Former Carly Fiorina strategist joining Jeff Sessions AG confirmation team
Sarah Isgur Flores will be helping Jeff Sessions through attorney general hearings, acting as spokeswoman during the Alabama Senator’s confirmation process. First reported by POLITICO, Flores, a Republican strategist who served as deputy campaign manager for Carly Fiorina’s presidential bid, started with the Sessions team in mid-December. Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley has scheduled Sessions’ confirmation hearings Jan. 10-11. “Senator Sessions has dedicated his career to upholding the rule of law and ensuring public safety so I’m proud to be a part of telling his story,” Flores said in a statement to POLITICO. Flores was critical of Donald Trump during the Republican primaries, particularly after release of the “Access Hollywood” tape, where Trump bragged about inappropriately grabbing women. Nevertheless, Flores praised Sessions as attorney general pick. “Sessions poised to be powerful AG w ear of POTUS. Huge win for conservatives who care about judiciary and rule of law,” Flores wrote on Twitter. Flores, a Harvard Law School grad who served as president of the Harvard Federalist Society, clerked for Judge Edith Jones of the 5th Judicial Circuit, and was working for Ted Cruz in 2010 when he was deciding on a run for Texas attorney general.
Martha Roby: Tax and regulatory reform priorities in 2017
The 115th Congress convenes this week in Washington, ushering in a unified Republican government for the first time in a decade. I have high hopes for what can be achieved in the coming months and years, understanding that much hard work will be required to deliver results. As I wrote last week, I’m particularly hopeful the new Congress and incoming Trump Administration can work together to offer relief to American families from the burdensome policies of the last eight years. Beyond health care, there are other policy issues impacting the lives of every day Americans which require our attention. Two that will be a priority for my colleagues and me in Congress are taxes and regulations. When it comes to taxes, there is no question we can do better as a nation. Oliver Wendell Holmes once famously said that taxes are what we pay for a civilized society. But, while most don’t mind paying a fair share to fund essential services, our tax code has devolved into something that serves the ever-growing interests of the government, rather than the interests of the taxpayer. It’s time for a simpler, flatter, and fairer tax code that allows American families to keep and invest more of their hard-earned money. Our tax code is also a huge inhibitor of economic growth. Many might not realize that the United States has one of the highest corporate tax rates in the world. While that contributes to the labyrinth of loopholes that further complicate our tax code, it also makes it all the more difficult for companies to expand their business and hire more workers. Making our corporate tax code more competitive globally would be a huge economic boon for this country, leading to more jobs and better wages for American workers. Another job growth inhibitor is our nation’s regulatory environment. While reasonable rules and safeguards will always be necessary for basic protections in our society, the regulatory state has gotten out of control, growing to what has been called the “fourth branch of government.” Ask just about any small business owner or farmer and they’ll tell you that understanding and complying with the ridiculous number of government regulations is among their most challenging costs, both time and money wise. But, regulations don’t just affect the business world. They are also a significant burden on American middle class families, though the cost is often unseen. In fact, government regulations cost American families an average of $15,000 a year, according an annual study the Competitive Enterprise Institute. The good news is relief is on the way. The executive actions President Barack Obama took with his “pen and phone” to get around Congress can just as quickly be undone by President-elect Donald Trump. However, I believe Congress must go a step further and pass the REINS Act, which would place strict restraints on executive agencies for mandating major rules and regulations without the approval of Congress. Unelected bureaucrats should not be able to unilaterally impose major regulations no matter who is president, and I’m optimistic the House can act on this legislation as soon as this week. Enacting meaningful tax and regulatory reforms won’t be easy. However, I believe delivering results on these issues could be some of the most powerful ways to ease the squeeze on every day American families. That’s why offering relief on taxes and regulations is a priority for me in 2017. ••• Martha Roby represents Alabama’s 2nd Congressional District. She lives in Montgomery, Alabama with her husband Riley and their two children.
Richard Shelby places friendly wager on Peach Bowl
In advance of Saturday’s Peach Bowl College Football Playoff Semi-final game between the #1-ranked University of Alabama Crimson Tide and the #4-ranked University of Washington Huskies, two Senators have made a friendly playoff bet, with the wager being hometown eats. Alabama’s senior U.S. Sen. Richard Shelby and Washington’s Democratic Sen. Maria Cantwell announced a the friendly bet — should the Huskies win, Shelby will provide two racks of ribs from Dreamland BBQ in Tuscaloosa, Ala. for Cantwell’s office. Should the Crimson Tide win, Cantwell has promised to deliver salmon to Shelby’s office. Shelby is confident in a Crimson Tide victory, accrediting the team’s assumed preparation to famed football coach Nick Saban. “These two teams should be extremely proud of their accomplishments so far in the season,” said Shelby. “I have no doubt that Coach Saban will have our team prepared and that they will represent our state well during this match-up. I’m pleased to enter into this friendly wager with my colleague, and I’m confident that the Crimson Tide will prevail and take us into another national championship game.” Cantwell hopes Shelby’s wrong. “This will be one of the best games of the year,” said Senator Cantwell. “There’s no doubt that Alabama has a powerhouse program, but I’ll be cheering the Dawgs on to victory.” The Chick-Fil-A Peach Bowl, will take place on Saturday, December 31, at 3:00 p.m. ET in Atlanta, Ga.
Another safe year in coal mining with record low 9 deaths
The nation’s coal mines are nearing a record low mark for on-the-job deaths for the third year in a row and have a chance to keep the number of fatal accidents in single digits for the first time. With just a day left in 2016, U.S. coal mines have recorded nine deaths. West Virginia had four, Kentucky had two and there was one each in Alabama, Illinois and Pennsylvania. The low number can be attributed to far fewer coal mining jobs and tougher enforcement of mining safety rules. “We know consistently things are getting better,” Mine Safety and Health Administration chief Joe Main said. Industry cooperation has been crucial to making mines safer, he said, and “the angst that mine operators have with what (violations) we cite is dissipating as well.” Dozens of mines have shuttered in recent years, especially in Appalachia. In 2011, there were about 91,000 working miners in the U.S. compared with 2015 when there were about 66,000, the lowest figure since the Energy Information Administration began collecting data in 1978. The 2016 numbers are not yet available. Fewer mines and a smaller workforce amounts to fewer deaths and injuries, but Main noted that in 2011 — before employment numbers started to drop — a low mark was set for fatalities at 20. That was also a year after the deadly explosion at the Upper Big Branch mine in West Virginia killed 29 miners. Previous lows in coal mining deaths were in 2014 with 16, and last year, with 11. For comparison, in 1966, the mining industry counted 233 deaths. A century ago there were 2,226. Only one fatal accident was attributed to an explosion of gas or dust, which was to blame for the Upper Big Branch disaster. The lone explosion this year occurred July 29 at a Spartan Mining Company mine in Wyoming County, West Virginia. Donald Workman, 58, and another miner were welding when they came in contact with methane at the surface of the mine, causing an ignition. Workman, who had worked in mines for 40 years, died six days after the blast. Other deaths this year included wall collapses and a miner who crashed in a personal vehicle on an access road. There have been 16 fatalities in 2016 in non-coal mines that produce gravel, sand, limestone and mineable metals. That mark also continued a downward trend, with 17 in 2015 and 30 in 2014. Main said a lot of hard work by inspectors and industry leaders has gone into the three record-setting years. He also appeared to warn the incoming Trump administration against changing the successful formula. “There’s a lot of ingredients that went into the recipe to make the cake that we now have in terms of having the outcomes of the safest years in mining history,” Main said. “If you start taking ingredients out of that, the cake’s not going to be as good, I can tell you that.” Republished with permission of the Associated Press.
Putin says Russia won’t expel U.S. diplomats in hacking flap
President Vladimir Putin castigated the United States on Friday for imposing sanctions and expelling Russian diplomats amid allegations of Russian meddling in the American presidential election, but said no U.S. diplomats will be ousted in reprisal for President Barack Obama‘s moves in the wake of hacking attacks. In a burgeoning controversy surrounding complaints from the Obama administration about a cyberattack against America’s political system, the White House on Thursday unleashed a string of sanctions and coupled them with an order that 35 Russians be expelled. Putin, however, said on Friday that Moscow would not eject American diplomats in response to what he described as “provocation aimed at further undermining Russian-American relations” less than a month before Donald Trump is to take over the White House. The decision came as a surprise; tit-for-tat expulsions are common diplomatic practice and Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov had suggested hours before Putin’s announcement that Russia would oust 31 American diplomats. “The Russian diplomats returning home will spend the New Year holidays with their relatives and dear ones,” Putin said in a statement published on the Kremlin website. “We will not create problems for U.S. diplomats. We will not expel anybody.” He added: “Moreover, I am inviting all children of U.S. diplomats accredited in Russia to the New Year and Christmas parties at the Kremlin.” Putin appeared to aim at playing a long game and at making a barbed reminder that Obama is a lame duck. “Putin’s asymmetric response to Obama’s new sanctions is an investment in the incoming Trump presidency,” Dmitry Trenin, director of the Carnegie Moscow Center, said on Twitter. “A different kind of tit-for-tat: even as Obama seeks to constrain Trump in his Russia policy, Putin counters that step with a show of magnanimity.” The diplomatic confrontation between Washington and Moscow, which had been festering even before Trump won the Nov. 8 presidential election, puts pressure on the billionaire businessman not to let Russia off the hook after he takes office on Jan. 20. Russia’s government had threatened retaliation, and it continues to deny U.S. accusations that it hacked and stole emails to try to help Trump win. Trump said the U.S. should move on, but in a sign he was no longer totally brushing off the allegations, he plans to meet with U.S. intelligence leaders next week to learn more. In his statement published on Friday, Putin said Russia will not bar the diplomats’ “families and their children from using their favorite places of recreation during the holidays.” New Year’s Eve has been the main holiday in Russia since Soviet times. Russians celebrate Christmas on Jan. 7 Obama on Thursday ordered sanctions against the GRU and FSB, the Russian intelligence agencies the U.S. said were involved in the hacking attacks. In an elaborately coordinated response by at least five federal agencies, the Obama administration also sought to expose Russia’s cyber tactics with a detailed technical report and hinted it might still launch a covert counterattack. “All Americans should be alarmed by Russia’s actions,” said Obama, who was vacationing in Hawaii. Yet the sanctions could easily be pulled back by Trump, who has insisted that Obama and Democrats are merely attempting to delegitimize his election. Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev charged earlier on Friday that Washington has become immersed in “anti-Russian death throes.” Medvedev, who focused on improving U.S.-Russia ties when he was president from 2008-2012, called the latest diplomatic breach “sad” in a Twitter post. U.S. relations with Russia have suffered during Obama’s presidency as he and Putin tussled over Ukraine, Edward Snowden and Russia’s support for Syrian President Bashar Assad. Maria Zakharova, a Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman, took to Facebook to call the Obama administration “a group of foreign policy losers, angry and ignorant.” As part of the punishment leveled against Moscow, the U.S. kicked out 35 Russian diplomats, in response to Russia’s harassment of U.S. diplomats. Russian recreational compounds in New York and Maryland that U.S. officials said were being used for intelligence were also shut down. It was the strongest retaliation the Obama administration has taken for a cyberattack, and more comprehensive than last year’s sanctions on North Korea after it hacked Sony Pictures Entertainment. The new penalties add to existing U.S. sanctions over Russia’s annexation of Crimea and support for separatists in eastern Ukraine. Senior Obama administration officials said that even with the penalties, the U.S. had reason to believe Russia would keep hacking other nations’ elections and might well try to hack American elections again in 2018 or 2020. The officials briefed reporters on a conference call on condition of anonymity. Though the FBI and Department of Homeland Security issued a joint report on “Russian malicious cyber activity” the government still has not released a broader report Obama has promised detailing Russia’s efforts to interfere with U.S. elections. The report has been eagerly anticipated by those hoping to make it politically untenable for Trump to continue questioning whether Russia was really involved. Obama’s move puts Trump in the position of having to decide whether to roll back the measures once in office. U.S. officials suggested that building the case against Russia now would make it harder for Trump to justify easing up. Putin mentioned on Friday that Russia will be taking steps in the bilateral relations depending on what Trump does once he’s sworn in. Republished with permission of the Associated Press.
Former Alabama lawmaker Terry Spicer takes job at ABC store after bribery conviction
Only two months after completing a federal prison sentence, former Alabama lawmaker Terry Spicer has taken a job with the state’s Alabama Beverage Control Board at a local liquor store. Now working as a sales clerk, Spicer was convicted in 2011 of taking a ski vacation and cash bribes from a state lobbyist. Despite his conviction, should the former House Democrat be able to stay gainfully employed for another year and four months with the state, he will be able to draw his $50,000 state pension.
Shootings drive up number of police killed in line of duty
Ambushes in Dallas and Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and other shootings around the country led to a sharp increase in the number of police killed in the line of duty this year. From Jan. 1 through Wednesday, 135 officers lost their lives. Some died in traffic accidents, but nearly half were shot to death. That’s a 56 percent increase in shooting deaths over the previous year. Of the 64 who were fatally shot, 21 were killed in ambush attacks often fueled by anger over police use of force involving minorities. “We’ve never seen a year in my memory when we’ve had an increase of this magnitude in officer shooting deaths,” said Craig Floyd, president and chief executive of the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund. “These officers were killed simply because of the uniform they wear and the job they do. This is unacceptable to the humane society that we are.” In Dallas, a sniper on July 7 attacked at the end of what had been a peaceful rally against police brutality. He killed five law enforcement officers and wounded nine others – the largest death toll among law enforcement from a single event since the 9/11 attacks, which killed 72 officers. Months later, Dallas businesses and residents still display blue ribbons and banners declaring, “We support our Dallas police officers.” But even amid community support, the police department remains unsettled. Hundreds of officers have retired or left the force over the past six months as the city struggles to find a way to increase pay and save a failing police and fire pension system. Former Chief David Brown, who became a national figure in the aftermath, was among those who opted to retire. And interim Dallas Police Association president Frederick Frazier said that morale is “almost nonexistent.” “A lot of us are going through the motions at work. We’re hoping things will get better with our struggle,” he said. Frazier added that the attack was a “game changer. It changed the perception of law enforcement. It reversed the role after Ferguson. We were the pursuer and now, we’re being pursued.” Less than two weeks after the Dallas attack, a lone gunman in Baton Rouge shot and killed three officers and wounded three others outside a convenience store in the weeks after a black man, 37-year-old Alton Sterling, was shot and killed by police during a struggle. Baton Rouge Police Cpl. Lester Mitchell was partners with Matthew Gerald, one of the three slain officers, and was among the officers who raced to the scene of the shooting that also killed sheriff’s deputy Brad Garafola and officer Montrell Jackson. Mitchell has daily reminders of the deadly shootout, driving past the scene on his way to police headquarters. “Just passing there, you can’t help but replay it over and over again,” he said. Mitchell said the shooting has made him more alert and aware of potential dangers on patrol, sometimes in situations that wouldn’t have alarmed him before, like a hand in a pocket. “You learn to cope with it, because if you don’t, you can drive yourself crazy,” he said. The National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund’s Floyd said the impact of this year has been profound on law enforcement. Agencies are struggling to recruit officers to their ranks and those who continue to serve “talk about how their head is now on a swivel.” “They’re always looking over their shoulder, always worrying about the next attack that could come at any time from any direction,” Floyd said. That was underscored by the slaying in November of a San Antonio detective who was fatally shot and killed outside police headquarters as he was writing a traffic ticket. The man accused of shooting him said he was angry about a child-custody battle and simply “lashed out at somebody who didn’t deserve it.” Republished with permission of the Associated Press.
US gives detailed look at Russia’s alleged election hacking
The U.S. has released its most detailed report yet on accusations that Russia interfered in the U.S. presidential election by hacking American political sites and email accounts. The 13-page joint analysis by the Department of Homeland Security and the FBI is the first such report ever to attribute malicious cyber activity to a particular country or actors. It was also the first time the U.S. has officially and specifically tied intrusions into the Democratic National Committee to hackers with the Russian civilian and military intelligence services, the FSB and GRU, expanding on an Oct. 7 accusation by the Obama administration. The report said the intelligence services were involved in “an ongoing campaign of cyber-enabled operations directed at the U.S. government and its citizens.” It added, “In some cases, (the Russian intelligence services’) actors masqueraded as third parties, hiding behind false online personas designed to cause the victim to misattribute the source of the attack.” Last summer, stolen emails from Democrats were posted by an online persona known as Guccifer 2.0, believed by U.S. officials to be linked to Russia. Outrage over documents that appeared to show favoritism for Hillary Clinton forced the DNC’s chair, Debbie Wasserman Schultz, to resign. The U.S. released the technical report Thursday as President Barack Obama sanctioned the GRU and the FSB, the GRU’s leadership and companies which the U.S. said support the GRU. The sanctions were the administration’s first use of a 2015 executive order for combatting cyberattacks against critical infrastructure and commercial espionage. Because election systems aren’t considered critical infrastructure, Obama amended the order Thursday to allow for sanctions on entities “interfering with or undermining election processes or institutions.” The retaliation against Russia, just weeks before President-elect Donald Trump takes office, culminated months of political handwringing about how and whether to respond to Moscow’s alleged meddling. U.S. intelligence agencies concluded that Russia’s goal was to help Trump win – an assessment Trump has dismissed as ridiculous. Trump said Thursday the U.S. should move on, but that he would meet with the intelligence community’s leaders next week for an update on the situation. The report did not go far beyond confirming details already disclosed by cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike, which was hired to investigate the DNC hacks. It described the intelligence services’ use of “spearphishing” – fake emails intended to trick victims into typing in their user names and passwords. At least one person opened attachments with malicious software. The report noted that actors “likely associated” with Russian intelligence services are continuing to engage in spearphishing campaigns, including one launched just days after the U.S. election. The DNC was infiltrated by the FSB in summer 2015 and again by the GRU in spring 2016 using spearphishing emails that often appeared to come from legitimate or official organizations, the report said. Russian officials have denied any involvement in hacking U.S. political sites and emails. The report provided clues, or pieces of code left behind by hackers, cybersecurity workers in the private sector could look for to identify compromised systems and prevent more intrusions. The Department of Homeland Security said it has already included this information within its own cyber threat information-sharing program, which automatically flags threats in real time for participating companies and agencies. Releasing such a report was a political twist on the administration’s strategy of “name and shame,” in place since 2012 and used to bring indictments against Chinese military hackers for economic espionage and Iranian hackers for an attack on banks and a small dam in New York. It was also a far more detailed and sophisticated telling of Russia’s hacking, with technical indicators of compromise, compared to the spare technical details released after the Obama administration publicly blamed North Korea for a cyberattack against Sony Pictures Entertainment. U.S. officials also provided antivirus vendors with two malicious software samples used by Russian intelligence services. Republished with permission of the Associated Press.
Tribes get say in land management but worry about Donald Trump
Native Americans who have long bemoaned their lack of participation in federal land decisions scored a major victory when President Barack Obama designated a new national monument in Utah that gives five tribes an opportunity to weigh in on the management of their ancestral home. But federal bureaucrats working under President-elect Donald Trump‘s cabinet appointees will still have the final say on all land decisions, and some tribal officials are concerned that the shared-management arrangement could quickly sour if the incoming administration charts a different course for the 1.35-million acre Bears Ears National Monument. Navajo Nation lawmaker Davis Filfred, who hopes to be on the tribal commission helping to oversee the monument, said he and others are worried, but they are trying to stay hopeful that the administration will give the commission a legitimate voice. “Now is not the time to bash him,” Filfred said, “because I need him.” Federal officials will also create a different advisory committee made up of local government officials, business owners and private landowners to provide recommendations. That board will probably lean heavy with people who opposed the designation over concerns about adding another layer of federal control and closing the area to new energy development, a common refrain in the battle over use of the American West’s vast open spaces. The language designating the monument creates a tribal commission composed of one elected official from each of five tribes. That arrangement falls short of the full co-management system the tribes requested, but they still considered the setup a significant improvement. “It’s double, not a home run from the tribes’ perspective,” said Kevin Washburn, a University of New Mexico law professor and the Obama administration’s former assistant secretary for Indian affairs. “But it gives the tribes an important seat at the table.” Obama has protected more acreage through new or expanded national monuments than any other president. But Trump is not expected to carry on that legacy. The Republican businessman has pledged to honor Theodore Roosevelt‘s tradition of conservation in the West but has also said he will “unleash” energy production and has railed against “faceless, nameless bureaucrats” in land-management agencies. Utah’s Republican senators, Orrin Hatch and Mike Lee, vowed to work with the Trump administration to get the Bears Ears monument repealed. On Thursday, state elected officials and county commissioners blasted federal officials at a protest in the small city of Monticello, Utah, declaring that the monument shows the Obama administration ignores the wishes of Utah residents. The Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Land Management and the Department of Agriculture’s Forest Service will co-manage Bears Ears. The red rock lands are home to an estimated 100,000 archaeological sites, including intact ancient cliff dwellings that attract visitors from around the world. Obama also designated the Gold Butte National Monument in Nevada outside Las Vegas, protecting 300,000 acres of scenic and ecologically fragile area near where rancher Cliven Bundy led an armed standoff with government agents in 2014. It includes rock art, artifacts, rare fossils and recently discovered dinosaur tracks. The monument designation allows current oil and mining within the boundaries, but it bans new activity. Grazing, hiking, hunting and fishing will still be allowed. White House officials touted the tribal commission as a first-of-its-kind setup that will ensure management decisions reflect tribal expertise and traditional and historical knowledge. The commission will include one elected officer from each of the five tribes that formed a coalition to push for the monument: Hopi, Navajo, Ute Mountain Ute, Zuni and the Ute Indian Tribe of the Uinta Ouray. The tribes “will help set a new standard for collaborative management at the national monument,” Navajo Nation President Russell Begaye said. “We look forward to the day when all national monuments on native lands are collaboratively managed with tribes.” The commission and monuments are part of a concerted push by the Obama administration to protect native lands and show respect for tribal voices, said Athan Manuel, Sierra Club director of lands protection in Washington, D.C. The Chimney Rock National Monument in Colorado, designated in 2012, is another example. “Politically, it’s a great message that Native American communities are being recognized this way,” Manuel said. Zuni councilman Carleton Bowekaty is optimistic that the commission will have a legitimate role in decisions no matter the political agenda of the White House because of specific legal language in the designation. It not only ensures that the commission cannot be scrapped but requires that the Interior and Agriculture secretaries give written explanations if they decide not to incorporate formal recommendations made by the tribal commission. The first test will be the creation of a monument-management plan, a process that sometimes takes years to complete. “This is more than consultation,” Bowekaty said. “We believe it’s a very important step in making our voices known. This is definitely a milestone.” Republished with permission of the Associated Press.
