Author: MIL-OSI Publisher

Source: United States Senator for Hawaii Brian Schatz

Senators Write In Response To Commission’s Request For Public Input On Climate-Related Disclosure

Thursday, June 10, 2021

WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Senators Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i) and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) submitted a comment letter to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), highlighting several priorities for the Commission’s ongoing evaluation of climate change disclosure regulations.

“The market needs to know how exposed individual issuers are to climate risks, and how they plan to manage their exposure. That information needs to be decision-useful to investors: detailed, tied to financial statements, and easily comparable across different companies,” said Senator Schatz. “The SEC has the authority and the obligation to improve market efficiency and reduce systemic risk by mandating climate disclosure. And this must include disclosure of financed emissions: the contributions financial firms make to the climate crisis through their financing and investing work. We must ensure these firms’ stated climate goals are consistent with their actual business activities.”

“The market will be a very powerful force for curbing climate change if investors can get the information needed to gauge financial firms’ real levels of exposure to climate risks,” said Senator Whitehouse.  “Improved climate disclosure standards will also help ensure corporations – many of which have great stated policies on climate – are actually walking the walk when it comes to lobbying and investing.”

The comment focuses on several specific issues that are important components of a comprehensive climate-related disclosure framework:

• Incorporating climate risk into audited financial statements. Investors are not well served by anecdotes and best-case scenarios. Climate risks must be reflected in issuers’ financial statements, so that auditors can evaluate whether the assumptions underlying financials are clear-eyed about the likelihood of such risks and consistent with management’s internal planning.
• Financed emissions disclosure. Climate change is not an exogenous shock: there are fees and short-term profits to be made financing the activities that drive climate change. The SEC has the responsibility to make financial firms disclose the greenhouse gas emissions they enable. This should include off-balance sheet activities that exacerbate this systemic risk, even if they do not pose an immediate risk to the financial firm.
• Use-of-proceeds statements. To avoid divestment, banks and investors often cite the capital needed to aid the low-carbon transition. But without transparency and specificity on how companies plan to use the capital they raise, there is no accountability associated with those claims. The SEC should incorporate climate disclosure into the prospectus issuers file with the Commission related to securities offerings.
• Lobbying and political spending. Corporate interests hide their political influence activities behind opaque front groups and powerful trade associations. In many cases, individual companies make lofty climate commitments while contributing to anti-climate lobbying efforts behind the scenes. These efforts mislead investors and undermine financial stability. Investors have a right to know the details of companies’ climate-related spending and lobbying activities.

Full text of the comment letter is available here.

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Source: United States Senator for Washington State Patty Murray

The Digital Equity Act would help close the digital divide impacting communities across the nation

The Digital Equity Act builds on recent efforts to increase access to broadband by prioritizing “digital inclusion”—activities that seek to provide individuals and communities with the skills, supports, and technologies necessary to take full advantage of a broadband internet connection when they have one

Legislation creates two new $125M grant programs aimed at promoting #DigitalEquityNow and supporting digital inclusion programs for students, families, and workers

Pew Research Center: “Nearly one-in-five teens can’t always finish their homework because of the digital divide” – MORE HERE

8.8% of Washington state households do not have an internet subscription– MORE HERE

(Washington, D.C.) – Today, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Chair of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, Senator Rob Portman (R-OH), and Senator Angus King (I-ME) introduced new bipartisan legislation aimed at closing the growing digital divide in communities across the country. The Digital Equity Act of 2021 would create new federal investments targeted toward a diverse array of projects at the state and local level that promote “digital equity”— a concept defined by the National Digital Inclusion Alliance as the, “condition in which all individuals and communities have the information technology capacity needed for full participation in our society, democracy and economy.”

“For so many of us, having a reliable broadband connection is a given—we use the internet to pay bills, do our taxes, keep in touch with family, do homework, and much more. That was true before the pandemic, but it’s even more true now. For far too many in Washington state and across the country getting online isn’t so easy to do. This can prevent people from applying for jobs, learning new skills, signing up for health care, accessing unemployment benefits, and more. That’s the digital divide,” Senator Murray said. “While we’ve made some headway expanding internet access to more families by investing in critical infrastructure like rural broadband, that isn’t much help if they don’t have the tools and skills to actually use their broadband connection. The Digital Equity Act is an important bipartisan step Congress must take to help states, counties, Tribes, and others do more to close this digital divide. This bill is an investment in our families, our workforce, and our overall competitiveness in a 21^st century economy.”

“Too many Americans – especially in overlooked and underserved communities – lack access to broadband internet, negatively impacting the way they live and work,” Senator Portman said. “This bill aims to address these access gaps by encouraging the creation and implementation of comprehensive digital equity plans in all 50 states, DC, and Puerto Rico and supporting digital inclusion projects undertaken by groups, coalitions, and/or communities of interest. With this support, we can further our efforts to bridge the digital divide.”

“The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted just how essential the internet is to everyday American life,” said Senator King. “In the 21st century, an affordable high-speed broadband connection is a prerequisite for a wide range of economic, educational, and business opportunities. Unfortunately, too many of our citizens cannot access a reliable internet connection or do not know how to use the technology – leaving them further and further behind in an increasingly-digital world. Our bipartisan bill will make critical investments in digital equity and digital inclusion, so we can ensure that Americans of all ages and backgrounds can not only access a broadband connection, but make the most of the opportunities it provides.”

According to the Pew Research Center, before the pandemic nearly one in five teenagers in the U.S. said they had been unable to complete homework assignments due to lack of a reliable internet connection. The digital divide, also sometimes referred to as the “homework gap” as it applies to students, exacerbates existing wealth and income gaps in our communities; subsequently, many people—including those from communities of color, people with disabilities, low-income households, and rural communities, overwhelmingly impacted by the digital skills gap—are at risk of being left behind in an increasingly technology-driven world, absent intervention. According to a 2019 report from Pew Research Center, 58% of Black adults and 57% of Hispanic adults have a laptop or desktop computer, compared with 82% of white adults, and 66% of Black adults and 61% of Hispanic adults have broadband access at home compared with 79% of white adults.

According to 2019 U.S. Census data, 36 million households do not subscribe to a wireline broadband service—including 8.8% of Washington state households. 26 million of these households are in urban areas. 10 million are in rural areas. The lower a household’s income, the less likely they are to consistently subscribe to a wireline broadband service.

To that end, the Digital Equity Act of 2021 strengthens federal support for efforts to help ensure students, families, and workers have the information technology capacity needed to fully participate in society by establishing two grant programs to be administered by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) to promote digital equity nationwide:

• Building Capacity within States through Formula Grants: The legislation creates an annual $125 million formula grant program for all 50 States, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico to fund the creation and implementation of comprehensive digital equity plans in each State.
• Spurring Targeted Action through Competitive Grants: The legislation also creates an annual $125 million competitive grant program to support digital equity projects undertaken by individual groups, coalitions, and/or communities of interest.
• Supporting Research and Evidence-Based Policymaking: The legislation tasks NTIA with evaluating digital inclusion projects and providing policymakers at the local, state, and federal levels with detailed information about which projects are most effective.

“During the pandemic, we saw more and more neighborhoods, towns, counties, cities and states figuring out ways to cover the cost of internet service and purchase computers while also providing technical support and digital skills training. The solutions were local. Digital equity solutions in the U.S. have always been local. On the one hand this is fabulous because trusted community relationships are essential to effective digital inclusion work. On the other hand, financial support of local digital inclusion work has been sorely lacking. We celebrate the announcement of the Digital Equity Act because it invests in local solutions,” said Angela Siefer, Executive Director of the National Digital Inclusion Alliance.

The Digital Equity Act of 2021 is endorsed by over 100 organizations, including: AARP, Alliance for Community Media, American Library Association, Asian Americans Advancing Justice, Association of Public and Land-grant Universities, Broadband Connects America, Center for Law and Social Policy, Center for Media Justice, Chief Officers of State Library Agencies, Coalition on Adult Basic Education, Common Cause, Common Sense, Consortium for School Networking, Competitive Carriers Association, EdTech Center @ World Education, Free Press Action Fund, International Society for Technology in Education, Microsoft, National Association of Telecommunications Officers and Advisors, National Coalition for Literacy, National Collaborative for Digital Equity, National Congress of American Indians, National Consumer Law Center on behalf of their low-income clients, National Digital Inclusion Alliance, National Hispanic Media Coalition, National League of Cities, National Parent Teacher Association, New America’s Open Technology Institute, Next Century Cities, NTEN, Public Knowledge, Rural Telecommunications Congress, Schools, Health & Libraries Broadband Coalition, State Educational Technology Directors Association, and the Urban Libraries Council.

Senator Murray first introduced the Digital Equity Act in 2019 to help improve broadband adoption and bridge the digital divide. During the 2020 election, this bill was included in then-candidate Biden’s broadband platform. Earlier this year, President Biden also unveiled his American Jobs Plan, which includes a $100 billion investment to build high-speed broadband infrastructure to reach 100 percent coverage, promote transparency and competition, reduce the cost of broadband internet service and promote more widespread adoption. Senators Murray, Portman, and King will be advocating for key provisions of the bipartisan Digital Equity Act to be included in any forthcoming infrastructure package.

Read the bill text HERE.

Find more background on the Digital Equity Act HERE.

Find a section-by-section breakdown of the Digital Equity Act HERE.

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Source: United States Senator Ron Wyden (D-Ore)

June 10, 2021

Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley said today they have joined colleagues to reintroduce legislation that would strengthen the ability of the U.S. Department of Justice’s (DOJ) and state governments to investigate police departments with a pattern or practice of unconstitutional and discriminatory behavior.

During the Obama administration, DOJ used its authority to investigate police departments with a track record of unconstitutional policing and hold them accountable by entering into consent decrees – court-monitored settlements mandating that police departments adopt specific reforms. Consent decrees are powerful oversight tools that allow DOJ to combat police abuse and force local police departments to adopt meaningful reforms.

That practice came to a complete halt in the Trump administration. The former Attorney General Jeff Sessions severely curtailed DOJ’s ability to deploy these powerful tools by issuing guidance that limited the use of consent decrees. That guidance weakened a Division that already had limited capacity to pursue pattern or practice investigations due to funding constraints. While Attorney General Garland recently announced the rescission of that memorandum, the Trump Administration’s attack on consent decrees demonstrates the need for Congress to provide additional authority and resources for DOJ to conduct these investigations, and to give state governments the funding and tools necessary to act in case DOJ won’t.

“Consent decrees are essential tools to ensure local law enforcement is following the Constitution and not discriminating against anybody in their communities,” Wyden said. “The failure of Donald Trump’s Justice Department to use this proven tool clearly demonstrates the need for this legislation that recognizes these decrees need consistent oversight to maintain accountability for police departments with records of unconstitutional policing.”

“We live in a country where police departments often look at some people in a community as clients they are protecting, and others as a threat. That’s unacceptable,” said Merkley. “Every American—regardless of the color of their skin or their zip code—deserves to be treated with respect by law enforcement officials, and to be able to live free from fear of police brutality. If we want to turn that vision into a reality, we need to make sure that police departments that engage in a pattern of discriminatory behavior are held accountable.”

The Enhancing Oversight to End Discrimination in Policing Act of 2021 would:

• Empower state attorneys general to pursue pattern or practice investigations and cases, providing a critical backstop if DOJ fails to act, and create a grant program to assist states in pursuing investigations and consent decrees.
• Triple funding for DOJ’s Civil Rights Division, and dedicate $100 million per year for the next 10 years to the Division to pursue these investigations into police departments with a history of engaging in unconstitutional and discriminatory policing practices.
• Encourage DOJ to look beyond traditional law enforcement mechanisms when fashioning remedies with police departments, and consider reform mechanisms like mental health support, civilian oversight bodies, and community-based restorative justice programs.
• Prevent conflicts of interest in pattern and practice investigations by barring certain officials from being designated to bring federal actions for pattern and practice violations if there would be a conflict of interest.

In addition to Wyden and Merkley, the Enhancing Oversight to End Discrimination in Policing Act introduced by U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) is co-sponsored by U.S. Sens. Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Mazie K. Hirono (D-Hawaii), Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) and Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.).

The legislation is endorsed by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU); NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc.; Demand Progress; National Urban League; National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives (NOBLE); National Action Network;  and the Public Rights Project.

Bill text is here.

A one-page summary of the bill is here.

Source: United States Senator for Maryland Ben Cardin

June 10, 2021

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Ben Cardin and Chris Van Hollen (both D-Md.) and nearly a dozen of their colleagues introduced the Give Our Athletes Level Salaries (GOALS) Act, which would require the U.S. Soccer Federation to agree to providing equitable pay to both the women’s and men’s national teams in order to receive federal funds related to the 2026 World Cup.

“The U.S. Women’s Soccer team are reigning champions on the field, but also champions in leading the national conversation on equal pay,” said Senator Cardin. “I am proud to support the GOALS Act to close the inexcusable pay gap between female and male athletes, bolstering our collective efforts on gender equity and equality.”

“Our athletes deserve to be treated with respect and dignity, and they also deserve to be appropriately compensated for their achievements — no matter their gender,” said Senator Van Hollen. “We must heed the call of our national team players to end gender pay inequities once and for all, which is why I support this bill and will continue working in Congress to close the gender pay gap.”

While federal funds are not directly appropriated toward U.S. Soccer, there are a variety of ways that federal funding will likely be used by U.S. Soccer and its affiliates, including FIFA and CONCACAF, during the next World Cup in 2026, which will be hosted in part by in the United States. This would include any and all funds provided to host cities; participating local and state organizations; the U.S. Soccer Federation, Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF), and Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA).

Senators Cardin and Van Hollen introduced the legislation with Senators Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Ed Markey (D-Mass.), Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.), and Mark Warner (D-Va.).

Background information on the GOALS Act can be found here.

Bill text can be found here.

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Source: United States Senator for Oklahoma James Lankford

06.10.21

WASHINGTON, DC – Senators James Lankford (R-OK), Tom Cotton (R-AR), Thom Tillis (R-NC), Rick Scott (R-FL), Steve Daines (R-MT), and Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) introduced the Li Wenliang Global Public Health Accountability Act, which would authorize the president to sanction foreign officials who suppress or distort information about international public health crises, particularly in light of Chinese information suppression efforts in the early stages of COVID-19 spread.

“The Chinese government’s efforts to suppress information about the coronavirus ultimately led to this pandemic,” said Lankford. “The Chinese Communist Party detained and arrested doctors who raised concerns instead of sharing information with the world and working collaboratively to contain the disease. We must hold foreign governments accountable, including China, for attempting to suppress information about public health emergencies, especially if that information can help prevent the loss of American lives.”

“Dr. Li tried to warn his country and the world about the coronavirus, but was silenced by the Chinese Communist Party. By hiding the truth about the virus, the CCP turned a regional health problem into a global catastrophe that has killed millions. To honor Dr. Li, our bill seeks to punish foreign officials responsible for suppressing information about international health crises, including the Wuhan virus,” said Cotton.

“Doctors and scientists across the world deserve robust protections that allow them to sound the alarm on international public health concerns without fear of government suppression,” said Tillis. “Dr. Li Wenliang heroically tried to warn Chinese citizens about COVID-19, only to be silenced by the authoritarian Chinese Communist Party until his tragic death. The Chinese government must be held accountable so no other nation feels emboldened to cover-up a public health crisis that can turn into a global pandemic. I am proud to work with my colleagues on this commonsense legislation.”

“Throughout the past year, we saw Communist China lie and spread propaganda in an attempt to cover up a global pandemic, silencing any and all who dared speak the truth. This legislation will give the United States the authority to sanction any foreign official who suppresses or distorts information about global health, like the Chinese Communist Government did. When lives are at risk, we can’t take any chances,” said Scott.

“The American people and the entire world deserve to know the origins of this pandemic, which China continues to cover up. We need to ensure there are real consequences for foreign officials who try to cover up their country’s role in an international crisis like the COVID-19 pandemic going forward,” said Daines.

“The Chinese Communist Party silenced Dr. Li and many others for attempting to speak the truth about the coronavirus outbreak and China’s involvement. Meanwhile, they stood by as the virus spread around the world—resulting in loss of life and loss of livelihood for millions. These actions by foreign governments to suppress those who provide pertinent information about public health crises are unacceptable, and they must be held accountable to the fullest extent,” said Blackburn.

Background

First introduced in May 2020, the Li Wenliang Global Public Health Accountability Act is sanctions legislation modeled after the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act. It would authorize the president to sanction foreign officials who suppress or distort information about international public health crises, including COVID-19. These sanctions include inadmissibility to the US, revocation of existing US visas, and the blocking of all property within the US. This bill would give Congress the authority to request that the president review specific foreign officials for sanctions eligibility. Within 120 days of receiving a request, the president must report to Congress on the intention to impose sanctions.

Lankford remains outspoken about the need for the US to remain vigilant against China’s actions. Lankford is a commissioner on the bipartisan, bicameral Congressional-Executive Commission on China (CECC). Last month, Lankford joined his colleagues to send a letter to Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo and US Trade Representative (USTR) Katherine Tai asking them to reverse the Biden Administration’s decision to give US COVID intellectual property to China. Lankford has advocated for de-funding the Wuhan Institute of Virology and ending US support for gain-of-function research.

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Source: United States Senator Kevin Cramer (R-ND)

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Kevin Cramer (R-ND), a Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee member, announced today the U.S. Department of Energy awarded $249,886 to Microbeam Technologies Incorporated in Grand Forks. 

“I am grateful to the Energy Department for making yet another investment in support of North Dakota research and development potential,” said Senator Cramer. “These funds, which are part of a nationwide investment in small business energy projects, will help Grand Forks’ Microbeam Technologies learn how to better utilize coal to support our need for critical mineral resources.”

Source: United States Senator for Connecticut – Chris Murphy

Source: United States Senator for Utah Mike Lee

WASHINGTON – Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) has introduced three bills to repeal and reform the Passenger Vessel Services Act of 1886 (PVSA), an outdated, protectionist law that harms American jobs and American tourism.

“The PVSA is bad news,” said Sen. Lee. “This arcane law benefits Canada, Mexico, and other countries who receive increased maritime traffic, at the expense of American workers in our coastal cities, towns, and ports. Reducing demand for jobs and travel opportunities here in the U.S. is the opposite of ‘America First.’ And in the context of ocean liners, this ‘protectionist’ law is literally protecting no one, as there hasn’t been a cruise ship built domestically in over half a century. The PVSA is bad economics and bad law, and it’s far past time that Congress reconsider it.”

The PVSA requires that all ships transporting passengers between two or more U.S. ports (a “domestic voyage”) be American built, owned, flagged, and crewed. Due to these rigid and expensive requirements, many ship operators choose to domicile and conduct business elsewhere. As a result, these ships cannot operate continuously in the U.S., and must call at a foreign port in between stops at U.S. ports to remain in compliance with this 135-year-old law.

By artificially restricting when vessels may call at our ports and serve travelers, this arcane law diverts opportunities for economic activity in American coastal cities to other countries. For example, instead of spending more time in American ports and cities, cruises sailing from Washington to Alaska must make stops in Vancouver, Canada, while cruises from California to Hawaii must stop in Ensenada, Mexico. Even intra-island Hawaiian cruises are forbidden – cruises must travel 1,000 miles south to Fanning Island (Republic of Kiribati) to avoid running afoul of the PVSA. The PVSA reduces demand for American port workers in dockside maintenance and repair, and hurts job opportunities for those in the domestic travel and hospitality industries.

While Canada serves as a primary beneficiary of the law, which diverts commercial activity to its ports, the perverse incentives created by the PVSA also mean Canada controls northwestern American cruise seasons. During the pandemic, Canada has closed its ports to foreign ships. Cruises cannot sail without this required “foreign stop,” and this move could crush the Washington and Alaska tourism economy.

For details and text of the bills, see below:

Open America’s Ports Act

• Would repeal the PVSA and adjust cabotage requirements accordingly, allowing all ships that qualify under the laws of the United States to transport passengers from U.S. port to U.S. port.

Safeguarding American Tourism Act

• Would exempt large passenger vessels (“vessels with 800 or more passenger berths”) from PVSA requirements, and adjust cabotage requirements accordingly, allowing these ships to transport passengers from U.S. port to U.S. port.
• This targeted approach would not affect or harm any existing industry, as there hasn’t been a cruise ship built in the U.S. (and which would therefore meet the PVSA’s high bar) since 1958. 

Protecting Jobs in American Ports Act

• Would repeal the “U.S.-built” requirement for passenger vessels operating between U.S. ports, thereby incentivizing American companies to develop voyages that increase traffic and economic activity – and opportunities for port workers – in American coastal cities and towns.