MORE POWER for Feb. 24th
1000 MORE's weekly nonpartisan roundup of the most important happenings in federal government, written in a way that doesn't require a law degree to understand, with tools to take action
February 24, 2023
This week in MORE POWER:
Historic election in Virginia
The REIN IN Act
The Informing Consumers About Smart Devices Act
Legislation to prevent future freight train disasters
The anniversary of Russia's invasion of Ukraine
A question for you
Black Women Setting Records In Congress
On Tuesday, Virginia State Sen. Jennifer McClellan was elected to fill Rep. Donald McEachin, (D-VA)'s 4th Congressional District seat. Rep. McEachin passed away in November due complications from cancer.
When she is sworn in, McClellan will make history as the first Black woman to represent the people of Virginia in Congress. She will also be the 150th woman in the 118th Congress, setting a record for the most number of women who have served in Congress in the same term.
H.R. 347 REIN IN Act
As consumer goods prices continue to creep upwards for Americans, inflation continues to be a hot topic. House Republicans, led by Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY), have put together a bill that specifically addresses the impact of executive actions on inflation.
Should it pass Congress and get signed into law, the Reduce Exacerbated Inflation Negatively Impacting the Nation Act, or REIN IN Act would force President Biden and any subsequent presidents to publish details on if and how any pending executive actions would impact inflation, and report these findings to Congress. The bill is on the House's schedule for a vote next week.
H.R. 538 Informing Consumers About Smart Devices Act
Each year, companies push smart technology into more devices, connecting them to the internet and making them accessible from a smart phone. Smart appliances include everything from Amazon Echo to Nest thermostats to Roomba vacuums. But did you know that alongside wifi, some companies are also installing cameras or microphones on smart appliances which they can use to record you?
There is a bipartisan bill in Congress to stop that. The Informing Consumers About Smart Devices Act would make companies tell consumers when a camera or microphone is part of a smart device. In the last term of Congress, the bill passed the House but died in the Senate. It is now on the schedule for a vote in the House next week.
Come on, ride the train, hey, ride it...
A Bill To Prevent Future Freight Train Disasters?
The derailment of freight rail company Norfolk Southern's train in East Palestine, Ohio, and resulting environmental disaster, has been making headlines all month. Now there are talks in Congress about federal legislation to prevent future derailments of trains carrying hazardous materials.
While there was an Obama era safety rule on enhanced breaking requirements that many thought could have prevented this derailment (had the rule not been thrown out by the Trump administration), it would not have applied to this specific train, according to National Transportation Safety Board Chair Jennifer Homendy, as the policy only applied to high hazard flammable trains. The train that derailed in East Palestine was a mixed freight train. Out of 150 cars, only three were carrying highly hazardous materials.
Additionally, because the train didn't meet current federal standards for a “high-hazardous material train,” Norfolk Southern was not required to inform state officials about the chemicals on the train, even though they are known to cause adverse health effects, which arguably slowed both preparedness and response times.
Sen. Sherrod Brown, (D-OH) and Rep. Bill Johnson (R-OH) are looking to change this. They are in talks on a bill that would revise how the federal government classifies hazardous materials transported by rail. The Biden administration has signaled that it would welcome legislation on this.
Keep in mind, Norfolk Southern is no stranger to Congress. The freight rail company spent $2-3 million a year lobbying against legislation on federal safety standards for freight rail during Obama's second term. The aforementioned safety rule was put in place because of the failure to pass legislation, likely in part because of Norfolk Southern's lobbying.
Have a view on this you would like to share?
While East Palestine Ohio was dealing with the train tragedy, President Biden was in Ukraine - and the mayor of the small town has publicly criticized him for it.
Russia Invaded Ukraine One Year Ago Today
The logistical feat of secretly getting a sitting American president into a hot war zone by overnight train without active U.S. military support is historic. Additionally, this weekend Vice President Kamala Harris gave an historic speech on Russia's crimes against humanity at the Munich Security Conference, promising that those involved, be they perpetrators or complicit superiors “will be held to account.”
Secretary of State Antony Blinken agreed in a speech of his own, citing a “widespread and systematic attack against Ukraine’s civilian population” that has included “execution-style killings of Ukrainian men, women, and children; torture of civilians in detention through beatings, electrocution, and mock executions; rape” alongside forced deportations of “hundreds of thousands of Ukrainian civilians to Russia, including children who have been forcibly separated from their families.” Over 8,000 Ukrainian civilians have died, including 436 children, and 13,000+ have been, injured according to the U.N. Additionally, one in three of the roughly 44 million Ukrainian people have been displaced by the war as of October.
According to the Council on Foreign Relations, the United States has sent $76.8 billion in aid to Ukraine, 61% of which has been military aid, a commitment nearly 10 times greater than the second biggest military aid donor, the U.K.
Last year, Congress appropriated more than $113B in aid through four different bills: H.R. 2471, the Consolidated Appropriations Act 2022, H.R.7691, the Additional Ukraine Supplemental Appropriations Act, H.R.6833, the Continuing Appropriations and Ukraine Supplemental Appropriations Act, and H.R. 2617, the Consolidated Appropriations Act 2023. Recently new hard-right Republican House members have called for an end to this aid. But with the Biden administration's recent trips and bipartisan support for aid among Congressional leadership, a draw down is unlikely.
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