Kentucky | August 20, 2021
GOP lawmaker aims to block Taliban from accessing international funds
Kentucky | August 20, 2021
A Republican congressman on Friday introduced legislation aimed at blocking the Taliban in Afghanistan from accessing the International Monetary Fund.
Rep. Andy Barr (R-Ky.), the ranking member of the House Financial Services subcommittee on national security, authored the bill as an effort to build on early steps that seek to cut off the Taliban from accessing the international financial institution.
World powers have yet to recognize the Taliban’s self-declared state of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, following the insurgent group’s lightning-fast takeover of the country and ousting on Sunday of the Western-backed Afghan government in Kabul.
The Biden administration, which is coming under intense criticism for Afghanistan’s collapse, has sought to manage the fallout of the Taliban’s takeover by working to freeze the country’s assets in the U.S. and abroad.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Wednesday froze $450 million in Special Drawing Rights (SDR) that was scheduled to be dispersed to Afghanistan next week. SDR is a financial asset of the IMF that is lent out to countries so they can access cash based on current market value.
The IMF made the move reportedly under pressure from the Biden administration, which also reportedly acted to freeze Afghan assets in U.S. central banks and the Federal Reserve in an effort to block access by the Taliban…. (Excerpts from the Hill)
District of Columbia, Kentucky | July 21, 2021
McConnell warns GOP won’t vote to raise debt ceiling
District of Columbia, Kentucky | July 21, 2021
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) is warning that Republicans won’t help raise the debt ceiling and is urging Democrats to include the spending hike in an infrastructure bill that they can pass along party lines.
“I can’t imagine there will be a single Republican voting to raise the debt ceiling after what we’ve been experiencing,” McConnell told Punchbowl News.
McConnell — whose office confirmed his remarks to The Hill — added that Democrats should include the hike in reconciliation, the process they are using to pass a $3.5 trillion spending package by a simple majority in the Senate.
Under a 2019 deal during the Trump administration, Congress agreed to let the government borrow through July 31.
To raise the debt ceiling outside of reconciliation, Democrats would need 10 GOP votes in addition to all 50 members of their own caucus.
But top Republicans have been sending warning signs for months that they won’t agree to a “clean” increase of the debt limit. …
(Excerpts from the Hill)
District of Columbia, Kentucky | July 11, 2021
Sen. Rand Paul to Introduce Bill to Bar ‘Farce’ Mask Mandate on Planes
District of Columbia, Kentucky | July 11, 2021
Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) said that he will reintroduce legislation that would bar the public transportation mask mandates on airplanes that were implemented earlier this year by the federal government.
“When the Senate returns to session, I will be introducing an immediate repeal of the mask mandate on planes. Enough! Time to stop this farce and let people travel in peace!” he wrote last week on Twitter.
On his second day in office, President Joe Biden signed an executive order requiring that face coverings be worn when using all forms of public transportation, including inside airports and on airplanes.
His order directed several federal agencies to “immediately take action, to the extent appropriate and consistent with applicable law, to require masks to be worn in compliance with” the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on airplanes, trains, buses, ferries, and other forms of public transportation….
(Excerpts from the Epoch Times)