truthout--2020-07-16--Trump Is Donating Ventilators to Countries That Don’t Need or Can’t Use Them

As President Donald Trump came under criticism that his administration had failed to manage the coronavirus pandemic , he cited one area of success : his plan to donate thousands of ventilators to other countries .
“ Now we ’ re the king of ventilators , ” Trump told reporters on April 18 .
White House officials have pushed the U.S. Agency for International Development to purchase thousands of the expensive devices from U.S. companies and donate them abroad , according to internal documents , emails seen by or described to ProPublica and interviews with officials .
One USAID official @ @ @ @ @ @ @ internal email as “ the POTUS donation of ventilators , ” using an acronym for president of the United States .
But the effort has been marked by dysfunction , with little clarity on how countries are chosen or how the ventilators are allocated .
A USAID memo seen by ProPublica shows equipment donated to wealthy nations that typically do not get foreign aid , such as NATO countries , and to a few locations ill-equipped to use devices that require round-the-clock staffing and regular maintenance .
The administration ’ s decisions on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to the number of coronavirus deaths or infections in a country .
Honduras , which is receiving 100 ventilators , had about 72 confirmed cases per 100,000 people on June 11 , the day the plan was approved by a senior State Department official , according to World Health Organization data .
Neighboring El Salvador , which is set to receive 600 ventilators , had about 51 cases per 100,000 people at that point .
And Vietnam is set to receive 100 ventilators , though the country has had just a few hundred @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ These numbers are too round , ” said Richard Sullivan , co-director of the Conflict and Health Research Group at King ’ s College London , noting that the numbers of ventilators listed in the document are , with just one exception , multiples of 5 .
“ No one has done a proper needs assessment.
” The administration has said it is spending more than $ 200 million on donating ventilators , a little less than one-fifth of its promised coronavirus-related foreign aid .
But public health experts said that without @ @ @ @ @ @ @ care expertise — and following through to ensure hospitals can keep the machines running — the donations could go to waste or even risk patients ’ lives .
“ I see it all over the world .
They call it medical graveyards , ” said Dr. Berend Mets , chair of the American Society of Anesthesiologists ’ Committee on Global Humanitarian Outreach .
“ All the equipment is stored in a room and they don ’ t know what to do with it , they don ’ t know how to fix it @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” Most low- and middle-income countries struggling with the pandemic have less need for ventilators than they do for oxygen supplies delivered through simple devices or funding for nurses and doctors , said Dr. Rebecca Inglis , an intensive care doctor who researches care for critically ill patients in places with few resources .
“ Politicians and any other big donor bodies are seduced by the glamour and the glitz of donating high-tech equipment that captures the public imagination , ” she said .
“ People like a fancy-looking donation which they can @ @ @ @ @ @ @ spokeswoman Pooja Jhunjhunwala said the agency is providing the ventilators in response to country requests and is working with countries to assess hospitals ’ ability to “ use ventilators safely and appropriately.
” She said the agency is offering “ targeted technical assistance where needed , ” as well as access to a “ distance-learning portal for health providers.
” White House officials did not respond to questions about the donations .
The USAID memo , which was approved June 11 by senior State Department official James Richardson , offers details of one @ @ @ @ @ @ @ international efforts to fight the pandemic .
Trump has come under criticism for his May announcement that the U.S. would withdraw from the World Health Organization over its coronavirus response , a decision that alarmed public health experts and put the U.S. at odds with its allies .
But the administration has pointed to the ventilator donations and other foreign aid as evidence that it is still leading the global coronavirus response .
The White House ’ s National Security Council and USAID ’ s acting administrator , John Barsa , have frequently @ @ @ @ @ @ @ sharing pictures of USAID-branded boxes headed to Russia , Paraguay , Brazil and elsewhere .
But an internal email sent last month and described to ProPublica indicates the process is plagued by confusion and miscommunication .
A USAID official on the agency ’ s coronavirus task force wrote to other officials that to execute the “ vent work , ” the agency needed to address “ team communications , ” “ leadership expectations ” and “ need for senior engagement.
” The first ventilator shipments had gone out more than a month before @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ re partway through a process where you ’ ve already sent stuff and you want to be sending more and you don ’ t know what you ’ re doing , ” said a USAID official with knowledge of the agency ’ s coronavirus response .
“ It just suggests that you ’ ve got a group of people working in dysfunction.
” And public health experts said that basic equipment such as masks , gloves and diagnostic tests were more urgently needed , although health care workers in several countries with @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Early in the pandemic , USAID restricted the purchase of personal protective equipment by recipients of its funds , and current rules still place limits on such purchases .
“ It is probably even more important that we have PPE out there ( in African health systems ) than ventilators , ” said James Pfeiffer , executive director of Health Alliance International , a public-health nonprofit organization that works in Mozambique , Ivory Coast and East Timor .
The ventilator funding comes from a congressional appropriation to respond to the pandemic .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ being spent on ventilators make up nearly half or more of the funds the agency is spending , according to a separate budget document from mid-June seen by ProPublica .
In Indonesia , 66 % of USAID funds being spent there are going toward ventilators , while in Rwanda , the proportion is nearly half , and in Sri Lanka , it is 44 % .
The ventilators being donated by USAID are made by three companies , ZOLL Medical Corporation , Vyaire and Medtronic , an agency spokesman said .
Jhunjhunwala said @ @ @ @ @ @ @ by the Department of Health and Human Services and the Federal Emergency Management Agency .
The ventilators are being purchased through an existing multibillion-dollar agency contract with a consortium led by Chemonics , a Washington , D.C.-based development consulting firm .
A Chemonics spokeswoman referred questions to USAID .
A spokesman for Vyaire , Patrick O ’ Connor , confirmed that 150 Vyaire ventilators were sent by USAID to Russia , and that at least 50 ventilators were going to South Africa .
He referred other questions to the Trump administration .
A @ @ @ @ @ @ @ said the company is “ honored to be part of the response effort to help meet this urgent need.
” She declined to answer questions .
A Medtronic spokesman referred questions to USAID .
All three companies have also signed contracts to make ventilators for HHS .
As the coronavirus pandemic spread in the U.S. this spring , states scrambled to buy ventilators , fearing that hospitals would be overwhelmed and that virtually all hospitalized COVID-19 patients would need mechanical ventilation .
Within a few weeks after the outbreak , more than half @ @ @ @ @ @ @ U.S. Strategic National Stockpile had been sent to states .
Over time , medical providers have used ventilators more conservatively because of concerns that machines delivered too much pressure and oxygen and could actually harm patients ’ lungs .
But with cases once again surging in the U.S. , officials and experts say hospitals may soon again scramble for the machines .
Congressional aides said they want to know how the administration analyzed domestic and international needs .
“ USAID ’ s procurement of ventilators for other countries will in no way affect @ @ @ @ @ @ @ American people , ” Jhunjhunwala said .
Democratic Sen. Bob Menendez , the ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee , wrote to Barsa last month voicing concern that the initiative “ interjects political agendas into how USAID allocates ” funding .
Throughout the spring , as Trump repeatedly asserted that the U.S. would help other countries in need of ventilators , USAID missions and U.S. embassies routed machine requests through the NSC , the USAID official said .
“ Everything went to the NSC , ” the official said .
Then @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and say , ‘ Here are our priorities.
’ ” The NSC made those decisions with the White House ’ s coronavirus task force , the official added .
Mozambique appears twice on the list and is slated to receive 100 ventilators , according to the document .
Isaias Ramiro , the Mozambique country director for Health Alliance International , said his country had only 44 ventilators when the pandemic began and is now up to 150 after donations from China and elsewhere and purchases by the government .
The country has seen @ @ @ @ @ @ @ according to figures from Johns Hopkins University ’ s Coronavirus Research Center .
The ventilators “ will make a huge difference for the government , ” Ramiro said .
Though the estimated costs given in the memo include “ ventilators and related support , ” the average cost varies widely — from as little as $ 400 each for the 250 ventilators destined for Peru , to more than $ 77,000 each for the 60 ventilators going to the Maldives .
Global health experts said that at least some of the variation is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
The document states explicitly that USAID intends to donate ventilators based not just on need , but also to achieve other objectives .
Donations to Panama and St. Kitts and Nevis , both defined as high-income countries by the World Bank , are being made to “ further the U.S. national-security interest of addressing the COVID-19 pandemic ” and are covered under a “ wealthy-country waiver.
” In May , the White House NSC Twitter account quoted Robert O ’ Brien , Trump ’ s national security adviser , as saying Trump @ @ @ @ @ @ @ as a sign of appreciation of our key partnership.
” The U.S. is also donating 200 ventilators to NATO , made up largely of relatively wealthy European countries , the document states .
Asked about the donation , a NATO spokesman said the alliance is setting up a “ stockpile of medical equipment ” to prepare for a possible second wave of COVID-19 .
Public health experts questioned whether several of the countries receiving ventilators would have the supplies and expertise needed to safely use them .
To be put on a ventilator @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a respiratory therapist or other clinician can insert a breathing tube .
Health care workers must know how much oxygen and pressure to deliver to avoid lung damage .
Throughout a patient ’ s days or weeks on a ventilator , specialists must monitor blood pressure , oxygen levels , kidney functions , caloric intake via feeding tubes and neurological symptoms , said Daniel Rowley , president-elect of the International Council for Respiratory Care and a critical care respiratory therapist .
Hospitals should also have basic disposable items like the corrugated tubes that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ circuits , and access to quality drugs like opiates , antibiotics and neuromuscular blockers .
Jhunjhunwala said USAID ’ s ventilator donations include warranties , accessories and “ limited amounts of consumables.
” “ I ’ m very concerned ( about the USAID donations ) because we know internationally in general people are undertrained in mechanical ventilation , which then puts people in harm ’ s way , ” Rowley said .
A paper by Inglis and her colleagues published last year stated that mortality rates for ventilated patients in low- and middle-income @ @ @ @ @ @ @ countries , and ventilated patients in poorer countries are at greater risk of complications .
Another common problem is equipment breakdown .
O ’ Connor , the Vyaire spokesman , said the company could repair its donated ventilators if they are shipped back to its facility in Palm Springs , California .
A congressional aide said USAID officials did not answer questions about funding for equipment maintenance .
Jhunjhunwala said the agency is “ negotiating service contracts for the donated ventilators if a host government wishes us to do so.
” It is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
The State Department said last month that the U.S. ventilator donation to El Salvador included “ one year of training on their correct use and maintenance.
” Inglis said there may be a handful of places , such as South Africa and Brazil , that have adequate staff and supplies and are genuinely stymied by a shortage of ventilators in the midst of the pandemic .
USAID plans to donate 1,000 ventilators each to the two countries , according to the document .
Ten ventilators each are headed to Nauru and Kiribati @ @ @ @ @ @ @ reported coronavirus cases .
Officials from both countries did not respond to requests for comment .
The WHO said in a 2017 report that Kiribati has “ significant gaps in health services delivery ” including “ deteriorating health facilities with limited bed capacity and frequent shortages of medical equipment and drug supplies.
” Nauru , with a population of around 13,000 , has an “ extremely limited ” intensive care capability and “ would not be able to ventilate more than two people at a time , ” said Nick Martin , a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 2017 .
Afghanistan is set to receive 100 ventilators .
The country has a shortage of health care workers , though it could find personnel to operate more ventilators if they were donated , said Dr. Masood Nasim , deputy medical coordinator for Doctors Without Borders in Afghanistan .
Still , the country ’ s hospitals face dire drug shortages , with patients and their families often forced to purchase high-priced medicines on the private market , he said .
Sullivan , of the Conflict and Health Research Group at King ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ could effectively use 100 new ventilators .
The vast majority of Afghanistan ’ s hospitals don ’ t have “ the medicines , they ’ ve not got the ancillary kits , they ’ ve not got the technical capacity or capability to utilize ” ventilators , he said .

Public health experts said the donations could go to waste or even risk patients’ lives for the sake of a PR stunt.
As President Donald Trump came under criticism that his administration had failed to manage the coronavirus pandemic, he cited one area of success: his plan to donate thousands of ventilators to other countries.
“Now we’re the king of ventilators,” Trump told reporters on April 18.
White House officials have pushed the U.S. Agency for International Development to purchase thousands of the expensive devices from U.S. companies and donate them abroad, according to internal documents, emails seen by or described to ProPublica and interviews with officials. One USAID official recently referred to the project in an internal email as “the POTUS donation of ventilators,” using an acronym for president of the United States.
But the effort has been marked by dysfunction, with little clarity on how countries are chosen or how the ventilators are allocated. A USAID memo seen by ProPublica shows equipment donated to wealthy nations that typically do not get foreign aid, such as NATO countries, and to a few locations ill-equipped to use devices that require round-the-clock staffing and regular maintenance.
The administration’s decisions on ventilator distribution appear to have little correlation to the number of coronavirus deaths or infections in a country. Honduras, which is receiving 100 ventilators, had about 72 confirmed cases per 100,000 people on June 11, the day the plan was approved by a senior State Department official, according to World Health Organization data. Neighboring El Salvador, which is set to receive 600 ventilators, had about 51 cases per 100,000 people at that point. And Vietnam is set to receive 100 ventilators, though the country has had just a few hundred cases in all and no deaths.
“These numbers are too round,” said Richard Sullivan, co-director of the Conflict and Health Research Group at King’s College London, noting that the numbers of ventilators listed in the document are, with just one exception, multiples of 5. “No one has done a proper needs assessment.”
The administration has said it is spending more than $200 million on donating ventilators, a little less than one-fifth of its promised coronavirus-related foreign aid.
But public health experts said that without carefully assessing each country’s health care expertise — and following through to ensure hospitals can keep the machines running — the donations could go to waste or even risk patients’ lives.
“I see it all over the world. They call it medical graveyards,” said Dr. Berend Mets, chair of the American Society of Anesthesiologists’ Committee on Global Humanitarian Outreach. “All the equipment is stored in a room and they don’t know what to do with it, they don’t know how to fix it, and it’s a tragedy.”
Most low- and middle-income countries struggling with the pandemic have less need for ventilators than they do for oxygen supplies delivered through simple devices or funding for nurses and doctors, said Dr. Rebecca Inglis, an intensive care doctor who researches care for critically ill patients in places with few resources.
“Politicians and any other big donor bodies are seduced by the glamour and the glitz of donating high-tech equipment that captures the public imagination,” she said. “People like a fancy-looking donation which they can put a plaque on.”
Acting USAID spokeswoman Pooja Jhunjhunwala said the agency is providing the ventilators in response to country requests and is working with countries to assess hospitals’ ability to “use ventilators safely and appropriately.” She said the agency is offering “targeted technical assistance where needed,” as well as access to a “distance-learning portal for health providers.”
White House officials did not respond to questions about the donations.
The USAID memo, which was approved June 11 by senior State Department official James Richardson, offers details of one of the administration’s highest profile international efforts to fight the pandemic. Trump has come under criticism for his May announcement that the U.S. would withdraw from the World Health Organization over its coronavirus response, a decision that alarmed public health experts and put the U.S. at odds with its allies. But the administration has pointed to the ventilator donations and other foreign aid as evidence that it is still leading the global coronavirus response.
The White House’s National Security Council and USAID’s acting administrator, John Barsa, have frequently posted about the donations on Twitter, sharing pictures of USAID-branded boxes headed to Russia, Paraguay, Brazil and elsewhere.
The U.S. is proud to donate ventilators to #Paraguay, supporting their fight against #COVID19. This donation delivers on the commitment made by President @RealDonaldTrump to President @MaritoAbdo, and shows the generosity of the American people. #AmericaActs pic.twitter.com/mpkjOW8zTL — JBarsaUSAID (@JBarsaUSAID) July 14, 2020
But an internal email sent last month and described to ProPublica indicates the process is plagued by confusion and miscommunication. A USAID official on the agency’s coronavirus task force wrote to other officials that to execute the “vent work,” the agency needed to address “team communications,” “leadership expectations” and “need for senior engagement.” The first ventilator shipments had gone out more than a month before the email was sent.
“You’re partway through a process where you’ve already sent stuff and you want to be sending more and you don’t know what you’re doing,” said a USAID official with knowledge of the agency’s coronavirus response. “It just suggests that you’ve got a group of people working in dysfunction.”
And public health experts said that basic equipment such as masks, gloves and diagnostic tests were more urgently needed, although health care workers in several countries with few ventilators said they would welcome donations. Early in the pandemic, USAID restricted the purchase of personal protective equipment by recipients of its funds, and current rules still place limits on such purchases.
“It is probably even more important that we have PPE out there (in African health systems) than ventilators,” said James Pfeiffer, executive director of Health Alliance International, a public-health nonprofit organization that works in Mozambique, Ivory Coast and East Timor.
The ventilator funding comes from a congressional appropriation to respond to the pandemic. In some countries, the USAID resources being spent on ventilators make up nearly half or more of the funds the agency is spending, according to a separate budget document from mid-June seen by ProPublica. In Indonesia, 66% of USAID funds being spent there are going toward ventilators, while in Rwanda, the proportion is nearly half, and in Sri Lanka, it is 44%.
The ventilators being donated by USAID are made by three companies, ZOLL Medical Corporation, Vyaire and Medtronic, an agency spokesman said. Jhunjhunwala said the agency is working with companies identified by the Department of Health and Human Services and the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
The ventilators are being purchased through an existing multibillion-dollar agency contract with a consortium led by Chemonics, a Washington, D.C.-based development consulting firm. A Chemonics spokeswoman referred questions to USAID.
A spokesman for Vyaire, Patrick O’Connor, confirmed that 150 Vyaire ventilators were sent by USAID to Russia, and that at least 50 ventilators were going to South Africa. He referred other questions to the Trump administration.
A spokeswoman for ZOLL, Diane Egan, said the company is “honored to be part of the response effort to help meet this urgent need.” She declined to answer questions.
A Medtronic spokesman referred questions to USAID. All three companies have also signed contracts to make ventilators for HHS.
As the coronavirus pandemic spread in the U.S. this spring, states scrambled to buy ventilators, fearing that hospitals would be overwhelmed and that virtually all hospitalized COVID-19 patients would need mechanical ventilation. Within a few weeks after the outbreak, more than half of the approximately 13,000 ventilators in the U.S. Strategic National Stockpile had been sent to states.
Over time, medical providers have used ventilators more conservatively because of concerns that machines delivered too much pressure and oxygen and could actually harm patients’ lungs.
But with cases once again surging in the U.S., officials and experts say hospitals may soon again scramble for the machines. Congressional aides said they want to know how the administration analyzed domestic and international needs.
“USAID’s procurement of ventilators for other countries will in no way affect the availability of critical supplies for the American people,” Jhunjhunwala said.
Democratic Sen. Bob Menendez, the ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, wrote to Barsa last month voicing concern that the initiative “interjects political agendas into how USAID allocates” funding.
Throughout the spring, as Trump repeatedly asserted that the U.S. would help other countries in need of ventilators, USAID missions and U.S. embassies routed machine requests through the NSC, the USAID official said.
“Everything went to the NSC,” the official said. Then, “the NSC would come back and say, ‘Here are our priorities.’” The NSC made those decisions with the White House’s coronavirus task force, the official added.
Mozambique appears twice on the list and is slated to receive 100 ventilators, according to the document.
Isaias Ramiro, the Mozambique country director for Health Alliance International, said his country had only 44 ventilators when the pandemic began and is now up to 150 after donations from China and elsewhere and purchases by the government. The country has seen nearly 1,300 cases and nine deaths, according to figures from Johns Hopkins University’s Coronavirus Research Center.
The ventilators “will make a huge difference for the government,” Ramiro said.
Though the estimated costs given in the memo include “ventilators and related support,” the average cost varies widely — from as little as $400 each for the 250 ventilators destined for Peru, to more than $77,000 each for the 60 ventilators going to the Maldives. Global health experts said that at least some of the variation is likely explained by differences in shipping costs.
The document states explicitly that USAID intends to donate ventilators based not just on need, but also to achieve other objectives. Donations to Panama and St. Kitts and Nevis, both defined as high-income countries by the World Bank, are being made to “further the U.S. national-security interest of addressing the COVID-19 pandemic” and are covered under a “wealthy-country waiver.”
In May, the White House NSC Twitter account quoted Robert O’Brien, Trump’s national security adviser, as saying Trump would send St. Kitts the ventilators “as a sign of appreciation of our key partnership.”
The U.S. is also donating 200 ventilators to NATO, made up largely of relatively wealthy European countries, the document states. Asked about the donation, a NATO spokesman said the alliance is setting up a “stockpile of medical equipment” to prepare for a possible second wave of COVID-19.
Public health experts questioned whether several of the countries receiving ventilators would have the supplies and expertise needed to safely use them. To be put on a ventilator, patients must first be sedated so a respiratory therapist or other clinician can insert a breathing tube. Health care workers must know how much oxygen and pressure to deliver to avoid lung damage. Throughout a patient’s days or weeks on a ventilator, specialists must monitor blood pressure, oxygen levels, kidney functions, caloric intake via feeding tubes and neurological symptoms, said Daniel Rowley, president-elect of the International Council for Respiratory Care and a critical care respiratory therapist.
Hospitals should also have basic disposable items like the corrugated tubes that deliver oxygen to patients, known as circuits, and access to quality drugs like opiates, antibiotics and neuromuscular blockers.
Jhunjhunwala said USAID’s ventilator donations include warranties, accessories and “limited amounts of consumables.”
“I’m very concerned (about the USAID donations) because we know internationally in general people are undertrained in mechanical ventilation, which then puts people in harm’s way,” Rowley said.
A paper by Inglis and her colleagues published last year stated that mortality rates for ventilated patients in low- and middle-income countries are much higher than in high-income countries, and ventilated patients in poorer countries are at greater risk of complications.
Another common problem is equipment breakdown. O’Connor, the Vyaire spokesman, said the company could repair its donated ventilators if they are shipped back to its facility in Palm Springs, California. A congressional aide said USAID officials did not answer questions about funding for equipment maintenance.
Jhunjhunwala said the agency is “negotiating service contracts for the donated ventilators if a host government wishes us to do so.” It is unclear if USAID would cover those costs. The State Department said last month that the U.S. ventilator donation to El Salvador included “one year of training on their correct use and maintenance.”
Inglis said there may be a handful of places, such as South Africa and Brazil, that have adequate staff and supplies and are genuinely stymied by a shortage of ventilators in the midst of the pandemic. USAID plans to donate 1,000 ventilators each to the two countries, according to the document.
Ten ventilators each are headed to Nauru and Kiribati, tiny Pacific island nations with no reported coronavirus cases. Officials from both countries did not respond to requests for comment. The WHO said in a 2017 report that Kiribati has “significant gaps in health services delivery” including “deteriorating health facilities with limited bed capacity and frequent shortages of medical equipment and drug supplies.”
Nauru, with a population of around 13,000, has an “extremely limited” intensive care capability and “would not be able to ventilate more than two people at a time,” said Nick Martin, a doctor who worked there in 2016 and 2017.
Afghanistan is set to receive 100 ventilators. The country has a shortage of health care workers, though it could find personnel to operate more ventilators if they were donated, said Dr. Masood Nasim, deputy medical coordinator for Doctors Without Borders in Afghanistan. Still, the country’s hospitals face dire drug shortages, with patients and their families often forced to purchase high-priced medicines on the private market, he said.
Sullivan, of the Conflict and Health Research Group at King’s College London, said he doubts Afghanistan could effectively use 100 new ventilators.
The vast majority of Afghanistan’s hospitals don’t have “the medicines, they’ve not got the ancillary kits, they’ve not got the technical capacity or capability to utilize” ventilators, he said.
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truthout--2020-07-16--Trump Admin Bails Out Oil and Gas Companies That Gave Millions to GOP Groups

When you ’ re in the business of selling something whose value suddenly collapses , as U.S. oil producers were earlier this year in the global slowdown around the coronavirus pandemic , it ’ s helpful to have someone in power to cut your tax rate to near zero and press pause on your leases .
The Trump administration gave generous financial relief to hundreds of oil and gas leases to drill on public lands over the past three months in the form of reductions in rates of royalty payments , as well as beneficial lease suspensions .
Many of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ immense donations to Republican politicians and super PACs in recent years .
The oil companies that received the relief , as well as their executives and parent companies , have given more than $ 10 million to Congressional Leadership Fund ( CLF ) and Senate Leadership Fund ( SLF ) since 2015 , super PACs affiliated with House and Senate Republican leadership , according to a new report out today from the nonpartisan Campaign Legal Center ( CLC ) .
The Interior Department ’ s Bureau of Land Management ( BLM ) had @ @ @ @ @ @ @ leases and lease suspensions for 360 oil leases , according to the Center for Western Priorities ’ ( CWP ’ s ) analysis of BLM data up to June 23 , 2020 that was used in the CLC report .
Oil companies benefited from having their rates of royalty payments slashed from 12.5 % to just 0.5 % and from lease suspensions that allowed them to halt production while oil prices plunged to record lows .
Oil and gas exploration company Samson Resources , for which U.S. Secretary of the Interior David Bernhardt @ @ @ @ @ @ @ granted more than 50 lease suspensions .
Several of the Republican members of Congress who have benefited from the oil companies ’ political spending signed a March 30 letter to Secretary Bernhardt that urged him to reduce the companies ’ royalty payments .
“ [ The oil and gas companies ] are seeking to continue production rather than a bailout and should be given due consideration as such , ” the senators wrote .
“ There is no playbook for the situation we find ourselves in and we must utilize every existing authority.
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ John Cornyn ( R-Tex . )
and Jim Inhofe ( R-Okla. ) , who have received large contributions from oil company The Anschutz Corporation , and Sen. John Barasso ( R-Wyo . )
, who has taken maximum contributions from the chairperson of the Cockrell Oil & Gas company .
BLM granted royalty rate reductions to subsidiary Anschutz Exploration from 12.5 % to 0.5 % on two Wyoming leases it holds or co-holds and lease suspensions on eight Wyoming leases it co-holds .
Cockrell Oil & Gas received a royalty rate reduction from @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Utah lease .
Stephen Chazen , former CEO and current chairperson of Houston-headquartered Occidental Petroleum Corporation , has given $ 1.15 million to the CLF and SLF , chased by $ 1.12 million to a pair of House Republican joint fundraising committees , $ 375,000 to President Trump ’ s joint fundraising committee , and $ 316,600 to Senator Cornyn ’ s joint fundraising committees .
Occidental subsidiary Anadarko E & P Onshore received royalty rate reductions from 12.5 % to 0.5 % on seven Wyoming leases it co-holds , and three other @ @ @ @ @ @ @ lease suspensions .
Two oil giants topping seven figures given to the Republican super PACs were ConocoPhillips and its subsidiary ANS Marketing , which gave $ 2.5 million to CLF and SLF in 2018 and 2019 , and Occidental Petroleum and Anadarko , acquired by Occidental in 2019 , which together gave $ 1.56 million to the groups since 2015 .
“ This appears to be yet another instance of pandemic relief flowing to wealthy special interests that have spent years rigging the political system in their favor , ” writes Senior CLC @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s author .
CLF and SLF are affiliated with House Minority Leader Rep. Kevin McCarthy ( R-Calif. ) and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell ( R-Ky. ) .
As super PACs that are allowed to take donations in unlimited amounts , these groups are supposed to be independent from parties or campaigns .
However , the groups use loopholes in campaign finance laws to work with GOP leadership and target their spending in favor of the party ’ s preferred candidates .
In March , Sludge covered documents revealing that Bernhardt , previously @ @ @ @ @ @ @ dozens of oil , gas , and natural resources companies , met with lobbying groups that represent his former client , oilfield services giant Halliburton , in violation of his ethics agreement .
During Bernhardt ’ s March 2019 confirmation hearing , Democratic Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon raised leaked audio of Big Oil lobbyists celebrating their insider ’ s ascension to the top post at the Interior Department , after his predecessor , Ryan Zinke , was forced to resign following a conflict-of-interest scandal also involving Halliburton .
The BLM ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ previously ran a legal organization called the Mountain States Legal Foundation that received significant funding from the oil , gas , and mining industries while suing the Interior Department on behalf of oil and gas prospectors and dismissing climate change advocates as “ kooks.
” Multiple lawsuits now allege that Pendley ’ s repeat appointments without Senate confirmation , most recently in May of this year , are illegal .
Estimates of the total cost of federal subsidies to the fossil fuel industry use different baselines for calculations : a 2019 Congressional Research @ @ @ @ @ @ @ fiscal support of $ 4.6 billion annually , while a 2018 coalition of groups including the Natural Resources Defense Council and Oil Change International put the total U.S. cost higher , at $ 27.4 billion .
A 2019 working paper by the International Monetary Fund found that , including the costs of all negative externalities to health and climate degradation , U.S. energy subsidies total $ 649 billion annually .
The UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change ( IPCC ) warned of the risk of extreme heat , drought , floods and poverty @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the world implements measures to keep global warming to a maximum of 1.5 degrees Celsius .
Towards this goal , a September 2019 report titled the Exponential Roadmap by an international group of experts outlined a package of 36 developments that civil society can adopt to meet decarbonization milestones by 2030 , which include immediate removal of subsidies from fossil-based power plants and infrastructure .

This article was produced by Sludge, an independent, ad-free investigative news site covering money in politics. Click here to support Sludge.
When you’re in the business of selling something whose value suddenly collapses, as U.S. oil producers were earlier this year in the global slowdown around the coronavirus pandemic, it’s helpful to have someone in power to cut your tax rate to near zero and press pause on your leases.
The Trump administration gave generous financial relief to hundreds of oil and gas leases to drill on public lands over the past three months in the form of reductions in rates of royalty payments, as well as beneficial lease suspensions. Many of the companies that received the relief made immense donations to Republican politicians and super PACs in recent years.
The oil companies that received the relief, as well as their executives and parent companies, have given more than $10 million to Congressional Leadership Fund (CLF) and Senate Leadership Fund (SLF) since 2015, super PACs affiliated with House and Senate Republican leadership, according to a new report out today from the nonpartisan Campaign Legal Center (CLC).
The Interior Department’s Bureau of Land Management (BLM) had disclosed royalty rate reductions for 227 oil leases and lease suspensions for 360 oil leases, according to the Center for Western Priorities’ (CWP’s) analysis of BLM data up to June 23, 2020 that was used in the CLC report. Oil companies benefited from having their rates of royalty payments slashed from 12.5% to just 0.5% and from lease suspensions that allowed them to halt production while oil prices plunged to record lows. Oil and gas exploration company Samson Resources, for which U.S. Secretary of the Interior David Bernhardt was formerly a registered lobbyist, was granted more than 50 lease suspensions.
Several of the Republican members of Congress who have benefited from the oil companies’ political spending signed a March 30 letter to Secretary Bernhardt that urged him to reduce the companies’ royalty payments. “[The oil and gas companies] are seeking to continue production rather than a bailout and should be given due consideration as such,” the senators wrote. “There is no playbook for the situation we find ourselves in and we must utilize every existing authority.”
Among the letter signers were Senators John Cornyn (R-Tex.) and Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.), who have received large contributions from oil company The Anschutz Corporation, and Sen. John Barasso (R-Wyo.), who has taken maximum contributions from the chairperson of the Cockrell Oil & Gas company. BLM granted royalty rate reductions to subsidiary Anschutz Exploration from 12.5% to 0.5% on two Wyoming leases it holds or co-holds and lease suspensions on eight Wyoming leases it co-holds. Cockrell Oil & Gas received a royalty rate reduction from 12.5% to 5% on a Utah lease.
Stephen Chazen, former CEO and current chairperson of Houston-headquartered Occidental Petroleum Corporation, has given $1.15 million to the CLF and SLF, chased by $1.12 million to a pair of House Republican joint fundraising committees, $375,000 to President Trump’s joint fundraising committee, and $316,600 to Senator Cornyn’s joint fundraising committees. Occidental subsidiary Anadarko E&P Onshore received royalty rate reductions from 12.5% to 0.5% on seven Wyoming leases it co-holds, and three other Occidental subsidiaries received rate reductions or favorable lease suspensions.
Two oil giants topping seven figures given to the Republican super PACs were ConocoPhillips and its subsidiary ANS Marketing, which gave $2.5 million to CLF and SLF in 2018 and 2019, and Occidental Petroleum and Anadarko, acquired by Occidental in 2019, which together gave $1.56 million to the groups since 2015.
“This appears to be yet another instance of pandemic relief flowing to wealthy special interests that have spent years rigging the political system in their favor,” writes Senior CLC Researcher Maggie Christ, the report’s author.
CLF and SLF are affiliated with House Minority Leader Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.). As super PACs that are allowed to take donations in unlimited amounts, these groups are supposed to be independent from parties or campaigns. However, the groups use loopholes in campaign finance laws to work with GOP leadership and target their spending in favor of the party’s preferred candidates.
In March, Sludge covered documents revealing that Bernhardt, previously a lobbyist and attorney whose clients included dozens of oil, gas, and natural resources companies, met with lobbying groups that represent his former client, oilfield services giant Halliburton, in violation of his ethics agreement. During Bernhardt’s March 2019 confirmation hearing, Democratic Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon raised leaked audio of Big Oil lobbyists celebrating their insider’s ascension to the top post at the Interior Department, after his predecessor, Ryan Zinke, was forced to resign following a conflict-of-interest scandal also involving Halliburton.
The BLM’s acting director, William Perry Pendley, previously ran a legal organization called the Mountain States Legal Foundation that received significant funding from the oil, gas, and mining industries while suing the Interior Department on behalf of oil and gas prospectors and dismissing climate change advocates as “kooks.” Multiple lawsuits now allege that Pendley’s repeat appointments without Senate confirmation, most recently in May of this year, are illegal.
Estimates of the total cost of federal subsidies to the fossil fuel industry use different baselines for calculations: a 2019 Congressional Research Service report on energy subsidies found direct fiscal support of $4.6 billion annually, while a 2018 coalition of groups including the Natural Resources Defense Council and Oil Change International put the total U.S. cost higher, at $27.4 billion. A 2019 working paper by the International Monetary Fund found that, including the costs of all negative externalities to health and climate degradation, U.S. energy subsidies total $649 billion annually.
The UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) warned of the risk of extreme heat, drought, floods and poverty in a major October 218 report unless the world implements measures to keep global warming to a maximum of 1.5 degrees Celsius. Towards this goal, a September 2019 report titled the Exponential Roadmap by an international group of experts outlined a package of 36 developments that civil society can adopt to meet decarbonization milestones by 2030, which include immediate removal of subsidies from fossil-based power plants and infrastructure.
Tired of reading the same old news from the same old sources? So are we! That’s why we’re on a mission to shake things up and bring you the stories and perspectives that often go untold in mainstream media. But being a radically, unapologetically independent news site isn’t easy (or cheap), and we rely on reader support to keep the lights on.
If you like what you’re reading, please consider making a tax-deductible donation today. We’re not asking for a handout, we’re asking for an investment: Invest in a nonprofit news site that’s not afraid to ruffle a few feathers, not afraid to stand up for what’s right, and not afraid to tell it like it is.
This piece was reprinted by Truthout with permission or license. It may not be reproduced in any form without permission or license from the source.


truthout--2020-07-16--Racial Disparities in Science and Math Education Are Hurting Black Communities

In conjunction with the global uprising against white supremacy and the ongoing murder of Black people by police , academics and educators are mobilizing to bring awareness to deep educational disparities around science and math education for Black students and other students of color — a dynamic that perpetuates structural inequalities along racial lines .
Science , technology , engineering and math ( STEM ) university departments remain disproportionately white , and that dynamic carries over into STEM-related careers in both public and private sectors .
The lack of representation at school and work can be a heavy weight to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the first African American to earn a Ph.D. in biomedical sciences from Florida State University ( FSU ) , who is now an ethics fellow at the American Society for Microbiology .
Jones began her graduate studies at FSU two months after 17-year-old Trayvon Martin was killed by George Zimmerman in Sanford , Florida , and three months before 17-year-old Jordan Davis was killed by Michael Dunn in Jacksonville , Florida .
Jones says being the only Black person in her department and having no one in arm ’ s reach to talk @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a very traumatic transition into her graduate studies .
“ At first I thought I needed to keep it to myself and just get through the program.
” While she soon found mentors in fellow Black academics like Dr. Adrienne Stephenson and Dr. Regina Knight-Mason , the shadow of racial discrimination in the halls of science followed Jones through her degree and postdoc .
Once , while working in her lab , Jones was mistaken for the janitorial staff .
Another time , she recalls having to put up with an Asian American @ @ @ @ @ @ @ about sharing a centrifuge .
Ongoing demeaning experiences is what makes being Black in STEM fields “ exhausting , ” says Dr. Aisha Lawrey , senior director of programs and scholarships at the National Action Council for Minorities in Engineering .
On the ride up to a lecture she once gave on the importance of diversity in curriculum design , an elevator full of older white male colleagues complained about how the event they were about to attend — the talk she was giving — was going to be a waste of time @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and proceeded to the front of the lecture hall , where she watched the men ’ s jaws drop .
“ They didn ’ t even consider the fact that I would be teaching , ” she says , explaining how she shared what had just happened in real time as part of her presentation .
“ I ’ m not the person bringing your coffee , I ’ m actually the instructor , ” she told the crowd .
The struggle in STEM starts much earlier , says Shakiyla Huggins , a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ at Boise State University .
Huggins was the only Black teacher at a middle school where she taught math in North Carolina .
There , she became aware that a science teacher , who was white , taught an annual lesson on the cotton gin .
The teacher would order bags of cotton off of Amazon and have students , the majority of whom were Black , race to the front of the room as part of the activity , to see how fast they could “ pick ” it .
“ Do @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ?
” Huggins asked the other teacher .
That burden — having to teach non-Black colleagues how to not be racist and make STEM training more appealing to Black students and other students of color — takes a measurable toll .
According to the journal Nature , the uncompensated time Black and other academics and educators of color are asked to spend working on budget-less “ diversity ” initiatives constitutes a “ minority tax.
” The obligations take away countless hours the faculty members might otherwise spend on research and writing , which @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 10 percent less likely than white colleagues to get research funding from the U.S. National Institute of Health .
Researchers including Dr. Yasmiyn Irizarry have characterized the resulting phenomenon as “ opportunity hoarding , ” positing that it happens more in STEM fields than in other fields .
Lauren Chambers is a Yale University astronomy graduate who recently left a job at the Space Telescope Science Institute because of these dynamics .
In a “ break-up letter ” she published on Medium after switching career trajectories , Chambers wrote : “ Just three @ @ @ @ @ @ @ accrued countless stories of dear Black and Brown friends who have been literally abandoned by their graduate advisors ; Black and Brown friends who have been yelled at by research advisors ; Black and Brown friends who have faced both colorism and sexism from mentors ; Black and Brown friends who have been forced to change jobs due to lies from their bosses ; Black and Brown friends who have been underpaid by their advisors compared to white peers.
” Ultimately , Chambers cites her reason for leaving the field as “ the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ members , and to acknowledge the terrestrial effects of our celestial research.
” The disproportionate underrepresentation of Black people in STEM is not only egregious , it ’ s deadly .
The disparity is one reason behind the unequal siting of toxic waste facilities and coal-burning power plants near low-income Black and Brown communities , president of the NAACP ’ s environmental and climate justice program , Jacqueline Patterson , tells Truthout .
“ So often we have permitting processes that are designed by polluters , ” she says .
Uneven engagement of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to fewer students of color in positions with energy companies , for instance , or on city planning and zoning boards .
“ And that creates a pipeline to those boards that structurally omits the folks who are most impacted , ” Patterson says .
If a neighborhood group does decide to fight the siting of a nearby polluting project , with fewer community members trained in STEM , it can be difficult to attend a public meeting and try to “ go toe-to-toe with someone who is speaking so much jargon that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , ” she says .
In addition to the disparate siting of cancer- and asthma-causing plants and pipelines near Black and Brown communities , fewer Black physicians translates to poorer health outcomes for Black patients — which has been particularly devastating and laid bare amid the COVID-19 pandemic .
An April 2020 study in the journal Health Equity suggests that implicit physician bias may contribute to the unequal number of African American COVID-19 patients who die from the disease , by way of an elevated use of “ do not resuscitate ” orders @ @ @ @ @ @ @ African Americans make up 29 percent of the city ’ s population , but 70 percent of all COVID-related deaths .
The STEM disparity is also a major loss for society , says Dr. Nathan Smith , professor of pediatrics , pharmacology and physiology at George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences .
“ When we get students of color in labs and they ’ re not treated as human , we lose them , they go out and do something else , ” Smith told attendees .
“ We have @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , HIV or anything else.
” Smith says it ’ s the responsibility of individual professors but also whole STEM departments to promote Black people to compensated positions of power , to show students of color that science can indeed offer a welcoming environment .
Institutions have the power to improve immediately , says Dr. Jones , who is also a co-organizer of a new ongoing event called “ STEMing While Black ” — an effort to make 18 Black STEM experts and researchers available to answer questions for up-and-coming students and professionals @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in their departments .
The event is composed of a free virtual series of panels , remote field trips and science lessons intended to support parents in delivering opportunities to help their kids keep up with science while stuck at home amid the ongoing global pandemic .
The event joins other recent initiatives on social media platforms that call attention to inequity in academia under hashtags like # BlackInTheIvory , # ShutDownSTEM and # BlackInAstro .
It attracted 300 registrants for its first session in June , during which Black STEMers including Stephenson @ @ @ @ @ @ @ tips on how they ’ ve coped with and combated racism in academic programs and careers , like the importance of learning to say “ no , ” and practicing how to call out non-Black colleagues on microaggressions .
The second session takes place on July 18 .
Dr. Jones started her new job at the American Society of Microbiology amid the pandemic , in March .
For the first time in her professional experience , Juneteenth was recognized as a holiday at work , coming less than a week after the organization @ @ @ @ @ @ @ world for a # ShutDownSTEM strike , halting research operations to call attention to inequities in STEM .
“ Now , having this opportunity to freely express how I feel as an employee about the fact that George Floyd was killed … is completely different than 2012 when I felt like I needed to keep it to myself , ” she says .
Note : An update has been made to correctly state the racial identity of one of the colleagues mentioned by Dr. Jones .

In conjunction with the global uprising against white supremacy and the ongoing murder of Black people by police, academics and educators are mobilizing to bring awareness to deep educational disparities around science and math education for Black students and other students of color — a dynamic that perpetuates structural inequalities along racial lines.
Science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) university departments remain disproportionately white, and that dynamic carries over into STEM-related careers in both public and private sectors. The lack of representation at school and work can be a heavy weight to bear, says Dr. Lataisia Jones, the first African American to earn a Ph.D. in biomedical sciences from Florida State University (FSU), who is now an ethics fellow at the American Society for Microbiology.
Jones began her graduate studies at FSU two months after 17-year-old Trayvon Martin was killed by George Zimmerman in Sanford, Florida, and three months before 17-year-old Jordan Davis was killed by Michael Dunn in Jacksonville, Florida. Jones says being the only Black person in her department and having no one in arm’s reach to talk with about what had just happened was a very traumatic transition into her graduate studies. “At first I thought I needed to keep it to myself and just get through the program.”
While she soon found mentors in fellow Black academics like Dr. Adrienne Stephenson and Dr. Regina Knight-Mason, the shadow of racial discrimination in the halls of science followed Jones through her degree and postdoc. Once, while working in her lab, Jones was mistaken for the janitorial staff. Another time, she recalls having to put up with an Asian American colleague screaming at her over a misunderstanding about sharing a centrifuge.
Ongoing demeaning experiences is what makes being Black in STEM fields “exhausting,” says Dr. Aisha Lawrey, senior director of programs and scholarships at the National Action Council for Minorities in Engineering. On the ride up to a lecture she once gave on the importance of diversity in curriculum design, an elevator full of older white male colleagues complained about how the event they were about to attend — the talk she was giving — was going to be a waste of time. She remained silent on the elevator and proceeded to the front of the lecture hall, where she watched the men’s jaws drop. “They didn’t even consider the fact that I would be teaching,” she says, explaining how she shared what had just happened in real time as part of her presentation. “I’m not the person bringing your coffee, I’m actually the instructor,” she told the crowd.
The struggle in STEM starts much earlier, says Shakiyla Huggins, a high school math teacher and doctoral candidate at Boise State University. Huggins was the only Black teacher at a middle school where she taught math in North Carolina. There, she became aware that a science teacher, who was white, taught an annual lesson on the cotton gin. The teacher would order bags of cotton off of Amazon and have students, the majority of whom were Black, race to the front of the room as part of the activity, to see how fast they could “pick” it. “Do you not understand how insensitive that is?” Huggins asked the other teacher.
That burden — having to teach non-Black colleagues how to not be racist and make STEM training more appealing to Black students and other students of color — takes a measurable toll.
That burden — having to teach non-Black colleagues how to not be racist and make STEM training more appealing to Black students and other students of color — takes a measurable toll. According to the journal Nature, the uncompensated time Black and other academics and educators of color are asked to spend working on budget-less “diversity” initiatives constitutes a “minority tax.” The obligations take away countless hours the faculty members might otherwise spend on research and writing, which may explain why African American scientists are 10 percent less likely than white colleagues to get research funding from the U.S. National Institute of Health. Researchers including Dr. Yasmiyn Irizarry have characterized the resulting phenomenon as “opportunity hoarding,” positing that it happens more in STEM fields than in other fields.
Lauren Chambers is a Yale University astronomy graduate who recently left a job at the Space Telescope Science Institute because of these dynamics. In a “break-up letter” she published on Medium after switching career trajectories, Chambers wrote: “Just three years out of undergrad, I have accrued countless stories of dear Black and Brown friends who have been literally abandoned by their graduate advisors; Black and Brown friends who have been yelled at by research advisors; Black and Brown friends who have faced both colorism and sexism from mentors; Black and Brown friends who have been forced to change jobs due to lies from their bosses; Black and Brown friends who have been underpaid by their advisors compared to white peers.” Ultimately, Chambers cites her reason for leaving the field as “the inability of astronomers to be respectful community members, and to acknowledge the terrestrial effects of our celestial research.”
The disproportionate underrepresentation of Black people in STEM is not only egregious, it’s deadly. The disparity is one reason behind the unequal siting of toxic waste facilities and coal-burning power plants near low-income Black and Brown communities, president of the NAACP’s environmental and climate justice program, Jacqueline Patterson, tells Truthout. “So often we have permitting processes that are designed by polluters,” she says. Uneven engagement of students of color in STEM fields leads to fewer students of color in positions with energy companies, for instance, or on city planning and zoning boards. “And that creates a pipeline to those boards that structurally omits the folks who are most impacted,” Patterson says. If a neighborhood group does decide to fight the siting of a nearby polluting project, with fewer community members trained in STEM, it can be difficult to attend a public meeting and try to “go toe-to-toe with someone who is speaking so much jargon that it makes one’s head spin,” she says.
African American scientists are 10 percent less likely than white colleagues to get research funding from the U.S. National Institute of Health.
In addition to the disparate siting of cancer- and asthma-causing plants and pipelines near Black and Brown communities, fewer Black physicians translates to poorer health outcomes for Black patients — which has been particularly devastating and laid bare amid the COVID-19 pandemic. An April 2020 study in the journal Health Equity suggests that implicit physician bias may contribute to the unequal number of African American COVID-19 patients who die from the disease, by way of an elevated use of “do not resuscitate” orders for Black patients. In Chicago, African Americans make up 29 percent of the city’s population, but 70 percent of all COVID-related deaths.
The STEM disparity is also a major loss for society, says Dr. Nathan Smith, professor of pediatrics, pharmacology and physiology at George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences. “When we get students of color in labs and they’re not treated as human, we lose them, they go out and do something else,” Smith told attendees. “We have lost that person that could cure cancer, HIV or anything else.” Smith says it’s the responsibility of individual professors but also whole STEM departments to promote Black people to compensated positions of power, to show students of color that science can indeed offer a welcoming environment.
Institutions have the power to improve immediately, says Dr. Jones, who is also a co-organizer of a new ongoing event called “STEMing While Black” — an effort to make 18 Black STEM experts and researchers available to answer questions for up-and-coming students and professionals in STEM fields interested in anti-racist work in their departments. The event is composed of a free virtual series of panels, remote field trips and science lessons intended to support parents in delivering opportunities to help their kids keep up with science while stuck at home amid the ongoing global pandemic. The event joins other recent initiatives on social media platforms that call attention to inequity in academia under hashtags like #BlackInTheIvory, #ShutDownSTEM and #BlackInAstro. It attracted 300 registrants for its first session in June, during which Black STEMers including Stephenson, Lawrey, Huggins and Smith shared tips on how they’ve coped with and combated racism in academic programs and careers, like the importance of learning to say “no,” and practicing how to call out non-Black colleagues on microaggressions. The second session takes place on July 18.
Dr. Jones started her new job at the American Society of Microbiology amid the pandemic, in March. For the first time in her professional experience, Juneteenth was recognized as a holiday at work, coming less than a week after the organization joined thousands of other institutions across the world for a #ShutDownSTEM strike, halting research operations to call attention to inequities in STEM. “Now, having this opportunity to freely express how I feel as an employee about the fact that George Floyd was killed … is completely different than 2012 when I felt like I needed to keep it to myself,” she says.
Note: An update has been made to correctly state the racial identity of one of the colleagues mentioned by Dr. Jones.
Tired of reading the same old news from the same old sources? So are we! That’s why we’re on a mission to shake things up and bring you the stories and perspectives that often go untold in mainstream media. But being a radically, unapologetically independent news site isn’t easy (or cheap), and we rely on reader support to keep the lights on.
If you like what you’re reading, please consider making a tax-deductible donation today. We’re not asking for a handout, we’re asking for an investment: Invest in a nonprofit news site that’s not afraid to ruffle a few feathers, not afraid to stand up for what’s right, and not afraid to tell it like it is.
Copyright © Truthout. May not be reprinted without permission.


truthout--2020-07-15--“I Just Want To Do My Job,” Says Fauci in Response to White House Smear Campaign

Anthony Fauci , the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and a member of the White House ’ s coronavirus task force , expressed dismay at what he called “ bizarre ” attempts to discredit him by members of the Trump administration .
Earlier this week , a memo was leaked from the White House to reporters that stated the administration would soon be making attempts to disparage Fauci ’ s credentials as a trusted voice on COVID-19 .
The memo stated in part that “ several White House officials are concerned about the number of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ things.
” In one example , the document cited an interview Fauci had given in February where he had stated , “ at this moment , there is no need to change anything that you ’ re doing on a day-by-day basis.
” But the memo also edited Fauci ’ s remarks to advance its critique of the public health expert .
In that example , for instance , Fauci ’ s other words were omitted — including his warning that if the disease wasn ’ t taken seriously , the situation on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ this week to The Atlantic for an interview that was published on Wednesday , Fauci said the remarks directed toward him from the Trump White House were “ totally wrong.
” He also described himself as bewildered over why the attacks had come about in the first place .
“ I can not figure out in my wildest dreams why they would want to do that , ” he said .
“ I think they realize now that that was not a prudent thing to do , because it ’ s only reflecting @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Peter Navarro , an adviser to the president who wrote a scathing op-ed against Fauci that was published on Wednesday , as someone he “ can ’ t explain ” and who is “ in a world by himself.
” “ It ’ s nonsense .
It ’ s completely wrong .
The whole thing is wrong .
The whole thing is incorrect , ” Fauci said of the attacks against him .
Even though he pushed back against criticisms , Fauci remained committed to looking for the good in the administration .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ reasonable people in the White House , they realize that was a major mistake on their part ” to attack him , he said , “ because it doesn ’ t do anything but reflect poorly on them.
” Fauci also described a recent meeting with White House chief of staff Mark Meadows , who spoke directly with the infectious diseases expert about the memo .
Fauci ’ s conversation with Meadows seemed to demonstrate he cared more about helping the administration than repairing the damage caused to his image .
“ I @ @ @ @ @ @ @ good thing to do , ” Fauci told The Atlantic .
“ Ultimately , it hurts the president to do that .
When the staff lets out something like that and the entire scientific and press community push back on it , it ultimately hurts the president .
And I don ’ t really want to hurt the president.
” Meadows did not offer him an apology on behalf of the White House , Fauci said .
He added that he has no intention of quitting his post , particularly during a pandemic @ @ @ @ @ @ @ too important for me to get into those kinds of thoughts and discussions .
I just want to do my job , ” he said .
Still , Fauci expressed at least a slight bit of aggravation toward the White House ’ s recent actions .
“ I wish we didn ’ t have a lot of those distractions , which I think are noise that gets in the way .
But I put that aside , try not to let it bother me , and just move ahead , ” he added @ @ @ @ @ @ @ his opinion across to members of the coronavirus task force , who then relay them to the president , he also acknowledged that his interactions with Trump himself have come to a halt .
For what reason , Fauci did not seem to know .
In a separate interview last week with The Financial Times , Fauci said he hadn ’ t briefed the president on coronavirus for months , and that the last time he even saw Trump at the White House was on June 2 .

Fauci also said he doesn’t understand why his conversations with Trump have stopped.
Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and a member of the White House’s coronavirus task force, expressed dismay at what he called “bizarre” attempts to discredit him by members of the Trump administration.
Earlier this week, a memo was leaked from the White House to reporters that stated the administration would soon be making attempts to disparage Fauci’s credentials as a trusted voice on COVID-19.
The memo stated in part that “several White House officials are concerned about the number of times Dr. Fauci has been wrong on things.” In one example, the document cited an interview Fauci had given in February where he had stated, “at this moment, there is no need to change anything that you’re doing on a day-by-day basis.”
But the memo also edited Fauci’s remarks to advance its critique of the public health expert. In that example, for instance, Fauci’s other words were omitted — including his warning that if the disease wasn’t taken seriously, the situation on the ground could change.
Speaking earlier this week to The Atlantic for an interview that was published on Wednesday, Fauci said the remarks directed toward him from the Trump White House were “totally wrong.” He also described himself as bewildered over why the attacks had come about in the first place.
“I cannot figure out in my wildest dreams why they would want to do that,” he said. “I think they realize now that that was not a prudent thing to do, because it’s only reflecting negatively on them.”
Fauci also described Peter Navarro, an adviser to the president who wrote a scathing op-ed against Fauci that was published on Wednesday, as someone he “can’t explain” and who is “in a world by himself.”
“It’s nonsense. It’s completely wrong. The whole thing is wrong. The whole thing is incorrect,” Fauci said of the attacks against him.
Even though he pushed back against criticisms, Fauci remained committed to looking for the good in the administration. “I think if you talk to reasonable people in the White House, they realize that was a major mistake on their part” to attack him, he said, “because it doesn’t do anything but reflect poorly on them.”
Fauci also described a recent meeting with White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, who spoke directly with the infectious diseases expert about the memo. Fauci’s conversation with Meadows seemed to demonstrate he cared more about helping the administration than repairing the damage caused to his image.
“I said that that was not particularly a good thing to do,” Fauci told The Atlantic. “Ultimately, it hurts the president to do that. When the staff lets out something like that and the entire scientific and press community push back on it, it ultimately hurts the president. And I don’t really want to hurt the president.”
Meadows did not offer him an apology on behalf of the White House, Fauci said.
He added that he has no intention of quitting his post, particularly during a pandemic. “I think the problem is too important for me to get into those kinds of thoughts and discussions. I just want to do my job,” he said.
Still, Fauci expressed at least a slight bit of aggravation toward the White House’s recent actions.
“I wish we didn’t have a lot of those distractions, which I think are noise that gets in the way. But I put that aside, try not to let it bother me, and just move ahead,” he added.
While Fauci said he still gets his opinion across to members of the coronavirus task force, who then relay them to the president, he also acknowledged that his interactions with Trump himself have come to a halt. For what reason, Fauci did not seem to know.
In a separate interview last week with The Financial Times, Fauci said he hadn’t briefed the president on coronavirus for months, and that the last time he even saw Trump at the White House was on June 2.
Tired of reading the same old news from the same old sources? So are we! That’s why we’re on a mission to shake things up and bring you the stories and perspectives that often go untold in mainstream media. But being a radically, unapologetically independent news site isn’t easy (or cheap), and we rely on reader support to keep the lights on.
If you like what you’re reading, please consider making a tax-deductible donation today. We’re not asking for a handout, we’re asking for an investment: Invest in a nonprofit news site that’s not afraid to ruffle a few feathers, not afraid to stand up for what’s right, and not afraid to tell it like it is.
Copyright © Truthout. May not be reprinted without permission.


truthout--2020-07-16--COVID Information Is Already Disappearing After Trump Shifts Control From CDC

Data that was once made available to the general public is no longer accessible on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ( CDC ) website .
Data trackers noticed the missing data following an announcement earlier this week from the Trump administration that the information previously collected by that agency would instead be sent to the Department of Health and Human Services ( HHS ) from this point forward .
The data that was removed included information on availability for hospital beds , ICU units , and more .
Ryan Panchadsaram , who runs the data-tracking site Covid Exit @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , and discussed his concerns about the matter with CNBC .
“ We were surprised because the modules that we normally go to were empty , ” Panchadsaram said .
“ The data wasn ’ t available and not there.
” “ There was no warning ” about the information being removed from the website , he added .
The website Panchadsaram manages took note of the lost data in a message on its main page earlier this week .
“ Unfortunately our data source for ICUs and beds has been removed by @ @ @ @ @ @ @ loss of critical public health information is temporary , ” Covid Exit Strategy wrote .
“ HHS is instituting a new process for collecting information from hospitals .
The aggregate data from that system should be made public.
” Later , the CDC restored the old data that had been on the site , but added a new disclaimer , stating that it would no longer be updated after July 14 .
HHS spokesperson Michael Caputo stressed that the information would be made available to the public shortly .
The department “ is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ public about the information it is collecting on the coronavirus , ” Caputo said .
CDC director Robert Redfield also tried to defend the change in a conference call on Wednesday .
“ No one is taking access or data away from CDC , ” Redfield said to reporters .
But critics of the change in how that information is obtained expressed skepticism that the Trump administration would be equally transparent about the data , given the tendency of the White House to push politics over health concerns during the coronavirus pandemic so @ @ @ @ @ @ @ hard not to see this as some kind of interference or snub [ to ] the CDC , ” University of Arizona epidemiologist Saskia Popescu told NPR .
“ With so many concerns over the politicization of data right now , this is concerning.
” Sen. Patty Murray ( D-Washington ) also sounded alarm bells at the sudden change .
“ It ’ s entirely unclear why the Trump Administration has asked states and hospitals to upend their reporting systems in the middle of a pandemic — in 48 hours nonetheless — without @ @ @ @ @ @ @ new system is better or necessary , ” she said in a statement Wednesday .

Information on hospital beds and ICU availability was noticeably absent after the change was announced.
Data that was once made available to the general public is no longer accessible on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) website.
Data trackers noticed the missing data following an announcement earlier this week from the Trump administration that the information previously collected by that agency would instead be sent to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) from this point forward.
The data that was removed included information on availability for hospital beds, ICU units, and more.
Ryan Panchadsaram, who runs the data-tracking site Covid Exit Strategy, noticed the removal on Tuesday, and discussed his concerns about the matter with CNBC.
“We were surprised because the modules that we normally go to were empty,” Panchadsaram said. “The data wasn’t available and not there.”
“There was no warning” about the information being removed from the website, he added.
The website Panchadsaram manages took note of the lost data in a message on its main page earlier this week.
“Unfortunately our data source for ICUs and beds has been removed by the CDC. Our hope is this loss of critical public health information is temporary,” Covid Exit Strategy wrote. “HHS is instituting a new process for collecting information from hospitals. The aggregate data from that system should be made public.”
Later, the CDC restored the old data that had been on the site, but added a new disclaimer, stating that it would no longer be updated after July 14.
HHS spokesperson Michael Caputo stressed that the information would be made available to the public shortly.
The department “is committed to being transparent with the American public about the information it is collecting on the coronavirus,” Caputo said.
CDC director Robert Redfield also tried to defend the change in a conference call on Wednesday. “No one is taking access or data away from CDC,” Redfield said to reporters.
But critics of the change in how that information is obtained expressed skepticism that the Trump administration would be equally transparent about the data, given the tendency of the White House to push politics over health concerns during the coronavirus pandemic so far.
“It’s really hard not to see this as some kind of interference or snub [to] the CDC,” University of Arizona epidemiologist Saskia Popescu told NPR. “With so many concerns over the politicization of data right now, this is concerning.”
Sen. Patty Murray (D-Washington) also sounded alarm bells at the sudden change.
“It’s entirely unclear why the Trump Administration has asked states and hospitals to upend their reporting systems in the middle of a pandemic — in 48 hours nonetheless — without a single explanation as to why this new system is better or necessary,” she said in a statement Wednesday.
Tired of reading the same old news from the same old sources? So are we! That’s why we’re on a mission to shake things up and bring you the stories and perspectives that often go untold in mainstream media. But being a radically, unapologetically independent news site isn’t easy (or cheap), and we rely on reader support to keep the lights on.
If you like what you’re reading, please consider making a tax-deductible donation today. We’re not asking for a handout, we’re asking for an investment: Invest in a nonprofit news site that’s not afraid to ruffle a few feathers, not afraid to stand up for what’s right, and not afraid to tell it like it is.
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truthout--2020-07-17--Trump’s Press Secretary Wants Science to Get Out of the Way of School Reopenings

While speaking to reporters on Thursday afternoon , White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany insisted that schools should reopen across the country this fall , even as coronavirus rates continue to spike to record highs in several U.S. states .
McEnany ’ s statements appeared to endorse a return to school for students in spite of what science has to say .
But she also contradicted herself in later statements , arguing that science supported the administration ’ s views .
“ The president has said unmistakably that he wants schools to open , ” McEnany said .
“ And @ @ @ @ @ @ @ open in full , kids being able to attend each and every day at their school.
” “ The science should not stand in the way of this , ” she added , suggesting that schools should reopen even if studies demonstrate it ’ s unsafe to do so .
Later on in the same press briefing , however , McEnany explained that , in her mind , reopening schools was an idea that was backed up by science .
“ The science is very clear on this , ” McEnany said , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the “ risk of critical illness from COVID is far less for children than that of seasonal flu.
” Numbers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ( CDC ) in late June , however , say otherwise , demonstrating that death rates for children from coronavirus were higher than estimates for how many kids died from the flu this year .
Indeed , among children 5-17 years old , COVID-19 is around three times more deadlier than the flu , according to the CDC ’ s figures .
While children do @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for contracting COVID-19 , it ’ s not impossible for them to do so , and to possibly suffer other medical ailments ( beyond those specifically associated with the disease ) as a result .
The CDC itself has a list of recommendations for reopening schools in a safer way , including requiring masks for most students , keeping distance between students in classrooms and in hallways , and transportation suggestions such as having kids occupy every-other seat on a bus .
Those ideas were lambasted , however , by President Donald Trump @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The president described them as too “ impractical , ” as well as too “ tough & expensive ” for districts to handle .
According to the CDC website , the recommendations they listed are just that — suggestions for districts to consider .
“ These considerations are meant to supplement — not replace — any state , local , territorial , or tribal health and safety laws , rules , and regulations with which schools must comply , ” the agency wrote on its website , implying that it ’ s also @ @ @ @ @ @ @ themselves whether it ’ s safe or not to reopen .
Polling on the issue of reopening schools finds that a majority of Americans are against doing so .
Just 38 percent of respondents in a Politico/Morning Consult poll released this week said they were supportive of kids returning to classrooms in the fall , while 53 percent said they were opposed to the idea .

Most Americans don’t want kids to return to classrooms yet, according to a poll from earlier this week.
While speaking to reporters on Thursday afternoon, White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany insisted that schools should reopen across the country this fall, even as coronavirus rates continue to spike to record highs in several U.S. states.
McEnany’s statements appeared to endorse a return to school for students in spite of what science has to say. But she also contradicted herself in later statements, arguing that science supported the administration’s views.
“The president has said unmistakably that he wants schools to open,” McEnany said. “And when he says open, he means open in full, kids being able to attend each and every day at their school.”
“The science should not stand in the way of this,” she added, suggesting that schools should reopen even if studies demonstrate it’s unsafe to do so.
Later on in the same press briefing, however, McEnany explained that, in her mind, reopening schools was an idea that was backed up by science.
“The science is very clear on this,” McEnany said, citing a study that she claimed showed the “risk of critical illness from COVID is far less for children than that of seasonal flu.”
Numbers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in late June, however, say otherwise, demonstrating that death rates for children from coronavirus were higher than estimates for how many kids died from the flu this year. Indeed, among children 5-17 years old, COVID-19 is around three times more deadlier than the flu, according to the CDC’s figures.
While children do appear to be at a lower risk for contracting COVID-19, it’s not impossible for them to do so, and to possibly suffer other medical ailments (beyond those specifically associated with the disease) as a result.
The CDC itself has a list of recommendations for reopening schools in a safer way, including requiring masks for most students, keeping distance between students in classrooms and in hallways, and transportation suggestions such as having kids occupy every-other seat on a bus.
Those ideas were lambasted, however, by President Donald Trump in a tweet earlier this month. The president described them as too “impractical,” as well as too “tough & expensive” for districts to handle.
According to the CDC website, the recommendations they listed are just that — suggestions for districts to consider. “These considerations are meant to supplement — not replace — any state, local, territorial, or tribal health and safety laws, rules, and regulations with which schools must comply,” the agency wrote on its website, implying that it’s also acceptable for school districts to determine for themselves whether it’s safe or not to reopen.
Polling on the issue of reopening schools finds that a majority of Americans are against doing so. Just 38 percent of respondents in a Politico/Morning Consult poll released this week said they were supportive of kids returning to classrooms in the fall, while 53 percent said they were opposed to the idea.
Tired of reading the same old news from the same old sources? So are we! That’s why we’re on a mission to shake things up and bring you the stories and perspectives that often go untold in mainstream media. But being a radically, unapologetically independent news site isn’t easy (or cheap), and we rely on reader support to keep the lights on.
If you like what you’re reading, please consider making a tax-deductible donation today. We’re not asking for a handout, we’re asking for an investment: Invest in a nonprofit news site that’s not afraid to ruffle a few feathers, not afraid to stand up for what’s right, and not afraid to tell it like it is.
Copyright © Truthout. May not be reprinted without permission.