Tag: GOP congress

8 weeks out: Dems see narrow path to Senate majority

Eight weeks out from the midterm elections, both Republicans and Democrats find themselves with a path to a Senate majority.

For Democrats, it is a surprising development given this year’s difficult political map: The party is defending nearly two-dozen seats, including 10 seats in states won by President Trump in 2016.

Yet if the party can sweep every race considered a toss-up, it would end up with a 52-48 majority in the next Congress — even while losing Texas, where Rep. Beto O’Rourke (D) is giving GOP Sen. Ted Cruz a stronger-than-expected challenge.

View the complete article by Lisa Hagen and Max Greenwood on the Hill website (posted 9/11/18).

Trump Tax Law 2.0: Republicans Double Down On Tax Cuts For The Rich

The Trump tax law sent the deficit skyrocketing and gave a majority of the benefits to the richest Americans, while doing nothing for working families. Now, Republicans are doubling down on that unpopular law with more tax cuts for the wealthy.

The nonpartisan CBO says the deficit has skyrocketed by more than $200 billion over the last year, in large part because of Trump’s corporate tax cuts.

Axios: “The U.S. deficit grew by $222 billion from this time last year — reaching a total of $895 billion, according to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office… This increase was due mostly to the new Republican tax law and Congress’ routine decision to increase spending, which grew by 7% compared to revenue growth of only 1%. The CBO says the deficit will approach $1 trillion by the end of Fiscal Year 2019.”

Washington Post: “Corporate tax receipts fell 30 percent in the past 11 months, the CBO said, precipitated by the large reduction in rates from the massive tax overhaul passed by Congress last year.” Continue reading “Trump Tax Law 2.0: Republicans Double Down On Tax Cuts For The Rich”

GOP bails on pledge not to use stolen emails to attack opponents

The following article by Eric Boehlert was posted on the ShareBlue.com website September 7, 2018:

Republicans refuse to rule out help from Russians.

Republicans blew up long-running negotiations with Democrats this week, after both sides worked quietly for months to come to a bipartisan agreement not to use hacked or stolen information in the upcoming campaign season.

In a proposal that had been on the table, both parties agreed not to help any hacking efforts and not to search out hacked or stolen materials, and they also agreed to report any contacts with foreign operatives to law enforcement.

The GOP’s decision to abruptly end talks “only fed the complaint by Democrats that Republican lawmakers have resisted bridging partisan divisions in the two years since Russia began its brazen attack on the American political system,” the New York Times reported.

View the complete article here.

GOP turns its fire on Google

The following article by Ali Breland was posted on the Hill website September 9, 2018:

President Trump‘s fight against Google is making its way down Pennsylvania Avenue to Congress.

Republican lawmakers are ramping up their scrutiny of the tech giant after Trump accused Google of political bias and questioned whether regulators should take a closer look at its market powers.

Google added fuel to the fire on Wednesday by skipping a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing on foreign influence operations.

Our taxes are up 23 percent, thanks to Erik Paulsen

To the Editor:

Remember the Republican tax cut bill that Rep. Paulsen worked so hard to pass? It’s the one that massively cut taxes for corporations and the top 1 percent.

For us, it will mean a 23-percent increase in our taxable income and a 35-percent increase in our federal tax bill. We are retired and pay estimated taxes throughout the year. Our CPA did the arithmetic with the new tax bill and our 2017 income to figure out what we should be paying in estimated taxes for 2018 and he shared all the numbers with us. The result has been a 23-percent increase in our estimated tax payments; the final results are above.

We know this tax bill cut taxes for corporations and the top 1 percent; they are undoubtedly grateful to Rep. Paulson (sic). Wonder what it did for your 2018 tax bill.

Gwen and Mason Myers, Minnetonka
Minnetonka Sun-Sailor, September 10, 2018

REAL STORIES: Americans Struggling With Rising Costs

Americans everywhere are struggling with rising costs and are failing to see their paychecks increase. But instead of reigning in drug costs or ending their health care sabotage that has led to skyrocketing premiums, Republicans want to push another round of tax cuts.

It’s clear Republicans aren’t focused on what matters to Americans. Here are real stories of Americans who continue to struggle with access to care and rising drug prices:

“Does that mean that I don’t get the privilege to live? Does it mean that I don’t get the privilege to work and contribute to our society? Because without access to health care I can’t do those things.” – Texas resident with a pre-existing condition

Continue reading “REAL STORIES: Americans Struggling With Rising Costs”

Anti-Trump Fervor Puts Senate in Play

The following article by Shawn Zeller was posted on the Roll Call website September 7, 2018:

Democrats “definitely have a chance to win the Senate,” election analyst Nathan Gonzales tells CQ on Congress. He maps out where Democrats can pick up Senate seats in the midterm elections as well as which races they are most likely to lose.

View the article here.

Brett Kavanaugh Referred to Contraception as ‘Abortion-Inducing Drugs’ During Confirmation Hearing

The following article by Gina Martinez was posted on the Time website September 6, 2018:

Credit: Saul Loeb, AFP, Getty Images

During the third day of his Supreme Court confirmation hearings, Judge Brett Kavanaugh referred to the use of contraception as “abortion-inducing drugs.”

On Thursday, Kavanaugh was asked by Sen. Ted Cruz about his dissent in the Priests for Life v. the U.S. Department of Human and Health Services case. In 2015, while serving on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, Kavanaugh sided with a religious organization that objected to providing contraception for employees with insurance.

Priests for Life contested the Affordable Care Act (ACA) requirement that all health plans cover birth control, claiming that IUDs and emergency contraception causes abortion instead of acting as birth control. Under the ACA, employers who wished for the government to fund the contraceptives had to fill out a form to their insurers to avoid a monetary fine. In the suit, Priests for Life said filling out the form made them complicit in providing contraception and violated the organization’s religious freedom.

View the complete article here.

Booker Releases Committee Confidential Documents Related to Yesterday’s Testimony

The following was posted on Sen. Cory Booker’s website September 6, 2018:

Prohibition on publicly releasing key documents reflects deeply flawed process

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) today publicly released several documents previously marked Committee confidential from Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh’s time as White House Counsel under President George W. Bush.

“As I’ve been saying from the beginning, this process has been a sham,” Senator Booker said. “The fact that tens of thousands of documents revealing a Supreme Court nominee’s views on key issues were deemed Committee Confidential and not available to the public reflects the absurdity of this process. The public has a right to access documents about a Supreme Court nominee’s views on issues that are profoundly important, such as race and the law. This process has demonstrated an unprecedented level of secrecy and opaqueness that undermines the Senate’s Constitutional duty to advice and consent.”

Last month, Booker joined Senate Democrats in advocating for the full public release of the 141,000 documents related to Judge Kavanaugh’s record that had been marked Committee Confidential. Continue reading “Booker Releases Committee Confidential Documents Related to Yesterday’s Testimony”

DNC Chair Tom Perez on August Jobs Report

After the U.S. Department of Labor released the latest jobs and unemployment numbers, DNC Chair and former Labor Secretary Tom Perez issued the following statement:

“Voters all across this country want nothing more than to have a good-paying job and the reassurance that a crisis won’t set them back and put them into debt. While Democrats have made economic investments for years to restore the health of our economy and get us where we are today, there is still far more that we need to do to raise wages and make our growing economy work for everyone.

“The cost of health insurance, gas, housing, and prescription drugs is rising fast, and wages for workers have not kept up. The American people want lawmakers who will work for them, not more of Trump’s broken promises and Republican tax cuts for the rich. That’s exactly why voters keep electing Democrats up and down the ticket, even in deep red states. Democrats are fighting to make our government and our economy work for American families. And we will continue to stand up for workers, help create more good jobs, raise wages, and ensure economic opportunity for all.”