@dvassallo@Watchman_motto natural areas and features can span state lines? many of them probably have commonalities that can be understood and addressed by 1 federal organization instead of N duplicative state organizations?
The math on why this dead zone persists is the real story.
Corn gets $3.2 billion per year in federal subsidies. The Renewable Fuel Standard mandates that ~15 billion gallons of ethanol get blended into gasoline annually. 40% of all US corn goes to ethanol facilities. The entire chain, from fertilizer to runoff to algae bloom to oxygen collapse, is federally underwritten.
The dead zone causes $2.4 billion in annual damage to Gulf fisheries and marine habitat. The brown shrimp fishery, once the most valuable in America, has been in decline for decades. Louisiana shrimpers catch smaller shrimp from shallower water because the oxygen-depleted zone pushes the population inshore. Smaller shrimp sell for less. The Gulf fishing industry generates $57 billion in economic activity and 200,000 jobs.
Here's the structural lock. Iowa hosts the first presidential caucus. Corn subsidy votes happen in the Farm Bill. The Farm Bill gets reauthorized every five years by the same legislators who need Iowa. The people paying the cost of the nitrogen runoff, Gulf shrimpers in Louisiana and Texas, have no seat at the table where fertilizer policy gets written.
The externality isn't 8,776 square miles. The externality is a policy choice that gets renewed every five years because the beneficiaries and the victims are in different states with different political leverage.
In a statement during the deposition of Epstein accountant Richard Kahn, Mr. Kahn’s attorney claimed that Jane Doe 4, who accused both Trump and Epstein of abuse, never received any settlement from the estate. Now, Mr. Kahn’s attorney says he can no longer confirm or deny a settlement. ⬇️
Statement by Ranking Member @RepRobertGarcia & @RepRoKhanna
Well this tweet aged poorly.
I hope my Republican colleagues will join me in demanding straight answers from Epstein's estate after the accountant changed his story for a third time about the estate paying off a Trump accuser.
My statement.
TWO BREAKING DEVELOPMENTS IN THE EPSTEIN CASE:
- A guard on duty when Jeffrey Epstein died, Tova Noel, will be called to testify in the Oversight Committee.
- Epstein’s own accountant, Richard Kahn, gave contradictory testimony this week about whether or not an accuser of both Epstein and Trump (Jane Doe 4) received a settlement from the Epstein Estate for abuse. He now says he cannot confirm or deny.
It’s time for answers! It’s time to depose Trump in this case.
The MAGA DOJ continues to withhold documents about a sexual assault allegation against Trump. The accuser said it happened when she was a young teenager.
I want answers, and you deserve them too.
The “Alexander brothers” appeared in the Epstein files by first name, but I noticed DOJ redacted their last name in an FBI email contained in EFTA01660679.
But @FBIDirectorKash said no evidence of sex trafficking in the files.
https://t.co/WQCJrdeDCs
https://t.co/475168JuHw
If any other network did this it would be a huge scandal, Fox would lead the chorus of criticisms and faux-outrage, and people would lose their jobs.
But not at Fox. It’s not a news network. It’s a state propaganda channel.
I’m outraged by reports that Russia is sharing intelligence with Iran to help target U.S. forces in the Middle East. This comes after four years of Iranian drones terrorizing Ukrainian cities in Putin's dictatorial march.
Make no mistake: Moscow and Tehran are working together against the United States and our allies.
We must support our troops, back our allies, especially Ukraine, and defeat the Iranian regime and those enabling it.