News from December 2023
By Federal Newswire | Dec 6, 2023
Senator Debbie Stabenow, Chairwoman of the Senate Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry Committee, has expressed her approval of the newly appointed members of the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Tribal Advisory Committee. This committee, established by Stabenow in the 2018 Farm Bill, aims to ensure that Indian Country is well represented in USDA programs and resources, providing advice on tribal-related issues and policies.Among the 11 inaugural members of the committee is Whitney Gravelle from the Bay Mills Indian Community, who was appointed by Stabenow....
By Federal Newswire | Dec 6, 2023
In a recent address on the Senate floor, Senator Patty Murray, Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, expressed her disappointment after Senate Republicans voted to block consideration of the Senate's national security supplemental. The supplemental included bipartisan priorities aimed at providing aid to allies such as Ukraine.Senator Murray highlighted the urgency of the situation, stating, "The clock is ticking—aid for our allies in Ukraine has run dry, and the whole world is watching to see if the U.S. is still capable of standing by all of its allies in times...
By Federal Newswire | Dec 5, 2023
The Department of the Interior has launched a series of initiatives aimed at strengthening partnerships with Native communities. These include an oral history project to create a permanent record of survivors from federal Indian boarding schools and an initiative with AmeriCorps for the Indian Youth Service Corps.
By Federal Newswire | Dec 5, 2023
The National Council of Urban Indian Health (NCUIH) has publicly expressed its support for President Joe Biden's proposed $250 million supplemental funding to combat the opioid crisis in Native American communities. The council, alongside the National Indian Health Board, the National Congress of American Indians and the Self-Governance Communication and Education Tribal Consortium, articulated their backing in a letter addressed to House and Senate leadership. The funding is intended to be allocated through the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration as...
By Federal Newswire | Dec 5, 2023
Drug smugglers persist in their attempts to exploit the Texas border town of Roma as a conduit for narcotics into the U.S. Despite these efforts, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Office of Field Operations recently thwarted an attempt to introduce an estimated $1 million worth of narcotics onto American streets.
By Federal Newswire | Dec 5, 2023
Daniele Servadei, the founder and Chief Executive Officer of the ecommerce platform Sellix, has criticized the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's (SEC) lawsuit against crypto exchange Kraken, labeling it as demonstrative of an outdated regulatory approach to cryptocurrencies. Servadei expressed these views in an opinion piece for CoinTelegraph on December 2nd.
By Federal Newswire | Dec 5, 2023
The Retail Industry Leaders Association (RILA) has made a plea to the Federal Reserve Board of Governors, urging them to maintain the standard 90-day comment period for a proposed rule aimed at reducing debit card interchange fees. The request was articulated in a letter submitted by Austen Jensen, RILA's Executive Vice President of Government Affairs, on December 2, 2023. Jensen strongly encouraged the board to dismiss any requests for extensions from major banks and dominant card networks in order to keep the proposal's timeline on track.
By Federal Newswire | Dec 5, 2023
Experts from the Center for a New American Security (CNAS), Bill Drexel and Hannah Kelley, have suggested that while Western nations focus on regulatory initiatives for artificial intelligence (AI), China is actively building its own AI infrastructure on a global scale. This strategy could potentially lead to Chinese-built AI systems dominating the future, thereby rendering Western agreements obsolete. The insights from Drexel and Kelley were published in Politico Magazine on Nov. 30.
By Federal Newswire | Dec 5, 2023
The U.S. Department of Education (EDU) is optimistic that a $277 million grant will enhance student success in reading and math. The grant is part of the department's initiative to support academic recovery, with a strong emphasis on Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) education.
By Federal Newswire | Dec 5, 2023
The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) has announced approximately $110 million in grants for 19 wildlife crossing projects, aimed at reducing car crashes involving wildlife.
By Federal Newswire | Dec 5, 2023
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary, Marcia L. Fudge, recently commemorated World AIDS Day 2023 with a statement highlighting the department's efforts in fighting the disease.
By Federal Newswire | Dec 5, 2023
The Texas National Guard, deployed to Task Force South, has been engaged in significant drug seizures over the past fortnight. They have intercepted over 800 pounds of narcotics that smugglers were attempting to transport into the U.S.
By Federal Newswire | Dec 5, 2023
U.S. Senator Cynthia Lummis (R-WY) has stated her belief that bitcoin will gain increasing importance in the future, both as a form of investment and a payment method. In an episode of the Unchained podcast, she elaborated on her views about the cryptocurrency's potential benefits.
By Federal Newswire | Dec 5, 2023
On November 29, Curtis LeGeyt, President and CEO of the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB), participated in the Senate AI Insight Forum titled "Transparency, Explainability, Intellectual Property and Copyright." He expressed to Senate members the concerns that the broadcast news industry harbors regarding the unchecked advancement of artificial intelligence (AI).
By Federal Newswire | Dec 5, 2023
Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-WI), Chairman of the Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), has voiced his apprehension about the social media platform TikTok being a news source for Americans.
By Federal Newswire | Dec 5, 2023
Jacob Feldgoise and Hanna Dohmen are data research analysts at the Georgetown Center for Security and Emerging Technology.
By Federal Newswire | Dec 5, 2023
House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-OH) and Rep. Barry Loudermilk (R-GA) have initiated an inquiry into the alleged collusion between Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis and the partisan Select Committee to Investigate the January 6 Attack on the United States Capitol. The lawmakers have raised concerns about the coordination between Willis's office and the committee, questioning the commitment to due process and the potential violation of House rules.In a letter addressed to Willis, Chairman Jordan and Rep. Loudermilk stated, "The coordination...
By Federal Newswire | Dec 5, 2023
U.S. Senators Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.) and John Boozman (R-Ark.) have announced that the U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry will be holding a business meeting to consider the nominations of Dr. Basil Ivanhoe Gooden of Virginia to be Under Secretary of Agriculture for Rural Development and the Honorable Summer K. Mersinger of South Dakota to be a Commissioner of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.The business meeting will take place on Wednesday, December 6, 2023, at 12:30 p.m. The meeting will be held in conjunction with the first floor...
By Federal Newswire | Dec 5, 2023
Today, the House Judiciary Committee, House Oversight and Accountability Committee, and House Ways and Means Committee released an interim staff report titled, "The Justice Department's Deviations from Standard Processes in its Investigation of Hunter Biden." The report reveals several deviations by Justice Department officials "from the normal process that provided preferential treatment, in this case to Hunter Biden."According to the report, two IRS whistleblowers came forward in the spring of 2023 to notify Congress of how the Justice Department had impeded, delayed,...
By Federal Newswire | Dec 4, 2023
The U.S. Border Patrol's Acting Chief Patrol Agent for the Del Rio sector, Juan G. Bernal, recently used Platform X to reaffirm his agency's commitment to securing the country's borders. His statement comes at a time when U.S border authorities continue to encounter large groups of undocumented migrants.
