Spectator NZ

Source: United States Senator for South Dakota Mike Rounds

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Source: United States Senator for Florida Marco Rubio

In August 2020, in response to China’s draconian National Security Law, President Trump imposed sanctions on 11 individuals for their role in undermining Hong Kong’s freedom and autonomy. Among those designated was Hong Kong’s Chief Executive, John Lee Ka-chiu, who was involved in activities such as “coercing, arresting, detaining, or imprisoning individuals under the authority of the National Security Law.” Despite this, the Biden Administration is planning to allow Chief Executive Lee, a known human rights violator, into the United States to attend the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) meeting in San Francisco later this year.

U.S. Senators Marco Rubio (R-FL) and Jeff Merkley (D-OR), and Representaitves Chris Smith (R-NJ) and Jim McGovern (D-MA) sent a letter to U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken urging him not to invite the Chief Executive given he is sanctioned by the U.S. government for his role in the cracking down against civilian protests in Hong Kong.

The full text of the letter is below. 

Dear Secretary Blinken:     

We write to express concern with your plan to invite the Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, John Lee Ka-chiu, to attend the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Leaders’ Meeting in San Francisco in November. Because of the Hong Kong government’s violent suppression of peaceful protesters in 2019, inviting Chief Executive Lee to attend the APEC meeting sends a terrible signal to human rights violators worldwide.      

In 2020, Chief Executive Lee was sanctioned by the U.S. Department of Treasury for his role as Hong Kong’s Secretary for Security, when he chose violence against peaceful protestors who were using their voices against the draconian National Security Law (NSL). The Department of Treasury noted that Chief Executive Lee was “… involved in coercing, arresting, detaining, or imprisoning individuals under the authority of the…[NSL]… as well as being involved in its development, adoption, or implementation.” Due to his status as a sanctioned individual, Chief Executive Lee is not allowed to visit the United States unless given a waiver by the administration.       

It is in this context that we are dismayed to learn that the Biden Administration plans to waive the sanctions on Chief Executive Lee and allow him into the United States to attend the APEC meeting. In response to a question for the record, Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman confirmed “[t]he United States plans to invite Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee to attend APEC. As the host, we believe it is important to foster regional economic dialogue and for the United States and [the People’s Republic of China] to work together to maintain global macro-economic stability.” While we understand the importance of fostering regional economic dialogue with our Indo-Pacific allies and partners, inviting a sanctioned human rights abuser is an affront to all those who have been persecuted by the Chinese Communist Party and the People’s Republic of China (PRC), and its proxies in Hong Kong, including American citizens Samuel Bickett and John Shing-Wan Leung, as well as prominent Hong Kong leaders Jimmy Lai Chee-ying, Cardinal Joseph Zen Ze-kiun, and Joshua Wong Chi-fung.      

As you know, the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act of 2019 (P.L. 117-328) requires you to annually certify whether Hong Kong holds the high degree of autonomy it enjoyed when transferred to the control of the PRC in 1997. Starting in 2020, and as recently as March 2023, every U.S. Secretary of State, including you, has not certified that Hong Kong enjoys this autonomy and therefore does not warrant treatment under U.S. law in the same manner as they were applied in 1997. Inviting Chief Executive Lee to APEC would be tantamount to recognizing Hong Kong as a separate economy from the PRC, when in fact, and according to U.S. law, it is not. We therefore urge you to deny any action that would give the PRC disproportional representation at APEC, including prohibiting Chief Executive Lee from entering the United States. 

Thank you for your attention to this important matter.

Sincerely,

Source: United States Senator for Florida Marco Rubio

The Biden Administration is failing to educate investors and consumers about the risks of its own policy agenda. Many reports have cautioned that a rapid transition to electric vehicles (EV) could have disastrous consequences for America’s transportation infrastructure, electric grid, and supply chains. Yet, the Biden Administration is barreling toward universal EV use without acknowledging these risks.

U.S. Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) sent a letter to U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Gary Gensler asking him to assess the risks of widespread EV adoption and to require EV companies to enhance their risk disclosures to investors. 

• “The EV industry is heavily dependent on the People’s Republic of China (PRC) for components and scarce raw materials such as lithium, cobalt, nickel, and graphite. This dependency poses a serious risk to EV companies, which could be cut off at the whim of the Chinese Communist Party.”

The full text of the letter is below. 

Dear Chair Gensler:

I am concerned that members of the public and investors in electric vehicle (EV) companies are not being informed of the risks associated with increased production of EVs, including potentially disastrous implications of widespread EV adoption for the country’s transportation infrastructure and energy grid. I write to request that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) evaluate these risks, and enhance the disclosure requirements of registrants that produce EVs, to allow investors to be better informed about the risks of investing in such companies.

The impartial assessment and disclosure of such risk is urgently needed given the Biden Administration’s breakneck efforts to force EV adoption. As you know, this administration is proposing strict environmental standards that are intended to shift two-thirds of new vehicle production to EVs by 2032. Numerous reports have cautioned policymakers about the serious consequences of rising EV adoption on transportation infrastructure, the electrical grid, and supply chains.

The U.S. Energy Information Administration forecasts our country’s transportation sector will increase electricity consumption from 12 billion kilowatt hours per year in 2021 to more than 145 billion kilowatt hours by 2050. The dramatic rise in consumption will place pressure on the electric grid and may force electric utilities to implement rationing practices such as rolling blackouts.

Even current levels of EV use have overburdened our electrical grid. During a heat wave last September, California authorities asked residents to avoid charging EVs at night in an attempt to keep the electrical grid from overheating. Widespread EV use also would impose massive demands on an already strained local power distribution network. The Boston Consulting Group estimates that each additional EV on the grid could require as much as $5,000 in needed improvements to neighborhood power distribution networks. In short, a rapid transition to EVs could burden electric utilities with the need to overhaul neighborhood power infrastructure on a tight timeframe.

The EV industry still faces considerable issues in power delivery, with widespread reports of faulty and unreliable charging stations. Common problems with the charging network include software glitches, inadequate power supply, and inoperable chargers. According to J.D. Power, failed charging attempts rose from 15 percent in 2021 to more than 21 percent in 2022. Imagine if gas stations failed to perform their most basic function one out of five times.

EVs typically are much heavier compared to similarly sized, gas-powered vehicles, which will put additional strain on America’s transportation infrastructure. The American Society of Civil Engineers warns that an increase in EVs could substantially reduce the lifespan of roads and bridges, necessitating further investment in infrastructure. Another report warns that aging parking garages may collapse under the weight of EVs.

Finally, the EV industry is heavily dependent on the People’s Republic of China (PRC) for components and scarce raw materials such as lithium, cobalt, nickel, and graphite. This dependency poses a serious risk to EV companies, which could be cut off at the whim of the Chinese Communist Party. At least one battery company, Microvast, admitted as much in SEC disclosures, writing “[t]he PRC government may exert, at any time and with no notice, substantial interventions and influences over the manner in which we conduct our business activities, which we may not be able to anticipate.” The PRC produces three-quarters of all lithium-ion batteries, 70 percent of cathodes, and 85 percent of anodes required for EV batteries. Furthermore, China holds over half of the world’s processing and refining capacity for lithium, cobalt, and graphite. U.S. firms have a relatively small presence in the EV battery supply chain. Almost none of the raw materials are mined domestically.

The Biden Administration is pressing for widespread EV adoption despite these potential risks, which signals disaster for investors and the American public. Consistent with the SEC’s mission to protect investors and maintain fair, orderly, and efficient markets, I therefore urge the SEC to assess the systemic risks that widespread EV adoption poses to our economy, infrastructure, and way of life. I further urge the SEC to enhance the disclosure requirements for EV companies to include information about their effects on infrastructure and dependency on hostile and capricious foreign powers like China in their registration statements and periodic reports.

Thank you for your attention for this urgent matter.

Sincerely,

Source: United States Senator for Florida Marco Rubio

Members of Extinction Rebellion, a radical European climate group known for causing civil unrest and engaging in illegal and disruptive activities, reportedly plan to enter the United States to cause chaos and push their radical climate agenda.

U.S. Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) sent a letter to Federal Bureau of Investigation Director Christopher Wray and U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas regarding the steps they are taking to prevent members of this group from entering the United States for the purposes of fomenting civil unrest in pursuit of their extreme political agenda. 

• “Among other things, the group will allegedly block highways and disrupt federal properties, but violence and terrorist acts cannot be discounted given the group’s past threats. In 2021, the spokesperson of an Extinction Rebellion affiliate previewed potential widespread violence, stating, ‘[n]ot only will pipelines be blown up, but we can be certain that world leaders will be put on trial for treason or worse — be killed.” 

Flashback … In September 2022, Senator Rubio introduced the Safe Passage on Interstates Act to criminalize any intentional obstruction of traffic on an interstate highway that occurs without proper governmental authorization.

The full text of the letter is below.  

Dear Director Wray and Secretary Mayorkas:

I write with regard to recent reporting that radical environmental extremists, including foreign nationals, plan to disrupt federal properties, block interstate highways, and cause chaos across the United States in a coordinated campaign to push a radical political agenda. I seek information on how the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) intend to prevent these individuals from entering the United States and what steps have been, or will be, taken to investigate and stop these individuals from inciting widespread unrest.

Members of Extinction Rebellion, a radical European climate cult known for causing civil unrest and engaging in illegal and disruptive activities, reportedly plan to enter the United States to cause chaos in furtherance of their anti-human climate agenda. Among other things, the group will allegedly block highways and disrupt federal properties, but violence and terrorist acts cannot be discounted given the group’s past threats. In 2021, the spokesperson of an Extinction Rebellion affiliate previewed potential widespread violence, stating, “[n]ot only will pipelines be blown up, but we can be certain that world leaders will be put on trial for treason or worse — be killed.”

Groups affiliated with Extinction Rebellion have already carried out disruptive acts in the United States. Over the course of two days in April, climate radicals with the group “Declare Emergency,” the U.S.-based sister organization of Extinction Rebellion, carried out disruptive and damaging activities in Washington, D.C. and blocked a major capital area roadway. Blocking major highways and roadways is not a victimless crime. Even small delays that prevent first responders from reaching injured patients or victims of crime can mean the difference between life and death. Despite the potentially deadly consequences, these zealots continue to plot illegal and disruptive activities in pursuit of their radical and destructive climate agenda.

It should be obvious that foreign nationals who are members of violent extremist organizations should not be allowed into the country. Given these concerns, I request responses to the following questions:

1. What actions are the FBI and DHS taking to ensure that foreign nationals associated with radical climate groups are not permitted to enter the United States?

2. What actions are the FBI and DHS taking to ensure that radical climate groups cannot carry out attacks and foment civil unrest in the United States?

3. What actions are the FBI and DHS taking, or have taken, to identify members of this foreign extremist group?

Thank you for your attention to this matter. I look forward to your prompt response. 

Sincerely,

Source: United States Senator for Rhode Island Jack Reed

WASHINGTON, DC – As Rhode Island’s air quality continues to be impacted by significant wildfires in Canada, the Ocean State is getting another $178,046 in federal funding this week to help detect bad air quality from events like wildfires and industrial pollution and keep the public informed.

U.S. Senator Jack Reed today announced that the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management (DEM) is getting the formula funds under the Clean Air Act to gather data on regional air quality, evaluate it, and share it with the public in a timely manner.

“Clean air is critical to public health and our quality of life.  Air pollution has no boundaries or respect for borders and state lines.  Rhode Island, New England, and other East Coast states are being impacted by this significant Canadian wildfire.  Hopefully conditions will soon improve.  Until then, this type of federal funding can help us be better informed and prepared and we must continue working to prevent pollution and improve air quality,” said Senator Reed, a senior member of the Appropriations Committee.

This week, DEM announced that an Air Quality Alert is being issued for unhealthy fine particles on the Air Quality Index.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has warned Rhode Islanders that hazy skies, reduced visibility, and a wood-burning odor may be likely, and that the smoke from Canada could linger for a few days in northern states.

In November, the Rhode Island Department of Health (RIDOH) was awarded $500,000 in federal funding to conduct community air quality monitoring in Providence, Rhode Island. The federal funds were made available under the Inflation Reduction Act and American Rescue Plan Act to enhance community air quality monitoring efforts.

Smoke levels may be variable so check for more information about DEM’s air quality forecast, at: https://dem.ri.gov.  Updated fire and smoke information can also be found on EPA’s fire and smoke map at: https://fire.airnow.gov/.

Individuals most likely to suffer adverse health effects from poor air quality include those with respiratory difficulties or heart or lung disease, the elderly, children, and pregnant women.  Members of these groups may consider minimizing exposure to smoke by limiting outdoor exertion when air quality conditions are at or above unhealthy levels.

Source: United States Senator for Nebraska Deb Fischer

“Cather’s Vivid, Reflective Writing Has Become Synonymous with the Pioneer Spirit of Nebraska”

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Deb Fischer (R-Neb.) today spoke at the dedication ceremony for the new Willa Cather statue in the U.S. Capitol. Each state is allowed two statues of notable individuals to represent them in the Capitol Complex. The Cather statue replaces Julius Sterling Morton, which stood in the U.S. Capitol since 1937.

Click the image above to watch video of Sen. Fischer’s remarks

Click here to download audio

Click here to download video

Click here to view more photos from the event

Additional information on the National Willa Cather Center’s efforts to fund, create, and install the statue is available here: https://www.willacather.org/statue.

Following is a transcript of Senator Fischer’s remarks as prepared for delivery:

When we are here in Statuary Hall, I like to remind people that we are not alone.

If you look above the door leading into the Rotunda, you’ll see a figure. It is Clio, the muse of history.

For generations, she served as a constant reminder that our words and actions – the good and the bad – would be judged by time and leave a lasting mark on the nation.

Today Clio welcomes one of Nebraska’s finest literary artists, Willa Cather.

“Let your fiction grow out of the land beneath your feet.”

This quote, attributed to Cather, is an apt summation of the author’s life and work.

Cather’s vivid, reflective writing has become synonymous with the pioneer spirit of Nebraska.

Her fiction—epitomized by the Great Plains novels O Pioneers!, The Song of the Lark, and My Ántonia—truly feels like it grew from the soil of Nebraska.

Cather herself grew from that land. Her family settled in Red Cloud while she was still a child, and her imaginative mind put its roots down there in Webster County.

For decades until her death in 1947, Cather was unable to shake her creative spirit away from its home in the open plains of the heartland.

The unveiling of Cather’s statue is especially poignant for me, because Cather’s fiction is not the only art to grow out of the land beneath her feet.

In 2006, my sister-in-law Nadine McHenry’s art was selected as part of the annual Willa Cather Conference organized by the Cather Foundation.

“I am a Nebraska painter and my feet stand on the same prairie grasses that Cather stood on,” Nadine wrote of her painting exhibition.

Nadine’s impressionistic paintings are a blend. They blend an imaginative representation of Cather’s prose with Nadine’s own personal experience on our family’s ranch in the Nebraska Sandhills.

Four of the paintings—“Longing,” “Isolation,” “Pioneering the Way,” and “Way Ahead”—draw new vigor out of Cather’s century-old works, each created as an expression of a different quote by the novelist.

Nadine’s art illustrates the profound resonance of Cather’s writing for those of us who call Nebraska home.

That resonance—the talent and imagination immortalized in Cather’s indelible novels—is what endows her with the significance to be placed in the U.S. Capitol as a representation of Nebraska’s best.

I’ll end with words from Cather’s “Song of the Lark,” words that strike a sense of understanding into the heart of any Nebraskan who has read her work.

“What was any art but a mold to imprison for a moment the shining, elusive element which is life itself?”

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Source: United States Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo)

Today U.S. Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) announced his guiding principles for the future of American artificial intelligence (AI) legislation. Senator Hawley’s principles seek to protect Americans’ privacy as AI continues to develop at a pace that threatens to upend many aspects of American life.

“Congress can and should act to protect Americans’ privacy, stave off the harms of unchecked AI development, insulate kids from harmful impacts, and keep this valuable technology out of the hands of our adversaries,” said Senator Hawley. “Taken together, these five principles will help set the course for the responsible development of American AI.”

To guide future federal action, Senator Hawley proposed five guiding principles:

• First, create private rights of action. Individual citizens should have the right to sue companies for harm inflicted by AI models in order to hold those corporations developing AI accountable.
   
• Second, protect personal data. AI models should be prohibited from harvesting sensitive personal data without consent, with stiff penalties for misuse.
   
• Third, enforce age limits on use. To shield minors from harmful effects of generative AI technology, companies should be proactively blocked from deploying or promoting these models to children.
   
• Fourth, block technology to and from China. America should promote AI independence by blocking any importation of AI-related chips and technology from China, and by preventing American corporations from aiding China’s development of AI.
   
• Fifth, establish a licensing system. To protect consumers and promote transparency, require generative entities working on generative AI models to obtain a license. 

In May, as the Ranking Member of the Judiciary Subcommittee on Privacy, Technology, and the Law, Senator Hawley held a hearing with Chairman Richard Blumenthal to conduct oversight on AI technology and appropriate safeguards. 

During the hearing, Senator Hawley questioned Sam Altman, the CEO of Open AI, and asked the witnesses if we need to “strike that balance between technological innovation and our ethical and moral responsibility to humanity.” The witnesses agreed that oversight from Congress is needed to protect the American people.

Continuing efforts to protect Americans from AI, Senators Hawley and Blumenthal sent a letter yesterday to Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, seeking information about the “leak” of its Large Language Model Meta AI (LLaMA) program.

Source: United States Senator for Illinois Tammy Duckworth

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