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  </channel><item rdf:about="https://www.propublica.org/article/congress-is-about-to-ban-the-government-from-offering-free-online-tax-filing-thank-turbotax">
    <title>Congress Is About to Ban the Government From Offering Free Online Tax Filing. Thank TurboTax. — ProPublica</title>
    <dc:date>2019-04-10T04:06:03+00:00</dc:date>
    <link>https://www.propublica.org/article/congress-is-about-to-ban-the-government-from-offering-free-online-tax-filing-thank-turbotax</link>
    <dc:creator>jtyost2</dc:creator><description><![CDATA[Just in time for Tax Day, the for-profit tax preparation industry is about to realize one of its long-sought goals. Congressional Democrats and Republicans are moving to permanently bar the IRS from creating a free electronic tax filing system.

Last week, the House Ways and Means Committee, led by Rep. Richard Neal, D-Mass., passed the Taxpayer First Act, a wide-ranging bill making several administrative changes to the IRS that is sponsored by Reps. John Lewis, D-Ga., and Mike Kelly, R-Pa.

In one of its provisions, the bill makes it illegal for the IRS to create its own online system of tax filing. Companies like Intuit, the maker of TurboTax, and H&R Block have lobbied for years to block the IRS from creating such a system. If the tax agency created its own program, which would be similar to programs other developed countries have, it would threaten the industry’s profits.

“This could be a disaster. It could be the final nail in the coffin of the idea of the IRS ever being able to create its own program,” said Mandi Matlock, a tax attorney who does work for the National Consumer Law Center.]]></description>
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    <title>Trump’s Fed threats meet a firewall: GOP lawmakers</title>
    <dc:date>2019-04-10T02:25:06+00:00</dc:date>
    <link>https://politi.co/2G2fI8M</link>
    <dc:creator>jtyost2</dc:creator><description><![CDATA[GOP lawmakers have given in to President Donald Trump on almost every contentious issue, but they're quietly breaking from him on one front that has drawn the president's repeated ire: the Federal Reserve.

Trump is pushing two celebrity Republicans and Fed critics — Herman Cain and Stephen Moore — to serve on the central bank's board in his bid to shake and shape the institution in Trumpian ways. He has called on the Fed to slash interest rates despite strong economic growth. And he has railed against the central bank for removing the extraordinary economic support put in place during the last recession.

It may force congressional Republicans into playing an unusual role: rebelling against Trump.

GOP lawmakers — who often showed little restraint in lambasting the Fed for near-zero interest rates in the Obama era — are signaling publicly and privately their intent to keep politics out of the central bank. They generally support Chairman Jerome Powell, and many have expressed opposition to serious political meddling in setting rates. The lawmakers plan to press Trump nominees about their allegiance to the Fed’s data-based approach, amid concern that the president wants the central bank to pursue policies that will goose the economy.

"The Fed generally has more information than we have," said Sen. Richard Shelby (R-Ala.), a key member of the Senate Banking Committee, which has jurisdiction over the Fed and would have to vet the nominations of Moore and Cain.

Appointments to the Fed are the president’s main avenue for molding the institution, and Trump’s selection of two overt political allies has raised alarms that he’s ramping up his efforts to influence monetary policy. Economists worry that Moore and Cain could erode the Fed’s political independence by focusing on the president’s reelection prospects rather than on what’s best for the long-term health of the economy.]]></description>
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    <title>Mnuchin reveals White House lawyers consulted Treasury on Trump tax returns, despite law meant to limit political involvement</title>
    <dc:date>2019-04-09T17:56:10+00:00</dc:date>
    <link>https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/white-house-treasury-lawyers-discussed-trumps-tax-returns-before-democrats-request-mnuchin-says/2019/04/09/9693618e-5ad2-11e9-842d-7d3ed7eb3957_story.html</link>
    <dc:creator>jtyost2</dc:creator><description><![CDATA[U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin. (Andy Wong/AP) Treasury Department lawyers consulted with the White House general counsel’s office about the potential…]]></description>
<dc:subject>legal deptoftreasury HouseOfRepresentatives congress politics republicans democrats irs</dc:subject>
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    <title>Trump removes Secret Service director as purge of DHS leadership widens - The Washington Post</title>
    <dc:date>2019-04-09T02:43:39+00:00</dc:date>
    <link>https://www.washingtonpost.com/immigration/trump-removes-secret-service-director-as-purge-of-dhs-leadership-widens/2019/04/08/8bde9912-5a36-11e9-842d-7d3ed7eb3957_story.html</link>
    <dc:creator>jtyost2</dc:creator><description><![CDATA[DHS officials are now looking for a way to satisfy the president’s demand for “tough” measures, including a plan called “binary choice” that would give migrant parents the option of remaining detained as a family or agreeing to a separation so that their children would not remain in immigration custody.

The goal of the plan would be to end the “catch and release” model that has allowed most migrant families to go free within the United States while they wait to appear before an immigration judge.

Implementing binary choice without lawmakers’ approval risks another court injunction.

“The president doesn’t like the news he’s getting on immigration and has blamed leadership at DHS, but this is not something leadership at the department can fix,” said Stewart Baker, a top DHS adviser to President George W. Bush. “This needs to be fixed in Congress, and there doesn’t seem to be any appetite for that.”

Trump has suggested to aides in recent weeks that the administration’s previous policy of separating families at the border could be used to deter crossings and that a version of the policy could be reinstated, according to two people with knowledge of the discussions. Some aides have resisted the idea of family separations, citing the public backlash last summer and noting that Trump himself reversed it.]]></description>
<dc:subject>DonaldTrump legal immigration politics deptofhomelandsecurity usa government congress</dc:subject>
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<item rdf:about="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/08/us/politics/trump-acting-cabinet-secretaries.html">
    <title>Another Day, Another ‘Acting’ Cabinet Secretary as Trump Skirts Senate</title>
    <dc:date>2019-04-08T20:14:56+00:00</dc:date>
    <link>https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/08/us/politics/trump-acting-cabinet-secretaries.html</link>
    <dc:creator>jtyost2</dc:creator><description><![CDATA[Interim secretaries are also in place at the Departments of Defense and of the Interior, and at the Office of Management and Budget, the Small Business Administration and ambassador’s office at the United Nations. Mick Mulvaney, Mr. Trump’s chief of staff, is also serving in an acting capacity.

“I like acting. It gives me more flexibility. Do you understand that?” Mr. Trump told reporters in January before departing to Camp David. “I like acting. So we have a few that are acting. We have a great, great Cabinet.”

But there are concerns about having men and women in such high-level jobs without having been subjected to Senate confirmation for those posts. Leaving cabinet secretaries unconfirmed in their roles could give the president even more leverage over them, or could leave them without full authority in the job.

“The Senate grappled with this question in the very first Congress when it ordered George Washington to send nominations to the Hill at a reasonable pace,” said Paul Light, a professor of public service at New York University who has written extensively on the appointment process. “Senators rightly worried that presidents might use acting appointees to evade oversight and institutional prerogatives. Yet, we haven’t heard a word from the Senate on the Trump administration’s abuse of its acting authority.”

Justice Clarence Thomas argued in a concurring opinion in a 2017 case that there was seemingly no constitutional basis for having “acting” cabinet members and that there needed to be limits on a president’s power to fill the highest positions without Senate confirmation.

The constitution requires that the president obtain “the Advice and Consent of the Senate” before appointing cabinet officials. Legal scholars also questioned the president’s power to use the “acting” authority in replacing Ms. Nielsen.

“To me, the real difference is avoiding Senate confirmation — either because the individuals he wants running these agencies can’t be confirmed even by a Republican-controlled Senate, or because he’s worried about the kinds of questions they’d have to answer and or concessions they’d have to make in order to be confirmed,” said Stephen Vladeck, a law professor at the University of Texas. “Either way, that’s an alarming argument for bypassing a Senate controlled by his own party.”]]></description>
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<item rdf:about="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-47847022">
    <title>Trump chief of staff vows tax returns will 'never' be released</title>
    <dc:date>2019-04-08T01:42:21+00:00</dc:date>
    <link>https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-47847022</link>
    <dc:creator>jtyost2</dc:creator><description><![CDATA[One of US President Donald Trump's top aides has said that opposition Democrats will "never" see his tax returns.

White House acting chief of staff Mick Mulvaney said the call for the records to be released was a "political stunt".

On Wednesday a Congressional tax committee submitted a request for six years of the president's returns from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).

Unlike previous presidents, Mr Trump has refused to publish his tax details.]]></description>
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<item rdf:about="https://www.vox.com/2019/4/7/18299585/kirstjen-nielsen-trump-dhs-homeland-security-resign-secretary-new">
    <title>Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen resigns as Trump rage continues</title>
    <dc:date>2019-04-08T00:07:42+00:00</dc:date>
    <link>https://www.vox.com/2019/4/7/18299585/kirstjen-nielsen-trump-dhs-homeland-security-resign-secretary-new</link>
    <dc:creator>jtyost2</dc:creator><description><![CDATA[Nielsen’s tenure as secretary was defined not by these actions themselves, but by the force that motivated all of them: the building frustration and rage of Donald Trump at the fact that people continued to enter the US.

During the first few months of 2017, apprehensions at the US-Mexico border plummeted from what were already historically low levels of border crossings. Trump took personal credit — and held it up as proof that all it took was a tough-talking president to secure the border once and for all.

He was half right — and he’s been bedeviled by the other half, the “once and for all” part, ever since. Because Trump decided to measure the success of his immigration policy in whether or not people were trying to enter the US at all — not in how many were being deported, or allowed to stay, or anything else — he set himself up for failure.

It really does appear that the early 2017 lull in apprehensions was a reaction to Trump taking office. But people both within and outside the government understood at the time that the absurdly quiet border of Trump’s first months wouldn’t last, because for a year — through Kelly’s tenure and the beginning of Nielsen’s — tough talk was all the Trump administration had to offer.

This wasn’t a failure of political will on John Kelly’s part. It was a belated reckoning with reality: The low-hanging fruit of deterrent immigration policies had been picked a long time ago.

US immigration law is a balance between the desire to minimize unauthorized entry into the United States and the desire to protect vulnerable people who may be fleeing harm and persecution. Both US and international law prohibit the US from refusing entry to people who are in danger of prosecution in their home countries; both US statute and court settlements offer extra due-process protections to asylum-seekers, children, and families.

Trump’s anger at Kirstjen Nielsen is really an anger with this delicate balance. For the past year, the US has tried to do as much as it can to push policy toward enforcement over protection — with the political and legal resistance that might be expected when tough problems are met with blunt solutions.

But its ideas — at least the ones that haven’t yet been struck down in court — haven’t been enough.

The administration hasn’t yet been able to find a way to guarantee that someone who comes to the US without papers has no chance of staying. Short of that, no policy crackdown will persuade someone desperately fleeing her home country that it’s not worth it to try to come to America.

And mass deterrence — fewer people getting caught by Border Patrol because fewer people want to set foot in the US without papers — is the only outcome Trump has set himself up to accept.

Trump’s new favorite tropes — the idea that the US needs to “get rid of judges” (which doesn’t reflect immigration hawks’ actual frustrations with the asylum system) and should just start telling migrants they can’t come in — simply don’t reflect a policy that a future Homeland Security secretary could put into effect.

If Donald Trump wants a DHS secretary who looks the part of a law-enforcement official, McAleenan — a career border officer — is a better fit. If he wants someone who can talk tough in front of the cameras, McAleenan might not be a good fit for exactly the same reasons — he hasn’t been as willing to blame either Democrats or migrants themselves for the current situation at the border as other Trump officials, including Nielsen.

Trump could nominate someone more rhetorically aggressive — like occasional adviser Kris Kobach — but he could face an uphill battle in the US Senate.

But if Donald Trump wants a DHS secretary who will stop people from setting foot on US soil, none of these will satisfy him. Neither will anyone else. ]]></description>
<dc:subject>deptofhomelandsecurity politics usa immigration legal DonaldTrump stupid congress KirstjenNielsen</dc:subject>
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<item rdf:about="https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2019/4/5/18295598/senate-republicans-resolution-mueller-report">
    <title>Senate Republicans can’t explain why they keep blocking a resolution calling for the release of the Mueller report</title>
    <dc:date>2019-04-06T01:33:04+00:00</dc:date>
    <link>https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2019/4/5/18295598/senate-republicans-resolution-mueller-report</link>
    <dc:creator>jtyost2</dc:creator><description><![CDATA[Senate Republicans say they want “transparency” around the Mueller report — but they keep rejecting a measure that would actually offer it.

Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) on Thursday, once again, blocked a resolution pushing for the public release of special counsel Robert Mueller’s report. It’s the fifth time Republicans have rejected Democratic efforts to consider the resolution — even as multiple news reports this week questioned how comprehensive Attorney General Bill Barr’s summary of the full report was. The resolution, which is nonbinding, simply urges the public release of the report and notes that it is not calling for the release of any content that is “expressly prohibited by law.”

As Vox’s Ella Nilsen has reported, this resolution overwhelmingly passed the House on a bipartisan basis, 420-0. (It’s worth noting that the House vote took place before Barr’s summary of the report was actually released.) In the Senate, however, multiple Republicans, including Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, Judiciary Chair Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and Paul have moved to bar it from consideration, while Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) has called for the report to be released.

Thus far, the only reasons Republicans have given for their position on the resolution haven’t been particularly convincing. While McConnell has said that he’s rejected the measure because he wants to give Barr time to coordinate with the special counsel’s office about how to release additional contents of the report, Democrats have argued that the resolution not only does nothing to prevent him from doing that, it also doesn’t set any deadline for him to follow through.

Meanwhile, both Graham and Paul have not been shy about noting that their objections are heavily “political.” Graham had said he was pushing back against the resolution because he wanted more information about the 2016 investigation into Hillary Clinton’s private email server. “I’m just making a political point,” he told the Charleston Post and Courier when he shot down the resolution in mid-March. Paul, meanwhile, called for a review of how the Russia investigation began and why law enforcement officials were looking into the Trump campaign in the first place. ]]></description>
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<item rdf:about="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/04/us/politics/steven-mnuchin-ethics-office.html">
    <title>U.S. Ethics Office Declines to Certify Mnuchin’s Financial Disclosure</title>
    <dc:date>2019-04-05T22:04:40+00:00</dc:date>
    <link>https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/04/us/politics/steven-mnuchin-ethics-office.html</link>
    <dc:creator>jtyost2</dc:creator><description><![CDATA[The top federal ethics watchdog said on Thursday that Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin’s sale of his stake in a film production business to his wife did not comply with federal ethics rules, and it would not certify his 2018 financial disclosure report as a result.

Although Mr. Mnuchin will not face penalties for failing to comply, he has been required to rewrite his federal ethics agreement and to promise to recuse himself from government matters that could affect his wife’s business.

Mr. Mnuchin in 2017 sold his stake in StormChaser Partners to his then-fiancée, Louise Linton, as part of a series of divestments before becoming Treasury secretary. Since they are now married, government ethics rules consider the asset to be owned by Mr. Mnuchin, potentially creating a conflict of interest for an official who has been negotiating for expanded access for the movie industry as part of trade talks with China.

The controversy over Mr. Mnuchin’s finances has become an unwanted distraction in recent weeks as the Trump administration has been engaged in intense negotiations with China on a wide range of trade matters. While Robert Lighthizer, President Trump’s top trade official, has been leading the talks, Mr. Mnuchin has been the point person for promoting the film industry because of his background as a Hollywood producer and investor.

Mr. Mnuchin said last month at a Senate hearing that he was told by Treasury ethics officials that he was allowed to sell his stake in StormChaser to Ms. Linton, an actress and producer. However, the Office of Government Ethics was not made aware of that guidance and had not approved it.

In a letter to Senator Charles E. Grassley, Republican of Iowa and the chairman of the Finance Committee, the ethics office said that it could not certify Mr. Mnuchin’s report but that because he had modified his ethics agreement and agreed to recuse himself from matters that might affect StormChaser’s film business, he and Ms. Linton could continue to hold the asset.]]></description>
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<item rdf:about="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/05/us/politics/ronald-vitiello-ice.html">
    <title>Seeking ‘Tougher’ Direction for ICE, Trump Withdraws His Nominee</title>
    <dc:date>2019-04-05T21:52:49+00:00</dc:date>
    <link>https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/05/us/politics/ronald-vitiello-ice.html</link>
    <dc:creator>jtyost2</dc:creator><description><![CDATA[President Trump on Friday said that he withdrew his nominee to run Immigration and Customs Enforcement because he wanted the agency to go in a “tougher” direction, a surprise decision ahead of the president’s trip to the United States southern border.

Ronald D. Vitiello, who was nominated last summer by Mr. Trump to run ICE, the agency that arrests, detains and deports people who are in the United States illegally, has been serving as the agency’s acting director since June last year. He had planned to accompany the president on his trip to California but was left behind.

“Ron’s a good man, but we’re going in a tougher direction,” Mr. Trump said to reporters as he left the White House en route to Calexico, Calif.

Mr. Vitiello did not respond to a request for comment. Mr. Vitiello’s nomination had been awaiting approval by a second Senate committee and confirmation by the full chamber.

The president’s abrupt decision came at a time when his administration considers the United States border with Mexico to be in crisis because of the flow of people trying to get into the country, making it a priority to have a confirmed appointee leading the agency to carry out the administration’s policies. But some senators, including Republicans, had concerns that Mr. Vitiello was not the right person for this job.

Mr. Trump, who has continued to push for stronger deportation rules, had also expressed concern about whether a career civil servant, like Mr. Vitiello, would be up to the task. ICE has been led by acting directors since the Obama administration ended in January 2017.]]></description>
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<item rdf:about="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-47805786">
    <title>Nato chief Stoltenberg reaffirms bond in US Congress address</title>
    <dc:date>2019-04-04T02:59:53+00:00</dc:date>
    <link>https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-47805786</link>
    <dc:creator>jtyost2</dc:creator><description><![CDATA[The Nato Secretary General, Jens Stoltenberg, has marked the alliance's 70th anniversary with a rare address to the US Congress.

"Nato has been good for Europe but Nato has also been good for the United States," the former Norwegian prime minister said to applause.

He said that Nato did not want a new Cold War but it "must not be naive" about relations with Russia.]]></description>
<dc:subject>NATO diplomacy USA congress Russia military EuropeanUnion</dc:subject>
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<item rdf:about="https://www.washingtonpost.com/powerpost/house-panel-votes-to-subpoena-former-white-house-official-over-security-clearances/2019/04/02/5f498ba2-5561-11e9-8ef3-fbd41a2ce4d5_story.html">
    <title>House panel votes to subpoena former White House official over security clearances</title>
    <dc:date>2019-04-02T23:47:42+00:00</dc:date>
    <link>https://www.washingtonpost.com/powerpost/house-panel-votes-to-subpoena-former-white-house-official-over-security-clearances/2019/04/02/5f498ba2-5561-11e9-8ef3-fbd41a2ce4d5_story.html</link>
    <dc:creator>jtyost2</dc:creator><description><![CDATA[A House panel voted Tuesday to subpoena a former White House official accused of overturning denials for security clearances after a whistleblower complained that the Trump administration had put the nation’s most guarded secrets in jeopardy.

The Oversight and Reform Committee voted 22 to 15, along party lines, to force Carl Kline, the former White House personnel security director, to answer questions as part of its ongoing investigation into the security clearance process.

The move represents one of the committee’s first compulsory measures aimed at the administration and follows whistleblower Tricia Newbold’s allegation that Trump’s White House has behaved recklessly with national security.

Newbold, a nearly two-decade veteran of the security clearance process who still works in the White House, told the panel in late March that Kline, then her direct manager, overruled multiple clearance denials and then retaliated against her when she objected.

Newbold also said she has counted more than 25 security clearance denials that had been approved since 2018 despite red flags about applicants’ foreign contacts, conflicts of interest, past criminality, drug use or other misconduct.]]></description>
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<item rdf:about="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trump-punts-vote-on-health-care-bill-until-after-next-years-elections/2019/04/02/068305d2-552c-11e9-8ef3-fbd41a2ce4d5_story.html">
    <title>Trump abandons plan for pre-election vote on health care after talking to McConnell</title>
    <dc:date>2019-04-02T22:29:58+00:00</dc:date>
    <link>https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trump-punts-vote-on-health-care-bill-until-after-next-years-elections/2019/04/02/068305d2-552c-11e9-8ef3-fbd41a2ce4d5_story.html</link>
    <dc:creator>jtyost2</dc:creator><dc:subject>stupid politics DonaldTrump health MitchMcConnell government congress republicans AffordableCareAct</dc:subject>
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<item rdf:about="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/01/us/politics/puerto-rico-aid.html">
    <title>Impasse Over Aid for Puerto Rico Stalls Billions in Federal Disaster Relief</title>
    <dc:date>2019-04-02T22:12:24+00:00</dc:date>
    <link>https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/01/us/politics/puerto-rico-aid.html</link>
    <dc:creator>jtyost2</dc:creator><description><![CDATA[The Senate on Monday blocked billions of dollars in disaster aid for states across the country as Republicans and Democrats clashed over President Trump’s opposition to sending more food and infrastructure help to Puerto Rico.

Opposition came from both parties for different reasons. Most Republicans refused to endorse a recovery bill passed this year by the House. They cited Mr. Trump’s opposition to the bill’s Puerto Rico funding, as well as their own concerns that the bill lacked money for Midwestern states, like Iowa and Nebraska, that have since been devastated by flooding and tornadoes.

For their part, Democrats balked at a separate measure drafted by Senate Republicans that included the money for the Midwest, arguing that a proposed $600 million in nutritional assistance for Puerto Rico was not enough. The Republican legislation had no chance in the House.

The votes on both measures were procedural and needed support from 60 senators to advance to a full floor vote. Neither won the support required. It was unclear late Monday how lawmakers would overcome that impasse and end the delay in disbursing the disaster aid.

The effort begins anew on Tuesday, when Senate Democrats will propose a measure that would allocate billions of dollars that would help Iowa and Nebraska, as well as Puerto Rico, according to a Senate Democratic aide.

Mr. Trump has been pressuring Democrats to support a disaster relief measure that does not include the money they want for Puerto Rico, and he went on the attack late Monday on Twitter.]]></description>
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</item>
<item rdf:about="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/01/us/politics/first-step-act-donald-trump.html">
    <title>Trump Celebrates Criminal Justice Overhaul, but His Budget Barely Funds It</title>
    <dc:date>2019-04-01T22:45:54+00:00</dc:date>
    <link>https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/01/us/politics/first-step-act-donald-trump.html</link>
    <dc:creator>jtyost2</dc:creator><description><![CDATA[Despite the high-profile party and round tables — and the White House releasing a presidential proclamation declaring April “second chance month” — Mr. Trump’s budget, released last month, listed only $14 million to pay for the First Step Act’s programs. The law passed in December specifically asked for $75 million a year for five years, beginning in 2019. The funding gap was first reported by The Marshall Project.

Advocates participating in the events at the White House on Monday said they were hoping that officials would publicly address questions about funding the program.

“The answer is a resounding yes. We’re fully committed to doing that,” said Ja’Ron Smith, a White House adviser who has worked extensively on the First Step Act implementation, referring to the funding.

In a budget justification document, the Bureau of Prisons, which operates under the Justice Department, said that it had not concluded how much money would be required to put the First Step Act into effect. But it goes on to say that fulfilling the law is a “priority” and that the Bureau of Prisons’ budget for re-entry activities “will be prioritized to fully fund the requirements of the act.” The document also noted that the prison bureau plans to dedicate $147 million in the 2020 fiscal year to First Step Act-related activities, which includes the cost of expanding halfway housing, the cost to relocate people and $85 million for the Second Chance Act grant program, which aids states and nonprofits in reducing recidivism.

Despite the assurances that the changes remain a budget priority, questions about funding have advocates on the issue concerned.]]></description>
<dc:subject>legal crime ethics government DonaldTrump budget congress prison usa</dc:subject>
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</item>
<item rdf:about="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/01/us/politics/trump-security-clearances.html">
    <title>Whistle-Blower Tells Congress of Irregularities in White House Security Clearances</title>
    <dc:date>2019-04-01T22:45:53+00:00</dc:date>
    <link>https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/01/us/politics/trump-security-clearances.html</link>
    <dc:creator>jtyost2</dc:creator><description><![CDATA[A whistle-blower working inside the White House has told a House committee that senior Trump administration officials granted security clearances to at least 25 individuals whose applications had been denied by career employees, the committee’s Democratic staff said Monday.

The whistle-blower, Tricia Newbold, a manager in the White House’s Personnel Security Office, told the House Oversight and Reform Committee in a private interview last month that the 25 individuals included two current senior White House officials, in additional to contractors and other employees working for the office of the president, the staff said in a memo it released publicly.

The memo does not identify any of 25 individuals referenced by Ms. Newbold. The New York Times reported in February that President Trump had personally ordered his chief of staff, John F. Kelly, to grant a clearance last year to Jared Kushner, his son-in-law and senior adviser. Mr. Kelly had recorded Mr. Trump’s direction to him in a memo, according to several people familiar with its contents. Mr. Trump had denied playing a role in an interview with The Times in the Oval Office a month earlier. Mr. Kelly left the White House at the end of last year.]]></description>
<dc:subject>legal ethics security government DonaldTrump congress</dc:subject>
<dc:source>https://instapaper.com/</dc:source>
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<item rdf:about="https://politi.co/2Ubcrhu">
    <title>Trump pressures Dems to back massive disaster aid bill</title>
    <dc:date>2019-04-01T21:02:56+00:00</dc:date>
    <link>https://politi.co/2Ubcrhu</link>
    <dc:creator>jtyost2</dc:creator><dc:subject>DonaldTrump politics government naturaldisaster congress democrats republicans PuertoRico</dc:subject>
<dc:source>https://pinboard.in/</dc:source>
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</item>
<item rdf:about="http://nymag.com/intelligencer/2019/04/rick-scott-is-an-odd-choice-to-lead-gops-health-care-reform.html">
    <title>Senator Whose Company Defrauded Medicare to Lead GOP’s Health-Care Push</title>
    <dc:date>2019-04-01T20:55:39+00:00</dc:date>
    <link>http://nymag.com/intelligencer/2019/04/rick-scott-is-an-odd-choice-to-lead-gops-health-care-reform.html</link>
    <dc:creator>jtyost2</dc:creator><description><![CDATA[If the Trump administration has a domestic policy doctrine at this point, it could be described as the following practice: the appointment of industry insiders to cabinet-level positions in order to deregulate or otherwise surgically dismantle the protections of a given department.

In this spirit comes the announcement that Florida Senator Rick Scott would deliver on President Trump’s promise that the GOP “will soon be known as the party of health care.” On Thursday, Trump told reporters that Scott, and fellow Republican Senators John Barrasso of Wyoming and Bill Cassidy of Louisiana would lead the party’s push on health care reform.
“They are going to come up with something really spectacular,” the president said.

If by spectacular, he means a candidate who was at the helm of a company that pleaded guilty to historic efforts to defraud Medicare, the president has found his man. In the 1990s, Scott was the CEO of Columbia/HCA, a company that, under his direction, owned more than 340 hospitals, 135 surgery centers, and 550 home health locations by the time Scott resigned in 1997. That year, federal agents announced an investigation into whether or not the company defrauded Medicare and Medicaid on a massive scale. Turns out, they did: according to Politifact’s summary of the settlement Columbia/HCA made with the Justice Department, the company took the following actions while Scott was CEO:]]></description>
<dc:subject>RickScott healthcare fraud congress senate republicans</dc:subject>
<dc:source>https://instapaper.com/</dc:source>
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</item>
<item rdf:about="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-47764237">
    <title>Dismay after Trump moves to cut aid to Central America</title>
    <dc:date>2019-04-01T04:11:49+00:00</dc:date>
    <link>https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-47764237</link>
    <dc:creator>jtyost2</dc:creator><description><![CDATA[US opposition politicians and aid agencies have questioned a decision by President Donald Trump to cut off aid to three Central American states.

Mr Trump ordered the suspension of aid payments to El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras to push their governments to stop migration into the US.

Critics say the decision will hurt programmes that already aim to persuade people to stay at home.

Congress may seek to stop the aid being redirected elsewhere.]]></description>
<dc:subject>congress DonaldTrump politics budget foreignaid ElSalvador Guatemala Honduras immigration economics</dc:subject>
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</item>
<item rdf:about="https://www.huffpost.com/entry/democrats-trump-tax-returns_n_5c9e85fee4b0bc0daca8a56b">
    <title>Democrats Might Not Get Their Hands On Trump's Taxes Before November 2020</title>
    <dc:date>2019-04-01T04:03:17+00:00</dc:date>
    <link>https://www.huffpost.com/entry/democrats-trump-tax-returns_n_5c9e85fee4b0bc0daca8a56b</link>
    <dc:creator>jtyost2</dc:creator><description><![CDATA[Rep. Richard Neal (D-Mass.) can ask for copies of Donald Trump’s federal tax returns whenever he wants, but Neal is in no hurry and seemingly doesn’t care if Democrats don’t get the documents before the next election.

Though the law is clear that the treasury secretary is supposed to hand over any returns requested by the chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin has all but said he’ll disobey the law ― meaning there will be a court fight.

“I can’t substitute my timetable for the federal courts’,” said Neal, chairman of Ways and Means, when asked if he thought the case could be wrapped up by Election Day. “I’ve been very careful not to presuppose a timeline.”

Democrats said they’d make the request for Trump’s returns after regaining control of the House of Representatives, but they’ve waited nearly three months to follow through. Neal has said only that he will make the request sometime this year, and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) has backed his cautious approach.

Nobody knows how long a court case could take, though congressional Democrats generally say they figure it will take months if not a year. But there’s never been such a case before.

Neal can request any American’s tax info thanks to a specific section of the tax code that grants that power to the chairs of congressional tax committees. George Yin, a tax expert at the University of Virginia School of Law, said he is unaware of any instance of a treasury secretary refusing to comply with a request under the law, which Congress has rarely used since it was enacted in 1924. ]]></description>
<dc:subject>politics usa HouseOfRepresentatives congress irs legal taxes DonaldTrump ethics corruption transparency</dc:subject>
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</item>
<item rdf:about="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/30/opinion/the-incredible-shrinking-trump-boom.html">
    <title>Opinion | The Incredible Shrinking Trump Boom</title>
    <dc:date>2019-03-31T02:51:31+00:00</dc:date>
    <link>https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/30/opinion/the-incredible-shrinking-trump-boom.html</link>
    <dc:creator>jtyost2</dc:creator><description><![CDATA[As Brad Setser of the Council on Foreign Relations points out, a casual glance at the data seems to suggest that American companies earn a lot of their profits at their overseas subsidiaries. But a closer look shows that the bulk of these reported profits are in a handful of small countries with low or zero tax rates, like Bermuda, Luxembourg and Ireland. The companies obviously aren’t earning huge profits in these tiny economies; they’re just using accounting gimmicks to assign profits earned elsewhere to subsidiaries that may have a few factories, but sometimes consist of little more than a small office, or even just a post-office box.

These basically phony profits then accumulate on the books of the overseas subsidiaries, rather than the home company. But this doesn’t affect their ability to invest in America: if Apple wants to spend a billion dollars here, it can always borrow the money using the assets of its Irish subsidiary as collateral. In other words, U.S. taxes weren’t having any significant effect in deterring real investment in the U.S. economy.

When Trump cut the tax rate, some companies “brought money home.” But for the most part this had no economic significance. Here’s how it works: Apple Ireland transfers some of its assets to Apple U.S.A. Officially, Apple Ireland has reduced its investment spending, while paying a dividend to U.S. investors. In reality, Apple as an entity has the same total profits and the same total assets it did before; it hasn’t devoted a single additional dollar to purchases of equipment, R&D, or anything else for its U.S. operations.

Not surprisingly, then, the investment boom Trump economists promised has never materialized. Companies didn’t use their tax breaks to invest more; mainly they used them to buy back their own stock. This in turn, put more money in the hands of investors, which gave the economy a temporary boost – although for 2018 as a whole, one of the biggest drivers of faster growth was, believe it or not, higher government spending.

So the theory supposedly behind the Trump tax cut has turned out to be a complete bust. Corporate accountants got to have some fun exploring new frontiers in tax avoidance; the rest of us just ended up saddled with an extra $2 trillion or so in debt.

Now, I’m not deeply worried about that debt. Given low borrowing costs, the costs and risks of federal debt are far less than the usual suspects – again, the same people who cheered on the Trump tax cut – have claimed. But think of all the other things we could have done with $2 trillion – all the infrastructure we could have built and repaired, all the people who could have been given essential health care.

What a colossal, corrupt waste.]]></description>
<dc:subject>economics business economy statistics DonaldTrump congress budget taxes</dc:subject>
<dc:source>https://pinboard.in/</dc:source>
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<item rdf:about="https://www.cnn.com/2019/03/29/politics/devos-special-olympics-omb/index.html">
    <title>WH budget office, not DeVos, pushed for proposed Special Olympics cuts, official says</title>
    <dc:date>2019-03-31T01:19:12+00:00</dc:date>
    <link>https://www.cnn.com/2019/03/29/politics/devos-special-olympics-omb/index.html</link>
    <dc:creator>jtyost2</dc:creator><description><![CDATA[Two education officials, one current and one former, say they believe the insistence from OMB was borne out of ideological opposition to government funding for a private organization. The officials did not believe the concern was primarily fiscal despite the fact that DeVos's initial defense before Congress emphasized the need to make hard-nosed decisions to rein in spending.
"I also acknowledge that it's easier to keep spending, to keep saying yes, and to keep saddling tomorrow's generations with today's growing debts," DeVos said in her testimony Tuesday.
The education official added that the department and secretary had considered it a victory that it had maintained level funding for larger programs, particularly Title I programs for schools serving large amounts of students from poor families, and programs for students with disabilities under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. But officials tried unsuccessfully to convince OMB that cutting the relatively small amount from the Special Olympics would be politically unpalatable. Those officials had been worried since the first year of the administration about how DeVos would defend cuts to the popular program.
A White House aide said the back and forth between the agency and the White House's budget office is fairly typical. "OMB can be pretty ruthless under Mick and Russ," said the White House aide, referring to Russ Vought, Mulvaney's deputy and the acting director of OMB.]]></description>
<dc:subject>deptofeducation DonaldTrump MickMulvaney politics government congress budget stupid</dc:subject>
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<item rdf:about="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/with-social-program-fights-some-republicans-fear-being-seen-as-the-party-of-the-1-percent/2019/03/29/9cfc3232-516b-11e9-a3f7-78b7525a8d5f_story.html">
    <title>With social program fights, some Republicans fear being seen as the party of the 1 percent</title>
    <dc:date>2019-03-31T01:03:56+00:00</dc:date>
    <link>https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/with-social-program-fights-some-republicans-fear-being-seen-as-the-party-of-the-1-percent/2019/03/29/9cfc3232-516b-11e9-a3f7-78b7525a8d5f_story.html</link>
    <dc:creator>jtyost2</dc:creator><description><![CDATA[President Trump boasted this week that the Republican Party will soon be known as “the party of great health care.”

But a growing number of Republicans fear that it risks being tagged as the party of the 1 percent instead — handing Democrats a potent political message as the GOP pushes to gut former president Barack Obama’s health-care law and other popular federal programs, including those that help the poor and people with disabilities.

A spate of policy moves in recent weeks by Republican lawmakers and Trump administration officials has driven the party’s agenda hard to the right, giving new fodder to Democratic presidential candidates eager to shift the national debate to such issues as health care and jobs ahead of the 2020 election.

The administration’s budget released this month, for example, includes massive rollbacks of programs including Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security Disability Insurance, as well as cuts to the Special Olympics, Meals on Wheels, and programs related to autism and other developmental disabilities.

Trump signaled his misgivings about some of those cuts in recent days — rescinding a proposal to zero out Special Olympics funding, which had sparked a bipartisan backlash, and promising to protect a cleanup program for the Great Lakes in states that could be crucial to his reelection.

Democrats said the broad efforts by Trump and Republicans to attack programs that aid lower-income and working-class Americans could help blunt the president’s populist appeal and provide voters with more reasons to consider supporting Democratic candidates. The debate bears echoes of Obama’s successful reelection effort in 2012, when Democrats attacked now-Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) as an out-of-touch GOP nominee beholden to the wealthiest Americans. ]]></description>
<dc:subject>politics democrats republicans inequality budget congress government usa</dc:subject>
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</item>
<item rdf:about="https://politi.co/2U5SpER">
    <title>Trump seeks to cut foreign aid to 3 Central American nations</title>
    <dc:date>2019-03-31T00:55:18+00:00</dc:date>
    <link>https://politi.co/2U5SpER</link>
    <dc:creator>jtyost2</dc:creator><description><![CDATA[Taking drastic action over illegal immigration, President Donald Trump moved Saturday to cut direct aid to El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras, whose citizens are fleeing north and overwhelming U.S. resources at the southern border.

The State Department notified Congress that it would look to suspend 2017 and 2018 payments to the trio of nations, which have been home to some of the migrant caravans that have marched through Mexico to the U.S. border.

Amplified by conservative media, Trump has turned the caravans into the symbol of what he says are the dangers of illegal immigration — a central theme of his midterm campaigning last fall. With the special counsel’s Russia probe seemingly behind him, Trump has revived his warnings of the caravans’ presence.

Trump also has returned to a previous threat he never carried out — closing the border with Mexico. He brought up that possibility on Friday and revisited it in tweets Saturday, blaming Democrats and Mexico for problems at the border and beyond despite warnings that a closed border could create economic havoc on both sides.

“It would be so easy to fix our weak and very stupid Democrat inspired immigration laws,” Trump tweeted Saturday. “In less than one hour, and then a vote, the problem would be solved. But the Dems don’t care about the crime, they don’t want any victory for Trump and the Republicans, even if good for USA!′

A group of House Democrats visiting El Salvador denounced the administration’s decision to cut aid to the region.

“As we visit El Salvador evaluating the importance of U.S. assistance to Central America to address the root causes of family and child migration, we are extremely disappointed to learn that President Trump intends to cut off aid to the region,” said the statement from five lawmakers, including Rep. Eliot Engel of New York, who chairs the House Foreign Affairs Committee. “The President’s approach is entirely counterproductive.”

The Trump administration has threatened before to scale back or cut off U.S. assistance to Central America. Congress has not approved most of those proposed cuts, however, and a report this year by the Congressional Research Service said any change in that funding would depend on what Congress does.]]></description>
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</item>
<item rdf:about="https://politi.co/2FIVYs1">
    <title>McConnell to Trump: Health care’s all yours</title>
    <dc:date>2019-03-29T01:02:13+00:00</dc:date>
    <link>https://politi.co/2FIVYs1</link>
    <dc:creator>jtyost2</dc:creator><description><![CDATA[Mitch McConnell has no intention of leading President Donald Trump’s campaign to transform the GOP into the “party of health care.”

“I look forward to seeing what the president is proposing and what he can work out with the speaker,” McConnell said in a brief interview Thursday, adding, “I am focusing on stopping the ‘Democrats’ Medicare for none’ scheme.”

The Senate majority leader spent untold weeks and months on the party’s health care quagmire in 2017, when the GOP controlled both the House and the Senate and still failed to repeal Obamacare. The episode caused endless headaches for Republicans as their replacement plan fell apart first, followed by the so-called “skinny” plan they slapped together at the last minute.

Now in divided government, with the Senate majority up for grabs next year and McConnell himself running for reelection, another divisive debate over health care is the last thing McConnell needs. But that’s exactly where Trump is taking Republicans after his administration endorsed a wholesale obliteration of the law in the courts earlier this week.

So the Kentucky Republican and his members are putting the onus on the president to figure out the next steps.

McConnell’s clear reluctance toward trying to draft a sweeping health care bill in the Senate reflects his political instincts: that it’s better to focus on perceived Democratic weaknesses — the left’s push on “Medicare for All” — than to struggle to unify his own party on a plan almost certain to be rebuffed by Senate Democrats and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.).]]></description>
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<item rdf:about="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/28/us/politics/adam-schiff-resign.html">
    <title>Demands for Adam Schiff’s Head Highlight Chasm That Only Widened With Mueller’s Conclusion</title>
    <dc:date>2019-03-28T23:07:13+00:00</dc:date>
    <link>https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/28/us/politics/adam-schiff-resign.html</link>
    <dc:creator>jtyost2</dc:creator><description><![CDATA[The House Intelligence Committee’s first hearing since Robert S. Mueller III completed his report had barely begun when the panel’s Republicans moved en masse to demand the resignation of the committee’s chairman.

It went downhill from there.

The acrimony on display as the intelligence committee tried to resume its work on Russia’s intervention in the 2016 presidential election laid bare the bitter divide that persists in Congress even after Mr. Mueller, the special counsel, completed his 22-month investigation of the subject. The Republican demand and the barbed response of the committee’s chairman, Representative Adam B. Schiff, echoed well outside the wood-paneled House hearing room.

Representative Kevin McCarthy, the House Republican leader, spent much of his weekly news conference comparing Mr. Schiff, a fellow Californian, to Senator Joseph R. McCarthy, who fueled fears in the 1950s that Communist spies had infiltrated the American government. Representative Michael R. Turner, Republican of Ohio, played the same card.

“With McCarthyism,” a senator was “chasing after Russian Communists,” Mr. Turner, an Intelligence Committee member, said. “Now we have Schiff chasing after Russian collusion.”

Undaunted, Mr. Schiff made clear he was not about to step down, nor was he about to absolve President Trump or his campaign from nefarious conduct with Moscow. The Justice Department revealed on Thursday that Mr. Mueller’s report came in at more than 300 pages, raising more questions about what information was behind the four-page summary released by William P. Barr, the attorney general.]]></description>
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<item rdf:about="https://www.washingtonpost.com/powerpost/mcconnell-moves-to-change-senate-rules-to-speed-up-confirmation-of-trump-nominees/2019/03/28/49aae44c-5194-11e9-8d28-f5149e5a2fda_story.html">
    <title>McConnell moves to change Senate rules to speed up confirmation of Trump nominees</title>
    <dc:date>2019-03-28T22:31:23+00:00</dc:date>
    <link>https://www.washingtonpost.com/powerpost/mcconnell-moves-to-change-senate-rules-to-speed-up-confirmation-of-trump-nominees/2019/03/28/49aae44c-5194-11e9-8d28-f5149e5a2fda_story.html</link>
    <dc:creator>jtyost2</dc:creator><description><![CDATA[Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) is setting up a major fight in the Senate next week over the chamber’s rules, as Republicans plan to deploy a controversial procedural maneuver to speed up consideration of hundreds of lower-level Trump administration nominees.

Agitated by Democrats slowing down consideration of President Trump’s picks, Senate Republicans had drafted a rules change that would significantly cut the time allotted for floor debate on numerous non-Cabinet agency officials and dozens of district court judges who have stalled on Capitol Hill.

As it now stands, a nomination can be debated for a maximum of 30 hours on the Senate floor after senators invoke cloture — a vote that cuts off unlimited debate on a nomination. Under the change proposed by Republicans, those 30 hours would be slashed to two hours for all nominations except for Cabinet choices, nominees for the Supreme Court and appellate courts and some independent boards.

“This is a change the institution needs,” McConnell said Thursday. “This is a reform that every member should embrace: a functional process for building their administrations. Let’s give the American people a government they actually elected.”

McConnell railed against the Democrats, criticizing their “obstruction simply for the sake of obstruction.”

For nearly all of 2016, McConnell blocked the consideration of President Obama’s Supreme Court nominee Merrick Garland, insisting the next president should fill the vacancy.]]></description>
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<item rdf:about="https://politi.co/2FBRp2L">
    <title>Trump's pick of Moore for Fed sparks concern among bankers</title>
    <dc:date>2019-03-28T02:53:19+00:00</dc:date>
    <link>https://politi.co/2FBRp2L</link>
    <dc:creator>jtyost2</dc:creator><description><![CDATA[

Moore has been a fierce promoter of the president on television, channeling him by accusing central bank officials of committing “economic malpractice” by raising rates in December — a move that reportedly led Trump to consider firing Powell. | AP Photo

President Donald Trump’s choice of former campaign adviser Stephen Moore to serve on the Federal Reserve Board is stirring misgivings among some bankers, who worry that the conservative economist would erode the Fed’s political independence.

Moore hasn’t been formally nominated or even fully vetted by the White House yet, but Trump’s enthusiastic announcement that he would tap the Heritage Foundation economist for the central bank caught both Washington and New York off guard.

A half-dozen bank representatives interviewed on Tuesday privately said they aren’t planning to take a position on the nomination, but their reservations are likely to come up in conversations with Republican senators, which could complicate Moore's path to confirmation amid strong opposition from Democrats.

“Bankers are very strongly and institutionally committed to the Fed,” said Karen Petrou, managing partner at Federal Financial Analytics. “They disagree individually and sometimes collectively with what it does, but I don’t think there’s any substantive dispute from the smallest to the biggest banks of the need for an independent Fed.”

Moore has picked up support from a handful of Republican senators but most GOP members of the Banking Committee have not yet taken a position at this early stage, including Chairman Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), whose backing is crucial.]]></description>
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<item rdf:about="https://thehill.com/policy/finance/435918-betsy-devos-defends-special-olympics-budget-cuts-we-had-to-make-some-difficult">
    <title>Betsy DeVos defends Special Olympics budget cuts: 'We had to make some difficult decisions'</title>
    <dc:date>2019-03-27T02:09:14+00:00</dc:date>
    <link>https://thehill.com/policy/finance/435918-betsy-devos-defends-special-olympics-budget-cuts-we-had-to-make-some-difficult</link>
    <dc:creator>jtyost2</dc:creator><description><![CDATA[Education Secretary Betsy DeVos defended budget cuts to programs including the Special Olympics on Tuesday.

Appearing before a House subcommittee Tuesday to review the department's proposed budget for the upcoming fiscal year, DeVos said, "We had to make some difficult decisions."

DeVos's remarks came in response to questions from Rep. Mark Pocan (D-Wis.), who pressed her on the amount of kids the budget cut would impact.

"I don't know the number of kids," DeVos said before Pocan answered that 272,000 kids would be impacted.

"I think Special Olympics is an awesome organization, one that is well supported by the philanthropic sector as well," DeVos said.

The budget proposed by President Trump and supported by DeVos calls for nearly $18 million in cuts to the Special Olympics.]]></description>
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<item rdf:about="https://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/2019/03/26/betsy-devos-special-olympics/3278388002/">
    <title>Betsy DeVos: Deep cuts to Special Olympics, student programs are warranted</title>
    <dc:date>2019-03-26T21:00:05+00:00</dc:date>
    <link>https://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/2019/03/26/betsy-devos-special-olympics/3278388002/</link>
    <dc:creator>jtyost2</dc:creator><description><![CDATA[Education Secretary Betsy DeVos on Tuesday defended deep cuts to programs meant to help students and others, including eliminating $18 million to support Special Olympics, while urging Congress to spend millions more on charter schools.

"We are not doing our children any favors when we borrow from their future in order to invest in systems and policies that are not yielding better results," DeVos said in prepared testimony before a House subcommittee considering the Department of Education's budget request for the next fiscal year.

It was the first time that DeVos, a wealthy former Michigan Republican Party chairwoman and school choice advocate, had been called before a Democratic-led panel in the U.S. House to explain President Donald Trump's spending priorities.

While proposing to add $60 million more to charter school funding and create a tax credit for individual and companies that donate to scholarships for private schools, DeVos' budget proposal would still cut more than $7 billion from the Education Department, about 10 percent of its current budget. President Trump proposed a $4.7 trillion overall budget this month with an annual deficit expected to run about $1 trillion.

It calls for eliminating billions in grants to improve student achievement by reducing class sizes and funding professional development for teachers as well as cutting funds dedicated to increasing the use of technology in schools and improving school conditions. In many cases, DeVos said the purpose of the grants has been found to be redundant or ineffective.

In the case of the $17.6 million cut to help fund the Special Olympics, a program designed to help children and adults with disabilities, DeVos suggested it is better supported by philanthropy and added, "We had to make some difficult decisions with this budget."]]></description>
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</item>
<item rdf:about="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-03-24/swift-pushback-on-stephen-moore-trump-s-latest-pick-for-the-fed">
    <title>Swift Pushback on Stephen Moore, Trump's Latest Pick for the Fed</title>
    <dc:date>2019-03-25T20:43:07+00:00</dc:date>
    <link>https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-03-24/swift-pushback-on-stephen-moore-trump-s-latest-pick-for-the-fed</link>
    <dc:creator>jtyost2</dc:creator><description><![CDATA[

Stephen Moore drew swift and unusually pointed criticism after President Donald Trump picked him to be a governor of the U.S. Federal Reserve, with at least one prominent Republican economist calling on the Senate to block the appointment.

“He does not have the intellectual gravitas for this important job,” Greg Mankiw, a Harvard professor who was chairman of the White House Council of Economic Advisers under President George W. Bush, wrote in a blog post on Friday. “It is time for senators to do their job. Mr. Moore should not be confirmed.”

Moore’s selection is subject to Senate approval. He’s Trump’s sixth nomination to the nation’s monetary authority, which has a seven-seat board of governors that typically is filled with trained economists, former financial-industry executives and bank regulators. There are currently two vacant seats.

Two previous Trump nominees, Nellie Liang and Marvin Goodfriend, failed to advance in the Senate in 2018. Unlike Moore, neither faced accusations that they were unqualified.]]></description>
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<item rdf:about="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/23/us/politics/aipac-israel-trump-democrats.html">
    <title>Israel Lobby Convenes in Washington Amid Fraying Bipartisanship and Rising Tension</title>
    <dc:date>2019-03-25T00:47:37+00:00</dc:date>
    <link>https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/23/us/politics/aipac-israel-trump-democrats.html</link>
    <dc:creator>jtyost2</dc:creator><description><![CDATA[More than 18,000 activists will converge in Washington on Sunday for the annual conference of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, as Democrats wrestle with the left’s rising criticism of Israel and as President Trump seeks to divide his political rivals while bolstering Israel’s embattled leader.

In some respects, the three-day Aipac conference will look much as it has in years past. American and Israeli luminaries will speak, including Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, Vice President Mike Pence, Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Mr. Netanyahu’s main challenger in Israel’s election next month, Benny Gantz. It will wrap up on Tuesday with a “lobbying day,” when thousands of activists will flock to Capitol Hill to press Aipac’s legislative agenda.

But this year’s confab is playing out in a changed and charged Washington political environment. Mr. Trump and his fellow Republicans have spent weeks lobbing accusations of anti-Semitism at Democrats, although the party remains the home of the vast majority of American Jews. And Democrats are under mounting pressure from their left flank to distance themselves from Aipac, which aligns itself closely with Mr. Netanyahu’s far-right policies.

A string of Democratic presidential candidates — Senators Bernie Sanders of Vermont, Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and Kamala Harris of California, as well as Beto O’Rourke and Julián Castro, among others — are skipping the conference. A group of freshman Democrats in the House, Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, Rashida Tlaib of Michigan and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, has emerged as forthright critics of Israel and the United States’ policy tilt toward the Israeli government.

Those trends will stand in stark contrast to Mr. Trump’s embrace of Mr. Netanyahu, who will meet the president for talks at the White House on Monday and at a dinner on Tuesday.

“I don’t know what happened to them, but they are totally anti-Israel,” Mr. Trump said on Friday of the Democrats. “Frankly, I think they’re anti-Jewish.”

The swirl around this year’s conference represents “two new realities,” said Aaron David Miller, an expert on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict at the Wilson Center, a Washington-based foreign affairs research organization.

The first is the deepening generational divide in the Democratic Party, which will be reflected in protests by progressive Jews outside the conference while older Democrats like Ms. Pelosi and Representative Steny H. Hoyer, the majority leader, address delegates inside. Mr. Trump might call Democrats “anti-Jewish,” but Jewish Democrats hold the gavels of some of the most powerful committees in the House — Judiciary, Appropriations, Foreign Affairs, Intelligence, Budget and Ethics — as well as the post of Senate Democratic leader. But a younger generation of Democrats is clashing with that old guard.]]></description>
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<item rdf:about="http://gregmankiw.blogspot.com/2019/03/memo-to-senate-just-say-no.html">
    <title>Memo to Senate: Just Say No</title>
    <dc:date>2019-03-23T21:05:30+00:00</dc:date>
    <link>http://gregmankiw.blogspot.com/2019/03/memo-to-senate-just-say-no.html</link>
    <dc:creator>jtyost2</dc:creator><description><![CDATA[A couple of weeks ago, I gave a talk at the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas. I said that, although I am not a fan of President Trump, I have to give him credit for making good appointments to the Fed. I was thinking about people like Jay Powell, Rich Clarida, and Randy Quarles.

Then today the president nominates Stephen Moore to be a Fed governor. Steve is a perfectly amiable guy, but he does not have the intellectual gravitas for this important job. If you doubt it, read his latest book Trumponomics (or my review of it).

It is time for Senators to do their job. Mr. Moore should not be confirmed. ]]></description>
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<item rdf:about="https://www.vox.com/2019/3/20/18241825/trump-investigations-sdny-inauguration-state-congress">
    <title>Trump’s legal jeopardy goes far beyond Mueller</title>
    <dc:date>2019-03-21T02:42:38+00:00</dc:date>
    <link>https://www.vox.com/2019/3/20/18241825/trump-investigations-sdny-inauguration-state-congress</link>
    <dc:creator>jtyost2</dc:creator><dc:subject>legal government ethics DonaldTrump scandal lawsuit business congress</dc:subject>
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<item rdf:about="https://thenevadaindependent.com/article/funding-for-creech-nellis-construction-projects-at-risk-if-congress-fails-to-enact-dod-budget-on-time">
    <title>Funding for Creech, Nellis construction projects at risk if Congress fails to enact DOD budget on time</title>
    <dc:date>2019-03-20T18:52:12+00:00</dc:date>
    <link>https://thenevadaindependent.com/article/funding-for-creech-nellis-construction-projects-at-risk-if-congress-fails-to-enact-dod-budget-on-time</link>
    <dc:creator>jtyost2</dc:creator><description><![CDATA[

Congress could prevent funds marked for military construction, including up to $91 million for projects at Creech and Nellis Air Force Bases, from being diverted to the border wall if it approves the Pentagon’s budget before the start of the next fiscal year.

But approving the budget before Oct. 1 could prove difficult without an agreement between Republicans, Democrats and Trump on overall defense and nondefense spending.

“If the Department’s [fiscal year] 2020 budget is enacted on time as requested, no military construction project used to source [border wall] projects would be delayed or cancelled,” the Department of Defense (DOD) said in a release this week, which included a list of projects that could be affected by Trump’s decision in February to declare a national emergency allowing him to divert $3.6 billion of previously appropriated military construction funds to build a wall on the Mexican border.

The office of Nevada Democratic Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto is working with the relevant agencies to get information about exactly which projects are at risk as the list gets winnowed down.

“Our office continues to reach out to the Department of Defense and the National Guard to determine the exact funding at risk in Nevada,” Ryan King, spokesman for Cortez Masto, said in an email Tuesday. “The Senator continues to engage with relevant agencies to understand the specific impacts, though we have no further details to share at this time.”

Rep. Steven Horsford, whose 4th Congressional District includes both Creech and Nellis, said that airmen at the two bases are performing key security operations that should not be cut. ]]></description>
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<item rdf:about="https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2019/03/betos-announcement-shows-triumph-secular-democrats/585001/">
    <title>Secular Democrats Are the New Normal</title>
    <dc:date>2019-03-17T23:21:14+00:00</dc:date>
    <link>https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2019/03/betos-announcement-shows-triumph-secular-democrats/585001/</link>
    <dc:creator>jtyost2</dc:creator><description><![CDATA[Today’s white liberals don’t only talk about faith less than their predecessors did. They talk about it in a strikingly different way. Earlier Democrats invoked religion as a source of national unity. Bill Clinton declared in his 1992 convention speech, “There is no them; there’s only us. One nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.” In his 2004 convention keynote address, Obama famously announced, “We worship an awesome God in the blue states.” The implication was that religious observance was something Americans of both parties shared.

Today, by contrast, progressive white candidates more often cite religion as a source of division. In his announcement video, O’Rourke boasted that during his Senate campaign in Texas, “people allowed no difference, however great or however small, to stand between them and divide us. Whether it was religion or gender or geography or income, we put our labels and our differences aside.” The only reference to faith in Warren’s announcement speech was an acknowledgment that “we come from different backgrounds. Different religions.” The lone reference in Sanders’s was a call for “ending religious bigotry.” While white progressives once described religion as something that brought Americans together, they’re now more likely to describe it as something that drives them apart.

It’s not hard to understand why. For starters, the percentage of white Democrats who express no religious affiliation has skyrocketed. According to unpublished data tabulated for me last year by the Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI), 8 percent of white Democrats expressed no religious affiliation in 1990. By 2016, the figure was 33 percent. In 1990, white self-described liberals were 39 points more likely to describe themselves as Protestant than as religiously unaffiliated. By 2016, religiously unaffiliated beat Protestant by nine points.]]></description>
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<item rdf:about="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-47569425">
    <title>Senate Republicans revolt against Trump over border - BBC News</title>
    <dc:date>2019-03-16T18:37:06+00:00</dc:date>
    <link>https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-47569425</link>
    <dc:creator>jtyost2</dc:creator><description><![CDATA[Rebel members of President Donald Trump's party have helped pass a vote to reject his declaration of an emergency on the US-Mexico border.

Twelve Republican senators broke party ranks to side with Democrats, approving a proposal to revoke the proclamation by 59-41.

The Democratic-controlled House of Representatives last month backed the measure.

Following Thursday's vote, Mr Trump tweeted: "VETO!"

Congress needs a two-thirds majority of both chambers to override a presidential veto, which is viewed as unlikely in this case.

Nevertheless, the vote will be seen as an embarrassing loss for the president on his signature domestic issue.

On Twitter, Mr Trump slammed the vote, calling it a "Democrat inspired Resolution which would OPEN BORDERS while increasing Crime, Drugs and Trafficking in our Country".]]></description>
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<item rdf:about="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-47591552">
    <title>Trump issues veto over border emergency declaration - BBC News</title>
    <dc:date>2019-03-16T18:17:35+00:00</dc:date>
    <link>https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-47591552</link>
    <dc:creator>jtyost2</dc:creator><description><![CDATA[President Donald Trump has vetoed a measure from Congress revoking his declaration of a national emergency at the US-Mexico border.

Lawmakers, including 12 Republicans, had passed the rejection resolution on Thursday in a surprising rebuke of Mr Trump's pledge to build a border wall.

Congress will now need a two-thirds majority in both chambers to override him, which is unlikely to happen.

This is the first veto of Mr Trump's presidency.

"As president, the protection of the nation is my highest duty," Mr Trump said on Friday.

Standing behind the president were law enforcement officials, Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen, Vice-President Mike Pence, Attorney General William Barr and "angel parents" - the parents of children killed by illegal immigrants.

"Yesterday, Congress passed a dangerous resolution that if signed into law, would put countless Americans in danger.

"Congress has the freedom to pass this resolution and I have the duty to veto it. I'm very proud to veto it. "

Mr Trump repeated his claims that illegal immigrants from the southern border were mostly criminals, bringing drugs into the country.]]></description>
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<item rdf:about="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/14/us/politics/mueller-report-public.html">
    <title>House Votes, 420-to-0, to Demand Public Release of Mueller Report</title>
    <dc:date>2019-03-15T16:37:47+00:00</dc:date>
    <link>https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/14/us/politics/mueller-report-public.html</link>
    <dc:creator>jtyost2</dc:creator><description><![CDATA[House Republicans joined Democrats on Thursday to overwhelmingly demand the Department of Justice release to Congress and the public the full findings of the special counsel’s investigation into Russia’s interference in the 2016 election and the possible involvement of President Trump’s campaign.

Though the resolution is nonbinding and cannot force the Justice Department to take an particular action, Democrats who put it on the House floor are trying to build public pressure on Attorney General William P. Barr in advance of the investigation’s anticipated conclusion to share what Robert S. Mueller III produces. Far from standing in the way, Republicans joined Democrats en masse. On the 420-0 vote, four Republicans voted present.

“This report must see the light of day, must be available to the American public for a catharsis that will allow us to start with the facts, understand what happened and begin to rebuild the faith of the American people,” said Representative Jim Himes, Democrat of Connecticut and a senior member of the Intelligence Committee, which has undertaken its own Russia investigation.

Republicans called the resolution a waste of time, but they were unwilling to stand in its way. The four “present” votes were two libertarians who routinely oppose such resolutions, Representatives Justin Amash of Michigan and Thomas Massie of Kentucky, and two ardent Trump loyalists, Representatives Matt Gaetz of Florida and Paul Gosar of Arizona.]]></description>
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<item rdf:about="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/14/us/politics/trump-congress-rebuke.html">
    <title>Congress Has a Breaking Point. This Week, Trump Might Have Found It.</title>
    <dc:date>2019-03-15T16:01:15+00:00</dc:date>
    <link>https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/14/us/politics/trump-congress-rebuke.html</link>
    <dc:creator>jtyost2</dc:creator><description><![CDATA[The rejection of Mr. Trump’s national emergency declaration could also give ammunition to a half-dozen legal cases challenging the president’s exercise of that power under the 1976 National Emergencies Act, said Jack L. Goldsmith, a Harvard law professor who led the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel under President George W. Bush.

“Some judges may count that as evidence of congressional intent,” Mr. Goldsmith said, though he added that he disagrees with that view.

Dror Ladin, a staff lawyer for the American Civil Liberties Union, said Congress’s action would help convince federal judges that the president was acting illegally to fund his wall.

“This vote reinforces that the president has no right to that money,” Mr. Ladin said.

But as a political matter, Mr. Trump could use the congressional votes to his advantage on the 2020 campaign trail, portraying himself once again as the outsider candidate battling an unpopular Congress and the establishment in Washington.

Congress has for decades been what Ross K. Baker, a political scientist at Rutgers University, calls a “constitutional weakling” — excessively deferential to the president. But there have been moments in history where the legislative branch seeks to assert its power and relevance, particularly with respect to the military and foreign engagement.

That happened in the 1970s with the passage of the War Powers Act, which gave Congress the ability to compel the removal of military forces absent a formal declaration of war. Congress exerted its authority in 1991 and again in 2002, when it authorized the president to use military force in the run-up to both wars in Iraq.

In 2005, amid a public uproar over the torture of detainees, Congress tightened antitorture laws to ban the infliction of “cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment” on prisoners — including those held overseas by the C.I.A. — over the objections of President Bush.

Now the fight over wall funding may incite yet another round of congressional muscle-flexing. A number of Republicans are pushing legislation to claw back the powers that Congress gave the president in the National Emergencies Act, which Mr. Trump invoked to declare an emergency along the southwestern border.

“The Senate’s waking up a little bit to our responsibilities,” said Senator Lamar Alexander, Republican of Tennessee.]]></description>
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<item rdf:about="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/14/us/politics/senate-vote-trump-national-emergency.html">
    <title>Senate Rejects Trump’s Border Emergency Declaration, Setting Up First Veto</title>
    <dc:date>2019-03-15T02:14:10+00:00</dc:date>
    <link>https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/14/us/politics/senate-vote-trump-national-emergency.html</link>
    <dc:creator>jtyost2</dc:creator><description><![CDATA[The Senate on Thursday easily voted to overturn President Trump’s declaration of a national emergency at the southwestern border, delivering a bipartisan rebuke to what lawmakers in both parties deemed executive overreach by a president determined to build his border wall over Congress’s objections.

The 59-41 vote on the House-passed measures set up the first veto of Mr. Trump’s presidency. It was not overwhelming enough to override Mr. Trump’s promised veto, but Congress has now voted to block a presidential emergency declaration for the first time — and on one of the core promises that animated Mr. Trump’s political rise, the vow to build a wall between the United States and Mexico.

In an attempt to limit defections ahead of the vote, Mr. Trump had sought to frame the vote publicly as not only a declaration of support for his border security policies but a sign of personal loyalty.

“It’s pure and simple: it’s a vote for border security, it’s a vote for no crime,” Mr. Trump told reporters ahead of the vote, which he declared on Twitter to be “a vote for Nancy Pelosi, Crime and the Open Border Democrats!”

But he could not overcome concerns among Republican senators about the legality of redirecting $3.6 billion from military construction projects toward the border wall even after Congress explicitly rejected the funding request.

“I believe the use of emergency powers in this circumstance violates the Constitution,” said Senator Jerry Moran, Republican of Kansas, in a statement written on lined paper. “This continues our country down the path of all powerful executive — something those who wrote the Constitution were fearful of.”

Ultimately, about a dozen Republicans joined Senate Democrats in supporting the House-passed resolution of disapproval: Lamar Alexander of Tennessee, Roy Blunt of Missouri, Susan Collins of Maine, Mike Lee of Utah, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Rob Portman of Ohio, Mitt Romney of Utah, Marco Rubio of Florida, Patrick J. Toomey of Pennsylvania, Rand Paul of Kentucky, Roger Wicker of Mississippi, and Mr. Moran.

The vote marks an explicit rebuke of Mr. Trump’s effort to end-run the constitutional power of the purse given to Congress, and although supporters will not be able to overcome a veto, the action could bolster a number of lawsuits contesting the emergency declaration as a flagrant violation of the Constitution’s separation of powers.]]></description>
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<item rdf:about="https://www.vox.com/2019/3/14/18264147/house-robert-mueller-report-public-special-counsel">
    <title>The House just passed a resolution to make Robert Mueller’s report public</title>
    <dc:date>2019-03-15T02:13:58+00:00</dc:date>
    <link>https://www.vox.com/2019/3/14/18264147/house-robert-mueller-report-public-special-counsel</link>
    <dc:creator>jtyost2</dc:creator><description><![CDATA[Special counsel Robert Mueller is expected to submit his long-awaited report on the Trump-Russia investigation to the Department of Justice soon. And House Democrats really, really want it to be made public.

In a rare bipartisan vote, the House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed a nonbinding resolution Thursday to do just that. Republicans joined Democrats in a 420-0 vote to approve the resolution, with just four lawmakers declining to take a stance by voting ‘present.’

It’s unclear whether Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell will pick it up. He blocked a similar bipartisan bill from Sens. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) and Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) from the Senate floor earlier this year.

The House, on the other hand, is intent on passing a resolution to make the report public because they’re not sure how much recourse they’ll otherwise have if the Justice Department decides to keep Mueller’s report under wraps. ]]></description>
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</item>
<item rdf:about="https://www.vox.com/2019/3/14/18264306/senate-republicans-block-trump-emergency-resolution">
    <title>12 Senate Republicans just helped Democrats block Trump’s border wall national emergency</title>
    <dc:date>2019-03-15T02:13:54+00:00</dc:date>
    <link>https://www.vox.com/2019/3/14/18264306/senate-republicans-block-trump-emergency-resolution</link>
    <dc:creator>jtyost2</dc:creator><description><![CDATA[A staggering 12 Senate Republicans have officially voted to block President Donald Trump’s declaration of national emergency, highlighting a marked split between GOP lawmakers and the White House on the president’s attempt to obtain more funding for his border wall.

Sens. Susan Collins, Lisa Murkowski, Rand Paul, Mitt Romney, Mike Lee, Lamar Alexander, Jerry Moran, Pat Toomey, Rob Portman, Roger Wicker, Roy Blunt, and Marco Rubio ultimately joined with Democrats to vote for a resolution terminating the president’s national emergency. As many as 10 Republicans were reportedly considering breaking with Trump on the subject, and even more wound up actually doing so, leading to a final 59-41 vote.

It’s the second time in as many days that Senate Republicans have directly confronted the president: On Wednesday, seven Republican senators voted in favor of a resolution to end US involvement in Saudi Arabia’s war in Yemen, a measure that Trump is also expected to veto.

Both chambers of Congress have now passed the national emergency resolution, which would end the emergency if the president decides to sign it. But Trump has said he won’t, and though a number of Republicans opposed the resolution, not enough did to get to a veto-proof threshold. It’s the first time in US history that Congress has voted to terminate a president’s national emergency, and Trump is very much set to shoot down the measure.

Trump’s anticipated vetoes on the national emergency resolution and the Yemen resolution would be the first of his presidency. The Senate’s votes on both highlight a Republican Party that’s suddenly more open to breaking with the Oval Office. ]]></description>
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<item rdf:about="https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2019/03/14/house-calls-public-release-mueller-report-vote/3161577002/">
    <title>House calls for public release of Robert Mueller's final report in 420-0 vote</title>
    <dc:date>2019-03-14T16:14:14+00:00</dc:date>
    <link>https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2019/03/14/house-calls-public-release-mueller-report-vote/3161577002/</link>
    <dc:creator>jtyost2</dc:creator><description><![CDATA[The House of Representatives voted overwhelmingly on Wednesday to demand that special counsel Robert Mueller's report on Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election be made public when his work is complete.

By a vote of 420-0, the House passed a nonbinding resolution Thursday urging for the public release of "any report" Mueller provides to Attorney General William Barr, except the portions "expressly prohibited by law." And they insisted that Congress should receive the whole thing.

The vote comes amid signs that Mueller's inquiry could be drawing closer to its conclusion. Mueller's office confirmed on Thursday that one of its top prosecutors, Andrew Weissmann, plans to leave for another job soon, the latest in a series of departures from the office.

Justice Department rules require Mueller to submit a final, confidential report to Barr outlining why he charged some people and not others. Barr has said he wants to release as much detail as possible about the results of the special counsel investigation, but has not committed to releasing all of the findings of an investigation that has been based in part on classified intelligence and secret grand jury information.

The nearly two-year investigation dug deeply into President Donald Trump's presidential campaign, his administration and their Russian ties.

The president has repeatedly derided the probe as a "witch hunt" and often claims there was no collusion between his campaign and Russia.

Mueller has indicted 34 people, including Russian intelligence operatives and some of Trump's closest aides and advisers. In doing so, he revealed a wealth of details about a sophisticated Russian effort to influence the 2016 election and about a campaign eager to reap the benefits of that activity. What he might add in a final report remains uncertain.

Rep. Steve Scalise, R-Louisiana, said the end of Mueller's investigation is "long overdue" and that he must be transparent with the public.]]></description>
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<item rdf:about="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-47564274">
    <title>Senate votes to end US support of Saudi-led Yemen war - BBC News</title>
    <dc:date>2019-03-14T05:23:08+00:00</dc:date>
    <link>https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-47564274</link>
    <dc:creator>jtyost2</dc:creator><description><![CDATA[The US Republican-led Senate has approved a bill to end US support for the Saudi-led coalition war in Yemen.

The bipartisan vote was 54 to 46, and is a rebuke to President Donald Trump's support of Saudi Arabia and its leader despite recent tensions.

Mr Trump has vowed to veto the resolution should it pass through the Democrat-led Congress.

The war in Yemen started in 2015 and has left thousands of Yemenis dead and millions more starving.

The US sells weapons used by the Saudis and its military provides logistical and intelligence support to the coalition for drone strikes.]]></description>
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<item rdf:about="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/04/us/politics/senate-emergency-declaration-trump.html">
    <title>Senate Has Votes to Overturn Trump’s Emergency Declaration</title>
    <dc:date>2019-03-10T23:07:32+00:00</dc:date>
    <link>https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/04/us/politics/senate-emergency-declaration-trump.html</link>
    <dc:creator>jtyost2</dc:creator><description><![CDATA[With Senator Rand Paul’s decision to support a resolution to block President Trump’s emergency declaration, Congress appears ready to deliver a stern rebuke to the president over his border wall and a clear statement that it will defend its ability to control federal spending.

Senator Paul, a libertarian-minded Kentuckian, said he will join fellow Republican Senators Susan Collins of Maine, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Thom Tillis of North Carolina, giving proponents of the resolution of disapproval the 51 votes they need, if Democrats remain united in their support.

On Monday, Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the majority leader, confirmed that the measure has the votes to pass the Senate. Senate leadership, he said, has been conferring with the Senate parliamentarian to see if the House-passed resolution could be amended before the vote.

“It’s an interesting question,” Mr. McConnell said at a news conference in Kentucky. “It’s never been done before.”

The measure, outlined in the National Emergencies Act, is the simplest way for Congress to end a president’s national emergency declaration. Mr. Trump has said he will veto it, and neither chamber is likely to muster the two-thirds majority needed to overturn the veto. But the plaintiffs in multiple lawsuits will most likely seize upon a congressional repudiation as support for their argument that, in declaring a national emergency to take money for his wall that was not appropriated by Congress, Mr. Trump is subverting the Constitution, which grants Congress clear control over federal spending. ]]></description>
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<item rdf:about="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/08/us/politics/house-democrats-anticorruption-voting-rights.html">
    <title>House Passes Democrats’ Centerpiece Anti-Corruption and Voting Rights Bill</title>
    <dc:date>2019-03-10T22:59:06+00:00</dc:date>
    <link>https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/08/us/politics/house-democrats-anticorruption-voting-rights.html</link>
    <dc:creator>jtyost2</dc:creator><description><![CDATA[The House passed the Democrats’ showcase anti-corruption and voting rights legislation on Friday, an expansive measure that aims to dismantle barriers to the ballot box, end big money in politics and impose stricter ethics rules on federal officials.

The sweeping legislation, passed 234-193, makes good on the campaign pledge to clean up Washington that helped catapult Democrats into the majority. It also serves as a campaign platform for Democrats ahead of 2020. It has virtually no chance of passing the Senate.

“It’s a power grab for the American people,” said Representative Zoe Lofgren of California, who leads the House administration committee that shepherded the legislation.

The ambitious compendium, at nearly 700 pages, includes proposals designating Election Day as a federal holiday, automatically registering citizens to vote, and restoring voting rights to people who have served felony sentences. It also creates a six-to-one matching system for donations of up to $200 to congressional and presidential candidates who reject high-dollar contributions, funded by an additional fine on corporations found to have broken the law.

Republicans arguably have spent more time trying to define the bill — called the For the People Act or H.R. 1, to underscore its primacy — and tear it down than Democrats have spent trying to promote it. Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the majority leader, has branded it the “Democrat Politician Protection Act” in weekly speeches, and pledged not to take up the legislation. The House Republican leader, Representative Kevin McCarthy of California, also criticized the legislation.

“This bill is a massive federal government takeover that would undermine the integrity of our elections,” Mr. McCarthy said in a speech on Friday, in an attack on “this new, Democrat, socialist majority.”

Some of the most debated provisions are intended to reveal who funds online political ads and finances so-called dark-money groups. The Disclose Act, part of the bill, would require super PACs and nonprofit organizations that spend money in elections to disclose the names of donors who contribute more than $10,000. Democrats say such disclosure is broadly popular with voters across the political spectrum.]]></description>
<dc:subject>democrats democracy congress ethics politics voting election transparency</dc:subject>
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<item rdf:about="https://thehill.com/policy/defense/432870-trump-pick-for-saudi-ambassador-defends-us-saudi-relationship-as-senators">
    <title>Trump pick for Saudi ambassador defends US relationship with Riyadh</title>
    <dc:date>2019-03-08T16:46:38+00:00</dc:date>
    <link>https://thehill.com/policy/defense/432870-trump-pick-for-saudi-ambassador-defends-us-saudi-relationship-as-senators</link>
    <dc:creator>jtyost2</dc:creator><description><![CDATA[President Trump’s pick to be ambassador to Saudi Arabia on Wednesday defended the United States continuing to work with the nation as senators fumed at its killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi and conduct in the Yemen civil war.

During his confirmation hearing, retired Gen. John Abizaid called for accountability for Khashoggi’s killing and support for human rights in Saudi Arabia. But he also repeatedly stressed the importance of U.S.-Saudi relations.

“War in Yemen, the senseless killing of Jamal Khashoggi, rifts in the Gulf alliance, alleged abuses of innocent people to include an American citizen and female activists all present immediate challenges,” he told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. “Yet in the long run, we need a strong and mature partnership with Saudi Arabia.”

Abizaid also said later that “our relationship with Saudi Arabia is bigger than our relationship with just the crown prince.”

In that statement, Abizaid was responding to a question from Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), who said Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has “gone full gangster.”]]></description>
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<item rdf:about="https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/2019/03/08/trump-official-said-seismic-air-gun-tests-dont-hurt-whales-so-congressman-blasted-him-with-an-air-horn/">
    <title>A Trump official said seismic air gun tests don’t hurt whales. So a congressman blasted him with an air horn.</title>
    <dc:date>2019-03-08T03:35:18+00:00</dc:date>
    <link>https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/2019/03/08/trump-official-said-seismic-air-gun-tests-dont-hurt-whales-so-congressman-blasted-him-with-an-air-horn/</link>
    <dc:creator>jtyost2</dc:creator><description><![CDATA[

A hearing on the threat seismic testing poses to North Atlantic right whales was plodding along Thursday when, seemingly out of nowhere, Rep. Joe Cunningham (D-S.C.) pulled out an air horn and politely asked if he could blast it.

Before that moment at a Natural Resources subcommittee hearing, Cunningham had listened to a Trump administration official testify, over and over, that firing commercial air guns under water every 10 seconds in search of oil and gas deposits over a period of months would have next to no effect on the endangered animals, which use echolocation to communicate, feed, mate and keep track of their babies. It’s why the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration gave five companies permission to conduct tests that could harm the whales last year, said the official, Chris Oliver, an assistant administrator for fisheries.

As committee members engaged in a predictable debate along typical party lines — Republicans in support of testing and President Trump’s energy agenda, Democrats against it — Cunningham reached for the air horn, put his finger on the button and turned to Oliver.

“It’s fair to say seismic air gun blasting is extremely loud and disruptive ... is that correct?” the congressman asked.

“I don’t know exactly how loud it is. I actually never experienced it myself,” Oliver replied.

So Cunningham gave Oliver a taste of the 120-decibel horn. An earsplitting sound filled the small committee room. An audience of about 50 gasped and murmured.

“Was that disruptive?” Cunningham asked.

“It was irritating, but I didn’t find it too disruptive,” Oliver said.]]></description>
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<item rdf:about="https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2019/3/6/18253396/nielsen-cages-family-separations-house-homeland-security-committee">
    <title>DHS Secretary Nielsen’s first public hearing before the new Congress was a disaster</title>
    <dc:date>2019-03-07T18:21:25+00:00</dc:date>
    <link>https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2019/3/6/18253396/nielsen-cages-family-separations-house-homeland-security-committee</link>
    <dc:creator>jtyost2</dc:creator><description><![CDATA[At other points, Nielsen dodged questions about her dubious testimony last year that the Trump administration never had a family separation policy, admitted she’s broadly unfamiliar with research indicating kids are traumatized by being separated from their parents, and struggled to explain how the border wall the Trump administration is still pushing for would curtail the flow of smuggled drugs — most of which come through ports of entry.

Tasked with defending the indefensible, Nielsen is in an impossible position. But if Wednesday is any indication, with Democrats now in control of the House and eager to conduct oversight, she’s in for more grueling hearings over the next couple years.]]></description>
<dc:subject>KirstjenNielsen politics usa congress HouseOfRepresentatives oversight government immigration DonaldTrump</dc:subject>
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<item rdf:about="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/06/us/politics/kirstjen-nielsen-house-homeland-security-committee-testimony.html">
    <title>Homeland Security Chief Cites ‘Humanitarian Catastrophe’ on Border</title>
    <dc:date>2019-03-06T23:48:05+00:00</dc:date>
    <link>https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/06/us/politics/kirstjen-nielsen-house-homeland-security-committee-testimony.html</link>
    <dc:creator>jtyost2</dc:creator><description><![CDATA[Kirstjen Nielsen, the homeland security secretary, on Wednesday tersely defended a now-defunct Trump administration practice of separating migrant children from their families at the border, sidestepping whether she supported it as a way to deter illegal immigration.

In tense exchanges with House Democrats, Ms. Nielsen instead implored Congress to confront what she called a “humanitarian catastrophe” on the southern border by changing laws to crack down on illegal border crossings.]]></description>
<dc:subject>deptofhomelandsecurity usa immigration legal democrats republicans politics congress HouseOfRepresentatives DonaldTrump KirstjenNielsen</dc:subject>
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<item rdf:about="https://www.washingtonpost.com/powerpost/mcconnell-measure-to-block-trumps-national-emergency-has-enough-votes-to-pass-senate/2019/03/04/f61a1a3c-3e9c-11e9-922c-64d6b7840b82_story.html">
    <title>White House works to limit GOP defections, criticism ahead of vote to nullify Trump’s emergency declaration</title>
    <dc:date>2019-03-06T03:05:23+00:00</dc:date>
    <link>https://www.washingtonpost.com/powerpost/mcconnell-measure-to-block-trumps-national-emergency-has-enough-votes-to-pass-senate/2019/03/04/f61a1a3c-3e9c-11e9-922c-64d6b7840b82_story.html</link>
    <dc:creator>jtyost2</dc:creator><dc:subject>DonaldTrump senate congress republicans constitution legal immigration</dc:subject>
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    <title>White House rebuffs House Democrats’ request regarding security clearances</title>
    <dc:date>2019-03-06T03:03:56+00:00</dc:date>
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    <title>Rand Paul gives Senate Democrats the votes they need to terminate Trump’s national emergency - Vox</title>
    <dc:date>2019-03-04T02:50:36+00:00</dc:date>
    <link>https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2019/3/3/18236271/senate-republicans-national-emergency</link>
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<item rdf:about="https://thenevadaindependent.com/article/the-indy-explains-can-marijuana-companies-use-banks">
    <title>The Indy Explains: Can marijuana companies use banks?</title>
    <dc:date>2019-03-03T18:55:46+00:00</dc:date>
    <link>https://thenevadaindependent.com/article/the-indy-explains-can-marijuana-companies-use-banks</link>
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    <title>Senate confirms former coal lobbyist Andrew Wheeler to lead EPA</title>
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    <dc:creator>jtyost2</dc:creator><description><![CDATA[Washington (CNN) The Senate confirmed Andrew Wheeler, a former coal industry lobbyist, to lead the Environmental Protection Agency, in a 52-47 vote Thursday…]]></description>
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    <title>House votes to block Trump border wall national emergency</title>
    <dc:date>2019-02-27T06:22:53+00:00</dc:date>
    <link>https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-47379991</link>
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    <title>House Votes to Block Trump’s Border Emergency Declaration</title>
    <dc:date>2019-02-26T23:46:03+00:00</dc:date>
    <link>https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/26/us/politics/national-emergency-vote.html</link>
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    <title>Planned in Michael Cohen’s Testimony: A Litany of Accusations Against Trump</title>
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    <title>Opinion | Adam Schiff: An open letter to my Republican colleagues</title>
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    <dc:creator>jtyost2</dc:creator><description><![CDATA[House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam B. Schiff (D-Calif.) speaks on Capitol Hill on Feb. 6. (J. Scott Applewhite/AP) Adam B. Schiff, a Democrat,…]]></description>
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    <title>House Democrats want to stop Trump’s national emergency — and there’s a chance they could succeed</title>
    <dc:date>2019-02-22T04:11:22+00:00</dc:date>
    <link>https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2019/2/21/18234200/congress-trump-national-emergency</link>
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    <title>Members of Congress voice alarm about report that Trump has grown frustrated with Coats</title>
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<item rdf:about="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-47207411">
    <title>US border security deal reached to avert new US shutdown - BBC News</title>
    <dc:date>2019-02-12T02:34:39+00:00</dc:date>
    <link>https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-47207411</link>
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<item rdf:about="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/08/us/politics/government-shutdown-deal.html">
    <title>Trump Gives Ground on His Wall as Border Deal Comes Into View</title>
    <dc:date>2019-02-09T02:10:49+00:00</dc:date>
    <link>https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/08/us/politics/government-shutdown-deal.html</link>
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<item rdf:about="https://friendlyatheist.patheos.com/2019/02/08/democratic-house-chair-purposely-omits-so-help-me-god-when-administering-oath/">
    <title>Democratic House Chair Purposely Omits “So Help Me God” When Administering Oath</title>
    <dc:date>2019-02-09T02:09:47+00:00</dc:date>
    <link>https://friendlyatheist.patheos.com/2019/02/08/democratic-house-chair-purposely-omits-so-help-me-god-when-administering-oath/</link>
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<item rdf:about="http://www.brookings.edu/blogs/ben-bernanke/posts/2015/11/09-budgetary-sleight-of-hand#.VkC-VCMvzzZ.twitter">
    <title>Budgetary sleight-of-hand | Brookings Institution</title>
    <dc:date>2015-11-10T19:08:35+00:00</dc:date>
    <link>http://www.brookings.edu/blogs/ben-bernanke/posts/2015/11/09-budgetary-sleight-of-hand#.VkC-VCMvzzZ.twitter</link>
    <dc:creator>jtyost2</dc:creator><description><![CDATA[Unlike the Fed’s remittances, which are real resources whose availability reduces the burden on the taxpayer, drawing down the Fed’s capital provides no net new funding for the government. Here are two (equivalent) ways to see why:

As noted, the Fed’s capital allows for some smoothing over time in its remittances. But, while the time pattern of those payments may be adjusted, on the margin every dollar the Fed earns is ultimately sent to the Treasury. Drawing on the Fed’s capital creates no new government revenue on net, since the revenue the Treasury “gains” by this action would be exactly offset by reduced remittances from the Fed in the future. Consequently, rather than being truly paid for, the additional highway spending would be reflected dollar for dollar in increased current and future budget deficits.
Alternatively, consider what would actually happen if the Congress required the Fed to reduce its capital. To comply, the Fed would sell some of the government debt that it owns and send the proceeds from the sale to the Treasury. (That money is what Congress proposes to count as funding for highway construction.) But while the Treasury would receive some money up front, the Fed would also have to reduce its future payments to the Treasury by the amount of interest foregone on the securities it sold. The net effect of this on the Treasury’s cash flows—receipt of a lump sum today, but reduction in future revenues equal to the interest payments on that lump sum—is precisely the same as that resulting from the issuance of fresh government debt. Again, drawing on the Fed’s capital provides no new resources and amounts to “paying” for the spending by issuing new government debt.
The nonpartisan Government Accountability Office, the government agency that does research for Congress on all sorts of topics, agrees with this analysis. In a 2002 report on the subject of the Fed’s capital, it noted (p. 16) that, while a Fed “transfer to Treasury is recorded as a receipt to the government, such transfers do not produce new resources for the federal government as a whole.” It cited similar conclusions by the Congressional Budget Office.]]></description>
<dc:subject>economics economy federalreserve currency usa government congress budget</dc:subject>
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<item rdf:about="http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-34609583">
    <title>Obama calls on Congress to avoid 'humanitarian crisis' - BBC News</title>
    <dc:date>2015-10-26T05:33:59+00:00</dc:date>
    <link>http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-34609583</link>
    <dc:creator>jtyost2</dc:creator><description><![CDATA[The Obama administration is urging Congress to devise a plan for Puerto Rico's massive $72 billion (£47 billion) debt in order to avoid a "humanitarian crisis".
The US Treasury Department urged lawmakers on Thursday to make a blueprint that would permit Puerto Rico to restructure its debt.
A plan would include more oversight over Puerto Rico's finances.
It includes Medicaid expansion and an expansion of low-income tax credits.
"Puerto Rico is out of cash and running out of options," said Antonio Weiss, a Treasury Department official, to the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, which presides over Puerto Rico. "In the very near future, Puerto Rico will face impossible choices among providing essential services, delivering promised pension benefits and paying its debt."
The proposal is unlikely to be approved by the Republican-controlled Congress, which has opposed increased spending.
Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, a Democrat seeking the party's presidential nomination, called for a rescue plan that protects the island with 3.5 million residents and not just investors who purchased government bonds-on which Puerto Rico has defaulted.
"This is a human tragedy, and Wall Street should not be believing that they can get blood from a stone," he said.]]></description>
<dc:subject>barackobama legal deptoftreasury congress government PuertoRico</dc:subject>
<dc:source>https://pinboard.in/</dc:source>
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<item rdf:about="http://www.vox.com/2015/10/18/9564267/donald-trump-jeb-bush-911">
    <title>Trump has figured out Jeb Bush's greatest weakness as a candidate, and it's not his energy level - Vox</title>
    <dc:date>2015-10-19T00:10:44+00:00</dc:date>
    <link>http://www.vox.com/2015/10/18/9564267/donald-trump-jeb-bush-911</link>
    <dc:creator>jtyost2</dc:creator><description><![CDATA[I don't know if Donald Trump will win the Republican nomination. But even if he doesn't, it's increasingly clear he's going to destroy Jeb Bush before he loses.

Over the past week, Trump and Bush have been in an argument that basically boils down to the question of was George W. Bush president on 9/11/2001?

Trump insists that Bush was president both prior to and during the 9/11 attacks, and he was therefore at least partly responsible for the security failures that permitted the tragedy. And to Trump's credit, there is considerable evidence that George W. Bush was president on 9/11/2001.

Jeb Bush's position is harder to parse: he argues that his brother was only responsible for what happened after 9/11, suggesting, perhaps, that someone else bore the responsibilities of the presidency on 9/11/2001. Or, to be a bit kinder to his position, he argues that the measure of as president isn't whether something like 9/11 happens, but whether it happens again.]]></description>
<dc:subject>JebBush politics DonaldTrump usa election congress government republicans</dc:subject>
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<item rdf:about="http://www.vox.com/2015/10/6/9464559/marco-rubio-tax-plan">
    <title>Why Marco Rubio is insisting that his massive tax cuts will pay for themselves, explained - Vox</title>
    <dc:date>2015-10-06T18:09:23+00:00</dc:date>
    <link>http://www.vox.com/2015/10/6/9464559/marco-rubio-tax-plan</link>
    <dc:creator>jtyost2</dc:creator><description><![CDATA[On some level, all this is obvious: Of course a multitrillion-dollar tax cut isn't going to pay for itself. We've seen this movie again and again. It's amazing anyone even bothers playing it anymore.

But Rubio doesn't need to convince wonks that his tax plan will pay for itself (indeed, an email to the Rubio campaign asking for more details on their tax math went unanswered). He needs something to say when an interviewer like Harwood asks why he's blowing a multitrillion-dollar hole in the deficit. And now he's got something to say. The Tax Foundation, which sounds like any other tax think tank, says his plan leads to surpluses, and no one watching on television is going to run to their computers and begin digging into the finer points of dynamic tax modeling.

In 2012, Mitt Romney got himself into a lot of trouble when he promised that his tax plan would be fully paid for. Once he said that, tax analysts began running the numbers and quickly realized that the only way Romney's plan could be deficit neutral is if it massively raised taxes on the middle class. But Romney was running at a moment when Republicans — as part of their backlash to various Obama administration measures — really, really cared about deficits. As the Obama era comes to an end, so too do Republicans seem to be reverting to a more opportunistic relationship with the national debt.

Rubio's strategy is reminiscent of George W. Bush's. He's proposing massive tax cuts with no real way to pay for them, and he's suggesting he won't really need a way to pay for them because they'll unleash so much economic growth they'll eventually just pay for themselves. While Rubio gives some lip service to deficit reduction — he later tells Harwood that balancing the budget will require entitlement reform, not just tax reform — he clearly cares a lot more about the tax cuts than about the deficit reduction, just as Bush did.

The conservative policy trilemma is only a trilemma if policymakers take it seriously. And in recent years, Republicans have taken it relatively seriously. Paul Ryan's budgets had a lot of magic math in them, but they were based around huge spending cuts, and even if they featured unrealistic tax reform ideas, Ryan said he was looking for revenue neutrality.

But Rubio, like Bush before him, doesn't seem to care much about deficits, and there's little evidence that he cares all that much about spending cuts, either. Instead, his economic agenda is really about tax cuts, and he's betting that the GOP's anti-tax wing is a whole lot more powerful than the party's deficit-reduction wing.]]></description>
<dc:subject>MarcoRubio politics economics taxes government usa congress budget statistics</dc:subject>
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