C-SPAN is much more fun with friends! In this special episode, Matt Marr, comedian and host of the Dear Mattie Show, joins Jen at The Comedy Store to discuss three bills that have passed the U.S. House of Representatives. Lots of laughs in this one!

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Bills H.R.1430: Honest Act

Full Title: “Honest and Open New EPA Science Treatment Act of 2017”

• Prohibits the EPA from creating regulations unless all scientific information used to justify it is published online and can be reproduced.
• Limits the EPA spending on this new requirement to $1 million per year out of the Money they already have

Passed the House on March 29, 2017 by a vote of 228-194 Written by Rep. Lamar Smith of Texas’s 21st district

H.R. 953: Reducing Regulatory Burdens Act of 2017

• Prohibits the EPA Administrator and the States from requiring permits to discharge pesticides into waterways if the pesticide is authorized for sale.

Passed the House on May 24, 2017 by a vote of 256-165 Written by Rep. Bob Gibbs of Ohio’s 7th district

H.R. 806: Ozone Standards Implementation Act of 2017

Written by Rep. Pete Olsen of Texas’s 22nd district Passed the House on July 18, 2017 by a vote of 229-199

Additional Reading

• Article: Thousands of scientists issue bleak ‘second notice’ to humanity by Sarah Kaplan, The Washington Post, November 13, 2017.
• Article: Climate change upped the odds of Harvey’s extreme rains study finds by Chris Mooney, The Washington Post, November 13, 2017.
• Blog: Falling walls: How repairing the ozone hole helped the climate by Guus Velders, Scientific American, November 2, 2017.
• Article: How climate change likely strengthened recent hurricanes by Craig Welch, National Geographic, September 20, 2017.
• Article: Scott Pruitt’s crimes against nature by Jeff Goodell, Rolling Stone, July 27,2017.
• Article: Oklahoma’s earthquake threat now equals California’s because of man-made temblors, USGS says by Rong-Gong Lin II, LA Times, March 1, 2017.
• Interview: Author Jan Mayer on how the Koch brothers have changed America by Lauren Kelley, Rolling Stone, February 14, 2016.
• Article: The Koch brothers’ dirty war on solar power by Tim Dickinson, Rolling Stone, February 11, 2016.
• Article: Inside the Koch brothers’ toxic empire by Tim Dickinson, Rolling Stone, September 24, 2014.
• Report: 2010 ozone hole smaller than usual, MACC, Winter 2010.

References

• Dear Mattie Show: Show 89: Jen Briney of Congressional Dish & How to Actually Make a Difference in Politics
• Demographic Info: Demographics of Oklahoma
• Website: Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)
• Data: IPCC Publications and Reports
• Research: USGS – Induced Earthquakes Myths and Misconceptions
• Video: Volcanoes of the Deep
• Weather Records: U.S. Tornado Climatology – Historical Records and Trends

Visual References

• Oklahoma Temperature History – Summer
• Oklahoma Temperature History – Winter
• Oklahoma Temperature History – Annual

Sound Clip Sources House Session: Clean Water Act Changes, May 24, 2017 Cover Art

Design by Only Child Imaginations

Music Presented in This Episode

• Intro & Exit: Tired of Being Lied To by David Ippolito (found on Music Alley by mevio)

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Jennifer Briney Podcaster

Jennifer Briney started paying attention to world events while studying in Germany in the spring of 2003 when the United States overthrew the government of Iraq. After experiencing the war from outside the United States, she started asking questions about her government. Every answer led to fifty more questions. This led to a thirst for information that she is still unable to quench.

Over the years, the feeling like she was the only person paying attention to this information was making Jen insane so in late 2012, she launched Congressional Dish in order to share the information, to have an emotional outlet for dealing with the discoveries, and to create a community of people who were interested in Congress’s effect on our lives. Congressional Dish is now her full-time career, thanks entirely to the support from our growing community of producers from all over the world.