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House Republicans narrowly passed a bill late last month that would temporarily suspend or raise the federal debt limit while significantly reducing caps on discretionary spending for the next 10 years. The legislation does not identify which discretionary programs would or would not see future spending cuts under the proposal.

However, some Democrats have claimed that the bill would lead to deep cuts in several areas, including health benefits for military veterans.

It makes a series of deeply devastating and unpopular cuts to things like veterans health benefits, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said on May 2, adding that the Department of Veterans Affairs would be gutted.

But some GOP lawmakers have called such Democratic claims a lie and argued that congressional Republicans do not intend to scale back spending on services for veterans.

Joe Biden and the Democrats are yet again shamelessly lying to the American people, Rep. Elise Stefanik, the chair of the House Republican Conference, wrote in a May 1 tweet. There are absolutely NO cuts to veterans benefits, or the VA in the Limit, Save, and Grow Act.

Its true that the bill does not mention spending cuts for veterans, but it does not exempt them either. The specific cuts would be determined later, during the appropriations process if the House-passed bill became law, which is unlikely to happen.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said the bill is dead on arrival in the Senate, which is controlled by the Democratic caucus. The White House also opposes the bill and has said President Joe Biden would not sign it even if it reached his desk.

Here well explain why Democrats claim that the legislation is a threat to veterans, as well as why Republicans claim that those opposing the bill are simply using fear tactics.

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen informed Congress in a May 1 letter that the U.S. could default on its $31.4 trillion debt as soon as June 1, if Republicans and Democrats fail to reach an agreement to lift the debt limit before that time.

On April 26, House Republicans passed their proposal the Limit, Save, Grow Act by a vote of 217 to 215. It would extend the borrowing limit through March 31, 2024, or until the debt increases by $1.5 trillion, whichever comes first.

In exchange, starting in fiscal year 2024, the bill would cap discretionary budget authority at about $1.47 trillion similar to fiscal year 2022 levels and then restrict future growth in spending to 1% per year for a decade. (Discretionary spending refers to spending that is authorized in annual appropriations legislation and is separate from mandatory spending for programs such as Medicare and Social Security.)

According to summaries of the GOP bill, it also would repeal certain renewable and clean energy tax credits in the Inflation Reduction Act, block Bidens executive actions canceling student loan debt, reclaim some of the unspent COVID-19 funding, rescind funds designated for the Internal Revenue Service, as well as create new work requirements for Medicaid beneficiaries and expand work requirements for those enrolled in Temporary Assistance for Needy Families and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.

The Congressional Budget Office estimates the bill would reduce budget deficits by a total of about $4.8 trillion through 2033, compared with CBOs baseline projections under current law. Nearly $3.2 trillion of that amount would come from savings in discretionary spending, the nonpartisan budget analysts said.

The White House budget office has said that if Defense Department funding is exempted from the discretionary spending cuts, as Republicans have indicated, the GOP bill would initially require a 22% cut to funding for all other discretionary programs, assuming the cuts are applied across the board.

The legislation proposed by Congressional Republicans would set the FY2024 topline at $1.471 trillion, equal to the FY 2022 level, says an April 20 blog post written by Shalanda Young, director of the Office of Management and Budget. Under the assumption that funding for defense in FY 2024 will at least match the baseline level of $885 billion, non-defense funding would total $586 billion, which is 22 percent lower than the currently enacted level of $756 billion.

Among other things, those cuts would undermine medical care for veterans, leading to 30 million fewer veteran outpatient visits, and 81,000 jobs lost across the Veterans Health Administration, Youngs blog post said.

An April 30 tweet from Bidens presidential Twitter account similarly claimed that 217 House Republicans Voted to Undermine Veterans Health Care, and other Democratic lawmakers, like Sen. Chris Coons, claimed that the GOP bill would cut veterans health care.

Veterans groups also have raised concerns about the potential impact of the legislation, and the Department of Veterans Affairs has warned that discretionary spending cuts could affect additional benefits for veterans not just health care.

In responding to these comments, Republicans have said they would not reduce funding for defense or veterans.

On ABCs This Week on April 30, House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, who was interviewed after Coons, disagreed with the claim about cuts to services for veterans.

We talk about protecting veterans, Scalise said. Weve heard this lie over and over again. The speaker himself has said were protecting veterans. My boss, the chairman of the Veterans Affairs Committee, is a veteran himself. The only person talking about cutting veterans benefits is Joe Biden. And Ill tell you, as the majority leader, I will not bring a bill to the floor of the House, even if President Biden wants it, I will not bring a bill that cuts our veterans.

In an April 21 statement released before the vote on the GOP bill, Rep. Mike Bost, the veterans committee chairman whom Scalise mentioned, said Democrats had spread false claims about House Republicans trying to cut veterans benefits.

This commonsense bill will grow the economy and save American taxpayers money, all while protecting veterans benefits, Social Security, and Medicare, he said. Republicans have always prioritized veterans in our spending to ensure veterans have access to the care, benefits, and services they have earned, and as the Chairman of this Committee, that is my number one priority. Anyone who questions our commitment to the men and women who have served should find new talking points.

In an email to FactCheck.org, Chad Gilmartin, deputy spokesman for House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, said, Democrats should point to where in the bill it says any of the claims that they make.

As we said, the text of the bill does not specify which parts of the discretionary budget would be cut but it also does not say which parts would be shielded from future cuts, which is a point the White House made to us.

Congressional Republicans could have protected veterans medical care in the bill but they chose not to which is why 24 veterans organizations opposed this bill, a White House spokesperson said in an emailed statement.

We would note that the bill also does not state that defense spending will be spared. However, Democrats seemingly have accepted Republican assurances that it would be, while now dismissing similar assurances that funding for veterans also would not be cut.

But if Republicans were to exclude defense and veterans health care from cuts, as they say they would do, that means other discretionary programs would have to be cut by larger percentages.

If they protect both defense and veterans health care from cuts, then all other non-defense discretionary programs would have to be cut 33 percent in 2024 and 59 percent in 2025, the left-leaning Center on Budget and Policy Priorities estimated in an April 24 analysis.

Discretionary funding also pays for programs for homeland security, transportation, education, housing, social services and more.

Ultimately, specific spending cuts, or exemptions from those cuts, would be addressed during the regular appropriations process if the GOP bill somehow became law.

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Tim Griffin, a conservative election attorney and former prosecutor, has been named the Republican nominee for the Virginia House of Delegates 53rd District after his competitor ceded to him at a Saturday convention.

Griffin, whos worked at several right-wing law firms and agencies over the past few years, won over Sarah Mays at the event, which gathered residents from Amherst, Bedford and Nelson counties to serve as voting delegates. Hes the favorite to win the November general election over Democrat Sam Soghor in a district where 73% of voters favored Glenn Youngkin for governor, according to the Virginia Public Access Project.

Griffin boasted more endorsements than Mays, a Bedford County resident who runs a daycare business in Amherst County, and had vastly crowded out Mays campaign signs at Jefferson Forest High School, the site of the Saturday morning convention.

Some time after GOP volunteers began tabulating votes, Mays moved to nominate Griffin by acclamation, deciding the outcome of the convention before officials announced the results among the 285 voting delegates, allocated based on each countys share of the districts population. The 53rd had no incumbent, drawn anew by special commission in 2021.

In his speeches, Griffin positioned himself as the ideal candidate to go on the offensive against Democratic communists and groomers in the statehouse given his background as an attorney. He promised he could hit the ground running in Richmond without needing any training.

When a society falls into societal decay, there is a remaining amount of people that understand the culture that came before them, the history that came before them, their religious roots, their faith in God, he said. And this is the foundation upon which we bring society back.

Convention delegate Teresa Craig said she has known Griffin as a fellow member of the Bedford County Republican Committee, which the nominee has been chair of for the past three years. Though she thought Mays heart was in the right place, she had more confidence in Griffins ability to stand strong in the bustle of the statehouse.

He seems like he is very attentive, very aware of whats going on, she said. I know he worked on a national campaign, which helps a lot to know that when he gets to Richmond to represent us, that he will be able to withstand the heat.

Mays spoke toward her run as a foil to politicians who dont deliver on promises and vowed to fight government overreach. She cast her run as that of a common everyday citizen looking out for the interests of her fellow citizens.

We can no longer sit back and let others dictate what is best for us, what is best for our children and what is best for our country, she said.

Amherst County resident Michael Brockman came out in support of Mays, noting that Griffin presents himself well but questioned his follow-through if elected.

Hes a better speaker and he delivers well, but I dont think he is as genuine as she is, Brockman said. Cause we got a lot of ungenuine so-called Republicans down in the General Assembly our Speaker of the House didnt advance a single pro-gun bill that was presented to him.

The only booing of the day came when Mays disavowed being the source of rancor in the race thus far.

An anonymous, uncredited website had exposed legal records from Griffins child support proceedings in court, and three Bedford County residents had unsuccessfully challenged the validity of his residence for purposes of voting and running for public office. In those records, a judge characterized his living situation as essentially being homeless in 2021, and he told the same judge in January 2023 that he was living in a garage.

The Bedford County registrar decided about two weeks ago that he was fit to run for office. He blamed the Mays campaign for mudslinging, but she denied her team had leaked the information.

Both ran on similar policy platforms: vowing to outlaw abortion in Virginia without any exceptions, toss out Democratic-passed voting right expansions, allow tax dollars to be allocated toward options outside public school and protect gun rights, among others.

Griffin has drawn on his efforts to fight the Democrats when they were trying to steal our elections in national battleground areas, training poll watchers and claiming elections have become a disaster. Hes touted his work for right-wing groups such as the Amistad Project, whose lawyers unsuccessfully challenged Donald Trumps 2020 loss in courtrooms across the country.

Griffin will face off against Soghor in the Nov. 7 general election.

For a full list of General Assembly candidates in Southwest and Southside, see our election guide.

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Republicans nominate Griffin for House seat that takes in Amherst ... - Cardinal News

And Andrew Marantz reminisced about Tucker Carlsons wondrous reign at Fox News: And who could forget the Tucker Carlson Originals special The End of Men, which introduced the world to bromeopathy, the patriotic practice of bathing ones testicles in red light? That special also featured hand-wringing about soy boys, paeans to raw-egg slonkers and homoerotic montages, apparently filmed on Alex Joness bocce court, that looked like Abercrombie & Fitch ads directed by Leni Riefenstahl. (Peter J. Comerford, Providence, R.I., and Allan Tarlow, West Hollywood, Calif.)

In The Washington Post, Eugene Robinson marveled at Ron DeSantiss fixation on Disney: The more he persists, the more attention he draws away from the shiny object he wanted to show off to the MAGA crowd the anti-gay education bill and puts the spotlight, instead, on his own Ahab-like pursuit of the Little Mermaid. (Lorrie Gervin, San Jose, Calif., and Tom Cosgrove, Arlington, Va., among others)

In The Times, Mike Tanier assessed the Indianapolis Colts pick of Anthony Richardson in the first round of the N.F.L. draft, comparing him with the star quarterback of the Buffalo Bills: Richardson has the arm strength, athleticism and sheer size to rival Josh Allen but about as much experience (13 collegiate starts) as the intern who filled your office coffee machine with copy toner. (Mark Grove, Indianapolis)

Also in The Times, Dwight Garner reviewed Death of an Author, a stunt novella whose language is 95 percent machine-generated, somewhat like the food at a Ruby Tuesday. Garner went on to philosophize: Fiction matters more now, in a world increasingly deracinated by technology. A.I. will never pose a threat to the real thing to writing with convictions, honest doubts, riddling wit, a personal vision of the world, rawness and originality. Another word for these qualities is soul, which is exactly what ChatGPT lacks. Left wholly naked in front of the A.I. onslaught may be the writers of certain formulaic best sellers, but thats a matter for their agents. (Benjamin D. Diamond, Washington, D.C.)

Finally, you occasionally send in headlines that you find especially delightful, and I occasionally include one of them, such as this recent gem in Texas Monthly: Apocalypse Sow: Can Anything Stop the Feral Hog Invasion? (Sylvia Pearl, Maplewood, N.J.)

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Opinion | Republicans Are Running Wild in My State - The New York Times

FL Gov. DeSantis hints presidential run in WI visit, causing reaction from Republicans

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis speaks at a Republican Party dinner in Rothschild on May 6, 2023. (Photo courtesy: CNN)

FOX VALLEY (WLUK) -- Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis hinted at a presidential run while visiting Wisconsin Saturday.

He spoke at an event hosted by the Republican Party of Marathon County, touting what he's done in his home state, and what he possibly could do for America and it's dairy land.

But some say DeSantis isn't the right fit for America or Wisconsin.

While some Wisconsin Republicans are showing enthusiasm for the Sunshine State's governor, others are having different thoughts.

I think Ron DeSantis is very intelligent, level-headed," said Peggy Nichols, a Wisconsinite at the Republican Party of Marathon County's Lincoln Day Dinner event Saturday evening.

I come bearing good news and you may say what good news is there? Republicans have had a series of disappointing election results, not just here in Wisconsin, but really across the country," said DeSantis. "So, whats the good news? The good news is the State of Florida and what weve achieved shows Republicans can win again.

I like DeSantis okay, I think the country was in much better hands when Donald Trump was President and Im ready for him to be there again," said an event protestor Saturday.

The central Wisconsin county gave 58% of its vote to Trump in 2020.

DeSantis is expected to announce his run for presidency sometime this month.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis speaks at a Republican Party dinner in Rothschild on May 6, 2023. (Photo courtesy: CNN)

"We are proud of all that we've accomplished in the state of Florida, but I can tell you this: I have only begun to fight," said DeSantis.

Ben Wikler, the chair of the Democratic Party of Wisconsin, released a statement ahead of DeSantis' visit to the state:

"For someone who's not even a declared candidate yet, to see 500 people turn out in Wausau, kind of central Wisconsin, I think is a pretty big signal of the amount of support he could have here in Wisconsin," saidChad Doran, a Republican strategist who's worked on multiple GOP campaigns in Wisconsin.

Doran believes DeSantis is the perfect candidate.

He provides a very different approach to conservative issues than President Trump has in the past and is currently at the moment," said Doran. "I think hes a much more palatable version of conservative values that President Trump presents.

According to a CBS News-YouGov poll released Monday, Trump is leading the GOP primary field with 58% of the vote, followed by DeSantis with 22%.

I think they both have very strong points," saidSteven Karlin, Communications Chairman for the Republican Party of Winnebago County.

Karlin says hes happy DeSantis came and visited.

The more the merrier and thats what its about is some choices and thats what a primary is about for the people to decide who they think would be best," said Karlin.

In his opinion, he says theres a big fan base out there for former president Trump.

The issue that he has is hes got a big negative out there too, some people just hate him, they just dont like him," said Karlin. "And hes pretty polarized in that way, you know, hes got people that love him people that dont like him, and the issue for us is to get through the primary and pick the person that can win the election, not just win the primary.

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Republicans say they follow Manchin and Sinemas utterances closely and hope the duo is subtly speaking for other Democrats, too.

Sen. Kyrsten Sinema has quietly dined with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and signaled her hopes for a negotiated solution on the debt limit to GOP senators.|Francis Chung/POLITICO

Shes trying to play a constructive role and try to get people to the table and understand that we cant go over the brink on this, said Senate Minority Whip John Thune (R-S.D.), who has spoken with Manchin and Sinema about the debt ceiling. Manchin saying things like that is constructive and helpful. Hopefully helps his leadership realize ... a straight debt increase just is a nonstarter.

Its too early for Manchin and Sinema to be negotiating a deal with Republicans next weeks meeting between Biden and congressional leaders needs to play out first. But their clear push for a bipartisan solution is notable given how strongly theyve resisted big portions of Bidens agenda.

And theres always the possibility that one of the Senates familiar bipartisan gangs swoops in to craft a debt limit remedy. If Manchin and Sinema throw their weight behind a bipartisan discussion, they have big priorities that could be in the mix, from immigration to energy permitting. Theyre both up for reelection next year, though neither has committed to running again.

In typical Manchin form, the West Virginian centrist is already chiding Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer for referring to the House GOPs debt ceiling bill and its massive government spending cuts as dead on arrival.

In an interview on Tuesday, Manchin said of Schumers dismissal that to say somethings dead on arrival, before we really had a chance to look at it I think theres a better way to approach it.

Manchin said hes told McCarthy theres things I dont like in there, but theres a lot of things we can agree on. In particular, he touted the idea of approving a bipartisan, bicameral fiscal commission that would be required to bring deficit reduction legislation to the Senate floor.

He described himself as fine with the possibility that Biden and McCarthy would negotiate a debt agreement, the same position that Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) has taken. Manchin also pointed to the debt ceiling negotiations between Democrats and the Trump administration as precedent for this time around even as his colleagues say theres nothing to negotiate.

I dont know why this is any different, he said.

Sinema warned in a statement for this story that playing chicken with the full faith and credit of the United States is irresponsible given the impacts a debt default could have on her constituents.

Both sides need to come together, put down the partisan talking points, and discuss realistic solutions to prevent default, she said.

For Manchin and Sinema, the debt ceiling presents perhaps their best opportunity to influence Congress and the president during a time of divided government. Each could run for reelection in 2024, and playing a role in averting a catastrophic default would be huge for their respective potential campaigns.

Both of them resisted Democratic suggestions to raise the debt ceiling during the last Congress through a filibuster-avoiding maneuver known as budget reconciliation. That gave them extra credibility with Republicans.

Many others agree with them among my Democratic friends, but theyre just not saying it. Theyve got to stick with Sen. Schumers party line, Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) said of Manchin and Sinemas very helpful treatment of the debt limit.

Were all together on the floor, and I follow what they say publicly, and theyre both being very adult about it.

Theres unfinished business for Manchin in the debt talks after the Senate rejected his energy permitting reform bill, which could make a return appearance in any deal. Thats on top of the prospect that the talks could address his continued complaints about the Biden administrations implementation of the Democratic tax, climate and health care bill he helped write last year.

Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), who appeared at an event with Manchin challenger-in-waiting Gov. Jim Justice last week, said she still appreciates Manchins rhetoric about debt negotiations: I totally agree with what he says.

As for Sinema, who left the Democratic Party last year, the debt ceiling is just one more example of her going her own way. She and Manchin have split on tax policy in the past, but he praised her policy positions on Tuesday: Shes really pretty sharp on the fiscal responsibilities. Were in pretty good agreement on it.

At the moment, both are focused on the task at hand with no immediate timelines for announcing any 2024 reelection plans. But its not lost on anyone that cutting a debt deal could be crucial to their political brands.

Theyre both on the ballot, as you know, assuming they both choose to run. So they have some extra political calculations that certainly would play to a cooperative spirit, Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.) said.

His hope for the coming days: Joe and Kyrsten send some signals that Hey, lets do this reasonably.

Other centrist Democrats havent taken the same tack as Manchin and Sinema. Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mont.), for example, is fine with negotiating on spending and deficit reduction, but only after a clean debt ceiling increase goes into law. That openness to a two-step process is overwhelmingly where Senate Democrats are, said progressive Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.).

Schumer on Tuesday reiterated his disinterest in giving ground, as the Senates two most famous centrists would prefer.

As Democrats expose the Default on America bill for what it is, our position remains the same: Both parties should pass a clean bill to avoid default together before we hit the critical upcoming June 1 deadline, he said at a press conference.

He and Biden are determined to show no daylight between them heading into the meeting between congressional leaders and the president. But once leaders are there, Manchin said he hopes Biden would deviate from his public remarks to meet McCarthy and McConnell halfway.

Talk about: How do we accumulate so much debt in such a short period of time in the last two decades? Manchin said. We cannot stay on this trajectory to this much debt.

Caitlin Emma contributed to this report.

CORRECTION: Due to an editing error, an earlier version of this story incorrectly identified Cramers party affiliation.

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