The future of the Decatur Airport and unmanned aerial vehicles were major issues addressed by U.S. Rep. Rodney Davis during a Thursday morning stop in Decatur. About a dozen business leaders and others joined Davis, R-Taylorville, at the Decatur Airport; as each took turns over the hour raising their own thoughts and concerns related to almost everything aviation. Covered a range of topics, from the use of unmanned aerial vehicles, commonly known as drones, to the importance of the airport to su...
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The Metro East dodged a major economic blow Thursday with the news that U.S. Steel won’t shut its Granite City Works or lay off 2,000 workers. The Pittsburgh-based steel giant in March gave a 60-day warning that it planned to close the mill until the flagging demand for steel revived. In a surprise reversal, the company confirmed Thursday that only 80 jobs will go. The mill will continue to operate but at a lower production rate. U.S. Rep. Mike Bost, R-Murphysboro, revealed the change of plans T...
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U.S. Congressman Rodney Davis says a new version of The Patriot Act, the USA Freedom Act, will restore a number of civil liberties the previous measure did not protect. The USA Freedom has already passed the United States House of Representatives with a bipartisan vote of 303 to 121. Davis, who represents portions of the Metro East, is one of the 303 to vote in favor of the measure. “I voted yes because the USA Freedom Act abolished the collection of metadata,” Davis said. “It reformed Section 2...
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The House Agriculture Subcommittee on Biotechnology, Horticulture and Research will hold a second hearing on pollinators, the chairman of the subpanel said yesterday. The hearing's witness list will include those who stand to be affected by the Obama administration's recent strategy to stave off a decline in honeybees, monarch butterflies and other insects that help disperse pollen between plants, said Rep. Rodney Davis (R-Ill.) in an interview with E&E Daily. Rep. Suzan DelBene (D-Wash.), who h...
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The humble bee — nuisance, threat, and linchpin of the American food supply — has won over the leader of the free world. And now President Obama is intervening on the bee’s behalf as its habitat dwindles. On Tuesday, the Obama administration will announce the first National Strategy to Promote the Health of Honey Bees and Other Pollinators, a bureaucratic title for a plan to save the bee, other small winged animals and their breeding grounds. The initiative may feel like the kind of niche intere...
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U.S. Rep. Rodney Davis said dislocated workers should not have to make the choice between receiving their unemployment insurance benefits and pursuing training opportunities that could lead to a job. The Republican congressman from Taylorville announced plans to reintroduce the Opportunity KNOCKS Act, or Kindling New Options for Career and Knowledge Seekers, on Wednesday in the automotive lab at the Richland Community College Workforce Development Institute. The measure would allow the people to...
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The new Republican Congress showed a glimpse of its early legislative strategy Tuesday, when the House passed a bill within hours of being sworn in that had both a St. Louis-area origin and anti-Obamacare tone. The House approved, 412-0, the Hire More Heroes Act, written by Rep. Rodney Davis, R-Taylorville. A similar measure was introduced in the Senate on Tuesday by Sen. Roy Blunt, R-Mo. The bill encourages small businesses to hire veterans covered by the Veterans Administration or military hea...
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Rep. Rodney Davis, R-Taylorville, will give the weekly Republican address on Saturday. His office announced Friday that Davis will speak from Springfield, Ill. The address is made available to radio stations around the country as a pairing with President Barack Obama's weekly address. “My message will echo that of President Lincoln, 'government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth,' " Davis said in a statement issued Friday by his office. The 114th Congre...
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U.S. Rep. Rodney Davis hailed an Obama administration move to normalize relations with Cuba, saying the shift has the potential to be good for the Cuban people and for American agriculture. "What I hope this brings to the American people is the ability to trade with a country that is craving our products and craving assistance from our agricultural sector," the Taylorville Republican said Wednesday. "Illinois stands to gain from leaps and bounds with the ability to sell our crops. The terms of p...
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The U.S. House passing of a massive federal spending bill Thursday night that would fund most of the U.S. government until next October has U.S. Rep. Rodney Davis optimistic about bipartisanship. Davis, R-Taylorville, stopped in Decatur on Friday afternoon, just hours after Republicans and Democrats came together to narrowly pass the spending bill, 219-206, three hours before a midnight deadline that would have threatened a federal shutdown. The bill, which had 30 Democrats join Republicans in s...
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