Kay Ivey issues State of Emergency to prevent price gouging after Harvey
Alabama Governor Kay Ivey has issued a State of Emergency making it illegal for anyone in Alabama to price gouge in the wake of Hurricane Harvey. The declaration comes after Colonial Pipeline, which provides nearly 40 percent of the South’s gasoline including Alabama’s, shutdown earlier in the day after the hurricane forced the closure of refineries and some of the pipeline’s own facilities. “As a result of Hurricane Harvey, oil refineries in Texas and Louisiana have suffered a temporary interruption of production which has caused a disruption in the supply of petroleum products, including gasoline to Alabama,” Ivey said in the declaration. “This disruption in supply inherently placed upward pressure on gasoline prices, but does not justify the imposition of unconscionable prices.” Ivey’s declaration amends a Wednesday declaration that waived the federal limits on number of hours petroleum transport motor carriers and drivers can work to help mitigate the impact of the disruption in the supply of gas. “Weds I issued a limited State of Emergency to prevent gas shortage due to #Harvey. Today I’ve made it clear price gouging is not acceptable.” Weds I issued a limited State of Emergency to prevent gas shortage due to #Harvey. Today I’ve made it clear price gouging is not acceptable. pic.twitter.com/H7GyaaNj78 — Governor Kay Ivey (@GovernorKayIvey) September 2, 2017
Harvey aid package likely vehicle for debt ceiling increase
The White House plans to ask Congress Friday for a $5.9 billion down payment for initial Harvey recovery efforts. Republican leaders are already making plans to use the aid package, certain to be overwhelmingly popular, to win speedy approval of a contentious increase in the federal borrowing limit. A senior House Republican, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the deliberations were private, disclosed the approach. It ignores objections from House conservatives who are insisting that disaster money for Harvey should not be paired with the debt limit increase. Other senior GOP aides cautioned that no final decision had been made, and Democrats, whose votes would be needed in the Senate, have not signed off on the approach. For GOP lawmakers who support a straightforward increase in the debt limit, pairing it with Harvey money makes the unpopular vote easier to cast. Congress must act by Sept. 29 to increase the United States’ $19.9 trillion debt limit, in order to permit the government to continue borrowing money to pay bills like Social Security and interest payments. Failing to raise the debt limit would risk a market-shattering first-ever U.S. default. “Look, some members are going to vote against the debt ceiling under any circumstances and they want their ‘no’ vote to be as easy as possible,” said Rep. Charlie Dent, R-Pa. “The issue is not making the debt ceiling vote easier for the ‘no’ votes. The issue is making it easier for the ‘yes’ votes.” The government’s cash reserves are running low since the nation’s debt limit has actually already been reached, and the Treasury Department is using various accounting measures to cover expenses. Billions of dollars in Harvey aid are an unexpected cost that at least raises the potential that Congress would have to act earlier than expected to increase the government’s borrowing authority. And despite threats from President Donald Trump that he would shut down the government if his U.S.-Mexico border wall is not paid for, lawmakers and aides say the White House has eased off that threat and any fight over the border wall will be delayed until later in the year. “I just don’t think a shutdown is in anyone’s interest or needed for anyone’s interests,” House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., said in an interview Friday with the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. The initial package of Harvey aid would replenish Federal Emergency Management Agency disaster coffers through Sept. 30. The White House is finalizing the request, which was expected to be sent to Capitol Hill later Friday. A senior congressional aide said Friday the request would include $5.5 billion for the disaster relief fund and $450 million for the Small Business Administration Disaster Loan Program. The aide wasn’t authorized to publicly disclose the information in advance of a formal announcement and spoke on condition of anonymity. The initial aid money would be a down payment for immediate recovery efforts, to be followed by larger packages later. An additional $5 billion to $8 billion for Harvey could be tucked into a catch-all spending bill Congress must pass in the coming weeks to fund the government past Sept. 30, according to the senior House Republican. Ryan said nothing will stop a Harvey aid bill from getting through Congress and he didn’t foresee any problems with it passing, despite opposition to federal aid from some Republicans following Hurricane Sandy. “It’s going to take us time until we know the full scope of it,” Ryan said of Harvey’s toll. He said a storm the size of Harvey is unprecedented, and because of that it “deserves and requires federal response.” Republished with permission from the Associated Press.
Personnel note: Brian Hastings named Director of Ala. Emergency Management Agency
Retired Air Force Colonel Brian Hastings has been named director of the Alabama Emergency Management Agency (EMA) by Gov. Kay Ivey on Friday. “The recent events in Texas remind us of the importance of having a well-run and effective Emergency Management Agency,” Ivey said. “Colonel Hastings has extensive military experience and is a proven leader. He will bring an unmatched work-ethic, determination, and unparalleled experience of leading under extreme circumstances – all of which are essential attributes of an effective EMA Director.” Hastings retired from the Air Force in August 2017, where he’s worked since 1990. Prior to his retirement, he served for two years as Commandant of the Air Command and Staff College at Maxwell Air Force Base and previously served as the Commander of the 47th Flying Training Wing. During his military career, Hastings earned the Legion of Merit Medal, the Bronze Star for his service in Afghanistan, three Meritorious Service Medals, and served as a flight instructor. He is a command pilot with more than 2,600 hours in attack and training aircraft, and has held a variety of positions, including Battalion Air Liaison Officer and Chief of Standardization and Evaluation. “The Alabama Emergency Management Agency plays a vital role in preparing for and responding to various emergent events in Alabama. I am thankful for the trust placed in me by Governor Ivey, and I humbled to be a part of her quest to serve the people of Alabama,” said Colonel Hastings. “The men and women who work at Alabama EMA are dedicated public servants; I look forward to working alongside them.” A graduate of the United States Air Force Academy, Hastings holds a Master’s of Aeronautical Science with distinction from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University and a Master’s of Science in Resourcing National Security Strategy from the Eisenhower School of the National Defense University. He is also a graduate of the Industrial College of the Armed Forces. Hastings will replace Art Faulkner, who retired Thursday, effective Tuesday, Sept. 5. “Art Faulkner has admirably served our state since 1996, first as State 9-1-1 Coordinator, then as Director of the Alabama Department of Homeland Security, and finally as EMA Director since 2011.,” added Ivey. “I appreciate Art’s decades of service and dedication to this great state; I wish him nothing but the best as he enters retirement.”
Mountain Brook Police seek supplies for Texas, Birmingham’s own Buffalo Rock steps up
Members of the Mountain Brook Police Department have organized a collection effort for bottled water and medical supplies to aid victims of Hurricane Harvey in Houston and other impacted areas. According to a post on the department’s Facebook page Tuesday, they’re seeking donations that can be dropped off in front of the PD located at 101 Tibbett St. “MBPD is accepting donations of bottled water and Diabetes type medical supplies(not insulin or meds) for areas impacted by Hurricane Harvey,” the department wrote in one post. The PD will continue to take donations into next week that will be sent to Houston, the nation’s fourth largest city, as Harvey continues to destroy homes, claim lives and displace tens of thousands of people. Already, Birmginham’s own Buffalo Rock — the largest independent single shareholder owned Pepsi Bottler in the U.S. — is stepping up to the call to help. MPPD thanked the company via Facebook on Friday for donating 12 pallets of supplies to Harvey victims. “Our friends at Buffalo Rock truly do ROCK! They contacted us about donating some water, then they added fruit juices,then they added beef jerky! A pallet or so blossomed into THIS pic (12 pallets!). This is being straight to the Christian Service Mission who is sending trucks every week to Texas!,” wrote the Mountain Brook Police Department.
Authorities brace for wave of hurricane-related fraud
As high water spreads from Houston through Texas and Louisiana, authorities are bracing for an inevitable wave of fraud and other criminal activity set into motion by Harvey’s punishing rains. In a warning to those who would seek to defraud the government and people wanting to help or seeking assistance, a dozen federal and state agencies were banding together to investigate and prosecute wrongdoers. Federal and state officials are warning residents, volunteers and officials in flood zones in Texas and Louisiana they could be targeted by storm-related scams, contract corruption, document fraud, identify theft and other crimes. They emphasize that the easy availability of personal information and documents on the internet has widened criminal activities and potential victims to anywhere in the U.S. “Protect yourself and your wallet from unscrupulous operators,” warned a new flyer by the Texas attorney general, whose office had received nearly 700 complaints by late Wednesday. Most alleged price gouging but a few reported fraud, said Kayleigh Lovvorn, a spokeswoman for Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton. A disaster-related task force headed by Justice Department officials and other authorities has operated since Hurricane Katrina in 2005. It has arrested and prosecuted defendants for disaster-related crimes, including more than 1,460 in connection with crimes associated with Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Those prosecutions, between 2005 and 2011, targeted defendants in 49 federal districts across the country – a clear indication that criminal activities spawned by Harvey could originate anywhere. “We recognize that much of the fraud may occur in areas far removed from the disaster,” said Corey R. Amundson, the acting U.S. attorney for the Middle District of Louisiana. Amundson is also the executive director of the National Center for Disaster Fraud, the Baton Rouge-based federal task force. In a sign of the magnitude of fraud anticipated in Harvey’s wake, federal and state law enforcement officials formed a working group to investigate and prosecute illegal activity stemming from the hurricane. Houston-based Acting U.S. Attorney Abe Martinez said storm victims had already suffered devastation and “the last thing that victims of the damage need is to be victimized again.” The relationship, if any, between the new working group and the existing task force wasn’t clear. After Katrina, many of the task force’s early criminal prosecutions targeted those accused of fraudulently obtaining emergency assistance funds intended to help storm and flood victims. The unit’s scrutiny broadened to people and companies that filed fraudulent home repair and disaster loan applications and also to contract and kickback schemes involving corrupt public officials. Among officials investigated by the task force were Benjamin L. Edwards Sr., a former New Orleans city sewerage director who pleaded guilty in 2010 to wire fraud and tax evasion for soliciting more than $750,000 in payoffs from hurricane cleanup contractors – and Gregory Brent Warr, the former mayor of Gulfport, Mississippi, who admitted guilt in 2009 for improperly receiving federal disaster funds. The U.S. Government Accountability Office criticized the Federal Emergency Management Agency and other federal agencies for loose scrutiny of disaster relief and recovery spending after Katrina. Walt Green, a Baton Rouge lawyer and former U.S. attorney in Baton Rouge, said FEMA and other federal agencies have tightened oversight during recent disasters, but are still overrun after each new disaster with fraudulent addresses, personal information and other spurious documentation. “Identify fraud is the newest angle,” said Green. “You can find long lists of social security numbers of the dark web and people are purchasing them to use after disasters.” Green, who led the federal disaster task force between 2013 and last March, said some criminal activity likely spiked even before Harvey’s landfall last week. Green said hurricane-related internet addresses – often with wording stressing storm charity and relief – are quickly purchased in the hours before a hurricane’s landfall. Some web addresses later surface in charity scams that bilk unsuspecting donors or lure viewers to virus-infected sites. “Without a doubt, charity fraud is going on right now,” Green said. On Wednesday, the government-funded Multi-State Information Sharing & Analysis Center reported more than 500 domain names associated with Harvey had been registered over the preceding week. The majority of those names, the center reported, used words associated with philanthropy and aid, including “help,” ”relief,” ”donate” and “victims.” The center warned of “the potential for misinformation” and that “malicious actors are also using social media to post false information or links to malicious websites.” Four domain names referencing Harvey and the words “relief,” ”fund” and “recovery” were listed for auction on eBay.com earlier this week, starting at $5,000 each. James Streigel, a northern California man who acknowledged offering them for sale, said he had no malicious intent and intended to sell them to the highest bidder. Streigel said his listings also carried notices saying he would donate 20 percent of his earnings to the American Red Cross. He acknowledged to The Associated Press that he had no way of preventing prospective buyers from using the domain names for criminal activity. “We can’t be sure of anything these days,” Streigel said. Hours later, an eBay spokesman, Ryan Moore, said the listings had been removed from eBay’s site. “We’ve issued a warning to this seller that these listings violate eBay policy,” Moore said. The site’s “offensive material policy” prohibits listings that “attempt to profit from human tragedy or suffering, or that are insensitive to victims of such events.” Republished with permission from the Associated Press.
Twinkle Andress Cavanaugh: ‘Buy America’ policy is important for Alabama jobs
This Labor Day weekend, Alabamians will celebrate the end of summer and the start of another college football season. While we gather with family and friends, I hope we will also reflect on the importance of supporting Alabama jobs and the contributions American workers continue to make to our economy. Since I first became active in public service, job creation and growth have been two of my primary objectives. As I continue to serve Alabama, my goal is to create a healthier economy and facilitate job growth in all corners of the state. Jobs must be our primary focus, whether in farming, manufacturing, coal mining, the iron and steel trades, or any other industry in our state. For more than 150 years, Alabama’s steel manufacturing industry has been a driving force behind our state’s economic growth; providing a solid workforce and job opportunities to thousands of hardworking Alabamians. Today, I would like to particularly highlight the continued importance of this Alabama industry. According to the American Iron and Steel Institute, over 60,000 Alabama jobs are supported by the steel industry. The strength of our domestic steel industry is vital to the health of our national economy and is directly connected to the economic wellbeing of local communities. The United States’ steel industry faces challenges, especially competing with foreign countries like China and Russia. Fortunately, we have opportunities to strengthen Alabama and America’s steel industry through ‘Buy America’ policies and the U.S. Department of Commerce’s investigation into Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act. ‘Buy America’ is a policy that suggests we keep our tax dollars in our own economy to support state-funded projects; this creates jobs, boosts the local economy, and strengthens our national security. The National Association of Manufacturers states that manufacturing contributes $27 billion to Alabama’s economy each year, so by keeping that money in our own economy and supplying infrastructure projects with local materials, we are supporting our own hardworking citizens instead of relying on foreign countries. With the Section 232 investigation, the U.S. Department of Commerce is reviewing the impact that imports of steel and aluminum are having on the U.S. economy, national security and jobs. I hope the Department of Commerce will recommend action that will allow domestic steel producers in Alabama to continue to thrive. By doing this, we are implementing conservative policies that will have a direct impact on Alabama jobs. This will create a ripple effect that will have a positive impact on not just steelworkers, but their families, local communities and our economy. I am proud of the work that men and women across Alabama do to support steel manufacturing in our state and contribute to our local economy. As a state, we must continue to identify ways to improve our economy and infrastructure and develop a strong workforce. Let us keep that in mind as we enter the Labor Day weekend; making a conscious effort to invest in Alabama companies, grow jobs, and make improvements to our infrastructure that will strengthen the economy in our state and create opportunities for future generations. ••• Twinkle Andress Cavanaugh is the President of the Alabama Public Service Commission. Opinions expressed do not represent the position of the Public Service Commission or its other commissioners.
