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U.S. Senators Reach Deal That Could End Record Shutdown

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US senators reached a bipartisan deal Sunday that would resume federal funding and end a shutdown that has stretched to a record 40 days and forced many government operations to grind to a halt.

The deal between Democratic and Republican senators — just the first step to halting the shutdown — came as authorities warned US air travel could soon “slow to a trickle” as thousands more flights were cancelled or delayed over the weekend.

Outlets including CNN and Fox News reported lawmakers had reached a stopgap agreement to fund the government through January after wrangling over health care subsidies, food benefits and President Donald Trump’s firings of federal employees.

As news of the breakthrough emerged, Trump told reporters when he arrived at the White House after a weekend at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida: “It looks like we’re getting very close to the shutdown ending.”

The Republican-led Senate swiftly held a procedural vote Sunday aimed at moving the legislative measure forward, and the vote appeared to have support from enough Democrats to advance. (Read more from “U.S. Senators Reach Deal That Could End Record Shutdown” HERE)

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Trump DOJ Warns WI Elections Regulator To Stop Breaking The Law

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The U.S. Department of Justice is warning the Wisconsin Elections Commission that it is violating federal law, and the state regulator could pay a hefty price.

In a letter sent Wednesday to the WEC, Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division Harmeet Dhillon asserts the agency has failed to follow key provisions of the Help America Vote Act (HAVA). The letter notes the controversial commission has no real means of policing itself.

“Quite surprisingly, we have learned that the Wisconsin Elections Commission has refused to provide any administrative complaint process or hearing regarding HAVA complaints against the Commission. Rather, Wisconsin has decided to rely on a 2022 state [Supreme] court case opining that the Commission cannot police itself,” the letter states.

HAVA is clear. It requires each state to have an administrative complaint giving voters the ability to file a HAVA violation complaint that they see or experience while voting. States must meet the requirement in order to receive federal funding under HAVA.

But the Wisconsin Supreme Court decision complicated matters. The ruling by the conservative-led court at the time found the use of widespread absentee ballot drop boxes against the law but it also ended the process of WEC — or outside counsel for WEC — investigating itself. But that change would seem to stand in conflict with HAVA law, according to the Justice Department. (Read more from “Trump DOJ Warns WI Elections Regulator To Stop Breaking The Law” HERE)

Photo credit: Gage Skidmore via Flickr

GOP Blasts Decision To Release Illegal Immigrants Due To Sequester

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Photo Credit: Gage Skidmore Republicans are condemning the Obama administration’s decision to release several hundred illegal immigrants from detention facilities because of possible funding cuts from the sequester.

Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) blasted the move and said he would be looking for more information.

“This is very hard for me to believe that they can’t find cuts elsewhere in their agency,” he said in an interview set to air Tuesday night on CBS. “I frankly think this is outrageous. And I’m looking for more facts, but I can’t believe that they can’t find the kind of savings they need out of that department short of letting criminals go free.”

House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.) said the move jeopardized public safety and cut into the trust Republicans and the White House have tried to cultivate in discussions on immigration reform.

“It’s abhorrent that President Obama is releasing criminals into our communities to promote his political agenda on sequestration,” Goodlatte said in a statement. “By releasing criminal immigrants onto the streets, the administration is needlessly endangering American lives.”

Goodlatte, who will play a key role in the immigration debate as Judiciary’s chairman, said the move “undermines our efforts to come together with the administration and reform our nation’s immigration laws.”

Read more from this story HERE.

Federal Money to the States Isn’t ‘Free’

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photo credit: philiptaylorptRichmond Times-Dispatch columnist A. Barton Hinkle recently made what should be a simple point to understand, but it’s unfortunately one that few people seem to appreciate. Writing about the supposed win-win situation whereby states expand Medicaid coverage and the federal government foots most of the bill, Hinkle reminds readers that the “free” federal money isn’t really free:

In Virginia, officials estimate expanding Medicaid would cost the state $137.5 million over nine years, while the state would receive $23 billion from Washington.

Other states report similar figures. California expects to enroll up to 910,000 residents for a cost beginning at only $46 million a year, while collecting $44 billion in federal funds over a six-year period. An Illinois study estimates that state would spend about $2 billion on expanded Medicaid over the next decade, while reaping $22 billion in federal funds. According to Danielle Holohan, who is in charge of New York’s insurance exchange, Medicaid expansion “actually works out to be an enormous savings” for the Empire State. And so on.

This all sounds great—if you are a state official. But if you are a lowly taxpayer, it leaves out one rather significant point: Where is all that federal money coming from?

No great mystery: Most of that money would come from taxpayers who live in the very states that are looking forward to these supposed windfalls. According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, if every state signed up for Medicaid expansion, then the federal government would spend nearly $1 trillion over the next nine years—paid for by you.

Read more from this article HERE.

Planned Parenthood Cut Breast Exams Long Before Komen Feud

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photo credit: firedupmissouri

Planned Parenthood recently released its latest annual report, showing its services and finances for 2011. As many pro-life advocates have noted, the report shows that Planned Parenthood is continuing to expand its abortion business, and its bottom line.

In addition, the report shows that Planned Parenthood’s breast care services are on the decline. Planned Parenthood performed 108,223 fewer breast exams in 2011 than it did in 2010. From 2009 to 2011, the number of breast exams provided by Planned Parenthood has fallen by over twenty percent. The pattern is clear: Planned Parenthood clinics are cutting back on breast care.

Breast exams have been a key public relations tool for the abortion giant. In February of 2012, Planned Parenthood waged a scorched-earth media battle with Susan G. Komen for the Cure over Komen’s decision to direct breast health grants elsewhere. Komen later caved and reinstated the funding—but not before Planned Parenthood raised over $3 million from well-meaning donors, who probably had no idea that Planned Parenthood’s breast care numbers had been plummeting long before the Komen debacle.

Breast care is also used to justify Planned Parenthood’s massive receipt of taxpayer money—over $542 million in 2011, according to the report. And during the 2012 presidential election, Planned Parenthood repeatedly invoked breast health services—including mammograms, which it does not actually provide—as a campaign talking point.

Read more from this story HERE.