Happy Veterans Day Week! Here’s a selection of articles the Federal Relations team enjoyed this week.
First Gen – It’s a term that’s used often, “first generation” students, but who are these students and how are schools counting them? More at Inside Higher Education.
Grounded – Speaker Paul Ryan has solicited a lot of information and has had a lot solicited from him as Speaker including a request from watchdog groups asking to end Members taking privately funded travel. Read more at Roll Call.
POTUS? – When Paul Ryan agreed to run for Speaker, most understood this means that he’s put any presidential ambitions to rest because no Speaker of the House has been elected President except James Polk in 1844. Also it should be noted that, by the election, Polk had left the Speakership and was serving as Governor of Tennessee. So what’s Ryan’s long-term plan? Read more at The Hill.
Climate of Coal – Peabody coal, one of the nation’s largest coal companies, has been accused is misleading investors as to the impacts of climate change and the company’s bottom line. The allegation comes to light after a New York Attorney General’s investigation. Exxon Mobile is also being investigated for similar reasons. Read more at NPR.
Down On the Field & Out the Game – University of Missouri System President Tim Wolfe resigned and University of Missouri Columbia Chancellor Loftin Flowers agreed to step down on Monday after over a month of growing tensions with the Columbia student body. SB Nation covers what the Missouri football strike is all about. The final hit came from Wolfe’s blindside, when the Mizzou football team refused to play their next game in solidarity with the #concernedstudents1950 movement. Read how the football team cut the president at the Washington Post. Read the New York Times take.
Sweeping Effects – As the turmoil in Missouri keeps going, an associate professor offered his resignation, which was rejected, for holding class (and a test). The true outrage was his email to students saying that he wasn’t going to “give in to the bullies”. Students had questioned holding class because popular site YikYak had reports of shooters planning to kill black students. The individual who made the threats has been arrested (and was not in Columbia Missouri, where MU is located). Read more at NBC News.
Can’t Take the Heat? – Current GOP front runner Dr. Ben Carson has begun pushing back against the significant scrutiny recently that comes with being the leading presidential candidate. Carson’s statements on the pyramids (they were used to store grain), his West Point full ride after a dinner with a general (he never applied so could never be offered such), or to the most recent dust up over if he stabbed someone (he apparently didn’t). Carson has charged that no other candidate has faced this much scrutiny and the Washington Post says challenge accepted. It goes through almost of the major political stories for both parties and goes back to the last presidential election. Read more at The Washington Post. Side note, The Atlantic is tracking the bigger political gaffes happening this cycle at their Gaffe Track.
Senate on O-care – The Senate is preparing to take up a measure repealing Obamacare, and plans on sending the measure to the President’s desk (for an assured veto). Unfortunately, the Senate GOP conference is undecided on how far the measure should go. Read more at The Hil.
Team Marco – Hill staff predict that Marco Rubio will be the Republican nomination for President. Read more at Roll Call.
Google Doodle celebrated actress and scientist Hedy Lamarr’s 101st birthday this week with this doodle: