I was just down the hall when Hunter Biden made his surprise appearance on Capitol Hill this Wednesday. President Joe Biden’s profligate son made headlines when‚ unannounced‚ he stopped by the House Oversight Committee as they debated whether to hold him in contempt of Congress. Hunter Biden was accompanied by several security guards and trailed by media eager for shots of the day’s biggest political story.  Just down the hall‚ in a far less crowded committee room‚ the members of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce were gathered to investigate regulatory overreach by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). This hearing didn’t make the news‚ but it should have. Republican Rep. Bill Johnson‚ chair of the Environment‚ Manufacturing‚ and Critical Materials subcommittee‚ convened the hearing in response to new regulations on methane emissions promulgated by the EPA at the recent COP28 climate change conference in Dubai. Empowered by the Inflation Reduction Act to impose Biden’s radical green agenda on the nation‚ the EPA has devised inflexible‚ unworkable regulations for methane emissions that will destroy small and mid-sized domestic oil and gas producers.  New Methane Regulations Burden Small Producers The full text of these latest EPA regulations can be found in a 1‚700-page document — why use one word when 100 will do? — that essentially functions as a death sentence for smaller‚ independent petroleum producers.  In order to reduce the amount of methane in the atmosphere‚ the EPA now requires that oil and gas producers capture all methane released during drilling‚ production‚ and operations‚ even though this capture is economically and technologically impossible for many companies. The EPA regulations contain novel bans on routine practices used by producers to convert methane into carbon dioxide‚ a less harmful atmospheric gas. By requiring companies to adopt new practices and invest in new technologies — not to mention pay new taxes and fees — the EPA places a significant economic burden on the domestic energy sector. (RELATED: Green Mytholody Runs Rampant at COP28) The compliance costs are massive — far too large for small producers. The EPA’s one-size-fits-all regulations fail to recognize the diversity within the domestic energy sector‚ subjecting small family businesses to the same regulations as massive corporations. While big oil producers can afford to transition their operations to accord with the EPA’s regulations‚ small producers are watching their livelihoods disappear in real time.  New Costs to Small Businesses Drew Martin‚ the managing member and director of finance at Miller Energy‚ testified that the EPA’s regulations would add an estimated over $8 million in additional expenses. Last year‚ the company’s total operating budget was $11.1 million.  “That’s over 70 percent cost to my bottom line‚” Martin said. “I can’t survive that. I don’t believe many of my peers in Michigan producing marginal wells can survive that.”  Patrick Montalban‚ who is chairman and CEO of his family oil and gas business in Montana‚ similarly testified that the “dozens of new EPA reporting requirements alone would be enough to put his small company out of business due to the time and manpower that would be needed to comply.”  Small producers across America like Miller Energy and Montalban Oil and Gas Operations are facing eradication by the EPA. Across the nation‚ independent producers will be forced to close their doors and abandon productive wells‚ leaving hardworking Americans jobless in Biden’s nightmare economy.  EPA Representative Breaks Promise to Congressman Prior to Miller’s and Montalban’s testimonies about the unworkable burdens of the EPA’s new regulations‚ an EPA administrator gave testimony of his own. Joseph Goffman‚ who is the principal deputy assistant administrator for the EPA’s Office of Air and Radiation‚ repeatedly insisted that the EPA had consulted with industry members when constructing the methane regulations. Rep. August Pfluger pushed Goffman on that claim‚ asking him to name just two or three of the companies that his department at the EPA had spoken with. Goffman couldn’t — or didn’t want to.  “I’m not sure that anybody at a small‚ independent level was consulted‚” Pfluger said. “Maybe Exxon was‚ but I’m not sure that the industry [was].”  Pfluger asked whether Goffman would commit to staying and listening to the panel of small producers‚ Miller and Montalban among them. Goffman immediately committed to listening to their testimony. But as soon as his testimony ended‚ Goffman and his retinue of EPA underlings stood up and exited the room. Promises made‚ no promises kept. Men like Goffman‚ who say one thing and do another‚ get to sit in Washington and dream about a quixotic green energy revolution. Meanwhile‚ across America‚ hardworking men and women are all but powerless against the encroachments of an administrative state bent on destroying their livelihood. Today‚ small to mid-sized oil and gas producers are in the crosshairs. But they are only the first casualties in the Left’s advancing green agenda.  Mary Frances Myler is a writer from Northern Michigan now living in Washington‚ D.C. She graduated from the University of Notre Dame in 2022.  READ MORE by Mary Frances Myler:  Kellyanne Conway’s Contraception Gambit Kim Jong Un‚ Demographic Destiny‚ and DINKs Whitmer Signs Michigan’s Green New Dystopia The post New EPA Regulations Are a Death Sentence for Small Oil and Gas Producers  appeared first on The American Spectator | USA News and Politics.

The president of the United States is the head of the executive branch of the federal government. Among that branch’s responsibilities is law enforcement; this is why the president takes the oath of office to “faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States‚” and to “preserve‚ protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.” The Biden administration is failing utterly to perform these responsibilities‚ and nowhere is this more evident than with immigration. The United States has an extensive body of immigration law that provides criteria for immigration and procedures by which foreign nationals can establish residence or citizenship. It is the constitutional obligation of the executive branch to enforce these laws. President Joe Biden refuses to do so. The predictable result has been a flood of illegal immigrants. More than 300‚000 people crossed the southern border illegally this past December‚ a record high in a year filled with staggeringly high numbers: November: 242‚418 October: 240‚988 September: 269‚735 August: 232‚972 July: 183‚503 June: 144‚607 May: 204‚561 April: 211‚401 March: 191‚900 February: 212‚266 January: 156‚274 Nearly 2.5 million people entered the U.S. illegally just in 2023. (And note that these numbers do not include anyone who crossed the border without interacting with Border Patrol officials.) More than 10 million people have crossed the border illegally since Biden took office; that number is larger than the individual populations of 41 of the 50 states. The costs to Americans are enormous and growing. The Federation for American Immigration Reform published a comprehensive report last year showing that federal‚ state‚ and local expenditures for illegal immigration are approaching $200 billion annually. But dollar figures don’t capture the real costs to everyday Americans. We do not have sufficient affordable housing for our own citizens. Veterans and the elderly have been forced out of housing to make way for illegal immigrants. Our own homeless population is exploding‚ many of whom need treatment for addiction and/or mental illness. In Chicago‚ migrants have been living in the O’Hare airport. Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey has asked citizens to take migrants into their homes. Just this week‚ a New York City high school was closed and its students sent home for “remote” learning so that nearly 2‚000 migrants could be housed at the school during a winter storm. Illegal immigrants also distort congressional representation. They are counted in the decennial census population tallies‚ so their presence increases congressional representation for states with more of them. That reduces the voting power of citizens in states with lower populations. Open borders facilitate human trafficking‚ including child sex trafficking. In 2022 alone‚ the Department of Homeland Security lost track of 85‚000 unaccompanied children it had placed with “sponsors.” A departmental whistleblower testified before Congress last spring‚ warning that‚ “…[T]he U.S. Government has become the middleman in a large scale‚ multibillion-dollar‚ child trafficking operation run by bad actors seeking to profit off the lives of children.” And illegal drug importation is contributing to record numbers of fatal drug overdoses in the U.S. Illegal immigration also burdens our criminal justice system. According to the 2023 Annual Report of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement office‚ more than 170‚000 illegal immigrants were arrested in this country last year. Nearly half already had criminal records; on average‚ four prior charges and convictions. A significant number are DUI arrests‚ and many involve fatalities. Just this past week‚ a Colorado woman and her son were killed in a drunken driving collision; the driver of the other vehicle is an illegal immigrant who has been deported from the U.S. four times. As I have written elsewhere‚ public policy created by the refusal to enforce the law (as opposed to writing legislation to change it) poses unique difficulties for us as Americans. Our rights depend not upon statements in documents or speeches but on (a) the willingness of most people to respect them‚ and (b) the willingness and ability of the legal and justice systems to enforce them. If someone can steal your property with impunity‚ and the police will not arrest them‚ you have no real property rights. And if the federal government will not enforce our immigration laws‚ then we do not have a border. Without a border‚ we are losing the distinct rights or privileges associated with citizenship. Anyone who makes it across the border can access welfare‚ subsidized food and housing‚ free education‚ health care — even the (unlawful) ability to vote in our elections‚ a motive becoming increasingly obvious‚ as the same politicians who support open borders also oppose election integrity laws like requiring voter ID or proof of citizenship. The U.S. House of Representatives is moving forward this week with impeachment proceedings against Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. His repeated lies and refusal to enforce our immigration laws should make his impeachment and removal a simple matter. But Mayorkas is only a tool; the real problem lies not with him but with his boss. It is too late — and probably pointless — to impeach Biden. And in any event‚ these policies did not originate with Biden. Refusing to enforce immigration law was the brainchild of former President Barack Obama‚ who sought to use open borders and unlimited immigration as a vehicle for massive wealth transfers from Americans to the poor and impoverished of other nations. That seems now to be a plank in the Democratic Party platform. America cannot afford another four years of an open-borders Democrat administration. In 2024‚ we must elect a president who is committed to the integrity of the U.S. Constitution‚ the enforcement of our immigration laws‚ and the protection of American citizens and lawful residents. The survival of a free and prosperous United States of America depends upon it. To find out more about Laura Hollis and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists‚ visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com. COPYRIGHT 2024 CREATORS.COM READ MORE: Mike Johnson vs. America’s Most Polarizing Issues To Understand Rashida Tlaib‚ Look at Her District The post The Executive Branch Is Deliberately Failing Americans appeared first on The American Spectator | USA News and Politics.

Last weekend‚ the Biden administration discovered that U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin was playing hooky in the intensive care unit at the Walter Reed hospital after he developed complications following a prostate surgery the president didn’t know about. On this episode of The Spectacle podcast‚ hosts Scott McKay and Melissa Mackenzie discuss the unfolding national security crisis and ask important questions like: Who is really running the show if President Joe Biden can’t even keep track of his senior military staff? Order Scott’s new book‚ Racism‚ Revenge and Ruin: It’s All Obama‚ here. Read The American Spectator’s commentary: Lloyd Austin’s Dereliction of Duty: Deputy Hicks Vacations; Biden‚ Blinken‚ Sullivan Out of Loop and US Secretary of Defense Goes AWOL Read Scott’s and Melissa’s writing here and here. Listen to The Spectacle with Melissa Mackenzie and Scott McKay on Spotify. Watch The Spectacle with Melissa Mackenzie and Scott McKay on Rumble.  The post <;i>;The Spectacle<;/i>; Ep. 57: Who Really Runs the Show? appeared first on The American Spectator | USA News and Politics.

One of the hazards of running for president is making a remark in front of cameras that quickly points out why you’re not the right candidate. This brings to mind this recent‚ decidedly telling remark from former Gov./UN Ambassador Nikki Haley in her race for the Republican presidential nomination.  Haley said of former President Donald Trump: The reality is‚ rightly or wrongly‚ chaos follows him‚ and we all know that’s true … and we can’t have a country in disarray and a world on fire and go through four more years of chaos. We won’t survive it. Translation? Haley‚ in a blink‚ made herself the symbol of what millions of Americans have come to see as exactly what’s wrong with the country. Her comment is a clear representation that she is first and last a supporter of what Americans have come to call “The Swamp.” What is “The Swamp”? It is Status Quo Washington and the Status Quo Establishment in the country at large. The Swamp could be corrupt Old Order bureaucrats in the FBI‚ the CIA‚ and the Department of Justice trying to thwart‚ first‚ a presidential election that elects Trump. Then‚ when that failed in 2016‚ The Swamp spent four years seeking to disrupt the president and his entire administration. The legal arm of the Swamp‚ whether in Washington‚ New York‚ or Georgia‚ has spent endless amounts of time to impeach and/or indict President Trump‚ deliberately weaponizing and corrupting the legal system to do so. The Swamp includes a corrupted media that makes it its mission to not report the news that doesn’t fit The Swamp’s objectives. The suppression by Big Tech and Big Government of the 2020 New York Post exclusive about Hunter Biden’s laptop is exactly The Swamp at work.  On and on — and on and on — goes The Swamp in its obsession with controlling America and all of its different entities. The Swamp wants complete cultural and political control of America. Its players see themselves as having a God-given right to run America‚ whether they are in the federal bureaucracy‚ the media‚ academia‚ and more. In a sense‚ it is an adult version of the cliques found in junior high school. There is the “in crowd” — aka the cool kids who‚ as I have written previously‚ “are popular‚ attractive‚ the star athletes.” Then there are their opposites‚ “the unfashionable outsiders … who are shy‚ socially awkward‚ and not as attractive — the geeks‚ the nerds‚ the un-athletic‚ and the unfashionably dressed‚ if exasperatingly smart‚ who aren’t invited to sit with the ‘in group’ at lunch in the school cafeteria and who don’t get invited to the popular girls’ slumber parties.” And today’s Swamp dwellers are‚ among other things‚ all about virtue signaling. Enforcing Swamp conformity in sharing the same narrative. To send the message that “Hey‚ I’m one of you.” That is exactly what Nikki Haley’s message attacking Trump as bringing “chaos” is all about. It is signaling to The Swamp that‚ Republican though she may be‚ she is really one of them — a Swamp devotee.  She is decidedly not about “chaos” that disrupts The Swamp. All of which Nikki Haley — and she is not alone — sees as “chaos.” Why?  Because candidate Haley has made it abundantly clear with this attack that she herself supports The Swamp. She wants to be part of the “in crowd.” And to oppose The Swamp‚ to disrupt it‚ shine a spotlight on it‚ not to mention clean it up‚ is exactly the opposite of what she would do as president. She would be a go-along-to-get-along champion of the status quo and Swamp corruption. Let’s be clear. Donald Trump has the support he has from his fiercely loyal base precisely because he has had the guts to stand up to The Swamp‚ to disrupt its players and schemers‚ and return the country to its basic values — aka “Make America Great Again.” So. The Iowa caucuses arrives on Monday‚ with the New Hampshire primary less than two weeks after that. And whatever else the results will show‚ they will show just whether Haley’s idea of campaigning as a Swamp candidate opposed to disrupting The Swamp — bringing “chaos” — will be a political seller. Put me down as skeptical. READ MORE: Biden Admin Suddenly Drops Removal of William Penn Statue — In Pennsylvania Harvard‚ Bud Light‚ and the Times: The Reason for Donald Trump The post Nikki Haley Stands Up for the Swamp appeared first on The American Spectator | USA News and Politics.

The U.S. Supreme Court will allow an Idaho pro-life law to stand following challenges from the Biden administration. The blocked Biden administration lawsuit would have required emergency room doctors to perform abortions on the grounds of the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act. However‚ the Supreme Court ruled that this attempt was an abuse of federal power‚ and the Biden administration cannot overturn Idaho’s pro-life laws. In another recent case‚ State of Texas v. Becerra‚ the Supreme Court ruled similarly to favor Texas’ pro-life laws over the Biden administration’s attempts to override them. Idaho has restrictive abortion laws but does allow for a mother whose life is at risk to be treated. As a Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America press release explained‚ “Like every state with strong pro-life laws‚ Idaho and Texas allow timely and necessary care for pregnant women in an emergency; that has not changed.” LifeSite News shared a quote from Erin Hawley‚ the wife of Sen. Josh Hawley‚ in reaction to the case. She explained: “Emergency room physicians can‚ and do‚ treat ectopic pregnancies and other life-threatening conditions. But elective abortion is not life-saving care — it ends the life of the unborn child — and the government has no authority to override Idaho’s law barring these procedures.” Watch the full video to find out more. A contributor for The American Spectator‚ Grace Reilly is a senior at Grove City College‚ where she is a marketing fellow at the Institute for Faith and Freedom. In her role as a fellow‚ she is the host of the Post-Roe America Conference Series and Meet the Scholars and co-host of the Liberty Mail podcast. Grace has appeared on Fox News‚ Newsmax‚ and America’s Voice News‚ in addition to a variety of podcasts‚ radio‚ print‚ and television in her home state of Connecticut. Follow her on Instagram @conservativegrace and on Twitter @conservgrace. READ MORE: Biden’s Pro-Abortion Campaign Might Just Work VIDEO: The Supreme Court Will Hear Case on Abortion Pill. Here’s Why That Matters. The Satanic Temple Attempts to Bring Abortion to Pro-Life States The post Biden‚ Desperate for Abortion‚ Overreaches in Idaho appeared first on The American Spectator | USA News and Politics.

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