WashingTown

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The Marijuana Money Dilemma Apr 04, 2019

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In this episode, Rep. Ben McAdams discusses the Safe Banking Act (H.R. 1595) with Washington Rep. Denny Heck. With 34 states legalizing marijuana to some degree, including Utah (medicinal), federal lawmakers are now grappling with how to allow those businesses dispensing or selling marijuana to use the federally insured banks or credit unions. Running cash-only businesses has made these dispensaries targets for criminals, and Rep. Heck shares a tragic story in his conversation with Rep. McAdams. The Utah State Treasurer and the Utah legislature have asked Congress to solve the problem and the SAFE Banking Act provides help. Nationally, the financial services industry has been calling for guidance on how to do business with companies that are legal in many states but are not legal at the federal level. Compliance burdens and fear of violating anti-money laundering laws have kept the number of financial institutions willing to do business with marijuana companies to only a few dozen.

Citizen Lobbyists Mar 28, 2019

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In this episode, Congressman Ben McAdams (D-UT) talks with Deondra and Gregory Brown, two of the popular piano ensemble and Utah family, The Five Browns, about their hopes to change federal laws regarding the statute of limitations in child sexual abuse cases. A survivor of sexual abuse, Deondra said she and her sisters were lucky that Utah laws allowed them to seek prosecution of their abuser (their father), a fact that is important in both a survivor’s recovery and for public safety. Since then, she and her siblings have become active in seeking changes in the law that allow victims of sexual abuse to seek justice, even if it is decades after the abuse occurred. The conversation offers insight into the uniqueness of the federal legislative process and why citizens should see themselves — and their stories — as an important part of creating and changing policies. If you or someone you know is a victim of sexual abuse, there is help available 24 hours a day, seven days a week through the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 800-656-4673 (HOPE). For more information on the Five Browns, visit their website: www.the5browns.com (http://www.the5browns.com/)

Our Brother’s Keeper Mar 21, 2019

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In this episode, Congressman Ben McAdams talks with businessman and member of Utah’s Muslim Community Avais Ahmed, as they discuss why his family chose Utah, what it was like being one of a handful of Muslims growing up in Kaysville, Utah, and how a terrorist attack in New Zealand that targeted Muslims in two different places of worship impact the Muslim community here in Utah. They give advice on how to bridge the divide between different groups, and why the efforts may amount to something as simple as sharing a meal. To offer us feedback or give us ideas for WashingTown, the podcast that follows former Salt Lake County Mayor Ben McAdams as he transitions to representing Utah’s Fourth Congressional District in Washington, D.C., please email us at www.loudmouthproject.com. (mailto:tips@loudmouthproject.com)

Meeting of the Mayors Mar 14, 2019

Show notes

In this episode, Congressman Ben McAdams meets with St. George Mayor Jon Pike and Clearfield Mayor Mark Shepherd to discuss what Congress could learn from the way local governments solve problems and deal with issues. They touch on priorities, including an airport expansion in St. George and infrastructure and minimum wage issues. Mayor Shepherd talks about decisions he thought might cost him his job, and why he did it anyway.

The Border Mar 08, 2019

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In this episode, Congressman Ben McAdams talks with another newly elected representative – Veronica Escobar, a Democrat who represents Texas’s 16th Congressional District, the heart of which is El Paso. Rep. Escobar talks about how the mythology surrounding immigration, including incorrect or misleading crime statistics shared by President Donald Trump in his State of the Union address last month, make immigration and border conversations more difficult. Congressman McAdams shares his own thoughts on the complexities of the emotionally-charged debate, as lawmakers attempt to fix an immigration system that is failing U.S. citizens and immigrants.

The Volunteer Feb 21, 2019

Show notes

In this episode of WashingTown, Congressman Ben McAdams sits down with one of the thousands of volunteers who helped him win the closest election of the 2018 midterms. Adam Gianelli had some unique reasons for volunteering to call and canvass for McAdams, and he wrote about it in a personal essay for the Washington Post Magazine. The poet and University of Utah graduate student felt volunteering for the campaign offered him the chance to have both his political voice and his actual voice, which includes a stutter, be heard. Essay link: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/magazine/wp/2019/02/13/feature/i-found-my-stutter-prone-voice-by-exercising-my-political-one/?utm_term=.2d5291a41e8a

State of the Union Feb 14, 2019

Show notes

While many members of Congress made political statements with who they invited to the State o the Union speech last week, Congressman Ben McAdams took a different approach. In this episode Congressman McAdams (D-Utah) talks about why he invited his very Republican brother-in-law (and early Trump supporter) to the State of the Union address. The two men have preserved their relationship – and peace at family gatherings – by avoiding politics, but they share their thoughts on the ability to listen through disagreements after President Trump’s State of the Union address last week.

Mr. McAdams goes to Washington Feb 13, 2019

Show notes

This is the first episode of a podcast that will explore whether a successful democratic mayor from a red state can find a way to accomplish anything of significance in the deeply partisan Washington, D. C. Ben McAdams earned a narrow victory over the Republican incumbent, and he now represents Utah’s Fourth Congressional District. In this first episode, he discusses being sworn in during the longest government shutdown in U.S. history, and he interviews his wife, Julie McAdams and the wife of New York Representative Antonio Delgado, Lacey Schwartz Delgado. Welcome to WashingTown!

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