US senators eye narrow fixes to raise bar for election challenges
WASHINGTON — Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell threw his support Tuesday behind a bipartisan bill that would raise the bar for challenging presidential election results, boosting chances it will clear Congress this year.
The Senate bill, McConnell said, makes “modest” fixes to the process of counting electors and has a better chance of getting through Congress than a more expansive version passed by the House last week.
“I strongly support the modest changes that our colleagues in the working group have fleshed out after literally months of detailed discussions,” he said on the Senate floor. “I’ll proudly support the legislation, provided that nothing more than technical changes are made to its current form.”
The endorsement came shortly before the Senate Rules Committee approved the bill, which was spurred by Donald Trump’s false claims about the 2020 election and the ensuing attack on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.
While the House version of the bill passed with mostly Democratic support, under Senate rules the legislation requires at least 10 Republicans in the 50-50 chamber to pass. The full Senate isn’t expected to act on the bill until after the November congressional elections.
—Bloomberg News
White House hunger strategy widens free school meals, food stamps
WASHINGTON — The Biden administration outlined a national strategy Tuesday of executive actions and legislative priorities it says will combat hunger and address diet-related conditions such as heart disease, diabetes and various cancers that plague millions of Americans.
The strategy arrives the day before President Joe Biden is scheduled to address the White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition and Health where several hundred attendees will discuss recommendations and ideas the White House gathered over the summer. Biden has said the conference goal is to end hunger and reduce chronic illnesses linked to poor diets by 2030.
Participants are expected to announce commitments Wednesday on steps they will take to advance the national strategy.
“This important conference and the commitment to a national strategy on ending hunger and healthier eating will build on the research and knowledge we now have to make America truly a stronger, healthier nation,” Biden said in a statement.
The daylong event at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center is structured under five pillars: Improving food access and affordability; integrating nutrition and health; giving consumers healthy choices and empowering them to make them; supporting physical activity; and enhancing nutrition and food security research.
The national strategy is organized along the same pillars.
The blueprint released Tuesday calls for expanding the nation’s largest domestic food aid program, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, by removing the eligibility ban on people with convictions for drugs and other felonies. The issue is likely to be part of House and Senate Agriculture committees’ work next year on the 2023 farm bill.
—CQ-Roll Call
California Gov. Gavin Newsom signs 13 abortion protection and reproductive health bills
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Gov. Gavin Newsom signed 13 abortion protection and reproductive health bills Tuesday, codifying the final pieces of California’s campaign to counter the effects of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade.
The newly signed laws aim to increase the number of abortion providers, provide financial assistance to patients and clinics,increase outreach and strengthen legal protections — all for residents living in and out of the state.
Newsom’s signatures were expected after the governor advocated for many of the measures and come after California launched a publicly funded website this month to make it easier for those seeking to end their pregnancy to find services and financial assistance. The state announced the website — at abortion.ca.gov — the same day Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina pushed for a nationwide abortion ban after 15 weeks of pregnancy with rare exceptions.
Newsom then began promoting the website on billboards in seven states with the most restrictive abortion bans, telling women living there that California “will defend your right to make decisions about your own health.”
“Abortion is legal, safe and accessible here in California — whether or not you live here, know that we have your back,” Newsom said in a statement. “As Republican states continue rolling back fundamental civil rights and even try to prevent people from accessing information online or crossing state lines for care, you’re welcome here in California and we’ll continue to fight like hell for you.”
—Los Angeles Times
Saudi king names Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman as prime minister
Saudi Arabia’s 86-year-old king appointed his son, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, to replace him as the kingdom’s prime minister, state-run news agency SPA said.
Crown Prince Mohammed, 37, has been gradually taking on greater powers in the world’s largest oil exporter under his father, King Salman bin Abdulaziz. SPA did not give a reason for the move.
The crown prince, known by his initials MBS, already oversaw many of Saudi Arabia’s major portfolios, including oil, defense, economic policy and internal security — while his father remains head of state.
Heir to the throne since pushing aside an older cousin in 2017, MBS has steadily concentrated authority in his hands, detaining potential opponents and overturning the decades-old tradition of balancing power between branches of the royal family.
He’s pushed forward with a sweeping economic reform program and this year hosted U.S. President Joe Biden in the kingdom, turning the page on years of frictions over the killing of Saudi journalist and critic Jamal Khashoggi in Istanbul in 2018 by Saudi agents.
—Bloomberg News
