Category: US House of Representatives

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.

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.

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.

Irish-American politicians call for NI special envoy

The co-chair of the Irish-American grouping in the US Congress has called on President Donald Trump to appoint a new special envoy to Northern Ireland. Massachusetts congressman Richard Neal said that this was a “critically important period of US-Ireland relations” and that he was urging President Trump to appoint an envoy.

News | Legalizing Marijuana is “Throwing Gasoline” on Addiction…

Former Rhode Island Congressman Patrick Kennedy spoke with GoLocal LIVE on Wednesday about efforts in Rhode Island once again to legalize marijuana – and what he said is the country’s crisis of addiction, and why he is opposed to marijuana legalization. “We’re going though an epidemic of addiction and depressionand we’re in the midst of the rollback the biggest expansion of healthcare coverage that benefits people with mental illness [and] addiction, and this was the first time the ever got coverage,” Kennedy told GoLocal’s Kate Nagle on Wednesday.

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.

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 .

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.

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 SEC Pick Made Millions Representing Banks, Hedge Funds

President Donald Trump’s pick to lead the Securities and Exchange Commission has earned $7.62 million since 2015 representing some of Wall Street’s biggest firms, including Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Bill Ackman’s Pershing Square Capital Management, according to a federal disclosure form. Jay Clayton, the Sullivan & Cromwell partner tapped by Trump, outlined his clients — and his potential conflicts — in a filing to the U.S. Office of Government Ethics that he signed in January.

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.

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.

SEC nominee Clayton vows separation from his Wall Street law firm

Wall Street attorney Jay Clayton, President Donald Trump’s pick to head the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, has vowed to recuse himself from agency matters involving his law firm and former clients, according to an ethics agreement made public on Wednesday. Under the agreement, the Sullivan & Cromwell attorney will not participate in SEC matters involving the firm for one year.

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.

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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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.

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.

House intel chair: Media take Trump tweets too literally

The top Republican on the House intelligence committee said he has not seen any evidence to back President Donald Trump’s claim that the Obama administration wiretapped him during the 2016 campaign and suggested the news media were taking the president’s weekend tweets too literally. “The president is a neophyte to politics – he’s been doing this a little over a year,” Rep. Devin Nunes, R-Calif., told reporters Tuesday.

Valley congressman leads the charge for more funding to fight drug abuse

Congressman Tim Ryan is leading a bipartisan coalition of 23 members of Congress calling on President Donald Trump to include full funding of $9.3 billion to fight the opioid and prescription drug epidemic in the United States. “This epidemic is costing our nation $700 billion nationally in health, crime and lost productivity costs, but that is nothing compared to the toll it is taking on our families and friends.

WikiLeaks reveals CIA files describing hacking tools

WikiLeaks published thousands of documents Tuesday described as secret files about CIA hacking tools the government employs to break into users’ computers, mobile phones and even smart TVs from companies like Apple, Google, Microsoft and Samsung. The documents describe clandestine methods for bypassing or defeating encryption, antivirus tools and other protective security features intended to keep the private information of citizens and corporations safe from prying eyes.

Intel chair: No evidence of wiretap

House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes, R-Calif., said Tuesday that he had seen no evidence supporting President Donald Trump’s claim that his phones were tapped by the previous administration. But unlike many other members of Congress, Nunes did not demand that the administration explain the basis of Trump’s accusation, saying that “we were going to look into it anyway.”

10 Things to Know for Wednesday

This April 13, 2016, file photo shows the seal of the Central Intelligence Agency at CIA headquarters in Langley, Va. An alleged CIA surveillance program disclosed by WikiLeaks on Tuesday, March 7, 2017, purportedly targeted security weaknesses in smart TVs, smartphones, personal computers and even cars, and enabled snooping that could circumvent encryption on communications apps such as Facebook’s WhatsApp.

Ex-US Rep. Betty Sutton is making 2018 bid for Ohio governor

Former U.S. Rep. Betty Sutton jumped into the 2018 governor’s race Tuesday, bringing a solid track record of election wins and fundraising that could position her as the initial Democratic front-runner. The 53-year-old lawyer from Barberton served three terms in Congress and eight years in the state Legislature, where she was the youngest woman ever elected at age 29. She also served on her local city and county councils.

Conservative backlash threatens to sink new GOP health bill

A powerful conservative backlash threatened to sink the new Republican health care bill less than 24 hours after its launch, even as President Donald Trump and congressional leaders began trying to sell the legislation as the long-promised GOP cure for “Obamacare. ” “We’re going to do something that’s great and I’m proud to support the replacement plan released by the House of Representatives,” Trump declared at the White House as he met with the House GOP vote-counting team Tuesday.