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Seventeen conservative Republican members of Congress10 of them in their first or second termsare bucking long-time party positions and the new occupant of the White House. They announced on Wednesday that theyre supporting a clear statement about the risks associated with climate change, as well as principles for howbest to fight it.

Called the Republican Climate Resolution by supporters, the statement by House members takes about 450 words to mention conservative thought on environmentalism, support for climate science, feared impacts, and a call for economically viable policy. They pledge in general terms to support study and mitigation measures, using our tradition of American ingenuity, innovation, and exceptionalism.

Read more:To Protect Climate Money, Obama Stashed It Where Its Hard to Find

Its essentially the same thingthat was introduced in September 2015 by then-Representative Chris Gibsonof New York. Whats changed since then is that almost 200 nations agreed to work to bring climate change under control, America elected a Republican presidentDonald Trump, who seems determined not toand the challengeitself growscontinuously worse.

With 17 co-sponsors, the resolution is oceans away from the number of votes it needs to pass the Republican-controlled House of Representatives. Fortunately, its likelihood of passage is not what makes it interesting.

These bills are interestingin the waythat solar energy is, even though solar makes up 1 percent of U.S. power generation. Like solar power, Republican climate billsare noteworthynot because one is likely to pass anytime soon, but because massive external forcesmarkets, other governments, and climate change itselfmay eventually force it into the foreground.

The resolution is spearheaded by three Republican members of Congress: Elise Stefanik of New York, CarlosCurbelo of Florida, and Ryan Costello of Pennsylvania.

The bills co-sponsors hail from parts of the country on the front lines of climate change; three represent southern Florida. Otherscomes from northern Nevada and central Utah, where mountain snowpack has declined in recent decades. And the district of Representative Mark Sanford, in eastern South Carolina, is seeing the rising sea level rise slowly eat away at its coastline.

Our founding fathers set up a political system that was to be reason-based, Sanford said on Tuesday. They didnt believe in alternative facts.

Curbelo represents Monroe County, which includes the Florida Keys, and part of Miami-Dade County. A leader in shapingthe new resolution, hes also co-founder of the House Climate Solutions Caucus, a bipartisan group. The caucus, which has new members admitted in pairs, one Republican and one Democrat, was set up to explore climate policy. Eleven of its13 Republican members are co-sponsors of the new resolution (six representatives are co-sponsors but do not belong to the caucus, according to a roster maintained by the nonprofit Citizens Climate Lobby).

Curbelo said in a conference call that the most critical participants in climate discussionsincluding major oil companiesare all moving in the right direction.

Congress, specifically the House Republican Conference, has to catch up to all of them, Curbelo said. Thats what were trying to do here.

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The bill is this month's contribution to Washingtons constant climate background hum. It follows February's splashy carbon tax-and-rebate announcement, developed by a groupcalledClimate Leadership Council and endorsedby three former Republican U.S. Treasury secretaries. That initiative, like todays, is premised on the idea that, as CLC founder Ted Halstead, put it, There is no issue in America today where there is a bigger gap between the GOP base and the GOP leadership.

Sanford, who served asSouth Carolinas governor from2003 to 2011, suggested that the future of climate resolutions or policies is up to voters. Theres been a level of energy that Ive never seen before in my time in politics, he said.

If that energy broadensbeyond the dismantling of the Affordable Care Act, issues such as climate change might rise to greater prominence. In the meantime, Sanford said theres enough science and enough resonant anecdotal evidence. I think its dangerous, he said.

See the original post here:
Republicans Break Ranks With Pledge to Fight Climate Change - Bloomberg

Rep. Joe Barton (R-Tex.) spoke at a town hall in Frost, Tex., when he said he opposed federal legislation protecting women from violence because it is a state issue. (YouTube/Bryan Stewart)

A Republican congressman from Texas is caught in a firestorm after he told a constituent to shut up.

Rep.Joe Barton (R-Tex.) was speaking Saturday at a town hall event in Frost, a small town not far from Arlington, when he said he opposed federal legislation protecting women fromviolence, because it is a state issue. The crowd erupted over Bartons remarks, and the moment was captured on video.

Violence against women thats a national issue! an attendee shouted. That is an issue that impacts everyone, everywhere not only in this country but everywhere.

That comment spurred more loud reactions from the crowd, with one man in particular prompting this from the congressman:

You, sir, shut up.

The crowd responded with a combination of apparent anger and applause, with one attendee screaming: What is that? Youdont tell anybody to shut up! You work for us!

I appreciate the interest and participation at every town hall meeting I host, Bartonsaid in a statement. These are unscripted live meetings. Over the weekend in Frost, one gentlemen continued to speak over myself and many others who were seeking recognition in orderly fashion.

I did, however, return to him for the last question of the meeting and allow him the opportunity to voice his concerns.

[Republican town halls are getting very, very nasty]

Chris Lewis told the Star-Telegram that he was the constituent Barton called out at the town hall, and he acknowledged hed perhaps gotten a little too vocal.

Passions were rising, Lewis, a teacher, told the newspaper. Honestly, I was speaking out of turn.

Of Bartons exhortation for him to shut up, Lewis said, Ive heard worse.

Chaotic scenes have been playing out in Republican town hall events across the United States. Swarming crowds and hostile questions are the new normal and an early indication of how progressive opposition movements are mobilizing against the agenda of the GOP and President Trump, The Washington Post reported.

Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) on Feb. 22 answered questions from constituents during a tense town hall meeting in Springdale, Ark. (Springdale Public Schools)

As The Posts Amber Phillipswrote:

Republicans are fully in control of Washington for the first time in a decade, and they havent forgotten the motivating issue for their base in 2009. Repealing Obamacare and replacing it with something else is their top priority. Republicanstook procedural steps on their first week back in Congress this January tomake that happen.

But in the absence of an agreed-upon plan to replace it and the very real threat of millions of people losing their health-care coverage in the process Republicans confident, steady march toward health-care reform has stalled. Lawmakers themselves are anxiousabout how to smoothly pull out health care from millions of people and quickly slipsomething better in its place.

Enter a united, fired-up left, which has taken to streets across the nation not once but twice in President Trumps first few weeks in office. These protestersdidnt just come out in Washington and Los Angeles, but in Wichita, rural Virginia and Anchorage. It has all the appearance, as my colleague James Hohmann wrote recently, of the liberal answer to the tea party movement.

[Swarming crowds and hostile questions are the new normal at GOP town halls]

On his Twitter account, Barton noted, I work for the people of the 6th District of Texas and am honored to represent them in Washington.

A 32-year veteran of the House, he represents the Arlington area, in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex.

Since Saturdays town hall, constituents and others on social media have been blasting Barton, a member of the Tea Party Caucus.

Hey Joe, you rich old FART. YOU SHUT UP !!! one wrote on his Facebook page.You work for us. We pay your salary. So, you shut up and listen.

Hey Joe SHUT UP! I cannot believe you speak to your employers so rudely, another person wrote.

We wont shut up!!!! someone else added.

More reading:

Sean Spicer blames chaotic town halls on professional protesters. So did Obamas team.

The poor just dont want health care: Republican congressman faces backlash over comments

GOP finds fix for chaotic town halls: Dont hold them

A town hall survival guide for Republican members of Congress

Read more:
'You, sir, shut up!': Republican congressman shouts down a constituent at tense town hall - Washington Post

House Speaker Paul Ryan holds a copy of the American Health Care Act, the House Republican leadership's plan to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, which is already facing opposition from conservatives in the House and Senate. Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images hide caption

House Speaker Paul Ryan holds a copy of the American Health Care Act, the House Republican leadership's plan to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, which is already facing opposition from conservatives in the House and Senate.

The Republican health care bill would not affect Americans equally. Older, poorer people would see big reductions in coverage and cost increases, according to a report from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office. This first step in the GOP plan to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare, would also create a modest deficit reduction.

The report hands Democrats more ammunition in attacking the bill, while Republicans are divided: Some are playing defense, while others are backing away, and some are also proposing changes.

To see the potential impact of the bill as it stands, here are five charts, based on the CBO analysis.

Uninsured spike immediately, then rise more slowly

First things first: The Republican health care bill would greatly ramp up the number of people who are uninsured. Currently, around 9.5 percent of Americans younger than 65 are uninsured. Under the Republican bill, the uninsured rate in 2026 would be nearly double that, at 18.6 percent, compared with 10 percent under the Affordable Care Act.

Put into raw numbers, here's how the growth in the number of uninsured looks: In 2018, the number of uninsured would be 14 million larger under the Republican bill than under Obamacare. In 2026, it would be 24 million larger.

That big upswing in 2018 would be largely attributed to repealing the penalties that came as part of the individual mandate not having a fine would lead lots of people to decide not to get insured. In addition, rising premiums would deter some from buying insurance.

In subsequent years, Medicaid changes would account for an increasing number of uninsured, eventually hitting 14 million. The rollback of the Affordable Care Act's Medicaid expansion would begin in 2020, cutting the number of people on the program. In addition, no states would be able to take up the expansion in the future, further dropping the number of potential Medicaid enrollees.

Premiums go up, then down (but not for everyone)

The CBO's report shows that premiums in the individual insurance market would increase first, then decrease, ending up 10 percent lower than they would be under the current law in 2026. That's because young and healthy people would likely drop out early on, bringing premiums up. But the mix of people would eventually shift younger, pushing premiums down younger people tend to be healthier, and therefore cost less to insure. In addition, insurers will not have the same requirements for sharing the cost of certain benefits.

Republicans are applauding this. In fact, Budget Director Mick Mulvaney said this week that while he (and others in the administration) are shrugging off the CBO's findings as unreliable, this was one part of the report he believed:

"Everyplace else where the market is allowed to function, quality goes up and costs go down," he said, "and I think if you look for something the CBO may have gotten right in this report, it's that the premiums are actually going to come down in cost."

But it wouldn't work out the same for everyone. Many younger Americans would end up paying less, as would people young and old alike making middle-to-upper-middle incomes, according to the CBO analysis. However, premium costs would hit many low-income adults hard, particularly older low-income adults.

A 64-year-old making $26,500 a year would pay around $1,700 in premiums right now. Under the proposed changes, that person would pay $14,600, more than eight times more.

One big reason for that is that the new health care bill would change the gap between what young and old people will pay for their premiums. Currently, insurers can charge older enrollees three times what they charge someone younger. The Republican plan would up that from 3-to-1 to 5-to-1.

Big leaps in the poor and uninsured

The uninsurance rate will increase among the poor and nonpoor alike. But it appears it would grow the most more than doubling among older, low-income insurance buyers. Not coincidentally, that's also the group that would see its cost of insurance climb in a huge way.

The uninsurance rate among people ages 50 to 64 who are below 200 percent of the federal poverty level would leap from 12 percent uninsured to 30 percent.

Smaller deficit

Under the Republican bill, the deficit would shrink by $337 billion over 10 years, or $33.7 billion per year on average.

That reduction would mainly come from the Medicaid rollback and, to a lesser degree, the end of Affordable Care Act subsidies. Both of those changes would reduce spending by a little more each year.

All told, Medicaid savings will come out to $880 billion over the decade. That reflects the massive changes that will be made to Medicaid under the plan. Existing enrollees could stay on, but the expanded income threshold that the Affordable Care Act set would move. That would mean fewer people could sign on in the future. Not only that, but the new plan would cap how much the federal government spends on Medicaid, making it much more expensive for states to keep up current levels of coverage.

A smaller deficit may make fiscal conservatives happy, but it's altogether a modest shift. The deficit reduction here averages out to $33.7 billion per year. For comparison, the 2016 deficit was $587 billion.

Read more:
5 Charts That Explain The CBO Report On The Republican Health Plan - NPR

New York Times

Winter Storm, Republican Party: Your Tuesday Evening Briefing New York Times 1. Snow, sleet and ice slammed the eastern United States, but New York City escaped the worst of the powerful late-winter storm. Most of the city got four to six inches of snow, as much of it gave way to sleet. Far more snow fell north and west of the ...

Excerpt from:
Winter Storm, Republican Party: Your Tuesday Evening Briefing - New York Times

The Trump administration and House Speaker Paul D. Ryan are defending the Republican bill to supplant the Affordable Care Act, while facing criticism from Democrats and fellow GOP lawmakers. (Bastien Inzaurralde/The Washington Post)

Depending on which outside analyst you ask, between 6 million and 15 million people would probably lose insurance coverage if the Republican alternative to the Affordable Care Act passes Congress and is signed into law.

Or, actually, lets revise that. Depending on whom you ask in Republican leadership, the real number is more like zero or, perhaps, negative: People will gain coverage under the proposal.

As part of the Republican push for the American Health Care Act, administration officials joined the Sunday political talk shows to offer their thoughts about the future of coverage. With analysis of the American Health Care Act from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office looming, the officials predictions about the effects of the bill were far rosier than the analysis offered by the Brookings Institution (15 million losing coverage over 10 years) or Standard & Poors (6 million to 10 million by 2024).

Heres what they said.

Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price: Coverage will increase. Appearing on NBCs Meet the Press, Price offered his vision for what success of the bill looked like.

Success, its important to look at that, he said. It means more people covered than are covered right now at an average cost that is less. I believe that we can firmly do that with the plan that weve laid out there.

Last year, Price, then a member of the House, offered an Affordable Care Act replacement bill that was vetoed by President Barack Obama. An analysis of that bill from the Congressional Budget Officefigured that 18 million people would lose coverage under that plan.

Price also told host Chuck Todd that nobody will be worse off financially under the proposal.

Gary Cohn, chief economic adviser to President Trump: Coverage will be maintained. On Fox News Sunday, Cohn was pressed by host Chris Wallace to explain whether the administration would continue to back the American Health Care Act if the Congressional Budget Office also were to predict that millions would losecoverage. He played Cohn a clip from 2015 of Trump on 60 Minutes.

I am going to take care of everybody, Trump said then. I dont care if it costs me votes or not. Everybodys going to be taken care of much better than theyre taken care of now. He repeated a similar claim shortly before his inauguration, telling The Washington Post that [w]ere going to have insurance for everybody. There was a philosophy in some circles that if you cant pay for it, you dont get it. Thats not going to happen with us.

Twenty million people gained coverage, have health insurance coverage now who didnt have it before Obamacare. Are some of them going to lose coverage, Wallace asked, because, one, youre going to end over a period of years the Medicaid expansion and, two, the tax credits are not going to provide as much help as the subsidies did to people who cant afford coverage.

Chris, we dont think so, Cohn replied. If youre on Medicaid, youre going to stay on Medicaid.

But not the expanded Medicaid, Wallace replied.

If youre on Medicaid, youre going to stay. The expansion is not going to change. There is a roll-off period, there is a period of transition, and were very confident that the period of transition is going to work, Cohn said.

House Speaker Paul D. Ryan: People will make their own choices. Ryan appeared on CBSs Face the Nation with John Dickerson. After Ryan (R-Wis.) offered his prediction that the Congressional Budget Office would estimate that coverage would drop, Dickerson asked how many people the speaker thought might lose coverage.

I cant answer that question. Its up to people, he said. Heres the premise of your question. Are you going to stop mandating people buy health insurance? People are going to do what they want to do with their lives because we believe in individual freedom in this country.

Its not our job to make people do something that they dont want to do, he added later. It is our job to have a system where people can get universal access to affordable coverage if they choose to do so or not.

Its worth noting that this contrasts with what the official website for the Republican repeal effort states. Linked prominently from Ryans official House website, the public American Health Care Act page explicitly states in a FAQ that millions wont lose coverage.

Budget Director Mick Mulvaney: Coverage isnt the important thing. On ABCs This Week, host George Stephanopoulos asked Mulvaney repeatedly whether Trumps pledge to cover everybody could be upheld. Mulvaney demurred, instead insisting that the coverage itself would be more affordable. It helps people get health care instead of just coverage, he said.

After the pair had gone back and forth a few times, Stephanopoulos asked specifically about what would happen if the Congressional Budget Office predicted that millions of people would lose coverage. Mulvaney, like press secretary Sean Spicer last week, pointed out that the officesestimates of coverage under the Affordable Care Actwere off, predicting more coverage than was actually seen.

If says that fewer people are going to be covered, youll simply reject that? Stephanopoulos asked.

If the CBO was right about Obamacare to begin with, there would be 8 million more people on Obamacare today than there actually are, Mulvaney replied. I love the folks at the CBO. They work really hard. They do. But sometimes we ask them to do things theyre not capable of doing, and estimating the impact of a bill of this size probably isnt the best use of their time.

It sounds like youll reject it, Stephanopoulos said, inadvertently summarizing more than just Mulvaneys response.

See original here:
Millions might lose health coverage? Not to hear Republican leaders tell it. - Washington Post