Tommy Tuberville and Katie Britt claim Huntsville is the best place for Space Command
U.S. Senators Tommy Tuberville and Katie Britt both released statements reiterating their positions that Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville is the best permanent location for the headquarters of U.S. Space Command and will advance America’s vital national security interests. “Locating the permanent Space Command Headquarters on Redstone Arsenal undoubtedly remains in the best national security interest of the United States,” said Sen. Britt. “Huntsville finished first in both the Air Force’s Evaluation Phase and Selection Phase, leaving no doubt that the Air Force’s decision to choose Redstone as the preferred basing location was correct purely on the merits. That decision should remain in the Air Force’s hands and should not be politicized. Selecting a fifth-place finisher would obviously prioritize partisan political considerations at the expense of our national security, military modernization, and force readiness. Alabama’s world-class aerospace and defense workforce, capabilities, and synergies stand ready to fulfill the mission and strengthen our national security long into the future.” “The U.S. Air Force’s thorough selection process and decision to put SPACECOM headquarters in Alabama was based on evidence of what’s best for the military and the country,” said Sen. Tuberville. “The Air Force selected Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville, Alabama, over 65 other locations, including Colorado. Members of Congress from Colorado requested two additional studies when they didn’t get their way. Both of those studies confirmed that Huntsville was the number one location for SPACECOM — based on things like workforce, existing infrastructure, education, and cost of living. Colorado did not make the top three. The best place for Space Command is in Huntsville. This is not my opinion, this is fact.” News media reports confirm that a U.S. Government Accountability Office report dated May 2022 stated, “Air Force analysis identified Redstone Arsenal as the highest scoring location in the Evaluation Phase, the highest ranked location in the Selection Phase, and the location with the most advantages in the decision matrix. Air Force officials, including the then Secretary of the Air Force, stated that the decision to identify Redstone Arsenal as the preferred location stemmed from Air Force analysis showing it was the strongest candidate location.” The same report said Air Force documentation from January 2021 affirmed that “Redstone Arsenal rated the best of the six candidate locations based on the criteria and noted that selecting Peterson Air Force Base as the preferred location would not align with the results of Air Force Selection Phase analysis.” “[T]he January 2021 selection of Redstone Arsenal as the preferred location for U.S. Space Command headquarters was consistent with the Air Force’s analysis,” the GAO added. “Multiple senior officials we interviewed stated that they felt the process was unbiased, including the former Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Installations, Environment and Energy; the former Secretary of the Air Force; the former Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff; the U.S. Space Command Combatant Commander; and the U.S. Space Force Chief of Space Operations.” Finally, per the GAO, “[T]he Air Force identified the ability to disperse combatant commands geographically as supporting its decision, and Air Force officials told us that they considered risk related to colocating U.S. Space Command and U.S. Northern Command at Peterson Air Force Base as a military judgment issue. The Air Force considered dispersing combatant commands in different geographic areas as a strategic advantage and a way to avoid placing two combatant commands at risk from the same threat.” In addition to the GAO report, the Air Force’s decision to locate the permanent Space Command HQ on Redstone Arsenal has been cleared by a Department of Defense Inspector General evaluation and has completed an environmental review. Tuberville said that reports that the Air Force’s selection process was political or contrary to the advice of Pentagon officials are not supported by fact. President Joe Biden’s administration has repeatedly confirmed the selection of Huntsville as a “strategic” and an “analytically based process.” On February 22, 2021, then-Pentagon Press Secretary John Kirby said in a statement, “Secretary Austin has communicated to Air Force leaders that he supports their decision-making process about the preferred location of Space Command headquarters.” On June 16, 2021, John Roth, President Biden’s Acting Secretary of the Air Force at the time, testified at a U.S. House Armed Services Committee hearing. In his testimony, Acting Secretary Ross said, “I have personally no evidence that the decision was politically motivated…[t]he selection of Huntsville as the preferred location by my predecessor was the result of our strategic basing process, and that process is an analytically based process.” Sen. Tuberville’s work to support the relocation has been ongoing. In 2020, the U.S. Air Force conducted an extensive search for the best location for the new home of SPACECOM, reviewing objective criteria like infrastructure, costs, mission capability, and the quality of the local community. Sixty-six locations in twenty-six states were evaluated, and in the end, Redstone ranked number one. At the request of other lawmakers, the U.S. Department of Defense Inspector General (DoD IG) and the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) conducted investigations into U.S. Air Force’s site selection process for SPACECOM headquarters. To connect with the author of this story or to comment, email brandonmreporter@gmail.com.
Senator Clay Scofield and Rep. Randall Shedd: Broadband ‘critically important investment’ for Alabama
Alabama has made significant investments over the past five years to expand broadband access across the state. As a result, we are making great progress towards bringing high-speed internet to unserved communities throughout Alabama. The Governor and Legislature are focused on building upon this success, so during the recent Special Session of the Legislature, we allocated $260 million of federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) dollars to help the state continue building its broadband infrastructure for the benefit of all Alabama residents and businesses. This important bill, which has now been passed by the legislature and signed by the Governor, is one of many investments the state has made to improve broadband accessibility. In 2018, the Alabama legislature enacted the Alabama Broadband Accessibility Act, through which our state has awarded $88.6 million in grants for the expansion of broadband services through the Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs (ADECA). These investments have already brought high-speed internet access to tens of thousands of households and businesses, with tens of thousands more on the way. The legislature also passed the Connect Alabama Act in 2021, which created the Alabama Digital Expansion Authority (ADEA) to advise, review, and approve Alabama’s statewide connectivity plan and to analyze data and mapping that will provide the information needed to make the best decisions for broadband in our state. This has been a great success and paid huge dividends thanks to ADEA’s efficient stewardship of our state’s broadband dollars, as funds have been utilized to efficiently support projects where Alabama needs them most. Before passing these important legislative priorities, our state ranked near the bottom of the chart nationally in broadband connectivity. Those days are long behind us, and now other states are looking at Alabama as a model of how to get broadband expansion done. In 2022, the state of Alabama allocated $192 million of ARPA funds for last-mile expansion and another $85 million of ARPA funds for the creation of a statewide middle mile network. You can think of “middle mile” as the road you take to get to a certain address, and the “last mile” as your destination’s driveway. Through Governor Kay Ivey’s leadership in supporting this middle mile network, which will touch almost all of Alabama’s 67 counties, we are “paving” the way for our state to have more robust and cost-efficient broadband access once additional state and federal dollars become available in the coming years. This is a critically important investment into our state as we are implementing the bold vision set forth by ADEA in the Alabama Connectivity Plan. Without access to high-speed internet, a community simply can’t meet its full potential in a modern, 21st Century economy. Alabamians depend on high-speed internet for work, education, healthcare, and countless other needs. We need to make sure that every Alabamian has access to high-speed internet, and with the passage of this spending bill, we are well on our way. ADEA will continue to oversee these efforts to ensure that the funds are being spent efficiently and effectively on projects that will have the highest possible impact for our state. We are committed to bringing broadband access to all of Alabama, and this is one more step in that direction.
Gov. Kay Ivey announces Alabama’s February unemployment rate ties record low of 2.5%
On Friday, Governor Kay Ivey announced that Alabama’s preliminary, seasonally adjusted February unemployment rate has dropped to 2.5%, tying the record low – also set during Ivey’s tenure as governor. February’s rate of 2.5% is down from January 2023’s rate of 2.6% and below February 2022’s rate of 2.6%. Just 56,221 people in the state qualified under the official definition as being unemployed – i.e., they have no job and are actively looking for work. February’s 56,221 is a new record low. This is down from 58,392 unemployed in January 2023 and 58,943 a year ago in February of 2022. “Once again, we’ve hit a record low unemployment rate,” stated Ivey. “While it may seem like we break these records month after month, we know that even with record low unemployment, we still have a duty to provide good, quality jobs to every Alabamian who wants one. I’m proud of our economic successes and reaffirm my commitment to continue to work to make this state the best place to live, work and raise a family.” Wage and salary employment totaled 2,133,500 in February. This is an increase of 15,900 from January. Over the month gains were seen in the professional and business services sector (+3,800), the government sector (+3,500), the leisure and hospitality sector (+3,400), the private education and health services sector (+3,200), the manufacturing sector (+1,100), the construction sector (+700) and the information sector (+300), among others. Wage and salary employment increased by 43,900 people over the year. Annual gains were seen in the education and health services sector (+8,600), the manufacturing sector (+8,200), the government sector (+7,600), the professional and business services sector (+7,300), the leisure and hospitality sector (+4,900), the other services sector (+3,600), the construction sector (+3,400), the information sector (+900) and the financial activities sector (+800), with the other services sector setting a new all-time record high jobs count. “Job growth of nearly 44,000 over the year is definitely something to be proud of,” said Alabama Department of Labor Secretary Fitzgerald Washington. “We know that employers still have jobs that need to be filled, and we’re working to match those employers with those jobseekers. Our Career Center System has so many tools to help everyone succeed – I would definitely recommend visiting your local center if you need any assistance.” The counties with the lowest unemployment rates are Shelby County at 1.7%, Morgan County and Madison County at 1.9%, and St. Clair County, Marshall County, Limestone County, Elmore County, Cullman County, and Blount County at 2.0%. The counties with the highest unemployment rates are Wilcox County at 8.0%, Greene County at 5.5%, and Dallas County at 5.1%. The major cities with the lowest unemployment rates are Homewood and Madison at 1.5%, Trussville and Vestavia Hills at 1.6%, and Alabaster, Hoover, and Northport at 1.7 %. The major cities with the highest unemployment rates are Selma at 6.5%, Prichard at 4.3%, and Bessemer at 3.8%. The labor participation rate for Alabamians 16 years and older continues to trouble policymakers. While unemployment is at a record low and businesses across the state struggle to find new workers, there was no improvement in labor force participation rate. It was unchanged at 56.7 percent. That is down from 57.1% in February 2022. Nationally the labor force participation rate ticked up to 62.5%. Alabama Today on Wednesday talked with State Rep. Danny Garrett about the state’s poor labor force participation rate and its impact on state revenues, and the state’s high poverty rate. “If we just got to the national average, it would be huge,” Garrett told Alabama Today. “It would be a sea change. The question is, how do we get there? Part of that is education. Part of that is getting people off of the programs that are keeping them out of the workforce. Part of that is focusing on areas of the state that are behind.” To connect with the author of this story or to comment, email brandonmreporter@gmail.com.
House passes major rewrite of adoption laws
On Thursday, the Alabama House of Representatives voted in favor of a massive rewrite of Alabama’s adoption laws. Sponsors say the rewrite will make adoptions faster, more economical, and less complicated. House Bill 101 (HB101) is sponsored by State Representative Ginny Shaver. Shaver told reporters, “Cutting down on the court procedures and filings will save money, but it has a bigger savings on time.” The bill decreases the time in a child abandonment case before that child can be put up for adoption from six months to four months. “It is a big-time savings, which is hugely important in getting children into a permanent home as soon as possible,” Shaver said. The Alabama Law Institute has had a committee working on modernizing and improving the laws for adoptions for four years to develop this rewrite of the existing adoption statutes. “This is not a Ginny Shaver bill. This is a Law Institute bill,” Shaver said. “They were the experts that know all the ins and outs.” “It has not been changed much in the last thirty years,” Shaver said. “(This legislation) can save up to two years of time. It identifies the proper court to terminate parental rights. It also allows the courts to use electronic communications.” “It specifies that if a married couple wishes to adopt, that both parents have to appear on the petition to adopt,” Shaver said. “We are all touched by adoptions in one way or the other,” Shaver said. “I have a sister who was adopted.” The House passed House Bill 101 and House Bill 1, which raised the penalties for fentanyl trafficking, during this first week of the regular session. Speaker of the House Nathaniel Ledbetter said, “We have changed lives for generations to come. These were my top two priorities. I am excited to get those two major bills passed out of the House.” Ledbetter said that updating the adoption law has needed to be done for years. “I think there was urgency,” Ledbetter said. “It has been a process that has been going on for four years. It should have been corrected a long time ago. Rep. Matt Simpson, an attorney, told reporters, “I am ecstatic. Adoption is part of the practice that I do. That adoption committee met every other week for four years. You had probate judges from all over the state. You had attorneys on that zoom call working on that.” “Adoptions are difficult, and they shouldn’t be,” Simpson said. “It doesn’t need to cost $40,000 to $50,000 to get an adoption done.” Shaver said that presently the state has 5,700 children being cared for by the state, but only 220 are currently available for adoption. “Are all of these children in foster care?” Rep. Laura Hall asked. Shaver replied, “They (the 5,700 kids) would be in some sort of supported system, whether it is foster care or a children’s home.” Shaver said that this legislation speeds up adoptions because it allows different courts to communicate with each other electronically and by decreasing the time in child abandonment cases from six months to four months. Hall said, “We must find a way. We must find the resources so that we are providing all that child needs.” Shaver explained, “Adoptions start in probate courts, but parental rights termination goes to juvenile court. If there is a challenge, it goes to juvenile court.” State Rep. Ernie Yarbrough attempted to bring an amendment that would have banned any vaccination requirements for people who want to be foster parents. “I love the bill, and I am totally for the bill,” Yarborough said. “Most of the adoptions that happen in the state are foster adoptions. I have a lot of my constituents who are not allowed to participate in the foster-to-adoption process because they are opposed to vaccine mandates.” Yarborough argued that Alabama’s adoption and foster care process “should be free from vaccine mandates.” Shaver said, “This bill has been worked on for four years. You should bring this as a separate bill. There are unintended consequences from this, including decreasing our federal funds.” At Shaver’s request, the House voted to table the Yarborough amendment 58 to 24. Health Freedom Alabama wrote on Facebook afterward, “The majority voted to kill the amendment and it did not pass. The majority of the House members did not see value in removing vaccine status discrimination policies that actually limit the number of families willing and able to adopt or foster to do so.” “I was not taking any amendments from the floor,” Shaver told Alabama Today afterward. “They need to bring their own bill.” HB101 passed the Alabama House of Representatives 105 to 0. 99 members signed on as co-sponsors. “I am glad to get it across the finish line,” Shaver said. “It has been a long time coming.” HB101 now goes to the Alabama Senate for their consideration. To connect with the author of this story or to comment, email brandonmreporter@gmail.com.
Alabama House votes to increase penalties on fentanyl trafficking
On Thursday, the Alabama House of Representatives unanimously voted in favor of legislation to substantially increase the length of sentences for persons convicted of trafficking fentanyl in the state. House Bill 1 (HB1) is sponsored by State Representative Matt Simpson. “This is going after the distributors, the trafficker, the people bringing this into the communities,” Simpson explained. Fentanyl is a powerful opioid that was designed to make hospital patients unconscious during surgery. It has become the drug of choice for drug dealers as it is cheap, plentiful, highly addictive, and produces a very powerful high. Opioids, and especially fentanyl, have resulted in a massive increase in the number of Americans dying from drug overdoses. A recent report showed 107,000 Americans were killed by drug overdoses in the last 12 months. Rep. Terri Collins said, “Thank you for bringing this bill.” “I have had so many people call me about this,” Collins said. “It is a weapon of mass destruction. Having strong penalties are so important.” HB1, as written, sets the amounts of fentanyl that would constitute trafficking under Alabama law and the sentences in the Alabama criminal code for being caught smuggling or distributing those amounts in the state. Rep. John Rogers said, “I like this bill. I heard on Channel 13 that just a little residue of fentanyl in a pocket can be harmful for a child. In Birmingham, a child gave away some candy at school, and they had to send seven kids to the hospital because of fentanyl residue. “I am very excited about your bill,” Rogers said. “Can it be mixed with the water, like at the waterworks? Simpson replied, “I don’t think that fentanyl is soluble in water.” “Your bill is very good,” Rogers said. “Last week in Birmingham, five people died of fentanyl overdose, and they did not know they had fentanyl.” Simpson said, “We are trying to educate the public. The attorney general has negotiated a $300 million opioid case verdict. That is going to be used to educate the public. Half is going to the cities, and half going to the counties.” Some drug dealers lace other drugs like marijuana, cocaine, methamphetamine, counterfeit prescription drugs, and even candies with fentanyl to increase their clientele. Rogers said, “We have got people selling these dirty, dirty drugs. We have got people saying I don’t want regular marijuana. They want that dirty, dirty stuff. It smells really bad. I can smell it walking down the street in Birmingham.” Simpson said that his bill targets traffickers, not street dealers. “This is not the guy on the street,” Simpson said. “This is the main traffickers.” “I do have it broken down by weight,” Simpson said. “Just two milligrams is a lethal dose.” Rogers said, “Kids are getting it. That is what scares me more than anything else.” State Rep. Thomas Jackson said, “I want to commend you for bringing this bill. I am from southwest Alabama. Baldwin County has a problem. The state has a problem. We don’t know how many people we know who may die from this. We need to make them pay a price so deep that they never see the light again.” “We have had friends in our community that died from fentanyl,” Rep. Thomas said. “We have got a problem at the south border, and if we don’t curtail it now, we are going to lose so many people.” State Rep. Barbara Drummond has successfully sponsored legislation to limit the sale of vaping products to minors. Drummond said, “I am an advocate for young people and vaping. This piece of legislation is so important. Recently a young person’s vape pipe was laced with fentanyl. This stuff is coming out of China, and it is so dangerous.” HB1 passed the House 105 to 0. The passage was followed by a standing ovation on the floor of the House. 101 members of the House signed on as co-sponsors. Alabama Today asked Simpson how much prison time someone caught with 100 pounds of fentanyl would get under this. “Life,” Simpson replied. “This stuff is so dangerous that if police officers even get it on their hands, they are having (health) problems.” The bill had the support of every single member, and 101 of the 105 signed on as co-sponsors. “The biggest message I got from today is that this is bipartisan,” Simpson said. “That shows how dangerous fentanyl is in our communities.” Simpson explained to reporters that the bill addresses pure fentanyl, not fentanyl mixed with other drugs. “The code already has mixtures in the statute,” Simpson said. “If you have a gram of pure fentanyl that could kill 500 people.” Simpson said that the bill sends a message to drug traffickers. “We wanted them to know we are coming after you, and you are going to go to jail for a long time,” Simpson said. “One pill can kill you,” Simpson said. “Fentanyl is fifty to a hundred times more powerful than morphine. When you talk to pathologists, they will tell you that 80% of overdose deaths are fentanyl.” Simpson said that he has talked with the Attorney General, and the state’s half of the opioid settlement should go to educate the public on the dangers of fentanyl and for drug treatment. “Once somebody gets on fentanyl, we need to spend the money to get people off of fentanyl,” Simpson said. Speaker of the House Nathaniel Ledbetter said that passing HB1 and the bill overhauling adoption laws were his two biggest priorities for the session. “We have changed lives for generations to come with these two bills,” Ledbetter said. “These were my top two priorities. I am excited to get those two major bills passed out of the House.” Reporters asked Speaker Ledbetter what the difference was between fentanyl and drugs that came before, like cocaine. “The difference is how deadly it is,” Ledbetter replied. “There is enough fentanyl coming across our borer to kill every man, woman, and child in the United States. Simpson is an attorney and former prosecutor who serves on the House Judiciary Committee
Lawmakers tell ex-CEOs ‘you must answer’ for bank failures
Leaders of the Senate’s banking committee on Thursday warned former chief executive officers at the failed Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank that they expect them to testify before the panel, saying in a letter to each: “you must answer for the bank’s downfall.” The committee is examining the events leading up to the closures of the banks, starting with the first congressional hearing on Tuesday. Separate letters were sent Thursday to Gregory Becker, the former head of Silicon Valley Bank, and to Joseph DePaolo, the former head of Signature Bank. Both CEOs had indicated to the committee they would be unable to attend Tuesday’s hearing, according to the letter. But the senators said they believe the CEOs can testify to Congress without disclosing confidential information. Nor would the executives need to hand over bank records and files to provide informative testimony, they said. Attorneys copied in on the letters sent to the CEOs did not immediately reply to requests from The Associated Press for comment. Silicon Valley Bank, based in Santa Clara, California, failed on March 10 after depositors rushed to withdraw money amid fears about the bank’s health. It was the second-largest bank collapse in U.S. history. Regulators convened over the following weekend and announced that New York-based Signature Bank also had failed. They said that all depositors at both banks, including those holding uninsured funds, those exceeding $250,000, would be protected by federal deposit insurance. Sen. Sherrod Brown, the Democratic chairman of the banking panel, and Sen. Tim Scott, the ranking Republican, said the committee needs to understand how the banks managed risk during their rapid growth and what led to them both having a large proportion of uninsured depositors. The senators also asked SVB’s Becker for information on the “payment of bonuses in the hours leading up to the seizure of the bank by regulators.” Lawmakers also are scrutinizing the actions of regulators who supervised the two banks, and that will be the focus of Tuesday’s hearing with testimony from Martin Gruenberg, chairman of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation; Michael Barr, a vice chairman at the Federal Reserve’s Board of Governors; and Nellie Liang, undersecretary for domestic finance at the Treasury Department. The Justice Department and the Securities and Exchange Commission have also launched investigations into the Silicon Valley Bank collapse, and President Joe Biden has called on Congress to strengthen rules on regional banks and to impose tougher penalties on executives of failed banks. Republished with the permission of The Associated Press.
Lawmakers vote to rein in use of good behavior incentives
Alabama inmates could see more time behind bars under a bill approved Thursday in the Alabama Senate that restricts the use of good behavior incentives to shorten prison stays. Senators voted 30-1 for the bill that now moves to the Alabama House of Representatives. The legislation is named after a slain Bibb County Deputy Brad Johnson. Johnson was killed in 2022 by a man law enforcement officials said was released after serving four years of a 10-year theft sentence. “I think that our number one focus is making sure that bad people that are supposed to be in prison, stay in prison,” Senate President Pro Tem Greg Reed, R-Jasper, said. While supporters said the change is needed to avoid a repeat tragedy, opponents argued the change would worsen Alabama’s ongoing prison crisis by adding to overcrowding. “If signed into law, SB1 will only agitate an already chaotic and violent system that is harming all Alabamians, including the lives of people incarcerated and correctional staff,” Dillon Nettles, the policy and advocacy director for the ACLU of Alabama, said. Alabama law now allows certain inmates sentenced to 15 years or fewer to earn up to 75 days of credit for every 30 days of good behavior. The Senate-passed bill reduces the rate that inmates accrue “good time” credit and also says inmates who commit certain offenses while in prison, including escape, would be disqualified from early release. Most Alabama inmates are ineligible for the incentives because of their sentence length or conviction. An estimated 12% of inmates are eligible. “The man that killed Deputy Johnson was released on good time. I believe he should have been behind bars on that day,” said the bill’s sponsor, Republican Sen. April Weaver of Brierfield said. The shooting happened not far from Weaver’s driveway, and the senator’s husband, an emergency room physician, rushed to try to save him. Austin Hall, the man accused of killing Johnson and shooting another deputy, had been released early from a 10-year prison sentence for theft, despite escaping from a work release center in 2019. The issues surrounding Hall’s release are complicated. He never returned to state prison custody after he was recaptured so he never had a disciplinary hearing to revoke his good time credit, a prison system spokeswoman said this summer. Court records show he was held in county jails and eventually allowed to be released on bond for the other charges he faced, according to court records. Hall now faces capital murder charges for Johnson’s death. Republished with the permission of The Associated Press.
Lawmakers advance hospital visitation protections
Alabama lawmakers on Thursday advanced legislation requiring hospitals and nursing homes to allow in-person visits, even during a pandemic. The Alabama Senate approved the bill on a 33-0 vote after members shared stories of people being separated from loved ones during the COVID-19 pandemic. The bill now moves to the Alabama House of Representatives. Lawmakers in several other states have also moved to limit restrictions on visitations such as those imposed during the pandemic. The bill’s sponsor Sen. Garlan Gudger said he introduced the bill after constituent Bonnie Sachs approached him at her husband’s funeral and described how she was unable to see her husband of 50 years before he died because of visitation restrictions. Lawmakers approved a bill two years ago, but Gudger said that did not go as far as they wanted. Under the Senate-passed bill, patients would designate an essential caregiver who would be allowed two hours of daily visitation. It would also require facilities to allow visitation for end-of-life situations, childbirth, pediatric patients, and when patients need additional support for things like making major decisions or help with eating and drinking. The legislation additionally says a facility’s visitation policies cannot be more stringent than the safety rules applied to the facility’s staff and may not require proof of any vaccination or immunization. Republished with the permission of The Associated Press.
