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WASHINGTON, D.C. Today, Senator Rick Scott released a weekly update on his actions to address Americas debt crisis and rising inflation following the announcement that the Personal Consumption Expenditure (PCE) price index increased 6.3% percent over the year under Joe Bidens failed leadership.

As families across America continue to suffer under President Joe Bidens record-breaking inflation, earlier this week Senator Rick Scott led his colleagues from the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, Senators Ron Johnson, Josh Hawley, James Lankford and Rand Paul, in letter to Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen demanding answers on how the Department prepared for inflation early in 2021. The senators are also requesting records pertaining to the American Rescue Plan, specifically those regarding the Treasurys actions to combat the known dangers of inflation following the reckless spending spree after the bills passage in March 2021. Read more in the Washington Examiner HERE.

Since being elected to the U.S. Senate, Senator Scott has repeatedly urged action to address Americas debt crisis and the harmful effects of inflation. ClickHEREfor a comprehensive list of his statements and actions on this urgent issue.

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Sen. Rick Scott Issues Weekly Update on Biden's Inflation Crisis - Senator Rick Scott

A bill to help keep kids fed moves forward. Thats coming up on This Land of Ours.

The House and Senate each passed the Keep Kids Fed Act this month, but the bill had to return to the House because the Senate version was slightly different. The Hagstrom Report says the House passed the Senates version of the bill that requires the re-establishment of the reduced price category that Rand Paul of Kentucky insisted on including in the Senate version. The agreement between the leaders of each committee in charge of school meals originally merged the reduced price and free meal categories into one free meal category for the upcoming school year. The legislation also provides $3 billion in additional funding for the school meals program, with offsets coming from rescissions from the Agriculture Department and Small Business Administration programs. Senate Ag Committee Chair Debbie Stabenow says, Schools and parents can rest easy knowing that help is on the way so kids can continue getting school and summer meals.

Story contributed by the NAFB.

Listen to Sabrina Halvorsons This Land of Ours program here.

(USDA/WASHINGTON, June 24, 2022) I am pleased to see that Congress has taken action to provide much needed support to help USDAs child nutrition programs serve nutritious meals to Americas children. Throughout the pandemic, the school nutrition professionals who feed our children faced enormous challenges, which persist today, and they desperately need additional resources and continued flexibilities. The deal passed by Congress will ease some of the uncertainty and provide partial relief to our schools, summer sites and child care feeding programs. As I have said before, it is important to note that schools across the country will still face ongoing challenges and at USDA we will continue to use every tool at our disposal to ensure kids get the nutritious meals they need and deserve.

Sabrina HalvorsonNational Correspondent / AgNet Media, Inc.

Sabrina Halvorson is an award-winning journalist, broadcaster, and public speaker who specializes in agriculture. She is a native of Californias agriculture-rich Central Valley.

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Keep Kids Fed Act Passed in Both Chambers of Congress - - Southeast AgNet

Ukrainian artillerymen fire the M109 self-propelled howitzer during training at Grafenwoehr Training Area, May 12, 2022. Soldiers from the U.S. and Norway trained Armed Forces of Ukraine artillerymen on the howitzers as part of security assistance packages. (U.S. Army/Sgt. Spencer Rhodes)

WASHINGTON: The Defense Department agency responsible for overseeing foreign arms sales would like to have a presence on the ground to monitor the use of US weapons in Ukraine, but when that will happen is still unclear, its deputy directorsaid Thursday.

We do think that over time, we would like to be able to extend our insights with a greater presence on the ground going forward, Jed Royal, deputy director of the Defense Security Cooperation Agency, told reporters during a roundtable.

During peacetime, DSCA sends personnel to a foreign nation to open warehouses and arms bunkers to examine equipment and check the serial numbers of high-value weapon systems, Royal said. Right now, in Ukraine, thats just not available to us as a tool.

Currently, DSCA has personnel stationed in Europe that work directly with Ukrainians on arms transfers occurring outside of Ukraine, using paper receipts to track weapons as they move down echelon. However, those officials are somewhat limited in their ability to do more robust monitoring of US made weapons, Royal said.

Once we have more people in country, we should be in a position to actually go do more physical validation [and] verification, going forward, he said. Thats the kind of thing that were looking for here. It still wont be like a peacetime environment for it. So were going to have to get creative in how we do this.

RELATED: US-made jets, air defense on Ukrainian fighter pilots wish listbut not Gray Eagle

Royal added that the agency is not looking to send an operational detachment, but eventually hopes to have a security cooperation office in Ukraine similar to those DSCA has based in other countries.

I wouldnt venture [to guess] in terms of when we will be able to do that or what the what the operational status might be, or the threat environment might be in Ukraine [when we do that], he said, adding that the decision would not be made internally by DSCA but would fall to more senior government officials.

Until then, the assurances DSCA officials have received from the Ukrainians are very robust and satisfactory, he said.

Getting weapons from American stockpiles to Ukrainian forces involves several US agencies, with DSCA responsible for coming up with options of US gear that can meet Ukraines requirements, conducting the necessary security reviews, and pushing those proposal to senior government leaders, who ultimately make the decision on which arms to send.

The United States has delivered more than $6 billion in arms to Ukraine since Russia invaded in February. On Thursday, President Joe Biden said that the US would announce another package worth $800 million in the coming days, which would include advanced Western air defense system for Ukraine, more artillery and ammunition, counter-battery radars, additional ammunition for the HIMARS multiple launch rocket system weve already given Ukraine and more HIMARS coming from other countries as well, he said.

While Congress has been broadly supportive of security assistance to Ukraine, lawmakers across the political spectrum including Sens. Rand Paul, R-Ky., and Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass. have raised concerns about the departments seeming lack of oversight.

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DoD agency wants to put weapons monitors on the ground in Ukraine - Breaking Defense

Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) on Wednesday condemned parts of the recently announced bipartisan gun safety deal, describing some provisions as constitutional deficiencies and vowing to introduce amendments as it comes to the Senate floor.

Unfortunately, this legislation was assembled as many are in secret, absent well placed leaks to journalists, Paul wrote on Twitter. There doesnt appear to be a willingness or time provided to read, understand, debate or amend this bill.

I will try anyway, he continued. To this end, I will introduce amendments to correct the constitutional deficiencies of this bill and hope my colleagues and the Senate leadership will do the same.

Senate negotiators on Tuesday released the text of a long-awaited deal on gun safety that would take firearms away from dangerous people and provide billions of dollars in new mental health funding, among other measures.

The Senate quickly voted 64-34 on Tuesday evening to advance the legislation, with Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and 13 other GOP senators supporting the measure.

Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) said he expects the bill to pass the Senate by the end of the week.

Schumers timeline aims to get ahead of the Senates upcoming two-week recess. But a quick passage of the legislation requires an agreement from all 100 senators, so Paul could delay the final vote if he doesnt give way.

Paul said he supports some of the bills provisions, like a section that includes juvenile records in background checks for gun buyers under the age of 21.

Looking at the recent criminal past of anyone is a good idea before assessing gun ownership, Paul said. However, that idea was paired with many questionable or bad ones in this legislation.

He specifically raised concerns over a proposed $750 million in funding for states to implement crisis intervention orders, including red flag laws that allow a court to confiscate a firearm from someone deemed to be a significant danger to themselves or others.

Paul raised due process concerns over some states existing red flag laws, explicitly referencing those implemented in New York, Washington state and Washington, D.C.

He also criticized a prohibition on using the funds to train or equip school personnel with firearms.

In fact, we should be doing the opposite, encouraging schools to train and arm proper personnel as desired and needed in their schools, Paul said.

Original post:
Rand Paul vows to introduce amendments to gun safety bill - The Hill

Meanwhile, as Congress argues over the details of how to make America a safer place to live, Rhode Island quietly and quickly raised the minimum age to buy rifles, shotguns and semi-automatic rifles from 18 to 21 and also banned high-capacity magazines that hold more than 10 rounds.

The Hill:House Fails To Pass Bill Creating Active Shooter Alert SystemThe House on Wednesday failed to pass a bill that sought to create a communications network that would alert people when an active shooter is in their community. The legislation, dubbed the Active Shooter Alert Act, was considered under suspension, a process that allows legislation to be passed quickly with two-thirds support. The bill did not reach that threshold, failing in a 259-162 vote despite having bipartisan sponsorship 16 Republicans helped introduce the legislation. (Schnell, 6/22)

CNN:Guns: Senate Will Take Critical Vote To Advance Bipartisan Bill Toward Final PassageThe Senate is poised to take a critical vote on Thursday to advance a major bipartisan gun safety bill toward final passage. The vote is expected to succeed with Republican support, putting the legislation on a path to pass the Senate as soon as this week. The bipartisan gun deal represents the first major federal gun safety legislation in decades. It includes millions of dollars for mental health, school safety, crisis intervention programs and incentives for states to include juvenile records in the National Instant Criminal Background Check System. It also makes significant changes to the process when someone ages 18 to 21 goes to buy a firearm and closes the so-called boyfriend loophole, a victory for Democrats, who have long fought for that. (Foran, Fox, Zaslav and Barrett, 6/23)

Houston Chronicle:Texas Republican Representing Uvalde Supports Bipartisan Gun BillThe Texas congressman whose district includes Uvalde says he plans to vote for a bipartisan gun bill that the Senate is poised to pass this week even as many of his Republican colleagues are likely to oppose it. U.S. Rep. Tony Gonzales, a San Antonio Republican, tweeted Wednesday that he supports the gun bill drafted by a bipartisan group of senators, including U.S. Sen. John Cornyn of Texas, after recent mass shootings, including a gunmans attack on an elementary school in Uvalde that resulted in the deaths of 19 kids and two teachers. (Wermund, 6/22)

The Hill:Rand Paul Vows To Introduce Amendments To Gun Safety BillSen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) on Wednesday condemned parts of the recently announced bipartisan gun safety deal, describing some provisions as constitutional deficiencies and vowing to introduce amendments as it comes to the Senate floor. Unfortunately, this legislation was assembled as many are in secret, absent well placed leaks to journalists, Paul wrote on Twitter. There doesnt appear to be a willingness or time provided to read, understand, debate or amend this bill. (Schonfeld, 6/22)

In updates from Texas and Rhode Island

Houston Chronicle:Uvalde Massacre Prompts Calls To Expand Mental Health ResourcesDespite growing calls for gun reform in the wake of the Uvalde school shooting, a Texas Senate committee discussing legislative responses to the massacre spent little time debating firearm safety measures in two days of public hearings. While senators questioned mental health, law enforcement and school safety experts for hours, the group flew through testimony from gun control activists. The advocates had gathered at the Capitol to call for stronger background checks, waiting periods when purchasing assault-style rifles, and red flag laws that would temporarily remove firearms from people deemed a danger to themselves or others. (Harris and Scherer, 6/22)

Stateline:Rhode Island Raises Rifle-Purchasing Minimum Age To 21Rhode Island has joined a growing list of states that have increased the minimum age to buy rifles, shotguns and semi-automatic rifles from 18 to 21.Democratic Gov. Dan McKee this week signed a package of gun measures passed after recent high-profile mass shootings in Buffalo, New York, and Uvalde, Texas. The package includes bills that ban high-capacity magazines that hold more than 10 rounds, prohibit the open carry of loaded firearms in public and raise the age limit for purchasing firearms and ammunition to 21. (Vasilogambros, 6/22)

Read more:
Active Shooter Bill Fails In House; Senate Votes Today On Gun Safety Bill - Kaiser Health News