Latest news with #R-AR
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
National Cotton Council backs bill to boost US cotton consumption
Proposed by Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-MS), the legislation aims to boost demand for both domestically grown cotton and products made from it such as apparel, home textiles, and nonwovens. These products must either be fully manufactured within the US or, if imported, must be made entirely or partially from US extra-long staple cotton or upland cotton. The Buying American Cotton Act seeks to capitalise on the traceability feature of US cotton and the purchasing habits of American consumers. The proposed tax credit would be available to the initial US-based entity that directly sells an eligible product to a consumer in the US. The amount of credit would depend on several criteria, including verification of US origin, the proportion of US-grown cotton used in the product, and the manufacturing location. NCC chairman and a producer from Tunica, Mississippi Patrick Johnson said: "The Buying American Cotton Act is transformative for our industry. By capitalising on the traceability of US cotton and the purchasing power of American consumers, this bill will drive the preference for domestically produced cotton and cotton products. The transferable tax credits will encourage businesses to opt for US cotton, strengthening our agricultural sector and creating more jobs. I want to thank Senator Hyde-Smith for her foresight in introducing this legislation." The NCC also acknowledged Senators John Boozman (R-AR), Katie Britt (R-AL), and Roger Marshall (R-KS) for their support as co-sponsors of the bill and anticipate additional co-sponsors in the near future. Last month, the US cotton sector voiced its concerns over findings from the Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) Commission's report. The report disclosed that children are at an increased risk due to exposure to various chemicals such as heavy metals, PFAS, pesticides, and phthalates present in textiles, food items, and other consumer goods. The unique behaviours and developmental stages of children make them particularly susceptible to potential harm from these environmental exposures. "National Cotton Council backs bill to boost US cotton consumption" was originally created and published by Just Style, a GlobalData owned brand. The information on this site has been included in good faith for general informational purposes only. It is not intended to amount to advice on which you should rely, and we give no representation, warranty or guarantee, whether express or implied as to its accuracy or completeness. You must obtain professional or specialist advice before taking, or refraining from, any action on the basis of the content on our site. Error while retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data
Gulf Insider
11-05-2025
- Politics
- Gulf Insider
Senators Cotton & Graham Work to Sabotage Chances of Iran Deal
Senators Tom Cotton (R-AR) and Lindsey Graham (R-SC), two of the most hawkish members of Congress, are working together to sabotage the Trump administration's chances of reaching a deal with Iran. On Thursday, the senators held a press conference outlining a resolution they're introducing that demands that any deal with Iran must include the total dismantlement of Tehran's nuclear enrichment program, an idea that Iranian officials have made clear is a non-starter. 'To the Iranian regime: you claim all you want is a peaceful nuclear power program. You can have it, but you cannot enrich and you must dismantle,' Graham said. 'And you must dismantle now.' Graham and Cotton said that any deal must require ratification from the Senate and must also impose limits on Iran's ballistic missile program and support for its allies in the region, conditions that are also a non-starter for Tehran. 'A treaty with Iran in this space is only possible if you get 67 votes,' Graham said. 'You're not going to get 67 votes for a treaty regarding their nuclear program unless they deal with the missile program and their terrorism activity. So is it possible? Yes, if Iran changes.' The senators also repeated President Trump's threat that if there is no deal, the US will attack Iran.' 'Iran can either have a nuclear program that's lying in ruins, smoking, destroyed, and dismantled, or it can have a peaceful civilian nuclear power program with no centrifuges, no enriching, no re-processing, and no pathway to a nuclear weapon,' he said. Trump has been threatening to bomb Iran over its nuclear program even though his intelligence agencies recently reaffirmed that there's no evidence Tehran is building a bomb or that Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has reversed his ban on the development of nuclear weapons. Iran is currently enriching some uranium at 20% and 60%, which is still lower than the 90% needed for weapons-grade. Tehran has made clear that it's willing to bring enrichment levels back down to 3.67%, the limit imposed by the JCPOA.
Yahoo
04-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Colby says nuclear Iran an ‘existential danger' to the U.S., backpedaling on past views
Elbridge Colby, the nominee for undersecretary of defense for policy, said at his Senate Armed Services Committee confirmation hearing on Tuesday that he now views a nuclear-armed Iran as an 'existential' threat to the United States homeland and said he would provide military options to the administration to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon if necessary. Colby also sought to distance himself from Michael DiMino, who prompted alarm among supporters of Israel after being named deputy assistant secretary of defense for the Middle East. Colby's comments suggest he's backtracking on his past views that the U.S. could contain a nuclear-armed Iran, and that the consequences of striking Iran to eliminate its nuclear program would be worse than those of Iran obtaining a nuclear weapon, which had raised serious concerns for Senate Republicans. But when pressed in detail about his past comments, Colby also tried to justify them by arguing he was merely pushing back against what he viewed as an overly hawkish consensus at the time. And he underscored, later in the hearing, that the Trump administration's goal is to reach a 'trust-but-verify negotiated agreement' with Iran — with a military option available. Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR), a skeptic of Colby's nomination, questioned Colby on his views towards Iran, saying he had concerns about Colby's past comments and that they were inconsistent with the administration's policy. Pressed by Cotton on whether he considers a nuclear-armed Iran to be an 'existential danger to us … not just a 'severe danger,' as you said in response to Sen. Gillibrand or a 'significant one' as you said in your written answers,' Colby said he agreed. 'Yes, a nuclear-armed Iran — especially, Senator, given that … we know they've worked on ICBM-range capabilities and other capabilities that would pose an existential danger to the United States,' Colby said. He said that it was consistent with his understanding that Iran's nuclear program poses an immediate danger to Israel and U.S. Arab allies and that Iran would have the capabilities to strike the continental United States within a few years. Colby agreed, when asked by Cotton, that if diplomacy with Iran fails and the U.S.' only options are a military strike to prevent Iran from nuclearizing or allowing the nuclear program to proceed and hoping that it can be contained, he would provide the administration with credible military options to eliminate Iran's nuclear program. At his confirmation hearing for a top Pentagon post, @ElbridgeColby said he now views a nuclear-armed Iran as an 'existential' threat to the United States homeland and said he would provide military options to the administration to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon if… Jewish Insider (@J_Insider) March 4, 2025 'I believe we should not allow Iran to have a nuclear weapon and if confirmed I would believe it's my responsibility to provide credible good military options,' he said later, responding to Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-AK). Pressed by Sullivan, Colby provided an evasive response about his past accommodationist rhetoric about Iran. 'I would say a lot of what I was arguing against at the time, these conversations 15 years ago, a lot of the opponents I felt had a casual or in some cases even flippant attitude towards the employment of military force,' Colby said. 'That's a lot of what I was arguing against. Was my wording always appropriate, was my precise framing always appropriate? No.' In an exchange with Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL), Colby said that his 'advocacy and commentary especially as a public intellectual, if you will, was pushing back against a lot of people who frankly I would say were quite cavalier about the employment of military force.' He added that the current U.S. leadership 'understand that we need to be militarily strong, but also understand the downside risks of the deployment of military force, it needs to be rational.' Colby said he agreed with Cotton that military options must go beyond providing Israel with certain bombs and leaving it to take out the Iranian nuclear program. Asked by Cotton if one option could be allowing Israel to use advanced U.S. bombers, refueling tankers and heavy bombs to strike Iran, Colby said, 'I wouldn't want to get ahead of the president on specific decisions, but I think those are the kinds of things that should be absolutely part of the discussion … and those would be the kinds of things that I would raise for the consideration of the secretary of defense and the president.' Again prompted by Cotton, Colby said that having credible military options on the table could make it easier to achieve a viable nuclear deal with Iran. Cotton, the chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee, also indicated during his questioning that he'd be open to a nuclear deal with Iran that fully dismantled Iran's nuclear program. Cotton recalled that, in his written answers provided prior to the hearing, Colby had said 'the United States should deny Iran from gaining a nuclear weapon. Outside the hearing room, Vice President J.D. Vance, who introduced Colby, told Jewish Insider that the administration's policy is 'extremely clear, that we cannot tolerate nuclear proliferation, especially in Iran.' 'The president has been very clear he doesn't want to tolerate a nuclear-armed Iran,' Vance said. 'I don't know what Mr. Colby has written in the past, but I'll say that every single person that we nominate to a position is going to have at least one thing that they disagree with the president about. That's okay.' Sen. Roger Wicker (R-MS), the committee's chairman, began his questioning of Colby by asking about DiMino, underscoring Republican concerns about the top Middle East official and the way that the selection of DiMino — seen as a Colby acolyte in isolationist foreign policy circles — has colored Colby's confirmation proceedings. Colby denied he was responsible for hiring DiMino and rejected DiMino's view that the U.S. does not have any critical interests in the Middle East, saying that is not consistent with the administration's policy. 'He does not speak for me and I think I have a number of views that differ materially from his, from what I understand, just in public reporting,' Colby said of DiMino. He similarly distanced himself from Andrew Byers, the deputy assistant secretary of defense for South and Southeast Asia, who has advocated for a dovish approach toward China. Wicker asked Colby if it was correct that Colby had 'made no determination as to whether' either man 'would be retained in those positions' —suggesting that they could be fired once he takes office. 'As part of not presuming, my understanding is that I should not be even thinking in that way,' Colby said. 'What I would say is that, if confirmed, I would obviously be only one person in a chain … but what I would commit to you is that anybody in my organization, if I'm confirmed, should be in line with the president's agenda.' The Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations had urged senators on the committee to question Colby about his views on Iran and about DiMino at his confirmation hearing.
Fox News
19-02-2025
- Business
- Fox News
China's Subtle 'Infiltration' Of America
Foreign policy was a major pain point during the 2024 presidential campaign and one thing that could be agreed upon was the global threat posed by the Chinese Communist Party. Senator Tom Cotton (R-AR) has written a book, 'Seven Things You Can't Say About China' where he aims to give an honest, unflinching look at the threats posed by China. Sen. Cotton joined the Rundown to break down how China became America's most dangerous enemy, the subtle ways China has infiltrated the United States, and how we must respond as a nation. The avian flu is causing massive price increases in the egg industry, with some farms being forced to cull their entire flock to avoid further spread of the disease. The rising costs have been seen in supermarkets across the country, with the average price for a dozen eggs sitting around five dollars. These high prices have trickled down to restaurants too, with many increasing menu prices to keep pace with the climbing egg fares. Chief Operations Officer of Green Eggs Cafe Stephen Slaughter joins the Rundown to discuss the rise in cost for his company, what he has been hearing from his egg distributors, and the challenges that have faced the industry in the last five years. Plus, commentary from Chief National Initiatives Officer at the Texas Public Policy Foundation, Chuck DeVore. Photo Credit: AP Learn more about your ad choices. Visit
Fox News
17-02-2025
- Politics
- Fox News
Senator Tom Cotton: The Very Real Threat Of China and Elbridge Colby, PLUS Canada Boos The U.S. National Anthem
Story #1: In a stunning speech that falls just short of 'tear down this wall,' Vice President J.D. Vance tells Europe that the threat is not from Russia but from within. In response, CBS and Germany show a stunning lack of historical knowledge over Free Speech. Story #2: Senator Tom Cotton (R-AR) joins to discuss his new book 'Seven Things You Can't Say About China.' Plus, he addresses the allegations head on that he was undermining the nomination of Elbridge Colby as Under Secretary of Defense for Policy nominee. Story #3: Canada boos the American National Anthem. America takes it to Canada with their fists and on the scoreboard. Is national pride back? Tell Will what you thought about this podcast by emailing WillCainShow@ Subscribe to The Will Cain Show on YouTube here: Watch The Will Cain Show! Follow Will on Twitter: @WillCain Learn more about your ad choices. Visit
