Tag: Mitch McConnell

GOP senators protect Trump administration’s plan to lift Russian sanctions

Russian metals magnate Oleg Deripaska attends Independence Day celebrations at the residence of the U.S. Ambassador in Moscow in July 2015. Credit: Alexander Zemlianichenko, AP

Republican senators Wednesday successfully defended the Trump administration’s plan to lift sanctions on companies controlled by a Vladimir Putin ally — despite the defection of nearly a dozen Republicans who broke ranks to vote with the Democrats.

The Democratic effort to block the relaxation of sanctions on the companies of Russian billionaire Oleg Deripaska fell just a few votes shy of the 60 needed to advance the resolution to a final vote, even after attracting the support of eleven Republican senators including Marco Rubio of Florida, Josh Hawley of Missouri and Ben Sasse of Nebraska.

The defeat means the Treasury Department is likely to lift the sanctions in the coming days. Treasury, Deripaska and his companies didn’t respond to requests for comment.

View the complete January 16 article by Jeanne Whalen on The Washington Post website here.

Trump’s Shutdown is Harming Federal Workers

The Trump Shutdown has put an unnecessary burden on families just like Jamie’s across the country.

Share this video if you believe it’s time for Republicans in Congress to listen to the American people and end this shutdown.

Recession warnings pile up as shutdown wraps up fourth week

Maryland resident Rosa Marquez displays her bills while standing near other furloughed security officers and custodians outside Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s office. An extended shutdown could push first-quarter growth close to or even below zero. Credit: M. Scott Mahaskey, Politico

The impasse is triggering alarms about an already fragile economic environment.

The partial government shutdown was supposed to be a brief non-event for the economy. Now it’s starting to look like a serious crisis that could nudge the U.S. toward recession and threaten President Donald Trump’s economic message during his reelection campaign.

Across Wall Street, analysts are rushing out warnings that missed federal paychecks, dormant government contractors and shelved corporate stock offerings could push first-quarter growth close to or even below zero if the shutdown, which is wrapping up its fourth week, drags on much longer.

Their broader fear: The protracted impasse could convince consumers and businesses that the federal government will spend all of 2019 on the brink of crisis — whether on the border wall, trade with China or the debt limit. That could choke business investment and consumer spending, bringing an end to one of the longest economic expansions on record.

View the complete January 17 article by Ben White on the Politico website here.

Rep. Ocasio-Cortez Searches for Sen. Mitch McConnell

In an effort to move the GOP-controlled Senate to act on the government shutdown, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez searches the Capitol for Sen. Mitch McConnell.

Visit The Daily Mail website to view the video post here.

DAY 27: Trump Shutdown Costs Workers $5,000 In Wages, Pushes Economy Closer To A Recession

It’s day 27 of the Trump Shutdown, and hundreds of thousands of workers have already lost thousands of dollars in wages. Meanwhile, the economic costs of Trump’s government shutdown continue to get worse.

The Trump Shutdown has already cost hundreds of thousands of workers more than $5,000 in wages on average.

New York Times: “The 800,000 federal workers who haven’t been paid during the government shutdown have each missed more than $5,000 in wages on average so far, according to a New York Times analysis. Combined, that’s more than $200 million per workday.”

The Trump Shutdown is pushing the economy closer to a recession.

Politico: “The partial government shutdown was supposed to be a brief non-event for the economy. Now it’s starting to look like a serious crisis that could nudge the U.S. toward recession and threaten President Donald Trump’s economic message during his reelection campaign.” Continue reading “DAY 27: Trump Shutdown Costs Workers $5,000 In Wages, Pushes Economy Closer To A Recession”

Rather than consider bills to reopen government, McConnell keeps Senate arguing about Israel

Mitch McConnell, R-KY., 2018. Credit: J. Scott Applewhite, AP

The GOP-controlled Senate may take its third vote on proceeding to a likely unconstitutional bill that won’t reopen government.

America’s longest-ever partial government shutdown gets longer and more harmful by the minute, but the one man with the power to bypass the president and resolve the situation is too busy focusing of arguing about Middle East politics to do anything.

Monday marks the 24th day of the government shutdown, making it the longest in U.S. history by three days. Trump’s refusal to fund large portions of the government unless Congress gives him billions of dollars to pay for a border wall he’d repeatedly promised would be funded entirely by Mexico has already cost the nation’s economy billions of dollars, left hundreds of thousands of federal workers struggling to make ends meet without paychecks, and left vital government services like food safety inspection effectively on pause.

The Democratic majority in the U.S. House of Representatives (along with a dozen fed-up Republicans) has passed multiple bills to reopen all or parts of the government immediately. While these bills could become law with a two-thirds majority in the House and Senate, notwithstanding any potential Trump veto, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) has repeatedly blocked attempts to even give them a vote on the senate floor, calling them a waste of time.

View the complete January 14 article by Josh Israel on the ThinkProgress website here.

Mitch McConnell could end the shutdown. But he’s sitting this one out.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell on Jan. 10 blocked a motion by Senate Democrats to vote on House-passed bills to end the partial government shutdown. (The Washington Post)

President Trump is not the only person in Washington who could end this government shutdown now.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) could bring a “clean” funding bill to the floor, free up his GOP caucus to support it and could quite possibly secure enough votes to override a presidential veto.

McConnell already did it once, when he believed he had Trump’s blessing. Before the holidays he allowed a vote to keep the government running until Feb. 8, to avoid a shutdown and buy more time to negotiate Trump’s demand for border wall funding. It passed easily.

View the complete January 11 article by Colby Itkowitz on The Washington Post website here.

Rising Deficits, Falling Revenues

President Donald Trump and congressional Republicans celebrate Congress passing the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act on the South Lawn of the White House, Washington, D.C., December 2017. Credit: Chip Somodevilla, Getty Images

The Fiscal Damage Caused by the New Republican Tax Law

The law commonly known as the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act1 (TCJA), enacted in December 2017 by the Republican-controlled Congress, is substantially increasing federal deficits—and will for years to come. Regrettably, the law increased federal borrowing while addressing none of the nation’s most pressing challenges. In particular, after decades of growing income inequality and stagnant real wages for working-class Americans, the law conferred its largest benefits on the wealthiest Americans. The law did nothing to rebuild the nation’s infrastructure, advance education, or prevent climate change. Moreover, by increasing federal deficits and debt, the law will increase pressure to cut vital programs, including Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid.

This issue brief assesses the fiscal damage from the TCJA and finds: Continue reading “Rising Deficits, Falling Revenues”

McConnell 3x: All the Ways Republicans Will Cut Health Care, Medicare & Social Security

Repeatedly this week, Mitch McConnell made it very clear what Republicans plan to do if they pick up seats in the midterm elections. They will cut Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security, and gut the Affordable Care Act.

  1. McConnell said Republicans’ plan for addressing the skyrocketing budget deficit would be to go after Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security.

Washington Post: “In an interview with Bloomberg News on Tuesday, McConnell (R-Ky.) called the nation’s growing deficit and debt ‘very disturbing’ and argued that it’s being driven by Medicare, Social Security and Medicaid.” Continue reading “McConnell 3x: All the Ways Republicans Will Cut Health Care, Medicare & Social Security”

McConnell Says Republicans Might Revisit ACA Repeal

Credit: AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite

Health care is the top issue in the midterm elections, and voters overwhelmingly support the Affordable Care Act. Yet, McConnell joined Trump and Pence in promising that if Republicans pick up seats they could try to repeal the ACA again, which would end vital protections for people with pre-existing conditions and could leave tens of millions more Americans uninsured.

Reuters: McConnell says Senate Republicans might revisit Obamacare repeal

Republicans could try again to repeal Obamacare if they win enough seats in U.S. elections next month, Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell said on Wednesday, calling a failed 2017 push to repeal the healthcare law a “disappointment.”

In a forecast of 2019 policy goals tempered by uncertainty about who will win the congressional elections, McConnell also blamed costly social programs, such as Social Security and Medicare, for the fast-rising national debt. Continue reading “McConnell Says Republicans Might Revisit ACA Repeal”