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With the Republican health care bill facing an uncertain fate, Virginia Sen. Tim Kaine Monday highlighted the potential impacts to children with complex medical conditions who rely on Medicaid an effort to shame the GOP into compromise while boosting Democratic prospects in the upcoming statewide elections.

Its important that we share stories about what Medicaid really does, Kaine (D) said before convening a roundtable discussion with parents and health care providers of children with disabilities inside Northern Virginia Community Colleges Medical Education campus. For many, Medicaid is about enabling them to live more independently, enabling them to be more successful in school.

The event was one in a string of appearances by Democrats around the country in recent weeks as they seek to rally opposition to Republican efforts to repeal the Affordable Care Act and replace it with legislation that, among other things, would phase out extra funds provided by the federal government as an incentive to expand eligibility for Medicaid.

The Republican Better Care Reconciliation Act would also wipe out the system of open-ended entitlements under Medicaid by putting the program on a budget.

In Virginia, Kaine has campaigned against the bill through public meetings that underscored the potential impacts to seniors, public school children, foster kids and others among an estimated 1 million Virginians who rely on Medicaid.

His office says that more than 11,000 people have called during the past three weeks to urge the former Democratic candidate for vice president to fight harder to defeat the Republican health care plan.

More broadly, a recent Quinnipiac University poll pegged President Trumps approval rating in Virginia at 40 percent and found that nearly six in 10 Virginians disapproved of House Republicans health-care bill.

That may reflect a larger backlash against Republicans in the state that could help Democrat Lt. Gov. Ralph Northam beat Republican Ed Gillespie during Novembers gubernatorial election, political analysts say.

Gillespie, aware of the more moderate views in his state, has avoided taking a firm stance on the Republican health care plan, arguing that he is focused on state policies as a gubernatorial candidate and would match state policies to whatever the federal policy is.

Quentin Kidd, director of Christopher Newport Universitys Wason Center for Public Policy, said Northam and his supporters will nonetheless try to link Gillespie to the health care plan as much as possible.

They want voters to think about this issue in the context of a national referendum on Trump and Republicans, said Quentin Kidd, director of Christopher Newport Universitys Wason Center for Public Policy. If that offensive could take hold at the gubernatorial level, it would be natural that it would also roll down to the state house levels.

In addition to governor, lieutenant governor and state attorney general, all 100 House of Delegates seats are up for grabs in November.

At Mondays roundtable, the parents and pediatricians there said they were more concerned about how the health care bill would affect their ability to provide care to children dealing with an array of health problems.

Though Republican Senators returned from their holiday break seeming deeply divided over several aspects of the legislation, the roundtable participants said they arent convinced the bill is on its way to dying.

It should be dead, but I dont think we can say that it is, Kaine warned.

To the participants in the roundtable discussion, that means tens of thousands of dollars per year in Medicaid support is still on the line.

Several said the federal subsidy has helped pay for feeding tubes, wheel chairs, surgeries and in-home nurses aid for people with disabilities that is already in short supply in Virginia, with more than 11,000 people on a state waiting list for Medicaid vouchers.

These costs are going to be so high, worried Corinne Kunkel, whose son Dylan, 5, was born with a condition known as Spinal Muscular Atrophy with Respiratory Distress and receives a Medicaid waiver to help pay for a ventilator that allows him to breathe.

Its not like were asking for handouts, added Jennifer Reese, whose daughter Cailyn, 9, was born with a genetic seizure disorder and receives help from Medicaid for her treatment, including diapers that run $350 per box.

This is all stuff we need, said Reese, a director at the ENDependence Center of Northern Virginia, an advocacy group for people with disabilities. If we didnt have Medicaid we definitely wouldnt still own our house and I probably wouldnt have been able to keep working.

Dr. Samuel Bartle, an assistant professor at the Childrens Hospital of Richmond at VCU, predicted more families without insurance will turn to emergency rooms as a primary source of care.

Ive seen them come in at 2 a.m., where they come in and say: `I cant get an appointment because no one will take me, he said. We end up having to hospitalize them just to provide a certain service. Having Medicaid cut is going to put a bigger strain.

Nodding his head, Kaine said those dark scenarios have been mostly absent from discussion on Capitol Hill because the Republican leadership in the Senate crafted the legislation largely behind closed doors.

Weve had no hearings, said Kaine, who sits on the Senates Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee. Were ready to talk and to try to find the improvements but were being given no opporunity to.

Over the long term, that will prove to be politically damaging for Republicans on both the national level and in Virginia, he predicted.

When you have a guy running for governor like Ralph Northam, who has spent his life as a pediatrician, youre gonna hear an awful lot about health care in this governors race, he said. And, that is on peoples minds.

Read the original:
Va. Sen. Kaine lobbies against Republican health care plan on both national and state political fronts - Washington Post

Forget questions about the Trumpsa Tennessee politician has been lavishing the funds from his campaign coffers on family members long before the first family moved into the White House.

Rep. Jimmy Duncan Jr., a Republican congressman who represents Knoxville, has poured hundreds of thousands of dollars of campaign money into his family members and their businesses since at least 2013, campaign finance filings first reported by the Knoxville News-Sentinel reveal. The payments included hundreds of thousands to an apparently non-existent company registered to Duncans son, who previously pleaded guilty to a felony relating to the alleged misappropriation of government funds.

The Duncans are a Tennessee political dynasty. Patriarch John Duncan Sr. first took local office in 1959, when he won a special election to replace Knoxvilles deceased mayor. In 1965, Duncan Sr. made the leap to Congress, representing Tennessees second district until his death in 1988. His son, Duncan Jr. won a special election to replace him, and has held the congressional seat with virtually no opposition for nearly three decades. Duncan Jr.s sister, Becky Duncan Massey, is a member of the Tennessee Senate representing Knoxville and its surrounding county.

Duncan Jr.s son, John Duncan III, has also been viewed as a political up-and-comer. He was elected Knox County Trustee in 2010. The election was an easy victory for Duncan III, who ran unopposed in the general election, and whose only primary opponent dropped out before the vote.

But shortly after taking office in September 2010, Duncan III allegedly ordered tens of thousands of dollars in bonuses for himself and other employees. The bonuses were purportedly for completing a training program, prosecutor Bill Bright alleged at the time. But seven of the bonus recipients, including Duncan III, allegedly never completed the training. When the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation became involved with the case, Duncan III allegedly told investigators that he hadnt known he wasnt allowed to award bonuses for the incomplete training. Three employees claimed otherwise, telling investigators that they had warned Duncan III against the payouts.

On July 2, 2013, Duncan III pleaded guilty to felony official misconduct on the case, and resigned from office without a jury trial. Thirteen days later, he was back on another politicians payroll: his fathers.

On July 15, Duncan Jr.s re-election campaign paid Duncan III $3,000, according to Federal Election Commission campaign records. The payments recurred every other week until Nov. 1, when records show the biweekly payments shifted to American Public Strategies. The company was registered on a county level to John J. Duncan less than a month earlier. While both Duncans share the name and middle initial, American Public Strategies was registered to the younger Duncans home address.

Payments to American Public Strategies soon increased to $3,500 every other week, and have remained at that rate ever since, FEC filings show. But while American Public Strategies was earning a steady $7,000 a month, its legal standing appeared less stable. Tennessee has no records of American Public Strategies ever being registered with the state, and the companys county registration (which would have expired within a year, the Nashville Post notes) was never renewed after its 2013 creation.

The $7,000 monthly paychecks raise questions about Duncan Jr.'s compliance with FEC rules, Brendan Fischer, a staff attorney for the Campaign Legal Center said.

"FEC rules specifically say if youre going to pay a family member for work for the campaign, the family member has to be providing bona fide services, and the amount paid has to be commensurate with the fair market value of the services provided," Fischer told The Daily Beast. "For a congressional candidate in a non-competitive district in Tennessee, it appears the payments to John Duncan III are exceptionally high for the services hes providing.

"Particularly in a non-election year, its difficult to see how theres a need to pay someone $7,000 a month to engage in campaign activities."

Duncan III did not return The Daily Beasts request for comment on the companys registration status. Between the payments to American Public Strategies, and the seven initial payments directly to him, Duncan III has made just short of $300,000 from his fathers campaign. His salary, which hit $84,000 in 2016, is greater than those of all but two of Duncan Jr.s staffers: the representatives chief of staff and deputy chief of staff, both of whom have worked in Congress since 2009, according to public records.

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In a statement to the News-Sentinel, Duncan III sent a text message, which he attributed to his father.

Every expenditure from my campaign has been done according to law and in compliance with all pertinent regulations of the Federal Election Commission, the statement, attributed to Duncan Jr., read. In the last four years, I have paid my son, John, who has been in charge of my entire political operation doing everything from putting up yard signs and answering campaign calls to conducting polls, giving speeches, and raising funds. He was paid far less than many campaign managers and consultants while doing many things that they would not do.

But Duncan III is not the only family member on the congressmans payroll.

Beginning in 2013, Duncan Jr.s campaign began paying a monthly $600 to Sage Investment Group, according to FEC filings. The monthly payments, which continue to this day, are labeled campaign office: rent expense. They appear to be the first time Duncan Jr.s campaign ever listed office space in its FEC filings. The Nashville Post reports that Sage Investment shares a P.O. box with the company JMB Investment LLC, where Duncan Jr.s son-in-law is one of four partners. That son-in-law has received $350 each month from Duncan Jr.s campaign since 2011, FEC filings show.

The campaign also shelled out three payments worth a combined $9,100 to Duncan Jr.s other son, Zane, although he did not receive a regular salary, FEC filings show. At the time of two of those payments Zane Duncan and his wife were running Road to Victory PAC, Duncan Jr.s political action committee. In every two-year election cycle since 2011, the couple has received $15,000 annually from the PACmore than it donated in any politician during those cycles. During the 2011-2012 cycle, the PAC only donated to two candidates: $1,000 to a California candidate, and $2,000 to Duncan Jr.s sister, Becky Duncan Massey, who won her local Tennessee Senate seat that year.

The campaign has also reportedly paid a monthly $750 to Duncan Masseys daughter, a Texas-based gymnastics teacher in charge of the campaigns bookkeeping.

"This is all for a congressperson in a noncompetitive district who has not faced a serious challenger for many years," Fischer said. "There does appear to be a pattern of payments to family members that raises the question of whether Congressman Duncan is illegally converting campaign funds to personal use."

See original here:
Republican Congressman Jimmy Duncan's Campaign Paid His Son Nearly $300000 - Daily Beast

Two Republican lawmakers admitted Sunday the initial GOP bill to repeal and replace the nations health law is probably dead and President Trumps proposal to solely repeal it appears to be a non-starter.

Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., said in a televised interview on CBS it may now be time for Republicans to come up with a new proposal with support from Democrats.

"I think my view is it's probably going to be dead," McCain said of the GOP bill. If Democrats are included, he said, it doesn't mean "they control it. It means they can have amendments considered. And even when they lose, then they're part of the process. That's what democracy is supposed to be all about."

Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La, speaking on Fox News Sunday, told Chris Wallace We dont know what the plan is. Clearly, the draft plan is dead. Is the serious rewrite plan dead? I don't know."

Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, signaled pessimism as well. He wrote on Twitter late Saturday that Republicans will lose their Senate majority if they dont pass health care legislation. Grassley added the party should be "ashamed" that it hasn't been able to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare.

Trump used Twitter Sunday afternoon to urge Republicans to follow through on their pledge to get rid of the health care law pushed by his predecessor.

"For years, even as a "civilian," I listened as Republicans pushed the Repeal and Replace of ObamaCare. Now they finally have their chance!," Trump said in a tweet.

At least 10 GOP senators have expressed opposition to the initial bill drafted by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky. Republicans hold a 52-48 majority and Democrats stand united against the bill, meaning that just three GOP defections will doom it. The weeklong July 4 recess only raised more doubts among senators as many heard from constituents angry about the GOP bill and the prospect of rising premiums.

McConnell last week said he would introduce a fresh bill in about a week scuttling and replacing much of former President Barack Obama's health care law. But McConnell also acknowledged that if the broader effort fails, he may turn to a smaller bill with quick help for insurers and consumers and negotiate with Democrats.

Sen. Ted Cruzs plan, which aims to lower premiums for healthy people, has drawn support from the White House and some conservatives in the House, which would have to approve any modified bill passed by the Senate. But his proposal has limited appeal to Republican moderates such as Grassley, who told Iowa Public Radio that it may be "subterfuge to get around pre-existing conditions."

Cruz on Sunday sought to dismiss Grassley's criticism as a "hoax" being pushed by Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer, insisting that people will be able to get the coverage they need at an affordable price. Cruz cast his plan as a compromise to unify the party on a GOP health bill.

"When it comes to repealing Obamacare, what I think is critical is that Republicans, we've got to honor the promise we made to the voters that millions of Americans are hurting under Obamacare," Cruz said.

"In my view failure is not an option," he said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Read the original:
Two Republican senators declare bid to repeal health care law 'dead' - Fox News

OK, so the selling of Trumpcare is deeply dishonest. But isnt that what politics is always like? No. Political spin used to have its limits: Politicians who wanted to be taken seriously wouldnt go around claiming that up is down and black is white.

Does anyone remember the reformicons? A couple of years back there was much talk about a new generation of Republicans who would, it was claimed, move their party off its cruel and mindless agenda of tax cuts for the rich and pain for the poor, bringing back the intellectual seriousness that supposedly used to characterize the conservative movement.

But the rise of the reformicons never happened. What we got instead was the (further) rise of the decepticons not the evil robots from the movies, but conservatives who keep scaling new heights of dishonesty in their attempt to sell their reverse-Robin Hood agenda.

Consider, in particular, Republican leaders strategy on health care. At this point, everything they say involves either demonstrably dishonest claims about Obamacare or wild misrepresentations of their proposed replacement, which would surprise cut taxes for the rich while inflicting harsh punishment on the poor and working class, including millions of Trump supporters. In fact, theres so much deception that I cant cover it all. But here are a few low points.

Despite encountering some significant problems, the Affordable Care Act has, as promised, extended health insurance to millions of Americans who wouldnt have had it otherwise, at a fairly modest cost. In states that have implemented the act as it was intended, expanding Medicaid, the percentage of nonelderly residents without insurance has fallen by more than half since 2010.

And these numbers translate into dramatic positive impacts on real lives. A few days ago the Indiana GOP asked residents to share their Obamacare horror stories; what it got instead were thousands of testimonials from people whom the ACA has saved from financial ruin or even death.

How do Republicans argue against this success? You can get a good overview by looking at the Twitter feed of Tom Price, President Donald Trumps secretary of health and human services a feed that is, in its own way, almost as horrifying as that of the tweeter in chief. Price points repeatedly to two misleading numbers.

First, he points to the fact that fewer people than expected have signed up on the exchanges Obamacares insurance marketplaces and portrays this as a sign of dire failure. But a lot of this shortfall is the result of good news: Fewer employers than predicted chose to drop coverage and shift their workers onto exchange plans. So exchange enrollment has come in below forecast, but it mostly consists of people who wouldnt otherwise have been insured and as I said, there have been large gains in overall coverage.

Second, he points to the 28 million U.S. residents who remain uninsured as if this were some huge, unanticipated failure. But nobody expected Obamacare to cover everyone; indeed, the Congressional Budget Office always projected that more than 20 million people would, for various reasons, be left out. And you have to wonder how Price can look himself in the mirror after condemning the ACA for missing some people when his own partys plans would vastly increase the number of uninsured.

Which brings us to Republicans efforts to obscure the nature of their own plans.

The main story here is very simple: In order to free up money for tax cuts, GOP plans would drastically cut Medicaid spending relative to current law, and they would also cut insurance subsidies, making private insurance unaffordable for many people not eligible for Medicaid.

Republicans could try to make a case for this policy shift; they could try to explain why tax cuts for a wealthy few are more important than health care for tens of millions. Instead, however, theyre engaging in shameless denial.

On one side, they claim that a cut is not a cut, because dollar spending on Medicaid would still rise over time. What about the need to spend more to keep up with the needs of an aging population? (Most Medicaid spending goes to the elderly or disabled.) La, la, la, we cant hear you.

On the other side even I was shocked by this one senior Republicans like Paul Ryan dismiss declines in the number of people with coverage as no big deal, because they would represent voluntary choices not to buy insurance.

How is this supposed to apply to the 15 million people the CBO predicts would lose Medicaid? Wouldnt many people drop coverage, not as an exercise in personal freedom but in response to what the Kaiser Family Foundation estimates would be an average 74 percent increase in after-tax premiums? Never mind.

OK, so the selling of Trumpcare is deeply dishonest. But isnt that what politics is always like? No. Political spin used to have its limits: Politicians who wanted to be taken seriously wouldnt go around claiming that up is down and black is white.

Yet todays Republicans hardly ever do anything else. Its not just Donald Trump: The whole GOP has become a post-truth party. And I see no sign that it will ever improve.

Original post:
Attack of the Republican decepticons - The Seattle Times

WASHINGTON Two senior Republican U.S. senators criticized Secretary of State Rex Tillerson on Sunday for saying that Russia may have the "right approach" on Syria and for what they called his lack of focus on Afghanistan and Pakistan.

"His statements about Syria really disturb me. No, (Russian President Vladimir) Putin does not have it right when it comes to Syria," Senator Lindsey Graham said.

In separate television interviews, Graham and Senator John McCain, prominent Republican foreign policy voices, took aim at Tillerson's remarks last week that Russia may have "got the right approach" and the United States the wrong approach to Syria.

Russia has backed President Bashar al-Assad in Syria's civil war, while the United States supports rebel groups trying to overthrow him.

McCain told CBS' "Face the Nation" that he "sometimes" regretted backing Tillerson's nomination by Republican President Donald Trump and that his comments on Russia being "right" on Syria made him emotional and upset.

"I know what the slaughter has been like. I know that the Russians knew that Bashar Assad was going to use chemical weapons. And to say that maybe we've got the wrong approach?" he said.

Both senators backed the nomination of Tillerson in January, even while expressing concern about his dealings with Russia when he was chief executive of ExxonMobil. (XOM.N)

Graham, who visited Afghanistan and Pakistan last week with McCain, accused Tillerson of being "AWOL" on the two countries and failing to fill key State Department posts.

"I am so worried about the State Department, Graham said on NBC's "Meet the Press."

A State Department official responded to the criticism of Tillerson by saying that a U.S.-Russian-brokered ceasefire for southwest Syria was an example of what the secretary had described as the potential to coordinate with Russia, in spite of unresolved differences, "to produce stability and serve our mutual security interests."

The official, who did not want to be identified, also said the State Department was taking an active role in a review of Afghanistan and Pakistan policy and continued to work with the White House on nominations.

Since the exit of most foreign troops in 2014, Afghanistans U.S.-backed government has lost ground to a Taliban insurgency in a war that kills and maims thousands of civilians each year.

(Reporting by Valerie Volcovici; Additional reporting by Arsghad Mohammed and David Brunnstrom; Editing by Peter Cooney)

WASHINGTON President Donald Trump's son, Donald Trump Jr., agreed to meet with a Kremlin-linked lawyer during the 2016 election campaign after being promised damaging information about Hillary Clinton, the New York Times reported on Sunday, citing three advisers to the White House.

WASHINGTON Republicans expressed increasing pessimism on Sunday about the prospects for the healthcare bill in the U.S. Senate aimed at rolling back Obamacare as lawmakers prepared to return from a week-long recess.

See the article here:
Two senior Republican senators criticize Tillerson comments on Russia - Reuters