Spectator NZ

Source: United States Senator for North Carolina Thom Tillis

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Thom Tillis co-sponsored the End Child Trafficking Now Act, legislation which would require a DNA test to determine the relationship between illegal immigrants coming across the border and any accompanying children.

This comes as the Biden Administration reportedly ended all DNA family testing at the border last week on May 31, 2023.

“Right now, there is a serious humanitarian crisis at our Southern border as cartels, coyotes, and other bad actors are exploiting innocent children to cross our border,” said Senator Tillis. “This is completely unacceptable, and the Biden Administration’s response to these unaccompanied minors’ increased risk of sexual abuse and human trafficking has been severely lacking. This legislation is a commonsense, humane reform to help prevent innocent children from being abused.” 

“At the center of the illegal immigration debate should be the horrific physical and sexual abuse of children, often at the hands of unrelated adults.  Mandatory DNA testing and significant penalties for adults refusing to comply would help stop the incredible heartbreak of the criminal ‘recycling’ of children.  Very often these abused minors end up living a life of sex trafficking, drug abuse and worse, and the National Police Association strongly encourages the support and passage of the “End Child Sex Trafficking Now Act,” said Sgt. Betsy Brantner Smith, Spokesman, National Police Association. 

Specifically, the End Child Trafficking Now Act would:

• Require DHS to deport illegal immigrant adults if they refuse a DNA test;
• Mandate a maximum 10-year prison sentence for all illegal immigrant adults who fabricate family ties or guardianship over a minor; 
• Criminalize “child recycling,” which happens when the same child is used repeatedly to gain entry by illegal immigrant adults who are neither relatives nor legal guardians; and 
• Require the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to process the child as an unaccompanied minor under current law if family ties or legal guardianship cannot be proven with the accompanying adult.

Click here for the bill text.  

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Source: United States Senator for North Carolina Thom Tillis

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Thom Tillis (R-NC) today issued the following statement:

“While far from perfect, this is the best deal conservatives could have hoped for given the reality that Democrats control the White House and Senate. This deal finally puts an end to the Democrats’ reckless tax and spending spree by cutting spending by a record $1.5 trillion, moving more Americans from welfare to the workforce, and shutting down President Biden’s planned $5 trillion tax hike. This is a far better outcome than the alternative: defaulting for the first time in our nation’s history, a catastrophe that would have decimated our economy, caused millions of Americans to lose their jobs, and made our debt crisis far worse.” 

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Source: United States Senator for Commonwealth of Virginia Mark R Warner

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD HIGH-QUALITY PHOTOS FROM THE EVENT

WASHINGTON – U.S. Sens. Mark Warner (D-VA) and Mike Crapo (R-ID), co-chairs of the Community Development Finance Caucus, along with Deputy Secretary of the Treasury Wally Adeyemo held an event today on Capitol Hill with corporate and banking leaders to announce that members of the Economic Opportunity Coalition have reached their goal of securing $1 billion in committed deposits in Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) and Minority Depository Institutions (MDIs) in order to expand their lending power for underserved communities and small businesses emerging from the pandemic. 

The private sector funding will boost public efforts to strengthen and grow the lending capacity of CDFIs and MDIs, which included a record $12 billion federal investment to help underserved communities access affordable capital secured by Sens. Warner and Crapo as part of the bipartisan COVID relief package approved by Congress at the end of 2020. The additional deposits announced today will help to bring down loan-to-deposit ratios at these institutions, which will allow them to increase their lending further while ensuring they maintain adequate liquidity.

“Strengthening minority and community lenders will help unlock the economic potential of some of our most overlooked communities,” said Sen. Warner. “I’m glad to see the private sector working with us to leverage returns on public investment while investing in entrepreneurs and small businesses in communities of color and other financially underserved areas.”

“This exciting benchmark is just the beginning of support for underserved and rural communities across the country,” said Sen. Crapo.  “The private sector’s partnership in investing in these communities is crucial for the long-term sustainability and economic growth of areas most in need.”

“Our economy works best when capital is unlocked across races and regions,” said Deputy Secretary of the Treasury Wally Adeyemo. “Today’s announcement reflects the impact of a coordinated partnership between the public and private sectors to address economic inequality across the nation and maximize the impact of the Biden-Harris Administration’s unprecedented investments in underserved communities.”

“CDFIs and MDIs are proximate to communities. They exist to support small businesses, aspiring homeowners, community infrastructure needs, and the development of affordable housing,” said Michael Roth, Co-lead of the Economic Opportunity Coalition and Co-CEO of Next Street. “Moving deposits to these kinds of community-based lenders facilitates access to credit in communities where traditional financial services are limited, unavailable, or unaffordable. That’s why this EOC milestone is really also a call to action. We know 1 billion dollars isn’t enough; it’s just the start.” said Roth.

Launched by Vice President Harris last July, the Economic Opportunity Coalition is a group of more than two dozen corporations and philanthropies that committed to making major investments in communities of color to address economic disparities and accelerate economic opportunity. Representatives of the Coalition at today’s event included leaders from Wells Fargo, Next Street, KeyBank, TIAA, Citi, and Bank of America. 

“Senators Warner and Crapo and Treasury Deputy Secretary Wally Adeyemo have been amazing champions of getting resources to CDFIs and MDIs that are serving communities of modest financial resources.  The Emergency Capital Investment Program (ECIP) was a true game-changer, providing equity investments that mission-based financial institutions could use to attract $8 of additional deposits and debt for every $1 of ECIP investment.  Hence, the $8+ billion of ECIP investments will over time create $100 billion of lending capital that can be recycled at least 3 times over a 10-year period,” said Martin Eakes, CEO, Self-Help Credit Union. “I know this sounds complicated, but the bottom line is that the actions of these leaders and their associates will produce more than 1 million new homeowners and tens of thousands of new businesses in communities of color, and in other rural and lower wealth communities all across the country.” 

“Black-owned Optus Bank has exponentially grown its balance sheet and, more importantly, its impact on high-potential underestimated communities,” said Dominik Mjartan, President and CEO of Optus Bank. “With transformational investments from the private sector, we have been able to leverage the recent ECIP investment to more than double the bank’s loan portfolio in 2022 while directing more than 90% of our loans to mission-aligned communities.”

“These commitments ensure that CDFIs and MDIs are equipped to significantly expand impact to working Americans who have historically struggled in the pursuit of economic prosperity,” said Darrin Williams, Southern Bancorp, Inc. CEO. “Combined with the ongoing support from Congress and Treasury, our industry has never before been as equipped to fulfill our mission of reaching the financially underserved – from rural America to our urban centers – we are building the capacity to finance the positive economic change needed in our country.”

“Public and private investments are essential to closing wealth gaps in America and enabling lasting financial health and resilience, including throughout retirement. As a founding member of the EOC, TIAA is proud to contribute to this critical funding milestone and to advance collective engagements that unlock resources for innovators, business owners and other leaders in underserved communities,” said W. Dave Dowrich, CFO at TIAA. “Supporting the holistic financial well-being of communities to help achieve longer-term equitable growth goes hand-in-hand with our efforts to ensure all Americans can retire with dignity and financial security. As too many Americans navigate economic challenges, these investments demonstrate that bipartisanship and cross-sector collaboration can deliver scalable and sustainable solutions that can meaningfully change lives and improve communities.”

“We are strong supporters of the Economic Opportunity Coalition and congratulate the organization on reaching the goal of $1 billion in deposits that will be placed with CDFIs and MDIs.  These organizations are a critical part of the lending ecosystem for underserved communities, and we look forward to helping them grow and better serve their local markets,” said Charlie Scharf, CEO of Wells Fargo.  

“Citi is able to use our robust balance sheet to provide access to capital for our MDI partners that have historically faced higher burdens for raising capital, enabling them to enhance their support for individuals and businesses in underserved communities,” said Citi CFO Mark Mason. “In addition to joining in the Economic Opportunity Coalition’s $1 billion announcement today, Citi and the Citi Foundation are deepening our efforts to support CDFIs and MDIs and we are eager to work with the EOC to expand the net even further to help solve the significant, unmet need.”

“KeyBank embraces the opportunity to partner with Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) and Minority Depository Institutions (MDIs) through the Economic Opportunity Coalition,” said Chris Gorman, CEO and Chairman of KeyCorp. “At Key, our purpose is to help our clients and communities thrive. In partnership with CDFIs and MDIs, we are bringing that purpose to life by expanding banking services in our neighborhoods and bringing more capital-building tools to underserved communities. We appreciate the leadership of Senators Warner and Crapo, and the Treasury Department’s commitment to an inclusive economy.”

“Promoting investment and economic opportunity in underserved communities is critical to reaching the U.S.’s potential to enable growth that is also inclusive. McKinsey & Company is proud to be a founding member of the Economic Opportunity Coalition, and will to continue working with our partners to support this critical goal,” said Bob Sternfels, McKinsey’s Global Managing Partner.

“Today’s one billion funding announcement reflects the Coalition’s commitment to taking meaningful actions to accelerate economic opportunity in underserved communities across the country,” said Nat Hoopes, Vice President and Head of Public Policy and Regulatory Affairs at Upstart. “Upstart is proud to contribute both dollars and our AI technology to support CDFIs and MDIs in their important work to expand access to affordable credit.”

“This milestone is a testament to the power of public private partnerships in accelerating economic opportunity,” said Dan Schulman, president and CEO, PayPal. “Continued investment in CDFIs and MDIs is critical to building thriving communities and creating transformative change. PayPal is proud to be a founding member of this effort and we look forward to the continued collaboration.”

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Source: United States Senator for South Dakota John Thune

Click here to watch the video.
WASHINGTON — U.S. Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) today spoke on the Senate floor about the need for an all-of-the-above energy policy and urged President Biden to take a more realistic approach to American energy. Thune noted that any energy policy that doesn’t embrace conventional and renewable sources is insufficient, and the president must stop undermining the nation’s energy supply with policies that prioritize renewables. Thune also promoted Republican proposals to strengthen the permitting reforms enacted in the Fiscal Responsibility Act.
Thune’s remarks below (as prepared for delivery):
“Mr. President, summer is almost here, and with it summer driving season.
 
“And with gas prices up 48 percent since President Biden took office, and inflation still a major problem, the cost of those family road trip miles is likely on Americans’ mind.
 
“And it’s not just the cost of gas that can be challenging in the summer.
 
“Hot temperatures can bring a corresponding increase in electricity bills, as families rely more on their air conditioners.
 
“And with electricity prices up 22 percent since President Biden took office – and, as I said, with inflation still a major problem – those bills can be a stress.
 
“But it’s not just energy prices that are of concern this summer, Mr. President.
 
“A recent article in the Washington Post entitled ‘Fresh blackout threats emerge as power grid faces a stressful summer,’ noted, and I quote, ‘The nation’s power grid is in precarious shape heading into what could be an especially hot summer … with much of the country at risk for outages if it experiences scorching weather scientists say looks increasingly likely.’
 
“‘Much of the country at risk for outages.’
 
“Mr. President, the reliability of our nation’s electric grid is becoming a serious concern.
 
“And it’s being driven in part by attempts to move our country off conventional energy before we have the necessary technology to rely mostly on renewables.
 
“In February the PJM Interconnection – which manages a substantial part of eastern America’s electric grid – released a report warning that fossil fuel plants are being forced to retire at a faster rate than new renewables can be brought on line, at a rate of roughly two to one.
 
“And, as the report underscored, that situation is being driven by anti-conventional-energy policies.
 
“The Wall Street Journal, which weighed in after the PJM report was released, noted that, and I quote, ‘Most projected power-plant retirements are ‘policy-driven,’ the report says.’
 
“In other words, Mr. President, power plants aren’t closing because they’ve reached the end of their operating life.
 
“They’re closing because of policies designed to discourage conventional energy.
 
“Mr. President, I am a longtime supporter of renewable energy.
 
“But the fact of the matter is, technology has simply not advanced to the point where our nation can rely solely or even mostly on renewables.
 
“And attempting to move to zero-emission energy before we have the technology and resources to get us there is going to result not only in price increases but in serious deficiencies in our nation’s energy supply.
 
“I say going to result in.
 
“But as I’ve mentioned, premature attempts to move us to a Green New Deal future are already compromising the reliability of our electric grid.
 
“And the Biden administration has been driving the problem with its anti-conventional-energy policies.
 
“While the president has made isolated positive energy decisions – like approving the sale of E15 fuel for this summer – in general his presidency has been characterized by environmental extremism and hostility to conventional energy. 
 
“This year alone, he’s closed off a substantial part of the Arctic to oil and gas development, and his Environmental Protection Agency has finalized a rule that threatens to close a number of fossil-fuel-powered power plants and undermine the stability of our electric grid even further.
 
“Those are policies with far-reaching negative effects.
 
“An unstable electric grid, for one, can be a very serious problem.
 
“It’s not just a matter of inconvenience.
 
“Electricity blackouts threaten key systems. 
 
“Soaring temperatures without the relief of air conditioning can leave elderly Americans vulnerable.
 
“The president’s anti-conventional-energy policies are not victimless.
 
“They have consequences.
 
“And we are well on our way to seeing those consequences in action.
 
“Mr. President, the solution here is simple.
 
“The president needs to stop undermining our nation’s energy supply with policies that attempt to prematurely push us onto renewables.
 
“And he needs to unleash American energy production – conventional as well as renewable.
 
“We did receive some good news on the energy production front last week with the passage of the debt ceiling agreement the president reached with Speaker McCarthy. 
 
“Thanks to the efforts of Speaker McCarthy, the Fiscal Responsibility Act makes a down payment on permitting reform by placing a two-year time limit on environmental impact statements and a one-year time limit on environmental assessments.
 
“It also implements a ‘One Federal Decision’ framework that establishes a lead agency and single document stream for permitting decisions.
 
“Currently it takes an average of four and a half years for an environmental impact statement.
 
“These reforms will shrink that timeline and help both conventional and renewable energy projects get off the ground more quickly.
“However, there’s more work to be done to streamline the permitting process, and I hope we will be able to find bipartisan agreement on further reforms. 
 
“Bogging projects down in environmental review for half a decade provides no meaningful environmental advantages, delays valuable energy projects, and can discourage domestic energy production.
 
“And additional permitting reform should be a priority.
 
“Senators Capito and Barrasso have put forward comprehensive contributions to the discussion, the RESTART Act and the SPUR Act, respectively.
 
“And the House has passed H.R. 1, the Lower Energy Costs Act.
 
“Collectively, these bills would resume federal lease sales for oil and gas development, set timelines against endless legal challenges, and advance an American, all-of-the-above energy comeback.
 
“Mr. President, after two and a half years of demonstrated hostility to conventional energy production, the president seems unlikely to change his ways.
 
“But he still has time to embrace a more realistic approach to American energy.
 
“And I hope that the increasing fragility of our electric grid – to say nothing of higher energy prices – will encourage him to take a more all-of-the-above approach to energy production.
 
“Otherwise he may be remembered for presiding over not just an inflation crisis, but an energy crisis as well.
 
“Mr. President, I yield the floor.”

Source: United States Senator for Colorado Michael Bennet

Washington, D.C. — Today, U.S. Senators Michael Bennet (D-Colo.), Todd Young (R-Ind.), and Mark Warner (D-Va.) introduced the Global Technology Leadership Act. This bipartisan legislation would establish an Office of Global Competition Analysis to assess how the United States fares in key emerging technologies – such as artificial intelligence (AI) – relative to other countries to inform U.S. policy and strengthen American competitiveness.

“We cannot afford to lose our competitive edge in strategic technologies like semiconductors, quantum computing, and artificial intelligence to competitors like China,” said Bennet. “To defend our economic and national security and protect U.S. leadership in critical emerging technologies, we need to be able to take into account both classified and commercial information to fully assess where we stand. With that information, Congress can make smart decisions about where to invest and how to strengthen our competitiveness.”

“This legislation will better synchronize our national security community to ensure America wins the technological race against the Chinese Communist Party. There is no single federal agency evaluating American leadership in critical technologies like artificial intelligence and quantum computing, despite their significance to our national security and economic prosperity. Our bill will help fill this gap,” said Young.

“Over the last few years the U.S. has made significant investments in key sectors like semiconductor manufacturing. But as the U.S. works to out-innovate our global competitors, it’s crucial that we have a meaningful way to track how our progress stacks up against near-peers like China. I’m proud to join this bipartisan effort to create a centralized hub that’s responsible for keeping tabs on these developments, which are critical to our economic and national security,” said Warner.

The bipartisan Global Technology Leadership Act would establish an Office of Global Competition Analysis to bolster competitiveness by analyzing how the United States fares in critical technologies relative to other countries, informing policymakers and strengthening U.S. leadership in strategic innovation. 

The Office of Global Competition Analysis would assess U.S. technology competitiveness based on a fusion of intelligence and commercial data, which today are too often siloed in intelligence and civilian agencies, respectively. This has often left the United States blind to its relative capacity in critical technologies compared to other nations, like in the cases of 5G and semiconductors. Analysis that interrogates the entire U.S. ecosystem, including private sector dynamics, is critical to understanding threats and opportunities in strategic emerging technology, such as AI.

“The United States has a strong history of organizing to lead through challenging periods. To address post-World War II security concerns, the U.S. Government created the National Security Council. To address post-Cold War economic challenges, the U.S. Government created the National Economic Council. Today, the United States faces a new era of global technology competition and to remain the world’s leading technological power, we need to organize our government for this new competition. The United States must meet this challenge by creating an office to conduct critical technology analysis and provide the President and Congress with recommendations to act,” said Ylli Bajraktari, President and CEO of the SCSP Action Program and the Special Competitive Studies Project, and the former Executive Director, National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence.

“Effective monitoring of the global and domestic science and technology landscape is critical to our long term economic competitiveness. To my knowledge, no part of the U.S. government currently possesses a scalable approach for doing so. Sustained investment in data-backed analysis is critical to our national interest and continued global leadership in emerging technologies,” said Dewey Murdick, Center for Security and Emerging Technology, Georgetown University.

The Global Technology Leadership Act builds on Bennet’s work to ensure the U.S. leads the world in the responsible use of critical and emerging technologies like AI. Last month, Bennet introduced the Oversee Emerging Technology Act to require relevant federal departments and agencies to designate a senior official able to advise on responsible technology use. In April, he introduced the ASSESS AI Act to create a task force to review existing federal AI policies to ensure compliance with civil rights, civil liberties, privacy, and due process.

The text of the bill is available HERE. A summary of the bill is available HERE.