Biden Studies Reducing Asylum Applications by Executive Order to Stop the Migratory Flow

Illegal Immigrants

The Biden Administration is studying the possibility of invoking broad presidential authority to make it more difficult for migrants to pass the initial asylum test at the southern US border, three officials with knowledge of the matter told NBC News.

The actions, which are still weeks away from completion, would be an effort to reduce the number of migrants illegally crossing the border, in what has become an issue of utmost importance in the country ahead of the 2024 presidential elections.

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Biden Admin Reportedly Set to Greenlight Rule Change That Could Spike Gas Prices — But Not Until After the Election

Gas Station

The Biden administration is expected to ease seasonal restrictions on ethanol-gasoline blends but has delayed the change until after the 2024 election to avoid a price spike, according to Reuters.

The rule change stems from a 2022 request from the governors of Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Ohio, South Dakota and Wisconsin to allow the sale of gasoline with 15% ethanol year-round, known as E15 gasoline, lifting current seasonal restrictions that aim to reduce smog in the summer months, according to Reuters. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) had originally set an effective date of April 28, 2024, for the changes when the agency sent the proposal to the White House in December, but that is now expected to be pushed back to 2025.

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Commentary: The Pandemic Treaty That Won’t Prevent a Pandemic

World Health Organization

If a “pandemic treaty” fails to account for the dismal international response to COVID-19 and isn’t focused on preventing future pandemics, is it really a “pandemic treaty”? Yet that’s the current state of the draft “pandemic treaty” being negotiated under the auspices of the World Health Organization (WHO).

The failures of the international health system’s response to COVID are well-established. The People’s Republic of China failed to inform the international community of the outbreak in a timely manner as required by the International Health Regulations – a provision established because of Beijing’s cover-up of the 2002 outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS). China mischaracterized COVID-19 saying that there was no evidence of human-to-human transmission—a deadly lie that the WHO parroted unquestioningly.

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Former Trump Campaign Spokesman Steve Cortes Skeptical of Classified National Security Threat

Mike Turner

Steve Cortes, former senior spokesman and strategist for the 2016 and 2020 Trump campaigns and current head of the League of American Workers, said Chairman of the House Intelligence Committee Mike Turner’s (R-OH-10) Wednesday statement warning of a “serious national security threat” was “vague,” adding it “smells bad for a lot of reasons.”

On Wednesday, Turner released a statement urging the Biden administration to “declassify all information” related to the “serious national security threat,” so that the appropriate parties can “discuss the actions necessary” in response.

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Rep. Ogles Blasts Biden Administration About Illegal Aliens Coming to Tennessee

Andy Ogles

A Tennessee congressman blasted the Biden administration after it was revealed last week that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) knew that nearly 600 illegal aliens planned to travel to Middle Tennessee after they were released from detainment.

“Joe Biden’s efforts to transport illegal aliens into Franklin, Davidson County, and Mt. Juliet are reprehensible,” said Representative Andy Ogles (R-TN-05) on X. “Middle Tennessee deserves answers. That’s why I’ve sent a letter to [DHS Secretary] Mayorkas demanding responses to all my questions regarding this troubling incursion into our community.”

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Ohio U.S. Rep Jim Jordan Debuts ‘Amazon Files’ Showcasing Federal Censorship Efforts Against Books

Rep. Jim Jordan

The House Judiciary Committee and the Weaponization subpanel on Monday revealed internal documents secured via the subpoena of Amazon, highlighting the Biden administration’s efforts to address “propaganda” and “misinformation” in books the online retailer sold.

Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan outlined the effort in an X thread reminiscent of the “Twitter Files” reports that addressed federal involvement with that platform.

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Analysis: Diversity Politics Undermined Federal Air Traffic Control Skills-Based Testing

Air Traffic Control

The Federal Aviation Administration under the Biden administration has pledged to continue diversifying its workforce under its Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility goals.

At the same time, a lawsuit that has long flown under the radar provides a glimpse into just how far the agency is willing to go to achieve those goals, even at the expense of skills-based tests for air traffic controllers.

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Ohio U.S. Senator JD Vance Calls on the Biden Administration to Fund Health Screening Program for Residents of East Palestine

JD Vance in East Palestine

Ohio U.S. Senator JD Vance (R-OH) traveled to East Palestine on Friday to meet with residents and survey the status of the environmental cleanup of the area nearly one year after a Norfolk Southern train carrying hazardous materials derailed.

In remarks to the media, Vance called on the Biden administration to fund a long-term health screening program for residents despite revealing the administration’s refusal to provide the funding that has “already been appropriated” for such screenings.

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Neil W. McCabe Discusses James O’Keefe Going ‘Back to His Roots’ in Undercover Video of Top White House Cyber Official

James O'Keefe

National political reporter Neil W. McCabe joined Thursday’s edition of The Tennessee Star Report with Michael Patrick Leahy to discuss James O’Keefe’s recent undercover investigation involving a top White House Cyber Official’s depiction of the Biden administration.

O’Keefe, founder of O’Keefe Media Group, wore a disguise while on a “date” with Charlie Kraiger, cybersecurity policy analyst and foreign affairs executive office of the President, where Kraiger revealed the extent of the alleged coverup of President Joe Biden’s health and the tension between Vice President Kamala Harris and her staff.

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Tennessee Attorney General Joins Letter Supporting Texas’ Border Defense Barriers

Skrmetti Border

Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti joined a coalition of 26 other attorneys general in sending a letter to the Biden administration proclaiming support for the steps Texas has taken at its border with Mexico to prevent illegal immigrant crossings.

Last week, the Supreme Court ruled 5-4 in favor of the Biden administration to allow Border Patrol agents to cut through or move razor wire Texas installed on its border with Mexico to prevent illegal entries into the U.S.

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Ousted Iran Deal Negotiator to Teach Yale Class on Israel-Palestine Conflict Despite Ongoing FBI Investigation

Robert Malley

Robert Malley, a Biden administration official who was embroiled in controversy while working as Special Envoy to Iran, is set to teach a course on the Middle East at Yale University.

The syllabus for the class, which is titled “Contending with Israel-Palestine,” says the course will take “an in-depth look at important questions surrounding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict,” according to Yale Daily News.

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Commentary: Biden’s Shameful Border Legacy in Tennessee Is Human Trafficking

Illegal Immigrants

Every January, law enforcement agencies and advocacy groups mark National Human Trafficking Prevention Month to focus public attention on this horrific crime and its devastating impact on the victims involved. Once again, the Biden Administration is calling attention to the Department of Homeland Security’s broader “Blue Campaign” to combat human trafficking.

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Taxpayers May Get Stuck with Cost of Removing an Offshore Wind Farm After Biden Admin Waives Fees

Off Shore Wind Mills

The Biden administration reportedly waived fees for an offshore wind project that are in place to ensure that the infrastructure is removed and the site reclaimed at the end of the project’s life.

President Joe Biden, as part of his climate agenda, is pushing an aggressive buildout of offshore wind projects along the East Coast. With the offshore wind industry struggling financially, the waiving of these fees raises concerns about what would happen if these companies go bankrupt and leave behind wind farms they can’t afford to remove.

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Ohio Senator JD Vance Introduces Bill to Codify Border States’ Rights to Defend Own Territory from Illegal Migrants

Ohio U.S. Senator JD Vance (R-OH) introduced a bill on Wednesday that would “codify the right of every state along the U.S.-Mexico border to defend its own territory.”

Vance’s State Border Security Act would prevent federal agents from dismantling barbed wire or other fencing erected by state governments within 25 miles of the U.S.-Mexico border.

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Leahy Tells Bannon Texas Gov. Abbott’s Response to Supreme Court’s Decision on Border Wire Sounds a Lot Like Andrew Jackson

MLP

Editor-in-Chief and CEO of The Tennessee Star Michael Patrick Leahy joined Steve Bannon’s War Room on Wednesday to discuss Texas Governor Greg Abbott’s response to the Supreme Court’s 5-4 ruling in favor of the Biden administration, which allows Border Patrol agents to cut through or move razor wire the state installed on its border with Mexico to prevent illegal immigrants from crossing.

In a statement released Wednesday, Abbott argued President Joe Biden has “refused to enforce” current federal laws protecting states, “including immigration laws on the books right now.”

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SCOTUS Sides with Open Borders Biden Admin, Clears the Way for Feds to Remove Razor Wire Barrier in Eagle Pass, Texas

A divided U.S. Supreme Court sided with President Joe Biden’s administration on Monday, clearing the way for federal authorities to remove razor wire installed in Eagle Pass along the U.S.-Mexico border by Texas law enforcement. 

The Supreme Court ruled 5-4 to vacate an appeals court ruling that allowed the wire to stay in place as the case played out. Chief Justice John Roberts led the majority with Justices Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, Amy Coney Barrett and Ketanji Brown Jackson.

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Biden’s Green Energy Push Collides with Key Democrat Constituency: Native American Tribes

Native Americans

While President Joe Biden has made respect for tribal sovereignty a pillar of his administration, some Native Americans are saying that respect ends where Biden’s energy policy begins. The dynamic has created some tension between a Democrat president and one of his party’s key constituencies.

“It seems like they elevate the voices and are willing to consult with indigenous groups when the voice is supportive of their policy,” Nagruk Harcharek, president of the Voice of the Arctic Iñupiat, told Just The News.

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Family to Sue Biden Admin for $100 Million over Death of Woman Killed by Illegal Immigrant

Kayla Hamilton

The family of Kayla Hamilton, a 20-year-old woman killed by an illegal immigrant, plans to sue the Biden administration for $100 million, partially blaming the administration’s immigration enforcement policies for her wrongful death.

The illegal immigrant raped Hamilton and subsequently strangled her with a phone cord. Prior to the murder, he entered the U.S. unlawfully in March 2022, but secured release into the interior under the Biden administration’s directives.

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Commentary: New Biden Labor Dept. Rule Likely to Hurt Millions of Small Businesses, Independent Contractors

Remote Worker

Some 99% of American companies are small businesses, and 100% of businesses started out small, but a recently finalized rule from the Biden administration’s Labor Department will make it harder for small businesses to start, grow and succeed.

As of last May 1, a White House news release pointed out, “Young firms, which often start small with few employees, are a driving force in job creation.” That’s been particularly true since the COVID-19 pandemic, as small businesses with fewer than 50 employees have accounted for a growing share of new jobs.

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GOP Rep Urges Biden Admin to Review Chinese Communist Party Member’s U.S. Land Purchase

Lori Chavez DeRemer

Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer of Oregon asked the Biden administration to investigate a Chinese Communist Party (CCP) member’s multimillion dollar purchase of Oregon land, according to a letter shared exclusively with the Daily Caller News Foundation.

Chavez-DeRemer sent a letter to the Treasury Department on Wednesday expressing “deep concern” that the second-largest foreign owner of farmland in the U.S. is a “Chinese billionaire and Member of the Chinese Communist Party.” Chen Tianqiao, who is a CCP member, purchased nearly 200,000 acres of Oregon timberland for $85 million in 2015, Chavez-DeRemer’s letter states, citing a recent DCNF investigation.

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Energy Group: Biden Policies Sow Seeds for ‘New Energy Crisis’

Off Shore Oil Drilling

Federal policies must focus on strengthening American energy independence, the American Petroleum Institute emphasized  Wednesday at its annual State of the American Energy conference.

API CEO Mike Sommers and Senior Vice President of Policy, Economics and Regulatory Affairs Dustin Meyer blasted the Biden administration over what they called its “short-sighted” energy policies.

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House GOP Probes Biden Administration’s Opening of Public Lands to Potential Foreign Ownership

Republicans on the House Natural Resources Committee have launched an investigation of the Biden Administration’s proposal to open public lands to private ownership, which includes the possibility of foreigners buying such land.

According to Fox News, the effort is being led by Chairman Bruce Westerman (R-Ark.), who informed the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) of the investigation’s launch. The proposed rule change from the SEC would allow for a new type of public company, referred to as Natural Asset Companies (NACs), to trade on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE).

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Court Blocks Biden Effort to Tighten Regulations on Washing Machines, Dishwashers

Dishwasher

The U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals pushed back on a Biden administration effort to tighten regulations on dishwashers and washing machines.

In 2022, President Joe Biden issued an executive order on his first day in office that led to the Department of Energy replacing a less strict Trump-era rule on those appliances with a more stringent rule for energy and water use.

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Abortion, Trump, and Censorship Headline Supreme Court’s Docket in the New Year

Issues involving the chemical abortion pill, former President Donald Trump and the Biden administration’s encouragement of censorship online top the Supreme Court’s docket in the New Year.

Though only one decision has been released so far this term, the justices have already heard arguments on gun restrictions for subjects of domestic violence restraining orders, government officials blocking constituents on social media and Purdue Pharma’s bankruptcy settlement. Other pending cases will require the Supreme Court to grapple with multiple hot-button issues in the lead up to the 2024 election.

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Federal Diversity Trainings Cost Taxpayers in 2023 Millions of Dollars

The Biden administration spent millions on diversity trainings for federal agencies, including some for the armed forces, in 2023.

Taxpayers were on the hook for the more than $16.3 million the federal government spent on diversity trainings taking place in 2023, according to a government spending database. Past government diversity trainings have instructed federal workers that asking an Asian colleague for help with a math problem could be racist, that men can become pregnant and that “social pain” can be the same as physical pain.

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DOJ Sues Texas to Prevent State from Arresting Migrants Who Enter Illegally

Illegal Immigrants

The Biden administration is suing Texas to prevent the state from arresting migrants who flout U.S. immigration law to enter the state illegally, the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced Wednesday.

The DOJ is making good on its threat to sue Texas over enforcing S.B. 4, a new law signed in December 2023 that would permit local and state authorities to arrest and prosecute individuals suspected of entering the U.S. illegally, according to the DOJ and NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth. Texas Illegal immigration has surged to record levels under the Biden administration, with Texas seeing a massive influx of migrants arriving at its border with Mexico.

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Border Residents to Congress: ‘Stop Holding Press Conferences, Shut Down the Border’

Illegal Immigrants

As another Republican congressional delegation arrived in Eagle Pass, Texas, Wednesday to hold another news conference and meet local residents, many Texans living at the border say they are fed up and want Congress to shut down the border.

If Congress continues to use taxpayer dollars to fund policies that facilitate the border crisis, they argue, Congress is complicit in creating it and a national security threat.

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Federal Appeals Court Blocks Biden Admin Bid to Require ER Doctors to Perform Abortions

Doctor

A federal appeals court on Tuesday sided with a coalition of Christian medical professionals who had objected to guidance from the Biden administration requiring that emergency room doctors perform abortions.

The American Association of Pro-Life Obstetricians and Gynecologists and the Christian Medical and Dental Associations, as well as the state of Texas, had challenged the Department of Health and Human Services guidance and secured an initial win at the lower court, blocking the guidance.

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Biden Admin Is Deporting Far Fewer Chinese Nationals amid Record Border Crossings

The Biden administration has removed comparatively low numbers of Chinese nationals in recent years despite record levels of migrants from China crossing the southern border illegally, according to federal data.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) recorded 288 removals of Chinese nationals in fiscal year 2023, 127 in fiscal year 2022 and 138 in fiscal year 2021, according to the data. All the while, Border Patrol recorded 24,000 encounters of Chinese migrants crossing the southern border illegally in fiscal year 2023, 1,970 in fiscal year 2022 and 323 in fiscal year 2021, according to CBP data.

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Biden Admin Watered Down Vetting Process for Chinese Illegal Immigrants, Email Shows

The Biden administration drastically simplified the vetting process for Chinese illegal immigrants in April 2023, according to an internal U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) email obtained by the Daily Caller News Foundation. The April 2023 email, which was sent by a CBP supervisor to a “master list” of about 500 Border Patrol agents, instructs CBP officials to radically reduce the number of interview questions for Chinese migrants apprehended after illegally crossing into the country from roughly 40 to just five. The “headquarters guidance” came as border agents were overwhelmed with near-record numbers of illegal crossings.

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Foreign Policy Problems Promise to Plague Biden Admin in 2024

The Biden administration faced several major problems on the international stage throughout 2023, some of which will bleed into the new year.

President Joe Biden and his administration have tried to manage major threats and circumvent obstacles from several foreign nations in 2023, including from those in East Asia, Eastern Europe, the Middle East and South America. Many international problems the Biden administration dealt with in 2023 have not been solved and have continued to metastasize going into 2024.

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Biden Administration Distributed 65 Million Condoms Globally as Part of ‘Climate Solutions’

Condoms in Box

A new report shows that the Biden Administration handed out over 65 million condoms to countries around the world as part of alleged “climate change solutions,” directly implying that population control through “family planning” is a necessary response to fears of so-called “global warming.”

According to the Daily Caller, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) in the fiscal year 2022 distributed approximately 65.5 million condoms, 9.8 million injectable birth control products, and 334,000 IUDs to foreign countries around the world. An internal agency report documenting the distribution efforts even admits that the intention is to “mitigate the impact of population dynamics on natural resources and state stability.” A separate document in 2023 claimed that “climate vulnerability, population growth and unmet need for family planning often occur together.”

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Biden Energy Efficiency Crackdown Leaves No Appliance in American Home Untouched

New York City’s effort in the 1990s to regulate toilets and shower heads to cut down water usage ignited consumer outrage, even inspiring a 1996 Seinfeld television episode in which the character Kramer was so fed up with his apartment’s low-flow shower head that he purchased a high-flow head on the black market.

Three decades later, the Biden administration is leaving few appliances in the home untouched in its quest to regulate the amount of water and energy Americans use for their household chores.

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U.S. Public Pensions Invest over $68 Billion in China

NYSE Money

American public pension funds have invested tens of billions into Chinese companies over the last three years, according to a new study.

As reported by Axios, the study from the trade advocacy group Future Union shows that a total of $68 billion has been invested in various private Chinese entities in the last three years as of June 30th. There has been at least one public pension fund with investments in China in 42 different states.

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ICE Report Unmasks Staggering Toll of Biden Border Crisis: Illegal Alien Cases Hit 6 Million

The Homeland Security Department agency entrusted with removing illegal immigrants is providing a staggering portrait of America’s border crisis, revealing the backlog of aliens inside the United States awaiting decisions has nearly doubled under President Joe Biden to more than 6 million while arrests of suspected terrorists and violent offenders have also exploded.

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Biden Admin Targets Largest Christian University in U.S.

Grand Canyon University campus

The Biden administration’s Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is taking aim at the largest Christian university in the U.S. in a new lawsuit.

Grand Canyon University (GCU) is the largest Christian university in the U.S. with over 100,000 students enrolled and over 85,000 online students as of fall 2022, according to their website. The FTC alleges that GCU engaged in deceptive business practices with its doctoral programs and that it also engaged in illegal telemarketing practices, according to the federal complaint filed in the District of Arizona.

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Despite Backlog of Veterans’ Claims, VA Using Resources to Help Illegal Immigrants

With hundreds of thousands of veterans’ healthcare claims on backlog at the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), top Republicans in the House and Senate are hoping to prevent VA resources from being used to process claims for medical care of illegal immigrants.

According to a July report from the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the agency contracts with the VA to process medical claims reimbursements involving illegal immigrants even though they did not serve in the U.S. military. Medical professionals treat illegal immigrants detained by ICE on site, but when specialized or emergency care is required, they are transported to private providers, according to Fox News. The arrangement between ICE and the VA was outlined in a 2020 memo during the Trump administration, Fox News reported.

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Commentary: Illegal Immigration’s Impact on Public Health

Illegal Immigrants

Successful public health campaigns and medical advances have enabled the United States to conquer a range of disfiguring and damaging diseases. Polio, which paralyzed thousands of Americans annually, was wiped out by widespread vaccinations. In 1999 the nation’s last hospital for lepers closed its doors in Louisiana. A global campaign eradicated smallpox, while lethal tuberculosis, the “consumption” that stalked characters in decades of literature, seemed beaten by antibiotics. Measles outbreaks still occur from time to time, but they are small, local, and easily contained.

Recently, however, some of these forgotten but still formidable infectious diseases have begun to reappear in the U.S. For two years running, polio has been detected in some New York water samples, and this fall, leprosy re-emerged in Florida, where cases of malaria have also been recorded.

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Commentary: The Left Is Smashing Cultural Third Rails in Pursuit of Their Brave New World Agenda

Readers are familiar with the moniker “third rail.” In political discourse, it refers to those preciously few issues that are so untouchable that the mere talk of change, alteration or revision carries with it what amounts to a political death penalty.

There is general agreement in Washington, D.C., that reform of federal entitlements leads the brief list. The most recent example being the 2011 temporary coalition of former Republican House Speaker Paul Ryan and Democratic Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon intended to secure a more sustainable Medicare program.  Here, all was good and fine for a fast minute before the Democratic Party realized its number one nuclear weapon was in the process of being compromised. And that was that. Suffice to say that that now twelve-year-old effort was the last semi-serious, bipartisan attempt to control entitlement spending we will see for the foreseeable future.

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Small Businesses, Lawmakers Push Back on Financial Reporting Regulation

Small Business Owner

A coalition of small businesses, U.S. senators and representatives sent a letter to the Biden administration calling for a one-year delay in a new rule requiring businesses with as few as 20 employees to report financial information about the business’ beneficial owners.

Under the rule, small businesses will be required to report personal information about their owners, board members, senior management and legal representation and could face civil or even criminal penalties for failure to do so.

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Commentary: After Telework Surge, Federal Buildings Remain Largely Empty

Empty Office

More than two years after the Biden administration called on all federal agencies to create plans to bring employees who teleworked during the COVID pandemic back to the office, the vast majority of Washington, D.C.’s federal buildings are still sprawling expanses of empty, echoing hallways and offices. 

In fact, 17 of 24 federal agencies use an estimated 25% or less of their headquarters’ office capacity, according to an updated survey by the General Accounting Office, a government agency that provides auditing and investigative services for Congress. 

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Biden Admin Doles Out $600 Million to Activist Groups, Universities for ‘Environmental Justice’

Climate Protest

The Biden administration is shelling out $600 million in taxpayer funds to grantmaking organizations to distribute for “environmental justice” projects all across the country, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced Wednesday.

The funds will go to 11 different organizations, which include universities and left-wing groups that focus on advancing social justice causes in addition to their environmental advocacy, according to the EPA’s announcement. Each of the recipients will in turn use the money to provide sub-grants to local organizations to pursue thousands of “environmental justice” projects like environmental jobs training programs and “healthy homes” initiatives.

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Biden Looks to Tariffs to Bolster Struggling Electric Vehicle Market

Tesla Charging

The Biden administration is considering increasing tariffs on some Chinese products related to his green agenda, like electric vehicles (EV), in an effort to boost poor market demand and protect domestic industries, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Officials are considering setting higher rates on the already existing tariffs originally placed under the Trump administration, covering around $300 billion in Chinese goods, with Chinese EVs already having a 25% import tax, according to the WSJ. New tariffs could help domestic EV manufacturing, which has struggled with stagnant market demand, only rising from 3% in January to 4% in September of total vehicles sold in the U.S., while the share of EVs produced out of all vehicles has risen from 3% to 6% in that same time frame.

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