Congress

Senate Passes Massive $886 Billion National Defense Authorization Act

December 15, 2023 Dave DeCamp, Antiwar.com. Educate! Congress, NDAA, Pentagon, Pentagon Budget, Senate, Wars and Militarism

On Wednesday, the Senate passed the mammoth $886 billion 2024 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which funds the Pentagon and military spending in other government agencies. The bill passed in a vote of 87-13, with six Democrats, six Republicans, and one Independent voting against it. This NDAA now heads to the House, where it’s expected to pass in a vote on Thursday as the bill is the version that the two chambers negotiated. The NDAA includes an amendment to extend Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), which gives the FBI the power to conduct warrantless spying of foreign targets and Americans they interact with.

Interns Accuse Congress Of Suppressing Calls For Cease-Fire

December 14, 2023 Molly Redden, HuffPost. Resist! Ceasefire, Congress, Gaza, Interns, Israel, Palestine, Suppression

Congressional interns and fellows released a letter on Monday accusing Congress of having “suppressed and ignored” a tidal wave of constituent support for a permanent cease-fire in the Israel-Gaza conflict. More than 140 interns and fellows signed the letter, and 71 disclosed the number of calls and emails in support of a cease-fire that their offices have recorded. Those 71 offices (out of the total of 535) have received a total of 693,170 messages supporting a cease-fire since Israel’s bombing of the Gaza Strip began in early October. But in spite of constituents’ outreach, most senators and representatives have refused to publicly support a cease-fire.

US Troops Are Occupying Syria’s Oil Fields; Congress Rejects Withdrawl

December 12, 2023 Ben Norton, Geopolitical Economy. Resistance Report Congress, Occupation, Oil and Gas, Senate, Syria, US Imperialism, Wars and Militarism

The US military has occupied Syrian sovereign territory since 2014, preventing Damascus from accessing its own oil and wheat fields. A top Pentagon official has acknowledged that Washington’s strategy is to starve Syria’s central government of revenue it needs to rebuild, after a decade of war fueled by foreign powers devastated the country. Former US President Donald Trump boasted in 2020: “They say, ‘He left troops in Syria’. You know what I did? I left troops to take the oil. I took the oil. The only troops I have are taking the oil. They’re protecting the oil. I took over the oil”.

You Are Entitled To Your Opinion, Not Your Own Facts

December 8, 2023 Dr. Wilmer J. Leon, III, Popular Resistance. Educate! Congress, Democrats, Gaza, Genocide, Joe Biden, Palestine, Zionism

On October 19, President Biden gave an Oval Office address. He was desperately trying to convince the nation to support his $105B military and humanitarian aid package for Israel, Ukraine and border efforts. His focus was on the wars between Israel/Hamas and Ukraine/Russia. Biden’s presentation was ahistorical, based upon supposition, personal bias and just wrong. One of Biden’s constant underlying themes as he champions support for these failing efforts is that by supporting Israel and Ukraine, we’re supporting “democracy”. One of the prevalent talking points about Israel is that it’s the “only democracy in the Middle East”.

The Shift: Congress Embraces McCarthyism

December 8, 2023 Michael Arria, Mondoweiss. Educate! Anti-Semitism, Congress, Gaza, Genocide, Israel, McCarthyism, Palestine, Zionism

It’s now generally understood that McCarthyism was a dark and shameful aspect of our history. Oppenheimer made $953 million at the U.S. box office this summer and the bulk of Christopher Nolan’s film isn’t about the bomb, but the Red Scare attacks that destroyed the physicist’s reputation. Political repression might get pilloried in films these days, but you can still hear the faint echo of the Wisconsin Senator’s accusations in any number of policies being pushed throughout the country. One of the most glaring examples is the GOP’s ongoing war on libraries. However, that crusade is mainly waged by just one party. The war on Palestine activism that has emerged since October 7th is a bipartisan affair.

The Pentagon Just Can’t Pass An Audit

November 30, 2023 Lindsay Koshgarian, Scheer Post. Educate! Audit, Congress, Finance and the Economy, Pentagon, Social Programs

The Pentagon just failed its audit — again. For the sixth time in a row, the agency that accounts for half the money Congress approves each year can’t figure out what it did with all that money. For a brief recap, the Pentagon has never passed an audit. Until 2018, it had never even completed one. Since then, the Pentagon has done an audit every year and given itself a participation prize each time. Yet despite this year’s triumphant press release — titled “DOD Makes Incremental Progress Towards Clean Audit” — it has failed every time. In its most recent audit, the Pentagon was able to account for just half of its $3.8 trillion in assets (including equipment, facilities, etc).

This Thanksgiving, Consider The Wellbeing Of Family Farmers

November 24, 2023 Tommy Enright, Wisconsin Examiner. Educate! Congress, Family Farms, Farm Bill, Farmers, Food and Agriculture, Thanksgiving

On Thanksgiving, families across America are gathering around tables to enjoy the season’s bounty. Yet, behind the scenes, a complex web of challenges threatens the agricultural foundation of this tradition. The recent one-year extension of the 2018 Farm Bill by Congress has brought temporary relief, but the call for a new, comprehensive five-year farm bill echoes loudly. Wisconsin Farmers Union is raising its voice, emphasizing the urgent need to address issues plaguing family farmers and the agricultural sector as a whole. Gratitude for the bipartisan support in extending the 2018 Farm Bill is tempered by a pressing reality: the long-term stability of family farmers still hinges on a new, five-year farm bill.

Congress Won’t Demand A Ceasefire In Gaza; Activists Pressure Them

November 12, 2023 Chris Hedges, The Real News. Resistance Report Ceasefire, Chris Hedges, Congress, Gaza, Genocide, Israel, Palestine

Israel's devastating campaign of collective punishment against the people of Gaza has aroused international condemnation and popular mobilization in support of a ceasefire and an end to Israeli Apartheid. This movement has also spread to the US, where hundreds of thousands of people flocked to Washington D.C. on Nov. 4 for the largest pro-Palestine march in US history. Support for a ceasefire in Gaza is widespread among the US public—with more than half of Democrats, Independents, and Republicans alike in favor of such a measure, according to Data for Progress. Yet the federal government continues to largely ignore calls for a ceasefire and an end to US aid to Israel

Anti-War Protesters Repeatedly Interrupt Senate Hearing On Israel

November 1, 2023 Ellen Mitchell, The Hill. Resist! Anti-war Movement, Ceasefire, Congress, Israel, Palestine, Wars and Militarism

Citing the Geneva Convention protocol prohibiting the bombing of areas densely populated with civilians, the first protester taken from the hearing on President Biden’s national security supplemental request called for the United States to “stop supporting the genocide and ethnic cleansing of the people of Gaza.” “Cease-fire now! Save the children of Gaza! Save the children of Gaza! Cease-fire now! Where is your pride, American?” he yelled before being forced from the room. Committee Chair Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) then addressed the room, calling for order. Shortly thereafter, another protester stood with a sign, also calling for a cease-fire.

Hundreds Arrested At US Capitol In Jewish-Led Protest

October 19, 2023 Brett Wilkins, Common Dreams. Resist! Ceasefire, Congress, Gaza, Israel, Palestine

Hundreds of Jewish Americans and allies were arrested at the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday during a protest demanding members of Congress push Israel for an immediate cease-fire in Gaza, where nearly 3,500 Palestinians have been killed over 12 days of relentless Israeli bombardment. Thousands of protesters led by members of Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP), IfNotNow, Jews for Racial and Economic Justice (JFREJ), and other groups rallied on the Capitol grounds and inside the building, where hundreds of people took part in a sit-in. Their chanted slogans—including "not in our name" and "cease-fire now"—resounded thunderously under the Capitol Rotunda, while at other times they clapped their hands and sang with solemn determination in Hebrew.

Indigenous Peoples’ Day Act Reintroduced In Congress

October 4, 2023 Native News Online. Create! Columbus Day, Congress, Indigenous Peoples Day, Indigenous Rights

The bicameral Indigenous Peoples’ Day Act to replace Columbus Day as a federal holiday and designate the second Monday of October as Indigenous Peoples’ Day has been reintroduced in Congress. The legislation was reintroduced by Representatives Sharice Davids (KS-03), Norma J. Torres (CA-35), Suzanne Bonamici (OR-01), and Suzan DelBene (WA-01), along with Senators Martin Heinrich (D-NM) and Ben Ray Luján (D-NM). The Indigenous Peoples’ Day Act has garnered 56 cosponsors in the House of Representatives. “Our country has long failed to recognize and acknowledge its dark history of erasure and harm brought upon the first inhabitants of the Americas,” Norma Torres (CA-35) said.

Impeachment: ‘Cognitive Warfare’ On Capitol Hill

October 2, 2023 Patrick Lawrence, Consortium News. Educate! Burisma, Congress, Corruption, Democrats, Hunter Biden, Impeachment, Joe Biden, Republicans, Ukraine

After a single day’s introductory hearings in the U.S. House of Representatives, it is already evident that the Oversight Committee’s inquiry into President Joe Biden’s potentially criminal involvement in his family’s foreign business dealings will be much more than a formal, constitutionally-mandated legal proceeding. Viewed in the broadest terms, this is likely to prove a test of the troubled republic’s relationship with reality. If the hearings to come conclude with a finding that the forty-sixth president is guilty of impeachable crimes, as now appears likely, they will confront Americans with an insidious, many-sided effort to subvert their public institutions and the national discourse altogether in the name of a liberal authoritarian ideology.

Far Right Imposed Shutdown Represents Deeper Crises

September 30, 2023 Sam Carliner and Enid Brain, Left Voice. Educate! Congress, Far Right, Government Shutdown, Working Class

For the fourth time in ten years, the government is about to shut down ( prior to the 2013 shutdown, the last shutdown was in 1996). This shutdown, if it isn’t averted through last-minute maneuvering, would mean that roughly four million government employees — including police officers and the military — would have their paychecks delayed, be furloughed, or otherwise impacted. The chaotic process of trying to keep the government open reveals, again, the deeply undemocratic nature of the U.S. regime. That a small sector of the far-right, elected by a tiny segment of the U.S. population, can hold necessary social programs hostage and demand new cuts in order to prevent an incredibly disruptive government shutdown is a sign that the U.S. government doesn’t represent the masses.

‘Climate Bill’ Enriches The Fossil Fuel Industry As Communities Suffer

September 18, 2023 Margaret Flowers, Clearing the FOG. Podcast - Clearing The FOG Big Greens, climate crisis, Climate Justice, Congress, Democrats, Fossil Fuels, Inequality, Inflation Reduction Act, Joe Biden

One year after the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act, which Big Green groups hailed as a 'climate justice bill,' the truth is surfacing that this legislation is lining the pockets of the fossil fuel industry to the detriment of frontline, especially Black and Indigenous, communities. Clearing the FOG speaks to Anthony Rogers-Wright, a national racial and climate justice advocate, about the ways Joe Biden and the Democrats are failing to address the climate crisis and Big Green groups are turning away from climate justice to embrace Green Capitalism. Rogers-Wright also describes better alternatives to the Big Greens and where people can focus their efforts effectively to struggle for a just and livable future.

New US Sanctions Bill Designed To Bring Misery To Nicaraguans

September 17, 2023 Rick Kohn, Resumen English. Educate! Congress, Nicaragua, Sanctions, US Imperialism

As we all know, the U.S. already has imposed sanctions on Nicaragua, but they haven’t yet brought about the kind of hunger and poverty and suffering that some U.S. policymakers think is necessary to overthrow the popular Nicaraguan government. So there is a new sanctions bill co-sponsored by Marco Rubio and Tim Kaine that will try to further depress the Nicaraguan economy, increase unemployment, decrease revenue for the government’s popular programs so the government will be less popular. The stated goal is the overthrow of the Nicaraguan government and a “free and fair election” to replace Daniel Ortega.

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