Public Policy
News releases, reports, statements and associated documents from public policy organizations whose goal it is to influence the debate Washington.
Featured Stories
Zoetis Equine Offers Core EQ Innovator Vaccines to Horses Adopted From ASPCA Right Horse Partners During Adopt a Horse Month
NEW YORK, May 15 -- The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals issued the following news release on May 14, 2024:
The ASPCA (The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals) today announced that Zoetis Equine has, for the fifth consecutive year, generously donated 1,500 doses of Core EQ Innovator vaccine to ASPCA Right Horse Adoption Partners and the horses in their care. The donation coincides with Adopt a Horse Month, a nationwide campaign established by the ASPCA in 2021 to help more equines find great homes.
"Our ongoing partnership with Zoetis is just one
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NEW YORK, May 15 -- The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals issued the following news release on May 14, 2024:
The ASPCA (The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals) today announced that Zoetis Equine has, for the fifth consecutive year, generously donated 1,500 doses of Core EQ Innovator vaccine to ASPCA Right Horse Adoption Partners and the horses in their care. The donation coincides with Adopt a Horse Month, a nationwide campaign established by the ASPCA in 2021 to help more equines find great homes.
"Our ongoing partnership with Zoetis is just oneexciting example of how the equine industry is committed to supporting equine adoption and helping horses in transition through all phases of their journey," said Christie Schulte Kappert, senior director of ASPCA Equine Welfare. "We are grateful to Zoetis for their generous donations as they directly assist equine organizations in their efforts to save more horses' lives while they work tirelessly to promote equine adoption not only during Adopt a Horse Month, but year-round."
Throughout the country, Adoption Partners of the ASPCA Right Horse program care for equines of varying breeds, ages and backgrounds as they transition from one home or career to the next. All horses face ongoing exposure to the five potentially fatal "core" equine diseases-rabies, tetanus, West Nile virus and Eastern and Western equine encephalomyelitis. 1,500 horses who have been adopted from ASPCA Right Horse partner organizations will be vaccinated by a veterinarian with Core EQ Innovator, the first and only vaccine to help protect horses against all five core diseases in one injection.
"We're extremely grateful for partners like the ASPCA who work tirelessly to make the world a better place for horses and other animals, a mission we wholeheartedly support," said Nathan Voris, DVM, MBA, Associate Director, Equine Technical Services with Zoetis. "At Zoetis Equine, a division of the world's leading animal health company, we work day in and day out to protect horses with solutions like the Core EQ Innovator vaccine. We're very proud to support ASPCA's efforts to find new homes for horses in need and look forward to our continued partnership."
The ASPCA Right Horse program hosts a collective of industry professionals, including Zoetis, as well as equine welfare organizations and advocates, working together to reframe the conversation around equine adoption and improve the lives of horses in transition through a dialogue of kindness and respect. In collaboration with over 100 industry and adoption partners, the program is focused on shattering the stigma surrounding horses in transition to increase adoption.
Through Adopt a Horse Month, the ASPCA strives to raise public enthusiasm and commitments to horse adoption to the high levels traditionally seen in dog and cat adoption. The ASPCA and Zoetis encourage the public to support their local animal welfare organizations by adopting, volunteering their time, donating supplies, or becoming foster caregivers.
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About Zoetis
As the world's leading animal health company, Zoetis is driven by a singular purpose: to nurture our world and humankind by advancing care for animals. After innovating ways to predict, prevent, detect and treat animal illness for more than 70 years, Zoetis continues to stand by those raising and caring for animals worldwide--from veterinarians and pet owners to livestock farmers and ranchers. The company's leading portfolio and pipeline of medicines, vaccines, diagnostics and technologies make a difference in over 100 countries. A Fortune 500 company, Zoetis generated revenue of $8.5 billion in 2023 with approximately 14,100 employees.
The Zoetis Equine division is committed to providing horse care you can count on. Our team includes numerous equine veterinarians and other experts who are inspired daily by the opportunity and profound responsibility to support horses, the owners who love them, and the equine veterinarians and other care team members who safeguard their well-being. Whether at the clinic or in the field, Zoetis is always by your side with a comprehensive, innovative portfolio of equine products and services at every step of a horse's care and throughout the journey of a horse's life.
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About the ASPCA
Founded in 1866, the ASPCA (The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals) was the first animal welfare organization to be established in North America and today serves as the nation's leading voice for vulnerable and victimized animals. As a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit corporation with more than two million supporters nationwide, the ASPCA is committed to preventing cruelty to dogs, cats, equines, and farm animals throughout the United States. The ASPCA assists animals in need through on-the-ground disaster and cruelty interventions, behavioral rehabilitation, animal placement, legal and legislative advocacy, and the advancement of the sheltering and veterinary community through research, training, and resources.
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Original text here: https://www.aspca.org/about-us/press-releases/zoetis-equine-offers-core-eq-innovator-vaccines-horses-adopted-aspca-right
[Category: Animals]
Wildlife Conservation Society: Equity Must Be Considered in Ocean Governance to Achieve Global Targets by 2030
NEW YORK, May 15 (TNSres) -- The Wildlife Conservation Society issued the following news release on May 14, 2024:
As the world presses forward with urgency towards reaching global biodiversity and climate targets by 2030, there must be increased attention to center equity in dialogue and practice when designing ocean conservation, adaptation and development interventions.
The world is facing a dual biodiversity and climate crisis. Yet, without focused attention to equity, say a group of researchers and practitioners in a new study published today in Nature Ecology & Evolution, there are risks
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NEW YORK, May 15 (TNSres) -- The Wildlife Conservation Society issued the following news release on May 14, 2024:
As the world presses forward with urgency towards reaching global biodiversity and climate targets by 2030, there must be increased attention to center equity in dialogue and practice when designing ocean conservation, adaptation and development interventions.
The world is facing a dual biodiversity and climate crisis. Yet, without focused attention to equity, say a group of researchers and practitioners in a new study published today in Nature Ecology & Evolution, there are risksfor harmful or maladaptive actions that will impact human health and well-being and exacerbate the vulnerability of marginalized populations. This, in turn, will undermine joint policy goals for climate, conservation and sustainable development.
Two major global agreements are redefining how governments, civil society and the private sector are moving forward together to reduce global emissions to stabilise the Earth's climate system, stem the biodiversity loss crisis, and concurrently protect the health of our planet and its inhabitants.
Under the legally binding Paris Agreement, countries agreed to take actions that will hold "the increase in global average temperatures to well below 2 degree C above pre-industrial levels" by 2030, while supporting efforts to adapt to the significant climate impacts already experienced across the planet. Under the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, countries also agreed "to take urgent action and reverse biodiversity loss to put nature on a path to recovery for the benefit of people and planet," including through protection of 30% of the global oceans by 2030.
The world is at a crossroads and races to design and implement ocean actions to reach these ambitious yet necessary targets, yet a failure to fully consider who bears the costs of these actions and who receives the benefits could result in the further displacement and marginalization of the most vulnerable. While local grassroots movements are growing in response to long histories of social injustice, the voices of marginalized actors bearing the cost inequitable ocean governance are still being drowned out by powerful economic and political interests that dominate decision-making processes about how ocean space and resources are used.
Dr. Joachim Claudet, Senior Research and Ocean Advisor for the French National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS) and lead author, stresses that, "We urgently need a transformative change towards ocean sustainability. Such a change can only occur if we rally ocean actors towards more inclusive and equitable forms of sustainable development, climate change adaptation and conservation. In our paper, we propose key leverage points with actionable options for decision-makers to advance ocean equity."
These actions include things like recognizing and ensuring meaningful participation of the full range of affected groups in ocean governance, including within marine spatial planning processes. For example, this could involve inviting representatives of Indigenous Peoples and small-scale fishers organizations to planning and policy meetings and ensuring not just that their voices are heard, but also that their concerns are addressed. Influential ocean actors such as governments, donors, big non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and corporations should work toward mainstreaming equity within their own internal governance processes, while asking themselves tough questions about how design and implementation of their actions could be more inclusive and result in more equitable outcomes.
Action may be needed to shift deeply rooted norms and structures that underpin historical and ongoing injustices in the ocean and along the coast, but this may not be enough. Where necessary and appropriate, reparations may be needed to address past harms where poorly planned actions in oceans spaces, often combined with severe impacts of climate change, have significantly compromised the health and well-being of coastal communities.
"Hundreds of millions of people worldwide live near and depend on the ocean. So, it only makes sense that their voices and needs are considered in decisions related to the ocean that will affect their lives. This includes in the development of the blue economy, creation of marine protected areas, and implementation of climate actions. In short, equity must be at the center of ocean governance," says Dr. Nathan Bennett, Global Oceans Lead Scientist for WWF, Chair of the People and the Ocean Specialist Group for IUCN, and co-author.
"Continuing under the status quo is not an option," says Dr. Stacy Jupiter, Executive Director of Marine Conservation for the Wildlife Conservation Society and another co-author to the paper. "To effectively achieve the world's ambitions for sustainable development, climate change and biodiversity in ocean spaces, no one should get left behind. There is a moral and ethical imperative for everyone to think carefully about possible unintended consequences of development and conservation actions. Putting equity up front as a key principle in policy and practice is a necessary first step in ensuring the well-being of all people who use and access the oceans and safeguarding our planet."
The work is a product of the Blue Justice Working Group funded by the synthesis center CESAB of the Foundation for Research on Biodiversity.
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Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS)
WCS combines the power of its zoos and an aquarium in New York City and a Global Conservation Program in more than 50 countries to achieve its mission to save wildlife and wild places. WCS runs the world's largest conservation field program, protecting more than 50 percent of Earth's known biodiversity; in partnership with governments, Indigenous People, Local Communities, and the private sector. It's four zoos and aquarium (the Bronx Zoo, Central Park Zoo, Queens Zoo, Prospect Park Zoo, and the New York Aquarium) welcome more than 3.5 million visitors each year, inspiring generations to care for nature. Listen to the WCS Wild Audio podcast HERE (https://www.wcs.org/wcs-wild-audio).
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JOURNAL: Nature Ecology and Evolution https://www.nature.com/articles/s41559-024-02417-5
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Original text here: https://newsroom.wcs.org/News-Releases/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/22684/Equity-Must-Be-Considered-in-Ocean-Governance-to-Achieve-Global-Targets-by-2030.aspx
[Category: Environment]
Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership: Hunters & Anglers Applaud Senate Passage of the Bipartisan ACE Reauthorization Act
WASHINGTON, May 15 -- The Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership issued the following news release:
The ACE Reauthorization Act aims to boost funding and provide vital enhancements to conservation programs benefiting fish and wildlife.
The America's Conservation Enhancement (ACE) Reauthorization Act of 2024 passed the Senate on Wednesday May 8, 2024, by unanimous consent. The ACE Reauthorization Act was sponsored by Senators Tom Carper (D-Del.) and Shelly Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) and would reauthorize multiple programs that benefit hunting and angling including, the National Fish Habitat
... Show Full Article
WASHINGTON, May 15 -- The Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership issued the following news release:
The ACE Reauthorization Act aims to boost funding and provide vital enhancements to conservation programs benefiting fish and wildlife.
The America's Conservation Enhancement (ACE) Reauthorization Act of 2024 passed the Senate on Wednesday May 8, 2024, by unanimous consent. The ACE Reauthorization Act was sponsored by Senators Tom Carper (D-Del.) and Shelly Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) and would reauthorize multiple programs that benefit hunting and angling including, the National Fish HabitatPartnership, the North American Wetlands Conservation Act, the Chesapeake Bay Program, and the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation. It also helps address threats like chronic wasting disease. This reauthorization provides technical improvements, administrative streamlining, and increased authorized funds to improve these programs.
"The America's Conservation Enhancement Reauthorization Act will benefit fish and wildlife while enhancing outdoor recreation opportunities for millions of hunters and anglers," said Becky Humphries, CEO of the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership, "TRCP applauds the Senate's passage of this important bipartisan legislation and looks forwards to building on the success of these crucial programs."
The original ACE Act was passed in 2020 and sponsored by Sen. Tom Carper (D-Del.) and Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.). Many of its authorizations expire next year, necessitating the passage of the ACE Reauthorization act to ensure these programs can continue to operate in good legal standing.
The ACE Act is co-sponsored by Senators Ben Cardin (D-Md.), John Boozman (R-Ark.), Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Bill Cassidy (R-La.), Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.), Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), Gary Peters (D-Mich.), Angus King (I-ME) and John Barrasso (R-Wyo.).
The legislation is endorsed by the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership, Ducks Unlimited, the Congressional Sportsmen's Foundation, the National Wildlife Federation, American Sportfishing Association, the Association of Fish & Wildlife Agencies, Backcountry Hunters and Anglers and the National Audubon Society.
The TRCP looks forward to working with the House of Representatives to ensure this essential legislation for hunters and anglers becomes law.
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Original text here: https://www.trcp.org/2024/05/13/hunters-and-anglers-applaud-senate-passage-of-the-bipartisan-ace-reauthorization-act/
[Category: Environment]
Open Markets Institute: New Tariffs Will Help Usher in a Resilient Clean Energy Revolution That Rewards American Innovation & Bolsters Competition & Security
WASHINGTON, May 15 -- Open Markets Institute issued the following statement on May 14, 2024:
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Open Markets industrial policy program manager Audrey Stienon released the following statement on the Biden Administration's new tariffs on select Chinese-produced materials and technologies.
"The Biden Administration is working to correct decades of runaway corporate consolidation and control that has left the U.S. and our allies in Europe exposed to supply chain chokepoints and grave economic and national security risks as a result.
"Far from mirroring the Trump administration's blunt, America-First-style
... Show Full Article
WASHINGTON, May 15 -- Open Markets Institute issued the following statement on May 14, 2024:
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Open Markets industrial policy program manager Audrey Stienon released the following statement on the Biden Administration's new tariffs on select Chinese-produced materials and technologies.
"The Biden Administration is working to correct decades of runaway corporate consolidation and control that has left the U.S. and our allies in Europe exposed to supply chain chokepoints and grave economic and national security risks as a result.
"Far from mirroring the Trump administration's blunt, America-First-styleof protectionism, the Biden tariffs are necessary to protect the global green transition from the risks of regionally-concentrated supply chains and over-dependence on a single country to manufacture the technology that the world will need to successfully create a clean energy future.
"Further, we should look at these targeted tariffs as a necessary means of maintaining fair competition across borders, correcting for unfair competition from other nations less concerned with a fair, balanced, and stable global trade system."
Open Markets has long reported on the ways in which corporate control over our supply chains has resulted in regional concentration of production and dangerous supply chain choke points. Our executive director Barry Lynn has written extensively and testified before Congress and the USTR on solutions for de-risking our supply chains, including through the use of tariffs to correct for unfair practices in other countries.
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Original text here: https://www.openmarketsinstitute.org/publications/biden-admin-tariffs
[Category: Business]
New Phoenix Center Study Explains Root Causes of Rising Prices
WASHINGTON, May 15 (TNSres) -- The Phoenix Center issued the following news release on May 14, 2024:
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Price increases are not the result of price gouging or collusive behavior but are due to positive demand-side and negative supply-side shocks
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When prices and profits rise, policymakers and ideological advocates tend to point to seller market power or collusion as the cause.
Many of these claims are rooted in ignorance about the cause of inflation and how markets work. Inflation is a general increase in prices caused by excessive growth in the money supply that diminishes the value
... Show Full Article
WASHINGTON, May 15 (TNSres) -- The Phoenix Center issued the following news release on May 14, 2024:
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Price increases are not the result of price gouging or collusive behavior but are due to positive demand-side and negative supply-side shocks
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When prices and profits rise, policymakers and ideological advocates tend to point to seller market power or collusion as the cause.
Many of these claims are rooted in ignorance about the cause of inflation and how markets work. Inflation is a general increase in prices caused by excessive growth in the money supply that diminishes the valueof currency, which has occurred in the United States from the extraordinary spending by the federal government in response to the Covid Pandemic (a long-term, inflationary concern). Also, Covid brought severe supply-chain disruptions and labor shortages, both of which linger to varying extents today in certain industries, but these price increases are temporary and thus not inflation per se.
In a new analysis released today entitled Explaining Higher Prices in the Covid and Post-Covid Era, Phoenix Center Chief Economist Dr. George S. Ford explains that highly competitive industries respond to positive demand-side and supply-side constraints in predictable ways. As Dr. Ford demonstrates, when firms face a supply constraint, prices will rise and, under some conditions, margins (profits) along with them, but they do so in competitive markets without collusion among producers or otherwise violating the antitrust laws. Also, under supply constraints, competitive and monopoly prices are difficult to distinguish and may be identical, though economic theory provides some guidance on distinguishing between the two.
Finally, Dr. Ford's analysis shows why a focus on retail margins is misplaced under supply constraints. The key issue is whether sales are below the competitive, supply-constrained level.
"To date, there is little compelling evidence of collusion or coordination among sellers that cannot be explained by supply constraints," says study author Phoenix Center Chief Economist Dr. George S. Ford. "My analysis should help conscientious policymakers and advocates better understand the economic fundamentals underlying the present climate of high prices and profits and to avoid fallacious arguments."
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The Phoenix Center is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization that studies broad public-policy issues related to governance, social and economic conditions, with a particular emphasis on the law and economics of the digital age.
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REPORT: http://www.phoenix-center.org/perspectives/Perspective24-05Final.pdf
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Original text here: https://www.phoenix-center.org/perspectives/Perspective24-05PressReleaseFinal.pdf
[Category: Law/Legal]
Immigration Reform Law Institute: Feds Move to Cut Texas's Wire
WASHINGTON, May 15 (TNSres) -- The Immigration Reform Law Institute issued the following news release on May 14, 2024:
Yesterday, the Immigration Reform Law Institute (IRLI) filed a brief (https://irli.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/108-1.pdf) in a Texas federal district court opposing a motion by the Biden Administration to dismiss a lawsuit by Texas against Border Patrol's cutting the razor-wire the state has put on the border to block illegal entries. The administration made this motion in the district court even as another aspect of the case--whether that court should have denied Texas a preliminary
... Show Full Article
WASHINGTON, May 15 (TNSres) -- The Immigration Reform Law Institute issued the following news release on May 14, 2024:
Yesterday, the Immigration Reform Law Institute (IRLI) filed a brief (https://irli.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/108-1.pdf) in a Texas federal district court opposing a motion by the Biden Administration to dismiss a lawsuit by Texas against Border Patrol's cutting the razor-wire the state has put on the border to block illegal entries. The administration made this motion in the district court even as another aspect of the case--whether that court should have denied Texas a preliminaryinjunction--is being heard in the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals.
The Biden Administration claims that the barriers are preempted under the Supremacy Clause because they interfere with Border Patrol's efforts to let illegal aliens in. IRLI points out, however, that mere executive policies--especially ones, such as these, that violate federal law--have no preemptive force. Also, Texas, as a sovereign state, has the inherent authority to protect its territory in a way congruent with federal law. And the barriers here are not inconsistent with federal law, but rather are an effective means of advancing Congress's purpose, in that law, of stopping illegal immigration.
IRLI also shows that Texas's razor wire cannot be preempted because of the state's constitutional power to make war if invaded--as Texas has been invaded by the trafficking cartels. And how Texas chooses to defend itself is not subject to the control of the federal government. As the Constitution puts it, an invaded state may "engage in War" even "without the consent of Congress."
"Preposterously, the Biden Administration argues that, because it is doing nothing about the border, Texas can't do anything, either," said Dale L. Wilcox, executive director and general counsel of IRLI. "Luckily, our Constitution was better drafted than that. According to its provision, when one constitutional actor--the administration--betrays the country, others--the states--can come to its defense. We hope the Court sees this fully, and refuses to dismiss Texas's case."
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Original text here: https://irli.org/feds-move-to-cut-texass-wire/
[Category: International]
Club for Growth PAC Endorses State Sen. Bob Onder in MO-03 Race
WASHINGTON, May 15 -- Club for Growth PAC issued the following news release:
Club for Growth PAC has endorsed State Senator Bob Onder in Missouri's 3rd Congressional District. Onder (CFGF lifetime rating: 92%), is running to replace Rep. Blaine Luetkemeyer (CFGF lifetime rating: 69%) who announced he will be retiring after this term.
"Since being elected to the Missouri State Senate in 2015, Sen. Bob Onder has been one of the state's leading voices on principled, pro-growth economic policy," said Club for Growth PAC President David McIntosh. "Onder is a champion of tax cuts, free markets, and
... Show Full Article
WASHINGTON, May 15 -- Club for Growth PAC issued the following news release:
Club for Growth PAC has endorsed State Senator Bob Onder in Missouri's 3rd Congressional District. Onder (CFGF lifetime rating: 92%), is running to replace Rep. Blaine Luetkemeyer (CFGF lifetime rating: 69%) who announced he will be retiring after this term.
"Since being elected to the Missouri State Senate in 2015, Sen. Bob Onder has been one of the state's leading voices on principled, pro-growth economic policy," said Club for Growth PAC President David McIntosh. "Onder is a champion of tax cuts, free markets, andopposes burdensome regulations that harm businesses and digital assets. He will be a valuable addition on Capitol Hill, and Club for Growth PAC is proud to support him in the race."
Club for Growth PAC is affiliated with Club for Growth Action, the country's largest independent political action committee. In the 2022 cycle, Club for Growth PAC endorsed candidates won 75% of their races.
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Original text here: https://www.clubforgrowth.org/club-for-growth-pac-endorses-state-sen-bob-onder-in-mo-03-race/
[Category: Political]
