Category: Policy

Biden Signs Memorandum to Bolster Efforts to Combat Cyberattacks

President Joe Biden on Wednesday signed a memorandum aiming to bolster America’s critical infrastructure against cyberattacks. The National Security Memorandum on Improving Cybersecurity for Critical Infrastructure Control Systems addresses cybersecurity for critical infrastructure and implements long-overdue efforts to tackle cyber-related threats, according to what a senior White House official said on a briefing call with reporters….


CDC: Fully Vaccinated People Should Wear Masks Indoors in Some Areas

A top U.S. health agency on Tuesday altered its COVID-19-related guidance once again, telling people to wear masks in some areas even if they are fully vaccinated against the virus that causes the disease. New research into outbreaks from several states and other countries “indicate that on rare occasions some vaccinated people infected with the Delta…


Illinois Pensions Among Worst-Funded in Nation, Report Confirms

A new report confirms Illinois is among the worst in the country when it comes to funding its public pensions. The report was distributed by the Tax Foundation, an independent tax policy nonprofit. It indicates the state is only 39 percent funded for future pension obligations, the second-worst ratio in the country. “Illinois has had…


Railroad Industry Worried About Biden Executive Order

An executive order signed by President Joe Biden that could force railroads to allow other operators to use their tracks could reduce competition and increase costs, according to industry experts. Biden’s order last week in part called on the independent Surface Transportation Board to consider what the Association of American Railroads calls “forced switching” rule….


New Republican Bill Aims to Block Federal Funding for Colleges That Provide Abortion Drugs

Republican lawmakers in the House and Senate have introduced a bill that would strip all federal funding from colleges and universities if they perform abortions or provide abortion drugs to students and staff on campus. Sen. Steve Daines (R-Mon.), who founded and chairs the Senate Pro-Life Caucus, on Wednesday announced the Protecting Life on College…


Some Democrats Signal Opposition to the Bipartisan Infrastructure Package

Some progressive House Democrats and 30 members of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee are indicating opposition to the Senate’s negotiations of the $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure package. Chair of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure Peter DeFazio (D-Ore.) and 30 Democratic members of the committee sent a letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.)…


Biden’s DOJ Issues Policy Outlining Scope of White House Contact

Attorney General Merrick Garland released a policy memo on July 21 reasserting the Department of Justice’s independence from the White House. The five-page memo (pdf) sets the Biden administration’s policy for all communications with the White House and is meant to boost the public’s trust in the nation’s top law enforcement agency. “The success of…


US Treasury to Hit Debt Ceiling by November: Congressional Budget Office

The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) said on Wednesday that the U.S. Treasury Department is projected to exhaust its debt limit by October or November, as Democrats seek to raise that limit for trillions more in funding. Republicans say they oppose the move. As of June 30, an additional $6.5 trillion had been borrowed, bringing total federal debt…


Guantanamo Inmate Sent to Home Country in Biden Policy Shift

WASHINGTON—The Biden administration on Monday transferred a Guantánamo Bay detainee to his home country for the first time, a policy shift from the Trump presidency that repatriated a Moroccan man years after he was recommended for discharge. The prisoner, Abdullatif Nasser, who’s in his mid-50s, was cleared for repatriation by a review board in July 2016 but…


Secessionist, Border Realignment Movements Gaining Traction in US

The American Civil War is often thought of as being the deciding historical factor putting to rest any future ambition of individual or groups of states wanting to secede from the union. Well over a century later, the idea of secession appears far from settled in the minds of millions of Americans—Democrats and Republicans alike. In…