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Members of a Senate committee grilled Labor secretary-designate Lori Chavez-DeRemer on Wednesday about her past support of pro-union legislation, her position on raising the federal minimum wage and her willingness to disagree with President Donald Trump. Democrats sought assurances during the nominee’s confirmation hearing that Chavez-DeRemer would protect private data held by the Department of Labor. Republican members of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor & Pensions asked if she still backed a bill that would have made it easier for workers to unionize. Union leaders have described Chavez-DeRemer, a former Republican member of Congress from Oregon and former mayor of a small city on the edge of liberal-leaning Portland, as a friend of organized labor. But workers’ rights advocates question if she would be able to uphold that reputation in an administration that has fired thousands of federal employees. We are moving toward an authoritarian society where one person has enormous power. Will you have the courage to say, Mr. President, thats unconstitutional, thats wrong? Vermont independent Bernie Sanders asked in his opening remarks. The tension between the relatively pro-union record from her one term as a congresswoman and the current White House priorities had Chavez-DeRemer walking a fine line during the hearing, sometimes repeating answers or deflecting by saying shes not a lawyer and no longer serves as a House lawmaker. Senator Bill Cassidy, a Republican from Louisiana who chairs the committee, said the Trump administration had an opportunity to enact a pro-American agenda. He said business owners were concerned about Chavez-DeRemers past support in Congress of the Protecting the Right to Organize Act. A section of the PRO Act would have overturned state right to work laws that give employees the right to refuse to join a union in their workplace. During her opening statement, Chavez-DeRemer described the proposed law as imperfect. When Cassidy asked her if she still supported it, she declined to give a yes or no answer. I do not believe the secretary of Labor should write the laws. It would be up to Congress to write the law, she said. She later said she supports states’ right to work laws, which allow employees to refuse to join a union in their workplace. A provision of the PRO Act sought to overturn such laws. Sanders, the committee’s ranking member, asked Chavez-DeRemer if she would be a rubber stamp for the administration or stand with workers. If confirmed, my job will be to implement President Trumps policy vision,” Chavez-DeRemer said. “And my guiding principle will be President Trumps guiding principleensuring a level playing field for businesses, unions, and, most importantly, the American worker. Some political observers surmised that Trump picked Chavez-DeRemer to be his Labor secretary as a way to appeal to voters who are members of or affiliated with labor organizations. She is the daughter of a Teamster member. If confirmed, Chavez-DeRemer would be in charge of the Department of Labors nearly 16,000 full-time employees and a proposed budget of $13.9 billion in fiscal year 2025. She would set priorities that impact workers wages, ability to unionize, and health and safety, as well as employers rights to fire employees. But it’s unclear how much power she would be able to wield as Trump’s Cabinet moves to slash U.S. government spending and the size of the federal workforce. During his first month in office, the president froze trillions of dollars in federal funding and offered buyouts to most federal workers. His administration last week started laying off nearly all probationary employees who had not yet gained civil service protection. Billionaire Elon Musk, who leads Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency, has called for getting rid of entire agencies. “Its quite possible that no matter what the secretary of Labor stands for, the billionaire embedded in the Trump administration, who is so keen on destroying the institutions, will be interested in gutting the Department of Labor, said Adam Shah, director of national policy at Jobs with Justice, a nonprofit organization that promotes workers’ rights. In January, Trump fired two of three Democratic commissioners serving on the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, a federal agency that enforces civil rights in the workplace. He also fired the acting chair of the National Labor Relations Board, Gwynne Wilcox, the first Black woman to serve as an NLRB member, as well as Jennifer Abruzzo, the boards general counsel. The firings left both independent agencies without the quorum needed to take actions. Asked Wednesday whether the EEOC and NLRB should have enough members to carry out its mission to protect workers, Chavez-DeRemer answered yes. Senators also sought assurance that Chavez-DeRemer would protect sensitive data. Democratic Senator Chris Murphy of Connecticut asked if she would deny Musk or his representatives access to information about competitors or labor violations at the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. Musks companies are the subject of several OSHA investigations. Chavez-DeRemer said the decision belonged to Trump. I work for the president of the United States, if confirmed, and I will serve at the pleasure of the president on this issue, she said. The answer did not satisfy Murphy. You have the ability to disagree with the president. You certainly serve at his pleasure, but that doesnt mean that you have to take actions that you believe to be unethical, Murphy said. If the president asks you to give access to information that benefits a friend of his who has pending investigations, you wouldnt say no? I would certainly consult with the Department of Labor solicitors. I would certainly consult with the White House and their attorneys. But until I am confirmed and in the Labor Department, I would not be able to say, specific to this, without having the full picture, Chavez-DeRemer said. Fourteen Democratic states have challenged the Musk-led DOGE from accessing government data systems or participating in worker layoffs, including at the Labor Department. A federal judge on Tuesday refused to grant a restraining order to block the access. Many major unions, including the AFL-CIO and the United Auto Workers, endorsed Trumps Democratic opponent in the presidential race, former Vice President Democrat Kamala Harris. The International Brotherhood of Teamsters declined to endorse a presidential candidate, but the union endorsed Chavez-DeRemers nomination. During her committee testimony on Wednesday, Chavez-DeRemer said Trump had carried off the “single greatest political achievement of all time by attracting votes from working-class Americans, many of whom traditionally voted for Democrats, and from rank-and-file union members. By Cathy Bussewitz, Associated Press Associated Press writer Matt Brown contributed to this report.
Category:
E-Commerce
Hunters were once the greatest human threat to the countrys only unique wolf species. Today, its motorists. That fact was brought home last June, when red wolf breeding male No. 2444 was struck and killed on U.S. 64 near Manns Harbor, North Carolina. His death likely meant five pups he’d been providing for died, too. We were hoping the mother would return and resume care, but she never did, Joe Madison, head of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s red wolf recovery program, said during a recent visit to the site. For decades, conservationists have pushed for changes to U.S. 64, a busy two-lane highway to the popular Outer Banks that runs straight through the Alligator River National Wildlife Refugeone of just two places in the world where red wolves run free. They may finally be getting their wish. In late December, the Federal Highway Administration awarded the first grants under a new $125 million Wildlife Crossings Pilot Program. Unless the grants are somehow undone by President Donald Trump, part of the money will help state agencies and nonprofit groups rebuild a 2.5-mile section of the highway with fencing and a series of culverts, or small underpasses, to allow red wolvesas well as black bears, white-tailed deer, and other animalsto pass safely underneath traffic. When you build wildlife bridges or underpasses, you reduce human-wildlife conflict, said Duke University ecologist Stuart Pimm, who studies wildlife migrations but is not directly involved in the project. There is increasing awareness that reducing traffic collisions is smart for wildlife, smart for people too. Other agency grants will support new bridges and underpasses for mule deer in Idaho, pronghorn antelope in New Mexico, and cougars and bears in Oregon, among other projects. But whats notable about the U.S. 64 project is that the goal is twofold: reducing dangerous collisions and roadkilland saving a critically endangered species. There are thought to be fewer than 20 red wolves left in the wild; besides Alligator River, the other remaining habitat is in the nearby Pocosin Lakes National Wildlife Refuge. Madison calculates that No. 2444 represented 7% of the known wild red wolf population. So, every time you get a mortality, thats a significant hit, he said. Reducing roadkilland saving a species? Wildlife crossings have proliferated across the U.S. in the past 20 years with broad nonpartisan support. Most often, the objective is safety. One congressional report estimated that dangerous highway collisions with large animals kill hundreds of people and cost more than $8 billion each year. Researchers have learned a lot about what works for different species. Pronghorn dont want to go through tunnels or close spaces, so they avoid underpasses and need bridges, said Arthur Middleton, an ecologist who studies animal migration at the University of California, Berkeley. Whereas deer will go under or over. Gray wolves and coyotesand, presumably, red wolveswill also use underpasses, or culverts, of 6 or 8 feet in diameter. Fencing is critical to funnel the animals to the structures. Along U.S. 30 in Wyoming, seven small underpasses and fencing cut mule deer collisions by 81%. In Canada, a series of overpasses and underpasses along the Trans-Canada Highway in Banff National Park reduced collisions with hooved animals by 94%. But whether wildlife crossings can help prevent extinctions is a harder question to answer. Conservation was always a part of the story, but now were seeing crossings increasingly pop up that have conservation as a primary rationale, said Ben Goldfarb, author of the book Crossings: How Road Ecology is Shaping the Future of Our Planet. Some of the most ambitious crossings for conservation have just been built, and it will take time to assess the results. Outside Los Angeles, a wildlife crossing over 10 lanes of U.S. 101 is expected to open in 2026. The primary aim is to help connect the habitat of mountain lions, which need to cross the freeway to find suitable mates. Inbreeding among mountain lions in the L.A. region has already led to genetic mutations and decreased fertility. In Brazils Rio de Janeiro state, construction of a wildlife bridge spanning BR 101 was finished in 2020, then native seedlings were planted in a soil bed. Once those trees mature, researchers will study if the target speciesan endangered monkey called a golden lion tamarinuses the bridge regularly. Experts say the trees are necessary for creatures like monkeys or sloths to move across the bridge. Species that scamper on the ground, including foxes, anteaters, and armadillos, are already crossing. Hope at the end of the tunnel underpass for red wolves? While its not certain that a wildlife crossing can save the last red wolves, scientists say that doing nothing will almost certainly hasten their demise. Canis rufus, often called America’s wolf, once roamed from central Texas to southern Iowa and as far east as Long Island, New York. After being declared extinct in the wild, red wolves were reintroduced in North Carolina in 1987. For about 20 years, the population grew steadily to reach around 120 animals. Then their numbers crashedwith vehicle collisions a primary culprit. One study found that vehicle strikes had killed about 5% of the red wolf population each year between their reintroduction and 2022. Marcel P. Huijser, a study coauthor and a research ecologist at Montana State Universitys Western Transportation Institute, warned that the cost of doing nothing, “including losing a wild species, can be far higher than the cost of implementing effective mitigation. In North Carolina, Fish and Wildlife biologists have tried other measures to prevent crasheslike flashing road signs and reflective collarswithout much success. Following No. 2444s death, conservation groups like the Wildlands Network and the Center for Biological Diversity pushed for another solution. In September, the North Carolina Department of Transportation submitted a grant application for the Red Wolf Essential Survival Crossings Under Evacuation Route, or RESCUER, project. Plans for the U.S. 64 wildlife crossing call for a series of underpass structuresseveral of them big enough for wolves and other large mammals to pass throughand the accompanying fencing. The exact number and size of the underpasses has yet to be determined, said Travis W. Wilson, eastern habitat conservation coordinator for the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission. The estimated total cost for the project is about $31.5 million, including $4 million in private donations raised by conservation groups and an anonymous donors matching grant. This is one of the most important wildlife connectivity projects in the country, said Beth Pratt, founder of the nonprofit The Wildlife Crossing Fund, which raised funds for the project. Critically endangered red wolves will disappear if we do nothing. By Allen G. Breed and Christina Larson, Associated Press The Associated Presss Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institutes Science and Educational Media Group and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. AP’s climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
Category:
E-Commerce
A push to ban sugary drinks, candy, and more from the U.S. program that helps low-income families pay for nutritious food has been tried beforebut it may soon get a boost from new Trump administration officials. Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the newly confirmed health and human services secretary, and Brooke Rollins, the new agriculture secretary, have both signaled that they favor stripping such treats from SNAP, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. Kennedy has been most vocal, calling for the government to stop allowing the nearly $113 billion program that serves about 42 million Americans to use benefits to pay for soda or processed foods. The one place that I would say that we need to really change policy is the SNAP program and food stamps and in school lunches, Kennedy told Fox News host Laura Ingraham last week. There, the federal government in many cases is paying for it. And we shouldn’t be subsidizing people to eat poison. In one of her first interviews after being confirmed, Rollins said she looked forward to working with Kennedy on the issue. When a taxpayer is putting money into SNAP, are they okay with us using their tax dollars to feed really bad food and sugary drinks to children who perhaps need something more nutritious? Rollins said. These are all massive questions we’re going to be asking and working on in the coming months and years. But removing certain foods from SNAPknown for years as food stampsisn’t as simple as it sounds. The program is run by the USDA, not HHS, and is administered through individual states. It is authorized by the federal Food and Nutrition Act of 2008, which says SNAP benefits can be used for any food or food product intended for human consumption, except alcohol, tobacco, and hot foods, including those prepared for immediate consumption. Excluding any foods would require Congress to change the lawor for states to get waivers that would let them restrict purchases, said Katie Bergh, a senior policy analyst for the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, a nonpartisan research group. Over the past 20 years, lawmakers in several states have proposed stopping SNAP from paying for bottled water, soda, chips, ice cream, decorated cakes, and luxury meats like steak. None of those requests have ever been approved under either Republican or Democratic presidents, Bergh said. In the past, Agriculture Department officials rejected the waivers, saying in a 2007 paper that no clear standards exist to define foods as good or bad, or healthy or not healthy. In addition, the agency said restrictions would be difficult to implement, complicated, and costly. And they might not change recipients food purchases or reduce conditions such as obesity. Anti-hunger advocates point to research that shows SNAP recipients are no more likely than other low-income Americans to buy sugary drinks or snack foods. And they say that limiting food choices undermines the autonomy and dignity of people who receive, on average, about $187 per monthor about $6.16 per day, according to the latest figures. This is just another way to cut benefits, said Gina Plata-Nino, a deputy director at the Food Research and Action Center, a nonprofit advocacy group. It’s like, how do we restrict people more? How do we stigmatize them more? Bills are pending in Congress and in several states to restrict SNAP benefits from paying for soda, candy, and other items. Representative Josh Breechan, an Oklahoma Republican, sponsored the Healthy SNAP Act. If someone wants to buy junk food on their own dime, thats up to them, he said. But what were saying is, dont ask the taxpayer to pay for it and then also expect the taxpayer to pick up the tab for the resulting health consequences. One SNAP recipient said she uses her monthly $291 benefit to buy necessities such as meat, oil, milk, and coffee. Martina Santos, 66, of New York City, supplements those foods with fresh vegetables and fruits from a pantry run by the West Side Campaign Against Hunger, where she’s also a volunteer. Because she has diabetes and other health conditions, she said she understands the importance of using the benefits only for nutritious options. For me, SNAP is to be used toward healthy food to get people to avoid all the disease theyre having around right now: obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure, Santos said. In Kansas and elsewhere, bills that would ban soft drinks and candy highlight some of the challenges of such changes. Several pending bills seek to keep SNAP from paying for soft drinks, but they would continue to allow drinks containing milk, milk alternatives like soy or almond milk, or drinks with more than 50% vegetable or fruit juice. Candy is characterized as any unrefrigerated, flourless preparation of sugar, honey, or other natural or artificial sweeteners in combination with chocolate, fruits, nuts, or other ingredients or flavorings in the form of bars, drops, or pieces. By that definition, Kit Kat and Twix bars, which contain flour, wouldn’t be banned. And juices that contain high amounts of sugar but are more than half fruit juice by volume would be allowed. Such conundrums have stymied changes to the SNAP program for decades. But this moment could be different, said Dr. Anand Parekh, chief medical officer of the Bipartisan Policy Center, a think tank based in Washington, D.C. The momentum behind Kennedy’s Make America Healthy Again movement could spur a new focus on solutions to poor diets that account for leading risk factors for early disease and death. When we talk about the SNAP program, we have to remind people that the N stands for nutrition, Parekh said. It’s about time that both parties can come together and see what are the innovations here to improve diet quality and nutrition. By Jonel Aleccia, AP health writer Associated Press video journalist Mary Conlon contributed to this report. The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institutes Science and Educational Media Group and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
Category:
E-Commerce
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