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The House Budget Committee has announced a Wednesday hearing called the Fiscal State of the Union.

Well be watching to see if House Republicans will finally come clean with the American people about their tax welfare for the rich and which cuts theyd impose on the middle class, including in red states.

Ironically, this Fiscal State of the Union comes after House Republicans have released proposals with gigantic tax giveaways to the super wealthy and big corporations that would add over $3 trillion to the deficit.

Also ironically, the hearing is being held in opposition to President Bidens Invest in America budget, which would cut the deficit by nearly $3 trillion over ten years thanks to cutting wasteful spending on rich special interests and having them finally pay their fair share.

President Bidens budget would continue two trends hes leading: bringing jobs back from overseas and making health care more affordable for families across the country.

Unfortunately, Republicans haveshownthey want to kill thousands of manufacturing jobs and cost millions of Americans their health coverage disproportionately in red states.

Before the actual State of the Union, President Biden pledged he would release his budget to the American people and called on Republicans to display the same transparency.

He honored his promise, but House Republicans have repeatedly delayed their budget while sending contradictory messages about whether they will even release one at all.

An exception is the House Freedom Caucus, which released a budget vision thatdoes not reduce the deficit and,by repealing the Inflation Reduction Acts climate investments, would be a windfall for China and killtens of thousands of manufacturing jobsPresident Biden iscreating in red states.

In the meantime, the House Republican Conference claims they will break with their long history of attempting to cut Medicare and Social Security benefits (which wellbelieve when we see).

But as David Leonhardt becomes the latest to point outthis morning, following those restraints would mean they need to make devastating cuts to the Affordable Care Act and to Medicaid, which would especially target Americans in red states.

So on Wednesday well be watching without holding our breath to see if House Republicans finally let their budget plan out of the shadows, and if that plan is in line with their proposals so far of exploding the deficit with tax welfare for the rich, killing manufacturing jobs in red states, and costing millions of their constituents their health care.

Andrew Batesis the White House Deputy Press Secretary and Senior Communications Adviser.

A foreign sojourn to the United States by the Prime Minister of Montenegro, Dritan Abazovic, has taken place yet again during a historic juncture. With the country bracing itself for the second round of the Presidential election, which according to the Prime Minister,passed smoothly and without any hint of tensions, Abazovic has taken upon himself

EDT 9:30 AM President Biden receives the Presidents Daily Briefing 2:30 PM President Biden EDT hosts the SBA Womens Business Summit Briefing Schedule 1:00 PM Press Briefing by Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre

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White House Deputy Press Secretary Andrew Bates slams House ... - The Pavlovic Today

Illustration: Maura Losch/Axios

The future of abortion is in limbo in North Carolina, where thousands of women have flocked since the fall of Roe v. Wade.

Why it matters: With a functioning supermajority in the legislature, Republicans have made restricting abortions beyond the state's current 20-week ban a top priority.

What they're saying: "Allowing for abortion up to 20 weeks" is not acceptable, SBA Pro-Life Americas Southern regional director Caitlin Connors told Axios in a statement. "And doing nothing to change that existing law is not acceptable."

What we're watching: North Carolina's state House, where abortion restrictions will live or die. While Republicans in the Senate have the luxury of a supermajority, House Republicans need one Democrat to vote with them.

Meanwhile: Some anti-abortion groups are pushing Republicans to only back legislation that bans abortions after a fetal heartbeat is detected a proposal many believe doesn't have a shot at becoming law.

What's next: In recent days at least one of those anti-abortion groups has read the writing on the wall, sources tell Axios, and expressed openness to a 12-week ban, so long as the legislation includes other provisions that could help reduce abortions, like incentivizing adoption.

The bottom line: That shift could help the legislation get unstuck, but bill filing deadlines are rapidly approaching.

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NC Republicans are at an impasse on abortion restrictions - Axios

RALEIGH, N.C. North Carolina on Monday became the 40th state to expand Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act, the latest sign of how Republican opposition to the health measure has weakened more than a decade after President Barack Obama signed it into law.

Gov. Roy Cooper, a Democrat, signed legislation expanding the states Medicaid program during a sunny afternoon ceremony on the lawn of the Executive Mansion, days after the Republican-controlled legislature gave final approval to the measure. He was surrounded by patients, advocates and some of the same Republican leaders who had previously blocked expansion in the state.

The bill will expand Medicaid to adults who make up to 138 percent of the federal poverty level, or about $41,000for a family of four. State officials say the expansion will cover an estimated 600,000 people. It will take effect when the state adopts a budget, likely by June, Mr. Cooper said in an interview before the signing ceremony.

Today is a historic step toward a healthier North Carolina, the governor declared before signing the measure. When areporterpressed him on when the expansion would take effect, he said, Its only a question of when, not if.

It has been nearly 11 years since the Supreme Court ruled that states did not have to expand Medicaid the government health insurance program for low-income people under the Affordable Care Act. Nearly half the states opted out. More recently, progressives have helped to expand Medicaid in seven states all of them with either Republican-controlled or divided governments by putting the question directly to voters; in November, South Dakota adopted Medicaid expansion via the ballot box.

But getting Republican elected officials to abandon their opposition to expanding the program has not been easy. The last state where a Republican-controlled legislature voted to expand Medicaid was Virginia, in 2018. The governor at the time was a Democrat, Ralph Northam.

The battle over Medicaid has been particularly intense in North Carolina. Supporters of expansionconducted hundreds of Moral Mondays protests at the State Capitol. In 2014, the Republican mayor of a town that lost its hospital walked all the way to Washington to build support for expansion.

Mondays bill signing leaves just 10 states all with divided or Republican leadership, and most of them in the South that have yet to expand Medicaid. Advocatessay they now have their sights set on Alabama, where Gov. Kay Ivey, a Republican, can expand her states program with her own authority.

In North Carolina, there are various reasons for Republicans recent change of heart. Much of the opposition in the state and elsewhere has beenbothideological and partisan a reflection of Republicans deep distaste for Mr. Obama. Butit is now clear that the Affordable Care Act, known as Obamacare, is here to stay. Republicans in Washington have been unable to repeal the law and appear to have largely given up fighting it, helping to pave the way for expansion in North Carolina.

The argument that this is somehow an endorsement of Obamacare is losing a lot of political currency, even among conservatives, said Frederick Isasi, the executive director of Families USA, a health care advocacy group based in Washington.

Hospitals, especially struggling rural ones, are eager for the extra revenue that Medicaid reimbursement will bring. The federal government picks up 90 percent of thecosts of reimbursement under the expansion, and in North Carolina, hospitals will pay the other 10 percent. The state has revamped its Medicaid program, moving it from a fee-for-service program to one that relies on managed care a long-sought goal of Republicans.

This has been a long day coming, but its been as a result of a lot of reforms, Tim Moore, the speaker of the states House of Representatives and a Republican, said during the signing ceremony. The changes, he said, allowed us to be in the position that were in today to be able to expand this coverage.

For Mr. Cooper, who is in his second term and has been mentioned as a possible future Democratic candidate for Senate or even president, the bill signing was a significant victory. He sought to expand Medicaid when he first took office in 2017, and Republicans sued in federal court to stop him from doing it.

The push for expansion picked up steam last year, when the states House and Senate approved separate measures. But the two chambers were unable to reconcile differences.

The signing ceremony on Monday was at turns poignant and celebratory. Cassandra Brooks, who operates Little Believers Academy, a day care center in the Raleigh area, choked back tears as she recalled two of her teachers who had died, she said, because theycould not afford health care.

They were excellent early childhood teachers who didnt have health insurance and passed away due to preventable health conditions, she said. She cast the expansion measure as a boon to small businesses that operate on thin margins and cannot afford to offer their employees coverage.

Heres toMedicaid expansion in North Carolina, she said. Heres to supporting small business in North Carolina. Heres to continued growth in North Carolina. I believe in North Carolina.

Excerpt from:
North Carolina Expands Medicaid After Republicans Abandon Their Opposition - The New York Times

Three top Republicans are formalizing their offensive against the Stormy Daniels hush-money probe with a congressional inquiry, threats of a subpoena, and even legislative proposals that could derail a prosecution. The GOPs latest attack comes after Manhattan district attorney Alvin Braggwho is investigating Donald Trumps hush-money payments to Daniels, which may have violated campaign-finance lawsrejected the trios congressional-testimony request last week.

In a Saturday letter, House Judiciary Committee chairman Jim Jordan, Oversight Committee chairman James Comer, and Administration Committee chairman Bryan Steil once again asked that Bragg provide them with testimony. They also set a March 31 deadline for Bragg to supply them with documents regarding his offices use of federal funds. (Leslie Dubeck, Braggs general counsel, informed House Republicans last week that the prosecutors office would submit a letter detailing its use of federal funds.)

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In response, Bragg doubled down on his prior remarks denouncing the House majoritys attempted intervention. We evaluate cases in our jurisdiction based on the facts, the law, and the evidence. It is not appropriate for Congress to interfere with pending local investigations, he wrote, according to NBC News. The unprecedented inquiry by federal elected officials into an ongoing matter serves only to hinder, disrupt and undermine the legitimate work of our dedicated prosecutors.

While Braggs compliance is voluntary, the chairmen hinted Saturday that that could change should he continue rebuffing their demands, arguing that their inquiry clears the legal threshold for a congressional subpoena. The trio also claimed that their probe could inform the spate of legislative proposals that they conveniently began weighing after Trump claimed his arrest was imminent. Those proposals, per the letter, include changes to the Federal Election Campaign Act; reevaluating the authorities granted to special counsels; and new public safety conditions on the federal funds that go to local law enforcement agencies. (The last of these proposals stem from the Republicans claim that Braggs progressive criminal justice policies have allowed criminals to overrun New York City.)

Trump, for his part, told reporters on Saturday night that he believes the Manhattan district attorney has already dropped the case, a significant change in tone from the prediction of his own arrest and threats to Bragg that he shared days ago. Its a fake case, he said after hosting a campaign rally in Waco, Texas. Some fake cases, they have absolutely nothing.

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House Republicans Are Becoming a Bigger Thorn in Alvin Braggs Side - Vanity Fair

WASHINGTON U.S. House Republicans on Thursday last week continued to press accusations that a woke agenda is deteriorating parents rights in their local school districts.

The first hearing this Congress of the House Judiciary Committees Subcommittee on the Constitution and Limited Government convened to examine whether a 2021 Department of Justice memo played a role in chilling parents First Amendment rights at local public school board meetings.

The GOP has for roughly 18 months targeted an Oct. 4, 2021 memo issued by Attorney General Merrick Garland instructing federal law enforcement across the U.S. to open dedicated lines of communication for threat reporting, assessment, and response on possible criminal threats to local school board members over politically charged issues that flared up during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The single-page document by Garland directed the Federal Bureau of Investigation to be on alert for a disturbing spike in harassment, intimidation, and threats of violence aimed at local school officials and teachers.

Garland has defended the memo, includingduring appearancesbefore Congress.

In the panels two-hour hearing occurring two days after a separate House Judiciary subcommittee released a 21-page report about the memo GOP lawmakers criticized the Biden administration for intimidating parents into silence by siccing federal law enforcement on them.

That (First Amendment) right has been significantly stifled over the past few years because the leftists have decided they apparently know better than parents do, said the panels chair, Rep. Mike Johnson of Louisiana, in his opening statement.

That is an outrage and the American people are rising up to say that they will no longer tolerate it as the radical leftists push this woke agenda on Americas children, he continued.

Democrats disagreed with the premise of Thursdays hearing.

Having served on school boards and having seen whats been happening across the country in recent months, in recent years, Id have to say that the real First Amendment threat that our schools, teachers, students and parents are facing is the attempt to turn classrooms into the epicenter of divisive culture wars, said ranking member Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon of Pennsylvania.

But the witnesses invited by the majority echoed Johnsons statements.

One minute youre making peanut butter and jelly, the next minute the FBI is calling you, said Tiffany Justice, co-founder of Moms For Liberty, a group that says one of its members was contacted by federal authorities.

No parent or caretaker has been federally prosecuted since Garland issued the directive.

Thereporton the Garland memo released on March 21 by a separate House Judiciary subcommittee cited FBI data stating 25 inquiries under the threat tag EDUOFFICIALS had been opened since the bureau began tracking the incidents. Such tags are routine labeling used by federal law enforcement to organize reports and assess trends.

The report published by the House Judiciarys Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government concluded that Biden officials colluded with school board association leaders to create a justification to use federal law-enforcement and counterterrorism resources against parents.

Correspondence between the National School Boards Association and administration officials occurred in the days before Garland issued the memo.

The NSBA hassince apologizedfor pressing for federal action during a wave of heated school board meeting interactions. A May report commissioned by the association documented the back-and-forth between its leaders and the White House.

The subcommittee cites the NSBA commissioned report and nearly 1,500 pages of documents from the Department of Justice and Department of Education it gained access to after issuing a subpoena to the agencies in February, according to the report.

Scanlon said there are different types of speech in question.

Theres a huge difference between attempts to suppress free speech based on content as weve been seeing in recent years, and addressing speech that may be criminal because it threatens violence, which we have seen directed toward educators and school board members across the country, she said. Our Republican colleagues have tried to frame these potentially criminal acts to intimidate school board officials as examples of protected free speech by caring and involved parents. They are not.

The subcommittees chairman, Johnson, promised that the hearing is surely not going to be the last on the topic.

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DOJ memo on threats to local school boards lambasted by ... - Ohio Capital Journal