Republicans have spoken for years of the need to remove government from individual health care decisions. And in touting their new American Health Care Act, House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., said the “most important thing it does” is “it takes the power out of the bureaucracy and puts it back to the doctors and patients where it belongs.”
Category: Republican
Enslaving debt has soared to almost $20 trillion
Within 40 days our national debt is likely to be $20 trillion; four of which is from eight years of George W. Bush and 10 from eight years of Barack Obama – the two biggest spending presidents in U.S. history. Obama alone accumulated more debt than all previous presidents put together.
10 for Today: Thursday, March 9
HEALTHCARE: House Majority Whip Steve Scalise of La., left, joined by Rep. Phil Roe, R-Tenn., holds up a copy of the original Affordable Care Act bill during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, March 8, as the GOP leadership talks about its work on the long-awaited Republican plan to repeal and replace “Obamacare.” The anti-secrecy group, meanwhile, raises the prospect of providing technology companies additional sensitive details it says it has about the agency’s hacking tools.
U.S. senators ask government for proof Obama wiretapped Trump
Two senior senators asked the FBI and Justice Department on Wednesday for any information they have on President Donald Trump’s unsubstantiated claim that his predecessor Barack Obama wiretapped him during the 2016 U.S. presidential campaign. In a letter to James Comey, director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and Acting Deputy Attorney General Dana Boente, Republican Lindsey Graham and Democrat Sheldon Whitehouse wrote: “We request that the Department of Justice provide us copies of any warrant applications and court orders related to wiretaps of President Trump, the Trump campaign, or Trump Tower.”
Meadows Pushes Changes in Obamacare Repeal Bill
Despite increasing pressure from the White House and congressional leaders, Rep. Mark Meadows isn’t backing down from his opposition to House Republicans’ legislation repealing and replacing the Affordable Care Act, seeking significant changes to bring conservatives on board. Meadows, chairman of the House Freedom Caucus, and conservative colleagues in both the House and Senate have raised major objections in the days following the release of the long-awaited health care replacement, putting in question Republicans’ ability to pass the legislation.
Republicans forge ahead on Obamacare repeal despite U.S. budget worries
Republicans pushed ahead on Thursday with their plan for a massive overhaul of the U.S. healthcare system backed by President Donald Trump, despite Democratic concern that the cost of the bill and its impact on the budget remain unknown. Two House of Representatives committees debated the draft legislation late into the night on Wednesday in marathon sessions, two days after it was unveiled by Republican leaders and endorsed by Trump.
10 for Today: Thursday, March 9
HEALTHCARE: House Majority Whip Steve Scalise of La., left, joined by Rep. Phil Roe, R-Tenn., holds up a copy of the original Affordable Care Act bill during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, March 8, as the GOP leadership talks about its work on the long-awaited Republican plan to repeal and replace “Obamacare.” The anti-secrecy group, meanwhile, raises the prospect of providing technology companies additional sensitive details it says it has about the agency’s hacking tools.
Can Republicans Blame Dems for a Health Reform Failure?
Lock up President Trump’s phone — Breitbart hates the new Republican health care bill. So do Laura Ingraham, Mark Levin, the conservative House Freedom Caucus, moderate Republicans, hospitals, the seniors lobby, doctors, Democrats and who have we left out? Forty hours after introducing it Monday, House GOP leaders started the bill on its legislative journey that most of their members believe will end in a painful death.
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House panel OKs health bill, industry groups say ‘no’
House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Rep. Kevin Brady, R-Texas, left, listens to the committee’s ranking member, Rep. Richard Neal, D-Mass., on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, March 8, 2017, as the committee began markup of the long-awaited plan by Republicans to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act. WASHINGTON>> House Republicans scored a pre-dawn triumph Thursday in their effort to scuttle former President Barack Obama’s health care overhaul, but it masked deeper problems as hospitals, doctors and consumer groups mounted intensifying opposition to the GOP health care drive.
N.Y. pols push for feds to reimburse Trump Tower security costs
A bipartisan group of New York lawmakers submitted a formal request for the federal government to reimburse $18.7 million the city has shelled out for security around President Trump’s residence at Trump Tower on Wednesday. The group, led by Reps.
These are the issues with GOP’s plan to replace Obamacare
House Speaker Paul Ryan holds up a copy of the American Health Care Act – legislation to replace Obamacare – during a news conference in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday. As the sure to be heated legislative fight over the replacement of Obamacare gets under way, both Democrats and Republicans have expressed concerns about the bill.
Analogies Fly Over Net Neutrality
Both senators and FCC head Ajit Pai avoided any great discussion about net neutrality, one of the biggest and most contentious issues facing the FCC. However, a brief exchange between Pai and Republican Senator Ron Johnson is worth noting because it demonstrates just how the name net neutrality is the opposite of the harm it actually inflicts: Senator Ron Johnson : I know net neutrality sounds great and in trying to convey why [it] harms investment and innovation, I’ve come up with an analogy.
Repair, don’t repeal
After years of demanding a nix and a fix of President Obama’s signature legislation on health insurance, a Republican president and Congress are finally getting their chance. House Speaker Paul Ryan.
EPA head stacks agency with climate change skeptics
Days after the Senate confirmed him as administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, Scott Pruitt appeared at the Conservative Political Action Conference and was asked about addressing a group that probably wanted to eliminate his agency. “I think it’s justified,” he responded, to cheers.
Trey Gowdy: Only Trump or DOJ Can Release Any Wiretap Data
No evidence has been released to support President Donald Trump’s claims he was wiretapped by his predecessor, because either “there is no evidence, or it could be a judicial matter,” Rep. Trey Gowdy said Wednesday. “It could be that it’s under seal” with the secret court created by the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, the South Carolina Republican told Anderson Cooper on CNN .
Trump Courts Cruz in WH Dinner to Help Grease AHCA
President Donald Trump appears to be courting former foe Sen. Ted Cruz, hoping the Texas conservative can rally support for the GOP House leadership’s healthcare plan. The president and first lady Melania Trump hosted Cruz, his wife Heidi, and their two daughters for dinner at the White House on Wednesday night a family friendly event that is a stark contrast to the bitter clashes between Trump and Cruz during their primary presidential race.
New Lupus Medical Research Program Included in Appropriations Bill…
Demonstrates the Power of Patient Advocacy NEW YORK, NY — Lupus patients will have a new medical research program at work for them in the future if Bill H.R. 1301 passed today by the House of Representatives becomes law. The House approved the Fiscal 2017 Defense Appropriations Conference Report which designates $5 million for new peer-reviewed lupus research under the Congressionally Directed Medical Research Program operated by the Army Medical Research and Materiel Command in Ft.
Ryan disappoints his friends with Obamacare replacement bill
Exclusive – Sen. Rand Paul on Paul Ryan’s Obamacare Lite : Speaker ‘Trying to Pull the Wool Over the Eyes of the President’ – Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY), a top conservative in the U.S. Senate, unloaded on House Speaker Paul Ryan’s Obamacare 2.0 replacement plan – that does not repeal Obamacare
10 Things to Know for Thursday
House Speaker Paul Ryan of Wis. speaks during a news conference at the Republican National Committee Headquarters on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, March 8, 2017, as the GOP works on its long-awaited plan to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act.
Trump will push Obamacare repeal by sending out his top salesman: Himself
President Donald Trump plans a “full-court press” as he begins an uphill battle to sell the Republicans’ long-awaited bill to repeal the landmark 2010 health care law. Trump, Vice President Mike Pence, Cabinet secretaries and other administration officials plan to travel the nation and give interviews to local radio and television stations to promote the bill, which was introduced this week.
Source: Jon Huntsman offered job of ambassador to Russia – Wed, 08 Mar 2017 PST
President Donald Trump has offered former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman the position as U.S. ambassador to Russia, a high-profile and sensitive post amid investigations into the contacts between Russian officials and the Trump campaign. Trump made the offer to Huntsman earlier this week, according to a White House official not authorized to discuss the move publicly until it is announced.
The Guardian’s Flawed Hit Piece On Sessions’ Record As a U.S. Attorney
The Guardian attacked Attorney General Jeff Sessions’ record when he served as a U.S. attorney in Alabama in an article published Saturday that was missing important details. The article – ” ‘Gun for hire’: how Jeff Sessions used his prosecuting power to target Democrats ” – alleged that Sessions used his power as U.S. attorney for the Southern District of Alabama to go after local Democratic politicians.
The Guardian’s Flawed Hit Piece On Sessions’ Record As a U.S. Attorney
The Guardian attacked Attorney General Jeff Sessions’ record when he served as a U.S. attorney in Alabama in an article published Saturday that was missing important details. The article – ” ‘Gun for hire’: how Jeff Sessions used his prosecuting power to target Democrats ” – alleged that Sessions used his power as U.S. attorney for the Southern District of Alabama to go after local Democratic politicians.
Oil Companies Land a Victory in Louisiana Coastal Lawsuit
A federal appeals court on March 3 refused to revive a Louisiana levee board’s lawsuit blaming dozens of oil and gas companies for damage to the state’s fragile coast, a major victory for energy companies and their political supporters who cast the suit as an attack on a vital state industry. The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruling upheld a federal judge’s 2015 decision in favor of energy companies that argued the Southeast Louisiana Flood Protection Authority-East lacked legal standing to bring its damage claims, which could have cost the oil companies billions of dollars.
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The Latest on the health care debate as Congress begins work on a GOP-drafted overhaul : In the day’s first vote on Republican health care legislation, GOP lawmakers controlling the House Ways and Means Committee have blocked a Democratic attempt to delay the panel’s work for a week. Texas Democratic Rep. Lloyd Doggett said there’s been little time to understand what’s in the legislation.
WikiLeaks CIA Files: Are They Real and Are They a Risk?
A supporter of WikiLeaks founder julian Assange holds a copy of The WikiLeaks Files outside the Ecuadorian embassy in central London, Britain Feb. 5, 2016. WikiLeaks has published thousands of documents that the anti-secrecy organization said were classified files revealing scores of secrets about CIA hacking tools used to break into targeted computers, cellphones and even smart TVs.
Questions for the candidates –
The Union Times Do you have questions for the candidates running for the Republican nomination for the US House of Representatives Fifth District seat? If you do then you can submit them to be asked of the candidates during Friday’s debate in the USC Union Auditorium either via email at [email protected] or in person prior to the debate which begins at 7 p.m. The debate is sponsored by the Union County Young Republicans and the Union County Republican Party. It will be preceded by a 6 p.m. meet and greet with the candidates on the Main Floor of USC Union’s Main Building.
WikiLeaks CIA files: Are they real and are they a risk?
This Feb. 19, 2014, file photo, shows WhatsApp and Facebook app icons on a smartphone in New York. So, you use messaging apps like WhatsApp or Signal or have smart TVs and PCs.
Conservatives: Only One Score Matters: Does GOP Bill Lower Health Care Costs and Premiums?
Conservative members of Congress hold a news conference to discuss the flawed Obamacare replacement bill introduced by House Republican leaders on Tuesday, March 7, 2017. Conservative lawmakers say they are encouraged to hear that the Republican health care bill introduced on Monday is still open for negotiation and modification.
Ryan: ‘We Will Have 218 Votes’ to Pass Our Repeal-and-Replace Plan
House Speaker Paul Ryan talks about the Republican leadership’s repeal and replace plan at a news conference on Capitol Hill on Tuesday, March 7, 2017. House committees will begin marking up the Republican leadership’s repeal-and-replace plan on Wednesday, and then it will head to the Budget and Rules Committees next week.
House panels to launch fight in Congress over Obamacare replacement
A potentially lengthy U.S. legislative fight over replacement of the Obamacare health law gets underway on Wednesday as two House of Representatives committees begin negotiating over changes to a Republican plan backed by President Donald Trump. Both Democrats and Republicans are expected to try to reshape legislation that dismantles key provisions of the 2010 Affordable Care Act, Democratic former President Barack Obama’s signature domestic policy achievement.
How GOP Plans to Make Health Care Plan Into Law: Analysis
On Monday, congressional Republicans released their bill that would dismantle much of the Affordable Care Act, called “Obamacare.” The plan calls for the government to play a smaller health care role but does keep some key provisions of former President Obama’s health care overhaul.
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Republican governors complain that a GOP proposal to replace former President Barack Obama’s health care law would force millions of lower-income earners off insurance rolls or stick states with the cost of keeping them covered. Governors, especially those from political battleground states, were generally cool to the bill put forth in the Republican-controlled U.S. House.
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No, not Jeff Sessions. Sessions was asked whether representatives of the Trump campaign had been in contact with Russian officials on behalf of the campaign, and Sessions said he didn’t know anything about that.
Finally! EPA Being Run by People Who Believe in Science, not Fake Science
Mr. Pruitt, a former Oklahoma attorney general who built a career out of suing the agency he now leads, has moved to stock the top offices of the agency with like-minded conservatives – many of them skeptics of climate change and all of them intent on rolling back environmental regulations that they see as overly intrusive and harmful to business. Mr. Pruitt has drawn heavily from the staff of his friend and fellow Oklahoma Republican, Senator James Inhofe, long known as Congress’s most prominent skeptic of climate science.
Texas wildfires kill four, blazes also hit nearby states
A cluster of late-winter prairie fires in the Texas Panhandle has killed four people, including three ranch hands racing to herd livestock to safety, while scorching hundreds of thousands of acres of grasslands, officials said on Tuesday. Wildfires stoked by high winds and tinder-dry vegetation also raged across Colorado, Oklahoma and Kansas, prompting thousands of evacuations and destroying numerous structures.
10 Things to Know for Wednesday
An alleged CIA surveillance program disclosed by WikiLeaks on Tuesday, March 7, 2017, purporte… . Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., center, joined by, from left, Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, Rep. Mark Sanford, R-S.C., Rep. Louie Gohmert, R-Texas, and Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, speaks about health care during a news conference on Capitol Hill i… .
Gardner: Congress will make progress
FORT MORGAN U.S. Sen. Cory Gardner’s brief address to Morgan County Republicans during the Lincoln Day Dinner discussed appointments, health care, taxes and praised the achievements of the GOP. “Doesn’t it feel good to have a Republican Senate, a Republican House and a Republican in the White House?” Gardner asked.
‘Disingenuous and absurd’: White House slams resurfaced reports of…
The White House on Tuesday shot down resurfaced reports suggesting President Donald Trump met with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak in April, calling the accounts “disingenuous and absurd.” As revisited Tuesday by the liberal-leaning AmericaBlog , a report in the Wall Street Journal last May said Trump and Kislyak interacted at a reception that preceded a foreign-policy speech the then-Republican frontrunner gave at a Washington, DC, hotel.