Tag: money

Computer chip money underwriting ‘woke’ agenda

Laurent

WASHINGTON — Republican senators are accusing the Biden administration of using $39 billion meant to build computer chip factories to further “woke” ideas such as requiring some recipients to offer child care and encouraging the use of union labor.




President Joe Biden speaks during an event to support legislation that would encourage domestic manufacturing and strengthen supply chains for computer chips in the South Court Auditorium on the White House campus, March 9, 2022, in Washington.




The administration has countered that these elements of the funding guidelines announced Tuesday will improve the likelihood of attracting companies to build the semiconductor factories and people to work there — a key challenge that could determine the program’s success. It sees the guidelines as a starting point for working with companies to ensure value for taxpayers.

The tension is an example of the partisan mistrust that can arise in Washington even on an agenda item that lawmakers from both parties say is vital for U.S. national security. Republicans say the administration, in implementing the law, is trying to squeeze in priorities that please the Democratic base. They also argue that the guidelines will increase the cost of constructing semiconductor plants and will poison any sense of ongoing trust.

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Biden Computer Chips

Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, is one of the GOP senators accusing the Biden administration of using $39 billion meant to build computer chip factories to further “woke” ideas such as requiring some recipients to offer child care and encouraging the use of union labor.




Biden Computer Chips

Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo addresses African leaders gathered for the U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit on Dec. 14, 2022, in Washington. 




“What President Biden is doing by jamming woke and green agenda items into legislation we pass is making it harder for him to ever get legislation passed again,” said Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, who voted for the law.

But in the grand scheme, administration officials say, the guidelines can help to address two fundamental challenges to the government’s plans to transform the United States into

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Here’s how much money Iowa City Council candidates raised, spent

Laurent

Iowa City Mayor Bruce Teague outraised the other three candidates for City Council, garnering support from his constituents, family members, fellow elected officials and labor organizations ahead of Tuesday’s election.

The Iowa City Council money race is coming into focus as Election Day draws near. All four candidates submitted campaign finance disclosures to the Iowa Ethics and Campaign Disclosure Board’s web reporting system showing how much they raised and spent.

Teague brought in $7,842 from 100 total donors. Megan Alter, another candidate for one of the two at-large seats on the City Council, raised $6,915 from 102 donors. The third at-large candidate, Jason Glass, raised $3,865 from 50 donors. Shawn Harmsen, who is running unopposed for the District B seat, raised $6,259 from 106 donations.

“I think that people really wanted to ensure that the campaign that I was running for this community had some resources,” Teague said.

Like the other candidates, much of Teague’s money went toward expenses like mailers, campaign signs, office supplies and advertising.

Read more coverage on the Iowa City Council election:

Teague and Glass spend their own money on campaign

While Teague outraised the other candidates, Glass ended up spending more than all of his opponents combined.

In total, Glass spent $650 of the money he fundraised for his campaign, but also chose to finance campaign costs early on with $22,334 of his own cash. By comparison, Teague, Alter and Harmsen only spent $17,217 combined.

Jason Glass poses for a photo, Monday, May 3, 2021, in Iowa City, Iowa.

Glass said campaign startup costs like website creation and design, logo design and advertising, were costs he chose to take on himself. He said he didn’t focus on fundraising during his campaign, but rather reached out in-person and online to potential voters.

“I wanted to make sure I had quality materials and quality web presence and spent what I needed to in order to reasonably do that,” he said. “I am very pleased with the quality of my website, my materials, my Facebook and my logo and yard signs.”

Glass’s disclosure said he spent $6,397 on web fees and $4,627 on printing costs for mailers, among other campaign costs.

Glass

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