MORNING MESSAGE
Nixon, Reagan Paved Way for GOP’s Race-Charged Health Agenda
Republican
politicians have been attacking black, brown, and poor people for at least half
a century with the same kind of language. And they’ve been doing it for the same
reason: to promote policies that benefit the wealthy, while harming the poor and
middle class. White voters who fall for this ruse will pay a price in the end.
It will be no different this time. The GOP’s health care plan also
disproportionately harms rural communities and older lower-income people,
including the aging lower-income whites who are increasingly plagued by
addiction, overdose, and suicide.
Republicans Rework Health Care Bill
Changes
likely to House health care bill. The Hill: “White House spokesman Sean
Spicer on Tuesday said the administration is working with House leadership on a
manager’s amendment that would make changes to the legislation … any changes to
the bill could further alienate moderate members who are worried about lost
coverage and price spikes for lower-income and older people … At least 13 House
Republicans are against the repeal plan in its current form … 21 defections
[are] likely enough to stop the bill in its tracks … changes [senators] are
proposing are the opposite of what conservatives in the House want.”
But
what changes? Politico: “One idea being considered: Phasing out the Medicaid
expansion in early 2018 instead of Dec. 31, 2019 … Senators are considering
taking whatever the House is able to pass and beefing up tax credits for
low-income people to help bring down premiums and increase coverage numbers …
Also under consideration is injecting billions of dollars into states’
‘stabilization’ accounts to narrow the coverage gap between Obamacare and the
House’s repeal-and-replace bill … but paying for more generous tax credits and
stabilization accounts would cut into the bill’s deficit reduction…”
Medicaid
cuts could impact 2020 elections. The Hill: “The current GOP bill proposes a
restructuring of Medicaid that would do away with the extra federal money given
to states by the end of 2019. The bill also would cap Medicaid payments to
states … when changes to subsidies and Medicaid kick in, the estimate [of newly
uninsured] increases [from 14 million in 2018] to 21 million in 2020 … Nine
Republican senators up for reelection 2020 represent states that have expanded
Medicaid.”
Travel Ban Faces Judges Today
Travel
ban goes into effect tomorrow unless courts act today. Politico: “The
Seattle-based federal judge who issued the broadest injunction against President
Donald Trump’s first travel ban executive order has announced a hearing
Wednesday on a request to block the revised directive … Two other hearings on
motions to block Trump’s new travel ban order were already scheduled for
Wednesday: one at 9:30 a.m. in federal court in Greenbelt, Maryland, and the
other at 3:30 p.m. Eastern time in federal court in Honolulu.”
Gorsuch Conflicted?
“Neil
Gorsuch Has Web of Ties to Secretive Billionaire” reports NYT: “As a lawyer
at a Washington law firm in the early 2000s, Judge Gorsuch represented [Philip]
Anschutz, his companies and lower-ranking business executives as an outside
counsel. In 2006, Mr. Anschutz successfully lobbied Colorado’s lone Republican
senator and the Bush administration to nominate Judge Gorsuch to the federal
appeals court. And since joining the court, Judge Gorsuch has been a semiregular
speaker at the mogul’s annual dove-hunting retreats for the wealthy and
politically prominent at his 60-square-mile Eagles Nest Ranch … For nearly a
dozen years, Judge Gorsuch has been partners in a limited-liability company with
two of Mr. Anschutz’s top lieutenants. Together, they own a 40-acre property on
the Colorado River in the mountains northwest of Denver, where they built a
vacation home together.”
Reg Rollbacks Continue
Trump
names derivatives regulator. NYT: “In appointing [J. Christopher] Giancarlo
to run the Commodity Futures Trading Commission … the president took another
step toward challenging the Obama administration’s legacy on financial
regulation. As a Republican commissioner at the agency since 2014, and more
recently as its interim chairman, Mr. Giancarlo has embraced the broad goals of
new derivatives regulations under the Dodd-Frank Act while criticizing crucial
portions of the fine print.”
Trump
to “evaluate” auto fuel efficiency standards, reports The Hill: “President
Trump will sign an order Wednesday … the first step toward potentially weakening
the aggressive standards that set a goal of a 54.5 mile-per-gallon auto fleet in
2025. Trump will make the announcement during a trip to Michigan … Automakers
agreed [with Obama] to comply with the standards — which get stronger through
the 2025 model year — in exchange for a formal review in 2018 … But the EPA
under Obama completed that review in January…”
“Trump’s
Childcare Plan Will Only Help the Rich” notes The Nation’s Michelle Chen:
“Trump wants to fund childcare through the tax code with a package of cuts and
deductions. This would skew benefits toward well-off married couples, while
offering the poorest parents perhaps just a few dollars a month.”
Tax
reform faces multiple challenges. The Hill: “…some business groups have
criticized the proposal to do away with the deduction for businesses’ net
interest expenses … the House GOP blueprint proposes generally eliminating
‘special interest’ business tax provisions … relating to renewable energy,
low-income housing and employment … the House GOP blueprint discusses doing away
with itemized deductions other than those for mortgage interest and charitable
contributions…”
Progressive
Breakfast is a daily morning email highlighting news stories of interest to
activists. Progressive Breakfast and OurFuture.org are projects of People's
Action. more
»