist group Greenpeace, said his organization is concerned that “vague and flawed language that increases criminal penalties could be abused to crack down on peaceful, constitutionally-protected protest,” which has “long been instrumental to climate, environmental justice, and civil rights victories in the United States and globally.”

Pipeline protests can look like sit-ins, banner drops, marches, a Willie Nelson concert, or planting sacred corn in the path of construction.

“Are they talking about people in a region where they don’t want the pipeline coming through their property doing a sit-in or something like that?” Donaghy asked. “Would that be considered an attack on a construction site by a prosecutor who wanted to stretch the definition a little bit?”

“A Game Of Safety Theater”

Advocates say the move is meant to cut off any remaining avenues for dissent. In recent years, fossil fuel companies have pushed for bills to criminalize pipeline protests at the state level; worked with police, private security firms, and the FBI to surveil and crack down on activists; and even filed multimillion-dollar lawsuits against protesters accusing them of defamation and conspiracy.

Mark Hefflinger, communications and digital director at Bold Nebraska, an advocacy group that works with Tribal Nations, farmers, and ranchers to protect land and water rights, said the industry’s response to public outcry about the real safety concerns caused by fossil fuel infrastructure has been to play “a game of safety theater.” That means using “fear tactics” to paint protesters as dangerous criminals, making it easier for them to rush their projects through construction without community consent.

“I think these companies are looking to stack the deck as much as they can,” he said. “Having seen these projects first hand, it’s very distressing and alarming.”

It’s not the first time the fossil fuel industry has tried to pass anti-protest policies through Pipeline Hazardous Materials and Safety Administration reauthorization bills. In 2019, the Association of Oil Pipelines — a lobbying group now known as the Liquid Energy Pipeline Association — provided similar proposed language to legislators that was reportedly considered by members of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.

Those provisions didn’t pass, but the effort has reemerged. Since 2020, oil, gas, and utility trade associations and companies, including the American Gas Association, Black Hills, CMS Energy, and Puget Sound Energy, have disclosed lobbying on both “Attacks and Physical Threats to Pipeline Infrastructure” and the Pipeline Hazardous Materials and Safety Administration reauthorization bills.

In a March 2023 hearing of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, the CEO of the Liquid Energy Pipeline Association, Andrew Black, testified that “Congress should close [the] loophole in criminal penalties for pipeline attacks that are dangerous but do not result in damage.” The group gave $2,500 to the committee’s chairman, Rep. Sam Graves (R-Mo.), this year. Graves’ office did not respond to a request for comment.

That committee’s draft bill, approved in December, would add a prison sentence of up to 10 years for “causing a defect in or disrupting operation of pipeline infrastructure” by manipulating valves or otherwise physically damaging the pipeline. The bill would also add “carbon dioxide facilit[ies]” to infrastructure whose damage or destruction could result in a 20-year prison sentence.

“Current federal pipeline safety law does not penalize violent attacks on pipeline construction sites or dangerous but not damaging tampering with operating pipeline equipment, such as valve turning,” said John Stoody, vice president of government and public relations at the Liquid Energy Pipeline Association, in an email. “LEPA supports 1^st amendment rights to protest, but opposes dangerous or violent activities that can harm protesters and the surrounding public.”

The House is now working to reconcile reauthorization bills from the two committees before passing draft legislation to the Senate.

“It’s a little frustrating to see the industry focus on this particular issue as a cause of failures when nearly all failures on pipelines are preventable failures under the operators’ control,” said Bill Caram, executive director of advocacy group Pipeline Safety Trust. While he emphasized that his organization does not support any activity that could compromise the integrity of a pipeline and endanger communities, including valve turning, Caram noted that “damaging equipment is already illegal, so I’m not sure what the need is.”

A Larger Strategy To Silence Critics

The industry has backed a legislative push to punish and silence its critics since major resistance to the Keystone XL pipeline from 2011 through 2014 and to the Dakota Access pipeline in 2016 and 2017 united communities across political and cultural divides and spurred an indigenous-led movement of water protectors.

“They moved to pass these bills to basically prevent it from happening again,” Donaghy said.

Since 2017, oil and gas companies including ExxonMobil, Marathon Petroleum Corporation, Koch Industries, and Enbridge have spent millions of dollars on lobbying and campaign donations to state legislators to push laws criminalizing protest of fossil fuel infrastructure. Those laws now apply to about 60 percent of all U.S. oil and gas operations, a report from Greenpeace found. Much of the legislation, primarily based on a model bill crafted by the oil- and gas-funded American Legislative Exchange Council, made it a felony to trespass on the industry’s so-called “critical infrastructure.”

Anne White Hat found herself facing up to 10 years in prison after she was arrested for two counts of felony trespassing in September 2018 under one such law, which had just taken effect in Louisiana following pressure from oil and gas lobbyists.

She was one of four Native women who founded a resistance camp called L’eau Est La Vie, which was organizing nonviolent direct actions in protest of the Bayou Bridge Pipeline — a now-operating 163-mile pipeline owned by Energy Transfer that transports crude oil throughout the state. The protests ranged from a rendition of “Crawfish the Musical” on the construction site to protesters locking themselves to pipeline equipment to tree sits in the centuries-old cypresses the company planned to tear down.

The Bayou Bridge pipeline is the tail end of the Dakota Access route — White Hat had already joined her relatives to participate in the resistance camp at Standing Rock in North Dakota. “I felt like it was a righteous cause, not to let them comfortably continue to threaten the waters of Indigenous First Nations,” she said. “I was inspired from the work up North and just couldn’t let them continue down here unanswered and unchecked.”

White Hat had just finished leading a prayer ceremony when she was arrested at a boat ramp miles from the pipeline construction site. She was hauled into a sheriff deputy’s car with two other women and driven through tall sugar cane fields on the way to jail.

“It was terrifying,” said White Hat. “We’re way out in the middle of nowhere. I was like, ‘Is this the point where I actually disappear?’”

Investigative journalist Karen Savage was arrested that day, too — her second arrest under felony trespass charges as she reported on the Bayou Bridge protests. She was one of the only reporters to travel to the Atchafalaya Basin swamp, where the pipeline was being constructed.

By the time the water protectors got to the swamp, Savage said, they “had done everything — they went to public meetings, they had petitions, they wrote letters, they tried to meet with the governor — they did everything they tell you in school, to participate and use your civil obligation in your community.” Despite their best efforts in one of the most oil- and gas-friendly states in the country, said Savage, “nobody was listening.”

As Savage’s reporting revealed, the off-duty Louisiana law enforcement who began violently arresting protesters after the new law was enforced were working side jobs for the pipeline company.

“I would’ve similarly documented whatever the sheriff’s deputies and Energy Transfer had planned that day — had I not been handcuffed in the back of a deputy’s squad car,” Savage wrote about her arrest.

While Energy Transfer paid local officials to arrest protesters, it was quietly breaking the law itself. Energy Transfer was later found guilty of trespassing on private property by working on land it didn’t have permission to build on, but it was allowed to continue construction with only a $450 fine. The sixteen water protectors who were arrested and charged with felonies under the state’s new law had permission from some landowners to protest — and were even asked to help them defend their land.

In 2021, a local district attorney dropped the water protectors’ charges, along with Savage’s.

Like the proposed measures oil companies are now pushing at the federal level, Louisiana’s state law was “so vaguely written that [officials] have no idea when they should arrest somebody or when someone is trespassing,” Savage said. “With everything so loosely open to individual interpretation, it just really really opens people up to abuses of their First Amendment rights.”

In 2019, Savage, White Hat, other water protectors, and two advocacy groups filed a lawsuit against the sheriff, district attorney, and state attorney general, arguing Louisiana’s critical infrastructure law violates their First Amendment rights. That lawsuit was dismissed by a U.S. district judge in March; litigants who were directly affected by the law, including Savage and White Hat, have appealed the district court’s decision.

White Hat said she never intended to get arrested, and essentially stopped protesting after it happened.

“I have children to take care of,” she said. “I couldn’t risk it.”

“The Writing On the Wall”

According to the International Center for Not-For-Profit Law, more than 300 anti-protest bills have been introduced in 45 states since 2017, and 21 states have passed such bills into law.

Since then, pipeline protests have seen massive waves of arrests; during the construction of Enbridge’s Line 3 pipeline between December 2020 and September 2021, more than a thousand people in Minnesota were arrested for protest. Some were charged with felonies — like a 54-year-old protesterwho blockaded an Enbridge pump station and was convicted with felony obstruction in 2023. Like Energy Transfer, Enbridge paid Minnesota police millions of dollars to respond to the protests.

The resistance to pipeline infrastructure continues nonetheless. Just last week, Indigenous campaigners led a rally outside the White House calling on the President and Army Corps of Engineers to shut down the Dakota Access pipeline, which carries 600,000 barrels of oil per day and still lacks a permit to cross land beneath Lake Oahe, where the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe gets its drinking water.

Protestors are also still fighting construction of the Mountain Valley Pipeline, which is being built from northwest West Virginia to southern Virginia and was greenlit through the passage of Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act. But one of the states it runs through, West Virginia — home base of coal baron Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), who has long championed the pipeline — is considering a bill that would classify trespassing on fossil fuel infrastructure as an act of terrorism.

“Over the last several years, a historic level of protest and demonstration has taken place across the country, including protests against pipeline construction,” said Vera Eidelman, Staff Attorney with the ACLU’s Speech, Privacy, and Technology Project, in an email. “Rather than add tools to the government’s tool kit for silencing dissent” that would “only make it harder, costlier, and more dangerous to protest,” she wrote, “legislators should be making an effort to listen to protester’s voices, even if, and perhaps especially when, they disagree with them.”

Now, as the oil and gas industry plans a new influx of carbon dioxide pipelines for carbon capture and storage, a controversial experiment that would allow it to continue burning fossil fuels under the guise of climate solutions, advocates could be silenced when the stakes are at their highest.

“We are scraping together pennies to be able to hold a public meeting, get people to the legislature, or get people into the offices of our elected Congress people,” said Jane Patton, a Louisiana-based campaign manager at nonprofit advocacy group the Center for International Environmental Law who is fighting carbon capture plans in the state. “Yet these industries that have a ton of money are able to get this access and have their questions answered and their request fulfilled.”

Hefflinger, of Bold Nebraska, said the industry is “doing their best to try and make the standards as low as possible for operation and safety — and because of regulatory capture, it becomes a foregone conclusion.”

“You start to lose opportunities to make your voice heard in the ‘proper’ channels,” he said.

In April, the Supreme Court effectively abolished the right to organize a mass protest in Louisiana, Texas, and Mississippi — three states facing a massive influx of new oil and gas infrastructure, including carbon dioxide pipelines. More than 900 miles of Exxon’s newly acquired network of Denbury carbon dioxide pipelines runs through those three states.

Still, the industry will have a steep road to climb as the projects face major resistance in states nationwide — even before construction begins. In October, Texas-based Navigator CO2 Ventures canceled its plans for a 1,300-mile carbon dioxide pipeline that would have run across five midwestern states after coordinated opposition from landowners and environmentalists. The cancellation, said Hefflinger, was a “gigantic wake-up call” for the industry.

Now, said Hefflinger, they’re doubling down to silence dissent because “they’re seeing the writing on the wall.”

---

mma 5 24 9 pp docu BS see PBS main

Fact sheet: Right-wing attacks on public media | Media Matters for America

May 8, the Committee on Energy and Commerce in the House of Representatives is holding a hearing titled “Examining Accusations of Ideological Bias at NPR, a Taxpayer Funded News Entity.” Media Matters has submitted into the congressional record the following fact sheet about the long campaign to defund public broadcasting, how it is manifesting currently, and how right-wing interests are pushing to turn all media into right-wing propaganda.

BS PR

D.C. —House Energy and Commerce Committee Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA) and Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations Chair Morgan Griffith (R-VA) announced an oversight hearing titled “Examining Accusations of Ideological Bias at NPR, a Taxpayer Funded News Entity.”

“NPR is entrusted with Americans’ hard-earned tax dollars. Serious allegations from a then-senior editor who spent decades at NPR reveal NPR engages in viewpoint discrimination and ideological bias that caters to a narrow, leftwing audience,” said Chairs Rodgers and Griffith.“From dismissing all debate over the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic to statistics about NPR’s editorial staff significantly skewing to the Democratic party, these allegations are deeply troubling and merit congressional investigation. This hearing will provide Members an opportunity to question NPR’s leadership directly about concerns we’re hearing from our constituents across the nation.”

Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations hearing titled “Examining Accusations of Ideological Bias at NPR, a Taxpayer Funded News Entity.”

WHAT:A subcommittee hearing to discuss allegations of viewpoint discrimination and ideological bias at NPR.

DATE:Wednesday, May 8, 2024

TIME: 10:00 AM ET

LOCATION:2123 Rayburn House Office Building

INVITED WITNESS:

• Ms. Katherine Maher, *President and CEO, National Public Radio

This notice is at the direction of the Chair. The hearing will be open to the public and press and will be live streamed online at https://energycommerce.house.gov/. If you have any questions concerning the hearing, please contact Lauren Kennedy with the Committee staff at Lauren.Kennedy@mail.house.gov. If you have any press-related questions, please contact Christopher Krepich at Christopher.Krepich@mail.house.gov.

---

Biden admin creates pathway with eco groups to shutter energy source serving millions of Americans

Legal agreement 'marks a new direction for the Pacific Northwest,' Biden's clean energy czar John Podesta said

By Thomas Catenacci Fox News

Published December 14, 2023

no lnx

the White House, in coordination with Native American tribes and environmental groups, announced actions Thursday that provide a pathway for breaching, or removing, four hydroelectric dams in Washington state to protect salmon.

As part of the announcement, the federal government entered into a legal agreement with the Pacific Northwest tribes and environmental organizations filed earlier in the day in the U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon. Under that agreement, the tribes and eco groups — which had sued the federal government in an effort to forcibly breach the dams — agreed to stay the litigation through 2028.

"President Biden understands that the Columbia River System is the lifeblood of the Pacific Northwest, and for the first time under his direction, federal agencies are putting all hands on deck to support regional and Tribal efforts to restore wild salmon in the region," White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) Chair Brenda Mallory said in a statement.

Mallory said the agreement charts a new path to restore the river. Environmental activists, Democrats and tribes have argued that the four federally-managed dams, which are located on the lower Snake River winding through Idaho and Washington before feeding into the Columbia River and Pacific Ocean, have decimated salmon and steelhead populations by blocking natural migratory patterns.

HOUSE PANEL TO PROBE BIDEN ADMIN'S NEGOTIATIONS WITH ECO GROUPS TRYING TO TEAR DOWN KEY POWER SOURCE

Chair Brenda Mallory, Council on Environmental Quality, speaks at the Fight for Our Future: Rally for Climate, Care, Jobs & Justice in Lafayette Square near The White House on April 23, 2022 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Paul Morigi/Getty Images for Green New Deal Network)

"Today's historic agreement marks a new direction for the Pacific Northwest," added White House clean energy czar John Podesta. "Today, the Biden-Harris Administration and state and Tribal governments are agreeing to work together to protect salmon and other native fish, honor our obligations to Tribal nations, and recognize the important services the Columbia River System provides to the economy of the Pacific Northwest."

Democratic Govs. Tina Kotek of Oregon and Jay Inslee of Washington; several involved tribes, including the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla; and environmental groups like Earthjustice, which represented plaintiffs in the case, all applauded the agreement as an unprecedented path forward.

MAJOR US POWER SOURCE FACING EXTINCTION THANKS TO RED TAPE, SPARKING CALLS FOR REFORM

The agreement includes $1 billion for wild fish restoration and a plan to develop new clean energy power operated by tribes. And it further establishes the so-called Columbia Basin Restoration Initiative, which includes a "comprehensive new roadmap" for salmon recovery involving a call to replace the energy, transportation, irrigation and recreation services provided by the lower Snake River dams, so they can be breached, according to Earthjustice.

The initiative explicitly recommends that dams are breached within two fish generations, or approximately eight years. While there isn't an explicit plan to breach the dams — an action that the White House has acknowledged would require congressional approval — the agreement does include commitments to begin replacing the services provided by the dams.

President Biden previously pledged to work with proponents of breaching the four lower Snake River dams to "bring healthy and abundant salmon runs back." (Getty Images)

"Congress — and Congress alone — can authorize removal of the dams on the lower Snake River. Bureaucrats, activist litigation, nor this administration’s radical agenda will determine the fate of any of the Northwest’s federal dams," Sen. Jim Risch, R-Idaho, said in a statement to Fox News Digital.

"This litigation effort was useless: It occurred behind closed doors, between two parties who wanted the same end result — to tear out our dams, and it completely excluded Idahoans who rely on the River System for its energy, transportation, agriculture and recreation benefits," he continued. "I will continue to fight any breaching efforts, and, at every turn, I will reject the Biden administration’s efforts to usurp Congressional authority."

BIDEN ADMIN PLAN TO RELEASE PREDATOR NEAR RURAL COMMUNITIES FACES WIDESPREAD OPPOSITION: 'A HUGE THREAT'

Risch, other Republican lawmakers, power industry groups and agriculture groups have all loudly objected to any plan involving the breaching of the dams, pointing to their clean energy output and vital services providing passage for barges traveling along the river.

The dams were constructed in the 1960s and 1970s by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers primarily to ensure the Snake River was passable for such barge transportation. However, since then, the main benefit has been their reliable clean energy output. They still provide about 8% of the state's electricity, enough to serve millions of residents, and have a large total capacity of 3,000 megawatts.

A U.S. Army Corps of Engineers dam is shown in the Columbia River system in Washington state. (Marli Miller/UCG/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)

Removing the dams would also likely chip away at U.S. climate goals since their energy production would likely need to be replaced by fossil fuel alternatives. According to federal data, replacing hydropower generated by the dams with natural gas generation would increase carbon emissions by up to 2.6 million metric tons per year, the equivalent of 421,000 passenger cars.

In addition to the impacts on energy and climate ambitions, removing the four Snake River dams would harm agriculture exports. Aided by the dams, barges traveling along the Columbia River system carry about 60% of Washington's annual wheat exports and a staggering 40% of the nation's total wheat production.

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"Instead of working with all interests, the U.S. Government chose for months to hold secret negotiations and refused to share any details with us, let alone allow our participation," the executive directors of Northwest RiverPartners, the Public Power Council and the Pacific Northwest Waterways Association, which collectively represent power utilities, ports, agriculture companies and other businesses dependent on the dams, said last month.

"It is not surprising, then, that this proposal turns its back on over three million electricity customers as well as the farming, transportation, navigation and economic needs of the region," they continued. "By purposely excluding our respective organizations from the negotiations, literally millions of Northwest residents were deprived of fair representation in this process."

That statement came after lawmakers, led by Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Wash., wrote to President Biden, calling for him to reject any agreement involving the breaching of dams. The letter included a leaked mediation document that paved the way for Thursday's announcement.

Thomas Catenacci is a politics writer for Fox News Digital.

https://www.alternet.org/2022/05/gop-gas-bill/

no lnx twt

Republicans block bill to stop price gouging at the pump as gas hits new record high

David Badash and The New Civil Rights Movement May 17, 2022

Take a walk through U.S.Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers‘ tweets and you’ll find complaint after complaint about the price of gas. Congresswoman McMorris Rodgers, Republican of Washington, is the ranking member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee but opposes legislation to stop oil and gas companies from price gouging consumers.

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Rep. McMorris Rodgers on Monday claimed that making it illegal for oil companies to price gouge is “socialism,” something that’s done in places like “Soviet Russia,” not in America.

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"The promise of America is free enterprise, not socialism, not government price controls,” she claimed, as she complained about the price of gas, which just hit a new record high.

Here is the Republican from Washington just one week ago sayingit’s time to “get these prices under control.”

The bill would not set price caps as some Republicans suggest, rather, it would empower the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to investigate if oil and gas companies are price gouging consumers.

Republicans on the powerfulHouse Rules Committee on Monday blocked the bill, H.R. 7688, the Consumer Fuel Price Gouging Prevention Act. from advancing. The GOP, thanks to McMorris Rodgers, is now calling the legislation the “Socialist Energy Price Fixing Act.”

CNN’s Manu Raju reports House Republican leadership Monday evening was urging its members to vote against the legislation if and when it comes to a vote on the full floor, which is still possible, although questionable.

C-SPAN’s Craig Caplan:

The right-wing newspaper The Washington Times reports Democrats “were forced to pull the proposal from consideration during a procedural vote in the House Rules Committee that would have teed up the bill for a final vote later this week.”

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Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has said he will bring the bill to a vote on the floor if it passes the House. It would require 60 votes to avoid a GOP filibuster, and therefore is not expected to pass.

[[ three medical doctors?!**:{Bucshon specialized in :(style="color:#202122;"):}:[cardiothoracic surgery and has performed hundreds of heart surgeries; joyce derma; burgess gyno?

UKRAINE WAR WATERSHED GAS PRICE DRILL BABY

E&C RepublicansUrge Biden to Flip the Switchfor More ...https://republicans-energycommerce.house.gov › news

Mar 21, 2022 — Rep. John Joyce, M.D. (R-PA): “It's time to return not only to American energy independence, but American energy dominance. It's time ...

https://republicans-energycommerce.house.gov/news/ec-republicans-urge-biden-to-flip-the-switch-for-more-american-energy/

no twt vid

BLOG

E&C Republicans Urge Biden to Flip the Switch for More American Energy

03.21.22

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Energy and Commerce Republicans continue to lead and urge President Joe Biden toflip the switch and boost American energy production to lower costs, create jobs, and strengthen America’s geopolitical power.

Leader Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA): “Energy is foundational to everything we do.

[…]

“With an all-the-above strategy, we can again say ‘yes’ to America’s global leadership and lower energy prices. I continue to urge my colleagues across the aisle to work with us.Let’s flip the switchon American energy to ensure a better life and more secure future for all.”

Rep. Buddy Carter (R-GA):“President Biden wants to ‘build back better.’ What he doesn’t realize is that, first, we must be able to build. Many otherwise ‘shovel-ready’ infrastructure projects get trapped in bureaucratic gridlock for years.

“Developers routinely find themselves navigating environmental reviews that require up to over 60 authorizations from as many as 13 different federal agencies.”

Rep. Larry Bucshon, M.D. (R-IN): Bucshon specialized in cardiothoracic surgery and has performed hundreds of heart surgeries

“This administration is asking countries like Iran and Venezuela to compensate for the ban on Russian importsand ignoring American energy producers.”

“I urge the administration toflip the switch and reduce our dependence on foreign energyby increasing production of oil and gas at home. We can do this!”

Rep. John Joyce, M.D. (R-PA): “It’s time to return not only to American energy independence, but American energy dominance. It’s time to get to work for the American people.”[~ gridlock aka GOP obstructionism/ polarization]

Check out these highlights of Energy and Commerce Republicans exposing what’s behind the pain at the pump in our joint forum with the House Committee on Natural Resources and the Select Climate Committee:

Rep. Michael Burgess, M.D. (R-TX): “By the stroke of a pen on his first day in office, President Biden weakened America’s energy independence by rejoining the Paris Climate Agreement, killing the Keystone XL pipeline, and unlawfully blocking new energy development on federal lands.

Rep. David B. McKinley (R-WV):“The Biden Administration admits the quickest way to lower the price of gas is increasing production. Yet they still prioritize ending the use of fossil fuels over providing relief at the pump for Americans.”

Rep. Neal Dunn (R-FL):“We cannot deflect the blame to Russia’s inhumane invasion purely. Gas prices were already skyrocketing thanks to President Biden completely ending fossil fuel projects on day one.”

Rep. John Joyce, M.D. (R-PA): “This energy crisis is one of the most important issues we need to be addressing right now in the House of Representatives. Inflation is surging, gas prices are skyrocketing, and the Biden administration refuses act.

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“It’s time for Biden to take the responsibility for what his policies are doing to hardworking American citizens. It’s time for Biden to care more about families in Pennsylvania than he does the Green New Deal. It’s time to drill American oil.”

Rep. Larry Bucshon, M.D. (R-IN): “We have the example in Europe (Germany) of what happens to a country when they get so far ahead and so much more worried about where they’re going on clean energy and they fail to look at the timeline of what’s doable and how that impacts their economy.”

Rep. Buddy Carter (R-GA): “I asked my constituents…how are high gas prices impacting you? Here are some are the responses I got.

“Mark can’t visit his grandkids…Amanda is worried she will have to quit her job in home health because the commute is too expensive.”

Rep. Kelly Armstrong (R-ND): “Two days ago, Secretary Granholm was celebrating that she issued two permits…but apparently that wasn’t good enough because yesterday she started talking about gouging.”

Rep. Gary Palmer (R-AL): “The House Progressive Caucus this week offered ideas to the Biden administration calling on the President to declare a ‘national climate emergency’ and to ban fossil fuel leases. We’ve got the administration bragging about 9,000 permits but you’ve got the progressive caucus calling for a complete ban on fossil fuels.”

SUBCOMMITTEES Energy (117th Congress)

ISSUES Energy Infrastructure

The real way to support Ukraine is to flip the switch ... - The Hill  https://thehill.com › congress-blog › energy-environment

Mar 3, 2022 — One of the best ways for the U.S. to apply pressure while promoting peace is to unleash American energy production.

It's Time To Unleash American Energy Independence - The ...https://www.theintelligencer.net › opinion › 2022/04 › i...

Apr 2, 2022 — At peak capacity, the pipeline would deliver 830,000 barrels of oil per day to American refineries. The president also put a moratorium on new ...

Missing: #fliptheswitch

The Time Is Now for USEnergy Independence - Citizens ...https://www.cagw.org › thewastewatcher › time-now-us...

Mar 23, 2022 — U.S. energy independence will stabilize and lower fuel prices for ... XL pipeline would not have resulted in the release of oil right now, ...

Members of Alabama's GOP congressional delegation urge ...https://yellowhammernews.com › Politics

Mar 8, 2022 — President Trump knew the importance of energy independence and made ... It's time to #FlipTheSwitch and unleash American energy production.

Rob Wittman column: We must unleash American energy ...https://richmond.com › opinion › columnists › rob-wittma...

3 days ago — Russia's barbaric and unprovoked attack on Ukraine highlighted and elevated the need for American energy independence — but it did not create ...

Missing: #fliptheswitch

President Biden's continued assault... - Rep. Larry Bucshon https://www.facebook.com › RepLarryBucshon › videos

PREVIEW

1:20

President Biden's continued assault on American-made energy has killed jobs, ... Biden to #FlipTheSwitch and unleash American energy ⬇️.

Facebook · Rep. Larry Bucshon · Mar 17, 2022

The HEAT Report - Republican Whip - Steve Scalise  https://www.republicanwhip.gov › news › the-heat-repo...

introduced the American Energy Independence From Russia Act, which would immediately approve the Keystone XL pipeline, unleash U.S. LNG exports to boost natural ...

KINDA ODD MINORITY HAS OWN WEBSITE?

PRESS RELEASES

PRESS RELEASE

Leader Rodgers: The 1970s are Calling. Socialist Price Controls will Make Energy Crisis Worse.

05.16.22

Washington, D.C. — House Energy and Commerce Committee Republican Leader Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA) spoke out at the House Rules Committee today on H.R. 7688, the Socialist Energy Price Fixing Act.

The Socialist Energy Price Fixing Act would give President Biden power to declare an energy emergency, arming the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) with tools to impose de-facto, arbitrary caps on the price of gas[NOT TRUE BAD FAITH?]. These socialist price controls are not the answer and will lead to even less oil and gas production at a time where we desperately need to increase both.

Excerpts and highlights from her prepared remarks:

CRISIS AND DISTRACTION

“America is in crisis. Store shelves are empty. New mothers can’t find formula for their babies. Overdose deaths continue to rise as deadly fentanyl pours across our southern border. Inflation is out of control and gas prices continue to reach record levels.

“Yet here we are again in the Rules Committee, rushing through the Democrats’ latest attempt to impose socialist price controls on our economy instead oftaking responsibility for their actions.

“We should be doing the hard work of legislating to fix these issues and to reverse the damage of reckless spending and President Biden’s actions to shut down domestic energy production.

“Time and again, the Democrats’ answer to President Biden’s inflation crisis is more government control, more government spending, and less freedom.”

SOCIALIST PRICE CONTROLS

“The disastrous consequences these socialist price controls will have are not hypothetical, because we have seen them before.

“Similar policies were used by Soviet Russia, Venezuela, North Korea and other Communist dictatorships. They led to massive shortages in goods, which resulted in economic and humanitarian devastation.

“The United States even tried to control high gas prices and inflation through price controls in the 1970s. This led to the shortages, rationing, and mile long gas lines many of us remember from the Carter years and made us dangerously reliant on OPEC.

“The 1970s appear to be here again. The Democrats are following the lead of Soviet Russia and Venezuela and failing to learn from our own history.

“It’s a deliberate, irresponsible attempt to distract the American people from theirtax and spend agenda and the Biden administration’s war on American energy that has put us in this position without regard for the devastating consequences their policies will have for the American people.”

WAR ON AMERICAN ENERGY

“Meanwhile, President Biden is continuing full steam ahead with his radical anti-American energy agenda.

“In March 2020, Candidate Joe Biden said quote ‘No more subsidies for fossil fuel industry. No more drilling on federal lands. No more drilling, including offshore. No ability for the oil industry to continue to drill, period.’

“President Biden put in place a moratorium on new drilling.

“In May 2020, Candidate Joe Biden pledged to stop theKeystone XL pipeline CANADIAN TAR SAND KOCH], and he did so on Day 1.

“Just last week, he canceled lease sales for millions of acres for oil and gas production in Alaska and the Gulf of Mexico.

“Republicans have been sounding the alarm for over a year about the disastrous affect these policies would have on energy and gas prices and we are seeing the direct result of them today.

“Gas prices have gone up every day of this administration.”

FLIP THE SWITCH

“I am co-leading the American Energy Independence from Russia Act [SPEARHEADED BY BIDEN, GOT THE GERMANS TO KILL NORSTREAM] with Natural Resources Republican Leader Bruce Westerman.

“To lower prices and protect our national security, it flips the switch on American energy and unleashes production. It removes all barriers to U.S. LNG exports and it unlocks America’s energy potential by requiring leasing and permitting of energy and minerals development on Federal lands and waters. It also would immediately approve the Keystone XL pipeline; and force the DOE Secretary to have a plan to increase domestic production before allowing any more non-emergency withdrawals from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve.

“Democrats have now blocked this five times. That’s five times they’ve denied increasing our domestic production to lower costs and boost energy exports to help our allies counter Russian aggression.”

SHIFTING BLAME

“Instead of doing what is necessary to meet energy demands, President Biden and CongressionalDemocrats are trying to shift blame to ‘price gouging’for these record high prices.

“First, the administration tried blaming Putin – they called it the ‘Putin Price Hike.’ But anyone who has been filling up their tanks since last January knows this is not true.

“The average gas price when President Biden took office was $2.38 and it climbed over a dollar more a gallon well before the invasion.[COVID, OIL WENT NEGATIVE]

“The American people are too smart and have not fallen for this. So, the President is now shifting blame to the industry alleging price gouging.

“Unless you ask his Energy Secretary who said in an Energy and Commerce hearing quote, ‘I’m not sure anyone is saying there is wholesale gouging.’

“That was just hours after Democrats announced their plans to introduce this legislation before us today.

“Regardless of Democrats not keeping their talking points straight, this price gouging conspiracy is nothing new.

“The Federal Trade Commission has investigated price gouging in oil and gas markets on and off for over a hundred years. It has never found systemic price gouging. Instead, they found higher prices are attributable to supply and demand.

“Americans are experiencing higher prices for virtually every single good and service, including gasoline.

“This is not because of some grand conspiracy that companies have suddenly decided to charge unaffordable prices. It is because of the Democrats’ out-of-control spending [GOP TAKE CREDIT FOR CARES BILLS THEY OPPOSED?] and regulations that have created an inflation crisis and devastated our supply chains.

“And the Democrats are not stopping with gas prices. Senator Warren and several House Members have just introduced legislation that would impose these price controls over our entire economy.

“Under the Democrats’ radical socialist agenda, the gas lines of the 1970s and the bread lines of Communist Russia and Venezuela will become reality in the United States of America.

“This is unacceptable and should be unthinkable.”

PROMISE OF AMERICA

“We’ve done more tolift people out of poverty [SORTA // API TALK PT], raise the standard of living than any nation in the history of the world.

“That is the promise of America.

“Free enterprise — not socialism — is the proven and best way to restore prosperity and optimism for the hardworking people of this country again.

“I urge my colleagues to stop this madness, abandon this socialist agenda, and work with us to unleash American energy.”

Washington, D.C. — Energy and Commerce Committee Republican Leader [?] Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA) delivered remarks in today’s Subcommittee on Environment and Climate Change hearing with Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Michael Regan.

Excerpts and highlights from her prepared remarks:

THE EPA’S CRITICAL ROLE

“Welcome back to the Energy and Commerce Committee, Administrator Regan.

“Your annual testimony on the President’s proposed EPA budget is an important chance to examine your priorities and your agency’s performance.

“EPA serves a critical role in our nation’s efforts to protect the environment and public health.

“This role includes standard setting, regulatory science and risk assessments, and large amounts of technical and financial assistance for states, tribal communities, and localities.”

CELEBRATING SUCCESS FOR A CLEANER ENVIRONMENT

“As you well know, although you do not acknowledge it in your written testimony, EPA today is operating against a backdrop of a tremendous record of environmental improvements.

“A review released last month by the Association of Air Pollution Control Agencies noted that for the past twenty years the public has perceived the nation’s environment as getting worse.

“Yet across the board, the opposite is the case.

“Air quality, for example, has been steadily improving – ozone, NOx, particulate matter concentrations are fractions of the levels 40 years ago.

“And the trend has continued over the past decade – including in states with heavy industrial and economic activity.

“These positive results extend to land, water, and air toxics.

“You should celebrate and promote these results, Mr. Administrator, and do your part to explain how and why this has happened.

“And you should talk about the challenges ahead, as tighter requirements run up against technological and economic limits.

“Continuous tightening of the screws, especially when standards are not technologically feasible risks broader economic harms to the very people you are seeking to help.”

THE BIDEN ADMINISTRATION’S REGULATORY OVERREACH AND BUDGET

“I worry that this administration’s radical climate agenda, will distract EPA from the hard work to ensure existing standards are implemented, and existing programs can succeed.

“We’ve seen what can happen.

“The Obama administration issued controversial, damaging rules that threatened to cut opportunity for people in struggling communities as jobs left regions.

“Look at the Clean Power Plan rule which sought to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from power plants.

“EPA overreached with that regulation, which threatened American jobs and the economy. A legal challenge to that regulation is pending before the Supreme Court right now.

“Senator Capito and I led abicameral amicus briefin that case, focused on the need to stop federal agencies from going beyond their statutory authoritiesand ignoring Congressional intent.

“Because of President Biden’s inflation crisis, families and retirees today are paying more for less, from the gas pump to the grocery store.

“This calls for responsible federal budgets [TRUMP VOODOO TAX CUT CORP OLIG GIVEAWAY] that focus on core missions, and effective management—the ingredients for accountability and success.”

“The EPA fiscal year 2023 budget request is nearly $12 billion. This amount is $681 million more than the request from last fiscal year [TRUMP CUTS?] , and that was a more than 20 percent increase.

“States are tasked with enforcing most of EPA’s regulatory requirements; but, this budget request calls for growing EPA’s workforce by 10 percent compared to current levels.

“You testified to the House Appropriations Committee recently that EPA is not ‘inflating itself’ because ‘a majority’ of EPA’s budget goes to the States.

“But not even 50 percent of your requested budget would go to the States.”

WINNING THE FUTURE

“I hope you will agree with me that we need to return to building – not dismantling – the American economy [RECORD REBOUND FROM TRUMP COVID FAIL RECESSION, LOWEST UNEMPL IN 40 YRS?].

“I’m concerned about actions at the EPA to destroy next-generation technologies by having premarket chemical reviews [VS PRECAUT WHICH WE DO NOT HAVE? TRUMP SAB]collect dust on the desks of Federal bureaucrats. I’m concerned how EPA is creating uncertainty, including delays or cancellations, in our permitting processes; and expanding regulations further, like the coal ash rule, WOTUS, and the cross-state air pollution rule.

“These are actions that ultimately drive projects out of America and make us more reliant on countries like China with the lowest environmental and labor standards.

“Projects taking years to develop, and money lost due to abrupt policy changes have a chilling impact on peoples’ willingness and ability to make things in America.

“To succeed, EPA must not be an obstacle to development and prosperity for American families, especially as they struggle to afford everyday life because of the administration’s energy and inflation crisis.”

:{

SUBCOMMITTEES

 Environment and Climate Change(117th Congress)}:

JURISDICTION

All matters related to soil, air, noise and water contamination; emergency environmental response, both physical and cybersecurity. In particular, the subcommittee has jurisdiction over The Nuclear Waste Policy Act, The Clean Air Act, The Safe Drinking Water Act, Comprehensive Environmental Response Compensation and Liability Act – including Superfund and the Emergency Planning and Community Right to Know Act, The Solid Waste Disposal Act, The Toxic Substance Control Act and The Chemical Facility Anti-Terrorism Standards Program. Under the Clean Air Act, this subcommittee deals with National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for criteria pollutants; National Emissions Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAP) Standards; New Source Performance Standards (NSPS); Mobile Source Standards for vehicles, aircraft, fuels and fuel additives, including the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) and greenhouse gas emissions from motor vehicles. The subcommittee focuses on the regulation of solid, hazardous, and nuclear wastes, including mining, nuclear, oil, gas, and coal combustion waste.

ENVIRONMENT AND CLIMATE CHANGE

MEMBERSHIP

West Virginia- 01

DAVID MCKINLEY

Republican Leader

New York - 20  climatehawk democrat

PAUL TONKO

Chairman

REPUBLICAN MEMBERS

Ohio - 06 BILL JOHNSON

Oklahoma - 02 MARKWAYNE MULLIN

North Carolina - 08 RICHARD HUDSON

Georgia - 01 BUDDY CARTER

South Carolina - 03 JEFF DUNCAN

Alabama - 6 GARY PALMER

Utah - 3 JOHN CURTIS

Texas - 2 DAN CRENSHAW

Washington - 05 CATHYMCMORRIS RODGERS

Ex officio [huh?]

Washington, D.C. — In the Environment and Climate Change Subcommittee hearing today, Subcommittee Republican Leader David B. McKinley (R-WV) delivered the following opening remarks during a hearing with Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Michael Regan.

Excerpts and highlights from his prepared remarks:

WORST FEARS NEW BEING REALIZED

“Our worst fears are now being realized. Pursuing an ideologically driven goal of 100% renewables in such a condensed time frame will cause the grid to collapse. [PERRY AEA IER BS]

“Last summer, the head of global research at General Electric in New York told Subcommittee Chairman Paul Tonko and me unequivocally that this would happen.

“And now, according to the Wall Street Journal, warnings of electricity shortages are growing across the United States.

“In the Midwest, the Midcontinent Independent System Operator is working to prepare for ‘worst case scenarios’ and expect a 5 gigawatt shortfall this summer.

“And just last Friday, Texas had to take steps to reduce strain on the grid. Nearly 3 gigawatt of capacity have gone offline because of high temperatures.

“Even California had to extend [? ]the operation of its gas-fired power plants last year.”

RENEWABLES AREN’T RELIABLE TO POWER OUR GRID

“So, what is the EPA doing to preserve and protect our grid?

“It seems like President Biden and the EPA are increasing regulations, rather than addressing the pending crisis we’re facing.

“Rather than ensure a reliable and resilient grid and keep the lights on across the country, the EPA is requesting almost $12 billion to pursue its climate change and environmental justice initiatives.[BI-PART INFRA bbb?]

“Look, with today’s science, renewables simply aren’t ready to fully power our grid.

“According to the Energy Information Administration, wind only works 35% of the time and solar only 25% of the time.

“And the Lawrence Livermore Lab found 81% of wind projects and 84% of solar projects do not reach commercial operations.

“So why does this EPA continue to pursue an agenda that will only take more fossil fuel capacity offline?”

EPA ISN’T BEING COOPERATIVE

“Mr. Chairman, the threat of electricity shortages has utilities taking steps to keep aging power plants running longer, but they’re fighting regulations. EPA is not being cooperative.

“And Congress has made significant investments over the last two years in carbon capture, like coal first, and carbon dioxide pipelines.

“These investments will let us preserve our fossil fuels and protect our grid.

“But EPA’s agenda doesn’t recognize that. You seem to want to fund more climate change and environmental justice programs.

“Neither of which will lead to grid liability [SIC HEH] , only blackouts across the nation.”

SUBCOMMITTEES

 Environment and Climate Change (117th Congress)]]]

not the EPA is DR evil

20 gop

https://republicans-energycommerce.house.gov/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/3.10.22-Letter-to-LCV.pdf

wsj lessons in energy masochism

IEA stats

hillary phony env gps

1/17 DNI ~ frack propaganda

RT cautions on env and public health effects of frack

fiona hill --> dan eberhart 12 2019 forbes

drew johnson newsweek 1 29 2017

chain of cmd again

hayden ludwig creature of grn lagoon june 17 2021

askes about $ from chicom party of any affiliated

https://www.opensecrets.org/members-of-congress/cathy-mcmorris-rodgers/summary?cid=N00026314

Top Contributors, 2021 - 2022

Top Industries, 2021 - 2022

top 20

1 https://www.opensecrets.org/orgs/blackstone-group/summary?id=D000021873

no lnx many twt

50K pharma 2021?

'How did you get elected?': Twitter hammers hypocritical GOP 'outrage clown' for opposing insulin price cap

Brandon Gage April 01, 2022

The United States House of Representatives on Thursday evening passed legislation that would cap the cost of insulin at $35 per month, ensuring that diabetic Americans are never denied access to the life-saving medication due to price. The stand-alone measure was originally included in President Joe Biden's Build Back Better Act, which died in the Senate earlier this year.

"Experts say it costs less than $10 a vial to manufacture, yet there are still American families with insurance paying hundreds of dollars per vial of insulin. Currently, costs for patients can range from $334 to $1,000 a month for insulin,according to a 2020 Kaiser Family Foundation report," ABC News reported.

"The bill caps cost-sharing for a month's supply of insulin starting in 2023 at whichever amount is lower: $35, or 25% of a plan's negotiated price, according to the bill's text," the outlet added. "The bill does not lower the overall price of insulin; it would likely shift more of the cost onto insurers and employers."

The vote was a bipartisan 232-193, with 12 Republicans joining a united Democratic majority. The bill now heads to the Senate.

Among the dissenters in the GOP's right-wing caucus was House Energy and Commerce Committee ranking member Cathy McMorris Rodgers, who represents Washington State's 5th Congressional District. Rodgers, a staunch social conservative, complained during a speech on the House floor that protecting patients by lowering their prescription drug costs is a bad thing. The 9th-term lawmaker also wondered what other essential consumer products could be on the government's watchlist.

"Today, it's the government fixing the price on insulin. What's next? Gas? Food? History tells us that price-fixing doesn't work," she said.

Watch below:

In addition to McMorris Rodgers' apparent aversion to preventing people from dying from lack of access to necessary treatments, Twitter pointed out that her hypocrisy on the topic of "price-fixing" was on full display.

As a member of Congress, McMorris Rodgers has exclusive access to the very best taxpayer-funded healthcare [disabled kid]. But her attitude toward her constituents is straight-up indifference.

Follow the money.

https://www.ecowatch.com/salmon-dams-congress-2563523631.html

Alarming 'Salmon Extinction Act' Passes in U.S. House

A small group led by Republicans in Congress spearheaded a bill that passed in the U.S. House of Representatives on Wednesday. If the bill becomes law, it could lead to the eventual extinction of wild salmon in the Columbia and Snake rivers—iconic species in the Pacific Northwest that the federal government is required by law to protect.

House Resolution 3144 seeks to overturn multiple federal court decisions that protect endangered salmon and steelhead. It undermines bedrock environmental laws and forbids any action that might reduce power generation at Columbia and Snake River dams without an act of Congress—from spilling more water over dams in the spring to help endangered fish migrate, to studying the possibility of removing the four aging lower Snake River dams.

Further, it mandates that salmon populations be managed based on a 2014 federal plan that was rejected in two court decisions as being illegal, for not doing enough to save the fish from extinction.

"HR 3144 is a giant step backwards in our region's effort to restore salmon populations," said Todd True, an Earthjustice attorney who has been at the forefront of this issue for more than two decades. "The entire goal of the bill is to circumvent the law and the courts, because a few legislators want to put a narrow set of economic interests ahead of the broad support in our region for salmon restoration. They have inserted themselves into the process, without considering the true consequences—for the fish, our energy future, or the Northwest economy."

==

DN

AMY GOODMAN: Erich Pica, let’s look at the appointments so far. You have Scott Pruitt to head the EPA, one of the major foes of the Environmental Protection Agency; Jeff Sessions, attorney general. We haven’t talked as much about President-elect Trump’s choice to head the Department of Interior, Cathy McMorris Rodgers. Can you talk about her and then this overall picture of his planned Cabinet that we know so far?

ERICH PICA: Yeah, I mean, he—his Cabinet nominees are the worst when it comes to understanding climate change and perpetuating climate denialism. Here we haveCathy McMorris Rodgers, who has a lifetime record with the League of Conservation Voters of 4 percent. She has voted or led to fight President Obama’s Clean Power Plan. She has wanted to auction off public lands to the highest bidder for the extraction of oil and gas and timber. She has supported Cliven Bundy, you know, the—and his group that took over Oregon in an armed revolt. She was one of 15 members of Congress that actually supported the takeover of the Oregon park. And so, McMorris Rodgers, she is aligned with some of the most radical anti-environmental, anti-climate movements here in the United States. And she is now going to—she’s been nominated to now run the Department of the Interior, which is responsible for managing 500 million acres of U.S. public lands. And so, Friends of the Earth and 350, many of us have said, you know, we have to keep fossil fuels in the ground, which means that the federal government cannot lease any more oil, coal and natural gas. And now we have an Interior Department official who not only doesn’t believe in climate change but wants to sell off those public lands to the highest bidder or the lowest bidder—I think she doesn’t really care; she just wants to sell them off—for the express purpose of extracting as fast as possible.

And this is a trend that we’ve seen with Scott Pruitt at the Environmental Protection Agency, the former attorney general—the current attorney general of Oklahoma, who has opposed each of the major rules that President Obama has tried to put in place to regulate climate change, provide for safer water and for public health. And now he’s going to be the head of the Environmental Protection Agency, if he’s not opposed.

You look at Sessions for the U.S. attorney general,and he has actually tried to squash the investigation that’s been spurred into ExxonMobil’s—you know, how they’ve treated corporate shareholders and whether or not they lied to them.And so, we can see Sessions gutting not only the Environmental Crimes Division at the Department of Justice, but also the Civil Rights Division. And what he has put in place is a series of appointees that will do the bidding of the fossil fuel industry to suppress the right to vote, to suppress people’s speech and to then give these fossil fuel polluters a free ride when it comes to their responsibility to both pay for climate damages as well as to cut their own production of fossil fuels.

AMY GOODMAN: The League of Conservation Voters, as you said, gave Cathy McMorris Rodgers a zero in its most recent ratings. Here, she is speaking out in 2015 in favor of the Keystone XL pipeline.

REP. CATHY McMORRIS RODGERS: We stand here very proud to have just voted for the 11th time in the House of Representatives to approve the Keystone pipeline project. We voted to approve more than 40,000 American jobs. We voted for energy innovation, energy independence. We voted to say yes to American energy.

AMY GOODMAN: That’s Republican Congresswoman Cathy McMorris Rodgers of Washington state. Bill McKibben, your response?

BILL McKIBBEN: Well, look, Erich’s right: This is all of a piece, and the piece is that the fossil fuel industry is now going to be dominant in W

4th phase denialism to DELAYISM ukraine war watershed

https://www.mediamatters.org/jesse-watters/kremlin-praises-fox-news-fox-personalities-desperately-try-link-environmental-groups

as Russia’s foreign minister praises Fox News coverage of war in Ukraine, the network has exploited the crisis to villainize the environmental movement, capitalizing on the global economic sanctions against Vladimir Putin’s invasion to recycle previously debunked claims that Russia is secretly funding  “green campaigns” against oil drilling and fracking in the U.S.

Fox hosts and personalities took their cues from a March 10 letter from Republican members of theHouse Energy Committeeasking three environmental groups – the League of Conservation Voters, the Natural Resources Defense Council, and Sierra Club – to provide evidence of any financial support from Russia. Yet, as the Washington Post Fact Checker explains, the “bogus” allegations in the letter are remnants of a 2017 scandal concocted by Republicans to distract from an investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election.

Here are some examples of Fox pushing this lie:

• Fox host Jesse Watters suggested green energy campaigns “are taking dirty Russian money” in order “to scare Americans out of fracking and energy exploration.” Fox News, :(style="background-color:#ffffff;"):}:*Jesse Watters Primetime*:{, :(style="background-color:#ffffff;"):}::{[3/3/22]
• Watters, and co-host Greg Gutfeld pushed this evidence-free claim again, saying that green energy campaigns in America are funded by Russia to increase dependence on foreign oil. Fox News, *The Five*, [3/4/22]
• Fox’s Carley Shimkus stated that “a lot of Republicans are calling for an investigation into whether Russia was funding climate change groups in the U.S.” Co-host Rachel Campos-Duffy followed up, “Of course they were.” Fox News, *Fox & Friends*, [3/16/22]
• Gutfeld spent his monologue ranting that “the left are in lockstep with what Putin wants, for us to be dependent on other countries like his for energy,” saying “Russia duped Europe into depending on their energy by funding rabid environmental groups” and spread “disinformation within green groups to steer countries away from fracking and shale gas.” Fox News, *Gutfeld!*, [3/16/22]
• Later in the episode, Gutfeld suggested that opposition to fracking in the U.S. had been “driven” by Russian propaganda efforts: “The past 10 years, all this stuff – all the documentaries, all the Hollywood celebrities, all the stuff about fracking – might have all been driven by Russia, or at least paying for that.” Fox News,*Gutfeld!*, [3/16/22]
• Gutfeld repeated the claim yet again the next day, saying the Democrats should be thanking Putin for rising gas prices “because after all, it was Russia who infiltrated the green groups to get us off our domestic oil and buy their foreign oil.” Fox News, *The Five*, [3/17/22]

Fox personalities have been criticized for pro-Kremlin commentary – and the Kremlin itself has noticed, as exposed by minister Sergey Lavrov's remarks about Fox and a recently reported memo from the Russian government that directed the country’s media outlets to promote as many clips of Fox News star Tucker Carlson as possible. (The Kremlin’s propaganda and Carlson’s own rhetoric have remarkable similarities.) The narratives parroted by Fox to earn this praise – from blaming Joe Biden for rising gas prices to suggestions the war in Ukraine is pushed by elitist self interests – are baseless and incendiary. Their recent push of easily debunked anti-environmental conspiracies are no different.

The allegations stem from whether the aforementioned environmental groups received donations from the Sea Change Foundation, an environmental philanthropy group run by billionaire Nat Simons. In 2015, a baseless report from the GOP lobbyist-led front group Environmental Policy Alliance accused the law firm that set up a Bermuda-based company financing Sea Change of having extremely vague ties to an adviser to Putin. The firm refuted these allegations as “completely false and irresponsible,” saying, “We can state categorically that at no point did this philanthropic organization receive or expend funds from Russian sources or Russian-connected sources.” In fact, the sole source of the foundation’s funding is the Simons family. Despite the appearance of Kremlin-linked donations being obliterated, that did not stop 2017 House GOP members from requesting an investigation, and now recycling the debunked claims. 

The network’s hosts and guests – primarily recently promoted prime-time stars Jesse Watters and Greg Gutfeld – are also conflating a separate online article from Fox that quotes “experts” like the Heritage Foundation’s James Carafano noting that “Russians actually fund some of the most rabid environmental groups in Europe.” (Carafano has been a vocal critic of climate science and recently co-authored a piece describing the Biden administration’s climate policies as a “titanic disaster in waiting.”) The article’s so-called “experts” also included right-wing media’s favorite climate contrarian, Michael Shellenberger, a notorious natural gas advocate who’s pushed lies about the cost and efficiency of renewable energy.  

The Republicans point to a 2017 national intelligence report that highlighted a Russian state news channel, RT America, that ran “anti-fracking programming,” and was trying to expand its U.S. audience. Not only did the report not provide any evidence that the channel had been successful, but as of March 4, RT America announced it was “ceasing production.” It is simply preposterous to believe that over a decade of fracking commentary was driven by the network prior to its dissolution.

Some efforts against European drilling and fracking have been linked to Kremlin propaganda designed to increase dependency on Russian oil exports, but with each reshaping of the conspiracy theory, there has been no evidence of any similarly funded successful campaign in the United States.

ref 1

https://www.foxnews.com/world/russia-funding-environmental-groups-europe-united-state

no lnx pix [vid?]

RUSSIA Published March 15, 2022

Russia duped Europe into energy dependence by funding 'rabid environmental groups': experts

Expert James Carafano: 'Russians actually fund some of the most rabid environmental groups in Europe'

By Emma Colton | Fox News

[soc med]

[Biden engaged in 'war on American energy,' finally banned Russia oil over bad news cycle, House rep says

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You can now listen to Fox News articles! BeyondWords]

For years, world leaders have accused Russia of funding environmental groups in Europe to steer nations away from energy independence and strengthen Russia’s iron grip over the continent.As nations across the globe begin shunning Russian oil in response to the country’s invasion of Ukraine, U.S. leaders are also questioning how deep Russia’s ties go in the environmental community.

"The Russians actually fund some of the most rabid environmental groups in Europe because they sic them on the energy projects that aren’t Russian," James Carafano, vice president of the Kathryn and Shelby Cullom Davis Institute for National Security and Foreign Policy at the Heritage Foundation,told Fox News Digital in a recent phone interview.

RUSSIA INVADES UKRAINE: LIVE UPDATES]

Back in June 2014, just months after Russia annexed the Crimean Peninsula from Ukraine, European leaders sounded off that Russia was using disinformation operations with environmental groups to steer countries away from fracking in favor of Russian oil.

"I have met allies who can report that Russia, as part of their sophisticated information and disinformation operations, engaged actively with so-called non-governmental organisations - environmental organisations working against shale gas - to maintain European dependence on imported Russian gas," Anders Fogh Rasmussen, the former prime minister of Denmark and then-secretary-general of NATO, said, according to the Guardian.

NATO’s press office passed the remarks off as Rasmussen’s personal views, but one NATO official sounded the alarm that Russia’s grip on Europe was tightening.

HOUSE REPUBLICANS DEMAND ANSWERS FROM ENVIRONMENTAL GROUPS OVER ALLEGATION OF COLLUSION WITH RUSSIA

"We don't go into the details of discussions among allied leaders, but Russia has been using a mix of hard and soft power in its attempt to recreate a sphere of influence, including through a campaign of disinformation on many issues, including energy. In general, the potential for Russia using energy supplies as a means of putting pressure on European nations is a matter of concern. No country should use supply and pricing terms as tools of coercion," the NATO official told the Guardian in 2014.

Environmental groups have meanwhile feverishly denied any ties to Russia.

"The idea we’re puppets of Putin is so preposterous that you have to wonder what they’re smoking over at NATO HQ," Greenpeacetold the Guardian in 2014.

By 2016, Germany, France, the Netherlands, Scotland and Bulgaria had all banned fracking, either temporarily or permanently. Russia’s power over European energy grew large by 2022, providing roughly 40% of the continent’s natural gas supply. Lithuania, for example, gets 83% of its oil imports from Russia, Poland gets 58% and Finland 80%, The Hill reported. [DENMARK?]

"You're not really an independent nation if you depend on foreign countries so heavily for your energy supplies," Michael Shellenberger, thebest-selling author of "Apocalypse Never," told Fox News earlier this month.

EUROPE'S GREEN ENERGY POLICIES STRENGTHENED PUTIN, MICHAEL SHELLENBERGER SAYS

Shellenberger said that 15 years ago, "Europe produced more natural gas than Russia," but that all changed as "Russia increased its natural gas production and Europe reduced it."

"Europe decided not to frack in large part in response to climate activists," Shellenberger told Fox News. "We now think there is strong evidence suggesting [the climate activists] were supported directly through financing from Russia."

REPUBLICANS CALL ON YELLEN TO INVESTIGATE WHETHER RUSSIAN MONEY FINANCED USA GREEN GROUPS

In the U.S., Republican Reps. Lamar Smith and Randy Weber sent a letter to then-Secretary of the Treasury Steven Mnuchin in 2017 arguing that Russia’s goal is to "suppress the widespread adoption of fracking in Europe and the U.S." by funding such environmental groups.

The two Republicans even cited former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who complained during a private 2014 speech about "phony environmental groups" pushing an anti-fracking agenda.

"We were even up againstphony environmental groups, and I’m a big environmentalist, but these were funded by the Russians to stand against any effort, ‘Oh that pipeline, that fracking, that whatever will be a problem for you,’ and a lot of the money supporting that message was coming from Russia," Clinton said, according to excerpts leaked by WikiLeaks in 2016.

Republicans on the House Energy and Commerce Committee are now holding three environmental groups’ feet to the fire.

The Republicans, led by Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, are demanding that the League of Conservation Voters, the Natural Resources Defense Council, and the Sierra Club disclose their ties to aSan Francisco-based nongovernmental organization that Russian President Vladimir Putin allegedly uses to wield power over American energy production.

[PIX: Russian President Vladimir Putin chairs a Security Councilmeeting in Moscow, Russia.

]

"Provided the public reporting of Putin's dark money influence in Europe and the concerns surrounding similar efforts in the United States, we write today to explore your connections withSea Change," the Republicans wrote in the letter to the three groups last week. "Any action by President Putin, the Russian government, or Putin's allies to undermine American energy security must be addressed."

The three groups denied any ties in a previous comment to Fox News, describing the accusations as "completely false," "rooted in a smear campaign," and a phony "conspiracy theory."

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

:{

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"It is vital to our national security to know if Vladimir Putin, the Russian government, or Putin’s allies are meddling with America’s energy affordability and security. If the League of Conservation Voters, the Natural Resources Defense Council, or Sierra Club have nothing to hide, then we look forward to seeing the evidence they provide by March 25th," House Energy and Commerce Committee Republican leader McMorris Rodgers told Fox News Digital.

ref [note many lnx are just to fox category/tags]

https://www.foxnews.com/politics/house-republicans-demand-answers-environmental-groups-collusion-russia

no lnx vid [interestingly on 3 22 pix of ukraine devastation]

REPUBLICANS Published March 10, 2022

House Republicans demand answers from environmental groups over allegation of collusion with Russia

The group's reportedly have ties to the Sea Change Foundation based in San Francisco

By Kyle Morris | Fox News

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Vladimir Putin is laughing at the Biden administration: Charlie Hurt]

Fox News contributor tells Laura Ingraham that Vladimir Putin is sitting back laughing at the Biden administration.

[NEW

You can now listen to Fox News articles!

Listen to this article BeyondWords]

House Energy and Commerce Committee Republicans are calling on certain environmental groups to disclose their ties to a non-governmental organization which is, according to the committee, reportedly used by Russian President Vladimir Putin to make an impact on American energy production.

Three environmental groups – the League of Conservation Voters (LCV), the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), and the Sierra Club – reportedly have ties to the San Francisco-based NGO environmental organization called the Sea Change Foundation, according to Republicans on the committee.

MARYLAND GOV. LARRY HOGAN WORKING ON ‘EMERGENCY SUSPENSION’ OF STATE GAS TAX

In a letter sent to each of the three groups, Republicans inquired about the funding the groups have received from Sea Change since 2006 and called for disclosure of whether the groups "are aware of concerns that Sea Change may be a conduit for Russian funding."

"Provided the public reporting of Putin's dark money influence in Europe and the concerns surrounding similar efforts in the United States, we write today to explore your connections with Sea Change," the Republicans stated in the letter. "Any action by President Putin, the Russian government, or Putin's allies to undermine American energy security must be addressed."

In addition, the Republicans asked the groups if they have received funds or took a particular action after a request "from the Russian government or anyone connected with the Russian government."

All three of the groups, according to Republicans on the committee, were identified as top recipients of Sea Change grants since 2006. The letter was signed by more than 20 Congressional Republicans, including Energy and Commerce Committee Republican leader Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, Wash., and ranking member Rep. Fred Upton, R-Mich.

"If the League of Conservation Voters, the Natural Resources Defense Council, and the Sierra Club have nothing to hide, then we look forward to seeing the evidence by March 25," a spokesperson for Energy and Commerce Republicans told Fox News.

In a response shared with Fox News, Bob Deans, the director of strategic engagement for the NRDC, suggested the "allegations are false" and are "rooted in a smear campaign."

"We receive no funding from the governments of Russia or China," Deans said. "We answer to our independent leadership, and we don’t do the bidding of any government – foreign or otherwise – in our work to advocate for commonsense environmental protections in the public interest. These allegations are rooted in a smear campaign orchestrated nearly a decade ago by fossil fuel interests and a right-wing think tank. They only serve then, as now, as a distraction."

Similarly, a statement provided to Fox News from the LCV said the "story is completely false and has been put to rest for years."

"We have no connections to Russia, or China, and have been an effective advocate for environmental protection for over 50 years," the group stated. "These false and poorly researched allegations are rooted in a nearly 10-year-old right-wing think tank and fossil fuel industry-funded smear campaign that gets revived every few years to serve as a distraction."

[pix stark contrast? Natali Sevriukova reacts next to her house following a rocket attack the city of Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, Feb. 25, 2022.]

In a statement shared with Fox News, Melinda Pierce, Sierra Club's legislative director, concluded the allegation of collusion is a "false conspiracy theory."

"This false conspiracy theory, invented by the same deceitful front groups paid to do polluters' and big tobacco’s dirty work, has been repeatedly debunked over its nearly 10-year existence," Pierce said. "The Sierra Club has no connections to Russia or China, and proudly fights for clean energy and climate action because this is what our planet requires, our families deserve, and what the overwhelming majority of Americans across the country demand."

Fox News did not receive an immediate response from the Sea Change Foundation.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Gasoline prices in America hit a record high this week amid Russia’s continued invasion into Ukraine and the announcement that the United States would suspend purchases of Russian oil. As of Thursday, the national average for a gallon of regular gasoline reached $4.318, according to AAA data. Prices surpassed the $4 mark Sunday for the first time in 14 years.

The Republican members have requested a response to their questions by March 25.

Kyle Morris covers politics for Fox News. On Twitter: @RealKyleMorris.

Washington, DC — Frontiers of Freedom, a public advocacy group founded by the late Sen. Malcolm Wallop, R-Wy., announced Thursday it had presented in 2014 Ronald Reagan Award to actor Gary Sinise in recognition of his efforts to keep Reaganite values alive in Hollywood and for his work in support of wounded warriors and active duty servicemen and women.

“Gary Sinise is a true American patriot. His unselfish devotion to the cause of liberty, which is best expressed by his ongoing commitment to the health, morale, and well-being of America’s fighting men and women, makes him exceptionally worthy of the Reagan Award.The example Gary sets is one that other members of the film and entertainment community should seriously consider following,” George Landrith, president of Frontiers of Freedom said.

Sinise reiterates his commitment to the nation’s veterans and decried the mistreatment of veterans by the Veterans Administration.  In a passionate speech describing his personal journey to better understanding the need to protect and promote the interests of US veterans, Sinise decried the abuses of veterans by the VA administration.  “We should have the courage to take determined action, to walk with our veterans…. No veteran should ever face the kinds of abuse and neglect that we’ve seen this year….if we the people have the courage and caring and willingness  to put service above self to meet them and help… we will be at our very best at someone else’s darkest moment.”

Previous Reagan Award winners include former Vice President Dick Cheney, Utah Sen. Orrin Hatch, Michigan U.S. Rep. Fred Upton, and conservative activist Grover Norquist.

The group also presented its first annual Lincoln Legislator Award to U.S. Rep. and House Republican Conference Chair Cathy McMorris-Rodgers, R-Wash., who also emceed the event.

“Rep. McMorris-Rodgers symbolizes what is best about America’s traditional of citizen-legislator leadership. Her tireless work on behalf of the cause of limited government, personal liberty, and a strong national defense made the decision to make her the inaugural recipient of our Lincoln Award an easy one. She is a fighter, standing up for the interests of the American people against a government that has grown too big and spends too much.”

Frontiers of Freedom is a public policy organization based in Washington, D.C. that supports limited government, a strong national defense, and argues that the American people should be able to exercise a maximum of personal choice with a minimum of government interference.

==

http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2016/12/cathy-mcmorris-rodgers-climate-change-national-monuments

n Friday the Wall Street Journal reported that Donald Trump has chosen Washington Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, chair of the House Republican Conference, to be his secretary of interior. The Interior Department is responsible for three-quarters of the nation's public lands, and includes under its umbrella agencies like the National Parks Service, the US Fish and Wildlife Service, the US Geological Survey, the Bureau of Land Management, and the Bureau of Reclamation—all which are on the front lines of the fight against climate change.

But if her record in Congress is any indication, don't expect McMorris Rogers to make climate science or conservation a priority. In 2008, after Al Gore earned a Nobel Peace Prize and an Oscar for An Inconvenient Truth, she dismissed the former vice president's warnings about global warming. "We believe Al Gore deserves an 'F' in science and an 'A' in creative writing," she joked.

One year later, McMorris Rodgers sang a slightly different tune, telling a group of students from her district that "we should be taking steps to reduce our carbon emissions"—but that's been the extent of her climate awakening. In 2010, she earned plaudits from the Koch brothers-backed Americans for Prosperity for opposing a cap-and-trade carbon-pricing system aimed at reducing emissions. In 2011 she voted three times against a resolution acknowledging that "climate change is happening and human beings are a major reason for it." More recently, she co-sponsored the House bill to prohibit the Environmental Protection Agency (which is not part of Interior) from regulating carbon emissions; EPA carbon regulations form the core of President Barack Obama's climate policy.

McMorris Rodgers has explicitly voted against letting the interior secretary consider climate change when setting policy. In 2014, while supporting legislation designed to protect hunters' access to public lands, she opposed an amendment stipulating that "nothing in this Act limits the authority of the Secretary of the Interior to include climate change as a consideration in making decisions related to conservation and recreation on public lands."

Even the firsthand effects of climate change on her district have done little to spur the congresswoman to action. When forest fires swept through eastern Washington in August, the state's Democratic governor, Jay Inslee, argued that the fires, aided by tree-killing bugs and dry conditions, were a problem that would only get worse due to climate change—a position shared by the US Forest Service. McMorris Rodgers declined to make that connection when asked by reporters about Inslee's comments, instead urging authorities to simply focus on "better forest management."

McMorris Rogers, who has a 4 percent lifetime rating from the League of Conservation Voters, has taken concrete steps to curb the power of the department she's now set to run. She's repeatedly backed legislation that would limit the president's authority to protect public lands under the Antiquities Act, which Obama and his predecessors have used to create marine sanctuaries and to set aside large chunks of the West as national monuments. (The impetus for the most recent push was Obama's creation of Basin and Range National Monument, to be run by the Bureau of Land Management, in central Nevada.) She also backed a proposal to loosen environmental laws in national parks and wildlife refuges within 100 miles of the US–Mexican border. That's not a good sign for fragile desert ecosystems—but it might come in handy when construction starts on Trump's wall.

==

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cathy_McMorris_Rodgers

Cathy Anne McMorris Rodgers (born May 22, 1969) is an American politician. She has been the U.S. Representative for Washington's 5th congressional district since 2005. The district includes Spokane and the eastern third of Washington State.

She is a member of the Republican Party. From 1994 to 2005, she served in the Washington House of Representatives, rising to become the minority leader. McMorris Rodgers is the highest ranking Republican woman in Congress, serving as the Chairman of the House Republican Conference. She is only the second woman to serve in that capacity, following former Congresswoman Deborah Pryce, who served from 2003 to 2007.

Contents

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• :{1:(style="display:table-cell;padding-left:0px;padding-right:0.5em"):}::{Early life and education:(style="display:table-cell"):}:
• :{2:(style="display:table-cell;padding-left:0px;padding-right:0.5em"):}::{Washington House of Representatives:(style="display:table-cell"):}:
• :{3:(style="display:table-cell;padding-left:0px;padding-right:0.5em"):}::{U.S. House of Representatives:(style="display:table-cell"):}:
  • :{3.1:(style="display:table-cell;padding-left:0px;padding-right:0.5em"):}::{Freshman term 2005–2007:(style="display:table-cell"):}:
  • :{3.2:(style="display:table-cell;padding-left:0px;padding-right:0.5em"):}::{Sophomore term 2007–2009:(style="display:table-cell"):}:
  • :{3.3:(style="display:table-cell;padding-left:0px;padding-right:0.5em"):}::{Third term 2009–2011:(style="display:table-cell"):}:
  • :{3.4:(style="display:table-cell;padding-left:0px;padding-right:0.5em"):}::{Fourth term 2011–2013:(style="display:table-cell"):}:
  • :{3.5:(style="display:table-cell;padding-left:0px;padding-right:0.5em"):}::{Fifth term 2013–2015:(style="display:table-cell"):}:
  • :{3.6:(style="display:table-cell;padding-left:0px;padding-right:0.5em"):}::{Sixth term 2015—Present:(style="display:table-cell"):}:
    • :{3.6.1:(style="display:table-cell;padding-left:0px;padding-right:0.5em"):}::{Interest group ratings:(style="display:table-cell"):}:
    • :{3.6.2:(style="display:table-cell;padding-left:0px;padding-right:0.5em"):}::{Committee assignments:(style="display:table-cell"):}:
• :{4:(style="display:table-cell;padding-left:0px;padding-right:0.5em"):}::{U.S. Secretary of the Interior Consideration:(style="display:table-cell"):}:
• :{5:(style="display:table-cell;padding-left:0px;padding-right:0.5em"):}::{Personal life:(style="display:table-cell"):}:
  • :{5.1:(style="display:table-cell;padding-left:0px;padding-right:0.5em"):}::{Children:(style="display:table-cell"):}:
  • :{5.2:(style="display:table-cell;padding-left:0px;padding-right:0.5em"):}::{Religion:(style="display:table-cell"):}:
• :{6:(style="display:table-cell;padding-left:0px;padding-right:0.5em"):}::{References:(style="display:table-cell"):}:
• :{7:(style="display:table-cell;padding-left:0px;padding-right:0.5em"):}::{External links:(style="display:table-cell"):}:

Early life and education

Cathy McMorris was born May 26, 1969 in Salem, Oregon, the daughter of Corrine (née Robinson) and Wayne McMorris.^[1][2] She is a descendant of pioneers who traveled the Oregon Trail in the early 1850s to the Pacific Northwest, where her father's family pursued agriculture and her mother's family worked in the forestry industry.^[3] In 1974, when McMorris was five years old, her family moved to Hazelton, British Columbia, Canada. The family lived in a cabin while they built a log home on their farm.^[1] In 1984, the McMorris family settled in Kettle Falls, Washington and established the Peachcrest Fruit Basket Orchard and Fruit Stand. Cathy McMorris worked there for 13 years.^[3][1]

In 1990 she received a bachelor's degree in Pre-law from Pensacola Christian College, a then-unaccredited Independent Baptist liberal arts college.^[4][5] McMorris Rodgers subsequently earned an Executive MBA from the University of Washington in 2002.^[6]

Washington House of Representatives

Following the completion of her undergraduate education, McMorris was hired by State Rep. Bob Morton in 1991.^[7] She served as his campaign manager and later his legislative assistant.^[8]

She became a member of the state legislature when she was appointed to the Washington House of Representatives in 1994. Her appointment filled the vacancy that temporarily remained when Rep. Bob Mortonwas appointed to the Washington State Senate.^[8] After being sworn into office on January 11, 1994,^[7] she represented the 7th Legislative District (parts or all of the counties of Ferry, Lincoln, Okanogan, Pend Oreille, Spokane and Stevens). She successfully retained the seat in a 1994 special election.^[9]

During her time in the legislature, McMorris was known for supporting small business and rural communities. She led efforts to improve the health and productivity of state forest lands and defend rural communities. As a social conservative, she worked to unify the House Republicans from around the state and to find common ground with Democrats. When asked to name an instance when she well represented her constituents' interests, she pointed to a bill she sponsored that would authorize judges to conduct procedural hearings by way of closed circuit television, thereby allowing defendants to be arraigned on video. This new agenda would reduce the time, effort, security, and money that was previously used to transport defendants to physical court hearings.^[10] In 1997, she co-sponsored legislation to ban same-sex marriage in Washington State.^[11][12]

According to the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, in 2001 she blocked legislation "to replace all references to 'Oriental' in state documents with 'Asian'", explaining that "I'm very reluctant to continue to focus on setting up different definitions in statute related to the various minority groups. I'd really like to see us get beyond that."^[13]

She voted against a 2004 bill to add sexual orientation to the state's anti-discrimination law and was a vocal opponent of same-sex marriage.^[1]

She is credited for sponsoring legislation to require the state reimburse rural hospitals for the cost of serving Medicaid patients and for her work overcoming opposition in her own caucus to pass a controversial gas tax used to fund transportation improvements.^[14]

From 2002 to 2003, she served as House Minority Leader,^[3] the top leadership post for the House Republicans. She was the first woman to lead a House Caucus, and the youngest since World War II.[citation ^needed]^ She chaired the House Commerce and Labor Committee, the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Committee, and the State Government Committee.^[15] She stepped down as minority leader in 2003 after announcing her bid for Congress.^[16]

During her tenure in the legislature, she lived in Colville; she has since moved to Spokane.[citation ^needed]^

U.S. House of Representatives

After serving 10 years in the Washington House of Representatives, McMorris ran in 2004 for United States House of Representatives. She won the election and has held that office since 2005. She has subsequently risen to several leadership positions in the Republican caucus.

Freshman term 2005–2007

In 2004, McMorris received 59.7%^[17] of the vote in an open seat, defeating Democratic hotel magnate Don Barbieri. The district had come open when five-term incumbent George Nethercutt unsuccessfully ran in the 2004 Washington Senate election. In November 2006, McMorris Rodgers won re-election with 56.4% of the vote and her Democratic challenger Peter J. Goldmark earned 43.6%.^[18]

For the 109th United States Congress, McMorris Rodgers' committee assignments included Armed Services,^[3] Natural Resources,^[3] and Subcommittee on Fisheries, Wildlife and Oceans, Education and Labor,^[3] Speaker’s High-Tech Working,^[3] and Chairwoman of the National Task Force on Improving the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).^[19] As the Chairwoman of the NEPA, she held NEPA hearings across the country, reviewing the current implementation of the Act. NEPA has broad economic impacts through permitting and study requirements for transportation, public works projects, oil and gas development, healthy forests, mining, grazing and other federal projects.^[19]

McMorris Rodgers served as the freshman class representative on the Steering Committee and on the Republican Whip Team.^[3] She also joined the Republican Study Committee, a caucus of conservative House Republicans.[citation ^needed]^ Also during her first term in office, she co-sponsored the "Marriage Protection Amendment," an amendment to the Constitution to prohibit same-sex marriage that failed to pass the House in 2006.^[20]

She actively protected and sought expansion of the Fairchild Air Force Base and worked to keep the base off the 2005 Base Realignment and Closure Commission list.^[3] McMorris Rodgers co-introduced health information technology (IT) legislation and is co-leading a statewide health IT task force to position Washington state for future health IT advancements with Congressman Adam Smith, D-WA.^[3] In 2005, McMorris Rodgers sponsored the American Competitiveness Amendment to the College Access and Opportunity Act to improve math, science, and critical foreign language education.^[3] The bill was moved to the Senate in 2006 and did not become law.^[21]

Sophomore term 2007–2009

McMorris in 2009 with Adm.Mike Mullen and Rep. Sanford Bishop

In 2008, she received 211,305 votes (65.28%) over Democrat Mark Mays' 112,382 votes (34.72%).^[22]

In 2007, McMorris Rodgers became the Republican co-chairwoman of the Congressional Caucus for Women's Issues. The Democratic co-chairwoman was Rep. Lois Capps, D-Calif. The caucus has pushed for pay equity, tougher child support enforcement, women's health programs and law protecting victims of domestic violence and sexual assault.^[23]

McMorris Rodgers co-founded the Congressional Down Syndrome Caucus with Congressman Pete Sessions (R-TX) Congressman Patrick J. Kennedy (D-RI), and Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC).[citation ^needed]^

Third term 2009–2011

McMorris Rodgers won the 2010 general election with 150,681 votes (64%) and Democrat Daryl Romeyn received 85,686 votes (36%).^[24] Romeyn spent only $2,320 against Rodgers' $1,453,240.^[25]

On November 19, 2008, McMorris Rodgers was elected to serve as the Vice Chair of the House Republican Conference for the 111th United States Congress, making her the fourth highest ranking Republican in her caucus leadership (after John Boehner, Minority Whip Eric Cantor and Republican Conference Chairman Mike Pence) and the highest-ranking Republican woman.^[26]

In 2009, she became Vice Chair of the House Republican Conference^[27] and served until 2012 when she was succeeded by Lynn Jenkins.^[28]

In 2010, Congress passed the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, which was signed into law by President Obama. Since its passing, the Seattle Times reported that McMorris Rodgers "has been a vocal critic" of the law and "has voted repeatedly to defund or repeal the law."^[29]

Fourth term 2011–2013

For the 2012 general election, Congresswoman Rodgers received 191,066 votes (61.9%) and Democrat Rich Cowan received 117,512 (38.9%).^[30]

McMorris Rodgers sponsored the Pharmacy Competition and Consumer Choice Act of 2011.^[31] She said that "the bill would increase competition and promote transparency, and it would make the delivery of pharmacy services much more efficient." Conservative groups, including the Americans for Tax Reform and the Cost of Government Center, came out opposed to the bill and it was never voted on.^[32] That same year, she sponsored bill H.R.2313 to repeal the authority to provide certain loans to the International Monetary Fund, but it never made it out of committee.^[33]

In 2012, National Journal named McMorris Rodgers one of ten Republicans to follow on Twitter.^[34]

On November 14, 2012, she defeated Rep. Tom Price of Georgia to become chairwoman of the House Republican Conference.^[35]

Fifth term 2013–2015

McMorris Rodgers speaking at the 2015Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Washington, D.C.

At the start of the 113th United States Congress, McMorris Rodgers became Chair of the Republican Conference, which is in charge of communicating the party's message to the Republican caucus. As Chair, she helps craft Republican messaging and has appeared as spokesperson for Republican issues.

In March 2013, McMorris Rodgers did not support the continuation of the 1994 Violence Against Women Act, but sponsored an alternative that received criticism from Seattle Post-Intelligencer writer Joel Connelly as "watered-down."^[36][37] Ultimately, her bill failed and House adopted the Senate version of the bill.^[36]

In late 2013, she wrote a letter blasting Democrats and accusing them of being "openly hostile to American values and the Constitution" and citing the Affordable Care Act and immigration as evidence that President Obama "rule[s] by decree."^[38] In her position as Chair, she blamed the Affordable Care Act for causing unemployment and when FactCheck.org reported studies that proved the opposite and asked her office for evidence to support her claims, "McMorris Rodgers’ office got back to us not with an answer, but with a question."^[39]

McMorris Rodgers sponsored legislation that would speed the licensing process for dams and promote energy production. According to a Department of Energy study, retrofitting the largest 100 dams in the country could produce enough power for an additional 3.2 million homes. The legislation reached President Obama’s desk without a single dissenter on Capitol Hill.^[40]

In January 2014, it was announced that McMorris Rodgers would be giving the Republican response to President Obama's 2014 State of the Union Address. The decision was made by House Speaker John Boehner and Republican Senate Leader Mitch McConnell.^[41][42] McMorris Rodgers is the twelfth woman to give the response^[43] and fifth female Republican, but only the third Republican to do so solo, after New Jersey Governor Christine Todd Whitmanin 1995^[44] and the Spanish response by Florida Representative Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, the most senior female Republican in the U.S. House of Representatives, in 2011. Ros-Lehtinen also gave the Spanish response this year, which was largely a translation of McMorris Rogers' remarks.^[45]

The following month, the Office of Congressional Ethics recommended the United States House Committee on Ethics initiate a probe into allegations by a former McMorris Rodgers staff member that the congresswoman had improperly mixed campaign money and official funds to help win the 2012 GOP leadership race against Rep. Price. McMorris Rodgers denied the allegations.^[46]

After voting dozens of times to repeal Obamacare, McMorris Rodgers responded in 2014 to reports that Obama's program had provided coverage to over 600,000 Washington residents by acknowledging that the law's framework would probably remain and that she favored reforms within its structure.^[47]

In November 2014, Rodgers faced off against Joe Pakootas, the first Native American candidate to run for Congress in Washington state. Congresswoman McMorris Rodgers received 135,470 votes (60.68%) and Democrat Joe Pakootas received 87,772 (39.32%).^[48]

Sixth term 2015—Present

McMorris Rodgers speaking at a press conference with House leadership, including SpeakerPaul Ryan, in Washington.

In March 2015 McMorris Rodgers posted a Facebook comment stating "this week marks the 5th anniversary of #Obamacare being signed into law. Whether it's turned your tax filing into a nightmare, you're facing skyrocketing premiums, or your employer has reduced your work hours, I want to hear about it."^[49] Instead, she found her Facebook page almost exclusively filled with testimonials to the benefits of the Affordable Care Act.^[50][51] Despite this, on March 28, 2015 McMorris Rodgers held a press conference about Obamacare in which she said nothing about the overwhelmingly positive comments she'd received from her constituents and instead rehashed five stories lifted from the House Republican leadership website that described problems with Obamacare.^[52]

In September 2015, Brett O'Donnell, who worked for Rodgers, plead guilty to lying to House ethics investigators about how much campaign work he did while being paid by lawmakers' office accounts, becoming the first person ever to be convicted of lying to House Office of Congressional Ethics.^[53] The OCE found that Rodgers improperly used campaign funds to pay O'Donnell for help in her congressional office and improperly held a debate prep session in her congressional office.^[53]

Four issues dominated the start of McMorris Rodger’s sixth term: responses to devastating Eastern Washington wildfires, advocating for Fairchild Air Force Base, drafting the USA Act and working to improve veteran care.

Eastern Washington’s 2015 wildfire season was the most severe in modern history. Over 1,500 separate fires burned more than a million acres. Several fire fighters were killed battling the flames and approximately 675 structures were lost.^[54]

McMorris Rodgers proposed a two-pronged approach that would both improve response times to future fires and reduce their severity. This approach calls for better management of federal forests and securing funding for rapid responses when wildfires do occur.^[55]

McMorris Rodgers co-sponsored a bill known as the Resilient Federal Forests Act (HR 2647). The legislation recognizes the importance of taking proactive steps to reduce catastrophic fires through active management of the forest and reducing the amount of overgrowth and hazardous fuels.^[56] HR 2647 passed the House in 2015.

McMorris Rodgers worked to bring about a new approach at forest management in the Colville National Forest. Mill Creek A to Z program is the first stewardship partnership between a National Forest and private company. The pilot program aims to restore the 54,000-acre Mill Creek watershed. The A to Z project focuses on removing small trees and underbrush, while leaving old growth trees uncut. It also aims to restore streams and riparian zones.^[57]

McMorris Rodgers has long been a champion of Fairchild; she’s written multiple letters urging Pentagon officials to local the KC-46A to Fairchild.^[58] In May 2016, McMorris Rodgers voted in favor of legislation that authorized critical funding for Fairchild.^[59]

In March 2016, McMorris Rodgers unveiled the Unauthorized Spending Accountability Act (USA Act). The USA Act would eliminate spending on government programs that have not been explicitly authorized by Congress.^[60] The proposed legislation puts all unauthorized programs on a pathway to being wound down in three years. It also requires any new authorizations or reauthorizations to include a sunset clause. The intent is routine scrutiny by Congress of most government spending.

McMorris Rodgers introduced the legislation to protect the constitutional separation of powers. McMorris Rodgers asserted the bill would “Restore the power of the purse to the American people.” ^[60]^ Jake Tapper of CNN dubbed the legislation the “Zombie government programs” bill.^[61]

McMorris Rodgers has been critical of the Veterans Administration, citing long wait times and inadequate standards of veteran care. In September 2016, she voted in support of the VA Accountability First and Appeals Modernization Act (HR 5620), which would strengthen whistleblower protections, reform the Department’s disability benefits and provide additional authority to the VA Secretary to reprimand employees for poor performance or misconduct. The legislation passed the House in September.^[62]

McMorris Rodgers voted to prevent the transfer to detainees from the military prison at Guantanamo Bay on September 15. In making her decision she cited a report that said over 30% of detainees released from the prison return to some form of jihad.^[63]

In late September, McMorris Rodgers voted for the Prohibiting Future Ransom Payments to Iran Act (HR 5931). The bill prohibits the U.S. government from providing a foreign regime currency in exchange for the release of U.S. citizens held in captivity abroad.^[64] HR 5931 passed the House September 22. It is currently waiting a hearing in the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations.

Also in September, McMorris Rodgers sent a letter to Ron Johnson, Director of the VA Medical Facility in Spokane protesting the VA’s decision to terminate the ability of veterans to access physical therapy services.^[65]

McMorris Rodgers released draft legislation, titled Caring for our Heroes in the 21st Century Act, which seeks to modernize the way veterans receive health care by allowing them to choose their own physicians with government subsidies.^[66]

In the 2016 election, McMorris Rodgers received the most votes, 192,959 (59.64%) and Democrat Joe Pakootas received 130,575 votes (40.36%).^[67]

Interest group ratings

Committee assignments

McMorris Rodgers is currently on the:^[69]

• Committee on Energy and Commerce
  • Subcommittee on Energy and Power
  • Subcommittee on Environment and Economy
  • Subcommittee on Health

U.S. Secretary of the Interior Consideration

McMorris Rodgers was reportedly under consideration by President-elect Donald Trump for the position of United States Secretary of the Interior. Trump ultimately nominated Montana congressman Ryan Zinke for the position.^[70]

Personal life

Cathy McMorris married Brian Rodgers on August 5, 2006 in San Diego. Rogers was a retired Navy commander and a Spokane, Washington native. Rodgers was also a U.S. Naval Academy graduate and the son of David H. Rodgers, the mayor of Spokane from 1967 to 1977. In February 2007, she changed her name to Cathy McMorris Rodgers.^[71]

Children

In April 2007, she became the first member of Congress in more than a decade to give birth while in office, with the birth of Cole Rodgers.^[72] The couple later announced that their child had been diagnosed with Down syndrome.^[73] A second child, Grace, was born December 2010, and a third, Brynn Catherine, in November 2013.^[74][75]

Religion

According to the Official Congressional Directory, she is a member of Grace Evangelical Free Church, which is an Evangelical Free Church of America in Colville, Washington.^[76][77]

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Five Facts About Donald Trump's Expected Pick for Interior Secretary ...

www.breitbart.com/big.../2016/.../five-facts-donald-trumps-pick-interior-secretary-rep...

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1.

:{5 days ago - Donald Trump is expected to pick Rep. :{Cathy McMorris Rodgers:(style="font-weight:bold"):}: as his Interior Secretary, making her a central player in his plans to jump-start ...:(style="word-wrap:break-word"):}:

Is Cathy McMorris Rodgers More Than a Token? - The Atlantic

www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2014/09/is-cathy-mcmorris-rodgers.../449817/

Not long after Cathy McMorris Rodgers was elected to the state Legislature, her mentor, Mark Schoesler, traveled with her to Washington State ...

Cathy McMorris Rodgers' values feminism is the new model for ... - Slate

www.slate.com/.../cathymcmorrisrodgers_values_feminism_is_the_new_model_for_r...

Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers speaks at the Conservative Political Action Conference on March 16, 2013, in National Harbor, Md. Photo by ...

Trump's Cabinet, top appointments: Cathy McMorris Rodgers, Andrew ...

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Cathy McMorris Rodgers, a climate-change skeptic, to head the Interior Department, a Trump aide said. The interior secretary is tasked with ...

McMorris Rodgers expected to land interior secretary post - POLITICO

www.politico.com/story/2016/12/mcmorris-rodgers-interior-secretary-232448

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1.

:{5 days ago - :{Cathy McMorris Rodgers:(style="font-weight:bold"):}: is chair of the House Republican ... :{Cathy McMorris Rodgers:(style="font-weight:bold"):}: to be his interior secretary, sources told POLITICO.:(style="word-wrap:break-word"):}:

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3 wolf bills

H.R.1985 - Pacific Northwest Gray Wolf Management Act of 2015

Rep. Newhouse, Dan [R-WA-4] (Introduced 04/23/2015)