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#rep. ro khanna
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A bipartisan group of lawmakers led by Sen. Bernie Sanders introduced legislation Wednesday that would require the Pentagon to return a portion of its enormous and ever-growing budget to the Treasury Department if it fails another audit in the coming fiscal year.
The Audit the Pentagon Act, an updated version of legislation first introduced in 2021, comes amid mounting concerns over rampant price gouging by military contractors and other forms of waste and abuse at an agency that's set to receive at least $842 billion for fiscal year 2024.
"The Pentagon and the military-industrial complex have been plagued by a massive amount of waste, fraud, and financial mismanagement for decades. That is absolutely unacceptable," Sanders (I-Vt.) said in a statement as he unveiled the bill alongside Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa).
"If we are serious about spending taxpayer dollars wisely and effectively," said Sanders, "we have got to end the absurdity of the Pentagon being the only agency in the federal government that has never passed an independent audit."
In December, the Pentagon flunked its fifth consecutive audit, unable to account for more than 60% of its $3.5 trillion in total assets.
But congressional appropriators appear largely unphased as they prepare to raise the agency's budget to record levels, with some working to increase it beyond the topline set by the recently approved debt ceiling agreement. Watchdogs have warned that the deal includes a loophole that hawkish lawmakers could use to further inflate the Pentagon budget under the guise of aiding Ukraine.
Late Wednesday, following a lengthy markup session, the House Armed Services Committee passed its version of the National Defense Authorization Act, which proposes a total military budget of $886 billion. Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) was the only committee member to vote no.
A huge chunk of the Pentagon's budget for next year is likely to go to profitable private contractors, which make a killing charging the federal government exorbitant sums for weapons and miscellaneous items, from toilet seats to ashtrays to coffee makers.
"Defense contractors are lining their pockets with taxpayer money while the Pentagon fails time and time again to pass an independent audit. It's a broken system," said Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.), a co-sponsor of the new bill. "We need to compel the Department of Defense to take fraud and mismanagement seriously—and we need Congress to stop inflating our nation's near-trillion-dollar defense budget."
"Putting the wants of contractors over the needs of our communities," he added, "isn't going to make our country any safer."
If passed, the Audit the Pentagon Act of 2023 would force every component of the Defense Department that fails an audit in fiscal year 2024 to return 1% of its budget to the Treasury Department.
A fact sheet released by Sanders' office argues that "the need for this audit is clear," pointing to a Commission on Wartime Contracting in Iraq report estimating that "$31-60 billion had been lost to fraud and waste."
"Separately, the special inspector general for Afghanistan Reconstruction reported that the Pentagon could not account for $45 billion in funding for reconstruction projects," the fact sheet notes. "A recent Ernst & Young audit of the Defense Logistics Agency found that it could not properly account for some $800 million in construction projects. CBS News recently reported that defense contractors were routinely overcharging the Pentagon—and the American taxpayer—by nearly 40-50%, and sometimes as high as 4,451%."
Further examples of the Pentagon's waste and accounting failures abound.
Last month, the Government Accountability Office released a report concluding that the Pentagon can't account for F-35 parts worth millions of dollars.
Earlier this week, as The Washington Post reported, the Pentagon said it "uncovered a significant accounting error that led it to overvalue the amount of military equipment it sent to Ukraine since Russia's invasion last year—by $6.2 billion."
"The 'valuation errors,' as a Pentagon spokeswoman put it, will allow the Pentagon to send more weapons to Ukraine now before going to Congress to request more money," the Post noted.
Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), chair of the Senate Finance Committee and a supporter of the Audit the Pentagon Act, said Wednesday that "taxpayers can't keep writing blank checks—they deserve long-overdue transparency from the Pentagon about wasteful defense spending."
"If the Department of Defense cannot conduct a clean audit, as required by law," said Wyden, "Congress should impose tough financial consequences to hold the Pentagon accountable for mismanaging taxpayer money."
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zvaigzdelasas · 3 months
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Members of Congress from both sides of the aisle tonight are lambasting the Biden administration for not getting Congressional approval before moving ahead with military strikes against Houthi targets in Yemen.[...]
“The President needs to come to Congress before launching a strike against the Houthis in Yemen and involving us in another middle east conflict. That is Article I of the Constitution. I will stand up for that regardless of whether a Democrat or Republican is in the White House,” posted California Democratic Rep. Ro Khanna on X, just as news was breaking that the strikes were in progress. Some 30 minutes earlier, there were reports that Congressional leaders were given a heads up that the strikes were a go.
“Only Congress has the power to declare war,” posted Kentucky Republican Rep. Thomas Massie. “I have to give credit to @RepRoKhanna here for sticking to his principles, as very few are willing to make this statement while their party is in the White House.”[...]
“@POTUS is violating Article I of the Constitution by carrying out airstrikes in Yemen without congressional approval,” charged Michigan Democrat Rashida Tlaib. “The American people are tired of endless war.” Democratic Reps. Cori Bush, Val Hoyle, Mark Pocan, and Pramila Jayapal weighed in similarly as of 9 p.m. tonight.
On the Republican side, Sen. Mike Lee, who has often crossed the aisle on war powers issues, also gave Khanna a boost. “The Constitution matters, regardless of party affiliation.”
"The Constitution is clear, only Congress has the power to declare war. President Biden must come to Congress and ask us to authorize this act of war," posted Florida Republican Rep. Anna Luna.[...]
“These attacks have endangered U.S. personnel, civilian mariners, and our partners, jeopardized trade, and threatened freedom of navigation,” Biden said. “I will not hesitate to direct further measures to protect our people and the free flow of international commerce as necessary.”
The Houthis have said they would continue the attacks until “crimes in Gaza stop and food, medicines and fuel are allowed to reach its besieged population.” The Biden administration, which has not supported a ceasefire in Gaza, said it would hit back hard if the Houthis did not stand down. After a particularly heavy volley of drones and rockets on Tuesday, the administration made its move.
This has a lot of analysts worried about escalation — something the Biden administration said it didn't want. "If the objective is to stop Houthi attacks without escalating matters toward a full war, then bombing them has proven quite inefficient in the past. Just ask the the Saudis," said the Quincy Institute's Trita Parsi, on X, referring to the Yemen civil war in which the Houthis gained major victories despite routine missile bombardments from U.S.-backed Saudi Arabia.
"Moreover, bombing them very likely will escalate matters, which means that not only will the attacks not be stopped, but the broader war that Biden [allegedly] seeks to prevent will likely become a reality."
12 Jan 24
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saywhat-politics · 11 months
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Senate Republicans and Sen. Joe Manchin voted to roll back an EPA regulation on truck pollution. 
The legislation, which Biden has vowed to veto, passed 50-49.
Democratic Rep. Ro Khanna argued it wouldn't have passed had Sen. Dianne Feinstein been present.
In a 51-49 split Senate, every vote matters. 
Senate Republicans and Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin took advantage of Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein's ongoing medical leave to roll back a significant environmental regulation on Wednesday. 
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eretzyisrael · 10 days
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By Rich Calder and Matthew Sedacca
Far-left billionaire kingmaker George Soros has funneled more than $15 million since 2016 to groups behind this month’s pro-Palestine protests, where demonstrators openly cheered Hamas militants’ craven terrorist attacks on Israel.
A Post examination of Open Society Foundations records shows Soros’ grant-making network gave $13.7 million of the money through Tides Center, a deep-pocketed lefty advocacy group that sponsors several nonprofits who’ve justified Hamas’ bloody attacks while claiming Palestinians obsessed with the eradication of the Jewish state are the real victims.
Tides’ beneficiaries include Illinois-based Adalah Justice Project, which on the day of the Oct. 7 massacre posted a photo on Instagram of a bulldozer tearing part of Israel’s border fence down and a caption: “Israeli colonizers believed they could indefinitely trap two million people in an open-air prison… no cage goes unchallenged.”
Members of the Palestinian advocacy group occupied California Rep. Ro Khanna’s office on Oct. 20 to demand he sign a resolution calling for ceasefire in Gaza. Adalah’s members also co-sponsored a rally that same day in Bryant Park where hostile demonstrators spewed antisemitic chants and waved a sign that read “I DO NOT CONDEMN HAMAS.”
It also gave $30,000 in 2020 to Desis Rising Up and Moving, another co-sponsor of the Bryant Park protest where 139 people were arrested, financial records show.
Open Society Foundations gave $60,000 in 2018 to the Arab American Association of New York, a group co-founded by politically connected activist Linda Sarsour that helped plan a hate-filled “Flood Brooklyn for Palestine” protest in Bay Ridge on Oct. 21, where protestors called for the eradication of Israel and held a sign of the Israeli flag in a trash basket that read “Please keep the world clean!”
Open Society Foundations also awarded $1.5 million to Adalah’s founding nonprofit, Adalah – The Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights in Israel, but only $800,000 of it was received before the legal center cut ties with the American organization in 2018. The legal center says its mission is to promote human rights in Israel.
Other Soros-backed, Palestinian advocacy groups whose members have been spewing hate at rallies since the massacre include Jewish Voice for Peace and If Not Now, which received $650,000 and $400,000, respectively.
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living400lbs · 8 months
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"Congressional salaries are $174,000. That pay has not increased since 2009; in real dollars, salaries are the lowest they’ve been since 1955. Our health insurance is purchased on the Affordable Care Act exchange. We pay 30% of the premium; the House of Representatives pays 70%, similar to most workplace insurance plans. ... Mandatory pensions take up 4.4% of the salary.... two residences are required; votes keep House members in Washington, D.C., about a hundred days each year. No housing allowance or per diem is paid, and no tax deduction for business housing is permitted. ...
Juxtapose these facts against the misconception that people become rich by serving in Congress. ... Congress is full of multimillionaires for the same reason that the NBA is full of tall people. It’s easier to get recruited and win with such advantages. Serving in Congress does not pad your bank account any more than playing basketball adds inches to your height. While we might accept physical attributes in athletes as natural or desirable, wealth does not give a better perspective for politics. It undercuts the purpose of representative democracy.
Americans rightfully fume that congressmembers trade stocks, convinced that insider information is misused, but we refuse to squarely address the harm that comes from representatives having such wealth in the first place. From 2019 to 2022, over 130 members of the House of Representatives each traded over $100,000 of stock. To trade that dollar volume in a year, these folks are either addicted day traders who cannot manage their money (much less our economy), or—and this is the reality—they own stocks worth many multiples of what they traded.
Representatives who are my peers in age and years of political service—like Cindy Axne, Mike Garcia, Ashley Hinson, Ro Khanna, Tom Malinowski, Blake Moore, Kim Schrier, and Mikie Sherrill—have each traded over $1 million while in office. In my life before Congress, I knew that people with net worths in the tens of millions were not my peers. Pretending they are in Congress is an indignity."
From I Swear: Politics Is Messier Than My Minivan by US Rep Katie Porter
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beardedmrbean · 7 months
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Hawaiian officials attributed the cause of catastrophic wildfires to alleged failures from the state's main power utility company and downed power lines this week after Democrats blamed the disaster on global warming.
In a lawsuit filed Thursday, the government of Maui County, Hawaii, alleged Hawaiian Electric Company (HECO) and its subsidiaries failed to properly power down live electrical equipment amid a red flag windstorm earlier this month. Due to this failure, downed power lines operated by the utility company sparked a series of deadly fires on the island, the lawsuit claimed.
"The lawsuit alleges that the Defendants acted negligently by failing to power down their electrical equipment despite a National Weather Service Red Flag Warning on August 7th," Maui County said in a release announcing its lawsuit. 
"The lawsuit further alleges HECO’s energized and downed power lines ignited dry fuel such as grass and brush, causing the fires," the announcement added. "The lawsuit also alleges failure to maintain the system and power grid, which caused the systemic failures starting three different fires on August 8th."
EXPERTS THROW COLD WATER ON DEM CLAIMS THAT HAWAII WILDFIRES CAUSED BY CLIMATE CHANGE
Maui County argued in the lawsuit that HECO has a duty "to properly maintain and repair the electric transmission lines, and other equipment including utility poles associated with their transmission of electricity, and to keep vegetation properly trimmed and maintained so as to prevent contact with overhead power lines and other electric equipment."
However, Democratic lawmakers, a top White House official and Hawaii Gov. Josh Green have all blamed the event, which has claimed the lives of at least 115 people, on human-caused global warming.
ENVIRONMENTALISTS ARE BLOCKING FOREST MANAGEMENT METHODS SAVING ICONIC SEQUOIAS AMID YOSEMITE WILDFIRE
"This is devastating. This is a climate emergency," Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., an original sponsor of the Green New Deal, wrote in a post on X on Aug. 10. "I stand in solidarity with my friends and colleagues from Hawai’i — we must act fast, provide aid, and invest in a resilient and safe future."
"Heartbreaking fires in Hawaii! Scientists are clear that climate chaos wreaking havoc on ecosystems everywhere is the new norm," Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., said in a separate post. "We need to take action immediately or else it will get even worse."
Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., who spearheaded a recent congressional investigation into Big Oil, called on President Biden to declare a "climate emergency" in response to the fires.
"My heart breaks hearing of the devastation in Maui," Rep. Cori Bush, D-Mo., added. "The climate crisis is here and it's killing people. It’s time for [Biden] to declare a climate emergency."
Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., joined in, saying the wildfires were a "devastating view of our planet as we fail to adequately address the climate crisis."
And White House clean energy czar John Podesta called for policies to reduce carbon emissions to fight future natural disasters like the Maui wildfires which he said were "fueled by climate change."
HAWAII WINDS TO LESSEN AS FIREFIGHTERS ATTEMPT TO CONTAIN WILDFIRES; CONDITIONS REMAIN DRY AND BREEZY
"This summer has brought one climate disaster after another, from extreme heat in Arizona and Texas and across the Southeast, to floods in Vermont and upstate New York, to thick smoke from Canadian wildfires," Podesta told reporters on Aug. 16. "And all of us have watched in horror as the Maui fires have claimed over 100 lives — the largest loss of life of a fire in the last 100 years in America."
"To stop these disasters from getting even worse, we have to cut the carbon pollution that’s driving the climate crisis, and that’s what the Inflation Reduction Act is all about," he continued.
Experts, though, have thrown cold water on claims that climate change triggered the Maui fires.  Instead, they said the event was largely a result of years of poor forest and brush management, in addition to declining agriculture. Such conditions, they said, allow fires to spread rapidly and make fires harder to contain. "Blaming this on weather and climate is misleading," said Clay Trauernicht, a University of Hawaii at Manoa professor and environmental management expert. "Hawai'i's fire problem is due to the vast areas of unmanaged, nonnative grasslands from decades of declining agriculture."
"These savannas now cover about a million acres across the main Hawaiian Islands, mostly the legacy of land clearing for plantation agriculture and ranching in the late 1800s/early 1900s," he continued. "The transformation to savanna makes the landscape way more sensitive to bad 'fire weather' — hot, dry, windy conditions. It also means we get huge buildups of fuels during rainy periods."
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bearded-shepherd · 6 months
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On Friday morning, Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) will kick off a four-hour live stream from a Washington rooftop overlooking the White House with some of the biggest political Twitch and YouTube live-streamers. The creators include Clara Sorrenti, known online as Keffals; Steven Bonnell, known online as Destiny; and Ian Kochinski, known online as Vaush. The agenda says they will discuss issues such as climate change, affordable housing and student debt relief. But the significance of the event may be what it says about the way Democrats and Republicans are seeking to engage with potential voters online. “The new generation of Americans aren’t getting their news from MSNBC, CNN or Fox,” Khanna, who represents Silicon Valley in Congress, told The Washington Post. “That’s just not how millennials and Gen Z consume news or get inspired. One of the ways they’re making decisions is engaging with streamers. It’s the equivalent of talk radio or cable for the new generation.”[cont. on MSN]
Better than expected. Ro Khanna converse with Emma and Ian along with other popular YouTubers/streamers is something I never thought I'd see. I would love to see this sort of stuff continue; especially cause this gives insight to disaffected youths online, instead of the same politicians and talking heads beating around the bush in every topic and receiving light punches.
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mariacallous · 1 year
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Democratic leaders said Wednesday that Republicans are on their own amid the conservative revolt that’s prevented Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) — or anyone else — from becoming the next Speaker in the new Congress. 
Heading into this week’s Speaker vote, some lawmakers had floated the notion of finding a “unity” candidate who could win bipartisan support if McCarthy failed to rally a sufficient number of Republicans behind his Speakership bid. 
But on Wednesday, a day after a group of conservatives blocked McCarthy’s bid on three separate ballots, Democratic leaders said they’re not ready to bail out the struggling Republicans — at least not yet.
“This is on them,” Rep. Pete Aguilar (D-Calif.), the incoming chair of the House Democratic Caucus, said during a press briefing in the Capitol. 
Aguilar said he hasn’t been approached by any lawmakers about a search for a potential consensus candidate, nor have Democratic leaders presented that possibility to their rank-and-file members, who are united behind Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.), the incoming minority leader who got all 212 Democratic votes on Tuesday’s three ballots.
“If there was something that was real, we would look at that,” Aguilar said. “But I haven’t seen any proof that Republicans are willing to engage.” 
With Republicans flailing in their effort to seat a new Speaker, outside centrist groups are agitating for lawmakers in both parties to unite behind a moderate figure — perhaps one outside of Congress — to fill the void. This week, former Rep. Fred Upton (R-Mich.), a centrist who is popular on both sides of the aisle, said the idea that he might be that figure is “an intriguing suggestion that I have not rejected.”
Yet even those Democrats who have supported the idea of a consensus candidate don’t appear ready to jump on board. Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.), who has been open to that strategy, is also downplaying that idea this week amid the Republicans’ struggles to seat a new Speaker. 
“At the end of the day, this is a Republican mess,” he told CNN Tuesday night. “This is a failure of them to govern. This is their problem to fix.”
“And Democrats stand ready if they want to vote for Hakeem Jeffries,” Khanna added, suggesting a strategy that’s a non-starter among Republicans. 
The conservative revolt — and the stalemate it’s created — forced House lawmakers to vote on multiple Speaker ballots for the first time since 1923. And it’s creating a lingering uncertainty about how long the seat will remain empty — and what effect a dysfunctional House will have on the country. 
“This is a crisis of the Congress,” Aguilar said. “And it’s a crisis at the hands of the Republican dysfunction.” 
Rep. Ted Lieu (D-Calif.), the incoming vice chair of the Democratic Caucus, echoed that message. 
“For one day — it was unfortunate — we can deal with that. But now it gets serious, because we effectively don’t have a House of Representatives,” Lieu said. “This can’t keep on going. You can’t have one branch of the federal government simply not function.”
Lieu said he’s hoping Republicans can find a way to unify behind a Speaker nominee, “because we need Republicans to govern — if they can.”
“If they cannot,” he added, “then they should let Democrats govern.”
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naturalrights-retard · 3 months
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Members of Congress from both sides of the aisle Thursday night were lambasting the Biden administration for not getting congressional approval before moving ahead with military strikes against Houthi targets in Yemen.
According to reports, the U.S. and UK launched the strikes via ships, fighter jets, and a submarine Thursday night. Tomahawk missiles reportedly hit the capital of Sana'a, and the governorates of Sa'dah, Hodeidah, Taiz, and Dhamar. Officials told the press that the strikes hit radars, missile- and drone-launch sites, and weapons storage facilities and were not intended to kill leaders or Iranian trainers. The Houthis later said at least five of their fighters had been killed.
“The President needs to come to Congress before launching a strike against the Houthis in Yemen and involving us in another middle east conflict. That is Article I of the Constitution. I will stand up for that regardless of whether a Democrat or Republican is in the White House,” posted California Democratic Rep. Ro Khanna on X, just as news was breaking that the strikes were in progress. Some 30 minutes earlier, there were reports that congressional leaders were given a heads up that the strikes were a go.
“Only Congress has the power to declare war,” posted Kentucky Republican Rep. Thomas Massie. “I have to give credit to @RepRoKhanna here for sticking to his principles, as very few are willing to make this statement while their party is in the White House.”
But several progressive Democrats were already posting their dismay at the news of the strikes.
“@POTUS is violating Article I of the Constitution by carrying out airstrikes in Yemen without congressional approval,” charged Michigan Democrat Rashida Tlaib. “The American people are tired of endless war.” Democratic Reps. Cori Bush, Val Hoyle, Mark Pocan, Barbara Lee, and Pramila Jayapal weighed in similarly as of last tonight.
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Bernie Sanders, US Progressives Meet Lula Ahead of Brazilian President's First White House Visit
The Congressional Progressive Caucus, of which Sanders is a member, said Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva's election "has given hope to democratic and progressive movements around the world."
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Ahead of his first White House meeting with U.S. President Joe Biden, Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva met Friday with members of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, including Sen. Bernie Sanders, who said topics of discussion included the far-right threat, combatting the climate and environmental emergencies, and supporting workers.
"I enjoyed a productive meeting this morning with President Lula of Brazil and his cabinet," Sanders said in a statement. "Our countries share many challenges, including the threat of right-wing authoritarians who seek to undermine democratic institutions in both countries."
"I am very impressed that in his short visit to the United States, Lula chose to speak to the AFL-CIO," he added. "In that regard, we discussed ways to build an economy that serves all people, not just the wealthy and large corporations. We also discussed ways to advance workers' rights and build strong unions."
Three other members of the Congressional Progressive Caucus—Chair Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) and Reps. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.)—also met with da Silva.
Continue reading.
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Many House Republicans are furious with a band of far-right rebels who they say are holding the party hostage by repeatedly rejecting its nominee for Speaker.
But there’s one thing they’re so far unwilling to do: work with a faction of Democrats to elect a centrist Speaker to govern the narrow GOP majority and teach the rabble-rousers a lesson.
"That's really off the table," said Rep. Tom Cole, R-Okla., who has built a reputation as an institutionalist over the years. "I don't think anybody voted to do that. I don’t think that works very well in any time. I think it's particularly unsuited to these times. The polarization is too great."
Cole said that for all the House GOP divisions, "there's no question" that most members in the caucus are closer in policy and vision to the anti-McCarthy rebels than they are to centrist Democrats.
Rep. Dusty Johnson, R-S.D., who calls himself a "pragmatic conservative," also dismissed the idea as a fantasy. “Anybody who’s imagining some sort of unity or fusion approach, I think, is probably paying more attention to Aaron Sorkin movies than they are to how this place normally functions," he said.
The unwillingness of most House Republicans to cut a deal with Democrats to pick a Speaker weakens their leverage in the showdown with a group of 20 right-wing lawmakers who want to defeat Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., who is backed by 90% of the GOP caucus. It also serves as a preview of how the moderates may operate in stalemates over must-pass bills over the next two years, like funding the government and averting debt default, which far-right members are already threatening unless the measures are attached to ambitious conservative priorities.
The GOP divisions have led to six failed ballots for Speaker — the first time in a century a House majority has required multiple attempts to elect a Speaker. They risk further damage to the Republican Party’s image after an underwhelming performance in the 2022 midterm elections that led to their current wafer-thin majority.
It’s a precarious situation for the moderate members, who are more likely to represent swing districts and could suffer the most from a tarnished party image. By contrast, the far-right Republicans mostly hail from safe red districts and face little threat of losing their seats to Democrats in a general election.
McCarthy and his deputies continued to negotiate with the right-wing forces Wednesday to address their demands, which include making it easier to overthrow a Speaker and promises involving votes on legislation, committee assignments and more. Much of the caucus sees the demands as unreasonable and irresponsible, and McCarthy himself has accused those lawmakers of acting selfishly and not in the best interest of the country.
The talks failed to produce a breakthrough Wednesday, and the House voted 216-214 to adjourn until noon Thursday.
Rep. Don Bacon of Nebraska, who represents a district President Joe Biden carried in 2020, is a rare Republican who has publicly floated the idea of working with Democrats on a consensus pick, but he acknowledged there aren’t serious negotiations at this time.
"If they're not going to work with us, then we'll push this down the court more," he said of the far-right lawmakers. "There will be folks on the other side of the aisle that will make a deal with us when it comes to working on committees and things like that. But we don’t want to go down this path too far. This is about Kevin McCarthy right now, giving them every opportunity."
As Bacon and other McCarthy allies dangle the possibility of a bipartisan speaker to secure the votes to make him Speaker, the anti-McCarthy faction is calling their bluff.
Rep. Bob Good, R-Va., who has voted against McCarthy all six times, said he doesn’t believe any Republicans would go around the House Freedom Caucus and team up with Democrats to pick a Speaker. If they did, he said, they should lose their next Republican primaries.
DEMOCRATS OPEN DOOR TO CONSENSUS SPEAKER
Some Democrats say they’re open to negotiating a consensus speaker. Progressive Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., and others say they want conditions, among them that a Speaker candidate vow not to allow the debt limit to be used as a weapon to force policy concessions.
Without a Speaker, the House can’t conduct any business, raising the stakes for members of both parties who want to govern or launch investigations with each day the impasse continues.
"We have big items facing the country — everything from the debt ceiling to Ukraine to — obviously, we're going to have to run the government," said Rep. Josh Gottheimer of New Jersey, the Democratic co-chair of the bipartisan Problem Solvers Caucus. "Right now, it's on their plate. This is on their side to figure out their housekeeping. They have to pick a Speaker. But we all have a responsibility to run the country."
Gottheimer said the divided government presents opportunities for the parties to work together on domestic manufacturing, semiconductor production, immigration reform, mental health and support for police. "Will the House be set up to govern and run the country?" he said. "If their extremists win and are empowered, that makes governing more difficult for the country."
But Gottheimer's Republican co-chair in the Problem Solvers Caucus, Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania, is instead helping McCarthy negotiate with Freedom Caucus holdouts, saying the discussions have been "more productive" in small groups.
Some of McCarthy's opponents insist they won’t back down, expressing a high tolerance for chaos and willingness to keep dealing defeat after defeat to their party's leadership.
Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., said he’ll keep blocking McCarthy from the Speakership “until the cherry blossoms fall off the trees” — which typically occurs in April.
Frustration with Gaetz and his faction ran high Wednesday.
"This group has now managed to kind of snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. And in the victory was this Republican majority," Rep. Michael Waltz, R-Fla., told reporters. "There is negotiation, and then there’s holding the rest of us hostage. And 20 don't get to do that to 201."
But Waltz didn’t present a solution to tame the rebels, saying, "I'm going to vote for Kevin McCarthy as long as he’s on the ballot."
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klbmsw · 9 months
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zvaigzdelasas · 2 months
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In a letter to President Joe Biden on Friday, a coalition of nearly 30 House members expressed their strong opposition to what they described as “unauthorized” American strikes that have further escalated the biggest confrontation at sea the U.S. Navy has seen in the Middle East in a decade.
“As representatives of the American people, Congress must engage in robust debate before American servicemembers are put in harm’s way and before more U.S. taxpayer dollars are spent on yet another war in the Middle East,” the letter, led by Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., and Rep. Warren Davidson, R-Ohio, stated. “No President, regardless of political party, has the constitutional authority to bypass Congress on matters of war.”
The White House, for their part, has defended the multiple rounds of airstrikes it has taken in partnership with the United Kingdom since early January in response to what has been a persistent campaign of Houthi drone and missile attacks on commercial ships since the start of the Israel-Hamas war in October.
Since the beginning of the year, Biden has written several times to Congress stating that the strikes have complied with the 1973 War Powers Act. That law, passed during the Vietnam War, serves as a constitutional check on presidential power to declare war without congressional consent. It requires presidents to notify Congress within 48 hours of military action and limits the use of military forces to no more than 60 days unless Congress authorizes force or declares war.
But lawmakers, including a bipartisan group of senators, have said that decades-old statute does not give the president the “blanket authority” to take military action simply by notifying Congress within 48 hours.
The letter from Khanna and Davidson asserts that the notification only stands if the commander-in-chief “must act due to an attack or imminent attack against the United States.” They said the escalating tensions in the Middle East do not rise to that level.
26 Jan 24
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saywhat-politics · 4 months
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U.S. Rep. Ro Khanna (D-California) posted on X earlier this month to gain support for his Stop Wall Street Landlords Act bill.
"The last thing Americans need is a Bezos-backed investment company further consolidating single-family homes and putting homeownership out of reach for more and more people," he posted on X. "Housing should be a right, not a speculative commodity. Congress must pass my Stop Wall Street Landlords Act."
The post was in response to an article published two days earlier about a new single-family residential fund launched by Arrived, a real estate investment platform backed by Amazon.com Inc. founder Jeff Bezos.
If passed by Congress, the Stop Wall Street Landlords Act would impose a tax on existing and new acquisitions of single-family rentals by institutional investors. It would also prohibit Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and Ginnie Mae from purchasing and securitizing mortgages held by large institutional investors who use debt to buy single-family homes and rent them out.
“The financialization of the housing market by Wall Street exacerbates corporate profiteering and anti-competitive practices that make it harder for Americans to afford housing or access homeownership,” Khanna said in a press release about the proposed act.
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1americanconservative · 6 months
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https://x.com/mattgaetz/status/1709702410568880411?s=20
Matt Gaetz
I agree with all of these reforms.
Rep. Ro Khanna
Oct 4
The American people believe Congress is broken.
What is needed is not just a change of speaker, but also a bold reform plan to clean up the mess.
Ban PAC and lobbyist money, ban stock trading, enact term limits, and ban members of Congress from becoming lobbyists.
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kp777 · 9 months
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By Jake Johnson
Common Dreams
July 5, 2023
The trillions of dollars in public subsidies that governments around the world hand to the fossil fuel industry each year are facing growing scrutiny from lawmakers and climate campaigners as heatwaves across the planet push global temperatures into uncharted territory.
Environmentalist Annie Leonard, the former executive director of Greenpeace USA, called on members of the U.S. Congress to reject public subsidies for the oil and gas industry in the must-pass annual budget package, a sweeping measure that typically includes billions in tax incentives and other handouts that encourage production and consumption of planet-warming fossil fuels.
"Stop giving our money to the corporations cooking the planet," Leonard wrote on Twitter Tuesday, urging Americans to contact and pressure their representatives.
The International Monetary Fund estimates that world governments dished out nearly $6 trillion in total fossil fuel subsidies in 2020—around $11 million per minute—and that such giveaways are expected to grow in the coming years without significant reforms.
Last year, according to the International Energy Agency, fossil fuel consumption subsidies alone rose to more than $1 trillion worldwide—a surge fueled in part by the energy market chaos caused by Russia's invasion of Ukraine. While such subsidies were aimed at shielding consumers from high gas prices, they had the "adverse effect of keeping fossil fuels artificially competitive with low-emissions alternatives," IEA said.
The same year that subsidies skyrocketed to record levels, the global fossil fuel industry raked in a staggering $4 trillion in profits, the IEA found.
"Big Oil companies are boosting profits and shareholder distribution while our climate suffers," U.S. Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) said last month.
In late 2021, 197 countries including the U.S. and Canada signed a climate pact that contains a pledge to phase out "inefficient fossil fuel subsidies." But as Emily Atkin and Arielle Samuelson wrote in the HEATED newsletter earlier this year, that promise turned out to be "meaningless" given the subsequent rise in oil and gas subsidies.
"This is why climate promises never come to pass," Atkin and Samuelson argued. "The polluters' pocketbooks are government-lined."
Amid a catastrophic wildfire season that has blanketed large swaths of the U.S. with toxic smoke, the Canadian government is reportedly expected to release a policy this month aimed at cutting off "inefficient fossil fuel subsidies," echoing the language of the Glasgow climate pact.
But advocates raised concerns about how the policy will define "inefficient." As the CBC's Benjamin Shingler reported last week, climate campaigners say "subsidies should only be considered 'efficient'—and therefore an acceptable form of government funding—if they align with Canada's Paris agreement goals."
"That means subsidies shouldn't support new or updated fossil fuel infrastructure, or delay the transition to renewables, according to signatories of the letter to [Canadian Prime Minister Justin] Trudeau last month," Shingler added.
Trudeau and other world leaders will have a major opportunity to finally take concrete, coordinated action to end fossil fuel subsidies at COP28 in late November—but that would mean confronting an industry that will have a significant presence at the critical summit in the United Arab Emirates.
Chido Muzondo, a policy adviser at the International Institute for Sustainable Development, wrote last month that governments at COP28 must do more than pay "lip service to the existing pledges—made in the Paris Agreement Article 2.c.1 and in the Glasgow statement—to stop subsidizing fossil fuels."
"This decade is decisive in our fight against global warming, and time is limited to align our actions with the measures needed to avoid the worst effects of climate change," Muzondo wrote. "Fossil fuel subsidies stand out as some of the most harmful policies hindering our efforts to tackle climate change."
Read more.
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