Survey reveals shifting parental perceptions over children’s postsecondary career paths

Posted on by Matt Resnick

A growing number of parents across Kansas are in favor of their children attending technical colleges or gaining job skills via apprenticeships as opposed to obtaining bachelor’s degrees, according to a study presented to the Kansas State Board of Education on Tuesday. 

Kristin Brighton, representing Manhattan-based marketing firm New Boston Creative, presented the findings from a recently conducted “parent perception” survey. The study was  a collaboration between New Boston Creative and the state Board of Education.. 

Brighton, vice president of the Manhattan-Ogden School Board, contrasted those results with a survey distributed to parents by numerous K-12 school districts in 2019. That  survey netted around 19,000 respondents, while the spring 2024 survey collected responses from roughly 5,000 parents. 

The survey asked parents a set of questions related to postsecondary plans and how they would define success for their eldest child, age 18 or under. The results showed shifting perceptions related to postsecondary plans in the five years since the first survey. For instance, the number of parents hopeful their child would go straight from high school to a four-year bachelor’s degree program dropped to roughly 51% from the 62% favoring the four-year degree in 2019. 

“That’s a very significant change,” Brighton said. 

The number of respondents reporting that they would be “very happy” to see their child attend technical college rose to 28.7% from 17.1% in 2019. Additionally, 5.5% of those surveyed said they would like to see their child enter an apprenticeship program — up 2.3% from the initial study. 

The percentage of parents who thought their child would enroll in a university after high school graduation dropped to 44% from 52% in 2019. 

Brighton also launched the HirePaths marketing campaign aimed at helping parents navigate postsecondary career exploration for their children. The goal of the program, per board documents, “is to retain Kansas youth in the state after the completion of their formal education.”

Brighton added that she’s previously worked closely with the Manhattan Area Chamber of Commerce. 

“The business community was really feeling like we needed different skills in our next generation of workers in order to have a successful Kansas economy,” she said.

Brighton said the Department of Education and other state agencies have made noticeable strides in revamping career and technical education programs in K-12 school districts, but not enough has been done to get the word out to parents. 

“If we don’t get tuned into all these new opportunities and change the public perception that the only way to be successful in the United States and Kansas is to have a four-year college degree, then all of these new efforts are never going to be successful,” she said.

Board member Ann Mah, District 4, said she wasn’t too surprised by the survey’s findings, adding that parents she’s spoken with have indicated they are more open to seeing their children explore alternative career paths that are not dependent on the competition of a four-year degree.  

“The survey was pretty well in line with what we were thinking in terms of more kids going to tech or community colleges,” she said. 

Board member Danny Zeck, District 1, questioned the overall percentage of those surveyed since 5,000 responding parents represent about 1% of the 450,000 students in Kansas.

“So how do we really know that this data really means much?” he asked.

According to her PowerPoint, Brighton attributed the marked dip in respondents to “survey fatigue” and districts not distributing the survey to parents. 

“But frankly, you don’t need nearly that many people to have a good survey,” Mah said. 

The 2024 study concluded that parents have developed a more positive perception of apprenticeships and technical training — as well as cultivated positive views of skilled trade careers. 

Matt Resnick is a statehouse reporter at State Affairs Pro Kansas/Hawver’s Capitol Report. Reach him at [email protected].

Judges suggest appeal ‘moot’ with agreement to halt 24-hour abortion wait

Posted on by Bryan Richardson

A late reveal of an agreement to halt the 24-hour waiting period for an abortion had Kansas Court of Appeals judges questioning Wednesday why they were considering an appeal of last year’s temporary injunction.

“This has gotten very weird very fast,” Judge G. Gordon Atcheson said. “I guess weird is not quite the right word to use these days. It’s gotten unusual.”

Johnson County District Court Judge K. Christopher Jayaram in October 2023 issued a ruling that sided with initial arguments from abortion providers that the Kansas Woman’s Right to Know Act violated the state constitution.

Mercer Martin, attorney with Alliance Defending Freedom, argued Wednesday that the district court erred when making the ruling, saying Jayaram improperly used credibility determination and didn’t properly explain his decision.

However, neither party provided the court with information that the sides had reached an agreement that Kansas wouldn’t enforce any of the law’s provisions until the judge made a final ruling after a 2025 trial.

“Why are we now hearing about it at 11 o’clock, an hour into argument?” Judge Rachel Pickering asked, later adding that she was “a little frustrated.”

Solicitor General Anthony Powell mentioned the stipulation was finalized a couple of weeks ago. However, Teresa A. Woody of Woody Law Firm, one of the abortion providers’ lawyers, disputed Powell’s characterization, saying the parties reached an initial agreement earlier.

But Powell and another of the provider’s lawyers — Alice Wang, staff attorney for the Center of Productive Rights — acknowledged either party should have provided the information.

Judge G. Gordon Atcheson said he isn’t sure why the agreement wouldn’t make the appeal “moot.”

“If there’s an agreement that it’s not going to be enforced until there’s a final ruling, that’s functionally the legal equivalent of a temporary injunction,” he said.

Wang first mentioned the agreement during her counterargument to the state’s appeal.

“So I’m not sure why we’re here today,” she said.

Prior to the agreement being revealed, Pickering questioned whether the appeals court should have even gotten involved at this point.

She said the state could have made a request directly to the district court rather than make an appeal to them.

“What you’re asking us to do is something you could’ve asked the district court yourself if you followed the motion to modify or amend, which allows you to do it within 28 days,” Pickering said, adding that the appeal was filed within that time period.

Martin said the state filed the appeal based on the precedence it was aware of to reverse the temporary injunction.

Prior to Wang revealing the agreement, the judges expressed some skepticism about the state’s argument about the harm of Jayaram’s ruling since a full evidentiary hearing will come next year.

Atcheson said the court will sort out the appeal — and the agreement — and “get to the bottom of it.”

Abortion providers are challenging a state law, which the Legislature first passed in 1997, that says doctors can’t administer abortions until 24 hours after providing patients with state-mandated information. The lone exception is a medical emergency.

The Center for Women’s Health in Overland Park and Comprehensive Health of Planned Parenthood Great Plains, which has practices in Overland Park, Wichita and Kansas City, filed a lawsuit against various state officials.

The trial is scheduled for June 23 through July 1, 2025, according to Johnson County District Court records.

Bryan Richardson is the managing editor at State Affairs Pro Kansas/Hawver’s Capitol Report. Reach him at [email protected] or on X @RichInNews.

Indiana’s updated plan to ‘reinvent’ high school

Posted on by Jarred Meeks

Indiana education officials on Wednesday unveiled significant changes to the state’s plan to “reinvent” high school.

They proposed a single diploma that could be customized to prepare students, starting with the Class of 2029, for their post-high school goals. (Schools could opt-in early, starting in the 2025-26 academic year, and the federally required alternative diploma for students in special education would still be available.)

Previously, education officials envisioned creating two diplomas to replace Indiana’s four current offerings. However, after receiving substantial feedback from parents, teachers and students, education officials settled on one diploma, saying it was simpler.

Under the updated proposal, students could earn optional “seals” to show they’ve achieved beyond the 42 credit requirements of the base diploma. Officials look to implement three types of seals — for enrollment, employment and enlistment — as a way to signal a student’s competency.

Each seal type would have two levels: the Honors level and the Honors Plus level. The Honors seals feature additional credit requirements that would bolster student’s transcripts, education officials say. For example, students looking to put together a competitive college application would likely need to earn an enrollment Honors seal, which resembles the state’s current Core 40 with Academic Honors diploma.

The Honors Plus seals would incorporate the corresponding Honors seals’ requirements and more. To get an enrollment Honors Plus seal, for instance, a student would need to complete the enrollment Honors seal requirements as well as earn a credential of value, complete at least 100 hours of work-based learning, and demonstrate communication, collaboration and work ethic skill development.

If a student earns a seal, they would satisfy Indiana’s Graduation Pathways requirements, Indiana Secretary of Education Katie Jenner said. Students who do not earn a seal would still need to complete some of the Graduation Pathways’ requirements, Jenner added.

Jenner said education officials have assiduously worked on the new proposed diploma “until we got this to a better place for Indiana. The reality is … what we’re doing today is not working for thousands of kids.”

Embargoed Diploma Comparison 8.13.24_FINAL 1Download

Why the changes?

Indiana legislators passed a law in 2023 that tasked the State Board of Education and the Indiana Department of Education with developing new high school diploma requirements. Republican leaders said it was time to “reinvent” high school. Another law, passed this year, further stipulated how the process would play out.

Continue reading “Indiana’s updated plan to ‘reinvent’ high school”

State IREAD scores improve for third consecutive year

Posted on by Jarred Meeks

Last school year, Indiana third graders’ reading scores set a single-year improvement record, according to data released Wednesday.

Data from the 2023-24 Indiana Reading Evaluation and Determination assessment shows 82.5% of third grade students were reading proficient, a 0.6 percentage point increase compared to 2022-23 scores. The increase was the most seen in a single year since the assessment was first launched in 2013.

Statewide, third grade literacy rates have now increased for three consecutive years. The progress comes after four straight years of decline between 2015 and 2019. (The assessment wasn’t administered in 2020 because of the pandemic, and scores dropped to 81.2% in 2021 from 87.3% in 2019.)

Indiana officials have set a goal for 95% of third grade students to reach reading proficiency by 2027.

The most recent data shows Black students experienced the biggest improvement. They, along with students receiving free or reduced price meals and students in special education, have seen reading score increases for three consecutive years. However, Hispanic students and English learners had declining literacy rates in 2024.

Since the onset of the pandemic, Indiana officials have launched several literacy programs that aim to improve students’ reading skills, one of which is the Indiana Literacy Cadre. A partnership between the state, the University of Indianapolis Center of Excellence in Leadership of Learning and Marian University’s Center for Vibrant Schools, the cadre provides support and training to schools implementing the “Science of Reading.”

Overall, schools that opted into the cadre experienced a 2.5 percentage point increase in assessment passing rates, according to education officials. Schools that did not participate saw a 0.2 percentage point increase.

Indiana Secretary of Education Katie Jenner said the cadre’s success was “unbelievably exciting because it moved the needle significantly more.” She told reporters “literacy will be one of our priorities going into this upcoming [legislative] session.” She said she plans to ask the Indiana General Assembly to invest in successful literacy programs.

For the last three years, schools could also choose to have their second grade students take the assessment early to gauge whether they were on track. More than 1,000 elementary schools chose to do so in 2024, up from 771 in 2023, according to the Indiana Department of Education.

Beginning this school year, all second grade students will participate. The change will allow educators to intervene earlier if a student starts to fall behind, education officials say. Thanks to the early indicator, 56% of second graders who last year were at risk of falling behind passed the assessment in 2024, according to the department.

Contact Jarred Meeks on X @jarredsmeeks or email him at [email protected].

Judge dismisses suit challenging college ‘intellectual diversity’ law

Posted on by Tom Davies

A federal judge dismissed on Wednesday a lawsuit filed by four university professors who claimed a new state law violated their free speech rights by requiring public college faculties to promote “intellectual diversity.”

U.S. District Court Judge Sarah Evans Barker ruled that the lawsuit was premature as the faculty members had not faced any injury from the law that took effect July 1. Barker did not rule on the merits of the lawsuit’s arguments.

Barker acknowledged claims from the faculty members – two each from Indiana University and Purdue University – that they were “currently being injured by the chilling effect” of the law by feeling compelled to make preemptive changes to the courses they teach.

But Barker found that since IU and Purdue leadership had not yet adopted policies to comply with the new law, the possible impact on First Amendment rights was uncertain.

“Those steps will inform whether such policies conflict with Plaintiffs’ conceptions of intellectual diversity; compel changes in their curricula; or otherwise infringe on their asserted constitutional right to academic freedom,” Barker wrote. “Whatever conflicts may exist between the Boards and Plaintiffs’ preferred curricula are — at this early juncture — not ‘fully formed.’”

The American Civil Liberties Union of Indiana filed the lawsuit on behalf of Purdue faculty members Steven Carr and David Schuster and IU faculty members James Scheurich and David McDonald.

The ACLU said in a statement that it was disappointed with the judge’s ruling and was “considering options for next steps to protect academic freedom at our state’s public colleges and universities.”

Attorney General Todd Rokita’s office last month filed a brief supporting the motion by IU and Purdue to dismiss the lawsuit. 

But the universities this week filed a notice with the judge distancing themselves from arguments made by the attorney general’s office that the professors’ material in their courses was not covered by the First Amendment.

“The classroom curriculum of a public university is government speech set in accordance with State law,” the attorney general’s office said in a legal brief.

Purdue said in a statement Wednesday to State Affairs  that the university has “never wavered in its commitment to academic freedom and faculty tenure.”

“Purdue never took a position on the merits of the plaintiffs’ case, instead opting to make a procedural argument that the claims are not ripe, and thus the court did not have jurisdiction,” the school’s statement said. “Importantly, this was the only part of the Attorney General’s brief that Purdue signed onto, and this is the argument that ultimately prevailed in court.”

An Indiana University spokesman declined to comment on the judge’s ruling, referring State Affairs to its court filings.

Many college faculty members and students spoke against the Republican-backed Senate Enrolled Act 202 as it was debated during this year’s legislative session.

The law requires faculties at Indiana’s public college and universities to promote “free inquiry,” “free expression” and intellectual diversity. To ensure compliance, the law established an employee and student complaint process, disciplinary actions, reporting requirements and tenure reviews at least every five years.

Schuster, who teaches history courses at Purdue Fort Wayne, questioned in the lawsuit whether he would be required to present perspectives that deem the LGBTQ+ rights movement in the 1990s a “homosexual agenda,” a viewpoint he believes is inaccurate and “harmful to his students.”

Carr, another Purdue Fort Wayne faculty member, teaches students about the Holocaust. The lawsuit argued he would seemingly be required to offer divergent perspectives on the event, including that the Holocaust didn’t occur.

Tom Davies is a Statehouse reporter for State Affairs Pro Indiana. Reach him at [email protected] or on X at @TomDaviesIND.

Committee receives most requested Ford County ’22 election documents

Posted on by Brett Stover

State auditors finally have their hands on most of Ford County’s 2022 election-related documents after the county complied Wednesday with a subpoena.

The Legislative Post Audit Committee approved a subpoena last week of Ford County Clerk Debbie Cox, requesting dozens of items not turned over during an earlier audit of the last general election.

The Kansas Legislative Division of Post Audit in 2023 tried to review the 15 counties’ security practices during the 2022 election cycle, but auditors discovered two of those counties — Ford and Chase — sealed most of the requested documents in the same containers as completed ballots.

That frustrated lawmakers, including Sen. Caryn Tyson, R-Parker, who in April said she had “grave concern” with the Ford County Clerk’s actions. Cox said she’d sealed documents in that manner “since I worked in the office.”

Now, most of the items are in the possession of auditors after Cox complied with the subpoena. She also told the committee that auditors would be given access to voting machines when they return to the county.

“I believe that I have [provided] all of the requested documents that they wanted, that I understood,” Cox told the committee via virtual call. “I emailed them and sent a box.”

Provided documents include inventory lists, maintenance records, vendor contracts, testing results, ballot transfer affidavits and more.

A few of the subpoenaed documents were not delivered, including check-in and check-out logs, staff background checks and computer access logs. Cox told auditors that she didn’t have those documents, and auditors said other counties audited in 2023 also didn’t have 100% of the requested documents.

The documents will allow auditors to complete a follow-up audit of Ford County’s election security procedures during the 2022 general election. It hopes to answer two questions:

  • Does the county election office have adequate policies and procedures to ensure the accuracy and security of voting machines used?
  • Does the office have adequate policies and procedures to ensure the security of storage units, ballots and devices used to tabulate votes?

That follow-up is expected to be completed later this year, auditors said.

Ford County’s handling of this year’s primary election is also being audited. Tyson said the committee may request an audit of the county following the 2024 general election as well depending on the results of those two inquiries.

Brett Stover is a Statehouse reporter at State Affairs Pro Kansas/Hawver’s Capitol Report. Reach him at [email protected] or on X @BrettStoverKS.

Wake Up Call for Wednesday, August 14, 2024

Posted on by Yellow Sheet Report Staff
Former Democratic lawmaker gets nod to fill House vacancy Arizona Capitol Times The Maricopa County Board of Supervisors appointed a seventh Democrat to the state House of Representatives since January.  Right-to-life group files arguments against abortion ballot measure with Supreme Court Capitol Media Services Rebuffed by a trial judge, Arizona Right to Life is trying to convince the state Supreme Court to block voters from deciding whether to put a right to abortion in the state Constitution. Hobbs folds, agrees to send nominees to Senate for confirmation Capitol Media Services Gov. Katie Hobbs has given up on her bid to force the Senate to confirm her nominees to head state agencies. At Supreme Court, Republicans push stricter voting laws for Arizona AZ Mirror The Republican National Committee on Friday asked the Supreme Court to allow enforcement of Arizona’s proof-of-citizenship laws during the presidential election in November. Arizona Will Vote on Abortion in November: Could That Give Democrats an Edge? The New York Times Arizona voters will decide in November whether to establish a right to abortion in the state constitution, a measure that could strongly influence turnout in a battleground state crucial to the presidential election and control of the Senate. Former Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey endorses Lake, Trump in 2024 election Arizona’s Family Former Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey endorsed both former President Donald Trump and former television news anchor Kari Lake in the upcoming presidential and Senate race. The Latest: Harris and Walz hold rally in Arizona, while Trump visits Montana ABC News Vice President Kamala Harris and her new running mate held a rally in Arizona as part of their tour of electoral battlegrounds, visiting a state where Harris passed over a prominent Democrat in favor of Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz. Doug Ducey ditches his dignity to endorse Donald Trump and Kari Lake Arizona Republic Former Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey has endorsed not only Donald Trump — a guy who savaged him for certifying the state’s 2020 election — but Kari Lake. Gov. Katie Hobbs folds in standoff with Arizona Senate. But its attack dog still lurks Arizona Republic Gov. Katie Hobbs has capitulated in her standoff with the Senate, agreeing to once again give senators the final word on who can run Arizona’s various state agencies. AZ Hugs case shows cities embracing wrong solutions for homelessness Arizona Capitol Times Homelessness is a difficult issue to address. But the city of Tempe’s ongoing fight with the homeless charity AZ Hugs is an example of picking the absolute worst option for tackling the issue: criminalizing charity.

While Indiana completes its portion of I-69, West Tennessee timetable remains indefinite

Posted on by Erik Schelzig

Officials in Indiana recently celebrated the completion of the new Interstate 69 corridor between Indianapolis and Evansville. Tennessee, meanwhile, has no fixed timetable on finishing its stretch of the road that is ultimately supposed to run from the Canadian border to Mexico.

Tennessee has so far concentrated its efforts on four projects costing $220 million to form an I-69 bypass around Union City in Obion County. It is currently designated as State Route 690. A fifth section, which will connect to Kentucky, was included in Gov. Bill Lee’s Transportation Modernization Act last year and is projected to get underway in 2028. 

But funding has not yet been identified for segments running to Memphis, according to the Tennessee Department of Transportation. Officials mothballed about two decades’ worth of planning in 2012 over concerns that the project would eat up too much of the state’s transportation budget, the Commercial Appeal reported at the time. The state had spent about $200 million to that point on planning, design and acquisition of rights of way. At the time, TDOT estimated it would cost between $1.5 billion and $2 billion to complete the West Tennessee section of I-69.

The completion of the stretch through Indiana means I-69 now runs from Port Huron, Mich., and the Canadian border to the Kentucky state line. Efforts are underway in the Bluegrass State to upgrade existing parkways to bring them to interstate standards.

Smaller portions of the planned corridor have been completed in Mississippi, Arkansas and Texas.

The Indiana project was first envisioned in the 1970s, when the state connected Fort Wayne to Indianapolis via I-69. Construction on the new 142-mile corridor began in 2008 near Evansville. The most significant delay in construction came from a failed deal with a private developer approved by then-Gov. Mike Pence that pushed back construction on the final 26-mile segment to 2019.

The route drew early complaints from critics who favored a less expensive option using existing roadways. The project’s estimated cost, initially pegged at $1.7 billion in 2003, jumped to $3.1 billion in 2008. Gov. Eric Holcomb told reporters last week the estimated cost sat close to $4.3 billion.

“What I regret is lost time,” Holcomb said. “This should have been done back in the ‘70s, as well. For every year we waited, it cost us opportunity. It cost us, I think, lives — from a safety perspective. It’s also, by the way, good for the climate because we’re not going to have the congestion that we were having, that stop-and-go traffic.”

Editor’s note: Jared Meeks of State Affairs Pro Indiana/Howey Politics contributed to this report.

On the Record: POTUS visits New Orleans

Posted on by Jeremy Alford

— POTUS IN LOOZIANA: Via CBS News: “President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden were in New Orleans on Tuesday to tout the Biden Cancer Moonshot initiative, which aims to boost funding research and treatment to prevent cancer deaths and help those living with the disease. Earlier in the day, the White House announced up to $150 million in awards to eight research teams across the country to develop technologies that will allow surgeons to provide more successful tumor-removal surgeries for people facing cancer. The Department of Health and Human Services recently awarded nearly $9 million to improve access to cancer screenings and follow-up treatments in underserved communities, part of the initiative’s effort to expand preventive cancer care.”

— CONGRESSIONAL CALENDAR: Congress will make its return next month, on Sept. 9, for an almost two-week run before recessing for the fall elections.

— GOP BEATS DEMS, ON TRAVEL SPENDING: “House Republicans outspent their Democratic counterparts in taxpayer-funded travel expenditures by nearly $8 million since the start of 2023, a new OpenSecrets analysis found. Eight out of the top ten biggest spenders between the start of 2023 to March 2024 were Republican members of Congress. They accounted for 7 percent of total taxpayer-funded travel spending by GOP members of Congress and with each of the top spenders spending two to five times more than the average House office.”

— LEADING PUNCHBOWL: “(Speaker Mike Johnson) has been at the Four Seasons in Jackson Hole, Wyo., this week for the Team Johnson Jackson Hole Summit. This is a confab where big donors get to rub shoulders with both veteran GOP lawmakers and up-and-coming Republicans. Team Johnson and the Congressional Leadership Fund run the event, which boasts its fair share of billionaires. The entire leadership is at the event in Wyoming except for House Republican Conference Chair Elise Stefanik, who is back home in her district.” (More) 

— LEADING POLITICO: “Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz is touting his progressive policies as family-focused pragmatism, betting that everyday household concerns matter more to voters than conservative culture wars. The Democratic vice presidential candidate aims to sell a liberal care economy message — free school meals, boosted education funding, paid family leave and affordable childcare — as an antidote to the negative politics of gender identity and race.” (More)

— LEADING AXIOS: “Vice President Kamala Harris, hoping to distance herself from PresidentJoe Biden’s unpopularity on the economy, plans a new focus on middle-class worries and woes. Why it matters: Beginning in North Carolina later this week with her first policy speech, and continuing next week with the Democratic convention in Chicago, Harris will tell Americans — most for the first time —who she is and how she’d govern. Harris won’t say it this bluntly in public, but her advisers do so privately: She wants to break with Biden on issues on which he’s unpopular. First up: rising prices. This is part of a highly choreographed effort to define herself — in some cases, redefine herself — as a different kind of Democrat.” (More)

— LEADING THE HILL: “Vice President Kamala Harris blindsided Democratic lawmakers and progressive activists by endorsing a proposal first floated by former President Donald Trump to exempt tips for service and hospitality workers from taxes, an idea that Democrats had previously criticized as ‘bogus’ and a ‘ploy’ for votes.” (More)

Delegation Chatter: Johnson, Scalise traveling country

Posted on by Jeremy Alford

— STEVE & MIKE ON THE ROAD: Via The Advocate’s Mark Ballard: “With their own re-election all but assured thanks to the favorable district lines drawn in January by the Louisiana Legislature, House Speaker Mike Johnson and Majority Leader Steve Scalise have hit the road to campaign for Republican congressional candidates. If Republicans on Nov. 5 lose three of their currently held seats, Democrats could take the majority, wrest the gavel from Johnson along with his power to name committee chairs and set the legislative agenda come January. Political handicappers say the House races are so tight – Democrats hold a fraction of a percentage over Republicans, according FiveThirtyEight.com – that either party could win the majority… Johnson went to the West Coast after releasing the House a week early despite having a long list of must-pass legislation still on the agenda… Scalise last week visited Colorado to boost the campaigns of four Republican candidates…”

— LETLOW APPROPS UPDATE: In Congresswoman Julia Letlow’s latest newsletter, “The Fifth Flyer,” she provided an update of her work on Appropriations, noting a dozen appropriations bills had been written and reported. She continues, “In the month of July alone, the FY25 Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act was fully considered and passed on the House floor. This bill will help reduce energy costs, bolster American jobs and protect access to our public lands to hunt, fish and develop our natural resources. Additionally, the bill pulled back the reins of the Environmental Protection Agency and halted a number of their overreaching and burdensome regulations.”

— ACADIANA’S EASY RIDER: In a tweet this past weekend featuring him surrounded by other leather-clad motorcycle enthusiasts, Congressman Clay Higgins made this proclamation: “Coming to a voting site near you in November. Hey, Hollywood, leftist freaks, baby killers, child groomers, open border cartel supporters, anti-American energy activists, big government high taxes anti-free speech anti-2nd Amendment FedGov oppressors and AWOL Democrat politicians… We didn’t stage this fight, you did. But We the People are going to win this war to preserve our Republic. We are the 100 million, We are MAGA Nation, and We are taking our country back.”

— CRUZ & CASSIDY HIT THE GAS: U.S. Sens. Bill Cassidy and Ted Cruz have introduced a disapproval resolution under the Congressional Review Act to overturn a new Biden-Harris administration regulation that would effectively ban gas-powered automobiles and force American consumers to buy electric vehicles. This final rule from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, when combined with the administration’s massive increase in Corporate Average Fuel Economy civil penalties and the Environmental Protection Agency’s vehicle emissions rule, will raise car prices, restrict consumer choice, and hurt U.S. auto workers, according to Cassidy.

— CARTER HAS FUEL THOUGHTS, TOO: Congressman Troy Carter and Nebraska Congressman Mike Flood have introduced the bipartisan Sustainable Aviation Fuel Information Act. This bill directs the United States Energy Information Administration to include Sustainable Aviation Fuel on their weekly and monthly reports, consistent with other fuel types that the agency regularly tracks. SAF is alternative jet fuel made from renewable and waste feedstocks that can reduce aviation greenhouse gas emissions by up to 94 percent, depending on the feedstock. SAF is a “drop-in fuel,” so it is compatible with existing engines and fueling infrastructure and can be made from several feedstocks, including agricultural waste, forestry residues, algae and recycled cooking oils, among other ingredients, according to Carter.

— JNK IN PRINT: U.S. Sen. John Kennedy, the ranking member of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development, penned this op-ed in The American Pressdetailing how the Biden-Harris administration’s anti-energy policies have harmed Louisiana. Kennedy also explained how he has helped push back against these damaging policies. “If there were a contest to design the worst possible energy policies for Louisiana, President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris would win by a mile,” Kennedy writes, adding, “Their administration’s breathtakingly dumb energy agenda is killing Louisiana jobs, driving up prices, and draining America’s emergency fuel reserves.

— GG ON SS: Via The Shreveport Times’ Greg Hilburn: “Louisiana Republican Rep. Garret Graves is making a final, frenetic push before he leaves Congress on his years-long effort to pass a bill to eliminate the Social Security penalty for government retirees like teachers, police, firefighters and their spouses. Graves, whose bipartisan House Resolution 82 remains parked in House Ways and Means, isn’t seeking reelection this fall after his capital-based 6th Congressional District was radically altered to create a second majority Black district that was drawn to favor Democrats. His exit could stall the effort in the next Congress if Graves can’t muster a vote in the Ways and Means or somehow bypass the committee for a vote on the House floor, where his bill has more than 300 co-sponsors.”

Your search query contained invalid characters or was empty. Please try again with a valid query.