Category: US House

Our Thoughts on Rep. Paulsen and Trump Lavish Travel on Public Tab

As we learned last October, 2016, President Trump will not be paying taxes for almost 20 years. He also will not release his tax returns.  Yet, those of us who do pay taxes will be paying hundreds of millions of dollars for the security and travel of his extended family, with some of that flowing right back into Trumps’ own pockets.  Trump expenses in just one year are expected to be double what Obama’s were in all eight years combined.

By tolerating President Trump’s existing conflicts of interest in his businesses, we encourage further conflicts, hurting all Americans financially and morally. We urge our “so called” fiscally conservative elected Republicans including Congressman Paulsen, as well as the working class supporters of Trump to please stand up to “King” Trump.   

Republican Health Proposal Would Redirect Money From Poor to Rich

The following article by Margot Sanger-Katz was posted on the New York Times website February 16, 2017:

Speaker of the House Paul Ryan at a news conference on Thursday. Credit Al Drago/The New York Times

Republicans in Congress have been saying for months that they are working on a plan to repeal and replace Obamacare in the Trump era. Now we have the outline of that plan, and it looks as if it would redirect federal support away from poorer Americans and toward people who are wealthier.

A white paper drafted by House leadership and the staff of the House and Senate committees that oversee health policy details a structure that could replace large sections of the Affordable Care Act. Crucially, the proposal largely contains provisions that could be passed through a special budget process that requires only 50 Senate votes, and fulfills President Trump’s promise that the repeal and replacement of the law would take place “simultaneously.” Continue reading “Republican Health Proposal Would Redirect Money From Poor to Rich”

The 10 Most Galling Republican Responses To The Flynn Scandal

The following article by Alexandra Rosemann was posted on the AlterNet website February 14, 2017:

Rand Paul needs to be heard to be believed.

Michael Flynn’s abrupt resignation from the National Security Council has reignited a controversy that has followed Donald Trump since he was elected president, with scores of Democrats calling for a special investigation into the administration’s possible ties to the Kremlin. But with a few notable exceptions, those calls have largely fallen on deaf ears with a Republican Party that has proven time and again it is willing to accomodate scandal and disgrace so long as it doesn’t impede its exercise of power. Senator Rand Paul even suggested the matter didn’t merit further inquiry, because it would require that Republicans investigate a fellow Republican.

Here are 10 of the more galling responses to the Flynn scandal so far. Continue reading “The 10 Most Galling Republican Responses To The Flynn Scandal”

These 23 Republicans Passed on a Chance to Get Trump’s Tax Returns

The following article by Conor Friedersdorf was posted on the Atlantic website February 15, 2017:

Congress has a duty to make sure President Trump isn’t selling out the United States. These legislators are in more active dereliction of that duty than most.

More than 800,000 Americans have signed a petition demanding the release of Donald Trump’s tax returns. Polls show that a majority of the country wants to see the documents.

On April 15, tens of thousands plan to take to the streets in protest of the president’s refusal to release his tax returns to the public. Some worry Trump is hiding financial ties to Russia. Others want to understand all the conflicts of interest that flow from his failure to divest from his business interests. Twenty thousand people say they’re going to a Los Angeles protest. Eleven thousand are signed up to attend in New York City. Folks will protest in Boise, Indianapolis, St. Louis, Raleigh, Pittsburgh, Knoxville, Salt Lake City, and other municipalities throughout the U.S. Continue reading “These 23 Republicans Passed on a Chance to Get Trump’s Tax Returns”

Behind the online community organizing protests against Trump

From CBS Evening News:

Obamacare

The following article was posted on the TrumpAccountable.org website February 15, 2017:

In 2015 Republicans in Congress overwhelmingly passed a measure to repeal Obamacare. The repeal package, embedded in a budget reconciliation bill, never had a chance to become law as long as President Obama was in office and could veto it.

Now that Republicans have both chambers of the legislative branch and the executive branch, why don’t they simply roll out the same repeal package, that also defunded Planned Parenthood, and vote on it? It seems easy, doesn’t it? Continue reading “Obamacare”

While Trump scandals mount, Chaffetz decides to investigate… a cartoon character

The following column by Dana Milbank was posted on the Washington Post website February 13, 2017:

Angry Utahans shouted down Rep. Jason Chaffetz, chairman of the House Oversight Committee, at the Republican’s recent town hall meeting.

“Do your job!” they chanted, scolding him for refusing to investigate the Trump administration.

In fairness to Chaffetz, he is busy with more pressing matters.

True, Chaffetz, after his unending probes of the Obama administration and Hillary Clinton, hasn’t shown any appetite to examine, say, the Trump administration’s ties to Russia or its many conflicts of interest. But the chairman has shown determination to probe, without fear or favor, the threat to America posed by Sid the Science Kid. Continue reading “While Trump scandals mount, Chaffetz decides to investigate… a cartoon character”

Warren calls for probe into Trump White House Russia Ties

The following article by Martin Finucane was posted on the Boston Glub website February 14, 2017:

In a series of tweets posted in the wake of national security adviser Michael Flynn’s resignation, Massachusetts US Senator Elizabeth Warren called for a bipartisan inquiry into the Trump administration’s contacts with Russia, saying national security was at stake.

Response to immigration ban was poorly implemented

The following letter to the Editor was posted on the Edina Sun-Current website February 12, 2017:

To the editor:

U.S. Rep. Erik Paulsen says Donald Trump’s immigration ban was “poorly implemented.” But it’s Paulsen’s response to Trump that’s poorly implemented.

Any manager, executive, or hockey mom could tell that Trump’s implementation of the ban was bad. Poor communication, unclear directives and questionable authority turned hard-working officers in airports into Keystone Kops, embarrassing them, the federal government and the country. There’s little dispute there. Continue reading “Response to immigration ban was poorly implemented”

We Can’t Take His Word for It

English teachers beginning in the earliest grades demand that students writing essays or research papers support assertions with fact or expert opinion. Part of becoming a thoughtful, engaged citizen, the argument goes, is being able to make an argument and back it up with credible sources. An English teacher will often write in the margin of a draft of a research paper “It looks like you lack support for this assertion,” or “How did you draw this conclusion?”

Candidate Trump often employed unearned assertions throughout the campaign against his primary opponents and Hillary Clinton. As President of the United States, Donald Trump can no longer make unfounded assertions and a number of his most remarkable assertions demand evidence and further investigation. Continue reading “We Can’t Take His Word for It”