•Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen testifies before the European Parliament in Brussels today, and before French lawmakers in Paris Wednesday; both groups are expected to air their own proposals for changes to the EU’s content moderation rules, called the Digital Services Act (Politico).
•The U.S. reopens international borders today to travelers from 33 countries, mostly in Europe, plus Canada and Mexico, who have been vaccinated for COVID-19, and have proof of a recent coronavirus test (WaPo).
Court Blocks Vax Mandate -- The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, in response to a lawsuit filed by a group including Louisiana’s attorney general, ruled that the Biden administration’s vaccine requirement that companies with 100 or more employees (who must be vaccinated or show regular negative COVID tests), which is to go into effect January 4, 2022, is suspended.
Note: The Biden rule is to be implemented through the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), which was put into existence in 1970 under Richard M. Nixon, who, as you may recall was a Republican. And it is worth noting that the 91stCongress (1969-1971) included 243 Democrats and 192 Republicans. Who knew that there could be things done on a bipartisan basis?
While there seems to be glee in Baton Rouge — The Washington Post quotes Jeff Landry, the Republican attorney general of Louisiana saying the court’s action is “a major win for the liberty of job creators and their employees” — there is something to keep in mind.
Presently there are 754,000 deaths in the U.S. attributed to COVID-19. The Biden plan is meant to help mitigate the addition of more people to that role.
And there is something that is Section 5(a)(1) of the Occupational Safety and Health Act, known as the “General Duty Clause.”
According to the General Duty Clause employers are required to provide employees:
"employment and a place of employment which are free from recognized hazards that are causing or are likely to cause death or serious physical harm to his employees...."
Presumably COVID-19 is recognized. The 754,000 deaths were certainly not all workplace related, but it is a known cause of death and physical harm to those who don’t die.
And that is a “major win for the liberty of job creators and their employees”?
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Granholm: “All Options on Table,” Including Strategic Energy Reserve – President Biden has not ruled out tapping the Strategic Energy Reserve as petroleum prices spike under pressure from demand and of supply bottlenecks, according to Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm. “All options are on the table,” Granholm told CNN’s Dana Bash on State of the Union Sunday.
Note: More critical to the Biden administration’s first-year success as bipartisan infrastructure bill spending begins is the price of gasoline, which sits at an average of $3.422 per gallon according to AAA, and of home heating oil, which also is spiking. The problem is related to fears of continued high inflation even as Treasury Secretary Janet Yellin tries to reassure Americans that this is not likely to be the case next year as employment returns to normal levels and supply chains open up. For now, high energy cost concerns will create more fodder by moderate Democrats and Republicans against the White House’s $2 trillion Build Back Better social safety net package.
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And So Infrastructure Has Come to Pass – It seems to have taken the Democratic loss in last week’s Virginia gubernatorial election and a much closer call than polls predicted in the New Jersey governor’s race to finally get the bipartisan infrastructure (BIP) bill passed in the House of Representatives, 228-206, and sent to President Biden’s desk for signing into law. Biden cancelled his usual, short, weekend trip home to Wilmington, Delaware, in order to sign it.
The House vote included 13 Republicans in favor and six progressive Democrats who voted “nay.” (See The List.)
To keep things straight, this infrastructure bill is the one for which Congress members can go home and tell constituents that roads will be built and bridges fixed; lead water pipes replaced; Amtrak enhanced; and wi-fi installed in rural America. It’s $1.2 trillion, of which $550 billion is new spending and the rest reauthorizes surface transportation and water programs for five years, according to Roll Call.
Note: For months moderate Democrats and some Republicans have urged House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-CA, to allow separate votes on BIP and on Biden’s approximately $2-trillion social safety net Build Back Better (BBB) program set to pass via the reconciliation process. Blockage came from Sens. Joe Manchin III, D-WV, who has already negotiated the package down from $3.5 trillion, and Krysten Sinema, D-AZ.
But on Friday, when Pelosi had scheduled a vote on both bills, six moderate House Democrats blocked it, Roll Call reports, saying they couldn’t vote for it without a Congressional Budget Office score detailing its costs. Five of the Democrats, Ed Case of Hawaii, Josh Gottheimer of New Jersey, Stephanie Murphy of Florida, Kathleen Rice of New York and Kurt Schrader of Oregon, said if the package remains un-modded “other than technical changes,” they will help forward the package the week of November 15.
But there remain several moving parts, and we’d bet this will get punted into early next year. At least Biden has infrastructure.
The List: (Per The New York Times.)
The “Squad” of progressive Democrats voted against the BIP Friday:
•Jamaal Bowman, New York.
•Cori Bush, Missouri.
•Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, New York.
•Ilhan Omar, Minnesota.
•Ayanna S. Pressley, Massachusetts.
•Rashida Tlaib, Michigan.
Eight Republicans in the Problem Solvers Caucus who voted for the BIP Friday:
•Don Bacon, Nebraska.
•Brian Fitzpatrick, Pennsylvania.
•Andrew Garbarino, New York.
•Anthony Gonzalez, Ohio.
•John Katko, New York.
•Tom Reed, New York.
•Christopher H. Smith, New Jersey.
• Fred Upton, Michigan.
Five additional Republicans who voted for the bill:
•Adam Kinzinger, Illinois.
•Don Young, Alaska.
•Nicole Malliotakis, New York.
•David B. McKinley, West Virginia.
•Jeff Van Drew, New Jersey.
--Edited by Todd Lassa and Gary S. Vasilash