Tag: congress
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US Bill Seeks to Block Mandatory GMO Food Labeling by States
from reuters.com: A Republican congressman from Kansas introduced legislation on Wednesday that would nullify efforts in multiple states to require labeling of genetically modified foods. The bill, dubbed the “Safe and Accurate Food Labeling Act” was drafted by U.S. Rep. Mike Pompeo from Kansas, and is aimed at overriding bills in roughly two dozen states…
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Dems, Repubs Both Trot Out Women to Prove They’re Not Sexist
from thewire.com: In attempts to prove they’re not sexist, both parties are inviting their female leaders to speak out about how happy they are. Republicans have been accused of waging a war on women, but the White House has been under scrutiny lately for paying its female employees less than men. President Obama says he’s…
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States Find Ways to Skirt Congressional Cuts in Food Stamps
from washingtonpost.com: Congress last month passed a revamp of agriculture and food policy that was supposed to save the U.S. government $8.6 billion in food-stamp costs over a decade. That may not happen, though, now that some states are finding a way to avoid the cuts. New York, Connecticut and Pennsylvania are triggering extra nutrition…
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Ben Affleck to Testify Before Congress as Africa Expert
from blacklistednews.com: With a vicious spate of mass killings plaguing the Democratic Republic of the Congo, a Senate panel is calling on experts to appear before U.S. lawmakers next week. One of them is Hollywood actor and serial activist Ben Affleck, The Cable has learned. Affleck is slated to appear before the Senate Foreign Relations…
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Catfish Oversight, Weather Radios and Christmas Tree Tax: Meet the Pork-Filled $956B Farm Bill
Farm Bill Cuts $8 Billion in Food Stamps, Preserves Handouts to Koch Industries* from dailymail.co.uk: The federal government pays for a $15 million ‘wool trust fund,’ runs a $170 million program to protect catfish growers from overseas competition, sets aside $3 million to promote Christmas trees, funds another $2 million to help farmers sell more…
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In Congress’s Farm Bill, The Rich Get Richer
from washingtonpost.com: Congress has sent a $956 billion farm bill larded with subsidies for agribusiness to President Obama, who issued a statement Tuesday praising it. Maybe he should first have reread his fiscal 2014 budget proposal. “The farm sector continues to be one of the strongest sectors of the U.S. economy, with net farm income…
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Farm Bill Ends Subsidies, Cuts Food Stamps
from money.cnn.com: A group of bipartisan lawmakers on Monday agreed to a deal on a farm bill that would end direct subsidies to farms in favor of crop insurance. The deal could trim as much as $90 a month from food stamps for 850,000 recipients. The farm bill would last five years and needs to…
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Tech Giants Call on #Obama, #Congress to Rein in Internet Spy Programs
from mercurynews.com: In an unusual joint statement, leading Internet companies called Monday for new legal restrictions on government spy programs that the companies view as an increasing threat both to their customers’ privacy and their own business interests. “The U.S. government should take this opportunity to lead this reform effort and make things right,” Facebook…
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#Twitter, #Facebook Demand Sweeping Changes to US #Surveillance
from theguardian.com: The world’s leading technology companies have united to demand sweeping changes to US surveillance laws, urging an international ban on bulk collection of data to help preserve the public’s “trust in the internet”. In their most concerted response yet to disclosures by the National Security Agency whistleblower Edward Snowden, Apple, Google, Microsoft, Facebook,…
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What A Bitcoin Political Debut Could Mean For Transparency
from npr.org: Bitcoin, the virtual currency that exists as alphanumeric strings online, is on the verge of getting into politics. The Federal Election Commission is expected to vote Thursday on a proposal to allow bitcoin contributions to political action committees — even as skeptics say that bitcoins could undermine the disclosure standards of federal law.…
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‘Monsanto Protection Act’ quietly extended by Congress
from RT.com: A budget provision protecting genetically-modified seeds from litigation in the face of health risks was extended for three months in an approved US House of Representatives’ spending bill on Tuesday evening. Called “The Monsanto Protection Act” by opponents, the budget rider shields biotech behemoths like Monsanto, Cargill and others from the threat of…
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Growing Chorus Seeks Labels For Genetically Modified Food
From Maine to Washington, a growing number of states are taking on the issue of genetically engineered foods, fanning the flames of a decades-old debate about whether the products are dangerous to human health.
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U.S. House Shamefully Passes CISPA
For the second year in a row, the House voted to approve CISPA, a bill that would allow companies to bypass all existing privacy law to spy on communications.
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#NewWorldNextWeek: Episode148 – Monsanto Protection, Kerry + Karzai, BRICS Bank
Story #1: ‘Monsanto Protection Act’ slips silently through US Congress // Story #2: Kerry, Karzai Bury Hatchet in Kabul Meeting // Story #3: BRICS Nations Fail To Launch New Bank
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New Govt Mandated Lightbulbs A Major Health Hazard
from brasschecktv.com: Remember when the Congress decided to outlaw normal US-made light bulbs in favor of mercury-containing “green” ones made only in China? If dropped and broken, these bulbs require someone in a hazmat suit to clean up. Well, apparently, that’s not all. They cast a light that contributes to skin cancer.