Personnel update: ALFA taps Mitt Walker to lead Governmental, Ag programs department
The Alabama Farmers Federation (ALFA) announced that the organization has promoted Mitt Walker to serve as head of its Governmental and Agricultural Programs Department. Walker has worked for the federation for sixteen years and served as the department’s associate director. According to the press release, Walker will replace Brian Hardin, who became External Affairs Department director on December 7. Former External Affairs Director Matthew Durdin transitioned to the Organization Department following the retirement of longtime director Mike Tidwell. Walker thanked the federation and previous director Brian Hardin. “I am thankful for the opportunity to lead this great team and appreciate the strong foundation left behind by our previous director, Brian Hardin,” said Walker. “This department exists to serve the farmer-members of this organization through promotion of their products, providing educational opportunities, being their voice in Washington, D.C. and ultimately doing everything we can to improve their bottom line.” Walker, a Troy University graduate, began his career at the federation in June 2005, working as director of the Catfish and Meat Goat and Sheep divisions. Six years later, he was named director of the national legislative programs director. Before joining ALFA worked for the Alabama Department of Environmental Management. Federation executive director Paul Pinyan expressed thanks to Walker’s success in helping Alabama farmers. “I am confident he will continue to help farmers be more successful through the Federation’s commodity divisions, producer-funded checkoffs, affiliated organizations, and representation in Washington, D.C.,” said Pinyan. “We are thankful to have exceptional leaders such as Mitt on the Federation Management Team. They share a passion for serving our members, strengthening agriculture, and improving the quality of life for rural Alabamians.” Walker and his wife, Brandi, have three children, Olivia, Addi Leigh, and Ford. Mitt and his family live in Montgomery.
“Individual freedoms and rights are of the utmost importance” Richard Shelby opposes Joe Biden mandates.
The Senate approved a resolution to nullify the Biden administration’s Covid-19 vaccine mandate on Wednesday. The mandate requires businesses with 100 or more employees must have their employees vaccinated or be tested weekly. This week, a federal court granted Alabama’s motion for an injunction against the vaccination requirement. Indiana Senator Mike Braun sponsored the Congressional Review Act, which passed the Senate by a vote of 52-48. The Congressional Review Act (CRA), which was signed into law in 1996, is a tool Congress may use to overturn rules issued by federal agencies. The CRA requires agencies to report on their rulemaking activities to Congress and provides Congress with a special set of procedures to consider legislation to overturn those rules. Senator Richard Shelby issued a statement expressing appreciation for the efforts to overturn the mandate arguing the mandate is government overreach. “As I’ve said before, President Biden’s vaccine mandate violates our constitutional liberties and is federal overreach at its finest. Today I was proud to vote for Senator Braun’s CRA to overturn that mandate. While I urge people to consult with their doctor about getting vaccinated, I believe our individual freedoms and rights are of the utmost importance,” stated Senator Shelby. The CRA would provide fast-track procedures for Congress to consider a joint resolution to overturn an agency’s rule. The bill will head to the House, where it will face opposition from Democrats.
Richard Shelby announces $4M to establish a national center on forensics at University of Alabama
U.S. Senator Richard Shelby announced that the U.S. Department of Justice’s National Institute of Justice (NIJ) agency has awarded $4,000,000 to the University of Alabama (UA) to establish and operate a National Center on Forensics. The funding is in partnership with the Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences (ADFS) and the Alabama District Attorney’s Association. The funding was provided through the FY21 Consolidated Appropriations Act. The center helps provide forensic science and legal training to law enforcement, district judges, prosecutors, and other criminal justice agencies. It will also give access to education, training, and provide best practices in the forensic science community. “The U.S. Department of Justice has awarded The University of Alabama $4 million for the development of a National Center on Forensics, one of the first of its kind in the United States. This is outstanding news,” Shelby said in a press release. “The NIJ funding will allow UA to implement important training and learning opportunities in fields where forensic science and law intersect, with a heightened focus on underserved rural areas. I look forward to the lasting benefits that this new center will undoubtedly have on forensic science for years to come.” Senior associate vice president for research and economic development Dr. John Higginbotham stated, “This unique and emergent initiative will enable our UA team and our UAB partners to help improve forensic investigation, particularly in rural areas of our state and become a national leader for these training and learning opportunities. The grant will provide many valuable benefits, including the ability to offer medical and legal learning opportunities for students training as deputy medical examiners or coroners, with a special emphasis for those planning to live and work in underserved rural areas. We are grateful for the support of Senator Shelby during this highly competitive grant process and look forward to formally presenting this to the University of Alabama System Board of Trustees.” ADFS director Angelo Della Manna praised Shelby’s efforts. “The Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences is one of the nation’s oldest forensic science systems and has a long and well-established history of excelling in several previous NIJ forensic science initiatives. As the only accredited provider of forensic science services in Alabama, ADFS is uniquely positioned to help train medical students early on in their medical school education sequence on the exciting career options of becoming a medical examiner/coroner through the Center, as well as helping the Center provide local, state, and nationwide training to forensic science practitioners on new and emerging technologies in the field. We offer our deepest thanks to Senator Shelby for his long-standing support of forensic science and look forward to partnering with UA in this exciting endeavor to create the National Center on Forensics on the campus of the University of Alabama,” stated Della Manna.
Senate rejects Joe Biden’s vaccine mandate for businesses
The Senate narrowly approved a resolution Wednesday to nullify the Biden administration’s requirement that businesses with 100 or more workers have their employees be vaccinated against the coronavirus or submit to weekly testing. The vote was 52-48. The Democratic-led House is unlikely to take the measure up, which means the mandate would stand, though courts have put it on hold for now. Still, the vote gave senators a chance to voice opposition to a policy that they say has sparked fears back home from businesses and from unvaccinated constituents who worry about losing their jobs should the rule go into effect. “Every so often Washington D.C. does something that lights up the phone lines. This is one of these moments,” said Sen. Steve Daines, R-Mont. At home, he said, “this issue is what I hear about. This issue is a top-of-mind issue.” Lawmakers can invalidate certain federal agency regulations if a joint resolution is approved by both houses of Congress and signed by the president, or if Congress overrides a presidential veto. That’s unlikely to happen in this case. Under the rule, private-sector companies with 100 or more workers must require their employees to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 or be tested for the virus weekly and wear masks on the job. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration said it would work with companies on compliance but would fine them up to more than $13,000 for each violation, though implementation and enforcement is suspended as the litigation unfolds. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said Americans who have refused to get vaccinated are the biggest impediment to ending the pandemic. He implied that some of the resistance to mandated vaccines is based on politics. “Some of the anti-vaxxers here in this chamber remind me of what happened 400 years ago when people were clinging to the fact that the sun revolved around the Earth. They just didn’t believe science. Or 500 years ago when they were sure the Earth was flat,” Schumer said. Schumer said social media has played a role in spreading falsehoods about the vaccine, and “so has the far right.” He urged senators to vote against the resolution, sponsored by Sen. Mike Braun, R-Ind. Republicans said they are supportive of the vaccine, but that the mandate amounts to government overreach. “His mandates are under fire in the courts. Main Street job creators are complaining against it, and tonight, the U.S. Senate must send a clear message: back off this bad idea,” Braun said. Some argued that the mandate may even contribute to people not getting vaccinated. “I think, actually, the mandate has made it worse in terms of hardening people who don’t want to be told what to do by the government,” said Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo. Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., said a telephone town hall she recently held with constituents made clear they are concerned about keeping their a job if the mandate goes into effect. “If you look at my state, 40% of my state’s workforce stands to lose their job under this mandate,” Capito said. “It will be a killer to our economy.” In the end, two Democratic lawmakers voted with 50 Republicans to void the mandate, Sens. Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Jon Tester of Montana. Manchin had said in a tweet that he does not support any federal vaccine mandate for private businesses. Tester’s office said his opposition is based on conversations with Montana businesses who “expressed deep concerns about the negative effect on their bottom lines and our state’s economy during this fragile recovery period.” Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., sided with the Biden administration, noting that the pandemic is still raging and that deaths are overwhelmingly among the unvaccinated. “How on earth does it make sense right now to undercut one of the strongest tools that we have to get people vaccinated and stop this virus?” Murray said. “In what world is that a good idea?” The White House released a statement earlier this week stating that Biden’s advisers would recommend he veto the resolution in the unlikely event it makes it to his desk. “The president wants to see Americans back on the job, and Americans back at work should not face risk from those who are not vaccinated and who refuse to be tested,” the White House said. Deaths in the United States stemming from COVID-19 are running close to 1,600 a day on average. The overall U.S. death toll less than two years into the pandemic could soon reach 800,000. Republished with the permission of the Associated Press.
Prison commissioner stepping down from troubled department
Alabama Corrections Commissioner Jeff Dunn is stepping down after six years leading the troubled system that faces a Justice Department lawsuit over prison conditions, the governor’s office announced Tuesday. Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey said she is appointing John Hamm, the current deputy secretary of the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency, as the state’s next corrections commissioner. Hamm will take over on Jan. 1. “I have said before that Commissioner Dunn has a thankless job, but I am proud that he has led with the utmost integrity. He has helped lay the groundwork that I now look forward to building upon with John Hamm at the helm,” Ivey said in a statement. Dunn was appointed by then-Gov. Robert Bentley in 2015 to lead the troubled prison system. A retired Air Force colonel, Dunn had no experience in corrections, but Bentley said he would bring a fresh perspective to the department. He remained in the position under Ivey. During his tenure, Dunn sought additional funding to hire and retain corrections officers and helped lead the push under two administrations for prison construction. Lawmakers this year approved a plan to tap pandemic relief funds to help pay the costs of building two new super-size prisons and renovating other facilities. But his tenure also saw an ongoing prison violence crisis — at least partly fueled by the ongoing staffing shortage— and mounting troubles for the department. The Justice Department filed a civil lawsuit against Alabama last year, saying state lockups were among the deadliest in the nation and that inmates face unconstitutional levels of “prisoner-on-prisoner and guard-on-prisoner violence.” The Justice Department state officials have been deliberately indifferent to the problem. “In the two and a half years following the United States’ original notification to the State of Alabama of unconstitutional conditions of confinement, prisoners at Alabama’s Prisons for Men have continued daily to endure a high risk of death, physical violence, and sexual abuse at the hands of other prisoners,” the DOJ wrote in an updated complaint filed last month. It was signed by Attorney General Merrick Garland. U.S. District Judge Myron Thompson in 2017 ruled that Alabama’s psychiatric care of state inmates is so “horrendously inadequate” that it violates the U.S. Constitution’s ban on cruel and unusual punishment. State Rep. Chris England, who has long called for Dunn’s removal, said this was an opportunity to take the department in a new direction. He said leadership change is also needed at the parole board. Ivey’s office said Hamm has more than 35 years of experience in law enforcement and includes time working in corrections at both the state and local levels. “I will work diligently with the men and women of DOC to fulfill Governor Ivey’s charge of solving the issues of Alabama’s prison system,” Hamm said in a statement released by the governor’s office. Republished with the permission of the Associated Press.
$196 million in American Rescue Plan grants awarded to states to accelerate tourism
U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo announced that the Department’s Economic Development Administration (EDA) is awarding $196 million in American Rescue Plan State Travel, Tourism, and Outdoor Recreation grants to 24 states and territories. Last month, 34 states and the District of Columbia received a total of $314 million as part of the first batch of awards. The funds are part of EDA’s $750 million American Rescue Plan program, which includes $510 million in State Tourism grants. These investments will support marketing, infrastructure, workforce, and other projects to rejuvenate safe leisure, business, and international travel. The EDA plays a critical role in facilitating regional economic development efforts in communities across the nation. It is a part of the U.S. Department of Commerce, and the agency makes investments in economically distressed communities in order to create jobs for U.S. workers, promote American innovation, and accelerate long-term sustainable economic growth. Projects vary in scope based on locally driven needs. Alabama was awarded $3,689,493 in funding. “Rebuilding the travel and tourism industry is a key component of the Biden Administration’s plan to build back better and restore the competitiveness of the United States on the global stage,” stated Raimondo. “The State Tourism grants give states and territories the flexible opportunity to boost their local tourism industry and ensure that jobs are restored and tourists return safely.” “The coronavirus pandemic devasted the travel and tourism industry – the linchpin of many local economies across the country,” said Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Economic Development Alejandra Castillo. “EDA is proud to give state and territory leaders the resources to build back better through locally-led strategies that uniquely address the challenges and opportunities of their state’s travel tourism and outdoor recreation industry.” The following states and territories were awarded grants today: Alabama American Samoa California Florida Georgia Guam Hawaii Idaho Kentucky Northern Mariana Islands Republic of Marshall Islands Federated States of Micronesia Mississippi New Jersey North Carolina Oregon Republic of Palau Pennsylvania Puerto Rico South Carolina Tennessee U.S. Virgin Islands Virginia West Virginia
