Reps. Terri Sewell and Robert Aderholt win friendly football wager with Georgia colleagues
On Saturday, the University of Alabama football team bested the University of Georgia in the Southeastern Conference Championship Game 27 to 24. The win means Alabama gets to add their 30th conference championship trophy to their trophy case and gets to play in the college football playoffs. Georgia, who had been the number one ranked team in the country going into the game, fell out of the top four and was eliminated from playoff competition. The win also means that Congress members Terri Sewell (D-AL07) and Robert Aderholt (D-AL04) were victorious in their wager on the game with Georgia Congress members Nikema Williams (D-GA) and Buddy Carter (R-GA). Reps. Williams and Carter made good on their friendly wager with Sewell and Aderholt on Wednesday, treating the Alabama Congressmembers to a Chick-fil-A lunch. The Crimson Tide’s victory ended Georgia’s 29-game winning streak and effectively ended Georgia’s effort to win its third college football national championship. Sewell wrote on Facebook, “Thanks to our Georgia colleagues for making good on our wager after Bama’s SEC win!! Congressman Aderholt and I can confirm—Victory really does taste better with a side of chicken!” Rep. Aderholt said on X, “Roll Tide! Congratulations to the Tide. And @RepBuddyCarter @RepNikema I know that @RepTerriSewell and I are looking forward to that Chick-fil-A!” Roll Tide! Congratulations to the Tide. And @RepBuddyCarter @RepNikema I know that @RepTerriSewell and I are looking forward to that Chick-fil-A! pic.twitter.com/M960t1OQT8 — Robert Aderholt (@Robert_Aderholt) December 3, 2023 Rep. Sewell may not be done with her sports wagers. “After Saturday’s big win, let’s see if we can find any Michigan colleagues brave enough to bet against the Tide,” added Sewell. Alabama, which is 12 and 1, next plays the University of Michigan in the first round of the College Football Playoffs on January 1. Michigan is 13 and 0, the Big 10 conference champion, and is the new number-one ranked team in the country. Alabama jumped from number 8 in the nation to number 4, while Georgia has fallen from number 1 to number 6 in the rankings. Florida State University won the Atlantic Coast Conference Championship Game Saturday, but the College Football Playoffs Committee dropped the 13 and 0 FSU team from its number 4 spot (and a place in the playoffs) to number 5. FSU will play Georgia in a New Year’s Day bowl game. To connect with the author of this story or to comment, email brandonmreporter@gmail.com.
Barry Moore supports legislation to abolish IRS, eliminate income tax
Rep. Barry Moore released a statement after co-sponsoring The Fair Tax Act, introduced by Rep. Buddy Carter. This legislation eliminates the tax code, replaces the income tax with a sales tax, and abolishes the abusive Internal Revenue Service (IRS). “Instead of hiring 87,000 IRS agents to take more money from the wallets of hard-working Americans, the new House Republican majority believes in simplifying our tax code,” said Moore. “The current tax code is four times as long as the Bible but contains none of the good news. The Fair Tax is the gold standard for tax law and would turn a convoluted, abusive, and biased system into a straightforward code that works for every American.” According to Moore’s press release, the Fair Tax Act would: Rep. Gary Palmer is also one of the co-sponsors for the bill.
Robert Aderholt supports protecting pharmacists’ First Amendment rights regarding prescriptions for elective abortions
Congressman Robert Aderholt announced that he has become a co-sponsor of a bill to protect the First Amendment rights of pharmacists when choosing whether or not to fill prescriptions for elective abortions. The Pharmacist Conscience Protection Act H.R. 8820 was introduced by Rep. Earl L. “Buddy” Carter (R-Georgia), Diana Hashbarger (R-Tennessee), and Blake Moore (R-Utah). Reps. Carter and Harshbarger are both pharmacists. It is co-sponsored by 26 House Republicans. The legislation comes after the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) issued guidance warning pharmacists that they could be in violation of federal civil rights laws if they do not fill such prescriptions. “Pharmacists should not be forced to surrender their First Amendment rights of religious freedom because of radical policies from the Biden Administration,” said Congressman Aderholt. “It’s unfortunate that we need conscience protections like these, but it’s the only way to keep the overbearing Biden Administration from forcing private citizens to violate strongly held convictions.” “Your first amendment rights don’t go away when you put on a white coat,” said Rep. Carter. “This legislation will ensure that pharmacists are able to make the medical decisions that are best for the health of the mother, the life of the child, and the integrity of their practice without threats from non-medically trained bureaucrats. Medical decisions should be made between doctors, pharmacists, and patients – not the federal government.” “I will not stand by and let the Biden administration use an extremist and unlawful agenda of taxpayer-funded abortions through birth to persecute pharmacists who have religious, moral, or conscience objections to the intentional killing of unborn children through abortion,” stated Rep. Harshbarger. “As a licensed pharmacist for more than 30 years, I have always followed the precept of first doing no harm. I will always stand up for the lives of unborn children and will always defend health practitioners who believe the same. Pharmacists and other health professionals should never be punished for their moral beliefs in protecting life, or be threatened or forced to facilitate abortions against such beliefs. I call on the Biden administration to immediately withdraw this outrageous assault on pharmacists’ conscience rights, and to stop treating the Constitution like its own political chew-toy!” “Conscience protections prevent discrimination and ensure Americans in the healthcare sector are not forced to violate their beliefs,” said Rep. Moore. “As the Biden Administration takes steps to undermine the conscience rights of pharmacists, I am proud to join Congressman Buddy Carter and Congresswoman Diana Harshbarger in introducing the Pharmacist Conscience Protection Act which would ensure pharmacists can refuse to provide abortion drugs without repercussion. Pharmacists, along with other medical and healthcare workers, should never be coerced into participating in abortions, and this bill is an important step in supporting medical professionals who have deep convictions about practicing life-affirming medicine.” The text reads in part, “In General.—Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the Federal Government, and any person or entity that receives Federal grants, contracts, or financial assistance, including any State or local government, may not penalize, treat adversely, retaliate against, or otherwise discriminate against a specified health care provider, or take any action that has such effect, on the basis that the specified health care provider does not or declines to store or fill a prescription, or make a referral, for a drug that is approved by the Food and Drug Administration to cause an abortion or that the specified health care provider in good faith believes may be used to cause an abortion.” Other co-sponsors are Reps. Chris Smith (R-NJ), Tracey Mann (R-KS), Doug Lamborn (R-CO), David McKinley (R-WV), Ken Buck (R-CO), Lance Gooden (R-TX), Jake Ellzey (R-TX), Kat Cammack (R-FL), Mary Miller (R-IL), Ralph Norman (R-SC), Bill Posey (R-FL), Greg Steube (R-FL), Troy Balderson (R-OH), Brian Babin (R-TX), Dan Webster (R-FL), Jeff Duncan (R-SC), Randy Weber (R-TX), Markwayne Mullin (R-OK), Brad Wenstrup (R-OH), Don Bacon (R-NE), Robert E. Latta (R-OH), and Andrew Clyde (R-GA). Aderholt is in his thirteenth term representing Alabama’s Fourth Congressional District. To connect with the author of this story, or to comment, email brandonmreporter@gmail.com.
Jerry Carl joins Terri Sewell in supporting Disaster Reforestation Act
Congressman Jerry Carl announced his sponsorship of the Disaster Reforestation Act of 2021, which is bipartisan legislation to help timber growers recover from timber loss caused by natural disasters. Introduced by Terri Sewell and Buddy Carter in June, the bill would let private forest owners deduct the value of destroyed timber on their taxes after a natural disaster such as hurricanes and tornadoes while making it easier for timber owners to recover and reforest after a natural disaster. Carl stated, “South Alabama is home to more than 500,000 acres of privately-owned forests, which support 2,000 jobs in the district, so it is critical we amend the tax code to help Alabama’s private forest owners recover and reforest after natural disasters. Working forests create good-paying, sustainable jobs, which are necessary for a stable lumber market and create a natural solution to protect our environment. I urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to support this important legislation.” Sewell posted on Twitter, “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.”
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
