congress

6Apr

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

HEALTH & WELLNESS

If Congress Makes Daylight Saving Time Permanent – 5 Ways Americans’ Lives Will Change

The U.S. Senate approved the Sunshine Protection Act in March 2022, with the goal of making daylight saving time permanent starting in November 2023. If that happens, the U.S. will never again “spring forward” or “fall back.” Following the Senate’s vote and a recent hearing in the House Subcommittee on Consumer Protection and Commerce – at which I testified – the subcommittee is now considering the issue. The full House of Representatives will need to vote in support of permanent DST before the bill goes to President Biden’s desk for his signature. In my research on DST, I have found that Americans don’t like Congress messing with their clocks. However, the move to DST year-round makes a lot of sense. In an effort to avoid the biannual time change in spring and fall, some DST critics ha...

Tips From A Tax Scholar – Taxpayers Should Expect Serious Delays From The IRS This Year But Says Only Congress Can Fix The Underlying Problem

19Feb

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

MONEY

Tips From A Tax Scholar – Taxpayers Should Expect Serious Delays From The IRS This Year But Says Only Congress Can Fix The Underlying Problem

No one likes tax season. It’s complicated, it’s stressful, and it’s getting worse. Last year was already the “most challenging year taxpayers and tax professionals have ever experienced,” according to the Taxpayer Advocate Service, an independent part of the Internal Revenue Service. According to the agency’s annual report, taxpayers had trouble reaching the IRS, tax returns took months to process, almost a quarter of refunds didn’t go out until 2022, and collection notices were sent out even after the tax owed was paid. The pandemic deserves some of the blame, but so do years of underfunding the IRS, antiquated computer systems and a dwindling workforce. And with millions of returns from 2021 still waiting to be processed, 2022 may be worse. That prospect has prompted lawmakers and oth...

Women In Congress Still Fear For Their Security A Year After January 6

5Jan

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

IN OTHER NEWS, POLITICS

Women In Congress Still Fear For Their Security A Year After January 6

Rep. Nikema Williams does not like to talk about that day — she’s still dealing with the emotion and fear. What should have marked a celebratory first week in Congress will be remembered for an attack on democracy, and elected officials, as hundreds of supporters of then-President Donald Trump stormed the U.S. Capitol in an attempt to stop certification of the election. On January 6, 2021, the new Georgia representative hid in her office as the building went on lockdown. Since then, Williams has hired personal security and made safety changes that she won’t discuss in detail in order to protect her family. But even with that — plus a year of public outcry, internal investigations and congressional hearings to examine the security failures during the Capitol attack — Williams still feels...

Facebook Could Be Held Accountable For Its Actions By Congress In 3 Ways

3Apr

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

TECHNOLOGY

Facebook Could Be Held Accountable For Its Actions By Congress In 3 Ways

Anjana Susarla, Michigan State University; Bhaskar Chakravorti, Tufts University, and Ryan Calo, University of Washington Facebook may have changed its corporate name to Meta Platforms, but that won’t end its troubles - nor efforts to rein in the social media company’s business practices. Lawmakers are pondering new ways to regulate Facebook, whose CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, wrote in 2019 that he welcomed new “rules governing the internet.” With that in mind, we asked three experts on social media, technology policy and global business to offer one specific action the government could take about Meta’s Facebook service. Let users control more of their data Anjana Susarla, Professor of Information Systems, Michigan State University Social media sites like Facebook are designed for constant ...

Congress Infrastructure Bill Promises Billions For Bridge Repair

8Nov

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

ENVIRONMENT

Congress Infrastructure Bill Promises Billions For Bridge Repair

Guangqing Chi, Penn State; Davin Holen, University of Alaska Fairbanks; Heather Randell, Penn State; Megan Mucioki, Penn State, and Rebecca Napolitano, Penn State America’s bridges are in rough shape. Of the nearly 620,000 bridges over roads, rivers and other waterways across the U.S., more than 43,500 of them, about 7%, are considered “structurally deficient.” In Alaska, bridges face a unique and growing set of problems as the planet warms. Permafrost, the frozen ground beneath large parts of the state, is thawing with the changing climate, and that’s shifting the soil and everything on it. Bridges are also increasingly crucial for rural residents who can no longer trust the stability of the rivers’ ice in spring and fall. The infrastructure bill passed by Congress on Nov. 5 and heade...

After Each Mass Shooting, Gun Control Fails Quickly In Congress But States Often Act – Including To loosen Gun Laws

4Apr

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

IN OTHER NEWS

After Each Mass Shooting, Gun Control Fails Quickly In Congress But States Often Act – Including To loosen Gun Laws

Recent mass shootings at three spas in Atlanta, Georgia and a supermarket in Boulder, Colorado have renewed calls for new gun legislation. The U.S. has been here before – after shootings in Tucson, Aurora, Newtown, Charleston, Roseburg, San Bernardino, Orlando, Las Vegas, Parkland, El Paso and other communities across the United States. Congress has declined to pass significant new gun legislation after dozens of shootings, including shootings that occurred during periods like this one, with Democrats controlling the House of Representatives, Senate and presidency. This response may seem puzzling given that national opinion polls reveal extensive support for several gun control policies, including expanding background checks and banning assault weapons. But polls do not determine polic...

Long-Standing Ban On Pell Grants To People In Prison Lifted By Congress

23Dec

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

EDUCATION

Long-Standing Ban On Pell Grants To People In Prison Lifted By Congress

When Congress decided in 1994 to ban federal student aid for people behind bars, it was part of a wider political agenda to “get tough on crime” – even though crime rates had begun to fall in the 1990s. The number of people behind bars grew, but, without access to federal student aid, higher education programs in America’s correctional facilities dwindled. On Dec. 21, 2020, Congress moved to lift the long-standing ban on federal student aid – specifically, the Pell grant – for those who are incarcerated. The decision comes after a long push for prison reforms that included calls for a greater emphasis on rehabilitation, reducing prison populations and making prison sentences less harsh. $1.4 trillion The measure is part of a US$1.4 trillion government spending bill for 2021 that is attac...

Only Congress Can Make Puerto Rico The 51st State In The United States

14Dec

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

POLITICS

Only Congress Can Make Puerto Rico The 51st State In The United States

Puerto Ricans requested statehood on Nov. 3, 2020, with 52.3% of voters asking to change the island’s status from unincorporated territory to U.S. state. This is the sixth time statehood has been on the ballot since Puerto Rico ratified its Constitution in 1952. Voters rejected the status change in 1967, 1993 and 1998. The 2012 election results were unclear because some voters did not answer both parts of a two-part statehood question. In 2017 statehood won decisively, albeit with very low turnout of around 23%. Puerto Rico didn’t become the 51st state then, and it is unlikely to achieve statehood any time soon. Only Congress can add new states to the Union, via an Admission Act or House Resolution that requires approval by a simple majority in the House and Senate. Territorial status T...

So Few Clergy Serve In Congress – Here’s Why

11Dec

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

POLITICS

So Few Clergy Serve In Congress – Here’s Why

While campaigning for Republican U.S. Sen. Kelly Loeffler, U.S. Rep. Doug Collins – a former pastor – attacked her opponent, Democrat Reverend Raphael Warnock, the senior pastor at Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, for his views on abortion rights. “There is no such thing as a pro-choice pastor,” Collins said of Warnock. “What you have is a lie from the bed of hell.” Their differing views on abortion reflect a range of views on controversial political issues among American clergy. Yet what made the sparring so notable is the infrequency with which two pastor politicians are even in a position to confront one another. If Warnock were to win, he would join Republican Sen. James Lankford as one of two ordained ministers in the Senate chamber. Only about 2% of members of the U.S. House of...

Political Violence And Abuse Of Women In Congress Undermines American Democracy

21Oct

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

POLITICS

Political Violence And Abuse Of Women In Congress Undermines American Democracy

From plans to kidnap Gov. Gretchen Whitmer to Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s being called a “f—ing b—” by her colleague Rep. Ted Yoho, it’s been a nasty year for women in American politics. Now, some women who’ve been targets of such misogyny want to put this problem on the congressional agenda. On Sept. 24, House Democrats Rashida Tlaib, Ocasio-Cortez, Ilhan Omar, Ayanna Pressley and Jackie Speier introduced a resolution – a largely symbolic congressional statement that carries no legal weight but provides moral support on certain issues – recognizing violence against women in politics as a global phenomenon. House Resolution 1151, which is currently under consideration by the House Judiciary Committee, calls on the government to take steps to mitigate this violence in the United State...