In the News
U.S. Sen. Ed Markey (D-MA) and Rep. Ted Lieu (D-CA) reintroduced legislation to prevent the president from launching a nuclear first strike without congressional approval.
Their bill, the Restricting First Use of Nuclear Weapons Act of 2019 (H.R.669/S.200), was also introduced in the 115th Congress but never made it out of committee. "First-use nuclear strike" means a nuclear weapons attack against an enemy that is conducted without the president determining that the enemy has first launched a nuclear strike against the United States or a U.S. ally.
U.S. lawmakers and nuclear arms control leaders are set to hold a news conference Tuesday to discuss limiting the power of U.S. presidents to launch a nuclear strike.
Democratic Sen. Edward Markey of Massachusetts and Congressman Ted Lieu of California are seeking to limit the ability of "President Donald Trump or any U.S. president to launch a nuclear first strike without a declaration of war by Congress," a statement they released Tuesday said.
The statement cited the incident in 2018 when the president taunted North Korea over the size of his nuclear button.
The Green New Deal and multiple proposed laws and resolutions in the U.S. House (HRes.540, HR.3314, HR.3671) and Senate (SRes.632, S.987) call for the United States to move entirely from fossil fuels to clean, renewable electricity and/or all energy. A new bill was just introduced by Rep. Ted Lieu (D-Los Angeles County) and Rep. Jimmy Gomez (D-CA), calling for the U.S. to produce 100 percent of its electric power from renewables by 2035.
When Democrats take control of the House in January, Californians will hold 46 seats in the majority party, the largest of any state delegation, giving the state significant clout in the chamber.
House Democrats can hold hearings on issues they want to push. They can seek to block the Trump administration's bid to expand offshore oil drilling and scrutinize EPA decisions, including the effort to roll back vehicle mileage and emissions rules. They can also offer bills and get them passed.ONTINUING COVERAGE
Rhode Island Rep. David Cicilline will again lead House Democrats' messaging arm next year, after being elected Thursday by acclamation to a newly created top position at the Democratic Policy and Communications Committee.
In February, AEI hosted an event with Sen. Edward Markey (D-MA) and Rep. Ted Lieu (D-CA) to discuss their Cyber Shield Act (S. 2020 and H.R. 4163) and efforts to improve Internet of Things (IoT) cybersecurity.
The United States is halting refueling of aircraft from the Saudi-led coalition engaged in Yemen, the United States and Saudi Arabia has said, ending one of the most divisive aspects of US assistance to the Saudi war effort.
Saudi Arabia, in a statement released by its embassy in Washington, said it had decided to request an end to US aerial refuelling for its operations in Yemen because it could now handle it by itself.
President Trump blamed the latest California wildfires on "gross mismanagement of the forests," in a tweet on Saturday.
"There is no reason for these massive, deadly and costly forest fires in California except that forest management is so poor. Billions of dollars are given each year, with so many lives lost, all because of gross mismanagement of the forests," the president wrote.
Trump threatened to withhold federal funds from California, adding, "Remedy now, or no more Fed payments!"
The Pentagon is halting refueling of warplanes from the Saudi-led coalition fighting in Yemen, U.S. and Saudi officials said Friday, ending the controversial U.S. support to allies in the bloody conflict.
Saudi Arabia said it no longer needed U.S. Air Force aerial refueling because it could handle the task itself, according to a statement released by the official Saudi Press Agency.