The Zeeland Record • June 1, 2023 • Page 6
STATE
Working for Ottawa County
Peters Helps Introduce Bipartisan Kids Online Safety Act U.S. Senator Gary Peters (MI) recently joined a bipartisan group of Senators in introducing the Kids Online Safety Act, comprehensive legislation to protect children online. The Kids Online Safety Act would provide young people and parents with the tools, safeguards, and transparency they need to help safeguard against online harm. The bill would require social media platforms to put the wellbeing of children first, ensuring an environment that is safer by default. It also would require independent audits by experts to ensure the platforms are taking meaningful steps to address risks to kids. “The content kids see online can shape their reality, with harmful and devastating consequences,” said Senator Peters, a member of the Senate Commerce Committee. “There is no question that we can take commonsense, meaningful action to protect kids online. That’s why I helped introduce this bipartisan legislation that aims to make online platforms safer and provide parents with tools to better protect their kids.” “The Kids Online Safety Act is an important step forward to protect our children from the potential dangers of social media, as well as hold social media accountable for activity on their platforms that could be harmful. Along with education and awareness, this bill is one facet that can help make the
internet a safer place for our youth,” said Jennifer Buta of Marquette, advocate and mother of Jordan Demay, who was the victim of an online extortion scam that resulted in his death. The Kids Online Safety Act would: • Require that social media platforms provide minors with options to protect their information, disable addictive product features, and opt out of algorithmic recommendations. Platforms would be required to enable the strongest settings by default; • Give parents new controls to help support their children and identify harmful behaviors, and provide parents and children with a dedicated channel to report harms to kids to the platform; • Create a responsibility for social media platforms to prevent and mitigate harms to minors, such as promotion of suicide, eating disorders, substance abuse, sexual exploitation, and unlawful products for minors (e.g., gambling and alcohol); • Require social media platforms to perform an annual independent audit that assesses the risks to minors, their compliance with this legislation, and whether the platform is taking meaningful steps to prevent those harms; and • Provide academic and public interest organizations with
access to critical datasets from social media platforms to foster research regarding harms to the safety and well-being of minors. Introduction of the Kids Online Safety Act was led by Senators Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and Marsha Blackburn (R-TN). The legislation is supported by hundreds of advocacy and technology groups – including Common Sense Media, American Psychological Association, American Academy of Pediatrics, American Compass, Eating Disorders Coalition, Fairplay, Mental Health America, and Digital Progress Institute. This effort builds on the legislation that Peters cosponsored last year to protect kids’ online safety, which passed the Commerce Committee. Peters, who also serves as Chairman of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, last year convened a hearing to examine how social media platforms continue to prioritize increased user engagement and revenue over safety and security. Peters also released an investigative report that found social media companies’ current incentive structures contribute to the spread of extremist content. He previously led a hearing with independent social media experts to discuss how the spread of extremist content on social media platforms translates to real-world violence.
By Cong. Bill Huizenga
While our country faces a host of challenges, the Republican-led House has put forward tangible solutions to the difficulties we face. For example, on April 26th my House Republican colleagues and I passed the Limit, Save, Grow Act. This legislation would address the debt ceiling and rein in Washington’s out of control spending with reasonable measures. As negotiations continue, it has been clear the Democrat-led Senate cannot pass their own debt ceiling bill. If it could, the Senate already would have done so. In a divided government neither side will get everything they want, but there must be a willingness to deliver meaningful results. While the window is closing, I believe there is still time to achieve this goal. On March 30th, the House passed the Lower Energy Costs Act. This legislation would increase domestic energy production, enhance our nation’s energy security, and lower energy prices by modernizing the permitting process and repealing the “heat your home” tax. On May 11th, the House passed the Secure the Border Act. This measure is viewed as the strongest border security bill to pass the House in the modern era. Through increased personnel, enhanced technology, and improved resources, we can properly secure our border, stop human trafficking, and reduce the flow of deadly drugs entering Southwest Michigan.
TalentFirst Launches Michigan Center for Adult College Success
Cong. Bill Huizenga Also on April 26th, the House Financial Services Committee passed my bill, H.R. 1579, by a vote of 41-2. This legislation will help small businesses in Ottawa County gain access to capital by modernizing the definition of an accredited investor. Modifying this requirement will have a meaningful impact in terms of opportunity and small business growth. We don’t need West Michigan to be more like Washington, we need Washington to be more like West Michigan. This is why I am working to bring commonsense solutions to our nation’s capital that will make Ottawa County and Michigan’s 4th Congressional District an even better place to live, work, and raise a family. If you need help navigating a federal agency, please visit Huizenga.House.Gov or call my office in Holland at (616) 251-6741 or in Washington at (202) 225-4401 so we can assist you.
Huizenga: The Give Kids a Chance Act CEO alliance TalentFirst last $9.2 million to be spent over four dean of collaborative programs for week announced a statewide, years, primarily on launching pilot the Michigan Community College Will Help Save Lives multimillion-dollar initiative to help more adults obtain postsecondary credentials, a critical need for Michigan to compete in a knowledge-based economy. The Michigan Center for Adult College Success will serve as the state’s primary resource for research, support and best practices on increasing adult enrollment and completion of postsecondary credentials and degrees. “The Center will partner with community colleges and universities to research, design, fund, pilot and evaluate innovative programs,” said TalentFirst President Kevin Stotts. “If we hope to compete economically, we must close our skills and education gaps. Adult learners are critical to that,” added Stotts. “These nontraditional students have complex lives. They have jobs. They have families. We can and must do better to help them enroll and complete their post-secondary education.” As of 2021, Michigan’s postsecondary attainment rate was 50.5% – lagging the national average of 53.7% and last among the Great Lakes states. Michigan has set a goal that 60 percent of working age adults have a postsecondary degree by 2030. The state needs approximately 431,000 more adults to reach that milestone by the end of the decade. This challenge has led the state to invest in postsecondary success. The Center is funded by a one-time state appropriation of
programs at community colleges and universities. Jeremy Hendges, the Center’s executive director, brings 20 years of experience as a legislative staffer and in state department leadership, roles in which he was involved in numerous talent development initiatives, including the establishment of Michigan Reconnect, a state program that provides tuition support for adult students. “Reconnect has been an important investment in improving state talent,” Hendges said. “Now we need to work on maximizing the return on that investment by increasing enrollment of adult learners and helping more of them complete their postsecondary education. We aim to make Michigan the leader in adult enrollment and completion of credentials and degrees.” The Center is an initiative of TalentFirst. It has a statewide focus and is led by a governing council with statewide representation, including Chris Baldwin, senior fellow at the National Center for Inquiry and Improvement; Brian Calley, president of the Small Business Association of Michigan; Todd Gustafson, president & CEO of nonprofit Kinexus; Paula Herbart, president of the Michigan Education Association; Jim Jacobs, president emeritus of Macomb Community College; Bill Rayl, executive director of the Michigan Manufacturers Association; Amy Lee, executive
Association; and Sarah Szurpicki, director of Sixty x 30 for the state of Michigan. Stotts also will serve on the governing council. The initial work will be to identify public universities, private colleges, and community colleges that are open to developing better ways to attract adult students and enable them to persist and earn credentials. The Center will assist with new program design, offering technical assistance and seed funding to test new designs. The Center will work with its partners to deploy at scale those initiatives that produce increased credential completion. In addition to the emphasis on adult postsecondary education, TalentFirst also recently published a report, Restoring the Promise of Adult Education in Michigan, and issued a call for reforms to the state’s strategy on adult foundational education. Stotts noted that an estimated 716,000 adult Michiganders are unable to take advantage of opportunities like Michigan Reconnect because they lack a high school diploma. “These are complementary objectives,” Stotts said. “If we can increase the number of adults earning their diploma or high school equivalency, we increase the pool eligible to enroll in postsecondary education. And if we increase access of that group to innovative supports, we will increase the numbers who succeed at that next level.”
On Monday, May 22, Congressman Bill Huizenga announced his support for the Give Kids a Chance Act. This bipartisan legislation would ensure that children with cancer can participate in not only single-drug trials, but also combination therapy trials. It would also require the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to analyze the collection of preclinical data and better utilize existing clinical data to determine potential pediatric uses of drugs. The Give Kids a Chance Act was introduced in the House last week by Michael McCaul (R-TX) and Congresswoman Anna Eshoo (D-CA) and earlier this month in the Senate by Senator Michael Bennett (D-CO) and Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL). Congressman Huizenga is an original cosponsor of the House bill and the only member of Congress from Michigan to sign on to the Give Kids a Chance Act upon introduction. “This bipartisan legislation opens the door for the most innovative and life-saving treatments to children battling cancer,” said Congressman Bill Huizenga. “The Give Kids a Chance Act will improve research, save lives, and provide families with the most precious resource of all – time. I am proud to join this bipartisan effort to help families in Michigan and across America win this fight!”
“Children should be given the same opportunity as adults to beat cancer, full stop,” said Congressman Michael McCaul. “It has been the highlight of my career to fight for a better future for children with cancer, and the Give Kids A Chance Act is another large step in the right direction.” “Today, cutting-edge cancer treatments involve a combination of drugs to improve health outcomes for adults, but there is limited research on how these therapies can help children,” said Congresswoman Anna Eshoo. “Our legislation will authorize the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to direct drug companies to conduct pediatric cancer trials on combination therapies. We’ve come long way, and this bill will ensure children have access to the newest and most effective treatments to treat and cure cancer.” “Child cancer patients should have every chance possible to beat this nightmare disease,” said Senator Marco Rubio. “We cannot let outdated bureaucratic hurdles block innovative and potentially life-saving treatments. No family should ever have to experience the horrific pain of losing a child, and I will push for this bill to become law this year.” “Cancer doctors and medical professionals should have every tool at their disposal to treat kids (Continued on page 10)
