WASHINGTON, Feb. 12 -- The Securities and Exchange Commission issued the following remarks by Mark T. Uyeda, Acting Chairman on Feb. 11, 2025: * * * Acting Chairman Statement on Climate-Related Disclosure Rules Mark T. Uyeda, Acting Chairman Today, I am taking action on The Enhancement and Standardization of Climate-Related Disclosures for Investors rule that was adopted by the Commission on March 6, 2024 (the "Rule").[1] The Rule is currently being challenged in litigation consolidated in t  more

WASHINGTON, Feb. 12 -- The U.S. Department of Agriculture Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service has released the following public communication dated Jan. 30, 2025, from Mike Naig, secretary of the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship: * * * To: United States Department of Agriculture Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service Regulatory Analysis and Development 4700 River Road, Unit 25 Riverdale, MD 20737 RE: Docket No. APHIS-2022-0061 - U.S. Swine Health Improvement   more

WASHINGTON, Feb. 12 -- The U.S. Department of Agriculture Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service has released the following public communication dated Jan. 30, 2025, from the Iowa Pork Producers Association: * * * To: Dockets Management Staff U.S. Department of Agriculture Animal Plant Health Inspection Service 4700 River Road, Unit 25, Riverdale, MD 20737 RE: 9 CFR Parts 148 and 149 [Docket No. APHIS-2022-0061] * * * Dear Administrator: We appreciate the opportunity to comment on   more

WASHINGTON, Feb. 12 -- The U.S. Department of Agriculture Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service has released the following public communication dated Jan. 30, 2025, from the National Pork Board, Clive, Iowa: * * * To: Regulatory Analysis and Development, PPD, APHIS, Station 2C-10.16, 4700 River Road, Unit 25, Riverdale, MD 20737-1238 National Pork Board Comments Regarding Docket No. APHIS-2022-0061: Proposed Rule for the U.S. Swine Health Improvement Plan * * * These comments are su  more

DES MOINES, Iowa, Feb. 11 -- Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird issued the following news release: * * * Attorney General Bird Secures Settlement Against Executive of Alleged Scam Stem Cell Treatment Company DES MOINES-- Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird today announced a settlement with Michael Pavey, an executive of an Omaha-based stem cell company. The settlement resolves allegations Pavey tricked Iowans by marketing and selling them unproven and dangerous stem cell treatments. In Iowa's   more

WASHINGTON, Feb. 11 -- Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tennessee, issued the following news release: * * * Blackburn, Ernst Bill Pursuing $200 Billion in COVID Fraud Advances WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senators Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) and Joni Ernst's (R-Iowa) Complete COVID Collections Act to extend the life of the watchdog tasked with tracking down criminals who stole COVID relief designed for small businesses. "During the pandemic, small business owners in need of financial assistance were turn  more

WASHINGTON, Feb. 10 -- Sen. Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, issued the following news release: * * * Crapo, Risch Introduce Constitutional Amendment to Prevent Supreme Court Packing Washington, D.C.-- U.S. Senators Mike Crapo and Jim Risch (R-Idaho) joined Senator Ted Cruz (R-Texas) in introducing a constitutional amendment to maintain a total of nine Supreme Court justices on the bench at one time. Once approved by Congress, the amendment would go to the states for ratification. "Throughout our nat  more

WASHINGTON, Feb. 11 -- Sen. Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, issued the following news release: * * * Crapo, Risch Join REINS Act to Put Power Back in the People's Hands Washington, D.C. \--U.S. Senators Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) and Jim Risch (R-Idaho) joined in co-sponsoring the Regulations from the Executive in Need of Scrutiny (REINS) Act to help reduce overly-burdensome major federal rules. "While, thankfully, the current Administration is receptive to eliminating over-reaching federal regulation to he  more

DES MOINES, Iowa, Feb. 11 -- The Iowa Department of Natural Resources issued the following news release: * * * DNR sets public meetings to recap hunting, trapping seasons, discuss possible rule changes The Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is hosting a series of town hall-style meetings where local staff will provide updates on recently completed hunting and trapping seasons, discuss possible changes to hunting and trapping rules and regulations, and address other topics as requested  more

WASHINGTON, Feb. 11 -- Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, issued the following news release: * * * Ernst Bill Pursuing $200 Billion in COVID Fraud Advances WASHINGTON - The Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship passed Chair Joni Ernst's (R-Iowa) Complete COVID Collections Act to extend the life of the watchdog tasked with tracking down criminals who stole COVID relief designed for small businesses. Ernst led several of her Republican colleagues in introducing the bill after the Spec  more

WASHINGTON, Feb. 12 -- Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, chair of the Senate Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee, issued the following news release: * * * Ernst Bill Pursuing $200 Billion in COVID Fraud Advances Complete COVID Collections Act passed out of Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship. WASHINGTON - The Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship passed Chair Joni Ernst's (R-Iowa) Complete COVID Collections Act to extend the life of the watchdog tasked   more

WASHINGTON, Feb. 11 -- Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, issued the following news release: * * * Ernst Names Small Business of the Week, BHFO RED OAK, Iowa - U.S. Senator Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), Chair of the Senate Small Business Committee, today announced her Small Business of the Week: BHFO of Linn County. Throughout the 119th Congress, Chair Ernst plans to recognize a small business in every one of Iowa's 99 counties. "BHFO is tailored for success and always in style," said Chair Ernst. "For over 2  more

WASHINGTON, Feb. 12 -- Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, chair of the Senate Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee, issued the following news release on Feb. 11, 2025: * * * Ernst Names Small Business of the Week, BHFO Throughout this Congress, Chair Ernst plans to recognize a small business in every one of Iowa's 99 counties. RED OAK, Iowa - U.S. Senator Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), Chair of the Senate Small Business Committee, today announced her Small Business of the Week: BHFO of Linn County. Thr  more

WASHINGTON, Feb. 10 -- Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, issued the following news release: * * * Ernst Slashes the Red Tape WASHINGTON - After the Biden administration enacted more than $1.8 trillion in regulations that added 356 million new hours of paperwork, Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship Chair Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) is undoing the damage with legislation aimed at disrupting the bloated bureaucracy. Ernst's Prove It Act requires federal agencies to demonstrate that any new   more

WASHINGTON, Feb. 12 -- The U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has released the following public communication dated Feb. 3, 2025, from the Flying Farmer Aerial Application, Hampton, Iowa: * * * To: U.S. Department of Transportation 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE West Building, Ground Floor Washington, DC 20590 Re: Docket Number FMCSA-2024-0121 Dear FMCSA Representatives, As the owner of Flying Farmer Aerial Application, I am writing to express my sup  more

WASHINGTON, Feb. 12 -- The U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Transit Administration has released the following public communication on Dec. 30, 2024, from Derrick Majchszak, CEO of the Corpus Christi Regional Transportation Authority, Texas: * * * Dear Sir or Madam: I am writing in strong support of a temporary Buy America waiver request for the low floor, zero emission minibus called the e-JEST. Sixteen transit systems from five states submitted the non-availability and public intere  more

WASHINGTON, Feb. 11 -- Sen. Charles E. Grassley, R-Iowa, issued the following news release: * * * Grassley, Ernst Work to Protect Farm Families' Access to Higher Education WASHINGTON - Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), a lifelong family farmer, joined Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) and Michael Bennet (D-Colo.) in introducing bipartisan legislation to protect farm families' access to higher education. The Family Farm and Small Business Exemption Act would amend the FAFSA Simplification Act to restore th  more

WASHINGTON, Feb. 11 -- Sen. Charles E. Grassley, R-Iowa, issued the following news release: * * * Grassley, Longtime Champion of the False Claims Act, Urges AG Bondi to Fully Review Biden-Harris DOJ's Pending Qui Tam Case Dismissals WASHINGTON - Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee and author of legislation that significantly strengthened the False Claims Act (FCA), is urging Attorney General Pam Bondi to immediately halt pending FCA qui tam case dismissals  more

WASHINGTON, Feb. 12 -- Sen. Charles E. Grassley, R-Iowa, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, issued the following news release: * * * Grassley, Longtime Champion of the False Claims Act, Urges AG Bondi to Fully Review Biden-Harris DOJ's Pending Qui Tam Case Dismissals WASHINGTON - Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee and author of legislation that significantly strengthened the False Claims Act (FCA), is urging Attorney General Pam Bondi to immediat  more

WASHINGTON, Feb. 11 -- Rep. Ashley Hinson, R-Iowa, issued the following news release: * * * Hinson Votes to Protect Small Businesses, Urges Congress to Take Next Step Removing Burdensome Regulations Washington, D.C. - Congresswoman Ashley Hinson (IA-02) released the below statement after voting in favor of the Protect Small Business from Excessive Paperwork Act. This legislation would give small business owners more time and clarity to meet new reporting requirements without incurring additio  more

WASHINGTON, Feb. 12 -- The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee released the following testimony by Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds from a Feb. 5, 2025, hearing entitled "Rightsizing Government": * * * Chairman Comer, Ranking member Connolly, members of the committee--thank you for giving me the opportunity to testify today. Since this hearing is about government efficiency, I'll get right to the point: Iowa was doing DOGE before DOGE was a thing. In 2018, when I took office for my first f  more

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa, Feb. 12 -- The office of the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Iowa issued the following news release: * * * Rasmussen was previously convicted of meth charges in 2011. * * * Alesha Rasmussen, 34, from Fort Dodge, Iowa, pled guilty February 10, 2025, in federal court in Sioux City, to distribution of methamphetamine. At the plea hearing, Rasmussen admitted that on July 10, 2024, she distributed over 28 grams of pure methamphetamine to an individual cooperating w  more

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa, Feb. 12 -- The office of the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Iowa issued the following news release: * * * Involved in conspiracy that distributed at least 22 pounds of fentanyl * * * Braleigh Schossow, 24, from Fort Dodge, Iowa, pled guilty on February 11, 2025, in federal court in Sioux City to conspiring to distribute fentanyl. At the plea hearing, evidence showed that between December 2020 and February 2024, Schossow and others involved in the conspiracy,   more

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa, Feb. 12 -- The office of the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Iowa issued the following news release: Monroe Thompson, age 40, from Mason City, was sentenced February 7, 2025, to more than 20 years in federal prison after an August 28, 2024, guilty plea to conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance. Evidence in the case revealed that between May 2023, and August 2023, Thompson was part of an ongoing drug conspiracy based in Mason City, Iowa to distribute meth  more

WASHINGTON, Feb. 11 -- Rep. Zach Nunn, R-Iowa, issued the following news release: * * * Nunn Bill to Slash Red Tape for Small Businesses Passes House WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The U.S. House of Representatives today passed Representative Zach Nunn's (IA-03) bipartisan bill unanimously to reduce excessive paperwork for small businesses. The Protect Small Business from Excessive Paperwork Act, co-led by Majority Whip Tom Emmer (MN-06), Representative Sharice Davids (KS-03), and Representative Don Dav  more

WASHINGTON, Feb. 10 -- Rep. Sharice Davids, D-Kansas, issued the following news release: * * * PASSED: Davids' Bipartisan Bill to Protect Small Businesses from Excessive Paperwork Passes U.S. House Unanimously Davids' first bill to pass during President Trump's second term Today, the U.S. House unanimously passed Representative Sharice Davids' bipartisan bill to reduce excessive paperwork for small businesses. The Protect Small Businesses from Excessive Paperwork Act (link is external), co-  more

WASHINGTON, Feb. 11 -- Rep. Kim Schrier, D-Washington, issued the following news release on Feb. 9, 2025: * * * Representative Schrier Introduces Bipartisan Bill to Support Local Farmers and Growers Yesterday, Representative Kim Schrier, M.D. (WA-08) introduced the bipartisan Agriculture Export Promotion Act. This legislation would support Washington farmers and producers by increasing investment in the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Foreign Market Development Program (FMDP) and Mark  more

WASHINGTON, Feb. 11 (TNSres) -- The U.S. Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics issued the following document from Economics Daily: * * * Unemployment rates up in 266 of the 389 metropolitan areas in December 2024 February 11, 2025 Unemployment rates were higher in December than a year earlier in 266 of the 389 metropolitan areas, lower in 95 areas, and unchanged in 28 areas. A total of 85 areas had jobless rates of less than 3.0 percent and 8 areas had rates of at least 8.0 percent  more