Mediaboss Marketing

Even as the latestbusload of migrantsfrom Texas arrived in D.C. late Tuesday night with a total of at least 5,100 migrants and leaders like theMayor of New Yorkand theMayor of DCcomplain about the influx of immigrants in their cities, the Biden administration does not seem to find its footing on the issue of immigration.

Recently, immigration advocatesmet with the Biden administrationat the White House, urging immigration reform. After undoing many of the security measures implemented by the previous administration, they backtracked. Consequently, according to the Biden administration, they have now authorized the closing of the gaps at the border wall at the Morelos Dam in Arizona.

During a time when hot-button Supreme Court rulings and fears of economic recession dominate political debate, immigration remains a top issue among many U.S. voters. But rather than doing something simply to appease political allies, the Biden White House, and all U.S. leaders, should address the core of our immigration crisis.

The United States is facing an immigration crisis for two major reasons: the rampant corruption in neighboring Latin American countries and failed U.S. immigration policies. First, consider Latin America today. People dont leave prosperity. The reason people immigrate from countries in the region is that they are plagued by violence and poverty as a result of corruption.

Even though many Latin American countries recognize the importance of a capitalist market for progress, fraud and corruption stand in the way of prosperity for the people. Corrupt governments become oligarchies, which, in some cases, end up becoming dictatorships.

The economic situation in Latin America is a direct consequence of corruption. These circumstances are difficult for economic empowerment, especially for women. According to the UNEconomic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean, women make up a larger percentage of poor households. In 2019, for every 100 men living in poverty in Latin America, there were 112.7 women in poverty. The UN report says, This shows the lack of economic autonomy of women.

Latin American poverty cant easily be solved by foreign aid dollars: The United States has long been a major contributor of foreign assistance to countries in Latin America and the Caribbean. BetweenFY1946 and FY2019, the United States provided $93.8 billion ($194.5 billion in constant 2019 dollars)of assistance to the region. But if these governments dont eradicate their own issues of corruption, all the humanitarian aid will end up in corrupt hands and not in the hands of those who need it.

Ultimately, the best way the U.S. can address immigration is through more effective measures to protect its borders.We receive approximately 1 million migrantsfrom around the world every year in our country. We are by far the most generous country in the world. Most of the migrants that come through the southern U.S. border come from Latin America, and they claim they are searching for a better life.

In addition, if the U.S. does not project a strong position when it comes to enforcing our immigration laws, other countries in the region will not collaborate to stop the crisis. We need stronger leadership throughout the world, so that when the U.S. calls, others answer.

Regrettably, many immigrants crossing the border do not pursue legal avenues, which leads to fatal consequences. According to the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), there were 239,416 illegal encounters along the U.S. southwest border as of May. In the month of June, a semi-truck filled with migrants was found by authorities in San Antonio. Of the migrants,53 died due to asphyxia, and 17 were hospitalized. Border security is needed if we want to avoid these devastating events.

Read this article:
Biden Should Address the Immigration Crisis at Its Core - Independent Women's Forum

PHOENIXThere were two very different scenes Friday as Arizona's candidates for governor embarked on their campaigns.

They are political opposites with very distinctive styles. But, Democrat Katie Hobbs has been doing retail politics for years.

On the Friday after the election, she toured the River People Health Center in the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Community.

"I'm focused on what we need to do to win in November and that means continuing talking to voters across Arizona about how we bring people together to solve our biggest challenges," Hobbs said.

For Hobbs, those challenges include fixing schools, dealing with the state's water crisis and protecting reproductive healthcare.

"I'm focused on what I'm telling Arizonans are the real challenges we need to tackle." Hobbs said.

Regarding the border, Hobbs said President Biden needs to do more because it is a federal responsibility.

But, she will provide state resources to help communities impacted by immigration and push the Arizona Congressional delegation on immigration reform. "I will be 100% focused on what we need to do to keep Arizona communities safe," Hobbs said.

At the C-PAC convention in Dallas, Kari Lake took the stage to chants of "Kari, Kari, Kari."

Lake was part of a panel discussion on border security.

She told the crowd she'll secure Arizona's border using an untested legal theory that allows her to take control away from the federal government.

"We are in imminent danger. We're being invaded and time is of the essence. We can protect our own border. We don't need to wait for Joe Biden," Lake said.

Lake also said she would work with other states to deal with illegal immigration.

One thing she won't do is continue to bus immigrants to the east coast like Texas Governor Gregg Abbott and Doug Ducey are doing.

This week, Abbott began sending immigrants to New York City.

"I'm not a fan of busing people here illegally into other states," Lake said, "It makes for a cute photo-op. It takes people who shouldn't be here and moves them further in." said Lake.

Kari Lake returns to Arizona from C-PAC on Sunday.

After a stop in Yuma Friday afternoon, Katie Hobbs will appear at scheduled events in Tucson on Saturday and Sunday.

View post:
Katie Hobbs and Kari Lake take different paths in their race for Arizona governor - ABC15 Arizona in Phoenix

KING COUNTY, Wash., August 7, 2022After a dismal performance by Republican candidates across the Evergreen State, one Republican hopeful emerges, Matt Larkin a businessowner, experienced attorney and former criminal prosecutor to Flip the 8th.

For the 8th Congressional District race, Representative Kim Schrier (WA-08) is at risk of losing her seat to political newcomer Matt Larkin. As of the last count release on August 5, Schrier secured 47.84%, down 2.06 points compared to Tuesdays initial results. The latest combined Democratic Party vote total as of Friday for the race was 97,371 (50.2%), whereas the total Republican vote was 96,572 (49.8%). In 2020, Rep. Schrier won the General Election by 3.56 points with 51.71%, making this race within reach for Larkin to win.

With his Make Crime Illegal Again slogan and endorsements of his former Primary challengers Jesse Jensen who secured the eastern districts votes and Regan Dunn who had a strong King County performance, the Washington State Republican Party (WSRP) strongly believes that Larkins message of parental rights, safer communities, out of control inflation, energy independence, substance abuse and homelessness will Flip the 8th and defeat incumbent Rep. Schrier in November.

The National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) Chairman Tom Emmer released the following statement on August 5th regarding the results of the WA-08 primary election:

Congratulations to Matt Larkin on advancing to the general election. As a former criminal prosecutor, Matt has worked hard to make Washington State a safer place. This stands in stark contrast to Kim Schrier, who has loyally supported Joe Biden and Nancy Pelosis failed policies that caused skyrocketing prices, soaring violent crime, and a crisis at our southern border. Washington voters will reject Schrier come November.

According to the latest Federal Election Commission (FEC) filings, Schrier has a current war chest ten times that of Larkin of approximately $5.6 million compared to his $480 thousand and this is also two times more than her campaign spent in the 2020 General Election portion of her race.

In the 2020 General Election, Schriers campaign spent approximately $2.8 million (or $13.12 per vote) compared to her then-Republican challenger Jesse Jensen who spent approximately $704 thousand (or $3.55 per vote), yet she only won the district by 3.56 points less than her 2018-win margin against former Republican gubernatorial candidate Dino Rossi of 4.84 points.

In 2018 and her first run for the seat, the Schrier campaign spent approximately $7 million (or $42.62 per vote) in the General Election portion of the race and Dino Rossi spent approximately $4.5 million (or $30.15 per vote).

Prior to her start in elected office in 2019, Dr. Schrier was a pediatrician. According to her voters pamphlet statement, she has helped pass laws to bring down costs for working families, to get Veterans the quality healthcare they deserve, and to support training and resources for local police because everyone deserves to feel safe in our community.

She identifies as pro-choice and will advocate for commonsense immigration reform, and fix supply chain disruptions so farmers can get their goods to market.

With a likelihood to Flip the 8th as WSRP Chairman Caleb Heimlich puts it, 8th Congressional District Washingtonians are all too familiar with the epic political battle that is about to be unleashed nonstop political commercials, weekly mailers, telephone calls, surveys, and scores of volunteers canvassing neighborhoods.

See more here:
Make Crime Illegal Again: The political battle to Flip the 8th - Lynnwood Times

There is one obstacle looming over the Democrats' prospects of enacting their sought-after spending legislative breakthrough dubbed the Inflation Reduction: the enigmatic Senate parliamentarian.

Although rarely in the spotlight, Elizabeth MacDonough, who has held the parliamentarian post since 2012, has quickly emerged as a powerful behind-the-scenes figure in the 50-50 Senate, with the potential power to deliver a death knell to Democratic endeavors to finagle the party's signature policy legislation through their razor-thin Senate edge via technical rules. She has vexed both Republicans and Democrats in the past, prompting some on the Left to sound the alarm that her power should be reduced.

SINEMA SIGNS OFF ON MANCHIN-SCHUMER SPENDING BILL

"The Senate needs to step up, override the parliamentarian, OK. The parliamentarian is not elected. It is not an elected position, and the parliamentarian has been overridden and dismissed in the past," Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) demanded last year after MacDonough ruled against the Democrats on immigration.

At the time, some Democrats were exploring the prospects of passing a pathway for citizenship for illegal immigrants through a Senate process known as reconciliation. They will be navigating the same process this weekend on their quest to pass the Inflation Reduction Act, so long as MacDonough doesn't shoot them down again.

J. Scott Applewhite/AP

MacDonough's job is to ensure that the Senate complies with its rules. While she has the power to shut down certain types of legislation, some Democrats, such as Rep. Raphael Warnock (D-GA), believe senators can overrule her if need be. The idea is that Democrats can proceed with legislation she rules against unless Republicans raise a budget point of order during attempts to pass a bill, Warnock told Roll Call.

The parliamentarian cant block this ultimately. Only the Senate can, Warnock said. At the end of the day, the only way this doesn't happen is if someone on the other side raises an objection. And I think that would be quite unfortunate.

About 20 years ago, Republicans had fired a parliamentarian during a dispute over a ruling, so it would not entirely be unprecedented to oust her.

MacDonough ascended to the post in 2012 after being appointed by then-Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV), becoming the first female parliamentarian in the history of the United States. She had served in the parliamentarian's office since the late 1990s. MacDonough continued serving as parliamentarian when Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) helmed the Senate.

Throughout her tenure, she has bucked Republicans and Democrats alike and navigated the Senate through tense proceedings such as both impeachments of former President Donald Trump. Between 2015 and 2017, she quashed various GOP attempts to repeal the Affordable Care Act. Nevertheless, she has managed to earn bipartisan praise, including from Sens. Dick Durbin (D-IL) and John Cornyn (R-TX).

The parliamentarian's role is particularly pronounced as Democrats eye the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act because they lack the votes to overcome the 60-vote threshold needed to overcome the filibuster, which Republicans are certain to deploy to stymie enactment.

Reconciliation permits the Senate to bypass the filibuster and pass bills with a simple majority when considering certain types of fiscal legislation, such as budgetary matters. However, there are a number of strict rules that govern this process, including the Byrd Rule, which prohibits provisions unrelated to the budget and generally requires laws passed through reconciliation to be deficit-neutral after 10 years.

MacDonough had cited the Byrd Rule when she threw cold water on Democratic musings about passing immigration reform through reconciliation last year and when she canned the minimum wage hike attached to a COVID-19 relief bill. She has been holding meetings with Democratic and Republican senators while evaluating the climate and healthcare spending bill for Byrd Rule violations.

The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office surmised that the so-called Inflation Reduction Act would reduce the federal budget deficit by $102 billion over 10 years. The legislation contains roughly $64 billion worth of spending on healthcare and $369 in climate and energy initiatives, per the CBO. That part would likely comply with the deficit requirements in the Byrd Rule, but the law also contains a myriad of tax and healthcare reforms.

It's the healthcare provisions in particular that have some progressives worrying they could face another round of heartbreak from the parliamentarian, according to Politico. The bill would enable Medicare to negotiate drug prices, repeal a Trump-era drug rebate rule enacted, and require drugmakers to give rebates on certain products whose prices rise faster than inflation.

If those provisions are stricken, due to the Byrd Rule, Democrats could run into trouble with the deficit requirements as savings from the drug price reform were intended to offset other expenses in the bill.

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER

Democrats have long pursued the passage of a reconciliation bill in the Senate to address climate and social spending issues, but it had been bucked by Sens. Joe Manchin (D-WV) and Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ) for months. Late last month, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Manchin revealed they reached an agreement on a water-down proposal. Sinema signed off on the measure Thursday after securing a few modifications.

Schumer said he intends to bring the legislation up for a vote on Saturday.

Original post:
Meet the Senate adviser who can kill the Inflation Reduction Act - Washington Examiner

Photo courtesy of Elizabeth MacDonough.

The future of the Biden administrations historic climate bill is now in the hands of one person: Senate Parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough, the nonpartisan referee who will check the legislation against the Senates intricate budget reconciliation rules. If she clears the bill as-is, then it will go to the Senate (where the deal now apparently has the votes to pass). But if MacDonough flags any issues, lawmakers will have to revise and re-negotiate the problem areaswhich might be tricky, depending on the extent of the changes required.

Today, MacDonough is combing through the bill. Here are five things to know as we wait.

While the Senate Parliamentarians office may sound like a snooze, the job has placed MacDonough at the heart of many explosive political moments. In 2000, as an assistant Senate parliamentarian, MacDonough advised on ballot counting procedures in Bush v. Gore. She says she was also consulted on the Terri Schaivo case. Then, in 2015 and in 2017, she played a key role in quashing the Trump administrations efforts to repeal the Affordable Care Act. She helped Chief Justice John Roberts navigate Senate rules in preparation for both of President Trumps impeachment trials. And in 2021, she disappointed Democrats by ruling that immigration reform couldnt be done under budget reconciliation, and that they couldnt include a $15 minimum wage in their Covid relief legislation.

MacDonough has taken flack from both parties for dashing their legislative ambitions (Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez once said, Im not going to let the damn Parliamentarian tell me how to do my job). But MacDonoughs work has also won bipartisan praise. Ive been here with many, many parliamentarians, Senator Patrick Leahy told Politico in 2020. All were good. But shes the best. Senator John Cornyn said that MacDonough is tough and that she calls them straight down the middle. MacDonough herself told a reporter that her job is to be neutralshes not a party apparatchik.

When rioters seized the Capitol on January 6th, 2021, they made a stop in the Senate Parliamentarians office; a video of the aftermath shows displaced furniture and papers littering the floor. That same day, as rioters were breaching the building, members of MacDonoughs staff were credited with saving boxes of Electoral College ballots from the rioters, who apparently wanted to burn them as part of their efforts to overturn the election.

The Office of the Senate Parliamentarian was established in 1935, and prior to MacDonough, there were six other Parliamentariansall men. MacDonough took the helm in 2012. While initially appointed by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, MacDonough was kept on when Mitch McConnell became the Majority Leader in 2014. Senators Kirsten Gillibrand and Dick Durbin celebrated her historic appointment, with Durbin noting that he looks forward to working with her even if her rulings disappoint him.

MacDonough is from Chevy Chase and went to George Washington University. After serving as a Senate floor staffer, she attended Vermont Law School, worked briefly for a judge in New Jersey, and then moved back to the District to join the Senate Parliamentarians office in 1999. According to a 2018 bio from her law school, she lives in Arlington with her Labrador retriever, Basket.

Join the conversation!

More:
The Senate Parliamentarian Could Tank Parts of the Climate Bill. Who Is She? - Washingtonian