Cory Booker announces legislation to battle climate change

While the political jockeying gets more attention, candidates in the 2020 Democratic presidential race are advancing serious policy proposals. The Washington Times takes a weekly look at some of them that may have flown under the radar.

Sen. Cory A. Booker on Thursday announced legislation intended to combat climate change with an eye toward farm and ranch conservation, as well as “massive” reforestation to the tune of planting 15 billion trees by 2050.

The New Jersey Democrat said his plan is in the mold of what President Franklin Delano Roosevelt accomplished in the New Deal through giving incentives for conservation, planting billions of trees, and creating new jobs through the Civilian Conservation Corps.

“In order to address the urgent and existential threat posed by climate change, all of these approaches should be part of our broader strategy,” Mr. Booker said.

His bill would direct the U.S. Forest Service and the Department of Interior to plant 9.5 billion trees on federal land by 2050.

It also would provide cost-sharing grants to states and local governments to plant more than 6.5 billion trees by then and would earmark funding to plant 100 million trees by 2030 in urban neighborhoods.

The legislation also would provide billions of dollars in federal subsidies for land conservation programs to help support voluntary “climate stewardship practices” on more than 100 million acres of farmland, in hopes of cutting or offsetting agricultural emissions by one-third by 2025.

Among other priorities, it aims to protect or restore coastal wetlands with a federal grant program for states and local governments to restore the areas in a way that captures or stops carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas emissions.

“In addition to transitioning from fossil fuels to clean energy, another essential step that we must take is to increase the carbon sequestration in our soils, forests, and wetlands,” Mr. Booker said.

Williamson on reparations

Self-help author Marianne Williamson on Wednesday provided more details on her plan to provide financial reparations to the descendants of slaves, saying she wants between $200 billion and $500 billion to go toward that effort in the coming years.

Ms. Williamson called for setting up a council of 30-50 members who are descents of slaves and who have a scholarly, cultural or political connection to the issue of reparations.

The plan dictates that the council, not the U.S. government, would determine how the money would be doled out, and that it should be “for purposes of economic and educational renewal.”

“I think that there’s a moral principle here,” Ms. Williamson said on Fox News. “If I owe you money, I don’t get to tell you how to spend it I believe part of the power here is that it would be the black community deciding how they wish to spend that money.”

Ms. Williamson has gone further on the issue than many of the other 2020 contenders, who have said they support setting up a commission to study the issue but have stopped short of calling for direct financial reparations for the descendants of slaves.

Warren on ’public option’ for broadband

Sen. Elizabeth Warren on Wednesday released plans intended to boost farm communities and rural areas in the country, including what she called a “public option” for broadband internet access.

The Massachusetts Democrat pledged that if elected president, she would make sure “every home in America” has affordable access to broadband.

“That means publicly owned and operated networks — and no giant [internet providers] running away with taxpayer dollars,” she said in a Medium post.

Ms. Warren called for a new $85 billion federal grant program to expand broadband access and said only “electricity and telephone cooperatives, nonprofit organizations, tribes, cities, counties and other state subdivisions” would be eligible for the money.

She also said she planned to make it clear in federal statute that municipalities would have the right to build their own broadband networks and that she would preempt state laws that impose restrictions on the practice.

With the Iowa State Fair revving up this week, Ms. Warren and other candidates were busy announcing plans with an eye toward farmers and rural communities.

Sen. Amy Klobuchar announced a plan that calls for expanded commodity support and federal crop insurance, among other initiatives — policies likely to win support from farmers in the Hawkeye State.

And Sen. Kirsten E. Gillibrand announced a plan aimed at “rebuilding” rural America through initiatives such as a $50 billion federal block grant program and $60 billion for high-speed internet in rural areas.

Buttigieg on domestic terror and gun control

Pete Buttigieg on Tuesday rolled out a set of proposals designed to combat domestic terrorism and cut down on mass shootings, by using new money and tools for the federal government to target white nationalists.

The mayor of South Bend, Indiana, wants to dedicate $1 billion to help combat “the growing tide of white nationalist violence” and would empower federal law enforcement and national intelligence agencies to more aggressively pursue and monitor potential domestic terrorists and white supremacist groups.

“After foreign terrorist attacks, airport travelers now have to take off their shoes. After three mass shootings in a single week, Congress takes off for recess,” said Mr. Buttigieg.

He also said he wants to work with social media and other online platforms “to identify and limit the spread of hateful ideology” and “name and shame” online platforms that don’t take steps “to curb use by hate groups.”

An anti-immigrant screed authorities have linked to the accused El Paso, Texas, shooter surfaced on the online forum 8chan shortly before Saturday’s attack that claimed the lives of at least 22 people.

Mr. Buttigieg also proposed a series of gun controls that include a nationwide licensing system, universal background checks, a ban on military-style semiautomatic firearms and high-capacity magazines, and “red flag” laws that allow law enforcement to temporarily seize guns from people judged to be a danger to themselves or others.