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The U.S. Capitol is seen on July 6, 2022, in Washington, D.C. (Carlos Bongioanni/Stars and Stripes)

WASHINGTON A House appropriations panel advanced a spending bill Wednesday for the Department of Veterans Affairs that Republicans touted as proof of their commitment to veterans but Democrats dismissed as an empty promise.

The House Appropriations Committee's VA and military construction subcommittee agreed to move the legislation to the full committee over the loud objections of Democrats who say the Republican-led plan does not fully fund toxic exposure benefits.

Republicans, in turn, argued their bill supports fiscal responsibility while still meeting the Biden administrations $143 billion budget request for the VA for fiscal 2024, which begins Oct. 1.

We kept our promise, and we did it responsibly, said Rep. John Carter, R-Texas, chairman of the subpanel.

The bill is the latest showdown between House Republicans and Democrats over funding for veterans health care and benefits following the passage of a controversial measure last month to raise the debt ceiling in exchange for slashing federal spending.

Democrats, the VA and veterans groups criticized the Republican proposal for failing to carve out protections for spending on veterans and said it would result in a 22% budget cut to the VA.

Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, the top Democrat on the VA appropriations subcommittee, accused Republicans on Wednesday of continuing a disturbing trend of underfunding veteran services.

I cannot in good conscience support this bill, and it saddens me, the Florida congresswoman said. Ive been in a leadership role on this subcommittee since 2014, and I have never felt more sickened and sad about the product that we are producing today.

The main point of contention is the Toxic Exposures Fund, a dedicated reserve set up by last years sweeping Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics, or PACT, Act to cover the treatment costs of veterans exposed to burn pit smoke and other toxins. The fund is considered mandatory spending and is not subject to the annual congressional spending process.

The Republican spending bill proposes putting $5.5 billion into the fund nearly $15 billion less than the VA requested and supplementing the difference with discretionary spending that can be adjusted annually.

Democrats said Wednesday that the move breaks the promise made to veterans under the PACT Act to guarantee health care and benefits and puts the fund at the mercy of future political fights.

The Republicans in Congress are now proposing we toss that guarantee in the garbage and put funding at risk on an annual basis, said Rep. Rosa DeLauro of California, the top Democrat on the House Appropriations Committee. That goes beyond morally reprehensible, it is just plain cruel.

Carter said Republicans did not accept the shift of nearly $15 billion to the mandatory side of the budget.

We utilized the Toxic Exposure Fund as intended: to cover the incremental costs above the fiscal year 2021 baseline to implement the PACT Act, he said.

Democrats said Republicans were also seeking to remove dedicated funding for military installation climate change and resilience projects, oversight of privatized housing and the cleanup of toxic PFAS, or per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances.

They slammed the bill for failing to provide adequate funding for military construction though the bill proposes spending $1 billion more on barracks and other facilities than the $17 billion that the White House had requested.

Committee chairwoman Kay Granger, R-Texas, said the Republicans budget plan, the first of 12 appropriations bills that will be introduced by the House committee in the next few weeks, demonstrates how were able to reduce overall spending without impacting our committee commitment to veterans, national defense and homeland security.

In addition to budgeting, the bill advances a conservative agenda that takes aim at several liberal initiatives. It includes a ban on implementing executive orders on diversity, equity and inclusion and prohibits the use of funds to promote or advance critical race theory, which examines structural racism and inequality.

The bill also notably eliminates funding for the VAs public affairs office in response to what Republicans described as inaccurate and politically motivated press releases making false claims about budget cuts.

More than 50 House Republicans lashed out at the VA earlier this month for publicizing the potential impact to veterans of a debt ceiling bill that returns federal spending to 2022 levels. The bill narrowly passed the Republican-led House but lacks support in the Democrat-led Senate. The VA budgeting bill in its current form is also unlikely to gain traction in the upper chamber.

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VA spending bill approved by Republican-led House subcommittee ... - Stars and Stripes

US news

The former Democrat says she speaks frequently with White House but rejects party politics and stays mum on re-election

US senator Kyrsten Sinema has vowed to never join the Republican party after she changed her party affiliation from Democrat to independent late last year.

In an interview aired on Sunday on CBSs Face the Nation, the Arizona senator said that she is absolutely done with the countrys two-party political system.

The shows host, Margaret Brennan, asked: Now that youre an independent, youll never become a Republican?

No, said Sinema, who has been accused of actually being a Republican after past legislative actions that have been hostile to Democrats agenda. She added: You dont go from one broken party to another.

Sinema elaborated by saying: Arizona is one of the states that has the highest level of independents in the country. We are a state of folks who dont often march to the drum that is being taught to us, right. So most of us dont fit neatly in one box or another. And I think the challenge that we have right now in our political discourse is to make it OK for folks to think on their own.

Reports emerged last month that Sinema was preparing to run for re-election in 2024 as an independent after landing her office as a Democratic candidate in 2018.

Those reports came after Sinema in December switched her party affiliation from Democrat to independent. She announced the change almost immediately after Democrats and independents who caucus with them had secured a 51-49 majority in the Senate.

I have joined the growing numbers of Arizonans who reject party politics by declaring my independence from the broken partisan system in Washington, Sinema said in a statement at the time.

Despite reports about her re-election plans, Sinema herself has remained tight-lipped in that respect.

It sounds like you want a second term, Brennan told Sinema in the interview aired on Sunday. Sinema replied: Im not here to talk about elections today.

Brennan countered, Why keep people guessing?

Sinema said: I want to stay focused on the work that Im doing. I hope folks who are here today can tell how much it matters to me to actually make progress, solve challenges, deliver results.

That is why I get up and go to work every day. I dont get up and go to work every day so that people can say, you know, is she running again or not? Thats just not my concern.

During her first term as senator, Sinema has often withheld her support for various legislative initiatives put forth by the Joe Biden White House, including voting rights protections. That drew the ire of progressives, many of her colleagues and supporters of the Democratic president.

Sinema nevertheless has maintained that she has a working relationship with the White House particularly on immigration reform legislation despite her changed party affiliation.

I talked to the White House several times this week. I feel confident that if we are able to get a workable plan that has the support of 60-plus senators in the United States Senate, I feel confident that President Biden would support it. I feel confident, said Sinema.

Sinemas pursuit of another Senate term as an independent could mean a competitive three-way race for her seat in Arizona. Democratic US House representative Ruben Gallego, 43, has declared as a candidate, and unsuccessful 2022 Republican gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake, 53, has said she is exploring a run.

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Arizona senator Kyrsten Sinema vows to never join Republican party - The Guardian US

opinion

When Republican lawmakers and talking heads speak these days, this is what I hear:

I HATE liberal cancel culture and believe in absolute free speech! I would also like to ban, do away with or silence Disney, NPR, Bud Light, the FBI and CIA, this big pile of books over here, M&Ms, Mr. Potatohead, college professors, any Democratic lawmaker I dont want to hear speak, wokeness, any mention of diversity, drag shows, people who defend drag shows, people who defend people who defend drag shows, any mention whatsoever of the existence of LGBTQ people, this other big pile of books over here, the entire Department of Education, PBS and Oreos.

It all makes perfect sense if you have too much time on your hands and too few functioning brain cells to process the meaning of the word hypocrisy. And it confirms that todays mainstream Republican Party the party of Donald Trump and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene and former Fox News host Tucker Carlson has become the party of cancel culture, a bubble-dwelling collection of right-wing caricatures who speak an intolerant and often conspiratorial language most regular Americans, and particularly most younger Americans, cant understand.

And it's happening all over the country.

Consider a recent comment from DeSantis when he was asked about the possibility of Elon Musk relocating Twitters headquarters to Florida: You know, I know Elon Musk, and what I would tell him is like, Ok, if youre going to move Twitter to Florida, are you bringing woke employees to Florida or are you bringing just your people? If its just his people then it may be good.

So the woke are unwelcome. People who disagree with DeSantis anti-woke stance whatever that happens to be, since it changes from day to day are unwelcome.

DeSantis continued to praise Musks attempts to de-woke-ify the social media platform: So I really applaud him for taking on Twitter, trying to moor it back towards facts and truth and stop (parroting) the ideology and trying to censor beliefs that conflict with it.

Allow me to translate that into English: DeSantis is glad Musk is silencing people he disagrees with because, in his mind, that will stop them from trying to censor things they believe are wrong.

Its worth keeping in mind the things the woke at Twitter want to ban include: Nazis, bigots, misogynists, racists and others spouting violent rhetoric. That, by DeSantis logic, is bad. That stifles free speech. And the best way to stop that free-speech stifling is to silence the woke and not welcome them to your state.

Some conservatives will argue this kind of thinking the thinking that leads a governor like DeSantis to try to cancel a huge corporation like Disney because it spoke out against one of his policies is not what the Republican Party is all about. To that I say: Prove it. Because as best I can tell these days, that is ALL the Republican Party is about, a grand old departure from the partys previous belief in limiting government intrusion into peoples lives.

In states like Tennessee, North Dakota, Montana and Oklahoma, GOP lawmakers are working to ban drag shows.

Republican-led legislatures in Florida, Iowa, Utah, Indiana and several other states have taken away a parents right to get gender-affirming care for a transgender child.

Florida passed DeSantis now-infamous Dont Say Gay law, restricting K-12 teachers from discussing sexuality or gender identity in the classroom.

And Republicans, from high-ranking lawmakers down to small-town school board members, have been banning books at a feverish pace. The non-profit free speech group PEN America studies school book bans and found that last fall, there were 1,477 instances of individual books banned, affecting 874 unique titles, an increase of 28 percent compared to the prior six months.

The group wrote in its report: These efforts to chill speech are part of the ongoing nationwide Ed Scare a campaign to foment anxiety and anger with the goal of suppressing free expression in public education. As book bans escalate, coupled with the proliferation of legislative efforts to restrict teaching about topics such as race, gender, American history, and LGBTQ+ identities, the freedom to read, learn and think continues to be undermined for students.

The Washington Post reported that a New Jersey school board recently rejected a sociology textbook in part because the book gave an accurate description of Michael Brown, who was killed by police in 2014, as an unarmed Black teenager.' The books offense? It didnt also describe Browns size and weight, or that he was scuffling with a cop when killed apparently failing to depict the victim as threatening enough.

A recent Indianapolis Star report said the young-adult shelves at the Hamilton East Public Library in Fishers, Indiana, are mostly empty. Books have been pulled because the librarys conservative-led board ordered a review to suss out any books that might contain profanities, descriptions of criminal acts or any instance of visual depiction of sexual nudity as described or any level of written description, even incidental, of sexual conduct as described.

Protesting the review and possible book bans, Fishers parent Matthew Rhea said during a recent board meeting: As a parent, I believe its my responsibility to watch out for my children, not to have other people watch out for my children. I don't know why other people think they need to help me with my children's education.

In Oklahoma, Republican Gov. Kevin Stitt wrapped up the month of April by vetoing a bill that funds the Oklahoma Educational Television Authority, one of the nations most-watched Public Broadcasting Service networks. He claimed the network aims to indoctrinate kids.

His evidence? Episodes of Clifford the Big Red Dog and Work it Out Wombats! that included lesbian characters.

Some of the stuff that theyre showing just overly sexualizes our kids, Stitt said, remarkably not choking on the absurdity of that comment.

PBS: Canceled. Transgender kids: Canceled. Woke Twitter employees: Canceled. Bud Light, because the company partnered with a transgender influencer: Canceled. Books that contain a passing profanity or a mention of criminal activity or, heaven forbid, something suggesting that sexual attraction is a thing that exists: Canceled.

This is todays free-speech-loving (as long as its their speech and not yours) Republican Party. The party of un-intrusive government (unless youre up to something that doesnt fit their mainly white, mainly straight and often male world view).

Diversity? Canceled! Equity? Canceled! Inclusion? Canceled!

If I didnt know better, Id say theres something these folks are afraid of. Cant imagine what it might be. But I suppose I should look it up soon before all the books that explain it get banned.

FollowUSA TODAY columnist Rex HuppkeonTwitter@RexHuppkeand Facebookfacebook.com/RexIsAJerk

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Read more:
Liberal 'cancel culture'? GOP bans anything it disagrees with - USA TODAY

FILE - The Missouri State Capitol is seen on Sept. 16, 2022, in Jefferson City, Mo. Jeff Roberson/AP hide caption

FILE - The Missouri State Capitol is seen on Sept. 16, 2022, in Jefferson City, Mo.

Lawmakers in statehouses across the country have spent the past several weeks debating bills that would bring local issues like zoning, education and police powers under state control.

In recent years, national culture war debates have driven a surge of new legislation, known as preemption bills, in Republican state houses aimed at rolling back laws passed by more progressive cities. Mayors and advocates say the trend risks alienating voters who lose faith in the power of their local leaders.

"What we're seeing lately is an increase of home rule grab type legislation," said Clarence Anthony, the CEO of the National League of Cities. "This year, there are 600 different preemptive laws that are being proposed by different legislatures throughout America. That, in fact, is a rise and it's very concerning to our municipal leaders."

Bills targeting education, transgender and LGBTQ rights, housing policy, gun rights and policing are among the most prevalent in the legislative sessions this year, according to the NLC.

FILE - Members of the Missouri House debate legislation on March 21, 2023, at the state Capitol in Jefferson City, Mo. David A. Lieb/AP hide caption

FILE - Members of the Missouri House debate legislation on March 21, 2023, at the state Capitol in Jefferson City, Mo.

The national fight over crime, policing and public safety boiled over in Missouri this week as Republican state lawmakers pushed to transfer control of the St. Louis Police Department to a state-appointed board of trustees. The move was part of a broader crime reduction bill that included a plan to appoint a special prosecutor to oversee some criminal cases in the city.

The legislation was removed Thursday after the city's embattled prosecutor, St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner, resigned as part of a broader agreement, according to reporting from St. Louis Public Radio.

"I can neither enable nor allow the outright disenfranchisement of the people of the City of St. Louis," Gardner said in a statement announcing her resignation. "Nor can I allow these outsiders to effectively shut down our important work."

Still, the fight over policing in the city has angered residents and local officials who fear a series of ongoing attempts by the state to undercut laws in the city.

St. Louis Mayor Tishaura Jones said the attempt to overtake the police department would have overturned a statewide referendum that passed in 2012 granting St. Louis local control of their public safety.

"The Republican controlled state legislature is trying to take over our police department by putting in a five member board that are appointed by them and confirmed by them to make all of the decisions on public safety in the city of St. Louis," Jones said in an interview with NPR before the bill was scuttled.

Republican lawmakers, like State Sen. Tony Luetkemeyer, said the bill was necessary to curb high crime rates in the city.

"Recently we've seen major St. Louis businesses leave or threaten to leave the region because of crime," Luetkemeyer said this week in a speech on the senate floor.

But Jones said these bills to preempt local control are pure politics.

"None of the legislators who are pushing for this live in the city proper," she said. "This isn't about public safety. It's about power and control of our democratically led cities by outstate Republicans."

Bills like these are not new. Governors and state legislatures from both parties often work together to pass uniform laws for the entire state. Advocates for the approach say it's a way to avoid a patchwork of rules by setting state-wide standards, like for ride share companies or the minimum wage.

But there has been a rapid increase in preemption laws centered around national hot button cultural issues. Mark Treskon, a senior researcher at the Washington DC-based Urban Institute, said the political battles between GOP-led states and more liberal cities have grown.

"Increasingly what's happened is states have been active actors in looking for local laws that might not fit into the ideological underpinnings of who is at the state level," Treskon said. "So I think there's been a little bit more of an act of searching for laws that can be preempted."

At the same time, liberal advocates are working with city leaders to try to advance progressive policies on issues like abortion, gun control, housing policy and the minimum wage.

Last month Mississippi's Republican governor Tate Reeves signed a law giving state-appointed leaders control of policing in Jackson, the state's largest city. In Florida, lawmakers are taking aim at school districts, rent control and gun rights and energy laws. Other similar fights are ongoing from Oklahoma and Texas to Idaho and Alabama.

Republicans are not alone in trying to impose their political aims through preemption. Most analysts point to state-mandated minimum wage increases as an area where Democrats have traditionally tried to set state-wide rules that may conflict with local leaders.

Mike Ricci, a former adviser to Larry Hogan, the former Governor of Maryland, said the pattern of preempting local laws took on a new form during the initial COVID-19 outbreak. Governors were using their power to manage the health emergency and saw an opportunity.

"You know, a light bulb goes off," Ricci said in an interview. "If we can do this with local health powers, can we do it in other areas? Whether it's law enforcement or housing or energy policy? So it just takes on a life of its own."

Ricci said the push for preemption is also about messaging in an era where voter bases for both parties are demanding action, results and conflict from their party leaders. In some cases, Republicans who might have once advocated for small government and local control are now meddling directly in those issues.

"It would have been unthinkable to see governors getting so involved and in law and order and day to day public safety issues in cities," Ricci said. "But now we see it all the time, and I think that will continue. I truly believe that preemption and these tools will be the new normal."

Clarence Anthony of the National League of Cities says many of these bills will ultimately fail - like the one in Missouri. Many more will change. But the uptick in state governments trying to restrict the rights and actions of cities is significant.

"One size does not fit all," he said. "Our local leaders were elected to lead their community and to make those decisions."

And mayors like Tishaura Jones in St. Louis say there are serious consequences to undermining local leaders.

"It makes voters angry," Jones said. "Especially when they elect their leaders on the local level. Then they see that their leaders constantly have to fight for the rights of our cities."

It is particularly stark when those voters have nobody to represent them state-wide. Advocates worry that voters who lose faith in the power of their local leaders may stop participating in elections all together.

Jason Rosenbaum of St. Louis Public Radio contributed to this report.

See the rest here:
Preemption bills gain prominence in Republican states to subvert local laws - NPR

Spring has sprung. The birds are singing. The flowers are blooming. And, in our nation's capital, the snipe are running strong for the local hunters. From Politico:

Let us provide a little context here. Fox News is in disarray. The Republican Party can't seem to keep itself from either proposing unpopular policies or nominating El Caudillo del Mar-a-Lago for a third time, and he can't seem to stop losing high profile legal battles. The loons are driving the train, and more and more people are starting to notice. So, obviously, it's time for a little of the old conspiracy okey-doke to draw some attention away from the fact their party is nothing but thieves and vandals.

So we get an unidentifiable "highly credible whistleblower" who is said to "assert knowledge" of something some other confidential source told the FBI. Go to James Comer and Chuck Grassley and tell them you saw Hunter Biden lighting the Hindenburg on fire and you, too, can be a Highly Credible Whistleblower. Act now. Operators are standing by. This is a free call.

This complete non-story blew out the entire front page of the New York Post. National Review is a touch less perfervid, but it's also enthusiastic in its accounts of all the previous hunts for all the previous snipes.

As you can see, Politico gingerly hinted that the whole thing might be all wind. And Comer is so notorious for quoting unnamed "whistleblowers" that the Democrats on his committee have called him out on it. Rep. Jamie Raskin, for one, is unsatisfied with the bona fides behind this latest move.

And, of course, CNN is giving the former president* a bloc of time next week to lie about everything, so I'm sure this will come up in a fashion unfamiliar to the rational mind. Nobody has learned anything.

Charles P Pierce is the author of four books, most recently Idiot America, and has been a working journalist since 1976. He lives near Boston and has three children.

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Republican House Oversight Committee Members Claim to Have Heard from a Whistleblower - Esquire