lawmakers Archives - The Pennsylvania Daily Star

Small Businesses, Lawmakers Push Back on Financial Reporting Regulation

December 26, 2023 The Center Square

A coalition of small businesses, U.S. senators and representatives sent a letter to the Biden administration calling for a one-year delay in a new rule requiring businesses with as few as 20 employees to report financial information about the business’ beneficial owners.

Under the rule, small businesses will be required to report personal information about their owners, board members, senior management and legal representation and could face civil or even criminal penalties for failure to do so.

Lawmakers Blast Chinese Communist Party’s Influence on American Classrooms

September 20, 2023September 20, 2023 The Center Square

House lawmakers held a hearing to investigate the Chinese Communist Party’s alleged efforts to influence American classrooms.

The Early Childhood, Elementary, and Secondary Education Subcommittee held the hearing, led by Chair Rep. Aaron Bean, R-Fla. The lawmakers brought scrutiny against Confucius Classrooms, a program with ties to the CCP, which promote teaching things like the Chinese language and culture, among other things, in hundreds of classrooms around the country.

Agricultural Groups, Lawmakers Want to Pass Bill That Tries to Give Pathway to Citizenship for 1 Million Illegal Farmworkers in U.S.

November 27, 2022November 26, 2022 Pennsylvania Daily Star Staff

Lawmakers and agricultural groups are racing to pass a bill that would alter the number and length of farmworker visas before the newly-elected GOP majority takes control of the House in January, The Wall Street Journal reported Friday.

The House bill would create 20,000 three-year H-2A visas permitting year-round work, and provide a path to citizenship for approximately one million farmworkers currently living in the U.S. illegally, according to the WSJ. Currently, H-2A visas only allow workers to remain in the country for up to 10 months, which has caused issues for some farms, such as dairy farms, that require workers year-round.

Georgia Gov. Kemp Used Lieutenant to Block Ban on Zuckerbucks, State Senator Alleges

April 7, 2022 Pennsylvania Daily Star Staff

Georgia Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan (R), the chair of the state Senate, refused to bring up an election integrity bill for a vote on Monday because Republican Gov. Brian Kemp wanted it scrapped, Senate GOP leadership said, according to state Sen. Brandon Beach.

Senate Bill 89 would have dealt with chain of custody for ballots and prohibited private, “Zuckerbucks”-like donations from going directly to counties by routing them first through the State Election Board for distribution.

However, a vote on the bill was blocked by Duncan on Monday, the last day of the 2022 legislative session.

Commentary: The State and Local Leaders Who Aren’t Ready to Give Up Pandemic Power

April 7, 2022April 6, 2022 RealClearWire

Gavin Newsom, Laura Kelly and Roy Cooper

While many government leaders sound the all clear message on COVID-19, dropping vaccine restrictions and mask mandates, some states and municipalities are clinging to the emergency powers that allowed them to govern people’s behavior in unprecedented ways.

Citing the need to direct emergency funding and oversee hospitals, they have held on to their emergency orders even as many restaurants, shopping centers, and sports arenas are once again packed and lingering pandemic concerns have faded into the background of a more normal life.

Emergency orders at the state level are usually issued in response to temporary threats, especially weather disasters, and are wrapped up in a few days or weeks. Soon after the new coronavirus exploded in March 2020, most governors issued broad executive orders. Under these powers, governors banned crowds, closed businesses, and imposed mask and vaccination mandates. They have also deferred to unelected public health officials in imposing restrictions.

Commentary: GOP Must Promise Inquisitions, Not Meaningless Task Forces

March 30, 2022March 29, 2022 Pennsylvania Daily Star Staff

Using the pretext of the so-called insurrection on January 6, 2021, the long knives are out for Ginni Thomas, wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas.

Post-election text exchanges between Mrs. Thomas and Mark Meadows, President Trump’s chief-of-staff, recently were leaked by the January 6 select committee to none other than the Washington Post’s Bob Woodward, who darkly described the communications as proof that “Ginni Thomas used her access to Trump’s inner circle to promote and seek to guide the president’s strategy to overturn the election result.”

The small cache of texts—29 total—shows Thomas expressing frustration at the election’s outcome. There is nothing sinister, and certainly nothing criminal, about the messages.

Shrinking Food Supplies, Soaring Prices Could Trigger Global Unrest, Key GOP Lawmaker Warns

March 16, 2022March 15, 2022 Pennsylvania Daily Star Staff

With U.S. and world food prices set to soar due to inflation and supply shortages stemming from the Russian invasion of Ukraine, a key GOP lawmaker is asking the Pentagon to study the potential for conflict if the global food supply shrinks by 5%.

U.S. farmers will pay $300-$400 more per acre to grow crops this year due to inflation and costs associated with the war in Europe, Georgia Republican Rep. Austin Scott warned Monday on the Just the News TV show.

Shipping is another issue, as trade is throttled by war-related disruptions and tough economic sanctions against Russia.

Missouri’s Auto Inspections Phased Out in Proposed Bill

March 1, 2022March 1, 2022 Admin

After gradually reducing requirements for automobiles to pass a mechanic’s inspection before obtaining a registration, a bill in the Missouri state legislature would eventually end the program.

Currently, motor vehicles with more than 150,000 miles and 10 years from their manufacturing model year must pass a biennial safety inspection. House Bill 2499, sponsored by Rep. J. Eggleston, R-Maysville, changes the law to exempt motor vehicles with less than 150,000 miles and manufactured after Jan. 1, 2012.

During testimony on Wednesday before the House Downsizing State Government Committee, Eggleston said legislators in 2019 considered eliminating the inspection program but compromised instead and loosened requirements.

Lawmakers Call for Investigation, Criticize Federally-Funded Critical Race Theory Program

February 27, 2022February 27, 2022 The Center Square

Republican lawmakers blasted a federally funded education program that trains researchers and teachers in critical race theory after The Center Square’s investigation broke news of the program. Now, one Florida U.S. Congressman is calling for an investigation into whether the program violates state law.

Newly uncovered Department of Education grant documents show that the department awarded $1,020,800 in a 2017 grant and $1,498,620 in a 2021 grant to a Florida-based program called Partners United for Research Pathways Oriented to Social Justice in Education (PURPOSE).

The taxpayer-funded program – led by Florida State University, which has partnered with Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University – offers participants one-year fellowships. Participants receive training in a range of issues, including critical race theory, during the fellowships.

Pelosi Evasive on Extending Individual Stock Trading Ban to Spouses of Lawmakers

February 15, 2022February 14, 2022 Pennsylvania Daily Star Staff

Democrats are weighing whether to extend an individual stock trading ban to spouses of lawmakers.

The Ban Conflicted Trading Act “prohibits a Member of Congress or certain congressional officers or employees from (1) purchasing or selling specified investments, (2) entering into a transaction that creates a net short position in a security, or (3) serving as an officer or member of any board of any for-profit entity.”

The legislation in its current form would not apply to the spouses of lawmakers. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s husband Paul has made headlines over the years with his millions of dollars in stock purchases, particularly with technology companies.

Politically Incorrect Professor Faces Firing After Lawmakers Show Up on Law School’s Doorstep

January 26, 2022January 25, 2022 Pennsylvania Daily Star Staff

University of Pennsylvania professor Amy Wax

University of Toronto psychologist Jordan Peterson, who famously opposed Canadian gender pronoun mandates, disclosed Wednesday that he had resigned as a tenured professor years earlier than planned.

In a lengthy and impassioned account of his decision for the National Post, the bestselling author argued that the “radical leftist Trinity” of diversity, inclusion and equity (DIE) is reducing his students to their race and ignoring their merit. He faulted colleagues for “going along with the DIE activists.”

Meanwhile, an Ivy League law professor who is even more politically incorrect than Peterson may not have a choice in whether she keeps her job of two decades.

Commentary: The Pathetic and Political Sedition Case Against the Oath Keepers

January 22, 2022January 23, 2022 Pennsylvania Daily Star Staff

Facing intensifying criticism from Democratic lawmakers, journalists, and even some federal judges for not seeking harsher punishment against January 6 protesters, Attorney General Merrick Garland finally produced charges to appease his detractors. Last week, more than a year after the so-called insurrection, Garland charged 11 members of the Oath Keepers with seditious conspiracy.

The star of the new indictment, handed down by a grand jury on January 12, is Stewart Rhodes, the founder of the alleged militia group. (His co-defendants were charged with several other offenses months ago.)

Rhodes, described only as “person one” for nearly a year in numerous criminal indictments related to his organization, has been a free man since January 6, 2021, raising plausible suspicions that he may have been a government informant at the time. After all, the FBI has a longstanding pattern of infiltrating fringe groups such as the Oath Keepers and moving them to commit indictable crimes.

Wisconsin’s Democrat Governor Vetoes Five Anti-Abortion Bills Passed by GOP Lawmakers

December 5, 2021December 4, 2021 Pennsylvania Daily Star Staff

On Friday, Democratic Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers vetoed five bills restricting abortion that were passed by the Republican-majority state legislature.

“I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again today: as long as I’m governor, I will veto any legislation that turns back the clock on reproductive rights in this state—and that’s a promise,” Evers tweeted.

He said he firmly opposed all five bills, which would have restricted abortion by allowing third parties to pursue damage claims in cases of unwanted abortions and requiring more stringent reporting requirements on patients and providers, according to The Hill.

One of the bills, the Shield the Vulnerable Act, would have banned abortions performed on the basis of race, sex, or disability diagnosis of the unborn baby. It would have also allowed third parties such as a spouse, partner, or family member of a woman to bring damages to court if they did not want her to have the abortion, the news outlet reported.

Kenosha’s Democratic Lawmakers Want Wisconsin’s Weapons Law Changed Following Rittenhouse Case

December 1, 2021November 30, 2021 The Center Square

In response to the Kyle Rittenhouse case, Kenosha’s three Democratic lawmakers have introduced a plan to make it illegal for anyone under 18 to carry a rifle or a shotgun unless they are hunting.

“While Wisconsin law generally prohibits a minor from possessing a dangerous weapon, there is an exception which allows a minor to possess a long gun or rifle if the barrel is longer than 16 inches,” Sen. Bob Wirch, D-Somers, along with Reps. Tod Ohnstad, D-Kenosha, and Tip McGuire, D-Kenosha, said in a statement. “The exception was made to respect Wisconsin’s sporting heritage. This bill simply clarifies that a minor may only possess a long gun or rifle if they are legally hunting and in compliance with hunting laws.”

Prosecutors in the Rittenhouse case tried to charge him with illegal possession of a firearm, but that charge was dropped because Wisconsin law allows some teenagers to carry certain rifles and shotguns.