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Senators Introduce Bill to Modernize America’s Electric Grid

William Attardi on March 9, 2026

A new bipartisan legislation to modernize the nation’s electric grid and meet America’s growing energy demand. This bill cuts permitting delays, incentivizes advanced transmission upgrades, strengthens state grid planning, and accelerates the deployment of innovative grid technologies to lower costs and improve grid reliability for American families and businesses. The REWIRE Act provides a commonsense path forward: rather than building new infrastructure from scratch, it upgrades existing transmission lines with advanced conductors that can double capacity (a process known as “reconductoring”). By reducing congestion and bypassing lengthy permitting requirements, reconductoring could reduce grid costs by $85 billion by 2035 and $180 billion by 2050. Senators Introduce Bill to Modernize America’s Electric Grid – electrifiED

A ‘Crypto Week’ Win: Congress Passes 1st Major Crypto Legislation in the U.S.

William Attardi on July 18, 2025

The House approved the GENIUS Bill with a 308-122 vote with significant Democratic support, adopting regulations for a type of cryptocurrency known as stablecoins that proponents believe will fundamentally change the world of commerce. It was a remarkable win for the crypto industry — and for President Trump, who campaigned on making the U.S. “the crypto capital of the planet.” The GENIUS Bill, which stands for “Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoin” now heads to the president’s desk for his signature, since the Senate had already approved it last month. The new legislation will put more formal regulations around stablecoins, which is viewed by many as a safer type of cryptocurrency. That’s because companies selling stablecoins have to hold the equivalent dollars in reserve. So if you buy $1 in stablecoin, the issuer that provided you with one has to keep $1 in reserve. That means that when you want to cash it, you can get paid back promptly. Stablecoins are a hot emerging part of the crypto sector. Key industry players believe stablecoins will allow people and companies the ability to transfer money as digital currency anywhere in the world instantaneously, regardless of borders, without onerous and expensive bank or money transfer fees. They believe that the world of credit cards or wire transfers will be completely upended once they are adopted widely. More crypto legislation is expected to follow the GENIUS Act. A ‘Crypto Week’ win: Congress passes 1st major crypto legislation in the U.S. | WBHM 90.3

NEMA Urges Passage of Critical Mineral Legislation

William Attardi on May 2, 2025

A Senate committee unanimously approved the Critical Mineral Consistency Act, legislation aimed at boosting the development of reliable critical mineral supply chains. NEMA Senior Vice President of Public Affairs Spencer Pederson thanked the committee for quickly advancing the legislation and urged lawmakers and President Trump to turn the bill into law. “The advancement of [the bill] through Committee brings us one step closer to reaching our goals by removing dependence on unreliable foreign sources like China for the raw materials that are essential to the electroindustry and will help bolster supply chains,” Pederson said. NEMA urges passage of critical mineral legislation

Happy St. Patrick’s Day—whether you’re going fact or legend, it’s a great excuse to celebrate!

St. Patrick is a mix of solid historical fact and popular myth/legend that grew over centuries. He was a real historical figure—a British-born missionary (likely from what is now Scotland or northern England/Wales area) who lived in the 5th century (roughly 385–461 AD). His birth name was probably Maewyn Succat, and he became known as Patricius (Patrick) later. He wrote two surviving documents: his Confessio (Confession) and a letter to Coroticus, which are the main primary sources about his life. These confirm he was kidnapped by Irish raiders as a teenager, enslaved in Ireland for about six years (herding sheep), escaped, trained for the church, and returned as a missionary bishop to convert the Irish to Christianity. He wasn’t the first Christian in Ireland—some communities already existed—but he’s credited with major missionary work and is the patron saint of Ireland.

Many beloved St. Patrick’s Day traditions and stories are myths or later embellishments: Myth: He drove the snakes out of Ireland. Completely legendary. Ireland has had no native snakes since the last Ice Age (about 10,000+ years ago)—the post-glacial island was isolated, and snakes never recolonized it. The “snakes” story symbolizes driving out paganism or “evil”  but it’s not historical. Myth: He used the shamrock to explain the Holy Trinity. This is a charming story, but it doesn’t show up in Patrick’s own writings or early biographies. While the shamrock (a three-leaf clover) became a symbol of Ireland and St. Patrick’s Day, the Trinity analogy is probably a later invention. Myth: St. Patrick was Irish by birth. No—he was Romano-British, captured and brought to Ireland against his will. Other common myths: Green wasn’t always the color associated with him or the holiday; massive parades and “wearing of the green” became big in America first; he didn’t drink green beer or eat corned beef and cabbage, those are more modern Irish-American traditions. In short: The man himself is fact—a brave, devout missionary who helped spread Christianity in Ireland. But many of the fun, magical tales attached to him are myths.

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