Tag: GOP House

House Republicans Increase Messaging Votes Ahead of August Recess

The following article by Lindsey McPherson was posted on the Roll Call website July 19, 2018:

GOP leaders prepare for break by seeking contrast with minority party

The Capitol dome in Washington. Credit: Brendan Smialowski, Agence France-Presse via Getty Images

The House floor is seeing an uptick in messaging bills as Republicans prepare for a monthlong district work period in a midterm year when they are defending most of the seats in play.

Case in point was a resolution the House adopted Wednesday expressing support for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials and rejecting calls to abolish the agency — a stance some progressive Democrats are pushing.

More than two-thirds of the Democratic Caucus voted “present” to protest what they saw as a GOP political ploy to highlight a divide within their party. But the different views were still apparent as 18 Democrats voted to support the pro-ICE resolution and 34 voted against it.

View the complete article here.

House GOP refuses to renew election security funding as Democrats fume over Russian interference

The following article by Erica Werner was posted on the Washington Post website July 19, 2018:

House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) decried the GOP-backed vote on a spending bill that excludes new money for election security grants to states. (U.S. House)

House Republicans on Thursday voted down a Democratic effort to increase election security spending, as Democrats accused the GOP of refusing to stand up to Russia over interference in U.S. elections.

In a vote along party lines, Republicans rejected Democrats’ motion for more funding, unmoved by Democrats’ vigorous pleas and chants of “USA! USA!” on the House floor.

The election security funding vote came amid a national controversy over Russian election interference, and it comes days after President Trump appeared to accept Russian President Vladi­mir Putin’s contention that Russia did not intervene in the 2016 presidential race — even though U.S. intelligence agencies say otherwise.

View the complete article here.

Trump, House GOP Talk More Tax Cuts

NOTE:  Rep. Erik Paulsen is a member of this committee. The tax cut bill last year that gave the majority of benefits to the top 1% of people and cut corporate taxes massively has done major damage to the national debt. Here’s an article detailing this from Forbes.

The following article by Fred Lucas was posted on the Daily Signal website July 17, 2018:

President Trump meets with members of Congress, including Chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee Kevin Brady of Texas, Credit: Newscom

Following up on the economic growth spurred by their first tax reform package, President Donald Trump and House Republicans want to see another round.

“We are going to start a meeting on tax reduction, and we are going to be putting in a bill,” Trump said Tuesday in the Cabinet Room of the White House, just before a meeting with House Republicans.

House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Kevin Brady, R-Texas, talked about making the individual income tax cuts permanent.

View the complete article here.

House Democrats say GOP blocked them from interviewing alleged Russian agent in probe

The following article by Eric Lutz was posted on the Mic.com website July 18, 2018:

Maria Butina Credit: AP

Democrats on the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence are accusing their Republican counterparts of having blocked them from interviewing alleged Russian spy Maria Butina, who was arrested Sunday and charged over apparent attempts to infiltrate American political organizations to advance Moscow’s interests.

“More likely to come on this,” Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), the top Democrat on the panel, tweeted Monday. “No wonder GOP members of HPSCI refused our request to bring her and others in.” Continue reading “House Democrats say GOP blocked them from interviewing alleged Russian agent in probe”

Voters ready to punish House candidates who won’t stand up to Trump

The following article by Tommy Christopher was posted on the Shareblue.com website June 7, 2018:

Republicans have precious little time to find courage and win back voters.

Evan Vucci, AP Photo/

Republicans have been getting trounced in special elections since Trump’s inauguration, and a new poll suggests that unless they start showing some spine, things will get a lot worse in November.

The latest NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll shows that 48 percent of voters say they’re more likely to vote for a candidate who promises to provide a check on Trump, versus only 23 percent who say they’d be less likely to vote for such a candidate.

And 53 percent of voters say they are less likely to support a candidate who supports Trump most of the time. And every single House Republican has voted with Trump at least 90 percent of the time.

Voters are also factoring in the continuation of President Obama’s booming economy, with 63 percent saying they’re “very” or “somewhat” satisfied with the economy — while still wanting candidates to check Trump. Continue reading “Voters ready to punish House candidates who won’t stand up to Trump”

House Republican Farm Bill Will Hurt People With Disabilities and Older Adults

The following article by Eliza Schultz and Rachel West was posted on the Center for American Progress website May 16, 2018:

The highly partisan 2018 Farm Bill proposal, which House Republicans released in mid-April, threatens to compound the hardships faced by millions of disadvantaged Americans by substantially increasing hunger and food insecurity for those who rely on food assistance from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). The bill’s effects would be especially severe for those with disabilities and for older adults—both of whom disproportionately struggle in the labor market.

During the decade-long recovery from the Great Recession, the job market has gradually improved for most workers. Yet slowly climbing labor force participation and falling unemployment mask significant differences across various groups of Americans. In particular, individuals with disabilities and older adults have faced a decidedly slower recovery. According to recent census data, just 31.6 percent of adults with disabilities ages 25 to 64 participate in the labor force—compared with 81.7 percent of their nondisabled peers—and this group is nearly three times more likely to be unemployed.* Meanwhile, labor market participation among adults ages 50 to 59 is 75.3 percent, nearly 7 percentage points lower than that of people ages 25 to 49. Furthermore, this demographic is disproportionately likely to experience long-term unemployment—that is, unemployment for six months or longer. And since the risk of disability rises precipitously with age, there is considerable overlap between these two populations. As a result, workers in these groups have not been able to reap the benefits of the economic recovery to the same extent as prime-age nondisabled workers. Continue reading “House Republican Farm Bill Will Hurt People With Disabilities and Older Adults”

Secret intelligence source who aided Mueller probe is at center of latest clash between Nunes and Justice Dept.

The following article by Robert Costa, Carol D. Leonnig, Devlin Barrett and SHane Harris was posted on the Washington Post website May 8, 2018:

Rep. Devin Nunes (R-CA), Chairman of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence. Credit: Mark Wilson/Getty Images

Last Wednesday, senior FBI and national intelligence officials relayed an urgent message to the White House: Information being sought by House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes could endanger a top-secret intelligence source.

Top White House officials, with the assent of President Trump, agreed to back the decision to withhold the information. They were persuaded that turning over Justice Department documents could risk lives by potentially exposing the source, a U.S. citizen who has provided intelligence to the CIA and FBI, according to multiple people familiar with the discussion and the person’s role. Continue reading “Secret intelligence source who aided Mueller probe is at center of latest clash between Nunes and Justice Dept.”

Nunes blames ‘radical leftists’ for his failing re-election campaign

The following article by Caroline Orr was posted on the Shareblue.com website April 28, 2018:

With his congressional seat in danger, Devin Nunes is desperately blaming his own failures on imaginary boogeymen.

Credit: Joshua Roberts

With his House seat no longer considered ‘safe’ by election forecasters, Rep. Devin Nunes (R-CA) is looking for someone to blame for his failing re-election campaign.

Instead of considering that his own failures may explain his sinking campaign, Nunes is pointing the finger at the right-wing’s go-to boogeyman: “radical leftists.” Continue reading “Nunes blames ‘radical leftists’ for his failing re-election campaign”

GOP intel member says committee’s report does not vindicate Trump

The following article by Tommy Christopher was posted on the Shareblue.com website April 29, 2018:

Trump’s ‘no collusion’ lie took a beating Sunday, as even Republican attack dog Rep. Trey Gowdy rejected it.

Credit: CBS

Trump seized on the Republican House Intelligence Committee’s sham report this week to once again push his “no collusion” talking point. But South Carolina Rep. Trey Gowdy, a prominent member of that committee, shot the argument down Sunday morning.

On CBS News’ “Face the Nation,” host Margaret Brennan pointed out that Gowdy’s committee did not interview Michael Flynn, among others. And she asked about Trump’s interpretation of the committee’s findings. Continue reading “GOP intel member says committee’s report does not vindicate Trump”

House Intelligence Committee Republicans release final Russia report

The following article by Matt Zapotosky, Karoun Demirjian and Greg Miller was posted on the Washington Post website April 27, 2018:

President Trump said April 27 he was “very honored” by a report by House Intelligence Committee Republicans from a probe into Russia’s influence campaign. (The Washington Post)

House Intelligence Committee Republicans on Friday released a redacted version of their final report from a year-long probe of Russia’s “multifaceted” influence operation, generally clearing President Trump and his associates of wrongdoing while accusing the intelligence community and the FBI of failures in how they assessed and responded to the Kremlin’s interference in the 2016 election.

The report charges the intelligence community with “significant intelligence tradecraft failings,” suggesting, without saying explicitly, that Russia’s main goal was to sow discord in the United States and not to help Trump win the election. It says investigators found “no evidence that the Trump campaign colluded, coordinated, or conspired with the Russian government,” even as it details contacts between campaign officials and Russians or Russian intermediaries. Continue reading “House Intelligence Committee Republicans release final Russia report”