Former President Donald Trump, at his Wednesday rally in Asheville, N.C., said energy costs would be reduced by at least 50 percent within 12 to 18 months of his taking office.
“My administration will issue rapid approvals for new energy infrastructure, unlock cooling, energy independence and energy dominance,” he said.
Trump did not go into specifics, but said that his administration could cut energy prices even more than half.
He said that energy is crucial in everyday life whether it’s getting food or going to work.
Trump criticized the President Joe Biden administration’s energy agenda that has included pushing for more electric cars. While there is nothing wrong with such cars, said Trump, people should have options.
“Electric cars have a great place in our country. We have to be able to really get repowered cars, hybrids, many different types, diesel,” he said.
Trump also said he would undo Biden’s blocking drilling from the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska. The ANWR was open to drilling due to the 2017 tax reform bill Trump signed into law as president.
Trump reiterated his support for protecting Social Security and Medicare from cuts and to make the Affordable Care Act, commonly known as Obamacare, better, though he supported what ended up being an unsuccessful effort by the GOP to repeal the law in 2017.
—Jackson Richman
GOVERNMENT FUNDING FIGHT CONTINUES
Members of Congress remain divided over 12 spending bills crafted by Senate and House appropriations committees, writes The Epoch Times’ Arjun Singh.
Congress needs to pass the bills to give the government enough money to operate after Sept. 30, but members can’t agree on the content to vote on, or whether to opt for a continuing resolution to keep the money flowing as they negotiate. Continuing resolutions maintain funding levels set for the previous fiscal year.
Once again, Democrat versus Republican stances mean the country will for the 27th year in a row hear and read about a potential government shutdown. The last time U.S. politicians met the deadline for passing appropriations bills was 1997.
Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), who is a Senate Appropriations Committee member, said: “The whole appropriations process is broken.”
Another Democrat, Sen. LaPhonza Butler (D-Calif.), said: “This fiscal year closes in two months. I’m not happy that we’re not on time.”
And time, it seems, is of the essence. When Congress gets back to work on Sept. 9 it has to pass the 12 stalled bills, or agree on a continuing resolution, all in the space of 12 days.
Among those delayed bills is one funding the Department of Homeland Security, which includes funding border security and the Secret Service.
Some Senate members are confident those bills can get a floor vote before Sept. 30, with Sen. Joe Manchin (I-W.Va.) saying, “We'll have all those done before the end of the fiscal year.” Adding, “Regular order has to be proceeded and followed here.”
The sides are also negotiating over how much money to be allocated for the year.
In 2023, the Fiscal Responsibility Act came into being raising the national debt ceiling to $1.68 trillion in exchange for limiting discretionary government spending in 2024 and 2025. The financial limit for 2025 is $1.61 trillion.
Democrat House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) told The Epoch Times: “We are not going to accept a dime less than the $1.681 [trillion] number that we all agreed upon.” He said that figure would “adversely impact the health, the safety, and the economic well-being of the American people.”
House Republicans, who have pushed fiscal responsibility, are unlikely to back breaching the caps.
Rep. Harriet Hageman (R-Wy.) said the Senate “needs to get a grip.” Adding, “We’re going to have to cut spending, and the bills that we’ve passed have been reasonable.”
—Richard Moore
FTC: GOOGLE ANTITRUST RULING GOES BEYOND EPIC GAMES
The U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has filed an amicus brief in the Epic Games antitrust lawsuit against Google’s allegedmonopolistic behavior, suggesting that the court impose stringent actions against such practices.
The lawsuit was filed in 2020 by developer Epic Games against Google. Epic claimed that Google violated antitrust regulations by monopolizing two markets: the market for distribution of mobile apps for Android users and the market for processing payments.
“Google has thus installed itself as an unavoidable middleman for app developers who wish to reach Android users and vice versa,” Epic said.
In December 2023, a district court jury in California ruled in favor of Epic, finding that the game developer proved that Google was in violation of antitrust laws. District Judge James Donato has yet to decide on what relief Epic should be provided.
On Aug. 12, the FTC filed an amicus brief in the case, suggesting how the court could consider remedies. Ensuring antitrust laws are strictly enforced “is essential for protecting and preserving economic freedom and the free-enterprise system,” the agency pointed out.
“When a company engages in business practices that are found to violate the antitrust laws, courts are empowered to remedy those violations by ordering all relief necessary to restore competition in the affected markets,” it stated.
—Naveen Athrappully
BOOKMARKS
18 House Republicans are asking Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) to retain some of the tax credits contained in President Joe Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act. The lawmakers criticized some parts of the legislation as “deeply flawed,” but said the energy tax credits are essential to business development interests.
Justice Juan Merchan has rejected a third request that he recuse himself from former President Donald Trump’s New York trial on the grounds that Merchan’s daughter was involved in Vice President Kamala Harris’s 2020 campaign. The justice refused on the grounds that his daughter is not involved in the case, calling the allegations of conflict of interest “nothing more than a repetition of stale and unsubstantiated claims.”
A federal judge has ruled against a coalition of protesters who wanted to use an alternate parade route that brought them closer to the site of the DNC. The group, March on the DNC, claimed their First Amendment rights were being violated, but city officials feared that their proposed route would create an overpopulated “crush zone” near the event’s security perimeter.
Nine states have filed suit to block an executive order from the Biden administration that mandates voter registration initiatives be implemented by local government agencies. They claim the mandate favors Democrats, as the voter registration efforts will target locations more often frequented by left-leaning voters.
Former Harvard Professor-turned-activist Cornel West will be allowed to appear on North Carolina presidential election ballots in November, following a ruling from a federal judge on Aug. 12. The North Carolina State Board of Elections had previously ruled him ineligible after questioning the validity of petition signatures he presented for his party to appear on the ballot.
—Stacy Robinson