House Rushes to Vote on Health Care
GOP leaders confident they have votes but acknowledge the tally will be very close. Politico:
“Republican leaders have called a vote on a plan to replace the health care law, signaling surging confidence that they’re on the cusp of earning enough support to pass it…. About 18 Republican lawmakers are publicly opposed to the GOP plan, leaving leaders room for only a handful of additional defections.”
GOP wants vote on health care bill before you find out what’s in it. HuffPost:
“House Republicans are eyeing a vote on hastily cobbled together legislation to repeal and “replace” the Affordable Care Act… despite the evident lack of enthusiasm among GOP lawmakers themselves, widespread opposition from the health care industry and patient groups, and still no Congressional Budget Office evaluation of just what this bill would actually do to the health care system…This is not how lawmakers legislate when they’re advancing a good policy. This is how they legislate when they’re afraid that the voters they represent will figure out the game and refuse to go along.”
Harvard study shows GOP health bill will raise costs, lower access. NYT:
“It would force many low-income families to pay hundreds or thousands of dollars more for insurance — and most of them would likely respond by not buying insurance. The people who still buy plans would disproportionately be sick people, which would then cause costs to rise even higher.”
Rush to Repeal Labor Rules
Trump Scrambles to Repeal Labor Regulations Before Deadline. International Business Times:
“Under the Congressional Review Act (CRA), lawmakers have only a certain amount of time to repeal such regulations passed toward the end of the previous president’s term. In February, the House passed two bills — which invoked the CRA — to reverse Department of Labor regulations permitting cities and states to offer retirement accounts to workers whose employers do not already offer retirement benefits.”
House Passes Changes to Rules on Overtime Pay. Fortune:
"Democrats think the bill undercuts the Fair Labor Standards act. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass) was one Democrat who vehemently spoke out against it, tweeting on Tuesday that the bill is a "disgrace."
Trump to relax tax rules on churches endorsing candidates. NYT:
"President Trump on Thursday will ease restrictions on political activity by churches and charities, White House officials said, but has backed away from a broader religious liberty order that would have allowed faith-based organizations and companies to avoid serving or hiring gay people... He will also direct federal agencies to exempt some religious organizations from Affordable Care Act requirements that provide employees with health coverage for contraception."
Deportation Two-Step
NJ’s Top Judge Asks ICE to Stop Arresting Immigrants at Courthouses. NJ.com:
"Rabner waded into a fight bubbling up at halls of justice across the country, where deportation officials are turning up at routine hearings to catch defendants, witnesses and in some cases victims of crimes who may have entered the country illegally."
Senator Casey Live Tweets ICE Deportation of Toddler and Mother. Politico:
“This is outrageous. This is the United States of America. We send a five-year-old back to Honduras? And they call that homeland security? That’s outrageous. Absolutely outrageous,” Casey said in an interview… “They’ve just allowed ICE to run wild. There doesn’t seem to be much in the way of constraint.”
More from OurFuture.org:
The Right Doesn't Understand Protesters; Big Surprise. Bryce Oates:
"Maybe that’s something that Heritage and Trump don’t understand. Millions of Americans fundamentally disagree with them. We don’t believe that cutting taxes for the wealthy is smart policy. That’s because we live a very different reality, far from the so-called “intellectual” bubble of Washington think-tanks and lobbyists on the corporate payroll."
Fighting to Save Healthcare on the Jersey Shore. Jody Stewart:
"Now I’m scared to death that Congress and President Trump will take away our health care the same way Superstorm Sandy took our homes and our security... The ACA and Medicare gave us peace of mind. But now our peace of mind is gone, killed by the Trump-Ryan health care repeal plan. I’m fighting back, though, for myself, my husband, and everyone in my community. I’ve spoken to TV reporters, newspaper reporters, congressman and senators, even gone out and waved signs, saying, 'Please, no more chaos. We’ve had enough of that.'"
