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Published 1:50 pm Wednesday, August 24, 2022

Ahead of his Troy Town Hall on Thursday night, U.S. Congressman Barry Moore spoke to the Pike County Republican Women at the Troy Country Club on Aug. 24.

Moore spoke about a number of topics hes concerned about, including immigration, inflation, the IRS, woke politics, and more. He spent the bulk of his time discussing the crisis at the U.S. Southern Border.

The cartels are trafficking in young kids, we saw children 14-17 years old. Weve never seen this influx of unaccompanied minors, Moore said of his trip to the border. I asked, Why dont we send them back to the town and the country they came from? Their response to me was that they dont know where they came from.

These kids are 14-17 years old and cant tell you where theyre coming from but they have a Google address and were paying to send them there. What sense does that make? Were not even doing a background check on these people were sending them to. The FBI is doing background checks on you if youre at a school board asking questions about curriculum but not on the people were sending these children to.

Moore also pointed to the trafficking of Fentanyl over the Mexican border as a concern, especially in college towns like Troy.

Were seeing the highest death rates for Fentanyl overdoses weve seen in recent history, Moore said. Theyre selling this Fentanyl online where it looks like Xanax. Kids shouldnt take any of that stuff but definitely warn your kids and your grandkids about this, especially in a college town because thats the market theyre targeting.

Moore hit U.S. President Joe Biden over his energy policies, including the shutdown of the Keystone XL Pipeline, which was not operational when it was shutdown and is owned by the Government of Alberta in Canada. Moores criticisms of that move were less about oil prices and more about jobs and Russia.

Weve seen a disastrous approach to energy policy, Moore emphasized. When he shut down the Keystone XL Pipeline that was 12,000 American jobs 8,000 union jobs that were stopped on day one.

We went to Russia and gave them the green light to move the the Nord Stream 2 pipeline (Germany-to-Russia pipeline) ahead and start producing energy. So, that emboldened (Russia President Vladimir) Putin and gave him money to make war with.

Moore also took aim at the recently passed Inflation Reduction Act.

It wont reduce inflation, he flatly said. We were in a recess and (Speaker of the House) Nancy Pelosi had all 435 house members called back to office. My airline ticket was $1,2000. So, we spent $500,000 of your money to spend another $739 billion to stop inflation. Thats not how it works.

While early in his speech to the Republican Women of Pike County, Moore pointed out that it can take up to four weeks to hear back from the IRS with tax issues, he lamented the Inflation Reduction Act for its inclusion of funding to hire 87,000 new IRS agents over the next 15 years.

The news will tell you, Were not going to target low income people or (people) with less than $400,000 pass through income for business owners, Moore continued. The Senate offered an amendment to ensure that and the Democrats voted along party line against it. That tells you what theyre going to do. Watch what they do, not what they say.

Its radical, its not about reducing inflation. I dropped a bill on Friday to move those IRS agents to the border. If were going to arm them then put them on the southern border.

Moore also talked about the recent National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) military budget vote in which Moore objected to due to the bill requiring women, aged 18 years old, to register for selective services as men are required to.

That was the toughest vote Ive had this year, he said. To vote against the NDAA was a very tough vote for Barry Moore and his family, but once you start talking about drafting our daughters and granddaughters, those are the kinds of things I refuse to compromise on.

I ran on faith, family and finance and if our daughters want to go to war thats fine but we arent going to draft them out of their homes if they want to be moms. Thats the way it is. We took a stand and a number of members of the delegation voted with us and shut it down and the Senate cleaned it up and sent it back without that provision.

Moore said that he believes the tide is turning in America for Republicans.

The media wasnt giving us a fair shake, you know the media never treats us fairly, but the pendulum has started to swing the other way, Moore said. When young people started cheering for Brandon in the stadiums America started waking up. I feel like well win the majority (in the House) and its possible we may get the Senate, but that will be much tougher.

I say it all the time, Democrats want to drive it off the cliff but Im not going to just ride shotgun. Im going to do my best to shut it down when we can.

Moore urged constituents to contact his office with any concerns, especially in the areas hes most focused on.

If you have an issue as a veteran, tax support issues or social security issues call our office, Moore said. I was in a restaurant and a veteran came to me and told me hes been waiting on hearing aides since the war, the Vietnam War. He called my office and within 14 days we had him taken care of.

Dont hesitate to call us, were here to serve you. A lot of people in (Washington) D.C. think youre their subjects but we work for you.

Moore will be holding a town hall event at the Pike County Courthouse tonight at 6:30 p.m.

Original post:
Barry Moore speaks to Pike County Republican Women - The Troy Messenger - Troy Messenger

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WASHINGTON The U.S. House on Thursday passed a bill backed by leading Republicans in Texas to encourage domestic semiconductor production, even as most Texas Republicans in the chamber voted against the measure.

U.S. Reps. Michael McCaul of Austin and Kay Granger of Fort Worth were the only Texas Republicans to vote for the bill, along with all the chambers Texas Democrats. The bill passed the House by a vote of 243-187-1 after winning U.S. Senate approval earlier this week. It now awaits final approval from President Joe Biden, who supports the bill.

The legislation incentivizes companies that produce semiconductors chips that power anything from a car to a cellphone to work in the United States, as concerns mount over China and other countries growing influence over the industry. The U.S., once considered a leader in global semiconductor production, has seen its share of chip production wane over the past few decades.

The bill provides $52 billion in subsidies for domestic semiconductor manufacturers and provides a tax credit for investments in semiconductor manufacturing.

The bill had the support of leading Texas Republicans, including Gov. Greg Abbott and House Speaker Dade Phelan, who lauded the bill as an opportunity for job creation in the state. Its a rare point of agreement between Republicans in Texas and the Biden administration, which has been pushing for months to combat foreign domination of chip production.

This legislation will assist the United States in cementing a secure semiconductor supply chain, which is vital to our nations economy and national security, and better equip Texas to compete for investment in this industry, Abbott said in a statement last week.

Texas is a hub for semiconductor production, leading the country in semiconductor exports for 11 straight years. Samsung, a leader in semiconductor production, recently filed paperwork suggesting plans to expand its presence in the state by building 11 chip-making facilities in the next two decades. The technology giant announced plans last year to build a $17 billion semiconductor facility in Taylor.

House GOP leadership decided on Wednesday evening to encourage their members to vote against the legislation that had long been considered a bipartisan agreement. The effort failed, as 24 Republicans defied their leadership to vote for the bill, including McCaul and Granger.

That came after Senate Democrats surprised lawmakers when they introduced a sweeping piece of legislation intended to lower health care costs and combat climate change just hours after the U.S. Senate passed the legislation on Wednesday on a bipartisan vote of 64-33.

U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, helped lead the effort to pass the semiconductors legislation. Ted Cruz, Texas junior Republican senator, voted against the bill because of the money distributed to massive corporations.

Im all for using the tax code to incentivize manufacturers to build semiconductors in America, but when the federal government simply gives billions of taxpayer dollars directly to massive corporations, it invites cronyism and corruption, Cruz said in a statement after the bills passage.

The bill also faced opposition from progressives who, like Cruz, derided it as a form of corporate welfare. Progressive U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vermont, also voted against the bill.

When you join us at The Texas Tribune Festival Sept. 22-24 in downtown Austin, youll hear from changemakers who are driving innovation, lawmakers who are taking charge with new policies, industry leaders who are pushing Texas forward and so many others. See the growing speaker list and buy tickets.

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Semiconductor subsidies bill backed by top Texas Republicans passes in U.S. House and heads to Biden for final approval - The Texas Tribune

Journalists gather outside the White House, Wednesday, Nov. 4, 2020, in Washington.|Evan Vucci/AP Photo

But wordlessness comes with its downsides:

As my POLITICO colleague Michael Kruse, the author of scores of political profiles puts it, They dont need us to get elected. And we dont need them to write about them. The stand-off between Republican candidates and the press is likely to expand before it contracts. But thats in the short term. Making the media the enemy has a way of boomeranging on politicians. See the careers of George Wallace, Richard Nixon and Spiro Agnew for historical examples.

As interest rises in the 2024 election, and readers and viewers start paying closer attention to the race (what sane person besides politicians and the press are paying much mind to 2024 now?), the candidates will soften their hard lines and talk to the press once again.

Then again, there may be more wisdom in cutting off the press than accounted for here. As former Vice President Hubert Humphrey once wrote, It is always a risk to speak to the press: They are likely to report what you say.

During the 1972 campaign, Hunter S. Thompson wrote, Hubert Humphrey is a treacherous, gutless old ward-heeler who should be put in a goddamn bottle and sent out with the Japanese Current. Send political invective to [emailprotected]. My email alerts are accepting no new subscriptions. My Twitter feed will talk to anybody. Just sign up. My RSS feed believes the silence is the best policy.

See more here:
Opinion | Unsolicited Advice for the Pouty Republicans Who Stiff Reporters - POLITICO

Republican flamethrowers and culture warriors like Donald Trump and Representatives Matt Gaetz and Marjorie Taylor Greene typically draw an outsize amount of media attention.

Americans may conclude from this that there is a striking, and perhaps unfortunate, relationship between extremism and political success.

But Republicans arent hoping for a red wave in the midterms only because norm-thrashing or scandal sells. The truth is much more banal, yet also important for parties to internalize and better for politics generally: In states across the country, Republican governors are delivering real results for people they are physically more proximate to than federal officials.

Now, its true that the party that controls the presidency nearly always gets whipped in midterm elections, and inflation would be a huge drag on any party in power. And its also true that among those governors are culture warriors like Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida and Gov. Greg Abbott of Texas.

But people too often overlook the idea that actual results, especially ones related to pocketbook issues, can often be as important as rhetoric. Looked at that way, lots of Republicans some with high public profiles, and some who fly below the radar are excelling.

Start with the simplest measure: popularity. Across the country, 13 of the 15 most popular governors are Republicans. That list does not just include red states. In fact, blue-state Republican governors like Phil Scott of Vermont, Charlie Baker of Massachusetts and Larry Hogan of Maryland are among the most popular.

There are many reasons that G.O.P. governors seem to be succeeding. Its true that governors cant take credit for everything. Sometimes they just get lucky. But they do make policy choices, and those made by governors since the start of Covid have made a difference in particular.

For example, take a look at the most recent Bureau of Labor Statistics data on unemployment. In the 10 states with the lowest rates as of June, eight were led by Republican governors. Several governors who dont make frequent appearances in national news stand out, like Pete Ricketts of Nebraska, Chris Sununu of New Hampshire, Spencer Cox of Utah and Phil Scott of Vermont. Their states have unemployment rates under 2.5 percent, and of the 20 states with the lowest unemployment rates, just four are led by Democrats.

States with Republican governors have also excelled in economic recovery since the start of the pandemic. Standouts in this measure include Mr. Abbott and Doug Ducey of Arizona.

These results reflect many things some states have grown and others have shrunk, for example but are at least in part a result of policy choices made by their elected leaders since the start of the pandemic. For example, governors like Kristi Noem in South Dakota often rejected lockdowns and economic closures.

Republican governors were also far more likely to get children back to in-person school, despite intense criticism.

Covid policy doesnt explain everything. Fiscal governance has also made a difference. The Cato Institutes Fiscal Report Card on Americas governors for 2020 (the most recent edition available), which grades them on tax and spending records, gives high marks to many Republicans. Nearly all of the top-ranked states in this report have Republican governors, like Kim Reynolds of Iowa or Mr. Ricketts. (Some Democratic governors also ranked highly, including Steve Sisolak of Nevada and Roy Cooper of North Carolina.) Some have made their mark with employer-attracting tax cuts, others with spending controls, others with a mixture.

Most states mandate a balanced budget, so taxing and spending policies are important for fiscal stability. Low taxes tend to attract and keep employers and employees. Restrained budgets help ensure that taxes can be kept low without sacrificing bond ratings, which may matter if debt-financed spending is needed in a crisis or to try to stimulate businesses to hire more.

Asa Hutchinson of Arkansas has cut taxes for individuals, reduced the number of tax brackets and cut the corporate income tax rate. Mr. Sununu has restrained spending, vetoed a payroll tax proposal and cut business taxes. Brian Kemp of Georgia, by contrast, actually paused some tax cuts that had been scheduled and focused almost exclusively on spending restraint, issuing a directive for state agencies to generate budget cuts and keeping 2020 general fund growth to a tiny 1 percent.

Even in blue Vermont, Mr. Scott despite being an odd duck among governors because he is not constrained by a balanced-budget amendment kept the increase in general fund spendingto an annual average of just 2.4 percent between 2017 and 2020, and he has also cut taxes. He signed a bill to ensure that the federal tax reform instituted under Mr. Trump and limiting state and local tax deductions wouldnt result in Vermonters getting hammered. He has also cut individual income tax rates, reduced the number of tax brackets and resisted new payroll taxes in favor of voluntary paid leave plans for private-sector employers.

Republicans who have a big impact on the day-to-day lives of many Americans unlike, say, Representative Kevin McCarthy or certainly Mr. Trump, and in terms of the quality of state economies, local job markets and education are delivering. In our federalist system, a lot of power still sits with states and not the federal government and determines much about citizens lives.

This is a big reason that Republicans are well positioned heading into the midterms. It should be a warning to Joe Biden and Democrats and to some of the culture warriors. Cable-news combat over whatever the outrage of the day is may deliver politicians the spotlight. But sound economic policy and focusing on the job, not theatrics, are delivering basic day-to-day results that Americans want, need and will reward.

Liz Mair (@LizMair), a strategist for campaigns by Scott Walker, Roy Blunt, Rand Paul, Carly Fiorina and Rick Perry, is the founder and president of Mair Strategies.

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Opinion | These Republican Governors Are Delivering Results, and Many Voters Like Them for It - The New York Times

The top Republican on the House Veterans Affairs Committee on Wednesday expressed an openness to scrapping the Veterans Affairs Departments multi-billion dollar Oracle-Cerner Millennium electronic health record system, if serious deficiencies in the rollout of the new software are not addressed by the end of the year.

Rep. Mike Bost, R-Ill., ranking member of the full committee, said that Congress has to set a deadline for the EHR system rollout, and if there isnt major progress by early next year, we will have to seriously consider pulling the plug. Bost added that he "will be writing legislation to do just that."

Bosts comments came during a House Veterans Affairs subcommittee hearing examining patient safety concerns that have been raised during the initial rollouts of the new EHR system at VA medical centers across the country. Members of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee also grilled VA officials last week about delays and technical issues with the rollout of the new software.

Samantha Gonzalez, a spokeswoman for Bost, said after the hearing that the ranking member intends to introduce a bill before the end of the year.

The bill is in the drafting stage and the final product will depend on the initial progress, if any, that VA and Cerner make over the next few months addressing the serious problems at the initial rollout sites, Gonzalez told Nextgov. At this point, the Ranking Member is considering all legislative options, including reorienting or completely halting the project.

The VA signed a $10 billion contract with Cerner in 2018 to implement the new EHR system over a 10-year period, to replace its prior customized health information system, the Veterans Health Information Systems and Technology Architecture, or VistA. The new EHR software is currently in use at five VA medical sites, but software outages, logistical delays and technical issues have hampered the rollout.

Earlier this month, the VA Inspector Generals office also issued a highly critical watchdog report, which found that the software implemented at the first site of EHR system rolloutthe Mann-Grandstaff VA Medical Center in Spokane, Washingtonimproperly routed more than 11,000 clinical orders for veterans to an unknown queue without the knowledge of clinicians. That glitch, according to the OIG report, resulted in direct harm to at least 149 veterans.

In addition to concerns about patient care, cost overruns have also raised additional questions about the deployment of the Oracle-Cerner EHR system. The cost of the softwares implementation has already grown to $16 billion over the course of the 10-year contract, and a new cost estimate provided to Congress by the Institute for Defense Analyses found that the EHR softwares implementation and maintenance expenses would be $50.8 billion over 28 years.

VA announced last week that it would be postponing future rollouts of the Oracle-Cerner software at new medical sites until January 2023 as it works to address concerns about the EHR systems deployment.

Bost said the EHR system as it exists now is already a bad investment at $16 billion, noting that the Oracle-Cerner effort is already 10 times more expensive than the VAs previously abandoned effort to modernize VistA.

Rep. Matt Rosendale, R-Mont., ranking member of the House Veterans Affairs Subcommittee on Technology Modernization, echoed Bosts sentiment and said that the legacy VistA system still works and is much less expensive than any of the alternatives.

Im not hearing a credible argument for continuing this effort other than bureaucratic inertia and profit, Rosendale said, adding that the responsible thing to do is to stop throwing money at Oracle-Cerner and make targeted investments to shore up VistA.

Mike Sicilia, executive vice president for industries at Oracle, told the committee that addressing issues with the EHR system was the companys top priority. He said that Oracle, which acquired Cerner seven weeks ago, has set up a dedicated war room of its senior engineers to make needed improvements to the software.

After reviewing all of the engineering issues, I have concluded that there is nothing here that cant be materially improved in reasonably short order, Sicilia said.

Democratic leaders on the committee, meanwhile, seemed to agree that VAs health system is in need of modernization, but they also expressed serious concerns about the ways in which both VA and Oracle-Cerner have addressedand been transparent aboutdeficiencies within the EHR software rollout.

Committee Chairman Mark Takano, D-Calif., said that VA needs a modernized EHR system and that continuing with VistA is not sustainable in the long-term, but added that he will not sit idly by and allow this program to endanger veterans.

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Top Republican to 'Seriously Consider Pulling the Plug' on VA's New EHR System - Nextgov