Bill Proposes Banning Book Bans in PA

A bill to prevent public schools and state-funded libraries in Pennsylvania from banning books was introduced by state Sen. Amanda Cappelletti (D-Montgomery

County) last Monday. Her legislation would require every library in the state seeking state funding, including public school libraries, to write a statement that no books or other media will be banned “because of partisan or doctrinal disapproval,”LNP/Lancaster Online reports.

Cappelletti called it unconstitutional to ban any book from a library.

“If you do not want a child or your child to read a certain book, they don’t have to read it,” she said. “But that should not stop my child from being able to access that book in a library.”

Read "How Efforts to Ban 'Bad Books' Reached a Record High in 2022," by Stacker for The Hustings; June 12, 2023 here: https://thehustings.news/same-fears-new-tactics-how-efforts-to-ban-bad-books-reached-a-record-high-in-2022/

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•Should President Biden step aside from the 2024 race? Influential Washington Post columnist David Ignatius thinks so.

•Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) has launched a legal campaign to remove Donald J. Trump from as many states’ ballots for the 2024 presidential election as possible. It began earlier this month in Colorado, where a “handful” of voters are petitioners and Democratic Secretary of State Jena Griswold is respondent.

Scroll down the page using the trackbar on the far right to read more.

Do you have something to say about recent political news or issues covered here? Did we miss something you would like to discuss?

Click on the headline in this column, or in the “What’s Right” column if you lean right and enter your thoughts in the Commentsection, or email editors@thehustings.news and use the subject line to tell us whether you lean left or right, so we can include your (civil) comments in the appropriate column.

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…meanwhile…

(Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy visits the White House, Congress and Pentagon Thursday. On Wednesday, he called on the UN to remove Russia from its Security Council. --UN Photo/Mark Garten)

THURSDAY 9/21/23

Zelenskyy Fights for Aid – After telling the United Nations Wednesday it is not supporting Ukraine sufficiently in its fight against Russia, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy visits Washington Thursday amid growing criticism from a minority of Republicans on the hard-right. Republican leaders are demanding strict accountability of U.S. aid to Ukraine, and Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) has moved to block an additional $24 billion proposed by the White House in the Senate’s spending bill.

Zelenskyy made his case on NPR’s Morning Edition, telling host Steve Inskeep; “Yes, of course we have the same values. Freedom and democracy. That is why we are fighting against Russia.”

The Ukrainian president reiterated that there cannot be any sort of peace plan that does not include Russia’s complete withdrawal. Zelenskyy told Inskeep that Ukraine is “absolutely ready” for elections scheduled for 2024, but he cannot be definite they will take place, depending on conditions of the war.

NOTE: Despite expectations there would be an encounter between the two, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov avoided Zelenskyy's speech before the UN Security Council Wednesday (see Wednesday's ...meanwhile...).

•••

Succession – Rupert Murdoch, 92, has announced he is retiring as chairman of Fox Corp. and News Corp. effective mid-November, Axios reports. His son, Lachlan, becomes chairman of both companies, and he becomes chairman emeritus.

•••

Tuberville Can’t Block Brown – After Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) separated the president’s nominee for chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff from about 300 military officers, the Senate approved Air Force Gen. Charles Brown Jr. for the Pentagon’s top position, by 83-11 vote (The Washington Post). Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) has been blocking assignments over his opposition to a military provision that helps troops travel to a state different from their post for abortion services.

Brown, who becomes the second Black chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff after Gen. Colin Powell replaces the retiring chairman, Gen. Mark Milley, who has served in the post since 2019.

--Compiled and edited by Todd Lassa

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WEDNESDAY 9/20/23

Lavrov to Face Zelenskyy – Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is to meet Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov Wednesday in a special United Nations Security Council session. Russian state media reported Lavrov’s attendance, The Washington Post reports, “setting up a potentially dramatic encounter” 19 months after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

At the General Assembly: Speaking before the UN’s General Assembly Tuesday, Zelenskyy reiterated Ukraine’s position that it will not accept any peace plan that does not include Russia’s full withdrawal – including from the Crimean region it invaded in 2014.

•••

House Judiciary to Grill Garland – Attorney Gen. Merrick Garland appears before the House Judiciary Committee Wednesday to take questions about the Justice Department’s investigations of Hunter Biden and former President Trump. Hard-right House Republicans have criticized the department for what they say is favorable treatment of the current president’s son compared with the department’s treatment of the former president, NPR’s Morning Edition reports.

In Garland’s prepared statement to the Judiciary Committee, he says; "As the president himself has said, and I reaffirm here today: I am not the president's lawyer. I will also add that I am not Congress' prosecutor. The Justice Department works for the American people. Our job is to follow the facts and the law, wherever they lead. And that is what we do."

--TL

Biden Urges Unity for Ukraine

TUESDAY 9/19/23

UPDATE -- President Biden called for world unity in aiding Ukraine's fight for sovereignty in his Tuesday morning address to the United Nations General Assembly. He also took the opportunity to urge all nations to intensify efforts to reverse climate change.

"The United States seeks a more secure, more prosperous, more equitable world for all people, because we know our future is bound up with yours," Biden said. "And no nation can meet the challenges of today alone."

Citing record-breaking heatwaves, wildfires, drought and flooding in various regions around the globe, the president said "these snapshots tell an urgent story of what awaits us if we fail to reduce our dependence on fossil fuels and begin to climate-proof our world."

With Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy looking on from the audience, Biden said; "Russia believes that the world will grow weary and allow it to brutalize Ukraine without consequence. But I ask you this: If we abandon the core principles of the UN Charter to appease an aggressor, can any member state feel confident that we are protected? If we allow Ukraine to be carved up, is the independence of any nation secure?

"The answer is 'no.' We must stand up to this naked aggression today to deter other would-be aggressors tomorrow."

Biden to UN – President Biden tells the United Nations General Assembly Tuesday the U.S. is reversing the Trump administration’s isolationist policies with “more American engagement, more American investment, more American presence” across “all continents, all corners of the world,” White House national security advisor Jake Sullivan says (per NPR’s Morning Edition). This includes enduring support for Ukraine’s resistance against Russia’s invasion, of course. The White House has asked Congress for another $24 billion in aid to Ukraine in the face of MAGA-Republican pushback in the federal budget showdown playing out on Capitol Hill.

Zelenskyy attends: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy also speaks before the General Assembly in New York, where he will try to win over countries – many in Africa and Latin America -- that have refused to condemn Russia’s invasion, The Globe and Mail reports. Zelenskyy and Biden are scheduled to meet at the White House after their UN appearances in New York. Later, Zelenskyy flies off to Ottawa to meet with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and rally support against the Russian invasion, sources told The Globe and Mail.

C5+1: Biden also is scheduled to meet with leaders of the C5 nations Kazakhstan, Krygyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan, in an effort to release them from the influence of the superpowers that surround them; Russia and China.

Absent: Russia and China, as well as France and the United Kingdom are not attending this year’s UN General Assembly. Prior to leaving Kyiv, Zelenskyy questioned why Russia still has a place in the UN.

•••

Trudeau; ‘Credible Intel’ of Killing by India – Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told the House of Commons Monday that Canada has “credible intelligence” that the government of India was behind the killing of a Sikh leader in British Columbia (The Globe and Mail). The leader, Hardeep Sign Nijov, was designated a “terrorist” by New Delhi. Trudeau’s charges have deepened a growing crisis between the two countries, with India expelling a Canadian diplomat after Canada ordered an Indian diplomat to leave Ottawa.

•••

CR is DOA – Senate Democrats have “no interest” in House Republicans’ 30-day Continuing Resolution introduced Sunday night, that would keep the lights on in the federal government through the end of October, Roll Call Daily reports. But even a $279-billion, three-bill fiscal 2024 spending package put forth by the Senate’s Democratic majority may be quashed by some Republicans’ procedural objections. The Senate is considering suspending the germaneness rule in order to cut off objections by Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) and others. Their procedural objections would require 67 votes.

Upshot: With such disarray in the Senate as well as Republican infighting in the House, a government shutdown after the end of the fiscal year September 30 is likely.

Pushing the speaker?: Aides and allies to Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) are convinced that conservative House Republicans – you know, the more conservative, MAGA and MAGA-esque ones – are trying to provoke a shutdown in order to push him out as speaker, Punchbowl News reports. Evan after the House Freedom Caucus forced McCarthy to cut $100 billion in spending bills from a deal he made with President Biden earlier this year, Republican leaders remain unable to pass 2024 appropriations bills on the floor because of the continued GOP infighting.

•••

Today is … Talk Like a Pirate Day. Yet we’ve refrained from doing so, until now. Arrrrrrg, matey.

--TL

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...meanwhile...

MONDAY 9/18/23

U.S., Iran Swap Prisoners -- Five American citizens held in Iran are to fly to the United States, with a brief stop in Qatar, in exchange for five Iranians held by the U.S., plus the transfer of $6 billion in frozen Iranian oil funds held in South Korea. The agreement reached overnight is described by The Washington Post as a "high-stakes" prisoner swap indicating a thaw in relations between Iran and the U.S.

•••

House GOP Whips Up Deal to Avert Shutdown – The Main Street Caucus and the House Freedom Caucus, both consisting of House Republicans, reached a short-term spending deal they plan to bring to the floor as a continuing resolution (CR), this week, The Hill reported late Sunday night, saying it would have “slim odds” of passing the Senate and of being signed by the White House. In fact, the GOP’s majority may be too slim to get it off the House floor.

The federal government's fiscal year ends September 30.

Discretionary spending cuts: The deal would keep Department of Defense, and Veterans Affairs spending at the current level, but would cut all discretionary spending by 8%.

And, a border crackdown: The deal also would include the House GOP’s H.R. 2 Border Crackdown Bill, minus its provision to require E-verify.

It leaves out… disaster relief funds and a request for supplemental funding for Ukraine that the White House requested in August to be added to the CR.

•••

Preventing WWIII – People in Ukraine are dying every day to prevent World War III, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told CBS News’ 60 Minutes. When Scott Pelley asked about recent drone strikes on the Kremlin, Zelenskyy said that foreign drones supplied by NATO nations were not used but added this warning to Russia and Vladimir Putin; “your sky is not as well protected as you think.”

Zelenskyy, President Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu are scheduled to speak to the United Nations General Assembly this week in New York.

•••

Trump’s Art of the Peace – Former President Trump declined to give details on how he would end the war in Ukraine Sunday on NBC News’ Meet the Press, telling moderator Kristen Welker, “if I tell you exactly, I lose all my bargaining chips.”

Welker later asked Trump for his reaction to a recent Putin statement that, “We surely hear that Mr. Trump says he will resolve all the burning issues within several days, including the Ukrainian crisis. We cannot help but feel happy about it.”

“Well, I like that he said that,” Trump told Welker. “Because that means what I’m saying is right. I would get him into a room. I’d get Zelenskyy into a room. Then I’d bring them together. And I’d have a deal worked out. It would have been a lot easier before it started.”

Up on the Hill – Both the House of Representatives and the Senate are in session Monday through Thursday. The Senate only is in session Friday.

--Compiled and edited by Todd Lassa

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COMMENTS: editors@thehustings.news

Moms for Liberty Attempts FL Book Ban

Moms for Liberty tried to get books banned from Seminole County, Florida public school libraries by reading passages the conservative group describes as “porn,” the Orlando Sentinel reports. The group’s Seminole chapter urged members to read “potty” words and “the worst of the worst” with hope the school board would cut them off.

In May, Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a new state law that says if a school board prevents parents from reading books they have objected to, those books must be removed from school library shelves.

“Just make sure that you get shut down, that’s the goal,” Seminole chapter chairwoman Jessica Tillman posted on Instagram last Monday.

The Seminole school board allowed the Moms for Liberty readings to proceed uninterrupted, according to the Sentinel.

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•Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT), who was the GOP’s presidential candidate in 2012 and since at least 2015 has been among the most vocal critics in his party, of Donald J. Trump, has announced he will not run for a second Senate term. Romney’s current term ends in 2025, and he is taking advantage of his new lame-duck status to tell all in a biography, Romney: The Reckoning, written by The Atlantic staff writer McKay Coppins and scheduled to be published October 24.

•More details are emerging from pro-MAGA Rep. Lauren Boebert’s (R-CO) ejection from a Denver theater during a road-show performance of Beetlejuice, and it’s not pretty. Read about how she and a male companion were bounced for taking photos, vaping and talking loudly in this column.

Scroll down the page using the trackbar on the far right to read more.

What’s your opinion of the budget deal being offered by two Republican House caucuses? What do you think about Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s appearance on 60 Minutes or Donald J. Trump’s on Meet the Press?

Click on the headline in this column, or in the “What’s Left” column if you lean left and enter your thoughts in the Commentsection, or email editors@thehustings.news and use the subject line to tell us whether you lean right or left, so we can include your (civil) comments in the appropriate column.

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‘Don’t Run Again, Joe’

Washington Post columnist David Ignatius shook Washington, D.C., to the core this week with a column calling on President Biden to step down after one term. Ignatius led off with a long list of Joe Biden’s accomplishments, including governing “from the center out.”

“But I don’t think Biden and Vice President Harris should run for reelection,” Ignatius continues. “It’s painful to say that, given my admiration for much of what they have accomplished. But if he and Harris campaign together in 2024, I think Biden risks undoing his greatest achievement – which was stopping Trump.”

You can read all of Ignatius’ column here (subscription required): https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2023/09/12/biden-trump-election-step-aside/

Counterpoint: Biden has announced several times over he is running for re-election. Even Ignatius’ column will not make him reconsider.

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Comments on the Left

As always, we welcome your comments on news and issues discussed in these pages. We also welcome comments on political issues we’ve missed that you think are worthy of civil discussion.

You also are welcome to write about your thoughts or memories of the September 11 attacks.

If you lean left, please click on the headline above to go to the Comments section of this page. Or email editors@thehustings.news and tell us whether you consider yourself “liberal” or “conservative” in the subject line.

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…meanwhile…

(The Consumer Price Index for August rose to 3.7%, from July’s 3.2%, the Labor Department reported Wednesday. Prices rose 0.6% month-over-month, with higher gasoline prices accounting for more than half of that, while the shelter index rose for the 40^th consecutive month. Energy was up 5.6%, food at home was up 0.2% and food away from home was up 0.3%.)

FRIDAY 9/15/23

UAW Strikes Detroit Three – The United Auto Workers’ first “stand-up strike” hit Ford Motor Company’s Michigan Assembly Park final assembly plant for its Bronco and Ranger trucks, Stellantis’ Toledo Assembly complex (Jeep Wrangler) and General Motors’ Wentzville assembly plant in Missouri, which builds the Chevrolet Colorado and Express and the GMC Canyon and Savanna. About 13,000 of the UAW members struck the three plants at midnight into Friday morning.

“Tonight, for the first time in our history we will strike all three of the Big Three at once,” UAW President Shawn Fain told his union’s 150,000 members in a Facebook Live broadcast at 10 p.m. Eastern time Thursday. The strategy is to “call on select facilities, locals or units to stand up and go on strike.”

The “stand-up” strike recalls the UAW’s “sit down” strike at GM’s Flint, Michigan plant in 1936-37. Under today’s stand-up strike workers not yet called on will continue working under an expired agreement, with no contract extensions. UAW officials will rotate through Detroit Three factories to “keep the companies guessing,” Fain said. “It will give our national negotiators maximum leverage and flexibility in bargaining. And if we need to go all out we will. Everything’s on the table.”

Earlier Thursday, Ford CEO Jim Farley told NPR from the floor of the National International Auto Show in Detroit that he still hoped his company could reach an agreement with the UAW.

“There’s still time to,” Farley said, “but it’s hard to negotiate when you don’t get much feedback.”

--TL

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THURSDAY 9/14/23

UAW is Headed for a ‘Stand-Up’ Strike – The United Auto Workers remains far apart from General Motors, Ford Motor Company and Stellantis (Chrysler, Jeep, etc.) in negotiations over a new four-year contract, as the current contract, covering about 150,000 workers, expires 11:59 p.m. Thursday. In a Facebook Live broadcast Wednesday, NPR reports, UAW President Shawn Fain announced the union would stage a “stand-up strike,” in which members would be instructed to strike suddenly at strategic, targeted auto plants, and additional locations would follow at moment’s notice until the Detroit Three agree to a new contract.

Why stand-up striking will work: The UAW undoubtedly will hit plants building the most profitable luxury models and big trucks at GM, Ford and Stellantis. The automakers have made record profits by installing computer chips during the pandemic supply chain shortage into these models, which has resulted in the average price of a new vehicle reaching nearly $50,000.

Issues: “We do not yet have offers on the table that reflect the sacrifice and contributions our members have made to these companies,” Fain says. The UAW is demanding a 40% pay raise. The Detroit Three has offered no more than 20%. Automakers and the UAW also remain apart on cost-of-living increases, profit sharing, pensions and retiree healthcare.

Quote: Ford has put forth four “increasingly generous offers,” CEO Jim Farley says. “The future of our industry is at stake. Let’s do everything we can to avoid a disastrous outcome.”

About that future: The Detroit Three, especially Ford, have indicated the massive, ongoing shift from internal combustion engine-power to electric vehicles will require far fewer UAW workers. The union, not surprisingly, is not as enthusiastic about the move to EVs.

Automakers’ interests: During the federal bailouts of GM and Chrysler in 2009-10 all three automakers gained significant concessions from the UAW, including a controversial “two-tier” wage scale paying new line workers considerably less than veteran workers. With last year’s record profits, GM CEO Mary Barra earned total compensation of nearly $29 million, Farley earned $21 million and Stellantis NV CEO Carlos Tavares made $24.8 million, according to Securities & Exchange Commission filings cited by NPR*.

[*An earlier version of this story listed lower compensation for Barra and Tavares, and a slightly higher amount for Farley.]

Political interests: Car guy and “most pro-union president ever” Joe Biden’s economy would take yet another hit with the strike just as many polls show him in a statistical tie with Donald J. Trump for next year’s election.

--Todd Lassa

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WEDNESDAY 9/13/23

‘Weakest’ Impeachment Inquiry Ever – That’s according to Time magazine, which interviewed two highly regarded impeachment experts about Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s (R-CA) announcement that two House committees have formally opened impeachment inquiries into allegations that President Biden was involved in his son, Hunter’s, business deals.

McCarthy’s decision to go forward does not appear to be based on evidence gathered so far by the House Judiciary and Oversight committees, says Frank Bowman, professor emeritus from the University of Missouri’s law school and author of High Crimes and Misdemeanors: A History of Impeachment for the Age of Trump.

“Biden’s Republican pursuers have got exactly zero, zip, bupkis, on any matter that might be impeachable,” Bowman told Time.

The magazine also quotes constitutional scholar Phillip Bobbitt, professor at Columbia Law School, expert on the history of impeachment and co-author of the updated, 2018 edition of Charles Black’s Impeachment: A Handbook thusly: “This is very disturbing for people who study past impeachments, because impeachment is really a very extreme measure.”

Yet, inevitable: Impeachment is highly political, and the pro-MAGA House Freedom Caucus was going to find a way to investigate Biden over his son’s questionable business dealings, which have been red meat for Donald J. Trump’s followers since before the 45^th president pushed then-newly elected Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to help gather evidence.

Even after McCarthy’s announcement, one of the MAGA Republicans, Florida’s Matt Gaetz said he will use his leverage over the speaker, including threatening votes to remove him from the post, “over and over again until it works.” (Per Newsweek.)

Minority rule is alive and well.

•••

Slow Train – North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un took his private train, weighed down by armored cars with bulletproof glass, to a summit with Vladimir Putin at a space facility in Russia’s far east, where he pledged his enduring support for Putin’s “sacred struggle” against Ukraine, The Washington Post reports. According to Washington intelligence on the meeting, Putin needs more North Korean weaponry to replenish its dwindling supply lost to its invasion of Ukraine.

--Compiled and edited by Todd Lassa

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TUESDAY 9/12/23

UPDATE -- Speaker McCarthy (R-CA) told reporters Tuesday he is directing House committees to open an impeachment inquiry into President Biden. The inquiry could center on whether Biden benefitted from his son, Hunter's, business dealings, among other issues, says The Washington Post.

"These are allegations of abuse of power, obstruction and corruption and warrant further investigation by the House of Representatives. That is why today I am directing our House committee to open a formal impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden," McCarthy said in a press conference. He did not take questions from reporters.

Impeachment Inquiry Advances – Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) holds a closed-door meeting with House Republicans Thursday that could launch an impeachment inquiry into whether President Biden was involved in his son Hunter’s business dealings, Punchbowl News reports. McCarthy’s caucus expect an update on the investigations led by House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan (R-OH) and Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R-KY).

According to the report, McCarthy plans to say Jordan and Comer have uncovered enough information to formalize the impeachment inquiry and obtain the Bidens’ bank records and other documents. [Last week, a CNN poll found that 61% of Americans believe Joe Biden was involved in Hunter’s business dealings.]

Perfect storm: The House of Representatives returns from its six-week summer recess Tuesday with about two weeks to pass a federal budget. Meanwhile, the House Freedom Caucus continues to demand $100 billion in cuts from the 2024 fiscal year budget to which McCarthy and the White House have already agreed, with threat of removing the speaker of his hard-fought post if he fails to reverse himself from that deal, NPR’s Morning Edition reports.

McCarthy also faces threat of removal if he eases off the impeachment inquiry.

Upshot: A House vote to impeach Biden is not a slam-dunk, according to PN, which lists Republicans Ken Buck, of Colorado, and Don Bacon, of Nebraska among moderates who could put pro-impeachment Republicans into the minority.

If the White House could pick from one of these fights with the House Freedom Caucus, it might be the impeachment inquiry rather than the budget fight, as Freedom Caucus members have let it be known they are more than willing to shut down the government for a while and remove Speaker McCarthy over it.

Keeping in mind that Republicans narrowly hold a House majority while Democrats barely hold a Senate majority (though with a more comfortable margin thanks to the filibuster) the 45 members of the House Freedom Caucus would run into a Senate wall on both fights.

Schumer: “Don’t let people way out on the extreme dictate what the House does.” – Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY).

Upshot II: Forty-five House Republicans have the power to shut down the government for at least a few days into October, and it’s likely they will draw out an impeachment inquiry into the Bidens into the election year. Speaker McCarthy is far more vulnerable than President Biden on both these issues.

•••

Google This – The Justice Department’s anti-trust case against Google begins Tuesday, to determine whether Google illegally used its search engine to dominate over competitors in search and advertising. A positive outcome against Google could affect the way we use the Internet, says NPR’s Morning Edition.

--Compiled and edited by Todd Lassa

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Day of Remembrances

MONDAY 9/11/23

President Biden commemorates the anniversary of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center, Pentagon and United Airlines Flight 93, from the military base Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, in Anchorage on his way back from the Group of 20 forum in New Delhi, India, and a stop in Hanoi, Vietnam. The stop in Hanoi recalls, of course, the long, protracted war that ended shortly after Biden began his Senate career.

In Hanoi, Biden met with Prime Minister Minh Chinh, President Vo Van Thuong and

chairman of Vietnam’s National Assembly, Vuong Dinh Hue. Biden and Hue spoke of the “importance of people-to-people ties and the vital role that our tireless, mutual work to address painful war legacy issues has played in building trust and understanding that now forms the base of our future partnership,” according to the White House’s readout.

The president’s visit to Hanoi also served to forge deeper ties with Vietnam with the new Comprehensive Partnership to increase trade between the two nations. Vietnam is boosting semiconductor production, which would help the U.S. reduce supply chain dependency on China. Biden described the meeting as a historic moment “that is overcoming a bitter past,” NPR reports.

Biden also visited a memorial to one of his friends in the Senate, the late John McCain (R-AZ), who spent five years in the “Hanoi Hilton” as a prisoner of war during the U.S. conflict with Vietnam.

Fifty years: September 11 also marks the CIA-aided coup of Chile’s elected leader, Marxist Salvador Allende, by Gen. Augusto Pinoche, brutal dictator who led the country for another 17 years.

Two years: Go to https://thehustings.news/reflect-on-9-11/ to read The Hustings’ commemoration of the September 11, 2001 attacks on the U.S.

--Todd Lassa

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COMMENTS: editors@thehustings.news

No Second Term for Romney

Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT), the GOP’s 2012 nominee for president, announced Wednesday he will not seek a second term next year. In an exclusive interview with The Washington Post Romney, 76, told Dan Balz it is time for a new generation to “step up” and “shape the world they’re going to live in.” A frequent critic of Republican Party leader Donald J. Trump, Romney said he will serve the rest of his term, to January 2025.

In the WaPo interview Romney lamented the likelihood the 2024 presidential race will again be Biden v. Trump, saying “Biden is unable to lead on important matters and Trump is unwilling to lead on important matters.”

Boebert bounced: A Republican from the opposite end of the party’s spectrum, pro-Trump Rep. Lauren Boebert, of Colorado, was escorted from a performance of Beetlejuice in a Denver theater last Sunday, The Colorado Sun reports (hat tip to WaPo). A statement for her campaign manager says she was ejected from the show for taking photos, adding Boebert “appreciates the Buell Theater’s strict enforcement of their no photos policy and only wishes the Biden administration could uphold our border laws as thoroughly and vigorously.”

But The Sun contacted the Buell Theater on Monday and were told only that two unnamed people were ejected. The newspaper obtained video surveillance footage showing Boebert and a man holding hands as they were ejected from the theater. Denver Arts and Venues marketing and communications director Brian Kitts told The Sun that the couple, whom the theater would not name due to privacy concerns, were thrown out for talking loudly, vaping and using cameras.

The Sun reports that the man holding Boebert’s hand in the surveillance video is not her husband – but also that Boebert and her husband filed for divorce last April.

--TL

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To Comment ...

As always, we welcome your comments on news and issues discussed in these pages. We also welcome comments on political issues we’ve missed that you think are worthy of civil discussion.

You also are welcome to write about your thoughts or memories of the September 11 attacks.

If you lean right, please click on the headline above to go to the Comments section of this page. Or email editors@thehustings.news and tell us whether you consider yourself “conservative” or “liberal” in the subject line.

_____

Left and Center

Scroll down with the trackbar on the far-right to read in this column …

•Court filing by Citizens for Responsibility seeks to keep Donald J. Trump off Colorado’s 2024 presidential ballot by invoking the 14^th Amendment’s insurrection clause.

•It’s federal budget time again, and with the fiscal year ending September 30, congressional Democrats are looking to avoid a government shutdown with a continuing resolution that would extend current year funding levels into December.

>>Read our latest Substack newsletter, “Doomsday Clock for Democracy Ticks Away,” at thehustings.substack.com.

In the center column …

•Biden visits India for the Group of 20 economic summit. Russia and China are not attending.

•Trump administration trade advisor Peter Navarro has been found guilty in federal court on two counts of criminal contempt of Congress.

•Hunter Biden faces a federal indictment before the end of the month.

•Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s makes an unannounced visit to Ukraine.

We welcome your thoughts and opinions in the right- or left-column Comments section, or by email to editors@thehustings.news.

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Grand Jury Recommended Charging Graham

FRIDAY 9/8/23

The Georgia special grand jury in the racketeering case that charged Donald J. Trump and 18 others for allegedly attempting to overturn the state’s 2020 Electoral College vote for Joe Biden had also recommended charging Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC, above), as well as then-Sens. David Perdue and Kelly Loefler, according to a much-anticipated report released Friday morning. The report says jurors recommended the three should be charged over “the national effort to overturn the 2020 presidential election,” per The Guardian. Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, who issued the indictment in The State of Georgia v. Donald J. Trump last month, chose not to charge the three.

The grand jury also recommended indictment of Trump's former national security advisor, Michael Flynn.

Perdue and Loeffler were Republican U.S. senators from Georgia through the 2020 presidential election and were in special runoff races when the alleged Electoral College interference occurred. Perdue was defeated by Democrat Jon Ossof and Loeffler was defeated by Democrat Raphael Warnock in the runoff election held January 5, 2021.

--TL

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COMMENTS: editors@thehustings.news

Right and Center

Scroll down the page with the trackbar on the far right to read in this column …

•Minority Leader Mitch McConnell says the Senate will not approve roughly $100 billion in additional budget cuts for the coming fiscal year demanded by the House Freedom Caucus.

•Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas filed his annual disclosure form and detailed three recent luxury trips paid for by conservative billionaire donors.

•“Is This All There Is?”; pundit-at-large Stephen Macaulay comments on Republican candidates, except ex-President Trump, at the first GOP presidential debate last month.

>>Read our latest Substack newsletter, “Doomsday Clock for Democracy Ticks Away,” at thehustings.substack.com.

In the center column …

•Biden visits India for the Group of 20 economic summit. Russia and China are not attending.

•Trump administration trade advisor Peter Navarro has been found guilty in federal court on two counts of criminal contempt of Congress.

•Hunter Biden faces a federal indictment before the end of the month.

•Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s makes an unannounced visit to Ukraine.

We welcome your thoughts and opinions in the right- or left-column Comments section, or by email to editors@thehustings.news.

_____

What’s Left

A movement to disqualify Donald J. Trump from the 2024 presidential election is heating up, with all manner of legal scholars opining through various media outlets. A watchdog group, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) names a handful of Colorado voters as petitioners and Secretary of State Jena Griswold (D) as the respondent in a state court filing that says the 14^th Amendment’s insurrection clause disqualifies the 45^th president from running next year, the left-leaning Talking Points Memo reports. CREW plans to file such lawsuits in a number of states by year’s end in order to keep Trump off their ballots in November 2024.

However, there is worry among such never-Trumper pundits as David Frum, columnist for The Atlantic that CREW’s efforts will further fire up the ex-president’s supporters.

What do you think?

Comment on CREW’s court filing and/or other recent political news and issues in the appropriate section in this column or on the right column, or email editors@thehustings.news and please indicate your political leaning in the subject line.

_____

…meanwhile…

(Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba Wednesday in Kyiv. Details below -- use the scrollbar to the right.)

THURSDAY 9/7/23

Navarro Guilty – A federal jury deliberated less than four hours to find former Trump advisor Peter Navarro guilty for two counts of criminal contempt of Congress for refusing to turn over White House records and failing to testify before the House committee investigating the Capitol insurrection.

Navarro, 74, director of the Office of Trade and Manufacturing Policy for the Trump administration, is the second former aide to the ex-president to be prosecuted for failure to cooperate with the House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6^th Attack on the United States Capitol. The committee subpoenaed Navarro in February 2022, seeking his testimony and have him turn over documents related to the investigation. Navarro argued he was shielded by executive privilege, but U.S. District Court Judge Amit Mehta dismissed that argument before the federal trial began.

Navarro, who says he will appeal the verdict, faces a maximum fine of $100,000 for each of the two counts, plus a minimum 30-day prison sentence per count up to a maximum of one year each, according to Law & Crime.

•••

Biden Heads to G20 – President Biden heads off to New Delhi Thursday evening for the Group of 20 summit in India to make a case that U.S. and like-minded allies are better economic security partners for developing and middle-income nations than China and its massive Belt and Road infrastructure initiative, The Associated Press reports. Biden will use the G20 to propose a $200-billion hike in World Bank and International Monetary Fund lending power to the emerging economies.

From India, the president will make a stop in Viet Nam before returning home.

•••

Texas Must Remove Rio Grande Buoys – Republican Gov. Greg Abbott and the state of Texas must remove buoys in the Rio Grande placed there as part of an effort to control the border with Mexico, Senior U.S. Judge David Alan Ezra ruled Wednesday (USA Today). Removal of the buoys, which reportedly have injured and even killed some immigrants trying to breach the border into Texas, may be temporary, as Abbott promises to appeal the ruling.

Ezra said the U.S. Justice Department’s lawsuit filed in July to stop Abbott and Texas, will “likely succeed on the merits.”

•••

Hunter Biden Indictment This Month – Special counsel David Weiss is expected to indict Hunter Biden in late September, The New York Times reports, citing a three-page update filed in federal court in Wilmington, Delaware. The update lays out plans to bring charges related to Biden’s purchase of a pistol in 2018.

Prosecutors say Biden lied on a federal form stating he was not using drugs at the time. The president’s son is also being investigated over his business dealings and whether he paid taxes on all his income.

Biden’s attorney, Abbe Lowell, signed a statement that he would challenge any effort to proceed with a trial, arguing that an agreement reached over the summer “remains valid and prevents any additional charges from being filed.”

After the plea agreement was scuttled in July, Attorney Gen. Merrick Garland elevated David Weiss – who began his investigation of Hunter Biden during the Trump administration – to special counsel in the case.

--TL

__________________________________________

WEDNESDAY 9/6/23

Blinken Visits Ukraine – Secretary of State Antony Blinken (pictured above) laid a wreath at a cemetery for Ukrainian soldiers lost in the war with Russia, in a surprise visit to the country Wednesday. Meanwhile, Russian forces fired missiles at the eastern city of Kostiantynivka in one of the deadliest attacks in recent months, in a city with no obvious military significance, The Washington Post reports.

Quote: “We want to make sure that Ukraine has what it needs, not only to succeed in the counteroffensive, but has what it needs for the long term, to make sure that it has a strong deterrent,” Blinken said in a meeting with Ukraine Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba in Kyiv.

More aid: Blinken is to announce roughly $1 billion in new U.S. aid for military, financial and humanitarian needs, according to NPR’s Morning Edition.

The visit, and the additional aid, comes as pro-MAGA Republicans in Congress, as well as presidential candidates Donald J. Trump and Vivek Ramaswamy call for an end to military aid to Ukraine. Traditional and moderate Republicans, including presidential candidates Mike Pence, Niki Haley and Chris Christie have voiced support for U.S. aid to Ukraine in its defense against the Russian invasion.

ICYMI: President Volodymyr Zelenskyy last Sunday announced plans to replace Ukraine’s defense minister, Oleksii Reznikov, who resigned before he could be fired. The move is reportedly over alleged corruption in the procurement of military supplies. Reznikov’s replacement is Rustem Umerov, head of the State Property Fund of Ukraine.

•••

Record Sentence for Tarrio – Ex-national chairman of the (“stand back and stand by”) Proud Boys Enrique Tarrio was sentenced Tuesday to 22 years in prison for “spearheading” a plot to stop the January 6^th certification of Electoral College ballots for President Biden (The Hill). Though prosecutors had sought the maximum 33-year sentence for Tarrio’s May conviction of sedition and other serious charges, his sentence still exceeds the 18 years each for Oath Keepers’ chief Stewart Rhodes and for his own lieutenant, Ethan Nordean.

U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly: “That day broke our previously unbroken tradition of peacefully transferring power, which is the most precious thing that we had as Americans. That previously unbroken tradition is broken now. It’s going to take time and effort to fix it.”

Tarrio: “Changing the results of an election was not my goal.”

Kelly said he found no indication Tarrio was remorseful “of the actual things he was convicted of.”

•••

Alabama Back to the Drawing Board? – Alabama is appealing to the U.S. Supreme Court a lower court ruling that found a map of congressional districts appears to violate the Voting Rights Act by diluting Black voters’ power (NPR’s Morning Edition).

U.S. Circuit Judge Stanley Marcus and U.S. District judges Anna Manasco and Terry Moorer struck down Alabama’s latest map – its second attempt after the Supreme Court ruled against its first attempt. The state plans to formally ask SCOTUS to put a pause on the ruling, which assigns court-appointed experts to draw three potential maps that include two districts in which Black voters “have a realistic opportunity of electing their preferred candidates,” according to NPR.

The maps are due to the court by September 25, but Alabama has formally asked SCOTUS to put a hold on the ruling.

Swing vote?: SCOTUS found against the Alabama’s first redistricting map in a 5-4 vote last June with Justice Brett Kavanaugh and Chief Justice John Roberts joining the majority. The state clearly is counting on Kavanaugh siding with conservatives this time.

--Compiled and edited by Todd Lassa

_____

What’s Right

Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) says the Senate will not approve the roughly $100 billion in additional budget cuts sought by the MAGA-esque House Freedom Caucus, the right-leaning Washington Times reports. Congress has until September 30 to approve the budget in order to avoid a federal government shutdown, though Democrats are expected to propose a continuing resolution that would extend funding at current levels through December.

Get ready for Christmas Eve on Capitol Hill!

Also in this column …

•Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas has filed his annual financial disclosure report, with some details on luxury trips he took at the beneficence of Texas billionaire Harlan Crow. What do you think? Should Congress impose new ethics rules on the Supreme Court, or would such rules damage judicial independence?

•Pundit-at-large Stephen Macaulay laments the dearth of worthy Republican presidential candidates at last month’s debate in Milwaukee. Read “Is This All There Is?” by scrolling down the page via the trackbar on the far right (no irony intended).

Comment on these issues and/or other recent political news and issues in the appropriate section in this column or on the left column, or email editors@thehustings.news and please, indicate your political leaning in the subject line.

_____

Budget Time, Again

Democrats are poised to blame House Republicans for a federal government shutdown if Freedom Caucus hardliners manage to block passage of the budget before the new fiscal year begins the end of September.

“This is really going to be driven by the House. They’re the ones that are going to bring [a shutdown] upon the country,” Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) said (per Politico).

Of course, it is President Biden’s U.S. economy, and he potentially takes the fall next year if there is a potentially damaging shutdown.

Meanwhile, House Democrats are looking at a continuing resolution (CR) potentially to pay for the federal government at current levels, through December, according to NPR’s Morning Edition.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) should be considered a key ally to Democrats and mainstream Republicans in both chambers, but he is hobbled by questions over his health after a second freeze in the middle of a press conference last month. Last week, Congress’ attending physician cleared McConnell to continue with his planned schedule, according to PBS Newshour.

Schedule: The full Senate only is in session Tuesday, September 5 through Monday, September 11. Both chambers are in session Tuesday, September 12 through Thursday, September 14. The House only is in session until Rosh Hashana the evening of Friday, September 15.

--Compiled and edited by Todd Lassa

_____

What’s Left of the Infrastructure Bill

By Andrea Vale/Stacker

In November 2021, President Biden signed the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, also known as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. The IIJA's aim is simple, but sweeping: to use nearly $1 trillion to update the country's roads, bridges, railways, and broadband internet. These improvements are sorely needed. In 2021, the U.S. experienced a water main break every two minutes and nearly half of all public roads in the country were in "poor or mediocre condition," according to the American Society of Civil Engineers.

In the nearly two years since the act went into law, more than 32,000 projects have been funded nationwide through the IIJA. Notable highlights include upgrades to San Francisco's Golden Gate Bridge; funding the construction of the Hudson Tunnel, which connects New Jersey to New York City; and funding for the deployment of high-speed internet to remote tribal communities. Projects both large and small have benefitted every U.S. state.

Stacker Studio's The General used federal funding data from the White House on the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and data on announced and awarded funding projects to rank states by the percentage of their initial funding amounts still available as of April 20, 2023. Per the White House report, $428 billion was directly allocated to states based on a variety of factors including a general formula for road miles and bridges in "poor" condition.

Announced funding, which is captured from agency press releases, is preliminary and nonbinding and therefore may be contingent on grantees meeting certain requirements. Awarded funding, on the other hand, has been downloaded from USAspending.gov and represents actual obligations, which are defined as legally binding agreements that will result in outlays, either immediately or in the future.

Unlike announced funding, which provides the maximum amount a grantee may receive (subject to meeting certain requirements as noted above), awarded funding represents the sum of all obligations under that award as of the data date of the USAspending report, which is current as of March 31, 2023, and does not necessarily represent the final award amount.

However, states running low on funds need not panic. Additional funding is available for states or localities on an application basis; Montana has spent or allocated more than its original disbursement amount, for example.

Read on to find out how much your state has spent on infrastructure over the past two years, and what industries have been or will be improved the most.

#51. Montana

- Percentage of allotment remaining: 0%
- Total funding from the IIJA: $3.9 billion ($4,105 per capita)
- Funding for projects as of April 20, 2023: $4.6 billion
--- Transportation: $1.4 billion
--- Climate, Energy, and the Environment: $3.0 billion
--- Broadband: $148.6 million
--- Other: $761.1 thousand

#50. Wyoming

- Percentage of allotment remaining: 5.2%
- Total funding from the IIJA: $2.6 billion ($4,215 per capita)
- Funding for projects as of April 20, 2023: $2.5 billion
--- Transportation: $848.8 million
--- Climate, Energy, and the Environment: $1.6 billion
--- Broadband: $18.0 million
--- Other: $308.5 thousand

#49. New Mexico

- Percentage of allotment remaining: 19.7%
- Total funding from the IIJA: $3.7 billion ($1,416 per capita)
- Funding for projects as of April 20, 2023: $3.0 billion
--- Transportation: $1.3 billion
--- Climate, Energy, and the Environment: $1.3 billion
--- Broadband: $421.8 million
--- Other: $25.0 thousand

#48. Alaska

- Percentage of allotment remaining: 20.0%
- Total funding from the IIJA: $4.9 billion ($5,377 per capita)
- Funding for projects as of April 20, 2023: $3.9 billion
--- Transportation: $2.5 billion
--- Climate, Energy, and the Environment: $970.3 million
--- Broadband: $407.5 million
--- Other: $59.6 million

#47. North Dakota

- Percentage of allotment remaining: 26.0%
- Total funding from the IIJA: $2.6 billion ($2,507 per capita)
- Funding for projects as of April 20, 2023: $2.0 billion
--- Transportation: $883.6 million
--- Climate, Energy, and the Environment: $1.1 billion
--- Broadband: $14.2 million
--- Other: $592.3 thousand

#46. Kentucky

- Percentage of allotment remaining: 37.3%
- Total funding from the IIJA: $6.5 billion ($901 per capita)
- Funding for projects as of April 20, 2023: $4.1 billion
--- Transportation: $2.6 billion
--- Climate, Energy, and the Environment: $1.4 billion
--- Broadband: $64.0 million
--- Other: $3.5 million

#45. Louisiana

- Percentage of allotment remaining: 37.5%
- Total funding from the IIJA: $7.3 billion ($988 per capita)
- Funding for projects as of April 20, 2023: $4.5 billion
--- Transportation: $3.4 billion
--- Climate, Energy, and the Environment: $1.1 billion
--- Broadband: $2.9 million
--- Other: $6.9 million

#44. Colorado

- Percentage of allotment remaining: 41.1%
- Total funding from the IIJA: $6.1 billion ($612 per capita)
- Funding for projects as of April 20, 2023: $3.6 billion
--- Transportation: $2.2 billion
--- Climate, Energy, and the Environment: $1.2 billion
--- Broadband: $109.8 million
--- Other: $1.5 million

#43. Arkansas

- Percentage of allotment remaining: 41.4%
- Total funding from the IIJA: $5.0 billion ($955 per capita)
- Funding for projects as of April 20, 2023: $2.9 billion
--- Transportation: $2.3 billion
--- Climate, Energy, and the Environment: $560.7 million
--- Broadband: $39.6 million
--- Other: $2.4 million

#42. Utah

- Percentage of allotment remaining: 43.7%
- Total funding from the IIJA: $4.0 billion ($659 per capita)
- Funding for projects as of April 20, 2023: $2.2 billion
--- Transportation: $1.3 billion
--- Climate, Energy, and the Environment: $904.5 million
--- Broadband: $21.5 million
--- Other: $838.5 thousand

#41. Mississippi

- Percentage of allotment remaining: 44.5%
- Total funding from the IIJA: $4.5 billion ($843 per capita)
- Funding for projects as of April 20, 2023: $2.5 billion
--- Transportation: $1.7 billion
--- Climate, Energy, and the Environment: $751.4 million
--- Broadband: $46.3 million
--- Other: $6.0 million

#40. Ohio

- Percentage of allotment remaining: 44.8%
- Total funding from the IIJA: $12.8 billion ($602 per capita)
- Funding for projects as of April 20, 2023: $7.1 billion
--- Transportation: $5.9 billion
--- Climate, Energy, and the Environment: $1.2 billion
--- Broadband: $6.5 million
--- Other: $4.6 million

#39. Arizona

- Percentage of allotment remaining: 45.0%
- Total funding from the IIJA: $7.3 billion ($546 per capita)
- Funding for projects as of April 20, 2023: $4.0 billion
--- Transportation: $2.6 billion
--- Climate, Energy, and the Environment: $1.3 billion
--- Broadband: $177.7 million
--- Other: $1.7 million

#38. Oklahoma

- Percentage of allotment remaining: 45.5%
- Total funding from the IIJA: $5.8 billion ($782 per capita)
- Funding for projects as of April 20, 2023: $3.1 billion
--- Transportation: $2.3 billion
--- Climate, Energy, and the Environment: $530.7 million
--- Broadband: $322.7 million
--- Other: $1.0 million

#37. Michigan

- Percentage of allotment remaining: 47.5%
- Total funding from the IIJA: $10.8 billion ($564 per capita)
- Funding for projects as of April 20, 2023: $5.7 billion
--- Transportation: $4.7 billion
--- Climate, Energy, and the Environment: $896.6 million
--- Broadband: $106.1 million
--- Other: $6.5 million

#36. South Dakota

- Percentage of allotment remaining: 49.0%
- Total funding from the IIJA: $2.8 billion ($1,595 per capita)
- Funding for projects as of April 20, 2023: $1.5 billion
--- Transportation: $979.5 million
--- Climate, Energy, and the Environment: $380.7 million
--- Broadband: $90.7 million
--- Other: $537.1 thousand

#35. Illinois

- Percentage of allotment remaining: 49.3%
- Total funding from the IIJA: $17.8 billion ($718 per capita)
- Funding for projects as of April 20, 2023: $9.0 billion
--- Transportation: $6.5 billion
--- Climate, Energy, and the Environment: $2.4 billion
--- Broadband: $121.5 million
--- Other: $7.8 million

#34. Washington

- Percentage of allotment remaining: 49.4%
- Total funding from the IIJA: $8.6 billion ($558 per capita)
- Funding for projects as of April 20, 2023: $4.3 billion
--- Transportation: $3.1 billion
--- Climate, Energy, and the Environment: $1.1 billion
--- Broadband: $106.0 million
--- Other: $51.9 million

#33. Maine

- Percentage of allotment remaining: 49.7%
- Total funding from the IIJA: $2.4 billion ($858 per capita)
- Funding for projects as of April 20, 2023: $1.2 billion
--- Transportation: $874.2 million
--- Climate, Energy, and the Environment: $280.1 million
--- Broadband: $6.5 million
--- Other: $28.2 million

#32. Tennessee

- Percentage of allotment remaining: 50.0%
- Total funding from the IIJA: $8.0 billion ($564 per capita)
- Funding for projects as of April 20, 2023: $4.0 billion
--- Transportation: $2.9 billion
--- Climate, Energy, and the Environment: $1.0 billion
--- Broadband: $6.0 million
--- Other: $3.3 million

#31. Pennsylvania

- Percentage of allotment remaining: 50.2%
- Total funding from the IIJA: $17.8 billion ($683 per capita)
- Funding for projects as of April 20, 2023: $8.9 billion
--- Transportation: $6.5 billion
--- Climate, Energy, and the Environment: $2.4 billion
--- Broadband: $6.6 million
--- Other: $3.4 million

#30. Iowa

- Percentage of allotment remaining: 51.0%
- Total funding from the IIJA: $5.1 billion ($778 per capita)
- Funding for projects as of April 20, 2023: $2.5 billion
--- Transportation: $2.1 billion
--- Climate, Energy, and the Environment: $381.2 million
--- Broadband: $13.5 million
--- Other: $5.5 million

#29. West Virginia

- Percentage of allotment remaining: 51.4%
- Total funding from the IIJA: $4.4 billion ($1,204 per capita)
- Funding for projects as of April 20, 2023: $2.1 billion
--- Transportation: $1.6 billion
--- Climate, Energy, and the Environment: $539.8 million
--- Broadband: $5.7 million
--- Other: $882.8 thousand

#28. Florida

- Percentage of allotment remaining: 51.9%
- Total funding from the IIJA: $19.1 billion ($413 per capita)
- Funding for projects as of April 20, 2023: $9.2 billion
--- Transportation: $6.7 billion
--- Climate, Energy, and the Environment: $2.4 billion
--- Broadband: $7.4 million
--- Other: $5.8 million

#27. Nevada

- Percentage of allotment remaining: 52.3%
- Total funding from the IIJA: $4.0 billion ($607 per capita)
- Funding for projects as of April 20, 2023: $1.9 billion
--- Transportation: $1.5 billion
--- Climate, Energy, and the Environment: $416.2 million
--- Broadband: $37.1 million
--- Other: $1.3 million

#26. Oregon

- Percentage of allotment remaining: 52.4%
- Total funding from the IIJA: $5.4 billion ($602 per capita)
- Funding for projects as of April 20, 2023: $2.6 billion
--- Transportation: $1.9 billion
--- Climate, Energy, and the Environment: $505.4 million
--- Broadband: $88.8 million
--- Other: $38.5 million

#25. Nebraska

- Percentage of allotment remaining: 52.5%
- Total funding from the IIJA: $3.0 billion ($734 per capita)
- Funding for projects as of April 20, 2023: $1.4 billion
--- Transportation: $1.0 billion
--- Climate, Energy, and the Environment: $358.7 million
--- Broadband: $45.8 million
--- Other: $898.4 thousand

#24. North Carolina

- Percentage of allotment remaining: 52.7%
- Total funding from the IIJA: $10.4 billion ($460 per capita)
- Funding for projects as of April 20, 2023: $4.9 billion
--- Transportation: $3.9 billion
--- Climate, Energy, and the Environment: $1.0 billion
--- Broadband: $23.9 million
--- Other: $13.6 million

#23. Virginia

- Percentage of allotment remaining: 53.1%
- Total funding from the IIJA: $10.1 billion ($546 per capita)
- Funding for projects as of April 20, 2023: $4.7 billion
--- Transportation: $3.8 billion
--- Climate, Energy, and the Environment: $917.1 million
--- Broadband: $6.7 million
--- Other: $5.6 million

#22. Rhode Island

- Percentage of allotment remaining: 54.1%
- Total funding from the IIJA: $2.6 billion ($1,079 per capita)
- Funding for projects as of April 20, 2023: $1.2 billion
--- Transportation: $926.5 million
--- Climate, Energy, and the Environment: $247.6 million
--- Broadband: $5.5 million
--- Other: $672.4 thousand

#21. Missouri

- Percentage of allotment remaining: 54.8%
- Total funding from the IIJA: $9.0 billion ($659 per capita)
- Funding for projects as of April 20, 2023: $4.1 billion
--- Transportation: $3.1 billion
--- Climate, Energy, and the Environment: $848.1 million
--- Broadband: $103.3 million
--- Other: $4.0 million

#20. Alabama

- Percentage of allotment remaining: 54.8%
- Total funding from the IIJA: $7.0 billion ($620 per capita)
- Funding for projects as of April 20, 2023: $3.1 billion
--- Transportation: $2.6 billion
--- Climate, Energy, and the Environment: $504.2 million
--- Broadband: $55.5 million
--- Other: $4.9 million

#19. California

- Percentage of allotment remaining: 55.2%
- Total funding from the IIJA: $44.6 billion ($511 per capita)
- Funding for projects as of April 20, 2023: $20.0 billion
--- Transportation: $15.1 billion
--- Climate, Energy, and the Environment: $4.6 billion
--- Broadband: $176.5 million
--- Other: $36.1 million

#18. Hawaii

- Percentage of allotment remaining: 55.3%
- Total funding from the IIJA: $2.6 billion ($814 per capita)
- Funding for projects as of April 20, 2023: $1.2 billion
--- Transportation: $935.2 million
--- Climate, Energy, and the Environment: $214.1 million
--- Broadband: $22.9 million
--- Other: $167.0 thousand

#17. Idaho

- Percentage of allotment remaining: 55.9%
- Total funding from the IIJA: $3.0 billion ($688 per capita)
- Funding for projects as of April 20, 2023: $1.3 billion
--- Transportation: $1.0 billion
--- Climate, Energy, and the Environment: $290.3 million
--- Broadband: $31.6 million
--- Other: $8.7 million

#16. Connecticut

- Percentage of allotment remaining: 56.2%
- Total funding from the IIJA: $6.0 billion ($730 per capita)
- Funding for projects as of April 20, 2023: $2.6 billion
--- Transportation: $2.2 billion
--- Climate, Energy, and the Environment: $377.3 million
--- Broadband: $5.7 million
--- Other: $17.0 million

#15. Kansas

- Percentage of allotment remaining: 56.3%
- Total funding from the IIJA: $3.8 billion ($571 per capita)
- Funding for projects as of April 20, 2023: $1.7 billion
--- Transportation: $1.3 billion
--- Climate, Energy, and the Environment: $361.0 million
--- Broadband: $15.5 million
--- Other: $235.6 thousand

#14. Vermont

- Percentage of allotment remaining: 56.3%
- Total funding from the IIJA: $2.2 billion ($1,502 per capita)
- Funding for projects as of April 20, 2023: $972.0 million
--- Transportation: $714.2 million
--- Climate, Energy, and the Environment: $251.7 million
--- Broadband: $5.5 million
--- Other: $580.5 thousand

#13. Minnesota

- Percentage of allotment remaining: 56.5%
- Total funding from the IIJA: $6.8 billion ($518 per capita)
- Funding for projects as of April 20, 2023: $3.0 billion
--- Transportation: $2.4 billion
--- Climate, Energy, and the Environment: $437.5 million
--- Broadband: $97.1 million
--- Other: $2.1 million

#12. Massachusetts

- Percentage of allotment remaining: 56.7%
- Total funding from the IIJA: $9.3 billion ($579 per capita)
- Funding for projects as of April 20, 2023: $4.0 billion
--- Transportation: $3.3 billion
--- Climate, Energy, and the Environment: $680.4 million
--- Broadband: $15.1 million
--- Other: $8.5 million

#11. Georgia

- Percentage of allotment remaining: 57.1%
- Total funding from the IIJA: $12.4 billion ($487 per capita)
- Funding for projects as of April 20, 2023: $5.3 billion
--- Transportation: $4.4 billion
--- Climate, Energy, and the Environment: $882.7 million
--- Broadband: $42.9 million
--- Other: $4.6 million

#10. Wisconsin

- Percentage of allotment remaining: 57.3%
- Total funding from the IIJA: $7.3 billion ($527 per capita)
- Funding for projects as of April 20, 2023: $3.1 billion
--- Transportation: $2.5 billion
--- Climate, Energy, and the Environment: $575.5 million
--- Broadband: $39.7 million
--- Other: $2.2 million

#9. Texas

- Percentage of allotment remaining: 57.5%
- Total funding from the IIJA: $35.4 billion ($501 per capita)
- Funding for projects as of April 20, 2023: $15.0 billion
--- Transportation: $12.6 billion
--- Climate, Energy, and the Environment: $2.4 billion
--- Broadband: $15.5 million
--- Other: $9.8 million

#8. South Carolina

- Percentage of allotment remaining: 58.2%
- Total funding from the IIJA: $6.1 billion ($484 per capita)
- Funding for projects as of April 20, 2023: $2.6 billion
--- Transportation: $2.2 billion
--- Climate, Energy, and the Environment: $337.4 million
--- Broadband: $6.0 million
--- Other: $3.3 million

#7. New Hampshire

- Percentage of allotment remaining: 58.3%
- Total funding from the IIJA: $2.0 billion ($613 per capita)
- Funding for projects as of April 20, 2023: $855.2 million
--- Transportation: $619.3 million
--- Climate, Energy, and the Environment: $226.0 million
--- Broadband: $5.5 million
--- Other: $4.3 million

#6. New Jersey

- Percentage of allotment remaining: 58.6%
- Total funding from the IIJA: $13.5 billion ($604 per capita)
- Funding for projects as of April 20, 2023: $5.6 billion
--- Transportation: $4.4 billion
--- Climate, Energy, and the Environment: $1.2 billion
--- Broadband: $6.1 million
--- Other: $3.9 million

#5. Indiana

- Percentage of allotment remaining: 59.3%
- Total funding from the IIJA: $8.8 billion ($527 per capita)
- Funding for projects as of April 20, 2023: $3.6 billion
--- Transportation: $3.0 billion
--- Climate, Energy, and the Environment: $593.5 million
--- Broadband: $5.8 million
--- Other: $1.5 million

#4. New York

- Percentage of allotment remaining: 59.5%
- Total funding from the IIJA: $26.9 billion ($555 per capita)
- Funding for projects as of April 20, 2023: $10.9 billion
--- Transportation: $9.0 billion
--- Climate, Energy, and the Environment: $1.9 billion
--- Broadband: $16.9 million
--- Other: $6.4 million

#3. Washington D.C.

- Percentage of allotment remaining: 59.7%
- Total funding from the IIJA: $3.0 billion ($1,804 per capita)
- Funding for projects as of April 20, 2023: $1.2 billion
--- Transportation: $924.8 million
--- Climate, Energy, and the Environment: $280.3 million
--- Broadband: $5.5 million
--- Other: $1.3 million

#2. Maryland

- Percentage of allotment remaining: 59.9%
- Total funding from the IIJA: $7.4 billion ($481 per capita)
- Funding for projects as of April 20, 2023: $3.0 billion
--- Transportation: $2.4 billion
--- Climate, Energy, and the Environment: $539.8 million
--- Broadband: $6.0 million
--- Other: $1.7 million

#1. Delaware

- Percentage of allotment remaining: 63.6%
- Total funding from the IIJA: $2.4 billion ($850 per capita)
- Funding for projects as of April 20, 2023: $866.1 million
--- Transportation: $650.9 million
--- Climate, Energy, and the Environment: $209.4 million
--- Broadband: $5.5 million
--- Other: $355.4 thousand

Data reporting by Sam Larson. Story editing by Brian Budzynski. Copy editing by Tim Bruns.

This story originally appeared on The General and was produced and distributed in partnership with Stacker Studio.

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POSTED TUE 9/5/23

Freedom Caucus to Block

Republican House Freedom Caucus members are indicating they actually want a federal government shutdown by preventing passage of the coming fiscal year’s budget, Politico reports.

Ultra-conservative Rep. Bob Good (R-LA) says “most Americans wouldn’t even miss” the federal government if it shut down, according to the political news website. It reports that Rep. Andrew Clyde (R-GA) said last month the goal is roughly $100 billion in spending cuts from President Biden’s budget bill.

“We’ll see how these negotiations go. I think folks in leadership are taking us seriously,” Clyde said.

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--TL

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