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Congressman Mark Alford Press Releases – January 17, 2023
Representative Mark Alford from Missouri’s 4th Congressional District today announces key committee assignments following selections by House leadership. Rep. Mark Alford was selected to the House Armed Services Committee and House Agriculture Committee, following the retirement of former Rep. Vicky Hartzler who served on both committees during her tenure in Congress. 

Roll Call – January 17, 2023
Top House Republicans say they want to negotiate spending cuts in exchange for lifting the statutory debt limit, but President Joe Biden and congressional Democrats say they’re not willing to entertain a negotiation. The dynamics provide for initial stalemate as Treasury Secretary Janet L. Yellen told lawmakers Friday that the department will be forced to deploy “extraordinary measures” this week to remain under the $31.4 trillion statutory borrowing cap. Those accounting tools may not last beyond early June, Yellen said, suggesting Congress will need to act by then.

MilitaryTimes – January 13, 2023
Starting Jan. 17, all veterans will be able to access emergency mental health care free of charge at any Veterans Affairs medical facility or outside clinic, regardless of whether they are already enrolled in department health care services.

Roll Call – January 18, 2023
The departure of two key public health leaders at the National Institutes of Health has created vacancies some worry could present a hurdle to NIH’s agenda in the new Congress.The Biden administration has yet to nominate a permanent replacement for former NIH Director Francis Collins, who stepped down from the post in December 2021. And efforts to replace the longtime director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Anthony Fauci, who left in December of last year, are underway.

NBC News – January 18, 2023
In recent months, many public universities have restricted access to TikTok on school computers, mobile phones and Wi-Fi, in accordance with executive orders in those states banning the app on government-owned devices and networks. Here's a list of all the schools so far that have banned the app on campus Wi-Fi and devices.

The Joplin Globe – January 20, 2023
Rep. Eric Burlison stopped off at Missouri Southern State University, Kansas City University’s local medical school and a few other locations in Joplin on his first journey back to the area. “Sadly, when I was elected a legislator, I saw a fight happen in politics between different professions, and the underlying issue was there was really a lack of people in medical care.” Burlison said he’s been assigned to three committees in the House: oversight, transportation infrastructure, and education and workforce development.