Tag: GOP congress

Years of Attack Leave Obamacare a More Government-Focused Health Law

The following article by Robert Pear was posted on the New York Times website December 27, 2017:

Volunteers in the Maine People’s Alliance office before going door to door to urge voters to back Medicaid expansion in Bangor, Me., in October. Credit Sarah Rice for The New York Times

WASHINGTON — The Affordable Care Act was conceived as a mix of publicly funded health care and privately purchased insurance, but Republican attacks, culminating this month in the death of a mandate that most Americans have insurance, are shifting the balance, giving the government a larger role than Democrats ever anticipated.

And while President Trump insisted again on Tuesday that the health law was “essentially” being repealed, what remains of it appears relatively stable and increasingly government-funded.

In short, President Barack Obama’s signature domestic achievement is becoming more like what conservatives despise — government-run health care — thanks in part to Republican efforts that are raising premiums for people without government assistance and allowing them to skirt coverage. Continue reading “Years of Attack Leave Obamacare a More Government-Focused Health Law”

Republican lawmakers continue attacks on FBI to delegitimize the Russia investigation

The following article by Emily C. Singer was posted on the Mic.com website December 26, 2017:

A handful of Republican lawmakers have embarked on an effort to discredit the top federal law enforcement agency, charging the FBI with bias as it investigates President Donald Trump and his campaign’s alleged ties to Russia.

On Tuesday, Rep. Francis Rooney (R-Fla.) became the latest Republican member of Congress to attack the Department of Justice and the FBI, charging both with bias against Trump.

“I would like to see the directors of those agencies purge it and say look, we’ve got a lot of great agents, a lot of great lawyers here, those are the people that I want the American people to see and know that good work’s being done, not these people who are kind of the deep state,” Rooney said Tuesday on MSNBC. Continue reading “Republican lawmakers continue attacks on FBI to delegitimize the Russia investigation”

Utah paper tells Hatch to ‘call it a career’ in blistering editorial

The following article by Avery Anapol was posted on the Hill website December 25, 2017:

Utah’s largest newspaper slammed Sen. Orrin Hatch (Utah) in a Christmas Day editorial on Monday, calling on the senior GOP senator to retire.

The Salt Lake Tribune’s editorial board named Hatch their 2017 “Utahn of the Year,” a designation the paper says is given to someone who has “had the biggest impact. For good or for ill.” Continue reading “Utah paper tells Hatch to ‘call it a career’ in blistering editorial”

Trump defends new tax-cut bill amid negative polls

The following article by Olivia Beavers was posted on the Hill website December 24, 2017:

© Getty Images

President Trump on Sunday touted provisions in the recently-passed GOP tax plan, while pushing back against polls that indicate the measure is unpopular among the U.S. public.

“The Tax Cut/Reform Bill, including Massive Alaska Drilling and the Repeal of the highly unpopular Individual Mandate, brought it all together as to what an incredible year we had,” Trump tweeted. Continue reading “Trump defends new tax-cut bill amid negative polls”

ObamaCare proves surprisingly resilient

The following article by Peter Sullivan was posted on the Hill website December 25, 2017:

ObamaCare is showing its resilience after a year where in which it took a beating but survived.

A surprisingly high number of people signed up under the law in the enrollment period that ended last week: 8.8 million, just short of the 9.2 million from last year.

And that was despite the Trump administration’s attacks on the health-care law, cutbacks on outreach and an enrollment period that was half as long as previous ones. Continue reading “ObamaCare proves surprisingly resilient”

Trump Tells Rich Mar-a-Lago Friends “You All Just Got a Lot Richer” After Tax Bill

The following article by Grace Guarnieri was posted on the Newsweek website December 24, 2017:

Credit: Don Emmert, AFP/Getty Images

President Donald Trump joined his family at their “Winter White House” for the holidays Friday night after signing the GOP tax bill into law, and reportedly told wealthy friends dining at Mar-a-Lago, “You all just got a lot richer.”

Days before heading away for the holidays, Trump told White House reporters that the tax bill would be “one of the great Christmas gifts to middle-income people.” However, Mar-a-Lago’s exclusive dinner guests would have paid a $200,000 initiation fee and $14,000 in annual dues to Trump’s golf club and resort. Continue reading “Trump Tells Rich Mar-a-Lago Friends “You All Just Got a Lot Richer” After Tax Bill”

Trump Promised to Kill Carried Interest. Lobbyists Kept it Alive.

The following article by Alan Rappeport was posted on the New York Times website December 22, 2017:

From right, Gary D. Cohn, director of National Economic Council, and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin with lawmakers in November to discuss tax legislation. Credit Tom Brenner/The New York Times

WASHINGTON — President Trump’s signature on the Republican tax bill marks his most important legislative achievement to date. It also represents the breaking of a signature promise that helped propel his populist presidential campaign.

This week, as senior White House officials acclaimed passage of the tax overhaul in Congress, they also expressed one regret: failing to close the so-called carried interest “loophole” that benefits wealthy hedge fund managers and private equity executives. Despite Mr. Trump’s vows to eliminate a tax rule that allows some rich business leaders to pay lower tax rates than their secretaries, the president in this case was no match for the powerful lobbyists protecting the status quo. Continue reading “Trump Promised to Kill Carried Interest. Lobbyists Kept it Alive.”

Ivanka Trump wrong that in April, ‘vast majority’ will be filing their taxes on a ‘postcard’

The following article by Louis Jacobson was posted on the PolitiFact website December 21, 2017:

During an interview on Fox & Friends in which she touted the recently passed tax bill, Ivanka Trump said voters would benefit more quickly than they might have imagined.

“I’m really looking forward to doing a lot of traveling in April when people realize the effect that this has, both on the process of filling out their taxes — the vast majority will be doing so on a single postcard — but also having experienced the relief that will be starting as early as February,” she said. Continue reading “Ivanka Trump wrong that in April, ‘vast majority’ will be filing their taxes on a ‘postcard’”

This Congress’s clear priorities: corporations, not children

They following article by Dylan Scott was posted on the Vox website December 21, 2017:

Credit: Scott Olson/Getty Images

It’s taken Congress three months to do the bare minimum to help CHIP.

Congress is preparing to go home for the holidays having delivered a historic tax cut for corporations — and having done only the absolute minimum to stave off disaster for the Children’s Health Insurance Program.

The government spending bill released on Thursday, which Republican leadership hopes to pass in a matter of hours, would provide $2.8 billion that is supposed to fund the program through March. Continue reading “This Congress’s clear priorities: corporations, not children”

Trump Could Save More Than $11 Million Under the New Tax Plan

The following article by Jesse Drucker and Audrey Carlsen was posted on the New York Times website December 22, 2017:

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Highlighted areas show the parts of President Trump’s 2005 tax return that could have been affected by the new tax plan.

President Trump would save about $11 million on his taxes, if the new Republican tax overhaul were applied to his 2005 tax return, a New York Times analysis has found. The savings would be a roughly 30 percent cut. He would also save another $4.4 million on his eventual estate tax bill.

Continue reading “Trump Could Save More Than $11 Million Under the New Tax Plan”