Розділ: Політика
Economists See Biden Infrastructure Plan Powering Growth; Criticism Is Muted
President Joe Biden’s plan announced Wednesday to plow $2 trillion into an eight-year overhaul of U.S. infrastructure was met with only limited carping from many voices normally critical of government spending. Meanwhile, economists expressed broad agreement that the plan, as proposed, would power long-run economic growth.It is certainly possible that pumping that much money into the economy, with interest rates near zero and a nascent recovery already taking shape, could cause inflation, said Mark Hamrick, senior economic analyst for Bankrate.com.However, he said, “The other part of the discussion is, there’s clearly a huge risk from failing to address infrastructure needs. And I think most people would say that [inflation] is a risk worth taking at this point.”The proposal outlined by Biden in Pittsburgh would direct $620 billion in funding to transportation infrastructure, $300 billion to boost manufacturing, $180 billion to research and development focused on climate-science research, $174 billion to accelerate the use of electric vehicles, and hundreds of billions more to a laundry list of smaller-ticket priorities.All of this massive spending is only the first half of what officials say will be a two-part effort to invest in the country’s future, with the second piece expected next month. The elements of the Biden plan announced Wednesday would be paid for by increasing taxes on U.S. businesses, while the next round of proposals would be paid for by increasing taxes on wealthy individuals.President Joe Biden speaks about infrastructure spending at Carpenters Pittsburgh Training Center, March 31, 2021, in Pittsburgh.Public sector criticism largely mutedIt is a testament to the widespread agreement on the need for infrastructure investment that even groups adamantly opposed to Biden’s plan to pay for it with a tax increase or concerned about the possibility of inflation were quick to praise the proposal’s breadth and ambition.“We need a big and bold program to modernize our nation’s crumbling infrastructure and we applaud the Biden administration for making infrastructure a top priority,” said Neil Bradley, executive vice president and chief policy officer of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, in a statement released by the organization. “However, we believe the proposal is dangerously misguided when it comes to how to pay for infrastructure.”In an analysis of the plan, Michael R. Strain, the director of economic policy studies at the conservative American Enterprise Institute, called it “admirably ambitious” even as he expressed concern about the way it was being paid for and worried about inflation.“Much of the debate about the infrastructure plans will focus on whether there is political space for another multitrillion-dollar bill,” he wrote. “I am worried about whether there is economic space.”Construction workers work in Wheeling, Ill., March 31, 2021. President Joe Biden on Wednesday unveiled his nearly $2 trillion infrastructure plan aimed at revitalizing U.S. transportation infrastructure, water systems, broadband and manufacturing.Too much economic juice?Strain said that a surge in spending this year and next, temporarily fueled by debt while the tax revenue was collected, could combine with the $1.9 trillion spending in the American Rescue Plan to drive inflation.“Can the economy handle a temporary deficit boost this year and next? That will depend on whether the $1.9 trillion stimulus law Biden just signed pushes the economy too hard, leading to consumer price inflation, higher interest rates and financial instability. I am worried that it will,” Strain said.However, the majority of economic analysts seemed more concerned about what might happen if the administration failed to act.“Most economists are in agreement that the costs will be paid back in the economic productiveness of the expenditures, at least in their totality, if indeed it were to be passed as proposed,” said Hamrick of Bankrate.com. “There’s an economic cost to the lack of investment, not only in infrastructure, but these other areas as well. And that needs to be part of the central argument. There’s a cost to not doing it. And there’s a benefit to doing it.”Inflation? So what?“It’s important to recognize that if the plan works as intended, it should increase the productive capacity of the economy,” said David Wilcox, a senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics. “We’re paying real costs today for our inadequate investment in infrastructure. The investments that are made under this plan should help alleviate some of the bottlenecks in the American economy, and that itself will provide a bit of a pressure relief valve against some of the concerns that have been expressed.”Wilcox, former director of the Federal Reserve Board’s domestic economics division and a senior adviser to three Fed chairs, said that Biden’s intention to pay for his infrastructure proposals with tax increases on the wealthy and on businesses should, by itself, “substantially diminish the potential for this plan by itself to contribute to any kind of worrisome overheating of the economy.”A EVgo electric vehicle charging station is seen at a shopping plaza in Northbrook, Ill., March 31, 2021. President Joe Biden’s infrastructure plan calls for building a national network of 500,000 electric vehicle chargers by 2030.He added that even if increased infrastructure investment triggered higher inflation, that wouldn’t necessarily be a bad thing.”The Fed has indicated that it not only will tolerate but indeed welcome some additional inflation,” Wilcox said. “So all of that says to me that now is a good time to err on the side of providing more relief than it might turn out that American families and businesses actually need.”Mission not accomplishedEven though the U.S. economy has begun to spring back, with the unemployment rate falling sharply from alarming highs early in the pandemic, there are still 9.5 million fewer jobs in the country than there were when employment peaked near the beginning of the pandemic.That’s about the number of job losses the U.S. suffered during the Great Recession.“So the jobs deficit, as of today, remains huge,” Wilcox said. “We’ve got a very long way to go before anybody is going to unfurl the ‘Mission Accomplished’ banner on the economy being fully recovered.”Political criticismThe most vocal critics of the Biden administration plan have been Republican leaders in Congress, who claim that the plan is a cover for Democratic priorities not related to infrastructure.”It’s called infrastructure, but inside the Trojan horse it’s going to be more borrowed money, and massive tax increases on all the productive parts of our economy,” said Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, echoing a criticism of the bill he has made many times in recent days, while speaking with reporters in his home state of Kentucky on Wednesday.Wyoming Senator John Barrasso, who chairs the Senate Republican Conference, warned that Biden’s two-step infrastructure plan wasn’t really an infrastructure proposal at all.”Infrastructure means highways, roads, bridges,” he said in an interview with Fox Business News on Tuesday. “They want to do all sorts of social things. They’re talking about free community college, free day care, free senior care and then, of course, the punishing regulations of the Green New Deal. And you add on that all the taxes, that they’re talking about taxes on individuals, taxes on businesses. And they’re trying to resurrect the death tax. The difference could not be more clear.”
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By Polityk | 04/01/2021 | Повідомлення, Політика
Biden Releases First Diverse Slate of Judicial Nominees
President Joe Biden released his first slate of 11 federal judicial nominations on Wednesday, including three Black women for federal circuit court vacancies, a Muslim American and an Asian American and Pacific Islander.
“This trailblazing slate of nominees draws from the very best and brightest minds of the American legal profession,” Biden said in a statement that emphasized their “broad diversity of background experience and perspective.”
The nominees, which include nine women, must be confirmed by the U.S. Senate.
The Black women nominated for federal circuit court vacancies include Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, Tiffany Cunningham for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit and Candace Jackson-Akiwumi for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit.
Zahid N. Quraishi, a New Jersey magistrate judge, would be the nation’s first Muslim American to serve on a federal district court.
Judge Florence Pan would be the first Asian-American judge to serve on the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, the White House said in a statement.
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By Polityk | 03/30/2021 | Повідомлення, Політика
Hazy Forecast for Biden’s Goal of a Green Electrical Grid
Powering a large, industrialized country can be a dirty business.The United States still relies primarily on fossil fuels such as natural gas and coal to produce nearly 400,000 gigawatt hours of electricity annually for commercial, industrial and residential consumers.President Joe Biden wants the United States, by the year 2035, to have carbon-free electricity or what is termed “net zero,” meaning an overall balance between greenhouse gas emissions produced and so-called carbon offsets, such as planting of trees.“There’s no way that it is feasible without technologies that aren’t currently in the marketplace today,” Mike Sommers, president and chief executive officer of the American Petroleum Institute, replied to a VOA question on a conference call with reporters.API’s 600 members produce, process and distribute most of the energy in the United States.API supports the 2015 Paris Climate Accord to cut greenhouse gases from which President Donald Trump withdrew the United States and which Biden rejoined this year.The organization has unveiled A high-voltage power transmission line is seen in front of the La Cygne Generating Station, a coal-fired power plant in Kansas, in March 2021. (Steve Herman/VOA)To replace its 1,600 megawatt-capacity with renewables would require roughly 800,000 solar panels or 320 of the largest onshore wind turbines — plus an impossible assumption the sun never sets and the wind never stops.Pairing batteries with wind and solar is understood to be a solution to the problem, but the technology and economics have yet to be proven.Another challenge is the U.S. electricity grid itself. It was built to have a consistent flow of power running through it all the time. However, wind and solar being variable resources means the grid still needs a reliable baseload, such as those supplied by coal- or gas-fired turbines that can be quickly throttled up and down, to balance usage demands that vary by time of day and seasons.Solar is now cost-competitive and, in some cases, cheaper than fossil fuels, according to Jan Mazurek, who directs the Carbon Dioxide Removal Fund at the ClimateWorks Foundation.“But the challenge is knowing when to bring the solar online and knowing when to bring a firmer resource online after the sun sets. And that is a universal challenge whether it’s in Southeast Asia or it’s in the United States,” she said.Overall, Mazurek is optimistic.“We can get zero emitting electricity generation up to 67% by 2031 compared to 39% under business as usual … and that’s just using the existing zero-emitting baseload with wind and solar layered on top, so I don’t think that it’s an insurmountable challenge,” Mazurek told VOA.What about electricity?Meanwhile, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine, an independent adviser to the federal government, proposes funding experiments to shoot particles into the atmosphere to increase the amount of reflected sunlight, as well as seeding clouds with particles that would allow more heat to escape from the Earth.From others there is a call for more down-to-earth solutions.“The key to carbon reduction in our economy lies in electrification,” Kirtley said. “Electric cars, electric trains, and converting industrial processes like steelmaking to electricity are all feasible and would enable the use of carbon free sources of energy, such as nuclear power.”For the U.S. economy to convert to carbon-free generation, according to Kirtley, an effective carbon tax would be needed and “we need to reform our regulation of nuclear power plant construction to shorten the time it takes to put one up.”Some environmentalists and politicians remain reluctant to endorse nuclear power, pointing to previous disasters at Three Mile Island in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania, Chernobyl in Ukraine and Fukushima in Japan.“Over the past few years, clean energy advocates and environmentalists have significantly shifted in support of nuclear energy as it becomes clearer that when we lose nuclear power, we often see it replaced by fossil fuels — working against any progress that is made even as we add more wind, solar and new nuclear in the decades to come,” said John Kotek, vice president of policy development and public affairs at the Nuclear Energy Institute.“That’s why we have seen bipartisan bills passed in states like Illinois, New Jersey and Connecticut to preserve existing nuclear plants,” Kotek told VOA in a statement.“It’s undeniable that we need public policy to drive much of this change to get us to zero and below zero by 2050,” Mazurek said. “It’s a critical moment, but at the same time I’m very much encouraged by private sector action.”Government, regulators and industry also will need to figure out how to manage a much more complex grid that, even without renewables in the mix, is always a delicate balancing act.That was evident during last year’s rolling blackouts in California and this February’s electricity generation failure during a winter storm in Texas, the two most populated U.S. states.“There is no entity which takes responsibility for making sure there’s enough generation,” said Bose who also warns not enough attention is being paid to resiliency of the distribution system, which is no longer passive and one-way. Compounding that is the increase in the number and strength of damaging storms, which many blame on climate change.“Policies and regulations seem to not always jive very well with the technologies that are coming up,” Bose, of Washington State University, said.
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By Polityk | 03/27/2021 | Повідомлення, Політика
Romney Receives Profile in Courage Award for Trump Impeachment Vote
U.S. Sen. Mitt Romney was named the recipient of the John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award on Friday for splitting with his party and becoming the only Republican to vote to convict former President Donald Trump during his first impeachment trial.
The award was created by the family of the late president to honor public figures who risk their careers by embracing unpopular positions for the greater good, and is named after Kennedy’s 1957 Pulitzer Prize-winning book, “Profiles in Courage.”
“Senator Romney’s commitment to our Constitution makes him a worthy successor to the senators who inspired my father to write ‘Profiles in Courage,’ ” Kennedy’s daughter, Caroline Kennedy, said in a statement from the JFK Library Foundation. “He reminds us that our Democracy depends on the courage, conscience and character of our elected officials.”
Romney, 74, said he is inspired by the memory of his late father, George Romney, an automotive executive and governor of Michigan.
“When I think of courage, I think of my Dad,” said the Utah Republican, who is also the former governor of Massachusetts. “He did what was right regardless of consequence. I aspire to his example, though I have failed from time to time. We must subordinate our political fortunes to the causes of freedom, equal opportunity and truth, particularly as they are under assault here and abroad.”
Trump’s first trial in 2020 focused on the former president’s relationship with Ukraine. Romney became the first senator in U.S. history to vote for the conviction of a president who belonged to his own party, and he was subject to intense criticism and even threats from Trump’s supporters.
But he did not back down, the foundation said.
When Trump and many Republicans questioned the legitimacy of the 2020 presidential election, Romney defended the integrity of the results and opposed efforts to overturn them.
After the Jan. 6 attempted insurrection by Trump’s supporters at the U.S. Capitol, Romney called on his fellow Republican senators to stand up for the truth about the election. At Trump’s second impeachment trial, Romney was one of seven Republican senators who voted to convict the former president of inciting the attack.
Kennedy’s book recounts the stories of eight U.S. senators who risked their careers by taking principled stands for unpopular positions. The award was created by the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation in 1989.
Romney will be presented with the award, a sterling silver lantern symbolizing a beacon of hope, at a virtual ceremony in May.
Previous winners have included Presidents Barack Obama, Gerald Ford and George H.W. Bush; U.S. Sen. John McCain; and Liberian peace activist and Nobel laureate Leymah Gbowee. The recipients are selected by a bipartisan 15-member panel of national leaders.
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By Polityk | 03/27/2021 | Повідомлення, Політика
Dominion Voting Sues Fox for $1.6B Over 2020 Election Claims
Dominion Voting Systems on Friday filed a $1.6 billion defamation lawsuit against Fox News, arguing the cable news giant falsely claimed in an effort to boost faltering ratings that the voting company had rigged the 2020 election.
It’s the first defamation suit filed against a media outlet by the voting company, which was a target of misleading, false and bizarre claims spread by President Donald Trump and his allies in the aftermath of Trump’s election loss to Joe Biden. Those claims helped spur on rioters who stormed the U.S. Capitol on January 6 in a violent siege that left five people dead, including a police officer. The siege led to Trump’s historic second impeachment.
Dominion argues that Fox News, which amplified inaccurate assertions that Dominion altered votes, “sold a false story of election fraud in order to serve its own commercial purposes, severely injuring Dominion in the process,” according to a copy of the lawsuit obtained by The Associated Press.
Some Fox News on-air reporting segments have debunked some of the claims targeting Dominion. An email sent to Fox News Friday morning, seeking comment on the lawsuit, was not immediately returned.
There was no widespread fraud in the 2020 election, a fact that a range of election officials across the country — and even Trump’s attorney general, William Barr — have confirmed. Republican governors in Arizona and Georgia, key battleground states crucial to Biden’s victory, also vouched for the integrity of the elections in their states. Nearly all the legal challenges from Trump and his allies were dismissed by judges, including two tossed by the Supreme Court, which has three Trump-nominated justices.
Still, some Fox News employees elevated false charges that Dominion had changed votes through algorithms in its voting machines that had been created in Venezuela to rig elections for the late dictator Hugo Chavez. On-air personalities brought on Trump allies Sidney Powell and Rudy Giuliani, who spread the claims, and then amplified those claims on Fox News’ massive social media platforms.
Dominion said in the lawsuit that it tried repeatedly to set the record straight but was ignored by Fox News.
The company argues that Fox News, a network that features several pro-Trump personalities, pushed the false claims to explain away the former president’s loss. The cable giant lost viewers after the election and was seen by some Trump supporters as not being supportive enough of the Republican.
Attorneys for Dominion said Fox News’ behavior differs greatly from that of other media outlets that reported on the claims.
“This was a conscious, knowing business decision to endorse and repeat and broadcast these lies in order to keep its viewership,” said attorney Justin Nelson, of Susman Godfrey LLC.
Though Dominion serves 28 states, until the 2020 election it had been largely unknown outside the election community. It is now widely targeted in conservative circles, seen by millions of people as one of the main villains in a fictional tale in which Democrats nationwide conspired to steal votes from Trump, the lawsuit said.
Dominion’s employees, from its software engineers to its founder, have been harassed. Some received death threats. And the company has suffered “enormous and irreparable economic harm,” lawyers said.
Dominion has also sued Giuliani, Powell and the CEO of Minnesota-based MyPillow over the claims. A rival technology company, Smartmatic USA, also sued Fox News over election claims. Unlike Dominion, Smartmatic’s participation in the 2020 election was restricted to Los Angeles County.
Dominion lawyers said they have not yet filed lawsuits against specific media personalities at Fox News, but the door remains open. Some at Fox News knew the claims were false but their comments were drowned out, lawyers said.
“The buck stops with Fox on this,” attorney Stephen Shackelford said. “Fox chose to put this on all of its many platforms. They rebroadcast, republished it on social media and other places.”
The suit was filed in Delaware, where both companies are incorporated, though Fox News is headquartered in New York and Dominion is based in Denver.
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By Polityk | 03/26/2021 | Повідомлення, Політика
Romney Receives Profile in Courage Award for Impeachment Vote
U.S. Sen. Mitt Romney was named the recipient of the John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award on Friday for splitting with his party and becoming the only Republican to vote to convict former President Donald Trump during his first impeachment trial.
The award was created by the family of the late president to honor public figures who risk their careers by embracing unpopular positions for the greater good, and is named after Kennedy’s 1957 Pulitzer Prize-winning book, “Profiles in Courage.”
“Senator Romney’s commitment to our Constitution makes him a worthy successor to the senators who inspired my father to write ‘Profiles in Courage,’ ” Kennedy’s daughter, Caroline Kennedy, said in a statement from the JFK Library Foundation. “He reminds us that our Democracy depends on the courage, conscience and character of our elected officials.”
Romney, 74, said he is inspired by the memory of his late father, George Romney, an automotive executive and governor of Michigan.
“When I think of courage, I think of my Dad,” said the Utah Republican, who is also the former governor of Massachusetts. “He did what was right regardless of consequence. I aspire to his example, though I have failed from time to time. We must subordinate our political fortunes to the causes of freedom, equal opportunity and truth, particularly as they are under assault here and abroad.”
Trump’s first trial in 2020 focused on the former president’s relationship with Ukraine. Romney became the first senator in U.S. history to vote for the conviction of a president who belonged to his own party, and he was subject to intense criticism and even threats from Trump’s supporters.
But he did not back down, the foundation said.
When Trump and many Republicans questioned the legitimacy of the 2020 presidential election, Romney defended the integrity of the results and opposed efforts to overturn them.
After the Jan. 6 attempted insurrection by Trump’s supporters at the U.S. Capitol, Romney called on his fellow Republican senators to stand up for the truth about the election. At Trump’s second impeachment trial, Romney was one of seven Republican senators who voted to convict the former president of inciting the attack.
Kennedy’s book recounts the stories of eight U.S. senators who risked their careers by taking principled stands for unpopular positions. The award was created by the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation in 1989.
Romney will be presented with the award, a sterling silver lantern symbolizing a beacon of hope, at a virtual ceremony in May.
Previous winners have included Presidents Barack Obama, Gerald Ford and George H.W. Bush; U.S. Sen. John McCain; and Liberian peace activist and Nobel laureate Leymah Gbowee. The recipients are selected by a bipartisan 15-member panel of national leaders.
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By Polityk | 03/26/2021 | Повідомлення, Політика
Specialized Care Required: Migrants Youths in US Custody
Unaccompanied minors continue to stream across the US-Mexico border, the only migrant group the Biden administration is allowing to remain in the US. As VOA’s Aline Barros reports, the influx has overwhelmed an immigration system struggling to comply with strict requirements for housing and processing children.
Camera: Celia Mendoza
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By Polityk | 03/26/2021 | Повідомлення, Політика
Georgia Governor Signs Republican-backed Election Bill Amid Outcry
Georgia Governor Brian Kemp on Thursday signed into law a sweeping Republican-sponsored overhaul of state election laws that includes new restrictions on voting by mail and gives the legislature greater control over how elections are run.Democrats and voting rights groups say the law will disproportionately disenfranchise voters of color. It is part of a wave of GOP-backed election bills introduced in states around the nation after former President Donald Trump stoked false claims that fraud led to his 2020 election defeat.Republican changes to voting laws in Georgia followed record-breaking turnout that led to Democratic victories in the presidential contest and two U.S. Senate runoffs in the once reliably red state.Kemp signed the bill less than two hours after it received final passage in the Georgia General Assembly. The bill passed the state House 100-75 earlier Thursday, before the state Senate quickly agreed to House changes 34-20. Republicans in the legislature were in support, while Democrats were opposed.’Unabashed assault on voting rights’Democratic Senate Minority Leader Gloria Butler said the bill was filled with “voter suppression tactics.”“We are witnessing right now a massive and unabashed assault on voting rights unlike anything we’ve seen since the Jim Crow era,” she added.As Kemp delivered his remarks, he was interrupted by a commotion before a livestream of the event cut out.Capitol police arrested Democratic state Representative Park Cannon, who is Black, amid a protest outside the governor’s office during Kemp’s remarks.Police officers place state Rep. Park Cannon in handcuffs in the Capitol in Atlanta, March 26, 2021, in this still image obtained from a social media video. (Tamara Stevens/Reuters)Video captured by a bystander shows Cannon, who is handcuffed with her arms behind her back, being forcibly removed from the Capitol by two officers, one on each arm. She says, “Where are you taking me?” and “Stop,” as she is taken from the building.A Georgia State Patrol spokesperson, Lieutenant W. Mark Riley, said troopers intended to file charges against Cannon, though he declined to elaborate.Among highlights, the law requires a photo ID in order to vote absentee by mail, after more than 1.3 million Georgia voters used that option during the COVID-19 pandemic. It also shortens the time people have to request an absentee ballot and limits where ballot drop boxes can be placed and when they can be accessed.Lawmaker’s defenseRepublican Representative Jan Jones said the provisions cutting the time people have to request an absentee ballot are meant to “increase the likelihood of a voter’s vote being cast successfully,” after concerns were raised in 2020 about mail ballots not being received by counties in time to be counted.One of the biggest changes gives the GOP-controlled legislature more control over election administration, a change that has raised concerns among voting rights groups that it could lead to greater partisan influence.FILE – Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger gives an update on the state of the general election and ballot count during a news conference at the Capitol in Atlanta, Nov. 6, 2020.The law replaces the elected secretary of state as the chair of the state election board with a new appointee of the legislature after Republican Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger rebuffed Trump’s attempts to overturn Georgia’s election results. It also allows the board to remove and replace county election officials deemed to be underperforming.That provision is widely seen as something that could be used to target Fulton County, a Democratic stronghold covering most of Atlanta, which came under fire after long lines plagued primary elections over the summer.Republican Representative Barry Fleming, a driving force in crafting the law, said that provision would only be a “temporary fix, so to speak, that ends and the control is turned back over to the locals after the problems are resolved.”Runoff time frame reducedThe law also reduces the time frame in which runoff elections are held, including the amount of early voting for runoffs. And it bars outside groups from handing out food or water to people standing in line to vote.The law does not contain some of the more contentious proposals floated by Republicans earlier in the session, including limits on early voting on Sundays, a popular day for Black churchgoers to vote in “souls to the polls” events. It instead mandates two Saturdays of early voting ahead of general elections, when only one had been mandatory, and leaves two Sundays as optional.But those changes haven’t tempered opposition from Democrats or voting rights groups.About 50 protesters including representatives from the NAACP gathered Thursday across from the Capitol in opposition.AME Church Bishop Reginald Jackson announces a boycott of Coca-Cola Co. products outside the Georgia Capitol, March 25, 2021, in Atlanta. Jackson says large Georgia companies didn’t do enough to oppose restrictive voting bills in the state.During the rally, Bishop Reginald Jackson of the African Methodist Episcopal Church called for a boycott of Coca-Cola Co. products.Jackson, who leads more than 400 churches across Georgia, said the Atlanta-based soft drink company had failed to live up to the commitments it made last year to support the Black Lives Matter movement by not forcefully opposing the voting bills pushed by Republicans.”We took them at his word,” he said of Coca-Cola CEO James Quincey. “Now, when they try to pass this racist legislation, we can’t get him to say anything.”Jackson said boycotts also were possible against other large locally based companies such as Delta Air Lines and Home Depot.The Georgia Chamber of Commerce and the Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce pushed against some proposals Republicans later dropped, including eliminating no-excuse absentee voting. But the business lobbies and top Atlanta corporations have not vocally opposed all changes.
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By Polityk | 03/26/2021 | Повідомлення, Політика
Border Issue Dominates Biden’s First News Conference
U.S. President Joe Biden took questions from reporters for one hour Thursday during his first formal news conference, an encounter partly intended to refute conservative critics who had predicted the oldest man ever elected U.S. president would not be up to the task.After brief opening remarks about his administration’s response to the coronavirus pandemic, Biden responded to questions from 10 reporters, calling their names off a list on his lectern.On his 65th day in office, the president found that most of the questions had to do with immigration, specifically about the government’s treatment of child migrants at the border.On domestic issues, his remarks were generally ad-libbed, but on sensitive foreign policy matters, including those related to Afghanistan and China, he appeared to be reading from notes.Biden made a bit of news in response to a question about the next presidential election, more than three years in the future, saying he does intend to run for reelection in 2024. He said he has “no idea,” however, if the opposition Republican Party — facing internal tumult — will still exist by then.Replying to a question about the push by Republicans for voting restrictions, Biden said, “What I’m worried about is how un-American this whole initiative is. It is sick.”The president lamented the long-standing filibuster rule in the U.S. Senate as an obstacle and said it is being misused by senators “in a gigantic way.”Under the filibuster, 60 votes are needed to pass legislation in the Senate, which could make it difficult to pass some of Biden’s legislative agenda, including immigration reform, voting rights and possibly his infrastructure plan.There were also some swipes by Biden at his predecessor, Donald Trump.“I made it clear that no American president — at least one did — but no American president ever backed down from speaking out of what’s happening with the Uyghurs, what’s happening in Hong Kong,” Biden said when asked about China. “That’s who we are. The moment a president walks away from that, as the last one did, is the moment we began to lose our legitimacy around the world.”Asked about apparent short-range ballistic missile launches by North Korea early Thursday into Asian waters, Biden said the United States is “consulting with our allies and partners, and there will be responses if they choose to escalate. We will respond accordingly.”While Biden has restored daily briefings by his press secretary, and on many days has briefly answered one or two questions from White House correspondents in other formats, he was the first president in four decades to make it this far into his first term without holding a formal question-and-answer session with the news media. That had prompted criticism in recent weeks from across the political spectrum.The avoidance of the White House lectern sustained chatter Trump had amplified during the 2020 campaign, when the incumbent referred to his Democratic Party challenger as “sleepy Joe” and claimed the former vice president was “mentally shot.”“The dominant narrative from the right-wing industrial complex is that Biden is senile and being manipulated by shadowy leftists,” said Council on Foreign Relations Senior Fellow Max Boot after Thursday’s press conference. “It’s a charge so crazy it doesn’t deserve refutation. But Biden’s crisp press conference shows he is fully in command of the issues.”Biden avoided straying off topic to recite anecdotes, something he does frequently, and he cracked a couple of jokes, including a reference to joining the Senate “120 years ago.”Biden’s performance, however, failed to quiet some of his detractors.Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham termed Biden’s news conference “hard to watch,” contending the president failed to grasp the immigration issues.“He does not have the situational awareness because he doesn’t understand the problem,” the senator said.President Biden’s news conference today makes our immigration problems worse. He doesn’t have the situational awareness to fix the problem because he doesn’t understand the problem. What he did today was entice people to come, not deter them from coming. pic.twitter.com/1trhXZTAIY— Lindsey Graham (@LindseyGrahamSC) March 25, 2021Ari Fleischer, White House press secretary during the George W. Bush administration, criticized Biden on Twitter for turning to a “study guide” to answer foreign policy questions, calling it unprecedented.Washington Post columnist Jennifer Rubin, considered a longtime conservative until the Trump era, commented that while Biden excelled, the reporters asking the questions embarrassed themselves.“Their failure to ask about the pandemic, the recession, anti-Asian violence, climate change or even infrastructure (Biden had to bring it up himself) was nothing short of irresponsible,” she wrote. “They pleaded for a news conference and then showed themselves to be unserious.”
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By Polityk | 03/26/2021 | Повідомлення, Політика
Biden Administration to Pitch Infrastructure Plan
President Joe Biden’s administration will soon begin working in earnest to sell the country on what it describes as a package of transformative investments designed to help keep the U.S. economy competitive on a fast-changing global stage while simultaneously addressing climate change.Biden will reveal the expected plan, with an estimated $3 trillion price tag, at an event in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, next week. It will be the first step by his administration to keep the promise he frequently made during his presidential campaign last year to help the country “Build Back Better” in the wake of the sharp economic downturn brought on by the coronavirus pandemic.During his first formal press conference as president Thursday afternoon, Biden said he found it “frustrating” that the United States has allowed much of its physical infrastructure to deteriorate.Concerned that the U.S. lags far behind China and other global economic rivals, Biden promised a proposal that would “rebuild the infrastructure — both physical and technological infrastructure in this country — so that we can compete and create significant numbers of really good-paying jobs.”FILE – President Franklin D. Roosevelt, second from right in front, looks at a model of the Grand Coulee Dam, Oct. 2, 1937. Construction of the dam began years earlier; Roosevelt had envisioned the Washington state project would fit into his New Deal under the Public Works Administration.A new New Deal?Even before any details of the plan have been revealed, its rumored expansiveness is drawing comparisons to the New Deal policies of President Franklin D. Roosevelt during the Great Depression in the 1930s.That combination of government works projects, unemployment relief and financial reforms helped lift the country out of the Depression and reshaped the economy and politics for a generation.Republicans in Congress, however, reached back to the Roosevelt era themselves, with Senate Minority Whip John Cornyn saying the package sounded like a boondoggle — a term popularized in the 1930s to refer to wasteful government projects that spent taxpayer dollars for political reasons.Biden’s package will follow on the heels of the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan, which Democrats in Washington pushed through with no support from Republicans. While infrastructure is, nominally at least, a bipartisan issue, there are questions about how much Republican support the president can expect for this new initiative.Infrastructure is generally considered to be one of the areas most ripe for bipartisan cooperation in Congress. Congressional committees are already working in bipartisan fashion on a major surface transportation bill that would replace existing authorizations that expire in September. In the Senate, the Committee on Environment and Public Works has introduced a bill to overhaul the nation’s water infrastructure.But both of those bills fit neatly into the mold of traditional infrastructure proposals, while Biden is expected to define infrastructure far more broadly.What counts as ‘infrastructure?’Biden’s plan is expected to contain hundreds of billions of dollars each for the building and maintenance of the sort of thing that usually falls into the infrastructure category: internet broadband access, ports, highways, water and sewer systems, airports, railways, the electrical grid and more. However, there will be an estimated $400 billion directed to new green energy projects, including a national effort to install charging stations for electric cars and trucks.FILE – Children peer out a screened window in the fence at a child care center in Seattle, Aug. 27, 2018.Other funds would be dedicated to creating the facilities necessary to make affordable, high-quality child care more widely available. The administration reportedly wants to address other issues as well, including the lack of access to medical facilities in some parts of the country.Michele Nellenbach, vice president of strategic initiatives at the Bipartisan Policy Center in Washington, said widening the number of areas that fall under the banner of infrastructure is one thing likely to cost Biden Republican support.“That’s where you’re going to lose them,” she said.The Republicans generally define infrastructure as traditional bricks-and-mortar-type projects, and their response will likely be, Nellenbach said, “No, we don’t want to do all that other stuff.”Paying for the programNellenbach said there are some areas of agreement in Congress on how to fund infrastructure projects. For example, there is a lot of common ground on funding roads and water projects by assessing user fees.During a hearing of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee on Thursday, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg discussed the possibility of replacing the gasoline tax that funds federal highway grants with a “vehicle miles traveled” tax, or VMT tax, to capture user fees from both gasoline-powered and electric vehicles. Representative Sam Graves, the ranking Republican on the panel, indicated his enthusiastic support.FILE – President Joe Biden and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg are pictured at the White House in Washington, March 4, 2021. Buttigieg called the U.S. disparity with China in infrastructure investment “a threat to our collective future.”However, Graves also warned the administration about stretching the definition of infrastructure to include other priorities.“I don’t think the bill can grow into a multitrillion-dollar catchall,” he said. “A transportation bill needs to be a transportation bill, not a Green New Deal. It needs to be about roads and bridges.”Other elements of the bill could create or enhance dedicated funding sources for particular sectors. But Biden is expected to propose paying for much of the plan by raising taxes on businesses and individuals earning more than $400,000 per year, and that will be difficult to sell to Republican lawmakers.On Monday, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said, “We’re hearing the next few months might bring a so-called infrastructure proposal that may actually be a Trojan horse for massive tax hikes and other job-killing, left-wing policies.”The specter of ChinaThe administration appears to hope that Republicans can be brought on board by describing the infrastructure push as essential to maintaining the U.S. role as an economic superpower.Prior to Biden’s appearance on Thursday, Buttigieg raised the specter of China before the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.“We see other countries pulling ahead of us, with consequences for strategic and economic competition,” he said. “By some measures, China spends more on infrastructure every year than the U.S. and Europe combined. The infrastructure status quo is a threat to our collective future. We face an imperative to create resilient infrastructure and confront inequities that have devastated communities.”Biden’s remarks on infrastructure were not prompted by a reporter’s question. The president segued into the topic after addressing China, saying, “China has an overall goal. And I don’t criticize them for the goal, but they have an overall goal to become a leading country in the world, the wealthiest country in the world, and the most powerful country. It’s not going to happen on my watch, because the United States can continue to grow and expand.”
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By Polityk | 03/26/2021 | Повідомлення, Політика
Biden Holds First White House Press Conference
U.S. President Joe Biden on Thursday is holding his first formal news conference since taking office in January. Biden faced reporters’ questions about the surge in migrants at the country’s southwestern border, the Senate filibuster rule, voting rights and testy foreign relations with North Korea and China.While Biden has restored daily briefings by his press secretary and answered questions in other formats, he is the first president in four decades to make it this far into his first term without holding a formal question-and-answer session with the news media.“It’s an opportunity for him to speak to the American people, obviously directly through the coverage, directly through all of you,” press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters earlier this week. “And so, I think he’s thinking about what he wants to say, what he wants to convey, where he can provide updates, and, you know, looking forward to the opportunity to engage with a free press.”Joan Lutz, places a note that says, “Thank you police officers, our hearts are grieving,” at a memorial for Officer Eric Talley, who was killed during a mass shooting in King Soopers grocery store, in Boulder, Colorado, March 23, 2021.Domestic agenda
Biden faced questions on several pressing domestic topics, including the surge in the number of migrants from Central America and Mexico trying to cross the U.S.-Mexico border, and the progress of the government’s vaccination program to halt the spread of the coronavirus pandemic.In his opening remarks, Biden touted congressional passage of his $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package that includes $1,400 stimulus checks now being sent to millions of Americans. He could also lay out plans for a $3 trillion infrastructure proposal to fix the country’s aging roads and bridges while providing funding for what he says are environmentally friendly changes in the American economy.Biden has urged migrants in Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador and Mexico to stay home. But when he announced after taking office that he was ending construction of the border wall on the U.S.-Mexican line that was championed by former president Donald Trump and embracing what he said were more humane immigration policies, many migrants say they viewed it as an invitation to try to reach the United States.Asylum seeking migrant families from Central America await to be transported from a make shift U.S. Customs and Border Protection processing center under the Anzalduas International Bridge after crossing the Rio Grande river into the United States.The result has been that thousands of migrants have made the treacherous walk north through Mexico to reach the U.S., overwhelming U.S. border security agents. Biden on Wednesday named Vice President Kamala Harris to oversee negotiations and policy making with the four foreign governments most affected by the migration and how living conditions might be improved in their countries to curb the migrants’ intentions to move to the United States.In recent days, photos have been published showing unaccompanied migrant children crammed into holding centers, not unlike those seen during Trump’s White House tenure, even as the U.S. processes the children and attempts to place them with relatives already living in the U.S. or vetted caregivers.After single gunmen killed eight people in Georgia and 10 in Colorado respectively in the last week, Biden called for tighter background checks on gun buyers and renewal of an expired ban on the sale of assault weapons. But with the U.S. Constitution’s guarantee of gun ownership rights, Biden’s stance is already encountering stiff opposition in Congress from Republicans opposed to further gun restrictions.Foreign policy
On the international front, Biden could expect questions about the prospects of rejoining the Iran nuclear agreement, recent North Korean missile tests, the military takeover in Myanmar and U.S. relations with China and Russia.Biden recently said in an interview that he deems Russian President Vladimir Putin to be a “killer,” while the U.S. views China, the world’s second biggest economy after the U.S., as an economic adversary and a military threat, especially in the Pacific region.
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By Polityk | 03/26/2021 | Повідомлення, Політика
Biden Holds First White House Press Conference – WATCH LIVE
U.S. President Joe Biden on Thursday is holding his first formal news conference since taking office in January and is likely to face reporters’ questions about the surge in migrants at the country’s southwestern border, two horrific mass killings in recent days and testy foreign relations with Russia and China.WATCH LIVE at 1:15pm EDT While Biden has restored daily briefings by his press secretary and answered questions in other formats, he is the first president in four decades to make it this far into his first term without holding a formal question-and-answer session with the news media.“It’s an opportunity for him to speak to the American people, obviously directly through the coverage, directly through all of you,” press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters earlier this week. “And so, I think he’s thinking about what he wants to say, what he wants to convey, where he can provide updates, and, you know, looking forward to the opportunity to engage with a free press.”Joan Lutz, places a note that says, “Thank you police officers, our hearts are grieving,” at a memorial for Officer Eric Talley, who was killed during a mass shooting in King Soopers grocery store, in Boulder, Colorado, March 23, 2021.Domestic agenda
Biden is likely to face questions on several pressing domestic topics, including the surge in the number of migrants from Central America and Mexico trying to cross the U.S.-Mexico border, mass shootings in the U.S. states of Georgia and Colorado that killed a total of 18 people, and the progress of the government’s vaccination program to halt the spread of the coronavirus pandemic.Biden is likely to tout congressional passage of his $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package that includes $1,400 stimulus checks now being sent to millions of Americans. He could also lay out plans for a $3 trillion infrastructure proposal to fix the country’s aging roads and bridges while providing funding for what he says are environmentally friendly changes in the American economy.Biden has urged migrants in Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador and Mexico to stay home. But when he announced after taking office that he was ending construction of the border wall on the U.S.-Mexican line that was championed by former president Donald Trump and embracing what he said were more humane immigration policies, many migrants say they viewed it as an invitation to try to reach the United States.Asylum seeking migrant families from Central America await to be transported from a make shift U.S. Customs and Border Protection processing center under the Anzalduas International Bridge after crossing the Rio Grande river into the United States.The result has been that thousands of migrants have made the treacherous walk north through Mexico to reach the U.S., overwhelming U.S. border security agents. Biden on Wednesday named Vice President Kamala Harris to oversee negotiations and policy making with the four foreign governments most affected by the migration and how living conditions might be improved in their countries to curb the migrants’ intentions to move to the United States.In recent days, photos have been published showing unaccompanied migrant children crammed into holding centers, not unlike those seen during Trump’s White House tenure, even as the U.S. processes the children and attempts to place them with relatives already living in the U.S. or vetted caregivers.After single gunmen killed eight people in Georgia and 10 in Colorado respectively in the last week, Biden called for tighter background checks on gun buyers and renewal of an expired ban on the sale of assault weapons. But with the U.S. Constitution’s guarantee of gun ownership rights, Biden’s stance is already encountering stiff opposition in Congress from Republicans opposed to further gun restrictions.Foreign policy
On the international front, Biden could expect questions about the prospects of rejoining the Iran nuclear agreement, recent North Korean missile tests, the military takeover in Myanmar and U.S. relations with China and Russia.Biden recently said in an interview that he deems Russian President Vladimir Putin to be a “killer,” while the U.S. views China, the world’s second biggest economy after the U.S., as an economic adversary and a military threat, especially in the Pacific region.
…
By Polityk | 03/25/2021 | Повідомлення, Політика
Biden to Face Questioning at First News Conference
U.S. President Joe Biden is set to go before reporters Thursday in the East Room of the White House for the first news conference since taking office in January.While Biden has restored daily briefings by his press secretary and answered questions in other formats, he is the first president in four decades to make it this far into his first term without holding a formal question-and-answer session with members of the news media.“It’s an opportunity for him to speak to the American people, obviously directly through the coverage, directly through all of you,” press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters Tuesday. “And so I think he’s thinking about what he wants to say, what he wants to convey, where he can provide updates, and, you know, looking forward to the opportunity to engage with a free press.”Biden is likely to face questions on a number of pressing domestic topics, including recent mass shootings in Georgia and Colorado, the situation at the U.S.-Mexico border and the government’s response to the coronavirus pandemic.On the international front, Biden could expect questions about the prospects of rejoining the Iran nuclear agreement, recent North Korean missile tests, the situation in Myanmar, and U.S. relations with China and Russia.
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By Polityk | 03/25/2021 | Повідомлення, Політика
VOA Interview: State Dept’s George Kent Discusses US-Ukraine Relations
George Kent, U.S. deputy assistant secretary of state for European and Eurasian Affairs, spoke with VOA’s Ukraine service Wednesday, discussing Ukraine as well as Russia and the Nord Stream 2 pipeline project.The following interview, held at the U.S. State Department, has been edited for clarity and brevity.VOA: In the last two months since President Joe Biden took office, the U.S. is demonstrating its commitment to have a strategic partnership with Ukraine. However, the administration is clearly stating its priorities, importance of the delivering on the reform agenda, anti-corruption effort, is President Volodymyr Zelensky delivering on those fronts?George Kent: Well first, welcome back to the State Department. I know it’s been a long time. I would say what’s most important is that President Zelensky delivers on his promises and the priorities of the Ukrainian people because they are the ones who elected him. And if you look back at 2019, with the presidential and Rada elections, President Zelensky … [was] elected on a mandate of reform and change. So I think first and foremost that is the answer that the current Ukrainian authorities have to answer. What the U.S. wants is clear. And U.S. Secretary [of State Antony] Blinken mentioned it in his testimony two months ago. We are ready to support Ukraine, defending against aggression from abroad primarily from Russia and from the challenges from within, and that’s the reform agenda. You mentioned this administration is putting authority on anti-corruption action and helping democracies thrive because we believe democracies are best placed to address the challenges of the 21st century, and this issue is something that is shared by Ukrainians and Americans.And so I think the needs are clear. The expectations of Ukrainians and Americans are clear. Reform efforts need to continue and deepen. The justice sector is absolutely essential. How Ukrainian authorities get out of the constitutional crisis created by the constitutional court undermining reversing changes that were made is a real challenge for Ukrainians. The U.S. as a partner is here to be supportive. But to be very clear, any legislation that rolls back the independence of organizations, whether it’s the National Anti-Corruption Bureau, NBU, or the central bank, does not help Ukraine and that will make it very difficult for international partners, whether it’s the IMF or the United States, to continue to be as supportive of efforts when they are not leading to reform the change that Ukraine needs.VOA: Since President Biden took office, he spoke to many world leaders, however he did not speak to President Zelensky yet. How important it is to establish the contact between leaders and is their trust issue between two leaders?Kent: So I think you’re right that trust is very important in any relationship. That’s again within a country as well as between countries. And I think President Biden established an excellent record when he was vice president of reaching out and trying to establish that trust with Ukrainian counterparts. Trust is a two-way street, obviously, and I anticipate that there will be a call between our leaders in the near future. But I believe it’s also important to understand that a call, while taken as a symbol, has to be backed up by actions and the issues that we were discussing, the issues that are on the U.S.-Ukraine agenda. We want Ukraine to succeed. That means we want the government and President Zelensky to succeed. But for that success, there needs to be the right actions and the right reforms.VOA: The phone call between the two presidents is a hot political topic since we all remember well the last call between President [Donald] Trump and President Zelensky, is this a factor in today’s decision about the call?Kent: The Biden administration will make the right decisions for the U.S. interests in this administration, so I would not put any link between those.VOA: The Nord Stream 2 pipeline has become a serious issue between the U.S. and its European partners. Secretary Blinken made it clear that the U.S. opposed the building of the Nord Stream. What is the U.S. prepared to do if Germany and others will decide to go ahead with their plan to complete the pipeline?Kent: Yesterday, Secretary Blinken was in Brussels and stood up next to the NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg and he reiterated what he had issued last week. President Biden and the Biden administration considers Nord Stream to be a bad deal. It’s bad for Europe, it’s bad for our allies. And we think it fundamentally contravenes the concept of European energy security. And we do have obligations under our law to take action when we have. I think that’s the intent of the Biden administration.VOA: So what is the United States prepared to do?Kent: Well, again there are requirements under legislation to sanction companies that are directly involved in the pipe preparation planning process. So we are gathering information and considering next steps.VOA: U.S.-Russia relations are a hot topic as well, specifically after the security report about Russian interference in the U.S. election. There was an announcement about special sanctions or serious response to Russia. What should we expect?Kent: Well, we have not yet announced the package of response measures but as President Biden indicated last week. Russian actions do demand a response. So stay tuned.VOA: In Ukraine there’s a lot of fear that Russia will take on Ukraine in response to the United States and even possible escalation on Donbas, what is the United States prepared to do to ease the tension?Kent: Well we’re very concerned. You can see it in open-source reporting, different actions along the line of contact. New trenches near the old Donbas airport. I think the key thing is our expectation for Russia, the same as Ukraine is that President Vladimir Putin and Russia need to live up to the obligations and commitments that Putin made in February of 2015, six years ago. There would be a total cease-fire, foreign forces, by which mean Russian forces, are recalled from Russia and that Ukraine recovers the control of its sovereign border.And today seven years later, Russia has not lived up to its obligations.VOA: Is the United States prepared to be more active in negotiations with Russia in Normandy Format or other formats?Kent: I think you will see as we fill out our team at the State Department, we still don’t have a confirmed deputy secretary nominated or confirmed undersecretary or new assistant secretaries. As we all get vaccinated and are able to resume travel, you will see more active U.S. diplomacy in this area.VOA: The United States hasn’t had an ambassador in Ukraine for a long period of time and there’s a lot of questions about that. The United States is not represented well in Ukraine. When can Ukraine expect to have a U.S. ambassador on the ground?Kent: First of all, the State Department has full faith and confidence in our charge, we understand that all countries expect having fully accredited ambassadors and we expect the Biden administration to nominate a fully qualified person. And then it will be up to the Senate to confirm and look forward to having a U.S. ambassador.VOA: Do you have an idea about the timeline?Kent: Nope. And in that sense, ambassadors are the prerogative of the president and the White House with a role in the Senate to advise and consent. So no timeline yet.VOA: Could you comment on why Ukraine is important for the region since you were responsible for the whole region in the last three years. So what is the United States looking at in terms of Ukraine and its effect on the region?Kent: Ukraine is an important country in its own right. It’s an important country for the region. It’s an important country symbolically. It is the linchpin of, if you will, the eastern Slavic world. And I think the importance of Ukraine has never been understated, even by outsiders who may not follow the details on a daily basis.My former professor [Zbigniew] Brzezinski once said that if Ukraine succeeds, that gives the real impulse for Russia to have the possibility of reform in the long term. And so we treat Ukraine on its own merits and that’s why it is such a focus of our assistance that’s provided by Congress. It’s the focus of our diplomacy.We understand the great human potential of Ukrainians, whether it’s in information technology, whether it’s in agribusiness, whether it’s the dynamism of civil society. And we want to support that for Ukraine to succeed in its own right. And because we also understand that if Ukraine succeeds, then other countries farther to the east will understand that many of the false narratives and claims by Russia are simply not true.
…
By Polityk | 03/25/2021 | Повідомлення, Політика
VOA Interview: State’s George Kent Discusses US-Ukraine Relations
George Kent, U.S. deputy assistant secretary of state for European and Eurasian Affairs, spoke with VOA’s Ukraine service Wednesday, discussing Ukraine as well as Russia and the Nord Stream 2 pipeline project.The following interview, held at the U.S. State Department, has been edited for clarity and brevity.VOA: In the last two months since President Joe Biden took office, the U.S. is demonstrating its commitment to have a strategic partnership with Ukraine. However, the administration is clearly stating its priorities, importance of the delivering on the reform agenda, anti-corruption effort, is President Volodymyr Zelensky delivering on those fronts?George Kent: Well first, welcome back to the State Department. I know it’s been a long time. I would say what’s most important is that President Zelensky delivers on his promises and the priorities of the Ukrainian people because they are the ones who elected him. And if you look back at 2019, with the presidential and Rada elections, President Zelensky … [was] elected on a mandate of reform and change. So I think first and foremost that is the answer that the current Ukrainian authorities have to answer. What the U.S. wants is clear. And U.S. Secretary [of State Antony] Blinken mentioned it in his testimony two months ago. We are ready to support Ukraine, defending against aggression from abroad primarily from Russia and from the challenges from within, and that’s the reform agenda. You mentioned this administration is putting authority on anti-corruption action and helping democracies thrive because we believe democracies are best placed to address the challenges of the 21st century, and this issue is something that is shared by Ukrainians and Americans.And so I think the needs are clear. The expectations of Ukrainians and Americans are clear. Reform efforts need to continue and deepen. The justice sector is absolutely essential. How Ukrainian authorities get out of the constitutional crisis created by the constitutional court undermining reversing changes that were made is a real challenge for Ukrainians. The U.S. as a partner is here to be supportive. But to be very clear, any legislation that rolls back the independence of organizations, whether it’s the National Anti-Corruption Bureau, NBU, or the central bank, does not help Ukraine and that will make it very difficult for international partners, whether it’s the IMF or the United States, to continue to be as supportive of efforts when they are not leading to reform the change that Ukraine needs.VOA: Since President Biden took office, he spoke to many world leaders, however he did not speak to President Zelensky yet. How important it is to establish the contact between leaders and is their trust issue between two leaders?Kent: So I think you’re right that trust is very important in any relationship. That’s again within a country as well as between countries. And I think President Biden established an excellent record when he was vice president of reaching out and trying to establish that trust with Ukrainian counterparts. Trust is a two-way street, obviously, and I anticipate that there will be a call between our leaders in the near future. But I believe it’s also important to understand that a call, while taken as a symbol, has to be backed up by actions and the issues that we were discussing, the issues that are on the U.S.-Ukraine agenda. We want Ukraine to succeed. That means we want the government and President Zelensky to succeed. But for that success, there needs to be the right actions and the right reforms.VOA: The phone call between the two presidents is a hot political topic since we all remember well the last call between President [Donald] Trump and President Zelensky, is this a factor in today’s decision about the call?Kent: The Biden administration will make the right decisions for the U.S. interests in this administration, so I would not put any link between those.VOA: The Nord Stream 2 pipeline has become a serious issue between the U.S. and its European partners. Secretary Blinken made it clear that the U.S. opposed the building of the Nord Stream. What is the U.S. prepared to do if Germany and others will decide to go ahead with their plan to complete the pipeline?Kent: Yesterday, Secretary Blinken was in Brussels and stood up next to the NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg and he reiterated what he had issued last week. President Biden and the Biden administration considers Nord Stream to be a bad deal. It’s bad for Europe, it’s bad for our allies. And we think it fundamentally contravenes the concept of European energy security. And we do have obligations under our law to take action when we have. I think that’s the intent of the Biden administration.VOA: So what is the United States prepared to do?Kent: Well, again there are requirements under legislation to sanction companies that are directly involved in the pipe preparation planning process. So we are gathering information and considering next steps.VOA: U.S.-Russia relations are a hot topic as well, specifically after the security report about Russian interference in the U.S. election. There was an announcement about special sanctions or serious response to Russia. What should we expect?Kent: Well, we have not yet announced the package of response measures but as President Biden indicated last week. Russian actions do demand a response. So stay tuned.VOA: In Ukraine there’s a lot of fear that Russia will take on Ukraine in response to the United States and even possible escalation on Donbas, what is the United States prepared to do to ease the tension?Kent: Well we’re very concerned. You can see it in open-source reporting, different actions along the line of contact. New trenches near the old Donbas airport. I think the key thing is our expectation for Russia, the same as Ukraine is that President Vladimir Putin and Russia need to live up to the obligations and commitments that Putin made in February of 2015, six years ago. There would be a total cease-fire, foreign forces, by which mean Russian forces, are recalled from Russia and that Ukraine recovers the control of its sovereign border.And today seven years later, Russia has not lived up to its obligations.VOA: Is the United States prepared to be more active in negotiations with Russia in Normandy Format or other formats?Kent: I think you will see as we fill out our team at the State Department, we still don’t have a confirmed deputy secretary nominated or confirmed undersecretary or new assistant secretaries. As we all get vaccinated and are able to resume travel, you will see more active U.S. diplomacy in this area.VOA: The United States hasn’t had an ambassador in Ukraine for a long period of time and there’s a lot of questions about that. The United States is not represented well in Ukraine. When can Ukraine expect to have a U.S. ambassador on the ground?Kent: First of all, the State Department has full faith and confidence in our charge, we understand that all countries expect having fully accredited ambassadors and we expect the Biden administration to nominate a fully qualified person. And then it will be up to the Senate to confirm and look forward to having a U.S. ambassador.VOA: Do you have an idea about the timeline?Kent: Nope. And in that sense, ambassadors are the prerogative of the president and the White House with a role in the Senate to advise and consent. So no timeline yet.VOA: Could you comment on why Ukraine is important for the region since you were responsible for the whole region in the last three years. So what is the United States looking at in terms of Ukraine and its effect on the region?Kent: Ukraine is an important country in its own right. It’s an important country for the region. It’s an important country symbolically. It is the linchpin of, if you will, the eastern Slavic world. And I think the importance of Ukraine has never been understated, even by outsiders who may not follow the details on a daily basis.My former professor [Zbigniew] Brzezinski once said that if Ukraine succeeds, that gives the real impulse for Russia to have the possibility of reform in the long term. And so we treat Ukraine on its own merits and that’s why it is such a focus of our assistance that’s provided by Congress. It’s the focus of our diplomacy.We understand the great human potential of Ukrainians, whether it’s in information technology, whether it’s in agribusiness, whether it’s the dynamism of civil society. And we want to support that for Ukraine to succeed in its own right. And because we also understand that if Ukraine succeeds, then other countries farther to the east will understand that many of the false narratives and claims by Russia are simply not true.
…
By Polityk | 03/25/2021 | Повідомлення, Політика
China, Russia Top NATO Agenda as US Seeks to Rebuild Transatlantic Bonds
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken reaffirmed America’s commitment to NATO as he sought to strengthen the transatlantic relationship in a two-day summit this week in Brussels, which wrapped up Wednesday. As Henry Ridgwell reports, a broad agenda included the growing threat posed by China.
Camera: Henry Ridgwell
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By Polityk | 03/25/2021 | Повідомлення, Політика
A First: US Senate Confirms Transgender Doctor for Key Post
Voting mostly along party lines, the U.S. Senate on Wednesday confirmed former Pennsylvania Health Secretary Rachel Levine to be the nation’s assistant secretary of health. She is the first openly transgender federal official to win Senate confirmation.The final vote was 52-48. Republican Senators Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Susan Collins of Maine joined all Democrats in supporting Levine.Levine had been serving as Pennsylvania’s top health official since 2017 and emerged as the public face of the state’s response to the coronavirus pandemic. She is expected to oversee Health and Human Services offices and programs across the U.S.President Joe Biden cited Levine’s experience when he nominated her in January.Levine “will bring the steady leadership and essential expertise we need to get people through this pandemic — no matter their zip code, race, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity or disability,” Biden said.Historic breakthroughTransgender-rights activists have hailed Levine’s appointment as a historic breakthrough. Few trans people have ever held high-level offices at the federal or state level.However, the confirmation vote came at a challenging moment for the transgender-rights movement as legislatures across the U.S. — primarily those under Republican control — are considering an unprecedented wave of bills targeting young trans people.One type of bill, introduced in at least 25 states, seeks to ban trans girls and young women from participating in female scholastic sports.One such measure already has been signed into law by Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves, and similar measures have been sent to governors in Tennessee, Arkansas and South Dakota.Another variety of bill, introduced in at least 17 states, seeks to outlaw or restrict certain types of medical care for transgender youths. None of these measures has yet won final approval.Issues related to transgender rights also are a major factor in Republican opposition to the proposed Equality Act, which would extend federal civil rights protections to LGBTQ people across the U.S. The measure has passed the Democratic-led House but likely needs some Republican votes to prevail in the Senate.Former Houston Mayor Annise Parker, president of the LGBTQ Victory Institute, alluded to those developments as she welcomed the Senate’s vote on Levine.”At a time when hateful politicians are weaponizing trans lives for their own perceived political gain, Dr. Levine’s confirmation lends focus to the contributions trans people make to our nation,” said Parker, whose organization recruits and supports LGBTQ political candidates.Republican Sen. Rand Paul, who voted no, confronted Levine about medical treatments for transgender young people — including hormone treatment and puberty blockers — during her confirmation hearing Feb. 25.”Do you believe that minors are capable of making such a life-changing decision as changing one’s sex?” Paul asked.Levine replied that transgender medicine “is a very complex and nuanced field with robust research and standards of care” and said she would welcome discussing the issues with him.In the past, Levine has asserted that hormone therapy and puberty-blocking drugs can be valuable medical tools in sparing some transgender youth from mental distress and possible suicide risk.The confirmation vote was assailed by the conservative Family Research Council, which contended that Levine, in addition to her stance on transgender medical care, had supported “a variety of pro-abortion and anti-religious freedom proposals” while serving as Pennsylvania’s health secretary.”Levine may be the most extreme radical ever confirmed by the Senate,” said Travis Weber, the council’s vice president for policy and government affairs.A pediatrician and former Pennsylvania physician general, Levine was appointed as Pennsylvania’s health secretary by Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf in 2017. She won confirmation by the Republican-majority Pennsylvania Senate.However, Sen. Pat Toomey, a Pennsylvania Republican, voted against Levine’s confirmation Wednesday.”In Pennsylvania, the pandemic struck seniors in nursing homes disproportionately hard compared to other states,” Toomey said. “This was due in part to poor decisions and oversight by Dr. Levine and the Wolf administration.”He also said an extended lockdown advocated by Levine “was excessive, arbitrary in nature, and has led to a slower recovery.”Days of transphobic postsA graduate of Harvard and of Tulane Medical School, Levine is president of the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials. She has written in the past on the opioid crisis, medical marijuana, adolescent medicine, eating disorders and LGBTQ medicine.Praise for her accomplishments and her handling of the pandemic have coincided with a steady stream of vitriol directed at her on social media.As reported Tuesday by The Associated Press, Levine was among the targets of a private Facebook group called the Pittsburgh Area Police Breakroom, whose participants included many current and retired police officers.Dozens of group members fueled days of transphobic posts about Levine for her role in statewide social-distancing mandates to stop the spread of COVID-19.”Someone needs to shoot this thing!!” one retired officer wrote.In January, a Pennsylvania legislator shared on Facebook an image mocking Levine’s appearance, then offered a general apology.State Rep. Jeff Pyle, a Republican, said on Facebook that he “had no idea” the post mocking Levine “would be … received as poorly as it was” but that “tens of thousands of heated emails assured me it was.”
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By Polityk | 03/25/2021 | Повідомлення, Політика
Biden Urges Congress to Tighten Gun Laws
U.S. President Joe Biden is urging Congress to pass tighter gun laws following two mass shootings in Georgia and Colorado. White House correspondent Patsy Widakuswara has the story.
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By Polityk | 03/24/2021 | Повідомлення, Політика
Biden Presidency Opens Opportunity for War Powers Repeal
U.S. lawmakers are taking a new look at a decades-old law that grants U.S. presidents sweeping powers to wage war overseas. As VOA’s congressional correspondent Katherine Gypson reports, Congress may attempt to take back some of that power.Produced by: Katherine Gypson
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By Polityk | 03/24/2021 | Повідомлення, Політика
US Seen Falling Short Countering China’s Rising Geopolitical Clout
Despite initiatives by the previous and current administrations, there are fresh concerns the United States is falling short to counter China’s rising geopolitical influence. Beijing’s evolving Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), for the past eight years, has financed projects globally, including roads, railways, power plants and telecommunications infrastructure. “U.S. inaction, as much as Chinese assertiveness, is responsible for the economic and strategic predicament in which the United States finds itself. U.S. withdrawal helped create the vacuum that China filled with BRI,” according to a report of an independent task force released Tuesday by the Council on Foreign Relations. “Although the United States long ago identified an interest in promoting infrastructure, trade and connectivity throughout Asia and repeatedly invoked the imagery of the Silk Road, it has not met the inherent needs of the region. Its own lending to and investment in many BRI countries was limited and is now declining,” FILE – Clerks stand at a display of goods at a Belt and Road Products New Year’s Marketplace at a shopping mall in Beijing, Jan. 10, 2020. The market showcases products created from countries and regions involved in China’s Belt and Road Initiative.BRI is “boosting China’s ability to project its power across the region and the world,” said Jack Lew, who previously was a U.S. Treasury secretary and White House chief of staff. “U.S. policymakers need to offer alternatives to BRI where it can and to educate other countries about what it entails and push back when necessary.” China is now perceived to be more powerful than the United States in parts of Africa and Asia because of BRI, said former U.S. Trade Representative General Counsel Jennifer Hillman, one of the other authors of the CFR report. BRI encompasses the land-based Silk Road Economic Belt (with digital, health and “green” subsets), the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road and the Polar Silk Road. “We have to get back in the game,” with the United States joining or rejoining trade agreements it left during the Donald Trump presidency, said Hillman, who was among those speaking Tuesday at an online forum about the CFR report. “China has made investing in infrastructure a high priority. The United States has not,” Lew said during the event. SALPIE InitiativeCurrent U.S. officials say the administration of President Joe Biden is going to change that. “Competition with China is a factor that is encouraging the United States to up its diplomatic game across the board,” a senior administration official told VOA. During the Trump administration, relatively modest initiatives were taken to counter BRI, including the International Development Finance Corporation, the Blue Dot network for infrastructure project certification and a U.S.-Taiwan infrastructure initiative, as well as the reauthorization of the Export-Import Bank. “There was a lot of rebranding, but there weren’t additional resources given to these initiatives,” Sacks said. The Biden administration this week launched the Small and Less Populous Island Economies (SALPIE) Initiative, announcing it will strengthen U.S. economic collaboration with island countries and territories in the Caribbean, North Atlantic and Pacific regions. “It’s important to strengthen our alliances, particularly among smaller countries that might otherwise come under a certain amount of pressure from China,” a senior administration official told VOA on Tuesday. The White House official announcement of SALPIE notes the importance of “countering predatory investment practices by malign actors.” National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan and National Economic Council Director Brian Deese co-hosted Monday a virtual event with envoys from island countries and territories, inviting them to partner with Washington under the SALPIE Initiative, which brings 29 U.S. departments and agencies together to coordinate ongoing and future engagements. The administration, later this week, is convening a meeting involving those 29 entities “to actually make this kind of meaningful and real and operational,” a senior official explained. Another senior U.S. official explained SALPIE “is a different approach than Blue Dot and some of these other initiatives,” promising that “it really does leverage the convening power that we have from here to ensure that we are able to implement in a way that’s effectively addressing the priorities we’ve outlined.” The status of the Trump-era FILE – President Joe Biden speaks during a virtual meeting with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, from the State Dining Room of the White House, March 12, 2021.“Why not use the Quad as a mechanism to promote infrastructure in Asia and establish an infrastructure fund that has billions of dollars behind it to go do this?” Sacks asked. “You know these are the right partners” with the potential to add South Korea and Taiwan. While the Biden administration’s plans to counter BRI may be ambitious and sprawling, there is concern it will not receive sufficient attention due to a lack of centralization and influential leadership. Thus, the idea for an “infrastructure czar” to orchestrate the U.S. response to China’s global investment ambitions. “It’s hard for the State Department or the Department of Commerce to have that convening power,” Sacks said. “Sometimes it’s not helpful to have czars on so many issues, but I do think — given the scale of the challenge and the need for a coordinated interagency response — it might make sense to have in the National Security Council or the National Economic Council an infrastructure czar who reports to the president.” Biden has already appointed so-called czars for climate policy, the border with Mexico and the COVID-19 economic rescue plan. There is also similar discussion about selecting officials to oversee cyberpolicy and for busting monopolies.
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By Polityk | 03/24/2021 | Повідомлення, Політика
US Senate Confirms Former Union Leader as Next Labor Secretary
The U.S. Senate on Monday confirmed former union leader Marty Walsh, a son of Irish immigrants, as the next labor secretary, boosting U.S. President Joe Biden’s efforts to expand workers’ protection and delivering a win for the country’s organized labor movement.Walsh’s confirmation, by a 68-29 margin on Monday evening, is likely to have a major impact on U.S. workplace laws and regulations, including vigorous enforcement of occupational safety and health rules, overtime payments and proper administration of employee benefit plans.Walsh, 53, led Boston’s Building and Construction Trades Council for two years before winning the 2013 race for mayor with strong backing from large labor groups. He has also served in the Massachusetts House of Representatives.Walsh has supported key proposals affecting workers, including a $15 minimum wage, paid family leave and the PRO Act, a proposal to update labor laws and give workers more ability to organize at work that the House of Representatives passed last year.Despite the far-reaching impact on employers and businesses, Walsh’s nomination has not attracted much controversy.During his nomination hearing, Walsh spoke about being collaborative, a trait that has won him support from large business groups.”Throughout my career, I’ve led by listening, collaborating and building partnerships. That’s how, if confirmed, I will lead the Department of Labor,” he said.In a letter to the Senate last week, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce said it supported Walsh’s nomination, noting that he “has a reputation as a consensus builder and has displayed a willingness to work with a wide array of constituencies.”Walsh would be the last of Biden’s Cabinet secretaries to be confirmed by the Senate, though two other Cabinet-level positions remain to be confirmed.
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By Polityk | 03/23/2021 | Повідомлення, Політика
US House Holds Hearing on Statehood for Washington, DC
The U.S. House of Representatives Oversight Committee held a hearing Monday on a bill that would make Washington, D.C., the country’s 51st state.The bill — which passed in the House last year but died in the then-Republican-controlled Senate — represents what was once considered a fringe proposition among a handful of advocates to becoming part of the agenda for Democrats in Congress.The District of Columbia was created on an undeveloped tract of land between the U.S. states of Maryland and Virginia in 1790 and became known as the Federal City for a brief period afterward. Residents initially were allowed to vote in either Maryland or Virginia.But in 1800, the U.S. Congress moved into the new Capitol, and later passed the District of Columbia Organic Act of 1801, which stripped D.C. residents of voting rights in all federal elections, including for U.S. president, and gave Congress oversight of the city.Washington currently has more than 700,000 residents — a population greater than the states of Wyoming and Vermont — who do not have a vote in Congress. At Monday’s hearing, D.C. House Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton, author of the legislation, said it was designed to correct that situation.As a delegate, Norton can vote in committee but not for the final bill passage.Under her plan, the area that includes the Capitol, the White House and federal office buildings would become the “federal district,” with the remaining portions of the city becoming the State of Washington, Douglass Commonwealth, named partially for former slave, abolitionist and voting rights advocate Frederick Douglass.Republicans in Congress vehemently oppose the bill as a “power grab” by Democrats, as the staunchly Democratic city would mean more seats for their party in Congress.Republicans argued their opposition last week on constitutional grounds, with conservative witnesses arguing that statehood could not be achieved through simple legislation and that a constitutional amendment would be required.If it passes in the House, the measure will have difficulty passing the Senate, where Democrats have only a one-seat majority, and the bill would need eight Republican votes.
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By Polityk | 03/23/2021 | Повідомлення, Політика
US Homeland Security Chief: ‘Border is Secure’
U.S. Homeland Security chief Alejandro Mayorkas said Sunday that the country’s southwestern border with Mexico is “secure” and “closed,” even as thousands of Central American migrants are pouring into the United States at a rate that is on pace to be the highest in 20 years. The U.S. currently is holding 15,000 unaccompanied migrant children at the border, but Mayorkas said the U.S. was obligated under its laws to care for them, rather than expel them to their home countries as was the policy under former President Donald Trump. Mayorkas said it was “just false” to say that the children were “dealt with humanely” under the Trump administration. “The prior administration dismantled the asylum process,” he told the “Fox News Sunday” show. “We are encouraging families not to send their children” to the border. But if the children cross into the United States, he said they will be cared for over several days, sent to relatives already living in the United States or placed with vetted people willing to take care of them. “This is about vulnerable children,” he said. “We can (process them) in a safe and orderly manner. We will succeed.” Single adults and families arriving at the border are being sent back to Mexico under current U.S. immigration policies. When President Joe Biden took office two months ago, he stopped construction of the border wall Trump championed and embraced what Biden said would be more humane immigration policies. While he has urged people in Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador to stay home, his policy shifts have led to thousands of people making the dangerous trek north through Mexico to try to reach the U.S. The bigger flow of migrants started last April, nine months before Trump left office, but has grown markedly under Biden. According to government records, about 74,000 people were stopped at the border in December, Trump’s last full month in office, but the total grew to 100,000 in February, Biden’s first full month as president. In the same two months, the number of unaccompanied children reaching the U.S. grew from about 5,000 to more than 9,400, The migration crisis has proven to be a quick political headache for Biden. An administration critic, Senator Tom Cotton of Arkansas, a possible 2024 Republican presidential candidate, told Fox News, “It was the Biden administration that ended the ‘remain in Mexico’ policy” of the Trump administration, “The border is wide open,” Cotton said, rebuffing Mayorkas’s contention that it is secure. He said Biden has “dismantled the very effective policies the Trump administration had in place.” Last week, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy led a group of Republican lawmakers to the border to condemn Biden’s policies. “This crisis is created by the presidential policies of this new administration,” McCarthy said. “There’s no other way to claim it than a Biden border crisis.”
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By Polityk | 03/21/2021 | Повідомлення, Політика
Senate Filibuster Bumps Against Biden’s Agenda
Democrats in the US Senate are considering a historic rule change in order to get President Joe Biden’s agenda passed. VOA’s Steve Redisch explains the filibuster.
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By Polityk | 03/21/2021 | Повідомлення, Політика
Continuity More Likely Than Change in US-China Policy, Experts Say
The US secretary of state and national security adviser wrapped up their first in-person talks with top Chinese officials in Alaska on Friday. Elizabeth Lee reports.
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By Polityk | 03/20/2021 | Повідомлення, Політика
US House Backs Measure Condemning Myanmar Coup
The U.S. House of Representatives overwhelmingly approved legislation Friday condemning the military coup in Myanmar, as lawmakers decried increasingly harsh tactics used to suppress demonstrations since the February 1 ouster of the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi.The measure passed 398-14, with one lawmaker voting “present.” All of the “no” and “present” votes came from Republicans.The resolution condemned the coup and the detention of Myanmar’s civilian leaders, called for the release of all those detained and for those elected to serve in parliament to resume their duties.The House had passed another Burma-related measure Thursday by voice vote. That bill, which must be passed by the Senate before becoming law, would require President Joe Biden’s administration to provide a report to Congress on events in Myanmar and its response to them.”We must, we must make it clear that the United States is watching and that we support the restoration of democracy,” said Representative Gregory Meeks, the Democratic chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, urging support for the measures.Security forces killed at least nine opponents of Mynamar’s military junta Friday, as Southeast Asian countries urged an end to the violence and Western ambassadors condemned what they called the army’s “immoral, indefensible” actions.
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By Polityk | 03/20/2021 | Повідомлення, Політика
