Inveterate liar Rep. George Santos faces 3rd expulsion vote – National & International News – THU 30Nov2023

Inveterate liar Rep. George Santos faces 3rd expulsion vote

Under new EPA rule, cities like Jackson would have to replace all lead pipes in 10 years

NATIONAL NEWS

Inveterate liar Rep. George Santos faces 3rd expulsion vote

Rep. George Santos (R-NY) will face a third vote to expel him from Congress. This will be the first of these votes to take place following the release of a damning report by the Republican-led House Ethics Committee. The committee found that Santos had stolen campaign funds which he used for high-end shopping sprees, Botox injections, OnlyFans models and a luxury vacation rental. Santos is already facing federal charges for lying to Congress, campaign finance violations, credit card fraud, wire fraud and identity theft and will face trial next year.

Shortly after his election last year, it came to light that Santos had lied about everything from his ethnic background, his mother being a 9/11 victim, his education and his business experience. Ever since, other newly-elected Republican Congressmen from New York have been calling for his ouster. Despite this, Santos has so far survived two expulsion votes.

The third vote is expected to happen tomorrow. Expulsion requires a two-thirds vote in Congress. A growing number of Republicans, many of whom previous voted not to expel Santos, say they are ready to vote him out. Some remain leery of expelling any Republican member considering their narrow majority in the House. If Santos is expelled, New York will hold a special election to replace him within three months. Santos flipped the previously Democrat-held seat in 2022. 

In previous votes, a surprising number of Democrats voted against expelling Santos, with some saying they feared expelling a member of Congress without due process would create a dangerous precedent. Other members of Congress have kept their seats despite being under indictment. This includes Democratic Sen. Robert Menendez (NJ) who faces federal charges of bribery and acting as an unregistered foreign agent for the Egyptian government. Democrat Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries says he will not whip a vote either way on Santos’ expulsion.

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Under new rule, cities like Jackson would have to replace all lead pipes in 10 years

The Environmental Protection Agency has proposed new rules that would require American cities to replace all their lead waterpipes within a decade. Health crises arising from lead contamination in cities like Flint, MI, and Washington, D.C, have alarmed public health experts and increased calls for removing these pipes from water infrastructure. Jackson, MS, in addition to its other water woes, also has a large amount of lead piping. Lead exposure affects neurological development in children and can lead to low IQs, while it can also contribute to vital organ failure in adults.

The new rules would give some cities with larger systems more leeway on the deadline. Cities would be required to replace lead pipes even if they aren’t detecting high levels of lead. The acceptable levels of lead will also be adjusted downward. Public health experts say there is no “safe” level of lead in water. 

The rules would also require cities to fully map the locations of any lead pipes in their systems. Currently, many cities do not even know where all their lead pipes are.

The EPA estimates there are at least 9 million lead pipes in American cities. Although the poisonous effects of lead were well known by the late 1800s, the Lead Industries Association (LIA) campaigned heavily starting in the 1920s to popularize the use of lead for piping in growing cities.

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