As the third anniversary nears of the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida that killed 17, a congresswoman from New York is looking to bring gun safety to the forefront of the congressional agenda.
Representative Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y. 12th District) has introduced a legislative package containing five bills aimed at improving gun safety in the United States. "We stand alone as a country with mass shootings — there are too many guns," she told Cheddar. "If guns made Americans safer, we'd be the safest country on Earth."
The proposal looks to change many different parts of current gun legislation. One bill attempts to close what's called the "gun show loophole," which can exempt purchasers of firearms from getting a background check if they make the purchase at a retailing event typically held in a large public venue. Another bill looks to up the penalty for trafficking guns, making the crime a felony rather than a misdemeanor — a current technicality the congresswoman called "outrageous."
Jay W. Walker, founding member and organizer of Gays Against Guns, noted along with Maloney the need to confront the "Iron Pipeline," described as "the way guns get out of states with very weak gun laws and into states, especially cities, with stronger gun laws."
A common thread throughout the package is incentivizing what Maloney calls "responsible firearm ownership" with things like requiring liability insurance when purchasing a gun. The plan is to follow in the footsteps of other countries with tighter gun laws, she told Cheddar, who have implemented regulations like these and maintain safer streets.
The representative also expressed hope that the package will move quickly with President Biden in the White House and a Democratic majority in both chambers of Congress to get it passed this year.
Matt Hayden, vice president of govtech solutions at Exiger and a former assistant secretary of cyber at Department of Homeland Security, joined Cheddar to discuss the surprise phone call initiated by Russian President Vladimir Putin to President Joe Biden, ahead of January security talks about the rising tensions over Ukraine. "We're hoping to hear that we're able to talk about the aggression and the leadup of the Ukrainian militarization," Hayden said. "But we're also looking to hear is how the Kremlin leveraged their talking points to try to test their negotiation stance with the United States leading into this January 10th meeting."
The No Surprises Act begins implementation on January 1, 2022. The legislation is meant to curb the practice of unexpected billing for care from providers the patient was unaware were out-of-network from their insurance. Patricia Kelmar, director of health care campaigns for U.S. PIRG joined Cheddar to describe the hundreds, sometimes thousands, of dollars charged to unsuspecting patients and how things will change under the new law. "If we are picking an in-network doctor and an in-network hospital, we should not see those added costs from anesthesiologists, radiologists, scrub-in surgeons," she said. "The other area it protects you is in air ambulances — not ground ambulances, unfortunately — but the helicopters or the airplanes you might need to transport you in an emergency situation."
President Joe Biden and Russian President Vladmir Putin are expected to have another conversation surrounding escalating tensions between Russia and Ukraine. Ariel Cohen, senior fellow at the Atlantic Council, joined Cheddar's Ken Buffa to discuss the ongoing tensions and why Putin's request for a conversation with Biden comes now. "This is very serious. This is the worst security crisis we had since the collapse of the Soviet Union," Cohen told Cheddar.
Stocks closed mixed on Wednesday, but two indexes - the Dow and the S&P 500 - ended the session with a new record. Akshata Bailkeri, Equity Analyst at Bruderman Asset Management, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell, where she says there is a consensus for robust consumer spreading in 2022, especially as the Omicron variant is proving to be milder than other COVID-19 strains.
John Quelch, Dean of Miami Herbert Business School, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell, where he says the retail giant is acting in accordance to President Biden's new law banning goods from China's Xinjiang region. Quelch also elaborates on the importance of China in Walmart's overall strategy.
