Latest news with #Stutzman
Fox News
08-08-2025
- Business
- Fox News
Fruit and vegetable coatings on grocery-store produce in the spotlight: 'Know what we're eating'
Transparency is the focus of new proposed legislation when it comes to the coatings that are added to produce before the grocery-store items are sold to Americans. Focusing on fruits and vegetables treated with a shelf-life-extending coating, Rep. Marlin Stutzman, R-Ind., introduced HR 4737, known as the Apeel Reveal Act, in the House. The bill targets product coatings from companies to provide labeling that discloses the use of the coating. "We should know what we're eating – transparency is essential for making healthy choices," Stutzman wrote on X. "My Apeel Reveal Act gives Americans the clarity they deserve when deciding what to feed themselves and their kids." Apeel Sciences, an industry leader in the space, said it agrees with Stutzman that "every consumer deserves to know where they can find safer, higher-quality, fresher produce in their grocery stores." "Our plant-based, edible coatings help keep produce naturally fresh for longer, reduce food waste and lower grocery costs for American families," Apeel said in a statement shared with Fox News Digital. What's desired is "disclosure of certain product coatings used on fruits and vegetables, and for other purposes." "Our products are among the safest and most rigorously tested on the market." Apeel said its ingredients are "plant-based simple fats called mono- and diglycerides, baking soda and citric acid" and "common, naturally occurring food ingredients found in the edible peels, pulp and seeds of fruits and vegetables that also have a long history of safe use." Apeel reiterated that its products have an Apeel logo or sticker. They "remain the only post-harvest food coating brand most consumers can name," the California-based company said. All coating materials must be composed of substances "Generally Recognized as Safe" (GRAS). They must be produced under the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) Good Manufacturing Practices for food ingredients and packaging. The company says on its site, "The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) affirms mono- and diglycerides as Generally Recognized as Safe (GRAS). This GRAS designation means that a panel of qualified experts considers mono- and diglycerides safe for consumption under the conditions of their intended use, including their application to fruits and vegetables as well as use in many other everyday foods." The purpose of the new bill is "to amend the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to require the disclosure of certain product coatings used on fruits and vegetables, and for other purposes," HR 4737 says. It also says, in part, "In this subsection, the term 'covered product coating' means a coating that is directly applied to a fruit or vegetable to extend the shelf life of the fruit or vegetable. Such term includes Apeel Sciences product coatings, including Edipeel and Organipeel." Apeel's coatings, according to the company and others, have "demonstrably reduced waste — saving 166 million pieces of produce, conserving 1.8 billion gallons of water, and preventing over 64 million pounds of greenhouse gas emissions."
Indianapolis Star
21-07-2025
- Politics
- Indianapolis Star
Indiana GOP congressman faces backlash for supporting immigration bill amid Trump deportation efforts
U.S. Rep. Marlin Stutzman, a fourth-generation farmer and Republican who represents the northeast corner of Indiana, drew backlash last week when he signaled his support for legislation that would grant legal status to undocumented immigrants working on farms amid President Donald Trump's mass deportation efforts. 'If you try to deport all of them, you're going to crash the economy,' Stutzman said, citing concerns from an Indiana poultry farmer who was worried deportation efforts could harm their business operations, The Wall Street Journal reported July 16. In an IndyStar interview July 17 Stutzman reaffirmed his support for Trump's mass deportation campaign against undocumented immigrants, which has included sweeping raids on farms, but reiterated the benefits of the legislation he is cosponsoring. 'Finding the labor for agriculture is important. Again, they need to be legal,' he said. 'That's what this bill sets out to accomplish.' Stutzman picked up his 3rd district seat to return to Congress in 2024 after now Sen. Jim Banks left it vacant to run for the U.S. Senate. While Banks served as the district's representative, he too expressed concern that the mass deportation of immigrants could harm the area's economy. Almost half of crop farmworkers in the U.S. between 2020 to 2022 were not authorized to work in the U.S., according to Department of Labor data. Indiana has 102,000 undocumented immigrants according to the Migration Policy Institute, 62% of which are employed. The sheer number of workers who are undocumented immigrants make the effect of widespread raids more pronounced. 'All of a sudden, they're gone,' Stutzman told IndyStar. 'Well, then it disrupts the operations of a company.' The bipartisan bill, called the DIGNITY Act, would provide legal status to undocumented immigrants who have lived in the U.S. for at least five years, so long as they pass a criminal background check, pay a $7,000 fine across seven years and begin paying taxes. The bill would allow people with this status to stay indefinitely, though they would be ineligible for federal benefits. For Stutzman, the bill would encompass the numerous immigrants who have been working for years on farms, in Indiana's RV manufacturing industry, construction and hospitality. Stutzman's support of the bill drew accusations on social media that Stutzman was promoting amnesty for undocumented immigrants. The congressman rejected the accusations in a post on X the afternoon of July 17. The bill was introduced by Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar, R-Fla., who described the DIGNITY Act as an alternative to choosing between amnesty and deportation for undocumented workers at a press conference announcing the bill July 15. Greg Shufeldt, a political science professor at the University of Indianapolis, said the pressure Stutzman is facing reflects a broader tension between the economic and cultural conservative wings of the Republican Party. The issue may be greater for a Republican from a strong red district like Stutzman, where facing a well-funded primary challenger is often a greater threat than the opposing party. 'He doesn't have to worry about his November 2026 constituency, he has to worry about ensuring that he wins Republican primaries,' Shufeldt said. That effect can make it more difficult to pass bipartisan legislation, Shufeldt said, because it leads both Democrats and Republicans to use rhetoric that is good for their base but bad for compromise. 'If Stutzman has to really double down and say 'This is not amnesty, this is not amnesty'... it makes it harder for a Democrat that also has to be responsive to their constituency," he said.
Indianapolis Star
03-07-2025
- Business
- Indianapolis Star
How Indiana's U.S. representatives voted on the 'Big Beautiful Bill'
Hoosiers in the U.S. House of Representatives on July 3 voted along party lines for the final approval of President Donald Trump's "One Big Beautiful Bill," with Indiana's seven Republicans voting in favor of the bill and the two Democrats voting bill now goes to the president's desk for his signature ahead of the Fourth of July. The massive budget reconciliation bill, which narrowly passed the U.S. Senate on July 1, passed the House on a vote of 218-214. It is likely to impact Hoosiers through tax cuts and spending cuts to federally supported programs, such as Medicaid. Thousands of Indiana residents could lose access to the public health insurance program for low-income Americans, as well as SNAP benefits. But the bill also makes permanent the 2017 tax cuts from the first Trump term, which were due to expire at the end of this year and would have resulted in a $1,900 average tax increase for Hoosiers in 2026. The bill goes further on other tax cuts, eliminating clean energy tax credits and instituting a short-term tax break on tips and overtime wages. More: From taxes to Medicaid, 4 ways Trump's 'Big Beautiful Bill' could impact Hoosiers Indiana representatives' votes remained unchanged from their initial votes on the bill when it left the House in late May, despite skepticism some Republican members expressed over changes in the Senate that are expected to increase the national debt. U.S. Rep. Victoria Spartz threatened to withhold her vote on a procedural step to advance the bill but later voted with Republicans to allow the bill to proceed. U.S. Rep. Marlin Stutzman posted on X July 1 that changes made in the Senate include "unacceptable increases to the national debt and the deficit." In the post Stutzman said he was "willing to work through the 4th" to improve the bill but voted for its passage on July 3. "This bill was not perfect, but it gives all Americans a fresh start by curbing the last 4 years of disaster under Joe Biden," Stutzman said in a July 3 post following the passage of the bill. U.S. Rep. Frank Mrvan, a Democrat representing Northwest Indiana, said in a post on X he voted against the measure because it creates uncertainty for Hoosiers. "I opposed this measure because I cannot in good conscience leave people behind," Mrvan said. "The Republican Majority made a decision to prioritize their elite donors and corporations, and now our seniors, veterans, hard-working Americans, women, children and those yet to be born will pay with increased costs and possibly their lives." The House vote follows a Senate vote earlier this week where Vice President J.D. Vance cast a tie-breaking vote to advance the bill on a 51-50 vote. Both U.S. Sens. Todd Young and Jim Banks voted in favor of the bill. Big Beautiful Bill 101: What you need to know about Trump's tax bill USA TODAY contributed to this story. Contact IndyStar state government and politics reporter Brittany Carloni at and government accountability reporter Hayleigh Colombo at hcolombo@
Yahoo
05-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
GOP bill takes aim at Congress' 'no rules apply' emergency spending
FIRST ON FOX: A House fiscal hawk wants to create a payment plan for congressional emergency spending to create accountability for the "no rules apply" funding stream. Rep. Marlin Stutzman, R-Ind., is set to introduce the Emergency Spending Accountability Act that would add guardrails to last-minute funding meant for national emergencies, like natural disasters, the COVID-19 pandemic or other spending meant to fill the gaps in the appropriations process. Senate Weighs Trump's 'Big, Beautiful Bill' As Policy Group Backs Cbo, Projects $3 Trillion Debt Increase Stutzman told Fox News Digital that lawmakers will go about the usual budgeting process, passing stopgap spending bills or colossal, omnibus spending packages, but that "somewhere in between" there's always extra money pushed out the door for emergencies. "Whenever there's an emergency, Congress always overreacts," he said. "And I believe they pass these big spending bills under the guise of an emergency, national emergency, and spend money that we don't take into consideration through our budget process." White House Insists Fema Is Taking Hurricane Season 'Seriously,' Blasts 'Sloppy' Reporting Read On The Fox News App He said that when he first came to Washington in 2010, the national debt was $9 trillion. After leaving the House and returning during last year's election cycle, that number has since ballooned to more than $36 trillion. And since the early 1990s, more than $12 trillion in emergency spending has added to the ever-growing deficit. The lawmaker said that the money dedicated for emergency use was rarely ever paid back, and he argued that the taxpayer dollars were sometimes not used for actual emergencies. 'He's Not A Big Factor': Trump's Senate Allies Dismiss Elon Musk's Calls To 'Kill The Bill' Stutzman's legislation, which so far has seven House Republican co-sponsors, would require the federal government to pay off the balance of future emergency spending by 20% each year for five years after an emergency following a green-light from lawmakers to open up the cash flow. His bill would also stipulate that any emergency spending would have to comport with the criteria laid out by the Balance Budget and Emergency Control Act of 1985, which laid out a five-point roadmap to justify that emergency spending be necessary, sudden, urgent, unforeseen and not permanent. He understood that there is always a need for emergency spending, giving the examples of the pandemic and of Hurricane Sandy, which blasted through the East Coast more than a decade ago, but he noted there should be offset cuts to account for the spending and better planning on how the taxpayer dollars would be used. "Most companies and family budgets, they always have a rainy-day fund or an emergency fund that they can tap into if they need it for unexpected costs and expenses, but that's not the way Washington works," Stutzman said. "So that's the idea."Original article source: GOP bill takes aim at Congress' 'no rules apply' emergency spending
New York Post
21-05-2025
- Politics
- New York Post
Syria's new leader ‘open' to joining Abraham Accords, normalizing relations with Israel, two reps who met him say
Syrian leader Ahmed al-Sharaa has privately expressed openness to joining the Abraham Accords and normalizing relations with Israel in a move that would dramatically shake up the Middle East, according to two congressmen who met with him last month. In exchange, al-Sharaa wanted assurances that Israel would stop bombing Syria, stop fomenting sectarian divisions and reach a renegotiated arrangement regarding the Golan Heights, Reps. Cory Mills (R-Fla.) and Martin Stutzman (R-Ind.) told The Post. 'He said, 'We're open to not only recognizing Israel, but also to try and join the Abraham Accords, but they must stop bombing within our nation,'' Mills recounted. Advertisement Trump made waves last week during his Mideast trek when, after meeting with the Syrian leader, he boldly predicted that the 'young, attractive' al-Sharaa would join the Abraham Accords, a signature foreign policy breakthrough of his first term, which saw the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain normalize relations with Israel. Prior to that prediction, al-Sharaa conveyed his openness to the Abraham Accords to both Mills and Stutzman during separate one-on-ones with the two reps, who were the first sitting members of Congress to visit Syria's new leader since the abrupt collapse of the Bashar al-Assad regime last December. 6 Syrian leader Ahmed al-Sharaa is grappling with major stability concerns in his war-torn country. REUTERS Advertisement 6 The two Republican reps believed that Syrian leader Ahmed al-Sharaa seemed open to Christians. REUTERS Stutzman claimed that al-Sharaa told him 'he would be open to the Abraham Accords' on two major conditions. '[For] the first one was, he said that Israel had a plan to divide the country up into separate parts. I don't know if that's true or not, but that's what he told me, and he said that that would be a deal breaker,' Stutzman explained. 'He wants to keep Syria unified…any effort to divide the country into regional parts or sectarian parts was not acceptable.' 'The second one was the Golan Heights, and the encroachment around the Golan Heights — that they would have to negotiate with Israel further on that.' The Golan Heights — a major sticking point Advertisement The Syrian leader didn't specify whether joining the Abraham Accords would be contingent on getting back the Golan Heights, but simply stipulated that 'they would have to come to some agreement,' according to Stutzman's recollection. The Golan Heights is a rocky plateau in Syria's southwest region nestled between Israel, Syria, Lebanon and Jordan. Israel took over the strip of land during the 1967 Six-Day War and annexed it in 1981. During the 1970s, Syria unsuccessfully attempted to reclaim the land during the Yom Kippur War. The brutal Assad family came into power in 1971 shortly before that war. The Trump administration formally recognized Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights in 2019. Advertisement Historically, Syria has been adamant that no peace arrangement can be made with Israel until it relinquishes the Golan Heights, which the Jewish state views as a critical security buffer zone. 6 Rep. Cory Mills stressed the importance of trying to court Syria in this moment of upheaval. AP 'I don't think the Syrian government would abandon the sovereignty over the Golan Heights,' an incoming assistant minister for the Americas in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Syria told The Post. 'The Golan Heights are for all Syrians. They're not for President al-Sharaa to give away to anyone.' Qutaiba Idlbi, a senior fellow with the Atlantic Council's Middle East Programs who leads its Syria work and was a refugee of the Assad regime, suggested the two sides could look to 'creative solutions' to address Israel's security concerns. 'I know some of the mediators, for example, have pushed for the idea to provide a long-term lease to Israel over the Golan Heights to kind of allow some time for confidence-building,' he said, 'and then have a conversation later after that lease is over about the future of that region.' Idlbi said he doesn't 'expect that President al-Sharaa would link a deal with Israel to a change in this situation in Palestine,' but noted that Syria is also already making overtures to Israel with efforts to crack down on terrorism. 'The issue of the Palestinian militias that are already in Syria have been raised in different meetings,' he said. 'The [Syrian] government has made it very clear that there will be no presence for any sort of military movement — whether Palestinian or not — on the Syrian land. 'That is already something that Syria is working on, regardless of whether you know there is a deal or not.' Advertisement 6 The Abraham Accords were one of President Trump's signature foreign policy achievements of his first term. AP 'A regional hero' While there are big hurdles in the way, Syria hypothetically joining the Abraham Accords would mark a monumental foreign policy breakthrough in the region. 'It's extremely significant,' Mills said, 'You're talking about the possibility of continual stability in the region and further recognition and protection of the great state of Israel.' Additionally, al-Sharaa's purported openness to a deal with Israel comes as he is seemingly trying to mend Syria's frayed relations with the West and Arab countries in the region. Advertisement 'As long as I've been alive, Syria has been under the Assad [family] regime,' Stutzman reflected. 'Al-Shara mentioned that he's already pushed Hezbollah out of Lebanon. He's pushing the Iranians out of Syria, and he's talking with the Qataris, Saudis and UAE to further trade and commerce.' 'He would be a regional hero if he were able to pull off the vision that he has for Syria.' Iran and Russia had long helped prop up the brutal Assad regime, which al-Sharaa fought against. Tehran has been heavily involved in Syrian telecommunications infrastructure, for example. During his meetings with Mills and Stutzman, al-Sharaa claimed that he had an offer from Russia on business and military support, but wanted to talk with the West first. Advertisement 6 President Trump met with Syrian leader Ahmed al-Sharaa in Riyadh last week. via REUTERS Sanction relief and concerns about Syria's potential collapse Last week, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman helped coordinate a meeting between al-Sharaa and Trump. The president then quickly decided to implement a 180-day waiver on sanctions against the war-torn country, a move that happened so quickly that his Treasury was reportedly caught off guard. 'Their economy is in the toilet,' Stutzman said. 'Letting the Syrian people rebuild their country is really important. And I also think that it keeps al-Shara open to the west, rather than being pushed back into the arms of the Russians or the Chinese.' Secretary of State Marco Rubio ominously warned the Senate Foreign Relations Committee Tuesday that Damascus could be on the brink of another civil war and argued that Congress may need to provide support. Advertisement 'It is our assessment that, frankly, the transitional authority, given the challenges they're facing, are maybe weeks — not many months — away from potential collapse and a full-scale civil war of epic proportions, basically the country splitting up,' Rubio said during the committee hearing. 6 The nonprofit Syrian American Alliance for Peace and Prosperity organized the reps' unofficial visit to Syria last month. Photo Courtesy of Rep Cory Mills' Office Past ties to terrorism and elections in Syria There are plenty of skeptics of al-Sharaa in US foreign policy circles, given his past ties to Islamic extremism and affiliation with Al Qaeda, including during its activity in Iraq in 2003. Director of national intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, who met with Assad in 2017, ripped al-Sharaa as an 'Islamic extremist' who 'danced on the streets after 9/11.' 'I think, which is very important, is not to look at people's history and where they were,' Idlbi said. 'I think the question that we need to look at is who are the people now.' Another concern among observers has been Syria's push to wait five years before holding elections. Stutzman argued that al-Sharaa made a compelling case for the delay. 'He said that first of all, they needed to rebuild the government, or they needed to build a government there that could handle the elections,' the congressman recalled. 'It is going to take time for them to rebuild their country, find some sense of normalcy for them, and then they'll focus on the elections.' Their visit was unofficial and organized by the nonprofit group Syrian American Alliance for Peace and Prosperity.
