Latest news with #governmentpolicy
Washington Post
2 days ago
- Business
- Washington Post
Trump, Biden and U.S. Steel: More government control over the economy
The leader of the Republican Party, which has governed on and off since the 1980s promising to get the government off the backs of the American people, has decided that the steel industry of the United States, once perhaps the most market-friendly nation on earth, should be run by government fiat.
New York Times
5 days ago
- Politics
- New York Times
A Bold Idea to Raise the Birthrate: Make Parenting Less Torturous
For the past few years, I've kept a running list of harebrained schemes various governments and officials have proposed to raise the birthrate in their aging countries. Some of the most creative ones come from Russia. The mayor of a city in southwest Russia encouraged men to 'sneak up on their women so that 10,000 children will be born in exactly nine months.' Some regions are giving lump-sum bonuses to women who become mothers while they're still in school, and a Russian version of MTV's '16 and Pregnant,' which originally discouraged teen pregnancy, has been rebranded as 'Mom at 16,' in order to promote it. One politician encouraged women to wear miniskirts to increase births, while an official in the country's Education Ministry advocated 'school discos' to foster 'romance for children.' A regional health minister has told Russians to have sex during work breaks. Now, a hodgepodge of religious conservatives and techno-futurists are leading the United States into the fray. The ideas reportedly under consideration by the Trump administration — government prizes for mothers of six or more children, sex education focused on teaching women when they're fertile, a $5,000 payment upon delivery of a child — may sound comparatively tame, but they share a quality that unites many unsuccessful natalist attempts thus far: They fail to demonstrate even a passing familiarity with the lives and concerns of modern women. To date, no government policies have significantly improved their nation's birthrates for a sustained period — at least no policies whose lessons are easily transferable to other countries. That doesn't mean such policies couldn't exist. It means lawmakers are looking in the wrong places. In a recent report, the head of the United Nations Population Fund noted that around the world, people are unable to have the families they want. In response, she suggests, 'all of us, including policymakers, should ask what people want and need — not as an afterthought, but as the first and most important inquiry when considering population issues.' America has made parenting unusually, needlessly hard. Child care and rent are unaffordable; medical care, even when subsidized, is a nightmare of red tape; family leave is too short and too rare; everyone feels overextended and underachieving. As the climate activists Meghan Elizabeth Kallman and Josephine Ferorelli have observed, the United States 'is already an anti-natalist country in everything but name.' Instead of trying to persuade women to churn out huge broods under punishing circumstances, America's leaders should start by making it easier to have whatever number of kids women choose to have. In the process, they just might find that women want to have more. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
Malay Mail
5 days ago
- Politics
- Malay Mail
JaPen must share key government policies with Madani Communities within 24 hours, says Fahmi
LUMUT, June 15 — The Information Department (JaPen) must disseminate information on key government policies to Madani Communities within 24 hours of their announcement, said Communications Minister Datuk Fahmi Fadzil. He said the move is crucial to ensure that all 1,878 Madani Communities nationwide receive accurate and verified information promptly. 'So, the task I have given the Information Department is to ensure that Madani Communities become the first group to receive accurate information on any announced policy. 'It's a heavy responsibility, but this is our (JaPen's) role moving forward,' he said at the Northern Zone B Akademi Asas (ASAS) programme organised by JaPen at Universiti Kuala Lumpur Malaysian Institute of Marine Engineering Technology (UniKL-MIMET) here today. Also present were Communications Ministry secretary-general Datuk Mohamad Fauzi Md Isa and JaPen director-general Julina Johan. Fahmi, who is also Madani government spokesperson, said there is ample room for JaPen to enhance the way it communicates information to the public, adding that he has discussed with the department's management the best mechanisms to be implemented as early as next week. 'I believe the District Information Offices (PPD) will certainly carry out their duties well. All of us must work very hard to ensure that the Madani Communities under our care consistently receive accurate information,' he said. Earlier, Fahmi met with nearly 150 Madani Community members from Perak and Penang in conjunction with the ASAS programme. Meanwhile, in a statement, JaPen said this edition of ASAS focuses on activating social media use among Madani Communities to disseminate verified and up-to-date government information. 'This focus aims to make social media a strategic tool to counter false and misleading narratives that could threaten social harmony and national stability,' the statement said. JaPen stated that to date, a total of 373 short videos explaining various current issues have been uploaded by Madani Communities across various social media platforms as part of efforts to broaden access to accurate information. Based on a Training of Trainers (ToT) concept, it said the ASAS module was developed to ensure Madani Community members can serve as Key Opinion Leaders (KOLs) within their respective communities. 'This includes the ability to explain current issues through social media effectively and in line with the current digital communication landscape,' the statement added. — Bernama
Reuters
7 days ago
- Politics
- Reuters
US Senate Republicans seek to limit judges' power via Trump's tax-cut bill
June 13 (Reuters) - U.S. Senate Republicans have added language to President Donald Trump's massive tax and spending bill that would restrict the ability of judges to block government policies they conclude are unlawful. Text of the Republican-led U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee's contribution to the bill, opens new tab released by its chair, Senator Chuck Grassley, late on Thursday would limit the ability of judges to issue preliminary injunctions blocking federal policies unless the party suing posts a bond to cover the government's costs if the ruling is later overturned. The bond requirement in the Senate's version of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act is different from the provision the Republican-controlled House of Representatives included when it passed the bill last month that would curb courts' power in a different way. The House version curtails the ability of judges to enforce orders holding officials in contempt if they violate injunctions. Judges use contempt orders to bring parties into compliance, usually by ratcheting up measures from fines to jail time. Some judges who have blocked Trump administration actions have said officials are at risk of being held in contempt for not complying with their orders. Congressional Republicans have called for banning or curtailing nationwide injunctions blocking government policies after key parts of Trump's agenda have been stymied by such court rulings. The House in April voted 219-213 along largely party lines in favor of the No Rogue Rulings Act to do so, but the Senate has not yet taken up the measure. A White House memo in March directed heads of government agencies to request that plaintiffs post bonds if they are seeking an injunction against an agency policy. Such bonds can make obtaining an injunction a cost-prohibitive option in cases concerning multi-billion-dollar agenda items. Grassley's office said in a statement the language the Judiciary Committee proposed would ensure judges enforce an existing requirement that they make a party seeking a preliminary injunction provide a security bond to cover costs incurred by a defendant if a judge's ruling is later overturned. Judges rarely require such bonds when a lawsuit is not pitting two private parties against each other but instead challenging an alleged unlawful or unconstitutional government action. Several judges have denied the Trump administration's requests for bonds or issued nominal ones. Republicans, who control the Senate 53-47, are using complex budget rules to pass the One Big Beautiful Bill Act with a simple majority vote, rather than the 60 votes needed to advance most legislation in the 100-seat chamber. The Senate Judiciary Committee's piece of the bill would also provide the judiciary funding to study the costs to taxpayers associated with such injunctions and provide training for judges about the problems associated with them. A spokesperson for Senator Dick Durbin, the Senate Judiciary Committee's top Democrat, criticized the Republican-drafted legislative text, saying "Republicans are targeting nationwide injunctions because they're beholden to a president who is breaking the law — but the courts are not."
The Independent
7 days ago
- Politics
- The Independent
Federal workers are still required to fill out DOGE ‘five things' email despite Musk being long gone
Despite Elon Musk's exit, federal employees still have to send an email explaining five things that they did in the past seven days, Axios reported. Musk left the his job at the helm of the Department of Government Efficiency at the end of last month and subsequently turned his rage against President Donald Trump. During his tenure, Musk concocted the idea of forcing federal employees to send emails in a post on X, saying that failing to respond more than once could result in their firing. At the time, some cabinet-level officials in the Trump administration such as FBI Director Kash Patel and Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard pushed back on the emails. Axios reported that White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles was surprised by the policy. 'To use a phrase Susie might use, she was fit to be tied at Musk,' one official said. But despite Musk's exit, federal government employees at agencies like the Office of Personnel Management and NOAA are encouraged to send out the emails. 'We're told to send it every Monday before midnight,' one employee at Social Security told Axios. Despite this, the employee said 'I have never gotten a response from anyone.' White House spokeswoman Liz Huston responded by saying 'Commissioner Bisignano is streamlining the Social Security Administration to deliver more efficient service for American taxpayers.' OPM spokeswoman McLaurine Pinover said she submits her emails weekly. 'This practice is vital to maintain accountability and transparency in employee contributions,' she told Axios. 'It's an easy way to share my work with leadership.' Despite Musk almost completely decimating the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, one employee said that they had not been told to stop sending the emails, but they stopped doing so. 'Got tired of saying I hadn't accomplished anything because we haven't been given any work,' they said. White House spokesman Harrison Fields defended the emails too. 'The mission of eliminating waste, fraud, and abuse is a part of the DNA of the federal government and will continue under the direction of the President, his cabinet, and agency heads to enhance government efficiency and prioritize responsible stewardship of taxpayer dollars,' he said. Trump tapped Musk, a major 2024 campaign donor and booster on social media for the president, to lead DOGE, which was named after an internet meme dog. During that time, Musk slashed numerous government agencies such as the US Agency for International Development and the CFPB while reducing the workforces who manage the nation's national park system or at the Department of Health and Human Services. Earlier this month, Musk turned his ire toward Trump's signature 'One Big, Beautiful Bill' domestic spending legislation an ' outrageous, pork-filled abomination.' Musk then went a step further and said that Trump , calling for his impeachment. Earlier this week, Musk apologized for some of his remarks.
