Less than half of households on rural Tribal land have access to high-speed broadband.
Press release issued 11.18.20
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, legislation introduced by U.S. Senators Maria Cantwell (D-WA), Tom Udall (D-NM), and Martin Heinrich (D-NM) to expedite the deployment of affordable broadband service on Tribal lands passed the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs by voice vote. Cantwell, Udall, the Vice Chair of the committee, and Heinrich introduced the Bridging the Tribal Digital Divide Act of 2020 in February.
According to a report issued by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in May 2019, less than half of households in Indian Country have access to high-speed broadband service. This represents a nearly 27-point gap compared to non-Tribal rural areas. According to the same report, this gap only widens when compared to the country-wide average; 31 percent of households on Tribal lands lack access to high-speed broadband service compared to seven percent of Americans in non-Tribal areas.
“Indian Country has waited long enough for broadband. We need to do better. This legislation will help us do that,” Senator Cantwell said at today’s hearing.
The Bridging the Tribal Digital Divide Act of 2020 will:
Establish the Tribal Broadband Interagency Working Group to improve coordination across federal broadband programs and reduce deployment barriers;
Require that technical assistance be provided to interested, underserved Native communities to develop a broadband deployment plan;
Streamline the application process for federal grants to support the deployment of broadband services on Tribal lands;
Establish a Tribal Broadband Deployment Advisory Committee;
Set aside FCC and USDA funds for the benefit of broadband deployment on Tribal lands; and
Establish the Tribal Broadband Right-of-Way Pilot Program.
Senator Cantwell has long fought for more robust, efficient, and cost-effective broadband connectivity for communities throughout Washington state. In January, she introduced bipartisan legislation to ensure that billions of dollars from a public auction of C-Band spectrum are invested to bridge the digital divide and enable next generation public safety services. In 2018, Cantwell helped secure $600 million in funding to boost rural broadband development, and before that she worked with the Makah Tribe and CenturyLink to bring broadband access to Neah Bay, one of the most remote parts of Washington state.
AG FERGUSON: JUDGE FINDS OPIOID DISTRIBUTOR IN CONTEMPT OF COURT FOR REFUSING TO DISCLOSE DOCUMENTS AND MAKE KEY WITNESSES AVAILABLE FOR TESTIMONY
AmerisourceBergen one of three Fortune 15 companies sued by Ferguson in 2019 for fueling opioid epidemic
SEATTLE — A King County Superior Court judge found AmerisourceBergen Drug Corp., one of the largest prescription opioid distributors in the world, in contempt of court for failing to turn over important documents and attempting to shield key witnesses from testifying. AmerisourceBergen is one of the three companies Attorney General Bob Ferguson sued in March 2019 for unlawfully contributing to Washington state’s opioid epidemic.
Judge Marshall Ferguson ordered yesterday that within seven days, the opioid distributor must hand over unredacted records from its corporate board from 2006 through 2018. Further, the judge ordered the company to produce witnesses who could speak to specific topics requested by the state. Judge Ferguson ordered AmerisourceBergen pay for the state’s legal costs incurred in bringing the motion for contempt.
“AmerisourceBergen spent months delaying and attempting to obstruct our investigation,” Ferguson said. “Their misconduct failed. Stall tactics won’t stop us from uncovering and exposing their unlawful conduct that devastated Washington families. While attempting to conceal evidence and shield witnesses, this powerful company continued its obstruction by demanding that the state produce terabytes of data about Washington’s residents. We are going to hold this powerful corporation accountable for their role in fueling the opioid crisis.”
AmerisourceBergen, along with McKesson Corp. and Cardinal Health Inc. supply the majority of opioids coming into Washington state. They are listed in the top 15 of the Fortune 500 list based on 2017 revenue.
In July 2019, Judge Ferguson rejected the distributors’ attempt to dismiss the lawsuit.
Case background
Ferguson’s lawsuit, filed in March, asserts that McKesson Corp., Cardinal Health Inc. and AmerisourceBergen Drug Corp. made billions of dollars feeding the opioid epidemic, shipping huge amounts of oxycodone, fentanyl, hydrocodone and other prescription opioids into the state even when they knew or should have known those drugs were likely to end up in the hands of drug dealers and addicts.
Opioid distributors are legally required to monitor the size and frequency of prescription opioid orders to identify suspicious orders that could be diverted into the illegal drug market. Distributors are required to stop these suspicious shipments and report them to the federal Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA).
Instead, McKesson, Cardinal Health and AmerisourceBergen have faced repeated actions from the DEA for continuously failing to stop and report suspicious opioid shipments, paying hundreds of millions in fines for their failure to follow the rules.
Based on shipping data, a conservative calculation suggests these companies may have shipped more than 250,000 suspicious orders into Washington state between 2006 and 2014. A less conservative calculation puts that number more than 3 ½ times that high, at nearly a million.
Ferguson accuses McKesson, Cardinal Health and AmerisourceBergen of violating the state Consumer Protection Act for filling thousands of suspicious orders in Washington state without adequately identifying them or reporting them. Their actions, Ferguson asserts, helped fuel the opioid epidemic in Washington state.
Ferguson’s lawsuit seeks civil penalties and damages from the companies. He also asks the court to order the distributors to give up the profits they made in Washington as a result of their illegal conduct. Sales of opioids are worth billions every year nationwide, and Washington’s portion is expected to be in the millions.
The surrendered profits will be used to remediate the effects of the opioid epidemic, possibly funding treatment, education and more.
Prescriptions and sales of opioids in Washington skyrocketed more than 500 percent between 1997 and 2011. In 2011, at the peak of overall sales in Washington, more than 112 million daily doses of all prescription opioids were dispensed in the state — enough for a 16-day supply for every woman, man and child in Washington.
In 2015, there were eight counties with more prescriptions than population, led by Asotin, with nearly 1 ½ prescriptions per person. The other counties were Clallam, Grays Harbor, Columbia, Garfield, Pend Orielle, Lewis and Benton.
In 2008, there were 16 counties with more prescriptions than people.
Between 2006 and 2017, opioid overdoses killed more than 8,000 Washingtonians, more than were killed by car accidents or firearms. The majority of drug overdose deaths in Washington state involve opioids.
Assistant Attorneys General Martha Rodriguez Lopez, Andrew Hughes, Tad Robinson O’Neill, Nathan Bays, Spencer Coates, Brian Rowe and Laura Clinton are handling the case for Washington.
IN OTHER STATE NEWS:
AG FERGUSON: FEDERAL JUDGE INVALIDATES TRUMP ADMINISTRATION’S REINTERPRETATION OF MEDICAID ACT
Washington Courts: News and Information
National Adoption Day 2020: A Pandemic Doesn’t Change the Dream of Family for Foster Children
November 18, 2020
Diamond is a 14-year-old artist who has filled more than 50 sketchbooks. Marina is a shy 10-year-old who likes to communicate through writing letters. Cordell, 13, loves the outdoors, animals, and recently discovered magnet fishing. Seven-year-old Jillantie likes nothing better than running really fast, shooting hoops and playing outside. Roman, 16, wants to be a blacksmith or a car mechanic and would love to find a family of gamers who might adopt him.
http://www.courts.wa.gov/newsinfo/?fa=newsinfo.internetdetail&newsid=40743
Employment Security Department
#20-065
Monthly Employment Report for October 2020
OLYMPIA – Washington’s economy added 1,000 jobs in October and the state’s preliminary seasonally adjusted monthly unemployment rate for October decreased from 8.3 percent (adjusted) to 6.0 percent according to the Employment Security Department (ESD).
https://esd.wa.gov/october-2020-monthly-employment-report
A No-contact Advisory for Port Townsend Bay, Jefferson County--DOE
https://ecology.wa.gov/Blog/Posts/November-2020/Fecal-Matters-A-No-contact-Advisory-for-Port-Towns
IN OTHER HEADLINES...
WORLD HEADLINES:
Refugee resettlement numbers fall to lowest in two decades: UNHCR
Refugee resettlement numbers will be at a “record low” this year, the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) said on Wednesday, with only 15,425 people resettled in the first nine months of 2020, compared to more than 50,000 in 2019.
https://news.un.org/en/story/2020/11/1078052
Development funding and trade transparency needed, to stop COVID-19 dividing the world
The pandemic has redefined the world economy in ways that will deepen inequality and can only be reversed if a global transformation in attitudes towards trade and development allows the whole world to recover together, the UN trade body UNCTAD said, in a report published on Thursday.
https://news.un.org/en/story/2020/11/1078072
Climate crisis: ‘Nowhere near the finish line’ – UN chief
Pointing to its “pioneering legislation and policies”, on Thursday the UN chief hailed the 27-member European Union (EU) as a “a leader on climate action”, that had shown that it was possible to cut emissions while achieving economic growth.
https://news.un.org/en/story/2020/11/1078082
In the face of ridicule: one woman’s fight to bring sanitation to a Nepali village.
4.2 billion people are living without access to safely managed sanitation, putting them at increased risk of catching a host of infectious diseases, such as COVID-19, cholera, and typhoid. On this year’s World Toilet Day, which is marked on 19 November, we look at how Ratna Khawas has fought ridicule and tradition to improve hygiene in her Nepali village, with the help of the UN.
https://news.un.org/en/story/2020/11/1078042
NATIONAL NEWS HEADLINES:
Texas Physician Sentenced for Multi-Million Medicare Fraud Scheme
A Texas physician was sentenced to five years in prison today for her role in a multi-million Medicare fraud scheme. --DOJ
https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/texas-physician-sentenced-multi-million-medicare-fraud-scheme
FDA Releases New Outbreak Investigation Table
New tool will communicate outbreak investigations in early stages.
https://www.fda.gov/news-events/press-announcements/fda-releases-new-outbreak-investigation-table
Trump Administration Strengthens Rapid Response to Invasive Mussels to Protect Western Waters
WASHINGTON — The Trump Administration today announced a new interagency conservation agreement to protect western water supplies, power generation, outdoor recreation and aquatic ecosystems by strengthening efforts to combat invasive mussels.
EPA Awards Funding to Association of Farmworker Opportunity Programs for Farmworker Pesticide Training in New York, New Jersey and Puerto Rico.
BUSINESS & FINANCE HEADLINES:
The Changing Structure of Mortgage Markets and Financial Stability
Governor Michelle W. Bowman
At the “Financial Stability: Stress, Contagion, and Transmission” 2020 Financial Stability Conference hosted by the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland and the Office of Financial Research, Cleveland, Ohio--THE FED
https://www.federalreserve.gov/newsevents/speech/bowman20201119a.htm
Security Summit partners announce National Tax Security Awareness Week dates; urge increased security measures as fraudsters exploit COVID-19 concerns--FBI
Treasury Sanctions Entities Involved in Exporting Workers from North Korea.
WASHINGTON – Today, the U.S. Department of the Treasury imposed sanctions on two entities involved in the exportation of forced labor from North Korea.
https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/sm1189
OECD Working Group on Bribery Issues Report Commending United States for Maintaining Leading Role in the Fight Against Transnational Corruption
NEWS STORIES THAT THE DNC PRESS WON'T COVER:
Gimme a Break: 80 Million Biden Voters Can't Be...Real--PJ MEDIA
3 Ways States Should Ensure Election Integrity In 2020 And Beyond
GOP concerns about election integrity are warranted. Americans should focus on three keys to ensuring election integrity, for now and the future.--The Federalist
27-0: GOP won every House race deemed a "toss-up" in pre-election report
The results represent a major disappointment for Democrats, who grew increasingly confident of a “blue wave” leading up to Election Day that would give them an expanded House majority.--Washington Examiner
Trump Campaign Requests Recounts in 2 Wisconsin Counties.---Daily Signal
https://www.dailysignal.com/2020/11/19/trump-campaign-requests-recounts-in-2-wisconsin-counties/
TODAY'S TOP VIDEO
Trump Campaign Legal Team Holds Press Conference
Watch live: Trump campaign legal team holds press conference in DC.
https://www.facebook.com/rightsidebroadcasting/videos/281504603286547
THE DEMOCRATS WILL TRY TO STEAL THIS ELECTION!
The President needs YOUR HELP!
THE DEMOCRATS WILL TRY TO STEAL THIS ELECTION!
The President needs YOUR HELP!
Psalm 1:1-2 (New King James Version)
BOOK ONE
Psalms 1–41
Blessed is the man Who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, Nor stands in the path of sinners, Nor sits in the seat of the scornful; But his delight is in the law of the Lord, And in His law he meditates day and night.
