Second-Largest Foreign Owner Of U.S. Land Is A Chinese Communist Party Member

The second-largest foreign landowner in the U.S. is a Chinese billionaire who it has been determined is a member of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), according to a Daily Caller News Foundation review of Chinese-language news reports.

Chen Tianqiao, the founder, chairman and CEO of global investment firm Shanda Group, owns approximately 200,000 acres of land in Oregon, according to Land Report. Chen also has extensive ties to the Chinese government, ranging from CCP membership to executive roles in CCP-affiliated organizations, according to a DCNF review of Chinese-language media reports.

In 2015, Chen acquired 198,000 acres in Oregon, according to Land Report. The $85 million purchase made the Chinese national the 82nd-largest property owner in the U.S. and the second-largest foreign U.S. land owner, Bloomberg reported, second only to a Canadian family who owns over 1 million acres of Maine.

Oregon’s Bull Springs Skyline Forest accounts for approximately 33,000 of Chen’s acreage, according to Land Report. The forest is located west of Bend, Oregon, and is home to springs, creeks, timberland and wildlife, according to the Bull Springs Skyline Forest website.

Oregon Republican Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer said she was “deeply concerned that individuals tied to the Chinese Communist Party are buying up timberland, which is one of our most precious and finite resources.”

“Foreign ownership of United States lands is a serious problem that has rightfully sparked unease among farmers, ranchers and foresters across the country,” Chavez-DeRemer told the DCNF.

Chen also owns several urban properties in the U.S., including the Vanderbilt Mansion in Manhattan, the Seeley Mudd Estate near Los Angeles and a 150,000 square-foot research facility at Caltech called the Tianqiao and Chrissy Chen Institute for Neuroscience — each worth tens of millions of dollars, according to Land Report.

Chinese ownership of U.S. land, in particular agricultural land, has come under increased scrutiny from GOP governors, who see it as a potential national security threat. Several states, including Florida, have taken legislative and executive action to ban Chinese ownership of U.S. farmland, the most recent being Missouri Gov. Mike Parson’s January 2024 executive order banning such purchases near military installations.

“One of the Chinese Communist Party’s goals is to undermine and weaken America,” Florida Republican Sen. Marco Rubio told the DCNF. “This includes instances where our greatest adversary continues to buy land — whether its farmland or near our installations.”

‘Despise All Our Enemies’

Born in 1973, Chen served as a student cadre from an early age, state-run media outlet China News Service reported.

“In 1990, Chen enrolled in Fudan University to major in economics, the following year he joined the Chinese Communist Party, and, in 1993, he won the title of ‘Shanghai Municipal Outstanding Model Cadre Student,’” according to a DCNF translation of an archived 2005 press release from Chen’s alma mater, Fudan University in Shanghai.

Chen was just 18 when he joined the Communist Party, according to a 2007 article from Communist Youth Daily, the official newspaper for the Communist Youth League.

Since joining the Party, Chinese media outlets and business filings have repeatedly identified Chen as a CCP member.

A 2016 Sohu.com article identified Chen and several other Chinese CEOs as CCP members. Likewise, Chen’s profile on the Chinese financial portal Sina, which was last updated in November 2023, identifies him as a CCP member.

The state-run Beijing Review describes Chen as an admirer of Mao Zedong, first chairman of the People’s Republic of China (PRC). Several Chinese-language outlets have also reported that Chen’s corporate office prominently displays Mao’s written works.

Chen even has a favorite Mao Zedong quote, according to state-run media outlet China News Service: “Strategically we should despise all our enemies, but tactically we should take them all seriously.”

Mao delivered the remarks in a speech denouncing American imperialism during a visit to Moscow in November 1957, according to the University of Dayton Review.

Above and beyond his CCP membership, Chinese government records show that Chen served as a representative to the 11th and 12th councils of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), which ran between 2008 and 2018.

The CPPCC is a Chinese government agency where “all the relevant united front actors inside and outside the party come together: party elders, intelligence officers, diplomats, propagandists, military officers and political commissars, united front workers, academics and businesspeople,” former CIA officer Peter Mattis testified to the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence in 2019.

“CPPCC delegates attend a high-profile annual meeting to receive direction from the CCP regarding the ways its policies should be characterized to both domestic and foreign audiences,” according to the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission. “Delegates to the CPPCC serve as proxies for CCP interests by virtue of their participation in this forum, and they frequently act as interlocutors with foreign government officials, businesses, and academic institutions.”

Chinese media reports include photos of Chen attending CPPCC meetings while wearing the government agency’s distinctive red, clip-on delegate’s badge.

‘Growing Cause For Concern’

Chen has also held executive positions with the All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce (ACFIC), including with the group’s Shanghai branch, according to the Chinese-language news outlet Sohu.com.

ACFIC describes itself as an organization “led by the Communist Party of China” that “contributes greatly to the Party’s united front and economy related work as well as the cause of socialism with Chinese characteristics.”

John Dotson, deputy director of Global Taiwan Institute, told the DCNF that ACFIC is subordinate to the United Front Work Department (UFWD), which is a CCP agency whose operations are a “blend of engagement, influence activities and intelligence operations,” according to the House Select Committee on the CCP.

“In regards to the All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce, it’s definitely a subordinate agency of the UFWD — that’s not even a matter for analysis or interpretation,” Dotson told the DCNF. “In public Chinese sources, ACFIC is openly listed as a subordinate branch of the UFWD.”

ACFIC could not be reached for comment.

“The increase in PRC-affiliated U.S. land purchases in recent years is a growing cause for concern,” a House Select Committee on the CCP aide told the DCNF. “We can start with adding a presumption of denial for entities affiliated with the PRC when it comes to land acquisitions near national security sites such as military bases that the CCP could use for intelligence collection or worse.”

Chen and Shanda Group did not respond to multiple requests for comment.

AUTHOR

PHILIP LENCZYCKI

Daily Caller News Foundation investigative reporter, political journalist, and China watcher. Twitter: @LenczyckiPhilip.

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EDITORS NOTE: This Daily Caller column is republished with permission. ©All rights reserved.


All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter’s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.

Legal Experts Sound Alarm on Biden Admin’s Pattern of ‘Unlawful Overreach’

In the wake of the Biden administration’s recent efforts to use federal agencies to regulate on matters outside their jurisdiction, legal experts are expressing dismay at what they say is a pattern of unconstitutional overreach by Biden’s government in order to achieve political ends.

Last year, the Biden administration moved forward with a new U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) rule that threatened to pull federal funding for school lunches from schools that did not adopt the administration’s new interpretation of Title IX, which specified that the prohibition on discrimination based on sex must “include discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.” Observers noted that a program designed to help feed low-income children was now being entangled with a policy rooted in highly controversial gender ideology.

In December, a group of 21 Republican state attorneys general filed suit against the Biden administration after it finalized another federal rule through the Department of Transportation (USDOT) which required states to create benchmarks for reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen (R) called the rule “another unlawful and overreaching regulation,” and the attorneys general pointed out that Congress had not given the USDOT authority to regulate emissions or to direct how states must roll out their policy decisions.

On Thursday, Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost (R) pointed to numerous further examples of the Biden administration’s overreach on “Washington Watch with Tony Perkins.”

“One of the things people ought to pay attention to is the phrase ‘whole of government,’” he noted. “You’re starting to hear this from bureaucrats and politicians in Washington over and over again. That should be a red flag for you when you hear ‘whole of government.’ … It’s kind of a code that they’re going to use [in order for] agencies that have absolutely nothing to do with the thing at hand to try to accomplish something that they don’t have authority to do.”

“For example,” Yost continued, “the Securities and Exchange Commission [SEC] is there to regulate the stock markets and stock trading and commodities trading. They publish rules, and it’s a regulatory agency — pretty dry and dusty. Well, under the whole of government approach, the Biden administration is using them to try to enter into fossil fuels and energy policy and climate change. What does the SEC and stock markets have to do with whether we drive electric cars or not or fossil fuel development?”

Yost further pointed to a November 2021 rule the Biden administration attempted to implement through the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). “They tried to get OSHA involved in the COVID wars. OSHA is all about [having] guardrails around the catwalks. Let’s make sure that there’s safety features around the vats of acid so that workers don’t get hurt. They tried to use that department and that authority to make sure that every employee of a company that had more than 100 employees, which was over 80 million Americans, had to have the vaccine … if they wanted the government’s permission to work. The Supreme Court knocked it down … but it’s that whole of government mindset where they try to take every bureaucratic alphabet soup agency to do something that [it] was never designed to do.”

Yost went on to underscore the importance of the American court system in maintaining the rule of law going forward. “We have to rely on the genius of the Founders, the separation of powers. The courts and Congress both have the ability to rein in an overreaching executive. Congress hasn’t been too interested in doing that of late. But fortunately, in a lot of places, courts are doing their jobs as attorneys general are going to court and challenging these things.”

“We have to realize we’re in a battle,” Yost concluded. “This is not a civil debate. … These folks don’t care about the norms. They don’t care about the rules or the rule of law. We are in a pitched battle, and we need everybody to help.”

Perkins concurred. “We’ve got to be informed. We’ve got to be voting. We’ve got to be engaged, making sure that we have those that respect the rule of law [in office] because our system doesn’t work without that.”

AUTHOR

Dan Hart

Dan Hart is senior editor at The Washington Stand.

RELATED ARTICLE: Democrats’ Primary Shenanigans Are a Bad Look for Biden

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EDITORS NOTE: This Washington Stand column is republished with permission. All rights reserved. ©2024 Family Research Council.


The Washington Stand is Family Research Council’s outlet for news and commentary from a biblical worldview. The Washington Stand is based in Washington, D.C. and is published by FRC, whose mission is to advance faith, family, and freedom in public policy and the culture from a biblical worldview. We invite you to stand with us by partnering with FRC.

AWED MEDIA BALANCED NEWS: We cover COVID to Climate, as well as Energy to Elections

Welcome! We cover COVID to Climate, as well as Energy to Elections.

Here is the link for this issue, so please share it on social media.

Checkout the 2023, 2022, 2021 & 2020 archives, plus asterisked items below.

If you like the Newsletter, signup for my free Critical Thinking substack.


— This Newsletter’s Articles, by Topic —

If You Only Have Time to Read Some Select Articles:

*** Report: The New Right Activism

*** A Silly People

*** Study: Just 3.4 Percent of American Journalists Are Republicans

*** US Economic Health Watch: ‘Hockey Stick’ Debt

*** Can Trump Really Win in 2024?

*** Short Tucker Carlson video: Was Trump guilty of insurrection?

*** Georgia’s State Election Board now admits the 2020 election was a fraud

*** Critical Thinking is THE answer

*** How and Why Are American Minds Being Canceled?

*** After Harvard shakeup, Chris Rufo offers conservative game plan to retake elite institutions

*** Dumbed-Down Schooling Torpedoing US Defense vs. China, Russia

*** Short video: Musk & Maher comment on education indoctrination

*** Education Reforms Needed in 2024

*** How and Why Are American Minds Being Canceled?

*** AI development expected to ‘explode’ in 2024, experts say

*** Court orders wind farm to be torn down after golden eagle death

*** Federal Judge Sides with Osage Nation, Orders Removal of 84 Wind Turbines

*** Economic Health Watch: Utility Costs

*** There’s no justification for green energy subsidies and mandates

*** As more & more counties get more solar projects…here’s some truth about them

*** New Research Finds that Rocks Release as much CO2 as the world’s Volcanoes

*** Climate Scientists Say We Should Embrace Higher CO2 Levels

*** For the sake of the pile: My lesson in Christmas equity

*** Prager video MIA: Masculinity in America

*** Bill Whittle: Things to Come

*** Peterson: Stop Lying to Yourself! How To Turn Your Life Around In 2024!

*** Begin the New Year Standing on the Word

*** Epic Struggle: Transgenderism And Transhumanism v. Christianity

Secondary Education Related:

*** Report: The Key to Fixing the US Education System

*** Critical Thinking is THE Answer

*** Dumbed-Down Schooling Torpedoing US Defense vs. China, Russia

*** Short video: Musk & Maher comment on education indoctrination

*** Education Reforms Needed in 2024

*** Missouri School District Offers Coloring Pages on Preferred Pronouns, Gender Expression to Kindergartners

*** Academic Activists Want Critical Race Theory Taught to Children in Kindergarten

Saying ‘Gender Is Binary and Cannot Be Changed’ Got an Award-Winning California Teacher Fired. He’s Fighting Back

The Top Target for Ransomware? It’s Now K-12 Schools

Higher Education Related:

*** How and Why Are American Minds Being Canceled?

*** After Harvard shakeup, Chris Rufo offers conservative game plan to retake elite institutions

Harvard Faces Big Decline in Early Applications Amid Controversies

Dehumanizing Anti-Civilization Dogma Behind DEI’s Destruction of Universities

A Professor Gave a Woke Course and Nobody Came

The True Antidote to the Rot in America’s Universities

DEI Resistance Is Advancing

Artificial Intelligence:

*** AI development expected to ‘explode’ in 2024, experts say

Predictions for 2024 from Patrick Wood vs. AI Chatbots

Confronting the ‘Artificial Intelligence’ Backward-Looking Bureaucracy Trap

Eric Schmidt has a 6-point plan for fighting AI misinformation

Microsoft, OpenAI sued by New York Times over copyright infringement

Here They Come: the Deep Fake News AI Anchors

China’s Plan to Build Global Technocracy Using Artificial Intelligence

Is the Fear of AI Worse Than AI Itself?

Greed Energy Economics:

*** Economic Health Watch: Utility Costs

*** There’s no justification for green energy subsidies and mandates

Unreliables (General):

“Green” agendas are carrying governors to political cliffs

As Wind and Solar Power Falter, U.N. Climate Agreement becomes Wishful Thinking

Wind Energy — Offshore:

Giant offshore wind project axed in blow to Biden’s green goals

Albany’s Green Machine Goes Rogue

Cost of insuring offshore wind ‘doubled’ amid heavy losses: leading broker

Status of US  Offshore Wind Projects: 2023 Edition

Wind Energy — Other:

*** Taking the Wind Out of Climate Change (referencing 60± studies)

*** Court orders wind farm to be torn down after golden eagle death

*** Federal Judge Sides with Osage Nation, Orders Removal of 84 Wind Turbines

The Wind Power Scam

Turbine troubles and project pullout: Recharge’s best-read of 2023

Solar Energy:

*** As more & more counties get more solar projects…here’s some truth about them

Fossil Fuel Energy:

Alex Epstein Discussing Fossil Future with students — Part 2

Coal’s Life-Saving Role Ignored By Climate-Obsessed Media

Two Days After COP28, IEA Delivers More Coal Hard Reality

Old King Coal at COP28: Uninvited Guest or Star of the Show?

The Golden Age of Coal

Jail Time For Operators Of Gas-Powered Leaf Blowers, Edgers, Mowers?

Electric Vehicles (EVs):

*** Are Electric Vehicles the Wave of the Future?

The underbelly of electric vehicles

Battery Fires and other Tidbits

Minnesota cities went for EVs in public transit, but the buses couldn’t handle the cold

EV Graveyards: Hardly Anyone Wants to Buy a Used One

Misc Energy:

White House unveils strict hydrogen regulations in victory for environmentalists

25 Power Facts about energy and climate

Ten Improbable Energy Ideas for 2024

Manmade Global Warming — Some Other Deceptions:

*** Met Office Set to Ditch Actual Temperature Data in Favor of Model Predictions

*** Short video (by Tony Heller): The World’s Smartest Person

*** The Defense Department must ditch its delusional approach to climate

Separating fact from fiction on ‘climate change’

Biden admin unveils string of eco regulations in latest appliance crackdown targeting fridges, freezers

AP Quietly Reveals Donation From Foreign Group That Trains Journalists as Climate Change ‘Activists’

Global Warming fears based on an imaginary temperature

Bad Climate Data Brings Wrong Conclusions

Are Hurricanes Really Getting Worse or is that Just Climate Alarmists’ Hot Air?

Putting Out the Wildfire Myth

Climate doomsayers’ cooked up coffee crisis

Manmade Global Warming — Misc:

*** New Research Finds that Rocks Release as much CO2 as the world’s Volcanoes

*** Climate Scientists Say We Should Embrace Higher CO2 Levels

Cause of Climate Change? It Isn’t Carbon Dioxide, Expert Says

Should We Be Concerned Over Climate Change?

Video: Impacts of Geothermal Energy on Climate

It appears the Church of the Climate Change Cult is losing some of its Flock Part 5

Impacts and risks of “realistic” global warming projections for the 21st century

The Earth Is Warming, but Is CO2 the Cause?

Scientists: Your Breath is Now a Source of Greenhouse Gas

CCP-tied group is quietly fueling US-based climate initiatives

US Election:

Election-Integrity.info (10 major election reports by our team of experts, plus much more!)

*** Can Trump Really Win in 2024?

*** Short Tucker Carlson video: Was Trump guilty of insurrection?

*** Report: Summary of Election Fraud in the 2020 Presidential Election in Swing States

How Black Americans Were Tamed to Vote Democrat for 200 Years

Lessons from the Great Covid [Election] Cover-Up

How To Sabotage a Full Forensic Audit

This Hidden Voting Bloc Could Swing the 2024 Election

Federal Government Operatives and Soros Money Behind Plot to Keep Trump Off Ballot

Meet Lawyer Michael Dreeben, The Man Behind Three Major Anti-Trump Operations

US Election — State Issues:

*** Georgia’s State Election Board now admits the 2020 election was a fraud

NY Democrat charged in voter fraud scheme over dozens of absentee ballots

Texas Think Tank Expands Election Integrity Focus to 5 Key Battleground States for 2024

Democrats fear electoral bloodbath in North Carolina

No-excuse vote by mail remains open to all New Yorkers, for now

Trump’s brief to the Supreme Court is solid, well-written, persuasive, and underreported

Leftist Judge Strikes Blow Against Election Integrity in Wisconsin With Ballot ‘Curing’ Decision

Short Video: Election Integrity Group Wins Federal Lawsuit Over Voter Rolls

Misc US Politics:

*** Report: The New Right Activism

*** A Silly People

*** Democracy’s Death With Dignity

*** Study: Just 3.4 Percent of American Journalists Are Republicans

*** US Economic Health Watch: ‘Hockey Stick’ Debt

Biden Regime Can No Longer Destroy State Border Fences or Cut Down Concertina Wire on Border

The Mainstream Against Democracy

Americans’ Finances Took a Beating in 2023 Amidst Persistent Inflation and High Interest Rates

FBI Database Shows 14 Million Illegal Migrant Gun Purchases

Censorship US:

Red Alert: The Total, Final Obliteration Of Free Speech In 2024

Censors Are Trying to Trick You Into Thinking Substack Has a “Nazi Problem”

Societally US:

*** For the sake of the pile: My lesson in Christmas equity

*** Bill Whittle: Things to Come

*** Book: The Fourth Turning — An American Prophecy. What the Cycles of History Tell Us About America’s Next Rendezvous with Destiny

*** Peterson: Stop Lying to Yourself! How To Turn Your Life Around In 2024!

*** Prager video MIA: Masculinity in America

*** Archive: Transfer Portal Created in Good Faith, But is Out of Control

Podcast: Motherhood in America Is a Basket Case

Gen Z and millennial women are waking up to the lies feminists fed them

WCN: 2023 Year in Review

Ladies and Gentleman: Regarding the Markets, it Is Time for Caution

US Politics and Socialism

*** Brainwashing 101: If You Use Google, You’re Enrolled

*** Why California Is so Expensive: Victor Davis Hanson

Dictatorial Control, From Covid to Climate

Globalism:

It’s Time To Save Civilization From The Pathocratic State

This is What Decolonization Looks Like

UN ‘Climate’ Summit: End Energy (In US), Global Taxes, War on Humanity

Religion Related:

*** Begin the New Year Standing on the Word

*** Epic Struggle: Transgenderism And Transhumanism v. Christianity

Bearing One Another’s Burdens

Joseph Biden and Pope Francis two ‘Catholics’ who are followers of Karl Marx more than Jesus of Nazareth

Science:

*** Censorship in science: a compilation of references

Health:

*** Mending Our Tattered Health Care Safety Net

*** Study: Americans will spend half their lives taking prescription drugs

Health and Climate Change: The Final Frontier

New blood pressure procedure is ‘game-changing’ for people with uncontrolled hypertension

Leprosy, Polio, Malaria, TB, Measles … and Massive Unscreened Illegal Immigration

Get Ready for a Tsunami of Lawsuits Against Adolescent Trans Medicine

Ukraine/Israel:

Pray for the safety of the Ukrainian people

A well-rated source to make a Ukraine donation

Latest Developments in Ukraine: January 7th

Latest Developments in Israel: January 7th

COVID-19 — Misc:

*** A summary of the evidence against the COVID vaccines

*** Florida Surgeon General calls for halt to COVID-19 vaccine usage after FDA said he spread misinformation

*** Over 200 Service Members, Veterans Pledge to Hold Military Leaders Accountable for Vaccine Mandate

*** The One-Year Anniversary of Mistakes Were NOT Made

Study: COVID Vaccination Independently Associated with Long COVID Syndrome

The Pandemic is Over: Then Why are there So Many More Californians Dying?

COVID-19 — Repeated Important Information:

My webpage (C19Science.info) with dozens of Science-based COVID-19 reports

*** Free, At-Home COVID Tests (from US Govt)

*** World Council of Health: Early COVID-19 Treatment Guidelines

*** FLCCC Long COVID Treatment Protocol

*** COVID-19: What You Need To Know (Physicians for Informed Consent)

*** If you have received a COVID-19 injection, here’s how to Detox


Please use social media, etc. to pass on this Newsletter to other open-minded citizens…If you’d like to be added to (or unsubscribe from) the distribution of our popular, free, worldwide Media Balance Newsletter, simply send me an email saying that.


Note 1: We recommend reading the Newsletter on your computer, not your phone, as some documents (e.g., PDFs) are much easier to read on a large computer screen… We’ve tried to use common fonts, etc. to minimize display issues.

Note 2: For past Newsletter issues see the archives from: 2020 & 2021 & 2022 & 2023. To accommodate numerous requests received about prior articles over all thirteen plus years of the Newsletter, we’ve put this together — where you can search ALL prior issues, by year. For a background about how the Newsletter is put together, etc., please read this.

Note 3: See this extensive list of reasonable books on climate change. As a parallel effort, we have also put together a list of some good books related to industrial wind energy. Both topics are also extensively covered on my website: WiseEnergy.org.

Note 4: I am not an attorney or a physician, so no material appearing in any of the Newsletters (or any of my websites) should be construed as giving legal or medical advice. My recommendation has always been: consult a competent, licensed attorney when you are involved with legal issues, and consult a competent physician regarding medical matters.

Copyright © 2024; Alliance for Wise Energy Decisions (see WiseEnergy.org).

Hire Teachers Based on Subject-Matter Expertise, Not Certification

Twenty years ago, when I was hiring teachers for the private K-12 school I founded, I knew better than to recruit certified teachers.

From my previous work as a college history professor, I know that the people least prepared to teach a subject are education majors. Requiring an embarrassingly low minimum of credit hours to be certified to teach a subject—just four courses in some states—education majors encounter the least substance and rigor, but the maximum of racialist theory and left-wing ideology in their program.

If my new school was going to succeed in teaching at the highest levels, then I would have to find subject-matter experts with a heart for teaching. That’s what we did—and what thousands of schools across this country do, because of the humiliating, yet expensive, reality of teacher licensure.

But don’t just take my word for it; the evidence is unequivocal: Traditional public schools have an abysmal education record. Not only are scores as low as ever on the National Assessment of Educational Progress, but internationally, our math scores remain poor and uncompetitive.

Much of the blame lies with teacher education programs and state certification mandates that bolster education schools’ enrollment and subject teachers to radical activist ideology.

Education schools are besieged by critical race theory and identity politics, stereotyping everyone as part of oppressor groups or oppressed groups. They prefer ethnic studies and historical studies that denigrate America or anything patriotic.

And while states have been offering alternative routes to teacher certification, the vast majority of teachers are educated and certified through university-based colleges of education. This ought to stop.

States should end requirements for prospective teachers to be certified, and instead empower schools to hire based on subject-matter expertise. At the same time, on the national level, we can take the Trump administration’s reform of college accreditation as a model.

In higher education, accreditation is a de facto federal system of regulating the quality of colleges. And it has a poor track record of quality assurance, a problem exacerbated by a cartel-like group of regional accreditors that split the country into regions and conspired not to encroach on each other’s territory. There was no competition, so accreditors began abusing their power, which included requiring leftist ideology in their standards.

The Trump administration changed all that. Suddenly, any college could choose any accreditor, and states began introducing market competition into accreditation.

The next administration could follow this model for teacher certification.

Congress should also rescind the federal charter of the National Education Association. It’s a teachers union that voted to promote critical race theory nationwide and advocated to keep schools closed during the pandemic.

The organization’s charter should be reviewed and revoked. In its place, Congress could shift that charter to one of the many private, parent-focused groups fighting to right the ship in K-12 education.

Meanwhile, in states that lack the political support to eliminate teacher certification altogether, states should recognize or charter additional private organizations to certify which teachers are ready to teach, outside of the broken system of college of education certification.

Introducing market competition in the validation of teachers will have untold benefits. Some certifiers may focus on patriotism, while others may focus on classical education or the ability to train students for the workforce, science careers, music careers, or a variety of life pursuits.

American teachers are almost as vital as parents in educating the next generation. Let’s stop facilitating anti-American activism and instead ensure we recognize the teachers who are best for America.

Originally published by The Detroit News

AUTHOR

Kevin Roberts, Ph.D., is president of The Heritage Foundation. On X: .

RELATED VIDEO: Seminole County ex-teacher is happy teaching X-rated adult content to children

EDITORS NOTE: This Daily Signal column is republished with permission. ©All rights reserved.

BEST INSPIRATIONAL FILM 2023: OUTRAGE: The Life and Times of Al Katz

OUTRAGE: The Life and Times of Al Katz, winner of the World Cinema Awards for BEST INSPIRATIONAL FILM, is the powerful story of the life of the real hero who survived seven years as a Jewish slave in Nazi Europe at the beginning of his life and 70 years later survived human bondage as an elder Ward in Florida’s vast abusive professional guardianship industry along with tens of thousands kept in isolation until their miserable deaths ensue.

As a Jewish slave in his youth, Al Katz was forced into many concentration camps across Europe, starving and working outdoors in frigid conditions of 52 degrees below zero with little clothing; yet, he always kept his faith and knew that he had to survive to warn the world of the depravity of antisemitism.  As a Jewish Ward of the State of Florida, Al Katz once again lost everything – his belongings, house of worship, and all civil rights, trapped in isolation for months, while being forbidden from visits, calls, cards, letters, and all contacts with his family.

Al Katz’s life is an exclusive look into a unique life lived in two worlds of human depravity, unseen and unknown by the masses, and the extraordinary courage to survive with faith in the face of fear and unimaginable terror.  OUTRAGE, winner of the BEST INSPIRATIONAL FILM, will inspire audiences around the world as a once-in-a-lifetime movie of miracles and monsters, hero and unbearable sorrow.

OUTRAGE, by award-winning filmmaker, Stan Moore, has also been nominated for numerous other awards across the globe, including BEST JUSTICE FILM.  Al Katz’s story is featured in the book, Florida Guardianships: Who Shall Live and Who Shall Die? by Dr. Beverly Newman and in the Holocaust education book series, Holocaust Babies, sold in bookstores around the world.

For interviews, book and film orders, and community and school presentations, contact Dr. Beverly Newman, helpelders@hotmail.com.

©2023. All rights reserved.

PODCAST: A predictable “earthquake” – Surrendering our sovereignty to the WHO

A devastating earthquake in Japan yesterday may symbolize a New Year marred by geostrategic tectonic shifts. Some are predictable – and their effects can, therefore, be attenuated if we act in time.

Consider the creation of so-called “global governance” mechanisms that would subordinate us to the dictates of unaccountable international entities like the World Health Organization.

Largely secret negotiations are expected by May to produce agreements that will give the WHO the authority to declare what constitutes a public health emergency here – and what must be done about it. Three Biden administration officials appear to have perjured themselves in testifying last month that would not diminish our sovereignty.

The House of Representatives has voted to cut off funding for the WHO and require Senate approval of any such accords. To prevent irreparable harm to our public health – and America, Congress must concur.

This is Frank Gaffney.

AUTHOR

Frank Gaffney, Jr.

Founder and Executive Chairman

EDITORS NOTE: This Center for Security Policy podcast is republished with permission. ©All rights reserved.

Blue States Prepare To Enact Slew Of Left-Wing Laws In 2024

Democrat-run states are instituting a host of left-wing laws at the beginning of 2024 targeting several cultural and political issues.

States like California, Michigan, Illinois, Washington and Colorado are enacting laws pushing LGBTQ issues on their residents, as well as various restrictions to residents’ behavior that attempt to limit emissions or damage to the environment. Blue states are also targeting gun rights and expanding protections for illegal aliens.  

California is initiating a new law on Jan. 1 that will fine major retailers if they don’t sell “gender-neutral” children’s toys in their stores. These items would have to be clearly marked and sectioned, and stores that refuse to comply will face a $250 penalty for the first violation and a $500 penalty for every subsequent offense.

This law also pertains to “any product designed or intended by the manufacturer to facilitate sleep, relaxation, or the feeding of children, or to help children with sucking or teething.”

“Let retailers decide what’s best for their customers and what their clientele want, but the last thing we need is for the state legislature in California to decide [what parents buy for their children],” Republican California Sen. Melissa Melendez told Fox News. “We don’t need the government trying to co-parent with us.”

Also starting in 2024, a new law in the Golden State will ban the sale of any gas-powered lawnmowers, leaf blowers, chainsaws or yard care equipment. Tens of thousands of workers in California who relied on such equipment for their businesses will be most affected by the new rule; concerns also exist over the efficacy and cost of electric-powered alternatives, according to The Sacramento Bee.

“The people most affected are going to be the Latinos that don’t have a big business,” Fulgencio Vazquez, a landscaping manager in Sacramento, told the Bee. Another landscaping small business owner, Rafael Guzman, told the Bee that big businesses would be the “only ones” to survive the new law, and noted that landscaping jobs with electric-powered equipment would take longer “because the machines don’t have the same potential.”

The law comes alongside a massive push in California to promote electric vehicles and the phase out gas-powered household appliances. California seeks to be completely reliant on green energy and 100% carbon neutral by 2045, according to Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office.

In 2024, Michigan will expand its civil rights act to prevent discrimination on the basis of “gender identity,” according to the bill text. The Michigan Supreme Court ruled that state justices must use the “preferred pronouns” of attorneys in their courtrooms starting on Jan. 1.

The judges who dissented against the ruling said that the courts should not intertwine politics with legal practices.

“This is a fluid political debate into which our judicial branch of state government should not wade, let alone dive headfirst and claim to have resolved,” Justice Brian Zahra wrote in his dissent. “Such hubris has no place within the operation of a judicial branch of state government.”

Michigan is also issuing multiple new restrictions on gun and firearm rights going into the new year. Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and lawmakers signed legislation to expand background checks for gun sales, restrict gun ownership for individuals convicted of domestic violent misdemeanors and institute “red flag” policies that would allow courts to remove guns from individuals that the courts deem as a safety risk to themselves or others.

Similar to California lawmakers, Whitmer signed the Clean Energy and Climate Action Package Act in November which seeks to make the state 100% carbon neutral by 2040; the act goes into effect starting on Feb. 27, 2024.

The act would require all of the state’s utilities to increasingly source from green energy, like solar and wind power, or from nuclear, hydrogen, and natural gas. Whitmer claims that Michigan’s new green energy laws will save the state’s residents approximately $145 a year on utility expenses, but residents can actually expect to pay thousands more in supplemental energy costs per year under the green energy plan, according to think-tank Mackinac Center.

In Illinois, a new law going into effect on Jan. 1 will allow non-citizens to become police officers and sheriffs, so long as they are deemed “legally authorized” to work in the United States. This would include individuals who are in the U.S. under green card status as well as individuals on the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) list, according to The Associated Press.

“To the Left, citizenship is meaningless,” Republican Presidential candidate and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said in July during a criticism of Illinois’ new law. “No illegal alien should have authority over any American citizen. It is a sad commentary on the state of America that this is even a debate.”

Landlords in Illinois will be required under state law to rent or sell property to noncitizens and illegal aliens beginning on Jan. 1. Illegal immigrants will also be allowed to obtain a standard driver’s license starting in mid-2024, according to a separate bill.

Beginning on Jan. 1, Illinois will shut off state funding for public and school libraries that ban books for political reasons, including books that promote LGBTQ+ ideology, making it the first state to enact such a law, according to state Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s office. Parents and lawmakers alike have expressed concern that some of the books in question contain sexually explicit content that should not be promoted to children.

In Colorado, a new law will go into effect beginning on Jan. 1 banning certain single-use plastics, following in the footsteps of other blue states that have enacted similar legislation. These include plastic bags, such as those found at a grocery store, as well as Styrofoam cups and takeout containers, which are typically less expensive than paper or biodegradable alternatives, according to packaging company Swiftpak.

“The Democrat-led plastics ban, is an anti-business attack on the restaurant industry, schools, and struggling families,” the Colorado House GOP said of the law when it was initially introduced.

Washington state will add further restrictions to existing gun laws on Jan. 1 requiring potential buyers to wait 10 days before purchasing any class of firearm. Washington will also join California in banning employers from asking employees about cannabis use, or discriminating against them should they test positive for consumption.

The offices of Newsom, Whitmer, Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker, Colorado Gov. Jared Polis and Washington Gov. Jay Inslee did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

AUTHOR

JAKE SMITH

Contributor.

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EDITORS NOTE: This Daily Caller column is republished with permission. ©All rights reserved.


All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter’s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.

LEGAL Immigration versus Joe Biden’s Open Border Free Pass — A Personal Experience

The U.S. Border Patrol on our southern border have been retrained to book illegal immigrants entering our republic as indefinite tourists by offering them free hotels, free meals, a bus or plane ride and free medical care.

American taxpayers are footing the bill with money borrowed from Communist China or printed in the Treasury Dept.

With that said, let me walk you through the legal process to enter the USA as a legal permanent resident as experienced by my fiancée and soon to be wife the beautiful Karina from Caracas Venezuela, who has been living under a protective status in Colombia for the past 5 years.

After dating for over a year with multiple trips to Colombia and after spending over 18 months of quality time with Karina I filed for her K1 Fiancée Visa with U.S Customs and Immigration Services AKA USCIS on April 18th 2022. Price of visa $535.00

After 407 days or 13.5 months of waiting for adjudication of her visa request I finally received an approval for her called a Notice Of Action Letter 2. My income is way above the federal threshold requirement to qualify for the visa so all went well.

Compare this to Joe Biden’s alternative reality where an illegal immigrant can just walk up to a Border Patrol Officer on our southern border and enter the USA within an hour of waiting after claiming some bogus asylum request. No income required for self support, no sponsor, just a free hand out waiting for them..

After waiting 407 days Karina then had to wait another 119 days for the National Visa Center (NVC) in New Hampshire to issue her a welcome letter, a document critical in continuing this process.

Illegal Immigrants don’t get a legal welcome letter, they get a hand shake, a free cell phone and a plane ride to Chicago or New York City plus a job offer and free health care from some Communist Mayor in a Sanctuary City.

On September 27th, 2023 I received the email from the U.S. Embassy in Bogota Colombia stating that Karina’s visa was enroute to them from the NVC. On October 5th, 2023 I received an email from the Embassy stating her Visa was in “Ready Status” for processing.

On October 8th 2023 I received an email from the Embassy in Bogota telling me to start processing her visa payment and schedule her face to face consular interview and to schedule her biometrics and medical exam.

Illegal Immigrants claiming bogus asylum on our borders do not have to pay any visa fees, they are not subject to medical exams, they do not have to present proof of vaccinations or be biometrically photographed and fingerprinted.

On October 15th 2023 I paid the visa fee of $265 and scheduled the face to face consular visa interview for Karina at the U.S. Embassy in Bogota Colombia on November 16th 2023 at 700 AM.

First she had a biometrics appointment to verify her identity on November 8th, 2023. Then she had her medical exam and blood work processed on November 9th, 2023. She was missing two vaccinations which I paid for on my credit card. Cost of medical exam, chest X ray, blood work and vaccinations $300 plus.

Illegal Immigrants do not have to verify vaccinations, they are exempt from mandatory Covid vaccinations, they do not have to prove they are free from tuberculosis. Biden’s world of insanity!

On November 16th, 2023 Karina attended her face to face 30 minute interrogation with an embassy consular officer at the U.S. Embassy in Bogota. She brought all the required documents including her police security investigations from Colombia and Venezuela.

Illegal Immigrants get a free pass. They enter our republic with no police certificates, no vetting and without a stressful consular interview.

The Consular Officer approved Karina’s visa to enter the USA but he demanded an Interpol Police Certificate and a letter from the President of Colombia before he would issue it stating that she never gave aid to FARC Communists in Colombia. Seriously

Karina denounced the Communist government of Venezuela years ago and was given a ten year protective status in Colombia for this reason. This extra step by the Consular Officer was unnecessary, but remember Biden’s team dislikes future Venezuelan conservatives like Karina from entering the USA legally.

Biden though has no problem with Communists entering the USA. Look at the thousands of 18 to 30 year old male Communist Chinese so called asylum seekers who have entered our republic with zero vetting.

After 3 weeks we got a letter from the President of Colombia and Interpol showing and stating that Karina was under a ten year protective status in Colombia and was not a member of FARC.

None of these documents are required by the thousands and thousands of illegals entering our republic daily. Only foreign nationals entering legally after following congressional due process are subject to this intense vetting.

The total processing time for Karina to legally enter the USA after a thorough medical exam, blood work, an FBI Investigative check, a Venezuelan Police check, a Colombian Police Investigation, an Interpol Police Investigation, and a character reference letter from the President of Colombia was 626 days or 20.8 months.

For a bogus asylum seeker to enter the USA the processing time is 1 hour or less.

On January 3rd 2024 Karina and I will fly from Bogota, Colombia to Miami International Airport on Avianca, Flight AV 6. Then she gets interviewed again by the U.S. Border and Customs Patrol and a Form I 94 will be generated to prove legal entry into the USA.

Illegal immigrants seeking bogus asylum do not need any further vetting. The Biden Communists are deliberately trying to destabilize and dismantle our constitutional republic with all these criminal illegal immigrants.

We on the other hand did this the right way and hopefully in January 2025 the next President will start deporting all these millions of unwelcome illegal immigrants draining the U.S. taxpayer coffers offering nothing and only taking the free Biden handouts we pay for.

©2023. Geoff Ross. All rights reserved.

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‘Tremendously Damaging’: Here’s The Most Aggressive Restrictions Biden’s EPA Pushed On Americans In 2023

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) pushed several aggressive climate regulations in 2023 that could seriously harm the American economy, energy policy experts told the Daily Caller News Foundation.

The agency proposed or finalized rules that would spur the electric vehicle (EV) transition, decrease power grid reliability by imposing costly restrictions on power plants, tighten air quality standards and more in 2023. Under the Biden administration, the EPA has made considerable efforts to further regulations that would nominally help to counter climate change, often at the expense of the American economy, energy policy experts told the DCNF.

“The EPA took a disturbing trend to a new level in 2023: a willingness to use its regulatory power to kill off industries, dictate or influence what businesses can operate and limit what goods and services are available to the public,” Daren Bakst, the director of the Competitive Enterprise Institute’s Center for Energy and Environment, told the DCNF. “Congress never envisioned the agency’s authorized regulatory power would be used as a tool for the agency to engage in central planning, reshape industries and limit consumer choice.”

The “Clean Power Plan 2.0″

The EPA’s May proposal to slash greenhouse gas emissions from power plants would require fossil fuel-fired generation facilities to adopt expensive developing technologies, such as carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) and hydrogen blending, in order to come into compliance over the coming decades. If finalized in its current form, the regulations— which the EPA contends are legal under the auspices of the Clean Air Act— would significantly raise the chances of blackouts in a massive swath of the Midwest while imposing costs to stakeholders totaling nearly $250 billion, according to analysis conducted by the Center of the American Experiment (CAE).

Power the Future, an energy advocacy organization, dubbed the proposal the “Clean Power Plan 2.0” in a November report because of its strong resemblance to the Obama administration’s “Clean Power Plan” proposal, which the Supreme Court struck down in its landmark decision in West Virginia v. EPAin 2022.

The EPA is moving forward with the proposal, despite the North American Electric Reliability Corporation and a key official for the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission warning that the premature retirement of fossil fuel-fired baseload generation and increased reliance on intermittent green energy, like wind and solar, threatens future grid reliability.

“The proposed rule does not require that plants go offline,” an EPA spokesperson told the DCNF in August. “The proposed rule would require plants to install proven technology to abate greenhouse gas emissions. The proposal provides owners and operators of power plants with ample lead time and substantial compliance flexibilities, allowing power companies and grid operators to make sound long-term planning and investment decisions, and supporting the power sector’s ability to continue delivering reliable and affordable electricity.”

However, CAE and one of its leading grid experts, Isaac Orr, are not convinced.

The agency “does not appear to have the expertise necessary to enact such a sweeping regulation on the American power sector,” CAE wrote in its August comments in response to the agency’s proposal.

“This is the regulatory equivalent of studying the structural integrity of the top floor of a 100-story building without doing so for the preceding 99 floors,” Orr told the DCNF.

Tailpipe Emissions Standards

In April, the agency unveiled its proposal for new tailpipe emissions standards in an effort to curb emissions attributable to transportation. The proposed standards would be historically stringent if finalized and they would effectively mandate that 67% of all light-duty vehicles sold after model year 2032 are EVs, according to the EPA.

Under the proposed rules, 46% of medium-duty vehicle sales and 25% of heavy-duty sales will be EVs, according to the agency’s projections.

The proposal could be “tremendously damaging for the American people,” Diana Furchtgott-Roth, the director of the Heritage Foundation’s Center for Energy, Climate and Environment, told the DCNF. “The reason the agency is pushing these rules is because Congress would never pass these as laws … this rule would be very damaging for Americans and get rid of an iconic means of transportation.”

The administration has spent billions to facilitate its ambitious EV push, and other agencies, such as the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, have promulgated their own similar rules as well. Despite these efforts, the American EV market is on tenuous footing: consumer demand is not growing as rapidly as anticipated, companies are losing large sums of money on their EV product lines, auto executives are starting to back away from short-term EV production targets and the nation’s EV charging infrastructure remains inconsistent and unevenly distributed across the country.

Notably, the House passed a bill that would effectively nullify the proposal earlier in December by a bipartisan vote, but it is unlikely to make it through the Senate, and the White House has suggested that President Joe Biden will veto the bill if it lands on his desk, according to The Hill.

Fine Particulate Pollution Standards

In January, the EPA proposed to tighten the existing National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for fine particulate pollution (PM 2.5) in order “to better protect communities, including those most overburdened by pollution,” the agency announced in a press release.

More than 70 industrial executives penned a letter to White House Chief of Staff Jeff Zients warning him that it could lead to massive swaths of the nation falling out of compliance with the rule, which would in turn choke economic development and complicate key goals of Biden’s own green industrial agenda, according to its text.

The states that would be most directly impacted by a finalized PM 2.5 NAAQS update would be Texas, California, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Georgia, Nevada, Arizona and Illinois, according to the letter’s text.

“PM 2.5 is the most demonstrable science fraud going on at the EPA,” Steve Milloy, a senior legal fellow for the Energy and Environment Legal Institute, previously told the DCNF. “There is more than enough scientific research to demonstrate that what EPA is doing here is fraud, and it is really a testament to the corruption of the scientific community.”

If finalized, the proposal would kill jobs and put the EPA in a position to deny local economies the right to develop, because states that can not comply with the tightened standards would have to receive approval from the agency to develop new industrial factories and power facilities, Milloy told the DCNF.

The EPA projects that the policy would generate up to $43 billion in net health benefits in 2032, as well as prevent 4,200 premature deaths per year and restore 270,000 lost workdays per year by reducing the current standard of allowable fine particle pollution by up to 25%.

Waters of the United States

In January, the agency proposed a regulation that would define the “Waters of the United States” (WOTUS) under the EPA’s regulatory purview as “navigable waters” to include lands containing small streams and wetlands. A federal court blocked the January proposal in April, finding that the 24 states that sued the agency had “persuasively shown that the new 2023 Rule poses a threat to their sovereign rights and amounts to irreparable harm.”

Then, in May, the Supreme Court limited the EPA’s authority under the Clean Water Act — which it had cited as the enabling statute for the January proposal — in its decision in Sackett v. EPA, a case brought by a couple whom the EPA tried to stop from constructing a house on their land in Idaho.

In August, the agency “finalized amendments to its January rule, which are just a half-hearted and incomplete set of corrections to try and fix the flawed rule,” Bakst told the DCNF. “These amendments don’t properly comply with the Sackett opinion and fail to provide needed clarity to implement the opinion. And they did so without seeking public comment.”

The EPA exhibited a “complete disregard for private property owners and the rule of law” in its proceedings pursuant to WOTUS regulation in 2023, Bakst told the DCNF.

Neither the EPA nor the White House responded immediately to a request for comment.

AUTHOR

NICK POPE

Contributor.

RELATED ARTICLE: EPA Bureaucrats Can Rake In Six-Figure Salaries While Mostly Working From Home, Report Finds

EDITORS NOTE: This Daily Caller column is republished with permission. ©All rights reserved.


All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter’s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.

Immigration Court Backlog Explodes to a Record 3 Million, Judges Average 4,500 Cases

Besides crushing records for letting unparalleled amounts of illegal immigrants into the U.S., the Biden administration’s catastrophic open border policies are slamming the nation’s Immigration Court System with an unimaginable backlog not seen under any president. In November, the Immigration Court backlog exceeded 3 million pending cases, a shocking increase of around a million during a period of just 12 months. A new report issued this week by the nonpartisan Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC) at Syracuse University provides the ghastly figures taken straight from the government.

“Immigration Judges are swamped,” the report states, revealing that they average an inconceivable 4,500 pending cases each. “If every person with a pending immigration case were gathered together, it would be larger than the population of Chicago, the third largest city in the United States,” TRAC researchers write. “Indeed, the number of waiting immigrants in the Court’s backlog is now larger than the population found in many states.” The university data analysts found that previous administrations also failed to tackle the Immigration Court backlog but point out that this is in a class of its own because the “accelerating growth in the Court’s backlog has transformed the problem into an even more daunting challenge.”

During just the last quarter of fiscal year 2023—which runs from July to September—the backlog spiked by a remarkable 400,000 cases marking an average increase of 130,000 cases per month. Fiscal year 2024 started off with a bang as well with an even higher average of 140,000 cases a month during the first quarter of October to November, according to government figures provided in the document. As a point of comparison, at the end of Obama’s presidency the backlog stood at 516,031, which is around one-sixth of what it is now. At the time 278 immigration judges had an annual caseload of 1,850 and they completed an average of around 750 cases each year, TRAC reveals. Under Trump the number of judges grew to 484 and they had an average caseload of about 2,600 each.

Even though the Biden administration hired many more judges the U.S. Immigration Court system, which operates under the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR), cannot possibly keep up. There are currently 682 immigration judges, according to figures provided in the EOIR’s latest personnel records, and each judge closed an average of about 975 cases during the latest fiscal year. “This is a closure rate nearly a third greater than seven years ago during the final year of the Obama administration,” the TRAC report states. “Even so, more judges and higher case closures per judge have still not been able to keep pace with the flow of incoming cases. Thus, average caseloads of the 682 judges now on the bench have jumped to 4,500 per judge.”

The crisis began almost immediately after Biden became president thanks to his disastrous open border policies. By the end of his first year in office, illegal immigration was a huge problem and the overwhelmed U.S. Immigration Court system suffered through the largest backlog of cases in history up until that point. At the time it was a then-shocking 1,596,193 cases and few imagined it would skyrocket to the current figures. The COVID-19 pandemic played a role because it caused a partial court shutdown, but the main culprit was an avalanche of new cases filed by the Biden Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Now the deluge is so bad that some illegal immigrants seeking asylum may wait a decade before getting a court date thanks to Biden’s catch-and-release policy that allows migrants to live in the U.S. while they wait to see a judge.

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EDITORS NOTE: This Judicial Watch column is republished with permission. ©All rights reserved.

Tracking the Florida House of Representatives’ and the Florida Senate’s 2024 Legislation

Patriots — bellow is a Report as of today showing status of Legislation, I and a few others, in Winter Haven 912 are now tracking both good and bad.

Note that Republican Liberty Caucus (RLC) is also tracking most of these bills. This report will change as bills are considered by committees.

The Bills we Support are sponsored by Republicans shown on the attached Report include HB 57; SJR 94; HB 97; HB 135; HJR 335; HB 359; HB 365; HB 435; HB 485; HB 599; HB 601; HB 609; SB 636; HJR 805; and HB 919.

The Bills we Oppose are submitted by Democrats as shown on the attached Report and they include SB 96; HB 127; HB 145; HVB 155; SB 182; HB 279; HB 767; and HB 787.

There are two (2) Republican sponsored bills related to Public Health which propose some positive changes but we join RLC opposition to as written e.g. HB 401 and 409 because they fall short of needed Public Health Reforms to FS 381.00315.

As the current Legislative Session including Committee meetings progress there will undoubtedly be more bills we support or oppose.

You can learn more about these bills and their status including sponsors and co-sponsors by going to http://www.myflhouse.gov and http://www.flsenate.gov ; inserting the bill number in the search tab and clicking on bill description.

We invite you to join us in Tracking status of these bills and communicating with appropriate Committees by following the instructions provided at the 2nd attachment.


Tracking Bills in FL Legislature & US Congress

Tracking of both good and bad bills is an important activist function.  We need this kind of  grassroots activism to know the status of these bills and, in the case of good bills, help influence them to pass through committees and on the floor or; in case of bad bills to prevent them from being passed.  In both cases this requires making phone calls/emails to committee chairs and members & other legislators to co-sponsor or vote against these bills.

Following is a fairly simple online procedure for Tracking which will result in your receiving an email each time something happens with each bill (voted on in committees, passes to another committee, moves to floor for a vote, or fails to be placed on committee agenda or is voted down, etc.).

Go to www.flsenate.gov and www.myfloridahouse.gov — the procedure is slightly different in both web sites (go figure).

In the Senate:

  • Go to far right top tab labeled Tracker; click on and then click Tracker Help – takes you to a page where you can open and account and then log in.
  • Once logged in type in the Bill # at top for each bill, one at a time & click on Search
  • The #, title of bill & sponsor will come up.  To the Right click on the Track Button — now you will be sent an email each time something happens with the bill.
  • Other things you can do – for a complete description of the bill click on the Bill Title and it will take you to a full description page.  Then go back (left arrow) – if you want to know who sits on committees considering the bill click on the committee title and it will show you names.  Important for communicating especially if Stargel, Burgess and/or Albritton (Sens representing PC) come up.
  • You will now be sent an email each time some new action occurs related to that bill.
  • Repeat the process for every bill you want to track.

In the House:

  • Front page looks different but to the far right at Top and click on Tracking
  • Establish account and sign in — see About description to the right
  • Repeat process described above by entering bill #s — one interesting thing about this site is you can input both HB and SB bills and it will track and report progress of both to you via email

To know which bills your FL Representative & FL Senator have sponsored or co-sponsored:

  • House — On Legislative Tracking Page — Click on Members — next page — Track Members — click on house members by name and then it will show you all bills that member has filed.
  • Senate — on front page —  click on their name — go to their page and click on Bills Introduced.

Tracking Bills in US Senate and/or House

To know what Bills Senator Rubio and Scott & Reps. Franklin or Soto have filed go to

https://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/browse   Open an Account & Log In

Under SearchSponsor block – type in last name of Congressman – a list of bills they are sponsoring or co-sponsoring will then come up – to read content click on the bill title

Note:  Of concern to me is that current Senate President Wilford Simpson is a Hall of Shame Member Bill Galvano’s protege’ who appointed 3 Dems to Committee Chairs.  Of particular concern is Jason Pizzo as Chair of the Criminal Justice Committee, which some of these bills must pass thru.

The other two are Agriculture & Children, Families & Elders.

Committee Chairs are appointed by the Senate President so strange he appointed these 3 Democrats – makes me suspicious of what deals were cut.  Seems to me in a Republican majority Senate,  all Chairs should be Republicans?

Please pass on to others.


FLORIDA LEGISLATION 2024

 

Bill Session Title Sponsor Last Event Notes
HB 57 2024 County Commissioner Term Limits Salzman 10/5/2023 2:37:20 PM Now in Local Administration, Federal Affairs & Special Districts Subcommittee
SJR 94 2023 Partisan Election of Members of District School Boards Gruters 4/18/2023 6:27:49 PM 04/18/23 S

Laid on Table, companion bill(s) passed, see HJR 31 (Passed) -SJ 419

SB 96 2024 Use or Threatened Use of Force Jones 10/17/2023 8:41:47 AM 10/17/23 S

Referred to Criminal Justice; Appropriations Committee on Criminal and Civil Justice; Fiscal Policy

HB 97 2024 Expunction of Criminal History Records Smith 10/17/2023 4:45:02 PM Now in

Criminal Justice Subcommittee

HB 127 2024 Paid Parental Leave Gantt 10/17/2023 4:45:06 PM Now in

Constitutional Rights, Rule of Law & Government Operations Subcommittee

HB 135 2024 Voter Registration Applications Gossett-Seidman 10/17/2023 4:45:07 PM Now in

Ethics, Elections & Open Government Subcommittee

HB 145 2024 Sales of Ammunition Daley 10/17/2023 4:45:08 PM Now in

Criminal Justice Subcommittee

HB 155 2024 Pub Rec./Sales of Ammunition Daley 11/2/2023 10:25:22 AM Now in

Criminal Justice Subcommittee

SB 182 2024 Public Records/Buyer or Transferee of Ammunition Polsky 11/7/2023 8:52:48 AM 11/07/23 S

Referred to Criminal Justice; Appropriations Committee on Criminal and Civil Justice; Fiscal Policy

HB 279 2024 Assault Weapons and Large- capacity Magazines Eskamani 11/13/2023 2:21:00 PM Now in

Criminal Justice Subcommittee

HJR 335 2024 Requiring Broader Public Support for Constitutional Amendments or Revisions Roth 11/22/2023 10:17:18 AM Now in

Ethics, Elections & Open Government Subcommittee

 

 

Bill Session Title Sponsor Last Event Notes
HB 359 2024 Voting Systems Jacques, Yarkosky 11/22/2023 10:17:30 AM Now in

Ethics, Elections & Open Government Subcommittee

HB 365 2024 Representation by Counsel in Hearings on Petitions for Risk Protection Orders Sirois 11/22/2023 10:17:21 AM Now in

Criminal Justice Subcommittee

HB 401 2024 Tracking Devices and Applications Overdorf 12/6/2023 1:24:45 PM Now in Justice Appropriations Subcommittee
HB 435 2024 Cultivated Meat Sirois 11/22/2023 10:17:29 AM Now in

Agriculture, Conservation & Resiliency Subcommittee

HB 459 2024 Declarations of a Public Health Emergency Rudman 11/22/2023 10:17:33 AM Now in

Healthcare Regulation Subcommittee

HB 485 2024 Return of Weapons and Arms Following an Arrest Brackett, Barnaby 12/6/2023 1:25:01 PM Now in

Judiciary Committee

HB 599 2024 Gender Identity Employment Practices Chamberlin 11/30/2023 4:26:35 PM Now in

Constitutional Rights, Rule of Law & Government Operations Subcommittee

HB 601 2024 Complaints Against Law Enforcement and Correctional Officers Duggan 11/30/2023 4:26:32 PM Now in

Criminal Justice Subcommittee

HB 609 2024 Local Business Taxes Botana 11/30/2023 4:26:33 PM Now in Ways & Means Committee
SB 636 2024 Exemptions from Immunization Requirements Garcia 12/13/2023 9:01:16 AM 12/13/23 S

Referred to Health Policy; Judiciary; Rules

HB 767 2024 Resident Status for Tuition Purposes Edmonds 12/19/2023 9:20:28 AM Now in

Postsecondary Education & Workforce Subcommittee

HB 787 2024 Use or Threatened Use of Force Rayner 12/27/2023 10:22:37 PM Now in

Criminal Justice Subcommittee

HJR 805 2024 Traffic Infraction Detectors Borrero 12/27/2023 10:22:40 PM Now in

Transportation & Modals Subcommittee

HB 919 2024 Artificial Intelligence Use in Political Advertising Rizo 12/18/2023 1:43:15 PM Filed

 

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Member Notes
Killebrew, Sam
Bell, Melony
Canady, Jennifer
Tomkow, Josie

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©2023. Royal A. Brown III. All rights reserved.

Investors Are Turning On A Key Pillar Of Biden’s Climate Agenda

Investors are backing off of electric vehicle (EV) charging companies, a key player in the Biden administration’s wider climate agenda, The Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday.

Major companies in the industry— including ChargePoint, EVgo and Blink Charging— have seen their stock prices tumble over the past year as investors worry about their profitability, a sign of potential trouble for an industry that the White House is counting on to reach its aggressive longer-term EV targets, according to the WSJ. The administration has set aside billions of dollars to boost the industry, which it will need to thrive in order to develop a nationwide network of charging stations.

ChargePoint’s stock price is down 74% in 2023, while EVgo and Blink Charging have seen their shares lose 21% and 67% of their value, respectively, according to the WSJ.

ChargePoint, which the administration has touted in the recent past, is also currently subject to a class action lawsuit that alleges company executives engaged in securities fraud by making misleading statements that unduly inflated the firm’s share price.

“I think the investor class has grown weary of the industry’s lack of profitability,” Blink Charging’s CEO Brendan Jones told the WSJ. EV charging companies once received lofty valuations from investors, Jones told the WSJ.

The Biden administration spent $7.5 billion in the bipartisan infrastructure law to help build out a nationwide network of 500,000 charging stations in order to help reach its goal of having 50% of all new car sales be EVs by 2030. McKinsey, a leading consulting firm, has estimated that there will need to be about 1.5 million public chargers installed by 2030 if that target is to be achieved, according to the WSJ. At present, there are nearly 160,000 public chargers available at approximately 60,000 locations nationwide.

EV charging companies are generally struggling to turn a profit right now, but they expect to attain profitability within the next year or two, according to the WSJ. However, the wider EV industry is lagging despite the Biden administration’s efforts to support it, and charging companies find themselves in a difficult bind: more consumers need to switch to EVs to help these companies improve their performance, but consumers may be hesitant to do so if the reliability of the nation’s charging infrastructure remains inconsistent.

Currently, the vast majority of charging infrastructure is concentrated in more densely populated coastal areas as opposed to more rural areas of the country, according to the Department of Energy (DOE).

ChargePoint, EVgo, Blink Charging and the White House did not respond immediately to requests for comment.

AUTHOR

NICK POPE

Contributor.

RELATED ARTICLE: EXCLUSIVE: Sen. Ernst Is Pulling The Plug On Biden’s Electric Vehicle Charging Initiative

EDITORS NOTE: This Daily Caller column is republished with permission. ©All rights reserved.


All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter’s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.

Big Wind Closes Out The Year With One Of Its Biggest Defeats Ever

A federal judge sided with a Native American tribe in a dispute with a major wind developer on Wednesday, handing a massive defeat to the wind industry to end 2023.

U.S. Court of International Trade Judge Jennifer Choe-Groves ordered Enel, a major green energy company based in Rome with an American presence, to tear down an enormous wind farm that the firm had constructed in Osage County, Oklahoma, over the consistent protest of the Osage tribe who live in the area, according to the Tulsa World. The ruling is a huge victory for the Osage tribe, who opposed the project because of its location relative to burial sites and the ecological damage inflicted upon eagles by the massive turbines, and a stark defeat for Enel, which is now staring down hundreds of millions of dollars in decommissioning charges.

The wind farm had been the subject of a lengthy legal battle between the Osage Nation and the developer, spanning back to 2011, when the tribe filed a lawsuit in federal court alleging that the development illegally deprived the tribe of access to the mineral deposits beneath the site of the project, according to the Tulsa World. The project featured 84 turbines, as well as required equipment like transmission lines and weather towers, spread over 8,400 acres of land that Choe-Groves asserted was leased illegally and to the detriment of the tribe’s sovereignty.

There will be a trial for damages following Choe-Groves’ ruling, according to the Tulsa World.

Notably, Enel states on its website that it exhibits “an unmatched commitment to sustainability and a just and inclusive energy transition for all.” Paolo Romanacci, who is the head of Enel Green Power North America, also serves as the director for the American Clean Power Association, a green energy trade group that has spent millions of dollars lobbying the federal government to advance the interests of the green energy industry, according to data from Open Secrets.

The ordered deconstruction of 84 wind turbines is “unprecedented,” according to Robert Bryce, an energy sector expert who also keeps track of local rejections of major renewable energy projects across the country. Bryce estimates that the company stood to reap tens of millions of taxpayer dollars in subsidies for the project, a dynamic which he considers at least partially responsible for the firm’s insistence to continue building and operating the project despite the persistent objections of the tribe.

“I hope no other tribe has to do what we had to do,” Osage Minerals Council Chairman Everett Waller told the Tulsa World, referencing the tribe’s long legal battle against the project. “This is a win not only for the Osage Minerals Council; this is a win for Indian Country. There are a lot of smaller tribes that couldn’t have battled this long, but that’s why we’re Osages. We’re here, and this is our homeland, and we are going to protect it at all costs.”

Enel did not respond immediately to a request for comment.

AUTHOR

NICK POPE

Contributor.

RELATED ARTICLE: ‘Green Colonialism’: Biden Admin Clashes With Native American Activists Over Lithium Mine

EDITORS NOTE: This Daily Caller column is republished with permission. ©All rights reserved.


All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter’s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.

This Gov’t Program May Be Next On The Chopping Block In The Aftermath Of Landmark SCOTUS Affirmative Action Ruling

The Biden administration’s Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA) is currently facing a legal challenge for giving assistance to Americans based on race, and it may suffer the same fate at the Supreme Court as colleges and universities did earlier this year in the court’s affirmative action ruling.

The Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty (WILL) filed the suit in March in a federal court in the Northern District of Texas, representing three different clients from Texas, Wisconsin and Florida, according to an announcement from WILL. The suit alleges that the MBDA, which helps minority-run businesses apply for federal grants and get other forms of capital, violates the equal protection clause of the Constitution by giving some races preferential treatment and will likely win in court, following similar rulings like the Supreme Court’s decision in June to end the practice of race-based admissions at both public and private higher education institutions in a pair of cases involving Harvard and the University of North Carolina, according to experts who spoke to the Daily Caller News Foundation.

The agency was enshrined into law in 2021 through the Minority Business Development Act (MBDA) under the Biden administration but has been around since 1969 through an executive order issued by former President Richard Nixon, according to the Washington Post. Judge Mark T. Pittman, appointed by former President Donald Trump, is overseeing the case and has already issued an injunction, noting that the case is likely to succeed.

The final ruling from Pittman is expected to determine the constitutionality of the MBDA and whether the agency will be blocked from using racial categories to determine eligibility and the use of the word “minority” in its name, according to The Washington Post.

“The Minority Business Development Agency, its Business Center Program, and their differential treatment of Americans based on race are extremely vulnerable in WILL’s ongoing litigation,” Dan Morenoff, lawyer and executive director at the American Civil Rights Project, told the DCNF. “I expect that the Court will rule them unconstitutional when it issues a final opinion. The agency and its program expressly classify Americans by race and treat them differently based on that classification. At least eight of the nine justices of the Supreme Court have held that the Constitution bars the federal government from discriminating to exactly the same extent, and under the same analysis, that the equal protection clause bars the states from discriminating.”

The MBDA reports that it helped minority businesses receive $1.6 trillion in contracts in 2022, with $319 billion coming from the federal government, $860 billion from the private sector, $75 billion from state governments and $306 billion from local governments, according to the agency’s 2022 performance summary. Black Americans received the most in contracts, with $680 billion going to the group, followed by Hispanic Americans receiving $526 billion, Native Americans receiving $243 billion and Asian Americans receiving $138 billion.

“I fully expect the District Court to maintain in its final ruling the substance of its ruling on the preliminary injunction motion, that the program unconstitutionally ‘provides services to certain races and ethnicities but not to others,’” William Jacobson, a law professor at Cornell and president of the Legal Insurrection Foundation, told the DCNF. “The District Court rendered the preliminary injunction about three weeks before the Supreme Court’s Students for Fair Admissions ruling on affirmative action. That Supreme Court ruling buttresses the District Court’s ruling on the scope of the Equal Protection Clause, so I would not expect the District Court to back off its preliminary ruling.”

The agency also touts creating 7,904 jobs and retaining another 7,514 jobs in 2022 for minorities, according to the report. Minority companies in the construction sector reaped 43% of the monetary benefits, followed by the services sector and the finance and insurance sector at 19% and 12%, respectively.

“Either this case or one of the many parallel cases contesting intentional discrimination by the Biden administration will eventually make it to the Supreme Court,” Morenoff told the DCNF. “Those cases (and I’m not speaking comprehensively) have already seen lower courts ban racial discrimination in the distribution of: COVID-aide to farms, loans to small businesses, and — here — a myriad of business coaching supports. Each of these cases reiterates the legal point that the federal government cannot pick winners and losers based on race.”

Following the Supreme Court’s decision to end race-based admissions in higher education, conservatives have set their targets on companies’ use of racial preferences and quotas, with a group of Republican attorneys general sending letters to dozens of employers warning them that they were violating the law in August.

A federal court in 2021 put a hold on a similar program that would have provided $4 billion in debt relief to minority farmers but was later forced to be reworked to include white farmers, according to NBC News. Another case in 2021 stopped the Restaurant Revitalization Fund, which aimed to give $28.6 billion in aid to restaurants, from prioritizing applicants based on race and gender, according to The New York Times.

“America must continue to advance towards a colorblind society where every person is judged on their merit and not the color of their skin,” Dan Lennington, deputy counsel at WILL, said in the announcement. “The Biden Administration’s choice to create this race-based agency is a step back for civil rights, and we aim to correct that misstep.”

The Department of Justice and the MBDA did not respond to a request for comment from the DCNF.

AUTHOR

WILL KESSLER

Contributor.

RELATED ARTICLE: Dem Senators Earmark $1 Million For LGBT Center Hosting ‘Anti-Capitalist’ Financial Planner

EDITORS NOTE: This Daily Caller column is republished with permission. ©All rights reserved.


All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter’s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.

Green Firm That Advised SEC On Proposed Emissions Rule Sold Carbon Credits From Chinese Region Known For Slave Labor

The Biden administration’s plan to impose climate disclosure requirements on the financial sector draws on the input of a green consultancy that sold carbon credits derived from China’s Xinjiang province, according to a Daily Caller News Foundation review of public documents.

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is set to release its final climate disclosure rule in the coming months, and the agency’s proposed rulemaking documents cite the Swiss-based climate consultancy South Pole multiple times. Likewise, the SEC spoke with a high-ranking South Pole employee about the rule after the firm had sold carbon credits generated in a region of China known for forced labor.

South Pole touts itself as “[striving] for a world where businesses, governments and communities make climate action the new normal.” In a November piece, the investigative group Follow the Money reported that South Pole sold carbon offset credits derived from projects in Xinjiang, China, the epicenter of the Chinese Communist Party’s repressive campaign against Uyghur Muslims.

“Given the specious, often clearly fraudulent nature of the carbon credits rubric in general, can anyone be surprised about South Pole’s apparent scam? If our media establishment were doing its job, the carbon credits grift would rank as one of the major scandals of our time,” David Blackmon, a 40-year veteran of the American oil and gas industry who now regularly consults and writes about the energy sector, told the Daily Caller News Foundation. “The fact that the Biden SEC would rely on these apparent grifters so strongly as support for a major, economically destructive regulatory action is unsurprising, and just in keeping with the overall gaslighting character of the Biden regime.”

South Pole is cited several times in the SEC’s disclosure proposal, and the company’s director of sustainable finance, Rebecca Self, joined a January 2022 call with SEC staff to discuss the potential costs of reporting climate-related risks and statistics, according to a publicly available SEC memorandum.

South Pole sold carbon offset credits derived from Xinjiang for several years, stopping in 2021, according to Follow the Money. South Pole would buy the credits from their Chinese partner for less than one euro each, and then resold them to clients like Spotify, British Petroleum and the European Youth Parliament for more than four euros apiece.

The carbon market allows companies to buy and sell carbon credits that nominally offset emissions generated in their operations. “Carbon credits are measurable, verifiable emission reductions from certified climate action projects,” according to South Pole’s own definition.

It is important to note that it is unclear whether any of the operations that formed the basis for South Pole’s credits had any exposure to forced Uyghur labor, according to Follow the Money. However, the ubiquity of forced labor in the region during the time that the company was selling the credits certainly raised those risks above typical risk levels seen elsewhere in the world.

Within the first few years after its founding in 2006, the firm identified Xinjiang’s cotton fields as a potential source for carbon credits, according to Follow the Money. The region’s cotton farmers, many of whom are Uyghurs, would typically burn the twigs and sticks created as a harvesting byproduct on the fields, leave them to rot or collect and dump them elsewhere.

Rather than wasting those twigs, South Pole realized that they had potential value as offsets if they could be converted into fuel at a Chinese biomass plant, according to Follow the Money. This realization reportedly became the basis for the firm’s Xinjiang-derived carbon credits. The company has drawn scrutiny for its operations in other parts of the world beyond China as well.

South Pole is alleged to have sold credits derived from its landmark Kariba Forest Protection project in Zimbabwe, despite knowing that the Kariba project may have only actually produced one-third of the offsets the company claimed to the public, according to a separate investigation conducted by Follow the Money.

If the SEC’s March 2022 proposal is finalized in its current form, the SEC would require publicly-traded corporations to disclose climate-related risks to their businesses in financial filings. Additionally, the SEC’s proposal would require companies to disclose the greenhouse gas emissions directly caused by their operations, those generated by the energy and electricity they use to power their operations and indirect emissions produced in companies’ upstream and downstream supply chains.

Scores of congressional Democrats have urged the SEC and the agency’s chairman, Gary Gensler, to swiftly adopt the disclosure standards. However, many corporate interests, including BlackRock CEO Larry Fink, have reportedly pushed back against the rule as proposed, and reports have surfaced suggesting that the agency may water down the proposal when it moves to finalize the rules sometime in early 2024 after several delays.

The SEC, South Pole and the White House did not respond immediately to the DCNF’s requests for comment.

AUTHOR

NICK POPE

Contributor.

RELATED ARTICLE: ‘Power Grab’: As California Closes In On A Sweeping Emissions Law, Biden’s SEC Could Roll Out Its Own Version

EDITORS NOTE: This Daily Caller column is republished with permission. ©All rights reserved.


All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter’s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.