Rep. Terri Sewell introduces Disaster Reforestation Act of 2021
U.S. Reps. Terri Sewell and Buddy Carter introduced H.R. 4210, the Disaster Reforestation Act of 2021. This legislation aims to help family and private timber growers recover from the loss of timber destroyed by natural disasters and reforest their lands. Rep. Sewell stated in a press release, “Alabama’s beautiful forests keep our economy, our environment, and our people healthy, but when disaster strikes, our private forest owners are often left devastated and without the ability to quickly recover. By fixing our tax code, the Disaster Reforestation Act offers a helping hand to Alabama’s private forest owners as they work to reforest after natural disasters. I am so proud to introduce this legislation and urge my colleagues to support it.” On Twitter, Sewell stated, “Our beautiful Alabama forests keep our economy, environment, and people healthy. We must ensure that our tax code helps forest landowners recover after devastating natural disasters. My Disaster Reforestation Act would do exactly that!” Our beautiful Alabama forests keep our economy, environment, and people healthy. We must ensure that our tax code helps forest landowners recover after devastating natural disasters.🌳 My Disaster Reforestation Act would do exactly that! Read more here: https://t.co/yZSgcK8OcL pic.twitter.com/vBi1hqg1Oi — Rep. Terri A. Sewell (@RepTerriSewell) June 29, 2021 Rep. Carter commented, “Forestry is a vital part of rural economies all across our country. Unfortunately, the current tax code provides no recourse for working forests struck by natural disasters. I’m proud to work with Congresswoman Sewell and our partners from across the country to address this issue. The Disaster Reforestation Act will ensure timber farming is a viable way of life, protecting the many jobs and consumer products it supports and its positive impact to our environment.” Alabama’s private forest landowners face immense financial burdens when needing to reforest their lands after a natural disaster, especially families and small timber companies. The Disaster Reforestation Act would reduce this financial burden by providing for the equitable tax treatment of casualty loss of their timber crop when disaster strikes. In doing so, it would foster stability and growth in one of Alabama’s key industries and promote environmental wellness through reforestation. “This legislation is key in helping family forest owners recover after natural disasters and keeping Alabama’s forests as forests,” stated Gray Skipper, Alabama Landowner and VP of Scotch Plywood Company. “This will ensure the forest products consuming mills have trees in the future to maintain local economies. It will also ensure these forests, some of which are the most biologically diverse in the country, can continue sequestering carbon, supporting at-risk species, providing the clean water supply, and recreation for Gulf communities.” Chris Isaacson, President and CEO of Alabama Forestry Association commented, “Alabama’s 23 million acres of healthy forests supply the raw material for the state’s $28 billion forest industry that creates jobs for 123,000 Alabama workers. The investment required by forest landowners over the decades from planting to harvest is at constant risk from natural disasters. Under the current tax code, when disaster strikes landowners lose twice. They lose their timber and they lose the ability to deduct the value of the timber damaged. We are grateful that Congresswoman Sewell recognizes this inequity and applaud her for taking a leadership role in helping landowners and their local communities recover.” “America’s forest landowners have been waiting for this vital fix in the tax code and are appreciative of Representative Sewell and Carter’s efforts to introduce the Disaster Reforestation Act,” said Scott Jones, CEO of the Forest Landowners Association.“The legislation will not only help timber owners recover from natural disasters but will stimulate rural economies and support our nation’s domestic timber supply.” The Disaster Reforestation Act has received support from national forestry stakeholders including: The Forest Landowners Association The Southern Group of State Foresters The American Forest Foundation The National Association of State Foresters The Society of American Foresters F&W Forestry Services The Association of Consulting Foresters The National Alliance of Forest Owners
Joe Biden tells Israel president he won’t tolerate nuclear Iran
President Joe Biden sought to assure Israel that he would not tolerate a nuclear Iran as he met with outgoing Israeli President Reuven Rivlin on Monday amid a major shakeup in Israeli politics and growing angst in Tel Aviv over the U.S. administration’s effort to reenter the Iran nuclear deal. Biden noted that he had ordered airstrikes a day earlier targeting facilities the U.S. military says were used by Iran-backed militia groups near the border between Iraq and Syria. The rhetoric seemed to underscore that he would remain tough on malign Iran’s activity even as he seeks a diplomatic track to stem Tehran’s nuclear program. “What I can say to you is that Iran will never get a nuclear weapon on my watch,” Biden said at the White House meeting. The meeting with Rivlin, who is making his final foreign trip of his presidency, took place just weeks after Naftali Bennett became Israel’s new prime minister, replacing Benjamin Netanyahu. The Biden administration, meanwhile, has intensified efforts to revive Iran’s 2015 accord with world powers to limit Tehran’s ability to develop nuclear weapons. Former President Donald Trump, with Netanyahu’s backing, scrapped the accord in 2018. Biden said he hoped to meet the new prime minister at the White House “very soon.” Rivlin is set to leave office on July 7 after a seven-year term. Isaac Herzog, a former parliament member who most recently headed a nonprofit that works closely with the government to promote immigration to Israel, will take over as Israeli president. Rivlin met later Monday with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Both leaders stressed the friendship between their countries, although Rivlin noted disagreements as well. Biden said he and the Israeli president would talk about Iran and the aftermath of the Gaza war. The president also underscored his support for continued normalization of relations between Israel and countries in the Arab and Muslim world and planned to reiterate the administration’s promise to resupply Israel’s Iron Dome missile defense system, which was depleted during the 11-day war with Hamas in Gaza. The latest conflict claimed at least 254 Palestinian lives and killed 13 people in Israel. Biden has low hopes, at least for the moment, of reviving Israeli-Palestinian peace talks, according to an official familiar with Biden administration deliberations. The official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss private deliberations, said Biden administration officials are starting at square one in building contacts with the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank, a relationship that eroded during the Trump administration. The meeting with Rivlin comes one day after U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken met in Rome with Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid, a centrist who along with Bennett and six other political allies built a fragile coalition government that put Netanyahu in the opposition. Aviv Kochavi, chief of staff of Israel Defense Forces, met last week with Biden’s national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, and other senior national security officials. Kochavi reiterated Israel’s opposition to efforts by the Biden administration to revive the 2015 accord. Administration officials, however, have countered in talks with Kochavi and others in the new Israeli government that it’s worth giving diplomacy a shot at stopping Tehran from acquiring a nuclear weapons system, even if it’s not guaranteed, the official said. Republished with the permission of the Associated Press.
Joe Biden taking bipartisan infrastructure deal on the road
President Joe Biden will look to sell voters on the economic benefits of the $973 billion infrastructure package while in Wisconsin on Tuesday, hoping to boost the bipartisan agreement that is held together in large part by the promise of millions of new jobs. Biden will travel to La Crosse, population 52,000, and tour its public transit center, followed by a speech about the infrastructure package announced last week. The president presented his message to Democratic donors on Monday that the agreement was a way for the United States to assert the principles of democracy and the economic might that can come from dramatic investments in the country’s economic future. “This infrastructure bill signals to the world that we can function, we can deliver,” Biden said. “We can do significant things, show that America is back.” White House officials issued an internal memo that highlights how the largest investment in transportation, water systems, and services in nearly a century would boost growth. The memo notes that the total package is four times the size of the infrastructure investment made a dozen years ago in response to the Great Recession and the biggest since Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal in the 1930s. It also emphasizes an analysis suggesting that 90% of the jobs generated by the spending could go to workers without college degrees, a key shift as a majority of net job gains before the pandemic went to college graduates. “This is a blue-collar blueprint to rebuild America,” the memo says. Potential economic gains were a shared incentive for the group of Democratic and Republican senators who agreed to the deal on Thursday. But the process briefly fell into disarray late last week as Biden suggested the deal would be held up until he also received a separate package for infrastructure, jobs, and education that would be determined solely by Democrats through the budget reconciliation process. Biden said Saturday that this was not a veto threat, and by Sunday, the package appeared back on track. White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Monday that Biden is “eager” for both bills to be approved by Congress and that the president is going to “work his heart out” to make it happen. White House press secretary Jen Psaki listens to a question during a press briefing at the White House Monday. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci) “The president intends to sign both pieces of legislation into law,” Psaki said at her daily briefing. Approval of both bills by Congress remains a long haul, with this summer’s initial votes expected in July. Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell questioned the legislative process ahead and mounted fresh obstacles while speaking Monday in Kentucky. McConnell said he has not yet decided whether he will support the bipartisan package, but he wants Biden to pressure House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer to say they will allow the bipartisan arrangement to pass without mandating that the much larger and broader follow-up bill be in place. “I appreciate the president saying that he’s willing to deal with infrastructure separately, But he doesn’t control the Congress,” McConnell said at a press conference in Louisville. The two bills had always been expected to move in tandem, and that is likely to continue as Biden drops his veto threat but reaches across the aisle for the nearly $1 trillion bipartisan package as well as his own broader package. The Democratic leaders are pressing ahead on the broader bill, which includes Biden’s families and climate change proposals, as well as their own investments in Medicare, swelling to some $6 trillion. The prospect of additional economic gains might be a way to garner public support and soothe partisan tensions. Biden also faces pressure from Democrats such as New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who told NBC’s “Meet the Press” that the spending isn’t as huge as it might seem because the sums are spread out over multiple years. The eight-page White House memo comes from Brian Deese, director of the National Economic Council, and senior adviser Anita Dunn. It indicates that the $110 billion for roads and bridges would help relieve traffic and congestion that costs the economy over $160 billion annually. The memo justifies the $48.5 billion planned for public transit by citing studies that link light rail and buses to increased earnings and employment for workers. It defends the $66 billion for repairs and upgrades for rail lines by saying that current delays and disruptions weigh on growth. The bipartisan agreement also would help nurture the market for electric vehicles, improve broadband access, repair water lines and create resilience against damage from extreme weather events. Meanwhile, the White House and Congress are pushing ahead on separate infrastructure legislation, a top priority of the administration that is shared by many lawmakers interested in securing federal funds for long-sought road, highway, bridge, and other construction projects back home. This week, the House is scheduled to vote on a highway, transit, and water infrastructure bill that would invest up to $715 billion over five years. It overlaps parts of the bipartisan agreement and could become a building block toward the Democrats’ broader package coming later this summer or fall. The bill contains many of the priorities that Biden has set, including $45 billion to replace lead water service lines throughout the nation and $4 billion for electric vehicle charging stations, as well as a big boost in spending for transportation programs focusing on repairing existing roads and bridges. It also opens the door to nearly 1,500 requests from lawmakers that would fund specific projects back in their congressional districts, moving Congress a step closer toward a return to earmarked spending. Republished with the permission of the Associated Press.
Alabama NewsCenter: UAB partners with ADPH to launch Alabama Regional Center for Infection Prevention and Control
Alabama NewsCenter The University of Alabama at Birmingham has been awarded nearly $2 million by the Alabama Department of Public Health to support the establishment of the Alabama Regional Center for Infection Prevention and Control (ARC IPC). This new center will provide consultation and support services across Alabama. It was approved by the board of trustees of the University of Alabama System at its June meeting. The ARC IPC will bring together experts from the university and state to assist the ADPH Infectious Disease and Outbreaks Division in management and response to emerging and reemerging diseases. Key to the center’s mission is training and technical assistance to increase workforce skills. “Our efforts will work to enhance and support infection prevention and control efforts across Alabama’s health care and public health systems,” said Lisa McCormick, associate professor and associate dean for Public Health Practice in the UAB School of Public Health and director of the ARC IPC. “I am excited to be working with a diverse team of IPC experts to assist the ADPH in strengthening Alabama’s capacity to prevent, control and manage infectious disease outbreaks.” IPC experts are playing a critical part role during the pandemic through surveillance, detection, response, and prevention of future outbreaks. McCormick hopes the efforts will build capacity within the workforce combating COVID-19 and increase awareness of the need for and importance of professionals in the field. The pandemic has resulted in immense impacts on the economy, health, and social well-being of Alabamians. As of June, there have been more than 548,000 COVID-19 cases and 11,250 deaths due to the virus in Alabama. The state’s vaccination rates are lagging as new, increasingly transmissible variants, such as the Delta variant, are emerging. In addition, Alabama continues to see increases in cases of hepatitis A and RSV, into the summer months when concerns of vector-borne and foodborne illnesses increase. Suzanne Judd (UAB) “As a nation and state, we were really caught flat-footed by SARS-CoV-2 even though scientists had been warning that coronaviruses had the potential to create a global pandemic,” saidSuzanne Judd, professor, co-director of the ARC IPC and director of the Lister Hill Center for Health Policy in the UAB School of Public Health. “Working together with the ADPH will help us to be ready when a new virus or bacteria threatens the health of Alabamians. We will be better prepared to communicate risks to the public to help prevent future pandemics.” The center will provide training and technical assistance to local, district, and state health department IPC personnel, infection control managers, and nurses at in-patient and out-patient health care facilities and long-term care facilities, hospital epidemiologists, school nurses, and other infection control practitioners. “The UAB faculty and staff involved in this center have extensive experience in infectious disease prevention and control, epidemiology and surveillance, behavioral health, public health preparedness, and forecasting and modeling, as well as in implementing and evaluating public health programs whose purpose is to strengthen the current public health and health care workforce,” McCormick said. The ARC IPC investigators include Dr. Paul Erwin, Dr. Rachael Lee, Dr. Marjorie White, Dr. Sarah Nafziger, Dr. James Crosby, Bertha Hidalgo, Greg Pavela, Tamika Smith, and Judd McCormick. The ARC IPC is currently launching its efforts. Visit the website to request training or technical assistance, access infection prevention resources, see upcoming training opportunities or learn more about the center. For more information, with questions or to sign up for the ARC IPC’s newsletter, email ARCIPC@uab.edu. This story originally appeared on the UAB News website. Republished with the permission of the Alabama NewsCenter.
Speaker Mac McCutcheon won’t seek reelection in 2022
Alabama House Speaker Mac McCutcheon said Monday he will not seek reelection next year. McCutcheon, 68, said in a statement that he is stepping away from politics to spend time with his family and to do some traveling with his wife during retirement. “It’s been an honor and a privilege to represent the people of District 25 in the House and the citizens of the State of Alabama as speaker, but after four terms it’s time to go home,” McCutcheon said. McCutcheon, a Republican from Monrovia, is a former police officer and crisis negotiator. He was first elected to the House in 2006. He served as the chairman of the influential House Rules Committee, which decides what bills come up for debate, from 2012 to 2016. McCutcheon came to the helm of the House at a time that the state was being battered by scandals. McCutcheon was selected as speaker in 2016 to replace former House Speaker Mike Hubbard, who was removed from office after being convicted on ethics charges. McCutcheon, known for his affable demeanor, had promised to depart from the authoritative style of his predecessor. “The days of the imperial speakership are over,” McCutcheon said at the time. House Majority Leader Nathaniel Ledbetter, R-Rainsville, said McCutcheon had restored stability to the speaker’s office. “Combining a firm hand with a kind heart, he worked to ensure that the voices of all members — regardless of rank or party affiliation — were given the opportunity to be heard,” Ledbetter said. Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey said people should be proud of McCutcheon. “Not only has he worked hard for Alabama, Mac is simply a good guy,” Ivey said. McCutcheon’s tenure still saw its own controversy. In 2017, the House of Representatives began impeachment hearings against then-Gov. Robert Bentley. Bentley later resigned. McCutcheon said he had quietly warned Bentley in a “friend-to-friend” meeting that there were enough votes in the House to impeach him. With McCutcheon as speaker the GOP-dominated House of Representatives continued to push a socially conservative and pro-business agenda. Lawmakers in 2019 passed legislation what was then the most stringent abortion legislation in the nation, making performing an abortion a felony including in cases of rape and incest. The law was blocked by a federal judge. However, House Minority Leader Anthony Daniels, D-Huntsville, who serves in the same local delegation as McCutcheon, said he thought the last legislative session was one of the most successful during his time in Montgomery. McCutcheon said he is proudest of working with House members. “I have nothing but respect and admiration for every member of the House,” McCutcheon said. “We’ve had our political disagreements, but it was never personal, and I will treasure my days in the House for the rest of my life,” McCutcheon said. A new speaker will be selected in the organizational session in 2023.
