Red Wing Daily: January 16, 2024
"the more you know..."
Today’s links of interest, in no particular order:
State:
Arkansas joins 34 other states to begin a “new, permanent summer grocery benefits program for children” – the Summer Electronic Benefit Transfer – in summer 2024. Serving around 21 million children nationwide, the $2.5 billion federal program provides $120 per eligible child to buy food at grocery stores, farmers markets, or authorized retailers, similar to SNAP benefits.
Governor Sanders appeared on Capitol View to review her first year in office and discuss future plans:
National:
The House Judiciary and Oversight Committees will issue new subpoenas for Hunter Biden, now that the House has formally voted to approve the Biden impeachment inquiry. Hunter’s attorney had incorrectly argued that that the initial committee subpoenas from November 2023 were invalid because they happened prior to the House impeachment vote, but the House Committees both voted to hold Hunter in contempt after his stunt/appearance at the Judiciary Committee hearing last week. Hunter’s attorney then offered that Hunter will now appear if the Committees re-issue those subpoenas. It remains to be seen if the Republicans will get any information, though because if forced to testify, you know Hunter will probably use the “Fauci I Don’t Recall” defense, or Fifth Amendment privilege against self-incrimination…
Senator Bill Cassidy of Louisiana is introducing a bill to prohibit liberal states from forcing American citizens in other states to subsidize state programs that expand public healthcare benefits to illegal aliens. The Protect Medicaid Act, would prevent federal funds from being used for state Medicaid benefits provided to noncitizens. If a state opts to extend Medicaid benefits to undocumented residents, the bill mandates that state bears the full financial responsibility without imposing any costs on taxpayers from other states. (California is expanding its Medicaid program to provide free health care for about 700,000 illegal aliens at an estimated cost of about $3 billion.)
He’s the second-largest foreign owner of US land — but the Chinese billionaire Chen Tianqiao’s 2015 purchase of 198,000 acres of Oregon timberland for $85 million does not appear on federal records for foreign land owners??
More progress on preserving our 2nd Amendment rights: A federal judge has ruled in Florida that banning guns in post offices violates your Constitutional rights, citing the 2022 Supreme Court ruling “New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen.” OF course, we’re sure this ruling by a Trump-appointed judge will be challenged (but will it be heard by the Supreme Court?)
The feds keep screwing the American taxpayer:
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) underreported its FY2022 spending commitments by $1.2 billion and its award-level outlays — or money actually paid — by $5.8 billion, meaning that 12.9% of the EPA’s total award-level obligations and 99.9% of the EPA’s total award-level outlays were not reported in fiscal 2022. The agency’s Inspector General also reports that the EPA did not report “any” of its Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act outlays and underreported its COVID pandemic-related outlays…The FDA keeps squirming on COVID:
Remember this? Dr. Mary Bowden, Dr. Paul Marik, and Dr. Robert Apter sued the FDA, saying to overstepped its authority when it told Americans to "stop" using ivermectin against COVID-19. After first being thrown out, the suit was revived last fall, resulting in a ruling from a U.S. Circuit Judge that agreed with the doctors. Now, late in 2023 the FDA filed a sealed motion to dismiss, with exhibits the government say “include confidential information” from a separate legal proceeding.
