Tag: GOP congress

Republican tax bill fuels anxiety across the nation’s healthcare system

The following article by Noam N. Levey was posted on the Los Angeles Times website December 18, 2017:

A surgical team operates on a Medicaid patient at the University of Arizona Medical Center in Tucson. Across the country, many medical providers fear tax cuts will force major cuts to the healthcare safety net. (Los Angeles Times

Doctors, hospitals, patient advocates and others who work in the nation’s healthcare system are growing increasingly alarmed at the Republican tax bill, warning that it threatens care for millions of sick Americans.

The legislation – which GOP leaders are rushing to pass this week – will eliminate beginning in 2019 the Affordable Care Act penalty on consumers without health coverage, a move many experts warn will weaken insurance markets in parts of the country. Continue reading “Republican tax bill fuels anxiety across the nation’s healthcare system”

In Fight for Judiciary Slot, Democrats Broach the ‘I’ Word: Impeachment

The following article by Nicholas Fandos was posted on the New York Times website December 18, 2017:

Representative Jerrold Nadler of New York has pitched himself to be the top-ranking Democrat on the House Judiciary Committe.Credit:  Carolyn Kaster/Associated Press

WASHINGTON — Representative Jerrold Nadler of New York has a bold pitch to take over the top Democratic spot on the House Judiciary Committee — that he is best positioned to lead impeachment proceedings against President Trump.

“As our constitutional expert, and with his demonstrated leadership on impeachment in the 90s, Nadler is our strongest member to lead a potential impeachment,” Mr. Nadler wrote on a pocket-size leaflet outlining his record. Continue reading “In Fight for Judiciary Slot, Democrats Broach the ‘I’ Word: Impeachment”

Protesters storm Congress to fight tax bill, as cameras point elsewhere

The following article by David Weigel was posted on the Washington Post website December 18, 2017:

Protesters gathered at the Russell Senate Building on Capitol Hill on Dec. 18 to protest the GOP tax bill, and several were arrested. (Twitter/Mariam Ehrari via Storyful)

The mission on Monday afternoon was the same as it had been since June: Show up in the halls of Congress, and get arrested. More than a hundred protesters crowded into the meeting and dining rooms of the Capitol Skyline Hotel to get trained before the final burst of civil disobedience against the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. They chanted “When we fight, we win,” but the meaning of “winning” was slightly tweaked.

“When we fight, we win; when we drag this out, we win,” said Paul Davis, the national advocacy coordinator at the left-leaning Housing Works. “They thought that they would pass this thing before Thanksgiving, and it’s halfway to Christmas!” Continue reading “Protesters storm Congress to fight tax bill, as cameras point elsewhere”

Why Corker flipped on the tax bill

The following article by Seung Min Kim was posted on the Politico website December 18, 2017:

Sen. Bob Corker’s (R-Tenn.) surprise decision to support the tax bill after railing for weeks that it would increase the federal deficit. | Andrew Harnik/AP Photo

Days before his surprise announcement that he would support the GOP tax bill, Sen. Bob Corker had been summoning administration officials and economists to his office to see whether he could ultimately get on board with the plan.

One was Douglas Holtz-Eakin, the former Congressional Budget Office director and adviser to GOP presidential campaigns who painstakingly went through varying analyses of the tax measure as Corker — accompanied by at least a half-dozen aides and stacks of spreadsheets — drilled him with questions. Continue reading “Why Corker flipped on the tax bill”

Live: How Each House Member Voted on the Tax Bill

NOTE:  Rep. Erik Paulsen voted FOR the GOP tax bill, as he did for the GOP health insurance bill.  Both didn’t put the interests of the majority of his constituents first, but those of the ultra rich and large corporations.

The following article by Sarah Almukhtar, Audrey Carlsen, K.K. Rebecca Lai, Blacki Migliozzi, Alicia Parlapiano, Jugal K. Patel and Rachel Shorey was posted on the New York Times website December 19, 2017:

Live: How Each House Member Voted on the Tax Bill

The House voted on Tuesday to pass the Republican tax overhaul bill. The Times tracked how every representative voted, live from the House chamber.

Continue reading “Live: How Each House Member Voted on the Tax Bill”

GOP tax bill passes House, Senate to vote late Tuesday

The following article by Jeff Stein was posted on the Washington Post website December 19, 2017:

House Speaker Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.) listens during a news conference after a GOP conference meeting at the U.S. Capitol on Tuesday. (Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg)

The House of Representatives passed Republicans’ sweeping tax overhaul on Tuesday, sending the plan to the Senate and setting the stage for the bill to be signed by President Trump as early as this week.

“This is about expanding opportunity to people who are striving to make the most of their lives,” House Speaker Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.) said before the vote Tuesday. “We know in this country that we’re not reaching our potential. And we know one of the greatest things we can do to do that is to pass this tax reform bill” Continue reading “GOP tax bill passes House, Senate to vote late Tuesday”

‘Corker Kickback’ sends Republicans scrambling in advance of tax vote

The following article by Judd Legum was posted on the ThinkProgress website December 17, 2017:

What happened? Bob Corker, and many others, want answers.

Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn. (Credit: AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Bob Corker, a Republican Senator from Tennessee, is retiring. He has made a show of criticizing Trump’s agenda, and he was the only Republican to vote against the Senate version of the tax bill, citing deficit concerns. Independent analysis shows the bill would increase the deficit by about $1.5 trillion over 10 years. Continue reading “‘Corker Kickback’ sends Republicans scrambling in advance of tax vote”

Trump risks losing what’s left of his populist street cred with GOP tax bill

The following article by James Hohmann with Breanne Deppisch and Joanie Greve was posted on the Washington Post website December 18, 2017:

Politicians continued to debate the merits of the Republican tax overhaul on Dec. 17. The House could vote on the bill as soon as Dec. 20. (Patrick Martin/The Washington Post)

THE BIG IDEA: The narrative of President Trump’s first year will shift this week when he signs into law the biggest overhaul of the tax code in three decades. The donor class is enthusiastic, and final passage should help reverse months of anemic fundraising at entities like the National Republican Senatorial Committee.

It is a much-needed win for Trump and the GOP, who would have looked ineffective if he couldn’t get this done, but it may still turn out to be a Pyrrhic victory. Here are several ways that this bill could backfire: Continue reading “Trump risks losing what’s left of his populist street cred with GOP tax bill”

Reduce Taxes…Increase Debt

The following article was posted on the TrumpAccountable.org website December 18, 2017:

Republicans have been dismissive of claims – including CBO projections – that the tax plan winding its way through Congress will increase the national debt by an estimated 1.5 trillion dollars. Other estimates put the cost of the tax cuts at 2.3 trillion dollars if  they are extended. Whatever the actual amount that the tax cuts add to the debt, the following facts remain:

  • After decades of tagging Democrats as “tax and spend liberals,” Republican lawmakers are voting for a significant increase to the national debt.
  • Nearly all economists dispute Republicans’ rosy economic estimates that growth will increase sufficiently to counter the increase in debt. Continue reading “Reduce Taxes…Increase Debt”

Republican Senators Will Save Millions With Special Real-Estate Tax Break

The following article by Alex Kotch, David Sirota and Josh Keefe was posted on the International Business Times website December 18, 2017:

When the U.S. Senate takes up the final tax bill this week, more than a quarter of all GOP senators will be voting on a bill that includes a special provision that could give them a new tax cut through their real estate shell companies, according to federal records reviewed by International Business Times.

The provision was not in the original bill passed by the Senate on Dec. 1. It was embedded in the final bill by Sen. Orrin Hatch of Utah, who is among the lawmakers that stand to personally benefit from the provision.  Continue reading “Republican Senators Will Save Millions With Special Real-Estate Tax Break”