Tag: U.S. House

Millions of Americans could be stunned as their tax refunds shrink

Most received a tax cut in 2018, but their refunds won’t necessarily stay the same

Millions of Americans filling out their 2018 taxes will probably be surprised to learn that their refunds will be less than expected or that they owe money to the Internal Revenue Service after years of receiving refunds.

People have already taken to social media, using the hashtag #GOPTaxScam, to vent their anger. Many blame President Trump and the Republicans for shrinking refunds. Some on Twitter even said they wouldn’t vote for Trump again after seeing their refunds slashed.

The uproar follows the passage of a major overhaul to the tax code in December 2017, which was enacted with only Republican votes and is considered the biggest legislative achievement of Trump’s first year. While the vast majority of Americans received a tax cut in 2018, refunds are a different matter. Some refunds have decreased because of changes in the law, such as a new limit on property and local income tax deductions, and some have decreased because of how the IRS has altered withholding in paychecks.

View the complete February 10 article by Heather Long on The Washington Post website here.

Dems ready to issue subpoena for phone records linked to Trump Tower meeting

Democrats on the House Intelligence Committee are preparing to issue a subpoena as soon as Thursday to obtain phone records linked to the June 2016 Trump Tower meeting between Trump campaign officials and a Russian lawyer, two sources familiar with the matter tell The Hill.

The subpoena will be the first order Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) will issue as committee chairman, and the process of preparing the order came one day after the committee became formally constituted.

Details about the specifics of the subpoena remain unclear, but the order goes to the heart of the committee’s plan to investigate ties between the Trump campaign and Russia.

View the complete February 7 article by Olivia Beaver on The Hill website here.

Trump blasts Schiff as ‘political hack’ over new investigation

President Trump on Wednesday denounced House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) as a “political hack” for opening a sweeping investigation into Trump’s ties to Russia and his personal finances.

“He has no basis to do that. He’s just a political hack who’s trying to build a name for himself,” Trump told reporters at the White House after announcing his pick to lead the World Bank.

“It’s just presidential harassment and it’s unfortunate and it really does hurt our country,” Trump said of the probe.

View the complete February 6 article by Jordan Fabian on The Hill website here.

Recent Political Scandals the ‘For the People Act’ Would Prevent From Recurring

The sun rises behind the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., January 2019. Credit: Adam Gray, Getty Images

For more than two years, President Donald Trump and his allies have ignored, undermined, and rewritten the rule of law and long-standing norms—unleashing an unprecedented wave of self-interested corruption in the White House, the executive branch, and Congress. Trump and his allies have given themselves and their donors huge tax breaks, sabotaged access to health care for millions of Americans, conducted insider trading on the White House lawn, aided foreign adversaries in their efforts to interfere in U.S. elections, and increased big money’s ability to influence policy. These individuals are not the first people in power to abuse the country’s often corrupted political system, but they are by far the most flagrant to do so in recent history.

Voters took note in the 2018 midterm elections. Poll after poll showed corruption was a top concern, and Americans voted out the highest number of incumbent members of Congress in decades. Across the country, they elected candidates who committed not to accept corporate campaign contributions, pledged to drive out the influence of big money and special interests in government, promised to protect U.S. elections from foreign adversaries, and pledged to remove improper barriers to the ballot. Continue reading “Recent Political Scandals the ‘For the People Act’ Would Prevent From Recurring”

Author of controversial Nunes memo joining National Security Council

The White House. Credit: Jabin Botsford, Getty

(CNN) — A congressional aide who was key in crafting the controversial Republican House Intelligence Committee memo that accused FBI and Justice Department officials of abusing their surveillance authority is set to join the National Security Council, two sources familiar with the matter said.

Kashyap Patel, a senior staffer for Republicans on the House Intelligence Committee, has been hired to join the NSC’s International Organizations and Alliances directorate. A Trump administration official said Patel is expected to report to work at the White House on Monday.

A spokesman for the National Security Council did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

View the complete February 1 article by Jeremy Diamond and Jeremy Herb on the CNN website here.

Trump administration faces an increasingly adversarial Congress — in both parties

President Trump is facing congressional members eager to assert themselves on matters of foreign policy and oversight. Credit: Jabin Botsford,, The Washington Post)

Senior Republicans are warning him away from a national emergency declaration to build a border wall. The top Senate leader is directly rebuking his national ­security policy in Syria and Afghanistan. And Democratic committee chairs are threatening subpoenas for his top officials.

For an administration that had largely been accommodated by Republican lawmakers during its first two years, President Trump is facing an increasingly adversarial Congress eager to assert itself on matters of foreign policy and oversight.

Senate Republicans — fresh off a bruising fight over the longest government shutdown in history — are sending fresh signals of discontent, challenging the administration on foreign policy and imploring it to stay out, for now, of talks to avert another shutdown next month.

View the complete January 30 article by Seung Min Kim, Sean Sullivan and Josh Dawsey on The Washington Post website here.

2 key Democrats against legislation using automatic CRs to prevent shutdowns

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md., opposes legislative proposals to use automatic continuing resolutions to prevent future government shutdowns. Credit: Bill Clark, CQ Roll Call file photo

Democratic leaders say Congress should do its job and pass appropriations bills

House Democrats likely won’t take up legislation that would use automatic continuing resolutions to prevent future government shutdowns, after two key leaders came out against the idea Tuesday.

House Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer, who controls the floor schedule, and Appropriations Chairwoman Nita M. Lowey, who leads the panel with jurisdiction over the matter, said they oppose measures triggering automatic CRs in the event of a government funding lapse.

“I personally am reticent about automatic bills that in effect take Congress out of having to make decisions,” Hoyer told reporters.

View the complete January 29 article by Lindsey McPherson and Kellie Mejdrich on The Roll Call website here.

Violence Against Women Act Extended Thanks To Shutdown Ending

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi Credit:  Andrew Harnik, AP Photo

The landmark legislation expired in late December due to the longest government shutdown in U.S. history.

Lawmakers have extended the Violence Against Women Act for a few more weeks thanks to Friday’s continuing resolution to temporarily reopen the federal government.

The landmark legislation expired in late December due to the longest government shutdown in U.S. history, which lasted 35 days before President Donald Trump on Friday announced he would reopen the government until Feb. 15. The shutdown also delayed payments to some VAWA-funded programs under the Justice Department.

“What kind of country allows its Violence Against Women Act to expire?” actor and Me Too activist Alyssa Milano tweeted last month.

View the complete January 27 article by Sanjana Karanth on the Huffington Post website here.

Dithering GOP Stalls House’s New Trump-Russia Probe

Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) Credit: Win McNamee/Getty Images

Democrats now in control of the crucial intelligence committee want to get back to their Russia probe. It can’t happen until the Republicans formally join.

The new leadership on the House intelligence committee is eager to revive the panel’s probe into the connections between Donald Trump’s camp and Russia, an urgency underscored by the latest indictment of a Trump associate accused of lying to its investigation. But three weeks into the Democratic-controlled Congress, House Republicans haven’t taken a critical step necessary for the committee to begin any work at all.

The House Republican leadership has yet to name the intelligence committee’s Republican membership for the new Congress, with the exception of retaining Devin Nunes as ranking Republican. Without doing so, the committee is stalled—no hearings, no internal business meetings. Democrats announced their membership roster on Jan. 16, adding Val Demings, Raja Krishnamoorthi, Sean Patrick Maloney, and Peter Welch to their 10 current members. (This Republican intransigence was first noted by The Rachel Maddow Show.)

It’s not clear what the holdup is. “That will be announced when it is ready,” said Matt Sparks, a spokesperson for House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, who did not address the reasons for the delay. A representative for Nunes—who does not pick the membership—did not respond to The Daily Beast’s inquiries.

View the complete January 26 article by Spencer Ackerman on The Daily Beast website here.

DNC on Shutdown Deal

DNC Chair Tom Perez released the following statement after leaders in Washington reached an agreement to reopen the government that does not include funding for a border wall:

“What was the point of all the pain that Donald Trump inflicted on federal workers? What was the point of the missed paychecks, the long lines at food banks, the chaos at our airports, and the sick children without health care? The longest shutdown in American history was avoidable, unnecessary, and disastrous for the country. And the American people know exactly who’s to blame: Donald Trump.

“Thanks to the steadfast leadership of Democrats in Congress, hundreds of thousands of American workers will finally have a reprieve from the suffering Donald Trump has caused. Democrats have been prepared to work on a border security bill from the start of this ordeal; our leaders offered multiple proposals to keep the government open, including a strong bipartisan solution passed by voice vote in the Senate. And yet, Donald Trump and Republicans in Congress failed to do their jobs for 35 days. The American people will hold them accountable, and Democrats will fight tooth and nail to prevent a shutdown from happening again.”