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For Immediate Release
September, 25 2013, 11:51am EDT
Contact:
Brett Abrams : 516-841-1105 : brett@fitzgibbonmedia.com
Activists Score Major Victory in Senate Against Monsanto Protection Act
Senate Removes Law Protecting GMO Crops From Court Authority From Spending Bill
WASHINGTON
Food Democracy Now!, a grassroots movement of more than 650,000 farmers and citizens, is praising Senator Barbara Mikulski (D-MD), Chair of the Senate Committee on Appropriations, after she announced last night her intention to strip the controversial Monsanto Protection Act provision from the Senate's version of the stop-gap spending bill, which extends the current budget deadline from September 30th to December 15th.
READ MORE HERE: https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/09/24/monsanto-protection-act-expire...
"This is a major victory for the food movement and all those who care about openness and transparency in their government," said Dave Murphy, founder an executive director of Food Democracy Now!, a grassroots movement of more than 650,000 farmers and citizens that led the charge against the secret rider for the past year. "And a sign that our voices can make the difference when we are effectively organized."
The Monsanto Protection Act (section 735), a provision that circumvents court authority to stop the planting and cultivation of GMO crops, was set to expire at the end of September, but its inclusion in Continuing Resolution (HJ.Res.59) by House Republicans, which passed by a vote of 230-189, would have kept the provision as law through the end of the year. But last night, Senator Mikulski, responding to the tens of thousands of phone calls from outraged citizens around the country, announced she would remove the Monsanto Protection Act from the Senate's version of the continuing resolution.
"This is what happens when people become engaged in the democratic process," Murphy said. "Millions of people around the world were outraged when the bill passed originally and removing the Monsanto Protection Act from the current bill is a sign that the food movement has arrived politically. The American people are tired of Monsanto's lies and the manipulation of our political process and we're not backing down."
Since the passage of the Monsanto Protection Act, Food Democracy Now! has generated more than half a million signatures to Congress and the White House asking for the removal of the secret rider, including more than 40,000 phone calls to Congress in the past two weeks.
"Corporations shouldn't be allowed to win special interest handouts in closed door meetings with a handful of members of Congress. It's time that our elected officials stop cozzying up to rogue corporations like Monsanto and get down to the business of representing the interests of the American people," said Murphy.
VIEW THE ACTION HERE: https://action.fooddemocracynow.org/call/tell_Congress_to_stop_the_monsa...
For interviews with Food Democracy Now!, please contact Brett Abrams at 516-841-1105 or by email atbrett@fitzgibbonmedia.com.
Food Democracy Now! is a grassroots community dedicated to building a sustainable food system that protects our natural environment, sustains farmers and nourishes families.
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Trump Expected to Pick 'Rabid Neocon' Marco Rubio for Secretary of State
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Nov 12, 2024
President-elect Donald Trump has reportedly decided to name Republican Sen. Marco Rubio as his secretary of state, a move that would elevate to the status of top U.S. diplomat one of the most reliable war hawks and interventionists in Congress.
Rubio (R-Fla.), whom Trump once attacked as a "little puppet" of the late pro-Israel billionaire Sheldon Adelson, has vocally backed Israel's war on the Gaza Strip, agitated for a military confrontation with Iran, and encouraged a coup in Venezuela. The Florida senator is also a China hardliner, much like Trump's national security adviser pick, Rep. Mike Waltz (R-Fla.).
The New York Times, which first reported the Rubio selection late Monday, noted that Trump "could still change his mind at the last minute."
The expected Rubio pick runs counter to Trump's attempt during the presidential campaign to posture as a "candidate of peace," which is how Vice President-elect JD Vance described Trump in the run-up to last week's election.
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Scahill went on to characterize Rubio and Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.)—Trump's pick to serve as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations—as "B-list neocon warmongers."
Scahill's colleague, Ryan Grim, called Trump's likely selection of Rubio as U.S. secretary of state a "huge win" for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, whose attacks on Gaza, the West Bank, Lebanon, and Iran have plunged the Middle East into a regional war.
"Marco Rubio is a rabid neocon" who "never met a war he didn't want somebody else to fight," Grim wrote on social media late Monday.
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Kaniela Ing, national director of the Green New Deal Network, noted Monday that "Rubio supported for-profit wars in Iraq, Afghanistan longer than anyone should."
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Nov 11, 2024
Progressive advocates voiced alarm Monday over U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's initial leadership picks—including a border czar who oversaw the separation of migrant families during the Republican's first term—amid fresh allegations that the 2024 victor's transition team is breaking the law by failing to sign a required ethics agreement.
As of Monday, Trump has tapped—or in one case, is expected to imminently name—the following senior administration officials:
Elise Stefanik for United Nations ambassador
On Monday, Trump said he is nominating Stefanik, a Republican congresswoman from New York and longtime ally, to represent the United States at the world body. Stefanik is a dogged defender of Israel, even as the country is on trial for alleged genocide at the International Court of Justice for its ongoing obliteration of Gaza.
Stefanik also supports defunding the U.N. Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, which provides lifesaving aid to Palestinians, over dubious Israeli allegations that its members are members of Hamas and took part in the October 7 attack.
According to AIPAC Tracker, Stefanik has taken more than $900,000 in campaign contributions from the American Israel Public Affairs Committee and aligns with the lobby group's advocacy for unconditional U.S. military aid to Israel.
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Mokhiber added that Stefanik is "a fitting pick to represent the rapid decline of the U.S. on the world stage."
Lebanese American University professor Jad Melki said sardonically of Stefanik's selection, "Thank you Trump for removing any illusions about your administration's supportive policy towards the Israeli genocide in Palestine and Lebanon."
While not a Cabinet-level pick, Trump is expected to appoint Brian Hook—described by Drop Site News' Murtaza Hussain as "a major Iran hawk who helped lead the 'maximum pressure' campaign of sanctions, sabotage, and assassinations that characterized Trump's approach to Tehran"—to lead his State Department transition team.
Lee Zeldin for Environmental Protection Agency administrator
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"His record is clear: During his time in Congress, Zeldin cast vote after vote against measures that protect our environment and would slow the climate crisis," Arkush added.
Previewing their plans, Trump said in a statement that Zeldin "will ensure fair and swift deregulatory decisions," and the ex-congressman declared that "we will restore U.S. energy dominance, revitalize our auto industry to bring back American jobs, and make the U.S. the global leader of AI." Both claimed they would do that while also protecting air and water, which critics contested.
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Tom Homan for "border czar"
Late Sunday, Trump announced that Homan, who served as the director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) during his first term, will be his point person on border policy, a position that will not require confirmation by what will soon be a Republican-controlled Senate.
Homan—who previously enforced Trump's "zero-tolerance" immigration policy that included the separation of thousands of children from their parents and other relatives—will oversee what the president-elect has promised to be the most sweeping mass deportation operation in U.S. history.
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Earlier this year, the Department of Homeland Security said that around 1,400 migrant children still have not been reunited with their families. This, after Homan told the Conservative Political Action Conference in October 2023 that family separation "worked."
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Trump has not ruled out a return to the highly controversial policy in his second term.
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Susie Wiles for White House chief of staff
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Stephen Miller for deputy chief of staff for policy
Numerous U.S. media outlets reported Monday that Trump is expected to tap Miller, a first-term senior adviser and speechwriter, as his deputy chief of staff for policy. Miller—an architect of Trump's family separation policy who advocates racist and xenophobic immigration policies—was described in 2019 by Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) as a "verified white supremacist."
Although Miller's appointment was not yet official, Vice President-elect JD Vance on Monday congratulated what he called Trump's "fantastic pick."
Miller notoriously authored much of Trump's January 6, 2001 speech that is widely blamed for inciting that day's Capitol insurrection.
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"Donald Trump and his transition team are already breaking the law. I would know because I wrote the law," U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) said Monday on social media. "Incoming presidents are required to prevent conflicts of interest and sign an ethics agreement. This is what illegal corruption looks like."
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"The bill could usher in repression on a massive scale," one critic warned.
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The Republican-controlled U.S. House of Representatives is set to vote soon on legislation that would further empower President-elect Donald Trump, who won a new term last week after fear-mongering about the so-called "enemy from within" and vowing to "root out" people he described as "radical left thugs that live like vermin within the confines of our country."
Nonprofits and rights advocates are sounding the alarm about H.R. 9495, or the Stop Terror-Financing and Tax Penalties on American Hostages Act. The bill would provide tax relief for U.S. nationals and their spouses who are unlawfully or wrongfully detained or held hostage abroad but also includes legislation to terminate the tax-exempt status of "terrorist-supporting" groups.
A version of the section targeting groups accused of backing terrorism previously passed the House but stalled in the Democrat-held Senate. As legal scholar Maryam Jamshidi explained on social media Monday, "The cynical move is intended to coerce Congress to pass the 501(c)(3) bill because no one wants to be seen as opposing tax breaks for U.S. hostages/prisoners abroad."
While the bill has long been on the radar of organizations like the ACLU—which led a diverse coalition that spoke out against it in September—the recent election results, Trump's campaign promises, and the upcoming vote are sparking fresh concerns.
"As soon as tomorrow, the House will vote on a bill that would give the incoming Trump administration a new tool they could use to stifle free speech, target political opponents, and punish groups that disagree with them," the ACLU said on social media Monday. "This broad, vague bill is an open invitation for abuse. Tell your representatives to vote NO on H.R. 9495."
The ACLU highlighted reporting by The Intercept, which on Sunday detailed how the legislation would work:
Under the bill, the Treasury secretary would issue notice to a group of intent to designate it as a "terrorist-supporting organization." Once notified, an organization would have the right to appeal within 90 days, after which it would be stripped of its 501(c)(3) status, named for the statute that confers tax exemptions on recognized nonprofit groups.
The law would not require officials to explain the reason for designating a group, nor does it require the Treasury Department to provide evidence.
"It basically empowers the Treasury secretary to target any group it wants to call them a terror supporter and block their ability to be a nonprofit," said Ryan Costello, policy director at the National Iranian American Council Action, which opposes the law. "So that would essentially kill any nonprofit's ability to function. They couldn't get banks to service them, they won't be able to get donations, and there'd be a black mark on the organization, even if it cleared its name."
The bill is widely seen as an attempt to silence fierce critics of U.S. support for Israel's ongoing slaughter and starvation of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, which has led to a genocide case against the Israeli government at the International Court of Justice. However, Costello warned that "the danger is much broader than just groups that work on foreign policy."
"It could target major liberal funders who support Palestinian solidarity and peace groups who engage in protest. But it could also theoretically be used to target pro-choice groups, and I could see it being used against environmental groups," he said. "It really would be at the discretion of the Trump administration as to who they target, with very little recourse for the targeted organization."
Bend the Arc: Jewish Action similarly stressed on social media Monday that "this bill would grant Donald Trump unilateral power to investigate and effectively shut down any tax-exempt organization based on a unilateral accusation of wrongdoing—without any explanation required."
"The House must vote no on H.R. 9495," Bend the Arc argued. "It is critical that we are able to organize and that we have a robust nonprofit sector that represents our needs and our interests to the government. This will be a necessary tool against the harms threatened by the second Trump presidency."
Beth Miller, political director of Jewish Voice for Peace Action, said in a statement that "this bill should be a five-alarm fire for anyone who seeks to protect free speech, civil society, and democracy. This bill is part of a broader MAGA assault on the right to protest that begins with attacks on Palestinian rights groups, and is aimed at outlawing the social justice movements that fight for progressive change. This is part of a well-worn authoritarian playbook to dismantle fundamental freedoms."
Describing the legislation as "terrifying," Ajam Media Collective editor Alex Shams said Monday that "the bill could usher in repression on a massive scale."
The threat extends to media organizations like Common Dreams. Freedom of the Press Foundation—whose director of advocacy, Seth Stern, wrote about the legislation for The Intercept in May—declared Monday that "this bill is a serious threat to nonprofit news outlets and Trump is sure to abuse these powers if given the chance."
"The threat is far more dire in light of the election," the foundation added. "Tell your representative to stop H.R. 9495 today."
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