‘Orange skies’: Joe Biden raising federal pay to fight wildfires
The Biden administration said Wednesday it is hiring more federal firefighters — and immediately raising their pay — as officials ramp up response efforts in the face of a severe drought that is setting the stage for another destructive summer of intense wildfires across the West. President Joe Biden announced the moves during a virtual meeting with governors from Western states and as a huge swath of the Pacific Northwest endures one of the worst heat waves in recent memory. Temperatures in Portland, Oregon, soared to a record 116 degrees Fahrenheit on Monday, a fact Biden cited as “a wake-up call to the rest of the public” about the realities of climate change. “The truth is we’re playing catch-up″ on preparing for extreme heat and wildfires, Biden said, calling federal efforts “under-resourced″ compared with the deadly threat posed by climate change and extreme drought. “That’s going to change and we have to do it,″ Biden told the governors. “We can’t cut corners when it comes to managing our wildfires or supporting our firefighters. Right now we have to act and act fast.″ Recalling horrific scenes from wildfires in California and other states last year, Biden said, “Orange skies look like end-of-days smoke and ash.″ Biden’s plan would ensure that no one fighting wildland fires is making less than $15 per hour and would add or convert to full-time nearly 1,000 firefighters across a host of agencies. “Because of climate change, wildland firefighting is no longer a seasonal endeavor,″ the White House said in a statement. “With fire seasons turning into fire years, it is imperative to have a year-round workforce that is available to respond at any time … and is available to undertake preventive actions” such as cutting down small trees and brush that serve as fuel to fires that are increasing in size and intensity. Western states have been parched by severe drought and record heat that has burned more than 2,300 square miles (5,900 square kilometers) this year. That’s ahead of the pace in 2020, which saw a near-record 15,000 square miles (40,000 square kilometers) burned, killing dozens of people and destroying more than 17,000 homes and other structures. “Climate change is driving a dangerous confluence of extreme heat and prolonged drought,″ Biden said. “We’re seeing wildfires of greater intensity that move with more speed.” Biden has expressed dismay at the starting pay for federal firefighters, which is significantly lower than at many local and state fire agencies. Pay for new federal firefighters typically starts at $13 per hour. The pay raise will come in the form of retention incentives and by providing additional bonuses to those working on the front lines. More experienced permanent firefighters could also be eligible for a 10% retention incentive. Temporary firefighters will be eligible to receive some incentive pay under the plan. Wednesday’s meeting included eight Western governors, including six Democrats and two Republicans. California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, said he was pleased to be working with the White House, rather than as “sparring partners,″ as he described his state’s relationship with the Trump administration. “We were debating raking policies″ in forests, Newsom said, referring to comments by then-President Donald Trump that the state should “rake” its forests to reduce the risk of wildfires. With climate change, the wildfire seasons are only to get worse, Newsom and other governors said. “The hots are getting hotter, the dries are getting drier,” Newsom said. Three Republican governors, Greg Gianforte of Montana, Brad Little of Idaho, and Doug Ducey of Arizona, said they were disappointed at their exclusion from the White House meeting. “It is critical to engage governors fully and directly to have a productive discussion about how the federal government can improve its wildfire response and prevention efforts,″ Gianforte and Little wrote in a letter to Biden. A White House spokesman said the invited governors represented “a cross-section of states impacted by wildfires” and said Biden will continue to work with governors from both parties on the issue. The meeting with the governors came as the White House released a memo confirming its commitment to a clean energy standard, tax credits, and 500,000 charging stations for electric vehicles, among other climate goals as officials pursue a two-track approach on infrastructure. A memo by climate adviser Gina McCarthy and White House senior adviser Anita Dunn also pledges at least $10 billion to conserve and restore public lands and waters, address environmental injustice and create a Civilian Climate Corps to complete projects related to climate change and clean energy. The memo responds to criticism from environmental groups and other progressives who are frustrated that many climate-related initiatives were cut out of a bipartisan infrastructure plan announced last week. “We know more work needs to be done, which is why President Biden will continue championing″ the nearly $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill and a separate, larger plan Biden and fellow Democrats aim to approve along party lines, the memo said. On wildfires, administration officials have pledged to work with Congress to find a permanent fix to increase firefighter pay and convert more seasonal wildland firefighters to year-round workers. The U.S. Forest Service and Interior Department combine to employ about 15,000 firefighters. Roughly 70% are full-time and 30% are seasonal. Those figures used to be reversed, but have changed as fire seasons have grown longer and more severe. Oregon Sen. Ron Wyden, a Democrat who has pushed the administration to ramp up its wildfire response, said Congress “can and should bolster these efforts” with legislation to lift a cap on overtime pay, create a permanent firefighting workforce and expand work to remove hazardous fuels to lessen fire risk. “The ongoing infrastructure debate in Congress gives us an essential chance to get this and other wildfire prevention efforts done,″ Wyden said. The meeting with governors came as Arizona marked the eighth anniversary of a 2013 wildfire that killed 19 members of an elite firefighting team. First lady Jill Biden, visiting a middle school in Phoenix, said
Joe Biden’s ‘Jobs Cabinet’ to sell infrastructure
President Joe Biden set about convincing America it needs his $2.3 trillion infrastructure plan on Thursday, deputizing a five-member “jobs Cabinet” to help in the effort. But the enormity of his task was clear as Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell’s vowed to oppose the plan “every step of the way.” Speaking in Kentucky, McConnell said he personally likes Biden, and they’ve been friends a long time. But the president will get no cooperation from the GOP, which objects to the corporate tax increases in the plan and says they would hurt America’s ability to compete in a global economy. “We have some big philosophical differences, and that’s going to make it more and more difficult for us to reach bipartisan agreements,” the Republican leader said. White House chief of staff Ron Klain said the key to any outreach is that the proposal’s ideas are already popular. Americans want smooth roads, safe bridges, reliable public transit, electric vehicles, drinkable water, new schools, and investments in manufacturing, among the plan’s many components, he said. “We kind of think it’s just right,” Klain said in a televised interview with the news organization Politico. “But we’re happy to have a conversation with people, less about the price tag, more about what are the elements that should be in the plan that people think are missing.” Those conversations could be limited to Democrats as McConnell declared: “I’m going to fight them every step of the way.” Biden told his Cabinet at its first meeting that he is enlisting several of them to help with the push: Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm, Housing and Urban Development Secretary Marcia Fudge, Labor Secretary Marty Walsh, and Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo. “Working with my team here at the White House, each Cabinet member will represent me in dealings with Congress, engage the public in selling the plan and help organize the details as we refine it and move forward,” Biden said. The task will involve lots of salesmanship for a legacy-making piece of legislation that Biden announced in a Wednesday speech. His administration must sway Congress. It needs to rally voters. It’s also looking to outside economists to back the plan. It’s monitoring Wall Street for any celebrations or jitters. It’s forming alliances with advocates while dealing with critics of the plan’s corporate tax hikes and project details. And Biden’s administration also intends, per the plan, to cajole other nations to stop slashing their own tax rates in what has been a race-to-the-bottom to attract and retain multinational businesses. Biden’s vehicle for financing his infrastructure plans is a key dividing line. Republicans object to raising the corporate tax rate to 28% from 21%, one of the many changes so that business taxes would fund infrastructure. Republicans had cut the corporate rate from 35% in 2017, a hallmark policy achievement of Donald Trump’s presidency. Within Washington and corporate board rooms, the administration is attracting its share of accolades and rebukes on his proposal. In Biden’s own party, liberal Democrats in Congress want him to go bigger. And Democrats representing high-tax states want to remove a 2017 tax code change that limited deductions of state and local taxes for individuals. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi expressed no qualms about the proposal’s scope. “It was in the tradition of America — to think big,” Pelosi said at a press conference Thursday. “And now, in this century, President Biden is undertaking something in the tradition of thinking big, being transformational, and creating jobs for America.” While many leading business groups oppose the higher taxes, some major companies see reason for optimism because of the innovations that would be encouraged by the plan. Automakers Ford, General Motors, and Toyota endorsed the general concepts of Biden’s plan, which calls for the construction of 500,000 electric vehicle charging stations by 2030 in what would be a shift away from gasoline-powered cars. But some environmentalists said the plan’s shift away from fossil fuels that cause climate change was not substantial enough. “Biden has pledged to cut carbon emissions 50% and decarbonize our electricity sector, but this proposal won’t even come close,” said Brett Hartl, government affairs director at the Center for Biological Diversity. The White House was quick to address the climate change concerns. Climate adviser Gina McCarthy said the administration expects the infrastructure package to include Biden’s pledge to set a national standard requiring utilities to produce 100% carbon-free electricity by 2035. The proposed electricity standard “is going to be fairly robust, and it’s going to be inclusive,” McCarthy said. “I think we can get to the results that we’re looking for in a number of different ways. If a clean energy standard can be done, we think it should be done.’’ For every criticism of the plan’s details, there were also plaudits for its broader approach. Harvard University economist Larry Summers, a former treasury secretary, endorsed Biden’s plan after previously criticizing the $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief plan because of its size and debt-based financing. He downplayed any risks from corporate tax hikes since low-interest rates mean the costs of obtaining capital are already low for many companies. “I am excited,” Summers said on Twitter. “The economy’s capacity will go up.” The plan also carries a political dimension as organized labor is mobilizing to get the package passed, an important push given the steady recent Republican gains among working-class voters. Biden’s plan, with its focus on construction and manufacturing jobs, has the potential to reverse some of that slide — and the unions that backed him in 2020 are promising to help deliver votes on infrastructure. “Our members are an army a half-million strong, that will make calls, visit members of Congress and rally for good jobs building our nation’s infrastructure,” said Terry O’Sullivan, general president of Laborers International Union of North America, one of the largest construction trades unions. “We did it with boots on the ground to get President Biden elected.” Republished with the permission of the Associated Press.
Dems force delays in votes on Jeff Sessions, Steve Mnuchin, Tom Price
Democrats forced delays Tuesday in planned Senate committee votes on President Donald Trump‘s picks for Health and Treasury secretaries and attorney general, amid growing Democratic surliness over the administration’s aggressive early moves against refugees and an expected bitter battle over filling the Supreme Court vacancy. Democrats abruptly boycotted a Senate Finance Committee meeting called to vote on Rep. Tom Price, R-Ga., the Health nominee and Steve Mnuchin, Trump’s Treasury selection, saying both had misled Congress about their financial backgrounds. The Democrats’ action prevented the Finance panel from acting because under committee rules, 13 of its members — including at least one Democrat — must be present for votes. It was unclear when the panel would reschedule to votes. At the Senate Judiciary Committee, a meeting considering Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., to be attorney general lasted so long — chiefly because of lengthy Democratic speeches — that Chairman Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, said the panel would meet again Wednesday. The meeting on Sessions’ nomination was coming with Democrats and demonstrators around the country in an uproar over Trump’s executive order temporarily blocking refugees. Even some Republicans were warning it could hinder anti-terrorism efforts. Not everything ground to a halt. The Senate education committee voted 12-11 to send Trump’s pick to head the Education Department, Betsy DeVos, to the full Senate for a confirmation vote. The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee quickly approved former Texas Gov. Rick Perry as Energy secretary by 16-7, and Rep. Ryan Zinke, R-Mont., to head Interior by 16-6. And the full Senate easily confirmed Elaine Chao to become transportation secretary by a 93-6 vote. Chao was labor secretary under President George W. Bush, and is wife of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky. Just before the Finance committee was scheduled to vote on Price and Mnuchin, Democrats called a briefing for reporters and announced their plan to force a delay. Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., said Price and Mnuchin would hold positions “that directly affect peoples’ lives every day. The truth matters.” Finance Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, accused Democrats of “a lack of desire to fulfill their constitutional responsibilities.” “They ought to stop posturing and acting like idiots,” he said. In 2013 when Democrats controlled the Senate, Republicans boycotted a committee vote on Gina McCarthy to head the Environmental Protection Agency, temporarily stalling it. Democrats cited one report in The Wall Street Journal that Price received a special, discounted offer to buy stock in a biomedical company, which contradicted his testimony to Congress. They said another report in The Columbus Dispatch showed documents revealing that Mnuchin had not been truthful with the Senate in the confirmation process in comments about how his bank OneWest had handled home foreclosures. Republicans have supported both men, and both have strongly defended their actions. Democrats have opposed Price, a seven-term congressional veteran, for his staunch backing of his party’s drive to scuttle Obama’s health care law and to reshape Medicare and Medicaid, which help older and low-income people afford medical care. They’ve also assailed Price for buying stocks of health care firms, accusing him of using insider information and conflicts of interest for backing legislation that could help his investments. Price says his trades were largely managed by brokers and that he’s followed congressional ethics rules. Democrats have criticized Mnuchin for not initially revealing nearly $100 million in assets, and were expected to vote against both nominees. They’ve also accused him of failing to protect homeowners from foreclosures and criticized him for not initially disclosing all his assets. DeVos, a wealthy GOP donor and conservative activist, has long supported charter schools and allowing school choice. That’s prompted opposition from Democrats and teachers’ unions who view her stance as a threat to federal dollars that support public education. Critics have also mocked her for suggesting that guns could be justified in schools to protect students from grizzly bears. Two prominent Republicans on the education committee, Sens. Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, said they remained uncertain if they will vote for her on the Senate floor. Murkowski said DeVos has yet to prove that she deeply cares about America’s struggling schools and its children. Republished with permission of the Associated Press.
Luther Strange calls on EPA to cancel rule to limit emissions from modified cars
Alabama Attorney General Luther Strange is calling on federal environmental authorities to drop a proposal that would stop off-road racing hobbyists from removing or reconfiguring emissions control devices on modified street vehicles. Strange joined Attorneys General from seven other states in sending a letter to EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy asking her not to implement the proposed rule, saying it would effectively stall the industry related to conversion of street vehicles to racing vehicles. “In another example of federal bureaucrats seeking to expand their regulatory reach, the EPA is pushing a proposed change to the federal Clean Air Act to effectively prohibit street vehicles from being converted into off-road race cars,” said Strange. Strange said the move by regulators, if implemented, would be an economic blow to mechanics and parts suppliers who participate in the cottage industry of car modification. “In Alabama and across the country, modifying race cars is a popular pastime and a significant contributor to the economy,” said Strange. “In 2014, $36 billion was spent nationally on automotive specialty equipment parts and accessories. Off-road racing parts businesses which sell their products in Alabama and elsewhere, as well as local racetracks, would be adversely affected by the implementation of the new EPA rule.” The proposed rule mandates that “Certified motor vehicles and motor vehicle engines and their emission control devices must remain in their certified configuration even if they are used solely for competition or if they become non-road vehicles or engines.” The letter from Strange and the other attorneys general claims the EPA rule change is contrary to existing statute, and conflicts with the expressed intent of Congress not to subject race cars to the same federal emission standards as street vehicles. According to Strange, potecting race cars from emissions requirements was such a concern when Congress passed the Clean Air Act in 1970 that Alabama Congressman Bill Nichols – who represented Talladega, the notorious hometown of Deep South auto racing – specifically asked that the environmental reform law not penalize “vehicles and vehicle engines manufactured for, modified for or utilized in organized motorized racing events.” The other state joining Strange were Arkansas, Georgia, Louisiana, Michigan, Nevada, Ohio, and West Virginia, all states with Republican attorneys general.
Email Insights: Gary Palmer challenges EPA Administrator McCarthy on overreach
Congressman Gary Palmer, a member of the Science, Space and Technology Committee, questioned EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy at a hearing today on the Environmental Protection Agency‘s overreach: The EPA is an agency that increasingly claims more authority than it rightfully ought to have. It claims the authority to regulate ditches and small ponds as ‘navigable waters.’ It is busy crafting some of the most expensive regulations in history on power plants. It unreasonably refuses to consider the potential costs of regulations on to the economy,” said Palmer. “The EPA’s agenda is destroying jobs and hurting the poorest Americans disproportionately. This is especially true in the minority community. According to a report by the National Black Chamber of Commerce, due to the EPA’s regulatory agenda, by 2025, blacks will lose almost 2.2 million jobs and Hispanics 3.8 million. Also, the poverty rate will increase for blacks by 23% and Hispanics by 26%. During her testimony, Administrator McCarthy admitted that the proposed new ozone standard would be achieved by the majority of counties without additional regulations. Additionally, Administrator McCarthy admitted that the previous standard has yet to be implemented. Palmer asked why, if this were true, the EPA is now proposing a new standard which cannot be met by many counties using currently available technology. You can watch Congressman Palmer’s exchange with Administrator McCarthy below:
