The Paper Trail: July 12, 2024

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The Paper Trail

Announcements

Applications are now open for a two-day intensive virtual Boot Camp on the art and practice of oversight and investigations hosted by POGO, the Levin Center for Oversight and Democracy, and The Lugar Center. This training is only open to staff in Congress. Apply at THIS LINK by July 22.

Join the Office of the Whistleblower Ombuds for its annual Lunch & Learn: Working with Whistleblowers and Support Agencies. This event will be held on July 29 at 12:00 noon in The Gold Room. Lunch will be served. This event is open to Members and Congressional staff. Learn more and register at https://whistleblower.house.gov/events.

Top stories for July 12, 2024

Senators push stock trading ban to prevent lawmakers from profiting from insider knowledge: A bipartisan group of senators announced a deal Wednesday on a congressional stock trading ban aimed at preventing members from profiting from insider knowledge. The ETHICS Act would bar lawmakers and their families from trading stocks and other investments. It would also bar the use of blind trusts. (Julie Tsirkin and Elleiana Green, NBC News)

GOP jump-starts 2024 election challenges with Trump-inspired lawsuits: The Republican National Committee has expanded legal challenges to voting and election procedures in key swing states. Critics say the challenges are legally frivolous but are dangerous because they are meant to further erode public confidence in elections and lay the groundwork to overturn the results if Trump loses. (Amy Gardner and Isaac Arnsdorf, Washington Post)

Why nursing home residents still suffer despite tough state laws: A shortage of nurses and aides in the nation’s nearly 15,000 nursing homes is at the root of many of the most disturbing shortfalls in care for the 1.2 million Americans who live in them. In many states, putting a law on the books is no guarantee of better staffing, and the Biden administration’s plan to guarantee adequate staffing has the same weaknesses that hamper states. (Jordan Rau, New York Times)

How drug middlemen keep beating the system: Pharmacy-benefit managers are outsmarting regulators by adapting their opaque business models and keeping data from the public. Successfully cracking down on the industry’s tactics that drive healthcare costs higher won’t be easy. (David Wainer, Wall Street Journal)

Israel-Hamas War

After last-ditch effort, the Gaza pier aid mission is coming to an end: The news comes less than two months after the mission began. The operation is estimated to have cost $270 million and left three U.S. service members injured. (Geoff Ziezulewicz and Lolita C. Baldor, Military Times)

The companies making it easy to buy in a West Bank settlement: Real estate firms are touring North America marketing homes in Israel and in illegal West Bank settlements. Homebuyers interested in purchasing a property in the occupied West Bank also have a more convenient option: a simple scroll through online listings. (Jonah Valdez, The Intercept)

Supreme Court Ethics

Democrats seek criminal investigation of Justice Thomas over travel and gifts: Senators Sheldon Whitehouse and Ron Wyden asked the DOJ to open a criminal investigation of Justice Clarence Thomas for possible violations of federal ethics and tax laws. They asked Attorney General Merrick Garland to appoint a special counsel to investigate Justice Thomas’s failure to disclose lavish gifts, luxury travel, and other perks he received from wealthy friends. (Maya C. Miller, New York Times)

🔎 See Also: Clarence Thomas took free trip to Putin’s hometown, Democrats say (Talia Jane, The New Republic)

🔎 See Also: Ocasio-Cortez seeks impeachment of Thomas, Alito (Moira Warburton and Makini Brice, Reuters)

Russia-Ukraine War

High-tech American weapons work against Russia—until they don’t: The introduction of Western weapons in Ukraine shows that what may have worked against Saddam Hussein’s army, the Taliban, and Islamic State won't necessarily work against a modern military like Russia’s or China’s. (Yaroslav Trofimov, Wall Street Journal)

🔎 See Also: Biden announces new Patriot system for Ukraine as part of $225M weapons package (Ellen Mitchell, The Hill)

Political Misbehavior

Trump claims not to know who is behind Project 2025. A CNN review found at least 140 people who worked for him are involved: At least 140 people who worked in the Trump administration had a hand in Project 2025, including six of his former Cabinet secretaries, four individuals Trump nominated as ambassadors, and his first deputy chief of staff. Dozens more hold positions with conservative groups advising Project 2025, including his former chief of staff Mark Meadows and longtime adviser Stephen Miller. (Steve Contorno, CNN)

Democrats decry FCC commissioner’s Project 2025 involvement: FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr, whom Trump appointed to the agency in 2017, wrote the portion of Project 2025 calling for enlisting the FCC into the Republican battle against Section 230, the law that shields digital platforms from lawsuits over user-generated content. (Cristiano Lima-Strong, Washington Post)

Police Misconduct

There’s a junk science crisis in criminal convictions. Sonia Sotomayor calls it out in Alabama bite-mark case: Bite-mark evidence is among a host of problematic, scientifically questionable forensic practices widely used in the criminal legal system. While forensic practitioners have acknowledged the problem and sought to get their disciplines on firmer scientific footing, the law hasn’t caught up. (Liliana Segura and Jordan Smith, The Intercept)

🔎 See Also: He was convicted of killing his baby. The DA’s office says he’s innocent, but that might not be enough (Pamela Colloff, ProPublica)

Defense and Veterans Affairs

Lawmakers call for Pentagon to address “poor” military housing conditions: A bipartisan group of lawmakers called for the Pentagon to address poor living conditions in military houses for service members and their families, pointing to particular concerns with the companies that manage the houses under contracts that are unfair to tenants. (Brad Dress, The Hill)

Hawaii isn’t protected by NATO. Some senators are trying to change that: The state of Hawaii is excluded from NATO’s geographic scope. With the alliance finding itself increasingly entwined in security threats from China and other Asian nations, some lawmakers are now calling for that exclusion to be reevaluated. (Bryan Pietsch, Washington Post)

Business and Finance

No room for privacy: How Airbnb fails to protect guests from hidden cameras: Airbnb has received tens of thousands of customer complaints regarding surveillance devices. When a guest complains of a hidden camera the company typically doesn’t notify the police, not even when a child is involved. (Isabelle Chapman, Majlie de Puy Kamp, and Audrey Ash, CNN)

Marathon Oil reaches $241 million settlement with EPA for environmental violations in North Dakota: While Marathon is the country’s 22nd-largest oil producer, the DOJ and EPA said, it’s also the seventh-largest emitter of greenhouse gases in the fossil fuel industry. (Steve Karnowski, Associated Press)

Tech

In a first, federal regulators ban messaging app from hosting minors: For the first time, federal regulators banned a digital platform from serving users under 18, accusing NGL — an app popular among children and teens — of exaggerating its ability to curb cyberbullying, violating children’s privacy laws, and using bait-and-switch tactics to attract subscribers. (Cristiano Lima-Strong, Washington Post)

Republicans angry that ISPs receiving U.S. grants must offer low-cost plans: Republican lawmakers are fighting a Biden administration attempt to bring cheap broadband service to low-income people, claiming it’s an illegal form of rate regulation. They also complain that the administration hasn’t distributed program money to states more quickly. (Jon Brodkin, Ars Technica)

Infrastructure

FEMA will now consider climate change when it rebuilds after floods: In a significant shift, FEMA will now factor in the impact of climate change on future flood risk when it decides where and how it’s safe to build. FEMA estimates this stricter standard could cost the agency an additional $150 million over the next ten years — a proportionally small sum given the agency’s $3 billion annual disaster spending. FEMA says the extra cost will pay for itself over the years by preventing future damages. (Jake Bittle, Grist)

Metal thieves are stripping America’s cities: Across the country, copper and other valuable metals are being stolen from streetlights, statues, and even gravesites, costing millions to repair and posing public safety hazards. (Michael Corkery, New York Times)

Health Care

As extreme heat bakes the West, emergency helicopters struggle to fly: The record-breaking heat is making it difficult to fly rescue helicopters, hampering efforts to transport patients and conduct rescues. (Ruby Mellen, Washington Post)

Panel urges more research on women and chronic diseases: Research into chronic conditions affecting women is significantly lacking, and the government should do more to investigate issues that lead to worse medical treatment for women, according to a new report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine. (Sabrina Malhi, Washington Post)

Multiple children hospitalized in Diamond Shruumz poisonings, as cases mount: There have been more than two dozen confirmed hospitalizations nationwide linked to “microdosing” chocolates, cones, and gummies—products that are especially enticing to children. (Alexander Tin, CBS News)

ICYMI

Immigration and Border Security:

→ TSA hasn’t assessed whether deploying air marshals to the border negatively impacts air security, IG says

Other News:

→ Senate to hold hearing on Supreme Court's “dangerous” presidential immunity ruling

→ House fails to pass measure to hold attorney general in “inherent contempt”

→ IRS collected $1 billion in back taxes from millionaires in less than a year

→ Does the Hatch Act apply to you? Election season do’s and don’ts

→ Silicon Valley wins few government contracts

→ Alaska federal judge resigns after investigators say he created a hostile workplace

→ AT&T says data of “nearly all” customers was breached in 2022

Because It’s Friday

In Las Vegas, a violent sport sparks controversy: The team behind the Ultimate Fighting Championship is betting big on slap fighting, a new and extremely dangerous competition with many detractors. (Calum Marsh, New York Times)

Upcoming Events

📌 Arizona and Pennsylvania’s top officials on election security, disinformation and threats to democracy. Washington Post Live. Tuesday, July 16, 1:00 p.m. EDT.

Hot Docs

🔥📃 GAO - Open GAO Recommendations: Financial Benefits Could Be Between $106 Billion and $208 Billion. GAO-24-107146 (PDF)

🔥📃 GAO - IT Systems Annual Assessment: DOD Needs to Strengthen Software Metrics and Address Continued Cybersecurity and Reporting Gaps. GAO-24-106912 (PDF)

Nominations & Appointments

Nominations

• Carl Whitney Bentzel - Commissioner, Federal Maritime Commission
• Deborah Lynn Halvorson Bush - Chair and Member, Railroad Retirement Board
• Keith D. Hanigan - Ambassador, Solomon Islands
• Douglas D. Jones - Ambassador, Bosnia and Herzegovina
• Kali C. Jones - Ambassador, Benin
• William Patrick J. Kimmitt - Member, United States International Trade Commission
• Deva A. Kyle - Director, Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation
• Stephanie A. Miley - Ambassador, The Gambia
• Marco M. Rajkovich Jr. - Member, Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission
• Julie Brinn Siegel - Commissioner, Commodity Futures Trading Commission
• L.E. Sola - Commissioner, Federal Maritime Commission
• Melanie Anne Zimmerman - Ambassador, Guinea