Tommy Tuberville’s veterans post-9/11 GI bill passes Senate
U.S. Senator Tommy Tuberville’s veterans bill (S. 3606) passed the U.S. Senate with unanimous support. The bill, which clarifies the information required on the post-9/11 GI Bill benefit transfer forms, is Senator Tuberville’s second piece of legislation to pass the Senate, after the Supporting Families of the Fallen Act passed in March. A bipartisan group of nine senators cosponsored the bill, including Senators John Thune, Marco Rubio, Mike Braun, Tim Scott, Marsha Blackburn, John Boozman, Raphael Warnock, Dianne Feinstein, and Richard Blumenthal. Once the bill passes the U.S. House of Representatives, where it also has bipartisan support, it will head to President Joe Biden’s desk to be signed into law. In a press release, Tuberville, applauded the support for the bill. “As the son of a veteran and a grateful American, I want to ensure that our veterans and their families are well-taken care of, not the victims of bureaucratic red tape,” said Tuberville. “This bill is another targeted, meaningful change that makes it easier for our veterans and their families to receive the benefits they so rightly deserve. I look forward to seeing this bill pass the House and sent to President Biden’s desk soon.” After learning of a small, but correctable error that makes it difficult for dependents to receive their Post-9/11 GI Bill benefits, Senator Tuberville introduced legislation to fix the issue in February 2022. The bill clarifies the information required on U.S. Department of Veterans’ Affairs (VA) and U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) forms filled out by a service member when they elect to have their post-9/11 GI Bill benefit transferred to a dependent. Part of current VA and DoD transfer forms requires the service member to fill out a field labeled “end date,” which refers to the date on which the dependent may no longer receive the benefit. Many service members were misreading the information requested in the GI Bill benefit transfer forms. This error resulted in eligible dependents being barred from education benefits due to an easily amendable error. Since this field is the cause of many incorrectly completed transfer forms, Senator Tuberville’s bill would remove the “end date” to prevent further issues. This bill will allow a service member to transfer his or her Post-9/11 GI bill benefits to a spouse or child so long as the service member has done the following: Completed at least six years on the date the service member requests to transfer the benefit, and Agreed to add four more years of service, and The individual receiving the benefits has enrolled in the Defense Enrollment Eligibility Reporting System (DEERS).
Terri Sewell joins White House leaders to announce rural wastewater infrastructure initiative
On Tuesday, U.S. Rep. Terri Sewell welcomed U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Michael S. Regan, and White House Infrastructure Coordinator Mitch Landrieu to Lowndes County, Alabama, to announce a new wastewater infrastructure initiative under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. Sewell hosted a roundtable at the White Hall Town Hall to give federal officials an opportunity to hear from local leaders about the unique needs of each community and to address broken and failing wastewater systems in rural Alabama. “Access to adequate wastewater infrastructure is a basic human right, but for too many of my constituents, generations of disinvestment have led to broken and failing wastewater systems that put the health of our communities at risk,” said Rep. Sewell. “Since coming to Congress, I have made addressing our wastewater crisis a top priority, working to secure funding and direct resources to areas in need of help. Now, thanks to the leadership of the Biden-Harris Administration and transformative investments from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, more help is on the way. This joint initiative between the EPA and USDA will be instrumental in our fight to improve wastewater infrastructure for our most underserved communities.” Today, I welcomed @EPAMichaelRegan, @SecVilsack, and @MitchLandrieu46 to Lowndes County where we announced a brand new initiative under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to help fix our broken wastewater systems here in rural Alabama. THREAD 👇🏾 pic.twitter.com/y2dRsKOBcA — Rep. Terri A. Sewell (@RepTerriSewell) August 2, 2022 The Closing America’s Wastewater Access Gap Community Initiative will allow EPA and USDA—in close collaboration with local communities, state and Tribal partners, and on-the-ground technical assistance providers—to leverage technical and financial expertise to make progress on addressing the wastewater infrastructure needs of some of America’s most underserved communities. According to an EPA press release, the new initiative will be piloted in 11 communities across the country where residents lack basic wastewater management that is essential to protecting their health and the environment. Each community or Tribe will receive direct support to develop wastewater assessments with technical engineering support, design wastewater community solution plans, identify and pursue funding opportunities, and build long-term capacity. Catherine Flowers, founder of the Center for Rural Enterprise and Environmental Justice applauded the initiative. “Decades ago, Lowndes County led the charge for voting rights – today we are leading the call for wastewater equity. Most Americans couldn’t imagine raw sewage pooling in their yard just outside the kitchen window, or worse, backing up into their home when it rains too much,” stated Flowers. “I want to thank the Biden-Harris Administration for committing to help us find a solution. Today, we are taking a big step toward achieving a more just future for the people of Lowndes and rural communities across the U.S.” An estimated 2.2 million people in the United States lack basic running water and indoor plumbing. This initiative will help communities access financing and technical assistance to improve wastewater infrastructure to “close the gap” for communities that have been left behind. “The America that we all believe in is a land of opportunity. But, for historically marginalized communities from Alabama to Alaska, that opportunity is stolen when basic sanitation doesn’t work—exposing adults and children to backyard sewage and disease,” said Regan. “By partnering with USDA, states, and leveraging funding through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, EPA is working to restore dignity and opportunity to rural communities here in Lowndes County and across the country.” Agriculture Secretary Vilsack argued that this initiative would help provide communities with vital services. “Access to modern, reliable wastewater infrastructure is a necessity, and the Biden-Harris Administration is committed to doing everything we can to ensure every family and every child in America has access to these vital services. By combining USDA and EPA resources and taking advantage of the historic Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, we can restore to these communities a sense of economic vitality and social dignity that the people living there deserve.” “President [Joe]Biden has been clear—we cannot leave any community behind as we rebuild America’s infrastructure with the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. This includes rural and Tribal communities who, for too long, have felt forgotten. The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law provides $11.7 billion in loans and grants to communities for a wide range of water-quality infrastructure projects, including wastewater solutions for these communities,” stated White House Infrastructure Coordinator Mitch Landrieu. The EPA and USDA—in partnership with state, Tribal, and local partners—are launching the initiative in: Bolivar County, Mississippi; Doña Ana County, New Mexico; Duplin County, North Carolina; Greene County, Alabama; Halifax County, North Carolina; Harlan County, Kentucky; Lowndes County, Alabama; McDowell County, West Virginia; Raleigh County, West Virginia; San Carlos Apache Tribe, Arizona; and, Santo Domingo Pueblo, New Mexico.
Three Bradley partners named to Benchmark Top 250 Women in Litigation list for 2022
Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP announced that partners Leigh Anne Hodge, Lela M. Hollabaugh, and Kimberly B. Martin have been named to Benchmark Litigation’s Top 250 Women in Litigation list for 2022. The published list highlights some of the most distinguished women in litigation and is based on a culmination of research and client feedback. “We are proud of Leigh Anne, Lela, and Kim and congratulate them on their continued recognition as top female litigators,” said Bradley Chairman of the Board and Managing Partner Jonathan M. Skeeters. “Their inclusion on this prestigious list is well deserved.” The women were also recognized by the publication in 2021. Hodge leads Bradley’s Litigation Practice Group and is also a member of the Healthcare Practice Group, representing clients in the healthcare industry in regional and national engagements. Based out of the Birmingham office, Hodge provides counsel regarding product liability litigation, medical malpractice litigation, peer review, and staff privileges matters, administrative hearings before licensure boards, ERISA litigation, Medicare Advantage plan litigation, managed care litigation, insurance disputes, and insurance fraud cases. Hollabaugh is based in the firm’s Nashville office and has served as the lead trial lawyer in more than a dozen jury trials, as well as more than two dozen bench trials, arbitrations, and administrative hearings. She advises leading natural gas pipeline companies and other infrastructure clients on issues involving location, land acquisition, construction, and operations. Ms. Hollabaugh has co-authored an amicus curiae brief to the U.S. Supreme Court in support of the industry’s position in the scope of the Natural Gas Act and the state’s 11th Amendment immunity. Martin focuses on general litigation with an emphasis on medical device and pharmaceutical products liability litigation, as well as white collar matters and False Claims Act litigation. Based in Bradley’s Huntsville office, Martin has represented multi-national pharmaceutical and medical device manufacturers in litigation matters across the country.
Republican governors call Democrat spending bill “reckless”
Twenty-one Republican governors called the Inflation Reduction Act “another reckless tax and spending spree” in a joint statement released Thursday. The legislation, dubbed the “Democrats spending bill” by Republicans, would reduce the federal deficit, Senate Democrats said in a summary. But the $740 billion bill would hurt all Americans, the Republican governors said. “While denying recession, Democrats want to raise taxes on businesses and manufacturers, which will force higher costs onto consumers, worsen inflation, and aggravate shortages,” they said in the letter. “With sky-high prices at the pump, the last thing Americans need is for Democrats to punish energy producers, which will ultimately hurt working families struggling to pay for gas, goods, food, and utilities.” Democrats maintain the measure would reduce inflation by investing taxpayer dollars into domestic energy production and manufacturing and lowering carbon emissions by 40% by 2030. Republicans have maintained that Biden’s policies hindered energy production in the oil and gas industry, leading to record high gas prices this summer, which in part contributed to 40-year high inflation. They point to the president’s executive orders ending new leases for oil production on federal lands, ending the Keystone Pipeline construction, and other restrictions on the industry. Democrats say their bill also would allow Medicaid to negotiate prescription drug prices, something critics say will discourage investment in new treatments. The Affordable Care Act also would be extended for three years under Democrats’ plans. The bill also includes up to $7,500 in tax credits on the purchase of an electric or fuel cell vehicle made in America. Large corporations would be required to pay a minimum 15% tax, and the measure would not raise taxes on Americans making less than $400,000 a year, according to remarks by President Joe Biden. The joint statement opposing the Inflation Reduction Act was made by South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster, Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp, Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey, Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey, Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, Idaho Gov. Brad Little, Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb, Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds, Mississippi Governor Tate Reeves, Missouri Gov Mike Parson, Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte, Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts, North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu, Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt, Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, Utah Gov. Spencer Cox, Virginia Gov. Glenn Younkin, and Wyoming Gov. Mark Gordon. Republished with the permission of The Center Square.
Alex Jones ordered to pay Sandy Hook parents more than $4M
A Texas jury on Thursday ordered conspiracy theorist Alex Jones to pay more than $4 million in compensatory damages to the parents of a 6-year-old boy who was killed in the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre, marking the first time the Infowars host has been held financially liable for repeatedly claiming the deadliest school shooting in U.S. history was a hoax. The Austin jury must still decide how much the Infowars host must pay in punitive damages to Neil Heslin and Scarlett Lewis, whose son Jesse Lewis was among the 20 children and six educators who were killed in the 2012 attack in Newtown, Connecticut. The parents had sought at least $150 million in compensation for defamation and intentional infliction of emotional distress. Jones’ attorney asked the jury to limit damages to $8 — one dollar for each of the compensation charges they are considering — and Jones himself said any award over $2 million “would sink us.” It likely won’t be the last judgment against Jones over his claims that the attack was staged in the interests of increasing gun controls. A Connecticut judge has ruled against him in a similar lawsuit brought by other victims’ families and an FBI agent who worked on the case. The Texas award could set a marker for other cases against Jones and underlines the financial threat he’s facing. It also raises new questions about the ability of Infowars — which has been banned from YouTube, Spotify, and Twitter for hate speech — to continue operating, although the company’s finances remain unclear. Jones, who has portrayed the lawsuit as an attack on his First Amendment rights, conceded during the trial that the attack was “100% real” and that he was wrong to have lied about it. But Heslin and Lewis told jurors that an apology wouldn’t suffice and called on them to make Jones pay for the years of suffering he has put them and other Sandy Hook families through. The parents testified Tuesday about how they’ve endured a decade of trauma, inflicted first by the murder of their son and what followed: gunshots fired at a home, online and phone threats, and harassment on the street by strangers. They said the threats and harassment were all fueled by Jones and his conspiracy theory spread to his followers via his website Infowars. A forensic psychiatrist testified that the parents suffer from “complex post-traumatic stress disorder” inflicted by ongoing trauma, similar to what might be experienced by a soldier at war or a child abuse victim. At one point in her testimony, Lewis looked directly at Jones, who was sitting barely 10 feet away. “It seems so incredible to me that we have to do this — that we have to implore you, to punish you — to get you to stop lying,” Lewis told Jones. Jones was the only witness to testify in his defense. And he came under withering attack from the plaintiff’s attorneys under cross-examination, as they reviewed Jones’ own video claims about Sandy Hook over the years, and accused him of lying and trying to hide evidence, including text messages and emails about the attack. It also included internal emails sent by an Infowars employee that said, “this Sandy Hook stuff is killing us.” At one point, Jones was told that his attorneys had mistakenly sent Mark Bankston, who is representing Heslin and Lewis, the last two years’ worth of texts from Jones’ cellphone. Bankston said in court Thursday that the U.S. House January 6 committee investigating the 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol has requested the records and that he intends to comply. And shortly after Jones declared, “I don’t use email,” Jones was shown one that came from his address, and another one from an Infowars business officer telling Jones that the company had earned $800,000 gross in selling its products in a single day, which would amount to nearly $300 million in a year. Jones’ media company Free Speech Systems, which is Infowars’ parent company, filed for bankruptcy during the two-week trial. Republished with the permission of The Associated Press.
