National Issues 192 , CD3 DFL

11 Years of the ACA

In 2010 America’s most significant overhaul and expansion of healthcare coverage since Medicare and Medicaid were passed, known as the Affordable Care Act. The positive effects from its passage have been monumental: In the past 11 years, it has helped millions of Americans, saved lives, and strengthened the American healthcare system.

The Affordable Care Act has helped Americans across the country in various aspects ranging from more affordable drug prices, protection for preexisting conditions, improving access to healthcare for young adults and rural communities, expanding protections for women and disabled people, and many other things. It has reduced the number of uninsured Americans to historically low numbers and helped more people access healthcare, especially low-income earners and POC.

In the years since it was put into effect, over 20 million Americans have registered and over 135 million with preexisting conditions are protected. Since the law’s passage, it’s estimated that the ACA has saved seniors $20 billion on prescription drug costs, and has saved women an estimated $1.4 billion in birth control pills alone.

Democrats plan to squeeze GOP over filibuster

Senate Democrats are eyeing the next phase of the filibuster fight as they plan a series of tests to try to squeeze Republicans and sway their colleagues wary of changing the Senate’s most famous rule.

As the House passes several big policy priorities, Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) is vowing that he will put the bills on the floor this year, setting up high-profile showdowns on President Biden’s campaign promises.

Democrats say the strategy is two-fold: It will make Republicans go on the record in opposition and could demonstrate to Democrats wary of reforming the legislative filibuster that much of their agenda will be stuck in limbo without reforms. Continue reading.

‘Close ally’ of Marjorie Taylor Greene caught on video inside the US Capitol on Jan 6

CNN reported last month that “a close ally” of Georgia GOP Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene partook in the storming of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6. Now, CNN reports that there’s footage showing Anthony Aguero inside the building on that day.

Aguero refused to say whether or not he was inside the building and claimed he went to the Capitol as an “independent journalist” to document the event, but videos reviewed by CNN’s KFile are the first visual confirmation that Aguero breached the building. He can be heard chanting “heave ho” as rioters were attempting to break in on the West Side of the Capitol.

Another video filmed immediately following the riot, Aguero said “a message was sent” by the rioters, later describing them as “patriots.” Continue reading.

Sen. John Hoffman (SD36) Update: March 26, 2021

Dear Friends and Neighbors,

The Legislature’s annual Easter/Passover break is upon us, giving legislators a chance to catch their breath after the last few weeks of intense deadlines. While I’m spending my break catching up on my work outside the legislature as well as spending time with family, I’m hoping everyone else is getting the chance to get outside and into the sunshine.

There is also great news! Next week Minnesotans 16 and older will qualify for the Covid-19 vaccine. The elderly and vulnerable populations will still be prioritized but there is more opportunity for everyone to get vaccinated now. There is more information in this ENews.

I will also be contemplating the coming last few weeks of the legislative session. We have had contentious issues arise this session as well as those that share bipartisan support. All of the budgets are out from the House, Senate and Governor. The stage is set for the last month of session.

Justice Dept. faces risks, rewards with riot sedition charges

Department of Justice (DOJ) lawyers face risks and rewards if they move forward with sedition charges against members of the mob that overran the Capitol on Jan. 6.

Many legal experts say sedition charges are a natural fit given what happened at the Capitol that day.

Hundreds of former President Trump’s supporters overwhelmed Capitol Police and interfered with Congress’s lawful certification of President Biden’s Electoral College victory. Five people were killed, including a Capitol Police officer, with dozens more injured. Continue reading.

Experts slam Fox News for wrongly attacking VP Harris for ‘repeatedly failing to salute military’

Fox News is taking fire from military experts after the conservative media outlet and some of its strongest allies attacked Vice President Kamala Harris for not saluting members of the U.S. Military. As experts explained, Harris is not a member of the military nor in the chain of command, and it would be inappropriate for her to do so. It would also signal a weakening of civilian control.

“Vice President Kamala Harris is facing criticism for appearing to break with precedent and failing to salute the honor guard when boarding Air Force Two,” Fox News’ Evie Fordham wrote in an online article on Tuesday. “Video reviewed by Fox News showed that her predecessors, former Vice President Mike Pence and President Biden, regularly saluted the honor guard in the same situation.”

Tom Nichols, a professor at the U.S. Naval War College who formerly was a fellow at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, slammed Fox News, saying it would be “incorrect” for her to salute, and they know they’re wrong. Continue reading.

Former Yale psychiatrist sues university — says she was fired for efforts to expose Trump’s mental illness

As Dr. Bandy X. Lee’s frequent publisher, we, the editors of DC Report.org. believe she has made vital contributions to our understanding of public mental health and the damaging effects of a deeply mentally ill individual, Donald Trump, holding the most powerful position in the world.

Trump’s delusions, which are well-documented and go back decades, have resulted in the spread of baseless conspiracy theories, numerous acts of deadly violence and the failed attempt to overthrow our government on Jan 6. These assaults continue although there are indications that some Trump followers who embraced his delusions appear to be recovering from their own temporary loss of rationality and mental well-being.

Yale University fired Dr. Lee, an established professor on its medical school faculty, citing the misnamed “Goldwater Rule.” That policy directs mental health professionals to hold their tongue about the mental well-being of officials, something American citizens do every day around their kitchen tables, in public forums and on national television. To deny the citizenry the insights of educated mental health professionals is more than absurd, it is an attack on the very principle of American democratic self-governance. Continue reading.

Shootings never stopped during the pandemic: 2020 was the deadliest gun violence year in decades

Until two lethal rampages this month, mass shootings had largely been absent from headlines during the coronavirus pandemic. But people were still dying — at a record rate.

In 2020, gun violence killed nearly 20,000 Americans, according to data from the Gun Violence Archive, more than any other year in at least two decades. An additional 24,000 people died by suicide with a gun.

The vast majority of these tragedies happen far from the glare of the national spotlight, unfolding instead in homes or on city streets and — like the covid-19 crisis — disproportionately affecting communities of color. Continue reading.

Sen. Melisa Franzen (SD49) Update: March 26, 2021

Volume 6, Issue 12

March 26, 2021

A weekly message from your Senator

Dear Constituents and Friends,

I know many are welcoming Spring with open arms and enjoying a Holiday break. I wish all of you a happy and safe Spring, Passover, and Easter to all who celebrate!

Today, Governor Walz announced that starting Tuesday, March 30th all Minnesotans age 16 and older will be eligible to receive the COVID-19 vaccine.Minnesota currently ranks first in the nation in getting vaccines out to people. We now have 80% of seniors vaccinated in Minnesota along with 66% of our school and child care personnel. If you have not already, sign up in the Vaccine Connector and the Hennepin County vaccination registration. When you sign up for these vaccination programs you will be contacted when there is a vaccine available for you nearby.

Republicans put themselves in a box — after driving the nation into a ditch

Why, at this time of desperate need, does the Republican leadership refuse to put its fingerprints on legislation that relieves the American people’s suffering? Not one Republican in the entire US Congress voted for the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA).

If you scrolled through right-wing social media last weekend, you’d see the top news was not the increased pace of vaccination or the arrival of $1,400 stimmies. It was Joe Biden’s triple-stumble on the staircase to Air Force One. A particularly creative meme tweeted out by Donald Trump, Jr. interspersed video of the former president hitting golf balls, which then appeared to hit Biden in the head and knock him down.

United behind obstructionism so extreme it overwhelmed the need to pass legislation when the GOP controlled both chambers of the Congress, Biden tripping and falling now counts as a Republican win. In fact, over the four years of the Trump administration, exactly one major piece of legislation was passed, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, a big unwrapped present to corporations, but not to the American people. Instead, congressional Republicans have unified behind the bizarre theory that Congress must deliver cultural criticism and mean jokes about their colleagues. Continue reading.

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A weekly message from your Senator

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