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Senate Republicans will test the popularity of Department of Government Efficiency spending cuts this week by aiming to pass President Donald Trump’s request to claw back $9.4 billion in public media and foreign aid spending.Senate Democrats are trying to kill the measure but need a few Republicans uncomfortable with the president’s effort to join them.Trump’s Republican administration is employing a rarely used tool that allows the president to transmit a request to cancel previously approved funding authority. The request triggers a 45-day clock under which the funds are frozen. If Congress fails to act within that period, then the spending stands. That clock expires Friday.The House has already approved Trump’s request on a mostly party line 214-212 vote. The Senate has little time to spare to beat the deadline for the president’s signature. Another House vote will be needed if senators amend the legislation, adding more uncertainty to the outcome.Here’s a closer look at this week’s debate. Public media on the chopping block Trump has asked lawmakers to rescind nearly $1.1 billion from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which represents the full amount it’s due to receive during the next two budget years.The White House says the public media system is politically biased and an unnecessary expense.The corporation distributes more than two-thirds of the money to more than 1,500 locally operated public television and radio stations, with much of the remainder assigned to National Public Radio and the Public Broadcasting System to support national programming.The potential fallout from the cuts for local pubic media stations has generated concerns on both sides of the political aisle.Sen. Mike Rounds, R-S.D., said he’s worried about how the rescissions will hit radio stations that broadcast to Native Americans in his state. He said the vast majority of their funding comes from the federal government.“They’re not political in nature,” Rounds said of the stations. “It’s the only way of really communicating in the very rural areas of our state, and a lot of other states as well.”Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Ala., said that for the tribal radio stations in her state, “almost to a number, they’re saying that they will go under if public broadcasting funds are no longer available to them.”To justify the spending cuts, the Trump administration and Republican lawmakers have cited certain activities they disagree with to portray a wide range of a program’s funding as wasteful. In recent testimony, Office of Management and Budget Director Russ Vought criticized programming aimed at fostering diversity, equity, and inclusion. He said NPR aired a 2022 program entitled “What ‘Queer Ducks’ can teach teenagers about sexuality in the animal kingdom.” He also cited a special town hall that CNN held in 2020 with “Sesame Street” about combatting racism. Targeting humanitarian aid As part of the package, Trump has asked lawmakers to rescind about $8.3 billion in foreign aid programs that aim to fight famine and disease and promote global stability.Among the targets: $900 million to combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases and strengthen detections systems to prevent wider epidemics. $800 million for a program that provides emergency shelter, water and sanitation and family reunification for those forced to flee their own country. $4.15 billion for two programs designed to boost the economies and democratic institutions in developing and strategically important countries. $496 million to provide humanitarian assistance such as food, water and health care for countries hit by natural disasters and conflicts.Some of the health cuts are aimed at a program known as PEPFAR, which President George W. Bush, a Republican, began to combat HIV/AIDS in developing countries. The program is credited with saving 26 million lives and has broad bipartisan support.On PEPFAR, Vought told senators “these cuts are surgical and specifically preserve life-saving assistance.” But many lawmakers are wary, saying they’ve seen no details about where specifically the administration will cut.The administration also said some cuts, such as eliminating funding for UNICEF, would encourage international organizations to be more efficient and seek contributions from other nations, “putting American taxpayers first.”U.S. leaders have often argued that aiding other nations through “soft power” is not just the right thing to do but also the smart thing.Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., told Vought there is “plenty of absolute nonsense masquerading as American aid that shouldn’t receive another bit of taxpayer funding,” but he called the administration’s attempt to root it out “unnecessarily chaotic.”“In critical corners of the globe, instead of creating efficiencies, you’ve created vacuums for adversaries like China to fill,” McConnell told Vought. Trump weighs in The president has issued a warning on his social media site directly aimed at individual Senate Republicans who may be considering voting against the cuts.He said it was important that all Republicans adhere to the bill and in particular defund the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.“Any Republican that votes to allow this monstrosity to continue broadcasting will not have my support or Endorsement,” he said.For individual Republicans seeking reelection, the prospect of Trump working to defeat them is reason for pause and could be a sign the package is teetering.Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., opted to announce he would not seek reelection recently after the president called for a primary challenger to the senator when he voted not to advance Trump’s massive tax and spending cut bill. Getting around a filibuster Spending bills before the 100-member Senate almost always need some bipartisan buy-in to pass. That’s because the bills need 60 votes to overcome a filibuster and advance. But this week’s effort is different.Congress set up a process back when Republican Richard Nixon was president for speedily considering a request to claw back previously approved spending authority. Under those procedures, it takes only a simple Senate majority to advance the president’s request to a final vote.It’s a rarely employed maneuver. In 1992, President George H.W. Bush, a Republican, had some success with his rescissions request, though the final bill included some cuts requested by the president and many that were not. Trump proposed 38 rescissions in 2018, but the package stalled in the Senate.If senators vote to take up the bill, it sets up the potential for 10 hours of debate plus votes on scores of potentially thorny amendments in what is known as a vote-a-rama.Democrats see the president’s request as an effort to erode the Senate filibuster. They warn it’s absurd to expect them to work with GOP lawmakers on bipartisan spending measures if Republicans turn around a few months later and use their majority o cut the parts they don’t like.Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer offered a stern warning in a letter to colleagues: “How Republicans answer this question on rescissions and other forthcoming issues will have grave implications for the Congress, the very role of the legislative branch, and, more importantly, our country,” Schumer said.Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., took note of the warning.“I was disappointed to see the Democrat leader in his recent Dear Colleague letter implicitly threaten to shut down the government,” Thune said.The Trump administration is likening the first rescissions package to a test case and says more could be on the way if Congress goes along. Kevin Freking, Associated Press
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E-Commerce
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has published two recent mushroom-related recall notices due to potential Listeria illness concerns. Several mushroom products distributed in New York, Michigan, and Ohio have been recalled after routine testing found the presence of Listeria monocytogenes, a bacteria that can spread to and from food and can cause serious and fatal infections. While Listeria infections are rare, pregnant individuals, newborns, adults 65 and above, and those with weakened immune systems are most at risk. Consumers who have purchased these products should return them for a refund. Here’s more information on the recalled products: Multiple mushroom products recalled by Wiet Peeters Farm Products Limited On July 10, Canadian company Wiet Peeters Farm Products Limited, which is based in Charing Cross, Ontario, issued a recall for the following products due to their potential to be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes: Aunt Mid’s Fresh Sliced Mushrooms (227g flat blue packaging with UPC 0 33383 676005 and best before date of 25JL04) Peeters Mushroom Farm Cremini Sliced (flat black plastic packaging with UPC 0 68414 96960 3 and best before date of 25JL04) Peeters Mushroom Farm Thick Slice Mushrooms (10 lb. cardboard box) The products were distributed in Ohio and Michigan. Testing done by the Canadian Food Inspection revealed the presence of Listeria monocytogenes in 227g packages of Fresh Sliced Mushrooms. The other mushrooms were manufactured on the same line. The FDA published the recall information on July 11. If you have purchased any of the above products, you should return them to the retailer for a full refund. If you have any questions, you can contact Wiet Peeters Farm Products Limited by calling 1-519-351-1945 or 1-800-364-1305. LLK Trading issues recall for ‘needle nushrooms’ On July 11, LLK Trading Inc., based in Linden, New Jersey, recalled its 200g packages of “needle mushrooms” due to their potential to be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes. The mushrooms come in a 200g blue package with a clear plastic top. The products were distributed to Bally Produce Corp in Maspeth, New York, and were sold to DA TANG Supermarket in Middletown, New York. Routine testing done by the FDA found the presence of Listeria monocytogenes. If you have purchased this product, you should return it to the retailer for a full refund. If you have any questions, you can contact LLK Trading Inc. by calling 908-290-3061. As of this date, no illnesses have been reported for either of these recalls.
Category:
E-Commerce
A preliminary finding into last month’s Air India plane crash has suggested the aircraft’s fuel control switches were turned off, starving the engines of fuel and causing a loss of engine thrust shortly after takeoff.The report, issued by India’s Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau on Saturday, also found that one pilot was heard on the cockpit voice recorder asking the other why he cut off the fuel in the flight’s final moment. The other pilot replied he did not do so.The Air India flighta Boeing 787-8 Dreamlinercrashed on June 12 and killed at least 260 people, including 19 on the ground, in the northwestern city of Ahmedabad. Only one passenger survived the crash, which is one of India’s worst aviation disasters.The report based its finding on the data recovered from the plane’s black boxescombined cockpit voice recorders and flight data recorders.Here is an explanation of what black boxes are and what they can do: What are black boxes? The cockpit voice recorder and the flight data recorder are tools that help investigators reconstruct the events that lead up to a plane crash.They’re orange in color to make them easier to find in wreckage, sometimes at great ocean depths. They’re usually installed a plane’s tail section, which is considered the most survivable part of the aircraft, according to the National Transportation Safety Board’s website. What does the cockpit voice recorder do? The cockpit voice recorder collects radio transmissions and sounds such as the pilot’s voices and engine noises, according to the NTSB’s website.Depending on what happened, investigators may pay close attention to the engine noise, stall warnings and other clicks and pops, the NTSB said. And from those sounds, investigators can often determine engine speed and the failure of some systems.Investigators can also listen to conversations between the pilots and crew and communications with air traffic control. Experts make a meticulous transcript of the voice recording, which can take up to a week. What does the flight data recorder do? The flight data recorder monitors a plane’s altitude, airspeed and heading, according to the NTSB. Those factors are among at least 88 parameters that newly built planes must monitor.Some can collect the status of more than 1,000 other characteristics, from a wing’s flap position to the smoke alarms. The NTSB said it can generate a computer animated video reconstruction of the flight from the information collected. What are the origins of the black box? At least two people have been credited with creating devices that record what happens on an airplane.One is French aviation engineer François Hussenot. In the 1930s, he found a way to record a plane’s speed, altitude and other parameters onto photographic film, according to the website for European plane-maker Airbus.In the 1950s, Australian scientist David Warren came up with the idea for the cockpit voice recorder, according to his 2010 AP obituary.Warren had been investigating the crash of the world’s first commercial jet airliner, the Comet, in 1953, and thought it would be helpful for airline accident investigators to have a recording of voices in the cockpit, the Australian Department of Defence said in a statement after his death.Warren designed and constructed a prototype in 1956. But it took several years before officials understood just how valuable the device could be and began installing them in commercial airlines worldwide. Why the name “black box”? Some have suggested that it stems from Hussenot’s device because it used film and “ran continuously in a light-tight box, hence the name ‘black box,'” according to Airbus, which noted that orange was the box’s chosen color from the beginning to make it easy to find.Other theories include the boxes turning black when they get charred in a crash, the Smithsonian Magazine wrote in 2019.The media continues to use the term, the magazine wrote, “because of the sense of mystery it conveys in the aftermath of an air disaster.” Associated Press
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E-Commerce
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