No comments from Congressman Kilmer, or Senator Cantwell, as for Senator Murray she was too busy sounding off on the proposed Trump Care proposal which can replace the failure of the Obama Care ripoff!
So starting with her statement on that, then the main headliner today:
TRUMPCARE: Sen. Murray Calls on Republicans to Stop Sabotaging Families’ Health Care and Work With Democrats
PRESS RELEASE DATE 7. 18. 17
Source: https://www.murray.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/newsreleases?ContentRecord_id=999B753D-568E-45E1-AD63-45BAA51985AE
(Washington, D.C.) – Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), top Democrat on the Senate health committee, released the following statement on the future of Senate Republicans’ Trumpcare bill and the need for Republicans to stop sabotaging families’ health and instead, work with Democrats to continue making health care more affordable, accessible, and higher quality for families.
Trumpcare has been a failure since the start given all the ways it would raise families' health care costs and hurt patients, and it is now clearer than ever that writing a mean, partisan bill in secret is no way to get things done.
I’m thankful for the many people in our state who have been speaking up and telling their stories.
It’s very clear what needs to happen next.
Republicans need to reject this latest attempt to jam an even worse version of Trumpcare through.
And they need to work with us to quickly clean up the mess they made so that families don’t pay higher premiums and have fewer choices because Republicans, led by President Trump, broke the healthcare system, just to score political points and build support for their disastrous, failed bill.
I’m ready to get to work—and I hope Republicans stop the partisanship, stop the politics, and work with us to get this done.
WH: Remarks by President Trump at Made in America Product Showcase
press release issued July 17th
Source: https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2017/07/17/remarks-president-trump-made-america-product-showcase
THE PRESIDENT: Thank you, Mike. And you know, Mike, it is true that, as I walked through the halls, we saw so many great companies, but the gentleman who was in charge of Omaha Beef -- they do beef -- he hugged me, he wanted to kiss me so badly. (Laughter.) Because he said, our business is a whole different business now because you got China approved; the other administrations couldn’t even come close. And I told him, you know how long it took? One sentence. I said, President Xi, we’d love to sell beef back in China again. He said, you can do that. That was the end of that. Right? Sonny. The great Sonny Perdue. So we’re very happy.
But we’re here today to celebrate American manufacturing and to showcase the amazing products from all 50 states, made in the USA. Remember in the old days they used to have "Made in the USA", "Made in America"? But made in the USA. We’re going to start doing that again. We’re going to put that brand on our product because it means it’s the best.
In just a few months and moments, I will say what we’ve done over a short period of time and what we’re going to be doing over the next six months will be incredible.
We’ve signed more bills -- and I’m talking about through the legislature -- than any President ever. For a while, Harry Truman had us, and now I think we have everybody, Mike. I better say "think," otherwise they’ll give me a Pinocchio and I don’t like those -- I don’t like Pinocchios.
In just a few moments, I’ll be signing a Presidential Proclamation to launch “Made in America Week” and to make today “Made in America Day.”
We are thrilled to be joined today by so many incredible members of my Cabinet. Every member of my administration shares the same goal: to provide a level playing field for American workers and for American industry. And we are providing it much faster than other countries would like. So it’s been really a pleasure.
We want to build, create, and grow more products in our country using American labor, American goods, and American grit. When we purchase products made in the USA, the profits stay here, the revenue stays here, and the jobs -- maybe most importantly of all -- they stay right here in the USA.
In the audience today we have skilled workers, we have business leaders whose American-made goods we are proudly displaying all over the White House and outside. I saw fire engines. I saw tractors from Caterpillar. I saw some incredible machinery. Make it right here. We thank you for being here. We’re honored to showcase your creations. And I will say, they’ve really taken on, and some of you have built names that I know of for so long. And its -- congratulations. Right? You in particular. What a great job you’ve done. Thank you very much. And I saw you on television this morning. You were fantastic. I don’t know what you’re doing, exactly, but you could always have a second career. You did a great job. Thank you very much.
American workers, farmers, and innovators are really the best in the world -- we know that. And what we’re doing [with] that is we’re displaying those talents. You construct and harvest the products that fill our homes, feed our families, and defend our nation, and enrich our lives. I want to make a pledge to each and every one of you: No longer are we going to allow other countries to break the rules, steal our jobs, and drain our wealth -- and it has been drained. It has been drained.
You’re going to see a lot of things happening over the next six months -- you know, statutorily and through a lot of different legal -- through the legal process. It takes a while to get it set so that you’re allowed to do it. You’re not allowed to do, but we’ve now mostly fulfilled all of that. And over the next short period of time, you’re going to see things announced that you won’t even believe for our country and for selling product in our country and making product in our country, and things that are great for American jobs. You’re going to be seeing that happening really quickly because we are totally set up, and the hard part now is done. It is a long, horrible process, but we’re going to also get rid of some of that process for the future. But we’re going to stand up for our companies and, maybe most importantly, for our workers.
For decades, Washington has allowed other nations to wipe out millions of American jobs through unfair trade practices. Wait until you see what’s up for you. You are going to be so happy. This painful exodus of American jobs -- and I’ve been talking about it for years -- was also marked by a period of sluggish growth, falling incomes, surging welfare, and shrinking participation in the workforce. Clearly, it’s time for a new policy -- one defined by two simple rules: We will buy American and we will hire American. Right, Governor?
My administration is removing the burdens and regulations on your companies so that you can compete, thrive, and grow. How many of you have noticed this so far? Because it’s a big, big difference, right? That’s a big, big difference. The people are coming up to me -- they can’t even believe it. We took the farmer’s land away. We took the homebuilder’s land away. They have their land back now, and they’re building homes and they’re farming their farms, and it’s a beautiful thing to see. And they’re so thankful.
So a lot of those regulations have been taken off; the rest are coming off. And, by the way, we will have better protection than we've ever had, but we’ll also have something where you don’t have to wait 15 years for a permit and then when you go to the board, you lose. And that’s a big portion of your life wiped out waiting for a permit. We’re not going to let that happen.
But for our nation to really prosper, we must lower the tax on business -- one of the highest in the world -- and we must repeal job-killing Obamacare. We have to do that. (Applause.) And I can tell you, we hope John McCain gets better very soon because we miss him. He’s a crusty voice in Washington. Plus, we need his vote. (Laughter.) And he’ll be back. And he will be back sooner than somebody else would be back. He’ll be back soon.
But we need that vote. And we need a number of votes because we do have to repeal Obamacare, and we will end up replacing it with something that is going to be outstanding -- far, far better than failing Obamacare where premiums have gone up, in some cases over 200 percent this year; where every single element of it is bad, and the insurance companies, by the way, are fleeing, so people have -- in some states you have no insurance companies.
And we have some governors here, and we have senators here, and we have congressmen here, and women -- and I will tell you, it’s a very, very hard time they’re having with the Obamacare situation. So we’re going to get that done, and I think we’re going to surprise a lot of people. But they’re pushing very hard. The Republican senators are great people, but they have a lot of different states. Some states need this, some states need that. But we’re getting it together, and it’s going to happen. Right, Mike?
(Continued on page 2)
HUD MAKES $2 BILLION AVAILABLE TO LOCAL HOMELESS PROGRAMS
Funding notice encourages local applicants to use Housing First approach
Press release issued July 14th
https://portal.hud.gov/hudportal/HUD?src=/press/press_releases_media_advisories/2017/HUDNo_17-055
WASHINGTON – In an effort to prevent and effectively end homelessness, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) is making $2 billion available to support thousands of local homeless assistance programs nationwide. Funded through the Continuum of Care (CoC) Homeless Assistance Program, HUD’s funding notice continues to encourage local applicants to use a Housing First approach to help individuals and families move quickly into permanent housing. Read HUD’s Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA).
HUD’s Continuum of Care homeless assistance grants support a wide variety of local programs from street outreach and assessment programs to transitional and permanent housing for individuals, including, veterans, youth, families, and persons experiencing long-term or chronic homelessness.
“We know these grants can make a huge difference in ending homelessness” said HUD Secretary Ben Carson. “HUD continues to forge deep relationships with our local partners to invest in proven programs that are working to reduce the scale of homelessness in their communities.”
HUD continues to place a major emphasis on ending homelessness for all persons experiencing homelessness, creating a systematic response to homelessness and improving how resources are used to end homelessness. These priorities will make it much more competitive and increase incentives for communities to improve their performance. As part of these priorities, HUD is continuing incentives to adopt best practices for rapid-rehousing and Housing First, an approach that has proven effective in helping communities to make progress on their goal of ending homelessness.
Additionally, HUD isencouraging communities to end veteran, chronic, family, and youth homelessness and to use their data to strategically target their available resources to end homelessness. Finally, to help communities reach these goals, there is greater flexibility provided to create a variety of new projects that will allow recipients to serve different populations of individuals and families experiencing homelessness as well as to support increased data collection and analysis.
HUD requires prospective grantees to submit applications electronically at www.grants.gov. Any changes to HUD-published funding notices will be made available to the public through a Federal Register publication and published on this government-wide portal. Applicants are urged to sign up for Grants.gov’s notification service to receive periodic updates or changes to these grant offerings. The application deadline is September 28, 2017.
US DEFENSE DEPT. NEWS RELEASE DATED 7. 17. 17
Department of Defense Announces Historically Black Colleges and Universities and Minority-Serving Institutions Student Interns and Faculty Fellows at Defense Laboratories for Summer 2017
Source: https://www.defense.gov/News/News-Releases/News-Release-View/Article/1250031/department-of-defense-announces-historically-black-colleges-and-universities-an/
Arlington, VA -- As part of its Historically Black Colleges and Universities and Minority-Serving Institutions (HBCU/MI) initiatives, the Department of Defense (DoD) announces that 81 student interns and 15 faculty fellows from these institutions will be engaged in basic research at defense laboratories for a 10-week period beginning in June 2017. This is an annual opportunity for students and faculty from HBCUs and MIs to collaborate with the research scientists in the DoD Laboratories.
For student participants, DoD hopes to foster their interest in graduate studies and careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). The students have research interests in a variety of fields from cyber security to quantum optics to human systems interaction modeling and simulation. Their contributions to basic research during the 10 week internships will provide opportunities for the Department to expand its research outreach and excite young scientists about the work being done in the DoD Laboratories.
The faculty participants are given access to DoD state-of the-art equipment and new opportunities to participate in defense research projects. The ability to explore research ideas which they can then pursue at their home institutions will continue to inspire these faculty, and their peers, to apply for research support through DoD programs.
DoD recognizes these individuals and the value of their contributions to the defense mission. Participants in the 2017 summer program represent 30 HBCUs and MIs and the research interests of the Army, Navy and Air Force.
The names of the participants, their HBCU/MI affiliation, the hosting DoD laboratory, and their research topic areas are available at: https://www.defense.gov/Portals/1/Documents/pubs/DOD-HBCUMI-Internships-Summer-Faculty.pdf
U.S. EPA Approves Limits on Mercury in California Waters
Rules include new protections for Native American cultural use and subsistence fishing
Press release issued 7. 18. 17
Source: https://www.epa.gov/newsreleases/us-epa-approves-limits-mercury-california-waters
SAN FRANCISCO – Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced the approval of new water quality criteria for mercury in California waters. The new rules, developed by the State Water Resources Control Board, set mercury limits in fish tissue to protect human health and aquatic-dependent wildlife. New protections also have been added for tribal cultural use and subsistence fishing.
In California, Gold Rush-era mining operations released millions of pounds of naturally occurring mercury, a potent neurotoxin, into state waterways. Once there, the toxic metal builds up in fish tissue and is consumed by people and wildlife. To address that risk, the state’s new criteria set maximum mercury limits in fish tissue for various species caught for sport, subsistence and cultural practices.
“We commend the State Water Resources Control Board for working with numerous tribes and dischargers to develop and adopt water quality standards for protecting human health and wildlife throughout the state from the harmful effects of mercury,” said Alexis Strauss, EPA’s Acting Regional Administrator for the Pacific Southwest. “By focusing on mercury concentrations in fish tissue, these rules will have a direct and positive impact on public health and the environment.”
The state’s new rules set five new water quality criteria for mercury in fish tissue for tribal subsistence fishing, general subsistence fishing, prey fish, sport fish and for fish commonly consumed by the protected California Least Tern. The new criteria will help protect and inform the public about levels of mercury in popular sport fish like salmon, bass, sturgeon and trout.
“Salmon, bass, sturgeon and other popular fish like trout are sought after as a key food source by California Native American tribes, and other groups that depend on fish for sustenance, but are often contaminated by mercury. Mercury is found in many fresh water bodies in California, and is largely a legacy of the Gold Rush era, and difficult to deal with, but cannot be ignored,” said State Water Board Chair Felicia Marcus. “This approval is an important step in focusing attention on what can be done to limit exposures.”
The new mercury criteria will apply to inland surface waters, enclosed bays, and estuaries of the state, except for water bodies where approved site-specific objectives already exist, such as: San Francisco Bay and Delta; Clear Lake; and portions of Walker Creek, Cache Creek, and Guadalupe River Watersheds.
For more information on the health effects of exposures to mercury, please visit: https://www.epa.gov/mercury/health-effects-exposures-mercury
To view a copy of the approval letter and standards, please visit: http://www.waterboards.ca.gov/water_issues/programs/mercury/docs/ca_hg_approval_letter_with_enclosures_signed_071417.pdf
