Category Archives: U.S. Congress

#BetterOffNow, but what about #Later?

Debt and deficits, Politics, U.S. Congress

tax, taxes, debt, deficits, spending, trillion, State of the Union, deficit hawks, balanced budget amendment, Jonathan Bydlak, immigration, $98.8 triillion, #BetterOffNowBy Steve Brawner, © 2018 by Steve Brawner Communications, Inc.

There’s been good news and bad news lately when it comes to the way Congress spends your money (and your children’s and grandchildren’s). Which do you want first?

Let’s start with the good news.

On Tuesday, the Senate sent to the House an $854 billion bill to fund the Department of Defense, the Department of Health and Human Services, and other agencies. The House is expected to approve the bill next week.

How is spending $854 billion good news? Because Congress is actually doing its job in a somewhat orderly fashion by passing budget bills before the fiscal year begins. It’s also doing it in time to avert a government shutdown that would occur next month.

That counts as an improvement. In recent years, Congress has lurched from one manufactured crisis to another, often passing enormous up-or-down “omnibus” packages after the new fiscal year has already begun.  Continue reading #BetterOffNow, but what about #Later? →

Biggest loss with McCain: his independence

Politics, U.S. Congress

By Steve Brawner, © 2018 by Steve Brawner Communications, Inc.

The late Sen. John McCain pointed out in his farewell statement that Americans are “opinionated, vociferous individuals.” That certainly is true, as displayed in the response to his death.

The passing of a public figure usually is accompanied by widespread praise, the general idea being that we focus on their accomplishments and we don’t speak ill of the dead, at least not the recently dead.

The vast majority of comments I’ve seen regarding McCain likewise expressed admiration, but some on the left called him a warmonger, and some on the right called him a RINO. That’s a “Republican In Name Only,” which some consider a major insult. Continue reading Biggest loss with McCain: his independence →

Has Obamacare already been repealed?

Health care, Politics, U.S. Congress

By Steve Brawner, © 2018 by Steve Brawner Communications, Inc.

Remember last year when congressional Republicans failed to repeal Obamacare after talking about doing so for years? It turns out they may have succeeded, fully or partly, by acting indirectly.

In December, Congress passed the Tax Cut and Jobs Act, which all six members of Arkansas’ congressional delegation supported. The legislation ended Obamacare’s penalty for failing to comply with the individual mandate to buy health insurance. The penalty goes away at the end of this year.

To understand why that’s important, you have to look back to 2012, when the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the Affordable Care Act – Obamacare – was constitutional in National Federation of Independent Business v. Sebelius. The court ruled that Congress could not compel individuals to purchase insurance. However, it said the mandate’s penalty was a “tax,” which Congress can enact. Chief Justice John Roberts, appointed by President George W. Bush, wrote that opinion. That’s how the individual mandate survived.

Now that there’s no tax, a Texas-led coalition of 20 states, including Arkansas under Attorney General Leslie Rutledge, is suing the federal government in hopes of having the entire law declared unconstitutional. The lawsuit says that without the individual mandate, the law is now “an irrational regulatory regime governing an essential market.”  Continue reading Has Obamacare already been repealed? →

For GOP reps, Trump’s comments complicate things

Politics, U.S. Congress

Donald TrumpBy Steve Brawner, © 2018 by Steve Brawner Communications, Inc.

For Arkansas’ congressional delegation, life was simpler when President Obama was in office. Not better, but simpler. This week was complicated.

As we all know by now, at a press conference in Helsinki, Finland, alongside Russian President Vladimir Putin, President Trump declined to take sides between his own intelligence community’s assessment that Russia interfered in U.S. elections, and Russian President Vladimir Putin’s denial of that interference. In response to press questions, Trump defaulted to his usual defenses: There was no collusion; the election was a great victory; Hillary’s emails. Both leaders said they had discussed the election issue privately with each other that day. Trump said U.S.-Russia relations were at their lowest point ever, and said both countries were at fault. Earlier in the day, he tweeted that the poor relationship was “thanks to many years of U.S. foolishness and stupidity and now, the Rigged Witch Hunt!” – referring to the investigation by Special Counsel Robert Mueller.

The reaction was intense across the political spectrum. Democrats, of course, pounced, but even many Republicans were critical. Newt Gingrich, usually a Trump ally, called it “the most serious mistake of his presidency.” Ailing Sen. John McCain said, “No prior president has ever abased himself more abjectly before a tyrant.”

The next day, Trump tried to walk back his statements, asserting that he trusted his own intelligence community and claiming that he had misspoken. His explanation: He meant to say, “I don’t see any reason why it wouldn’t be Russia.” Not “would.” Continue reading For GOP reps, Trump’s comments complicate things →