NEWS AND OPINION:
House Majority Leader Steve Scalise has shared “Committee Cliff Notes” — a daunting preview of what House Republican committees are up to this week. For one thing, they are holding hearings to address 73 complex legislative matters in 16 different categories — a to-do list that includes ever-popular appropriations to armed services, homeland security, small business and veterans affairs.
And the particulars? Here are a few of the topics soon to be hashed out among the assorted committees, verbatim from the source, capital letters and all:
U.S. Military Posture and National Security Challenges in Europe, Legislative Proposals to Support Patient Access to Telehealth Services, The Chinese Communist Party’s Malign Influence at the United Nations — It’s Getting Worse, The Subterranean Border Defense Act, Fighting for a Free Press: Protecting Journalists and their Sources, Biden’s Border Crisis: Examining the Impacts of International Cartels Targeting Indian Country, and Tax Day: Exploring the Adverse Effects of High Taxes and a Complex Tax Code.
The eclipse economy
It proved to be a substantial event for the news media. There’s an economic dynamic as well. The U.S. could get a $1 billion boost from the eclipse of the sun on Monday, wrote Jamie Carter, a senior contributor to Forbes.com.
“From huge surges in demand for hotels, flights and rental cars to meals, the filling up of gas tanks at local gas stations, tickets for events, souvenirs and post-eclipse bottles of champagne, a welcome economic boon for local communities will trail in the wake of the moon’s dark shadow. It could be like having 50 Super Bowls happening at the same time across the country,” Mr. Carter wrote.
“This total solar eclipse promises to be a celestial spectacle with significant earthly consequences,” he said.
Yes, indeed. And the numbers are already coming in.
GreatAmericanEclipse.com — a website that provides information, maps, photos and videos related to solar eclipses around the world — predicts that between 931,000 and 3.725 million people visited the path of totality on Monday.
“That could mean economic activity of between $321 million and $1.28 billion. How reliable these predictions are is unknown — they can only be ballpark figures — but it’s clear that April 8 could see a billion-dollar eclipse,” wrote Mr. Carter — who also noted that he is “the world’s only solar eclipse journalist.”
Weaponizing government
Here’s an event of note for Tuesday, hosted by The Heritage Foundation and titled “Weaponization of U.S. Government Symposium.” A formal mission statement tells all:
“The Left has corrupted every institution of society and infected its poisonous ideology into almost every aspect of American life. Join this all-day program to hear from influential voices who are sounding the alarm and fighting back against the rot of ideological weaponization,” the organization said.
The emcee for the all-day event is Jason Chaffetz, former Republican representative of Utah’s 3rd Congressional District. The vast 24-member speaker’s list includes Republican Sens. Chuck Grassley of Iowa and Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, along with Rep. Dan Bishop of North Carolina.
The morning topics — verbatim from the organizers — include “weaponization of the FBI, rogue prosecutors, culture, technology, the importance of whistleblowers, and Covid-19.”
In the early afternoon, these learned folks will discuss “weaponization of media, lawfare, and the Hunter Biden investigation.”
But wait, there’s more. In mid- and late afternoon, they will also cover “weaponization of the intelligence community, weaponization trendline, elections, the financial industry, and border security.”
The wide-ranging roster of speakers also includes Sebastian Gorka, Steve Friend, Garret O’Boyle, Cully Stimson, Chaya Raichik, Tiffany Justice, Michael Benz, Ben Weingarten, Kara Frederick, Tristan Leavitt and Mary Holland.
Find The Heritage Foundation at Heritage.org.
‘Advocate for the unborn’
Former President Donald Trump released a statement on Monday outlining his beliefs on abortion, advising that abortion issues should be discussed on the state level and yielding some reaction for his support of pro-life beliefs.
“Make no mistake, there remains an urgent need to advocate for the unborn at the federal level which is one of the reasons we continue to march annually in our nation’s capital even after the Dobbs decision,” said Jeanne Mancini, president of the March for Life, in a written statement shared with Inside the Beltway. “Pro-abortion politicians relentlessly work to enact federal legislation like the deceptively titled Women’s Health Protection Act which would cancel every states’ ability to limit abortion through all nine months of pregnancy, and erases existing pro-life protections for vulnerable women and children nationwide.”
The statement continued: “If they have their way, the whole nation will go the way of the seven states and Washington D.C. that already allow abortion for any reason, at any time during pregnancy. The overwhelming majority of European nations reject such barbaric policies with minimum protections for children after the first trimester. We as a nation need to work toward federal minimum protections for the unborn, and advocate for policies that support pregnant women and families in need.”
Poll du jour
• 52% of U.S. adults agree that they have friends with political views that are different from their own; 52% of Republicans, 53% of independents and 52% of Democrats agree.
• 52% of men and 52% of women also agree.
• 29% “strongly” agree that they have friends with different political views; 29% of Republicans, 34% of independents and 25% of Democrats agree.
• 33% of men and 26% of women also agree.
• 14% disagree that they have friends with different political views; 14% of Republicans, 11% of independents and 17% of Democrats agree.
• 11% of men and 17% of women also agree.
• 3% “strongly” disagree that they have friends with different political views; 4% of Republicans, 1% of independents and 4% of Democrats agree.
• 2% of men and 4% of women also agree.
• 1% are not sure about the issue; 1% of Republicans, 1% of independents and 2% of Democrats agree.
• 1% of men and 2% of women are also not sure.
Source: An NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist Poll of 1,305 U.S. adults conducted March 25-28.
• Follow Jennifer Harper on X @HarperBulletin and on Facebook @HarperUniverse.
• Jennifer Harper can be reached at jharper@washingtontimes.com.
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