The House of Representatives passed a new rules package Monday that overhauls the way it functions by putting up more barriers to congressional spending and creating a more deliberate process for passing legislation, which were key demands of the more conservative members of the Republican Party.

The rules passed with an 220-213 vote that saw just one Republican, Rep. Tony Gonzales of Texas, vote against it. Passage of the blueprint for how the GOP will run the House is the first sign of success for House Speaker Kevin McCarthy after the fight of his life last week for the speaker’s gavel.

Changes to the rules package were negotiated up through the 11th hour as part of a deal to earn McCarthy the votes for the speaker. Pushing for those changes were Roy, Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Fla., and freshman congresswoman Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., who said last week at the Capitol the changes will be “transformational, and it will outlast every person in this room.”

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Source: https://www.foxnews.com/politics/hold-house-passes-new-rules-congress-mccarthy-clears-first-major-test-house-speaker

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The post House passes new rules for Congress as McCarthy clears first major test as House speaker first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.

It will be some time before the details emerge regarding the negotiations that will finally lead to the election of the Speaker of the House.  Maybe it will happen today, after all there are planes to catch.  To find a similar situation you have to go deep into the 1800’s, which must be a considerable embarrassment to the candidate.  To hear the media tell it, there have been concessions in writing but as of now the House can’t do a thing until they elect a Speaker.  

This wouldn’t be the first time something big happened late on a Friday.  That’s where news goes to die.  But not this time.  So far there have been 12 ballots, each one coming up short.  Trump advised they get it over with, and they didn’t.  So now the mainstream is churning out headlines about the “end of MAGA.”  In their dreams.

It’s a good bet that most people have heard of the scandals that are plaguing the pretender.  How did he, a career politician married to a school teacher, become so fabulously wealthy?  Or is that question banned?  The laptop seems to spell it all out, along with former partners who became involved in nefarious activities.  It’s out in the open now, and the presenters refuse to notice.  It’s in your face.

There is to be a trip to the border.  We don’t need to go.  The images on the news are heartbreaking for all involved, especially Americans.  We can see the interminable traffic, long lines and the welcome wagon.  Maybe busing the “migrants” north made us feel a little better for a minute, but it seems to go on, all day every day.  Headlines indicate that the pretender has agreed to visit the border and improve the situation.  We can’t wait.  

The Royal family of Britain is dealing with no shortage of internal strife.  To say that it’s embarrassing would be an understatement.  King Charles has let it be known that he asked that his waning years not be made miserable.  But the sons, one of them bound for the British throne, are apparently not getting along over perceived slights.  Now Harry has “written” a tell-all book which is damaging to everybody but him and what’s-her-name. We’ll never hear the end of it.  

Today the mainstream is pounding its chest about job creation.  That’s right, the pretender takes the credit, like he’s responsible for employment.  That’s cute.  After the mandates have shut down thousands of businesses. What a good job they’ve done!  (/s)  

It’s a good thing they came to their conclusions now, if they’d waited any longer the massive layoffs that are in the works might have had to be factored in.  It’s not all bad news, unless you’re a victim.  Some of these “woke” outfits are in trouble, and we’re not going to mourn.  

If you look at what’s on television, it’s enough to make you sick.  Really?  They can’t air enough of this perverted claptrap about getting undetectable (with AIDS).  It should be illegal for the wretched commercials to be aired on free TV.  It’s not normal, and no amount of abhorrent broadcasting is going to make it acceptable. But nobody says boo. They wouldn’t dare.  On the other hand, that’s what we’re here for. 

Our nation is being hobbled, and the source of our blessings ignored.  We’ve still got unimaginable blessings, but it can’t last.  Nobody wants to identify sin, because it has become a national value.  No one dares speak of God.  Separation of church and state, right?  Reality can’t be acknowledged, certainly not by the mainstream news. 

Mark

The post Weekly Update by Mark Armstrong – January 6, 2023 first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.

(January 17, 2022 / JNS) With a deadline to fund the U.S. government past the temporary Continuing Resolution (CR) passed last month set to expire mid-February, pro-Israel organizations have been pushing to bring supplemental funding of Iron Dome interceptor missiles back to the forefront.

Since September, senators have tried four times to bring a standalone supplemental $1 billion Iron Dome funding bill, which was passed by the U.S. House of Representatives by an overwhelming 420-9 vote, for unanimous approval, but each time have been thwarted by the objection of Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.).

Paul stated that he didn’t oppose the funding, though he is usually opposed to foreign aid; rather, he would like to see the funding offset by taking it from the $6 billion allocated to aid the recovery of Afghanistan and deposit the remainder in the U.S. Treasury.

Passing a bill through unanimous consent is a common occurrence for legislation that is not controversial and supported by both parties. It avoids the time-consuming process that requires the bill to be debated on the Senate floor for 30 hours of valuable time before it can be voted on through the regular lawmaking process in the Senate.

After months of delay on the matter, pro-Israel organizations, organizations representing Jewish denomination and Jewish communal groups, are expressing that they are losing patience over delays that threaten the security of Israel.

One of the letters sent to Senate Majority Leader Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Minority Leader Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) last week was spearheaded by the American Jewish Congress and the Jewish Council of Public Affairs. It called on the leaders to find a way to quickly move the legislation through.

Joel Rubin, executive director of the American Jewish Congress, said he was proud with how the Jan. 11 letter turned out, garnering 15 signatories from groups on both sides of the political spectrum that are rarely seen advocating together.

Rubin, who has worked in both chambers of Congress, as a foreign-policy adviser in the Senate, as well as serving as deputy assistant Secretary of State during the Obama administration, said that pro-Israel groups are worried that if a solution isn’t found soon, the critical funding may not come under consideration again for a long time.

If Paul doesn’t lift his hold over the House-passed bill, the most likely option for the bill to pass would be to include it in an omnibus spending bill that is passed by both chambers.

The omnibus spending bill is currently being negotiated ahead of the expiration of the current continuing resolution. Including Iron Dome funding in a defense appropriations bill that is included in an omnibus spending bill is seen as the most likely solution to get the funding through—funding U.S. President Joe Biden has said multiple times that he supports.

Still, there is no guarantee that an agreement could be reached on an omnibus spending bill, which would then require Congress to once again kick that can down the road and pass either a CR, which carries over previous spending levels, for a period of months to up to a year in order to avoid a government shutdown.

‘A non-controversial bill should go right through’

Prior to passing a standalone funding bill for Iron Dome, Democrats in the House attempted to include the funding in a CR passed in September, but its inclusion was blocked by a group of progressive Democrats known as “The Squad.” Needing their support to pass the CR over the opposition of Republican members, the Iron Dome funding was taken out, and it’s unlikely if a new CR is agreed to in February that it will again be included.

Rubin said that this didn’t have to be the case.

“This is a non-controversial bill. A non-controversial bill should go right through. It should be passed by unanimous consent and they should be done,” he said. “And that’s not happened now because one senator alone has decided to make a stand for perplexing reasons that are impossible to decipher and shift and, by doing that, requiring either floor time to be used for a non-controversial bill that will pass 99-1, or having it pushed into an omnibus bill which will then require house support and opening up again another ongoing debate about Israel in the House.”

Schumer, whose office did not respond to a request for comment by JNS, has told Jewish organizational leaders that the funding will be passed, though he was not specific on how. And while that promise and the Biden administration’s support provides confidence, Rubin said that in his career of working in public service and on policy, one can never take anything for granted.

That’s why he was glad to see the Jewish community unite on the issue because “absent that voice, issues go lower on the checklist of the leadership.”

Rubin and others following the issue who spoke to JNS believed that the quickest option to get the funding passed was its inclusion in the omnibus, assuming that Paul won’t drop his opposition and that Schumer would not want to take time away from other priorities and acquiesce to Paul’s obstruction.

‘We’re not talking about sending offensive weaponry’

“Sen. Paul is seeking to create precedent here that would be very dangerous on both sides of the aisle [that] one senator can take any non-controversial piece of legislation and insert a whole different issue into it to seek to force a vote on any different priority,” said Aaron Weinberg, director of government relations at the Israel Policy Forum. “If leadership were to give into that, that would basically shut down the entire functioning of the Senate by just having any one senator be able to force the entire Senate to consider any piece of legislation at any moment. Nothing would ever get done, and there would be no point in having leadership and no point in having a calendar whatsoever.”

Weinberg said that usually when there is an objection to a unanimous consent bill, the senator who opposes it does so due to their opposition to the bill itself, and is often not the only senator opposing it. In this case, Paul claims not even to oppose funding to replenish Iron Dome stockpiles but is instead trying to tie his support to Afghanistan.

“I in no way shape or form blame leader Schumer for not wanting to capitulate to Sen. Paul’s antics here because they are really out of order in many ways,” said Weinberg.

If no omnibus is agreed to and Congress instead passes a “clean” CR with no Iron Dome funding that lasts a year, it could be 2023 before the supplemental funding is considered again.

“[That] would be not only suboptimal but really deleterious to Israel’s security posture and a shame that 99 out of 100 senators—that level of support can’t get something done—and that’s an indictment on really the United States Congress. … It’s a shame that this is what we’ve come to, but this is the current situation,” said Weinberg.

Weinberg and Rubin agreed that it’s possible, though highly unlikely, that Schumer could let the bill pass through the regular process.

Boris Zilberman, director of public policy and strategy at the CUFI Action Fund, said that the way things are in Congress at the moment, it may be risky to pin all hopes on an omnibus spending bill passing because such agreement may not be reachable.

“I think that’s why the letter is pushing for Republican and Democrat leadership to come together and figure out where do they find the time while they negotiate these other domestic priorities that they have to find the 30 hours to do this, to either come together and either get Paul to move off his hold, which seems unlikely, or find the floor time to figure this out and move this forward,” he said.

Meanwhile, Zilberman said that a long-term CR is very likely to happen because the closer you get to campaign season for the midterms, there becomes less time available before members start needing to return to their districts to campaign.

After using up significant portions of its interceptor missiles during its conflict with Hamas in Gaza in May, there is widespread concern that if a major conflict flares up between Israel and Hezbollah in Southern Lebanon at any point, it’s possible that there would not be enough interceptor missiles to handle the hundreds of thousands of rockets stockpiled by the Iranian-backed terrorist organization.

“Things can blow up next week, you never know what Hezbollah is going to do and that’s why the letter also talks about Hezbollah,” said Zilberman. “What this is really about is they don’t want to get caught with their pants down basically if there’s a conflict and all the while we’re debating whether we have 30 hours in the Senate or not.”

“I mean, this is Iron Dome. Let’s remember, this is defensive weaponry. We’re not talking about sending offensive weaponry to anyone. We’re talking about sending defensive weaponry to a major U.S. ally against literal terrorists,” said Weinberg. “This is a no-brainer. This is not rocket science, I guess pun intended.”

“Rand Paul, you know, he’s iconoclastic—he picks his issues, he is taking a stand for some reason on this. For some reason, he thinks it’s the right stance to prevent us from supporting an ally in protecting itself from 250,000 terrorist rockets. For some reason, he thinks that’s a good policy and the American Jewish community does not,” said Rubin.

“From a national security perspective, Israel has put its stock in the United States as its strategic support for its security infrastructure. We have to be a reliable ally in that,” he continued. “And part of that is ensuring that we are consistent in our support for and delivery of key items that we believe Israel should have—Iron Dome being one of them.”

Source: https://www.jns.org/pro-israel-groups-fearful-that-iron-dome-funding-may-end-up-blocked-long-term/#:~:text=Pro-Israel%20groups%20fearful%20that%20Iron%20Dome%20funding%20may,agreement%20may%20not%20be%20reachable.%20By%20Dmitriy%20Shapiro

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The post Congress averts shutdown by passing funding bill first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.

The Pentagon does not expect another request to extend National Guard troops in Washington who are helping to protect the U.S. Capitol, two officials said on Wednesday, with the current mission for the roughly 2,000 personnel expiring on Sunday.

Since the Jan. 6 attack on the seat of the U.S. Congress by supporters of then-President Donald Trump, National Guard troops have been dispatched to the grounds and some fencing had been erected to extend the security perimeter.

The officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said no extension request had been received and it was unlikely to be made.

At its height, there were about 5,200 National Guard troops protecting the Capitol and the mission had already once been extended from March to May 23.

Federal prosecutors have charged more than 300 people for involvement in the attack that led to five deaths, including a police officer. Those arrested include members of armed militia groups such as the Oath Keepers and the Three Percenters.

Last month, a motorist rammed a car into U.S. Capitol police, killing one officer and injuring another and forcing the Capitol complex to lock down.

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Source: https://www.reuters.com/world/us/national-guard-troops-expect-leave-us-capitol-next-week-officials-2021-05-19/

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The post Watch Joe Biden’s full speech to Congress first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.

The post Sen. Tim Scott delivers GOP rebuttal to Biden’s remarks | FULL first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.

The post Ted Cruz slams Biden’s address as: An ‘unapologetic partisan speech’ first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.

President Biden Friday demanded the Republicans in the Senate move on passing gun background check legislation, calling the string of mass shootings and gun violence a “national embarrassment.”

Biden pushed the Senate to take a vote on House-passed legislation that would expand background checks and close certain loopholes.

“I strongly, strongly urge my Republican friends in the Congress who refuse to bring up the House-passed bill to bring it up now,” Biden said. “This has to end. It’s a national embarrassment.

BIDEN SAYS US, JAPAN ‘COMMITTED TO WORKING TOGETHER’ ON CHALLENGES FROM CHINA, NORTH KOREA

Speaking at a joint White House press conference Friday with Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, Biden was pressed on whether he needs to prioritize police reform and gun control measures in the wake of more mass shootings and police-related deaths.

Japan’s Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga and U.S. President Joe Biden hold a joint news conference in the Rose Garden at the White House in Washington, U.S., April 16, 2021. REUTERS/Tom Brenner (Reuters)

Biden rejected the notion that guns have taken a backseat to his infrastructure and coronavirus agenda in Congress and he doubled down on his support for banning assault weapons and high-capacity magazines.

“I strongly support the universal background checks, which I continue to push. And Congress has to step up and act. The Senate has to act,” Biden said. “I strongly support and … never stopped supporting the ban on assault weapons and magazines that hold more than 10 bullets.”

BIDEN CALLS ON SENATE TO PASS GUN CONTROL MEASURES ‘IMMEDIATELY’ AFTER BOULDER SHOOTING

Biden said “no one has worked harder” than him on ending gun violence and he pointed to his work in the Senate to pass the now-expired 1994 assault weapons ban. He said he’s committed to passing such gun restrictions again.

“Who in God’s name needs a weapon that can hold 100 rounds, or 40 rounds, or 20 rounds,” Biden said. “It’s just wrong. And I’m not going to give up until it’s done.”

AS BIDEN CALLS FOR GUN BAN, MANCHIN SAYS HE DOESN’T SUPPORT BACKGROUND CHECK LEGISLATION

The first hurdle, though, will be getting support for a universal background check bill in the Senate that’s split 50-50. The House already passed legislation to expand federal gun background checks on all firearms sales and extend the background check review period from three days to a minimum of 10 business days.

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But Republicans have resisted the legislation and moderate West Virginia Democrat Joe Manchin also said he can’t support new background checks measures on private sales.

Source: https://www.foxnews.com/politics/biden-says-gun-violence-is-a-national-embarrassment-demands-gop-move-on-background-check-bill

The post Biden demands Republicans move on gun background check bill first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.

(ABC4) – It’s been more than a week since President Joe Biden took office following an unprecedented inauguration marked by the global COVID-19 pandemic and the deadly U.S. Capitol riot.

His inauguration and the condition under which he assumed office are not the only unique aspect of his young presidency – within his first two days in office, President Biden signed 17 executive orders, including 15 on his first day.

That is far more than any of his recent predecessors during their first week in office, including Donald Trump, who signed five; Barack Obama, who signed five; and George W. Bush, who did not sign any, according to The American President Project.

As of Jan. 29, his 15th day in offce, Biden has signed a total of 22 executive orders.

Here is a full list of executive orders signed by Pres. Biden so far:

• Ethic Commitments by Executive Branch Personnel
• Revocation of Certain Executive Orders Concerning Federal Regulation
• Protecting Public Health and the Environment and Restoring Science to Tackle the Climate Crisis
• Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities Through the Federal Government
• Revision of Civil Immigration Enforcement Policies and Priorities
• Preventing and Combating Discrimination on the Basis of Gender Identity or Sexual Orientation
• Organizing and Mobilizing the United States Government to Provide a Unified and Effective Response to Combat COVID-19 and to Provide United States Leadership on Global Health and Security
• Ensuring a Lawful and Accurate Enumeration and Apportionment Pursuant to the Decennial Census
• Protecting the Federal Workforce and Requiring Mask-Wearing
• Improving and Expanding Access to Care and Treatments for COVID-19
• Supporting the Reopening and Continuing Operation of Schools and Early Childhood Education Providers
• Promoting COVID-19 Safety in Domestic and International Travel
• Sustainable Public Health Supply Chain
• Protecting Worker Health and Safety
• Ensuring a Data-Driven Response to COVID-19 and Future High-Consequence Public Health Threats
• Ensuring an Equitable Pandemic Response and Recovery
• Establishing the COVID-19 Pandemic Testing Board and Ensuring a Sustainable Public Health Workforce for COVID-19 and Other Biological Threats
• Protecting the Federal Workforce
• Economic Relief Related to the COVID-19 Pandemic
• Enabling All Qualified Americans to Serve Their Country in Uniform
• Ensuring the Future Is Made in All of America by All of America’s Workers
• Reforming Our Incarceration System to Eliminate the Use of Privately Operated Criminal Detention Facilities
• President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology
• Tackling the Climate Crisis at Home and Abroad
• Strengthening Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act

The American President Project (APP), run by UC Santa Barbara, shows no recent president – dating back to Dwight D. Eisenhower, has issued more than 500 executive orders during their entire time in office.

Below is a list of how many executive orders each of the five previous presidents have signed:

• Donald Trump: 220
• Barack Obama: 276
• George W. Bush: 291
• Bill Clinton: 364
• George Bush: 166

According to the APP, Franklin D. Roosevelt signed a record number of executive orders – 3,721 – during his more than 12 years in office, or an average of 307 each year.

While Pres. Biden has undoubtedly signed more executive orders during his first few days in office than Trump, Obama, and Bush, it is unclear if it is a record. According to PolitiFact, run by The Poynter Institute, the available record before FDR is not complete enough to say Biden has broken any records.

Seth Masket, a professor of political science at Duke University tells Newsweek that it is not uncommon for a president to sign several executive orders after inauguration.

It is too early to tell just how many more executive orders Pres. Biden will sign during his first 100 days in office, or his entire term.

Source: https://www.abc4.com/news/politics/how-many-executive-orders-has-pres-biden-signed/

The post How many executive orders has Pres. Biden signed? first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.