National Park Service Historian Bob Moore visited St. Louis's Old Courthouse, including the courtroom where Dred and Harriet Scott were eventually granted their freedom, and talked about the Dred Scott Supreme Court decision. The Old Courthouse is one of St. Louis' most prominent architectural landmarks.
Gettysburg College professor Allen Guelzo teaches a class on Abraham Lincoln, his views on slavery, and the Dred Scott Supreme Court decision. He describes Lincoln's upbringing and career path that led him to debates with Stephen Douglas during an 1858 U.S. Senate race, where one of the main topics was the issue of slavery in the United States. He also talks about how the Dred Scott case served to polarize political views on whether new states admitted to the Union would allow slavery.
The Heritage Foundation hosted Commissioner Michael Piwowar (R) of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for a discussion about business regulations and their economic implications. He talked about the regulatory and legislative agendas of the new commission chair Jay Clayton, which he explained were geared toward promoting more capital growth for the United States and its businesses. After the discussion and a moderated question and answer session with the audience, Commissioner Piwowar spoke briefly with reporters offstage.
The Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Subcommittee on Consumer Protection, Product Safety, Insurance, and Data Security holds a hearing on ways to protect consumers from insurance fraud.
A subcommittee of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee examined the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Superfund program that was created to fund the cleanup of hazardous waste sites. Testifying before members was an environmental attorney, a consultant and the regional operations director of Virginia's Dept. of Environmental Quality who gave their recommendations on ways to expedite the cleanup of toxic waste sites. The subcommittee is chaired by Sen. Mike Rounds (R-SD).
The Middle East Institute hosts a forum on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict with a discussion on how the territory of Gaza can help mitigate the peace process.
Day two of the National Conservative Student Conference kicked off in Washington, DC. Morning speakers included Dennis Prager, former Virginia & U.S. Senator George Allen and former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich. All spoke on why conservative values matter.
Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin appeared before a hearing of the House Financial Services Committee to give a report on the state of the international finance system. He spoke about a range of financial issues including the U.S. debt limit, tax reform, banking regulations and liquidity requirements for community banks. He also discussed possible provisions to deter currency manipulation in future U.S. trade deals. This hearing was led by the committee chair, Rep. Jeb Hensarling (R-TX).
Former Attorney General Eric Holder delivered remarks on voting rights at the 2017 annual convention of the NAACP, which was held in Baltimore. Mr. Holder talked about the history of voting rights in the U.S., and criticized many decisions made by the Trump Administration that he said were deleterious to the voting rights of blacks and other voters of color. He was particularly critical of the voting integrity commission commissioned by President Trump, and praised leaders in states that were declining the commission's request for voter records.
