Podcast appearances and mentions of Frank Pallone

On Sunday, House Republicans released their package of proposals that would cut federal spending on Medicaid and Obamacare. Frank Pallone, U.S. Representative (D NJ 6th), ranking member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, discusses what's in the bill, which the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office says would cause 8.6 million Americans to lose their health insurance.

Rep. Frank Pallone (D-New Jersey) addresses the executive council winter session of the National Congress of American Indians on February 11, 2025. Pallone is the highest ranking Democratic member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee. NCAI's meeting took place in Washington, D.C.

Tonight, on NJ Spotlight News…A grand jury investigation into alleged church sex abuse was blocked by a SECRET COURT RULING…now there is a legal fight headed straight to the state supreme court; Plus, Congressman Frank Pallone is launching investigations into some of President Trump's executive orders; Also, the annual CHAMBER TRAIN is back on the rails….Packed with New Jersey's political elites rubbing elbows and heading for the Nation's Capital; And, SPACE TALK…a group of Toms River students get an out of this world lesson, chatting with astronauts on the international space station; And, SPACE TALK…a group of Toms River students get an out of this world lesson by chatting with astronauts on the international space station. 

Tonight, on NJ Spotlight News…Banning cellphone use in the classroom … State lawmakers move a bill to restrict phone use by kids while school is in session; Plus, Congressman Frank Pallone's new push to ban cancer-causing red dye number 3 from food; Also, workers head back to court in their fight for smoke-free casinos…will the push for casino profits or worker's health prevail; And, Santa Claus is coming to town… but this time he is taking the train to spread a little holiday cheer. 

Conversations on GroongTopics:Escalation in SyriaCOP29 SummitCan NATO save Armenia?Guest: Jeffrey SachsHosts:Hovik ManucharyanAsbed BedrossianEpisode 391 | Recorded: December 4, 2024https://podcasts.groong.org/391#JeffreySachs #ArmeniaNews #COP29 #SouthCaucasus #Geopolitics #NagornoKarabakh #MiddleEast #GlobalDiplomacy #BRICS #ClimateActionSubscribe and follow us everywhere you are: linktr.ee/groong

Rep. Frank Pallone's misunderstanding of how the pediatric priority review voucher program works has been one factor undermining support for an incentive that brings new drugs to kids, argues Washington Editor Steve Usdin on the latest BioCentury This Week podcast. Usdin explains how the voucher process works and why it's valuable to the country's youngest patients, as well as to small biotechs and larger biopharma alike.Usdin also discusses the latest twists and turns for the Biosecure Act, and BioCentury's Stephen Hansen assesses the obesity data from Novo Nordisk that destroyed more than $30 billion in value for the Danish pharma. This episode of BioCentury This Week was sponsored by Parexel Biotech.View full story: https://www.biocentury.com/article/65363300:01 - Sponsor Message: Parexel Biotech01:47 - Pediatric PRVs06:42 - Biosecure Act12:44 - Novo's Obesity MissTo submit a question to BioCentury's editors, email the BioCentury This Week team at podcasts@biocentury.com.Reach us by sending a text

Tonight on NJ Spotlight News: Briana Vannozzi speaks to Trita Parsi, Executive Vice President at the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft, about escalations in the war between Israel and Hamas and a possible ceasefire; Governor Murphy and other lawmakers criticize Rutgers University for striking a deal with students on the New Brunswick campus as students at the Newark campus extend their encampment; Lieutenant Governor Tahesha Way announces the expansion of free mental health services for New Jersey college students; Briana Vannozzi talks to Chalkbeat reporter Jessie Gomez about a new contract signed by the Newark Board of Education to install new AI-powered security cameras; Congressman Frank Pallone hosts a roundtable on protecting Americans' privacy online.

Tonight on NJ Spotlight News: Newark Mayor Ras Baraka kicks off his run for the governor's office; Culture wars erupt at the board of education meeting in Old Bridge after a pro-parental rights group brings an outspoken North Carolina pastor to preach their views; Imani Corbett, the inaugural president of Seton Hall's first NAACP chapter joins NJ Spotlight News to discuss the goals for the newly formed group; Congressman Frank Pallone and FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel urge Congress to continue funding the Affordable Connectivity Program to prevent hundreds of thousands of New Jerseyans from losing access to low cost or free internet; State leaders join representatives from offshore wind companies to discuss the future of the industry.

Tonight on NJ Spotlight News …“FIGHT TO THE  END”  …despite calls for his resignation Israel's Prime Minister digs in after three hostages were killed by Israeli soldiers;  Plus, RWJ nurses in New Brunswick officially agree to a NEW CONTRACT ... after nearly four months on the picket line; Also, Congressman Frank Pallone announcing a new bill to combat sudden CARDIAC ARREST IN KIDS especially among student-athletes; And, DECREASING VIOLENT CRIME … in Jersey City …. Mayor Fulop touting his city's efforts to keep deadly violence at bay.      

Tonight on NJ Spotlight News: Palestinian-Americans report increased threats and harassment as the Israel-Hamas war escalates and the humanitarian crisis in Gaza worsens; Congressman Frank Pallone joins community leaders in calling on social media companies to combat misinformation and remove violent content surrounding the Israel-Hamas war; NorthJersey.com reporter Kristie Cattafi discusses the latest surrounding new allegations that Senator Bob Menendez acted as a foreign agent on behalf of the Egyptian government; Montclair State University hosts "Black and Brown in Blue," an event exploring the role of diversity in law enforcement; Nurses meet with RWJ University Hospital representatives and a federal monitor as their strike enters its 74th day.

Dan is the newly appointed Executive Director of We Work For Health, bringing more than two decades of experience in advocacy, policy, and public affairs to this role. He previously headed the Association for Accessible Medicines (AAM) and the National Pharmaceutical Council (NPC). In this podcast, we discuss the ten drugs selected for negotiation under the IRA and their unintended consequences on the availability and access of generic and biosimilar medicines. We also highlight the desire for many regulators to broaden government negotiations within Medicare under the Smart Pricing Act and the recently introduced bill by Congressman Frank Pallone, Jr. (NJ-06). See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Stanford's Evelyn Douek and Alex Stamos are joined by Stanford Internet Observatory (SIO) Research Manager Renée DiResta and Chief Technologist David Thiel to discuss a new report on a months-long investigation into the distribution of illicit sexual content by minors online.Large Networks of Minors Appear to be Selling Illicit Sexual Content OnlineThe Stanford Internet Observatory (SIO) published a report last week with findings from a months-long investigation into the distribution of illicit sexual content by minors online. The SIO research team identified a large network of accounts claiming to be minors, likely teenagers, who are producing, marketing and selling their own explicit content on social media.A tip from The Wall Street Journal informed the investigation with a list of common terms and hashtags indicating the sale of “self-generated child sexual abuse material” (SG-CSAM). SIO identified a network of more than 500 accounts advertising SG-CSAM with tens of thousands of likely buyers.With only public data, this research uncovered and helped resolve basic safety failings with Instagram's reporting system for accounts with expected child exploitation, and Twitter's system for automatically detecting and removing known CSAM. Most of the work to address CSAM has focused on adult offenders who create the majority of content. These findings highlight the need for new countermeasures developed by industry, law enforcement and policymakers to address sextortion and the sale of illicit content that minors create themselves.Front-Page Wall Street Journal CoverageA Wall Street Journal article first covered Twitter's lapse in safety measures to prevent known CSAM from appearing on the site and the importance of researcher access to study public social media data to identify and help address issues. - Alexa Corse/ The Wall Street JournalInstagram was the focus of a larger Wall Street Journal investigation, based in part on SIO's research findings. The app is currently the most significant platform for these CSAM networks, connecting young sellers with buyers with recommendation features, searching for hashtags, and direct messaging. - Jeff Horwitz, Katherine Blunt/ The Wall Street JournalBipartisan Concern and Calls for Social Media Regulation The investigation sparked outrage across the aisle in the U.S. and grabbed the attention of the European Commission as the European Union prepares to enforce the Digital Services Act for the largest online platforms later this summer.Thierry Breton, the top EU official for trade and industry regulation, announced that he will meet with Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg later this month at the company's Menlo Park headquarters to discuss the report and demand the company takes action.In Congress, House Energy and Commerce Democrats and GOP Senators were most outspoken about taking action to address the concerning findings.Senate Judiciary Ranking Member Lindsey Graham (R-SC) suggested a hearing on the findings during a Senate Judiciary markup session.Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AK) @SenTomCotton: “Social media isn't safe for kids. At a minimum, we should require age verification and parental consent.”Sen. Rick Scott (@SenRickScott): “Every parent should read this story. Social media is NOT SAFE for our kids. What is described here is disgusting and needs to be shut down now!”House Energy and Commerce Committee Democrats released statements that they were “appalled” and “disgusted” by the role Instagram plays in connecting minors with buyers for abuse content. - Office of Congressman Frank Pallone, Office of Congresswoman Jan SchakowskyRep. Ken Buck (@RepKenBuck): “How do we expect Big Tech companies like @Meta to regulate themselves when they allow vast networks of pedophiles to operate freely? #pedogramRep. Anna Paulina Luna (@RepLuna): “Instead of meddling in elections, it would be cool if Mark Zuckerburg spent a few Zuckerbucks on cleaning up the Pedogram network.”Join the conversation and connect with Evelyn and Alex on Twitter at @evelyndouek and @alexstamos.Moderated Content is produced in partnership by Stanford Law School and the Cyber Policy Center. Special thanks to John Perrino for research and editorial assistance.Like what you heard? Don't forget to subscribe and share the podcast with friends!

Julie Roginsky has one of the most unique stories in politics…as a 6-year old, she and her family flee their homeland in the Soviet Union to make their way to the Bronx…she's drawn to campaigns and spends 20+ years in the trenches in New Jersey politics…she enters the world of cable news, working for 10 years as a Democratic voice on Fox News…ultimately leaving Fox after suing the network and chief Roger Ailes for sexual harassment…and starts Lift Our Voices with former Fox News colleague Gretchen Carlson to eliminate NDAs and other silencing mechanism that protect harassment in the workplace. This is a wide-ranging conversation that covers Julie's fascinating life, time in campaign politics, and the important work she's doing now.IN THIS EPISODE…The story behind Julie and her parents escaping their native USSR…Early memories of a 6-year old Soviet refugee growing up in NYC…Julie campaigns for a presidential candidate as an 11-year old…Julie changes her professional sights from foreign service to political campaigns…Julie's brief excursion working for the UK Labour Party in London…Julie's first New Jersey race and her NJ Politics 101 after 20+ years in state politics…Julie mines her years as a communications expert to offer some comms best practices…The story behind Julie's years as a political commentator on Fox News…Julie addresses her departure from Fox News & the sexual harassment she filed against  Fox News and Roger Ailes…Julie starts Lift Our Voices with Gretchen Carlson to eliminate workplace NDAs that protect workplace harassment…Julie on the changing advice she gives to young people working in politics…Julie's advice on how campaigns can protect proprietary information while not enabling a toxic workplace...AND…the 6 Train, Madeline Albright, Bombshell, George W. Bush, CNBC, Mary Beth Cahill, Gretchen Carlson, Chris Christie, Jon Corzine, Crayola, the deficit, distant cousins, economic sclerosis, EMILYs List, the Food Network, glasnost, Bernie Goetz, Mikhail Gorbachev, gulags, heroin alley, the Hotel Greystone, internecine primaries, the Iron Curtain, the Iron Sheik, JFK airport, Jersey girls, Jeane Kirkpatrick, Lenin, John Major, Walter Mondale, Rupert Murdoch, Northampton County, Frank Pallone, Perkins Coie, Zelda Perkins, Ronald Reagan, refuseniks, Condoleezza Rice, Susan Rice, Rutgers University, self-censorship, Yakov Smirnoff, Stalin, the Statue of Liberty, The Tea Party, Margaret Thatcher, Donald Trump, the WWF, Harvey Weinstein, Christine Todd Whitman & more!

The Superfund program was designed to be paid for by a tax on chemical and oil companies,  but that tax expired years ago, and the program has been strapped for cash since.    But that has changed in recent months. Last fall, the chemical tax was brought back as part of the massive federal infrastructure bill. And oil tax has returned as part of the Inflation Reduction Act, which was signed today by President Joe Biden.   NJ Spotlight News anchor Briana Vannozzi spoke with Rep. Frank Pallone about the tax's return, and why it matters.

Rebekah Keat and Siri Lindley—highly vocal (and highly effective, as it turns out) advocates for ending horse slaughter—recall a pivotal horse, Savannah, who served as a catalyst for their advocacy. […] The post Rebekah Keat and Siri Lindley, activists working to end horse slaughter first appeared on Talking Animals.

U.S. Representative Frank Pallone (D NJ 6th), chair of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, talks about gas prices and Ukraine, making daylight saving time permanent, and securing funding for COVID tests and treatments.

  ACEC was honored to welcome Rep. Peter DeFazio, Chair of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee onto the show to discuss the next steps for the bipartisan infrastructure bill and budget reconciliation in the House. Transcript: Host: Welcome to Engineering Influence, a podcast from the American Council of Engineering Companies. Today, we are honored to be joined by a longtime friend of ACEC and the engineering industry and a strong advocate for America's infrastructure, House Transportation and Infrastructure Chair Peter DeFazio, who has represented Oregon's 4th Congressional district since 1987. Chair DeFazio is a powerful advocate for transformative federal infrastructure investment and consequential action on climate change. He drafted the INVEST in America Act, which passed the House in early July and became the vehicle for the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, which cleared the Senate last week. With passage of that bill, the issue of infrastructure once again squarely lands in the House, which is expected to return from the August district work period later this month to address it, as well as a budget reconciliation bill.  I'm also pleased to be joined by ACEC CEO Linda Bauer Darr for today's conversation. Thank you both for taking time to join the podcast today. And with those introductions out of the way, I will throw it over to Linda for the conversation. Linda Bauer Darr: Great. Thanks for doing this, Jeff. And thank you, Chairman DeFazio for being with us. When we were getting started, you mentioned that you just adopted a dog, a Labrador. So, what's the dog's name? Chair DeFazio: Liddy. She's now learning her name. She came from a pound in Texas. They named her Lydia, and we've stuck with it. Linda Bauer Darr: So, you're sticking with it. So how old is she? Chairman DeFazio: A year and a half. The story was that she had pups and was in the kennel with the pups. The pups got adopted. She didn't. They put her on a transport, she came to Oregon, and we got her. So there are a lot of dogs in Texas that are apparently neglected. Linda Bauer Darr: Well, you've joined a long line of people who have adopted pets during COVID. I'm down one pet during COVID, so I'm on the other side of that fence, but congratulations, and I'm sure you will have a great time with Liddy. Linda Bauer Darr: We'll go ahead and get started. You were able to secure passage of the Invest Act in the House. By the way, great job. I know that was a Herculean effort. No doubt that had an impact in showing people that the bipartisan package was on its way and that it was going to make it through the Senate. What stands out to you as the most important provision that you secured in the bill? Or what would you be most proud of? Chair DeFazio: First that we went through a real legislative process. We were in committee for a total, I think, of close to 60 hours over the two years. Hundreds of amendments in committee, hundreds of amendments on the Floor. An actual legislative process. Yeah, I didn't get a lot of Republicans for it in the end, but quite a number of their amendments were included in the bill, in contrast to the Senate bill written behind closed doors principally by people who don't even serve on the committees of jurisdiction in the Senate. So, you know, my bill was transformative. It was really to take the country beyond Eisenhower 8.0 and into the 21st century for transportation policy, dealing with climate change, resilience, and social equity and creating one whole hell of a lot of jobs. Unfortunately, their bill is Eisenhower 8.0 for the most part with a little green dressing on the side, Chair DeFazio: There's more money spent on subsidies for fossil fuels in their bill than on alternative fuels. When you add it up properly you know, they, they say that 25 percent of the zero-emission bus policy has to be spent on polluting buses. Half of the $18 billion for fossil fuel reduction can be transferred to highways. There are a number of provisions like that in their bill. Their bill is slightly bigger on highways than mine, but way less on rail and transit and way less on social equity, way less on wastewater drinking water and lead pipes, which came out of Frank Pallone's committee. So we're going to deal with those deficiencies in Reconciliation, which is in part why we're pairing the two. Chair DeFazio: Reconciliation is going to continue a lot of the democratic agenda. I'm unwilling at this point to pass this bill without some changes. It's been made clear that the cabal who wrote it are not interested in going to regular order and having a conference. That the chairs of the committees of jurisdiction in the Senate were not consulted during the drafting is an absolute insult to them, to the legislative process, and to the House of Representatives. And it's not how you get the best legislation when a group of people write something behind closed doors. So we're going to do our best to fix it. Linda Bauer Darr: I will applaud you on regular order. I think people who have been in Washington for a long time have been very eager to get us back into that good rhythm. And even if neither the Senate nor the House has the perfect bill, the fact that we're exercising those muscles again, I think is hopeful. So, you talked a little bit about Reconciliation and you know, how you're going to marry these things. Can you talk a little bit more about that and the strategy and how you think that's going to work? Chair DeFazio: Reconciliation is going to go through—at least in the House—a committee process. I assume it will in the Senate. It came out of the Budget Committee. The House will pass the budget, and then the committees of jurisdiction will be given their apportionments and we'll work through a legislative process committee-by-committee to put together a bill by mid-September. I think the deadline for us to have legislated our parts is the 15th of September. I'm going to mark up on the 12th of September in my committee. Chair DeFazio: And I'm dealing with the White House since there have been some vague pledges that I'm not quite sure of from the President saying no more money for things that are in this bill, but I didn't make that agreement and I think there are ways to work around that. It can be just a little bit different but I'm working to add back money to transit. We got $100 billion just to bring it up to a state of good repair, let alone to provide new options for people. My bill critically included frequency, which would really help with ridership. Their bill has no decent policy in it. They don't understand transportation. Then rail, Amtrak's doing pretty well, but high speed rail didn't and I very much hope to come up with a different novel high-speed rail category. Then social equity, again, under-funded in the Senate bill. Didn't include my sidebars for affordable housing and to prevent gentrification, which has happened in a couple of cases where we removed freeways. Great, we've just rejoined a community that's been split asunder, and now they're all being driven out. So, I'm not sure how we can deal with that under the Dead Guy Rule, so-called Reconciliation, the Byrd rule, but we're going to try and deal with that. Wastewater is a tiny fraction of the investment we need and way less than I had in my bill. I'm hoping to increase wastewater. I'm hoping also to figure out how to bring back in a green infrastructure for wastewater, which has tremendous promise in addition to methane capture and electricity generation. And then certainly again, I partnered with Frank Pallone on this, drinking water and lead pipe removal were way under-funded. Hopefully we can deal with those things. And then EV  charging is very lacking also, and they didn't include Park and Rides. I mean, seriously, I know that truck stops were fighting viciously against including rest areas, but I didn't know anybody was against EV charging at Park and Rides. Unless you're trying to tell people not to take transit. I don't get that one. It might by a that might be a Toomey amendment as he hates transit. I don't know. Linda Bauer Darr: You said that high-speed rail didn't get what you felt it deserved. And then, of course, Amtrak did pretty well. I imagine that had to be one of the President's "This is the deal, and you're going to have to accept it." I imagine it was a huge priority for him. And probably also something that ultimately was pushed by Senator Carper. Obviously their long-term friendship was helpful. Chair DeFazio: Carper didn't have a voice in writing this bill. I talked to him. They did not consult the chairs of the committees of jurisdiction. It was written by the likes of Sinema and Portman and Collins and a cabal of other people and Manchin who got his $8 billion for blue hydrogen, which by the way, if you read the New York Times three days ago—and I've known this for a long time—so-called blue hydrogen is more polluting than CNG. And there are a lot of elements in that bill that are parochial and not dealing with climate change and not dealing with the investments we need to make. Linda Bauer Darr: So how does this all get worked out? You put a lot of time and effort into your bill. It goes over to the Senate and the Senate has negotiated, or some of the leaders in the Senate have negotiated, with the President. We've got it through the Senate. Now we have to come back together. How does this play out ultimately, and how can you have a voice in this process? Chair DeFazio: We are going to have a voice in the process because Reconciliation originates in the United States House of Representatives. We are intending both for the Build Back Better agenda, the things the President wants to do for families, for childcare—so more women can get into the workforce—all those things, in addition to what we can do to at least mitigate some of the shortcomings of the Senate infrastructure bill. Which is why we are pairing the two together. If we moved this infrastructure bill tomorrow, first off, it doesn't go into effect until October 1st, so what's the rush? And secondly, I predict that then we wouldn't even get a Reconciliation bill. It's very likely that wouldn't happen. Often around here, the next thing doesn't happen. Chair DeFazio: I remember when I voted against Obama's recovery act because they had dramatically reduced real investment in jobs, investment in infrastructure, school construction, and other things for tax cuts too small to notice because of that jerk Larry Summers. I tried to get Jim Oberstar to vote the whole committee against it, and I said, Jim, we've got to fix this. He said, "No.They promised me the next thing would be a big infrastructure bill," which then Obama killed. So next thing never happens around here. And that's my opinion on Reconciliation. If we were to just blithely pass. without addressing some of these concerns in the infrastructure bill, we would never see reconciliation. Linda Bauer Darr: You've talked a lot about sustainability and climate and those issues are very important, and frankly that engineering plays an enormous role in—as well as equity—so, you've been vocal about these things. What are the other differences that you see in the Senate bill that stand out to you as red flags? Chair DeFazio: The fact that there is more investment in promoting fossil fuels, requiring that one quarter of the zero-emission buses be fossil fuel buses, allowing the transfer of half the funds into highways, no fix-it-first provisions. Not to make states look at whether more lanes are the best way to go. Senator Kaine tried to do this as an amendment in the Senate because Virginia is the poster child for this. Republicans were in charge. They said, More lanes on 95. It's backed up all the time." But the projections were, in 10 years with two more lanes, one each way, that it would be just as congested as it is today with induced demand and no alternatives at a cost of 10 to $12 billion. Chair DeFazio: And they instead are coming up with an innovative rail project, working with CSX, new right-of-way, new bridge over the Potomac River for rail, the other one's at 99 percent of capacity. CSX likes it. And they're going to run fast trains—not high-speed trains—but fast trains down to Richmond from DC at half the cost, reducing all that pollution. And they have great projections on how much it'll reduce congestion. I was doing a press conference with the mayor of Richmond and he said he never really wanted to be a bedroom community in DC, but it's way less expensive down here. So, things like that that were left out, and they're going to be hard to fix. The other thing is that Secretary Buttigieg under this bill is going to have $100 billion of discretionary grants. I'm working with the White House on how we're going to mitigate some of the boneheadedness in the Senate bill through that $100 billion dollars of discretionary spending. Linda Bauer Darr: That brings to mind years ago when I was at the Department of Transportation, and they were talking about a talent drain, how people were leaving government. And the last Administration, obviously, made an effort to reduce the size of government. How are we prepared in the Department of Transportation to take this money and run with it, considering a lot of it is going to be discretionary and there's going to be a process that needs to be taken on? Chair DeFazio: I'm hopeful that DOT will act with unusual dispatch, and hopefully this won't require a lot of laborious rulemaking. I'm not totally conversant with the details of the discretionary money yet, but we will certainly look at ways to expedite it. If DOT needs more staff to deal with these things or people with different talents, I'd be happy to look at dealing with that either in Reconciliation or in appropriations. I'm already looking at that with the FAA. They lack inspectors both to deal with air rage and with ongoing problems with the industry and the manufacturers. So, if other parts of DOT have been hollowed out—I wasn't aware of DOT getting as hollowed out as the State Department or a whole bunch of other agencies that Trump decimated—but I'll ask on my next conversation with the Secretary what he needs. Linda Bauer Darr: Well, that'd be interesting, if after all this effort, we ran into that bureaucracy, when the money is finally flowing towards projects, that we are all excited to get started on. So, this one is not a question. It's really more a word of thanks. You know that the engineering industry is facing a challenge among firms that took these PPP loans to save jobs and are now being told that they have to give those forgiven loans back because of a quirk in the Federal Acquisition Regulations. You and your great staff on the T&I Committee were very helpful in getting language attached to the Invest Act to lessen the impact of the problem. It didn't make it through in the Senate. At one point, we were making great progress with Senator Braun and some others who had actually even expanded on the work that you did. We were excited about that. Ultimately, it got held up by the process. A lot of the amendments that had a good support behind them fell out, particularly by Rand Paul. He was kind of the party killer. We were very close to getting it done. Linda Bauer Darr: If it comes back to the House, I hope that we're going to be able to count on your support. We've talked about this issue before. It really is unfair. We've got contractors and everyone else that contracts with the government being treated differently than the engineering industry. We're being pulled out and told that "This money that you were given as basically a grant. Well, everybody else doesn't have to give it back, but we're going to take it out of your hides going forward in future projects. So, in some cases you're not going to be paid for the work that you're doing." That, to me, is just insane. We're hoping very much that we're going to be able to get this taken care of, and we hope that will be something that's important to you as well. Chair DeFazio: It's important. It's outrageous. I was not a big fan of the PPP program. The restrictions that were put on people. This is one glaring example. The fraud that occurred through that program. The thing I did for aviation, the Payroll Support Program, had zero fraud and no questions. I know the fix I did in the House wasn't everything you wanted. Unfortunately, I don't have complete jurisdiction. I deal with two other committees who objected. I didn't know how close you came in the Senate. And it's sad that that's a body where one person can stop something that has I think extraordinary merit and we'll continue to work on it, continue to work with the green eyeshade people at DOT, and see what we can do in the House. Chair DeFazio: We're very bound by the Dead Guy Rule, the so-called Byrd rule, the Reconciliation rules, but we'll see what we can do. Policy is tough under his rules. It's pretty absurd that we're held up by a rule written by a Senator dead 12 years and written 28 years ago. It makes no sense to me. And the Senate does have discretion, which they seem loathe to use to just have the chair rule things in order. And then it takes 60 votes to overrule the chair, which turns the filibuster on its head and ultimately in a good reconciliation bill, if the parliamentarian and seance with Robert Byrd is saying, you can't do these things, I'm hopeful that the Senate leadership puts Harris in the chair to rule it in order. And then the Republicans are going to have to get 60 votes to overturn her ruling. And they can just go forward with the bill with 50 votes. Linda Bauer Darr: We will be in there pitching, and we'll do everything that we can to try to make sure that people have the information they need to make a decision. We absolutely appreciate, again, your support and hope that we can continue to count on it, which it sounds like we can. It's just the process and anything can happen with the process, so let's work towards that. Let's assume and hope that we're successful and we get this major infrastructure package to the president's desk this year. Then what? Other than a vacation, clearly, what's next on your list of committee priorities? What else is up? Chair DeFazio: We've already started working on the Water Resources Development Act, which we try to do every two years. And this time not to use the around-the-barn, indirect way of funding individual projects. I intend to go through a similar process to that that I went forward with, which is very rigorous and scandal free on member directed spending, in the Surface Transportation bill, which, by the way, I haven't given up on yet, We have some ideas of reconciliation. Although individually we can't do a projects, we have some ideas. And then some water resources, Coast Guard authorization, reforms at the Federal Emergency Management Agency I'm hoping in reconciliation to create a new pre-development program substantially funded at the Economic Development Administration, which could help a lot of the smaller communities who don't even know how to begin to try to access a federal grants for wastewater, drinking water, housing, or any other thing that relates to economic development. So that that's also something that we'll be working on, plus all the usual burdens of oversight and trying to get the money out the door. This bill will go into effect October 1st, and we want to have a really robust construction season. Linda Bauer Darr: We're with you on hoping for that. I know you don't have a lot more time, but you did reference member-directed projects, which to me is code for earmark. Is that right? Chair DeFazio: Yes, except technically an earmark is something the Appropriations Committee does that isn't authorized. We always did designated spending in surface transportation bills in the House, and they always went through a legislative process. In the Senate, not so much. Things got airdropped in. We went through a rigorous process. 109 Republicans and almost all the Democrats had projects up to $20 million. They had to work with their local governments with their states. And there are a lot of really good projects in there that the state bureaucracy or the federal bureaucracy is never going to get to in people's districts. It was about 1 percent of the bill, and I'm still working on that because I think it has a lot of merit. There are some ways—I'm not going to go into detail—but we have a couple ideas to get around the Dead Guy rule. Linda Bauer Darr: You and I had talked about this over a year ago. I'm with you on the need to give the members some ownership of these projects, give them something to bring back to their communities, because frankly they're there to represent their communities and make the case for their communities when infrastructure projects are required. It seems to me like this is an even bigger issue than what we're working on with infrastructure. It's the ability for Congress to collaborate and compromise. The opportunity to  reach across the aisle and say, “I want to help you on this priority. Will you help me on this?” Or “I can do this. It's just doing business.” And it seems like when we were deprived of that. Regular order came to a halt, the wheels of Congress grinded to the halt, and there was less bipartisanship as a result. So, I think you feel passionately about that. I know we at ACEC feel very passionately about it. I think it's important going forward. We thank you for recognizing that. And you know, before we wrap, I am curious, how did you go about vetting those member requests? That's got to be a difficult job, right? Chair DeFazio: It just about killed the staff. We brought in hired some additional staff. First we had to get a vendor to create a software program. And then they had to be submitted online, posting online all of their documentation, showing local support, affidavits of no pecuniary interest, all those things that in the past led to scandals. Plus, obviously, I created equity. I got 20 million bucks and the newest freshmen got 20 million bucks. And you can do a lot. I spread it around between wastewater that'll help a small port in my district attract a fish processor, worked with the port of Coos Bay on rail sidings that will enhance the port activity and get more product on rail instead of truck, and I had a number of projects for electric buses and multi-modal facilities. There were a lot of things that people liked. Chair DeFazio: Quick story, when the whole earmark thing blew up back after ‘06 and the Tea Party came in and they got this bad name and Republicans banned them. I was down in my second most conservative county. Most of my counties are red except for two. And a guy stood up and said that earmarks are horrible. And I said, “I know there have been some issues, but what do you think about the Weaver River Road bridge,” which is a bridge over the freeway that opened up an industrial park. He was “Wow. It's great.” And I said, “Sir, that was an earmark. He said, “That wasn't bad.” And I said, “Yeah, the state wasn't going to do it and the county couldn't afford it. I got it done.” I did a lot of them in my years on the committee and there's never been a scandal. I had some people object to joining North Bend and Coos Bay with a bike path, but tourism is a really important part of our economy. Linda Bauer Darr: That's a great example there. And who knows better than your constituents about what the needs are and who is better positioned to deliver for them than you, but you have to have that opportunity. The reason for us having this federal program is because it all needs to tie together ultimately. It's like the circulatory system of the body, right? At the center of it maybe is the federal government, but then the state portions and the local portions go out from there and they need to be right on, and we need to make sure that the blood is flowing between the heart and the end of the system and make sure that all the communities are weighing in and earmarks are a way for us to do that. So, we agree with you. It's good for the nation, and I think, it's good for government. And it's good for your constituents ultimately. So again, thanks for being bold and going forward with that, because I don't think without your pushing that it would have entered into the frame again. So, thank you for that. Chair DeFazio: Okay. I enjoyed doing the interview. Liddy and I have done three Zooms in a row. She needs a break. Host: So. Mr. Chairman, I do appreciate it. And thank you for your time today. Good luck in the legislative session ahead. And we appreciate your strong voice for the built environment and for infrastructure. And we do appreciate for everything that you do, and Linda, thank you very much for joining us today on the program. Thank you. Chair DeFazio: Thanks Jeff. Thanks Linda. Hi to everybody who listens to this podcast. Host: And again, this has been Engineering Influence, a podcast from the American Council of Engineering Companies. We will see you next time.

Join Health Affairs Insider.President Joe Biden included the public health insurance option, commonly referred to as the "public option," as a major pillar of his health care platform during the 2020 presidential campaign.To date, the public option hasn't been included in the discourse for the Biden administration. Instead the administration has focused on supporting the Affordable Care Act, among other agenda items.Now states are leading the charge and considering the adoption of public option policies. Nevada's Governor stated earlier this month that they would sign a public option bill while Colorado is also considering a public option. Washington adopted similar legislation in 2019.On today's episode, Georgetown University's Katie Keith joins Health Affairs Blog Editor Chris Fleming to discuss the latest on how states are leading the way on the public option. In addition, Katie shares her insights on where the major Affordable Care Act case - California v. Texas - currently stands in the Supreme Court. Related Links: The Origins And Demise Of The Public Option (Health Affairs) Hill Democrats Ask For Input On Public Option As CO, NV Consider Adoption (Health Affairs Blog) Letter from Frank Pallone, Jr. and Patty Murray on Public Health Insurance Option (May 26, 2021) Sisolak Pledges To Sign Public Option Health Care Bill (Las Vegas Review-Journal) Public Option(al): What Happened To Biden's Big Idea? (Tradeoffs) Subscribe: RSS | Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Castro | Stitcher | Deezer | Overcast

Frank Pallone and James Pindell join David Wildstein on the NJ Globe Power Hour.

Frank Pallone and James Pindell join David Wildstein on the NJ Globe Power Hour.

Steve Adubato speaks with U.S. Rep. Frank Pallone, Jr. (D) – NJ, 6th Congressional District, to discuss President Biden’s American Rescue Plan, the role of the media in climate change and the political divide across the nation. U.S. Rep Pallone also talks about the CLEAN Future Act and the importance of following safety protocols during the pandemic. Recorded on 3/23/21

Last Thursday, the US Dept. of Energy and Commerce held a hearing on the CLEAN Future Act, lead by US House representatives Paul Tonko of New York and Frank Pallone of New Jersey. More than 300 organizations signed a letter urging lawmakers to reject fossil fuels and waste incineration as a source of clean energy in the bill. Sarah Lutz with Friends of the Earth spoke with HMM's Alexis Goldsmith.

This week New Jersey congressman Frank Pallone, the chairman of the powerful Energy and Commerce Committee, gave the legislative push for single-payer healthcare a major boost by announcing that he would be co-sponsoring the proposed Medicare for All bill and holding a hearing on it sometime in the current term. Pramila Jayapal, Chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, and physician Abdul El-Sayed join Ryan Grim to discuss the prospects for universal healthcare in the United States. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

President Joe Biden is wasting no time pushing for climate action on the executive branch. But getting long-lasting action through the legislation is not going to be so easy. Yesterday, House Energy and Commerce chairman Frank Pallone tapered expectations on how aggressive Democrats can act on climate policy. POLITICO’s Anthony Adragna explains. Anthony Adragna is an energy reporter for POLITICO and host of POLITICO Energy. Carlos Prieto is a Politico podcast producer. Jenny Ament is the senior producer of POLITICO audio. Irene Noguchi is the executive producer of POLITICO audio.

In today's Federal Newscast, members of the House Energy and Commerce Committee have questions for the Commerce Department regarding it's lack of standing in owning and operating a national 5G network

In this clip from the latest episode of the CAFE Insider podcast, "Legal Gambits," co-hosts Preet Bharara and Anne Milgram break down the lawsuit brought by Missouri against the Chinese government over COVID-19, and legislation introduced by Republicans in Congress which would allow lawsuits against foreign governments.  Listen to the full episode with a free two-week trial of the CAFE Insider membership. REFERENCES & SUPPLEMENTAL MATERIALS IMMIGRATION ORDER Executive order limiting immigration in response to COVID-19, 4/22/20 Trump tweet announcing executive order suspending immigration, 4/20/20 “Trump’s temporary plan to halt immigration is part of a broader strategy, Stephen Miller says,” New York Times, 4/24/20 RICK BRIGHT REMOVAL Rick Bright’s statement on his removal from BARDA position, 4/22/20 Rep. Frank Pallone’s letter to HHS Inspector General calling for investigation of Bright matter, 4/23/20 “House to examine ouster of health official who doubted drugs Trump pushed,” New York Times, 4/23/20 “Ousting vaccine chief is going to ‘set us back,’ former FDA head says,” Politico, 4/26/20 “Vaccine expert from HHS to file whistleblower complaint,” CBS News, 4/24/20 SUING CHINA  Missouri AG’s complaint filed in Eastern District of Missouri, 4/21/20 Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act (FSIA) of 1976, the law granting foreign states immunity  28 U.S. Code § 1605, the statute outlining the exceptions to the immunity of a foreign state Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act (JASTA), the law carving out an exception in FSIA for lawsuits against states who have sponsored terrorism “Suing China over coronavirus won’t help. Here’s what will work,” John Bellinger, Washington Post op-ed, 4/23/20 “Congress hands Obama first veto override,” Politico, 9/28/16 MCCONNELL STATE BANKRUPTCY COMMENTS Clip: Mitch McConnell expresses support for allowing states to go bankrupt, Hugh Hewitt radio show, 4/22/20 “McConnell takes flak after suggesting bankruptcy for states rather than bailouts,” Washington Post, 4/23/20 SUPREME COURT  Ramos v. Louisiana, the decision banning non-unanimous jury verdicts in criminal cases “Why a case about jury verdicts could spell trouble for Roe v. Wade,” Ruth Marcus, Washington Post op-ed, 4/24/20 NY Rifle & Pistol Assoc. v. NYC, the decision on a now moot challenge to a NYC rule regarding the transport of firearms The Sixth Amendment of the United States Constitution LAUGHING CHALLENGE “Centuries-old law against cursing in public repealed by Virginia legislators,” NPR, 2/19/20

Medicare For All, The Green New Deal, debt cancellation, free public colleges: all things that would need to pass through the House Energy and Commerce committee if it weren't chaired by a Democrat who, you guessed it, that doesn't believe in any of those things. This week we speak with Russ Cirincione who is running in the NJ-6 primary against incumbent Frank Pallone. https://www.cirincione2020.com/

Medicare For All, The Green New Deal, debt cancellation, free public colleges: all things that would need to pass through the House Energy and Commerce committee if it weren't chaired by a Democrat who, you guessed it, that doesn't believe in any of those things. This week we speak with Russ Cirincione who is running in the NJ-6 primary against incumbent Frank Pallone. https://www.cirincione2020.com/

Lots to cover on tonight's #sonoflibertyradio. We just watched Congress Pull One over on us with HR2339.Authored by Frank Pallone, this bill single handedly will guarantee smokers have no option but to keep smoking.We might start a few minutes early, keep any eye out. We have begged Tony Abboud to make some time out of his outrageously busy schedule to come on and give us info. He's only got 30 minutes so we are going to try to make the best of what he can offer.Fig and Kevin will be here to help #sonoflibertyradio dissect this crappy bill and we might even get Jon Glauser to pop in later to discuss.Get your drinks ready and write your questions down in advance so we can cover everything.Right here at 10pm EST.

HOUSE PASSES FLAVOR BAN | Would Trump Veto? | RegWatch (Live) *Industry reaction with Jon Glauser, C.E.O. Demand Vape & Exec. Board Member, VTA It was breaking news yesterday, but like all things government, it took until today to pass. What was it? Well, bill HR 2339 – The Reversing the Youth Tobacco Epidemic Act. Sponsored by Democratic representatives Frank Pallone of New Jersey and Donna Shalala of Florida. The bill was introduced a year ago, and now the house of representatives HAVE PASSED the bill which is ban on flavored vaping products in all 50 states. Joining us today to talk about the ban, the potential impact on the industry and whether or not President Trump would veto the bill is Jon Glauser, CEO of Demand Vapes, Exec Board Member of the vapor technology association and anchor supporter of RegWatch. Live Streamed: February 28, 2020 Produced by: Brent Stafford Make RegWatch happen, go to: support(dot)regulatorwatch(dot)com https://youtu.be/TNVRMz8g9KQ

Rep. Frank Pallone says that for him, there's no question President Trump abused his power and endangered national security. He talks with host Alex Zdan about the impeachment inquiry, plus the dangers of vaping. Patrick Murray of Monmouth University Polling Institute talks about the new Democratic candidates joining the race for President, and at the state level – the latest on the divisions within New Jersey's Democratic Party. And New Jersey Human Services Commissioner Carole Johnson wants to get the word out to all food-insecure New Jerseyans that there is help for you and your families.

The mainstream media is trying to erase Bernie Sanders. They've hated him since 2015—we've been dealing with this for four years now—but this time their attempts to bury his campaign are so brazen and conspicuous it can no longer NOT be called out by everyone. This includes people who don't support Bernie Sanders, but are concerned with fairness and objectivity and realize this may one day harm a candidate they support in the future. With that being said, we'll discuss the #BernieBlackout and talk about the election results, Elizabeth Warren's plan to finance Medicare For All, Trump's takeover of the federal judiciary, a new warning from scientists about climate change, Amazon's attempt to defeat socialist Kshama Sawant, and we'll be joined by Nomiki Konst and Jovanka Beckles to talk about the launch of their new Justice Democrats-esque organization called Matriarch. We'll close the show by talking to 2020 congressional candidate Russ Cirincione who's running against Frank Pallone in New Jersey's 6th congressional district.

This week #sonoflibertyradio is "Mad As Hell" and we ain't gonna take it no more!We will be live tomorrow night at 10pm EST to discuss why.VTA demands information on the massive NGO misinformation campaign against vaping.A recent survey again refutes the "gateway" myth and it goes ignored.Gottlieb is irrelevant and still won't keep his mouth shut on twitter.Juul's stock is tanking and NJoy is rising like a phoenix from the ashes.Frank Pallone demands answers about "vaping illnesses" and can't be bothered to read the health advisories that explain it isn't vaping but illicit synthetic thc thats the problem. Good luck tracking down the makers of those to get your answers Frank.Oh thats just the tip of the iceberg too. We'll show twitter shenanigans from SG, Dr. Jerome "Big Tobacco" Adams and Stan the Glans too.Come have some fun when the #drinkscussion ensues.Right here on Facebook and audio podcast on Spreaker.

Al Alvarez is accusing his accuser of defamation. We talk to Micah Rasmussen of the Rebovich Institute for New Jersey Politics about Alvarez and the other lingering scandal at the SDA. Then it's a $30 billion transportation transformation, but is it too big to get built? The Gateway Project would build new bridges and tunnels into New York City. We talk to David Peter Alan of Railway Age, who says there's a construction cartel pushing the project. And the shootings in Dayton and El Paso shocked the nation and renewed the debates over guns, white supremacists and universal background checks. We ask Rep. Frank Pallone if now is the time for Democrats to work with President Donald Trump on gun bills.

Robocalls have become the No. 1 consumer complaint in America. Americans now get 5.2 billion of them a month -- 2,000 every second. We talk to Robokiller's Ethan Garr, cybersecurity expert Scott Schober, U.S. Rep. Frank Pallone and Verizon's David Weissmann about the explosive growth of unwanted calls.

NEW YORK (AP) — Twitter’s decision to permanently ban conspiracy-slinger Alex Jones shows it’s serious about enforcing its policy against abuse. But it has a long way to go. Along with Facebook and other tech companies, Twitter sees promise in using artificial intelligence to rid its service of objectionable posts, photos and videos. To this end, CEO Jack Dorsey said repeatedly during congressional hearings on Wednesday that he does not want to place the burden of reporting abuse on the victims. Instead, he said Twitter is committed to developing automated tools that could delete abusive posts even without an actual person making a complaint, which is the only way Twitter takes down such posts now. But as the Alex Jones ban shows, even the human moderators that social media companies employ have trouble drawing clear lines around what counts as harassment and abuse rather than humor or healthy debate. How could artificial intelligence do better, when it is still well behind humans in understanding the nuances of language? Twitter said Thursday it has permanently banned Jones and his Infowars show for “abusive behavior,” referencing videos posted Wednesday that showed him berating CNN journalist Oliver Darcy for some 10 minutes between two congressional hearings on social media. Facebook, meanwhile, has yet to remove similar videos from Jones’s personal page, even though it has banned Infowars and other pages owned by Jones last month and suspended Jones himself for 30 days, a time-out that has just ended. Facebook said it will continue to review complaints and take action in line with its community standards, but the company didn’t say why Jones is still allowed on the service. On Twitter and elsewhere, Jones has behaved badly before — calling survivors of a shooting in Parkland, Florida, “crisis actors” and saying the mass killing at Sandy Hook Elementary in 2012 was fake. Videos of the latest exchange show Jones calling Darcy “a possum that climbed out of the rear end of a dead cow,” referencing his “skinny jeans” and repeatedly saying, “just look at this guy’s eyes” and “look at that smile.” Twitter had previously suspended Jones for a week but had resisted muzzling him further until now. One of Twitter’s executives once called the service the “free speech wing of the free speech party.” Other tech companies, including YouTube, Apple, and Spotify, have limited Jones by suspending him for longer periods and taking down his pages and podcasts. But this time, Twitter went a step further , saying it will continue to monitor reports about other accounts potentially associated with Jones or Infowars and will “take action” if it finds any attempts to circumvent the ban. Jones had about 900,000 followers on Twitter. Infowars had about 430,000. In a voicemail left with The Associated Press, Jones expressed disbelief that the incident with Darcy could have led to his ban. “He says horrible lies about me and edits things I’ve said,” Jones said. “He’s the one that’s been abusing me.” Darcy referred questions to a CNN spokeswoman, who offered no comment. Democratic U.S. Rep. Frank Pallone of New Jersey praised Twitter’s action in a tweet. “Glad Twitter is taking steps to put an end to the abusive behavior from Alex Jones & Infowars,” the tweet stated. “Tweets designed to threaten, belittle, demean and silence individuals have no place on this platform.” Critics said there was still a lack of transparency about how large services carry out their policies. Media Matters for America, a nonprofit dedicated to criticizing conservative media outlets, said the move was “about time” but also noted the behavior was “par for the course” for Jones. David Greene, civil liberties director for the Electronic Frontier Foundation, said Jones’ ban is almost a distraction to a real debate he believes people should have about how posts should be moderated on services controlled by just a few giant companies. “Whether the stuff he posted yesterday real...

  Natalie Salmanowitz: How Virtual Reality Can Help Mitigate Implicit Bias (Ep. 146) Bio Natalie Salmanowitz (@nsalmanowitz) is a rising 3L at Harvard Law School and is originally from the San Francisco Bay Area. After studying neuroscience at Dartmouth College, she went to Duke University for a master’s degree in Bioethics and Science Policy before spending a year at Stanford Law School as a fellow in the Neuroscience and Society Program. Resources The Impact of Virtual Reality on Implicit Racial Bias and Mock Legal Decisions by Natalie Salmanowitz (Journal of Law and the Biosciences, 2018) What Money Can’t Buy by Michael J. Sandel News Roundup FBI indicted 12 Russians in connection with 2016 DNC Hack Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein announced a DC Grand Jury indictment of 12 Russians charged with hacking the Democratic National Committee (DNC) in 2016. They’re all GRU members, which is Russia’s intelligence agency. And one of the defendants is accused of hacking into state election systems themselves. Intelligence officials say Russia intended for the hacks to help Donald Trump. But during a presser following his closed-door meeting with Russian president Vladimir Putin in Helsinki on Monday, the President sided with Russia. This was met with strong rebukes from U.S. intelligence officials and Republicans. Meanwhile, U.S. Director of National Intelligence Dan Coates warns of an imminent “crippling cyber attack on our critical infrastructure”. He names Russia as “the most aggressive foreign actor, no question.” And CNN reports that a Kremlin-linked internet company, Mail.Ru, had access to a Facebook app that collected user data without their consent. FCC changes consumer complaint rules The Republican-led Federal Communications Commission passed a new rule last week that will require consumers to pay a $225 fee to file formal complaints with the agency. Democrats were livid, with Democratic Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel calling the rule change “bonkers”, and FCC Chairman Pai passed the rules over the objections of Democratic representatives Frank Pallone and Mike Doyle. They’re concerned the rule change will dilute the impact of informal complaints. Purdue study: Airbnb benefits local economies in white neighborhoods. Black and Latino neighborhoods? Not so much. A new study of Purdue University, that looks at Bureau of Labor Statistics and Yelp data, has found that Airbnb’s economic benefits local economies—with one wrinkle: it’s mainly neighborhoods that are predominantly white. The study specifically looked at the spillover effect to local economies when Airbnb guests stay there by evaluating how many new jobs were created in area restaurants. Apparently, Airbnb guests are less likely to eat at restaurants surrounding Airbnbs in neighborhoods where the black or Latino population exceeds 50%, than they are in predominantly white neighborhoods. U.S. Lifts Ban on ZTE The Trump administration lifted its ban against ZTE on Friday. The ban required U.S. companies to refrain from contracting with Chinese telecom manufacturer ZTE because U.S. intelligence officials accused ZTE of lying about how it was handling sanctions against Iran and North Korea. Justice Department to appeal AT&T/Time Warner Finally, The Justice Department announced that it would be appealing the DC Court of Appeals decision approving AT&T’s acquisition of Time Warner. This re-opens litigation that could have major implications for how courts and the federal government will consider vertical mergers.

VFTB Political Plunge Part 1 hosted by RJ and special co hosts Kayla & Moondog from their show Weekly Wrap-Up. Listen in as we interview special guest Javahn Walker as he runs for U.S Congress in NJ's 6th Congressional District against incumbent Frank Pallone.

January 29, 2018 Mostly cloudy with rain and snow tonight. High temperatures in the mid-40s. U.S. REP. SIRES BOYCOTTING STATE OF THE UNION ADDRESS When President Donald Trump delivers his first State of the Union Address on Tuesday, U.S. Rep. Albio Sires of West New York will not be in attendance, NJ.com writes. "The congressman is not attending the State of the Union because many of his constituents are offended by the president's rhetoric and behavior," said Erica Daughtrey, a spokeswoman for Sires. Meanwhile, U.S. Rep. Donald Norcross of Camden and Analilia Mejia, executive director of the New Jersey working families alliance, wrote in a guest column on NJ.com that they intended to be in the audience for Trump’s speech. NJ JOINING NY, CONNECTICUT IN LEGAL CHALLENGE TO TRUMP TAX LAW The governors of New Jersey, New York and Connecticut said they are forming a coalition to file a lawsuit over the federal tax overhaul enacted late last year, The Washington Post reports. Specifically, Gov. Phil Murphy of New Jersey, Gov. Andrew Cuomo of New York and Gov. Dannel Malloy of Connecticut contend that the portion of the law that limits the amount of state property tax that can be deducted is unconstitutional. ARRESTS OF IMMIGRANTS SPARK PROTEST IN METUCHEN U.S. Reps. Frank Pallone of Long Branch and Bonnie Watson Coleman of Ewing Township joined hundreds of people demonstrating in Metuchen on Sunday to protest the arrest of two Indonesian immigrants after they dropped of their children at school last week, Patch.com writes. And last week Attorney General Gurbir Grewal called for a federal review of the arrests by Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers of the immigrants, Roby Sanger of Metuchen and Gunawan Liem of Franklin Park, The Record reports. Grewal says the arrests violated ICE’s policy of prohibiting enforcement action at sensitive locations. GARDEN STATE HAS HIGHEST FORECLOSURE RATE IN U.S. New Jersey’s foreclosure rate was the highest in the country for 2017, the Press of Atlantic City reports. New Jersey, which had 1.61 percent of its properties with a foreclosure filing, came in ahead of Delaware at 1.13 percent and Maryland at 0.95 percent, according to ATTOM Data Solutions, which curates a property database. Atlantic City had the highest rate of foreclosure of any metropolitan area in the country. NJ RESIDENTS NOT VERY CONCERNED ABOUT OPIOIDS, STUDY SAYS A new study says that most New Jersey residents are not very concerned about the dangers of prescription opioid drugs, myCentralJersey.com reports. The study by the Partnership for a Drug-Free New Jersey finds that only 17 percent of the survey participants were very concerned about opioid drugs and 29 percent were somewhat concerned. In the final months of his tenure, Gov. Chris Christie made opioid drugs a signature issue. NJSPCA MUST COMPLY WITH OPEN RECORDS LAW, COURT RULES The state Open Public Records Act applies to the New Jersey Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, even though it is a private, non-profit group, a state appeals court ruled on Friday. The ruling came in a case related to the society’s takeover of an animal shelter in Middlesex County, the New Jersey Law Journal says. But the court ruling might not apply later in the year when the society loses its law-enforcement authority.

What happens when Christians, Pat Robinson, minimum wage and a pregnant lady nearly faints during an Obama speech? One hell of a milestone show. Everything from Frank Pallone saying "Monkey Court" to McDonald's treating their employees like crap.

Hosted by Jeff Gardner and Jay Lassiter. Each week, we bring you New Jersey's latest political buzz, interviews with newsmakers, and your stimulating calls.

Hosted by Jeff Gardner and Jay Lassiter. Each week, we bring you New Jersey's latest political buzz, interviews with newsmakers, and your stimulating calls.