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Arkansas Gov. Sanders Announces Appointments

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Arkansas Gov. Sanders Announces Appointments

Below is a press release from the office of Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders.

LITTLE ROCK, Ark.—Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders has announced the following appointments to the State Plant Board.

State Plant Board
Kyle Baltz, of Pocahontas, to the State Plant Board. Term expires on August 15, 2028.

Robert Thorne, of Marion, to the State Plant Board. Term expires on August 15, 2028. 

David Wallace, Jr., of Crawfordsville, to the State Plant Board. Term expires on August 15, 2028.

Sammy Angel, of Lake Village, to the State Plant Board. Term expires on August 15, 2028.

Robin Ralston, of Atkins, to the State Plant Board. Term expires on August 15, 2028. 

George Dunklin, of Humphrey, to the State Plant Board. Term expires on August 15, 2028.

Garrett Frost, of Marianna, to the State Plant Board. Term expires on August 15, 2028. 

Jon Bierbaum, of Lake Village, to the State Plant Board. Term expires on August 15, 2028.

If Convicted in Georgia, Trump Won’t Be Eligible for a Pardon for Five Years

Matt OHern
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If Convicted in Georgia, Trump Won’t Be Eligible for a Pardon for Five Years

Following Fulton County District Attorney Fanni Willis’ announcement of indictments of Donald Trump and 18 of Trump’s associates, the former president now faces 91 criminal charges across four criminal cases. While each respective case carries its own unique legal hurdles from Trump and his team of legal counsel, Georgia’s legal system is structured with an independent board that grants or denies requests for pardons.

Under Georgia’s racketeering law: A conviction comes with a mandatory minimum prison term of five years, and under Georgia’s constitution, Gov. Brian Kemp doesn’t have the authority to pardon the former president.

Earlier today, Trump posted on his social media platform, “A Large, Complex, Detailed but Irrefutable REPORT on the Presidential Election Fraud which took place in Georgia is almost complete & will be presented by me at a major News Conference at 11:00 A.M. on Monday of next week in Bedminster, New Jersey.” Gov. Kemp rebuked Trump’s renewed claims of election fraud in Georgia. Kemp tweeted: The 2020 election in Georgia was not stolen. For nearly three years now, anyone with evidence of fraud has failed to come forward – under oath – and prove anything in a court of law. Our elections in Georgia are secure, accessible, and fair and will continue to be as long as I am governor. The future of our country is at stake in 2024 and that must be our focus.

Gwen Keyes Fleming, a former DeKalb County District Attorney, told the Wall Street Journal, “Georgia’s RICO statute, because of the breadth of it, allows the prosecutor to tell the whole story: the who, what, when, where and how.”

Florida Senator Criticizes Biden Administration for Plans to End Funding for School Hunting and Archery Programs

Matt OHern
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Florida Senator Criticizes Biden Administration for Plans to End Funding for School Hunting and Archery Programs

Florida Senator Rick Scott (R) joined 18 of of his U.S. Senate Republican colleagues in a letter to President Biden urging his administration to withdraw its plans to block funding for elementary and secondary schools with hunting and archery programs.

According to the senators involved with the letter, more than 500,000 students participate and are certified through hunter education courses each year. The programs help students learn how to handle firearms safely — in turn, decreasing firearm-related injuries and accidents.

Read the full letter, below.

Dear President Biden,

We write to express our deep concern about the Biden Administration’s attempt to use the gun control bill passed last year to block funding for elementary and secondary schools. In April, the U.S. Department of Education provided a guidance prohibiting Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) funds for hunter education and archery programs. Since the guidance was issued, there have been reports of schools canceling plans to include archery or hunting education in their curriculum. We write to urge the administration to immediately reverse this misguided decision and ensure funding for these vital programs is not withheld.

While the administration claims to be eliminating dangerous activities, this guidance will, in fact, have the opposite effect. These programs provided thousands of students with the opportunity to learn proper instruction for firearm and archery safety. Over 500,000 students participate and are certified through hunter education courses each year. Learning to safely handle firearms results in a decrease in firearm-related injuries and accidents. In fact, hunter education programs have decreased hunting accidents by over 50% since the program’s development over 50 years ago. By including hunter education in schools, students are given the tools to be safe and responsible hunters.

We voted against the gun control legislation. It is now clearer than ever that the Biden Administration will use the bill to attack the constitutional rights of Americans. Hunting and archery are strongly connected to the traditions and heritage of America. This outrageous overreach is an attack on hunters and outdoor recreation that must be addressed.

The Biden Administration’s purposeful misinterpretation of the gun control bill is attempting to take away valuable programs from students across the country. Hunter education and archery programs are beneficial to students both in rural and urban areas. We call on the Biden Administration to immediately withdraw the guidance and support these essential programs. 

Co-signers of the letter include U.S. Senators Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.), John Thune (R-S.D.), Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.), Roger Marshall (R-Kan.), John Kennedy (R-La.), Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), Jim Risch (R-Idaho), Rick Scott (R-Fla.), Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska), Steve Daines (R-Mont.), Mike Braun (R-Ind.), Deb Fischer (R-Neb.), Rand Paul (R-Ky.), Ted Cruz (R-Texas), Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), Mike Lee (R-Utah), and Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.).

Virginia Congresswoman Jen Kiggans, Colleagues Introduce Legislation Aimed at Improving Healthcare Workforce Shortage

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Below is a press release from Virginia Congresswoman Jen Kiggans.

WASHINGTON, DC – Today, Congresswoman Jen Kiggans (VA-02) announced she has introduced the Nurse Corps Tax Parity Act of 2023 alongside Congressman Brian Fitzpatrick (PA-01), Congressman Brian Higgins (NY-26), and Congressman Mike Thompson (CA-04). This legislation will improve the national healthcare workforce shortage by amending the Internal Revenue Code to ensure tax-status parity between the National Health Service Corps (NHSC) and Nurse Corps programs. Senators Jeff Merkley (OR), Roger Wicker (MS), Patty Murray (WA), and John Boozman (AR) have introduced companion legislation in the Senate. 

“It’s our duty to explore every avenue to address the healthcare workforce shortage facing our nation,” said Congresswoman Kiggans, Vice Chair of the Congressional Nursing Caucus. “As a geriatric nurse practitioner, I’m well aware of the level of dedication it takes to work in healthcare. Discouraging aspiring professionals who are willing to step up and serve their communities as healthcare providers is the last thing we should do. I’m proud to join my colleagues to introduce this bipartisan, bicameral bill which will tackle these barriers and improve patient care across the country!”

“Nurses are dedicated, diligent caretakers in our communities, and we owe it to them to prioritize their ability to obtain financial benefits promised to them by Health Resources Services Administration (HRSA) programs,” said Congressman Fitzpatrick. “Our bipartisan, bicameral Nurse Corps Tax Parity Act fixes an unnecessary disparity between two widely-utilized scholarship and loan repayment programs, and I am proud to lead this effort to support nurses alongside my colleagues.”

“Nurse Corps members working in underserved communities provide life-saving care to people experiencing some of the greatest health disparities. They deserve the same benefits offered to the National Health Service Corps members they work alongside each day,” said Congressman Higgins. “I am proud to join my colleagues in introducing this bipartisan legislation expanding income tax exemptions to Nurse Corps scholarship and loan repayment programs. It is a commonsense bill that will create greater income equity among the frontline workers serving our most vulnerable communities.

“Nurses are the front line of our health care system. We should do everything we can to encourage people to pursue a career in this indispensable field – a field currently facing severe shortage,” said Congressman Thompson. “This commonsense bill eliminates a totally unnecessary tax penalty on people entering the nursing profession, and I look forward to working with my colleagues to advance the bill this Congress.”

“As the husband of a nurse, I know frontline nurses are the backbone of communities, helping patients and families through both joyous and challenging times,” said Senator Merkley. “Nurse Corps members build healthier communities in the areas of greatest need, and it is terrible public policy and frankly offensive that nurses are singled out for extra taxation as compared to other health professionals—it’s long past time to put an end to this.”

The bill is endorsed by the American Nurses Association (ANA), the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN), the American Association of Nurse Anesthesiology (AANA), the American Association of Nurse Practitioners (AANP), the Association of Public Health Nurses (APHN), the Association of Rehabilitation Nurses (ARN), American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), the Commissioned Officers Association of the USPHS (COA), Friends of the National Institute of Nursing Research (FNINR), and the Oncology Nursing Society (ONS).

Read the text of the bill here. 

Florida Sen. Marco Rubio Discusses Fentanyl Crisis with Local Sheriffs

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Florida Sen. Marco Rubio Discusses Fentanyl Crisis with Local Sheriffs

U.S. Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) held a roundtable discussion in Clay County, Florida with local sheriffs from Clay County, Nassau County, and Suwannee County, and other members of the law enforcement community, to discuss how the ongoing fentanyl crisis is affecting Florida communities. 

Photos courtesy of Senator Rubio’s office

Georgia Congressman Barry Loudermilk Reacts to Trump Indictments

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Below is a press release from Georgia Congressman Barry Loudermilk.

From the FBI abusing FISA courts to create false evidence against President Trump, to these numerous and potentially frivolous indictments, the Democrats are leaving no doubt of a two tiered justice system in the federal government. Whether you support Trump or not, you have to admit Trump is being charged with things that have been standard operating procedures for Democrats for decades.

From Hillary Clinton mishandling classified documents, to Nancy Pelosi claiming the 2016 presidential election was stolen, and House Democrats objecting to Trump’s electoral college certification, these actions seem to be acceptable if you’re a Democrat, but traitorous if you’re a Republican.

Tillis, Senate Colleagues Challenge Biden’s Destructive Energy Plan

Matt OHern
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Tillis, Senate Colleagues Challenge Biden’s Destructive Energy Plan

Below is an official press release from the office of Senator Thom Tillis (R-NC).

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senator Thom Tillis recently joined Senator Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), Ranking Member of the Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee, and 37 of their Senate colleagues in urging Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Michael Regan to withdraw the unlawful “Clean Power Plan 2.0.” The plan effectively shuts down affordable and reliable energy, intensifying the energy shortage the United States is already facing.

“The EPA has again grossly misinterpreted the scope of authority Congress granted under Section 111 of the Clean Air Act by proposing a rule that would require generation shifting and transform our nation’s power sector with neither a clear and explicit congressional authorization nor adequate process as required under the Administrative Procedure Act,” the senators wrote.

“As you know, the power plants being targeted by this rule are not only having to comply with this regulation. They are also being targeted by the agency’s overarching power plant strategy, called the Electric Generating Unit (EGU) Strategy, as a way to shutter fossil-fuel power plants and bolster President Biden’s climate goals. If the proposed Clean Power Plan 2.0 is finalized along with the rest of the EGU Strategy, our country will face a crisis in electricity supply that will dwarf the regional outages that we have seen in California, Texas, and New England in recent years,” the senators continued. “We request the EPA expeditiously withdraw this unlawful proposal.”

Issued by the Biden Administration’s EPA in May, the Clean Power Plan 2.0 would require almost all fossil fuel plants to cut or capture nearly all their CO2 emissions. If finalized, the rule will mark the first time the federal government has limited carbon emissions from existing power plants. Approximately 60 percent of the country’s electricity comes from fossil fuels, including 22 percent from coal, according to 2021 data from the Energy Information Agency (EIA). 

The proposed rule requires fuel switching, which directly conflicts with the Supreme Court’s ruling in West Virginia v. EPA. The proposal’s “best system of emission reduction” has not been adequately demonstrated, as required by the Clean Air Act. 

Read the letter in full here.  

Statement from South Carolina Gov. McMaster on the Passing of former Senator John Scott

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Statement from South Carolina Gov. McMaster on the Passing of former Senator John Scott

Governor Henry McMaster today issued the following statement on the passing of South Carolina Senator John Scott: 

“Peggy and I extend our prayers and deepest condolences to the family and friends of Senator John Scott. With over 30 years of service in the General Assembly, he has had a profound impact on Richland County and all of South Carolina. He will be deeply missed. May God bless him and his family.” 

The governor will soon order that flags be lowered in honor of Senator Scott’s service to the state of South Carolina once funeral arrangements are made and announced.

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