July 18th, 2019 • 2h 55m
Shownotes
Every new episode of No Agenda is accompanied by a comprehensive list of shownotes curated by Adam while preparing for the show. Clips played by the hosts during the show can also be found here.
TODAY
Russian face app
Privacy Policy - FaceApp
Thu, 18 Jul 2019 14:39
Privacy Policy
Effective date: January 20, 2017
This Privacy Policy explains how we and some of the companies we work with collect, use, share and protect information in relation to our mobile services, web site, and any software provided on or in connection with FaceApp services (collectively, the ''Service''), and your choices about the collection and use of your information.
By using our Service you understand and agree that we are providing a platform for you to process your content.
Our Policy applies to all visitors, users, and others who access the Service (''Users'').
1. INFORMATION WE COLLECT
We collect the following types of information.
Information you provide us directly:
User Content (e.g., photos and other materials) that you post through the Service. Communications between you and FaceApp. For example, we may send you Service-related emails (e.g., changes/updates to features of the Service, technical and security notices). Note that you may not opt out of Service-related e-mails.
Analytics information:
We use third-party analytics tools to help us measure traffic and usage trends for the Service. These tools collect information sent by your device or our Service, including the web pages you visit, add-ons, and other information that assists us in improving the Service. We collect and use this analytics information with analytics information from other Users so that it cannot reasonably be used to identify any particular individual User.
Cookies and similar technologies:
When you visit the Service, we may use cookies and similar technologies like pixels, web beacons, and local storage to collect information about how you use FaceApp and provide features to you.
We may ask advertisers or other partners to serve ads or services to your devices, which may use cookies or similar technologies placed by us or the third party.
Log file information:
Log file information is automatically reported by your browser each time you make a request to access (i.e., visit) a web page or app. It can also be provided when the content of the webpage or app is downloaded to your browser or device.
When you use our Service, our servers automatically record certain log file information, including your web request, Internet Protocol (''IP'') address, browser type, referring / exit pages and URLs, number of clicks and how you interact with links on the Service, domain names, landing pages, pages viewed, and other such information. We may also collect similar information from emails sent to our Users which then help us track which emails are opened and which links are clicked by recipients. The information allows for more accurate reporting and improvement of the Service.
Device identifiers:
When you use a mobile device like a tablet or phone to access our Service, we may access, collect, monitor, store on your device, and/or remotely store one or more ''device identifiers.'' Device identifiers are small data files or similar data structures stored on or associated with your mobile device, which uniquely identify your mobile device. A device identifier may be data stored in connection with the device hardware, data stored in connection with the device's operating system or other software, or data sent to the device by FaceApp.
A device identifier may deliver information to us or to a third party partner about how you browse and use the Service and may help us or others provide reports or personalized content and ads. Some features of the Service may not function properly if use or availability of device identifiers is impaired or disabled.
Metadata:
Metadata is usually technical data that is associated with User Content. For example, Metadata can describe how, when and by whom a piece of User Content was collected and how that content is formatted.
Users can add or may have Metadata added to their User Content including a hashtag (e.g., to mark keywords when you share a photo) or other data.
2. HOW WE USE YOUR INFORMATION
In addition to some of the specific uses of information we describe in this Privacy Policy, we may use information that we receive to:
provide personalized content and information to you and others, which could include online ads or other forms of marketing provide, improve, test, and monitor the effectiveness of our Service develop and test new products and features monitor metrics such as total number of visitors, traffic, and demographic patterns diagnose or fix technology problems automatically update the FaceApp application on your device 3. SHARING OF YOUR INFORMATION
We will not rent or sell your information to third parties outside FaceApp (or the group of companies of which FaceApp is a part) without your consent, except as Parties with whom we may share your information: in this Policy.
Parties with whom we may share your information:
We may share User Content and your information (including but not limited to, information from cookies, log files, device identifiers, location data, and usage data) with businesses that are legally part of the same group of companies that FaceApp is part of, or that become part of that group (''Affiliates''). Affiliates may use this information to help provide, understand, and improve the Service (including by providing analytics) and Affiliates' own services (including by providing you with better and more relevant experiences). But these Affiliates will honor the choices you make about who can see your photos.
We also may share your information as well as information from tools like cookies, log files, and device identifiers and location data, with third-party organizations that help us provide the Service to you (''Service Providers''). Our Service Providers will be given access to your information as is reasonably necessary to provide the Service under reasonable confidentiality terms.
We may also share certain information such as cookie data with third-party advertising partners. This information would allow third-party ad networks to, among other things, deliver targeted advertisements that they believe will be of most interest to you.
We may remove parts of data that can identify you and share anonymized data with other parties.
We may also combine your information with other information in a way that it is no longer associated with you and share that aggregated information.
Parties with whom you may choose to share your User Content:
Any information or content that you voluntarily process with the Service, such as User Content, becomes available to the FaceApp anonymously.
What happens in the event of a change of control:
If we sell or otherwise transfer part or the whole of FaceApp or our assets to another organization (e.g., in the course of a transaction like a merger, acquisition, bankruptcy, dissolution, liquidation), your information such as User Content and any other information collected through the Service may be among the items sold or transferred. You will continue to own your User Content. The buyer or transferee will have to honor the commitments we have made in this Privacy Policy.
Responding to legal requests and preventing harm:
We may access, preserve and share your information in response to a legal request (like a search warrant, court order or subpoena) if we have a good faith belief that the law requires us to do so. This may include responding to legal requests from jurisdictions outside of the United States where we have a good faith belief that the response is required by law in that jurisdiction, affects users in that jurisdiction, and is consistent with internationally recognized standards. We may also access, preserve and share information when we have a good faith belief it is necessary to: detect, prevent and address fraud and other illegal activity; to protect ourselves, you and others, including as part of investigations; and to prevent death or imminent bodily harm. Information we receive about you may be accessed, processed and retained for an extended period of time when it is the subject of a legal request or obligation, governmental investigation, or investigations concerning possible violations of our terms or policies, or otherwise to prevent harm.
4. HOW WE STORE YOUR INFORMATION
Storage and Processing:
Your information collected through the Service may be stored and processed in the United States or any other country in which FaceApp, its Affiliates or Service Providers maintain facilities.
FaceApp, its Affiliates, or Service Providers may transfer information that we collect about you, including personal information across borders and from your country or jurisdiction to other countries or jurisdictions around the world. If you are located in the European Union or other regions with laws governing data collection and use that may differ from U.S. law, please note that we may transfer information, including personal information, to a country and jurisdiction that does not have the same data protection laws as your jurisdiction.
By registering for and using the Service you consent to the transfer of information to the U.S. or to any other country in which FaceApp, its Affiliates or Service Providers maintain facilities and the use and disclosure of information about you as described in this Privacy Policy.
We use commercially reasonable safeguards to help keep the information collected through the Service secure and take reasonable steps (such as requesting a unique password) to verify your identity before granting you access to your account. However, FaceApp cannot ensure the security of any information you transmit to FaceApp or guarantee that information on the Service may not be accessed, disclosed, altered, or destroyed.
Please do your part to help us. You are responsible for maintaining the secrecy of your unique password and account information, and for controlling access to emails between you and FaceApp, at all times. Your privacy settings may also be affected by changes the social media services you connect to FaceApp make to their services. We are not responsible for the functionality, privacy, or security measures of any other organization.
5. CHILDREN'S PRIVACY
FaceApp does not knowingly collect or solicit any information from anyone under the age of 13. The Service and its content are not directed at children under the age of 13. In the event that we learn that we have collected personal information from a child under age 13 without parental consent, we will delete that information as quickly as possible. If you believe that we might have any information from or about a child under 13, please contact us.
6. OTHER WEB SITES AND SERVICES
We are not responsible for the practices employed by any websites or services linked to or from our Service, including the information or content contained within them.
7. HOW TO CONTACT US
If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy or the Service, please contact us through the email support@faceapp.com.
9. CHANGES TO OUR PRIVACY POLICY
FaceApp may modify or update this Privacy Policy from time to time, so please review it periodically. We may provide you additional forms of notice of modifications or updates as appropriate under the circumstances. Your continued use of FaceApp or the Service after any modification to this Privacy Policy will constitute your acceptance of such modification.
Gab federation is working
Rats in LA NY in 80's
Facebook libra is competing with google for bank 4.0
Millennials and captions
Have We Hit Peak Podcast? - The New York Times
Thu, 18 Jul 2019 15:18
In 2016, Morgan Mandriota and Lester Lee, two freelance writers looking to grow their personal brands, decided to start a podcast. They called it ''The Advice Podcast'' and put about as much energy into the show's production as they did the name. (After all, no one was paying them for this. Yet.) Each week, the friends, neither of whom had professional experience dispensing advice, met in a free room at the local library and recorded themselves chatting with an iPhone 5.
''We assumed we'd be huge, have affiliate marketing deals and advertisements,'' Ms. Mandriota said.
But six episodes in, when neither Casper mattresses nor MeUndies had come knocking, the friends quit. Today, Ms. Mandriota says the same D.I.Y. spirit that made having a podcast ''alluring'' is precisely what doomed the project. ''You can talk about the trees outside as much as you want, but if you're not going to serve listeners and do it in a way that's engaging, your chances of going viral are low,'' she said, calling her show ''the most makeshift podcast, with mediocre advice.''
It's no wonder that the phrase ''everyone has a podcast'' has become a Twitter punch line. Like the blogs of yore, podcasts '-- with their combination of sleek high tech and cozy, retro low '-- are today's de rigueur medium, seemingly adopted by every entrepreneur, freelancer, self-proclaimed marketing guru and even corporation. (Who doesn't want branded content by Home Depot and Goldman Sachs piped into their ears on the morning commute?) There are now upward of 700,000 podcasts, according to the podcast production and hosting service Blubrry, with between 2,000 and 3,000 new shows launching each month. In August William Morrow will publish a book by Kristen Meinzer, a co-host of the popular ''By the Book'' podcast. Its title: ''So You Want to Start a Podcast.''
There are dozens of books like Ms. Meinzer's (with names like ''Podcasting Hacks'' and ''Podcasting for Profit''). There is also a compendium, published by Podcast Junkies, titled ''The Incredibly Exhaustive List of Podcasts about Podcasting.''
And yet the frequency with which podcasts start (and then end, or ''podfade,'' as it's coming to be known in the trade) has produced a degree of cultural exhaustion. We're not necessarily sick of listening to interesting programs; but we're definitely tired of hearing from every friend, relative and co-worker who thinks they're just an iPhone recording away from creating the next ''Serial.''
''Anyone can start one and so anyone who thinks they can start one will do it,'' said Nicholas Quah, who runs an industry newsletter called Hot Pod. ''It's like the business of me.''
''Being a podcast host plays into people's self-importance,'' said Karen North, a clinical professor of communication at the Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism at the University of Southern California. And it projects that importance to others. Public speaking and consulting gigs now often go to ''the person who's the expert and has the podcast,'' she said.
''The thing about podcasts,'' Dr. North added, ''is that it's very, very hard to determine popularity. It's easy for the host to appear to be an influencer. And whether anybody finds that podcast or listens to it and the bounce rate '-- who knows?''
Image The frequency with which podcasts launch (and then ''podfade'' '-- i.e. die) has led to a degree of cultural exhaustion. Credit Jason Henry for The New York Times People use all kinds of metrics to tout the popularity of their shows, whether it's the number of iTunes reviews they get or the total downloads they receive per month. These metrics mean different things and don't necessarily connote success. And as recent social media scandals have shown, popularity can be purchased.
But Dr. North said that having a big audience doesn't necessarily matter. ''When people interview experts, even if nobody ever listens to the podcast, hosts get the benefit of learning from and networking with the guest,'' she said. ''It's a great stunt.''
Sign up here to receive Wait '--, a newsletter that brings you stories about money, power, sex and scrunchies.
Call him cynical, but Jordan Harbinger, host of ''The Jordan Harbinger Show'' podcast, thinks there is a ''podcast industrial complex.'' Hosts aren't starting shows ''because it's a fun, niche hobby,'' he said. ''They do it to make money or because it will make them an influencer.''
Mr. Harbinger understands the irony of his position. His own podcast, in which he interviews business experts (recently Reid Hoffman, the co-founder of LinkedIn, and Eric Schmidt, the former executive chairman of Alphabet), and gives advice on how to be successful, gets about 250,000 downloads per episode and brings in multiple seven figures in advertising revenue annually, he said. Having become an aural influencer, he now receives daily requests to appear on other people's shows. But when he informs these hosts that he won't publicize the interview on his own show or social feeds, the requests often evaporate. ''I'm so out on becoming a part of your marketing plan,'' he said.
For the last few years, Mr. Harbinger has given a talk titled ''For the Love of God, Please Don't Start Another Podcast.'' ''It's sort of tongue in cheek obviously,'' he said. ''I love podcasting, and the more shows in the mix the better, as long as they're done by someone who actually cares and isn't just trying to get a piece of pie.'' What needs to be created, he said, is ''a real conversation that will benefit the audience, not the host.''
Image Jordan Harbinger, who hosts ''The Jordan Harbinger Show,'' a popular podcast. (The cat on the chair is named Momo.) Credit Jason Henry for The New York Times Image Drop the mike: Mr. Harbinger thinks there are too many bad podcasts. Credit Jason Henry for The New York Times Image And does your podcast have a cat? Momo among the wires. Credit Jason Henry for The New York Times There's no available data comparing podcast formats, such as how many interview shows exist and how many are news programs or narrative journalism. But industry analysts and production companies say that so-called ''bantercasts,'' in which the host and guests chitchat for an hour or more, likely comprise the bulk of new productions.
''So many of these are just painful,'' said Tom Webster, the senior vice president of Edison Research, which tracks consumer media behavior. ''We revere the great interviewers, but it's an incredible skill that nobody has. What did Terry Gross do before she had her own show? Well, she was an interviewer, not a marketer for a software company.''
Steve Pratt, a veteran CBC producer who now runs a podcasting company called Pacific Content, actively discourages his clients from starting interview shows. ''People assume that's all a podcast is: two people talking unedited for two hours, three hours,'' he said.
But just because Joe Rogan can do it well, Mr. Pratt said, doesn't mean the average Joe can. He likes to remind clients that the average American commute is under half an hour (about 27 minutes, according to census data) so you've got to respect people's time. ''You could be better than 90 percent of interview podcasts by cutting out the boring stuff,'' he said. The key is to ''put yourself in the listener's shoes over and over again.''
In 2017, David Burkus, a tech and business writer and former podcaster stopped producing his podcast when it became clear he wasn't attracting new listeners. ''I wouldn't go back to podcasts in any form '-- certainly not in interview form,'' he said. But then he sort of did. When his last book was published, he went on over 100 podcasts to promote it. Just as he was using these shows to push his book, it's likely that hosts were using him to build their cred. He estimates that only a small fraction actually read his book in advance. ''The others think they can wing it, and it ends up being kind of awkward,'' he said.
Meanwhile, Ms. Mandriota is giving podcasting another go. Her new attempt is an interview-style show about sex and relationships called ''Hard and Deep,'' and she's committed to a longer run than ''The Advice Podcast.'' (If she succeeds, she'll be in the minority; between March and May of this year, only 19.3 percent of existing podcasts introduced a new episode, according to Blubrry.)
''I'm going to have a set strategy, do the research and make sure I know what I'm doing, instead of just seeing what sticks,'' Ms. Mandriota said. ''It definitely won't be taped at a library where janitors are walking around, yelling in the background of each episode.''
Room for one more!?
The Modern Love podcast is bite-size and full of heart.
A version of this article appears in print on
, Section
D
, Page
1
of the New York edition
with the headline:
You Can Hear the Podcast Fatigue
. Order Reprints | Today's Paper | Subscribe
Distributed Podcast Directory
Yosemite National Park gets its iconic names back | CNN Travel
Tue, 16 Jul 2019 21:31
(CNN) '-- Yosemite National Park's great Ahwahnee Hotel has its name back.
The Ahwahnee was renamed the Majestic Yosemite Hotel after the park's former concessionaire filed a lawsuit against the National Park Service in September 2015, claiming ownership of some of the park's trade names and trademarks.
The Ahwahnee Hotel became The Majestic Yosemite Hotel. The Wawona Hotel became Big Trees Lodge. Curry Village became Half Dome Village. And Badger Pass Ski Area was renamed Yosemite Ski & Snowboard Area.
As part of a $12 million settlement signed July 15 and paid to the park's former concessionaire, names that had been changed during the lawsuit will revert to their original names. Curry Village had been renamed Half Dome Village.
NPS Photo
"We are very excited to restore these historic names to these properties that are so important to Yosemite and the American people," Yosemite National Park spokesman Scott Gediman told CNN Travel. "The American people have been very supportive of the effort to restore these historic place names and this settlement agreement is a win for everybody." When the lawsuit was filed in 2015, the park service told CNN that DNC Parks and Resorts at Yosemite, a subsidiary of Delaware North, had demanded more than $50 million in compensation for the rights to those names. The company concessionaire ran the park's lodging, retail and food services for more than 20 years before being replaced by Yosemite Hospitality LLC, an Aramark subsidiary, in March 2016. CNN has reached out to Delaware North for comment.
During the long legal battle, several of Yosemite's iconic structures and locations had been renamed -- temporarily, park officials hoped.
Now the old names are back. Only Yosemite Lodge at the Falls, which was renamed Yosemite Valley Lodge, will keep its new name, Gediman said.
Now it's Curry Village again.
NPS Photo
The original signage was covered up but wasn't removed, and park officials were busy removing the temporary coverings on the morning of July 15, Gediman said. It will take weeks or even months to replace road signs and room directories and update websites, he said.
Of the $12 million settlement paid to Delaware North, Aramark paid $8.16 million and the US government paid $3.84 million, he said.
Under the park service's contract with Aramark, the trademarks and service marks will transfer to Aramark during its contract with the park service and will transfer free of charge to the park service "upon the expiration or termination of Aramark's contract," according to a park service news release.
The settlement also includes the transfer of certain tangible assets from Delaware North to Aramark and the park service.
Yosemite National Park went through a competitive bidding process and picked an Aramark subsidiary to provide similar services starting March 1, 2016. The new company has a 15-year contact to provide services to the over 4 million annual visitors to Yosemite. "As a member of the Yosemite area community, and as someone who worked in the park for a decade, I am delighted this contract dispute finally got resolved and the beloved historic names are being rightfully restored," said Beth Pratt, the National Wildlife Federation's California regional executive director.
"Not that I ever called the Ahwahnee, the Majestic, but the official return is long overdue."
911 VICTIMS
911 VICTIMS Fund
[USC07] 49 USC 40101: Policy
"(A) an individual who-
"(i) was
present at the World Trade Center, (New York, New York), the Pentagon
(Arlington, Virginia), the site of the aircraft crash at Shanksville,
Pennsylvania, or any other 9/11 crash site at the time, or in the immediate
aftermath, of the terrorist-related aircraft crashes of September 11, 2001; and
"(ii)
suffered physical harm or death as a result of such an air crash or debris
removal;
"(B) an
individual who was a member of the flight crew or a passenger on American
Airlines flight 11 or 77 or United Airlines flight 93 or 175, except that an
individual identified by the Attorney General to have been a participant or
conspirator in the terrorist-related aircraft crashes of September 11, 2001, or
a representative of such individual shall not be eligible to receive
compensation under this title; or
"(C) in the
case of a decedent who is an individual described in subparagraph (A) or (B),
the personal representative of the decedent who files a claim on behalf of the
decedent.
"(3) Requirements.-
"(A) Requirements
for filing claims during extended filing period.-
"(i) Timing
requirements for filing claims.-An individual (or a personal representative on
behalf of a deceased individual) may file a claim during the period described
in subsection (a)(3)(B) as follows:
"(I)
In the case that the Special Master determines the individual knew (or
reasonably should have known) before the date specified in clause (iii) that
the individual suffered a physical harm at a 9/11 crash site as a result of the
terrorist-related aircraft crashes of September 11, 2001, or as a result of
debris removal, and that the individual knew (or should have known) before such
specified date that the individual was eligible to file a claim under this
title, the individual may file a claim not later than the date that is 2 years
after such specified date.
"(II)
In the case that the Special Master determines the individual first knew (or
reasonably should have known) on or after the date specified in clause (iii)
that the individual suffered such a physical harm or that the individual first
knew (or should have known) on or after such specified date that the individual
was eligible to file a claim under this title, the individual may file a claim
not later than the last day of the 2-year period beginning on the date the
Special Master det
[USC07] 49 USC 40101: Policy
Thu, 18 Jul 2019 04:26
§40101. Policy(a) Economic Regulation.-In carrying out subpart II of this part and those provisions of subpart IV applicable in carrying out subpart II, the Secretary of Transportation shall consider the following matters, among others, as being in the public interest and consistent with public convenience and necessity:
(1) assigning and maintaining safety as the highest priority in air commerce.
(2) before authorizing new air transportation services, evaluating the safety implications of those services.
(3) preventing deterioration in established safety procedures, recognizing the clear intent, encouragement, and dedication of Congress to further the highest degree of safety in air transportation and air commerce, and to maintain the safety vigilance that has evolved in air transportation and air commerce and has come to be expected by the traveling and shipping public.
(4) the availability of a variety of adequate, economic, efficient, and low-priced services without unreasonable discrimination or unfair or deceptive practices.
(5) coordinating transportation by, and improving relations among, air carriers, and encouraging fair wages and working conditions.
(6) placing maximum reliance on competitive market forces and on actual and potential competition-
(A) to provide the needed air transportation system; and
(B) to encourage efficient and well-managed air carriers to earn adequate profits and attract capital, considering any material differences between interstate air transportation and foreign air transportation.
(7) developing and maintaining a sound regulatory system that is responsive to the needs of the public and in which decisions are reached promptly to make it easier to adapt the air transportation system to the present and future needs of-
(A) the commerce of the United States;
(B) the United States Postal Service; and
(C) the national defense.
(8) encouraging air transportation at major urban areas through secondary or satellite airports if consistent with regional airport plans of regional and local authorities, and if endorsed by appropriate State authorities-
(A) encouraging the transportation by air carriers that provide, in a specific market, transportation exclusively at those airports; and
(B) fostering an environment that allows those carriers to establish themselves and develop secondary or satellite airport services.
(9) preventing unfair, deceptive, predatory, or anticompetitive practices in air transportation.
(10) avoiding unreasonable industry concentration, excessive market domination, monopoly powers, and other conditions that would tend to allow at least one air carrier or foreign air carrier unreasonably to increase prices, reduce services, or exclude competition in air transportation.
(11) maintaining a complete and convenient system of continuous scheduled interstate air transportation for small communities and isolated areas with direct financial assistance from the United States Government when appropriate.
(12) encouraging, developing, and maintaining an air transportation system relying on actual and potential competition-
(A) to provide efficiency, innovation, and low prices; and
(B) to decide on the variety and quality of, and determine prices for, air transportation services.
(13) encouraging entry into air transportation markets by new and existing air carriers and the continued strengthening of small air carriers to ensure a more effective and competitive airline industry.
(14) promoting, encouraging, and developing civil aeronautics and a viable, privately-owned United States air transport industry.
(15) strengthening the competitive position of air carriers to at least ensure equality with foreign air carriers, including the attainment of the opportunity for air carriers to maintain and increase their profitability in foreign air transportation.
(16) ensuring that consumers in all regions of the United States, including those in small communities and rural and remote areas, have access to affordable, regularly scheduled air service.
(b) All-Cargo Air Transportation Considerations.-In carrying out subpart II of this part and those provisions of subpart IV applicable in carrying out subpart II, the Secretary of Transportation shall consider the following matters, among others and in addition to the matters referred to in subsection (a) of this section, as being in the public interest for all-cargo air transportation:
(1) encouraging and developing an expedited all-cargo air transportation system provided by private enterprise and responsive to-
(A) the present and future needs of shippers;
(B) the commerce of the United States; and
(C) the national defense.
(2) encouraging and developing an integrated transportation system relying on competitive market forces to decide the extent, variety, quality, and price of services provided.
(3) providing services without unreasonable discrimination, unfair or deceptive practices, or predatory pricing.
(c) General Safety Considerations.-In carrying out subpart III of this part and those provisions of subpart IV applicable in carrying out subpart III, the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration shall consider the following matters:
(1) the requirements of national defense and commercial and general aviation.
(2) the public right of freedom of transit through the navigable airspace.
(d) Safety Considerations in Public Interest.-In carrying out subpart III of this part and those provisions of subpart IV applicable in carrying out subpart III, the Administrator shall consider the following matters, among others, as being in the public interest:
(1) assigning, maintaining, and enhancing safety and security as the highest priorities in air commerce.
(2) regulating air commerce in a way that best promotes safety and fulfills national defense requirements.
(3) encouraging and developing civil aeronautics, including new aviation technology.
(4) controlling the use of the navigable airspace and regulating civil and military operations in that airspace in the interest of the safety and efficiency of both of those operations.
(5) consolidating research and development for air navigation facilities and the installation and operation of those facilities.
(6) developing and operating a common system of air traffic control and navigation for military and civil aircraft.
(7) providing assistance to law enforcement agencies in the enforcement of laws related to regulation of controlled substances, to the extent consistent with aviation safety.
(e) International Air Transportation.-In formulating United States international air transportation policy, the Secretaries of State and Transportation shall develop a negotiating policy emphasizing the greatest degree of competition compatible with a well-functioning international air transportation system, including the following:
(1) strengthening the competitive position of air carriers to ensure at least equality with foreign air carriers, including the attainment of the opportunity for air carriers to maintain and increase their profitability in foreign air transportation.
(2) freedom of air carriers and foreign air carriers to offer prices that correspond to consumer demand.
(3) the fewest possible restrictions on charter air transportation.
(4) the maximum degree of multiple and permissive international authority for air carriers so that they will be able to respond quickly to a shift in market demand.
(5) eliminating operational and marketing restrictions to the greatest extent possible.
(6) integrating domestic and international air transportation.
(7) increasing the number of nonstop United States gateway cities.
(8) opportunities for carriers of foreign countries to increase their access to places in the United States if exchanged for benefits of similar magnitude for air carriers or the traveling public with permanent linkage between rights granted and rights given away.
(9) eliminating discrimination and unfair competitive practices faced by United States airlines in foreign air transportation, including-
(A) excessive landing and user fees;
(B) unreasonable ground handling requirements;
(C) unreasonable restrictions on operations;
(D) prohibitions against change of gauge; and
(E) similar restrictive practices.
(10) promoting, encouraging, and developing civil aeronautics and a viable, privately-owned United States air transport industry.
(f) Strengthening Competition.-In selecting an air carrier to provide foreign air transportation from among competing applicants, the Secretary of Transportation shall consider, in addition to the matters specified in subsections (a) and (b) of this section, the strengthening of competition among air carriers operating in the United States to prevent unreasonable concentration in the air carrier industry.
(Pub. L. 103''272, §1(e), July 5, 1994, 108 Stat. 1094; Pub. L. 104''264, title IV, §401(a), Oct. 9, 1996, 110 Stat. 3255; Pub. L. 106''181, title II, §201, Apr. 5, 2000, 114 Stat. 91.)
Historical and Revision NotesRevised Section
Source (U.S. Code)Source (Statutes at Large)40101(a)49 App.:1302(a).Aug. 23, 1958, Pub. L. 85''726, §102(a), 72 Stat. 740; Nov. 9, 1977, Pub. L. 95''163, §16(b)(1), (2), 91 Stat. 1284; Oct. 24, 1978, Pub. L. 95''504, §3(a), 92 Stat. 1705; restated Feb. 15, 1980, Pub. L. 96''192, §2, 94 Stat. 35. 49 App.:1551(b)(1)(E).Aug. 23, 1958, Pub. L. 85''726,72 Stat. 731, §1601(b)(1)(E); added Oct. 4, 1984, Pub. L. 98''443, §3(e), 98 Stat. 1704.40101(b)49 App.:1302(b).Aug. 23, 1958, Pub. L. 85''726,72 Stat. 731, §102(b); added Nov. 9, 1977, Pub. L. 95''163, §16(b)(3), 91 Stat. 1284. 49 App.:1551(b)(1)(E).40101(c)49 App.:1347.Aug. 23, 1958, Pub. L. 85''726, §306, 72 Stat. 749. 49 App.:1655(c)(1).Oct. 15, 1966, Pub. L. 89''670, §6(c)(1), 80 Stat. 938; Jan. 12, 1983, Pub. L. 97''449, §7(b), 96 Stat. 2444.40101(d)49 App.:1303.Aug. 23, 1958, Pub. L. 85''726, §103, 72 Stat. 740; Nov. 18, 1988, Pub. L. 100''690, §7202(b), 102 Stat. 4424. 49 App.:1655(c)(1).40101(e)49 App.:1502(b).Aug. 23, 1958, Pub. L. 85''726,72 Stat. 731, §1102(b); added Feb. 15, 1980, Pub. L. 96''192, §17, 94 Stat. 42. 49 App.:1551(b)(1)(E).40101(f)49 App.:1302(c).Aug. 23, 1958, Pub. L. 85''726,72 Stat. 731, §102(c); added Oct. 31, 1992, Pub. L. 102''581, §205, 106 Stat. 4894.In this part, the words "overseas air commerce" and "overseas air transportation" are omitted as obsolete because there no longer is a distinction in economic or safety regulation between "interstate" and "overseas" air commerce or air transportation.
In this section, the words "In carrying out . . . this part" are substituted for "In the exercise and performance of its powers and duties under this chapter" in 49 App.:1302(a), "In the exercise and performance of his powers and duties under this chapter" in 49 App.:1303, and "In exercising the authority granted in, and discharging the duties imposed by, this chapter" in 49 App.:1347 for consistency in the revised title and to eliminate unnecessary words.
In subsections (a) and (b), the reference to subpart II is added because the policy applies only to economic issues, and under the Federal Aviation Act of 1958 (Public Law 85''726,72 Stat. 731), the Civil Aeronautics Board was given responsibility for economic issues.
In subsection (a)(2), the word "full" is omitted as surplus. The words "the recommendations of the Secretary of Transportation on" are omitted as obsolete because the Secretary carries out 49 App.:1302(a). The words "and full evaluation of any report or recommendation submitted under section 1307 of this Appendix" are omitted as obsolete because the report and recommendations are no longer required.
In subsection (a)(4), the words "by air carriers and foreign air carriers" are omitted as surplus. The words "unreasonable discrimination" are substituted for "unjust discriminations, undue preferences or advantages" for consistency in the revised title and to eliminate unnecessary words.
In subsection (a)(6)(B), the words "nevertheless", "on the one hand", and "on the other" are omitted as surplus.
In subsection (a)(8), before subclause (A), the word "authorities" is substituted for "entities" for consistency in the revised title and with other titles of the Code. In subclause (A), the words "sole responsibility" are omitted as unnecessary because of the restatement.
In subsection (a)(15), the words "United States" are omitted as surplus because of the definition of "air carrier" in section 40102(a) of the revised title.
In subsection (b)(3), the words "unreasonable discrimination" are substituted for "unjust discriminations, undue preferences or advantages" for consistency in the revised title and to eliminate unnecessary words.
In subsections (c) and (d), the reference to subpart III is added because the policies apply only to safety issues, and under the Federal Aviation Act of 1958 (Public Law 85''726,72 Stat. 731), the Federal Aviation Administration was given responsibility for safety issues.
In subsection (c), before clause (1), the word "Administrator" in section 306 of the Federal Aviation Act of 1958 (Public Law 85''726,72 Stat. 749) is retained on authority of 49:106(g). The words "consider the following matters" are substituted for "give full consideration to" for consistency in this section.
In subsection (d)(3), the word "both" in 49 App.:1303(c) is omitted as surplus the first time it appears. The words "of the United States" are omitted for consistency in the revised title and because of the definition of "navigable airspace" in section 40102(a) of the revised title. The words "of those operations" are added for clarity.
In subsection (d)(5), the word "both" in 49 App.:1303(e) is omitted as surplus.
In subsection (e), before clause (1), the words "the Congress intends that" are omitted as surplus. In clauses (1) and (4), the words "United States" are omitted as surplus because of the definition of "air carrier" in section 40102(a) of the revised title. In clause (2), the word "prices" is substituted for "fares and rates" because of the definition of "price" in section 40102(a). In clause (8), the words "places in the United States" are substituted for "United States points" for consistency in this chapter. The word "air" is added for clarity and consistency in this subtitle. In clause (9)(C), the word "unreasonable" is substituted for "undue" for consistency in the revised title and with other titles of the United States Code.
Amendments2000-Subsec. (a)(16). Pub. L. 106''181 added par. (16).
1996-Subsec. (d)(1). Pub. L. 104''264, §401(a)(1)(B), added par. (1). Former par. (1) redesignated (2).
Subsec. (d)(2). Pub. L. 104''264, §401(a)(1)(A), (2)(A), redesignated par. (1) as (2) and struck out "its development and" after "best promotes". Former par. (2) redesignated (3).
Subsec. (d)(3). Pub. L. 104''264, §401(a)(1)(A), (2)(B), redesignated par. (2) as (3) and substituted "encouraging and developing civil aeronautics, including new aviation technology" for "promoting, encouraging, and developing civil aeronautics". Former par. (3) redesignated (4).
Subsec. (d)(4) to (7). Pub. L. 104''264, §401(a)(1)(A), redesignated pars. (3) to (6) as (4) to (7), respectively.
Effective Date of 2012 AmendmentPub. L. 112''95, §3, Feb. 14, 2012, 126 Stat. 15, provided that: "Except as otherwise expressly provided, this Act [see Tables for classification] and the amendments made by this Act shall take effect on the date of enactment of this Act [Feb. 14, 2012]."
Effective Date of 2000 AmendmentAmendment by Pub. L. 106''181 applicable only to fiscal years beginning after Sept. 30, 1999, see section 3 of Pub. L. 106''181, set out as a note under section 106 of this title .
Effective Date of 1996 AmendmentExcept as otherwise specifically provided, amendment by Pub. L. 104''264 applicable only to fiscal years beginning after Sept. 30, 1996, and not to be construed as affecting funds made available for a fiscal year ending before Oct. 1, 1996, see section 3 of Pub. L. 104''264, set out as a note under section 106 of this title .
Short Title of 2018 AmendmentPub. L. 115''254, §1(a), Oct. 5, 2018, 132 Stat. 3186, provided that: "This Act [see Tables for classification] may be cited as the 'FAA Reauthorization Act of 2018'."
Pub. L. 115''254, div. B, title III, §391, Oct. 5, 2018, 132 Stat. 3323, provided that: "This subtitle [subtitle C (§§391''396) of title III of div. B of Pub. L. 115''254, enacting section 47124a of this title , amending section 44709 of this title , enacting provisions set out as notes under sections 44701 and 46101 of this title , and amending provisions set out as notes under sections 44701 and 44703 of this title ] may be cited as the 'Fairness for Pilots Act'."
Pub. L. 115''254, div. B, title VII, §701, Oct. 5, 2018, 132 Stat. 3409, provided that: "This title [enacting sections 44518 and 47511 of this title and sections 2801 to 2811 of Title 43 , Public Lands, amending sections 44508 and 48102 of this title , and enacting provisions set out as notes under this section and sections 106, 44505, and 44802 of this title and section 2801 of Title 43 ] may be cited as the 'FAA Leadership in Groundbreaking High-Tech Research and Development Act' or the 'FLIGHT R&D Act'."
Pub. L. 115''254, div. C, §1101, Oct. 5, 2018, 132 Stat. 3429, provided that: "This division [enacting section 1140 of this title , amending sections 1111, 1113, 1114, 1116 to 1118, 1131, 1134, 1136, 1138, 1139, 1154, 41113, and 41313 of this title , and enacting provisions set out as notes under sections 1101, 1116, and 1119 of this title ] may be cited as the 'National Transportation Safety Board Reauthorization Act'."
Short Title of 2016 AmendmentPub. L. 114''242, §1, Oct. 7, 2016, 130 Stat. 978, provided that: "This Act [amending section 40122 of this title and enacting provisions set out as notes under section 40122 of this title ] may be cited as the 'Federal Aviation Administration Veteran Transition Improvement Act of 2016'."
Pub. L. 114''190, §1(a), July 15, 2016, 130 Stat. 615, provided that: "This Act [see Tables for classification] may be cited as the 'FAA Extension, Safety, and Security Act of 2016'."
Short Title of 2015 AmendmentPub. L. 114''113, div. O, title IV, §401, Dec. 18, 2015, 129 Stat. 3000, provided that: "This title [enacting section 10609 of Title 42 , The Public Health and Welfare, amending section 905 of Title 2 , The Congress, enacting provisions set out as a note under section 905 of Title 2 , and amending provisions set out as notes under this section] may be cited as the 'James Zadroga 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund Reauthorization Act'."
Short Title of 2014 AmendmentPub. L. 113''238, §1, Dec. 18, 2014, 128 Stat. 2842, provided that: "This Act [enacting section 44946 of this title ] may be cited as the 'Aviation Security Stakeholder Participation Act of 2014'."
Pub. L. 113''221, §1, Dec. 16, 2014, 128 Stat. 2094, provided that: "This Act [enacting section 44928 of this title ] may be cited as the 'Honor Flight Act'."
Short Title of 2013 AmendmentPub. L. 113''27, §1, Aug. 9, 2013, 127 Stat. 503, provided that: "This Act [enacting section 44927 of this title ] may be cited as the 'Helping Heroes Fly Act'."
Pub. L. 112''271, §1, Jan. 14, 2013, 126 Stat. 2446, provided that: "This Act [amending section 44945 of this title ] may be cited as the 'Clothe a Homeless Hero Act'."
Short Title of 2012 AmendmentPub. L. 112''218, §1, Dec. 20, 2012, 126 Stat. 1593, provided that: "This Act [amending section 44901 of this title ] may be cited as the 'No-Hassle Flying Act of 2012'."
Pub. L. 112''153, §1, Aug. 3, 2012, 126 Stat. 1159, provided that: "This Act [amending sections 44703, 44709, and 44710 of this title and enacting provisions set out as notes under sections 44701 and 44703 of this title ] may be cited as the 'Pilot's Bill of Rights'."
Pub. L. 112''95, §1(a), Feb. 14, 2012, 126 Stat. 11, provided that: "This Act [see Tables for classification] may be cited as the 'FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012'."
Pub. L. 112''86, §1, Jan. 3, 2012, 125 Stat. 1874, provided that: "This Act [amending section 44903 of this title and enacting provisions set out as a note under section 44903 of this title ] may be cited as the 'Risk-Based Security Screening for Members of the Armed Forces Act'."
Short Title of 2010 AmendmentPub. L. 111''216, §1, Aug. 1, 2010, 124 Stat. 2348, provided that: "This Act [amending sections 106, 1135, 40117, 41712, 44302, 44303, 44703, 47104, 47107, 47115, 47141, 48101, 48102, and 49108 of this title and sections 4081, 4261, 4271, and 9502 of Title 26 , Internal Revenue Code, enacting provisions set out as notes under sections 40117 and 44701 of this title and sections 4081 and 9502 of Title 26 , and amending provisions set out as a note under section 47109 of this title ] may be cited as the 'Airline Safety and Federal Aviation Administration Extension Act of 2010'."
Short Title of 2007 AmendmentPub. L. 110''135, §1, Dec. 13, 2007, 121 Stat. 1450, provided that: "This Act [enacting section 44729 of this title ] may be cited as the 'Fair Treatment for Experienced Pilots Act'."
Pub. L. 110''113, §1, Nov. 8, 2007, 121 Stat. 1039, provided that: "This Act [enacting and amending provisions set out as notes under this section] may be cited as the 'Procedural Fairness for September 11 Victims Act of 2007'."
Short Title of 2004 AmendmentPub. L. 108''297, §1, Aug. 9, 2004, 118 Stat. 1095, provided that: "This Act [enacting section 44113 of this title , amending sections 44107 and 44108 of this title , and enacting provisions set out as notes under section 44101 of this title ] may be cited as 'Cape Town Treaty Implementation Act of 2004'."
Short Title of 2003 AmendmentPub. L. 108''176, §1(a), Dec. 12, 2003, 117 Stat. 2490, provided that: "This Act [see Tables for classification] may be cited as the 'Vision 100-Century of Aviation Reauthorization Act'."
Pub. L. 108''176, title III, §301, Dec. 12, 2003, 117 Stat. 2533, provided that: "This title [enacting subchapter III of chapter 471 of this title, amending sections 40104, 40128, 47106, 47503, and 47504 of this title , and enacting provisions set out as notes under this section and sections 40128, 47171, 47503, and 47508 of this title ] may be cited as 'Aviation Streamlining Approval Process Act of 2003'."
Short Title of 2002 AmendmentPub. L. 107''296, title XIV, §1401, Nov. 25, 2002, 116 Stat. 2300, provided that: "This title [enacting section 44921 of this title and section 513 of Title 6 , Domestic Security, amending sections 44903 and 44918 of this title , amending provisions set out as a note under section 114 of this title , and repealing provisions set out as a note under section 44903 of this title ] may be cited as the 'Arming Pilots Against Terrorism Act'."
Short Title of 2001 AmendmentPub. L. 107''71, §1, Nov. 19, 2001, 115 Stat. 597, provided that: "This Act [see Tables for classification] may be cited as the 'Aviation and Transportation Security Act'."
Short Title of 2000 AmendmentsPub. L. 106''528, §1, Nov. 22, 2000, 114 Stat. 2517, provided that: "This Act [amending sections 106, 41104, 44903, 44935, and 44936 of this title , enacting provisions set out as notes under sections 106, 44903, and 44936 of this title , and amending provisions set out as notes under sections 40128 and 47501 of this title ] may be cited as the 'Airport Security Improvement Act of 2000'."
Pub. L. 106''181, §1(a), Apr. 5, 2000, 114 Stat. 61, provided that: "This Act [see Tables for classification] may be cited as the 'Wendell H. Ford Aviation Investment and Reform Act for the 21st Century'."
Short Title of 1999 AmendmentPub. L. 106''6, §1, Mar. 31, 1999, 113 Stat. 10, provided that: "This Act [amending sections 106, 44310, 47104, 47115 to 47117, 48101, and 48103 of this title ] may be cited as the 'Interim Federal Aviation Administration Authorization Act'."
Short Title of 1998 AmendmentPub. L. 105''155, §1, Feb. 11, 1998, 112 Stat. 5, provided that: "This Act [amending section 48102 of this title and enacting provisions set out as a note under section 48102 of this title ] may be cited as the 'FAA Research, Engineering, and Development Authorization Act of 1998'."
Short Title of 1997 AmendmentPub. L. 105''137, §1, Dec. 2, 1997, 111 Stat. 2640, provided that: "This Act [amending sections 40102, 44302, 44305, 44306, 44308, and 44310 of this title and enacting provisions set out as a note under section 44310 of this title ] may be cited as the 'Aviation Insurance Reauthorization Act of 1997'."
Short Title of 1996 AmendmentPub. L. 104''264, §1(a), Oct. 9, 1996, 110 Stat. 3213, provided that: "This Act [see Tables for classification] may be cited as the 'Federal Aviation Reauthorization Act of 1996'."
Pub. L. 104''264, title II, §201, Oct. 9, 1996, 110 Stat. 3227, provided that: "This title [enacting sections 40121, 40122, 45301, 45303, 48111, and 48201 of this title , amending sections 106 and 41742 of this title , renumbering section 45303 of this title as section 45304, repealing former section 45301 of this title , and enacting provisions set out as notes under this section and sections 106, 40110, and 41742 of this title ] may be cited as the 'Air Traffic Management System Performance Improvement Act of 1996'."
Pub. L. 104''264, title II, §278(a), Oct. 9, 1996, 110 Stat. 3249, provided that: "This section [amending section 41742 of this title and enacting provisions set out as a note under section 41742 of this title ] may be cited as the 'Rural Air Service Survival Act'."
Pub. L. 104''264, title V, §501, Oct. 9, 1996, 110 Stat. 3259, provided that: "This title [amending sections 30305, 44936, and 46301 of this title and enacting provisions set out as notes under sections 30305 and 44935 of this title ] may be cited as the 'Pilot Records Improvement Act of 1996'."
Pub. L. 104''264, title VI, §601, Oct. 9, 1996, 110 Stat. 3263, provided that: "This title [enacting section 44724 of this title ] may be cited as the 'Child Pilot Safety Act'."
Pub. L. 104''264, title VII, §701, Oct. 9, 1996, 110 Stat. 3264, provided that: "This title [enacting sections 1136 and 41113 of this title and provisions set out as notes under section 41113 of this title ] may be cited as the 'Aviation Disaster Family Assistance Act of 1996'."
Pub. L. 104''264, title VIII, §801, Oct. 9, 1996, 110 Stat. 3269, provided that: "This title [enacting section 47133 of this title , amending sections 46301 and 47107 of this title and section 9502 of Title 26 , Internal Revenue Code, and enacting provisions set out as notes under section 47107 of this title ] may be cited as the 'Airport Revenue Protection Act of 1996'."
Pub. L. 104''264, title XI, §1101, Oct. 9, 1996, 110 Stat. 3278, provided that: "This title [amending sections 44501, 44508, and 48102 of this title ] may be cited as the 'FAA Research, Engineering, and Development Management Reform Act of 1996'."
Short Title of 1994 AmendmentPub. L. 103''305, §1(a), Aug. 23, 1994, 108 Stat. 1569, provided that: "This Act [enacting sections 41311, 41714, 41715, 47129, 47130, and 47509 of this title , amending sections 106, 10521, 11501, 40102, 40113, 40116, 40117, 41713, 41734, 44502, 44505, 44938, 45301, 46301, 47101, 47102, 47104 to 47107, 47109 to 47111, 47115, 47117 to 47119, 47504, 48101 to 48104, and 48108 of this title and section 9502 of Title 26 , Internal Revenue Code, renumbering former section 47129 of this title as section 47131 of this title , enacting provisions set out as notes under this section and sections 10521, 11501, 40102, 40105, 40117, 41311, 41715, 44502, 45102, 47101, 47107, 47124, and 49101 of this title , and repealing provisions set out as a note under section 1348 of former Title 49, Transportation] may be cited as the 'Federal Aviation Administration Authorization Act of 1994'."
Pub. L. 103''305, title III, §301, Aug. 23, 1994, 108 Stat. 1589, provided that: "This title [enacting section 47509 of this title , amending sections 44505 and 48102 of this title , and enacting provisions set out as notes under this section and section 49101 of this title ] may be cited as the 'Federal Aviation Administration Research, Engineering, and Development Authorization Act of 1994'."
FAA Leadership on Civil Supersonic AircraftPub. L. 115''254, div. B, title I, §181, Oct. 5, 2018, 132 Stat. 3230, provided that:
"(a) In General.-The Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration shall exercise leadership in the creation of Federal and international policies, regulations, and standards relating to the certification and safe and efficient operation of civil supersonic aircraft.
"(b) Exercise of Leadership.-In carrying out subsection (a), the Administrator shall-
"(1) consider the needs of the aerospace industry and other stakeholders when creating policies, regulations, and standards that enable the safe commercial deployment of civil supersonic aircraft technology and the safe and efficient operation of civil supersonic aircraft; and
"(2) obtain the input of aerospace industry stakeholders regarding-
"(A) the appropriate regulatory framework and timeline for permitting the safe and efficient operation of civil supersonic aircraft within United States airspace, including updating or modifying existing regulations on such operation;
"(B) issues related to standards and regulations for the type certification and safe operation of civil supersonic aircraft, including noise certification, including-
"(i) the operational differences between subsonic aircraft and supersonic aircraft;
"(ii) costs and benefits associated with landing and takeoff noise requirements for civil supersonic aircraft, including impacts on aircraft emissions;
"(iii) public and economic benefits of the operation of civil supersonic aircraft and associated aerospace industry activity; and
"(iv) challenges relating to ensuring that standards and regulations aimed at relieving and protecting the public health and welfare from aircraft noise and sonic booms are economically reasonable, technologically practicable, and appropriate for civil supersonic aircraft; and
"(C) other issues identified by the Administrator or the aerospace industry that must be addressed to enable the safe commercial deployment and safe and efficient operation of civil supersonic aircraft.
"(c) International Leadership.-The Administrator, in the appropriate international forums, shall take actions that-
"(1) demonstrate global leadership under subsection (a);
"(2) address the needs of the aerospace industry identified under subsection (b); and
"(3) protect the public health and welfare.
"(d) Report to Congress.-Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act [Oct. 5, 2018], the Administrator shall submit to the appropriate committees of Congress [Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate and Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of Representatives] a report detailing-
"(1) the Administrator's actions to exercise leadership in the creation of Federal and international policies, regulations, and standards relating to the certification and safe and efficient operation of civil supersonic aircraft;
"(2) planned, proposed, and anticipated actions to update or modify existing policies and regulations related to civil supersonic aircraft, including those identified as a result of industry consultation and feedback; and
"(3) a timeline for any actions to be taken to update or modify existing policies and regulations related to civil supersonic aircraft.
"(e) Long-term Regulatory Reform.-
"(1) Noise standards.-Not later than March 31, 2020, the Administrator shall issue a notice of proposed rulemaking to revise part 36 of title 14, Code of Federal Regulations, to include supersonic aircraft in the applicability of such part. The proposed rule shall include necessary definitions, noise standards for landing and takeoff, and noise test requirements that would apply to a civil supersonic aircraft.
"(2) Special flight authorizations.-Not later than December 31, 2019, the Administrator shall issue a notice of proposed rulemaking to revise appendix B of part 91 of title 14, Code of Federal Regulations, to modernize the application process for a person applying to operate a civil aircraft at supersonic speeds for the purposes stated in that rule.
"(f) Near-Term Certification of Supersonic Civil Aircraft.-
"(1) In general.-If a person submits an application requesting type certification of a civil supersonic aircraft pursuant to part 21 of title 14, Code of Federal Regulations, before the Administrator promulgates a final rule amending part 36 of title 14, Code of Federal Regulations, in accordance with subsection (e)(1), the Administrator shall, not later than 18 months after having received such application, issue a notice of proposed rulemaking applicable solely for the type certification, inclusive of the aircraft engines, of the supersonic aircraft design for which such application was made.
"(2) Contents.-A notice of proposed rulemaking described in paragraph (1) shall-
"(A) address safe operation of the aircraft type, including development and flight testing prior to type certification;
"(B) address manufacturing of the aircraft;
"(C) address continuing airworthiness of the aircraft;
"(D) specify landing and takeoff noise standards for that aircraft type that the Administrator considers appropriate, practicable, and consistent with section 44715 of title 49, United States Code ; and
"(E) consider differences between subsonic and supersonic aircraft including differences in thrust requirements at equivalent gross weight, engine requirements, aerodynamic characteristics, operational characteristics, and other physical properties.
"(3) Noise and performance data.-The requirement of the Administrator to issue a notice of proposed rulemaking under paragraph (1) shall apply only if an application contains sufficient aircraft noise and performance data as the Administrator finds necessary to determine appropriate noise standards and operating limitations for the aircraft type consistent with section 44715 of title 49, United States Code .
"(4) Final rule.-Not later than 18 months after the end of the public comment period provided in the notice of proposed rulemaking required under paragraph (1), the Administrator shall publish in the Federal Register a final rule applying solely to the aircraft model submitted for type certification.
"(5) Review of rules of civil supersonic flights.-Beginning December 31, 2020, and every 2 years thereafter, the Administrator shall review available aircraft noise and performance data, and consult with heads of appropriate Federal agencies, to determine whether section 91.817 of title 14, Code of Federal Regulations, and Appendix B of part 91 of title 14, Code of Federal Regulations, may be amended, consistent with section 44715 of title 49, United States Code , to permit supersonic flight of civil aircraft over land in the United States.
"(6) Implementation of noise standards.-The portion of the regulation issued by the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration titled 'Revision of General Operating and Flight Rules' and published in the Federal Register on August 18, 1989 (54 Fed. Reg. 34284) that restricts operation of civil aircraft at a true flight Mach number greater than 1 shall have no force or effect beginning on the date on which the Administrator publishes in the Federal Register a final rule specifying sonic boom noise standards for civil supersonic aircraft."
Aircraft Air QualityPub. L. 115''254, div. B, title III, §326, Oct. 5, 2018, 132 Stat. 3271, provided that:
"(a) Educational Materials.-Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act [Oct. 5, 2018], the Administrator [of the Federal Aviation Administration] shall, in consultation with relevant stakeholders, establish and make available on a publicly available Internet website of the Administration, educational materials for flight attendants, pilots, and aircraft maintenance technicians on how to respond to incidents on board aircraft involving smoke or fumes.
"(b) Reporting of Incidents of Smoke or Fumes on Board Aircraft.-Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall, in consultation with relevant stakeholders, issue guidance for flight attendants, pilots, and aircraft maintenance technicians to report incidents of smoke or fumes on board an aircraft operated by a commercial air carrier and with respect to the basis on which commercial air carriers shall report such incidents through the Service Difficulty Reporting System.
"(c) Research to Develop Techniques to Monitor Bleed Air Quality.-Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall commission a study by the Airliner Cabin Environment Research Center of Excellence-
"(1) to identify and measure the constituents and levels of constituents resulting from bleed air in the cabins of a representative set of commercial aircraft in operation of the United States;
"(2) to assess the potential health effects of such constituents on passengers and cabin and flight deck crew;
"(3) to identify technologies suitable to provide reliable and accurate warning of bleed air contamination, including technologies to effectively monitor the aircraft air supply system when the aircraft is in flight; and
"(4) to identify potential techniques to prevent fume events.
"(d) Report Required.-Not later than 18 months after the date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall submit to the appropriate committees of Congress [Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate and Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of Representatives] a report on the feasibility, efficacy, and cost-effectiveness of certification and installation of systems to evaluate bleed air quality.
"(e) Pilot Program.-The FAA may conduct a pilot program to evaluate the effectiveness of technologies identified in subsection (c)."
Performance-Based StandardsPub. L. 115''254, div. B, title III, §329, Oct. 5, 2018, 132 Stat. 3272, provided that: "The Administrator [of the Federal Aviation Administration] shall, to the maximum extent possible and consistent with Federal law, and based on input by the public, ensure that regulations, guidance, and policies issued by the FAA on and after the date of enactment of this Act [Oct. 5, 2018] are issued in the form of performance-based standards, providing an equal or higher level of safety."
Return on Investment ReportPub. L. 115''254, div. B, title V, §503(a)''(d), Oct. 5, 2018, 132 Stat. 3352, 3353, provided that:
"(a) In General.-Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act [Oct. 5, 2018], and annually thereafter until the date that each NextGen [Next Generation Air Transportation System] program has a positive return on investment, the Administrator [of the Federal Aviation Administration] shall submit to the appropriate committees of Congress [Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate and Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of Representatives] a report on the status of each NextGen program, including the most recent NextGen priority list under subsection (c).
"(b) Contents.-The report under subsection (a) shall include, for each NextGen program-
"(1) an estimate of the date the program will have a positive return on investment;
"(2) an explanation for any delay in the delivery of expected benefits from previously published estimates on delivery of such benefits, in implementing or utilizing the program;
"(3) an estimate of the completion date;
"(4) an assessment of the long-term and near-term user benefits of the program for-
"(A) the Federal Government; and
"(B) the users of the national airspace system; and
"(5) a description of how the program directly contributes to a safer and more efficient air traffic control system.
"(c) NextGen Priority List.-Based on the assessment under subsection (a), the Administrator shall-
"(1) develop, in coordination with the NextGen Advisory Committee and considering the need for a balance between long-term and near-term user benefits, a prioritization of the NextGen programs;
"(2) annually update the priority list under paragraph (1); and
"(3) prepare budget submissions to reflect the current status of NextGen programs and projected returns on investment for each NextGen program.
"(d) Definition of Return on Investment.-In this section, the term 'return on investment' means the cost associated with technologies that are required by law or policy as compared to the financial benefits derived from such technologies by a government or a user of airspace."
Human FactorsPub. L. 115''254, div. B, title V, §507, Oct. 5, 2018, 132 Stat. 3354, provided that:
"(a) In General.-In order to avoid having to subsequently modify products and services developed as a part of NextGen [Next Generation Air Transportation System], the Administrator [of the Federal Aviation Administration] shall-
"(1) recognize and incorporate, in early design phases of all relevant NextGen programs, the human factors and procedural and airspace implications of stated goals and associated technical changes; and
"(2) ensure that a human factors specialist, separate from the research and certification groups, is directly involved with the NextGen approval process.
"(b) Report.-Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act [Oct. 5, 2018], the Administrator shall submit to the appropriate committees of Congress [Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate and Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of Representatives] a report on the progress made toward implementing the requirements under subsection (a)."
Programmatic Risk ManagementPub. L. 115''254, div. B, title V, §508, Oct. 5, 2018, 132 Stat. 3355, provided that: "To better inform the [Federal Aviation] Administration's decisions regarding the prioritization of efforts and allocation of resources for NextGen [Next Generation Air Transportation System], the Administrator [of the Federal Aviation Administration] shall-
"(1) solicit input from specialists in probability and statistics to identify and prioritize the programmatic and implementation risks to NextGen; and
"(2) develop a method to manage and mitigate the risks identified in paragraph (1)."
Part 91 Review, Reform, and StreamliningPub. L. 115''254, div. B, title V, §513, Oct. 5, 2018, 132 Stat. 3357, provided that:
"(a) Establishment of Task Force.-Not later than 90 days after the date of enactment of this Act [Oct. 5, 2018], the Administrator [of the Federal Aviation Administration] shall establish a task force comprised of representatives of the general aviation industry who regularly perform part 91 operations, labor unions (including those representing FAA aviation safety inspectors and FAA aviation safety engineers), manufacturers, and the Government to-
"(1) conduct an assessment of the FAA oversight and authorization processes and requirements for aircraft under part 91; and
"(2) make recommendations to streamline the applicable authorization and approval processes, improve safety, and reduce regulatory cost burdens and delays for the FAA and aircraft owners and operators who operate pursuant to part 91.
"(b) Contents.-In conducting the assessment and making recommendations under subsection (a), the task force shall consider-
"(1) process reforms and improvements to allow the FAA to review and approve applications in a fair and timely fashion;
"(2) the appropriateness of requiring an authorization for each experimental aircraft rather than using a broader all-makes-and-models approach;
"(3) ways to improve the timely response to letters of authorization applications for aircraft owners and operators who operate pursuant to part 91, including setting deadlines and granting temporary or automatic authorizations if deadlines are missed by the FAA;
"(4) methods for enhancing the effective use of delegation systems;
"(5) methods for training the FAA's field office employees in risk-based and safety management system oversight; and
"(6) such other matters related to streamlining part 91 authorization and approval processes as the task force considers appropriate.
"(c) Report to Congress.-
"(1) In general.-Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall submit to the appropriate committees of Congress [Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate and Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of Representatives] a report on the results of the task force's assessment.
"(2) Contents.-The report shall include an explanation of how the Administrator will-
"(A) implement the recommendations of the task force;
"(B) measure progress in implementing the recommendations; and
"(C) measure the effectiveness of the implemented recommendations.
"(d) Implementation of Recommendations.-Not later than 18 months after the date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall implement the recommendations made under this section.
"(e) Definition.-In this section, the term 'part 91' means part 91 of title 14, Code of Federal Regulations.
"(f) Applicable Law.-Public Law 92''463 [Federal Advisory Committee Act, 5 U.S.C. App.] shall not apply to the task force.
"(g) Sunset.-The task force shall terminate on the day the Administrator submits the report required under subsection (c)."
Pilots Sharing Flight Expenses With PassengersPub. L. 115''254, div. B, title V, §515, Oct. 5, 2018, 132 Stat. 3358, provided that:
"(a) Guidance.-
"(1) In general.-Not later than 90 days after the date of enactment of this Act [Oct. 5, 2018], the Administrator [of the Federal Aviation Administration] shall make publicly available, in a clear and concise format, advisory guidance that describes how a pilot may share flight expenses with passengers in a manner consistent with Federal law, including regulations.
"(2) Examples included.-The guidance shall include examples of-
"(A) flights for which pilots and passengers may share expenses;
"(B) flights for which pilots and passengers may not share expenses;
"(C) the methods of communication that pilots and passengers may use to arrange flights for which expenses are shared; and
"(D) the methods of communication that pilots and passengers may not use to arrange flights for which expenses are shared.
"(b) Report.-
"(1) In general.-Not later than 180 days after the date on which guidance is made publicly available under subsection (a), the Comptroller General of the United States shall submit to the appropriate committees of Congress [Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate and Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of Representatives] a report analyzing Federal policy with respect to pilots sharing flight expenses with passengers.
"(2) Evaluations included.-The report submitted under paragraph (1) shall include an evaluation of-
"(A) the rationale for such Federal policy;
"(B) safety and other concerns related to pilots sharing flight expenses with passengers; and
"(C) benefits related to pilots sharing flight expenses with passengers."
Geosynthetic MaterialsPub. L. 115''254, div. B, title V, §525, Oct. 5, 2018, 132 Stat. 3364, provided that: "The Administrator [of the Federal Aviation Administration], to the extent practicable, shall encourage the use of durable, resilient, and sustainable materials and practices, including the use of geosynthetic materials and other innovative technologies, in carrying out the activities of the Federal Aviation Administration."
Treatment of Multiyear Lessees of Large and Turbine-Powered Multiengine AircraftPub. L. 115''254, div. B, title V, §550, Oct. 5, 2018, 132 Stat. 3378, provided that: "The Secretary of Transportation shall revise such regulations as may be necessary to ensure that multiyear lessees and owners of large and turbine-powered multiengine aircraft are treated equally for purposes of joint ownership policies of the FAA."
Enhanced Surveillance CapabilityPub. L. 115''254, div. B, title V, §562, Oct. 5, 2018, 132 Stat. 3384, provided that: "Not later than 120 days after the date of enactment of this Act [Oct. 5, 2018], the Administrator [of the Federal Aviation Administration] shall identify and implement a strategy to-
"(1) advance near-term and long-term uses of enhanced surveillance systems, such as space-based ADS''B [automatic dependent surveillance-broadcast], within United States airspace or international airspace delegated to the United States;
"(2) exercise leadership on setting global standards for the separation of aircraft in oceanic airspace by working with-
"(A) foreign counterparts of the Administrator in the International Civil Aviation Organization and its subsidiary organizations;
"(B) other international organizations and fora; and
"(C) the private sector; and
"(3) ensure the participation of the [Federal Aviation] Administration in the analysis of trials of enhanced surveillance systems, such as space-based ADS''B, performed by foreign air navigation service providers in North Atlantic airspace."
Aviation Workforce Development ProgramsPub. L. 115''254, div. B, title VI, §625, Oct. 5, 2018, 132 Stat. 3405, provided that:
"(a) In General.-The Secretary of Transportation shall establish-
"(1) a program to provide grants for eligible projects to support the education of future aircraft pilots and the development of the aircraft pilot workforce; and
"(2) a program to provide grants for eligible projects to support the education and recruitment of aviation maintenance technical workers and the development of the aviation maintenance workforce.
"(b) Project Grants.-
"(1) In general.-Out of amounts made available under section 48105 of title 49, United States Code , not more than $5,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2019 through 2023 is authorized to be expended to provide grants under the program established under subsection (a)(1), and $5,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2019 through 2023 is authorized to provide grants under the program established under subsection (a)(2).
"(2) Dollar amount limit.-Not more than $500,000 shall be available for any 1 grant in any 1 fiscal year under the programs established under subsection (a).
"(c) Eligible Applications.-
"(1) An application for a grant under the program established under subsection (a)(1) shall be submitted, in such form as the Secretary may specify, by-
"(A) an air carrier, as defined in section 40102 of title 49, United States Code , or a labor organization representing aircraft pilots;
"(B) an accredited institution of higher education (as defined in section 101 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001 )) or a high school or secondary school (as defined in section 7801 [probably should be "8101"] of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801 ));
"(C) a flight school that provides flight training, as defined in part 61 of title 14, Code of Federal Regulations, or that holds a pilot school certificate under part 141 of title 14, Code of Federal Regulations; or
"(D) a State or local governmental entity.
"(2) An application for a grant under the pilot program established under subsection (a)(2) shall be submitted, in such form as the Secretary may specify, by-
"(A) a holder of a certificate issued under part 21, 121, 135, or 145 of title 14, Code of Federal Regulations or a labor organization representing aviation maintenance workers;
"(B) an accredited institution of higher education (as defined in section 101 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001 )) or a high school or secondary school (as defined in section 7801 [8101] of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801 ); and [sic]
"(C) a State or local governmental entity.
"(d) Eligible Projects.-
"(1) For purposes of the program established under subsection (a)(1), an eligible project is a project-
"(A) to create and deliver curriculum designed to provide high school students with meaningful aviation education that is designed to prepare the students to become aircraft pilots, aerospace engineers, or unmanned aircraft systems operators; or
"(B) to support the professional development of teachers using the curriculum described in subparagraph (A).
"(2) For purposes of the pilot program established under subsection (a)(2), an eligible project is a project-
"(A) to establish new educational programs that teach technical skills used in aviation maintenance, including purchasing equipment, or to improve existing such programs;
"(B) to establish scholarships or apprenticeships for individuals pursuing employment in the aviation maintenance industry;
"(C) to support outreach about careers in the aviation maintenance industry to-
"(i) primary, secondary, and post-secondary school students; or
"(ii) to [sic] communities underrepresented in the industry;
"(D) to support educational opportunities related to aviation maintenance in economically disadvantaged geographic areas;
"(E) to support transition to careers in aviation maintenance, including for members of the Armed Forces; or
"(F) to otherwise enhance aviation maintenance technical education or the aviation maintenance industry workforce.
"(e) Grant Application Review.-In reviewing and selecting applications for grants under the programs established under subsection (a), the Secretary shall-
"(1) prior to selecting among competing applications, consult, as appropriate, with representatives of aircraft repair stations, design and production approval holders, air carriers, labor organizations, business aviation, general aviation, educational institutions, and other relevant aviation sectors; and
"(2) ensure that the applications selected for projects established under subsection (a)(1) will allow participation from a diverse collection of public and private schools in rural, suburban, and urban areas."
Community and Technical College Centers of Excellence in Small Unmanned Aircraft System Technology TrainingPub. L. 115''254, div. B, title VI, §631, Oct. 5, 2018, 132 Stat. 3407, provided that:
"(a) Designation.-Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act [Oct. 5, 2018], the Secretary of Transportation, in consultation with the Secretary of Education and the Secretary of Labor, shall establish a process to designate consortia of public, 2-year institutions of higher education as Community and Technical College Centers of Excellence in Small Unmanned Aircraft System Technology Training (in this section referred to as the 'Centers of Excellence').
"(b) Functions.-A Center of Excellence designated under subsection (a) shall have the capacity to train students for career opportunities in industry and government service related to the use of small unmanned aircraft systems.
"(c) Education and Training Requirements.-In order to be designated as a Center of Excellence under subsection (a), a consortium shall be able to address education and training requirements associated with various types of small unmanned aircraft systems, components, and related equipment, including with respect to-
"(1) multirotor and fixed-wing small unmanned aircraft;
"(2) flight systems, radio controllers, components, and characteristics of such aircraft;
"(3) routine maintenance, uses and applications, privacy concerns, safety, and insurance for such aircraft;
"(4) hands-on flight practice using small unmanned aircraft systems and computer simulator training;
"(5) use of small unmanned aircraft systems in various industry applications and local, State, and Federal government programs and services, including in agriculture, law enforcement, monitoring oil and gas pipelines, natural disaster response and recovery, fire and emergency services, and other emerging areas;
"(6) Federal policies concerning small unmanned aircraft;
"(7) dual credit programs to deliver small unmanned aircraft training opportunities to secondary school students; or
"(8) training with respect to sensors and the processing, analyzing, and visualizing of data collected by small unmanned aircraft.
"(d) Collaboration.-Each Center of Excellence shall seek to collaborate with institutions participating in the Alliance for System Safety of UAS through Research Excellence of the Federal Aviation Administration and with the test ranges defined under section 44801 of title 49, United States Code , as added by this Act.
"(e) Institution of Higher Education.-In this section, the term 'institution of higher education' has the meaning given the term in section 101 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001 )."
Collegiate Training Initiative Program for Unmanned Aircraft SystemsPub. L. 115''254, div. B, title VI, §632, Oct. 5, 2018, 132 Stat. 3408, provided that:
"(a) In General.-Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act [Oct. 5, 2018], the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration shall establish a collegiate training initiative program relating to unmanned aircraft systems by making new agreements or continuing existing agreements with institutions of higher education (as defined in section 101 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001 )) under which the institutions prepare students for careers involving unmanned aircraft systems. The Administrator may establish standards for the entry of such institutions into the program and for their continued participation in the program.
"(b) Unmanned Aircraft System Defined.-In this section, the term 'unmanned aircraft system' has the meaning given that term by section 44801 of title 49, United States Code , as added by this Act."
Cyber TestbedPub. L. 115''254, div. B, title VII, §731, Oct. 5, 2018, 132 Stat. 3411, provided that: "Not later than 6 months after the date of enactment of this Act [Oct. 5, 2018], the Administrator [of the Federal Aviation Administration] shall develop an integrated Cyber Testbed for research, development, evaluation, and validation of air traffic control modernization technologies, before they enter the national airspace system, as being compliant with FAA data security regulations. The Cyber Testbed shall be part of an integrated research and development test environment capable of creating, identifying, defending, and solving cybersecurity-related problems for the national airspace system. This integrated test environment shall incorporate integrated test capacities within the FAA related to the national airspace system and NextGen."
Mitigation of Operational Risks Posed to Certain Military Aircraft by Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast EquipmentPub. L. 115''232, div. A, title X, §1046, Aug. 13, 2018, 132 Stat. 1959, provided that:
"(a) In General.-The Secretary of Transportation may not-
"(1) directly or indirectly require the installation of automatic dependent surveillance-broadcast (hereinafter in this section referred to as 'ADS-B') equipment on fighter aircraft, bomber aircraft, or other special mission aircraft owned or operated by the Department of Defense;
"(2) deny or reduce air traffic control services in United States airspace or international airspace delegated to the United States to any aircraft described in paragraph (1) on the basis that such aircraft is not equipped with ADS-B equipment; or
"(3) restrict or limit airspace access for aircraft described in paragraph (1) on the basis such aircraft are not equipped with ADS-B equipment.
"(b) Termination.-Subsection (a) shall cease to be effective on the date that the Secretary of Transportation and the Secretary of Defense jointly submit to the appropriate congressional committees notice that the Secretaries have entered into a memorandum of agreement or other similar agreement providing that fighter aircraft, bomber aircraft, and other special mission aircraft owned or operated by the Department of Defense that are not equipped or not yet equipped with ADS-B equipment will be reasonably accommodated for safe operations in the National Airspace System and provided with necessary air traffic control services.
"(c) Rule of Construction.-Nothing in this section may be construed to-
"(1) vest in the Secretary of Defense any authority of the Secretary of Transportation or the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration under title 49, United States Code , or any other provision of law;
"(2) vest in the Secretary of Transportation or the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration any authority of the Secretary of Defense under title 10, United States Code , or any other provision of law; or
"(3) limit the authority or discretion of the Secretary of Transportation or the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration to operate air traffic control services to ensure the safe minimum separation of aircraft in flight and the efficient use of airspace.
"(d) Notification Requirement.-The Secretary of Defense shall provide to the Secretary of Transportation notification of any aircraft the Secretary of Defense designates as a special mission aircraft pursuant to subsection (e)(3).
"(e) Definitions.-In this section:
"(1) The term 'appropriate congressional committees' means the congressional defense committees, the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of Representatives, and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate.
"(2) The term 'air traffic control services' means services used for the monitoring, directing, control, and guidance of aircraft or flows of aircraft and for the safe conduct of flight, including communications, navigation, and surveillance services and provision of aeronautical information.
"(3) The term 'special mission aircraft' means an aircraft the Secretary of Defense designates for a unique mission to which ADS-B equipment creates a unique risk."
Collaboration Between Federal Aviation Administration and Department of Defense on Unmanned Aircraft SystemsPub. L. 115''91, div. A, title X, §1092, Dec. 12, 2017, 131 Stat. 1610, formerly set out as a note under this section, was transferred and is set out as a note under section 44802 of this title .
Unmanned Aircraft Joint Training and Usage PlanPub. L. 113''66, div. A, title X, §1075(a), Dec. 26, 2013, 127 Stat. 870, formerly set out as a note under this section, was transferred and is set out as a note under section 44802 of this title .
Interagency CollaborationPub. L. 112''239, div. A, title X, §1052(b), (c), Jan. 2, 2013, 126 Stat. 1935, 1936, formerly set out as a note under this section, was transferred and is set out as a note under section 44802 of this title .
Prohibition on Participation in European Union's Emissions Trading SchemePub. L. 112''200, Nov. 27, 2012, 126 Stat. 1477, provided that:
"SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE."This Act may be cited as the 'European Union Emissions Trading Scheme Prohibition Act of 2011'.
"SEC. 2. PROHIBITION ON PARTICIPATION IN THE EUROPEAN UNION'S EMISSIONS TRADING SCHEME."(a) In General.-The Secretary of Transportation shall prohibit an operator of a civil aircraft of the United States from participating in the emissions trading scheme unilaterally established by the European Union in EU Directive 2003/87/EC of October 13, 2003, as amended, in any case in which the Secretary determines the prohibition to be, and in a manner that is, in the public interest, taking into account-
"(1) the impacts on U.S. consumers, U.S. carriers, and U.S. operators;
"(2) the impacts on the economic, energy, and environmental security of the United States; and
"(3) the impacts on U.S. foreign relations, including existing international commitments.
"(b) Public Hearing.-After determining that a prohibition under this section may be in the public interest, the Secretary must hold a public hearing at least 30 days before imposing any prohibition.
"(c) Reassessment of Determination of Public Interest.-The Secretary-
"(1) may reassess a determination under subsection (a) that a prohibition under that subsection is in the public interest at any time after making such a determination; and
"(2) shall reassess such a determination after-
"(A) any amendment by the European Union to the EU Directive referred to in subsection (a); or
"(B) the adoption of any international agreement pursuant to section 3(1). [sic]
"(C) enactment of a public law or issuance of a final rule after formal agency rulemaking, in the United State[s] to address aircraft emissions.
"SEC. 3. NEGOTIATIONS."(a) In General.-The Secretary of Transportation, the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration, and other appropriate officials of the United States Government-
"(1) should, as appropriate, use their authority to conduct international negotiations, including using their authority to conduct international negotiations to pursue a worldwide approach to address aircraft emissions, including the environmental impact of aircraft emissions; and
"(2) shall, as appropriate and except as provided in subsection (b), take other actions under existing authorities that are in the public interest necessary to hold operators of civil aircraft of the United States harmless from the emissions trading scheme referred to under section 2.
"(b) Exclusion of Payment of Taxes and Penalties.-Actions taken under subsection (a)(2) may not include the obligation or expenditure of any amounts in the Airport and Airway Trust Fund established under section 9905 [9502] of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 [26 U.S.C. 9502 ], or amounts otherwise made available to the Department of Transportation or any other Federal agency pursuant to appropriations Acts, for the payment of any tax or penalty imposed on an operator of civil aircraft of the United States pursuant to the emissions trading scheme referred to under section 2.
"SEC. 4. DEFINITION OF CIVIL AIRCRAFT OF THE UNITED STATES."In this Act, the term 'civil aircraft of the United States' has the meaning given the term under section 40102(a) of title 49, United States Code ."
NextGen Air Transportation System and Air Traffic Control ModernizationPub. L. 112''95, title II, §§201, 202, 211''222, Feb. 14, 2012, 126 Stat. 36, 44-54, as amended by Pub. L. 114''328, div. A, title III, §341(b), Dec. 23, 2016, 130 Stat. 2081; Pub. L. 115''254, div. B, title V, §§503(e), 522(a), Oct. 5, 2018, 132 Stat. 3353, 3363, provided that:
"SEC. 201. DEFINITIONS."In this title [amending sections 106, 40102, 40110, and 40113 of this title , enacting provisions set out as notes under this section and sections 106 and 44506 of this title , and amending provisions set out as notes under this section], the following definitions apply:
"(1) Nextgen.-The term 'NextGen' means the Next Generation Air Transportation System.
"(2) ADS''B.-The term 'ADS''B' means automatic dependent surveillance-broadcast.
"(3) ADS''B Out.-The term 'ADS''B Out' means automatic dependent surveillance-broadcast with the ability to transmit information from the aircraft to ground stations and to other equipped aircraft.
"(4) ADS''B In.-The term 'ADS''B In' means automatic dependent surveillance-broadcast with the ability to transmit information from the aircraft to ground stations and to other equipped aircraft as well as the ability of the aircraft to receive information from other transmitting aircraft and the ground infrastructure.
"(5) RNAV.-The term 'RNAV' means area navigation.
"(6) RNP.-The term 'RNP' means required navigation performance.
"[SEC. 202. Repealed. Pub. L. 115''254, div. B, title V, §503(e), Oct. 5, 2018, 132 Stat. 3353.]"SEC. 211. AUTOMATIC DEPENDENT SURVEILLANCE-BROADCAST SERVICES."(a) Review by DOT Inspector General.-
"(1) In general.-The Inspector General of the Department of Transportation shall conduct a review concerning the Federal Aviation Administration's award and oversight of any contracts entered into by the Administration to provide ADS''B services for the national airspace system.
"(2) Contents.-The review shall include, at a minimum-
"(A) an examination of how the Administration manages program risks;
"(B) an assessment of expected benefits attributable to the deployment of ADS''B services, including the Administration's plans for implementation of advanced operational procedures and air-to-air applications, as well as the extent to which ground radar will be retained;
"(C) an assessment of the Administration's analysis of specific operational benefits, and benefit/costs analyses of planned operational benefits conducted by the Administration, for ADS''B In and ADS''B Out avionics equipage for airspace users;
"(D) a determination of whether the Administration has established sufficient mechanisms to ensure that all design, acquisition, operation, and maintenance requirements have been met by the contractor;
"(E) an assessment of whether the Administration and any contractors are meeting cost, schedule, and performance milestones, as measured against the original baseline of the Administration's program for providing ADS''B services;
"(F) an assessment of how security issues are being addressed in the overall design and implementation of the ADS''B system;
"(G) identification of any potential operational or workforce changes resulting from deployment of ADS''B; and
"(H) any other matters or aspects relating to contract implementation and oversight that the Inspector General determines merit attention.
"(3) Reports to congress.-The Inspector General shall submit, periodically (and on at least an annual basis), to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate a report on the results of the review conducted under this subsection.
"[(b) Repealed. Pub. L. 115''254, div. B, title V, §522(a), Oct. 5, 2018, 132 Stat. 3363.]
"(c) Use of ADS''B Technology.-
"(1) Plans.-Not later than 18 months after the date of enactment of this Act [Feb. 14, 2012], the Administrator shall develop, in consultation with appropriate employee and industry groups, a plan for the use of ADS''B technology for surveillance and active air traffic control.
"(2) Contents.-The plan shall-
"(A) include provisions to test the use of ADS''B technology for surveillance and active air traffic control in specific regions of the United States with the most congested airspace;
"(B) identify the equipment required at air traffic control facilities and the training required for air traffic controllers;
"(C) identify procedures, to be developed in consultation with appropriate employee and industry groups, to conduct air traffic management in mixed equipage environments; and
"(D) establish a policy in test regions referred to in subparagraph (A), in consultation with appropriate employee and industry groups, to provide incentives for equipage with ADS''B technology, including giving priority to aircraft equipped with such technology before the 2020 equipage deadline.
"SEC. 212. EXPERT REVIEW OF ENTERPRISE ARCHITECTURE FOR NEXTGEN."(a) Review.-The Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration shall enter into an arrangement with the National Research Council to review the enterprise architecture for the NextGen.
"(b) Contents.-At a minimum, the review to be conducted under subsection (a) shall-
"(1) highlight the technical activities, including human-system design, organizational design, and other safety and human factor aspects of the system, that will be necessary to successfully transition current and planned modernization programs to the future system envisioned by the Joint Planning and Development Office of the Administration;
"(2) assess technical, cost, and schedule risk for the software development that will be necessary to achieve the expected benefits from a highly automated air traffic management system and the implications for ongoing modernization projects; and
"(3) determine how risks with automation efforts for the NextGen can be mitigated based on the experiences of other public or private entities in developing complex, software-intensive systems.
"(c) Report.-Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act [Feb. 14, 2012], the Administrator shall submit to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate a report containing the results of the review conducted pursuant to subsection (a).
"SEC. 213. ACCELERATION OF NEXTGEN TECHNOLOGIES."(a) Operational Evolution Partnership (OEP) Airport Procedures.-
"(1) OEP airports report.-Not later than 6 months after the date of enactment of this Act [Feb. 14, 2012], the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration shall publish a report, after consultation with representatives of appropriate Administration employee groups, airport operators, air carriers, general aviation representatives, aircraft and avionics manufacturers, and third parties that have received letters of qualification from the Administration to design and validate required navigation performance flight paths for public use (in this section referred to as 'qualified third parties') that includes the following:
"(A) RNP/RNAV operations for oep airports.-The required navigation performance and area navigation operations, including the procedures to be developed, certified, and published and the air traffic control operational changes, to maximize the fuel efficiency and airspace capacity of NextGen commercial operations at each of the 35 operational evolution partnership airports identified by the Administration and any medium or small hub airport located within the same metroplex area considered appropriate by the Administrator. The Administrator shall, to the maximum extent practicable, avoid overlays of existing flight procedures, but if unavoidable, the Administrator shall clearly identify each required navigation performance and area navigation procedure that is an overlay of an existing instrument flight procedure and the reason why such an overlay was used.
"(B) Coordination and implementation activities for oep airports.-A description of the activities and operational changes and approvals required to coordinate and utilize the procedures at OEP airports.
"(C) Implementation plan for oep airports.-A plan for implementing the procedures for OEP airports under subparagraph (A) that establishes-
"(i) clearly defined budget, schedule, project organization, and leadership requirements;
"(ii) specific implementation and transition steps;
"(iii) baseline and performance metrics for-
"(I) measuring the Administration's progress in implementing the plan, including the percentage utilization of required navigation performance in the national airspace system; and
"(II) achieving measurable fuel burn and carbon dioxide emissions reductions compared to current performance;
"(iv) expedited environmental review procedures and processes for timely environmental approval of area navigation and required navigation performance that offer significant efficiency improvements as determined by baseline and performance metrics under clause (iii);
"(v) coordination and communication mechanisms with qualified third parties, if applicable;
"(vi) plans to address human factors, training, and other issues for air traffic controllers surrounding the adoption of RNP procedures in the en route and terminal environments, including in a mixed operational environment; and
"(vii) a lifecycle management strategy for RNP procedures to be developed by qualified third parties, if applicable.
"(D) Additional procedures for oep airports.-A process for the identification, certification, and publication of additional required navigation performance and area navigation procedures that may provide operational benefits at OEP airports, and any medium or small hub airport located within the same metroplex area as the OEP airport, in the future.
"(2) Implementation schedule for oep airports.-The Administrator shall certify, publish, and implement-
"(A) not later than 18 months after the date of enactment of this Act [Feb. 14, 2012], 30 percent of the required procedures at OEP airports;
"(B) not later than 36 months after the date of enactment of this Act, 60 percent of the required procedures at OEP airports; and
"(C) before June 30, 2015, 100 percent of the required procedures at OEP airports.
"(b) Non-OEP Airports.-
"(1) Non-OEP airports report.-Not later than 6 months after the date of enactment of this Act [Feb. 14, 2012], the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration shall publish a report, after consultation with representatives of appropriate Administration employee groups, airport operators, air carriers, general aviation representatives, aircraft and avionics manufacturers, and third parties that have received letters of qualification from the Administration to design and validate required navigation performance flight paths for public use (in this section referred to as 'qualified third parties') that includes the following:
"(A) RNP operations for non-oep airports.-A list of required navigation performance procedures (as defined in FAA order 8260.52(d)) to be developed, certified, and published, and the air traffic control operational changes, to maximize the fuel efficiency and airspace capacity of NextGen commercial operations at 35 non-OEP small, medium, and large hub airports other than those referred to in subsection (a)(1). The Administrator shall choose such non-OEP airports considered appropriate by the Administrator to produce maximum operational benefits, including improved fuel efficiency and emissions reductions that do not have public RNP procedures that produce such benefits on the date of enactment of this Act. The Administrator shall, to the maximum extent practicable, avoid overlays of existing flight procedures, but if unavoidable, the Administrator shall clearly identify each required navigation performance procedure that is an overlay of an existing instrument flight procedure and the reason why such an overlay was used.
"(B) Coordination and implementation activities for non-oep airports.-A description of the activities and operational changes and approvals required to coordinate and to utilize the procedures required by subparagraph (A) at each of the airports described in such subparagraph.
"(C) Implementation plan for non-oep airports.-A plan for implementation of the procedures required by subparagraph (A) that establishes-
"(i) clearly defined budget, schedule, project organization, and leadership requirements;
"(ii) specific implementation and transition steps;
"(iii) coordination and communications mechanisms with qualified third parties;
"(iv) plans to address human factors, training, and other issues for air traffic controllers surrounding the adoption of RNP procedures in the en route and terminal environments, including in a mixed operational environment;
"(v) baseline and performance metrics for-
"(I) measuring the Administration's progress in implementing the plan, including the percentage utilization of required navigation performance in the national airspace system; and
"(II) achieving measurable fuel burn and carbon dioxide emissions reduction compared to current performance;
"(vi) expedited environmental review procedures and processes for timely environmental approval of area navigation and required navigation performance that offer significant efficiency improvements as determined by baseline and performance metrics established under clause (v);
"(vii) a description of the software and database information, such as a current version of the Noise Integrated Routing System or the Integrated Noise Model that the Administration will need to make available to qualified third parties to enable those third parties to design procedures that will meet the broad range of requirements of the Administration; and
"(viii) lifecycle management strategy for RNP procedures to be developed by qualified third parties, if applicable.
"(D) Additional procedures for non-oep airports.-A process for the identification, certification, and publication of additional required navigation performance procedures that may provide operational benefits at non-OEP airports in the future.
"(2) Implementation schedule for non-oep airports.-The Administrator shall certify, publish, and implement-
"(A) not later than 18 months after the date of enactment of this Act [Feb. 14, 2012], 25 percent of the required procedures for non-OEP airports;
"(B) not later than 36 months after the date of enactment of this Act, 50 percent of the required procedures for non-OEP airports; and
"(C) before June 30, 2016, 100 percent of the required procedures for non-OEP airports.
"(c) Coordinated and Expedited Review.-
"(1) In general.-Navigation performance and area navigation procedures developed, certified, published, or implemented under this section shall be presumed to be covered by a categorical exclusion (as defined in section 1508.4 of title 40, Code of Federal Regulations) under chapter 3 of FAA Order 1050.1E unless the Administrator determines that extraordinary circumstances exist with respect to the procedure.
"(2) Nextgen procedures.-Any navigation performance or other performance based navigation procedure developed, certified, published, or implemented that, in the determination of the Administrator, would result in measurable reductions in fuel consumption, carbon dioxide emissions, and noise, on a per flight basis, as compared to aircraft operations that follow existing instrument flight rules procedures in the same airspace, shall be presumed to have no significant affect on the quality of the human environment and the Administrator shall issue and file a categorical exclusion for the new procedure.
"(3) Notifications and consultations.-Not later than 90 days before applying a categorical exclusion under this subsection to a new procedure at an OEP airport, the Administrator shall-
"(A) notify and consult with the operator of the airport at which the procedure would be implemented; and
"(B) consider consultations or other engagement with the community in the [sic] which the airport is located to inform the public of the procedure.
"(4) Review of certain categorical exclusions.-
"(A) In general.-The Administrator shall review any decision of the Administrator made on or after February 14, 2012, and before the date of the enactment of this paragraph [Dec. 23, 2016] to grant a categorical exclusion under this subsection with respect to a procedure to be implemented at an OEP airport that was a material change from procedures previously in effect at the airport to determine if the implementation of the procedure had a significant effect on the human environment in the community in which the airport is located.
"(B) Content of review.-If, in conducting a review under subparagraph (A) with respect to a procedure implemented at an OEP airport, the Administrator, in consultation with the operator of the airport, determines that implementing the procedure had a significant effect on the human environment in the community in which the airport is located, the Administrator shall-
"(i) consult with the operator of the airport to identify measures to mitigate the effect of the procedure on the human environment; and
"(ii) in conducting such consultations, consider the use of alternative flight paths that do not substantially degrade the efficiencies achieved by the implementation of the procedure being reviewed.
"(C) Human environment defined.-In this paragraph, the term 'human environment' has the meaning given such term in section 1508.14 of title 40, Code of Federal Regulations (as in effect on the day before the date of the enactment of this paragraph).
"(d) Deployment Plan for Nationwide Data Communications System.-Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act [Feb. 14, 2012], the Administrator shall submit to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate and the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of Representatives a plan for implementation of a nationwide data communications system. The plan shall include-
"(1) clearly defined budget, schedule, project organization, and leadership requirements;
"(2) specific implementation and transition steps; and
"(3) baseline and performance metrics for measuring the Administration's progress in implementing the plan.
"(e) Improved Performance Standards.-
"(1) Assessment of work being performed under nextgen implementation plan.-The Administrator shall clearly outline in the NextGen Implementation Plan document of the Administration the work being performed under the plan to determine-
"(A) whether utilization of ADS''B, RNP, and other technologies as part of NextGen implementation will display the position of aircraft more accurately and frequently to enable a more efficient use of existing airspace and result in reduced consumption of aviation fuel and aircraft engine emissions; and
"(B) the feasibility of reducing aircraft separation standards in a safe manner as a result of the implementation of such technologies.
"(2) Aircraft separation standards.-If the Administrator determines that the standards referred to in paragraph (1)(B) can be reduced safely, the Administrator shall include in the NextGen Implementation Plan a timetable for implementation of such reduced standards.
"(f) Third-Party Usage.-The Administration shall establish a program under which the Administrator is authorized to use qualified third parties in the development, testing, and maintenance of flight procedures.
"SEC. 214. PERFORMANCE METRICS."(a) In General.-Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act [Feb. 14, 2012], the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration shall establish and begin tracking national airspace system performance metrics, including, at a minimum, metrics with respect to-
"(1) actual arrival and departure rates per hour measured against the currently published aircraft arrival rate and aircraft departure rate for the 35 operational evolution partnership airports;
"(2) average gate-to-gate times;
"(3) fuel burned between key city pairs;
"(4) operations using the advanced navigation procedures, including performance based navigation procedures;
"(5) the average distance flown between key city pairs;
"(6) the time between pushing back from the gate and taking off;
"(7) continuous climb or descent;
"(8) average gate arrival delay for all arrivals;
"(9) flown versus filed flight times for key city pairs;
"(10) implementation of NextGen Implementation Plan, or any successor document, capabilities designed to reduce emissions and fuel consumption;
"(11) the Administration's unit cost of providing air traffic control services; and
"(12) runway safety, including runway incursions, operational errors, and loss of standard separation events.
"(b) Baselines.-The Administrator, in consultation with aviation industry stakeholders, shall identify baselines for each of the metrics established under subsection (a) and appropriate methods to measure deviations from the baselines.
"(c) Publication.-The Administrator shall make data obtained under subsection (a) available to the public in a searchable, sortable, and downloadable format through the Web site of the Administration and other appropriate media.
"(d) Report.-Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act [Feb. 14, 2012], the Administrator shall submit to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate and the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of Representatives a report that contains-
"(1) a description of the metrics that will be used to measure the Administration's progress in implementing NextGen capabilities and operational results;
"(2) information on any additional metrics developed; and
"(3) a process for holding the Administration accountable for meeting or exceeding the metrics baselines identified in subsection (b).
"SEC. 215. CERTIFICATION STANDARDS AND RESOURCES."(a) Process for Certification.-Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act [Feb. 14, 2012], the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration shall develop a plan to accelerate and streamline the process for certification of NextGen technologies, including-
"(1) establishment of updated project plans and timelines;
"(2) identification of the specific activities needed to certify NextGen technologies, including the establishment of NextGen technical requirements for the manufacture of equipage, installation of equipage, airline operational procedures, pilot training standards, air traffic control procedures, and air traffic controller training;
"(3) identification of staffing requirements for the Air Certification Service and the Flight Standards Service, taking into consideration the leveraging of assistance from third parties and designees;
"(4) establishment of a program under which the Administration will use third parties in the certification process; and
"(5) establishment of performance metrics to measure the Administration's progress.
"(b) Certification Integrity.-The Administrator shall ensure that equipment, systems, or services used in the national airspace system meet appropriate certification requirements regardless of whether the equipment, system, or service is publically or privately owned.
"SEC. 216. SURFACE SYSTEMS ACCELERATION."(a) In General.-The Chief Operating Officer of the Air Traffic Organization shall-
"(1) evaluate the Airport Surface Detection Equipment-Model X program for its potential contribution to implementation of the NextGen initiative;
"(2) evaluate airport surveillance technologies and associated collaborative surface management software for potential contributions to implementation of NextGen surface management;
"(3) accelerate implementation of the program referred to in paragraph (1); and
"(4) carry out such additional duties as the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration may require.
"(b) Expedited Certification and Utilization.-The Administrator shall-
"(1) consider options for expediting the certification of Ground-Based Augmentation System technology; and
"(2) develop a plan to utilize such a system at the 35 operational evolution partnership airports by December 31, 2012.
"SEC. 217. INCLUSION OF STAKEHOLDERS IN AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL MODERNIZATION PROJECTS."(a) Process for Employee Inclusion.-Notwithstanding any other law or agreement, the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration shall establish a process or processes for including qualified employees selected by each exclusive collective bargaining representative of employees of the Administration impacted by the air traffic control modernization process to serve in a collaborative and expert capacity in the planning and development of air traffic control modernization projects, including NextGen.
"(b) Adherence to Deadlines.-Participants in these processes shall adhere, to the greatest extent possible, to all deadlines and milestones established pursuant to this title.
"(c) No Change in Employee Status.-Participation in these processes by an employee shall not-
"(1) serve as a waiver of any bargaining obligations or rights;
"(2) entitle the employee to any additional compensation or benefits with the exception of a per diem, if appropriate; or
"(3) entitle the employee to prevent or unduly delay the exercise of management prerogatives.
"(d) Working Groups.-Except in extraordinary circumstances, the Administrator shall not pay overtime related to work group participation.
"(e) Report.-Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act [Feb. 14, 2012], the Administrator shall report to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate on the implementation of this section.
"SEC. 218. AIRSPACE REDESIGN."(a) Findings.-Congress finds the following:
"(1) The airspace redesign efforts of the Federal Aviation Administration will play a critical near-term role in enhancing capacity, reducing delays, transitioning to more flexible routing, and ultimately saving money in fuel costs for airlines and airspace users.
"(2) The critical importance of airspace redesign efforts is underscored by the fact that they are highlighted in strategic plans of the Administration, including Flight Plan 2009''2013 and the NextGen Implementation Plan.
"(3) Funding cuts have led to delays and deferrals of critical capacity enhancing airspace redesign efforts.
"(4) New runways planned for the period of fiscal years 2011 and 2012 will not provide estimated capacity benefits without additional funds.
"(b) Noise Impacts of New York/New Jersey/Philadelphia Metropolitan Area Airspace Redesign.-
"(1) Monitoring.-The Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration, in conjunction with the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey and the Philadelphia International Airport, shall monitor the noise impacts of the New York/New Jersey/Philadelphia Metropolitan Area Airspace Redesign.
"(2) Report.-Not later than 1 year following the first day of completion of the New York/New Jersey/Philadelphia Metropolitan Area Airspace Redesign, the Administrator shall submit to Congress a report on the findings of the Administrator with respect to monitoring conducted under paragraph (1).
"SEC. 219. STUDY ON FEASIBILITY OF DEVELOPMENT OF A PUBLIC INTERNET WEB-BASED RESOURCE ON LOCATIONS OF POTENTIAL AVIATION OBSTRUCTIONS."(a) Study.-The Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration shall carry out a study on the feasibility of developing a publicly searchable, Internet Web-based resource that provides information regarding the height and latitudinal and longitudinal locations of guy-wire and free-standing tower obstructions.
"(b) Considerations.-In conducting the study, the Administrator shall consult with affected industries and appropriate Federal agencies.
"(c) Report.-Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act [Feb. 14, 2012], the Administrator shall submit a report to the appropriate committees of Congress on the results of the study.
"SEC. 220. NEXTGEN RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT CENTER OF EXCELLENCE."(a) In General.-The Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration may enter into an agreement, on a competitive basis, to assist in the establishment of a center of excellence for the research and development of NextGen technologies.
"(b) Functions.-The Administrator shall ensure that the center established under subsection (a)-
"(1) leverages resources and partnerships, including appropriate programs of the Administration, to enhance the research and development of NextGen technologies by academia and industry; and
"(2) provides educational, technical, and analytical assistance to the Administration and other Federal departments and agencies with responsibilities to research and develop NextGen technologies.
"SEC. 221. PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPS."(a) In General.-The Secretary may establish an avionics equipage incentive program for the purpose of equipping general aviation and commercial aircraft with communications, surveillance, navigation, and other avionics equipment as determined by the Secretary to be in the interest of achieving NextGen capabilities for such aircraft.
"(b) NextGen Public-Private Partnerships.-The incentive program established under subsection (a) shall, at a minimum-
"(1) be based on public-private partnership principles; and
"(2) leverage and maximize the use of private sector capital.
"(c) Financial Instruments.-Subject to the availability of appropriated funds, the Secretary may use financial instruments to facilitate public-private financing for the equipage of general aviation and commercial aircraft registered under section 44103 of title 49, United States Code . To the extent appropriations are not made available, the Secretary may establish the program, provided the costs are covered by the fees and premiums authorized by subsection (d)(2). For purposes of this section, the term 'financial instruments' means loan guarantees and other credit assistance designed to leverage and maximize private sector capital.
"(d) Protection of the Taxpayer.-
"(1) Limitation on principal.-The amount of any guarantee under this program shall be limited to 90 percent of the principal amount of the underlying loan.
"(2) Collateral, fees, and premiums.-The Secretary shall require applicants for the incentive program to post collateral and pay such fees and premiums if feasible, as determined by the Secretary, to offset costs to the Government of potential defaults, and agree to performance measures that the Secretary considers necessary and in the best interest of implementing the NextGen program.
"(3) Use of funds.-Applications for this program shall be limited to equipment that is installed on general aviation or commercial aircraft and is necessary for communications, surveillance, navigation, or other purposes determined by the Secretary to be in the interests of achieving NextGen capabilities for commercial and general aviation.
"(e) Termination of Authority.-The authority of the Secretary to issue such financial instruments under this section shall terminate 5 years after the date of the establishment of the incentive program.
"SEC. 222. OPERATIONAL INCENTIVES."(a) In General.-The Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration shall issue a report that-
"(1) identifies incentive options to encourage the equipage of aircraft with NextGen technologies, including a policy that gives priority to aircraft equipped with ADS''B technology;
"(2) identifies the costs and benefits of each option; and
"(3) includes input from industry stakeholders, including passenger and cargo air carriers, aerospace manufacturers, and general aviation aircraft operators.
"(b) Deadline.-The Administrator shall issue the report before the earlier of-
"(1) the date that is 6 months after the date of enactment of this Act [Feb. 14, 2012]; or
"(2) the date on which aircraft are required to be equipped with ADS''B technology pursuant to the rulemaking under [former] section 211(b)."
[Pub. L. 115''254, div. B, title V, §522(b), Oct. 5, 2018, 132 Stat. 3363, provided that: The Administrator [of the Federal Aviation Administration] shall ensure that any regulation issued pursuant to such subsection [subsec. (b) of section 211 of Pub. L. 112''95, formerly set out above] has no force or effect."]
Contingency PlanningPub. L. 112''95, title II, §208(d), Feb. 14, 2012, 126 Stat. 43, provided that: "The Associate Administrator for Next Generation Air Transportation System Planning, Development, and Interagency Coordination shall, as part of the design of the System, develop contingency plans for dealing with the degradation of the System in the event of a natural disaster, major equipment failure, or act of terrorism."
Reports on Status of Greener Skies ProjectPub. L. 112''95, title II, §225, Feb. 14, 2012, 126 Stat. 55, provided that:
"(a) Initial Report.-Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act [Feb. 14, 2012], the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration shall submit to Congress a report on the strategy of the Administrator for implementing, on an accelerated basis, the NextGen operational capabilities produced by the Greener Skies project, as recommended in the final report of the RTCA NextGen Mid-Term Implementation Task Force that was issued on September 9, 2009.
"(b) Subsequent Reports.-
"(1) In general.-Not later than 180 days after the Administrator submits to Congress the report required by subsection (a) and annually thereafter until the pilot program terminates, the Administrator shall submit to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate and to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of Representatives a report on the progress of the Administrator in carrying out the strategy described in the report submitted under subsection (a).
"(2) Contents.-Each report submitted under paragraph (1) shall include the following:
"(A) A timeline for full implementation of the strategy described in the report submitted under subsection (a).
"(B) A description of the progress made in carrying out such strategy.
"(C) A description of the challenges, if any, encountered by the Administrator in carrying out such strategy."
[For definition of "NextGen" as used in section 225 of Pub. L. 112''95, set out above, see section 201 of Pub. L. 112''95, set out as a note above.]
Unmanned Aircraft SystemsPub. L. 114''190, title II, subtitle B, July 15, 2016, 130 Stat. 628, as amended, formerly set out as a note under this section, was transferred and is set out as a note under section 44802 of this title .
Pub. L. 112''95, title III, subtitle B, Feb. 14, 2012, 126 Stat. 72, as amended, formerly set out as a note under this section, was transferred and is set out as a note under section 44802 of this title .
Clarification of Requirements for Volunteer Pilots Operating Charitable Medical FlightsPub. L. 112''95, title VIII, §821, Feb. 14, 2012, 126 Stat. 128, provided that:
"(a) Reimbursement of Fuel Costs.-Notwithstanding any other law or regulation, in administering section 61.113(c) of title 14, Code of Federal Regulations (or any successor regulation), the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration shall allow an aircraft owner or operator to accept reimbursement from a volunteer pilot organization for the fuel costs associated with a flight operation to provide transportation for an individual or organ for medical purposes (and for other associated individuals), if the aircraft owner or operator has-
"(1) volunteered to provide such transportation; and
"(2) notified any individual that will be on the flight, at the time of inquiry about the flight, that the flight operation is for charitable purposes and is not subject to the same requirements as a commercial flight.
"(b) Conditions to Ensure Safety.-The Administrator may impose minimum standards with respect to training and flight hours for single-engine, multi-engine, and turbine-engine operations conducted by an aircraft owner or operator that is being reimbursed for fuel costs by a volunteer pilot organization, including mandating that the pilot in command of such aircraft hold an instrument rating and be current and qualified for the aircraft being flown to ensure the safety of flight operations described in subsection (a).
"(c) Volunteer Pilot Organization.-In this section, the term 'volunteer pilot organization' means an organization that-
"(1) is described in section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 [26 U.S.C. 501(c)(3) ] and is exempt from taxation under section 501(a) of such Code; and
"(2) is organized for the primary purpose of providing, arranging, or otherwise fostering charitable medical transportation."
Interagency Research on Aviation and the EnvironmentPub. L. 112''95, title IX, §909, Feb. 14, 2012, 126 Stat. 141, provided that:
"(a) In General.-Using amounts made available under section 48102(a) of title 49, United States Code , the Administrator, in coordination with NASA and after consultation with other relevant agencies, may maintain a research program to assess the potential effect of aviation activities on the environment and, if warranted, to evaluate approaches to address any such effect.
"(b) Research Plan.-
"(1) In general.-The Administrator, in coordination with NASA and after consultation with other relevant agencies, shall jointly develop a plan to carry out the research under subsection (a).
"(2) Contents.-The plan shall contain an inventory of current interagency research being undertaken in this area, future research objectives, proposed tasks, milestones, and a 5-year budgetary profile.
"(3) Requirements.-The plan-
"(A) shall be completed not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act [Feb. 14, 2012];
"(B) shall be submitted to Congress for review; and
"(C) shall be updated, as appropriate, every 3 years after the initial submission."
Unmanned Aerial Systems and National AirspacePub. L. 112''81, div. A, title X, §1097, Dec. 31, 2011, 125 Stat. 1608, formerly set out as a note under this section, was transferred and is set out as a note under section 44802 of this title .
FindingsPub. L. 110''113, §2, Nov. 8, 2007, 121 Stat. 1039, provided that: "Congress finds the following:
"(1) The September 11th Victims Compensation Fund of 2001 [title IV of Pub. L. 107''42] (49 U.S.C. 40101 note ) establishes a Federal cause of action in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York as the exclusive remedy for damages arising out of the hijacking and subsequent crash of American Airlines flights 11 and 77, and United Airlines flights 93 and 175, on September 11, 2001.
"(2) Rules 45(b)(2) and 45(c)(3)(A)(ii) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure [28 U.S.C. App.] effectively limit service of a subpoena to any place within, or within 100 miles of, the district of the court by which it is issued, unless a statute of the United States expressly provides that the court, upon proper application and cause shown, may authorize the service of a subpoena at any other place.
"(3) Litigating a Federal cause of action under the September 11 Victims Compensation Fund of 2001 is likely to involve the testimony and the production of other documents and tangible things by a substantial number of witnesses, many of whom may not reside, be employed, or regularly transact business in, or within 100 miles of, the Southern District of New York."
Revitalization of Aviation and AeronauticsPub. L. 108''176, §4, Dec. 12, 2003, 117 Stat. 2493, provided that: "Congress finds the following:
"(1) The United States has revolutionized the way people travel, developing new technologies and aircraft to move people more efficiently and more safely.
"(2) Past Federal investment in aeronautics research and development has benefited the economy and national security of the United States and the quality of life of its citizens.
"(3) The total impact of civil aviation on the United States economy exceeds $900,000,000,000 annually and accounts for 9 percent of the gross national product and 11,000,000 jobs in the national workforce. Civil aviation products and services generate a significant surplus for United States trade accounts, and amount to significant numbers of the Nation's highly skilled, technologically qualified work force.
"(4) Aerospace technologies, products, and services underpin the advanced capabilities of our men and women in uniform and those charged with homeland security.
"(5) Future growth in civil aviation increasingly will be constrained by concerns related to aviation system safety and security, aviation system capabilities, aircraft noise, emissions, and fuel consumption.
"(6) Revitalization and coordination of the United States efforts to maintain its leadership in aviation and aeronautics are critical and must begin now.
"(7) A recent report by the Commission on the Future of the United States Aerospace Industry outlined the scope of the problems confronting the aerospace and aviation industries in the United States and found that-
"(A) aerospace will be at the core of the Nation's leadership and strength throughout the 21st century;
"(B) aerospace will play an integral role in the Nation's economy, security, and mobility; and
"(C) global leadership in aerospace is a national imperative.
"(8) Despite the downturn in the global economy, projections of the Federal Aviation Administration indicate that upwards of 1,000,000,000 people will fly annually by 2013. Efforts must begin now to prepare for future growth in the number of airline passengers.
"(9) The United States must increase its investment in research and development to revitalize the aviation and aerospace industries, to create jobs, and to provide educational assistance and training to prepare workers in those industries for the future."
Report on Long-Term Environmental ImprovementsPub. L. 108''176, title III, §321, Dec. 12, 2003, 117 Stat. 2540, provided that:
"(a) In General.-The Secretary of Transportation, in consultation with the Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, shall conduct a study of ways to reduce aircraft noise and emissions and to increase aircraft fuel efficiency. The study shall-
"(1) explore new operational procedures for aircraft to achieve those goals;
"(2) identify both near-term and long-term options to achieve those goals;
"(3) identify infrastructure changes that would contribute to attainment of those goals;
"(4) identify emerging technologies that might contribute to attainment of those goals;
"(5) develop a research plan for application of such emerging technologies, including new combustor and engine design concepts and methodologies for designing high bypass ratio turbofan engines so as to minimize the effects on climate change per unit of production of thrust and flight speed; and
"(6) develop an implementation plan for exploiting such emerging technologies to attain those goals.
"(b) Report.-The Secretary shall transmit a report on the study to the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation and the House of Representatives Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure within 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act [Dec. 12, 2003].
"(c) Authorization of Appropriations.-There is authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary $500,000 for fiscal year 2004 to carry out this section."
Reduction of Noise and Emissions From Civilian AircraftPub. L. 108''176, title III, §326, Dec. 12, 2003, 117 Stat. 2542, provided that:
"(a) Establishment of Research Program.-From amounts made available under section 48102(a) of title 49, United States Code , the Secretary of Transportation shall establish a research program related to reducing community exposure to civilian aircraft noise or emissions through grants or other measures authorized under section 106(l)(6) of such title, including reimbursable agreements with other Federal agencies. The program shall include participation by educational and research institutions that have existing facilities for developing and testing noise reduction engine technology.
"(b) Designation of Institute as a Center of Excellence.-The Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration shall designate an institution described in subsection (a) as a Center of Excellence for Noise and Emission Research."
Air Transportation System Joint Planning and Development OfficePub. L. 108''176, title VII, §709, Dec. 12, 2003, 117 Stat. 2582, as amended by Pub. L. 112''95, title II, §208(a)''(c), Feb. 14, 2012, 126 Stat. 40''43; Pub. L. 115''254, div. B, title V, §545(b)(1), Oct. 5, 2018, 132 Stat. 3376, provided that:
"(a) Establishment.-(1) The Secretary of Transportation shall establish in the Federal Aviation Administration a joint planning and development office to manage work related to the Next Generation Air Transportation System. The office shall be known as the Next Generation Air Transportation System Joint Planning and Development Office (in this section referred to as the 'Office').
"(2) The head of the Office shall be the Associate Administrator for Next Generation Air Transportation System Planning, Development, and Interagency Coordination, who shall be appointed by the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration, with the approval of the Secretary. The Administrator shall appoint the Associate Administrator after consulting with the Chairman of the Next Generation Senior Policy Committee and providing advanced notice to the other members of that Committee.
"(3) The responsibilities of the Office shall include-
"(A) creating and carrying out an integrated plan for a Next Generation Air Transportation System pursuant to subsection (b);
"(B) overseeing research and development on that system;
"(C) creating a transition plan for the implementation of that system;
"(D) coordinating aviation and aeronautics research programs to achieve the goal of more effective and directed programs that will result in applicable research;
"(E) coordinating goals and priorities and coordinating research activities within the Federal Government with United States aviation and aeronautical firms;
"(F) coordinating the development and utilization of new technologies to ensure that when available, they may be used to their fullest potential in aircraft and in the air traffic control system;
"(G) facilitating the transfer of technology from research programs such as the National Aeronautics and Space Administration program and the Department of Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency program to Federal agencies with operational responsibilities and to the private sector;
"(H) reviewing activities relating to noise, emissions, fuel consumption, and safety conducted by Federal agencies, including the Federal Aviation Administration, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the Department of Commerce, and the Department of Defense;
"(I) establishing specific quantitative goals for the safety, capacity, efficiency, performance, and environmental impacts of each phase of Next Generation Air Transportation System planning and development activities and measuring actual operational experience against those goals, taking into account noise pollution reduction concerns of affected communities to the extent practicable in establishing the environmental goals;
"(J) working to ensure global interoperability of the Next Generation Air Transportation System;
"(K) working to ensure the use of weather information and space weather information in the Next Generation Air Transportation System as soon as possible;
"(L) overseeing, with the Administrator and in consultation with the Chief Technology Officer, the selection of products or outcomes of research and development activities that should be moved to a demonstration phase; and
"(M) maintaining a baseline modeling and simulation environment for testing and evaluating alternative concepts to satisfy Next Generation Air Transportation System enterprise architecture requirements.
"(4)(A) The Office shall operate in conjunction with relevant programs in the Department of Defense, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the Department of Commerce and the Department of Homeland Security. The Secretary of Transportation may request assistance from staff from those Departments and other Federal agencies.
"(B) The Secretary of Defense, the Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the Secretary of Commerce, the Secretary of Homeland Security, and the head of any other Federal agency from which the Secretary of Transportation requests assistance under subparagraph (A) shall designate a senior official in the agency to be responsible for-
"(i) carrying out the activities of the agency relating to the Next Generation Air Transportation System in coordination with the Office, including the execution of all aspects of the work of the agency in developing and implementing the integrated work plan described in subsection (b)(5);
"(ii) serving as a liaison for the agency in activities of the agency relating to the Next Generation Air Transportation System and coordinating with other Federal agencies involved in activities relating to the System; and
"(iii) ensuring that the agency meets its obligations as set forth in any memorandum of understanding executed by or on behalf of the agency relating to the Next Generation Air Transportation System.
"(C) The head of a Federal agency referred to in subparagraph (B) shall-
"(i) ensure that the responsibilities of the agency relating to the Next Generation Air Transportation System are clearly communicated to the senior official of the agency designated under subparagraph (B);
"(ii) ensure that the performance of the senior official in carrying out the responsibilities of the agency relating to the Next Generation Air Transportation System is reflected in the official's annual performance evaluations and compensation;
"(iii) establish or designate an office within the agency to carry out its responsibilities under the memorandum of understanding under the supervision of the designated official; and
"(iv) ensure that the designated official has sufficient budgetary authority and staff resources to carry out the agency's Next Generation Air Transportation System responsibilities as set forth in the integrated plan under subsection (b).
"(D) Not later than 6 months after the date of enactment of this subparagraph [Feb. 14, 2012], the head of each Federal agency that has responsibility for carrying out any activity under the integrated plan under subsection (b) shall execute a memorandum of understanding with the Office obligating that agency to carry out the activity.
"(5) In developing and carrying out its plans, the Office shall consult with the public and ensure the participation of experts from the private sector including representatives of commercial aviation, general aviation, aviation labor groups, aviation research and development entities, aircraft and air traffic control suppliers, and the space industry.
"(6)(A) The Office shall work with the Director of the Office of Management and Budget to develop a process whereby the Director will identify projects related to the Next Generation Air Transportation System across the agencies referred to in paragraph (4)(A) and consider the Next Generation Air Transportation System as a unified, cross-agency program.
"(B) The Director of the Office of Management and Budget, to the extent practicable, shall-
"(i) ensure that-
"(I) each Federal agency covered by the plan has sufficient funds requested in the President's budget, as submitted under section 1105(a) of title 31, United States Code , for each fiscal year covered by the plan to carry out its responsibilities under the plan; and
"(II) the development and implementation of the Next Generation Air Transportation System remains on schedule;
"(ii) include, in the President's budget, a statement of the portion of the estimated budget of each Federal agency covered by the plan that relates to the activities of the agency under the Next Generation Air Transportation System; and
"(iii) identify and justify as part of the President's budget submission any inconsistencies between the plan and amounts requested in the budget.
"(7) The Associate Administrator for Next Generation Air Transportation System Planning, Development, and Interagency Coordination shall be a voting member of the Joint Resources Council of the Federal Aviation Administration.
"(b) Integrated Plan.-The integrated plan shall be designed to ensure that the Next Generation Air Transportation System meets anticipated future air transportation safety, security, mobility, efficiency, and capacity needs and accomplishes the goals under subsection (c). The integrated plan shall include-
"(1) a national vision statement for an air transportation system capable of meeting potential air traffic demand by 2025;
"(2) a description of the demand and the performance characteristics that will be required of the Nation's future air transportation system, and an explanation of how those characteristics were derived, including the national goals, objectives, and policies the system is designed to further, and the underlying socioeconomic determinants, and associated models and analyses;
"(3) a multiagency research and development roadmap for creating the Next Generation Air Transportation System with the characteristics outlined under clause (ii) [(2)], including-
"(A) the most significant technical obstacles and the research and development activities necessary to overcome them, including for each project, the role of each Federal agency, corporations, and universities;
"(B) the annual anticipated cost of carrying out the research and development activities; and
"(C) the technical milestones that will be used to evaluate the activities;
"(4) a description of the operational concepts to meet the system performance requirements for all system users and a timeline and anticipated expenditures needed to develop and deploy the system to meet the vision for 2025; and
"(5) a multiagency integrated work plan for the Next Generation Air Transportation System that includes-
"(A) an outline of the activities required to achieve the end-state architecture, as expressed in the concept of operations and enterprise architecture documents, that identifies each Federal agency or other entity responsible for each activity in the outline;
"(B) details on a year-by-year basis of specific accomplishments, activities, research requirements, rulemakings, policy decisions, and other milestones of progress for each Federal agency or entity conducting activities relating to the Next Generation Air Transportation System;
"(C) for each element of the Next Generation Air Transportation System, an outline, on a year-by-year basis, of what is to be accomplished in that year toward meeting the Next Generation Air Transportation System's end-state architecture, as expressed in the concept of operations and enterprise architecture documents, as well as identifying each Federal agency or other entity that will be responsible for each component of any research, development, or implementation program;
"(D) an estimate of all necessary expenditures on a year-by-year basis, including a statement of each Federal agency or entity's responsibility for costs and available resources, for each stage of development from the basic research stage through the demonstration and implementation phase;
"(E) a clear explanation of how each step in the development of the Next Generation Air Transportation System will lead to the following step and of the implications of not successfully completing a step in the time period described in the integrated work plan;
"(F) a transition plan for the implementation of the Next Generation Air Transportation System that includes date-specific milestones for the implementation of new capabilities into the national airspace system;
"(G) date-specific timetables for meeting the environmental goals identified in subsection (a)(3)(I); and
"(H) a description of potentially significant operational or workforce changes resulting from deployment of the Next Generation Air Transportation System.
"(c) Goals.-The Next Generation Air Transportation System shall-
"(1) improve the level of safety, security, efficiency, quality, and affordability of the National Airspace System and aviation services;
"(2) take advantage of data from emerging ground-based and space-based communications, navigation, and surveillance technologies;
"(3) integrate data streams from multiple agencies and sources to enable situational awareness and seamless global operations for all appropriate users of the system, including users responsible for civil aviation, homeland security, and national security;
"(4) leverage investments in civil aviation, homeland security, and national security and build upon current air traffic management and infrastructure initiatives to meet system performance requirements for all system users;
"(5) be scalable to accommodate and encourage substantial growth in domestic and international transportation and anticipate and accommodate continuing technology upgrades and advances;
"(6) accommodate a wide range of aircraft operations, including airlines, air taxis, helicopters, general aviation, and unmanned aerial vehicles; and
"(7) take into consideration, to the greatest extent practicable, design of airport approach and departure flight paths to reduce exposure of noise and emissions pollution on affected residents.
"(d) NextGen Implementation Plan.-The Administrator shall develop and publish annually the document known as the NextGen Implementation Plan, or any successor document, that provides a detailed description of how the agency is implementing the Next Generation Air Transportation System.
"(e) Authorization of Appropriations.-There are authorized to be appropriated to the Office $50,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 2004 through 2010."
Next Generation Air Transportation Senior Policy CommitteePub. L. 108''176, title VII, §710, Dec. 12, 2003, 117 Stat. 2584, as amended by Pub. L. 112''95, title II, §209, Feb. 14, 2012, 126 Stat. 43, provided that:
"(a) In General.-The Secretary of Transportation shall establish a senior policy committee to work with the Next Generation Air Transportation System Joint Planning and Development Office. The senior policy committee shall be chaired by the Secretary and shall meet at least twice each year.
"(b) Membership.-In addition to the Secretary, the senior policy committee shall be composed of-
"(1) the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration (or the Administrator's designee);
"(2) the Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (or the Administrator's designee);
"(3) the Secretary of Defense (or the Secretary's designee);
"(4) the Secretary of Homeland Security (or the Secretary's designee);
"(5) the Secretary of Commerce (or the Secretary's designee);
"(6) the Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy (or the Director's designee); and
"(7) designees from other Federal agencies determined by the Secretary of Transportation to have an important interest in, or responsibility for, other aspects of the system.
"(c) Function.-The senior policy committee shall-
"(1) advise the Secretary of Transportation regarding the national goals and strategic objectives for the transformation of the Nation's air transportation system to meet its future needs;
"(2) provide policy guidance for the integrated plan for the air transportation system to be developed by the Next Generation Air Transportation System Joint Planning and Development Office;
"(3) provide ongoing policy review for the transformation of the air transportation system;
"(4) identify resource needs and make recommendations to their respective agencies for necessary funding for planning, research, and development activities; and
"(5) make legislative recommendations, as appropriate, for the future air transportation system.
"(d) Consultation.-In carrying out its functions under this section, the senior policy committee shall consult with, and ensure participation by, the private sector (including representatives of general aviation, commercial aviation, aviation labor, and the space industry), members of the public, and other interested parties and may do so through a special advisory committee composed of such representatives.
"(e) Annual Report.-
"(1) Submission to congress.-Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this subsection [Feb. 14, 2012], and annually thereafter on the date of submission of the President's budget request to Congress under section 1105(a) of title 31, United States Code , the Secretary shall submit to Congress a report summarizing the progress made in carrying out the integrated work plan required by section 709(b)(5) [of Pub. L. 108''176, set out as a note above] and any changes in that plan.
"(2) Contents.-The report shall include-
"(A) a copy of the updated integrated work plan;
"(B) a description of the progress made in carrying out the integrated work plan and any changes in that plan, including any changes based on funding shortfalls and limitations set by the Office of Management and Budget;
"(C) a detailed description of-
"(i) the success or failure of each item of the integrated work plan for the previous year and relevant information as to why any milestone was not met; and
"(ii) the impact of not meeting the milestone and what actions will be taken in the future to account for the failure to complete the milestone;
"(D) an explanation of any change to future years in the integrated work plan and the reasons for such change; and
"(E) an identification of the levels of funding for each agency participating in the integrated work plan devoted to programs and activities under the plan for the previous fiscal year and in the President's budget request."
[Next Generation Air Transportation System Senior Policy Committee to terminate on date of initial appointment of the members of the advisory committee established under section 439 of Pub. L. 115''254, see section 439(h) of Pub. L. 115''254, set out as a note under section 41705 of this title .]
Reimbursement for Losses Incurred by General Aviation EntitiesPub. L. 108''176, title VIII, §817, Dec. 12, 2003, 117 Stat. 2592, provided that:
"(a) In General.-The Secretary of Transportation may make grants to reimburse the following general aviation entities for the security costs incurred and revenue foregone as a result of the restrictions imposed by the Federal Government following the terrorist attacks on the United States that occurred on September 11, 2001:
"(1) General aviation entities that operate at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.
"(2) Airports that are located within 15 miles of Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport and were operating under security restrictions on the date of enactment of this Act [Dec. 12, 2003] and general aviation entities operating at those airports.
"(3) General aviation entities affected by implementation of section 44939 of title 49, United States Code .
"(4) General aviation entities that were affected by Federal Aviation Administration Notices to Airmen FDC 2/1099 and 3/1862 or section 352 of the Department of Transportation and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2003 (Public Law 108''7, division I) [117 Stat. 420], or both.
"(5) Sightseeing operations that were not authorized to resume in enhanced class B air space under Federal Aviation Administration notice to airmen 1/1225.
"(b) Documentation.-Reimbursement under this section shall be made in accordance with sworn financial statements or other appropriate data submitted by each general aviation entity demonstrating the costs incurred and revenue foregone to the satisfaction of the Secretary.
"(c) General Aviation Entity Defined.-In this section, the term 'general aviation entity' means any person (other than a scheduled air carrier or foreign air carrier, as such terms are defined in section 40102 of title 49, United States Code ) that-
"(1) operates nonmilitary aircraft under part 91 of title 14, Code of Federal Regulations, for the purpose of conducting its primary business;
"(2) manufactures nonmilitary aircraft with a maximum seating capacity of fewer than 20 passengers or aircraft parts to be used in such aircraft;
"(3) provides services necessary for nonmilitary operations under such part 91; or
"(4) operates an airport, other than a primary airport (as such terms are defined in such section 40102), that-
"(A) is listed in the national plan of integrated airport systems developed by the Federal Aviation Administration under section 47103 of such title; or
"(B) is normally open to the public, is located within the confines of enhanced class B airspace (as defined by the Federal Aviation Administration in Notice to Airmen FDC 1/0618), and was closed as a result of an order issued by the Federal Aviation Administration in the period beginning September 11, 2001, and ending January 1, 2002, and remained closed as a result of that order on January 1, 2002.
Such term includes fixed based operators, flight schools, manufacturers of general aviation aircraft and products, persons engaged in nonscheduled aviation enterprises, and general aviation independent contractors.
"(d) Authorization of Appropriations.-There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section $100,000,000. Such sums shall remain available until expended."
GAO Report on Airlines' Actions To Improve Finances and on Executive CompensationPub. L. 108''176, title VIII, §826, Dec. 12, 2003, 117 Stat. 2596, provided that:
"(a) Finding.-Congress finds that the United States Government has by law provided substantial financial assistance to United States commercial airlines in the form of war risk insurance and reinsurance and other economic benefits and has imposed substantial economic and regulatory burdens on those airlines. In order to determine the economic viability of the domestic commercial airline industry and to evaluate the need for additional measures or the modification of existing laws, Congress needs more frequent information and independently verified information about the financial condition of these airlines.
"(b) GAO Report.-Not later than one year after the date of enactment of this Act [Dec. 12, 2003], the Comptroller General shall prepare a report for Congress analyzing the financial condition of the United States airline industry in its efforts to reduce the costs, improve the earnings and profits and balances of each individual air carrier. The report shall recommend steps that the industry should take to become financially self-sufficient.
"(c) GAO Authority.-In order to compile the report required by subsection (b), the Comptroller General, or any of the Comptroller General's duly authorized representatives, shall have access for the purpose of audit and examination to any books, accounts, documents, papers, and records of such air carriers that relate to the information required to compile the report. The Comptroller General shall submit with the report a certification as to whether the Comptroller General has had access to sufficient information to make informed judgments on the matters covered by the report.
"(d) Reports to Congress.-The Comptroller General shall transmit the report required by subsection (b) to the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation and the House of Representatives Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure."
Mail and Freight WaiversPub. L. 107''71, title I, §127, Nov. 19, 2001, 115 Stat. 632, provided that:
"(a) In General.-During a national emergency affecting air transportation or intrastate air transportation, the Secretary of Transportation, after consultation with the Transportation Security Oversight Board, may grant a complete or partial waiver of any restrictions on the carriage by aircraft of freight, mail, emergency medical supplies, personnel, or patients on aircraft, imposed by the Department of Transportation (or other Federal agency or department) that would permit such carriage of freight, mail, emergency medical supplies, personnel, or patients on flights, to, from, or within a State if the Secretary determines that-
"(1) extraordinary air transportation needs or concerns exist; and
"(2) the waiver is in the public interest, taking into consideration the isolation of and dependence on air transportation of the State.
"(b) Limitations.-The Secretary may impose reasonable limitations on any such waiver."
Air Carriers Required To Honor Tickets for Suspended ServicePub. L. 107''71, title I, §145, Nov. 19, 2001, 115 Stat. 645, as amended by Pub. L. 108''7, div. I, title III, §372, Feb. 20, 2003, 117 Stat. 427; Pub. L. 108''176, title IV, §428, Dec. 12, 2003, 117 Stat. 2556; Pub. L. 108''458, title VIII, §8404, Dec. 17, 2004, 118 Stat. 3872; Pub. L. 109''115, div. A, title I, §178, Nov. 30, 2005, 119 Stat. 2427, required each air carrier providing scheduled air transportation on a route to provide, to the extent practicable, air transportation to passengers ticketed for air transportation on that route by any other air carrier that suspended, interrupted, or discontinued air passenger service on the route by reason of insolvency or bankruptcy of the other air carrier occurring on or before Nov. 30, 2006.
Relationship of Eligible Crime Victim Compensation Programs to September 11th Victim Compensation FundPub. L. 107''56, title VI, §622(e)(2), Oct. 26, 2001, 115 Stat. 372, provided that: "With respect to any compensation payable under title IV of Public Law 107''42 [set out as a note below], the failure of a crime victim compensation program, after the effective date of final regulations issued pursuant to section 407 of Public Law 107''42, to provide compensation otherwise required pursuant to section 1403 of the Victims of Crime Act of 1984 (42 U.S.C. 10602 ) [now 34 U.S.C. 20102 ] shall not render that program ineligible for future grants under the Victims of Crime Act of 1984 [34 U.S.C. 20101 et seq. ]."
Air Transportation Safety and System StabilizationPub. L. 112''10, div. B, title III, §1347, Apr. 15, 2011, 125 Stat. 124, as amended by Pub. L. 114''113, div. O, title IV, §402(h), Dec. 18, 2015, 129 Stat. 3007, provided that: "Notwithstanding any other provision of law, in fiscal year 2012 and thereafter payments for costs described in subsection (a) of section 404 of Public Law 107''42, as amended [set out below], shall be considered to be, and included in, payments for compensation for the purposes of sections 406(b) and (d)(1) and (2) of such Act. Costs for payments for compensation for claims in Group A, as described in section 405(a)(3)(C)(ii) of such Act, shall be paid from amounts made available under section 406 of such Act. Costs for payments for compensation for claims in Group B, as described in section 405(a)(3)(C)(iii) of such Act, shall be paid from amounts in the Victims Compensation Fund established under section 410 of such Act."
Pub. L. 107''42, Sept. 22, 2001, 115 Stat. 230, as amended by Pub. L. 107''71, title I, §124(a), (c), (d), title II, §201, Nov. 19, 2001, 115 Stat. 631, 645; Pub. L. 107''134, title I, §114(a), Jan. 23, 2002, 115 Stat. 2435; Pub. L. 107''296, title VIII, §890, title XII, §1201(2), Nov. 25, 2002, 116 Stat. 2251, 2286; Pub. L. 110''113, §3, Nov. 8, 2007, 121 Stat. 1039; Pub. L. 110''161, div. D, title I, Dec. 26, 2007, 121 Stat. 1974; Pub. L. 111''347, title II, Jan. 2, 2011, 124 Stat. 3659; Pub. L. 114''113, div. O, title IV, §402(a)''(g), Dec. 18, 2015, 129 Stat. 3000''3006; Pub. L. 115''123, div. C, title II, §30203(b), Feb. 9, 2018, 132 Stat. 126, provided that:
"SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE."This Act may be cited as the 'Air Transportation Safety and System Stabilization Act'.
"TITLE I-AIRLINE STABILIZATION"SEC. 101. AVIATION DISASTER RELIEF."(a) In General.-Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the President shall take the following actions to compensate air carriers for losses incurred by the air carriers as a result of the terrorist attacks on the United States that occurred on September 11, 2001:
"[(1) Repealed. Pub. L. 110''161, div. D, title I, Dec. 26, 2007, 121 Stat. 1974.]
"(2) Compensate air carriers in an aggregate amount equal to $5,000,000,000 for-
"(A) direct losses incurred beginning on September 11, 2001, by air carriers as a result of any Federal ground stop order issued by the Secretary of Transportation or any subsequent order which continues or renews such a stoppage; and
"(B) the incremental losses incurred beginning September 11, 2001, and ending December 31, 2001, by air carriers as a direct result of such attacks.
"(b) Emergency Designation.-Congress designates the amount of new budget authority and outlays in all fiscal years resulting from this title as an emergency requirement pursuant to section 252(e) of the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 (2 U.S.C. 901(e) ). Such amount shall be available only to the extent that a request, that includes designation of such amount as an emergency requirement as defined in such Act [see Short Title note set out under section 900 of Title 2 , The Congress], is transmitted by the President to Congress.
"[SEC. 102. Repealed. Pub. L. 110''161, div. D, title I, Dec. 26, 2007, 121 Stat. 1974.]"SEC. 103. SPECIAL RULES FOR COMPENSATION."(a) Documentation.-Subject to subsection (b), the amount of compensation payable to an air carrier under section 101(a)(2) may not exceed the amount of losses described in section 101(a)(2) that the air carrier demonstrates to the satisfaction of the President, using sworn financial statements or other appropriate data, that the air carrier incurred. The Secretary of Transportation and the Comptroller General of the United States may audit such statements and may request any information that the Secretary and the Comptroller General deems necessary to conduct such audit.
"(b) Maximum Amount of Compensation Payable Per Air Carrier.-The maximum total amount of compensation payable to an air carrier under section 101(a)(2) may not exceed the lesser of-
"(1) the amount of such air carrier's direct and incremental losses described in section 101(a)(2); or
"(2) in the case of-
"(A) flights involving passenger-only or combined passenger and cargo transportation, the product of-
"(i) $4,500,000,000; and
"(ii) the ratio of-
"(I) the available seat miles of the air carrier for the month of August 2001 as reported to the Secretary; to
"(II) the total available seat miles of all such air carriers for such month as reported to the Secretary; and
"(B) flights involving cargo-only transportation, the product of-
"(i) $500,000,000; and
"(ii) the ratio of-
"(I) the revenue ton miles or other auditable measure of the air carrier for cargo for the latest quarter for which data is available as reported to the Secretary; to
"(II) the total revenue ton miles or other auditable measure of all such air carriers for cargo for such quarter as reported to the Secretary.
"(c) Payments.-The President may provide compensation to air carriers under section 101(a)(2) in 1 or more payments up to the amount authorized by this title.
"(d) Compensation for Certain Air Carriers.-
"(1) Set-aside.-The President may set aside a portion of the amount of compensation payable to air carriers under section 101(a)(2) to provide compensation to classes of air carriers, such as air tour operators and air ambulances (including hospitals operating air ambulances) for whom the application of a distribution formula containing available seat miles as a factor would inadequately reflect their share of direct and incremental losses. The President shall reduce the $4,500,000,000 specified in subsection (b)(2)(A)(i) by the amount set aside under this subsection.
"(2) Distribution of amounts.-The President shall distribute the amount set aside under this subsection proportionally among such air carriers based on an appropriate auditable measure, as determined by the President.
"[SEC. 104. Repealed. Pub. L. 110''161, div. D, title I, Dec. 26, 2007, 121 Stat. 1974.]"SEC. 105. CONTINUATION OF CERTAIN AIR SERVICE."(a) Action of Secretary.-The Secretary of Transportation should take appropriate action to ensure that all communities that had scheduled air service before September 11, 2001, continue to receive adequate air transportation service and that essential air service to small communities continues without interruption.
"(b) Essential Air Service.-There is authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary to carry out the essential air service program under subchapter II of chapter 417 of title 49, United States Code , $120,000,000 for fiscal year 2002.
"(c) Secretarial Oversight.-
"(1) In general.-Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the Secretary is authorized to require an air carrier receiving direct financial assistance under this Act to maintain scheduled air service to any point served by that carrier before September 11, 2001.
"(2) Agreements.-In applying paragraph (1), the Secretary may require air carriers receiving direct financial assistance under this Act to enter into agreements which will ensure, to the maximum extent practicable, that all communities that had scheduled air service before September 11, 2001, continue to receive adequate air transportation service.
"SEC. 106. REPORTS."(a) Report.-Not later than February 1, 2002, the President shall transmit to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, the Committee on Appropriations, and the Committee on the Budget of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, the Committee on Appropriations, and the Committee on the Budget of the Senate a report on the financial status of the air carrier industry and the amounts of assistance provided under this title to each air carrier.
"(b) Update.-Not later than the last day of the 7-month period following the date of enactment of this Act [Sept. 22, 2001], the President shall update and transmit the report to the Committees.
"SEC. 107. DEFINITIONS."In this title, the following definitions apply:
"(1) Air carrier.-The term 'air carrier' has the meaning such term has under section 40102 of title 49, United States Code .
"[(2) Repealed. Pub. L. 110''161, div. D, title I, Dec. 26, 2007, 121 Stat. 1974.]
"(3) Incremental loss.-The term 'incremental loss' does not include any loss that the President determines would have been incurred if the terrorist attacks on the United States that occurred on September 11, 2001, had not occurred.
"TITLE II-AVIATION INSURANCE"SEC. 201. DOMESTIC INSURANCE AND REIMBURSEMENT OF INSURANCE COSTS."(a) In General.-[Amended section 44302 of this title .]
"(b) Coverage.-
"(1) In general.-[Amended section 44303 of this title .]
"(2) [Transferred to section 44303(b) of this title .]
"(c) Reinsurance.-[Amended section 44304 of this title .]
"(d) Premiums.-[Amended section 44306 of this title .]
"(e) Conforming Amendment.-[Amended section 44305(b) of this title .]
"SEC. 202. EXTENSION OF PROVISIONS TO VENDORS, AGENTS, AND SUBCONTRACTORS OF AIR CARRIERS."Notwithstanding any other provision of this title, the Secretary may extend any provision of chapter 443 of title 49, United States Code , as amended by this title, and the provisions of this title, to vendors, agents, and subcontractors of air carriers. For the 180-day period beginning on the date of enactment of this Act [Sept. 22, 2001], the Secretary may extend or amend any such provisions so as to ensure that the entities referred to in the preceding sentence are not responsible in cases of acts of terrorism for losses suffered by third parties that exceed the amount of such entities' liability coverage, as determined by the Secretary.
"TITLE III-TAX PROVISIONS"SEC. 301. EXTENSION OF DUE DATE FOR EXCISE TAX DEPOSITS; TREATMENT OF LOSS COMPENSATION."(a) Extension of Due Date for Excise Tax Deposits.-
"(1) In general.-In the case of an eligible air carrier, any airline-related deposit required under section 6302 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 [26 U.S.C. 6302 ] to be made after September 10, 2001, and before November 15, 2001, shall be treated for purposes of such Code [26 U.S.C. 1 et seq. ] as timely made if such deposit is made on or before November 15, 2001. If the Secretary of the Treasury so prescribes, the preceding sentence shall be applied by substituting for 'November 15, 2001' each place it appears-
"(A) 'January 15, 2002'; or
"(B) such earlier date after November 15, 2001, as such Secretary may prescribe.
"(2) Eligible air carrier.-For purposes of this subsection, the term 'eligible air carrier' means any domestic corporation engaged in the trade or business of transporting (for hire) persons by air if such transportation is available to the general public.
"(3) Airline-related deposit.-For purposes of this subsection, the term 'airline-related deposit' means any deposit of taxes imposed by subchapter C of chapter 33 of such Code [26 U.S.C. 4261 et seq. ] (relating to transportation by air).
"(b) Treatment of Loss Compensation.-Nothing in any provision of law shall be construed to exclude from gross income under the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 any compensation received under section 101(a)(2) of this Act.
"TITLE IV-VICTIM COMPENSATION"SEC. 401. SHORT TITLE."This title may be cited as the 'September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001'.
"SEC. 402. DEFINITIONS."In this title, the following definitions apply:
"(1) Air carrier.-The term 'air carrier' means a citizen of the United States undertaking by any means, directly or indirectly, to provide air transportation and includes employees and agents (including persons engaged in the business of providing air transportation security and their affiliates) of such citizen. For purposes of the preceding sentence, the term 'agent', as applied to persons engaged in the business of providing air transportation security, shall only include persons that have contracted directly with the Federal Aviation Administration on or after and commenced services no later than February 17, 2002, to provide such security, and had not been or are not debarred for any period within 6 months from that date.
"(2) Air transportation.-The term 'air transportation' means foreign air transportation, interstate air transportation, or the transportation of mail by aircraft.
"(3) Aircraft manufacturer.-The term 'aircraft manufacturer' means any entity that manufactured the aircraft or any parts or components of the aircraft involved in the terrorist related aircraft crashes of September 11, 2001, including employees and agents of that entity.
"(4) Airport sponsor.-The term 'airport sponsor' means the owner or operator of an airport (as defined in section 40102 of title 49, United States Code ).
"(5) Claimant.-The term 'claimant' means an individual filing a claim for compensation under section 405(a)(1).
"(6) Collateral source.-The term 'collateral source' means all collateral sources, including life insurance, pension funds, death benefit programs, and payments by Federal, State, or local governments related to the terrorist-related aircraft crashes of September 11, 2001, or debris removal, including under the World Trade Center Health Program established under section 3001 of the Public Health Service Act [probably means section 3301 of the Public Health Service Act, 42 U.S.C. 300mm ], and payments made pursuant to the settlement of a civil action described in section 405(c)(3)(C)(iii).
"(7) Contractor and subcontractor.-The term 'contractor and subcontractor' means any contractor or subcontractor (at any tier of a subcontracting relationship), including any general contractor, construction manager, prime contractor, consultant, or any parent, subsidiary, associated or allied company, affiliated company, corporation, firm, organization, or joint venture thereof that participated in debris removal at any 9/11 crash site. Such term shall not include any entity, including the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, with a property interest in the World Trade Center, on September 11, 2001, whether fee simple, leasehold or easement, direct or indirect.
"(8) Debris removal.-The term 'debris removal' means rescue and recovery efforts, removal of debris, cleanup, remediation, and response during the immediate aftermath of the terrorist-related aircraft crashes of September 11, 2001, with respect to a 9/11 crash site.
"(9) Economic loss.-The term 'economic loss' means any pecuniary loss resulting from harm (including the loss of earnings or other benefits related to employment, replacement services loss, loss due to death, burial costs, loss of business or employment opportunities, and past out-of-pocket medical expense loss but not future medical expense loss) to the extent recovery for such loss is allowed under applicable State law.
"(10) Eligible individual.-The term 'eligible individual' means an individual determined to be eligible for compensation under section 405(c).
"(11) Immediate aftermath.-The term 'immediate aftermath' means any period beginning with the terrorist-related aircraft crashes of September 11, 2001, and ending on May 30, 2002.
"(12) Noneconomic losses.-The term 'noneconomic losses' means losses for physical and emotional pain, suffering, inconvenience, physical impairment, mental anguish, disfigurement, loss of enjoyment of life, loss of society and companionship, loss of consortium (other than loss of domestic service), hedonic damages, injury to reputation, and all other nonpecuniary losses of any kind or nature.
"(13) Special master.-The term 'Special Master' means the Special Master appointed under section 404(a).
"(14) WTC program administrator.-The term 'WTC Program Administrator' has the meaning given such term in section 3306 of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 300mm''5 ).
"(15) WTC-related physical health condition.-The term 'WTC-related physical health condition'-
"(A) means, subject to subparagraph (B), a WTC-related health condition as defined by section 3312(a) of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 300mm''22(a) ), including the conditions listed in section 3322(b) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 300mm''32(b) ); and
"(B) does not include-
"(i) a mental health condition described in paragraph (1)(A)(ii) or (3)(B) of section 3312(a) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 300mm''22(a) );
"(ii) any mental health condition certified under section 3312(b)(2)(B)(iii) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 300mm''22(b)(2)(B)(iii) ) (including such certification as applied under section 3322(a) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 300mm''32(a) );
"(iii) a mental health condition described in section 3322(b)(2) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 300mm''32(b)(2) ); or
"(iv) any other mental health condition.
"(16) 9/11 crash site.-The term '9/11 crash site' means-
"(A) the World Trade Center site, Pentagon site, and Shanksville, Pennsylvania site;
"(B) the buildings or portions of buildings that were destroyed as a result of the terrorist-related aircraft crashes of September 11, 2001;
"(C) the area in Manhattan that is south of the line that runs along Canal Street from the Hudson River to the intersection of Canal Street and East Broadway, north on East Broadway to Clinton Street, and east on Clinton Street to the East River;
"(D) any area related to, or along, routes of debris removal, such as barges and Fresh Kills.
"SEC. 403. PURPOSE."It is the purpose of this title to provide full compensation to any individual (or relatives of a deceased individual) who was physically injured or killed as a result of the terrorist-related aircraft crashes of September 11, 2001, or the rescue and recovery efforts during the immediate aftermath of such crashes.
"SEC. 404. ADMINISTRATION."(a) In General.-The Attorney General, acting through a Special Master appointed by the Attorney General, shall-
"(1) administer the compensation program established under this title;
"(2) promulgate all procedural and substantive rules for the administration of this title; and
"(3) employ and supervise hearing officers and other administrative personnel to perform the duties of the Special Master under this title.
"(b) Authorization of Appropriations.-There are authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be necessary to pay the administrative and support costs for the Special Master in carrying out this title.
"SEC. 405. DETERMINATION OF ELIGIBILITY FOR COMPENSATION."(a) Filing of Claim.-
"(1) In general.-A claimant may file a claim for compensation under this title with the Special Master. The claim shall be on the form developed under paragraph (2) and shall state the factual basis for eligibility for compensation and the amount of compensation sought.
"(2) Claim form.-
"(A) In general.-The Special Master shall develop a claim form that claimants shall use when submitting claims under paragraph (1). The Special Master shall ensure that such form can be filed electronically, if determined to be practicable.
"(B) Contents.-The form developed under subparagraph (A) shall request-
"(i) information from the claimant concerning the physical harm that the claimant suffered, or in the case of a claim filed on behalf of a decedent information confirming the decedent's death, as a result of the terrorist-related aircraft crashes of September 11, 2001, or debris removal during the immediate aftermath;
"(ii) information from the claimant concerning any possible economic and noneconomic losses that the claimant suffered as a result of such crashes or debris removal during the immediate aftermath; and
"(iii) information regarding collateral sources of compensation the claimant has received or is entitled to receive as a result of such crashes or debris removal during the immediate aftermath.
"(3) Limitation.-
"(A) In general.-Except as provided by subparagraph (B), no claim may be filed under paragraph (1) after the date that is 2 years after the date on which regulations are promulgated under section 407(a).
"(B) Exception.-A claim may be filed under paragraph (1), in accordance with subsection (c)(3)(A)(i), by an individual (or by a personal representative on behalf of a deceased individual) during the period beginning on the date on which the regulations are updated under section 407(b)(1) and ending on the date that is 5 years after the date of enactment of the James Zadroga 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund Reauthorization Act [Dec. 18, 2015].
"(C) Special master determination.-
"(i) In general.-For claims filed under this title during the period described in subparagraph (B), the Special Master shall establish a system for determining whether, for purposes of this title, the claim is-
"(I) a claim in Group A, as described in clause (ii); or
"(II) a claim in Group B, as described in clause (iii).
"(ii) Group a claims.-A claim under this title is a claim in Group A if-
"(I) the claim is filed under this title during the period described in subparagraph (B); and
"(II) on or before the day before the date of enactment of the James Zadroga 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund Reauthorization Act, the Special Master postmarks and transmits a final award determination to the claimant filing such claim.
"(iii) Group b claims.-A claim under this title is a claim in Group B if the claim-
"(I) is filed under this title during the period described in subparagraph (B); and
"(II) is not a claim described in clause (ii).
"(iv) Definition of final award determination.-For purposes of this subparagraph, the term 'final award determination' means a letter from the Special Master indicating the total amount of compensation to which a claimant is entitled for a claim under this title without regard to the limitation under the second sentence of section 406(d)(1), as such section was in effect on the day before the date of enactment of the James Zadroga 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund Reauthorization Act.
"(b) Review and Determination.-
"(1) Review.-The Special Master shall review a claim submitted under subsection (a) and determine-
"(A) whether the claimant is an eligible individual under subsection (c);
"(B) with respect to a claimant determined to be an eligible individual-
"(i) the extent of the harm to the claimant, including any economic and noneconomic losses; and
"(ii) subject to paragraph (7), the amount of compensation to which the claimant is entitled based on the harm to the claimant, the facts of the claim, and the individual circumstances of the claimant.
"(2) Negligence.-With respect to a claimant, the Special Master shall not consider negligence or any other theory of liability.
"(3) Determination.-Not later than 120 days after that date on which a claim is filed under subsection (a), the Special Master shall complete a review, make a determination, and provide written notice to the claimant, with respect to the matters that were the subject of the claim under review. Such a determination shall be final and not subject to judicial review.
"(4) Rights of claimant.-A claimant in a review under paragraph (1) shall have-
"(A) the right to be represented by an attorney;
"(B) the right to present evidence, including the presentation of witnesses and documents; and
"(C) any other due process rights determined appropriate by the Special Master.
"(5) No punitive damages.-The Special Master may not include amounts for punitive damages in any compensation paid under a claim under this title.
"(6) Collateral compensation.-
"(A) In general.-The Special Master shall reduce the amount of compensation determined under paragraph (1)(B)(ii) by the amount of the collateral source compensation the claimant has received or is entitled to receive as a result of the terrorist-related aircraft crashes of September 11, 2001.
"(B) Group b claims.-Notwithstanding any other provision of this title, in the case of a claim in Group B as described in subsection (a)(3)(C)(iii), a claimant filing such claim shall receive an amount of compensation under this title for such claim that is not greater than the amount determined under paragraph (1)(B)(ii) less the amount of any collateral source compensation that such claimant has received or is entitled to receive for such claim as a result of the terrorist-related aircraft crashes of September 11, 2001.
"(7) Limitations for group b claims.-
"(A) Noneconomic losses.-With respect to a claim in Group B as described in subsection (a)(3)(C)(iii), the total amount of compensation to which a claimant filing such claim is entitled to receive for such claim under this title on account of any noneconomic loss-
"(i) that results from any type of cancer shall not exceed $250,000; and
"(ii) that does not result from any type of cancer shall not exceed $90,000.
"(B) Determination of economic loss.-
"(i) In general.-Subject to the limitation described in clause (ii) and with respect to a claim in Group B as described in subsection (a)(3)(C)(iii), the Special Master shall, for purposes of calculating the amount of compensation to which a claimant is entitled under this title for such claim on account of any economic loss, determine the loss of earnings or other benefits related to employment by using the applicable methodology described in section 104.43 or 104.45 of title 28, Code of Federal Regulations, as such Code was in effect on the day before the date of enactment of the James Zadroga 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund Reauthorization Act [Dec. 18, 2015].
"(ii) Annual gross income limitation.-In considering annual gross income under clause (i) for the purposes described in such clause, the Special Master shall, for each year of any loss of earnings or other benefits related to employment, limit the annual gross income of the claimant (or decedent in the case of a personal representative) for each such year to an amount that is not greater than $200,000.
"(C) Gross income defined.-For purposes of this paragraph, the term 'gross income' has the meaning given such term in section 61 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 [26 U.S.C. 61 ].
"(c) Eligibility.-
"(1) In general.-A claimant shall be determined to be an eligible individual for purposes of this subsection if the Special Master determines that such claimant-
"(A) is an individual described in paragraph (2); and
"(B) meets the requirements of paragraph (3).
"(2) Individuals.-A claimant is an individual described in this paragraph if the claimant is-
"(A) an individual who-
"(i) was present at the World Trade Center, (New York, New York), the Pentagon (Arlington, Virginia), the site of the aircraft crash at Shanksville, Pennsylvania, or any other 9/11 crash site at the time, or in the immediate aftermath, of the terrorist-related aircraft crashes of September 11, 2001; and
"(ii) suffered physical harm or death as a result of such an air crash or debris removal;
"(B) an individual who was a member of the flight crew or a passenger on American Airlines flight 11 or 77 or United Airlines flight 93 or 175, except that an individual identified by the Attorney General to have been a participant or conspirator in the terrorist-related aircraft crashes of September 11, 2001, or a representative of such individual shall not be eligible to receive compensation under this title; or
"(C) in the case of a decedent who is an individual described in subparagraph (A) or (B), the personal representative of the decedent who files a claim on behalf of the decedent.
"(3) Requirements.-
"(A) Requirements for filing claims during extended filing period.-
"(i) Timing requirements for filing claims.-An individual (or a personal representative on behalf of a deceased individual) may file a claim during the period described in subsection (a)(3)(B) as follows:
"(I) In the case that the Special Master determines the individual knew (or reasonably should have known) before the date specified in clause (iii) that the individual suffered a physical harm at a 9/11 crash site as a result of the terrorist-related aircraft crashes of September 11, 2001, or as a result of debris removal, and that the individual knew (or should have known) before such specified date that the individual was eligible to file a claim under this title, the individual may file a claim not later than the date that is 2 years after such specified date.
"(II) In the case that the Special Master determines the individual first knew (or reasonably should have known) on or after the date specified in clause (iii) that the individual suffered such a physical harm or that the individual first knew (or should have known) on or after such specified date that the individual was eligible to file a claim under this title, the individual may file a claim not later than the last day of the 2-year period beginning on the date the Special Master determines the individual first knew (or should have known) that the individual both suffered from such harm and was eligible to file a claim under this title.
"(ii) Other eligibility requirements for filing claims.-Except with respect to claims in Group B as described in subsection (a)(3)(C)(iii), an individual may file a claim during the period described in subsection (a)(3)(B) only if-
"(I) the individual was treated by a medical professional for suffering from a physical harm described in clause (i)(I) within a reasonable time from the date of discovering such harm; and
"(II) the individual's physical harm is verified by contemporaneous medical records created by or at the direction of the medical professional who provided the medical care.
"(iii) Date specified.-The date specified in this clause is the date on which the regulations are updated under section 407(b)(1).
"(iv) Group b claims.-
"(I) In general.-Subject to subclause (II), an individual filing a claim in Group B as described in subsection (a)(3)(C)(iii) may be eligible for compensation under this title only if the Special Master, with assistance from the WTC Program Administrator as necessary, determines based on the evidence presented that the individual has a WTC-related physical health condition, as defined by section 402 of this Act.
"(II) Personal representatives.-An individual filing a claim in Group B, as described in subsection (a)(3)(C)(iii), who is a personal representative described in paragraph (2)(C) may be eligible for compensation under this title only if the Special Master, with assistance from the WTC Program Administrator as necessary, determines based on the evidence presented that the applicable decedent suffered from a condition that was, or would have been determined to be, a WTC-related physical health condition, as defined by section 402 of this Act.
"(B) Single claim.-Not more than one claim may be submitted under this title by an individual or on behalf of a deceased individual.
"(C) Limitation on civil action.-
"(i) In general.-Upon the submission of a claim under this title, the claimant waives the right to file a civil action (or to be a party to an action) in any Federal or State court for damages sustained as a result of the terrorist-related aircraft crashes of September 11, 2001, or for damages arising from or related to debris removal. The preceding sentence does not apply to a civil action to recover collateral source obligations, or to a civil action against any person who is a knowing participant in any conspiracy to hijack any aircraft or commit any terrorist act.
"(ii) Pending actions.-In the case of an individual who is a party to a civil action described in clause (i), such individual may not submit a claim under this title-
"(I) during the period described in subsection (a)(3)(A) unless such individual withdraws from such action by the date that is 90 days after the date on which regulations are promulgated under section 407(a); and
"(II) during the period described in subsection (a)(3)(B) unless such individual withdraws from such action by the date that is 90 days after the date on which the regulations are updated under section 407(b)(1).
"(iii) Settled actions.-In the case of an individual who settled a civil action described in clause (i), such individual may not submit a claim under this title unless such action was commenced after December 22, 2003, and a release of all claims in such action was tendered prior to the date on which the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act of 2010 [Pub. L. 111''347] was enacted [Jan. 2, 2011].
"SEC. 406. PAYMENTS TO ELIGIBLE INDIVIDUALS."(a) In General.-Subject to the limitations under subsection (d), not later than 20 days after the date on which a determination is made by the Special Master regarding the amount of compensation due a claimant under this title, the Special Master shall authorize payment to such claimant of the amount determined with respect to the claimant.
"(b) Payment Authority.-For the purpose of providing compensation for claims in Group A as described in section 405(a)(3)(C)(ii), this title constitutes budget authority in advance of appropriations Acts in the amounts provided under subsection (d)(1) and represents the obligation of the Federal Government to provide for the payment of amounts for compensation under this title subject to the limitations under subsection (d).
"(c) Additional Funding.-
"(1) In general.-The Attorney General is authorized to accept such amounts as may be contributed by individuals, business concerns, or other entities to carry out this title, under such terms and conditions as the Attorney General may impose.
"(2) Use of separate account.-In making payments under this section, amounts contained in any account containing funds provided under paragraph (1) shall be used prior to using appropriated amounts.
"(d) Limitations.-
"(1) Group a claims.-
"(A) In general.-The total amount of Federal funds paid for compensation under this title, with respect to claims in Group A as described in section 405(a)(3)(C)(ii), shall not exceed $2,775,000,000.
"(B) Remainder of claim amounts.-In the case of a claim in Group A as described in section 405(a)(3)(C)(ii) and for which the Special Master has ratably reduced the amount of compensation for such claim pursuant to paragraph (2) of this subsection, as this subsection was in effect on the day before the date of enactment of the James Zadroga 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund Reauthorization Act [Dec. 18, 2015], the Special Master shall, as soon as practicable after the date of enactment of such Act, authorize payment of the amount of compensation that is equal to the difference between-
"(i) the amount of compensation that the claimant would have been paid under this title for such claim without regard to the limitation under the second sentence of paragraph (1) of this subsection, as this subsection was in effect on the day before the date of enactment of the James Zadroga 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund Reauthorization Act; and
"(ii) the amount of compensation the claimant was paid under this title for such claim prior to the date of enactment of such Act.
"(2) Group b claims.-
"(A) In general.-The total amount of Federal funds paid for compensation under this title, with respect to claims in Group B as described in section 405(a)(3)(C)(iii), shall not exceed the amount of funds deposited into the Victims Compensation Fund under section 410.
"(B) Payment system.-The Special Master shall establish a system for providing compensation for claims in Group B as described in section 405(a)(3)(C)(iii) in accordance with this subsection and section 405(b)(7).
"(C) Development of agency policies and procedures.-
"(i) Development.-
"(I) In general.-Not later than 30 days after the date of enactment of the James Zadroga 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund Reauthorization Act, the Special Master shall develop agency policies and procedures that meet the requirements under subclauses (II) and (III) for providing compensation for claims in Group B as described in section 405(a)(3)(C)(iii), including policies and procedures for presumptive award schedules, administrative expenses, and related internal memoranda.
"(II) Limitation.-The policies and procedures developed under subclause (I) shall ensure that total expenditures, including administrative expenses, in providing compensation for claims in Group B, as described in section 405(a)(3)(C)(iii), do not exceed the amount of funds deposited into the Victims Compensation Fund under section 410.
"(III) Prioritization.-The policies and procedures developed under subclause (I) shall prioritize claims for claimants who are determined by the Special Master as suffering from the most debilitating physical conditions to ensure, for purposes of equity, that such claimants are not unduly burdened by such policies or procedures.
"(ii) Reassessment.-Beginning 1 year after the date of enactment of the James Zadroga 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund Reauthorization Act, and each year thereafter until the Victims Compensation Fund is permanently closed under section 410(e), the Special Master shall conduct a reassessment of the agency policies and procedures developed under clause (i) to ensure that such policies and procedures continue to satisfy the requirements under subclauses (II) and (III) of such clause. If the Special Master determines, upon reassessment, that such agency policies or procedures do not achieve the requirements of such subclauses, the Special Master shall take additional actions or make such modifications as necessary to achieve such requirements.
"(e) Attorney Fees.-
"(1) In general.-Notwithstanding any contract, the representative of an individual may not charge, for services rendered in connection with the claim of an individual under this title, more than 10 percent of an award made under this title on such claim.
"(2) Limitation.-
"(A) In general.-Except as provided in subparagraph (B), in the case of an individual who was charged a legal fee in connection with the settlement of a civil action described in section 405(c)(3)(C)(iii), the representative of the individual may not charge any amount for compensation for services rendered in connection with a claim filed under this title.
"(B) Exception.-If the legal fee charged in connection with the settlement of a civil action described in section 405(c)(3)(C)(iii) of an individual is less than 10 percent of the aggregate amount of compensation awarded to such individual through such settlement, the representative of such individual may charge an amount for compensation for services rendered to the extent that such amount charged is not more than-
"(i) 10 percent of such aggregate amount through the settlement, minus
"(ii) the total amount of all legal fees charged for services rendered in connection with such settlement.
"(3) Discretion to lower fee.-In the event that the special master [probably should be capitalized] finds that the fee limit set by paragraph (1) or (2) provides excessive compensation for services rendered in connection with such claim, the Special Master may, in the discretion of the Special Master, award as reasonable compensation for services rendered an amount lesser than that permitted for in paragraph (1).
"SEC. 407. REGULATIONS."(a) In General.-Not later than 90 days after the date of enactment of this Act [Sept. 22, 2001], the Attorney General, in consultation with the Special Master, shall promulgate regulations to carry out this title, including regulations with respect to-
"(1) forms to be used in submitting claims under this title;
"(2) the information to be included in such forms;
"(3) procedures for hearing and the presentation of evidence;
"(4) procedures to assist an individual in filing and pursuing claims under this title; and
"(5) other matters determined appropriate by the Attorney General.
"(b) Updated Regulations.-
"(1) James zadroga 9/11 health and compensation act of 2010.-Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act of 2010 [Jan. 2, 2011], the Special Master shall update the regulations promulgated under subsection (a) to the extent necessary to comply with the provisions of title II of such Act [title II of Pub. L. 111''347, amending this note].
"(2) James zadroga 9/11 victim compensation fund reauthorization act.-Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of the James Zadroga 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund Reauthorization Act [Dec. 18, 2015], the Special Master shall update the regulations promulgated under subsection (a), and updated under paragraph (1), to the extent necessary to comply with the amendments made by such Act [amending section 905 of Title 2 , The Congress, and amending this note and section 1347 of div. B of Pub. L. 112''10, set out as a note above].
"SEC. 408. LIMITATION ON LIABILITY."(a) In General.-
"(1) Liability limited to insurance coverage.-Notwithstanding any other provision of law, liability for all claims, whether for compensatory or punitive damages or for contribution or indemnity, arising from the terrorist-related aircraft crashes of September 11, 2001, against an air carrier, aircraft manufacturer, airport sponsor, or person with a property interest in the World Trade Center, on September 11, 2001, whether fee simple, leasehold or easement, direct or indirect, or their directors, officers, employees, or agents, shall not be in an amount greater than the limits of liability insurance coverage maintained by that air carrier, aircraft manufacturer, airport sponsor, or person.
"(2) Willful defaults on rebuilding obligation.-Paragraph (1) does not apply to any such person with a property interest in the World Trade Center if the Attorney General determines, after notice and an opportunity for a hearing on the record, that the person has defaulted willfully on a contractual obligation to rebuild, or assist in the rebuilding of, the World Trade Center.
"(3) Limitations on liability for New York City.-Liability for all claims, whether for compensatory or punitive damages or for contribution or indemnity arising from the terrorist-related aircraft crashes of September 11, 2001, against the City of New York shall not exceed the greater of the city's insurance coverage or $350,000,000. If a claimant who is eligible to seek compensation under section 405 of this Act, submits a claim under section 405, the claimant waives the right to file a civil action (or to be a party to an action) in any Federal or State court for damages sustained as a result of the terrorist-related aircraft crashes of September 11, 2001, including any such action against the City of New York. The preceding sentence does not apply to a civil action to recover collateral source obligations.
"(4) Liability for certain claims.-Notwithstanding any other provision of law, liability for all claims and actions (including claims or actions that have been previously resolved, that are currently pending, and that may be filed) for compensatory damages, contribution or indemnity, or any other form or type of relief, arising from or related to debris removal, against the City of New York, any entity (including the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey) with a property interest in the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001 (whether fee simple, leasehold or easement, or direct or indirect) and any contractors and subcontractors, shall not be in an amount that exceeds the sum of the following, as may be applicable:
"(A) The amount of funds of the WTC Captive Insurance Company, including the cumulative interest.
"(B) The amount of all available insurance identified in schedule 2 of the WTC Captive Insurance Company insurance policy.
"(C) As it relates to the limitation of liability of the City of New York, the amount that is the greater of the City of New York's insurance coverage or $350,000,000. In determining the amount of the City's insurance coverage for purposes of the previous sentence, any amount described in subparagraphs (A) and (B) shall not be included.
"(D) As it relates to the limitation of liability of any entity, including the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, with a property interest in the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001 (whether fee simple, leasehold or easement, or direct or indirect), the amount of all available liability insurance coverage maintained by any such entity.
"(E) As it relates to the limitation of liability of any individual contractor or subcontractor, the amount of all available liability insurance coverage maintained by such contractor or subcontractor on September 11, 2001.
"(5) Priority of claims payments.-Payments to plaintiffs who obtain a settlement or judgment with respect to a claim or action to which paragraph (4) applies, shall be paid solely from the following funds in the following order, as may be applicable:
"(A) The funds described in subparagraph (A) or (B) of paragraph (4).
"(B) If there are no funds available as described in subparagraph (A) or (B) of paragraph (4), the funds described in subparagraph (C) of such paragraph.
"(C) If there are no funds available as described in subparagraph (A), (B), or (C) of paragraph (4), the funds described in subparagraph (D) of such paragraph.
"(D) If there are no funds available as described in subparagraph (A), (B), (C), or (D) of paragraph (4), the funds described in subparagraph (E) of such paragraph.
"(6) Declaratory judgment actions and direct action.-Any claimant to a claim or action to which paragraph (4) applies may, with respect to such claim or action, either file an action for a declaratory judgment for insurance coverage or bring a direct action against the insurance company involved, except that no such action for declaratory judgment or direct action may be commenced until after the funds available in subparagraph[s] (A), (B), (C), and (D) of paragraph (5) have been exhausted consistent with the order described in such paragraph for payment.
"(b) Federal Cause of Action.-
"(1) Availability of action.-There shall exist a Federal cause of action for damages arising out of the hijacking and subsequent crashes of American Airlines flights 11 and 77, and United Airlines flights 93 and 175, on September 11, 2001. Notwithstanding section 40120(c) of title 49, United States Code , this cause of action shall be the exclusive remedy for damages arising out of the hijacking and subsequent crashes of such flights.
"(2) Substantive law.-The substantive law for decision in any such suit shall be derived from the law, including choice of law principles, of the State in which the crash occurred unless such law is inconsistent with or preempted by Federal law.
"(3) Jurisdiction.-The United States District Court for the Southern District of New York shall have original and exclusive jurisdiction over all actions brought for any claim (including any claim for loss of property, personal injury, or death) resulting from or relating to the terrorist-related aircraft crashes of September 11, 2001.
"(4) Nationwide subpoenas.-
"(A) In general.-A subpoena requiring the attendance of a witness at trial or a hearing conducted under this section may be served at any place in the United States.
"(B) Rule of construction.-Nothing in this subsection is intended to diminish the authority of a court to quash or modify a subpoena for the reasons provided in clause (i), (iii), or (iv) of subparagraph (A) or subparagraph (B) of rule 45(c)(3) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure [28 U.S.C. App.].
"(c) Exclusion.-Nothing in this section shall in any way limit any liability of any person who is a knowing participant in any conspiracy to hijack any aircraft or commit any terrorist act. Subsections (a) and (b) do not apply to civil actions to recover collateral source obligations.
"SEC. 409. RIGHT OF SUBROGATION."The United States shall have the right of subrogation with respect to any claim paid by the United States under this title, subject to the limitations described in section 408.
"SEC. 410. VICTIMS COMPENSATION FUND."(a) In General.-There is established in the Treasury of the United States a fund to be known as the 'Victims Compensation Fund', consisting of amounts deposited into such fund under subsection (b).
"(b) Deposits Into Fund.-There shall be deposited into the Victims Compensation Fund each of the following:
"(1) Effective on the day after the date on which all claimants who file a claim in Group A, as described in section 405(a)(3)(C)(ii), have received the full compensation due such claimants under this title for such claim, any amounts remaining from the total amount made available under section 406 to compensate claims in Group A as described in section 405(a)(3)(C)(ii).
"(2) The amount appropriated under subsection (c).
"(c) Appropriations.-There is appropriated, out of any money in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, $4,600,000,000 for fiscal year 2017, to remain available until expended, to provide compensation for claims in Group B as described in section 405(a)(3)(C)(iii).
"(d) Availability of Funds.-Amounts deposited into the Victims Compensation Fund shall be available, without further appropriation, to the Special Master to provide compensation for claims in Group B as described in section 405(a)(3)(C)(iii).
"(e) Termination.-Upon completion of all payments under this title, the Victims Compensation Fund shall be permanently closed.
"SEC. 411. 9-11 RESPONSE AND BIOMETRIC ENTRY-EXIT FEE."(a) Temporary L-1 Visa Fee Increase.-Notwithstanding section 281 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1351 ) or any other provision of law, during the period beginning on the date of the enactment of this section [Dec. 18, 2015] and ending on September 30, 2027, the combined filing fee and fraud prevention and detection fee required to be submitted with an application for admission as a nonimmigrant under section 101(a)(15)(L) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(15)(L) ), including an application for an extension of such status, shall be increased by $4,500 for applicants that employ 50 or more employees in the United States if more than 50 percent of the applicant's employees are nonimmigrants admitted pursuant to subparagraph (H)(i)(b) or (L) of section 101(a)(15) of such Act.
"(b) Temporary H-1b Visa Fee Increase.-Notwithstanding section 281 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1351 ) or any other provision of law, during the period beginning on the date of the enactment of this section and ending on September 30, 2027, the combined filing fee and fraud prevention and detection fee required to be submitted with an application for admission as a nonimmigrant under section 101(a)(15)(H)(i)(b) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(15)(H)(i)(b) ), including an application for an extension of such status, shall be increased by $4,000 for applicants that employ 50 or more employees in the United States if more than 50 percent of the applicant's employees are such nonimmigrants or nonimmigrants described in section 101(a)(15)(L) of such Act.
"(c) 9-11 Response and Biometric Exit Account.-
"(1) Establishment.-There is established in the general fund of the Treasury a separate account, which shall be known as the '9''11 Response and Biometric Exit Account'.
"(2) Deposits.-
"(A) In general.-Subject to subparagraph (B), of the amounts collected pursuant to the fee increases authorized under subsections (a) and (b)-
"(i) 50 percent shall be deposited in the general fund of the Treasury; and
"(ii) 50 percent shall be deposited as offsetting receipts into the 9''11 Response and Biometric Exit Account, and shall remain available until expended.
"(B) Termination of deposits in account.-After a total of $1,000,000,000 is deposited into the 9''11 Response and Biometric Exit Account under subparagraph (A)(ii), all amounts collected pursuant to the fee increases authorized under subsections (a) and (b) shall be deposited in the general fund of the Treasury.
"(3) Use of funds.-For fiscal year 2017, and each fiscal year thereafter, amounts in the 9''11 Response and Biometric Exit Account shall be available to the Secretary of Homeland Security without further appropriation for implementing the biometric entry and exit data system described in section 7208 of the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004 (8 U.S.C. 1365b ).
"TITLE V-AIR TRANSPORTATION SAFETY"SEC. 501. INCREASED AIR TRANSPORTATION SAFETY."Congress affirms the President's decision to spend $3,000,000,000 on airline safety and security in conjunction with this Act in order to restore public confidence in the airline industry.
"SEC. 502. CONGRESSIONAL COMMITMENT."Congress is committed to act expeditiously, in consultation with the Secretary of Transportation, to strengthen airport security and take further measures to enhance the security of air travel.
"TITLE VI-SEPARABILITY"SEC. 601. SEPARABILITY."If any provision of this Act (including any amendment made by this Act [amending sections 44302 to 44306 of this title ]) or the application thereof to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the remainder of this Act (including any amendment made by this Act) and the application thereof to other persons or circumstances shall not be affected thereby."
[Pub. L. 107''134, title I, §114(b), Jan. 23, 2002, 115 Stat. 2436, provided that: "The amendment made by this section [amending Pub. L. 107''42, set out above] shall take effect as if included in section 301 of the Air Transportation Safety and System Stabilization Act (Public Law 107''42)."]
[Memorandum of President of the United States, Sept. 25, 2001, 66 F.R. 49507, delegated to the Secretary of Transportation the authority vested in the President under section 101(a)(2) of Pub. L. 107''42, set out above, to compensate air carriers for direct and incremental losses they incurred from the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, and any resulting ground stop order.]
Independent Study of FAA Costs and AllocationsPub. L. 106''181, title III, §309, Apr. 5, 2000, 114 Stat. 127, provided that:
"(a) Independent Assessment.-
"(1) In general.-The Inspector General of the Department of Transportation shall conduct the assessments described in this section. To conduct the assessments, the Inspector General may use the staff and resources of the Inspector General or contract with one or more independent entities.
"(2) Assessment of adequacy and accuracy of faa cost data and attributions.-
"(A) In general.-The Inspector General shall conduct an assessment to ensure that the method for calculating the overall costs of the Federal Aviation Administration and attributing such costs to specific users is appropriate, reasonable, and understandable to the users.
"(B) Components.-In conducting the assessment under this paragraph, the Inspector General shall assess the following:
"(i) The Administration's cost input data, including the reliability of the Administration's source documents and the integrity and reliability of the Administration's data collection process.
"(ii) The Administration's system for tracking assets.
"(iii) The Administration's bases for establishing asset values and depreciation rates.
"(iv) The Administration's system of internal controls for ensuring the consistency and reliability of reported data.
"(v) The Administration's definition of the services to which the Administration ultimately attributes its costs.
"(vi) The cost pools used by the Administration and the rationale for and reliability of the bases which the Administration proposes to use in allocating costs of services to users.
"(C) Requirements for assessment of cost pools.-In carrying out subparagraph (B)(vi), the Inspector General shall-
"(i) review costs that cannot reliably be attributed to specific Administration services or activities (called 'common and fixed costs' in the Administration Cost Allocation Study) and consider alternative methods for allocating such costs; and
"(ii) perform appropriate tests to assess relationships between costs in the various cost pools and activities and services to which the costs are attributed by the Administration.
"(3) Cost effectiveness.-
"(A) In general.-The Inspector General shall assess the progress of the Administration in cost and performance management, including use of internal and external benchmarking in improving the performance and productivity of the Administration.
"(B) Annual reports.-Not later than December 31, 2000, and annually thereafter until December 31, 2004, the Inspector General shall transmit to Congress an updated report containing the results of the assessment conducted under this paragraph.
"(C) Information to be included in faa financial report.-The Administrator [of the Federal Aviation Administration] shall include in the annual financial report of the Administration information on the performance of the Administration sufficient to permit users and others to make an informed evaluation of the progress of the Administration in increasing productivity.
"(b) Funding.-There are authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be necessary to carry out this section."
Operations of Air Taxi IndustryPub. L. 106''181, title VII, §735, Apr. 5, 2000, 114 Stat. 171, provided that:
"(a) Study.-The Administrator [of the Federal Aviation Administration], in consultation with the National Transportation Safety Board and other interested persons, shall conduct a study of air taxi operators regulated under part 135 of title 14, Code of Federal Regulations.
"(b) Contents.-The study shall include an analysis of the size and type of the aircraft fleet, relevant aircraft equipment, hours flown, utilization rates, safety record by various categories of use and aircraft type, sales revenues, and airports served by the air taxi fleet.
"(c) Report.-Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act [Apr. 5, 2000], the Administrator shall transmit to Congress a report on the results of the study."
FindingsPub. L. 104''264, title II, §271, Oct. 9, 1996, 110 Stat. 3238, provided that: "Congress finds the following:
"(1) The Administration [Federal Aviation Administration] is recognized throughout the world as a leader in aviation safety.
"(2) The Administration certifies aircraft, engines, propellers, and other manufactured parts.
"(3) The Administration certifies more than 650 training schools for pilots and nonpilots, more than 4,858 repair stations, and more than 193 maintenance schools.
"(4) The Administration certifies pilot examiners, who are then qualified to determine if a person has the skills necessary to become a pilot.
"(5) The Administration certifies more than 6,000 medical examiners, each of whom is then qualified to medically certify the qualifications of pilots and nonpilots.
"(6) The Administration certifies more than 470 airports, and provides a limited certification for another 205 airports. Other airports in the United States are also reviewed by the Administration.
"(7) The Administration each year performs more than 355,000 inspections.
"(8) The Administration issues more than 655,000 pilot's licenses and more than 560,000 nonpilot's licenses (including mechanics).
"(9) The Administration's certification means that the product meets world-wide recognized standards of safety and reliability.
"(10) The Administration's certification means aviation-related equipment and services meet world-wide recognized standards.
"(11) The Administration's certification is recognized by governments and businesses throughout the world and as such may be a valuable element for any company desiring to sell aviation-related products throughout the world.
"(12) The Administration's certification may constitute a valuable license, franchise, privilege or benefits for the holders.
"(13) The Administration also is a major purchaser of computers, radars, and other systems needed to run the air traffic control system. The Administration's design, acceptance, commissioning, or certification of such equipment enables the private sector to market those products around the world, and as such confers a benefit on the manufacturer.
"(14) The Administration provides extensive services to public use aircraft."
PurposesPub. L. 104''264, title II, §272, Oct. 9, 1996, 110 Stat. 3239, provided that: "The purposes of this subtitle [subtitle C (§§271''278) of title II of Pub. L. 104''264, enacting sections 45301, 45303, 48111, and 48201 of this title , amending section 41742 of this title , renumbering section 45303 of this title as section 45304, repealing former section 45301 of this title , and enacting provisions set out as notes under this section and section 41742 of this title ] are-
"(1) to provide a financial structure for the Administration [Federal Aviation Administration] so that it will be able to support the future growth in the national aviation and airport system;
"(2) to review existing and alternative funding options, including incentive-based fees for services, and establish a program to improve air traffic management system performance and to establish appropriate levels of cost accountability for air traffic management services provided by the Administration;
"(3) to ensure that any funding will be dedicated solely for the use of the Administration;
"(4) to authorize the Administration to recover the costs of its services from those who benefit from, but do not contribute to, the national aviation system and the services provided by the Administration;
"(5) to consider a fee system based on the cost or value of the services provided and other funding alternatives;
"(6) to develop funding options for Congress in order to provide for the long-term efficient and cost-effective support of the Administration and the aviation system; and
"(7) to achieve a more efficient and effective Administration for the benefit of the aviation transportation industry."
Independent Assessment of FAA Financial Requirements; Establishment of National Civil Aviation Review CommissionPub. L. 104''264, title II, §274, Oct. 9, 1996, 110 Stat. 3240, as amended by Pub. L. 106''181, title III, §307(c)(3), Apr. 5, 2000, 114 Stat. 126, provided that:
"(a) Independent Assessment.-
"(1) Initiation.-Not later than 30 days after the date of the enactment of this Act [Oct. 9, 1996], the Administrator [of the Federal Aviation Administration] shall contract with an entity independent of the Administration [Federal Aviation Administration] and the Department of Transportation to conduct a complete independent assessment of the financial requirements of the Administration through the year 2002.
"(2) Assessment criteria.-The Administrator shall provide to the independent entity estimates of the financial requirements of the Administration for the period described in paragraph (1), using as a base the fiscal year 1997 appropriation levels established by Congress. The independent assessment shall be based on an objective analysis of agency funding needs.
"(3) Certain factors to be taken into account.-The independent assessment shall take into account all relevant factors, including-
"(A) anticipated air traffic forecasts;
"(B) other workload measures;
"(C) estimated productivity gains, if any, which contribute to budgetary requirements;
"(D) the need for programs; and
"(E) the need to provide for continued improvements in all facets of aviation safety, along with operational improvements in air traffic control.
"(4) Cost allocation.-The independent assessment shall also assess the costs to the Administration occasioned by the provision of services to each segment of the aviation system.
"(5) Deadline.-The independent assessment shall be completed no later than 90 days after the contract is awarded, and shall be submitted to the Commission established under subsection (b), the Secretary [of Transportation], the Secretary of the Treasury, the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation and the Committee on Finance of the Senate, and the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure and the Committee on Ways and Means of the House of Representatives.
"(b) National Civil Aviation Review Commission.-
"(1) Establishment.-There is established a commission to be known as the National Civil Aviation Review Commission (hereinafter in this section referred to as the 'Commission').
"(2) Membership.-The Commission shall consist of 21 members to be appointed as follows:
"(A) 13 members to be appointed by the Secretary, in consultation with the Secretary of the Treasury, from among individuals who have expertise in the aviation industry and who are able, collectively, to represent a balanced view of the issues important to general aviation, major air carriers, air cargo carriers, regional air carriers, business aviation, airports, aircraft manufacturers, the financial community, aviation industry workers, and airline passengers. At least one member appointed under this subparagraph shall have detailed knowledge of the congressional budgetary process.
"(B) Two members appointed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives.
"(C) Two members appointed by the minority leader of the House of Representatives.
"(D) Two members appointed by the majority leader of the Senate.
"(E) Two members appointed by the minority leader of the Senate.
"(3) Task forces.-The Commission shall establish an aviation funding task force and an aviation safety task force to carry out the responsibilities of the Commission under this subsection.
"(4) First meeting.-The Commission may conduct its first meeting as soon as a majority of the members of the Commission are appointed.
"(5) Hearings and consultation.-
"(A) Hearings.-The Commission shall take such testimony and solicit and receive such comments from the public and other interested parties as it considers appropriate, shall conduct 2 public hearings after affording adequate notice to the public thereof, and may conduct such additional hearings as may be necessary.
"(B) Consultation.-The Commission shall consult on a regular and frequent basis with the Secretary, the Secretary of the Treasury, the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation and the Committee on Finance of the Senate, and the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure and the Committee on Ways and Means of the House of Representatives.
"(C) FACA not to apply.-The Commission shall not be considered an advisory committee for purposes of the Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.).
"(6) Duties of aviation funding task force.-
"(A) Report to secretary.-
"(i) In general.-The aviation funding task force established pursuant to paragraph (3) shall submit a report setting forth a comprehensive analysis of the Administration's budgetary requirements through fiscal year 2002, based upon the independent assessment under subsection (a), that analyzes alternative financing and funding means for meeting the needs of the aviation system through the year 2002. The task force shall submit a preliminary report of that analysis to the Secretary not later than 6 months after the independent assessment is completed under subsection (a). The Secretary shall provide comments on the preliminary report to the task force within 30 days after receiving the report. The task force shall issue a final report of such comprehensive analysis within 30 days after receiving the Secretary's comments on its preliminary report.
"(ii) Contents.-The report submitted by the aviation funding task force under clause (i)-
"(I) shall consider the independent assessment under subsection (a);
"(II) shall consider estimated cost savings, if any, resulting from the procurement and personnel reforms included in this Act [see Tables for classification] or in sections 40110(d) and 40122(g) of title 49, United States Code , and additional financial initiatives;
"(III) shall include specific recommendations to Congress on how the Administration can reduce costs, raise additional revenue for the support of agency operations, and accelerate modernization efforts; and
"(IV) shall include a draft bill containing the changes in law necessary to implement its recommendations.
"(B) Recommendations.-The aviation funding task force shall make such recommendations under subparagraph (A)(ii)(III) as the task force deems appropriate. Those recommendations may include-
"(i) proposals for off-budget treatment of the Airport and Airway Trust Fund;
"(ii) alternative financing and funding proposals, including linked financing proposals;
"(iii) modifications to existing levels of Airport and Airways Trust Fund receipts and taxes for each type of tax;
"(iv) establishment of a cost-based user fee system based on, but not limited to, criteria under subparagraph (F) and methods to ensure that costs are borne by users on a fair and equitable basis;
"(v) methods to ensure that funds collected from the aviation community are able to meet the needs of the agency;
"(vi) methods to ensure that funds collected from the aviation community and passengers are used to support the aviation system;
"(vii) means of meeting the airport infrastructure needs for large, medium, and small airports; and
"(viii) any other matter the task force deems appropriate to address the funding and needs of the Administration and the aviation system.
"(C) Additional recommendations.-The aviation funding task force report may also make recommendations concerning-
"(i) means of improving productivity by expanding and accelerating the use of automation and other technology;
"(ii) means of contracting out services consistent with this Act, other applicable law, and safety and national defense needs;
"(iii) methods to accelerate air traffic control modernization and improvements in aviation safety and safety services;
"(iv) the elimination of unneeded programs; and
"(v) a limited innovative program based on funding mechanisms such as loan guarantees, financial partnerships with for-profit private sector entities, government-sponsored enterprises, and revolving loan funds, as a means of funding specific facilities and equipment projects, and to provide limited additional funding alternatives for airport capacity development.
"(D) Impact assessment for recommendations.-For each recommendation contained in the aviation funding task force's report, the report shall include a full analysis and assessment of the impact implementation of the recommendation would have on-
"(i) safety;
"(ii) administrative costs;
"(iii) the congressional budget process;
"(iv) the economics of the industry (including the proportionate share of all users);
"(v) the ability of the Administration to utilize the sums collected; and
"(vi) the funding needs of the Administration.
"(E) Trust fund tax recommendations.-If the task force's report includes a recommendation that the existing Airport and Airways Trust Fund tax structure be modified, the report shall-
"(i) state the specific rates for each group affected by the proposed modifications;
"(ii) consider the impact such modifications shall have on specific users and the public (including passengers); and
"(iii) state the basis for the recommendations.
"(F) Fee system recommendations.-If the task force's report includes a recommendation that a fee system be established, including an air traffic control performance-based user fee system, the report shall consider-
"(i) the impact such a recommendation would have on passengers, air fares (including low-fare, high frequency service), service, and competition;
"(ii) existing contributions provided by individual air carriers toward funding the Administration and the air traffic control system through contributions to the Airport and Airways Trust Fund;
"(iii) continuing the promotion of fair and competitive practices;
"(iv) the unique circumstances associated with interisland air carrier service in Hawaii and rural air service in Alaska;
"(v) the impact such a recommendation would have on service to small communities;
"(vi) the impact such a recommendation would have on services provided by regional air carriers;
"(vii) alternative methodologies for calculating fees so as to achieve a fair and reasonable distribution of costs of service among users;
"(viii) the usefulness of phased-in approaches to implementing such a financing system;
"(ix) means of assuring the provision of general fund contributions, as appropriate, toward the support of the Administration; and
"(x) the provision of incentives to encourage greater efficiency in the provision of air traffic services by the Administration and greater efficiency in the use of air traffic services by aircraft operators.
"(7) Duties of aviation safety task force.-
"(A) Report to administrator.-Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act [Oct. 9, 1996], the aviation safety task force established pursuant to paragraph (3) shall submit to the Administrator a report setting forth a comprehensive analysis of aviation safety in the United States and emerging trends in the safety of particular sectors of the aviation industry.
"(B) Contents.-The report to be submitted under subparagraph (A) shall include an assessment of-
"(i) the adequacy of staffing and training resources for safety personnel of the Administration, including safety inspectors;
"(ii) the Administration's processes for ensuring the public safety from fraudulent parts in civil aviation and the extent to which use of suspected unapproved parts requires additional oversight or enforcement action; and
"(iii) the ability of the Administration to anticipate changes in the aviation industry and to develop policies and actions to ensure the highest level of aviation safety in the 21st century.
"(8) Access to documents and staff.-The Administration may give the Commission appropriate access to relevant documents and personnel of the Administration, and the Administrator shall make available, consistent with the authority to withhold commercial and other proprietary information under section 552 of title 5, United States Code (commonly known as the 'Freedom of Information Act'), cost data associated with the acquisition and operation of air traffic service systems. Any member of the Commission who receives commercial or other proprietary data from the Administrator shall be subject to the provisions of section 1905 of title 18, United States Code , pertaining to unauthorized disclosure of such information.
"(9) Travel and per diem.-Each member of the Commission shall be paid actual travel expenses, and per diem in lieu of subsistence expenses when away from his or her usual place of residence, in accordance with section 5703 of title 5, United States Code .
"(10) Detail of personnel from the administration.-The Administrator shall make available to the Commission such staff, information, and administrative services and assistance as may reasonably be required to enable the Commission to carry out its responsibilities under this subsection.
"(11) Authorization of appropriations.-There is authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be necessary to carry out the provisions of this subsection.
"(c) Reports to Congress.-
"(1) Report by the secretary based on final report of aviation funding task force.-
"(A) Consideration of task force's preliminary report.-Not later than 30 days after receiving the preliminary report of the aviation funding task force, the Secretary, in consultation with the Secretary of the Treasury, shall furnish comments on the report to the task force.
"(B) Report to congress.-Not later than 30 days after receiving the final report of the aviation funding task force, and in no event more than 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary, after consulting the Secretary of the Treasury, shall transmit a report to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation and the Committee on Finance of the Senate, and the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure and the Committee on Ways and Means of the House of Representatives. Such report shall be based upon the final report of the task force and shall contain the Secretary's recommendations for funding the needs of the aviation system through the year 2002.
"(C) Contents.-The Secretary shall include in the report to Congress under subparagraph (B)-
"(i) a copy of the final report of the task force; and
"(ii) a draft bill containing the changes in law necessary to implement the Secretary's recommendations.
"(D) Publication.-The Secretary shall cause a copy of the report to be printed in the Federal Register upon its transmittal to Congress under subparagraph (B).
"(2) Report by the administrator based on final report of aviation safety task force.-Not later than 30 days after receiving the report of the aviation safety task force, the Administrator shall transmit the report to Congress, together with the Administrator's recommendations for improving aviation safety in the United States.
"(d) GAO Audit of Cost Allocation.-The Comptroller General shall conduct an assessment of the manner in which costs for air traffic control services are allocated between the Administration and the Department of Defense. The Comptroller General shall report the results of the assessment, together with any recommendations the Comptroller General may have for reallocation of costs and for opportunities to increase the efficiency of air traffic control services provided by the Administration and by the Department of Defense, to the Commission, the Administrator, the Secretary of Defense, the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of Representatives, and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act.
"(e) GAO Assessment.-Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General shall transmit to the Commission and Congress an independent assessment of airport development needs."
Joint Aviation Research and Development ProgramPub. L. 103''305, title III, §303, Aug. 23, 1994, 108 Stat. 1590, provided that:
"(a) Establishment.-The Administrator [of the Federal Aviation Administration], in consultation with the heads of other appropriate Federal agencies, shall jointly establish a program to conduct research on aviation technologies that enhance United States competitiveness. The program shall include-
"(1) next-generation satellite communications, including global positioning satellites;
"(2) advanced airport and airplane security;
"(3) environmentally compatible technologies, including technologies that limit or reduce noise and air pollution;
"(4) advanced aviation safety programs; and
"(5) technologies and procedures to enhance and improve airport and airway capacity.
"(b) Procedures for Contracts and Grants.-The Administrator and the heads of the other appropriate Federal agencies shall administer contracts and grants entered into under the program established under subsection (a) in accordance with procedures developed jointly by the Administrator and the heads of the other appropriate Federal agencies. The procedures should include an integrated acquisition policy for contract and grant requirements and for technical data rights that are not an impediment to joint programs among the Federal Aviation Administration, the other Federal agencies involved, and industry.
"(c) Program Elements.-The program established under subsection (a) shall include-
"(1) selected programs that jointly enhance public and private aviation technology development;
"(2) an opportunity for private contractors to be involved in such technology research and development; and
"(3) the transfer of Government-developed technologies to the private sector to promote economic strength and competitiveness.
"(d) Authorization of Appropriations.-Of amounts authorized to be appropriated for fiscal years 1995 and 1996 under section 48102(a) of title 49, United States Code , as amended by section 302 of this title , there are authorized to be appropriated for fiscal years 1995 and 1996, respectively, such sums as may be necessary to carry out this section."
Air Quality in Aircraft CabinsPub. L. 108''176, title VIII, §815, Dec. 12, 2003, 117 Stat. 2592, provided that:
"(a) In General.-The Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration shall undertake the studies and analysis called for in the report of the National Research Council entitled 'The Airliner Cabin Environment and the Health of Passengers and Crew'.
"(b) Required Activities.-In carrying out this section, the Administrator, at a minimum, shall-
"(1) conduct surveillance to monitor ozone in the cabin on a representative number of flights and aircraft to determine compliance with existing Federal Aviation Regulations for ozone;
"(2) collect pesticide exposure data to determine exposures of passengers and crew;
"(3) analyze samples of residue from aircraft ventilation ducts and filters after air quality incidents to identify the contaminants to which passengers and crew were exposed;
"(4) analyze and study cabin air pressure and altitude; and
"(5) establish an air quality incident reporting system.
"(c) Report.-Not later than 30 months after the date of enactment of this Act [Dec. 12, 2003], the Administrator shall transmit to Congress a report on the findings of the Administrator under this section."
Pub. L. 106''181, title VII, §725, Apr. 5, 2000, 114 Stat. 166, provided that:
"(a) Study of Air Quality in Passenger Cabins in Commercial Aircraft.-
"(1) In general.-Not later than 60 days after the date of the enactment of this Act [Apr. 5, 2000], the Administrator [of the Federal Aviation Administration] shall arrange for and provide necessary data to the National Academy of Sciences to conduct a 12-month, independent study of air quality in passenger cabins of aircraft used in air transportation and foreign air transportation, including the collection of new data, in coordination with the Federal Aviation Administration, to identify contaminants in the aircraft air and develop recommendations for means of reducing such contaminants.
"(2) Alternative air supply.-The study should examine whether contaminants would be reduced by the replacement of engine and auxiliary power unit bleed air with an alternative supply of air for the aircraft passengers and crew.
"(3) Scope.-The study shall include an assessment and quantitative analysis of each of the following:
"(A) Contaminants of concern, as determined by the National Academy of Sciences.
"(B) The systems of air supply on aircraft, including the identification of means by which contaminants may enter such systems.
"(C) The toxicological and health effects of the contaminants of concern, their byproducts, and the products of their degradation.
"(D) Any contaminant used in the maintenance, operation, or treatment of aircraft, if a passenger or a member of the air crew may be directly exposed to the contaminant.
"(E) Actual measurements of the contaminants of concern in the air of passenger cabins during actual flights in air transportation or foreign air transportation, along with comparisons of such measurements to actual measurements taken in public buildings.
"(4) Provision of Current Data.-The Administrator shall collect all data of the Federal Aviation Administration that is relevant to the study and make the data available to the National Academy of Sciences in order to complete the study.
"(b) Collection of Aircraft Air Quality Data.-
"(1) In general.-The Administrator may consider the feasibility of using the flight data recording system on aircraft to monitor and record appropriate data related to air inflow quality, including measurements of the exposure of persons aboard the aircraft to contaminants during normal aircraft operation and during incidents involving air quality problems.
"(2) Passenger cabins.-The Administrator may also consider the feasibility of using the flight data recording system to monitor and record data related to the air quality in passengers cabins of aircraft."
Pub. L. 103''305, title III, §304, Aug. 23, 1994, 108 Stat. 1591, provided that:
"(a) Establishment.-The Administrator [of the Federal Aviation Administration], in consultation with the heads of other appropriate Federal agencies, shall establish a research program to determine-
"(1) what, if any, aircraft cabin air conditions, including pressure altitude systems, on flights within the United States are harmful to the health of airline passengers and crew, as indicated by physical symptoms such as headaches, nausea, fatigue, and lightheadedness; and
"(2) the risk of airline passengers and crew contracting infectious diseases during flight.
"(b) Contract With Center for Disease Control.-In carrying out the research program established under subsection (a), the Administrator and the heads of the other appropriate Federal agencies shall contract with the Center for Disease Control [now Centers for Disease Control and Prevention] and other appropriate agencies to carry out any studies necessary to meet the goals of the program set forth in subsection (c).
"(c) Goals.-The goals of the research program established under subsection (a) shall be-
"(1) to determine what, if any, cabin air conditions currently exist on domestic aircraft used for flights within the United States that could be harmful to the health of airline passengers and crew, as indicated by physical symptoms such as headaches, nausea, fatigue, and lightheadedness, and including the risk of infection by bacteria and viruses;
"(2) to determine to what extent, changes in, cabin air pressure, temperature, rate of cabin air circulation, the quantity of fresh air per occupant, and humidity on current domestic aircraft would reduce or eliminate the risk of illness or discomfort to airline passengers and crew; and
"(3) to establish a long-term research program to examine potential health problems to airline passengers and crew that may arise in an airplane cabin on a flight within the United States because of cabin air quality as a result of the conditions and changes described in paragraphs (1) and (2).
"(d) Participation.-In carrying out the research program established under subsection (a), the Administrator shall encourage participation in the program by representatives of aircraft manufacturers, air carriers, aviation employee organizations, airline passengers, and academia.
"(e) Report.-(1) Within six months after the date of enactment of this Act [Aug. 23, 1994], the Administrator shall submit to the Congress a plan for implementation of the research program established under subsection (a).
"(2) The Administrator shall annually submit to the Congress a report on the progress made during the year for which the report is submitted toward meeting the goals set forth in subsection (c).
"(f) Authorization of Appropriations.-Of amounts authorized to be appropriated for fiscal years 1995 and 1996 under section 48102(a) of title 49, United States Code , as amended by section 302 of this title , there are authorized to be appropriated for fiscal years 1995 and 1996, respectively, such sums as may be necessary to carry out this section."
Information on Disinsection of AircraftPub. L. 103''305, title V, §507, Aug. 23, 1994, 108 Stat. 1595, provided that:
"(a) Availability of Information.-In the interest of protecting the health of air travelers, the Secretary shall publish a list of the countries (as determined by the Secretary) that require disinsection of aircraft landing in such countries while passengers and crew are on board such aircraft.
"(b) Revision.-The Secretary shall revise the list required under subsection (a) on a periodic basis.
"(c) Publication.-The Secretary shall publish the list required under subsection (a) not later than 30 days after the date of the enactment of this Act [Aug. 23, 1994]. The Secretary shall publish a revision to the list not later than 30 days after completing the revision under subsection (b)."
General Aviation Revitalization Act of 1994Pub. L. 103''298, Aug. 17, 1994, 108 Stat. 1552, as amended by Pub. L. 105''102, §3(e), Nov. 20, 1997, 111 Stat. 2215, provided that:
"SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE."This Act may be cited as the 'General Aviation Revitalization Act of 1994'.
"SEC. 2. TIME LIMITATIONS ON CIVIL ACTIONS AGAINST AIRCRAFT MANUFACTURERS."(a) In General.-Except as provided in subsection (b), no civil action for damages for death or injury to persons or damage to property arising out of an accident involving a general aviation aircraft may be brought against the manufacturer of the aircraft or the manufacturer of any new component, system, subassembly, or other part of the aircraft, in its capacity as a manufacturer if the accident occurred-
"(1) after the applicable limitation period beginning on-
"(A) the date of delivery of the aircraft to its first purchaser or lessee, if delivered directly from the manufacturer; or
"(B) the date of first delivery of the aircraft to a person engaged in the business of selling or leasing such aircraft; or
"(2) with respect to any new component, system, subassembly, or other part which replaced another component, system, subassembly, or other part originally in, or which was added to, the aircraft, and which is alleged to have caused such death, injury, or damage, after the applicable limitation period beginning on the date of completion of the replacement or addition.
"(b) Exceptions.-Subsection (a) does not apply-
"(1) if the claimant pleads with specificity the facts necessary to prove, and proves, that the manufacturer with respect to a type certificate or airworthiness certificate for, or obligations with respect to continuing airworthiness of, an aircraft or a component, system, subassembly, or other part of an aircraft knowingly misrepresented to the Federal Aviation Administration, or concealed or withheld from the Federal Aviation Administration, required information that is material and relevant to the performance or the maintenance or operation of such aircraft, or the component, system, subassembly, or other part, that is causally related to the harm which the claimant allegedly suffered;
"(2) if the person for whose injury or death the claim is being made is a passenger for purposes of receiving treatment for a medical or other emergency;
"(3) if the person for whose injury or death the claim is being made was not aboard the aircraft at the time of the accident; or
"(4) to an action brought under a written warranty enforceable under law but for the operation of this Act.
"(c) General Aviation Aircraft Defined.-For the purposes of this Act, the term 'general aviation aircraft' means any aircraft for which a type certificate or an airworthiness certificate has been issued by the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration, which, at the time such certificate was originally issued, had a maximum seating capacity of fewer than 20 passengers, and which was not, at the time of the accident, engaged in scheduled passenger-carrying operations as defined under regulations in effect under part A of subtitle VII of title 49, United States Code , at the time of the accident.
"(d) Relationship to Other Laws.-This section supersedes any State law to the extent that such law permits a civil action described in subsection (a) to be brought after the applicable limitation period for such civil action established by subsection (a).
"SEC. 3. OTHER DEFINITIONS."For purposes of this Act-
"(1) the term 'aircraft' has the meaning given such term in section 40102(a)(6) of title 49, United States Code ;
"(2) the term 'airworthiness certificate' means an airworthiness certificate issued under section 44704(c)(1) of title 49, United States Code , or under any predecessor Federal statute;
"(3) the term 'limitation period' means 18 years with respect to general aviation aircraft and the components, systems, subassemblies, and other parts of such aircraft; and
"(4) the term 'type certificate' means a type certificate issued under section 44704(a) of title 49, United States Code , or under any predecessor Federal statute.
"SEC. 4. EFFECTIVE DATE; APPLICATION OF ACT."(a) Effective Date.-Except as provided in subsection (b), this Act shall take effect on the date of the enactment of this Act [Aug. 17, 1994].
"(b) Application of Act.-This Act shall not apply with respect to civil actions commenced before the date of the enactment of this Act."
National Commission to Ensure a Strong Competitive Airline IndustryPub. L. 102''581, title II, §204, Oct. 31, 1992, 106 Stat. 4891, as amended Pub. L. 103''13, §1, Apr. 7, 1993, 107 Stat. 43, provided for establishment of National Commission to Ensure a Strong Competitive Airline Industry to make a complete investigation and study of financial condition of the airline industry, adequacy of competition in the airline industry, and legal impediments to a financially strong and competitive airline industry, to report to President and Congress not later than 90 days after the date on which initial appointments of members to the Commission were completed, and to terminate on the 30th day following transmission of report.
Definitions of Terms in Pub. L. 115''254Pub. L. 115''254, div. B, §101, Oct. 5, 2018, 132 Stat. 3199, provided that: "In this division [see Tables for classification], the term 'appropriate committees of Congress' means the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate and the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of Representatives."
Pub. L. 115''254, div. B, title IV, §401, Oct. 5, 2018, 132 Stat. 3328, provided that: "In this title [see Tables for classification]:
"(1) Covered air carrier.-The term 'covered air carrier' means an air carrier or a foreign air carrier as those terms are defined in section 40102 of title 49, United States Code .
"(2) Online service.-The term 'online service' means any service available over the internet, or that connects to the internet or a wide-area network.
"(3) Ticket agent.-The term 'ticket agent' has the meaning given the term in section 40102 of title 49, United States Code ."
Pub. L. 115''254, div. B, title V, §501, Oct. 5, 2018, 132 Stat. 3350, provided that: "In this title [see Tables for classification], the following definitions apply:
"(1) Administration.-The term 'Administration' means the Federal Aviation Administration.
"(2) Administrator.-The term 'Administrator' means the Administrator of the FAA.
"(3) ADS''B.-The term 'ADS''B' means automatic dependent surveillance-broadcast.
"(4) ADS''B out.-The term 'ADS''B Out' means automatic dependent surveillance-broadcast with the ability to transmit information from the aircraft to ground stations and to other equipped aircraft.
"(5) FAA.-The term 'FAA' means the Federal Aviation Administration.
"(6) Nextgen.-The term 'NextGen' means the Next Generation Air Transportation System."
Pub. L. 115''254, div. B, title VII, §702, Oct. 5, 2018, 132 Stat. 3409, provided that: "In this title [see Short Title of 2018 Amendment note set out above], the following definitions apply:
"(1) Administrator.-The term 'Administrator' means the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration.
"(2) FAA.-The term 'FAA' means the Federal Aviation Administration.
"(3) NASA.-The term 'NASA' means the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.
"(4) Secretary.-The term 'Secretary' means the Secretary of Transportation."
Definition of Term in Pub. L. 114''190Pub. L. 114''190, §2, July 15, 2016, 130 Stat. 617, provided that: "In this Act [see Tables for classification], unless expressly provided otherwise, the term 'appropriate committees of Congress' means the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate and the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of Representatives."
Definitions of Terms in Title II of Pub. L. 112''95Pub. L. 112''95, title IX, §902, Feb. 14, 2012, 126 Stat. 138, provided that: " In this title [amending sections 44504, 44505, 44511, 44513, and 48102 of this title , enacting provisions set out as notes under this section and sections 44501, 44504, 44505, and 44513 of this title , and amending provisions set out as notes under section 44504 of this title ], the following definitions apply:
"(1) Administrator.-The term 'Administrator' means the Administrator of the FAA.
"(2) FAA.-The term 'FAA' means the Federal Aviation Administration.
"(3) Institution of higher education.-The term 'institution of higher education' has the same meaning given the term in section 101(a) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001(a) ).
"(4) NASA.-The term 'NASA' means the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.
"(5) NOAA.-The term 'NOAA' means the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration."
Definitions of Terms in Pub. L. 107''71For definitions of terms used in sections 127 and 145 of Pub. L. 107''71, set out above, see section 133 of Pub. L. 107''71, set out as a note under section 40102 of this title .
Ex. Ord. No. 13479. Transformation of the National Air Transportation SystemEx. Ord. No. 13479, Nov. 18, 2008, 73 F.R. 70241, provided:
By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, it is hereby ordered as follows:
Section 1. Policy. It is the policy of the United States to establish and maintain a national air transportation system that meets the present and future civil aviation, homeland security, economic, environmental protection, and national defense needs of the United States, including through effective implementation of the Next Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen).
Sec. 2. Definitions. As used in this order the term "Next Generation Air Transportation System" means the system to which section 709 of the Vision 100-Century of Aviation Reauthorization Act (Public Law 108''176) (Act) refers.
Sec. 3. Functions of the Secretary of Transportation. Consistent with sections 709 and 710 of the Act and the policy set forth in section 1 of this order, the Secretary of Transportation shall:
(a) take such action within the authority of the Secretary, and recommend as appropriate to the President such action as is within the authority of the President, to implement the policy set forth in section 1 of this order and in particular to implement the NextGen in a safe, secure, timely, environmentally sound, efficient, and effective manner;
(b) convene quarterly, unless the Secretary determines that meeting less often is consistent with effective implementation of the policy set forth in section 1 of this order, the Senior Policy Committee established pursuant to section 710 of the Act (Committee);
(c) not later than 60 days after the date of this order, establish within the Department of Transportation a support staff (Staff), including employees from departments and agencies assigned pursuant to subsection 4(e) of this order, to support, as directed by the Secretary, the Secretary and the Committee in the performance of their duties relating to the policy set forth in section 1 of this order; and
(d) not later than 180 days after the date of this order, establish an advisory committee to provide advice to the Secretary and, through the Secretary, the Committee concerning the implementation of the policy set forth in section 1 of this order, including aviation-related subjects and any related performance measures specified by the Secretary, pursuant to section 710 of the Act.
Sec. 4. Functions of Other Heads of Executive Departments and Agencies. Consistent with the policy set forth in section 1 of this order:
(a) the Secretary of Defense shall assist the Secretary of Transportation by:
(i) collaborating, as appropriate, and verifying that the NextGen meets the national defense needs of the United States consistent with the policies and plans established under applicable Presidential guidance; and
(ii) furnishing, as appropriate, data streams to integrate national defense capabilities of the United States civil and military systems relating to the national air transportation system, and coordinating the development of requirements and capabilities to address tracking and other activities relating to non-cooperative aircraft in consultation with the Secretary of Homeland Security, as appropriate;
(b) the Secretary of Commerce shall:
(i) develop and make available, as appropriate, the capabilities of the Department of Commerce, including those relating to aviation weather and spectrum management, to support the NextGen; and
(ii) take appropriate account of the needs of the NextGen in the trade, commerce, and other activities of the Department of Commerce, including those relating to the development and setting of standards;
(c) the Secretary of Homeland Security shall assist the Secretary of Transportation by ensuring that:
(i) the NextGen includes the aviation-related security capabilities necessary to ensure the security of persons, property, and activities within the national air transportation system consistent with the policies and plans established under applicable Presidential guidance; and
(ii) the Department of Homeland Security shall continue to carry out all statutory and assigned responsibilities relating to aviation security, border security, and critical infrastructure protection in consultation with the Secretary of Defense, as appropriate;
(d) the Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration shall carry out the Administrator's duties under Executive Order 13419 of December 20, 2006, in a manner consistent with that order and the policy set forth in section 1 of this order;
(e) the heads of executive departments and agencies shall provide to the Secretary of Transportation such information and assistance, including personnel and other resources for the Staff to which subsection 3(c) of this order refers, as may be necessary and appropriate to implement this order as agreed to by the heads of the departments and agencies involved; and
(f) the Director of the Office of Management and Budget may issue such instructions as may be necessary to implement subsection 5(b) of this order.
Sec. 5. Additional Functions of the Senior Policy Committee. In addition to performing the functions specified in section 710 of the Act, the Committee shall:
(a) report not less often than every 2 years to the President, through the Secretary of Transportation, on progress made and projected to implement the policy set forth in section 1 of this order, together with such recommendations including performance measures for administrative or other action as the Committee determines appropriate;
(b) review the proposals by the heads of executive departments and agencies to the Director of the Office of Management and Budget with respect to programs affecting the policy set forth in section 1 of this order, and make recommendations including performance measures thereon, through the Secretary of Transportation, to the Director; and
(c) advise the Secretary of Transportation and, through the Secretary of Transportation, the Secretaries of Defense, Commerce, and Homeland Security, and the Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, with respect to the activities of their departments and agencies in the implementation of the policy set forth in section 1 of this order.
Sec. 6. General Provisions. (a) Nothing in this order shall be construed to impair or otherwise affect:
(i) authority granted by law to a department or agency, or the head thereof; or
(ii) functions of the Director of the Office of Management and Budget relating to budget, administrative, or legislative proposals.
(b) This order shall be implemented consistent with applicable law and subject to the availability of appropriations.
(c) This order is not intended to, and does not, create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or in equity, by any party against the United States, its departments, agencies, instrumentalities, or entities, its officers, employees, or agents, or any other person.
George W. Bush.
Text - H.R.1327 - 116th Congress (2019-2020): Never Forget the Heroes: James Zadroga, Ray Pfeifer, and Luis Alvarez Permanent Authorization of the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund Act | Congress.gov | Library of Congress
Thu, 18 Jul 2019 04:08
116th CONGRESS 1st Session
H. R. 1327
AN ACT
To extend authorization for the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001 through fiscal year 2092, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of theUnited States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. Short title .
This Act may be cited as the ''Never Forget the Heroes: James Zadroga, Ray Pfeifer, and Luis Alvarez Permanent Authorization of the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund Act''.
SEC. 2. September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001 .
(a) Authorization and funding .'--Section 410 of the Air Transportation Safety and System Stabilization Act (49 U.S.C. 40101 note) is amended'--
(1) in subsection (c), by striking ''$4,600,000,000'' and all that follows through ''expended'' and inserting ''such sums as may be necessary for fiscal year 2019 and each fiscal year thereafter through fiscal year 2092, to remain available until expended''; and
(2) in subsection (e), by striking ''Upon completion of all payments under this title'' and inserting ''On October 1, 2092, or at such time thereafter as all funds are expended''.
(b) Extension of limitation on claim filing .'--Section 405(a)(3)(B) of the Air Transportation Safety and System Stabilization Act (40 U.S.C. 401010 note) is amended by striking ''the date that is 5 years after the date of enactment of the James Zadroga 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund Reauthorization Act'' and inserting ''October 1, 2090''.
(c) Compensation reduced by Special Master due to lack of funding .'--Section 406(d)(2) of the Air Transportation Safety and System Stabilization Act (49 U.S.C. 40101 note) is amended by adding at the end the following:
''(D) C OMPENSATION REDUCED BY SPECIAL MASTER DUE TO INSUFFICIENT FUNDING.'--
''(i) I N GENERAL.'--In any claim in Group B as described in section 405(a)(3)(C)(iii) in which, prior to the enactment of the Never Forget the Heroes: James Zadroga, Ray Pfeifer, and Luis Alvarez Permanent Authorization of the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund Act, the Special Master had advised the claimant that the amount of compensation has been reduced on the basis of insufficient funding, the Special Master shall, in the first fiscal year beginning after sufficient funding becomes available under such Act, pay to the claimant an amount that is, as determined by the Special Master, equal to the difference between'--
''(I) the amount the claimant would have been paid under this title if sufficient funding was available to the Special Master at the time the Special Master determined the amount due the claimant under this title; and
''(II) the amount the claimant was paid under this title.
''(ii) D EFINITIONS.'--For purposes of this subparagraph:
''(I) I NSUFFICIENT FUNDING.'--The term 'insufficient funding' means funding'--
''(aa) that is available to the Special Master under section 410(c) on the day before the date of enactment of the Never Forget the Heroes: James Zadroga, Ray Pfeifer, and Luis Alvarez Permanent Authorization of the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund Act for purposes of compensating claims in Group B as described in section 405(a)(3)(C)(iii); and
''(bb) that the Special Master determines is insufficient for purposes of compensating all such claims and complying with subparagraph (A).
''(II) S UFFICIENT FUNDING.'--The term 'sufficient funding' means funding'--
''(aa) made available to the Special Master for purposes of compensating claims in Group B as described in section 405(a)(3)(C)(iii) through an Act of Congress that is enacted after the date on which the amount of the claim described in clause (i) has been reduced; and
''(bb) that the Special Master determines is sufficient for purposes of compensating all claims in such Group B.''.
(d) Limitations on noneconomic loss .'--Section 405(b)(7)(A) of the of the Air Transportation Safety and System Stabilization Act (49 U.S.C. 40101 note) is amended'--
(1) by redesignating clauses (i) and (ii) as subclauses (I) and (II) respectively, and adjusting the margins accordingly;
(2) by striking ''With respect to'' and inserting the following:
''(i) I N GENERAL.'--Except as provided in clause (ii), with respect to''; and
(3) by adding at the end the following:
''(ii) E XCEPTION.'--The Special Master may exceed the applicable limitation in clause (i) for a claim in Group B as described in subsection (a)(3)(C)(iii) if the Special Master determines that the claim presents special circumstances.''.
(e) Adjustment of annual gross income limitation .'--Section 405(b)(7)(B)(ii) of the Air Transportation Safety and System Stabilization Act (40 U.S.C. 40101 note) is amended by striking ''$200,000.'' and inserting ''the annual gross income limitation. The annual gross income limitation in effect on the date of enactment of the Never Forget the Heroes: James Zadroga, Ray Pfeifer, and Luis Alvarez Permanent Authorization of the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund Act is $200,000. The Special Master shall periodically adjust that annual gross income limitation to account for inflation.''.
SEC. 3. Appointment of special master and deputy special masters .
Section 404 of the Air Transportation Safety and System Stabilization Act (49 U.S.C. 40101 note) is amended'--
(1) by redesignating subsection (b) as subsection (c); and
(2) by inserting after subsection (a) the following: ''(b) Appointment of Special Master and Deputy Special Masters .'--The Attorney General may appoint a Special Master and no more than two Deputy Special Masters without regard to the provisions of title 5, United States Code, governing appointments in the competitive service. Any such employee shall serve at the pleasure of the Attorney General. The Attorney General shall fix the annual salary of the Special Master and the Deputy Special Masters.''.
SEC. 4. Budgetary effects .
(a) Statutory PAYGO scorecards .'--The budgetary effects of this Act shall not be entered on either PAYGO scorecard maintained pursuant to section 4(d) of the Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act of 2010.
(b) Senate PAYGO scorecards .'--The budgetary effects of this Act shall not be entered on any PAYGO scorecard maintained for purposes of section 4106 of House Concurrent Resolution 71 (115th Congress).
Passed the House of Representatives July 12, 2019.
Attest:
Clerk.
116th CONGRESS 1st Session
H. R. 1327
AN ACT
To extend authorization for the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001 through fiscal year 2092, and for other purposes.
Rep. Harris Statement on H.R. 1327 | Congressman Andy Harris
Thu, 18 Jul 2019 04:07
WASHINGTON, D.C. '' Rep. Andy Harris, M.D. (MD-01) made the following statement on H.R. 1327:
''Of course, taking care of 9/11 first responders is important and a priority. The Zadroga Act, passed four years ago, already takes care of their health needs until 2090. H.R. 1327 goes far beyond taking care of the health needs of the 9/11 first responders, providing a compensation fund for the next 70 years for potentially 600,000 victims of 9/11. Because this could cost tens of billions of dollars, Congress should find another place in our budget that is a lower priority to pay for it. But Congress is lazy. The Democrat House majority instead chose to be fiscally irresponsible and, on a party-line vote, suspended their own rule requiring Congress to find a source of funding whenever new spending is approved that would otherwise increase our federal debt and deficit. A group of fiscally responsible members of the House, as well as the Senate, are now working on a plan that would be able to fund this important idea while finding a way to pay for it so that it doesn't increase our debt and deficit by tens of billions of dollars for future generations.''
###
2020
My Mayor Pete Problem - Presidential Newstalk
Sun, 14 Jul 2019 20:17
One of the worst things I ever did happened in 1992. I was leaving the bar called The Bar (RIP) on Second Avenue and 4th Street to go to a party called Tattooed Love Child at another bar, Fez, located in the basement of Time Cafe (RIP x 2). TLC was held on Wednesdays (Thursdays?), and I often went to The Bar after work for a few hours so I wouldn't have to go all the way home first. So it was probably 10-ish, and I know it was late winter/early spring because I was carrying a copy of the completed manuscript of my first novel Martin and John, which I'd just turned in to my publisher that very day. Which makes me 24 and old enough to know better. Or who knows, maybe this was exactly the age to learn this kind of lesson.
What happened was: I was halfway down 4th Street when I heard someone yelling. I turned to see a large fellow running after me. At first I wondered if I was getting gay-bashed. But even though this guy didn't set off my gaydar he still didn't seem particularly menacing. When he got closer I clocked the pleated khakis (this was the era of the ACT UP clone'--Doc Martens, Levi's tight or baggy, and activist T-shirts'--which look I had embraced fully) and rust-colored Brillo hair. I love me a good ginger, but you gotta know how to style it, especially if it runs frizzy. And so anyway, this guy, whose name was Garfield but said I could call him Gar, told me he'd been in The Bar but had been too shy to talk to me and decided to try his luck on the street. As politely as I could, I told him I wasn't interested. He asked me how I could know I wasn't interested when I didn't know him, which was an invitation for me to tell him that not only did he look like a potato, he dressed, talked, and ran like a potato. Alas, I chose not to indulge his masochistic invitation.
He asked where I was going and I told him. He asked if he could go with me and I told him he could go to Fez if he wanted but he shouldn't think he was going with me. He came. I quickly learned that he'd mastered the art of speaking in questions, which put me in the awkward position of answering him or ignoring him, which made me feel rude even though I'd told him I wasn't interested. When he found out I was a writer he got excited and said I must love the New Yorker! I told him I hated the New Yorker. He asked how I could hate the New Yorker and I told him that besides the fact that the New Yorker published shitty fiction (plus §a change, plus c'est la mªme chose), and the only gay fiction it published was assimilationist and boring, there was also the fact that an editor there (Dan Menaker, if we're naming names) had rejected a story of mine by suggesting in his correspondence with my agent (by which I mean that he wasn't embarrassed to write this down, let alone worried about repercussions) that psychological problems were preventing me from creating effective fiction. (By the way, fuck you, Dan.) None of which made any sense to Gar. The New Yorker was important so I must love it. I just didn't know I loved it yet. Or something like that. At some point in this exchange I remember saying something along the lines of Look, I'm just going to apologize now, because it's pretty clear that sooner or later I'm going to say something really offensive to you and your feelings are going to be hurt. I don't want to do that, but you're clearly not getting the fact that you and I don't look at the world the same way, and you keep thinking that if you hang around long enough we're going to find common ground, when all you're really doing is making our differences that much clearer. He laughed at this, one of those confused/nervous/defensive laughs, and if I'd been more mature I would have been more blunt and told him to get lost. But I too was a little deluded. I thought he had to get the hint eventually. But although I understood pretty much everything else about him, I failed to reckon fully with his lack of self-respect.
I told him I hated the New Yorker.So: we got to Fez, where I ran into my friend Patrick (Cox, I think, but it's been a minute), who looked at me like, What are you doing with this weirdo? I wouldn't let Gar buy me a drink and I did my best to exclude him from my conversation with Patrick but he still wouldn't take a hint. He must have hung around for a good hour. My answers to his questions grew more and more peremptory. Bear in mind I wasn't disagreeing with him or dismissing his opinions just to get rid of him: we really had absolutely nothing in common. But we both read the New Yorker and we were both gay and we both wore clothes to cover our nakedness so clearly we were birds of a feather. Finally he said he had to leave. He asked for my number. I remember Patrick laughing in his face, but maybe that's just because I wanted to laugh in his face. I was like, Are you serious? And he was like, We have so much in common, we should get to know each other better! When I was fifteen years old a pedophile used that line on me in the Chicago bus station, and if I'm being honest I had more in common with the pedo, who was about 50, black, and urban, while I was a white teenager from rural Kansas, than I did with dear old Gar. I told him I wasn't going to give him my phone number or accept his. He seemed genuinely shocked and hurt, which of course made me feel like shit, which of course made me mad, because why should I feel like shit when I'd spent all night trying to rebuff him? He asked what he would have to do to get me to go out with him. Without thinking, I said, Take a good look at yourself and your world, reject everything in it, and then get back to me. It was the kind of soul-killing line people are always delivering in movies but never comes off in real life, mostly because even the most oblivious, self-hating person usually has enough wherewithal to cut someone off before they're fully read for filth. I believe I have indicated that Gar did not possess this level of self-awareness. His face went shapeless and blank as though the bones of his skull had melted. For one second I thought I saw a hint of anger, which might've been the first thing he'd done all night that I could identify with. Then he scurried away.
Now, I've said shitty things to people before and since, but this one's always stuck with me, partly because, though I'm a peevish fellow, it's rare that I speak with genuine cruelty, and when I do it's because I've chosen to. This just came out of me. But mostly I remember it because I knew I'd seriously wounded this guy, which, however annoying and clueless he was, was never my intention. I was and still am a very '90s kind of gay, which is to say that I believe in the brotherhood of homos and the strength of our community, that however different we are we're all bound together by the nature of our desire and the experience of living in a homophobic world. When one of your brothers fucks up, you school him. Sure, you might get a little Larry Kramer about it, but you don't go all Arya-and-the-Night-King on his ass.
I'm telling you this because it's what popped into my head when I tried to pin down my distaste for Pete Buttigieg. Mary Pete and I are just not the same kind of gay. (For those of you wondering about ''Mary Pete'': a couple of months ago I asked Facebook what the gay equivalent of Uncle Tom was, and this was the answer at which we collectively arrived.) But Mary Pete and I aren't different in the same way that Gar and I were different. Gar and I had nothing in common. Mary Pete and I have a lot in common, but at a certain point we came to a fork in the road and I took the one less traveled and he took the one that was freshly paved and bordered by flowers and white picket fences and every house had a hybrid in the driveway and some solar panels on the ceiling, but discrete ones, nothing garish, nothing that would interfere with the traditional look of the neighborhood or the resale value of your home.
By which I mean: Mary Pete is a neoliberal and a Jeffersonian meritocrat, which is to say he's just another unrepentant or at least unexamined beneficiary of white male privilege who believes (just as Jay Inslee believes he's done more for women's reproductive rights than Elizabeth Warren and Amy Klobuchar) that he can make life better for all those people who are not like him, not because he knows anything about their lives but because he's smart and nice and well-meaning, and when smart nice well-meaning people run things everything works out for the best. That's just, you know, logical. It's like, science. Like Kirsten Gillibrand, he believes in ''healthy capitalism,'' which is a bit like saying you believe in ''healthy cancer'': Yeah, you can (usually) treat it, but wouldn't you rather be cured?
Pete and I are just not the same kind of gay.Most of what I dislike about Mary Pete was expressed in this Current Affairs article, which does a good job of using his own words (mostly from, ugh, Shortest Way Home , his memoir pretending to manifesto) to damn him. Shortest Way Home conjures a young Harvard student who thinks the word ''edgy'' is sufficient to describe both proto-Dumpster fascist Lyndon LaRouche and Noam Chomsky. His description of Harvard Square takes in those actors who belong to the school; the homeless people who live there are invisible to him, or, even worse, not worth mentioning. He seems perfectly content to dismiss left-wing student activists as ''social justice warriors'' despite the fact that this phrase is paradigmatic in right-wing discourse. He speaks fondly of his time at McKinsey, a company regularly described as one of the most evil corporations in the world. He joined the military long after 9/11 could sort-of-but-not-really be invoked to justify the U.S. propensity to go to other countries and kill lots of people. By 2007 it was no longer possible to pretend that the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq were anything other than failed, murderous exercises in empire-building and/or revenge, but despite the fact that these were the only places he was likely to serve he signed up anyway. And though he loves to talk about the notes he left his family in case he didn't come back, by all accounts his chances of seeing combat were as low as they could be'--but boy, he sure got a lot of cute pictures in uniform out of it!
Every move is simultaneously cynical and morally oblivious. They're the steps one takes not to learn about the world but to become a marketable political candidate (hmmm, what's a good counter to the whole sleeps-with-men thing? I know: military service!) (side benefit: you're surrounded by hot guys!) and if as a Harvard-educated Rhodes Scholar you decide not to be a captain of industry, then clearly the White House is where you belong. I mean, sure, he wants to make the world a better place. But the operative word in that sentence, just as it was with Bill Clinton, is ''he,'' not ''world,'' and ''better,'' for Mary Pete, is just the neoliberal variation of ''make America great again,'' which is to say that in Buttigieg's version of American history the progressive ideals in the First, Thirteenth, and Nineteenth Amendments, in the Civil Rights Act and Roe v. Wade and marriage equality, are the only authentically American ideas, whereas slavery and Jim Crow and border security and defense of marriage campaigns and heartbeat laws are nothing but aberrations, glitches in the code rather than yin to liberalism's yang, warp to its weft, a set of ivory chess pieces lined up across from a set of ebony chess pieces and equally powerful.
Like Obama, Buttigieg seems always to be saying that the United States is the only place where someone like him could've succeeded, and that he wants everyone to enjoy the same peculiarly American successes that he's had. But unlike Obama (whose na¯vet(C) was at least partly a pose), Buttigieg's biography belies the idea that his success was either hard won or particularly unlikely. He's lived the life of a comfortably middle-class white male, but he acts as if it's his natural gifts (by which he means his intelligence and his ability to speak seven languages and play the piano, although they're actually his whiteness and maleness and financial security) that have raised him above from the rabble. It's right there in his ''Medicare for all . . . who want it'' song and dance. To Mary Pete this is simple egalitarianism and freedom of choice. If you want Medicare, you should be able to have it. And if you want private insurance you should be able to have that. It seems never to occur to him to ask why one would want to pay three or four or ten times more for health care than you have to. Could it possibly be because private insurance will get you better results than Medicare? And could private health care possibly provide better service than Medicare not because of marketplace competition but because as long as there's a profit motive in health care medical corporations will always seek to maximize profits, and thus favor those ''customers'' who can pay the most? Embedded in this oblivion are both the liberal delusion that people are naturally good and the neoliberal sophistry that the market, like the tide, will raise everyone up with it.
Pete is just the neoliberal variation of ''make America great again.''Or take his response at the Democratic debate to the murder of Eric Logan by the South Bend police: ''I'm not allowed to take sides until the investigation comes back.'' Here is a mayor'--a man '--whose first allegiance isn't to the victim or the victim's family or the other people at risk because of a racist police force, but, at the very best, to the system, and maybe to nothing more than his own political future as a centrist Democrat. ''I accept responsibility,'' he told us, in the same way that the white teenaged boy who gets caught stealing a car or drunk-raping a girl says ''I accept responsibility'' and fully expects to let off without punishment, because boys will be boys, after all, and isn't feeling bad punishment enough? Free education? Why, that's unfair to the working class! They'll end up paying for the education of all those millions and millions of billionaires' children! What are we, czarist Russia?
You keep looking for a politics rooted in justice or history or, at the very least, empathy, but everywhere you find nothing besides a kind of idealistic pragmatism, if that's a thing: a belief that if we only talk about nice things, only nice things will happen. If we only acknowledge our strengths, our faults will fade away. If we trust smart people to do smart things, nothing dumb will happen. Hey, Jos(C) loved it when Pete answered him in Spanish, right? Education has brought us closer together!
All this makes Mary Pete different from every other left-leaning neoliberal in exactly zero ways. Because let's face it. The only thing that distinguishes the mayor of South Bend from all those other well-educated reasonably intelligent white dudes who wanna be president is what he does with his dick (and possibly his ass, although I get a definite top-by-default vibe from him, which is to say that I bet he thinks about getting fucked but he's too uptight to do it). So let's dish the dish, homos. You know and I know that Mary Pete is a gay teenager. He's a fifteen-year-old boy in a Chicago bus station wondering if it's a good idea to go home with a fifty-year-old man so that he'll finally understand what he is. He's been out for, what, all of four years, and if I understand the narrative, he married the first guy he dated. And we all know what happens when gay people don't get a real adolescence because they spent theirs in the closet: they go through it after they come out. And because they're adults with their own incomes and no parents to rein them in they do it on steroids (often literally). If Shortest Way Home (I mean really, can you think of a more treacly title?) makes one thing clear, Mary Pete was never a teenager. But you can't run away from that forever. Either it comes out or it eats you up inside. It can be fun, it can be messy, it can be tragic, it can be progenitive, transformative, ecstatic, or banal, but the last thing I want in the White House is a gay man staring down 40 who suddenly realizes he didn't get to have all the fun his straight peers did when they were teenagers. I'm not saying I don't want him to shave his chest or do Molly or try being the lucky Pierre (the timing's trickier than it looks, but it can be fun when you work it out). These are rites of passage for a lot of gay men, and it fuels many aspects of gay culture. But like I said, I don't want it in the White House. I want a man whose mind is on his job, not what could have been'--or what he thinks he can still get away with.
So yeah. Unlike my experience with Gar, I actually want to tell Mary Pete to take a good hard look at his world, at his experiences and his view of the public good as somehow synonymous with his own success, and I want him to reject it. I want to do this not because I have any particular desire to hurt his feelings, but because I made a similar journey, or at least started out from a similar place, and I was lucky enough to realize (thank you, feminism; thank you, ACT UP) that the only place that path leads is a gay parody of heteronormative bourgeois domesticity: the ''historic'' home, the ''tasteful'' decor (no more than one nude photograph of a muscular torso per room; statuary only if they're fair copies of Greek or Roman originals), the two- or four- or six-pack depending on how often you can get to the gym and how much you hate yourself, the theatre (always spelled with an -re) subscription, the opera subscription, the ballet subscription, the book club, the AKC-certified toy dog with at least one charming neurosis and/or dietary tic, the winter vacation to someplace ''tropical,'' the summer vacation to someplace ''cultural,'' the specialty kitchen appliances'--you just have to get a sous vide machine, it changed our life! Sorry, boys, that's not a life, it's something you buy from a catalog. It's a stage set you build so you can convince everyone else (or maybe just yourself) that you're as normal as they are. Call me a hick from the sticks, but I don't want someone who fills out his life like he fills out an AP exam serving as the country's moral compass. And no, I wouldn't kick him out of bed.
New Age Witch Marianne Williamson Officially throws Presidential bid into the Cauldron! '' Exposing Satanism and Witchcraft
Tue, 16 Jul 2019 18:47
''I'm inviting the American people to get deep with me,'' she said. ''It's time for that in order to address these times and to transform them.''
The Witches Cauldron of Globalism, Communism, Socialism and Infanticide in the Party of Death and Destruction is filling up fast. You need to turn up the heat to maximum and boil the literal Hell out of these devils. They need to be Rendered down and exposed for who are what they are'... Luciferian's!!!
Spread the word about this Wretched Witch folks!
Oprah's Spiritual Guru Running for President: 'Inviting the American People to Get Deep with Me'
PJ Media '' Oprah's spiritual adviser (and Crooked Hillary's too) launched her campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination in Iowa this evening, saying this morning that her aim is to fix the ''amoral economic system'' and prompt ''a moral and spiritual awakening in the country.''
Marianne Williamson, an activist and best-selling nonfiction writer, unsuccessfully ran for Congress in California in 2014; her campaign theme song was penned by Alanis Morissette.
''We have millions of American children live in chronic despair and trauma. We need to discuss this. We have systemic racism '-- layers of systemic racism that are leftovers from slavery. We need to discuss this. And while we are good at preparing for war, we do not wage peace on the levels we need to. We need to discuss this,'' Williamson told CNN.
Oh, there you go. Play the race card, stir it up. That is a very vague statement, ''racism left over from slavery''? I would like to hear her expound on exactly what she is referencing. Because I live in America and I don't see that. There have not been slaves in AMERICA since 1862. There was never slavery in a huge section of America. I can tell you from experience in business that Blacks have been given preferential treatment in funding, schooling, jobs, and housing since the 70's. And women and minorities have been receiving the same since the 80's. How long are they going to milk the slavery thing? This is a tactic used by the Elites to bring chaos and unrest.
And we do not need a ''Activist'' as a President! We need a God Fearing Man or Woman, (preferably a Man as that is God's way) who will lead by Righteousness!
She added that being ''someone to articulate what's really happening, the deeper levels of our moral dysfunction'' is her ''qualification for the presidency at this time.''
She states ''being someone to articulate what's really happening, the deeper levels of our moral dysfunction'' is her qualification for the presidency at this time.'' Is that so? And just what qualifies her to make the determination on what is ''really happening''? She repeatedly says she is going to articulate these deeper truths, but, has she laid them out for you to judge? She is a ''self-appointed'' guru and as far as I can see, she has very little depth.
With a platform of costly proposals such as universal healthcare, Williamson argued that ''our current economic system does not lead to a vibrant economy.'' Read more at PJ Media
So, she is an economist? Can we see her credentials? Apparently, in this upside-down world, anybody who can chum up to some major support can run for President. No matter how looney they might be.
Ok, wait! So she is a cabaret singer turned New Age Witch, who had two years studying theater and philosophy at Pomona College until she dropped out? Oh, well, surely that must qualify her to lead the most important nation in the world in it's biggest time of crisis. Of course! NOT!
Author Marianne Williamson running for 2020 Democratic nomination
The Hill '' Author and activist Marianne Williamson has announced a bid for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination, joining a crowded field of candidates.
Williamson, who launched her campaign at an event in Los Angeles late Monday, called on voters to have a ''meaningful conversation'' about potential political solutions and described the current national discourse as ''shallow.''
''I want to engage voters in a more meaningful conversation about America,'' she said in a statement.
''About our history, about how each of us fit into it, and how to create a sustainable future,'' she continued. ''Our national challenges are deep, but our political conversation is shallow. My campaign is for people who want to dig deeper into the questions we face as a nation, and deeper into finding the answers.'' Read more at the Hill
I have already posted an article about this Jezebel here '' New Age Witch Marianne Williamson looking into 2020 Presidential Run. It establishes her connection to two of her fellow practicing Witches, Hillary Clinton, and Oprah Winfrey. Do not be deceived by this hound from Hell folks. She is into very deep black magic.
I have included a few paragraphs from a couple of my articles below:
From Hillary Clinton's Witchcraft Part 1
1st Corinthians 16:22 ''If any man love not the Lord Jesus Christ, let him be Anathema Maranatha.''
Anathema - a person or thing accursed or consigned to damnation ordestruction . Maranatha - the Lord is coming'' or ''come, OLord .
Marianne Deborah Williamson met Hillary in 1994 and was invited to the White House when Hillary was First Lady. ''You were wonderful to me back in l994 when you invited me to the White House.'' Source. This woman is deep into metaphysics which is ritual Magick. Perhaps she is on the same road that occultist Jack Parsons, Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard and the Infamous Aleister Crowley were on in their quest for the Babylon Working. Some speculate that Hillary is the result of that ritual. It would explain why she can get away with so much evil. Whatever the goal of these Witches, you can bet they aim to destroy Christianity and usher in a New Age Utopia.
From Oprah Winfrey Part 2: What god does she Worship?
Oprah & Friends channel on XM Satellite Radio, which is offering Marianne Williamson's presentation of A Course in Miracles (ACIM). The course was authored by research psychologist Helen Schucman (1909-1981). Dr. Schucman maintained that between 1965 and 1972, an ''inner voice'' (which she identified as Jesus) dictated the material to her, which she took down in shorthand and transcribed into what was eventually published as A Course in Miracles.
It is often described as ''New Age Christianity,'' a version which posits a Jesus who offers more love and forgiveness while wanting ''less suffering, sacrifice, separation, and sacrament.'' (Some have noted that the concepts contained in ACIM are primarily a hodgepodge of teachings from various world religions.) ACIM (and other similar courses) are available in the form of books, audio/videotapes, seminars, and workshops through the Foundation for Inner Peace (FIP) and through its related organization, the Foundation for A Course in Miracles (FACIM), which operates an academy and retreat center known as the Institute for Teaching and Inner Peace (ITIP).
She is a witch, and witchcraft is all about manipulating the world around you to suit your desires. Witches are therefore primarily self-centered. Magick is manipulation and deception. Their motto is ''Do as thou wilt''. I think we have enough self-centeredness in Washington already.
What we need in Washington is people of fine, upstanding moral character based on the Word of God. When we had that'... we had the best nation on Earth, bar none. That is why everyone wanted to emulate us or come and join us.
I don't know about you, but I just don't see how inviting demonic spirits can have any positive effect on our nation. And these folks are into Spiritism big time.
Why is a Jewish Woman writing New Age books, and not about Judaism?
BTW, when I researched and wrote Hillary's Witchcraft, this woman figured prominently as one of Hillary's ''Spiritual Advisors''!
Marianne Williamson was born to a Jewish family in Houston, Texas, in 1952. She is the youngest of three children of Samuel ''Sam'' Williamson, an immigration lawyer, and his homemaker wife, Sophie Ann (Kaplan). After graduating from Houston's Bellaire High School, Williamson put in two years studying theater and philosophy at Pomona College in Claremont, California before dropping out in her Junior year and moving to New York City to pursue a career as a cabaret singer.
In 1979 Williamson returned to Houston, where she ran a metaphysical bookstore. In 1987 she helped found the Los Angeles Center for Living, a support facility for those with life-threatening illnesses. Two years later she began Project Angel Food, to deliver meals to AIDS patients. In 1990 Williamson had her only child, India Emmaline. She refuses to identify or discuss the father of her daughter, and instead chose to raise India alone as an ''unwed Jewish mother.'' Source: Wikipedia
She quotes Occultist Alice Bailey in one of her books. Quotes from The Emergence of the ''Mystical Church'' LetusReason.org
Marianne Williamson repeats Bailey saying, ''It is a mystical revolution that will usher in a mystical age'' (Healing the Soul of America, Marianne Williamson, p. 254).
Theosophist Alice Bailey was a mystic and occult prophet she is considered the mother of the modern New Age Movement. Alice Bailey was the chief channeler for Djwhal Khul, the Tibetan Master, who dictated through her nearly 20 books. Alice Bailey rejected the Christ of Scripture to embrace a different Christ because of her acceptance of an occult belief system. Most people do not realize how significant she was in shaping the new world religion that we see surfacing today. See Alice Bailey's 10-point Plan at Battle Cry for Christ
We do not need a President who is akin to Biblical Jezebel in charge. The whole of Washington DC is a cesspool of corruption and Satanism. It would behoove you to go watch Belly of the Beast to see exactly why Washington DC was set up the way it is and how the demonic forces are controlling it.
A President who will summon demons and ''usher in a mystical age'' will only ensure the complete and total downfall of America!!! That has been the plan of the ruling class all along.
You also need to know what all of this Mystical New Age crap is all about.
Is the Age of Aquarius in Full Swing? Part 1
The Age of Aquarius Part 2: Tapping into the 4th, and 5th Dimensions via Mind-Altering Drugs
And speaking of Mind-Altering Drugs, LSD and the new DMT, listen to this interview with a former guru!
Weaponized LSD and DMT have been used by the CIA to manipulate and control people who want to ''expand their minds,'' but after taking the drug they actually experience the evil of the ''left-hand path.'' There is a reason why it is known as ''the Spirit Molecule''.
Jan Irvin joins Alex to discuss his experience taking DMT with Joe Rogan and Eddie Bravo and solutions to this drug deception.
This interview exposes the truth behind the American drug culture.
House Votes to Kill Trump Impeachment Resolution - The New York Times
Wed, 17 Jul 2019 21:58
Politics | House Votes to Kill Trump Impeachment Resolution Video Speaker Nancy Pelosi was asked if she would table a vote on Representative Al Green's impeachment resolution, which has divided Democrats in the House. Credit Credit Erin Schaff/The New York Times WASHINGTON '-- The House on Wednesday killed an attempt to impeach President Trump for statements that the chamber condemned this week as racist, turning aside an accusation that he had brought ''ridicule, disgrace and disrepute'' to his office.
But 95 Democrats signaled their support for impeachment, while 137 opposed it '-- a dramatic split signaling trouble ahead for a divided party.
The 332-95 vote to table the impeachment article drafted by Representative Al Green, Democrat of Texas, constituted the first action by the House since Democrats took control in January on a measure to impeach Mr. Trump, a significant move that Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California and other party leaders have toiled to avoid. By agreeing to table the article, Ms. Pelosi and the Democrats put off '-- at least for now '-- a prolonged and divisive debate over whether Mr. Trump's conduct warrants his expulsion.
But the measure highlighted the rifts among Democrats about how to deal with Mr. Trump, between progressives who want to challenge him more aggressively and moderates desperate to quash talk of impeachment and stick to a poll-tested agenda that includes improving health coverage and raising wages for working people.
Ms. Pelosi has been caught in the middle as she tries to maintain some semblance of control over the party's agenda as Mr. Trump dictates the terms of the debate. Those dynamics have already dominated the House's business this week. For two days, Democrats feuded with the president over nativist posts on Twitter about four freshman Democratic congresswomen of color, culminating in a nasty floor fight on Tuesday that left progressives energized but moderates fretting over wasted precious time.
''You have to give him credit: He's a great distractor,'' Ms. Pelosi, Democrat of California, said of Mr. Trump on Wednesday. She waved off questions about whether the Democrats' policy priorities were being eclipsed by the president's antics, saying, ''We're not having him set our agenda; we're setting our own agenda.''
Mr. Green's resolution makes no mention of Robert S. Mueller III's report or other instances of possible abuses of power by the president that are being studied by the House Judiciary Committee as possible grounds for impeachment. Instead, it contains a single article that refers to the vote on Tuesday to condemn Mr. Trump's tweets as racist, and concludes: ''Donald John Trump has, by his statements, brought the high office of the president of the United States in contempt, ridicule, disgrace, and disrepute, has sown seeds of discord among the people of the United States, has demonstrated that he is unfit to be president, and has betrayed his trust as president of the United States to the manifest injury of the people of the United States, and has committed a high misdemeanor in office.''
Ms. Pelosi said that she had no quarrel with Mr. Green, but that the House was already taking sufficient steps to hold Mr. Trump accountable for his conduct.
Image Representative Al Green, Democrat of Texas, submitted an article of impeachment against President Trump. Credit Anna Moneymaker/The New York Times ''We have six committees that are working on following the facts in terms of any abuse of power, obstruction of justice and the rest that the president may have engaged in,'' she said. ''That is the serious path that we are on.''
Even supporters of opening an impeachment inquiry into Mr. Trump conceded that Wednesday's vote would likely have little effect on their own efforts.
''At some point, we have to be more focused on success than noise, and I just think this will feel a lot more like noise,'' said Representative Dan Kildee, Democrat of Michigan and an impeachment supporter.
Speaking with reporters on Wednesday morning, Mr. Green acknowledged differences with Democratic leaders but framed his decision to force the impeachment vote as strictly a matter of conscience. After listening to what he called Mr. Trump's racist attacks on four Democratic congresswomen, he said he felt he could not wait to act.
''I will do this even if I am the only person involved in the process because there are some times on some issues when it is better than to stand alone than not stand at all,'' he said.
He added: ''We cannot wait. As we wait, we risk having the blood of somebody on our hands, and it could be a member of Congress.''
Mr. Green had advice for moderate Democrats worried about how a vote on any resolution referring to impeachment would affect their re-election prospects.
''If you voted yesterday to condemn the president, you voted yesterday for that resolution. The people who are going to vote against you are already going to vote against you,'' he said. ''Deciding today that you are not going to impeach will not exonerate you.''
Mr. Green, who first drafted articles of impeachment after Mr. Trump's comments about the clash between white supremacists and protesters in Charlottesville, Va., has twice before forced similar votes. But in both cases, Republicans controlled the chamber and voted overwhelmingly to table his resolutions.
''It's time for us to deal with his bigotry,'' Mr. Green said on Wednesday. ''This president has demonstrated that he's willing to yell 'fire' in a crowded theater, and we have seen what can happen to people when bigotry is allowed to have a free rein. We all ought to go on record. We all ought to let the world know where we stand when we have a bigot in the White House.''
OTG
You Are Being Groomed - YouTube
'Likes' to be hidden on Instagram in Aust | Mandurah Mail
Wed, 17 Jul 2019 22:00
Instagram users in Australia will no longer be able to see how many 'likes' a post has a received under trial changes to "remove pressure" on the digital platform's users. Instagram will on Thursday begin rolling out the trial update removing the total number of likes on photos and viewings of videos on user feeds and profiles, and permalink pages. Users will still be able to see a list of likes on their posts, just not the overall number. However, the change won't affect measurement tools for businesses and creators on Instagram, which is owned by social media giant Facebook, and all likes and engagement metrics will still be available in those tools. The trial update expands on a similar change introduced in Canada in May and will be extended to New Zealand, Japan, Ireland, Italy and Brazil. Facebook Australia and New Zealand director of policy Mia Garlick said Instagram should be a place where people feel comfortable expressing themselves, rather than judged. "We hope this test will remove the pressure of how many likes a post will receive, so you can focus on sharing the things you love," she said in a statement. "We are now rolling the test out to Australia so we can learn more about how this can benefit people's experiences on Instagram, and whether this change can help people focus less on likes and more on telling their story." Australia was among those countries chosen for the trial because it has a fast-growing, highly engaged community of millions of people on Instagram and a tech-savvy audience. A decision will be made at a later date on whether or not the update will be made permanent. Instagram last week introduced two new features aimed at combating bullying on the platform. Australian Associated Press
https://nnimgt-a.akamaihd.net/transform/v1/crop/frm/silverstone-feed-data/e8a32027-b0bd-4a38-83a9-ff2ae9b13b95.jpg/r0_74_800_526_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg
Instagram users in Australia will no longer be able to see how many 'likes' a post has a received under trial changes to "remove pressure" on the digital platform's users.
Instagram will on Thursday begin rolling out the trial update removing the total number of likes on photos and viewings of videos on user feeds and profiles, and permalink pages.
Users will still be able to see a list of likes on their posts, just not the overall number.
However, the change won't affect measurement tools for businesses and creators on Instagram, which is owned by social media giant Facebook, and all likes and engagement metrics will still be available in those tools.
The trial update expands on a similar change introduced in Canada in May and will be extended to New Zealand, Japan, Ireland, Italy and Brazil.
Facebook Australia and New Zealand director of policy Mia Garlick said Instagram should be a place where people feel comfortable expressing themselves, rather than judged.
"We hope this test will remove the pressure of how many likes a post will receive, so you can focus on sharing the things you love," she said in a statement.
"We are now rolling the test out to Australia so we can learn more about how this can benefit people's experiences on Instagram, and whether this change can help people focus less on likes and more on telling their story."
Australia was among those countries chosen for the trial because it has a fast-growing, highly engaged community of millions of people on Instagram and a tech-savvy audience.
A decision will be made at a later date on whether or not the update will be made permanent.
Instagram last week introduced two new features aimed at combating bullying on the platform.
Australian Associated Press
Are Mobile Apps The Biggest Threat to Our Privacy? | 2019-07-17 | Security Magazine
Wed, 17 Jul 2019 10:52
This website requires certain cookies to work and uses other cookies to help you have the best experience. By visiting this website, certain cookies have already been set, which you may delete and block. By closing this message or continuing to use our site, you agree to the use of cookies. Visit our updated privacy and cookie policy to learn more. This Website Uses CookiesBy closing this message or continuing to use our site, you agree to our cookie policy. Learn More This website requires certain cookies to work and uses other cookies to help you have the best experience. By visiting this website, certain cookies have already been set, which you may delete and block. By closing this message or continuing to use our site, you agree to the use of cookies. Visit our updated privacy and cookie policy to learn more.
Former Lover Exposes Eric Schmidt '' American Intelligence Media
Wed, 17 Jul 2019 14:06
Former Lover Exposes Eric Schmidt
The following is a transcript of an interview with a Google/Facebook/DARPA insider that was conducted with a member of the Anonymous Patriots, a citizen journalist group aligned with the American Intelligence Media. The person interviewed wishes to remain anonymous and for purposes of the interview will be called Jane Doe. This conversation took place on July 1st, 2019.
ANONYMOUS PATRIOT (PATRIOT): Thank you for agreeing to this interview. Perhaps we could start with why you decided to have this conversation and why now.
JANE DOE: I decided to contact your group after a friend of mine sent me a recent expos(C) on Mark Zuckerberg that you did. I thought it was timely, honest, and was pertinent to the crisis we are in concerning Eric Schmidt's total sell out to China through advanced technology stolen from Google, Facebook, WhatsApp and other digital platforms that have come to aggressively control all Chinese. I believe Eric's evil program, Dragonfly, has already been implemented in America.
I am calling him out for his lies and his complete control by the Chinese Communist Party. Eric has lied so much lately and has admitted that he created the Social Credit System now ruling China for a ruthless totalitarian government that has Eric controlled and manipulated by President Xi Jinping and his central committee. In May of this year, Eric said that he also bifurcated the Internet for China so that there will soon be two different Internets '' one controlled by America and one by China. These things are immoral and wrong and must be stopped.
PATRIOT: Those are very big accusations and assertions that you have made. Frankly, why should we believe your story? How do you know these things about Eric?
JANE DOE: I have known Eric since his days at Bell Laboratory when he wrongfully got credit for the rewrite of Lex, lexical analyzers. I was working for the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) at that time and took an interest in this opportunist. I liked his spunk and guts and no small amount of looking after number one. When Eric went on to Sun Microsystems and again gleaned the credit for projects he didn't create, I decided to find out what made him tick.
Yes, I chose Eric as a lover to figure out what made him so successful. Eric has always cheated on his wife with many, many women and no small amount of men. I was just another one. But once he moved to Novell and tanked the company, I did him a favor by inviting him to a Highlands Group forum. For those of in your audience who might who don't know about the Highlands Group, it works out of the Naval Intelligence Net Assessment Office and basically is the international group of corporations, venture capitalists, military and corporate intelligence, and the CIA's In-Q-Tel agency that uses SAIC and Leidos as their corporate arm. Highlands Group was run by Andrew Marshall for decades and essentially this group assessed new patents, DARPA/In-Q-Tel projects, and military desires for new weapons. We all called Andrew Marshall, Yoda, because he was basically the ''head warlord'' of America, globalist corporations, and the world in general.
PATRIOT: Wow. OK. I am coming to believe you and the person who recommended that I interview you. No one else could possibly know those details about those super-secret groups So, let me get this straight. You were Eric Schimdt's lover and introduced him to the most notorious warlords in the world who you worked for when you were in DARPA?
JANE DOE: Correct.
PATRIOT: OK. And then you got mad at Eric because he, in your opinion, is selling out America to Chinese domination through the Internet and Eric's new program called Dragonfly? Is that right?
JANE DOE: Yes. Eric's Dragonfly has already put 33 million Chinese in a more-or-less ''digital prison'' because of a Social Credit Score determined by online digital use. In America this is also already going into place. Eric worked with the Atlantic Council, donations from the Open Society Foundation, and the Cambridge Digital Forensic Investigation Laboratory to control the Internet before the 2012, 2016, and 2018 elections. Eric did this in 2012 and 2016 through Groundworks and other high-tech start-ups. I hate Hilary Clinton and Obama. They both were controlled by Eric and his controllers. Americans don't even know that Eric, who wishes to be the king of the digital world, has already brought these programs from Europe and China to the Internet to control Americans.
I have such a long history with Eric and his fake cyber king friends in Silicon Valley, that I don't have time to tell all of it to you. For instance, the aggressive 5G attack on Americans came through Eric and Hillary using Richard Walker, again, as a shill for Broadcom working with Qualcomm to roll out endless poisonous 5G antennae broadcasters throughout America. Broadcom is China and the plan was to sterilize every American exposed to 5G before any studies could be done. Then, China conquers America without firing a shot. Eric donated $1.5 billion to create for Hillary the U.S. Digital Service which tried to control the 2016 presidential election results. Eric believes that during the 2020 election he will be able to make all of the systems work together to elect a Democrat. Eric hates Trump and more than anything wants him destroyed. Trump stands in the way of Chinese domination. As a matter of fact, Trump is ruining Eric's big plans.
PATRIOT: You have my attention '' What is Eric's Big Plan?
JANE DOE: That is simple. Total Chinese control of the world. Digital ''world peace'' Eric calls it. You see, Eric is being worse than blackmailed by the Chinese. It is horrible what they have done to Eric and his two daughters, the only people he cares about on the planet. Eric doesn't love his wife and never did. The Chinese poisoned Alison '' that's his daughter '' over time to control Eric. That is why he agreed to create Dragonfly and the digital ''vocational training'' program Eric created to torture Chinese Muslims to death. So far, over 1.5 million Chinese Muslims have died being reprogrammed. Eric is directly responsible for those deaths and the brutal control of the Chinese people by Eric's Social Credit System.
Even though I refuse to talk to Eric now because he is too far gone, like Jim Breyer and Uri Milner, I know his thoughts and his current dilemma. It is a Chinese torture created just for Eric, like they did to control Jim and Uri by giving them everything they ever wanted '' unimaginable wealth, sex with everything, uncontrolled power '' and then they add the insurance policy of poisoning the person and their family and keeping the antidote secret, slowing doling it out to stop certain death. Unfortunately, Eric tried to keep some control and Communists don't like that so the antidote for Alison stopped and she passed away. But this was after the Chinese forced Eric to work with North Korea.
PATRIOT: Are you speaking about that well-reported trip of Eric and his daughter Sophie to North Korea?
JANE DOE: Yes. That was completely faked. Sophie even wrote an alleged ''diary'' of the entire experience to claim there was no ''business'' done between her dad and North Korea. Eric actually took Sophie into insane danger to get her first dose of the antidote that the Chinese had poisoned Alison, Sophie and Eric with. Then, they informed Eric that during the trip they had poisoned him also. Thus, Eric gave the North Koreans the Google android phone software and they immediately claimed to have invented it themselves and called it Arirang. Everybody knows Eric sold out America on that deal but only a very few of us know why.
PATRIOT: Why did the North Koreans agree to work with the Chinese on this poisoning issue?
JANE DOE: Well, the Chinese poisoned Alison and Sophie in America through food. Eric was aware of this and refused to work with the Chinese on their plan to have Wi-fi beamed from the type of satellites Eric had already designed for the U. S. military. So, after they demanded that Eric come to North Korea for Sophie's antidote, they not only blackmailed him into giving the Google android program, but they also made Eric agree to sneak into China and create a number of programs for them to gain global digital dominance. Eric 100% believes the Chinese will rule the world in ten years. What China doesn't know is that Eric had planned to rule the world in twenty years, so they were in conflict. Eric has the plans we developed for DARPA, Motorola, and Boston Dynamics to build an undefeatable robot warrior. It was a DARPA project called ''Atlas.''
In a strange way, Eric is like Count Dooku from Star Wars, who was a good character who went bad by building his own robot army and clone army to fight against everybody. Count Dooku went rogue, just like Eric. But Eric is being manipulated by the Chinese who have perfected the art. No one wins against the Chinese. That is why Eric decided ten years ago to back the Chinese with high-tech IP theft that made the Russian, Uri Milner one of the wealthiest men in the world. Eric and Uri stole the IP from Facebook, Google, E-Bay, Amazon and others to make Tencent, Baidu, Molotok, 247, and Mail.ru '' which were instantaneous hits. Uri, who represents the Communist Chinese Central Committee was even allowed to trade on the London Stock Exchange. Eric hated this and always was jealous of Uri and Jim Breyer who basically run their own ''kingdoms'' in China. Eric has often said he wants to be ''Eric Khan.'' Nothing crazy about that, is there?
PATRIOT: This is the most shocking and amazing story I have every heard. Then, why did Eric lie about Dragonfly and Muslim extermination in China?
JANE DOE: Eric was so na¯ve that he believed the Chinese when they said they would not implement Dragonfly and Social Credit for years. Actually, they will have complete control of everyone in China in two years. The plan is to have sterilized all Americans with 5G by that time and have control of all technology in America through these systems.
Then, with 5G in place, the Atlas warrior robot army will be finished and can move in to disarm all Americans and arrest those who resist. America will simply become a vassal of China due to our digital addictions, which were planned from the beginning.
PATRIOT: I don't understand how Eric became so rich that he owns a piece of every digital pie at this point.
JANE DOE: That's the way of the military as they create mythical cyber geniuses as facades for Silicon Valley corporations and then allow those idiots to buy into the next DARPA no-bid government contract that eventually becomes a monopoly subsidized by the government. Jim Breyer from Accel Partners, John Doerr from Kleiner Perkins, and Sir Michael Moritz from Sequoia Capital, and the other standard venture capital companies always knew ahead of time who was the ''chosen one'' for the next big venture.
At DARPA, we used taxpayer money up front to pay for people like Larry Brin and Sergey Page to win the DARPA contest. Then, we make sure that the insider traders from the Highlands Group know about the next start-up that will make an Initial Public Offering (IPO) with assets of millions but will immediately bump up to a company worth billions. Thus, Eric took a borrowed 100 million and bet on the next Highland Group sure bet '' Facebook. Then Eric withdrew his billions after the IPO and went on from there to buy up every insider Highlands Group start-up that he could.
After that, he was the Council on Foreign Relations chosen cyber-lord and nothing could stop him. Eric gets placed on any board he wants with a wink. Why you ask? Because he is the ultimate high-tech insider trader.
PATRIOT: That's how he came to control Facebook, but how did he get control of Google?
JANE DOE: What I am about to tell you has seldom ever been said out-loud. Brin and Page were stooges. They were chosen because they would lie, not because they invented something. They were given a top-secret DARPA program called Memex which we had used as the best search engine we could develop. It was all military and the ''dark web'' at first. We used it to sucker in the enemy unbeknownst to them and then subliminally brain-wash them attempting to create behavioral outcomes through digital dopamine reward systems and adrenalin excretions.
It worked like a charm, so the CIA's In-Q-Tel agency suggested we give the system out to everyone in the world and see if we can't control the world globally through digital addiction and manipulation. Again, it worked like a charm so we created the fake National Science Project that Brin and Page participated in. They simply did the best job of the dozen people involved but they didn't invent anything, they simply used Memex and made it commercial. Facebook and Zuckerberg did the same thing with Lifelog, which was another DARPA/In-Q-Tel project that needed a boy-genius as the front-man. Mark was simply used.
I find it amazing how easily people are lied to effectually. Eric is one big fat lie. Mark, Jim, Elon, Peter, and the whole gang got their inventions from DARPA and In-Q-Tel's theft of patents. I know, I was there in the meetings.
PATRIOT: So, are you evil too?
JANE DOE: Yes, in a way I fell into the same evil trap but for different reasons. I actually was na¯ve and thought I was doing it for my country. I only found out after years in DARPA what was really going on. It actually comes down to a handful of people who control the world. I happen to know most of them. No one does anything without tech support and I was at the heart of high-tech innovation at DARPA, Motorola, Boston Dynamics, Facebook Building 8, and many other ''skunkworks'' projects for Lockheed, Boeing, BAE and others.
Yes, I am one of those cyber warlords, but I did it in good faith, until I found out the whole truth just months ago. That is why I feel I have an obligation to spill the beans and let the powers that stand for honesty, morality and truth to finally have their day. I have seen too much to let Eric and the gang sell us out to China and sterilize every American in the process. The whole system of DARPA weaponization of patents and inventions must stop immediately. Letting Andrew Marshall and his warlords weaponize every invention must stop now. I will keep speaking out against this evil group of people, with Eric at the head. There are many others I can name because I was essentially one of their bosses, so I have a great deal of first-hand experience with these cyber fakes, most of whom are total tech idiots and embarrass the profession every time they open their mouth and lie.
PATRIOT: So, what happens to Eric if he doesn't do China's bidding?
JANE DOE: They will stop giving him the antidote and he and his daughter Sophie will meet the same fate as Alison did. They lie and say Alison died from a long-standing illness. This is nonsense.
PATRIOT: Sorry I am slow on the uptake with some of my questions, but frankly, I am taken aback by your honesty and all that you are saying. Unfortunately, I still don't understand why Eric went with the Chinese offers to begin with.
JANE DOE: At first, it was money. Eric has always said he won't stop even after becoming a trillionaire. Eric believed his buddy Henry Kissinger pronouncement that America has lost its place as the globally dominate force to China due to the high-tech revolution and Chinese IP theft. So, Eric thought his connections to China and his buddies Jim and Uri would make him a trillionaire. But, there was a much more nefarious reason Eric aligned with China.
China allows Eric to experiment on life-extension research using aborted baby tissue and organs. Everyone knows that the number one thing Eric thinks about is longevity. He wants to live forever but believes he already has the technology to live to 180. He has said this many times to the press. Think back to his off-shore laboratories on huge ships where he was experimenting on things that are illegal in America. Well, guess what? They aren't illegal in China, as long as you are a favorite of the Communist Central Committee.
Eric, like most of the cyber-kings, are obsessed with extending their life indefinitely. They often say it is their intent to live in a body for hundreds of years and then move to an Artificial Intelligence host after that. They sit around thinking about their infinite money, but lack of immortality.
Let me make this clear. These are idiots who are psychopaths with delusions of grandeur. They are little boys in a sandbox. Until I came along, it was almost all boys except for Hillary Clinton. The boys were afraid of dying. I think that is because they are afraid of karma and the consequences of their lies and despicable actions. The ones I know don't sleep without sleeping pills due to being awake all night plotting their take over of the world. Well, Eric's plans of world domination pale against the efforts of Communist China. The Central Committee will simply eat Eric alive and spit him out as they have done to countless people before him. Don't get me wrong, Eric is very useful to China right now. He is the head architect of the digital totalitarian Chinese Communist State. He will live forever in history as an evil and ghastly man. History won't know about the poisoning.
Eric, like all the aging world conquers, uses transfusions of younger blood to extend his life. He has tried everything that money can buy to extend his life. And then, he is taken down by his greed for wealth and power by the Chinese with some unknown powder they put in his food. This is funny because the old Chinese kings were also obsessed with extending their life and putting mercury in their food. The mercury actually shortened their lives. I think the same thing happened to Eric and it is sad the Chinese are so brutal that they also included his daughters. But no cruelty is beyond the Chinese government. I have never had anything to do with China. That is, except for the shared weaponized inventions of the Highlands Group. But I gained no money from the decades of work I did in that area. I was never there for personal gain.
Eric often said he would leave his wife and divorce her so we could be together forever. Personally, I am a Christian and I don's share most of Eric's crazy beliefs; even though he preached them to me for decades. I don't believe, and haven't for over a decade, hardly anything Eric says. He talks like George Soros as a divinely anointed king of the world whose mission is for the sake of all of humanity when it is simply childish desires that evaporate at death.
I don't want China to have our technology. I was shocked to find out that China was allowed to hack into every government system '' even DARPA. China and Russia were given the IP that was weaponized by the Highlands Group. That is when I left and moved into private industry, with the help of Eric and the gang. But now, I want to focus on human-based technology driven by human intelligence for the benefit of humans. Eric is all about AI and believes that perhaps he will become the AI of the Internet in the future. He actually entertains such thoughts. Just one word comes to mind '' megalomaniac. And personally, I don't want to be on any ship that he is at the helm of. Eric is going down and I hope, with honest people coming forward, he will take China with him.
PATRIOT: Wow. My brain needs oxygen. What you are describing is my worst fears about Silicon Valley '' more like a nightmare. And you have been right in among the war demons and the goblins who makes the weapons. You seem so sweet and nice. After speaking with the anonymous source of my last expose, I expected you to be the witch of the virtual world of war. Really, DARPA and the whole thing. I have only ever spoken to one other person who has attended Highlands Group forums and she said those people were pure evil and could burn a hole through you with their demonic eyes. Cold-hearted, blood-thirsty warlords, plain and simple.
JANE DOE: Well, she was right. I couldn't have described it better. Sitting with the international think tank that assures continued war is breath-taking. I didn't know that weapons dealers, both conventional and virtual, sit around and calculate the deaths that will arise from going forward with a new project. But DARPA is a death machine; pure and simple. I worked for the death lords to keep America safe and free but those old, na¯ve beliefs of mine have long gone to the wayside. I really have no justification for any of those programs. Now remember, when I say those DARPA projects, I am referring to taxpayer funded weaponization of the Internet, Facebook, PayPal, Google, Twitter, Gmail, YouTube, Amazon, Netflix, Microsoft, Apple, etcetera. It disgusts me to know what I know about those fake corporations and their take-over of the world. I helped create those programs. I had no idea they would all go out of control. I am trying to rectify those mistakes right now.
PATRIOT: Can we stop the overthrow of free speech by Google, Alphabet, Facebook, etc.?
JANE DOE: I don't know. It may be too late. Stopping the spread of Broadcom/Qualcomm was a good start. But then they gave the software out to many companies and the $40 billion yearly subsidizing of 5G may be the end of America as we know it. I am encouraged by the actions against Huawei, ZTE, Lenovo, Chinese semi-conductors and micro-chips, and other such actions. But China marches on no matter how many troops may die.
China is basically the worst enemy we have ever had now that Eric, through Alphabet, Boston Dynamics, Motorola, and his 5G spy satellites built for the U. S. military are in the hands of Chinese totalitarians. I really don't know. If we listen to Eric, and I am never going to speak to him again personally, you would hear him tell America that we have two years before his Chinese plan to dominate America kicks in. If 5G goes in, Eric's robots and the Internet of Things will control America. I know that sounds harsh but remember that Eric told us Dragonfly and the Chinese Social Credit System would only be partially functional in a few years. Lie. It is fully functional now and killing people as we speak. Eric knows this.
So, if Eric says the America Social Credit System will rule America in 10 years, you can bet it is more like two or three years. He is building Chinese controlled robot warriors as we speak. The U. S. military has already put Atlas, our robot warrior, into active duty. So, when you ask me about the future, even though that is my business, I cannot predict it.
PATRIOT: So, are you saying Eric's plans to dominate America are already in place?
JANE DOE: Yes, I've already mentioned his election rigging activities, but his Digital News Service controls all main stream media outlets. Eric owns the program that runs Avid and Isis Management, the system that filters every word on 127 media outlets. That's why the news is the same wherever you look, Eric's program scrubs the news. Eric created a dozen look-alike programs for Europe where his programs have effectively stopped free speech.
But it is not about the old systems, it is about the new ones and Eric controls research and development for dozens of the largest corporations. No digital innovations go without his approval and perhaps funding if he knows it will become a government monopoly. Eric and Jim Breyer haven't been wrong in over a hundred start-ups they have funded. Amazingly good odds don't you think? Insider trading. Personally, I never had any money to invest or I could be rich. I never went for the money, just the power. Woman power is what I am about. Those Silicon Valley boys were simply toys in my hands. Eric thought he was MANipulating me, when in fact, I was manipulating him '' once I saw the light. And now, I am shinning a bright light on his corruption and plans. These evil plans must be stopped, and I personally can't do it myself. I believe that Facebook and Google have a short life-expectancy at this point. Their corruption and lies have been outed. That is why it is OK for me to speak the truth I experienced.
PATRIOT: I am overwhelmed. What can a simple person due to help?
JANE DOE: It is more simple than people think but it must come from every person on the planet. Simply reject big-tech. Slow it down by not buying it, using it, or allowing it to be used on children. Protect yourself, these are serious, deadly weapons you call your smart phone, I-pad or computer. Technology as war has advanced faster than humans have developed in morality. We are doomed to blow ourselves up if we keep making war-toys and putting them in the hands of people like Andrew Marshall and Eric Schmidt. These boys can't help themselves. They want more, and more without any consequences. That is why all this evil goes on in small groups that most people don't know exist. If people knew, they would hang the traitors who give American IP and trade secrets to our enemies just to feed the war machine. Eric has become one of those war machines and I want to see someone stop him. He is out of control.
PATRIOT: I want to thank you for what you are doing. This is truly patriotic '' even if a little late in the game. I personally, have hope because of people like you. Everyone can wake up. It is not a sin to sleep. I could go on asking you questions endlessly but I feel I have already been blessed by the time you have so willingly given. Seriously, I, we, can't thank you enough.
We will do what we can. I will transcribe this and submit it up to the boss and if they believe you and the information can be properly vetted, I hope I can get your message out to many people. Of course, I would like to reflect on this rather upsetting information and then write down a bunch of questions for you.
JANE DOE: I would be happy to answer any questions that I can through this secure line and, right now, only through you until we see where this goes. I just want to help stop the madness. I feel I owe the American people that. I never really saw myself as a patriot, but I guess I might be one.
PATRIOT: Thank you again for blowing my mind. I will be working hard to find supporting material in the open media to amplify what you have told me today. I will submit them with this interview and perhaps we can get this thing to go viral and we can stop the truly evil plans of Eric and his gang.
Any parting comments?
JANE DOE: I can't tell you how this makes me feel. I am not one for sentiment but I feel a huge weight lifting off my chest. I am pleased with my decision to have no further working with the companions of darkness. A new day needs to come when lies are like mill-stones around the neck of the liar.
Post Interview Notes Support material that we found that supports Jane Doe's interview:
Eric Schmidt illegally donated $1.5 billion to the Hillary campaign that she did not declare. This is proof of the 2016 presidential election meddling by Schmidt.
https://qz.com/823922/eric-schmidt-played-a-crucial-role-in-team-hillarys-election-tech/
https://qz.com/520652/groundwork-eric-schmidt-startup-working-for-hillary-clinton-campaign/
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2371719/Googles-Eric-Schmidts-open-marriage-string-exotic-lovers.html
Corrupt practices of Google under Eric Schmidt command:
https://www.forbes.com/sites/scottcleland/2012/01/20/the-evidence-googles-systematic-theft-is-anti-competitive/#1eec5b807d62
What made Steve Jobs hate Eric Schmidt:
https://gizmodo.com/what-really-made-steve-jobs-so-angry-at-google-5941817
Civis Analytics
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Civis Analytics is an Eric Schmidt-backed data science software and consultancy company founded by Dan Wagner in 2013.[1]
Wagner served as the Chief Analytics Officer for Barack Obama's 2012 re-election campaign.[citation needed]
Civis Analytics helps businesses ''understand their data, use that data to make predictions, and get recommendations on what steps to take next''.[1] Civis works with Fortune 500 companies and the country's largest organizations, including Verizon, Airbnb, Discovery, FEMA, Boeing and the American Red Cross.[2]
In the last few months Eric Schmidt, the gaffe-prone CEO of Google, has made public statements that make us question whether the company's slogan still is ''Don't be evil.'' In interview after interview, Schmidt has made tactless comments on especially sensitive and controversial topics such as online privacy and net neutrality.
As CEO, one of Schmidt's largest roles is to act as a spokesperson for the company, but that ironically seems to be his Achilles' heel. Here are some of his more recent faux pas.
''The average American doesn't realize how much of the laws are written by lobbyists.'' Schmidt made this remark last week. While he expressed shock at how Washington works, he neglected to mention that Google spent $1.34 million last quarter on lobbyists''an increase of 41% year-over-year''and as much as $2.72 million in the first half of 2010. If lobbyists are writing the laws, then Google is certainly dropping enough dough to make sure it's controlling the pen.''We know where you are. We know where you've been. We can more or less know what you're thinking about.'' And this said on the topic of privacy! Schmidt has the uncanny ability to confirm our darkest suspicions of Google.''I don't believe society understands what happens when everything is available, knowable and recorded by everyone all the time.'' Schmidt said this in an interview with the Wall Street Journal, which reported that ''[Schmidt] predicts, apparently seriously, that every young person one day will be entitled automatically to change his or her name on reaching adulthood in order to disown youthful hijinks stored on their friends' social media sites.'' In order to escape the wide reach of Google's SEO, we'll soon have to change our names, as if covering up a digital scarlet letter? Schmidt later retracted the statement, calling it a joke.''It's true that we see your searches. But we forget them after a while.'' Schmidt made this statement on The Colbert Report, when the jocular host asked Schmidt to confirm whether Google knows all ''our likes [and] dislikes.'' When Colbert then asked why we should trust Google to forget our searches, Schmidt answered, ''Not only do you have to, it's the law in a lot of countries.''''There's such an overwhelming amount of information now, we can search where you are, see what you're looking at if you take a picture with your camera. One way to think about this is, we're trying to make people better people, literally give them better ideas'--augmenting their experience. Think of it as augmented humanity.'' Not even Charlie Rose can keep Schmidt from going off message.''The best thing that would happen is for Facebook to open up its data. Failing that, there are other ways to get that information,'' Schmidt told the audience at the Google Zeitgeist conference.''We can suggest what you should do next, what you care about. Imagine: We know where you are, we know what you like,'' Schmidt said as the IFA's keynote speech in Berlin, amping up the creepiness.Famous Eric Schmidt quotes:''We know where you are. We know where you've been. We can more or less know what you're thinking about''
''If you have something that you don't want anyone to know maybe you shouldn't be doing it in the first place''
''Every young person one day will be entitled automatically to change his or her name on reaching adulthood in order to disown youthful hijinks stored on their friends' social media sites''
''Our policy is we try things, we celebrate our failures''
''Just remember when you post something, the computers remember forever''
''You can trust us with your data''
''Washington is an incumbent protection machine'... The Laws Are Written by Lobbyists''
''I actually think most people don't want Google to answer their questions, they want Google to tell them what they should be doing next''
''We are willing to get it one way or another, with or without deal''
''We Want People To Be More Logged Into Google''
We Want People To Be More Logged Into Google '' Eric Schmidt
''Computers will clearly handle the things we aren't good at, and we will handle the things computers clearly aren't good at''
''The Internet of things will augment your brain''
America Isn't Far Off From China's 'Social Credit Score' | Observer
Wed, 17 Jul 2019 15:00
How defined is your digital trail? Unsplash
It's hardly news that Big Brother is watching you if you happen to live in China. After all, China is a communist country where the government exercises wide control over everything from the economy to the media. But it's still scary to read about the specific ways Chinese citizens are being watched'--and controlled'--in Mara Hvistendahl's terrific Wired story .
In China, mobile payments have surged to $9 trillion a year. A few secretive organizations are using the data from those transactions'--along with information pulled from government, legal and social sources'--to create a ''social credit score.''
In China, your social credit score determines everything from how much interest you pay on a loan to how easily you can rent a car or get a visa to travel overseas. Your score gets hurt for many of the same reasons you would have a bad ''traditional'' credit score in the United States'--such as paying bills late or defaulting on a loan'--but your score will also get damaged by consorting with the wrong friends on social media or being associated in real life with people who have been convicted of financial crimes. It isn't hard to see that being critical of the government in China would make it hard to participate in day-to-day life'--at least financially. A bad score could keep you from getting a job, getting access to health care or finding an acceptable place to live.
That couldn't possibly happen in the land of the free, could it?
Actually, it's already happening.
We don't have a few all-powerful monoliths like the federal government (or Alibaba) recording everything we do, but most Americans don't realize how much of their everyday life is being tracked and analyzed. Right now, data collection companies' main goal is selling you things. But it isn't hard to envision how a few changes in the market could produce something like our Chinese friends' Big Brother experience.
Think about the digital trail you leave in an average week. Your top-of-the-line smartphone has a GPS function that lets it be tracked anywhere you go. You might buy something with Amazon Prime and have it delivered to your home, browse a website promoted to you based on what you've liked on Facebook, use your bank's online bill pay function to pay your cable bill, and drive your car across a bridge where the toll is automatically processed by EZPass.
Data aggregators are able to build a very sophisticated profile of how you spend and sell that profile to advertisers looking to find people just like you. The credit bureaus keep track of how you pay your bills'--and manage your available credit'--and sell it to companies that assign you a score that lenders then use to determine how reliable you'll be about paying off a new line of credit.
We're also not far away from being completely conditioned'--and accepting'--of ''social'' grading by our peers. That Uber app that makes it so easy to get home after a party? You're ranking the driver on his or her performance, and he or she is doing the same to you. Social platforms like Twitter, Instagram and Facebook have made it easier than ever to praise'--and criticize'--friends and acquaintances for everything from their fashion taste to their political views and how they raise their children. You can even do it anonymously.
Amazon has been working very hard to integrate itself completely into your everyday life. It'll sell you anything you want'--including a device that sits on your counter and waits for you to ask it something. It just bought Whole Foods to get into the grocery market. Is it hard to imagine Amazon entering the drug business? Or owning a cable company? Or a bank? Is it a stretch to think Amazon will give preferential treatment to Prime customers who use its brick-and-mortar stores or surf the web via an internet service provider they own?
The latest round of tax reforms is giving companies like Amazon, Apple, Google and Facebook even more cash to become even larger conglomerates. They're all going to possess and consolidate more of your data. And it's unlikely you'll know what information they're collecting'--or how they're going to use it.
Sure, you can opt out, but companies that use ''big data'' are betting that you will trade privacy for convenience'--and a good deal on that sweater you didn't know you wanted.
The choice is up to you, so you should make your choice informed. It might seem tedious, but read the fine print when you sign up for any service'--whether it's Amazon Prime, Google or Facebook. What are you giving access to and what can you opt out of? Be aware of the strings attached to free services. Credit Karma and Mint might offer some useful tools to estimate your credit score or keep track of your finances, but just because you aren't paying for them doesn't mean they're free. You're exchanging your personal data for that convenience. You're giving them you.
Your financial life is the most tangible way you can be impacted by this kind of data collection, so it pays to be as knowledgeable as you can. When you know how your credit score is being computed, you can make better day-to-day decisions before a crisis hits. You can learn more about how to do that in my new book, Your Score. It's a guide designed to put you on equal footing with your lenders.
Anthony Davenport is the founder and CEO of Regal Credit Management.
Kamala Harris says credit scores should include rent, cell phones and utilities - MarketWatch
Wed, 17 Jul 2019 14:56
Senator Kamala Harris wants to add more data to how credit bureaus calculate credit scores as part of a broader plan to address the black homeownership gap in the U.S.
The Democratic presidential candidate from California unveiled her plan last week during an appearance at the Essence Festival in New Orleans, an annual music and culture festival sponsored by Essence magazine.
Harris called for amending the Fair Credit Reporting Act to require credit reporting agencies to include payments of rent, cellphone bills and utilities when calculating credit scores.
There are an estimated 26 million people who are ''credit invisible'' and another 19 million who are said to have ''unscorable'' files, according to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. These people don't have enough bank or credit-union accounts to have a credit score by today's standards.
While the traditional FICO score, named after the Fair Isaac Corporation FICO, +0.27% mainly considers payments on debt such as credit cards, mortgages and auto loans, the credit scores have always been designed to consider telecommunications and utilities payments since they were first released in 1989, said Joanne Gaskin, vice president of scores and analytics at FICO. The latest version of the credit score, FICO Score 9, is also designed to incorporate rent data.
The problem is that the necessary data hasn't been collected. FICO relies on consumer data gathered by the three major credit reporting agencies (CRAs) '-- Experian EXPGY, +1.83% Equifax EFX, +0.57% and TransUnion TRU, -0.08% '-- to produce its scores for consumers. But those agencies don't have much of this ''alternative'' data.
''Today, we have a voluntary system of furnishing data which means not all providers report payment information to the CRAs,'' Gaskin said. For instance, while roughly 92% of U.S. consumers have cell phones, only 5% of consumers have telecommunications-related data in their credit bureau files.
''We applaud Sen. Harris' proposal to responsibly expand access to credit through the use of alternative data such as telco, utility and rent payments and bringing greater attention to the lack of this information being reported to the three main CRAs,'' Gaskin added.
Read more: How 'redlining' still hurts home values
Legislation to amend the Fair Credit Reporting Act has already received bipartisan support. A bill introduced in 2017 by former House Representative Keith Ellison, a Democrat from Minnesota, that would require this additional data in credit scoring managed to pass the House of Representatives. The Senate version of that bill, which was authored by Senator Tim Scott, a Republican from South Carolina, attracted both Democratic and Republicans co-sponsors, though Harris was not among them.
Scott's bill, which FICO supports, would also encourage telecommunications and utility companies and landlords to supply credit bureaus with information regarding on-time or delayed payments.
And previous legislation that was signed into law by President Trump included provisions that sought to broaden the range of information lenders consider when underwriting mortgages. The 2018 bill that rolled back Obama-era financial regulations required Fannie Mae FNMA, +0.00% and Freddie Mac FMCC, -0.39% to accept loans that lenders provided using alternative forms of credit scores in the underwriting process.
Meanwhile, companies have developed alternative credit scores, such as the FICO XD, that rely on data from sources other than the major credit bureaus to assess consumers' creditworthiness. Equifax, Experian and TransUnion have also developed the VantageScore as a competitor to FICO '-- while the score relies on the same data as traditional FICO scores, the data is weighted differently. Experian also has a tool that will include certain utility accounts included in your credit report.
Proponents of alternative credit scoring models argue that millions more Americans would be able to loans if their credit scores were calculated using additional data such as rent and utility payments.
Also see: More Americans are taking longer to pay off their credit-card debt
However, others have argued that the added data alone may not be much of a game-changer in terms of creating a new pool of potential home buyers. The 2018 legislation, for instance, didn't require lenders to abandon the traditional FICO score altogether. As a result, some argued lenders may choose to ignore the alternative scores or, if they used them, consider those borrowers to be riskier and thus charge them a higher interest rate.
Others have also suggested consumers' credit scores could potentially go down if this additional data is added in earnest to the calculations. For instance, utility companies can already report late payments to credit bureaus, but typically only do so after several months have passed. If utility companies were obliged to report all consumer payment information to the credit reporting agencies, consumers could be dinged for a single late payment, even if they quickly resolved the situation.
Black and Hispanic consumers are more likely to be unscorable or credit invisible. About 15% of blacks and Hispanics are ''credit invisible,'' compared to 9% of whites and Asians, according to 2015 data from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
This disparity contributes to the racial gap in homeownership, Harris has argued. The homeownership rate among white Americans is 73.2%, whereas the rate among black Americans is just 41.1%, per the U.S. Census Bureau.
She also proposed giving $100 billion in down-payment and closing-cost assistance '-- up to $25,000 per household '-- to help black families purchase homes in parts of the country that were traditionally ''red-lined,'' meaning that people of color were historically denied mortgages to purchases homes in those neighborhoods.
This story was updated on July 10, 2019.
What is the Difference Between a FICO Score and Vantage Credit Score? - The Fortunate Investor
Wed, 17 Jul 2019 14:35
FICO and credit ratings are essential to your financial future. But what exactly are they? And what's the difference between a FICO score and a credit score?
FICO Score vs Vantage Credit ScoreIt's helpful to start off with some definitions. A credit score is just a tool that lenders use to work out your creditworthiness. They take into account all sorts of financial information, including how much debt you owe, whether you pay all your bills on time and how often you take out new credit. All this information is then fed through computer algorithms on a regular basis, updating your score in the process. Lenders can then use this score to figure out how much they should lend you and at what rate of interest. If your credit score is high, then you'll be able to borrow a lot and pay it back at low rates of interest. If your credit score is low, then the amount you'll be able to borrow is less, and you may end up paying more in interest charges.
Importance of Credit ScoreAs a result, your credit score is remarkably important in determining your future financial health. When your credit score is good, it's a lot easier to take out a loan on a car or a mortgage on a house than when it's bad. A good way to monitor your financial health is through Credit Sesame.
A FICO score is actually a kind of credit score. The FICO score was first defined by the Fair Isaac Corporation back in 1956. They came up with a very simple scoring method to determine a customer's creditworthiness, without having to go through the rigmarole of checking their history every time they applied for a loan, which could be ineffective. Before that time, lenders had had to use their personal judgment to determine whether somebody should receive a loan, which led to all sorts of errors. Some people who were terrible with money were given loans, thanks to their smart appearance. Others who would have paid back the loans with interest were denied on the basis of characteristics which were unrelated to their ability to repay. Banks soon realized that these errors were costing them an enormous amount of money and vowed to make use of more objective methods.
FICO Score's Rise to Dominance
By the 1980s, FICO scores had taken over the industry and were being used on a daily basis by lenders keen to avoid making costly errors. By collecting dozens of pieces of financial information about each customer from their transaction records with various lenders, the Fair Isaac Corporation was able to construct individual credit scores, which it arbitrarily assigned to be between 300 and 850. Soon it began selling the rights to access this information to lenders and started to make a lot of money.
Before long, new credit reporting agencies began offering services to the public with the aim of making these scores more accessible. It was soon becoming clear to people in the market for loans that having information about their credit score was important since it was a major determinant of whether they would be accepted or not. New reporting agencies such as Experian, TransUnion and Equifax began popping up all over the place, offering to give customers a credit report, for a fee.
Once FICO began automating the process, the entire industry changed. No longer did lenders have to guess whether a person was creditworthy. Instead, they had all the reliable information they needed, right in front of them. Being the first entrant, FICO dominated the market and soon became the industry standard.
FICO Has Many Different Versions
One of the confusing things about the difference between FICO scores and credit scores is that FICO scores can differ according to which formula is applied to your data. Each time you try to take out a loan or get access to credit, your lender will request a credit score. FICO provides the formula for deriving the credit score, based on how likely they think it is that you'll repay the loan.
But credit scores are also determined by the actual data fed into the formulas. Since there are three different credit bureaus: Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion '' all of which have slightly different information in their reports '' borrowers end up with three different credit scores, one from each bureau.
Differences Between Credit BureausIt's also worth noting that credit scores from the same bureau are rarely stable over time. Every so often, credit rating agencies update the way that their algorithms work, rather like an update to your mobile phone operating system. Right now you might be using Google Android Nougat which has a particular set of features, but in the future, you might shift over to ''Android O'' which has a whole raft of new features. Each time the scoring algorithm is tweaked, your credit score will change as agencies apply new weights to the data in your credit report.
Despite the fact that it was introduced all the way back in 2009, FICO 8, as it is called, is currently the most popular FICO algorithm used by companies in the financial industry. Since then FICO has updated its facilities, adding FICO 9 after the turn of the decade, although this is less popular. Thus, the type of method lenders choose could have an impact on your final score calculation, especially if you are an unusual case not accounted for by earlier software versions.
VantageScore vs FICO
During the first few decades it was in use, FICO score made a lot of money. Every time a company wanted to lend to an individual, they would use FICO's scoring system and Fair Isaac would get a payment. However, smart entrepreneurs eventually realized that there was big money to be made here and set about developing their own competing system.
The rival system was drawn up by the credit bureaus themselves, Experian, Equifax and TransUnion. They got together and decided that, with the advent of the internet, they would target both consumer and lender markets with a new credit rating product they called VantageScore. Like FICO, VantageScore used numbers to assign credit ratings, this time between 502 and 999. In 2006, VantageScore embarked on a massive marketing campaign, informing customers that there was an alternative to FICO which promised to be more intuitive and cheaper. Soon, the rating system was gaining market share.
Vantage Credit Score is Becoming More PopularFICO, of course, weren't happy. They launched an antitrust and false advertising lawsuit against their upstart competitor, claiming that VantageScore used rating numbers that overlapped with their own. The case was ultimately overturned by a US District Court judge in 2010 who ruled that FICO couldn't claim ownership of score ranges, and so lenders now have a choice of two agencies to calculate scores.
It turns out that there are some pretty significant differences between VantageScore and FICO. Though FICO is still used by the majority of lenders, VantageScore is slowly gaining ground.
Main Differences Between FICO and Vantage Credit Scores
One of the main differences is the calculation of how recently a credit account was used. Under the FICO system, accounts have to have been active in the last six months for their data to be fed into the algorithm. VantageScore takes a more comprehensive view and looks back more than 24 months, before churning out a final number.
Another big difference is the way in which VantageScore and FICO go about using alternative data. VantageScore, for instance, includes things like utility and rent payments in its calculations, so long as they're reported.
FICO is also piloting something similar under the name FICO XD. This is essentially a way of discovering a person's likely credit score if they have no accounts which report to a credit bureau. There are, according to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, on the order of 26 million people who are mostly invisible to credit bureaus and are impossible to score using traditional methods. Many of these individuals do not use credit in any form, and so lenders are demanding ways of assessing these people without having to rely on a credit history. The new FICO XD approach will use things like your cable and utility bills, cell phone payment history and so on. According to the Wall Street Journal, people assessed using this method have an average FICO score of 620.
Alternative Credit DataFICO XD, although new, doesn't actually replace the tradition FICO scoring method. If FICO has enough information to calculate a regular credit score, it will use this and not FICO XD since it is likely to be a lot more reliable. Ultimately, FICO would like it if people eventually graduated from FICO XD and moved into the regular credit scoring arena.
FICO and VantageScore differ in another important way too: they way they deal with paid-off collections. Paid-off collections stay on your credit report for seven years, but VantageScore disregards them for scoring purposes. The new version of FICO '' FICO 9, does the same. However, the most popular FICO product, FICO 8, does not, and will take into account any paid-off collections on your credit report. Clearly, this could significantly impact your score.
Finally, VantageScore and FICO differ in how long they take before they calculate your credit score. FICO needs at least six months in order to come up with a score whereas VantageScore claims it can produce reliable statistics after just 30 days. Of course, whether lenders believe any of this is up to them: some might prefer a longer run in before relying on a credit assessment, others might just want something as quickly as possible, no matter how provisional it might be.
Which Scores Are Used Most?
Of course, the question for the consumer is: which credit score is used the most? As discussed, FICO 8 is still very widely used, but it should be mentioned that individual borrowers don't have any choice over which credit score is used '' that's at the discretion of the lender. What's more, many lenders only check your score with one bureau because they have to pay for each inquiry. As you might imagine, this can be harmful to customers, especially if credit scores vary wildly between different agencies.
When lending large sums of money, lenders will check credit scores using both FICO and VantageScore, but they won't usually inform you of their processes. Many customers, therefore, take matters into their own hands. The first thing they do is check their individual FICO and VantageScores by requesting credit reports based on each method. Once they've found out which scoring method yields the best results, they then begin scouting around for lenders who use that particular method. If their Vantage Score is higher, they look for lenders who use Vantage Score, and if their FICO score is higher, they look for lenders who use FICO score. Many people find that researching lenders helps to reduce the overall amount of interest they pay, as well as increase the total amount they can borrow.
How Differences in Credit Score Impact You
It's worth pointing out that credit score differences don't end with the major rating agencies. Retailers and businesses will often tweak your score too to suit their particular application. The reason for this is that the risk you won't repay is likely to vary between different credit products. For instance, you might have a terrible record when it comes to the repayment of payday loans, but you might be excellent when it comes to paying off your mortgage every month. A mortgage broker doesn't care whether you manage to pay off your other obligations at the end of the month, so long as you pay him.
Companies, therefore, have developed software that modifies the information in your credit report to reflect your specific credit risk for their product. This type of scoring is commonly used when applying for auto and mortgage credit and might explain why your interest payments on a particular loan are higher or lower than you expect. There are even issues with a family member stealing your credit report, so these new algorithms are even more important.
When it comes to the difference between credit scores and FICO, there's a lot to consider. Not only are there different algorithms '' chosen either by Fair Isaac, their competitors at VantageScore or retailers themselves '' but there are also different data sources that can have a significant impact. Knowing the small details is important if you're going to get the best deal when you borrow.
Introducing VantageScore 4.0 | Your VantageScore
Wed, 17 Jul 2019 14:28
VantageScore Solutions is rolling out the latest version of its popular credit scoring model, VantageScore 4.0.
The model won't be available for commercial use until Fall 2017, so no one is likely to be receiving a VantageScore 4.0 credit score from a lender or a free credit score provider anytime soon. But VantageScore doesn't believe in surprises when it comes to credit scoring, so here's the lowdown on what the new model is all about:
VantageScore 4.0 incorporates cutting-edge technological advancements to deliver unmatched credit scoring accuracy. Its outstanding predictive power extends to millions of consumers with limited credit histories, as well as borrowers with well-established mainstream borrowing habits. That means VantageScore 4.0 can help lenders offer fair, appropriate loan amounts and borrowing terms to the vast majority of consumers who have credit files VantageScore 4.0 retains the familiar, consumer-friendly features that helped propel the use of more than 8 billion VantageScore credit scores in the 12-month period from July 2015 through June 2016 by over 2,400 lenders and other participants. The new model uses the familiar 300-850 scale range introduced with VantageScore 3.0, and explanations of its adverse-action codes will be made available at VantageScore's ReasonCode.org website. The new model is the first in the industry designed to align with consumer-focused changes in the way the national credit reporting companies (CRCs)'--Equifax, Experian and TransUnion'--handle several types of negative credit-file records, such as medical-collections accounts, tax liens and public records. Under a program called the National Consumer Assistance Plan (NCAP), the CRCs are making procedural changes that will greatly reduce the number of these records that appear in consumer credit files. As the CRCs roll out improvements under NCAP, tax liens and public records data that historically was used to calculate consumers' credit scores, likely will be eliminated entirely or in part. VantageScore 4.0 was designed with these changes in mind, and it gives those records less negative impact when calculating scores for consumers who have those records in their credit files. VantageScore 4.0 also penalizes unpaid medical collections less than other types of unpaid collections, and ignores unpaid medical collections less than six months old, to give insurance companies ample time to make payments. Consistent with the VantageScore 3.0 model, paid collections (including paid medical collections) are excluded in the VantageScore 4.0 model. VantageScore continues to pioneer solutions to scoring more consumers without lowering credit scoring standards. The developers of the VantageScore 4.0 model leveraged machine learning techniques to better score consumers with sparse credit histories. This approach significantly increased the model's ability to accurately score 30-35 million consumers who can't obtain credit scores when competing scoring models are used. In fact, the use of machine learning techniques has led to a performance lift of 30% among the population of consumers with sparse credit files. The VantageScore 4.0 model takes advantage of trended credit data newly available from all three national CRCs. Trended credit data reflects patterns in borrower behavior, such as shifts in the number of balance decreases over time or increases in the rate of a borrower's utilization'--the portion of the individual's credit limit represented by their outstanding balances. By capturing the trajectory of borrowing and payment behaviors, trended credit data provides a more precise, holistic view of consumer habits.This rich new data source helps VantageScore 4.0 refine its scoring accuracy, particularly among high-scoring consumers with well-established credit habits. Just as earlier VantageScore models have always done, VantageScore 4.0 uses a patented process to treat data from each CRC identically. That means far greater consistency in scores obtained from different bureaus. VantageScore 4.0 is the first model to use this process on trended credit data. Trended credit data is increasingly being used by lenders and is also specifically used by Fannie Mae in mortgage underwriting. Using trended credit data, the VantageScore 4.0 credit scoring model delivers originations lift among Prime consumers of nearly 20%.
VantageScore 4.0 is well suited to the U.S. mortgage market, thanks to its unsurpassed scoring accuracy, consistency across CRCs, and ability to score millions of creditworthy consumers who cannot obtain credit scores when competing models are used. VantageScore is committed to promoting credit scoring competition in the mortgage market and to changing guidelines at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs) that process the vast majority of U.S. home mortgages. The GSEs currently require use of an outdated FICO model. As a testament to the advancements made on VantageScore 4.0, the new model offers predictive performance lift across all credit industries, with 2.8% predictive lift overall in loan originations and a 5.4% lift in mortgage originations. In VantageScore 4.0, VantageScore Solutions has delivered yet another credit scoring model that benefits both consumers and lenders, again raising the competitive bar for the credit scoring industry. VantageScore is committed to fostering competition across all consumer credit segments, to helping consumers understand the role their behavior plays in determining their credit scores, and to empowering them to improve their scores as a means of securing credit and making their financial dreams reality.
Google, Apple, Facebook and Amazon Should Terrify Banking
Wed, 17 Jul 2019 18:08
Subscribe NowGet The Financial Brand Newsletter for FREE - Sign Up NowTech giants like Google, Apple, Facebook and Amazon don't need to become banks to impact the financial services industry. If these digital players offer mobile wallets or integrated payment services, retail banks and credit unions would lose access to one of their most vital big data streams: payments insights.By Jim Marous, Publisher of Retail Banking Strategies on The Financial Brand
With all the talk about non-bank competition, it is not hard to imagine the discussions that are occurring in banking and credit union board rooms around the country as to whether tech giants like Google, Apple, Facebook and Amazon may become banks.
On one side of the table are the legacy 'career' bankers or credit union executives, who realize that becoming a 'bank' is much harder than simply hanging a shingle with the words 'Google Bank' or 'Facebook Financial.' On the other side of the table are the younger bankers who realize that, with new technology and without the need for bricks and mortar, the barriers to entry for many banking services, such as payments, are lower than ever. So, who is right in this argument? Are the fears (or complacency) justified?
The biggest advantage the tech giants have is their huge customer databases. While it is difficult to determine exactly how many customers each tech giant has, these numbers provide some perspective.
Google: According to Google, Google+ had 300 million monthly active users in October of 2013, up from 190 million in May. Google+ members who have interacted socially with any of Google's services in the month of October 2013 totaled 540 million, up from 390 million earlier in the year.Apple: Apple announced that they had over 800 million iTunes account holders in late 2013, most (but not all) of whom have credit cards on file. Facebook: According to company reports, Facebook passed 1.19 billion monthly active users in late 2013. Of those, daily active users passed 728 million on average, and the number of monthly active mobile users hit 874 million. Facebook recently got an e-money license to offer financial services in Europe.Amazon: It's estimated that Amazon has close to 200 million active customers. Consumer Information Research Partners estimated that as of Q3 2013, Amazon 'only' had 41.3 million unique buyers in the United States. While a far cry from iTunes' 800 million accounts, people spend a lot more on Amazon than they do on iTunes. Amazon also has credit card details from their clients.When discussing non-bank competition, we could also include Paypal, with 152 million active registered accounts processing 9.3 million payments every day, T-Mobile, with 50 million customers, 70,000 stores and 40,000 fee-free ATMs in their T-Mobile Mobile Money network, and other players like Simple (acquired by BBVA), Moven, or Walmart.
( Read More: 7 Reasons Mobile Money From T-Mobile Should Worry Bankers) ( sponsored content )
'Becoming a Bank' is a Legacy Mindset''Many retail financial firms still haven't grasped the full potential of digital disruption.'''-- Oliwia Berdak, Analyst, Forrester ResearchWhile the ownership and structure differ significantly, banks and credit unions are financial entities that accept deposits and provide loans for individuals and businesses. Highly regulated, with significantly higher distribution costs than high tech or digital firms, most financial institutions offer a very wide variety of financial services through multiple distribution channels. Bank and credit unions also need to adhere to capital requirements and manage risk and defaults to stay in business. In other words, the two key hurdles to enter the banking industry in the traditional manner include:
High Costs: While banking used to be a highly profitable industry, recent regulations, compliance and distribution costs in addition to reduced revenue sources and narrow interest rate spread have made the business of banking, in the traditional sense, relatively unattractive.Stringent Regulations: While many of the regulations in banking are established to ensure a safe and trusted industry, the ability to comply with these regulations is both cumbersome and costly. And the environment doesn't seem to be getting better. ''Tech companies are very reluctant to enter the banking game because of the regulatory regime,'' says Dave Hoffman, partner in the financial services practice at PriceWaterhouseCoopers. ''In the end, deposit insurance is an important element of the trust factor that banks do have.'' As referenced in the Forrester report, Why Google Bank Won't Happen, each of the high tech players has unique strengths and growth plans which more or less correlate with financial services. The problem is that a legacy mindset towards banking makes many banks and credit unions vulnerable to disruption.
''Digital disruptors like Google are disruptive because they don't play by the rules. Instead, they use digital technologies to deliver better or entirely new ways of meeting customer needs '... often bypassing regulation and redefining a given industry in the process,'' states Oliwia Berdak, Forrester analyst and author of the report. ''In retail financial services, developing a better global payment network, providing affordable financial advice that millions of customers desperately need, or simply getting access to transaction data are all sufficient motivations for firms like Google or other high tech companies to get involved,'' Berdak continues in her blog post.
''Google, Apple, Facebook and Amazon don't want to get into the business of banking,'' stated Brett King, who founded the first direct mobile-only bank, Moven. ''These firms will increasingly be in the business of selling banking products, apps and services to consumers in an effort to maintain acquisition traction. And they're going to be looking at owning more and more of the payment process (before, during and after a transaction) because of the opportunity for high-frequency, low-margin revenue and the ability to capture purchase behavior insight.''
And, while the Chairman of BBVA, Francisco Gonzlez, recently declared, ''Banks are losing their monopoly on banking,'' some like Phillipe Gelis, CEO at Kantox, think that there is a big difference between offering specific financial services and being a bank, as he stated in the LinkedIn post, Why Tech Giants (Google, Apple, Amazon, Facebook '...) Will Probably Never Become Banks.
( Read More: How Will Banks Respond if Apple Becomes Mobile Payments Player)
The Real Threat To Banks and Credit UnionsAs we have seen in the past, by eliminating inefficiencies and transactional friction, high tech competitors can 'eat away at the edges,' delivering a select group of traditional services such as merchant services for small businesses, payment services and even checking accounts (in the form of prepaid cards) directly to consumers and businesses. For many of these segments, the new products are lower cost and can provide a better experience. Continuation and/or expansion of this trend could relegate traditional banks to being nothing more than processors of transactions.
Of even greater concern could be how Google, Apple, Facebook and Amazon integrate and leverage their traditional products to create new customer value in financial services that goes beyond payments. For Google, this could be their mapping or email capability. For Apple, it could be their Passbook product or mobile security. For Facebook, the context of social communication. For Amazon, it may be their digital store or even their new mobile devices.
Since each of these firms already use vast customer insight to provide contextual solutions, the logical next step is to use this same insight, combined with transaction behavioral data, to deliver highly personalized financial advice and solutions. In the process, while banks and credit unions may still have credit or debit card accounts associated these high tech solutions, the big data behavioral insight that traditional financial institutions are used to receiving with transactions would not longer be available. Gone would be the what, where, when and how of payments insight.
In other words, the core of the customer relationship could be lost to the new high tech players unless traditional financial organizations can redefine their offerings and/or build partnerships with providers outside the financial services industry.
As mentioned in the Forrester report '' it's not another bank that people want '' but these tech giants could easily become a financial services hub to facilitate the relationship between consumers and traditional providers of financial services. Unfortunately, while not wanting another bank, many millennials would be open to using one of the high tech giants as was covered in The Financial Brand article, The End of Banking as Usual.
Jim Marous is co-publisher of The Financial Brand and publisher of the Digital Banking Report, a subscription-based publication that provides deep insights into the digitization of banking, with over 150 reports in the digital archive available to subscribers. You can follow Jim on Twitter and LinkedIn, or visit his professional website.
Free banking - Wikipedia
Wed, 17 Jul 2019 18:28
Economic system
Free banking is a monetary arrangement where banks are free to issue their own paper currency (banknotes) while also subject to no special regulations beyond those applicable to most enterprises.
In a free banking system, market forces control the supply of total quantity of banknotes and deposits that can be supported by any given stock of cash reserves, where such reserves consist either of a scarce commodity (such as gold) or of an artificially limited stock of fiat money issued by a central bank.
In the strictest versions of free banking, however, there either is no role at all for a central bank, or the supply of central bank money is supposed to be permanently "frozen." There is, therefore, no agency capable of serving as a "lender of last resort" in the usually understood sense of the term. Nor is there any government insurance of banknotes or bank deposit accounts.[1]
Supporters include Fred Foldvary,[2]David D. Friedman,[3]Friedrich Hayek,[4]George Selgin,[5]Lawrence H. White,[6]Steven Horwitz,[7] and Richard Timberlake.[8]
Modern relevance [ edit ] In the early twenty-first century, the advent of electronic currencies such as the Bitcoin have renewed the question of private currency.[9][10][11][12][13]
History [ edit ] Banking has been more regulated in some times and places than others, and some times and places it has hardly been regulated at all, giving some experiences of more or less free banking. Free banking systems have existed in more than 60 countries. The first system of competitive issue of notes began more than 1,000 years ago in China (see below). Free banking was widespread in the 19th century and the early 20th century. Dowd, Kevin, ed. (1992), The Experience of Free Banking, London: Routledge lists most currently known episodes of free banking and discusses in some depth a number of them, including Canada, Colombia, Foochow, France, and Ireland. Monetary arrangements with monopoly issue of notes, including government treasury issue, currency boards, and central banking, replaced all episodes of free banking by the mid 20th century. There were several reasons for the demise of free banking: (1) Economic theories claiming the superiority of central banking. (2) Desire to imitate the institutions of more advanced economies, especially Great Britain. The Bank of England was the model for many later central banks, even outside the British Empire. (3) Desire of national governments to collect seigniorage (revenue from issue) from note issue. (4) Financial crises in some free banking systems that created demands to replace free banking with another system that advocates hoped would have fewer problems.
Some prominent 18th and 19th century economists defended free banking, most notably Adam Smith.[14] After the mid 19th century, though, economists interested in monetary issues focused their attention elsewhere, and free banking received little attention. Free banking as a subject of renewed debate among economists got its modern start in 1976 with The Denationalization of Money, by economist Friedrich Hayek, who advocated that national governments stop claiming a monopoly on the issuing of currency, and allow private issuers like banks to voluntarily compete to do so.
In the 1980s, this expanded into an increasingly elaborate theory of free market money and banking, with proponents Lawrence White, George Selgin, and Richard Timberlake increasingly centering their writing and research around the concept, either regarding modern theory and application, or researching the history of spontaneously free banking.
Australia [ edit ] In the late 19th century, banking in Australia was subject to little regulation. There were four large banks with over 100 branches each, that together had about half of the banking business, and branch banking and deposit banking were much more advanced than other more regulated countries such as the UK and US. Banks accepted each other's notes at par. Interest margins were about 4% p.a. In the 1890s a land price crash caused the failure of many smaller banks and building societies. Bankruptcy legislation put in place at the time gave bank debtors generous terms they could restructure under, and most of the banks used this as a means to restructure their debts in their favor, even though they didn't really need to.[citation needed ]
Switzerland [ edit ] In the 19th century, several Swiss cantons deregulated banking, allowing free entry and issue of notes.[15] Cantons retained jurisdiction over banking until the enactment of the Federal Banking Law of 1881. The centralisation of note issue reduced the problem of the existence of "a bewildering variety of notes of varying qualities ... at fluctuating exchange rates."[16]
Scotland [ edit ] Scottish free banking lasted between 1716 and 1845, and is arguably the most researched and developed instance of free banking.[17] The system was organized around three chartered banks, the Bank of Scotland, the Royal Bank of Scotland, and the British Linen Company, and numerous unchartered banks. It resulted in a highly stable and competitive banking system.[18][19]
United States [ edit ] Although the period from 1837 to 1864 in the US is often referred to as the Free Banking Era, the term is a misnomer in terms of the definition of "free banking" above. Free Banking in the United States before the Civil War refers to various state banking systems based on what were called at the time "free banking" laws. These laws made it necessary for new entrants to secure charters, each of which was subject to a vote by the state legislature with obvious opportunities for corruption. These general banking laws also restricted banks' activities in important ways.[20][21][22][23] Most importantly, US free banks could have only one office and had to provide security for their notes by gold reserves but also by purchasing and surrendering to state banking authorities certain securities the state law deemed acceptable for the purpose. The securities generally included bonds of state governments. The depreciation of these bonds was the chief cause of free bank failures in various episodes when many banks in a state failed. The lack of branch banking, in turn, caused state-issued banknotes to be discounted at varying rates once they had traveled any considerable distance from their sources, which was an inconvenience. Depreciation of assets more generally is also used to explain failures.[24] Several authors attribute the high-rate of bank failures during the Free Banking era in the US ultimately to restrictions on banks' portfolios of assets. For reviews of the literature, see [25] and [26] Then, from 1863 to 1913, known as the National Banks Era, state-chartered banks were operating under a free banking system. Some scholars have found that the system was mostly stable compared to National Banks of that era.[27]
Sweden [ edit ] Sweden had two periods of free banking, 1830''60 and 1860-1902. Following a bank crisis in 1857, there was a rise in popular support for private banks and private money issuers (especially Stockholms Enskilda Bank, founded in 1856). A new bank law was adopted by parliament in 1864, deregulating the interest rate. The following decades marked the height of the Swedish free banking era. After 1874, no new private banks were founded. In 1901, issuing of private money was prohibited. Research on the Swedish free banking era suggest stability, and a single bank failure related to fraud in 70 years.[28][29]
China [ edit ] Jiaozi was a form of banknote which appeared around 10th century in the Sichuan capital of Chengdu, China. Between 960 and 1004, the bank notes were totally run by private merchants. Until government decided to regulate the business on alleged increasing fraud cases and disputes, and it granted 16 licenses to the biggest merchants of all.[30]
See also [ edit ] Henry Meulen, author of Free Banking: An Outline of a Policy on Individualism, 1934Richard Salsman, author of Breaking the Banks: Central Banking Problems and Free Banking Solutions, 1990Bank Charter Act 1844, a U.K. law ending permission for banks to issue bank notes that acted as currencyReferences [ edit ] ^ Selgin, George A.; White, Lawrence H. (1994). "How Would the Invisible Hand Handle Money?". Journal of Economic Literature. 32 (4): 1718''1749. JSTOR 2728792. ^ Foldvary, Fred E. (November 2008). "Free Banking Explained". The Progress Report. ^ Friedman, David D. (1982-09-23). "Gold, Paper, Or...Is There a Better Money?". Policy Analysis No. 17. Cato Institute . Retrieved 2012-03-08 . ^ Hayek, Friedrich (1976). The Denationalisation of Money. Coronet Books. ISBN 978-0-255-36239-9. ^ "Interview: George Selgin". Region Focus. Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond. Winter 2009 . Retrieved 2012-03-08 . ^ "Dr. Lawrence H. White". Foundation for Economic Education. 2008-12-23 . Retrieved 2012-03-08 . ^ Horwitz, Steven (1992). Monetary Evolution, Free Banking, and Economic Order. Westview Press. ISBN 978-0-8133-8514-3. ^ Timberlake, Richard; Dowd, Kevin (1998). Money and the Nation State. Transaction Publishers. ISBN 9781412828956. ^ US House of Representatives. Committee on Financial Services. Subcommittee on Domestic Monetary Policy and Technology (May 8, 2012). "Improving the Federal Reserve System: Examining Legislation to Reform the Fed and Other Alternatives. Written Testimony by Jeffrey M. Herbener, Professor of Economics, Grove City College" (PDF) . ^ Hulsmann, Guido Jorg (2008). Ethics of Money Production. Ludwig von Mises Institute. ISBN 9781610164528. ^ Feuer, Alan (October 24, 2012). "Prison May Be the Next Stop on a Gold Currency Journey". The New York Times. ^ Luther, William J.; White, Lawrence H. "Can Bitcoin Become a Major Currency?". SSRN 2446604 . ^ Dwyer, Gerald P. (2015). "The Economics of Bitcoin and Similar Private Digital Currencies". Journal of Financial Stability. 17 (1): 81''91. doi:10.1016/j.jfs.2014.11.006. ^ An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations (1776), Book II, chapter 2, final paragraph, p. 286. ^ Briones, Ignacio; Rockoff, Hugh (August 2005). "Do Economists Reach a Conclusion on Free-Banking Episodes?". Econ Journal Watch. 2 (2): 279''324. ^ Goodhart, Charles Albert Eric (1995). The Central Bank and the Financial System. MIT Press. p. 211. ISBN 9780262071673. ^ White, Lawrence H. (1995). Free Banking in Britain: Theory, Experience and Debate 1800-1845. London: Institute of Economic Affairs. ISBN 978-0-255-36375-4. ^ Kroszner, Randy (1995). "Free Banking: The Scottish Experience as a Model for Emerging Economies". Policy Research Paper. World Bank (1536). ^ White, Lawrence H. (1992), "Free Banking in Scotland before 1844", in Dowd, Kevin (ed.), The Experience of Free Banking, London: Routledge, pp. 157''186 ^ Ng, Kenneth (1988). "Free Banking Laws and Barriers to Entry in Banking, 1838-1860". The Journal of Economic History. 48 (4): 877''889. doi:10.1017/s0022050700006653. JSTOR 2121621. ^ Bodenhorn, Howard (1990). "Entry, Rivalry and Free Banking in Antebellum America". Review of Economics and Statistics. 72 (4): 682''686. doi:10.2307/2109610. JSTOR 2109610. ^ Economopoulous, Andrew; O'Neill, Heather (1995). "Bank Entry during the Antebellum Period". Journal of Money, Credit and Banking. 27 (4): 1071''1085. doi:10.2307/2077790. JSTOR 2077790. ^ Rockoff, Hugh (1991). "Lessons from the American Experience with Free Banking". In Capie, Forrest; Wood, Geoffrey Edward; Pepper, Gordon (eds.). Unregulated banking : Chaos or Order?. London: Macmillan. doi:10.3386/h0009. ISBN 978-0-333-52049-9. ^ Rolnick, Arthur J.; Weber, Warren E. (1984). "The causes of free bank failures: A detailed examination". Journal of Monetary Economics. 14 (3): 267''291. doi:10.1016/0304-3932(84)90044-8. ^ Dwyer, Gerald P. (1996). "Wildcat Banking, Banking Panics and Free Banking in the United States" (PDF) . Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta Economic Review. 81 (3''6): 1''20. ^ Calomiris, Charles W. (2010). "The Great Depression and Other 'Contagious' Events". In Berger, Allen N; Molyneux, Philip; Wilson, John O. S. (eds.). The Oxford Handbook of Banking. Oxford University Press. pp. 693''710. ^ Freixas, Xavier; Rochet, Jean-Charles (1997). Microeconomics of Banking. MIT Press. p. 261. ISBN 9780262061933. ^ Hortlund, Per (2007). "The Provision of Liquidity in the Swedish Note Banking System, 1878''1901". Scandinavian Economic History Review. 5 (1): 20''40. doi:10.1080/03585520701234258. ^ Lakomaa, Erik (2007). "Free Banking in Sweden 1830''1903: Experience and Debate" (PDF) . The Quarterly Journal of Austrian Economics. 10 (2): 25''44. doi:10.1007/s12113-007-9012-4. ^ "JiaoZi and Iron Standard '' Examining world's first documented paper money system from China with lenses of Austrian economics". Rothbardian Gold Price. Bibliography [ edit ] Selgin, George. The Theory of Free Banking. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc., 1988. Print.White, Lawrence H. Competition and Currency: Essays on Free Banking and Money. New York University Press, 1992. Print.
The Purge
Adam Curry on Twitter: "Seems pretty clear what demonetization is about https://t.co/H00g3ujbiV'... "
Wed, 17 Jul 2019 22:06
Welcome home! This timeline is where you'll spend most of your time, getting instant updates about what matters to you.
Tweets not working for you? Hover over the profile pic and click the Following button to unfollow any account.
Say a lot with a little When you see a Tweet you love, tap the heart '-- it lets the person who wrote it know you shared the love.
Spread the word The fastest way to share someone else's Tweet with your followers is with a Retweet. Tap the icon to send it instantly.
Join the conversation Add your thoughts about any Tweet with a Reply. Find a topic you're passionate about, and jump right in.
Learn the latest Get instant insight into what people are talking about now.
Get more of what you love Follow more accounts to get instant updates about topics you care about.
Find what's happening See the latest conversations about any topic instantly.
Never miss a Moment Catch up instantly on the best stories happening as they unfold.
5G
The 5G Health Hazard That Isn't - The New York Times
Wed, 17 Jul 2019 16:35
How one scientist and his inaccurate chart led to unwarranted fears of wireless technology.
Image Credit Credit Golden Cosmos In 2000, the Broward County Public Schools in Florida received an alarming report. Like many affluent school districts at the time, Broward was considering laptops and wireless networks for its classrooms and 250,000 students. Were there any health risks to worry about?
The district asked Bill P. Curry, a consultant and physicist, to study the matter. The technology, he reported back, was ''likely to be a serious health hazard.'' He summarized his most troubling evidence in a large graph labeled ''Microwave Absorption in Brain Tissue (Grey Matter).''
The chart showed the dose of radiation received by the brain as rising from left to right, with the increasing frequency of the wireless signal. The slope was gentle at first, but when the line reached the wireless frequencies associated with computer networking, it shot straight up, indicating a dangerous level of exposure.
''This graph shows why I am concerned,'' Dr. Curry wrote. The body of his report detailed how the radio waves could sow brain cancer, a terrifying disease that kills most of its victims.
Over the years, Dr. Curry's warning spread far, resonating with educators, consumers and entire cities as the frequencies of cellphones, cell towers and wireless local networks rose. To no small degree, the blossoming anxiety over the professed health risks of 5G technology can be traced to a single scientist and a single chart.
Image A 2000 graph by physicist Bill P. Curry purported to show that tissue damage increases with the rising frequency of radio waves. But it failed to account for the shielding effect of human skin. Credit NO CREDIT Except that Dr. Curry and his graph got it wrong.
According to experts on the biological effects of electromagnetic radiation, radio waves become safer at higher frequencies, not more dangerous. (Extremely high-frequency energies, such as X-rays, behave differently and do pose a health risk.)
In his research, Dr. Curry looked at studies on how radio waves affect tissues isolated in the lab, and misinterpreted the results as applying to cells deep inside the human body. His analysis failed to recognize the protective effect of human skin. At higher radio frequencies, the skin acts as a barrier, shielding the internal organs, including the brain, from exposure. Human skin blocks the even higher frequencies of sunlight.
[Like the Science Times page on Facebook. | Sign up for the Science Times newsletter.]
''It doesn't penetrate,'' said Christopher M. Collins, a professor of radiology at New York University who studies the effect of high-frequency electromagnetic waves on humans. Dr. Curry's graph, he added, failed to take into account ''the shielding effect.''
Dr. Marvin C. Ziskin, an emeritus professor of medical physics at Temple University School of Medicine, agreed. For decades, Dr. Ziskin explored whether such high frequencies could sow illness. Many experiments, he said, support the safety of high-frequency waves.
Despite the benign assessment of the medical establishment, Dr. Curry's flawed reports were amplified by alarmist websites, prompted articles linking cellphones to brain cancer and served as evidence in lawsuits urging the removal of wireless classroom technology. In time, echoes of his reports fed Russian news sites noted for stoking misinformation about 5G technology. What began as a simple graph became a case study in how bad science can take root and flourish.
''I still think there are health effects,'' Dr. Curry said in an interview. ''The federal government needs to look at it more closely.''
An authoritative mistakeDr. Curry was not the first to endorse the idea that advances in wireless technology could harbor unforeseen risks. In 1978, Paul Brodeur, an investigative journalist, published ''The Zapping of America,'' which drew on suggestive but often ambiguous evidence to argue that the growing use of high frequencies could endanger human health.
In contrast, Dr. Curry's voice was authoritative. He became a private consultant in the 1990s after federal budget cuts brought his research career to an end. He had degrees in physics (1959 and 1965) and electrical engineering (1990). His credentials and decades of experience at federal and industrial laboratories, including the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, seemed to make him a very strong candidate to conduct the Broward study.
''He was a very bright guy,'' recalled Gary Brown, an expert in the district's technology unit who worked with Dr. Curry to prepare the reports. But Dr. Curry lacked biological expertise. He could solve atomic and electromagnetic puzzles with ease, but he had little or no formal training in the intricacies of biomedical research.
In 2000, Dr. Curry, writing on letterhead from his home office in the Chicago suburbs, sent the Broward district two reports, the first in February 2000 and the second in September of that year. The latter study went to the superintendent, the school board and the district's head of safety and risk management.
The frequency graph in the second report was far more detailed. Its rising line bore annotations noting the precise locations for the wireless-network dose and, far lower down, for radio, television and cellphone signals.
FREQUENCY
300 GHz
X-RAYS
UV
30 GHz
INFRARED
300 GHz
5G
5 GHz
BANDS USED
FOR WIRELESS
NETWORKS
2.4 GHz
3 KHz
Broadcast
television
(UHF)
300 MHz
FREQUENCY
300 GHz
GAMMA RAYS
Novel EHF therapies
X-RAYS
ULTRAVIOLET
VISIBLE LIGHT
30 GHz
INFRARED
Airport scanners
300 GHz
5G
5 GHz
BANDS USED FOR
WIRELESS NETWORKS
2.4 GHz
3 KHz
Existing cellphones
Broadcast television (UHF)
300 MHz
Over all, Dr. Curry's reports cast the emerging topic as crucial for public health. He warned that children were especially vulnerable to the cancer risk of wireless technology. ''Their brains are developing,'' he noted in his first report.
Dr. Curry belonged to a national group of wireless critics, and his two reports for the Broward district soon began to circulate widely among industry foes. One reached Dr. David O. Carpenter, who for decades had clashed with the science establishment on the health risks of radio waves.
Dr. Carpenter's credentials were impressive. He graduated magna cum laude from Harvard in 1959 and cum laude from its medical school in 1964. From 1985 to 1997, he served as dean of the School of Public Health at the State University of New York in Albany, and in 2001 became director of its Institute for Health and the Environment, where he still works. His resum(C) lists hundreds of journal reports, jobs, grants, awards, advisory boards, books and legal declarations.
Dr. Carpenter stirred global controversy in the 1980s by asserting that high-voltage power lines could cause leukemia in nearby children. He appeared as an authority in Mr. Brodeur's 1989 book, ''Currents of Death.'' But federal researchers failed to find solid evidence to support the warnings.
Image Dr. David O. Carpenter, a director of the Institute for Health and the Environment at the University at Albany. Credit Lauren Lancaster for The New York Times In late 2011, Dr. Carpenter introduced Dr. Curry's graph in a lawsuit that sought to force the Portland, Ore., public schools to abandon their wireless computer networks. The suit had been filed by a worried parent.
As an expert witness, Dr. Carpenter said in a legal declaration on Dec. 20, 2011, that the graph showed how the brain's absorption of radio-wave energy ''increases exponentially'' as wireless frequencies rise, calling it evidence of grave student danger. The graph ''illustrates the problem with the drive of the wireless industry toward ever higher frequencies,'' he said.
In response to such arguments, the industry noted that it obeys government safety rules. The judge in the Portland case said the court had no jurisdiction over federal regulatory matters, and dismissed the lawsuit.
Despite the setback, Dr. Carpenter's 2011 declaration, which included Dr. Curry's graph, kept drawing attention. In 2012, he introduced it as part of his testimony to a Michigan state board assessing wireless dangers, and it soon began circulating online among wireless critics.
And he saw a new danger. Between 2010 and 2012, the frequencies of the newest generation of cellphones, 4G, rose past those typical of the day's wireless networks. Dr. Carpenter now had a much larger and seemingly more urgent target, especially since cellphones were often held snugly against the head.
''There is now much more evidence of risks to health, affecting billions of people,'' he said in introducing a 1,400-page report on wireless dangers that he edited with an aide. ''The status quo is not acceptable.''
His BioInitiative Report, released in late 2012, gained worldwide notice. But mainstream science rejected its conclusions. Two Oxford University researchers described it as ''scientifically discredited.''
A 'fact' is bornUnbowed, Dr. Carpenter worked hard to revise established science. In 2012, he became editor in chief of Reviews on Environmental Health, a quarterly journal. He published several authors who filed alarmist reports, as well as his own.
''The rapid increase in the use of cellphones increases risk of cancer, male infertility, and neurobehavioral abnormalities,'' Dr. Carpenter wrote in 2013.
In subsequent years, as the frequencies of wireless devices continued to rise, an associated risk of brain cancer was repeated uncritically, often without attribution to Dr. Curry or Dr. Carpenter. Instead, it came to be regarded by activists as an established fact of modern science.
''The higher the frequency, the more dangerous,'' according to Radiation Health Risks, a website, in reference to signals from 5G towers. The idea was echoed by a similar website, 5G Exposed '-- ''Higher frequencies are more dangerous to health'' '-- on a page entitled ''Scientific Discussion.'' Over all, the site bristled with brain-cancer warnings.
Recently, Dr. Carpenter told RT America, a Russian television network, that the newest cellphones represented a dire health threat. ''The rollout of 5G is very frightening,'' he said. ''Nobody is going to be able to escape the radiation.''
In recent months, the network has run a series of segments critical of 5G technology. ''The higher the frequency, the more dangerous it is to living organisms,'' a RT reporter told viewers in March. The show described children as particularly vulnerable.
The new cellphones are to employ a range of radio frequencies up to dozens of times higher than those Dr. Curry identified two decades ago as endangering student health. But mainstream scientists continue to see no evidence of harm from cellphone radio waves.
''If phones are linked to cancer, we'd expect to see a marked uptick,'' David Robert Grimes, a cancer researcher at the University of Oxford, wrote recently in The Guardian. ''Yet we do not.''
In a recent interview, Dr. Carpenter defended his high-frequency view. ''You have all this evidence that cellphone radiation penetrates the brain,'' he said. But he conceded after some discussion that the increasingly high frequencies could in fact have a difficult time entering the human body: ''There's some legitimacy to that point of view.''
He noted that, in cities, 5G service requires the placement of many antenna towers, because walls, buildings, rain, leaves and other objects can block the high-frequency signals. ''That's why they put the towers so close together,'' he said. ''The waves don't penetrate.'' If human skin also blocks 5G signals, Dr. Carpenter acknowledged, ''maybe it's not that big a deal.''
Dr. Curry, now 82, was less forthcoming. In an interview, he said he no longer follows the wireless industry and disavowed any knowledge of having made a scientific error.
''They can say whatever they want,'' Dr. Curry said of his detractors. ''I'll leave it to the young in the business and let them figure it out.''
Earlier reporting on health misinformation
William J. Broad is a science journalist and senior writer. He joined The Times in 1983, and has shared two Pulitzer Prizes with his colleagues, as well as an Emmy Award and a DuPont Award. @ WilliamJBroad
GPS
EU's GPS satellites have been down for four days in mysterious outage | ZDNet
Tue, 16 Jul 2019 03:49
3D rendering of a satellite orbiting the earth with illuminated cities at night. Map From: http://planetpixelemporium.com/earth.html Software for rendering: https://www.blender.org
Getty Images/iStockphoto Galileo, the EU's global navigation satellite system, has been down for four days, since July 11, following a mysterious outage. All Galileo satellites are still non-operational, at the time of writing.
According to a service status page, 24 of the 26 Galileo satellites are listed as "not usable," while the other two are listing a status of "testing," which also means they're not ready for real-world usage.
The European GNSS Agency (GSA), the organization in charge of Galileo, has not published any information in regards to the root of the outage, which began four days ago, on Thursday, July 11.
On that day, the GSA published an advisory on its website alerting companies and government agencies employing the Galileo system that satellite signals have degraded and they "may not be available nor meet the minimum performance levels."
The agency warned that the Galileo system "should be employed at users' own risk."
The GSA published a more dire warning on Saturday, July 13, when it said that Galileo was experiencing a full-service outage and that "signals are not to be used."
At the time of writing, the service is nearing 100 hours of downtime.
The system going down forced the Galileo's userbase (government agencies and private companies) to switch to alternatives.
The Galileo satellite system was launched in 2016 and was funded by the EU as an alternative to the US Air Force's Global Position System (GPS) and the Russian government's GLONASS.
It is provided under both free and commercial offerings and is widely used by governments agencies and private companies for navigation and search and rescue operations.
Because it's provided for free, it is also widely used by the private tech sector and by most of the world's academia.
The downtime also comes after widespread GPS outages were reported across Israel, Iran, Iraq, and Syria at the end of June. Israeli media blamed the downtime on Russian interference, rather than a technical problem.
Updated on July 15, 5:30am ET: In a statement published after this article's publication, the GSA blamed the Galileo outage on "a technical incident related to its ground infrastructure." The agency said that the search and rescue (SAR) feature -- used for locating and helping people in distress situations for example at sea or mountains -- remained operational during the outage, which impacted only navigational and satellite-based timing services.
Constellation Information | European GNSS Service Centre
Tue, 16 Jul 2019 04:00
Constellation Status Satellite Name1
SV ID2
Clock3 Status 4
Active NAGU 5
NAGU Type 6
NAGU Subject 7
GSAT0101
E11
NOT USABLE 2019026GENERALSERVICE OUTAGE GSAT0102
E12
NOT USABLE
2019026
GENERAL
SERVICE OUTAGE
GSAT0103
E19
NOT USABLE
2019026GENERALSERVICE OUTAGE GSAT0104
E20
RAFS NOT AVAILABLE
2014014
UNP_UNUFN
UNAVAILABLE FROM 2014-05-27 UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE
GSAT0201
E18
PHM TESTING
2019020
GENERAL
TESTING OF GSAT0201
GSAT0202
E14
PHM TESTING
2019021
GENERAL
TESTING OF GSAT0202
GSAT0203
E26
NOT USABLE GENERAL
SERVICE OUTAGE
GSAT0204
E22
RAFS NOT USABLE
2017045
GENERAL
GSAT0204 REMOVED FROM ACTIVE SERVICE ON 2017-12-08 UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE FOR CONSTELLATION MANAGEMENT PURPOSES
GSAT0205E24 NOT USABLE 2019026GENERALSERVICE OUTAGEGSAT0206E30 NOT USABLE 2019026GENERALSERVICE OUTAGEGSAT0207E07 NOT USABLE 2019026GENERALSERVICE OUTAGEGSAT0208E08 NOT USABLE 2019026GENERALSERVICE OUTAGEGSAT0209E09 NOT USABLE 2019026 GENERAL SERVICE OUTAGEGSAT0210E01 NOT USABLE 2019026GENERALSERVICE OUTAGEGSAT0211E02 NOT USABLE 2019026GENERALSERVICE OUTAGEGSAT0212E03 NOT USABLE 2019026GENERALSERVICE OUTAGEGSAT0213E04 NOT USABLE 2019026GENERALSERVICE OUTAGEGSAT0214E05 NOT USABLE 2019026GENERALSERVICE OUTAGEGSAT0215E21 NOT USABLE 2019026GENERALSERVICE OUTAGEGSAT0216E25 NOT USABLE 2019026GENERALSERVICE OUTAGEGSAT0217E27 NOT USABLE 2019026GENERALSERVICE OUTAGEGSAT0218E31 NOT USABLE 2019026GENERALSERVICE OUTAGEGSAT0219E36 NOT USABLE 2019026GENERALSERVICE OUTAGEGSAT0220E13 NOT USABLE 2019026GENERALSERVICE OUTAGEGSAT0221E15 NOT USABLE 2019026GENERALSERVICE OUTAGEGSAT0222E33 NOT USABLE 2019026GENERALSERVICE OUTAGE1: Satellite Name: Galileo Satellite (GSAT) identifier of the satellites:
GSAT01XX: IOV satellitesGSAT02XX: FOC satellites2: SV ID: Space Vehicle (SV) Identifier is the Galileo satellite ranging code identifier. 'E' is the Galileo system constellation indicator.
3: Clock: PHM = Passive Hydrogen Maser, RAFS = Rubidium Atomic Frequency Standard.
4: Status:
USABLE : satellite is operational and contributing to the service provision. NOT AVAILABLE : satellite is not operational and it is not contributing to the service provision (NAGU issued prior to Service Declaration). NOT USABLE : satellite is not operational and it is not contributing to the service provision (NAGU issued after Service Declaration). TESTING : satellite may be used only for testing purposes. UNDER COMMISSIONING : satellite is under In-Orbit Test (IOT) phase.5: Active NAGU: link to the applicable NAGU.
6: NAGU Type: information about the type of the applicable NAGU (see NAGU Information section).
7: NAGU Subject: content of the 'NAGU Subject' field of the applicable NAGU (see NAGU Information section).
NAGU Type NAGU Number Date of start event Date of publication (UTC) NAGU Subject Satellites affected GENERAL 2019026 2019-07-12 01:50 2019-07-13 20:15 SERVICE OUTAGE ALL GENERAL 2019021 2019-03-23 13:02 2019-05-23 15:30 TESTING OF GSAT0202 GSAT0202 GENERAL 2019020 2019-02-27 06:02 2019-05-23 15:05 TESTING OF GSAT0201 GSAT0201 GENERAL 2017045 2017-12-08 07:30 2017-11-23 17:45 GSAT0204 REMOVED FROM ACTIVE SERVICE FOR CONSTELLATION MANAGEMENT PURPOSES GSAT0204 GENERAL 2016063 2016-12-15 12:00 2016-12-15 12:00 GALILEO INITIAL OPEN SERVICE (OS) DECLARATION ALL SATELLITES WITH USABINIT NAGU ISSUED
Galileo Outage Update: Service failure poses serious questions - Inside GNSS
Wed, 17 Jul 2019 19:53
Redundancy in Galileo ground facilities may not have been enough to prevent worst-ever GNSS failure.
A new source has told Inside GNSS that the ongoing Galileo outage '''...has to do with the Precise Time Facility (PTF), a redundant facility present in both Italian and German control centers.'' This is the second source close to the program who has identified the PTF as the focus of the incident. Our source adds, ''Incidentally, the redundancy apparently did not work.'' So, the suggestion is that both PTFs, at two separate European locations, have failed. And, our source adds, ''Take into account that the two major outages in the last two years were also caused by problems in the PTF. There are major architectural problems within the GMS [Galileo Mission Segment] under Thales Alenia Space'...responsibility.''
(Requests for comment from Galileo officials have gone unanswered since the outage began last Friday.)
We are receiving communications from both users and sources within the Galileo program. All want to be as fair as possible with it. Galileo is a strategic asset for Europe. It is nearing completion and up to now generally seen as a success, in spite of well-documented delays, cost overruns and other challenges. A new technical failure causing a six-days-and-running outage is obviously a huge concern, but there is also unease raised by the way this new crisis is being handled.
Voices are now calling for an immediate ''change of mindset.'' Some feel that the program ''has not yet fully understood what providing a critical service means.'' One source has told us today, ''When you provide this kind of service you are supposed to struggle to the death and at all costs to guarantee availability and continuity first, and performance immediately thereafter. This is not the present mentality.''
''If you engage in Galileo, you should feel like you're on military duty. It is not surprising that GPS, GLONASS and BeiDou are all operated by military organizations. There is still hope for Galileo, but some drastic changes need to happen.''
Ebola
DR Congo Ebola outbreak declared public health emergency - BBC News
Wed, 17 Jul 2019 18:24
Image copyright Getty Images Image caption Attempts to tackle the disease have included screening of people entering other countries from the DRC The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared the Ebola crisis in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) a public health emergency of international concern.
But it stressed borders should not be closed, adding that the risk of the disease spreading outside the region was not high.
The outbreak in the DRC has killed more than 1,600 people.
This week, the first case was detected in Goma, home to more than a million.
WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told a news conference in Geneva that he had accepted the recommendations of a committee of experts which stressed there should be no restrictions on travel or trade, and no entry screening of passengers at ports or airports outside the immediate region.
The most recent serious Ebola outbreak before this one, in West Africa, killed more than 11,000 people.
How bad is the situation in DRC?The outbreak, the second largest in history, started in August 2018 and is affecting two provinces in DRC - North Kivu and Ituri.
More than 2,500 people have been infected and two-thirds of them have died.
It took 224 days for the number of cases to reach 1,000, but just a further 71 days to reach 2,000.
About 12 new cases are being reported every day.
Isn't there a vaccine?Yes.
It is 99% effective and more than 161,000 people have been given it.
However, everybody is not vaccinated - only those who come into direct contact with an Ebola patient, and people who come into contact with them.
The vaccine was developed during the epidemic in West Africa and has been available throughout the latest outbreak.
Why hasn't the outbreak been brought under control?Tackling the disease has been complicated by conflict in the region.
Since January, there have been 198 attacks against healthcare workers or Ebola treatment facilities leading to seven deaths and 58 injuries.
Another major problem has been distrust of healthcare workers leading to about a third of deaths being in the community rather than at a specialist Ebola treatment centre.
It means those people are not seeking treatment and risk spreading the disease to neighbours and relatives.
There has also been difficulty tracking the spread of the virus.
A significant number of cases are coming as a surprise as those affected have not come into contact with known Ebola cases.
"We are one year into the outbreak and the situation is not getting any better," said Trish Newport, from the charity MSF.
"It's a complex environment with a long history of violence, of conflict, so there's a lot of mistrust of foreigners from outside the area.
"We have to build ties and connections with the community so they trust us."
Could the disease spread further?The WHO says the risk to neighbouring countries is "very high".
Uganda has already had some isolated cases including two people - a five-year-old boy and his 50-year-old grandmother - who died from the disease. Rwanda is also at risk.
This week a priest died from Ebola in the city of Goma, which is home to more than a million people. The city is a major transport hub and sits on the DR Congo-Rwanda border.
The WHO said cases there were a "game-changer", however, there have been no reported cases of the disease spreading in Goma.
Is the world doing enough to help?The WHO has been clear for months that it has insufficient money to tackle the problem.
It had estimated that it needed $98m to tackle the outbreak between February and July. Yet it faced a shortfall of $54m.
What is Ebola? Image copyright BSIP/Getty Images Ebola is a virus that initially causes sudden fever, intense weakness, muscle pain and a sore throatIt progresses to vomiting, diarrhoea and both internal and external bleedingPeople are infected when they have direct contact through broken skin, or the mouth and nose, with the blood, vomit, faeces or bodily fluids of someone with EbolaPatients tend to die from dehydration and multiple organ failure
Fediverse
Mastodon Is Crumbling'--And Many Blame Its Creator
Wed, 17 Jul 2019 04:25
It's 9am on a Tuesday, early morning by cybre.space's standards. Few have logged on to the microblogging social network, and it shows: A follower feed filled with more than 31 users updates at a snail's pace. It's much slower than one would expect on Twitter. But then again, cybre.space isn't Twitter. It runs off a decentralized social media software called Mastodon, and is part of a much larger network of Mastodon communities.
Over on Twitter, users post jokes about President Donald Trump, this time of a fast food feast he prepared for the Clemson Tigers football team amid the ongoing government shutdown. But the words ''Trump'' and ''shutdown'' only appear once each on cybre.space's ''local timeline,'' which shows posts on the site and any other connected ''instances,'' or Mastodon communities. It's even more barren on this reporter's home timeline: No one is talking about hamberders .
Posting works differently on cybre.space than Twitter. It's much more like living in a queer house, one that prefers to talk about political theory over current events. Some users chat about democratic socialism and queer identity, while others talk about games, music, fandom, or their difficulties navigating trans healthcare. One user posts a message that reads ''re: hrt'' with a few lines about their hormone replacement regimen hidden underneath, accessible only via the ''show more'' content warning (CW) button next to it. Another boosts a post praising Tallahassee by the Mountain Goats, calling it a ''visceral experience.''
Cybre.space has just over 2,000 users. Over on Mastodon's flagship community, Mastodon.social , there are over 300,000 users. But despite the larger userbase, discussions are even less political. On the community's local timeline, one user troubleshoots installing a Linux distribution. Another shares a news story about a man who tried to turn his home into a restaurant. A third links to an article about Gearbox Software's Randy Pitchford. Here, Trump is not the sun; tech, gaming, and the occasional NSFW post largely prevail. It's as if the outside world doesn't exist.
Visiting Mastodon feels like strolling through the first ''apolitical'' social network. There's no urgency to talk about the Trump administration's policies or break down ongoing political events'--but while that may seem like a pleasant reprieve, it's actually an indication that all is not well on Mastodon.
Mastodon has long been hailed as a friendly and inclusive safe haven, one by and for people who want the far-right out of social media. But instead of losing the far-right, the platform has lost all politics entirely. That's a problem for its queer userbase, who cannot be apolitical by nature. Being queer isn't a hobby; it's a political identity. And so while Mastodon seems fine on the surface, there is a much larger schism at play across the social media project regarding who should run it: its community, or its creator.
The creator It's impossible to understand Mastodon without considering its architect and understanding its structure. Eugen ''Gargron'' Rochko, a 25-year-old German programmer of Russian and Jewish heritage, began working on Mastodon while studying computer science at the German public university Friedrich-Schiller-Universit¤t Jena (or ''University of Jena'' in English). Rochko had experience with decentralized social networks as a teenager, and by 2010 he had already decided Twitter's corporate-driven structure just wasn't the proper way to handle online messaging. But it wasn't until early 2016 that he decided to sit down and look at GNU social, a decentralized social network software and precursor of sorts to Mastodon.
Originally, Rochko considered making an app for GNU social, but he ultimately decided to start from scratch and create a custom implementation of GNU social's protocol. This became Mastodon.
Simply put, Mastodon is a microblogging software where users can communicate with one another through character-limited messages, called ''toots.'' The project, which released to the public in October 2016 , supports embeds for images, GIFs, and videos, and there's even a ''boost'' system similar to Twitter's retweets. But Mastodon's biggest feature by far is its ''fediverse.'' Instead of throwing every account into a gigantic melting pot on one main website, Mastodon users can splinter off into dozens upon dozens of miniature Mastodon instances, which are servers governed by their own rules and with their own communities. These create one large federation, and while each of these instances'--like Cybre.space'--runs off of Mastodon's software, they simultaneously exist separately from one another and as part of a larger whole. Instance users can interact with one another or blacklist other instances.
Mastodon is a free and open-source software that functions entirely on community contributions via GitHub. Over Discord, Rochko described Mastodon's development flow: Features, changes, or fixes are submitted as pull requests on GitHub. A contributor codes the feature for Mastodon within the pull request. The pull request must pass through tests for review. But even if a pull request passes those tests, ''only the owner of the project can decide'' whether a pull request is merged, as Rochko puts it'--although he has given that ability to ''three or four more people than me'' for redundancy's sake (''in case I get hit by a bus,'' as he says).
Since graduating in 2016, Rochko has given Mastodon his full attention. Today, he works on Mastodon full-time with support from over 900 patrons on Patreon (at the moment, he receives over $4,400 per month in total, or over $50,000 per year). But he's far from the only person making Mastodon a reality, and many of its users take umbrage both with what features Rochko implements and how he credits the project's contributors.
Mastodon's former project manager, Maloki, founded a separative community that criticizes Rochko's ''Benevolent Dictator For Life'' (BDFL) model for negatively impacting ''already vulnerable and marginalized people.'' Many queer critics feel Rochko implements features into Mastodon that make it easier for users to discover'--and by extension, harass'--people of color, queer posters, women, trans folks, and other marginalized groups.
The community Decentralized social networking isn't a new idea, nor is the ''fediverse'' as a concept. But the Mastodon project quickly became popular with queer and left-wing users after Trump's election in November 2016. Most of Mastodon's early users shared a common background: Some were furries, others worked in tech, some even developed video games. Many identified as queer and trans. As one Mastodon user said on Nov. 23, 2016: ''Holy shit everyone Mastodon is basically gay furry-adjacent Twitter without risk of racist eggs, get here immediately and help us en-culture.''
After Trump's election, Rochko paraded Mastodon as a Nazi-free alternative to Twitter, pointing out that Mastodon.social, which is personally administered by Rochko, bans Nazis . To this day, Mastodon is the progressive Twitter alternative, one repeatedly praised everywhere from Motherboard to Wired .
But Mastodon's politics are more complicated than merely banning Nazis. White, queer, middle-class tech workers migrating to Mastodon treated it as an escape from the outside world. CWs effectively hid politics from plain sight, and to this day, the occasional Trump conversation is concealed and tagged under the warning ''uspol.'' This turned Mastodon into an apolitical space, one where users debate queer theory but try to keep the outside world's happenings out.
Mastodon's apolitical approach reflected larger problems at play on the platform. One early Mastodon adopter named ''voz'' left the platform in February 2017 after feeling increased alienation from Mastodon's predominantly white userbase. Voz, who is a brown queer trans woman, considered Mastodon ''a very white space'' that gradually mirrored real-life versions of gentrification: White users made the service ''more and more hostile to the Black and Brown users'' that were among Mastodon's initial adopters.
''Whiteness insists on hiding itself, and a veneer of respectability given by 'banning (overt) Nazis' is really just a kind of fig leaf for the more mundane white supremacy at work there,'' voz said via Keybase.
part of why Im not as active on Mastodon anymore even tho I think its a more ethical funding model is cuz its full of fragile white gentle porcelain dolls earning $150k/year in tech calling me ableist for making them uncomfortable by talking about politics under a content warning
'-- Shel (@DataPup_) December 14, 2018 Some people of color blamed Rochko , arguing he doesn't properly moderate Mastodon.social to protect people of color from abuse. Others came to believe Mastodon's hyperfixation on avoiding politics fundamentally hurt users of color, eventually driving them away.
''What sort of culture thinks talking about politics needs to be behind a content warning? Is me talking about the intersections of my life and society in need of a CW because it's political? What the hell?'' writer and performer Creatrix Tiara asked in April 2017.
The process and the politics Mastodon's community and its development cannot be separated from one another: Whoever controls development also steers how its users interact with one another. For example, more privacy and anti-harassment features mean better protection for marginalized users. But these requests don't always align with Rochko's vision for Mastodon.
Mastodon's development process is pretty standard in the free open-source software community, but Mastodon isn't a standard open-source project, and its queer users have long fought with Rochko over how credit is given out for features. Hoodie Aida Krisstina, who uses fae/faer pronouns, helped push for Mastodon's content warning system in November 2016 by opening an issue on GitHub after the feature was ''born from the community consciousness,'' as fae said.
In a Dreamwidth post from July, fae sharply criticized Rochko, arguing queer users initially ''begged'' him for feature changes to support the community that ultimately turned Mastodon into what it is today.
''Evidently sometimes what [Rochko] does is take the pull request, close it, use that code as a starting point, then later commit it himself,'' Krisstina said in an email. ''This, tied with how [Rochko] credits others (read: he doesn't, except for GitHub commit history), means that there is very little evidence, and virtually no recognition for the folx that actually made a feature happen. It's not unrealistic to state that without the pull request, and without my GitHub issue, there would never have been content warnings.''
Rochko admits that contributors weren't originally acknowledged in release notes. However, he argues there are an enormous number of feature requests and bug reports, and that he is ''a little more ambivalent'' toward crediting users for making feature requests, as GitHub automatically records their requests, and ''they're asking somebody else to put in the work ['...] and everybody's got ideas.''
Granted, Rochko thinks it would be ''fair'' to credit users who come up with a thorough design as part of a feature request, although he claims he hasn't ''seen any feature requests that actually designed a system.''
''Pull requests take higher precedence because people actually put in the work to contribute,'' Rochko said. ''Also translators, I would say, are a step below that, as translators who submit translations for various languages. So they put in the work of actually writing code and submitting it ['...] and I agree that those people should be credited.''
Queer users seem to view the issue differently.
Shel Raphen served as a developer for Mastodon from January to spring 2017 and worked as a ''de facto'' volunteer coordinator, project manager, and community manager for Mastodon during its boom in April 2017 (or ''Eternal April,'' as Raphen calls it). Raphen, who uses ze/hir and they/them pronouns, first joined Mastodon in the ''November wave'' that hit the project after the U.S. 2016 presidential election, one month after Mastodon was officially announced. They became interested in Mastodon thanks to the decentralized fediverse's potential to protect marginalized users.
''When everyone joined there wasn't per-post privacy or CWs or anything that people associate with Mastodon today,'' Raphen said over Twitter DM. ''The new wave of queer users came up with, designed, pushed for, and implemented those features.''
Because Mastodon relies on the BDFL system, ongoing conflict with Rochko can quickly become messy. In one case, Raphen said that they designed a welcome modal in April 2017 that Rochko ''hated'' and harshly criticized, calling it ''stupid.'' Raphen confronted Rochko over the modal, telling him that he has to ''thank people and appreciate their work'' on the project.
After Rochko introduced his own alternate welcome modal, Raphen claims community pressure led Rochko to add Raphen's design'--without crediting Raphen in the project's release notes.
''I went in and edited the release notes myself and added myself, since I had that privilege, and Eugen got pissed and removed all my privileges and basically booted me from the project,'' Raphen said.
When asked to comment on the incident, Rochko stressed that he should ultimately have the right to edit and tweak the onboarding modal as need be.
''I wanted to change some stuff around and they were very upset when I just touched anything and that's not how it should work,'' Rochko said. ''If I have some feedback about how this onboarding modal should work, I should be able to change it without causing a drama.''
Raphen's treatment was a breaking point for Mastodon's queer community, and its users began openly criticizing Rochko's control over Mastodon. Two weeks later, Mastodon user and GitHub contributor Allie Hart wrote a post-mortem called '' Mourning Mastodon '' and a follow-up post, '' Mourning What Now?!?! '' '--both of which Raphen considers ''Important Historic Documents'' for Mastodon's history.
In ''Mourning Mastodon,'' Hart argues its initial leftist, furry, queer, and disabled base was the ''most vocal and most frequent of Mastodon's unpaid contributors,'' designing Mastodon's features from November 2016 to April 2017. After Graham Linehan and Dan Harmon temporarily moved to Mastodon.social and an April 2017 Motherboard story sparked media attention in the project, a new base arrived at the site, one that gave the project's queer community less leverage in demanding changes from Rochko, Hart argues.
''The recent influx of users to the platform has brought with it new contributors and an expanded revenue stream that has rendered the original nearly obsolete,'' Hart wrote in April 2017. ''Queer users could leave en masse without harming the project's survivability, which means that the reciprocity of their relationship has been terminated'--queer users still depend on the project, but the project no longer depends on its queer users.''
Granted, Mastodon's queer community isn't perfect, and some of the same criticisms leveled against the Mastodon project could be made against the white queer community found on the service from the very beginning. For instance, Hart claims Mastodon's white queer community would simultaneously demand a bigger voice in development while driving queer people of color off the site. The gentrifiers were now being gentrified, so to speak.
Warring philosophies While speaking with the Daily Dot, Rochko called Mastodon ''the child of my imagination,'' arguing he ''created it the way that I wanted to do it'' and that he ''did things the way I wanted them to work.'' For the record, he doesn't consider BDFL a harsh description of the Mastodon project, but rather a programming term to describe its governance. He also believes it's more efficient than rule by committee.
''When you separate the decision making between different people that can come and go, you sort of have a tragedy of the commons where nobody is fully responsible for it and people have disagreements over all sorts of things, and you add the bureaucracy of [a] voting system, etc,'' he explained. ''Often times you'll get requests from the community that are directly mutually exclusive to each other, and you have to make a choice, like, which direction will you go or how do you make a compromise.''
Rochko describes Mastodon's users as separated between two ''camps'': those who prefer discoverability, and those who discourage it. It's more accurate to say Mastodon is increasingly forced to choose between its marginalized, queer userbase and white, well-off, and male tech workers who support Rochko's BDFL vision.
Raphen believes Mastodon is ''getting better, slowly'' thanks in part to new queer users challenging its ''fragile'' privileged queer users. But even then, the platform's remaining queer community has grown increasingly upset with Rochko's leadership. After Rochko unexpectedly introduced ''trends'' tracking for words, phrases, and hashtags in summer 2018, marginalized users who feared harassment from the feature criticized its unexpected implementation. Rochko replied with a toot, arguing he ''built Mastodon the way I wanted'' and that those who disliked the project should not ''give me shit about your failed expectations.''
''There's the door, there's the code, there's the alternatives,'' he tooted on June 2.
The future A June essay from Mastodon user Cassian, titled '' I left Mastodon yesterday ,'' argues Mastodon's problems start with Rochko's approach to development. Cassian claims users are rarely acknowledged for their contributions unless they are programmers, and Rochko controls the original instance and gets to decide which features make it into the Mastodon project.
Combine this with Rochko's perspective as a white male programmer, and his decisions will constantly come from a privileged point-of-view that clashes with Mastodon's marginalized userbase.
''Like it or not, he is in charge of the main branch of a huge community project and he promises various advantages over Twitter to attract members,'' Cassian writes. ''The users of his software have needs that he refuses to address ['...] but he wants to remain the sole decision-maker and have complete control. He has a right to do that, but it is unhealthy for the project overall.''
Again, Rochko thinks Mastodon users are split between two sides: those who believe the project should help users find one another, and those who prefer to stay hidden from others. But Mastodon's internal community conflicts can better be described through a queer lens'--that is, between privileged users and marginalized ones, and their diametrically opposed philosophies for what Mastodon should be.
''He's a programmer. Not a leader,'' Raphen said. ''He's an amazingly talented programmer. But that's not enough to lead the project. He takes all the credit for making Mastodon what it is when it was extremely a group effort, not just the programming (the only labor he sees as legit).''
Raphen and Rochko's beliefs are at Mastodon's core, and yet they are fundamentally in conflict with each other. One wants a community-driven government system to protect vulnerable users. The other believes only a BDFL can efficiently maintain Mastodon and promote its decentralized, open-source fediverse structure. Both are hopeful for Mastodon's future, and yet, they represent diverging paths that Mastodon can take.
Meanwhile, Mastodon's users can't even agree on how Mastodon should function, let alone whom it should serve. Figuring out an answer will decide Mastodon's future'--and whether its marginalized userbase has a place to call home.
Update 5:30am CT, Jan. 19: Due to an editing error, an earlier version of this story misstated the name of the university where Rochko studied. It is the Friedrich-Schiller-Universit¤t Jena, or University of Jena.
Brand Safety
Black Pastors Call on Nike to Sever Relationship with Colin Kaepernick | Breitbart
Mon, 15 Jul 2019 03:49
The Coalition of African American Pastors (CAAP) called on Nike Thursday to end its relationship with former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick, who has a prominent endorsement deal with the athletic company.Rev. William Owens, president of CAAP, said his organization is responding to Nike's decision to pull an athletic shoe celebrating the Betsy Ross flag after Kaepernick expressed objections to it.
Colin Kaepernick's views on America and the flag are fringe opinions, not shared by any of us '... especially the African Americans who marched against segregation with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. #nike #BetsyRossFlag
Sign CAAP's letter to Nike: https://t.co/zhWFj8iKU3
'-- Rev. William Owens (@caapusa) July 12, 2019
''It has been clear for a long time that Colin Kaepernick's views represent hard Left anti-American politics,'' said Owens, a civil rights movement activist who marched with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
''They don't represent most Americans, and they don't reflect the outlook of most African Americans,'' he added. ''By caving to Mr. Kaepernick's negative opinions of America, the Founding Fathers, and the woman who designed the first flag, Nike has aligned itself with a radical anti-American viewpoint.''
CAAP has launched a petition urging Nike not only to sever its business relationship with Kaepernick, but also to produce a special run of the Betsy Ross shoe to benefit veterans groups and organizations that assist military families.
''Many find Mr. Kaepernick's positions to be ill-informed and offensive, especially to veterans and others who have served this country,'' Owens explained. ''How can we support a company that caters to this kind of thinking?''
The petition, which can be viewed at the CAAP website, is addressed to Mark Parker, president and CEO of Nike, in Beaverton, Oregon, and states:
We represent a variety of races, ethnicities, and creeds. And we agree that Mr. Kaepernick's views on America and the flag are fringe opinions, not shared by any of us '... especially the African Americans who marched against segregation with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. In fact, we find Mr. Kaepernick's views to be ill-informed and offensive, especially to veterans and others who have served this country.
''Mr. Kaepernick does not represent us,'' the petition continues. ''Removing the Betsy Ross flag shoes at his behest implies that your company shares his negative view of America, its founders, and the woman who designed the first flag.''
There was a time when we would have considered Nike to be part of "Team USA." But that was before the brand embraced Colin Kaepernick and radical politics. #nike #BetsyRossFlag https://t.co/PqaSzwxiT3
'-- Rev. William Owens (@caapusa) July 12, 2019
Owens said that Nike's decision to remove the Betsy Ross flag shoe has corrupted the company's brand.
''There was a time when no one would have questioned that Nike was part of Team USA,'' he said. ''But now, they seem more interested in divisive politics than American athletes or values.''
Recode Daily: These influencers and fans are ready to leave YouTube behind - Vox
Mon, 15 Jul 2019 14:28
As YouTube struggles with controversy, TikTok is surging in popularity. The VidCon digital video conference has always been focused on YouTube creators and their fans, but last week's 10th annual gathering reflected changes '-- and threats '-- for the video-sharing site. YouTube has been criticized for mishandling content on its platform related to a range of sensitive topics, including anti-vax misinformation, online harassment, white nationalism, and conspiracy theories. Many conversations at the event this year centered on the health of the YouTube platform and creators' experiences with harassment and exploitation, with one popular YouTuber asking onstage, ''how do we protect ourselves from our audience?'' according to BuzzFeed News's report from VidCon.
What's next? The short-form video app TikTok is creating a new generation of video stars '-- and the enthusiasm of its creators' millions of young fans at this year's VidCon is a sign of their shifting allegiance from YouTube to a new platform.[Ryan Broderick / BuzzFeed News]
[Want to get the Recode Daily in your inbox? Subscribe here.]
The FTC fined Facebook $5 billion, and Wall Street didn't even blink. Facebook will pay a $5 billion settlement to the Federal Trade Commission related to charges that it violated users' privacy during the Cambridge Analytica scandal. But after news of the settlement broke on Friday, Wall Street pushed the value of Facebook shares up slightly, to nearly $205. Why? Because $5 billion is a ''very doable number for Facebook'' '-- and investors were well-prepared because the company said it expected a fine in that price range back in March.
Perspective: Facebook booked profits of $22.1 billion in 2018. This year, even when accounting for the fine, Facebook will still earn more than $19 billion, according to analysts.[Peter Kafka / Recode]
Speaking of Facebook and privacy violations ... Congress still hasn't moved forward on a bill to protect consumer privacy. With only a few weeks to go until Congress takes its recess in August, legislators are running out of time to act on creating federal online privacy legislation. According to Politico, Sen. John Kennedy said at a hearing last week, ''We've been talking for what, two years about a privacy bill? Haven't seen one, don't know if we'll ever see one.'' Congress's failure to act seems especially troubling in light of the FTC's Facebook penalty announcement last week.
What happened? Politico reports that initially, there seemed to be a ''consensus among Republicans and Democrats on the privacy issue.'' But they haven't moved forward because of various complications, including questions of how a federal bill will interact with state bills, and if ''federal standards should apply to corporate data breaches.''What's next? A number of lawmakers have expressed the urgency to create a consumer privacy bill, but the Trump administration hasn't provided any insight into what would be acceptable in such legislation, and instead it has focused on insisting that social media platforms are biased against conservative accounts.[John Hendel / Politico]
Seven million students' names, emails, ages, and other personal information were exposed by a misconfigured online education platform called K12.com that's used by more than 1,000 school districts around the US. As Engadget reports, the information was available online for more than a week before it was fixed, though it's uncertain if any bad actors were aware of the breach and accessed the information.
The background: This isn't the first time a misconfigured database has exposed people's sensitive data; in fact, this kind of breach is concerningly common. According to Engadget, the personal data of all kinds of people ranging from Instagram influencers to rehab patients to movie fans have all been exposed in similar breaches in just the past few months. K12.com's exposure stands out because it involves children's personal information.[A.J. Dellinger / Engadget]
Listen up: Today on Recode Decode, Kara Swisher talks to Democratic 2020 presidential candidate Mayor Pete Buttigieg. In the interview, Buttigieg told Kara Swisher that he supports a national ''right to be forgotten'' from the internet. ''Some of these things are fierce technical '-- as well as legal, as well as constitutional '-- problems,'' Buttigieg, the mayor of South Bend, Indiana, said. ''But at the end of the day, we need to have some level of relationship to the value that is created in our name.''
Other topics of conversation between the two included his new ''Douglass Plan'' to help Black Americans, and, of course, Donald Trump. Want to watch it for yourself? A video of the full interview can be found here.
Prefer to listen? You can do that wherever you get your podcasts, including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, and TuneIn.
Top Stories from RecodeUS mobile speeds are super slow. Here's what we can do about it.
How to make US mobile speeds better than Turkey's.[Rani Molla]
Conservatives pretending to be suppressed by social media dominated social media.
But trending on social media isn't always a good thing.[Rani Molla]
This is Cool Calling all Friends fans: Pottery Barn is rereleasing the Apothecary Table for the show's 25th anniversary.
Recode and Vox have joined forces to uncover and explain how our digital world is changing '-- and changing us. Subscribe to Recode podcasts to hear Kara Swisher and Peter Kafka lead the tough conversations the technology industry needs today.
Epstein
As the Jeffrey Epstein Case Grows, Manhattan and DC Brace for Impact | Vanity Fair
Thu, 18 Jul 2019 14:38
The Jeffrey Epstein case is an asteroid poised to strike the elite world in which he moved. No one can yet say precisely how large it is. But as the number of women who've accused the financier (at least, that's what he claimed to be) of sexual assault grows to grotesque levels'--there are said to be more than 50 women who are potential victims'--a wave of panic is rippling through Manhattan, DC, and Palm Beach, as Epstein's former friends and associates rush to distance themselves, while gossiping about who might be ensnared. Donald Trump's labor secretary, Alexander Acosta, architect of the original 2007 non-prosecution agreement that let Epstein off with a wrist slap, has already been forced to resign.
The questions about Epstein are metastasizing much faster than they can be answered: Who knew what about Epstein's alleged abuse? How, and from whom, did Epstein get his supposed $500 million fortune? Why did Acosta grant Epstein an outrageously lenient non-prosecution agreement? (And what does it mean that Acosta was reportedly told Epstein ''belonged to intelligence''?) But among the most pressing queries is which other famous people might be exposed for committing sex crimes. ''There were other business associates of Mr. Epstein's who engaged in improper sexual misconduct at one or more of his homes. We do know that,'' said Brad Edwards, a lawyer for Courtney Wild, one of the Epstein accusers who gave emotional testimony at Epstein's bail hearing. ''In due time the names are going to start coming out.'' (Attorneys for Epstein did not respond to a request for comment.)
Likely within days, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit will release almost 2,000 pages of documents that could reveal sexual abuse by ''numerous prominent American politicians, powerful business executives, foreign presidents, a well-known prime minister, and other world leaders,'' according to the three-judge panel's ruling. The documents were filed during a civil defamation lawsuit brought by Epstein accuser Virginia Roberts Giuffre, a former Mar-a-Lago locker-room attendant, against Epstein's former girlfriend and alleged madam, Ghislaine Maxwell. ''Nobody who was around Epstein a lot is going to have an easy time now. It's all going to come out,'' said Giuffre's lawyer David Boies. Another person involved with litigation against Epstein told me: ''It's going to be staggering, the amount of names. It's going to be contagion numbers.''
Epstein remained a fixture in elite circles even after he was a registered sex offender. A few years ago, for example, he was a guest at a dinner in Palo Alto hosted by LinkedIn cofounder Reid Hoffman for the MIT neuroscientist Ed Boyden. At the dinner, Elon Musk introduced Epstein to Mark Zuckerberg. (''Mark met Epstein in passing one time at a dinner honoring scientists that was not organized by Epstein,'' Zuckerberg spokesman Ben LaBolt told me. ''Mark did not communicate with Epstein again following the dinner.'')
In an email, Elon Musk responded: ''I don't recall introducing Epstein to anyone, as I don't know the guy well enough to do so, Epstein is obviously a creep and Zuckerberg is not a friend of mine. Several years ago, I was at his house in Manhattan for about 30 minutes in the middle of the afternoon with Talulah [Riley], as she was curious about meeting this strange person for a novel she was writing. We did not see anything inappropriate at all, apart from weird art. He tried repeatedly to get me to visit his island. I declined.''
One source who's done business with Epstein told me that Epstein's 21,000-square-foot townhouse on East 71st Street welcomed a steady stream of the Davos crowd in the past decade. The source said Bill Gates, Larry Summers, and Steve Bannon visited the house, which has been called one of the largest private residences in Manhattan. ''Jeffrey collected people. That's what he did,'' the source said. Gates and Summers did not respond to requests for comment.
Thus far, the name most publicly associated with Epstein's alleged crimes is famed lawyer Alan Dershowitz, who's been waging a public battle with David Boies for years. In April, Boies's client Giuffre sued Dershowitz for defamation after Dershowitz called her a liar (a strategy similar to that of seven of Bill Cosby's accusers). In the days since the FBI arrested Epstein at Teterboro Airport a week and a half ago, Dershowitz has been going on television and dialing up friends and reporters to profess his innocence and label Giuffre and Boies liars. ''I want everything to come out! I'm not afraid of anything because I did nothing wrong,'' Dershowitz told me on the afternoon of July 15.
He called me a minute after I had emailed him for comment. He said he'd been friends with Epstein since 1996, when they were introduced at a party on Martha's Vineyard by Lynn Forester de Rothschild. ''She begged me to meet him. She told me, 'here's this smart academic.''' A few days later, Epstein invited Dershowitz to Les Wexner's 59th birthday party at Wexner's mansion in New Albany, Ohio. ''It's a tradition that Jeff invited the smartest person he met that year. He told them I was the smartest.'' They remained close for years. Dershowitz strenuously denied ever participating in Epstein's underage sex ring and said he'd only been in Epstein's presence with his wife. ''I got one massage!'' he told me. ''It was from a 50-year-old Russian woman named Olga. And I kept my shorts on. I didn't even like it. I'm not a massage guy.''
Dershowitz said he secretly (and legally) tape-recorded settlement conversations with Boies and that the phone calls capture Boies admitting that Giuffre's allegations aren't true. ''Boies is a bad person,'' he told me.
''I never said that,'' Boies responded when I asked about Dershowitz's version of the phone calls. ''What Alan does is he plays a second or two out of context; he never lets anybody listen to the whole thing.'' Boies also dismissed Dershowitz's claim that he never met Giuffre at Epstein's house. According to Boies, Epstein's former employees said in sworn depositions that they saw Dershowitz at the house multiple times without his wife. ''This Olga woman doesn't exist. Epstein's barely kept women around who were over 25. It's a figment of Alan's imagination,'' Boies said.
On Wall Street, Epstein is a subject of mystery'--and fear. ''I knew Jeff. He came across as very smart, very sophisticated,'' one hedge fund manager told me. ''He always had a good read on people. But manipulative people are good at that.'' Another person who's been in meetings with Epstein told me: ''He's very clever.''
How Epstein obtained his fortune is a matter of feverish speculation. His claim to a billionaire-only client list now seems laughable to the bankers I spoke with. One Wall Street source with direct knowledge of Epstein's business said one source of Epstein's income was providing ''tax advice and estate planning'' to rich clients, like Apollo Global Management founder Leon Black, presumably because Epstein had experience with offshore funds after basing his office in the Virgin Islands. In 2015 Black made a $10 million donation to Epstein's foundation. (Black declined to comment.)
In the absence of much other information, the reigning theory on Wall Street currently is that Epstein's activities with women and girls were central to the building of his fortune, and his relations with some of his investors essentially amounted to blackmail.
Similarly, DC is on edge. ''Epstein bragged about his contacts in Washington,'' Boies said. Reporters are likely to dig into why the Justice Department decided not to prosecute Epstein and kept the deal secret from his victims. One theory circulating among prominent Republicans is that Epstein was a Mossad agent. Another is that the George W. Bush White House directed Acosta not to prosecute Epstein to protect Prince Andrew on behalf of the British government, then the U.S.'s closest ally in the Iraq war. ''The royal family did everything they could to try and discredit the Prince Andrew stuff,'' Boies told me. ''When we tried to follow up with anything, we were stonewalled. We wanted to interview him, they were unwilling to do anything.'' (Prince Andrew could not be reached for comment).
Of course, the two Epstein friends that people are most curious about are Donald Trump and Bill Clinton, both of whom have denied anything untoward. During the 2016 presidential race, Hillary Clinton's campaign consulted Bill's post''White House Secret Service logs because they were worried Trump would bring up Bill's close association with Epstein and wanted to get ahead of the story, a source told me.
For those in Epstein's orbit, the stakes of exposure are bound to get higher as more and more women come forward. Every day seems to bring new horrors about Epstein's alleged depravity. At a press conference on Tuesday, Courtney Wild's lawyer Brad Edwards said that after interviewing dozens of Epstein's accusers, it appeared Epstein spent almost all of his time abusing underage girls. ''It was his full-time job,'' Edwards said. ''We have not found anyone who has provided information about a legitimate business he was engaged [in].''
This article has been updated to include a comment from Elon Musk, and to clarify Epstein's relationship to Leon Black.
Jeffrey Epstein and Mad Scientists - YouTube
NY State Senate Bill S2440
Mon, 15 Jul 2019 03:31
S T A T E O F N E W Y O R K________________________________________________________________________ S. 2440 A. 2683 2019-2020 Regular Sessions S E N A T E - A S S E M B L Y January 24, 2019 ___________IN SENATE -- Introduced by Sens. HOYLMAN, STEWART-COUSINS, ADDABBO, BAILEY, BENJAMIN, BIAGGI, BRESLIN, BROOKS, CARLUCCI, COMRIE, GAUGHRAN, GIANARIS, GOUNARDES, HARCKHAM, JACKSON, KAMINSKY, KAPLAN, KAVANAGH, KENNEDY, KRUEGER, LIU, MARTINEZ, MAY, MAYER, METZGER, MONTGOMERY, MYRIE, PARKER, RAMOS, RIVERA, SALAZAR, SANDERS, SAVINO, SEPULVEDA, SERRANO, SKOUFIS, STAVISKY, THOMAS -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on JudiciaryIN ASSEMBLY -- Introduced by M. of A. L. ROSENTHAL, DINOWITZ, HEASTIE, PEOPLES-STOKES, ENGLEBRIGHT, GUNTHER, OTIS, JAFFEE, STIRPE, SIMOTAS, GALEF, MOSLEY, LIFTON, BARRETT, PAULIN, ARROYO, WALKER, WEPRIN, BICHOTTE, SIMON, BLAKE, CAHILL, SEAWRIGHT, BARRON, BUCHWALD, BRONSON, HEVESI, HYNDMAN, ORTIZ, NOLAN, JONES, CARROLL, RIVERA, GLICK, NIOU, DE LA ROSA, PRETLOW, GOTTFRIED, D'URSO, VANEL, TITUS, JEAN-PIERRE, FERNANDEZ, BENEDETTO, CRUZ, EPSTEIN, FRONTUS, GRIFFIN, JACOBSON, QUART, REYES, RICHARDSON, ROMEO, RYAN, SAYEGH, BURKE, STECK -- read once and referred to the Committee on CodesAN ACT to amend the criminal procedure law, in relation to the statute of limitations in criminal prosecution of a sexual offense committed against a child; to amend the civil practice law and rules, in relation to the statute of limitations for civil actions related to a sexual offense committed against a child, reviving such actions other- wise barred by the existing statute of limitations and granting trial preference to such actions; to amend the general municipal law, in relation to providing that the notice of claim provisions shall not apply to such actions; to amend the court of claims act, in relation to providing that the notice of intention to file provisions shall not apply to such actions; to amend the education law, in relation to providing that the notice of claim provisions shall not apply to such actions; and to amend the judiciary law, in relation to judicial training relating to sexual abuse of minors and rules reviving civil actions relating to sexual offenses committed against children EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD08627-03-9S. 2440 2 A. 2683 THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS: Section 1. Paragraph (f) of subdivision 3 of section 30.10 of thecriminal procedure law, as separately amended by chapters 3 and 320 ofthe laws of 2006, is amended to read as follows: (f) For purposes of a prosecution involving a sexual offense asdefined in article one hundred thirty of the penal law, other than asexual offense delineated in paragraph (a) of subdivision two of thissection, committed against a child less than eighteen years of age,incest in the first, second or third degree as defined in sections255.27, 255.26 and 255.25 of the penal law committed against a childless than eighteen years of age, or use of a child in a sexual perform-ance as defined in section 263.05 of the penal law, the period of limi-tation shall not begin to run until the child has reached the age of[eighteen] TWENTY-THREE or the offense is reported to a law enforcementagency or statewide central register of child abuse and maltreatment,whichever occurs earlier. § 2. The opening paragraph of section 208 of the civil practice lawand rules is designated subdivision (a) and a new subdivision (b) isadded to read as follows: (B) NOTWITHSTANDING ANY PROVISION OF LAW WHICH IMPOSES A PERIOD OFLIMITATION TO THE CONTRARY AND THE PROVISIONS OF ANY OTHER LAW PERTAIN-ING TO THE FILING OF A NOTICE OF CLAIM OR A NOTICE OF INTENTION TO FILEA CLAIM AS A CONDITION PRECEDENT TO COMMENCEMENT OF AN ACTION OR SPECIALPROCEEDING, WITH RESPECT TO ALL CIVIL CLAIMS OR CAUSES OF ACTION BROUGHTBY ANY PERSON FOR PHYSICAL, PSYCHOLOGICAL OR OTHER INJURY OR CONDITIONSUFFERED BY SUCH PERSON AS A RESULT OF CONDUCT WHICH WOULD CONSTITUTE ASEXUAL OFFENSE AS DEFINED IN ARTICLE ONE HUNDRED THIRTY OF THE PENAL LAWCOMMITTED AGAINST SUCH PERSON WHO WAS LESS THAN EIGHTEEN YEARS OF AGE,INCEST AS DEFINED IN SECTION 255.27, 255.26 OR 255.25 OF THE PENAL LAWCOMMITTED AGAINST SUCH PERSON WHO WAS LESS THAN EIGHTEEN YEARS OF AGE,OR THE USE OF SUCH PERSON IN A SEXUAL PERFORMANCE AS DEFINED IN SECTION263.05 OF THE PENAL LAW, OR A PREDECESSOR STATUTE THAT PROHIBITED SUCHCONDUCT AT THE TIME OF THE ACT, WHICH CONDUCT WAS COMMITTED AGAINST SUCHPERSON WHO WAS LESS THAN EIGHTEEN YEARS OF AGE, SUCH ACTION MAY BECOMMENCED, AGAINST ANY PARTY WHOSE INTENTIONAL OR NEGLIGENT ACTS OROMISSIONS ARE ALLEGED TO HAVE RESULTED IN THE COMMISSION OF SAIDCONDUCT, ON OR BEFORE THE PLAINTIFF OR INFANT PLAINTIFF REACHES THE AGEOF FIFTY-FIVE YEARS. IN ANY SUCH CLAIM OR ACTION, IN ADDITION TO ANYOTHER DEFENSE AND AFFIRMATIVE DEFENSE THAT MAY BE AVAILABLE IN ACCORD-ANCE WITH LAW, RULE OR THE COMMON LAW, TO THE EXTENT THAT THE ACTSALLEGED IN SUCH ACTION ARE OF THE TYPE DESCRIBED IN SUBDIVISION ONE OFSECTION 130.30 OF THE PENAL LAW OR SUBDIVISION ONE OF SECTION 130.45 OFTHE PENAL LAW, THE AFFIRMATIVE DEFENSES SET FORTH, RESPECTIVELY, IN THECLOSING PARAGRAPH OF SUCH SECTIONS OF THE PENAL LAW SHALL APPLY. § 3. The civil practice law and rules is amended by adding a newsection 214-g to read as follows: § 214-G. CERTAIN CHILD SEXUAL ABUSE CASES. NOTWITHSTANDING ANYPROVISION OF LAW WHICH IMPOSES A PERIOD OF LIMITATION TO THE CONTRARYAND THE PROVISIONS OF ANY OTHER LAW PERTAINING TO THE FILING OF A NOTICEOF CLAIM OR A NOTICE OF INTENTION TO FILE A CLAIM AS A CONDITION PRECE-DENT TO COMMENCEMENT OF AN ACTION OR SPECIAL PROCEEDING, EVERY CIVILCLAIM OR CAUSE OF ACTION BROUGHT AGAINST ANY PARTY ALLEGING INTENTIONALOR NEGLIGENT ACTS OR OMISSIONS BY A PERSON FOR PHYSICAL, PSYCHOLOGICAL,OR OTHER INJURY OR CONDITION SUFFERED AS A RESULT OF CONDUCT WHICH WOULDS. 2440 3 A. 2683CONSTITUTE A SEXUAL OFFENSE AS DEFINED IN ARTICLE ONE HUNDRED THIRTY OFTHE PENAL LAW COMMITTED AGAINST A CHILD LESS THAN EIGHTEEN YEARS OF AGE,INCEST AS DEFINED IN SECTION 255.27, 255.26 OR 255.25 OF THE PENAL LAWCOMMITTED AGAINST A CHILD LESS THAN EIGHTEEN YEARS OF AGE, OR THE USE OFA CHILD IN A SEXUAL PERFORMANCE AS DEFINED IN SECTION 263.05 OF THEPENAL LAW, OR A PREDECESSOR STATUTE THAT PROHIBITED SUCH CONDUCT AT THETIME OF THE ACT, WHICH CONDUCT WAS COMMITTED AGAINST A CHILD LESS THANEIGHTEEN YEARS OF AGE, WHICH IS BARRED AS OF THE EFFECTIVE DATE OF THISSECTION BECAUSE THE APPLICABLE PERIOD OF LIMITATION HAS EXPIRED, AND/ORTHE PLAINTIFF PREVIOUSLY FAILED TO FILE A NOTICE OF CLAIM OR A NOTICE OFINTENTION TO FILE A CLAIM, IS HEREBY REVIVED, AND ACTION THEREON MAY BECOMMENCED NOT EARLIER THAN SIX MONTHS AFTER, AND NOT LATER THAN ONE YEARAND SIX MONTHS AFTER THE EFFECTIVE DATE OF THIS SECTION. IN ANY SUCHCLAIM OR ACTION: (A) IN ADDITION TO ANY OTHER DEFENSE AND AFFIRMATIVEDEFENSE THAT MAY BE AVAILABLE IN ACCORDANCE WITH LAW, RULE OR THE COMMONLAW, TO THE EXTENT THAT THE ACTS ALLEGED IN SUCH ACTION ARE OF THE TYPEDESCRIBED IN SUBDIVISION ONE OF SECTION 130.30 OF THE PENAL LAW ORSUBDIVISION ONE OF SECTION 130.45 OF THE PENAL LAW, THE AFFIRMATIVEDEFENSES SET FORTH, RESPECTIVELY, IN THE CLOSING PARAGRAPH OF SUCHSECTIONS OF THE PENAL LAW SHALL APPLY; AND (B) DISMISSAL OF A PREVIOUSACTION, ORDERED BEFORE THE EFFECTIVE DATE OF THIS SECTION, ON GROUNDSTHAT SUCH PREVIOUS ACTION WAS TIME BARRED, AND/OR FOR FAILURE OF A PARTYTO FILE A NOTICE OF CLAIM OR A NOTICE OF INTENTION TO FILE A CLAIM,SHALL NOT BE GROUNDS FOR DISMISSAL OF A REVIVAL ACTION PURSUANT TO THISSECTION. § 4. Subdivision (a) of rule 3403 of the civil practice law and rulesis amended by adding a new paragraph 7 to read as follows: 7. ANY ACTION WHICH HAS BEEN REVIVED PURSUANT TO SECTION TWO HUNDREDFOURTEEN-G OF THIS CHAPTER. § 5. Subdivision 8 of section 50-e of the general municipal law, asamended by chapter 24 of the laws of 1988, is amended to read asfollows: 8. Inapplicability of section. (A) This section shall not apply toclaims arising under the provisions of the workers' compensation law,the volunteer firefighters' benefit law, or the volunteer ambulanceworkers' benefit law or to claims against public corporations by theirown infant wards. (B) THIS SECTION SHALL NOT APPLY TO ANY CLAIM MADE FOR PHYSICAL,PSYCHOLOGICAL, OR OTHER INJURY OR CONDITION SUFFERED AS A RESULT OFCONDUCT WHICH WOULD CONSTITUTE A SEXUAL OFFENSE AS DEFINED IN ARTICLEONE HUNDRED THIRTY OF THE PENAL LAW COMMITTED AGAINST A CHILD LESS THANEIGHTEEN YEARS OF AGE, INCEST AS DEFINED IN SECTION 255.27, 255.26 OR255.25 OF THE PENAL LAW COMMITTED AGAINST A CHILD LESS THAN EIGHTEENYEARS OF AGE, OR THE USE OF A CHILD IN A SEXUAL PERFORMANCE AS DEFINEDIN SECTION 263.05 OF THE PENAL LAW COMMITTED AGAINST A CHILD LESS THANEIGHTEEN YEARS OF AGE. § 6. Section 50-i of the general municipal law is amended by adding anew subdivision 5 to read as follows: 5. NOTWITHSTANDING ANY PROVISION OF LAW TO THE CONTRARY, THIS SECTIONSHALL NOT APPLY TO ANY CLAIM MADE AGAINST A CITY, COUNTY, TOWN, VILLAGE,FIRE DISTRICT OR SCHOOL DISTRICT FOR PHYSICAL, PSYCHOLOGICAL, OR OTHERINJURY OR CONDITION SUFFERED AS A RESULT OF CONDUCT WHICH WOULD CONSTI-TUTE A SEXUAL OFFENSE AS DEFINED IN ARTICLE ONE HUNDRED THIRTY OF THEPENAL LAW COMMITTED AGAINST A CHILD LESS THAN EIGHTEEN YEARS OF AGE,INCEST AS DEFINED IN SECTION 255.27, 255.26 OR 255.25 OF THE PENAL LAWCOMMITTED AGAINST A CHILD LESS THAN EIGHTEEN YEARS OF AGE, OR THE USE OFS. 2440 4 A. 2683A CHILD IN A SEXUAL PERFORMANCE AS DEFINED IN SECTION 263.05 OF THEPENAL LAW COMMITTED AGAINST A CHILD LESS THAN EIGHTEEN YEARS OF AGE. § 7. Section 10 of the court of claims act is amended by adding a newsubdivision 10 to read as follows: 10. NOTWITHSTANDING ANY PROVISION OF LAW TO THE CONTRARY, THIS SECTIONSHALL NOT APPLY TO ANY CLAIM TO RECOVER DAMAGES FOR PHYSICAL, PSYCHOLOG-ICAL, OR OTHER INJURY OR CONDITION SUFFERED AS A RESULT OF CONDUCT WHICHWOULD CONSTITUTE A SEXUAL OFFENSE AS DEFINED IN ARTICLE ONE HUNDREDTHIRTY OF THE PENAL LAW COMMITTED AGAINST A CHILD LESS THAN EIGHTEENYEARS OF AGE, INCEST AS DEFINED IN SECTION 255.27, 255.26 OR 255.25 OFTHE PENAL LAW COMMITTED AGAINST A CHILD LESS THAN EIGHTEEN YEARS OF AGE,OR THE USE OF A CHILD IN A SEXUAL PERFORMANCE AS DEFINED IN SECTION263.05 OF THE PENAL LAW COMMITTED AGAINST A CHILD LESS THAN EIGHTEENYEARS OF AGE. § 8. Subdivision 2 of section 3813 of the education law, as amended bychapter 346 of the laws of 1978, is amended to read as follows: 2. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary hereinbefore contained inthis section, no action or special proceeding founded upon tort shall beprosecuted or maintained against any of the parties named in thissection or against any teacher or member of the supervisory or adminis-trative staff or employee where the alleged tort was committed by suchteacher or member or employee acting in the discharge of his dutieswithin the scope of his employment and/or under the direction of theboard of education, trustee or trustees, or governing body of the schoolunless a notice of claim shall have been made and served in compliancewith section fifty-e of the general municipal law. Every such actionshall be commenced pursuant to the provisions of section fifty-i of thegeneral municipal law; PROVIDED, HOWEVER, THAT THIS SECTION SHALL NOTAPPLY TO ANY CLAIM TO RECOVER DAMAGES FOR PHYSICAL, PSYCHOLOGICAL, OROTHER INJURY OR CONDITION SUFFERED AS A RESULT OF CONDUCT WHICH WOULDCONSTITUTE A SEXUAL OFFENSE AS DEFINED IN ARTICLE ONE HUNDRED THIRTY OFTHE PENAL LAW COMMITTED AGAINST A CHILD LESS THAN EIGHTEEN YEARS OF AGE,INCEST AS DEFINED IN SECTION 255.27, 255.26 OR 255.25 OF THE PENAL LAWCOMMITTED AGAINST A CHILD LESS THAN EIGHTEEN YEARS OF AGE, OR THE USE OFA CHILD IN A SEXUAL PERFORMANCE AS DEFINED IN SECTION 263.05 OF THEPENAL LAW COMMITTED AGAINST A CHILD LESS THAN EIGHTEEN YEARS OF AGE. § 9. Section 219-c of the judiciary law, as added by chapter 506 ofthe laws of 2011, is amended to read as follows: § 219-c. Crimes involving sexual assault AND THE SEXUAL ABUSE OFMINORS; judicial training. The office of court administration shallprovide training for judges and justices with respect to crimes involv-ing sexual assault, AND THE SEXUAL ABUSE OF MINORS. § 10. The judiciary law is amended by adding a new section 219-d toread as follows: § 219-D. RULES REVIVING CERTAIN ACTIONS; SEXUAL OFFENSES AGAINST CHIL-DREN. THE CHIEF ADMINISTRATOR OF THE COURTS SHALL PROMULGATE RULES FORTHE TIMELY ADJUDICATION OF REVIVED ACTIONS BROUGHT PURSUANT TO SECTIONTWO HUNDRED FOURTEEN-G OF THE CIVIL PRACTICE LAW AND RULES. § 11. The provisions of this act shall be severable, and if anyclause, sentence, paragraph, subdivision or part of this act shall beadjudged by any court of competent jurisdiction to be invalid, suchjudgment shall not affect, impair, or invalidate the remainder thereof,but shall be confined in its operation to the clause, sentence, para-graph, subdivision or part thereof directly involved in the controversyin which such judgment shall have been rendered.S. 2440 5 A. 2683 § 12. This act shall take effect immediately; except that section nineof this act shall take effect six months after this act shall havebecome a law; provided, however, that training for cases brought pursu-ant to section 214-g of the civil practice law and rules, as added bysection three of this act, shall commence three months after this actshall have become a law; and section ten of this act shall take effectthree months after this act shall have become a law.
Con Ed can't explain what caused the Manhattan blackout
Tue, 16 Jul 2019 03:57
July 14, 2019 | 12:52pm | Updated July 15, 2019 | 9:19am
Enlarge Image Radio City Music Hall goes dark during the blackout. Annie Wermiel
Con Edison has yet to figure out why a large swath of Manhattan's West Side was plunged into darkness by the blackout that lasted more than five hours on Saturday night.
In a statement released late Sunday morning, the power company said it ''will be conducting a diligent and vigorous investigation to determine the root cause of the incident.''
''Over the next several days and weeks, our engineers and planners will carefully examine the data and equipment performance relating to this event, and will share our findings with regulators and the public,'' the company said.
Con Ed spokesman Alfonso Quiroz blamed the blackout on a ''disruption on the transmission side'' of the company's power grid.
Con Ed's overhead transmission lines carry 438,000 volts of electricity to substations where the power is lowered to about 13,000 volts before being distributed to homes and businesses, he said.
Officials initially suspected a manhole fire that affected an underground transformer, but Quiroz said there's ''no evidence of a fire at this point.''
The blackout stranded people on subway trains and elevators, and forced the evacuation of Madison Square Garden and cancellation of Broadway shows.
It struck on the 42nd anniversary of a massive power outage in 1977 that affected the entire city and sparked looting, robberies and other mayhem.
Saturday night's incident also occurred while Mayor Bill de Blasio was campaigning in Waterloo, Iowa, as part of his long-shot presidential bid.
Con Ed has said a series of outages that began before 7 p.m. Saturday cut power to 73,000 customers served by six electrical networks on Manhattan's West Side.
The affected area stretched from West 30th Street to West 72nd street, and from the Hudson River to Fifth Avenue.
FBI Blacks Out New York City During Raid On Clinton Office As Democrat Party Child Sex Empire Crumbles
Tue, 16 Jul 2019 03:52
t
World's Largest English Language News Service with Over 500Articles Updated Daily
"The News You Need Today'...For The World You'll Live In Tomorrow."
What YouAren't Being Told About The World You Live In
How The ''Conspiracy Theory'' Label Was Conceived To Derail TheTruth Movement
How Covert American Agents Infiltrate the Internet toManipulate, Deceive, and Destroy Reputations
Other reports in this series include:
Husband Of Prosecutor Investigating Bill Clinton For Child SexCharges Gunned Down
VideoShowing Bill Clinton Rape Of 13-Year-Old Girl PlungesPresidential Race Into Chaos
TrumpIgnites ''Sex Crime Firebomb'' To Incinerate ''Deep State'' Operatives'--IncludingHillary Clinton
FormerFBI Director Comey Linked To Nuclear Material Plot To Assassinate Jeffrey Epstein
Biden''New World Order'' Plan Fails To Mention Russia WillDestroy America First (NoteLast Section)
FBIRequests Export Permit For Russian Underground Radar System To Probe BizarreTemple-Like Structure On Jeffrey Epstein's Private Island
July 14, 2019
FBI Blacks Out New York City During Raid On ClintonOffice As Democrat Party Child Sex Empire Crumbles
By: Sorcha Faal, and asreported to her Western Subscribers
A bombshell new Foreign IntelligenceService (SVR) reportcirculating in the Kremlin todaystates that the massivepower blackout striking New York Citya few hours ago, which leftthe famous Broadway road in Manhattan without power, was, infact, caused by a covert operation conducted by elite FBI commandos belonging to their Critical Incident Response Group (CIRG) exploring tunnels locatedunder a building at 1633 Broadway'--abuilding that houses the offices of the Clinton Foundation'--three ofwhose top child sex predator DemocratParty mega-donors, Jeffrey Epstein, Terry Bean and Ed Buck, who constitutewhat's now being called '' The Democratic Donors' Sex-Creep Club '',are being targeted for destruction by PresidentDonald Trump. [Note: Somewords and/or phrases appearing in quotes in this report are English languageapproximations of Russian words/phrases having no exact counterpart.]
According to this report, at 0200 Moscow time (GMT+3) on 14 July 2019, the SVR received an alert bulletin from the Ministry of Defense (MoD)reporting that their launchedthis past week Kosmos 2537 satellitehad detected an electromagnetic pulse (EMP) emanatingfrom New York City occurring at 1847 (6:47 pm (GMT-5) their local timeon 13 July)'--an analysis of which showed this EMP pulse being generated by a '' CHAMP ''device'--an acronym for the United StatesAir Force's ''Counter-ElectronicsHigh-powered Microwave Advanced Missile Project'' that can firemultiple times, pinpointing and blacking out only essential targets'--andwhich the FBI's highly trainedcommandos belonging to their CriticalIncident Response Group are trained to use.
To why the FBI's elite CriticalIncident Response Group commandos would need to employ an EMP weapon in New York City, this report explains, is due to their having toprotect themselves against an array of electronic defensive weapons protectingthe offices of the Clinton Foundation'--themain contractors of whom renovated '' the stuff of nightmares '' multi-million dollar New York City townhouse owned by child sex slave trafficker Jeffery Epstein'--as well as theirconstructing Epstein's island compound in the Caribbean and his near impregnable New Mexico fortress that's now the largest building in that State.
As to why Epstein needed security systems comparable only to those used bynation states to protect their countries' most closely guarded secrets, thisreport notes, the SVR, in 2016, revealed was due to hispossessing video tapes showing powerful elites having sex with children'--one ofthe most explosive being formerPresident Bill Clinton raping a 13-year-old girl child'--and aretapes used by Epstein in his vastblackmail scheme best exampled in the '' Quantian Theory '' analysis of his finances'--a theory further confirmedyesterday by some of America's topfinancial experts who stated: '' Given this puzzling set of data points, the hedge-fundmanagers we spoke to leaned toward the theory that Epstein was running ablackmail scheme under the cover of a hedge fund ''.
Though PresidentTrump's takedown of child sex trafficker and blackmailer Jeffrey Epstein is shining new light onhis criminal accomplices'--such as Britishsocialite heiress Ghislaine Maxwell,who has been accusedof procuring and training young girls to perform massage and sexual acts on Epstein and his elite ''guests'',and whoseassassinated father Robert Maxwellwas an Israeli ''superspy'''--this reportcontinues'--not being reported to the Americanpeople is that he is but one of the many top Democrat Party mega-donors facing child sex crime charges'--the mostimportant of whom include:
Terry Bean '--a prominent American gay rights activist who'spersonal friends include Hillary Clinton, former President Bill Clinton andformer President Barack Obama'--to just name a few of his top Democrat Partyleader friends'--who shockingly disappeared the child sex crime charges againsthim like they did for Epstein'--but whose days are numbered as, again likeEpstein, thesecriminal charges against him are being renewed.
Ed Buck '--another prominent American gay rights activist who'spersonal friends include Hillary Clinton, former President Bill Clinton andformer President Barack Obama'--to just name a few of his top Democrat Partyleader friends'--who's accusedof human trafficking and revenge porn after yet another young black man pliedwith drugs died in his home'--and whose currentcivil charges filed against him will, without doubt, soon be followed by criminalones.
Laura Silsby '--who triedto abduct 33 children from Haiti for Hillary Clinton .
As this HillaryClinton led Democrat Party childsex empire crumbles, this report concludes, critical to note are the powerful Democratic Party aligned lawyers aidingthese vile child sex criminals'--such as JorgePuello Torres , who gained freedom for childabductor Laura Silsby , but was thenarrested and charged for child sex trafficking himself '-- Lori Deveny , who gained freedom for child sex criminal Terry Bean, but who's nowbeen disbarred for her crimes and is facing a raft of State and US Federalcriminal charges'--and, most importantly, Harvard University professor AlanDershowitz, who when gaining freedom for child sex slave trafficker Jeffrey Epstein, beyond shockingly gavea television interview where he called these young girl children prostitutes , while admitting at the same time, he did receive ''massages''from them, but said he left his underwear on .
July 14, 2019 (C) EU and US allrights reserved. Permission to use this report in its entirety is granted underthe condition it is linked back to its original source at WhatDoesItMean.Com.Freebase content licensed under CC-BY and GFDL.
[ Note :Many governments and their intelligence services actively campaign against theinformation found in these reports so as not to alarm their citizens about themany catastrophic Earth changes and events to come, a stance that the Sisters of Sorcha Faal strongly disagree with in believing that it is every human being's right toknow the truth. Due to our mission's conflicts with that of those governments,the responses of their 'agents' has been a longstandingmisinformation/misdirection campaign designed to discredit us, and others likeus, that is exampled in numerous places, including HERE .]
[ Note: The WhatDoesItMean.com website was created for and donatedto the Sisters of Sorcha Faal in 2003 by a small group of American computerexperts led by the late global technology guru Wayne Green(1922-2013) tocounter the propaganda being used by the West to promote their illegal 2003invasion of Iraq.]
[ Note: The word Kremlin (fortress inside a city) as used inthis report refers to Russian citadels, including in Moscow, having cathedrals wherein femaleSchema monks (Orthodox nuns) reside, many of whom are devoted to the mission ofthe Sisters of Sorcha Faal.]
A Giant Fell In America This Week'--Few Noticed, Even FewerCared
Tech Tyrant Bandwagon Pulls Into America-This Is What TerrorLooks Like
Trump Races Global Nuclear War To Finish Line As World Holds Breath
ReturnTo Main Page
Boeing Unveils Amazing, Slightly Terrifying New Electromagnetic Pulse Weapon
Tue, 16 Jul 2019 03:54
With pinpoint accuracy, this electronic warfare drone can black out opposing forces at will. Updated: Dec 15, 2016 at 9:35AM
Published: May 24, 2015 at 9:13AM
This article was updated on Dec. 14, 2016, and originally published May 24, 2015.
Born into Generation X, I grew up with the threat of nuclear war -- and all its corollaries, from visions of mushroom clouds to "duck and cover" drills in high school to Terminator movies, and of course, the ever-present worry that one day a sneaky Soviet satellite would detonate way up in the sky and fry all of our electronics with an "electromagnetic pulse."
So imagine my surprise when the U.S. Air Force confirmed that it's developed an electromagnetic pulse weapon of its own, and that Boeing (NYSE:BA) is helping to build it.
Boeing's "CHAMP" (Counter-electronics High-powered Microwave Advanced Missile Project) is a one-missile, flying blackout. Image source: Boeing.
A CHAMP-ion ideaThe weapon in question: Boeing's "CHAMP," short for Counter-electronics High-powered Microwave Advanced Missile Project. It's essentially the old nuclear electromagnetic pulse weapon that we used to worry so much about -- but without the nuclear part. CHAMP carries a small generator that emits microwaves to fry electronics with pinpoint accuracy. It targets not nations or cities but individual buildings, blacking out their electronics rather than blowing up physical targets (or people).
What makes CHAMP even more interesting is that, unlike a nuclear electromagnetic pulse weapon, which fires once, blacking out entire nation-states, CHAMP can fire multiple times, pinpointing and blacking out only essential targets. This would permit, for example, taking down radar defenses in a hostile state while saving the electrical grid that supports the civilian population. In a 2012 test flight in Utah, a single CHAMP was reported to have blacked out seven separate targets in succession, in one single mission.
When CHAMP lights up, buildings go dark -- one by one. Image source: Boeing.
Even back then, a Boeing representative was able to boast: "We hit every target we wanted to," predicting further that "in the near future, this technology may be used to render an enemy's electronic and data systems useless even before the first troops or aircraft arrive." Four years later, that future has arrived. Air Force Research Laboratory commander Maj. Gen. Tom Masiello says CHAMP is "an operational system already in our tactical air force."
Who makes it?Boeing headlines the CHAMP product, but at least two other companies are known to be involved. According to Military Embedded Systems, it's actually Raytheon (NYSE:RTN) that builds the electronic innards of the device -- the "shooting end" of a weapon that doesn't actually shoot anyone. (Raytheon's involvement shouldn't come as a surprise, given the company's expertise building complementary weapons, such as its MALD-J radar-spoofing, electronics-jamming drone.)
Additionally, Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT) builds the Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile -- Extended Range (JASSM-ER), which the Air Force intends to use as CHAMP's delivery mechanism. A cruise missile with an estimated range in excess of 600 miles, JASSM-ER will itself be deployable from combat aircraft such as F-15 and F-16 fighter jets, B-1 and B-52 bombers, and the F-35 stealth fighter -- extending CHAMP's reach even further.
To date, Military Embedded Systems notes that the Air Force Research Laboratory has contracted Boeing to build only five CHAMP devices. But the trend in Pentagon acquisitions projects suggests the Air Force could soon be building these weapons en masse. From MALD-J radar-jamming drones to Switchblade kamikaze guided rockets and now CHAMP mini-electromagnetic-pulse weapons, the Air Force seems intent on fighting its next war more or less entirely by remote control.
To the extent CHAMP makes that easier for them, I expect it to be a very popular product indeed.
CHAMP could be arriving in Air Force arsenals soon -- delivered by Stealth. Image source: Boeing.
Trump Ignites ''Sex Crime Firebomb'' To Incinerate ''Deep State'' Operatives'--Including Hillary Clinton
Tue, 16 Jul 2019 04:05
t
World's Largest English Language News Service with Over 500Articles Updated Daily
"The News You Need Today'...For The World You'll Live In Tomorrow."
What YouAren't Being Told About The World You Live In
How The ''Conspiracy Theory'' Label Was Conceived To Derail TheTruth Movement
How Covert American Agents Infiltrate the Internet toManipulate, Deceive, and Destroy Reputations
July 7, 2019
Trump Ignites ''SexCrime Firebomb'' To Incinerate ''Deep State''Operatives'--Including Hillary Clinton
By: Sorcha Faal, and asreported to her Western Subscribers
A shocking new Ministry of ForeignAffairs (MoFA)report circulating in the Kremlintoday commenting on the revelation that the Russian meddling alert system built by the EuropeanUnion has not detected any meddling '--anambitiouseffort created earlier this year by the EUto combat election interference, but whose reality of is best exampled bythe inside joke circulating in Brusselsabout this Rapid Alert System: '' It's not rapid. There are no alerts. And there's no system. '''--statesthat one of the main architects of this failed meddling alert system was BritishAmbassador to the United States SirKim Darroch '--who yesterday, became so incensed that his Russian alert meddling system is nowbeing derided for the joke it really is, lashed out by masterminding an '' unprecedented leak '' of diplomaticcables wherein he calls President DonaldTrump '' inept '', says the President is '' uniquely dysfunctional and his career could end in disgrace '',claims Trump could '' crash and burn '', and screams that '' we could be at the beginning of a downward spiral... thatleads to disgrace and downfall '''--statements moreresembling a spoiled child responding to his parents having taken his toys awaythan words expected to be written by a diplomat'--but within three hours of thembeing leaked, saw Trump massivelyretaliating by having his loyal FBI forces arrest for child sex trafficking crimesthe '' Deep State '' aligned Democrat Party mega donor multi-billionaire Jeffery Epstein'--avile demonic child sex monster not only having the power to destroy Prince Andrew '--but Hillary Clinton's husband former President Bill Clinton, too . [Note: Some words and/or phrasesappearing in quotes in this report are English language approximations ofRussian words/phrases having no exact counterpart.]
FBI forces loyal to President Donald Trump arrest vilechild sex monster Jeffery Epstein infamous for flying top ''Deep State'' leaders to visit his private island'...
'...that include Prince Andrew (left, standing next to Jeffery Epstein)'...
'...and former President Bill Clinton, who flight logsprove (one depicted above) visitedthis notorious child sex slave island at least 10 times.
According to this report, failing to heed theexample displayed this past week by far-right American oligarch CharlesKoch and far-left Americanoligarch George Soros'-- bothof whom deserted the ''Deep State'' toalign themselves with President Trump's antiwar policies '--BritishAmbassador Sir Kim Darroch, instead, unleashed his childish leakeddiplomatic cable attack against PresidentTrump because, among other perceived slights, this American leader didn't launch a war against Iran'--with Sir Darroch,in a memo written at 12.39am UK time on 22 June, describing '' disarray and confusion across Washington '' as Trumpunexpectedly aborted an attack on Iran.
The only true '' disarrayand confusion '' being displayed inWashington, however, this reportnotes, emanates from the pro-war ''Deep State'' factions arrayed againstPresident Trump'--all of whom are inpanic because Trump is returning theUnited States to the principals thatguided their country to victory in WorldWar II'--principals first articulated to the American people by the 33rd VicePresident of the United States Henry Wallace in a nationwide radioaddress on 8 May 1942 '--fivemonths after the Empire of Japandestroyed the US Navy's Pacific Fleetat Pearl Harbor-Hawaii'--and is knownto history as the '' Common Man Speech ''.
In knowing the brutal truth that the United States in no way whatsoevercould singlehandedly defeat both NaziGermany and the Empire of Japan,this report continues, the ''HenryWallace Doctrine'' was created'--that Vice President Wallace explained to the American people was a granddesign for a US-Russia-China New WorldOrder founded upon principles enshrined in the Atlantic Charter, and his telling his nation's fearful citizens : '' It is vital to the United States, it is vital to China and itis vital to Russia that there be peaceful and friendly relations between Chinaand Russia, China and America and Russia and America. ''
The ''Henry Wallace Doctrine'' did, indeed,this report details, see the UnitedStates, Russia and China joining forces to defeat both Nazi Germany and the Empire of Japan'--but whose post-warplans for a lasting global peace were destroyed at the 1944Democrat Party Convention when Vice President Wallace was overthrown in a '' Deep State '' engineered coup '--acoup unable to be stopped by a severely ill PresidentFranklin Roosevelt, who died less than a year later on 12 April 1945'--thus causing the ''DeepState'' warmongering simpleton Vice President HarryTruman (whom the coup against Wallace placed in position) to ascend topower'--who quickly became the only person in human history to order atomic weapons tobe used '--thus giving us thefractured world we all live in today.
Vice President Henry Wallace warned the Americanpeople what the Democrat Party had become after they overthrew him in 1944 coup
Unlike VicePresident Henry Wallace, who accepted his ''Deep State'' engineeredcoup plot defeat, though, this report further notes, President Trump is fighting back against them with everything hehas'--most particularly because their socialist-fascist Democrat Party apparatchiks( and exactly like Wallace warned they'd do ) have embarked on an unprecedented campaign of deceitand violence to divide America bysplitting its races from one another, cause class warfare between the rich andpoor, destroy all religions and cultures, and make enemies out of every nationthey can think of'--most especially Russia.
Known by PresidentTrump about these pro-war Democratsalways lusting after power, no matter how many lives and nations they destroy,however, this report points out, is that at their core, they're all sadisticsex crazed demons'--best exampled by multi-billionaire Democrat Party mega donor JefferyEpstein'--who under the Obama-ClintonRegime was arrested for child sex trafficking'--but whose '' secret conviction '' for saw him only serving a six-month sentence wherehe only had to stay jailed a few hours a day.
Most important to note about Jeffery Epstein's ''secret conviction'', thisreport explains, is that it was overseen by US Attorney Alexander Acosta'--and about whom the Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR), on 12 August 2018 (see our report '' Most Powerful Special Counsel In America Sweeps Into ArkansasTo Remove All Hillary Clinton Evidence And Move It To Washington '' ),reported President Trump took intohis administration to place him under SecretService protection'--a protection that allowed Acosta to work with the USFederal Court that threw out Epstein's''secretconviction'''--and who, in a stunning 27-page decision issued this past Wednesday,ordered released to the public once secret documents showing who Epstein provided child sex servicesto'--that '' includes numerous prominent American politicians, powerfulbusiness executives, foreign presidents, a well - known Prime Minister, and other world leaders '''--some of whom already named include formerPresident Bill Clinton and PrinceAndrew, as well as Harvard University leftist legal professor Aland Dershowitz,former Obama-Clinton Regime Treasury Secretary and Harvard President LarrySummers and Harvard University scientist Stephen Pinker .
With DemocratParty '' child sex trafficker in chief '' JefferyEpstein now facing at least 45-years in prison for his vile and demonic crimes, this reportconcludes, this defacto life sentence behind bars in a brutal maximum securityprison now places in President Trump'shands a powerful two-edged sword to use against his enemies'--with one side of itbeing his able to expose the vast entanglement the Democrats have with child sex slavery when Epstein confesses to reduce his sentence, and the other sideexposing to the American peoples'horror how their mainstream propagandamedia have been deliberately covering up these horrific Democrat sex crimes against children for decades'--all of which British Ambassador Sir Kim Darrochfailed to calculate the full dimensions of when he began attacking Trump like a spoiled child'--but whohimself will be soon dealt with by pro-TrumpBritish Prime Minister Boris Johnsonwho's cruisingto a landslide victory against his nation's leftists'--and who is, also,vowing to '' Make Britain Great Again ''.
Democrat Party sex fiend monsters trying to destroyPresident Donald Trump can never say they weren't warned about what he's goingto do to them'--only that they didn't read his books!
July 7, 2019 (C) EU and US all rights reserved. Permission to use this report in itsentirety is granted under the condition it is linked back to its originalsource at WhatDoesItMean.Com. Freebase content licensed under CC-BY and GFDL.
[ Note :Many governments and their intelligence services actively campaign against theinformation found in these reports so as not to alarm their citizens about themany catastrophic Earth changes and events to come, a stance that the Sisters of Sorcha Faal strongly disagree with in believing that it is every human being's right toknow the truth. Due to our mission's conflicts with that of those governments,the responses of their 'agents' has been a longstandingmisinformation/misdirection campaign designed to discredit us, and others likeus, that is exampled in numerous places, including HERE .]
[ Note: The WhatDoesItMean.com website was created for anddonated to the Sisters of Sorcha Faal in 2003 by a small group of Americancomputer experts led by the late global technology guru Wayne Green(1922-2013) tocounter the propaganda being used by the West to promote their illegal 2003invasion of Iraq.]
[ Note: The word Kremlin (fortress inside a city) as used inthis report refers to Russian citadels, including in Moscow, having cathedrals wherein femaleSchema monks (Orthodox nuns) reside, many of whom are devoted to the mission ofthe Sisters of Sorcha Faal.]
A Giant Fell In America This Week'--Few Noticed, Even FewerCared
Tech Tyrant Bandwagon Pulls Into America-This Is What TerrorLooks Like
Trump Races Global Nuclear War To Finish Line As World Holds Breath
ReturnTo Main Page
PP
Planned Parenthood Terminates Presidency After Eight Months
Wed, 17 Jul 2019 04:35
Planned Parenthood announced on Tuesday that it has removed Leana Wen as president, after less than a year in the job.
Minutes after the news broke, Wen provided a statement on Twitter stating the board expected her to be more "political."
"As a physician and a public health leader, I came to Planned Parenthood to lead a national health care organization," she said to open her statement.
"I believe that the best way to protect abortion care is to be clear that it is not a political issue but a health care one, and that we can expand support for reproductive rights by finding common ground with the large majority of Americans who understand reproductive health care as the fundamental health care that it is."
My statement stepping down as President/CEO of @PPFA and President of @PPAct. pic.twitter.com/WJ3EBgJIAy
'-- Leana Wen, M.D. (@DrLeanaWen) July 16, 2019
Wen took the reins of Planned Parenthood on Nov. 12, making her tenure just over eight months long. She made it clear in her statement she was leaving "because the new Board Chairs and I have philosophical differences over the direction and future of Planned Parenthood."
She announced her departure in a tweet minutes before, stating that the pro-abortion organization fired her without her knowledge.
"I just learned that the @PPFA Board ended my employment at a secret meeting," she wrote. "We were engaged in good faith negotiations about my departure based on philosophical differences over the direction and future of Planned Parenthood. My statement to come shortly."
I just learned that the @PPFA Board ended my employment at a secret meeting. We were engaged in good faith negotiations about my departure based on philosophical differences over the direction and future of Planned Parenthood. My statement to come shortly.
'-- Leana Wen, M.D. (@DrLeanaWen) July 16, 2019
Wen's tenure was marked by a period of turbulence for the pro-choice movement, coinciding with a series of pro-life gains, including legislation that would increase restrictions on abortion in Ohio, Alabama, Indiana, Louisiana and Missouri.
Wen replaced former Planned Parenthood president Cecile Richards in a shakeup that followed key pro-life gains, including the nomination process for Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh. Wen oversaw an attempt to rebrand the organization as women's health provider rather than solely an abortion provider.
Wen will be replaced by Alexis McGill Johnson, who serves on Planned Parenthood's board, according to the New York Times.
Later Tuesday, Wen published a longer statement on Twitter, calling her colleagues her "heroes." But she added that the Planned Parenthood board differed from her on whether the main point of Planned Parenthood was healthcare or abortion advocacy.
"The new Board leadership has determined that the priority of Planned Parenthood moving forward will be to double down on abortion advocacy," she said.
To all my colleagues at Planned Parenthood, the tens of thousands of dedicated people who are on the frontlines every day, providing life-saving, life-transforming care and fighting to protect access to that care: you are my heroes. Thank you for what you do. pic.twitter.com/6N4RMiTQAG
'-- Leana Wen, M.D. (@DrLeanaWen) July 16, 2019
Updated 5:20 p.m.: This post was updated after Wen tweeted a longer statement.
Nic Rowan is media analyst at the Washington Free Beacon. His work has also appeared in the Wall Street Journal, First Things, and The New Criterion. Follow him on Twitter @NicXTempore.
MeToo
Prosecutors Drop Sexual Assault Case Against Kevin Spacey - The New York Times
Wed, 17 Jul 2019 21:42
Arts | Prosecutors Drop Sexual Assault Case Against Kevin Spacey BREAKING
A young man who had accused Mr. Spacey of fondling him at a Nantucket restaurant had invoked the Fifth Amendment during a hearing, putting the prosecution in jeopardy.
Image Kevin Spacey arriving at the courthouse in Nantucket, Mass., earlier this year. He had been accused of sexually assaulting an 18-year-old in 2016, but prosecutors dropped the charge on Wednesday. Credit Credit Steven Senne/Associated Press Prosecutors in Massachusetts on Wednesday dropped a sexual assault charge against the actor Kevin Spacey, bringing an abrupt close to one of the few criminal cases of the #MeToo era.
Mr. Spacey, 59, had been accused of fondling an 18-year-old man at a Nantucket restaurant three years ago. In recent weeks, there had been signs that the case against Mr. Spacey was in jeopardy. Last month, the accuser's lawyer said that a smartphone at the center of the case had gone missing, and this month, the accuser dropped a lawsuit against Mr. Spacey only six days after filing it.
Problems for the prosecution came to a head last week when Mr. Spacey's accuser invoked the Fifth Amendment during a hearing over his missing phone. After the young man refused to continue his testimony, a Nantucket District Court judge speculated about whether the prosecution was still viable.
In a court filing, Michael O'Keefe, a prosecutor with the Cape and Islands District Attorney's Office, wrote that the office was dropping the prosecution ''due to the unavailability of the complaining witness.''
The Nantucket case was one of a series of sexual misconduct allegations against Mr. Spacey that came to light in the early days of the #MeToo movement, which followed revelations about the behavior of the Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein. Numerous powerful men have lost their jobs after people they harassed or assaulted felt emboldened to speak out; Mr. Spacey's acting career came to a sudden halt, with ''House of Cards'' cutting him out of the final season.
But the accusation out of Nantucket was the only one against Mr. Spacey that resulted in criminal prosecution, and other than a coming trial against Mr. Weinstein in Manhattan involving two women, few other #MeToo cases have been brought in the United States. In most instances, the alleged acts were either too old to prosecute or did not rise to the level of a criminal offense.
Mr. Spacey's accuser had reported to the police that in July 2016, when he was 18 and working as a busboy at the Club Car, he asked to be introduced to Mr. Spacey one night after his shift ended.
After he and Mr. Spacey had several drinks, the young man said, they began to sing together at the piano. The accuser said that Mr. Spacey had been trying to get him to come home with him, and that while they were standing by the piano, Mr. Spacey unzipped his pants and rubbed his penis for about three minutes, according to a police report.
When Mr. Spacey went to the bathroom, the young man told a woman at the bar that he thought Mr. Spacey was trying to rape him, and when she told him to leave, he ran home, according to the man's account to the police.
Mr. Spacey was charged in December 2018 with one count of indecent assault and battery. He had pleaded not guilty and his lawyer, Alan Jackson, argued that the encounter with Mr. Spacey was ''consensual flirtation.'' Mr. Jackson wrote in a court filing that the accuser ''concocted and exaggerated elements of a story to impress his friends.''
During the criminal court proceedings, the defense focused its efforts on obtaining the smartphone that the young man used the night of the alleged assault. Throughout the night, he had been texting his girlfriend updates on what he said was happening. At one point, according to court documents, he texted her that Mr. Spacey had grabbed his penis ''like eight times.''
Mr. Jackson said that records of the text conversation between the accuser and his girlfriend appeared to be incomplete, suggesting that the accuser had deleted messages that could prove Mr. Spacey's innocence. A group chat between the accuser and several friends also appeared to be incomplete and edited, Mr. Jackson wrote in court filings.
A Nantucket District Court judge granted the defense's request to obtain the accuser's physical smartphone so they could examine it forensically. But shortly before the phone was supposed to be produced, the accuser's lawyer said it was missing.
At the hearing about the missing phone last week, the accuser and his parents denied that they had manipulated screenshots of texts messages from the night of the alleged assault before handing them over to police. When Mr. Jackson was told the accuser that he could be charged with a felony for deleting evidence, the young man invoked his constitutional right to protect himself from self-incrimination.
The Nantucket case became public in fall 2017 after the accuser's mother, Heather Unruh, a former television news anchor in Boston, disclosed her son's story at a news conference and asked the unidentified woman who told her son to flee the Club Car to step forward. That news conference came soon after Mr. Spacey was publicly accused of sexual misconduct for the first time. In a BuzzFeed article, the actor Anthony Rapp accused Mr. Spacey of sexually assaulting him in 1986, when Mr. Rapp was 14. No criminal charges stemmed from that case.
Brittany Bowker contributed reporting from Nantucket, Mass.
The Prosecution of Kevin Spacey
EuroLand
Christine Lagarde steps down as IMF chief, to take up ECB post | News | DW | 16.07.2019
Tue, 16 Jul 2019 19:01
Christine Lagarde has stepped down as managing director of the International Monetary Fund, saying she now has more clarity on her nomination to be the next head of the European Central Bank.
Christine Lagarde announced on Tuesday she had submitted her resignation from the global lender, saying she had more clarity about her nomination to be the next head of the European Central Bank (ECB).
"With greater clarity now on the process for my nomination as ECB President and the time it will take, I have made this decision in the best interest of the Fund," Lagarde said in a statement.
Read more: What are the top EU jobs and who decides on them?
Lagarde's resignation comes two weeks after she was nominated to be the first woman president of the European Central Bank on July 2 by the eurozone's 19 member governments. She said her resignation will be effective from September 12.
Lagarde has already given up her day-to-day duties as head of the IMF, and the international lending agency has named a top deputy, David Lipton, as acting managing director.
A former French finance minister, Lagarde was the first woman to head the IMF and was known among policymakers as a tough negotiator. She took over the IMF in 2011 after her predecessor, Dominique Strauss-Kahn, had to step down following sexual assault allegations. Her second five-year term as head of the IMF was not due to end until July 2021.
Another European head?
Lagarde's resignation now opens the way for the international financial institution to look for a replacement. Traditionally, the post has always been held by a European, while the head of the IMF's sister organization, the World Bank, has always been an American since the institutions were created at the end of World War II.
As head of the IMF, Lagarde coordinated large bailout loans for troubled EU nations like Greece, in concert with the ECB and the European Union. She also advocated the benefits of trade, global growth and women's empowerment.
Read more: European Central Bank keeps interest rates at record low
The European Parliament will hold a vote on the next ECB chief, but its outcome is not binding, and Lagarde's appointment will be finalized by EU leaders at a regular summit on October 17-18.
If approved, she would take over as ECB president from Mario Draghi on October 31.
Draghi has pushed the ECB's benchmark interest rate to record lows near zero and has spent '¬2.6 trillion ($2.91 trillion) on European financial assets in an effort to boost growth and inflation. At the ECB, Lagarde would face the challenge of having to stimulate inflation and growth.
Lagarde's decision to resign comes on the eve of a meeting of the G7 finance ministers in Chantilly, France.
US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin is scheduled to meet with Bank of England Governor Mark Carney '-- a leading candidate to replace Lagarde '-- on Wednesday evening on the sidelines of the meeting.
Other names being floated include Bank of Finland Governor Olli Rehn, as well as Germany's Bundesbank President Jens Weidmann, and ECB executive board member Benoit Coeure.
sri/ng (Reuters, AP)
Every evening at 1830 UTC, DW's editors send out a selection of the day's hard news and quality feature journalism. You can sign up to receive it directly here.
Build the Wall
Little evidence of massive ICE raids as immigrants, advocates brace for their arrival
Sun, 14 Jul 2019 20:47
There was little evidence of massive immigration raids across the nation on Sunday as immigrant communities prepared for their arrival.
It was unclear Sunday afternoon whether the planned raids, which are expected to target thousands of immigrants in as many as 10 cities, were underway, with no reports of large-scale enforcement operations.
Two senior Department of Homeland Security officials told NBC News last week that the raids, which had been postponed several weeks ago, were scheduled to take place on Sunday.
The administration altered its plans from a large-scale sweep to a smaller set of arrests over the coming week after news reports informed immigrant communities about the raids, The New York Times reported Sunday, citing several current and former Department of Homeland Security officials familiar with the operation.
Ruthie Epstein, the deputy director for immigration policy at the American Civil Liberties Union, told NBC News that the group had not heard anything from its networks as of Sunday afternoon, but were closely monitoring the situation.
In New York City, Mayor Bill de Blasio said Sunday afternoon that there was "literally no activity yet today" on the expected raids.
"At this moment, nothing," he said.
There were three confirmed situations involving Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents on Saturday, he said. It was unclear if those incidents were part of the planned nationwide raids.
"We're convinced that's what it was," de Blasio said, adding that the agents did not find the individuals they were seeking.
De Blasio tweeted Saturday that his office received reports of "reportedly unsuccessful ICE enforcement actions" in the neighborhoods of Harlem and Sunset Park. Volunteers also handed out flyers in those neighborhoods explaining immigrants' rights.
Receiving reports of attempted but reportedly unsuccessful ICE enforcement actions in Sunset Park and Harlem.@NYCImmigrants and advocates are connecting with residents and distributing resources door to door.Remember: you have rights. Call 311 and say ActionNYC for help. pic.twitter.com/OZwpxlm30d
'-- Mayor Bill de Blasio (@NYCMayor) July 13, 2019 Volunteers handing out Know Your Rights fliers in different languages to a pastor in Sunset Park, Brooklyn, where Mayor's office said @ICEgov was knocking on doors yesterday but didn't arrest anyone. @WNYC pic.twitter.com/4pLdMOXt6G
'-- Beth Fertig (@bethfertig) July 14, 2019Melissa Chua, associate director of immigrant protection at the New York Legal Assistance Group, said Sunday that her group and its partners had not heard any reported raids in New York City as of the early afternoon.
Trump administration defends raidsTrump administration officials earlier Sunday defended the need for planned immigration raids even as they remained tight-lipped about details on the widespread action.
Ken Cuccinelli, acting director of U.S. Customs and Immigration Services, said Sunday on CNN's "State of the Union" that he would not divulge any operational details of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids, additionally choosing not to answer a question about whether immigrant families will be separated.
"In the same way I wasn't willing to talk about operational details, that would be an operational detail that I'm not going to comment on," he said. "There are a million people, including families, with removal orders. They're '-- the priority remains for ICE to get at criminals."
Cuccinelli emphasized that the agency was prioritizing violent criminals, as opposed to the undocumented immigrant population in general.
ICE did not respond to requests for comment about the expoected raids.
Acting ICE Director Matt Albence told Fox News on Sunday that while he would not discuss the specifics of the raids, the agency is "doing targeted enforcement actions against specific individuals who have had their day in immigration court and have been ordered to be removed by an immigration judge."
Asked on "Fox News Sunday" how many people ICE is targeting, White House counselor Kellyanne Conway also said she wouldn't "discuss operational details" and added that ICE "does this every single day; it's called enforcement action."
Communities brace for enforcement actionMeanwhile, community organizations began to make preparations for the expected raids. In Houston, a string of churches, a number of them African American, opened their doors for anyone wanting to take refuge. The churches also assembled supplies to deliver to families too afraid to leave their residences for groceries or other necessities.
R.C. Stearns, a pastor at Living Water International Apostolic Ministries, said Saturday that he and other church leaders are offering the refuge because ''it's what Christ would do.''
Stearns said he and others were praying that the president would have a change of heart.
In the weeks since Trump announced planned raids, and then delayed them, Congress passed a $4.6 billion emergency spending bill to provide resources and support for the influx of asylum-seekers on the southern border.
''We're in the midst of food, water, baby supplies, household utensils and a place of refuge," Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, D-Texas, said at a news conference Saturday announcing the churches' preparations. "We are standing with pastors who have committed to opening their doors if there are people who are in jeopardy where they are.''
''This order of mass deportation is being used as a political toy,'' she said.
Allan Smith Allan Smith is a political reporter for NBC News.
Daniella Silva is a reporter for NBC News, specializing in immigration and inclusion issues, as well as coverage of Latin America.
Suzanne Gamboa Suzanne Gamboa is a national reporter for NBC Latino and NBCNews.com
ICE Launches Low-Key Raids Targeting Migrant Families - The New York Times
Sun, 14 Jul 2019 20:51
Image Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents during a 2018 raid to arrest an undocumented immigrant in Brooklyn. Credit Credit John Moore/Getty Images Coordinated federal raids targeting undocumented migrant parents and their children began over the weekend, part of President Trump's pledge to swiftly enforce deportation orders against thousands of recently arrived migrants who are not eligible to remain in the country.
Only a handful of arrests appeared to take place, and they were reported in only a few cities. That was much different than the nationwide show of force that had originally been planned, in which Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents were expected to fan out in unison on Sunday morning across immigrant communities in major cities. But the authorities said that more arrests would follow through the week.
The plans were changed at the last minute because of news reports that had tipped off immigrant communities about what to expect, according to several current and former Department of Homeland Security officials familiar with the operation. Instead of a larger simultaneous sweep, the authorities made a secondary plan for a smaller and more diffuse scale of arrests rolling out over roughly a week, giving individual ICE field offices discretion to decide when to begin.
The first reports came in on Friday and Saturday. In Chicago, a mother was a arrested with her daughters, but that family was immediately released under an agreement to be closely supervised, according to a person familiar with the operation.
In New York, two ''ICE enforcement attempts'' were reported on Saturday in the Sunset Park area of Brooklyn, with a third incident in Harlem, according to the New York Mayor's Office of Immigration Affairs. ''No arrests were made to our knowledge,'' the office said in a statement.
An additional operation was reported in Florida.
The immigration authorities planned to continue making arrests throughout the week. They identified at least 2,000 targets of the operation, but may ultimately arrest far fewer. In most such operations in the past, only 20 to 30 percent of the targets have been apprehended.
Image A volunteer with the Georgia Latino Alliance for Human Rights handed out fliers in Atlanta on Sunday to inform people of their rights when faced with ICE or law enforcement officers. The headline warns readers to ''Watch out!'' Credit Melissa Golden for The New York Times Because agents cannot legally use force to enter the homes of their targets, they rely on the element of surprise to be successful, suggesting that the current, highly publicized operation could yield an even smaller proportion of arrests.
The operation is one of the first to target not just undocumented adults, but parents and children who are part of the recent wave of migrant families that have arrived from Central America and elsewhere on the southern border, many of them seeking asylum from violence in their home countries.
All of those targeted have been issued orders of deportation. Many were ordered deported because they failed to appear in immigration court as directed, though migrant lawyers say that a large number of recent arrivals were not informed of their court dates and did not know where or when to appear.
Arrests were planned in nearly a dozen cities.
The operation was originally scheduled for late June, but it was postponed after harsh opposition from Democratic lawmakers and immigrant advocates. Mr. Trump confirmed on Friday that it would go ahead over the weekend.
''They're going to take people out and they're going to bring them back to their countries,'' the president said. ''Or they're going to take criminals out, put them in prison, or put them in prison in the countries they came from.''
Millions of people live in the United States without documentation, but the plan for the raids was formulated out of Mr. Trump's frustration over the record numbers of migrant families who have been arriving from Central America, beginning in the fall and increasing since then. June was the first month this year in which arrivals decreased. The 28 percent drop that month was probably caused by the rising summer heat and the Trump administration's pressure on Mexico to hold back migrants seeking to travel through that country.
''This is about the rule of law,'' Mark Morgan, the acting commissioner of Customs and Border Protection, told Fox & Friends on Sunday. ''Those individuals who remain here illegally, especially those who've received due process more than any other nation in the world would provide someone that came here illegally, to include those with final orders, that there are consequences to those that remain here illegally. That's what today is about.''
Image A protester against the deportation raids took demonstrated on Sunday outside an Amazon warehouse in Elizabeth, N.J. Credit Sarah Blesener for The New York Times Despite the operation's low-key rollout, the threat of arrests was enough to spark fear and upend weekend plans for many undocumented immigrations, with fears spreading that the raids could sweep in far more people than just the targeted recent arrivals.
Many were hunkering down indoors, or went into hiding to stay as far as possible from the addresses that the federal authorities had on file for them.
One family canceled a vacation to Florida on the advice of their lawyer, who had said that traveling could put the father, who is living in the country illegally, at risk.
Norelia Sanchez, an immigrant family support worker with the Redlands Christian Migrant Association in Immokalee, Fla., said local residents called her at 6 a.m. on Friday when ICE agents were spotted ''knocking door by door'' in the town, a modest agricultural community of about 25,000 people about 40 miles east of Naples.
Some parents called the center's offices and said they were too scared to send their children to summer day care and education programs. ''The ones who did, you could actually see mothers with children, holding their hands, holding their cellphones, and they were literally running to the school,'' Ms. Sanchez said.
During immigration enforcement operations, many immigrants turn to their cellphones and computers to monitor the location of agents based on social media reports, trying to keep themselves safe.
Ahead of the raids, immigrant advocates tried to do their own detective work, attempting to ferret out where and how the arrests would be conducted. In Atlanta, lawyers began posting on social media based on a report that ICE agents had rented 40 minivans for the week, a rumor that quickly spread but remained unconfirmed.
Image A worker prepared a box of donated food at Living Water Apostolic Ministry in Houston. The church, which assembles donations for military veterans and the homeless, is also making preparations for people seeking sanctuary from Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents. Credit Ilana Panich-Linsman for The New York Times Immigration authorities, when possible, were planning to house any migrant families detained at detention centers in Texas and Pennsylvania specially equipped to deal with families. But because of space limitations, some were expected to be booked into hotel rooms until their travel documents could be prepared, ICE officials said. The agency's goal is to deport the families as quickly as possible.
There were a large number of deportations during the Obama administration, but they mainly involved single adults who had been convicted of crimes.
''During Obama, the overwhelming majority of enforcement actions targeted criminal aliens,'' said John Cohen, former acting under secretary at the Department of Homeland Security during the Obama administration. ''This operation apparently specifically targets families who for the most part present no risk.''
Four nonprofit groups represented by the American Civil Liberties Union filed a lawsuit in New York seeking a court order blocking the operation. In the lawsuit, the lawyers claim that many of the migrants failed to appear for their scheduled appearances in immigration court because border agency officials had failed to inform them of their court dates.
Other advocacy groups have been mobilizing for weeks, disseminating information to anyone who may be targeted about how to avoid being arrested and what to do if it happens anyway.
While ICE agents must wait for their targets to come outside of their homes voluntarily in order to arrest them, they are expected to come prepared with common tactics they have used in the past to coax their targets into cooperating. For example, agents often carry decoy photos, holding them up to the windows of migrants who are being targeted and pretending to be looking for someone else, to persuade them to open the door.
Agents also sometimes claim to be police officers responding to calls about domestic disturbances or gas leaks. They also have used social media to capture targets by making fake accounts on online dating websites and arranging rendezvous.
Mr. Cohen, the former acting under secretary of Homeland Security, said the raids were impractical and not likely to improve the situation at the border '-- where holding facilities have been overrun recently, and as a result, migrants have been living in substandard and sometimes unhealthy conditions.
Correction:July 14, 2019Because of an editing error, an earlier version gave an out-of-date title for Mark Morgan. He is the acting commissioner of Customs and Border Protection, not the acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Contributing reporting were Zolan Kanno-Youngs and Chris Cameron in Washington, Max Blau in Atlanta and Andrea Salcedo in New York.
Trump administration will place 'new bar' on asylum for immigrants crossing southern border '-- RT USA News
Mon, 15 Jul 2019 14:44
The Trump administration announced new restrictions on asylum applications from immigrants traveling to the US through Mexico, the latest move in an immigration crackdown.
According to a new rule added to the Federal Register, asylum seekers who pass through another ''safe'' country en route to the United States will be ineligible for asylum at the US border. The rule is expected to come into effect on Thursday.
Though there are some exceptions, the rule looks likely to end the procession of Central American migrants journeying through Mexico to the US to claim asylum. 2018 saw several thousands-strong 'caravans' of Central American migrants stream towards the US' southern border, with US authorities processing nearly 100,000 asylum claims at the frontier, and arresting a total of 521,000 illegal immigrants.
Also on rt.com Go back to your crime infested countries and Pelosi will pay for it '' Trump to progressive Dems Though the new rule comes days after the Trump administration instructed Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents to conduct sweeping deportation raids in major cities, President Donald Trump has been weighing its introduction since May. As an interim measure, the rule is likely to be challenged in the courts.
At present, immigration courts are backlogged by more than 800,000 cases, meaning most asylum seekers will have to wait months or years for a decision on their claims. President Trump has railed against the current system that sees immigrants released into the US to await their court date, and called on Democrats in Congress to ''fix the loopholes'' in the country's immigration law.
Democrats, however, have clashed with the Trump administration over conditions at its overcrowded detention facilities. A Department of Homeland Security report released earlier this month found near double overcrowding, sick detainees, and a shortage of food and hygiene products. After touring the facilities, Democratic lawmakers, including hotshot New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, decried the conditions within.
Now I'm on my way to Clint, where the Trump admin was denying children toothpaste and soap.This has been horrifying so far. It is hard to understate the enormity of the problem. We're talking systemic cruelty w/ a dehumanizing culture that treats them like animals.
'-- Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) July 1, 2019For his part, Trump has lashed out at Ocasio-Cortez and her fellow left-leaning Democrats, roasting their views on immigration, his policies, and Israel. Shortly after the new asylum restrictions were announced, Trump called the lawmakers ''a bunch of Communists'' who ''hate our own country,'' quoting South Carolina Republican Senator Lindsey Graham.
Subscribe to RT newsletter to get stories the mainstream media won't tell you.
UT Austin to give free tuition to low-income students...and illegal immigrants
Wed, 17 Jul 2019 18:26
Celine Ryan Investigative Reporter @celinedryan on Jul 15, 2019 at 10:27 AM EDT The University of Texas at Austin will raise the threshold for household income that will afford a student free tuition from $30,000 to $65,000.School spokesman J.B. Bird told Campus Reform that ''in keeping with state law, students are not asked about their immigration status."The University of Texas at Austin is giving out free tuition, but only to students whose families make less than or equal to $65,000, including non-citizens and illegal immigrants. Other students are eligible for some financial help, but not complete coverage.
In early July, UT Austin announced the program, which will begin in 2020 and is referred to by the university as an ''investment in the future for students.''
''In keeping with state law, students are not asked about their immigration status"
The university's Board of Regents voted to establish a $160 million endowment via Texas' Permanent University Fund. This endowment will be used to cover the full tuition cost of approximately 8,600 undergraduates whose households earn no more than $65,000 per year and the partial tuition of another 5,700 students with household incomes up to $125,000.
[RELATED: Immigration experts: In-state tuition for illegal aliens violates Clinton-era federal law]
''Our main focus at the UT system is our students. That's it, that's what we're in business for is to provide an affordable, accessible education for our students,'' UT system board chair Kevin Eltife said, according to The Texas Tribune. ''We all know the struggles that hardworking families are having putting their kids through school. What we've done here is repurposed an endowment into another endowment that will provide tuition assistance to a lot of the working families in Texas.''
UT was already covering tuition costs for students with a household income of $30,000 or lower.
UT Austin spokesman J.B. Bird told Campus Reform that as a result of state law, these benefits will also be afforded to illegal immigrants so long as they have graduated from a Texas high school. ''In keeping with state law, students are not asked about their immigration status,'' Bird added. He referenced SB 1403, a Texas state law, which he characterized as having ''provided equal access to higher education for graduates of state public high schools, regardless of their immigration status.''
[RELATED: VIDEO: Eighteen states offer in-state tuition for illegals...and legal resident students are NOT happy about that]
''There is no greater engine of social and economic mobility than a college degree, and this initiative ensures that more Texans will benefit from a high-quality UT Austin education,'' UT Chancellor James B. Milliken said, adding that ''the use of Permanent University Funds to invest directly in students demonstrates the strong commitment of the Board of Regents and UT Austin to the values of public higher education.''
Follow the author of this article on Twitter: @celinedryan
War on Drugs
Police: Flushing drugs could create 'meth gators' in Alabama | WATE
Tue, 16 Jul 2019 12:04
Posted: Jul 15, 2019 / 10:55 PM EDT / Updated: Jul 15, 2019 / 10:55 PM EDT
LORETTO, Tenn. (WCMH) '-- Police arrested a Tennessee man Saturday as he allegedly tried to flush several grams of methamphetamine down the toilet, something they jokingly said could create 'meth gators' down river in Alabama.
Police in Loretto, Tennessee served a search warrant early Saturday morning. They said they found suspected drug dealer Andy Perry in the bathroom attempting to flush several grams of meth along with several items of paraphernalia.
He was unsuccessful in his attempt to flush the drugs.
Police said they found 12 grams of meth and 24 fluid ounces of liquid meth in the home.
Perry was arrested and charged with possession of Schedule II meth for resale, possession of drug paraphernalia and tampering with evidence.
In a Facebook post, police addressed the issue of flushing drugs down the toilet.
On a more or less serious note: Folks'...please don't flush your drugs m'kay. When you send something down the sewer pipe it ends up in our retention ponds for processing before it is sent down stream. Now our sewer guys take great pride in releasing water that is cleaner than what is in the creek, but they are not really prepared for meth. Ducks, Geese, and other fowl frequent our treatment ponds and we shudder to think what one all hyped up on meth would do. Furthermore, if it made it far enough we could create meth-gators in Shoal Creek and the Tennessee River down in North Alabama. They've had enough methed up animals the past few weeks without our help. So, if you need to dispose of your drugs just give us a call and we will make sure they are disposed of in the proper way.
Clips
VIDEO - US Treasury has 'serious concerns' over Facebook's Libra - YouTube
VIDEO - Brexit: UK 'will have to face consequences' in event of no deal - BBC News
Thu, 18 Jul 2019 12:08
Media playback is unsupported on your device
Media caption Michel Barnier says Theresa May and her ministers never threatened to leave without a deal during negotiationsThe UK will have to "face the consequences" if it opts to leave without a deal, the EU's chief Brexit negotiator has said.
Michel Barnier told BBC Panorama the thrice-rejected agreement negotiated by Theresa May was the "only way to leave the EU in an orderly manner".
He also insisted Mrs May and her ministers "never" told him during Brexit talks she might opt for no deal.
Publicly, Mrs May has always insisted no deal is better than a bad deal.
Meanwhile, the Office for Budget Responsibility has said the UK will fall into recession next year if there is a no-deal Brexit.
The fiscal watchdog said economic growth would fall by 2% by the end of 2020 if it left the bloc without an agreement.
'Not impressed by threat'In his first UK broadcast interview - conducted in May before the start of the Conservative leadership contest - Mr Barnier was asked what would happen if the UK "just tore up the membership card" for the EU.
"The UK will have to face the consequences," he replied.
Asked whether the UK had ever genuinely threatened to leave in such a way with no deal, Mr Barnier said: "I think that the UK side, which is well informed and competent and knows the way we work on the EU side, knew from the very beginning that we've never been impressed by such a threat.
"It's not useful to use it."
Panorama: Britain's Brexit Crisis will be broadcast on Thursday at 21:00 BST.
Conservative Party leadership contender Jeremy Hunt told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that the fact the EU "never believed that no deal was a credible threat" was "one of our mistakes in the last two years".
He said while there will be economic consequences to no deal, "we are much better prepared for no deal than we were before".
He said the issue of the Northern Ireland border could be solved with "existing technology" and the controversial Irish backstop, which aims to prevent a hard border on the island of Ireland, "isn't going to happen".
Former Tory leader Iain Duncan Smith, a key figure in Boris Johnson's leadership campaign, accused Mr Barnier of trying to "threaten" the UK.
He said Mr Barnier's remarks were an indictment of Britain's negotiating strategy and showed "how useless" Mrs May's approach had been.
Leadership frontrunner Mr Johnson was asked for an interview by Panorama, but he declined.
Image copyright EPA Elsewhere in the programme, Mrs May's de facto deputy David Lidington revealed that a senior EU official made a secret offer to the UK to put Brexit on hold for five years and negotiate a "new deal for Europe".
Mr Lidington said the offer was passed on in 2018 by Martin Selmayr, a senior aide to EU Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker.
"Martin sort of said, 'Look, why don't we have a deal whereby we just put all this on ice for five years?'
"Let's see how things go, let's get the UK involved with France and Germany, let's see how the dust settles and let's talk about whether we can come to a new deal for Europe.'"
In his own interview for the programme - also recorded in May - Mr Selmayr said he was "very certain" the UK was not ready to leave without a deal before the original Brexit deadline in March this year.
"We have seen what has been prepared on our side of the border for a hard Brexit. We don't see the same level of preparation on the other side of the border," he added.
Media playback is unsupported on your device
Media caption Timmermans: "It's like Lance Corporal Jones: 'Don't panic, don't panic'... running around like idiots"In another interview for the programme, the EU Commission's First Vice-President, Frans Timmermans, said UK ministers were "running around like idiots" when they arrived to negotiate Brexit in 2017.
Mr Timmermans said while he expected a "Harry Potter-like book of tricks" from ministers, instead they were like a character from from Dad's Army.
In an interview in March 2019 with the BBC's Nick Robinson, Mr Timmermans said he found it "shocking" how unprepared the UK team was when it began negotiations.
"We thought they are so brilliant," he said. "That in some vault somewhere in Westminster there will be a Harry Potter-like book with all the tricks and all the things in it to do."
But after seeing the then-Brexit Secretary David Davis - who resigned over his disagreements with the deal - speaking in public, his mind changed.
"I saw him not coming, not negotiating, grandstanding elsewhere [and] I thought, 'Oh my God, they haven't got a plan, they haven't got a plan.'
"That was really shocking, frankly, because the damage if you don't have a plan...
"Time's running out and you don't have a plan. It's like Lance Corporal Jones, you know, 'Don't panic, don't panic!' Running around like idiots."
'Playing games'Mr Timmermans - interviewed two months before Mrs May announced her resignation - also criticised Boris Johnson's approach to Brexit negotiations from when they began.
"Perhaps I am being a bit harsh, but it is about time we became a bit harsh. I am not sure he was being genuine," he said.
"I have always had the impression he is playing games."
Negotiations between the UK and EU began in 2017 after Prime Minister Theresa May triggered the Article 50 process to leave the bloc.
At the end of 2018, a withdrawal agreement was settled between the two sides and EU officials said the matter was closed.
But MPs voted against the plan three times, which led to a number of delays to the exit date - now set for 31 October.
VIDEO - Rand Paul Blocks Fast-Tracked 9-11 Responders Aid Bill | Crooks and Liars
Thu, 18 Jul 2019 11:51
Earlier today, Senator Rand Paul blocked an attempt to pass a bipartisan bill to fund the 9/11 victims' compensation fund, blaming the rising federal debt.
I guess the heroes of 9/11 do not get the same courtesy as corporate fat cats and the rich since Senator Paul voted to pass Donald Trump's tax cuts for the rich with nary an objection over the national debt and which has added about $1 trillion to the deficit.
But for the men and women suffering? Rand Paul needs more time to debate the issue.
"It has long been my feeling that we need to address our massive debt in this country,'' he said. ''We have a $22 trillion debt. We're adding debt at about $1 trillion a year. Therefore, any new spending that we are approaching, any new program that is going to have the longevity of 70 or 80 years should be offset by cutting spending that is less valuable. We should at least be having this debate.''
Paul's objection forces the Senate to go through more procedural steps and votes to pass the compensation bill.
As Rush Limbaugh just admitted, "Nobody is a fiscal conservative anymore."
I guess that's not quite true. "Nobody is a fiscal conservative anymore" when it comes to corporations and the very wealthy but for working-class Americans, you are still screwed by Republicans.
Rand Paul, go frell yourself.
VIDEO - Dimon plays down Facebook's cryptocurrency experiment in call
Thu, 18 Jul 2019 11:39
Jamie Dimon, Chairman and CEO of JP Morgan Chase speaking at the New York Economic Club on Jan. 16th, 2019.
Adam Jeffery | CNBC
Jamie Dimon isn't losing sleep over Facebook's bid to create a new global financial system.
When asked on Tuesday about Facebooks' Libra cryptocurrency project, which has been lambasted recently by President Trump and his administration, the J.P. Morgan Chase CEO replied that he didn't see it as a near-term threat.
"To put it in perspective, we've been talking about blockchain for 7 years and very little has happened," Dimon said during a conference call with analysts. "We're going to be talking about Libra three years from now. I wouldn't spend too much time on it."
Of course, Dimon is making his own bet on a digital coin that could transform the global payments landscape: JPM Coin. That effort, reported first in February by CNBC, would remain within the regulated confines of the biggest U.S. bank.
After Facebook, which controls the world's biggest social network, announced its Libra project last month, central banks and elected officials around the world expressed concern. Last week, President Trump tweeted that if the tech giant wants to do banking activities, it must submit to banking regulations.
Dimon added Tuesday that he believes that any new efforts will have to conform to the industry's rigorous anti-money laundering rules instigated after the financial crisis.
"We don't mind competition," Dimon said. "The request is always going to be the same: We want a level playing field. And governments are going to insist that people who hold money or move money all live according to rules where they have the right controls in place; no-one wants to aid and abet terrorism or criminal activities."
The Senate Banking Committee is holding hearings on Libra Tuesday.
WATCH: Former FTC commissioner says Libra's risks don't overshadow opportunities
VIDEO - Jon Stewart Eviscerates Rand Paul on Fox News for Blocking 9/11 Victim Funding: 'It's an Abomination'
Thu, 18 Jul 2019 11:29
One month ago, former Daily Show host Jon Stewart went on Fox News to shame Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell for failing to protect 9/11 first responders.
Wednesday afternoon, he was back on that network to give the other Republican senator from Kentucky a piece of his mind.
In an interview with Bret Baier, Stewart immediately took aim at Rand Paul who, along with Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT), blocked a Senate bill that would extend the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund, making the case that it should be offset by other spending cuts.
Responding directly to Paul, Stewart called his objection ''absolutely outrageous,'' adding, ''Pardon me if I'm not impressed in any way by Rand Paul's fiscal responsibility virtue signaling.''
Stewart went on to condemn Paul for supporting President Trump's $1.5 trillion tax cut that ''added hundreds of billions of dollars to our deficit'' and now trying to ''balance the budget on the backs of the 9/11 first responder community.''
''Bret, this is about what kind of society we have,'' a clearly furious Stewart continued. ''At some point, we have to stand up for the people who have always stood up for us, and at this moment in time maybe cannot stand up for themselves due to their illnesses and their injuries. And what Rand Paul did today on the floor of the Senate was outrageous.''
''He is a guy who put us in hundreds of billions of dollars in debt,'' he said of Paul. ''And now he's going to tell us that a billion dollars a year over 10 years is just too much for us to handle? You know, there are some things that they have no trouble putting on the credit card, but somehow when it comes to the 9/11 first responder community'--the cops, the firefighters, the construction workers, the volunteers, the survivors'--all of a sudden we've got to go through this.''
Appearing next to Stewart was 9/11 first responder and activist John Feal, who thanked the host and Fox News as a whole for being so ''generous'' with their time on this issue before calling Senators Paul and Lee ''bottom-feeders'' who ''lack humanity'' and ''lack leadership.''
Stewart said survivors like Feal and others shouldn't have to ''drag themselves back to Washington, put their hats in their hands and beg for something that this country should have done 14 years ago,'' adding, ''It's an abomination.''
VIDEO - DocRock1007 ðºð¸ on Twitter: "13. Reposting the #QAnon baby clip which twitter crashed w/o explanation. #Q #QBaby #qbaby'... "
Thu, 18 Jul 2019 11:07
Welcome home! This timeline is where you'll spend most of your time, getting instant updates about what matters to you.
Tweets not working for you? Hover over the profile pic and click the Following button to unfollow any account.
Say a lot with a little When you see a Tweet you love, tap the heart '-- it lets the person who wrote it know you shared the love.
Spread the word The fastest way to share someone else's Tweet with your followers is with a Retweet. Tap the icon to send it instantly.
Join the conversation Add your thoughts about any Tweet with a Reply. Find a topic you're passionate about, and jump right in.
Learn the latest Get instant insight into what people are talking about now.
Get more of what you love Follow more accounts to get instant updates about topics you care about.
Find what's happening See the latest conversations about any topic instantly.
Never miss a Moment Catch up instantly on the best stories happening as they unfold.
VIDEO - Rashida Tlaib says Pelosi's singling out of 'the squad' led to death threats
Thu, 18 Jul 2019 11:02
| July 17, 2019 10:59 AM
Democratic Rep. Rashida Tlaib partly blamed House Speaker Nancy Pelosi for the death threats directed at a group of minority congresswomen.
''The fact of the knowledge is, and I've done racial justice work in our country for a long time, acknowledge the fact that we are women of color, so when you do single us out, be aware of that, and what you're doing. Especially because some of us are getting death threats. Because some of us are being singled out in many ways because of our backgrounds, because of our experiences and so forth,'' the Michigan lawmaker said in an interview that aired Wednesday on CBS This Morning.
Pelosi said earlier this month the group of congresswomen, known as ''the squad,'' had little influence in the House after they voted against a border funding bill.
New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said Pelosi's comments ''singling out newly elected women of color'' were ''outright disrespectful.''
President Trump then weighed in on the clash, telling the group, which also includes Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar and Massachusetts Rep. Ayanna Pressley, to ''go back'' to the countries they came from. Only Omar was born outside of the U.S.
VIDEO - Breitbart News on Twitter: "If you only watch one thing today, make it this:'... "
Thu, 18 Jul 2019 01:29
Welcome home! This timeline is where you'll spend most of your time, getting instant updates about what matters to you.
Tweets not working for you? Hover over the profile pic and click the Following button to unfollow any account.
Say a lot with a little When you see a Tweet you love, tap the heart '-- it lets the person who wrote it know you shared the love.
Spread the word The fastest way to share someone else's Tweet with your followers is with a Retweet. Tap the icon to send it instantly.
Join the conversation Add your thoughts about any Tweet with a Reply. Find a topic you're passionate about, and jump right in.
Learn the latest Get instant insight into what people are talking about now.
Get more of what you love Follow more accounts to get instant updates about topics you care about.
Find what's happening See the latest conversations about any topic instantly.
Never miss a Moment Catch up instantly on the best stories happening as they unfold.
VIDEO - SpaceX's 'Starhopper' test craft bursts into flames on launch pad (VIDEO) '-- RT USA News
Thu, 18 Jul 2019 01:15
SpaceX's 'Starhopper' '' the test vehicle for a reusable long-haul spacecraft project '' has burst into flames after a series of tests in Texas. The craft was left damaged by the blaze.
After successful tests last week saw the Starhopper literally hop several inches off the ground, SpaceX's engineers lined up a more ambitious series of experiments for Tuesday night. With one of the company's 'Raptor' rocket engines affixed, the Starhopper was set to lift 20 meters off the ground without a tether, and to maneuver side-to-side before touching down again.
However, before the craft could get airborne, disaster struck during static-fire testing of the rocket. After an initial ignition test, the rocket ignited what appeared to be leaked fuel, setting off an enormous fireball that engulfed the prototype craft.
The craft smouldered for several hours, and appeared to have been at least superficially damaged by the blaze. Technicians began making the launch pad safe on Wednesday morning, but the fire forced that day's scheduled flight tests to be postponed.
SpaceX hopes to begin using the Starhopper for commercial spaceflight by 2021.
Like this story? Share it with a friend!
VIDEO - Facebooks Libra could be more dangerous than 911 congressman says - MarketWatch
Wed, 17 Jul 2019 21:29
Key Words
By Robert Schroeder, Jon Swartz
Published: Jul 17, 2019 2:46 pm ET
Facebook CEO should testify about 'Zuckbucks': Rep. Sherman Facebook's Libra cryptocurrency project got a second day of withering criticism on Capitol Hill on Wednesday, with one California congressman saying its potential dangers could be worse than the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.
'The most innovative thing that happened this century is when Osama bin Laden came up with the innovative idea of flying two airplanes into towers. That's the most consequential innovation, although this may do more to endanger America than even that.' Rep. Brad Sherman
With Facebook's FB -1% David Marcus in the witness chair at the House Financial Services Committee, Rep. Brad Sherman, a Democrat, demanded that the social-media giant's Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg testify about what the lawmaker called ''Zuckbucks.''
Also see: Tech's day of reckoning on Capitol Hill was long and harsh.
As Sherman compared Libra with the 9/11 attacks, he said that Zuckerberg is creating a cryptocurrency, like the popular and controversial digital-asset bitcoin BTCUSD +1.99% that is often associated with providing ''privacy to drug dealers, human traffickers, terrorists, tax evaders and sanctions evaders.''
Nearly 3,000 people were killed in the 9/11 attacks, which were orchestrated by al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, who was killed during a raid on his Abbottabad compound on May 1, 2011, ending a decadelong manhunt.
Marcus, who heads the Libra project, has said Facebook won't launch it until regulators' concerns are fully addressed. Marcus told the Senate Banking Committee on Tuesday that Facebook would manage Libra under a consortium of 28 companies and nonprofits including credit-card companies Visa Inc. AT:VISA -0.7% and Mastercard Inc. MA -0.48%
Still, over two days of congressional hearings, lawmakers from both parties peppered Marcus with criticism over Facebook's spotty stewardship of user data and raised doubts about entrusting the social-media giant with financial information. The company reached a $5 billion settlement last week with the Federal Trade Commission over data-privacy practices, and is likely to be the target of a Justice Department antitrust probe.
See: Facebook's Libra cryptocurrency project gets blistering reception from Senate.
''It is long past time we stop bypassing consumers' privacy in the pursuit of profit,'' said Rep. Ayanna Pressley, a Massachusetts Democrat, expressing concern over Facebook's effort at the Wednesday hearing.
''I have serious concerns with Facebook's plans,'' said Maxine Waters of California, chairwoman of the House committee, in an opening statement. ''Facebook's plans raise serious privacy, trading, national security, and monetary policy concerns, not only for Facebook's over two billion users, who will have immediate access to these products, but also for consumers, investors and the global economy.''
Several members of that House committee, including Georgia Republican Barry Loudermilk, applauded Facebook's innovation efforts but worried it ''may be just another illicit financing tool.''
''We believe with the appropriate controls'...we will improve on the current systems,'' Marcus said.
See original version of this story
VIDEO - 6 Austin-based lawsuits filed against scooter companies in 6 days | kvue.com
Wed, 17 Jul 2019 19:22
LOCAL In one of the incidents, a man says a Capital Metro bus ran over his arm when he was thrown from an electric scooter.
AUSTIN, Texas '-- In the span of six days, at least six lawsuits have been filed against electric scooter companies operating in the city of Austin, according to documents obtained by KVUE this week.
Five of those lawsuits were filed by the local law firm James Freeman Law. Here are the summaries of their complaints:
A plaintiff is suing for gross negligence for exemplary damages. The plaintiff claims she was injured while using a Bird scooter when its wheels locked, which caused her to be slammed to the ground. She is seeking $1 million.A second plaintiff is suing for gross negligence for exemplary damages. The plaintiff claims he was injured when he struck a pothole while using an Uber/Jump scooter due to the fact that its headlamp did not sufficiently illuminate the road. He is seeking monetary relief between $100,000 and $200,000.A third plaintiff is suing for gross negligence for exemplary damages. He claims he was injured when he had to jump off of a Bird scooter because the brakes were not working. As a result, he said he shattered his heel bone. He is seeking monetary relief between $200,000 and $1,000,000.A fourth plaintiff is suing for gross negligence for exemplary damages. He also claims poorly lit headlamps caused his injury while riding a Lime scooter when he struck a pothole. He claims the crash caused him to dislocate his left shoulder. He is seeking relief in the amount of $100,000 to $200,000.A fifth plaintiff is suing for negligence. She said she was injured while riding a Lime scooter with loose handlebars. When she reached a gravel parking lot, she said the scooter slid out from under her and threw her to the ground. The suit states she required multiple surgeries, months of rehabilitation and suffered a post-operative infection. She is seeking monetary relief between $100,000 and $200,000.The sixth lawsuit was filed by Rigby Slack Lawrence Berger + Comerford, PLLC, against Lime, Ninebot, Segway, Capital Metro, MV Transportation, RATPDev, and an unidentified man.
In this suit, the plaintiff claims he was riding a Lime scooter when he was "unexpectedly and violently discharged" off the front of the scooter onto the ground. Upon landing, he said a Capital Metro bus ran over his arm. The suit states the Capital Metro bus was being driven on behalf of Capital Metro or one of its contractors '' MV and/or RATP '' by the unidentified man.
Documents state that city buses are required to operate at least six feet away from people operating motor scooters when passing them. The plaintiff alleges that the driver of bus '' and the driver of a second bus following behind that witnessed the incident '' did not report it to their employers. The driver of the first bus did not stop, he claims.
As a result of the incident, he said he was treated at Dell Seton and required emergency surgery to repair his injured arm. As the of lawsuit's filing, documents state he has had two surgeries and may require more.
He also alleges that the incident has caused him to suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder and has caused loss of income for his family. As a result, his wife has suffered loss of consortium damages due to her husband's injuries.
The couple is suing for negligence, strict product liability, breach of implied warranty of merchantability, breach of implied warranty of fitness for a particular purpose, gross negligence, negligence and negligent entrustment. They are requesting a trial by jury.
In May, another woman sued Lime after she said an "out of control" scooter caused her to go face-first into an iron fence near the Texas Capitol. The incident required her to have facial reconstruction surgery.
KVUE has reached out to the parties involved for a statement. Lime says it does not comment on pending lawsuits. We will update this story as more statements are received.
PEOPLE ARE ALSO READING:
VIDEO - House Financial Services Hearing on Facebook Digital Currency | C-SPAN.org
Wed, 17 Jul 2019 17:33
July 17, 2019 2019-07-17T10:13:07-04:00 https://images.c-span.org/Files/fd8/20190717101519011_hd.jpg Co-Creator of Facebook's digital currency Libra, David Marcus, testified before the House Financial Services Committee. Lawmakers were expected to question him about data privacy issues.Co-Creator of Facebook's digital currency Libra, David Marcus, testified before the House Financial Services Committee. Lawmakers were expected to question him about data privacy issues.
Report Video Issue";// $('div#video-embed').html(cookieMsg);// return;// }// });
Related Video April 11, 2018 Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg Hearing on Data ProtectionFacebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg testified before the House Energy and Commerce Committee regarding the company's use and protection of'...
November 4, 2015 Monetary Policy and Bank RegulationFederal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen testified at a hearing on monetary policy and bank regulation and supervision. She told'...
September 18, 2014 Health Care Law Security and PrivacyCenters for Medicare and Medicaid Services Administrator Marilyn Tavenner testified at a House Oversight and Government'...
June 26, 2014 Securities and Exchange Commission OversightStephen Luparello testified at a Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) oversight hearing. The hearing focused on the'...
User Created Clips from This Video
VIDEO - Squawk Box on Twitter: ""I think there's no capacity to kill bitcoin" says @PatrickMcHenry #btc'... "
Wed, 17 Jul 2019 16:22
Welcome home! This timeline is where you'll spend most of your time, getting instant updates about what matters to you.
Tweets not working for you? Hover over the profile pic and click the Following button to unfollow any account.
Say a lot with a little When you see a Tweet you love, tap the heart '-- it lets the person who wrote it know you shared the love.
Spread the word The fastest way to share someone else's Tweet with your followers is with a Retweet. Tap the icon to send it instantly.
Join the conversation Add your thoughts about any Tweet with a Reply. Find a topic you're passionate about, and jump right in.
Learn the latest Get instant insight into what people are talking about now.
Get more of what you love Follow more accounts to get instant updates about topics you care about.
Find what's happening See the latest conversations about any topic instantly.
Never miss a Moment Catch up instantly on the best stories happening as they unfold.
VIDEO - Ryan Saavedra on Twitter: "CBS's Gayle King asks Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) if she regrets her anti-Semitic remarks Omar responds: ''I do not'...'''... "
Wed, 17 Jul 2019 16:13
Welcome home! This timeline is where you'll spend most of your time, getting instant updates about what matters to you.
Tweets not working for you? Hover over the profile pic and click the Following button to unfollow any account.
Say a lot with a little When you see a Tweet you love, tap the heart '-- it lets the person who wrote it know you shared the love.
Spread the word The fastest way to share someone else's Tweet with your followers is with a Retweet. Tap the icon to send it instantly.
Join the conversation Add your thoughts about any Tweet with a Reply. Find a topic you're passionate about, and jump right in.
Learn the latest Get instant insight into what people are talking about now.
Get more of what you love Follow more accounts to get instant updates about topics you care about.
Find what's happening See the latest conversations about any topic instantly.
Never miss a Moment Catch up instantly on the best stories happening as they unfold.
VIDEO - Credit Karma TV Commercial, 'On Trial' - iSpot.tv
Wed, 17 Jul 2019 15:28
Ad ID: 1756781 30s 2018 ( Inactive )
Unlock TV analytics for this ad
Media MeasurementData is based on life of ad, unless indicated otherwise
National Airings
Est. Spend
Attention & Performance AnalyticsData is based on life of ad, unless indicated otherwise
Attention Score
Engagement Rating
Media MeasurementData is based on life of ad, unless indicated otherwise
National Airings
First Airing
Last Airing
Creatives
Est. Spend
TV Impressions
National
Local
VOD/OTT
Attention & Performance AnalyticsData is based on life of ad, unless indicated otherwise
Attention Score
Industry Avg.
Earned Online Views
Social Impressions
Sentiment
Engagement Rating
Industry Share of Voice - past 2 weeks
Spend
Impressions
Engagement
About Credit Karma TV Commercial, 'On Trial'Mr. Quinn is called to the witness stand and asked if he believes that stealing is wrong. His inability to give a quick response escalates to the accusation that he's inclined to thievery and committed the crime of a financially desperate man. He has no idea what is going on, but flashes his credit score on the Credit Karma mobile app for everyone to see. This move completely shatters the case being built against him, but he admits the shouting was very impressive.
Tagline
''Bad for Drama, Good for Credit.''
More Credit Karma Commercials Related Commercials CommentsCredit Karma TV Spot, 'On Trial'
Submissions should come only from the actors themselves, their parent/legal guardian or casting agency. Please include at least one social/website link containing a recent photo of the actor. Submissions without photos may not be accepted. Voice over actors: provide a link to your professional website containing your reel. Submit ONCE per commercial, and allow 48 to 72 hours for your request to be processed. Add Actor/Actress Details
VIDEO - Happy is Healthy - YouTube
VIDEO - What Is a Credit Score? - Credit Crunch Episode 2 - YouTube
VIDEO - US military warns people preparing to storm Area 51 - YouTube
VIDEO - Andrew Feinberg on Twitter: "Here's video, courtesy of @cspan'... "
Tue, 16 Jul 2019 21:30
Welcome home! This timeline is where you'll spend most of your time, getting instant updates about what matters to you.
Tweets not working for you? Hover over the profile pic and click the Following button to unfollow any account.
Say a lot with a little When you see a Tweet you love, tap the heart '-- it lets the person who wrote it know you shared the love.
Spread the word The fastest way to share someone else's Tweet with your followers is with a Retweet. Tap the icon to send it instantly.
Join the conversation Add your thoughts about any Tweet with a Reply. Find a topic you're passionate about, and jump right in.
Learn the latest Get instant insight into what people are talking about now.
Get more of what you love Follow more accounts to get instant updates about topics you care about.
Find what's happening See the latest conversations about any topic instantly.
Never miss a Moment Catch up instantly on the best stories happening as they unfold.
VIDEO - Senate Judiciary Hearing on Google & Censorship | C-SPAN.org
Tue, 16 Jul 2019 19:42
July 16, 2019 2019-07-16T15:15:00-04:00 https://images.c-span.org/Files/67b/1563275857.jpg A Senate Judiciary subcommittee held a hearing on Google and its censorship policy with the company's vice president for government affairs and the father of Alison Parker, who was killed during a live TV broadcast.A Senate Judiciary subcommittee held a hearing on Google and its censorship policy with the company's vice president for government affairs and the father of Alison Parker, who was killed during a live TV broadcast.
Report Video Issue";// $('div#video-embed').html(cookieMsg);// return;// }// });
Related Video June 18, 2019 Congressional Term LimitsThe Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution held a hearing on congressional accountability. Former Senator'...
December 19, 2018 Corporate Competition LawThe Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Antitrust, Competition Policy and Consumer Rights held a hearing to examine'...
December 6, 2018 Zimbabwe ElectionsThe Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on Africa and Global Health Policy held a hearing on the 2018 elections in Zimbabwe and the'...
April 18, 2018 Immigration Court SystemThe Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Border Security and Immigration held a hearing on the immigration court system. Administered'...
VIDEO - Germany's Von der Leyen confirmed as next EU Commission president '-- RT World News
Tue, 16 Jul 2019 19:02
Published time: 16 Jul, 2019 18:37 Edited time: 16 Jul, 2019 18:41
The European Parliament has confirmed model centrist liberal politician Ursula von der Leyen as the next president of the EU Commission, narrowly exceeding the 374 votes she needed to take one of the bloc's top jobs.
Von der Leyen, a former German Defense Minister who came to politics after a career in medicine, was confirmed by a vote of 383 to 327, speaker of the assembly David Sassoli said on Tuesday. Sassioli also said there were 22 abstentions and one blank vote.
'), link: "https://www.rt.com/news/464326-von-der-leyen-confirmed-eu/" }, events: { onReady: function () { if(ga) { ga('send', 'event', 'JWPLAYER-GA', 'CLICK PLAY', location.href); ga('send', 'event', 'JW Player Article', 'Ready', location.href); // Ð'Ñеменно ÑÑи дÑбÐ>>иÑÑÑÑие ÑÑеÑÑики оÑÑаÑÑÑÑ } // BARB Integrations document.body.setAttribute('onunload', 'window.unloader()'); // ÐÑÐ¸Ð½Ð¸Ð¼Ð°ÐµÑ Ð¸Ð½Ð´ÐµÐ½ÑиÑикаÑÐ¾Ñ ÑайÑа, ÐÑедоÑÑавÐ>>енной Kantar Media UK/BARB streamingSensor = new SpringStreams("rttvdotcom"); // наÑ
одим в JWPlayer видео ÑеÐ" Ðо id var videoID = document.querySelector('#js-mediaplayer-5d2e18c9dda4c803148b45bd video'); // ÐÑÐ¸Ð½Ð¸Ð¼Ð°ÐµÑ ÑÑÑÐ>>ÐºÑ Ð½Ð° video маÑеÑиаÐ>> var description = { stream: "videos/rt_news", cq: "5d2e18c9dda4c803148b45bd", }; var adapter = { "getMeta" : function() { return { "pl" :"rt player", "plv" :"version1", } }, "getDuration" : function() { return videoID.duration; }, "getPosition" : function() { return videoID.currentTime; } }; // заÐÑÑкаем track streamingSensor.track(videoID, description, adapter); // BARB unload streamingSensor.debug = function(v) { window.status = " " + v; }; window.unloader = function() { streamingSensor.unload(); // give time for submission var start= new Date(); var now = null; do now = new Date(); while(now-start
Following the vote, Von der Leyen, who is a close ally of German Chancellor Angela Merkel, said her new role would be a ''big responsibility'' and that her ''work starts now.''
Von der Leyen, who espouses all the mainstream liberal views that Brussels holds dear and opposes the nationalist blowback, said she was aiming for a ''united and strong Europe'' and has been a major proponent of creating a common European army.
Also on rt.com Good luck to EU: Bundeswehr crumbled under von der Leyen, who is now to take helm of the union But Von der Leyen's role also Germany's defense minister was plagued with controversy, as reports detailed fleets in need of repair, personnel shortages, as well as stolen and missing weapons '' and, despite boosting German defense spending during her tenure, she still did not manage to modernize the country's armed forces.
She will take up her new role on November 1.
Think your friends would be interested? Share this story!
VIDEO - Senate Banking Hearing on Facebook Digital Currency | C-SPAN.org
Tue, 16 Jul 2019 18:27
July 16, 2019 2019-07-16T10:01:34-04:00 https://images.c-span.org/Files/968/20190716100758012_hd.jpg Co-Creator of Facebook's digital currency Libra, David Marcus, testifies before the Senate Banking Committee amid concerns about data privacy among lawmakers and platform users.Co-Creator of Facebook's digital currency Libra, David Marcus, testifies before the Senate Banking Committee amid concerns about data privacy among lawmakers and platform users.
Report Video Issue";// $('div#video-embed').html(cookieMsg);// return;// }// });
*This transcript was compiled from uncorrected Closed Captioning.
'; }, afterShow: function() { twttr.widgets.load(); }, helpers: { title: { type: 'inside' } } }); $('section.program-people ul li a.person-image').click(function(e) { e.preventDefault(); var personid = $(this).attr('id'); personid = personid.replace('-link', ''); $('div.person-images a#'+personid+'-image').click(); }); });
Hosting OrganizationSenate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs CommitteeSenate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee
VIDEO - 30mins30sec - Bill Ottman Talks Minds & White House Visit #SocialMediaSummit - YouTube
VIDEO - Bank 4.0 and the Future of Financial Services - YouTube
VIDEO - What the Jeffrey Epstein, Imran Awan, & Jackson Cosko Scandals Might Have in Common'--Luke Rosiak - YouTube
VIDEO - ''F*ck Them'': Fox 10 Host Responds to Bosses Who Asked Her to Hide Her ''Right-Wing'' Views '' Summit News
Tue, 16 Jul 2019 12:59
A Fox 10 host in Phoenix whose bosses asked her to hide her account on ''right-wing'' social media platform Parler because a left-wing outlet might notice it had a terse response; ''F*ck them''.
Fox 10's Emmy Award-winning anchor Kari Lake dropped the f-bomb on camera as she was preparing to do a Facebook Live broadcast and the clip was subsequently leaked online.
The video shows her co-host John Hook suggesting that station managers wanted her to hide her Parler account because of potential bad press from left-wing outlet the Phoenix New Times.
''I think they just think it's been branded as a far-right kind of place,'' Hook said, to which Lake responded, ''Jesus''.
''So they don't want you tied in with anything like that, where you're going to get blowback from the New Times or whoever it is,'' said Hook.
''Fuck them. They're 20-year-old dopes,'' Lake responded. ''That's a rag for selling marijuana ads''.
''I know,'' Hook said. ''But then you're in a position where they've gotta explain it or you've gotta explain it''.
''I'm reaching people,'' Lake said.
The issue was raised after FTV Live published an article revealing that Lake maintained an account on Parler (as if this was some terribly evil deed).
After her outburst, Lake was not on air in her usual 5pm time slot. Her Parler account is still active.
SUBSCRIBE on YouTube:
Follow on Twitter: Follow @PrisonPlanet
'--'--'--'--'--'--'--'--'--'--'--'--'--'--'--'--'--'--'--'--'--'--'--'--'--'--'--'--'--'--'--'--'--'--'--'--'--'--'--
There is a war on free speech. Without your support, my voice will be silenced.
Please sign up for the free newsletter here. Donate to me on SubscribeStar here.
Support my sponsor '' Turbo Force '' a supercharged boost of clean energy without the comedown.
'--'--'--'--'--'--'--'--'--'--'--'--'--'--'--'--'--'--'--'--'--'--'--'--'--'--'--'--'--'--'--'--'--'--'--'--'--'--'--
VIDEO - DEMOCRATIC CANDIDATE MARIANNE WILLIAMSON PRAYER OR DEMONIC SEANCE? - YouTube
VIDEO - Trump says AOC and her 'squad' might be COMMUNISTS as he makes them the Democrats' public face | Daily Mail Online
Tue, 16 Jul 2019 12:23
Trump red-baits the Democrats' most radical quartet into being their party's public face as he says AOC and other first-term congresswomen might be COMMUNISTS '' after Lindsey Graham rebrands them on TVTrump maneuvered Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ilhan Omar, Ayana Pressley and Rashida Tlaib into defending themselves against his accusationsThe four radical first-term congresswomen, known in D.C. as 'the squad,' held a press conference, making them the face of the Democratic PartyGraham said: 'We all know that AOC and this crowd are a bunch of communists'Trump claimed they 'might be' communists but they're 'definitely' socialistsDemocrats in leadership don't want the left-wing of their party to dominate news headlines since elections will go better for them if moderates have starring rolesBy David Martosko, U.s. Political Editor For Dailymail.com
Published: 19:20 EDT, 15 July 2019 | Updated: 06:47 EDT, 16 July 2019
Donald Trump and Sen. Lindsey Graham re-introduced the concept of red-baiting to American politics on Monday, suggesting that a quartet of left-wing Democratic lawmakers are communists.
By day's end the president had managed to whip Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ilhan Omar, Ayanna Pressley and Rashida Tlaib '' four of the most outspoken radicals in Congress '' into a frenzy, practically daring them to respond.
They did. Their group press conference, while a rambling wreck, established the four first-term congresswomen as the new public faces of the Democratic Party.
A White House official said afterward of Trump: 'POTUS couldn't have scripted this any better. They warned against taking the bait, and then they took the bait. Now they're the party of AOC, and that won't end well.'
Trump later tweeted an exclamation point to the day: 'The Dems were trying to distance themselves from the four "progressives," but now they are forced to embrace them,' he wrote. 'That means they are endorsing Socialism, hate of Israel and the USA!'
President Trump baited 'the squad' '' four far-left first-term Democratic congresswomen '' into asserting themselves as the new face of their party on Monday by saying they might all be communists
The four (L-R), Rashida Tlaib, Ayanna Pressley, Ilhan Omar and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, held a press conference at the U.S. Capitol following a day of accusations and invective
While they were defending themselves on TV, Trump tweeted that America 'will never be a Socialist or Communist country,' with the timing leaving little doubt about his meaning
Graham started the ball rolling early in the morning on 'Fox & Friends.'
'We all know that AOC and this crowd are a bunch of communists,' he said, adding: 'They're anti-Semitic. They're anti-America.'
Trump hinted at it later on the South Lawn of the White House, reflecting on Graham's choice of words.
'He said they're communists. I'm saying that they're socialists, definitely,' Trump told reporters. 'As to whether to not they're communists, I would think they might be, but this isn't what our country is about.'
A reporter asked Omar to respond to Trump's specific assertions that she is 'a communist' and 'pro-Al Qaeda.' The congresswoman had no answer.
Lindsey Graham said Monday morning that Ocasio-Cortez 'and this crowd are a bunch of communists,' adding that 'they're anti-Semitic, they're anti-America'
Trump had blasted the four women, all minorities, telling them to 'go back where they came from'; instead of defending that tweet, which some called 'racist,' he went on offense
Trump suggested later that he had been playing the Democrats all day, tweeting that he had 'forced' the party 'to embrace' the four radicals, redefining them as a more left-facing party
She spoke instead about how Muslims and other 'people who are brown and black' reacted to Trump's recent tweeted challenge that she and her colleagues should 'go back where you came from.'
Meanwhile Trump was tweeting the political 'c'-word '' 'communist' '' and left no doubt about why.
'We will never be a Socialist or Communist Country,' he wrote. 'IF YOU ARE NOT HAPPY HERE, YOU CAN LEAVE! It is your choice, and your choice alone. This is about love for America.'
'Certain people HATE our Country. They are anti-Israel, pro Al-Qaeda, and comment on the 9/11 attack, "some people did something",' he added, a reference to Omar's dismissive comment to an Islamic organization this year.
Ilhan Omar, Trump claimed, is anti-Semitic and loves Al Qaedap that was based on a misunderstanding of an interview she gave in 2013 in which she mocked Americans who say Arabic names of terror groups in a deep, gravely voice to suggest that the words themselves are sinister
Ocasio-Cortez became the standard-bearer this year for what she and Sen. Bernie Sanders call 'Demorcatic socialism, characterized by a plan to remake America through wealth redistribution
Graham presaged the day's political jiu-jitsu, saying on Fox News that the president could do serious harm to Democrats by maneuvering the four ultra-liberal women, known on Capitol Hill as 'the squad,' into prominent positions.
'They wanted to impeach Trump on day one. They're socialist. They're anti-Semitic. They stand for all the things that most Americans disagree with,' Graham said he has counseled the president.
'Make them the face of the future of the Democratic Party and you will destroy the Democratic party.'
The White House official who spoke with DailyMail.com added on Monday that 'the day couldn't have gone better.'
Advertisement
VIDEO - Trump War Room on Twitter: "WATCH: Joe Biden apologizes for deporting illegal immigrants who committed crimes, and then says "We need family separation." ð¤--'... https://t.co/c3p8Y2annx"
Tue, 16 Jul 2019 12:03
Welcome home! This timeline is where you'll spend most of your time, getting instant updates about what matters to you.
Tweets not working for you? Hover over the profile pic and click the Following button to unfollow any account.
Say a lot with a little When you see a Tweet you love, tap the heart '-- it lets the person who wrote it know you shared the love.
Spread the word The fastest way to share someone else's Tweet with your followers is with a Retweet. Tap the icon to send it instantly.
Join the conversation Add your thoughts about any Tweet with a Reply. Find a topic you're passionate about, and jump right in.
Learn the latest Get instant insight into what people are talking about now.
Get more of what you love Follow more accounts to get instant updates about topics you care about.
Find what's happening See the latest conversations about any topic instantly.
Never miss a Moment Catch up instantly on the best stories happening as they unfold.
VIDEO - Tom Brokaw, 1989 "White House Call Boy Scandal" Reagan/Bush White House Pedophile ring : conspiracy
Tue, 16 Jul 2019 04:13
1982 NYT profile of super connected Craig Spence: ''Have Names, Will Open Right Doors:'' [...] Spence was age 41 at the time. Spence's connections are described as a ''Who's Who'' of Congress, government and journalism. In 1980 the WashPost gave Spence a glowing profile, too.
NYT 1-18-82: ''A Washington Post columnist wrote of Mr. Spence two years ago: ''Not since Ethel Kennedy used to give her famous Hickory Hill seminars for great minds of our times during the days of Camelot has anyone staged seminars successfully on a continuing social basis in Washington. That's what Craig Spence has been doing.''
Indeed, his parties do glitter with notables, from ambassadors to television stars, from Senators to senior State Department officials. According to Mr. Spence, Richard Nixon is a friend. So is John Mitchell. Eric Sevareid is termed ''an old, dear friend.'' Senator John Glenn is ''a good friend'' and Peter Ustinov is ''an old, old friend.''
It is not a one-way street. Knowing Mr. Spence can be good business for Government officials, members of Congress and their staffs, and even some journalists who cash in on it by accepting speaking and writing fees. ''
Page 93 - 101) Craig Spence's head goon is Tony. Henry Vinson is terrified of Tony and what he is capable of.
Page 99) Craig Spence and Lawrence E. King make very aggressive demands that Henry Vinson start providing them with underage boys to be sexually abused by their pedophile ring. ''Spence and King finally demanded that I pluck destitute children off the streets of D.C. and deliver the children to them.'' Vinson refuses and this causes a major falling out with Craig Spence.
Page 104) Vinson fears he is about to be murdered by Spence's head goon Tony.
Page 105) Donald Gregg, CIA agent for 31 years, heavily involved in Iran-Contra, very close aide to George Herbert Walker Bush, later ambassador to South Korea (1989-1993) - GAO discovers Donald Gregg was using his government credit card on ''funeral accessories'' which was the cover for billing for services of gay prostitutes under Vinson. Gregg was a very heavy user of gay prostitutes from Vinson. Donald Gregg, born 1927, still alive today:[...]
Page 106) In 1989 a Bush cabinet member (in his late 50's, with balding black hair, round framed glasses. He wore a pinstripe suit, white shirt and red tie) - attempted to get Henry Vinson to cover up for Donald Gregg. This sounds a lot like then Attorney General Richard Thornburgh: [...]
Richard Thornburgh was born in 1932 and in 1989 he would have been exactly 57 years old - late 50's in age. Vinson describes this Bush cabinet member (who seems to me to be Atty. General Richard Thornburgh) with Craig Spence as putting extreme pressure on Vinson to cover for Donald Gregg. This cabinet official ominously said ''I can withstand a background investigation'... can you?'' Vinson describes this cabinet member as a ''big gun'' in the Bush Administration.
Page 107) ''Spence had dropped the name [Bush Atty. General Richard Thornburgh 1988-1991, in my estimation] of the cabinet member months earlier, when he revealed that he routinely provided him with adolescent boys. At the time Spence dropped his name and his perverse predications, I thought his disclosure incomprehensible, and I was fairly skeptical of if. But on the other hand, the vast majority of Spence's illicit activities seemed incomprehensible to me until I actually witnessed them.''
Page 112) Charles Dutcher, former associate director of personnel under Ronald Reagan, a major customer of Henry Vinson's gay escorts - [...]
Page 116) June 29, 1989 Washington Times article ''Homosexual Prostitution Inquiry Ensnares VIPs with Reagan, Bush'' followed by June 30th ''Power Broker Served Drugs, Sex At Parties Bugged for Blackmail.''
Page 118) People who used to go to Craig Spence's parties: Eric Sevareid, Ted Koppel, William Safire, Sen. John Glenn, Sen. Frank Murkowski, former ambassadors Robert Neumann, Elliot Richardson, James Lilly. Also, CIA director William Casey and John Mitchell, former Atty. General under Nixon. Being at Craig Spence's parties is not exactly a badge of honor, it puts you on the ''sexual weirdo'' suspect list pronto.
Page 119) CIA director William Casey was a client of Henry Vinson. Casey started calling in 1986 and he requested underage boys but Vinson only provided late teens for him. Escorts would be sent to Ritz-Carleton Hotel. Unable to get an erection. '''... he had the escorts rub oil over his body as he kissed and fondled them'' (p. 119). Casey died on May 6, 1987. Very good article on William Casey here at Deep Politics Forum: [...]y
Page 122) Washington Post writes articles to undermine Washington Times reporting on Craig Spence and the call boy ring. A ''Skeptical Guest'' source is used to debunk the Washington Times claims of sexual blackmail. This ''Skeptical Guest'' used to go to Craig Spence's parties. Wonder if he stayed around for the sex orgies? '....
Page 125) Los Angeles Times, New York Times join Washington Post in trying to debunk Washington Times reporting on Spence scandal. This reminds me a lot of what happened to the reporting of San Jose Mercury News Gary Webb and his reporting on the CIA Nicaraguan contras drug connection to black LA street gangs.
Page 129) Craig Spence dies on 11-10-89.[...]_J._Spence Henry Vinson thinks it was a suicide and not a murder. Dies in Boston's Ritz-Carleton. Addicted to cocaine, dying of AIDS, he kills himself.
Page 131) Vinson: ''I also have a tendency to think that William Casey's involvement with both Spence and gay escorts is perhaps additional corroboration that Spence's blackmail activities were affiliated with the CIA.''
Pages 131-135) The Washington Post's deep ties to CIA and US intelligence community. Including both Phil Graham and Ben Bradlee. Superstar reporter Bob Woodward has a naval intelligence background as well.
Page 138) Jay Stephens, then US Attorney for Wash DC and Alan Strasser, Asst US Attorney for Wash DC, two of the governmental officials prosecuting Henry Vinson. They threw the book at him.
Pages 140-156) Greta Van Susteran was Henry Vinson's not so capable lawyer.
Page 142) Paul Ware - one of the Secret Service guys - 5'10'', then in his late thirties - who was quite hostile to Henry Vinson.
Page 149) Secret Service agent Paul - no interest in Spence/King pedophile ring. No interest in the thug tactics of Craig Spence's head goon Tony. No interest in the cabinet member of the Bush Administration who tried to get Vinson to cover for Donald Gregg's use of a govt credit card for gay prostitutes (this official in my opinion was Atty General Richard Thornburgh).
Page 150-151) Jeff Gannon covered. Vinson knew him as gay escort back in the late 1980's who told him he would sometimes spend nights in the White House. This was 15 years before Jeff Gannon was outed as a fake reporter in the Bush #43 Administration. There is a famous picture of George W. Bush kissing the head of Jeff Gannon, rubbing his head and looking at him in a very suggestive way. In 2005 Gannon was outed by the White House press corps as a fake reporter. Gannon went to Bush White House over 200 times within a 2 year period. He attended 155 of 196 White House press briefings during that time. On 14 separate occasions he checked in with Secret Service but did not check out during the day (presumably gay sex at night). One of those days had no press conference. From 2003-2005 Jeff Gannon was running around the George W. Bush White House like a stray cat.
In my opinion George W. Bush and Jeff Gannon were (are?) homosexual lovers. Gannon in the 1980's had told Henry Vinson that he was sexually servicing officials in the upper levels of the Bush #41 Administration. Under Bush #43 the Secret Service made the very unusual move of giving Jeff Gannon one day security clearances every time he went to White House, with no background check on this longtime gay prostitute.
Page 195) CIA fingerprints all over Spence's network. Spence was a CIA asset. CIA director and Donald Gregg (national security advisor to VP GHW Bush) were both buying the services of gay prostitutes. The book the Franklin Cover Up had VP GHW Bush buying the services of an 18 year old gay prostitute named Brandt Thomas who was provided by Lawrence E. King, a very close friend to GHW Bush and the perfect psychopath Craig Spence.
Page 197) Henry Vinson believes that if his case had gone to trial without him accepting a plea bargain, that he would have been murdered in the 1980's.
Page 198) Henry Vinson says that ''a number of media superstars'' who used his gay escort service are still around today and thriving in their professions.
Page 199) Dr. Vernon Houk, formerly of the Center for Disease Control, was a big customer of Vinson. Houk died in Sept., 1994 - [...]
VIDEO - Trace Mayer on Twitter: "Familiar with President's Working Group On Financial Markets? GATA: no more markets only manipulations. https://t.co/6cUAM7A9AC @USTreasury translation: Manipulate #Bitcoin markets to protect global markets from implosions
Mon, 15 Jul 2019 21:37
Welcome home! This timeline is where you'll spend most of your time, getting instant updates about what matters to you.
Tweets not working for you? Hover over the profile pic and click the Following button to unfollow any account.
Say a lot with a little When you see a Tweet you love, tap the heart '-- it lets the person who wrote it know you shared the love.
Spread the word The fastest way to share someone else's Tweet with your followers is with a Retweet. Tap the icon to send it instantly.
Join the conversation Add your thoughts about any Tweet with a Reply. Find a topic you're passionate about, and jump right in.
Learn the latest Get instant insight into what people are talking about now.
Get more of what you love Follow more accounts to get instant updates about topics you care about.
Find what's happening See the latest conversations about any topic instantly.
Never miss a Moment Catch up instantly on the best stories happening as they unfold.
VIDEO - Megan Rapinoe reveals what she'd say to fans who are Trump supporters | TheHill
Mon, 15 Jul 2019 14:38
''I think those are the basics of what we're talking about,'' she added.
Rapinoe has been an outspoken critic of Trump, saying last month that she wouldn't visit the "f---ing White House" if the team were invited after the World Cup. She has also been vocal about gay rights and the fight for equal pay, following her team's equal pay lawsuit against the U.S. Soccer Federation.
Speaking to Todd, Rapinoe acknowledged that her Trump-supporting fans feel she has demonstrated "disrespect" with her past comments and her
decision to protest during the national anthem, but said she will "continue to be vulnerable and be honest and be open."
"I think Trump's message excludes people that look like me and that are me, of course, but it excludes a lot of people in his base as well," she said. "And I think that he's trying to divide so he can conquer, not unite so we can all conquer."
The U.S. went on to capture its second straight World Cup two weeks after Rapinoe's White House comment, which quickly went viral online.
Todd also pressed Rapinoe on what she plans to do next, asking the athlete if she would ever run for office.
Rapinoe replied that she plans to continue playing soccer.
"I'm not sure I'm qualified for office," she said.
"There's no qualifications for office these days," Todd responded.
"Well, yeah, that's true. Up to 44 [President Obama] I guess there was," Rapinoe agreed. "You know what? I'm going to fight for equal pay every day for myself, for my team and for every single person out there, man, woman, immigrant, U.S. citizen, person of color, whatever it may be. 'Equal pay,' as the great Serena Williams said, 'Until I'm in my grave.' "
VIDEO - Alan Dershowitz Weighs In On His Work On The Jeffrey Epstein Case : NPR
Mon, 15 Jul 2019 14:12
Alan Dershowitz Weighs In On His Work On The Jeffrey Epstein Case NPR's Noel King talks to defense attorney Alan Dershowitz, who led the defense team that negotiated the 2008 non-prosecution agreement for financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Alan Dershowitz Weighs In On His Work On The Jeffrey Epstein Case Download Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/741739336/741745262" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
NPR's Noel King talks to defense attorney Alan Dershowitz, who led the defense team that negotiated the 2008 non-prosecution agreement for financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Monday, July 15th, 2019 Download Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/741713469/741729913" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
Up First NPR's Up First is the news you need to start your day.The biggest stories and ideas '-- from politics to pop culture '-- in 10 minutes.
VIDEO - Mayor Pete Buttigieg on Kara Swisher podcast Recode Decode - transcript - Vox
Mon, 15 Jul 2019 13:41
South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg is a popular 2020 candidate among Silicon Valley's wealthy donors, but taking their money won't deter him from regulating Big Tech, he said on the latest episode of Recode Decode With Kara Swisher.
''The internet started out as this delicate flower that had to be cultivated and we had to let it see where it was going to go,'' Buttigieg said. ''Now we know where it's going to go, and it's time to put in the guardrails.''
Among Buttigieg's proposals for tech regulation: a national data privacy framework that guarantees the ''right to be forgotten'' from the internet; recognition of Uber drivers and other gig economy workers as employees with the right to unionize; and more aggressive scrutiny of companies like Facebook when they try to acquire smaller competitors like WhatsApp and Instagram.
''If something doesn't have a charge for the service, that doesn't mean that it can consolidate infinitely without any harms,'' he said. ''One thing you might look at is when companies that have that kind of scale and power propose mergers, you assume that it's invalid and require them to carry the burden of proving that it should be allowed instead of the other way around.''
You can listen to and watch the interview below. And below that, we've shared a lightly edited full transcript of Kara's conversation with Pete.
If you haven't already, make sure to subscribe to Recode Decode wherever you get your podcasts, including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, and TuneIn. We'll have more interviews with 2020 presidential candidates later this week: Sen. Michael Bennet and entrepreneur Andrew Yang.
Kara Swisher: Hi, I'm Kara Swisher, editor-at-large of Recode. You may know me as someone who's been practicing how to say Buttigieg '-- I think I nailed it.
Pete Buttigieg: You got it.
But in my spare time I talk tech, and you're listening to Recode Decode from the Vox Media Podcast Network. Today in the red chair is, obviously, Pete Buttigieg, also known as Mayor Pete because he's the mayor of South Bend, Indiana. He's also running for president of the United States. We're going to talk about the 2020 campaign so far, his views on tech policy, and much more.
Mayor Buttigieg, welcome to Recode Decode.
Thanks for having me.
I guess I can't call you Peter, right?
Feel free.
Does anyone call you Peter?
My mom.
Your mom, okay.
She has to.
I'm not going to be your mom, so let's start with that. So there's lots to talk about. I'm going to focus a little more on tech and different things like that. But let's start with your announcement today, the Douglass Plan.
Yeah.
Which you compared to the Marshall Plan.
Yeah, the idea is that if America could mount a Marshall Plan to invest in Europe after World War II, we ought to be ready to have that level of ambition and that level of intention going into supporting black America here at home. We've been working on this for months, and we've written a little bit about it the past, but today I'm releasing the full details of the plan.
The basic idea is that we can no longer believe that if you take racist policies and systems and you replace them with neutral policies that everything will just get better on its own. The harms that have happened as a result of systemic racism compound. And so if we want to deal with this in our time, we're going to have to have intentional action across every area of American life, where it's currently like two different countries. That's housing, it's education, it's health, it's entrepreneurship and access to capital. It's criminal justice, and it's democracy itself. And our plan includes resources and proposals for each of those areas of American life.
Focused just on black America?
That's right, we have a lot to say for lots of different voices in the party.
Because there's other colors. There's Hispanics, there's ...
Yeah, but there is a unique dimension to the black experience in this country, which is that black Americans have been systematically, and for most of American history, legally excluded in ways that '-- other than Native Americans '-- has been pretty unique to the black experience. And that that persists. People talk about some of these things like they're far off, distant, quaint harms, but one of the things I'm trying to convey is that when you think about compounding, the way that debt compounds and the way that investment compounds. A dollar stolen from somebody 150 years ago works out to $1,000 stolen from their descendants today. And it's why if we really want to deal with this in our time, America's got to be intentional.
Intentional about this. Now, I'm going to ask the obvious question. In pretty much a flawless roll-out for you, this has been a problem, this issue around how you deal with the residents of South Bend, the African American residents of South Bend and others. How do you push off the idea that people might consider this pandering, in some fashion?
Well, first of all, we've been working on this for months.
Okay.
And it's the right thing to do. There's no question that it's part of a bigger conversation we're having about race in this country, and in my campaign, and as an urban mayor, presiding over a city that's diverse and that has had tons of struggles. Even though I've earned black support repeatedly in my own city, we've also faced a lot of criticism for the fact that we couldn't resolve issues, from housing discrimination to mistrust around policing.
Right now, we're dealing with an officer-involved shooting in the city that has surfaced a lot of deeper harms and pains, even as the particular incident is being investigated. On some level, no matter what the investigation tells us, we know that it is arousing the pain beneath the individual news of the day that's brought about by what's happened in our city, and what's happened around the country, when it comes to the relationship of police and communities of color.
But even behind that, every time we have a community conversation, as we've been doing for years, and take community action, as we've been doing for years, on something like public safety, inevitably, the conversation goes back to bigger questions around things like economic empowerment. And one of the biggest things I've learned the hard way as a mayor is that everything is connected, and we can't fully resolve any of this until we tackle all of this.
Is it something that just occurred to you, or did you realize it as being a mayor? Because '... is it something that never occurred to you in your life experience?
Well, it's one thing to understand it academically, or to generally care about it because you view yourself as a good person who's concerned with justice. It's another to be responsible for the wellbeing of a community and to be trying to come up with answers when your own residents, who are effectively your boss, are saying, ''Look, I'm living a completely different life than people a mile away from me. This city's coming back, but my neighborhood's not.''
Right.
''And I need to know what you're going to do about it.''
And some of the things you were doing could've affected them in a negative way.
Well, I think what we were doing did a lot of good, but some of it's politically controversial. Especially when there's a political rival wanting to tell a different story about it, right, that's just my job as somebody defending our policies.
A good example about how these things work differently in different communities is, we did a lot of investment to help minority neighborhoods that were struggling from the effects of vacant properties, mostly owned by out-of-town landlords who had walked away from them years ago. And they're crumbling and harming the low-income and largely minority neighbors living next to them. Now, it's pretty easy for a political rival to make that look like a gentrification project, but on the west side of South Bend, where a very good house is often $40,000, we have a different set of issues than the issues that are top of mind for some of the people who write from afar about the work that we're doing. And it's my job to explain what it meant in the context of our city to take on some of these issues, again, from housing to public safety.
A couple weeks ago, you also were talking about African American women being the backbone, do you feel ... why?
Because outcomes change. I mean, the big lesson of 2018 was that mobilization of black women can change electoral outcomes. And I wanted to make sure that I was communicating my awareness of that. Especially as an urban mayor, and because I'm not black...
Yeah.
'... I may be the white candidate who will be asked most frequently about race. And I think that creates a responsibility to be especially robust in how I talk about policies and politics that are going to impact people of color. And frankly, a lot of these conversations are conversations white America needs to have with itself, too. We can no longer treat racial inequality as a sort of specialty issue that you trot out when you're talking to a black audience, because the entire country is being held back, and I think in many ways could unravel around racial inequality. And it comes down hardest on those who are victims of systemic racism, but diminishes the entire nation.
But you still have to appeal to this group, how do you get them ... because your numbers with ... they're not very good, and this is ... if you were to run for president, you need this group.
Yeah, of course. Well, first of all was making sure that we've made clear what our plans are, and that's part of what the roll-out of the Douglass Plan is doing. We get fantastic feedback on that when we share it with all audiences, but especially black audiences. Another thing is just making sure you get known. So our biggest challenge by far in the black community right now is name recognition. We need to make sure that, as a candidate who's not been on the scene for years and is somebody who is not coming from a community of color, I can establish what we're about, how my record works, and why we made the choices we did. And where I'm seeking to lead the country as president, why it's going to make a difference compared to our competitors.
Why do you deserve their vote over Kamala Harris or Elizabeth Warren or anybody else?
We're putting forward what I think is the most comprehensive plan yet laid out for these concerns. And fitting it into a bigger picture around where the country is headed. There are a lot of competitors that I admire, that I respect, but I think right now is a time when we need to look for experience gathered outside of Washington, but in government.
Right.
To try to change the channel from the show that we're on right now. Where everybody, even the president's opponents, seem to spend most of their energy talking about him.
Right.
And fewer and fewer people are talking about you at home and how your life is going to be different.
So let's talk about that. It was written in Vox just recently, you were President Trump's ''polar opposite, whose focused on political reforms like abolishing the Electoral College channels their frustration with a system that feels rigged in the GOP's favor.'' Another thing: ''In 2019, he almost seems like a lab-engineered appeal to the variety of Democrats looking for a clear antidote to President Trump.'' Well, you're not a robot, right? Is that correct?
No, I didn't come from a lab.
Okay, all right.
I came from Indiana.
But the idea of not talking about him, but you do talk about ... I mean, that's part of that ...
It's true, we've got to do two things at once, right? When he lies, we've got to say what the lie is and say what the truth is. And when he does something wrong we've got to call it out, no question. But we always have to come back to what we're going to do to make your life different, because that's the turf we win on.
I mean, first of all it's the right thing to do, but also Americans agree with us on raising wages, they agree with us on preserving and expanding access to health care, they agree with us on immigration, they even agree with us on guns, even though we've been in a defensive crouch on this issue politically, the reality is, the vast majority of Republicans, let alone Americans, think we ought to have things like universal background checks and red flag laws.
So in order to win and in order to deserve to win, we have to be shifting the conversation to reality, to the facts on the ground.
And that's how a mayor thinks. As a mayor, I don't get to thump my chest and talk about ''making South Bend great again.'' If there's a hole in the road, I get called out for it, and need to go out there and fix it. And the same thing on the big issues around economic development or growth. And we've gotten away from that at the national level, where it seems like the president wants to create his own reality. And it turns out that on his show, even if you're fighting him, even if you're winning, you're losing.
Yeah.
If it's his show.
Yeah. Did you watch his show? No, you would've been too young.
Oh, you mean The Apprentice?
Yeah, yeah.
Yeah, occasionally, it was entertaining, but ...
So you don't think he's the opponent then, in that regard?
Well, he's the result of some deep systemic problems that are certainly something you see in my part of the industrial Midwest. I come from a community where we just now got our per capita income back over $20,000 per person. And there are neighborhoods in my community, even though I'm very proud of our growth '-- really, there's neighborhoods in my community where it's like the economic growth of the last 40 years never even happened. And for far too many Americans we've been told the rising tide will lift all boats, and it's just not true.
I think that a lot of people, especially in my part of the country, voted for this president under no illusions about whether he was a good guy, just in order to burn the house down.
Yeah.
Which is exactly what we're getting now. And so part of it has to do with his unique combination of ... whatever it is he is. But a lot of it, I think, is a set of failures in our current reality, in our kind of neoliberal consensus, that is breaking down. If it wasn't him, I really think it might be somebody else.
So when you're saying ''burn the house down,'' they wanted to take things out ... I've had a lot of candidates talk about this, this idea of we're going to vote for him because the whole thing is a mess. How do you then appeal to people that it's not a mess?
It is a mess.
Because you're doing a little burn the house down, like it's ...
They're not ... that's my point.
So it's reforms.
They're not wrong.
Right.
Okay, when he says that the elections were rigged by busloads of immigrants, that's obviously false. But who can look at districts drawn so that politicians are picking out their voters and not say that in a certain very well and very naked sense, elections are rigged? The question is what we're going to do about the fact that there was these deep flaws in our democracy, deep flaws in our economy.
And that's why I think it is very, not only wrong for America, but also wrong politically, if we feel tempted to have a message that's basically ''back to normal,'' right? ''It's so chaotic now, let's just go back to normal.'' And I don't think Democrats can take us back to the 2000s anymore than Republicans can take us back to the 1950s. We've got to present something new, something that responds to an economy where people my age and younger are going to be changing professions more often than my parents changed job titles. Something that responds to a democracy that's getting less democratic, not more. And really entertain the need for these structural deep reforms, that if we get them right, could make this next half century that we're about to launch into a very enlightened time of growth and prosperity. But if we get it wrong, it will be so ugly that there might be no going back, and we're seeing some of that now.
But you're talking about reforms that are quite drastic. I mean, in a lot of ways ...
If that's what you think is drastic in this country ...
I mean, the message is, it's not working.
Yeah.
Which is an old message, like every politician comes in and says it's not working, we know better how to fix it.
Yeah, but a lot of times it's not working so elect me, and I'm going to work the very same pulls and levers, but work them a little bit differently and everything will be better. And it just doesn't work. So what we need to do is change things deeply, it's why I'm talking about reforming the Supreme Court, which this country's done half a dozen times, but reforms to ...
Explain to people who don't know ... you want to add people to the Supreme Court.
Well, one of the solutions would involve adding people, but the point isn't adding people, the point is the structure has to include people who are not appointed on a partisan basis.
Right. So it'll go through this every time.
We can't have an apocalyptic ideological firefight every time somebody dies or retires. And there are different ways you can get at that. One that I think is interesting is to have a member of the court where a third of the members are chosen by a unanimous consensus of the others. That's just one of the solutions I think could work.
The point is, in a country whose most elegant quality is the fact that we reform our democracy, that we move to the direct election of Senators, that we adjusted the voting age, we've done things over the years to shore up our democracy, often by Constitutional amendment. And then sometime in the 70s, we just stopped. We just stopped doing that. And now we're seeing the consequences of that.
Some of these things that we're accustomed to are set in stone, or talked about like they're set in stone, but they shouldn't be. The fact that DC is not a state, there is no principled argument why American citizens living in the District of Columbia '-- which, by the way, if it were a state, would be the most African American state in the country '-- there is no principled reason why they should be denied a voice in the Senate and the House.
There are things that we're just tolerating because we've always done it this way. And now is the time to break the spell of we've always done it this way, because the way we've always done it doesn't work.
Some people argue that that's what Trump is doing. Every now and then you're like, ''Why do we do it that way?''
Yeah.
Like in terms of ...
Well, he's smashing everything.
Right.
And so there's tons of damage, but if there's some benefit to that, it might widen our imagination about what's possible. And we better have a bigger imagination because where we are right now is not going to work much longer. Republics, as a general rule don't survive the current level of economic inequality without political violence. I want to fix that before it's too late.
Political violence meaning ''let's torch the rich''?
Revolution. Who knows?
Right.
Yeah, all kinds of ... And I think we're seeing this now, it doesn't mean it automatically leads to reform. Right now, the inequality has contributed to a regime in Washington that is only making the inequality worse. The point is, you get weird, twisted, unhealthy political outcomes when you have the inequalities of economic power and political power that we see right now in our country today.
So would you have the power to do that, to shift it from a break-it-all-down ... I mean, I want to get into tech in a minute because tech's ... as you know, Facebook's famous bromide was ''move fast and break things.''
Right.
''Break'' was not a good word.
Well, they didn't think through all of the things they were going to break.
Yeah. No, they didn't think through any of them, actually. And breaking may not be the right verb.
Yeah.
You know, in a lot of ways, and we'll get to that concept of breaking things. How do you feel like you have the ability to fix that?
Well, it matters who the president is. I don't believe, as Trump said, ''I alone can fix it.'' It doesn't work that way, that's one of the things I learned as a mayor, as a mayor in a strong mayor system, where you're still dealing with a lot of different dynamics. And a big part of the job is actually figuring out how to manage things you don't control, and try to control things you don't own. And I think it's one of the reasons why being a mayor is actually an unusually apt preparation for the presidency, among the things you can do in your life before you become president.
But, it's not just something that can be done out of the White House. You need a White House that gets it. You need, ideally, a president who's arrived with some coattails, because it would be a lot easier to drive these reforms. I mean, the best answer by far to how do you deal with Mitch McConnell is for him to not be in the majority anymore.
Sure. But this isn't going to be a landslide election for anybody, I think.
Well, we'll see, I mean, we have an exceptionally unpopular president right now.
With an exceptionally good economy.
Is it though?
Well not for everybody, of course.
The Dow is going up, GDP ...
It's good for ...
To me, the most interesting measure of our economy is life expectancy, it's going down. Even in 2016, right? We had a so-called ''economic anxiety'' election under conditions of more or less full employment. And what it tells you is maybe the things we're counting are not the right things.
Right. But it's not going to be a coattail election. Most people don't imagine that.
Oh, there're going to be fierce challenges no matter what. But what we're learning is those challenges are less and less ideological by the day. The fact that the Republican Party got taken over by an economic populist who doesn't really have an ideology tells you that the next battles will not be along the sort of familiar left-right terms of the last battles. There's some of that, but I think people are way overestimating how much this is a left, center, right fight versus a forward versus back fight.
And you've got a generation that is becoming politically awakened, including a generation of people I think in the kind of technological, digital native world who believed early on that politics was not relevant to them. Only to be so horrified by what's happening now that there's going to be an activation there. We're seeing it in everything from the March For Our Lives to the new kinds of movements emerging around climate change, that I think can deeply change the conversation. It still matters enormously who's in the White House.
Right. But having the power to do that, given the pain that has happened now, how do you heal that pain?
Well, we get results. The biggest thing we've got to do is undertake the reforms that are going to make a difference and summoning Americans into ...
But you need the political power to do so.
Yeah. Well, the first way you get that is by winning. The way you sustain it is to summon Americans and do bigger projects. It's why I believe national service is very important because it sets up some common experiences for different Americans. It's why I believe that we should undertake climate, not as something that makes people feel that they're being kind of beaten over the head and told they're bad, but as a national project that aligns private, public, academic, and social sectors to all be working together toward a solution. And this is what the right kind of leadership can do. Take division and get unification out of it, that's what good leadership is. What we have now is the opposite. Even issues where people broadly agree, like the fact that most Americans want bipartisan immigration reform. The president's turning it into a divisive issue because we are more useful to him divided than united.
Your mayorship is really small. It's smaller than most congressional districts. What someone said to me last night, if you're in the military, you don't go from being a corporal to a general, either. Like you understand that you don't ...
You know what's funny, I wouldn't be getting this question if I were a senator or a member of Congress.
I agree with you.
But if I were a senator ...
I think most people aren't qualified to be president, but go ahead.
And look, you could be a very senior senator and have never in your life managed more than 100 people. I'm not in a job comparable to the American presidency. There is no job comparable to the American presidency.
And you do have the low bar we have now.
Well, yeah, but I know what it is to be responsible for the wellbeing of 100,000 people. To be responsible for the conduct of over 1,000 employees, to manage hundreds of millions of dollars in decisions. I know what it is to get a phone call at 3:00 AM about a situation where there was no win, only different ways to manage a problem. I know what it is to have to not only implement good policies and figure out how to manage something, but to summon people to their highest values when they look to you in a crisis.
And again, often in a crisis, there is a no-win situation. So while there was no job like the American presidency, I would argue that compared to a congressional district, where you're in charge of maybe 15 people and your job is to vote on things, being a mayor of a city of any size in this country, but perhaps especially from the middle of the country and the kinds of communities that our party has struggled to connect with, is as good a preparation as government can give you.
So talk about the middle of the country, because that's again, one of your appeals, and something you talk about a lot is that you all don't know what's going on elsewhere.
There's this mystical fascination now with the Rust Belt, right? The reporters show up ...
I know.
''Take me to your dive bar,'' as if we have all the keys to decoding ...
We have dive bars in San Francisco.
There's that kind of a political story going on. But it really is true that our part of the country is where so many of these decisions have landed and so many of these decisions have failed. The promise, for example, that the rising tide would lift all boats. The reason people are so upset about trade, even though technology has demolished far more jobs than trade has.
One hundred percent.
It's largely a consequence of the things that had been visited upon the industrial Midwest, which is why this president's divisive message found very fertile ground in places like where I live. I think it's very important to recover a progressive tradition that actually originated in the middle of the country. I mean, back in the day, if you go back 100 years ago, the conservatives were in the cities, socially, a bit more forward looking, but also mostly interested in retaining the prerogatives of the wealthy and the powerful.
And the progressives, the workers and the farmers coming out of my part of the country, so you had Bob La Follett and Eugene Debs, Indiana socialists, 100 years ago. And that the roots of that progressive tradition still belong, I think, in the middle of the country because we are the ones who are most alienated from the stupendous wealth being created for a few people in a few places. But the irony of it is, we can be a huge part of the solution. Take agriculture and climate change, very few people talk about climate as a rural issue. Other than the fact that rural Americans are now getting destroyed by irregular weather.
But from a solution side, there's evidence that with the right kind of research, we could figure out a way to have soil take in as much carbon around the world as the global transportation sector puts out. But we'd have to invite rural America to be part of the solution and fund the research to actually do technically what ...
It's something Bill Gates and Elon Musk are working on actually, that's one of the companies. It's carbon capture, essentially.
Right. People who are a little allergic on carbon capture because they think it might be an excuse to keep putting it in.
Yes, not fix everything.
And the reality is we've got to do both. I mean, even then we'll be lucky to get to where we need to in terms of carbon neutral economy. Anyway, my point is the solutions are going to come largely from our communities, not from Washington. And Washington can play a role in helping communities circulate these solutions and empowering communities. Whereas what we have right now is kind of the worst of all worlds. We don't have the benefits of the kind of FDR-style social state because it's been gutted. But we've also seen that this sort of conservative myth that if you take down all the regulations and rules, we'll all be better off. We're seeing all the reasons why that is, in fact, a myth.
When you talk about the Midwest then I want to get to tech. There is that idea that real Americans live there. I mean, ''I'm from the Midwest, I know what regular people want.'' There are regular people, real Americans living in San Francisco and Silicon Valley, in New York City.
Of course.
How do you stop that, that idea? I was thinking about it the other day, when a lot of tech people are going to the Rust Belt and ''we're going to do Silicon '...''
Right, the safaris.
Whatever, the safaris, yeah, yeah.
I am absolutely happy to welcome somebody who wants to have a Silicon Prairie moment in South Bend.
Yeah, but there is no such thing.
Because that's how we're building up. No, sure there is, we're working on it. But it's going to be different for us.
It's interesting, it's an interesting idea, this idea of this separation that there you either have to be Mayor Pete from the Midwest or elite person from California or, it creates a really ...
No, I think we can cut across as my own life story has cut across these things. I've lived and worked in cities and been educated overseas. But I also live in a middle-class neighborhood in the middle-American community that produced me.
Yeah, you're pretty fancy.
Yeah, yeah, great education, and some of my best friends live in cities. I think the important thing is that we talk about who is benefiting, but I do think it's also important that people understand just how different the experience really is in the middle of the country. Because while there are people at every rung of the economic ladder in San Francisco, for example, I have a hard time getting people from San Francisco to understand issues like the problem we have in South Bend of houses unaffordable because their prices are too low.
Yeah, you'd have that problem in San ...
If you have a $35,000 house, you can't get a loan on a $35,000 house because the bank doesn't think they'll get their transaction costs back. And so understanding just how much variation there is. And by the way, this is one of the reasons why I think many of the urban growth patterns in our biggest cities, which I love to visit, are completely unsustainable. And that this will, over time, if we guide it the right way, help lead to a repopulation of the heartland.
Although most people think there's going to be mega cities. Well, let's talk about it, let's move into tech, because that's one issue, is the idea that there'll be these mega cities that are gonna need technological solutions, that most people will be in the large cities.
You could argue the city itself is an invention whose basic function is to make it possible, physically, technologically possible, for us to live at a level of density where we are more productive and more happy. The relationship of technologies, from the original most important technologies ever, like sewers to stuff we're talking about now like smart traffic signals and the kind of digitization of city life. Those things go hand in hand.
And, look, as a mayor, obviously I'm a city guy, I'm a believer in cities, but I do think we also need to recognize that as the mobility of people and information and funds grows, we may find ourselves less tethered to geographies, especially if those geographies develop in a way that's unsustainable. And I think a lot of US cities are doing that.
All right, talk a little bit about your relationship to tech. You've been spending a lot of time out there at a time when there's a techlash and a lot of candidates are avoiding it or attacking tech. You haven't done that as much. Tell me why.
You know, I'm as skeptical as anybody about some of the harms that tech can do, but I think the idea of reducing it to being ''for'' or ''against'' tech is like saying we're going to be, I don't know, ''for'' or ''against'' food. This is a fundamental part of our lives. The question is, how are we going to organize it? And I think having witnessed innocence as well as the harm of my generation thinking up these tech platforms, and now wrangling with the consequences of what has been created, requires us to be thoughtful. And not just reach for the pitchforks, but really figure out what it's going to take.
I'm going to ask you to be specific. What do you think the problems have been?
So one problem is anti-competitive behavior, right? But that's actually the most old-fashioned of the problems. That's something that's not that different from what we saw happen with railroads.
Yeah, powerful ...
And if we have the right legal framework, which I do think needs to be tuned up, plus the right enforcement, which I think has been lax, then we have, I think as a country we roughly know how to handle that. There's just some new qualities around tech that we've got to think about. Other things that are being ...
Can you be specific there? Saying there should be some sort of ... but what kind of breakup?
For example, if something doesn't have a charge for the service, right? That doesn't mean that it can consolidate infinitely without any harms.
Of course.
Just cause the product on its face is free. So we need a framework that can accommodate that. One thing you might look at is when companies that have that kind of scale and power propose mergers, you assume that it's invalid and require them to carry the burden of proving that it should be allowed instead of the other way around, where it's presumptively valid and the FTC has gotta jump in and block it. But this idea that a president's gonna say, this or that company ought to be blown up at my whim, is not really consistent with, first of all, a rule of law that works, but also the policy that's gonna make us better off. So are some of these companies too big? Yes. Is there anti-competitive behavior? Yes. Should they be enforced on? You bet.
What are your specific thoughts of which ones are too big? You don't have any?
I don't think it's a job of a politician to pick a company and say ...
Really? Not to pick a company. But we could've said AT&T was too big or in this case it's Facebook or Google.
Yeah. And again, it's largely the anti-competitive behavior that I'm worried about. I do think things like the WhatsApp acquisition are questionable. I think the throttling of things on ... the way that Amazon privileges its own goods is something there should be an intervention on. But I also think what we most need is an FTC that's empowered to handle these things.
But here's what's happening: We're mad about two different things and we're treating them like one. One of them is what we were just talking about, that the competition of monopoly behavior. The other one is the handling of data, and the reality is data security and data privacy problems can arise from tech companies of any size. We're worried about how it's playing out with the big players, but it could be anybody who I give my data to needs to be responsible with it.
It has a different effect when it's enormous and in the hands of one company.
Yes, but often it's a smaller company in ... I mean, think Cambridge Analytica. It's not a massive player, but they did a massive amount of harm because of what they did in their kind of plug-in to a bigger system, which was Facebook. So we need to understand that these data security problems exist in a way that is not fully dependent on how big or small a company is. And for that reason, breaking up some company isn't going to make those problems go away. We are shockingly behind when it comes to how our country thinks about these questions. I think we've got 50 states, we got 50 frameworks for dealing with this. We need to establish the rights that we have over the value that's created from the data that we hand over.
Do you believe in a national privacy bill? Would that be something that you would think is important?
Yes, I think we need a national data framework. I think the right to be forgotten, for example, it needs to be encoded at a national level.
Whoa, really?
Yeah.
Interesting. That is the First Amendment, you know that's a problem.
What's that?
The First Amendment kind of gets in the way of that. What does that mean to you, the right to be forgotten? That's in Europe, it's super problematic.
Yeah. Look, the GDPR has got all kinds of issues and I think we can learn from it.
So you think the right to be forgotten should be in this country?
Yeah, I think we need to have some trail.
How?
Well, this probably won't be resolved until we also have a framework for data portability. Some vendor-neutral way of saying how some of our data is going to be collated and where it's going to live. And some of these things are fierce technical as well as legal as well as Constitutional problems. But at the end of the day, we need to have some level of relationship to the value that is created in our name from our data, from our information.
Absolutely. But there's one thing to control your data, it's another thing to be able to delete things that are factual. That's the problem with the right to be forgotten. Also, there is the First Amendment.
Well, we'll have to decide the difference between a piece of data that I hand to a company to use and make money off of and something that is published. I mean, that's where ... and maybe you and I aren't having the exact same conversation here, but ...
Well, I know what the right to be forgotten is, it's super problematic in this country.
There's an extent to which what these companies are doing amounts to publication, which by the way is why they need to accept more responsibility as editors, but that's another story. But as we figure out how these rights are gonna work, we need a national framework to do it and we need a national debate about it. Because now it's being worked on by handfuls of people who ...
Yeah, in California.
.... are either the most ferocious activists or the most self-interested players. California is ahead of the others, but what they're doing is, I think it's questionable whether that really makes sense for the country as a whole. And even then, we won't have addressed the questions around digital citizenship, where I think a lot of other countries are running circles around us. My favorite example is Estonia, where they '-- admittedly different scale, 1 million people.
Yeah, it's a small country.
But you can do everything online and it's more secure than what we do. Pretty much anything but getting married, you can do online. Their voting is more secure, the way you pay your taxes. And they've isolated data in the right ways. And the fact that in 2019 in a country that likes to think of itself as the world's most advanced, the only way you can authenticate who you are is to get a birth certificate out of a file cabinet in a county office or to, as the button says, ''sign in with Google,'' ''sign in with Facebook.'' Authentication is one of the most basic jobs of government. And the closest thing we have to even an ID number is a Social Security number.
Do you think we've let these companies take over too much of our digital lives, then? And the government should do this?
Yeah. A lot of these things have arisen because the policy world didn't figure it out. I don't think a lot of tech companies want to be adjudicating what hate speech is or ...
Who should?
Look, there's obviously an extent to which it can be done and that's the problem with the First Amendment and drawing these lines. But if there's some line to be drawn, I think it makes sense for us to have a policy framework for these things. Look, every time a company the size of YouTube or Amazon or Google or Facebook makes a corporate policy decision, what they're really doing is making a public policy decision. But they have none of the apparatus to make public policy. And I don't think they want to, to some extent.
Except they want the money. They want everything else.
Well of course they do.
Well they're the public squares while being private squares.
Policy's supposed to create the guardrails and the ground rules. And then within that, go make as much money as you like. Just don't hurt anybody.
If there's one rule that you would push forward, would it be around the gig economy, hate speech?
Well definitely from a labor perspective, I think in the gig economy we have got to recognize that gigs are jobs and people who have gigs are workers. And we don't do that right now.
And make them employees.
You can either make them employees or you can give them the same benefits as if they were employees. So I think there's a problem with misclassifying workers as contractors, but I also want to erase some of the magic between whether you're a contractor or worker in terms of whether you get any benefits.
If you drive seven hours for Uber, then seven divided by 40 is how much that ought to contribute to your sick leave bank. And we can set that up. We can set up a national sick leave bank or nationally administered state level sick leave banks just like we do for unemployment insurance, and it shouldn't matter whether you're a contractor and it shouldn't matter whether you're full time or part time.
We've created these cliffs between full-time work and part-time work, between worker and contractor, that are distinctions without a difference in terms of what it's like to be a worker, but have huge consequences in terms of your access to the benefits of being in the American economy. And again, coming from a generation that's going to be working more and more different jobs or gigs over the course of a week, let alone over the course of our lives, we can no longer have a system that rests on the assumption that you're going to spend your life as a lifelong employee of a single employer that makes sense. And fixing that, including making it possible also for gig workers to unionize, I think is going to be a really important part of how you get the economy ...
You think gig workers should be able to unionize.
Yes. Yes. And it starts again with the understanding that they are, in fact, workers. Look, you can apply tests to figure out whether somebody really is a contractor or not, and if it looks, walks, quacks like an employee then you need to have those people ...
One of the complaints about the tech industry that they have said is that if they're not allowed to be this innovative and do these things and if they get guardrails, they're not going to be as innovative as China.
Well, it's interesting that they're saying ''we should have fewer rules so that we can be more like China.'' I get the argument but ...
I know. I agree. I say that to them exactly.
China's got a totally different approach. And by the way, they're not going to change their approach because we're poking them in the eye with tariffs, but that's another story. Look, the internet started out as this delicate flower that it had to be cultivated and we had to let it see where it was going to go. Now we know where it's going to go and it's time to put in the guardrails.
By the way, another thing that our friends in the industry sometimes forget is that this entire industry was literally invented by the federal government.
Yes it was. I remember.
The internet was. So we need to be talking about is, okay, we're glad for you to innovate. And I do think that some of the anger is directed in a way that's unfocused, but also these choices that you're making are affecting all of us and a lot of them shouldn't be on your plate to begin with.
So let me finish up with this. You take more money from them than other people. Do you feel that that's a problem or does that make you beholden to them?
Look, if somebody backs my proposal to make sure Uber workers can unionize ...
If it's an Uber CEO, you might ...
Fine. Great. One of the first things you learn as mayor is to make decisions that will sometimes upset people who've supported you, because we're one community. And my fundraising, I'm very proud of the grassroots character of my fundraising. Over 400,000 donors. Average contribution, I don't have the number in my head, but it's a pretty modest number and that's how we're powering this campaign. At the end of the day, if somebody supports a progressive vision and wants to help me get it done, then that's great.
Let's finish up talking about you. So many people are like, ''I love him, I love him, I love him. A gay guy can't get elected president.'' Is that a problem? Do you actually think it's a problem?
It's just not true.
I'm going to interrupt my own question, but did you know you were gay when you were going in the military?
Yeah.
You did?
Yeah.
So you ''don't ask, don't told.''
Right. Yeah, I was under don't ask, don't tell for the first part of my military career.
I wanted to be in the military. I had to tell. And it was sort of the Clinton administration time and I couldn't be in the military because I had to tell.
It's a lot of weight. It's just this thing you carry around with you that creates a lot of pressure and a lot of frustration.
So you so much wanted to be in the military.
Really wanted to serve.
How did you make that trade with yourself?
It's not easy, but I'd been making that trade all my life. Grew up in Indiana, took me years to come out to myself, and then I had a job in the mayor's office that had to be so busy that I didn't mind not having much of a personal life, until I deployed. And I realized this is nuts, that I could be killed in action in my early 30s as a grown-ass man in charge of a city with no idea what it's like to be in love. I'm going to come out.
So I came home, came out, middle of an election year. Not politically ideal. In Indiana, Democratic city, but not that Democratic and very socially conservative. Mike Pence was the governor of my state. And I got 80 percent of the vote. And I think what that tells you is that people can outgrow their prejudices. Or even if people harbor prejudices, in the end, when they're deciding who they want to lead a city, or for that matter who they want to have the nuclear codes, they're going to be deciding who's going to serve them well. And a lot of that other stuff fades away. If you're a single-issue voter and your single issue is prejudice, you're probably not one of the voters we're really looking to win over for the Democrats today.
So in answer to that question, why isn't it a problem? Because people don't care? Because I think they do.
People get over it. At least my experience has shown how people get over it. People in Indiana can get over it, I think people across America can get over it. Look, the tide is shifting on this, but it's not overnight. It's not like flipping a switch. And just about every major candidate in the race has some historic quality about them that creates disadvantages as well as advantages. But at the end of the day, I think Americans want to know what we're going do for them, how am I going to make your everyday life different and better.
But you're also making, you're also making a part of your campaign with your husband, who's utterly charming.
Yeah, I'm pretty fond of him.
Especially social media charming. How much do you think about making that a part of it?
The kind of personal rule we adopted for how we go about being a first couple in South Bend, when he came into my life and we were dating and it got serious was we're going to act like any other couple and we're going to invite people to treat us like any other couple. And that's basically what happened. Any candidate who has a great spouse I think wants people to get to know your spouse, and he's a great asset to the campaign.
And look, I want people to know my story. And it's important for people to know that part of what motivates me to see how politics affects our everyday lives is my life experience. And it's the life experience of being sent to war by a US president. And it's the life experience of belonging to a family where things like ACA and Medicare made a huge difference. And it's the life experience of starting and ending my day in a marriage that exists by the grace of a single vote on the Supreme Court. I don't think you have to be gay to see why that matters. But I also don't think that talking about that reduces me to being the ''gay candidate'' or the ''president of gay America.''
Do you feel you have to be more '... more gay? I don't want to say it. Because not everybody gets the privilege you do, this experience. Mine certainly wasn't like that and many, many gay and lesbian people across this '-- and transgender people, especially right now '-- across this country are suffering in that way. I kind of think of it in sort of the Tim Cook experience in a lot of ways. Who is out but not too out, but stands up for things but not too much. And by the way, I think Tim's done a lot of amazing things.
You can think yourself into such a corner on this stuff. I just try to be who I am and share my experience. And of course I'm conscious of what it means to LGBT people who come up to me and talk about what it means to them, from young people who felt emboldened to come out to their parents, to people my parents' age who are in tears because they didn't think this was possible. But I'm also putting forward positions on LGBTQ equality that I would hope anyone in my party, gay or straight, would embrace. And ultimately I think that each of us brings our experience to the table. Our work experiences, our life experience.
So this is who you are.
This is who I am. And you're not going to ... There's always going to be some people who think you're too gay or not gay or whatever. You can't let that bog you down. Because the bottom line is, what will I do as president to make American lives better?
It's not your only identity is what you're ... It's my among your identities.
Yeah.
Are you running for vice president? If you don't ...
No, I'm running for president.
You're running for president.
You don't do something like that ... First of all, I've never believed in running for an office so that you can have some other office.
Right. It does happen, though.
But especially when we're talking about the American presidency. And frankly, when we're talking about what you do in your own life in order to run for the American presidency, you really need to be in it to win. And I'm laying out a vision as well as a sense of urgency. This is not for fun. I believe that we run the risk of handing the presidency to Donald Trump if we try to too hard to play it safe or ignore the profound dynamics that are happening in our country right now.
The changing politics.
The changing politics of changing economy. The pace of change is only going to accelerate. We need to be on top of it. And I present a different message and I'm a different kind of messenger. I'm simply not like the others. Otherwise I would've found one of them and worked for them.
Right. And when you're thinking about Democrats being united '... Just today, and I want to end on this, the ''squad,'' which was Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and others fighting with Nancy Pelosi about what they should tweet, what they should say. How are you gonna bring everybody together? Because even within the Democrats there's all these ...
Yeah. That kind of jostling is natural and I think the Speaker can handle it and I think that members can handle themselves and if somebody gets too far out of line or does something that's unfair, they'll usually be called out on it. I think at the end of the day we do have to remember that there's going to be like 24 candidates who are not going to be the nominee. We need to rally around the one person who is, but I think we have seen the consequences of failing to do that.
This is not just saying the wolf is at the gates. The wolf is through the gates, eating our chickens. Our country is in pretty dire shape. The nature of primary season is it's for surfacing the differences within our party and negotiating them. That's fine.
But the thing we've got to remember is their message is going to be the same no matter what we do. If we adopt a far-left platform, they're going to say we're socialists. And if we adopt a conservative platform, they're going to say we're socialists. Now is the time for our party to decide what we believe in, what we think is going to work, and then go out and sell it. And there will always be a spectrum around the kind of center of gravity of our party. But the most important thing is to not be jerks about it and to get out there, fight for what we believe in, represent what we care about among one another, and then get out there and take it to the country.
And this a question I asked Michael Bennett yesterday. If you don't get that, is there a favorite candidate for you?
I admire just about everybody running, but I think I wouldn't be doing this if I didn't think that my message is the best one and I'm not like the others.
Have you been surprised by your popularity?
The trajectory of it? Yeah. Obviously we believed in this mission and in the message, but I thought it would be a slower burn until I could break through. Turns out breaking through is not the problem. That being said, even though I get stopped in the street and we may have cracked our way into the top tier and led the field in terms of fundraising last quarter, there's still a very high ceiling for us because there's a huge number of Americans who do not follow the blow by blow of this process and are just now ... A lot of people the debates was the first they saw any of us.
Yeah. You got to the, ''Wow, he's adorkable,'' level. Now what?
Well, it's one thing for people to like you, it's another for people to see why you need to be the nominee and why your presidency would be different than the others. And my job now and basically for the next six, seven months, all the way until the voting begins, is to make clear to Americans how my presidency would be different and better than any of the others.
All right. Who's your favorite president? Do you have a favorite?
It's got to be Lincoln. Yeah. And not just because all the reasons Lincoln, but ...
He's from the Midwest, I hear.
And from the Midwest. In fact, spent a lot of time in Indiana. But the other thing we don't hear as much about, about Lincoln, is that he understood how important it was to keep an eye on the future. Founding the National Science Foundation, setting up the transcontinental railroad, the land grant colleges. He's doing these things while the country is in a civil war because he understood that for the country to stay together and grow, you had to be ready for the future in these ways. And that's another reason I think he should just be a North Star for anybody trying to be a good leader in America.
Yeah. Well let's hope we don't have to have a civil war. Anyway, thank you so much. This has been great, and you're just as adorkable and smart as everyone says you are.
Thanks for having me.
Recode and Vox have joined forces to uncover and explain how our digital world is changing '-- and changing us. Subscribe to Recode podcasts to hear Kara Swisher and Peter Kafka lead the tough conversations the technology industry needs today.
VIDEO - Pressley: Democrats don't need 'any more black faces that don't want to be a black voice' | TheHill
Mon, 15 Jul 2019 03:54
Rep. Ayanna Pressley Ayanna PressleyDurbin responds to Trump tweet: 'Thank goodness' Omar made it to United States Sanders: Pelosi is being 'a little bit' too tough on Ocasio-Cortez Pelosi: Trump's attack on Democratic lawmakers reaffirms his plan to make 'America white again' MORE (D-Mass.) reportedly said Democrats don't need "any more black faces that don't want to be a black voice" during a liberal Netroots Nation conference on Sunday, a comment that comes as racial politics threaten to divide the party.
The Washington Post reports Pressley said she's not interested in bringing "a chair to an old table."
''This is the time to shake that table. ... We don't need any more brown faces that don't want to be a brown voice,'' Pressley reportedly said during the event. ''We don't need any more black faces that don't want to be a black voice.''
Pressley's spokeswoman, Lina Francis, told the Post the congresswoman was making the point that ''diversity at the table doesn't matter if there's not real diversity in policy.'' The Hill has reached out to Pressley's office.
Pressley's comments followed a tumultuous week of Democratic infighting, as establishment Democrats continue to clash with a new wave of elected progressives in the party.
Pressley and fellow freshman Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Alexandria Ocasio-CortezHillary Clinton responds to Trump tweets telling Dem lawmakers to 'go back' to their countries Trump doubles down after telling Democratic congresswomen to 'go back' to their countries #RacistInChief takes off on Twitter after Trump tells Dems to go back where they 'came from' MORE (D-N.Y.), Rashida Tlaib Rashida Harbi TlaibDurbin responds to Trump tweet: 'Thank goodness' Omar made it to United States Sanders: Pelosi is being 'a little bit' too tough on Ocasio-Cortez Pelosi: Trump's attack on Democratic lawmakers reaffirms his plan to make 'America white again' MORE (D-Mich.) and Ilhan Omar Ilhan OmarDurbin responds to Trump tweet: 'Thank goodness' Omar made it to United States Sanders: Pelosi is being 'a little bit' too tough on Ocasio-Cortez Pelosi: Trump's attack on Democratic lawmakers reaffirms his plan to make 'America white again' MORE (D-Minn.) clashed with Speaker Nancy Pelosi Nancy PelosiDurbin responds to Trump tweet: 'Thank goodness' Omar made it to United States Sanders: Pelosi is being 'a little bit' too tough on Ocasio-Cortez Pelosi: Trump's attack on Democratic lawmakers reaffirms his plan to make 'America white again' MORE (D-Calif.) after the four progressives did not vote for a border aid package last month when Pelosi put forward a Senate-approved bill.
Pelosi told The New York Times's Maureen Dowd that the congresswomen "have their public whatever and their Twitter world. But they didn't have any following. They're four people and that's how many votes they got."
Ocasio-Cortez then called out Pelosi for "the explicit singling out of newly elected women of color," though she said she does not think Pelosi is racist.
Ocasio-Cortez's chief of staff, Saikat Chakrabarti, also came under attack in a Twitter feud last week after he said Rep. Sharice Davids Sharice DavidsTop Democrat blasts Trump's 'racist tweet' about progressive congresswomen Progressive groups slam House Democratic leadership's 'escalating attacks' on progressives House Democratic Caucus rebukes Ocasio-Cortez's chief of staff MORE (D-Kan.), who is Native American, has taken votes that "enable a racist system."
The House Democratic Caucus tweeted back that Davids is a "phenomenal new member who flipped a red seat blue."
Chakrabarti pushed back on the caucus, saying Davids is a friend and his tweet was aimed at the "terrible border funding bill that 90+ Dems opposed."
The Congressional Black Caucus (CBC), aligned with Pelosi, is also furious with the progressive group Justice Democrats for backing challengers to incumbent lawmakers of color, especially African Americans.
Justice Democrats backed Pressley and Ocasio-Cortez in their successful bids to oust powerful, long-term Democratic incumbents.
The group is backing primary challengers to eight-term Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-Texas), a Hispanic Caucus member, and 10-term Rep. Wm. Lacy Clay William (Lacy) Lacy ClayOcasio-Cortez's racism charge shows Pelosi at risk of being devoured by the revolution New York Democrat on Ocasio-Cortez, other progressives: 'Primaries go two ways' Racial politics roil Democratic Party MORE (D-Mo.), a CBC member.
The group has also floated the idea of finding a primary challenger to House Democratic Caucus Chairman Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.), a CBC member primed to be Pelosi's successor.
CBC leaders fear the progressive group may target other black House Democrats in coming weeks.
VIDEO - Sunday Talks: Kellyanne Conway -vs- Chris Wallace'... | The Last Refuge
Sun, 14 Jul 2019 20:50
As immigration enforcement leads the Sunday headlines, White House Adviser Kellyanne Conway appears on Fox News to debate the international defender of all downtrodden economic migration, Chris Wallace.
The ever-insufferable Wallace takes his natural Fos/GOPe cocktail circuit position that all immigration enforcement is antithetical to the global rights of humans to have unfettered access to the United States.
Advertisements
