WASHINGTON, Nov. 20 -- Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Missouri, issued the following news release on Nov. 19, 2024: In a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing today, U.S. Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) questioned executives from Visa and Mastercard on their credit card companies' record profit margins made at the expense of American card owners and small businesses. Addressing Linda Kirkpatrick, President of Mastercard for the Americas, and Bill Sheedy, Senior Advisor to Visa Inc.'s CEO, Senator Hawley noted   more

WASHINGTON, Nov. 20 (TNSres) -- The U.S. Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics issued the following report (No. USDL-24-2362) on Nov. 19, 2024, entitled "State Employment and Unemployment - October 2024": * * * Unemployment rates were lower in October in 3 states, higher in 1 state, and stable in 46 states and the District of Columbia, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Twenty-four states and the District had jobless rate increases from a year earlier, 6 states had   more

WASHINGTON, Nov. 19 (TNSrep) -- The Congressional Research Service issued the following In Focus white paper (No. IF12819) on Nov. 18, 2024, by defense policy analyst Anya L. Fink. Here are excerpts: * * * Defense Primer: Strategic Nuclear Forces The United States is in the process of modernizing its strategic nuclear forces. This modernization effort includes numerous Department of Defense (DOD) major defense acquisition programs, some of which are annually assessed by the Government Accoun  more

WASHINGTON, Nov. 20 -- Rep. Sam Graves, R-Missouri, chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, issued the following news release on Nov. 19, 2024: Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Republicans today demanded answers from Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Administrator Deanne Criswell about her agency's troubling responses to recent disasters and crises, including the amount FEMA resources devoted to addressing the southern border crisis, the slow respo  more

WASHINGTON, Nov. 20 -- Rep. Sam Graves, R-Missouri, chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, issued the following news release on Nov. 19, 2024: Opening remarks, as prepared, of Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman Sam Graves (R-MO) and Economic Development, Public Buildings, and Emergency Management Subcommittee Chairman Scott Perry (R-PA) from today's hearing entitled, "In the Eye of the Storm: Oversight of FEMA's Disaster Readiness and Response": Tr  more

WASHINGTON, Nov. 20 -- Rep. Jason Smith, R-Missouri, chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, issued the following news release on Nov. 19, 2024: Democrats, unsatisfied with sparking an inflation crisis with their $2 trillion so-called stimulus in March 2021, pushed to go even further with the Build Back Better Act, which passed the U.S. House of Representatives three years ago today, and became the basis for the so-called Inflation Reduction Act. The result is hundreds of billions of ta  more

JEFFERSON CITY, Missouri, Nov. 20 -- The Missouri Department of Natural Resources issued the following news release: The Missouri Department of Natural Resources is now accepting applications for Abandoned Well Plugging Grants from eligible public water systems through April 30, 2025. The grant offers up to $20,000 per project to properly plug abandoned wells located near or within service areas of groundwater-based community and not-for-profit noncommunity public water systems. Abandoned well  more

WASHINGTON, Nov. 20 -- Rep. Mark Alford, R-Missouri, issued the following news release: Amid rising threats and instability, Congressman Mark Alford (MO-04)joined House Appropriations Chairman Tom Cole (R-OK) on a bipartisan delegation to the Middle East in support of strengthening America's defense and reinforcing partnerships with allies. Congressman Alford and Chairman Cole were joined by House Appropriations Ranking Member Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) and Representatives John Rutherford (R-FL) and   more

WASHINGTON, Nov. 20 -- Rep. Mark Alford, R-Missouri, issued the following news release on Nov. 19, 2024: This week, Congressman Mark Alford (MO-04), co-chair of the bipartisan Congressional Real Estate Caucus, joined fellow co-chairs Representatives Lou Correa (CA-46), Tracey Mann (KS-01), and Brittany Pettersen (CO-07) in sending a letter to Sandra Thompson, Director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), calling for the halt of the Agency's Title Acceptance Pilot (Pilot) program until   more

WASHINGTON, Nov. 20 -- Rep. Tom Emmer, R-Minnesota, issued the following news release on Nov. 19, 2024: Today, Congressman Tom Emmer sent a letter to Veterans Integrated Services Network (VISN) 23 Director Robert McDivitt voicing his concerns over recent changes to the Home and Community-Based Services (HCBS) program which have significantly impacted access to home-based care and transportation services for Minnesota veterans. "Our veterans deserve the best possible care our country has to off  more

WASHINGTON, Nov. 20 -- Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Missouri, issued the following news release: U.S. Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Ranking Member and Chair of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Privacy, Technology, and the Law, held a hearing on China's cybersecurity threat and the implications of American tech companies' dependence on China-based supply chains. Senator Hawley questioned experts and CEOs in the cybersecurity space--including Adam Meyers, CrowdStrike   more

WASHINGTON, Nov. 19 -- Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tennessee, issued the following news release: Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti led 31 state attorneys general in sending a letter yesterday to congressional leadership urging them to pass the bipartisan Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA) introduced by U.S. Senators Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), crucial legislation protecting children from online harm, before the end of the year. The coalition letter emphasized  more

WASHINGTON, Nov. 19 (TNSres) -- The U.S. Department of Energy Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy issued the following news: The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) today announced nearly $15 million for nine research and development projects to increase hydropower's ability to respond to changing demand on the electric grid. This ability to operate flexibly allows hydropower facilities to help balance electricity grids with an increasing amount of variable renewable resources such as   more

WASHINGTON, Nov. 19 -- The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Foreign Agricultural Service issued the following news release: Representatives from nearly 50 U.S. agribusinesses and trade groups and 14 state departments of agriculture will travel to Casablanca, Morocco, Dec. 2-5, as part of a U.S. Department of Agriculture trade mission to expand U.S. farm and food exports to Morocco and other West African markets. "This mission offers a crucial opportunity for U.S. agribusinesses to enter into M  more