A congressional watchdog is investigating reports that some recipients of a tax credit for “clean coal” production increased rather than cut pollution, Reuters first reported Monday.
The multibillion-dollar subsidy has gone to numerous major firms over the years, including financial institutions like JPMorgan Chase and Goldman Sachs Group, drugmaker Mylan, and DTE Energy Co, the main utility for Detroit, according to Reuters. The Internal Revenue Service awards the subsidy based on lab results rather than real-world emissions, according to the news service.
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) has launched the investigation following a Reuters investigation indicating some firms awarded the subsidy saw higher levels of pollution. A GAO official confirmed to The Hill that it is investigating the subsidy based on a congressional request.
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A 2018 Reuters special report found that Duke Energy, another recipient of the tax credit, produced nitrogen oxide emission rates between 33 percent and 76 percent higher at a North Carolina facility from 2012 to 2014, the first three years it received the subsidy.
The environmental nonprofit Resources for the Future separately released a report in March 2020 indicating the tax subsidy resulted in some coal plants being retired more slowly, meaning more overall carbon dioxide emissions. Those increased emissions, they wrote, exceeded the benefits of reduced nitrogen oxide and mercury emissions.
Congress is set to vote on whether to reauthorize the tax credit at the end of 2021, when it is set to expire, and the outcome of the probe could play a major role in determining its fate.
Sens. Sheldon WhitehouseSheldon WhitehouseA year later, lawmakers long for hugs and Chuck E. Cheese Rubio and bipartisan group of senators push to make daylight saving time permanent Feds looking at communications between lawmakers, Capitol rioters: report MORE (D-R.I.), Elizabeth WarrenElizabeth WarrenPoll: Majority say wealth tax is part of the solution to wealth inequality The Hill’s Morning Report – Presented by the National Shooting Sports Foundation – House passes relief bill; Biden set for prime time address Congressional Hispanic Caucus’s political arm taps new executive director MORE (D-Mass.) and Sherrod BrownSherrod Campbell BrownGeraldo Rivera won’t run for Ohio Senate seat On The Money: House passes COVID-19 relief bill in partisan vote | Biden to sign Friday | Senate confirms Fudge to lead HUD Senate panel advances Biden’s picks to lead SEC, consumer bureau MORE (D-Ohio), in a 2019 letter directed to the Internal Revenue Service responding to the reports, called for a re-evaluation of how the tax credit is awarded.
“We have evidence to show that Wall Street is raking in hundreds of millions in tax credits each year for pollution reductions they aren’t coming close to delivering in the real world. That’s a massive boondoggle for taxpayers, a blow to air quality and American’s health, and a setback for our climate,” Whitehouse said in releasing the letter.
California is ordering auto insurers to refund customers who officials say may have been overcharged during the coronavirus pandemic.
“Today, Commissioner Lara directed auto insurance companies to report by April 30 how they will return additional premium back to California policyholders that was overcollected in 2020,” a press release from the California Department of Insurance said.
Although auto insurers around the country gave back $14 billion to customers in 2020, California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara said insurers in their state should have almost doubled the amount they gave back, The Wall Street Journal reported.
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The state insurance department reviewed the data and said insurers gave back 9 percent of customers’ auto premiums, but it should have been 17 percent.
Companies “continued to overcharge consumers despite drastically reduced risk of accidents and loss due to the ongoing pandemic,” the department said.
The pandemic and significantly reduced travel in 2020 contributed to a dramatic decrease in mileage and accident claims, leading auto insurers to refund some of their customers’ money.
However, auto insurers are fighting back against the second round of refunds, saying traffic deaths rose last year and driving patterns are unpredictable, the Journal reported.
“This suggests that driver behavior deteriorated rapidly and significantly during the pandemic,” said Loretta Worters, a spokeswoman for the Insurance Information Institute.
California regulators are looking at other sectors, too, for potential refunds. The Journal reported they are looking at commercial insurers, many of whom had less risk as businesses were closed or had limited hours last year.
“If the data shows that insurance companies overcharged our businesses, I am going to be mandating them to return premium, especially to small businesses that have borne the brunt of pandemic closures,” Lara said.
Air travel hit the highest point in nearly a year Friday as Americans slowly resume travel amid the distribution of coronavirus vaccines and rollbacks of restrictions in some states.
Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officers screened 1.3 million people at airport security checkpoints Friday, the highest figure since March 15, 2020, according to TSA spokesperson Lisa Farbstein.
The rise in air travel comes as the distribution of coronavirus vaccines ramps up. The U.S. on Friday passed 100 million vaccine doses administered, and President BidenJoe BidenPentagon takes heat for extending Guard’s time at Capitol Booker to try to make child tax credit expansion permanent Sullivan says tariffs will not take center stage in talks with China MORE is ordering states to allow all adults to be eligible for a shot by May 1.
Several states are also rolling back their restrictions, including Texas and Mississippi, which scrapped statewide mask mandates and are permitting businesses to fully open.
New guidance from the government regarding travel is anticipated soon.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued a number of recommendations that allow vaccinated and low-risk people more freedom to gather, but the government is still urging Americans to refrain from unnecessary travel.
The airline industry has been hit particularly hard by the coronavirus pandemic and has sought to assure travelers that flying is safe.
“We remain confident that this layered approach significantly reduces risk and are encouraged that science continues to confirm there is a very low risk of virus transmission onboard aircraft,” a spokesperson for Airlines for America, which advocates for major U.S. airlines, told The Hill this week.
China criticized the Biden administration on Friday over new restrictions on the Chinese telecom giant Huawei, arguing the move shows that the U.S. cannot be trusted.
The comments from the Foreign Ministry follow a report from Bloomberg saying the U.S. notified some Huawei suppliers that starting this week more items will be prohibited for use in 5G technology.
“It will severely disrupt the technological exchanges and trade exchanges of the two countries and the world at large, it will undermine the global industrial chains and supply chains,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian told reporters Friday. “The U.S. should stop the suppression on Chinese companies immediately and treat Chinese companies in a fair, just and nondiscriminatory manner.”
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China also said the reported move by the Biden administration shows the U.S. “isn’t a reliable country that is to be trusted.”
The ban targets exporting semiconductors, antennas and batteries that could be used in Huawei’s 5G devices, according to Bloomberg.
President BidenJoe BidenPentagon takes heat for extending Guard’s time at Capitol Booker to try to make child tax credit expansion permanent Sullivan says tariffs will not take center stage in talks with China MOREhas called for rules to be placed on Chinese technology companies.
“U.S. and European companies are required to publicly disclose corporate governance structures, and abide by rules to deter corruption and monopolistic practices,” Biden said last month. “Chinese companies must be held to the same standards.”
The Trump administration had placed Huawei on what’s known as the “entity list”, effectively blacklisting the company over concerns it posed an espionage threat due to ties to the Chinese government.
The tech giant announced earlier this month that a Chinese-sponsored hacking group known as “Hafnium” was trying to take advantage of previously unknown security weaknesses in the email application Exchange Server.
Microsoft had described the group as a “highly skilled and sophisticated actor” and said the group had previously targeted groups across fields including law firms, think thanks, defense contractors and infectious disease researchers.
After Microsoft’s warning, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency ordered federal agencies to immediately investigate, patch or disconnect systems from the Microsoft email application.
The Biden administration is siding with a pipeline company in a dispute over whether it can seize land from the state of New Jersey in order to complete construction.
The Supreme Court agreed to hear the case last month after a lower court ruled against the use of eminent domain to acquire land for the PennEast gas pipeline.
In a brief in support of PennEast’s position, the Justice Department argued that states aren’t exempt from a law allowing permit holders from taking necessary property for infrastructure projects that were approved by federal regulators.
“There is no basis to conclude that, when the States granted the federal government the eminent-domain power in the plan of the Convention, they silently retained the right to veto delegations of its exercise,” the brief said.
A federal appeals court had previously ruled in New Jersey’s favor, arguing that taking the state-owned land went against the 11th Amendment, which protects states from certain lawsuits.
Like the Biden administration, the Trump administration had sided with PennEast, arguing, “It is the federal government who has the “primary authority to determine whether additional pipelines and related facilities are needed and, if so, where they should be located and whom they should serve.”
If completed, the pipeline would span 120 miles and carry natural gas from Pennsylvania to New Jersey.
Alaska became the first state in the nation Tuesday to lift all eligibility requirements for adults to get a coronavirus vaccine.
Gov. Mike Dunleavy (R) announced Tuesday that all individuals who live or work in Alaska and are age 16 and older can get a shot. The vaccine from Pfizer is available to individuals who are 16 years old and up, while the vaccines from Johnson & Johnson and Moderna are available to those who are at least 18 years old.
“This historic step is yet another nationwide first for Alaska, but it should come as no surprise. Since day one, your response to the pandemic has been hands-down the best in the nation,” Dunleavy said in a statement to Alaskans. “I couldn’t be prouder of Alaska’s response. From being the first state to offer widespread testing, to maintaining one of the lowest mortality rates in the country, to rolling out vaccinations to every willing Alaskan, we got here by working together.”
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Alaska has had one of the lowest death tolls in the nation, at 305, and recorded just 91 new cases Monday, according to state data. There have been nearly 60,000 cases in the state since the pandemic began.
Dunleavy’s move puts Alaska ahead of all other states, which are still imposing specific qualifications for residents to get a shot. Last week he opened up vaccines to anyone 55 and older, essential workers including first responders and teachers, and people with underlying health problems.
According to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Alaska has administered the most total doses per 100,000 people out of any state at 41,376. New Mexico is the only other state that has given more than 40,000 doses per 100,000 people.
States are scrambling to make vaccines more widely available to expedite the end of the pandemic. While three vaccines are currently in circulation, experts have expressed alarm at the spread of more infectious variants and a plateauing of a drop in cases across the country.
President BidenJoe BidenCNN: Bidens’ dogs removed from the White House Federal judge rules ‘QAnon shaman’ too dangerous to be released from jail Pelosi says Capitol riot was one of the most difficult moments of her career MORE and Transportation Secretary Pete ButtigiegPete ButtigiegThe Hill’s Morning Report – Presented by the National Shooting Sports Foundation – Relief bill to become law; Cuomo in trouble The Hill’s 12:30 Report – Presented by ExxonMobil – Senate begins marathon vote-a-rama before .9T COVID-19 relief passage The Hill’s Morning Report – Presented by Facebook – Virus relief bill headed for weekend vote MORE are expected to meet Thursday with a bipartisan group of House lawmakers to discuss infrastructure as the administration starts looking beyond the coronavirus relief bill to one of its next legislative priorities.
Biden, Buttigieg and Vice President Harris are scheduled to meet in the Oval Office with eight members of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, including Chairman Peter DeFazioPeter Anthony DeFazioBiden turns focus to next priority with infrastructure talks Biden to meet with bipartisan lawmakers on infrastructure DOJ declined to take up Chao ethics probe MORE (D-Ore.) and ranking member Sam GravesSamuel (Sam) Bruce GravesBiden turns focus to next priority with infrastructure talks Biden to meet with bipartisan lawmakers on infrastructure Lawmakers offer competing priorities for infrastructure plans MORE (R-Mo.).
The meeting will also include leaders of the Subcommittee on Highways and Transit — Del. Eleanor Holmes NortonEleanor Holmes NortonBiden to meet with bipartisan lawmakers on infrastructure Duckworth, Norton call for improved accessibility for the blind at FDR memorial OVERNIGHT ENERGY: Biden returns to Obama-era greenhouse gas calculation | House passes major public lands package | Biden administration won’t defend Trump-era relaxation of bird protections MORE (D-D.C.) and Rep. Rodney DavisRodney Lee DavisHouse-passed election bill takes aim at foreign interference Biden to meet with bipartisan lawmakers on infrastructure House passes voting rights and elections reform bill MORE (R-Ill.) — and Reps. Sharice DavidsSharice DavidsIs nonpartisan effectiveness still possible? Biden to meet with bipartisan lawmakers on infrastructure When infrastructure fails MORE (D-Kan.), John GaramendiJohn Raymond GaramendiBiden to meet with bipartisan lawmakers on infrastructure Colorado presses Biden to reverse Trump Space Command move Report on military aviation crashes faults lack of training, ‘chronic fatigue’ MORE (D-Calif.), John KatkoJohn Michael KatkoHouse-passed election bill takes aim at foreign interference Biden to meet with bipartisan lawmakers on infrastructure Federal agencies ordered to patch systems immediately following flaw in Microsoft app MORE (R-N.Y.) and Brian FitzpatrickBrian K. FitzpatrickHillicon Valley: Democrats push Facebook to ‘take responsibility’ for placement of gun accessory ads | Lawmakers introduce bill allowing Americans to take foreign hackers to court | Malala Yousafzai signs content deal with Apple House slated to vote on Violence Against Women Act next week Lawmakers introduce legislation to allow Americans to take foreign hackers to court MORE (R-Pa.).
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Biden campaigned on a $2 trillion infrastructure proposal that would repair U.S. roads and bridges, create jobs and address climate change. Biden’s predecessor, former President TrumpDonald TrumpTrump vows ‘No more money for RINOS,’ instead encouraging donations to his PAC Federal judge rules ‘QAnon shaman’ too dangerous to be released from jail Pelosi says Capitol riot was one of the most difficult moments of her career MORE, campaigned on rebuilding America’s infrastructure but never accomplished it during his four years in office.
Biden’s first weeks in office have been focused on ushering a $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package through Congress. The president is likely to lay out his recovery plan, which is expected to include significant investments in infrastructure, at some point in the near future. The White House says he will do so after the passage of his coronavirus relief bill, which the Senate is taking up this week after it passed the House.
Thursday’s meeting is the latest effort by Biden to involve Republicans on discussions about legislative priorities, though thus far he has been unsuccessful in attracting GOP support for his COVID-19 relief proposal.
Biden and Buttigieg last month met with a bipartisan group of senators on infrastructure, including the leaders of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, Chairman Tom CarperThomas (Tom) Richard CarperSenate approves sweeping coronavirus measure in partisan vote Senate holds longest vote in history as Democrats scramble to save relief bill Biden gets involved to help break Senate logjam MORE (D-Del.) and ranking member Shelley Moore CapitoShelley Wellons Moore CapitoDemocratic centrists flex power on Biden legislation Biden to meet with bipartisan lawmakers on infrastructure Passage of the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act is the first step to heal our democracy MORE (R-W.Va.).
Paratriathletes Lauren Steadman and Alison Patrick have both won gold at the Buffalo City ITU World Paratriathlon Event, gaining automatic qualification for the Paralympics in Rio
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Steadman, 23, won the PT4 category and has now qualified for her third Paralympic Games, having competed twice before as a swimmer. She said: “The top women weren’t here today so I planned to keep it steady and ensure that nothing went wrong. Meeting automatic qualification was the absolute priority. The swim was calm, the bike was a little hilly. Overall it was a great way to start the season!”
Alison Patrick, 28 from Dunfermline won the PT5 race for visually impaired athletes, guided by Nicole Walters. She finished more than three minutes ahead of Spain’s Susana Rodriguez and will look forward to her first Paralympic Games where she will line up against ITU world champion, Katie Kelly of Australia.
>>> BTF announce selection policy for Paralympics
There was also another gold from Ryan Taylor in the men’s PT2 event two silvers from David Hill (PT4) and Phil Hogg (PT1 ) and one bronze Melissa Reid won bronze in the PT5 category with Hazel Smith guiding..
Head coach, Jonathon Riall said that it was “a great start to 2016 with two more quota places secured for Rio and two athletes meeting automatic qualification.”
Steadman and Patrick will be automatically selected for Rio, however general selection for the rest of the team will take place following the ETU European Championships at the end of May and the conclusion of the ITU World Paratriathlon Event Series in June.
Related:
Paratriathlon: the ultimate guide
Britain’s pioneering approach to elite paratriathlon training
Commonwealth Games to host Paratriathlon for first time
2016 Buffalo City ITU World Paratriathlon Event results
The panelists, including Nicole Sapstead (CEO UK Anti-Doping), Kelly Sotherton (Olympic medalist) Wendy Martinson OBE (nutritionist to elite sport) and Chris Fisher, Head of Healthspan Elite (a supplier of high-quality vitamins and supplements) debated the use of performance enhancing drugs in athletics and the issues facing the sport ahead of the Rio. Panel members discussed the alternatives for athletes looking to gain a competitive edge, through nutrition, training and education.
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The clips include comments from Kelly Sotherton (who discusses openly witnessing an athlete doping at an event), the criminalisation of doping and the nutrition and education alternatives for athletes in all sports.
See some clips from the discussion below and let us know your thoughts