Latest news with #Appropriations
GMA Network
04-08-2025
- Politics
- GMA Network
House appropriations committee forms budget amendments subpanel
The budget amendments review subcommittee "will be tasked with facilitating and deliberating on proposed amendments submitted by agencies and our colleagues in the House,' said House Appropriations Chair Rep. Mika Suansing in a press conference on Monday, Aug. 4, 2025. The House Committee on Appropriations on Monday said it has established a subcommittee to review budget amendments, with the stated aim of ensuring transparency and that amendments will be appropriately addressed. In a press conference, House appropriations panel chairperson and Nueva Ecija Rep. Mikaela Suansing said that the House subcommittee on Budget Amendments Review will replace the small committee—the tight-knit unit that used to collate proposed amendments of lawmakers after the House approved the proposed national budget on third and final reading. In contrast with the small committee, the budget amendments review subcommittee will be run in parallel with the Appropriations committee's discussions on the proposed national budget. "The first reform is that we will abolish the practice of forming a small committee to deliberate on institutional amendments. There are many departments, many agencies who advocate for changes to the budget. But at the same time, we have to navigate through 317 congressmen, each representing their particular districts. How do we address that?" Suansing said. The budget amendments review subcommittee "will be tasked with facilitating and deliberating on proposed amendments submitted by agencies and our colleagues in the House,' she added. 'Ngayon po, iba na. Sa simula pa ng po ng budget process, pagkatanggap namin ng NEP [National Expenditure Program] o di kaya pag nagsimula tayo sa mother committee [Appropriations] hearings, tumatakbo po 'yung subcommittee on budget amendments review. Tuloy-tuloy 'yung mga deliberasyon, at yung mga deliberasyon po, bukas sa publiko... nakikita ng ating mga kababayan ano 'yung mga pinapanukala na mga amendments, ano 'yung deliberasyon at higit sa lahat ano 'yung mga aaprobahan at ipapasok sa ating panukalang budget,' Suansing added. (It is different now. Right at the start of the budget process, upon receiving the proposed budget, the subcommittee will also start its deliberations and these deliberations will be publicly accessible. The public will be aware of the proposed amendments, what happened during deliberations, and most importantly, what are the approved amendments in the budget.) Suansing said that the budget amendments review subcommittee will vote on which amendments to accept, subject to the approval of its mother committee, Appropriations. 'Wala na pong tagong komite. Lahat ng deliberasyon ay isasapubliko na po natin. Tatanggalin na natin lahat ng kurtina para maalis na ang mga pangamba ng ating mga kababayan. From now on, the people will witness the process in real time because this is their budget,' she said. (There is no more secret committee. All deliberations will be publicly available. We will open all curtains so the public can be assured that public funds are well spent.) In addition, Suansing said that the creation of the House subcommittee on Budget Amendments Review which proceedings will be publicly accessible is in accordance with Speaker Martin Romualdez's call for opening the proposed budget deliberations to the public. 'This isn't about optics, it's about outcomes. These changes aren't just procedural. They are political, moral, and constitutional commitments to restore the Filipino people's faith in how public funds are handled,' she said. — BM, GMA Integrated News
Chicago Tribune
23-07-2025
- Business
- Chicago Tribune
Convention authority to pay for Gary Air Show with commissioner's help
After a slow start in fundraising, the South Shore Convention and Visitors Authority will fully foot the bill for the Gary Air Show – with a little help from a Lake County Commissioner. Lake County Commissioner Kyle Allen Jr., D-1, is chipping in $25,000 toward the show, SSCVA Events and Facilities Chief Kristin Taylor told the CVA Board at its July 18 meeting. The board approved an interlocal agreement with commissioners with a 9-0 vote. 'We've now raised $200,000 more than last year and $150,000 more than in 2023,' Taylor said. 'We keep having bad weather, but you keep raising more money each year,' Board President Andy Qunell said. Allen had the money to give via a lawsuit settlement with Monsanto, he told the Post-Tribune Tuesday. He and Commissioners Mike Repay, D-2, and Jerry Tippy, R-3, divided the settlement three ways to spend in the community as they see fit. 'I've spent mine on various charitable causes, anywhere from $500 to bigger donations like the air show,' Allen said. The Gary Air Show came back to Northwest Indiana in 2023 — with the SSCVA as its sponsor — after a seven-year hiatus for various reasons, including the COVID-19 pandemic and financial challenges, the Post-Tribune previously reported. Launched in 2000 by former Gary Mayor Scott King, the city of Gary took over the airshow operations from SSCVA in 2015 after SSCVA started sponsoring it in 2006 because of the city's financial woes. Back then, officials estimated the two-day show cost about $350,000 and drew thousands to the lakefront. The city offset some of that cost in 2015 when it started charging $30, $20 and $10 for parking, the Post-Tribune reported. Last year, the air show cost $580,000, including a $50,000 monetary contribution and an in-kind security donation from the city of Gary, the Post-Tribune previously reported, while it cost $630,000 in 2023. The city will provide in-kind security again this year, Taylor said. In other business, the CVA is 'working really hard' to reconcile a -$266,198.48 balance in its legal fund, Chief Financial Officer Nicole Wolverton and President and CEO Phil Taillon told the Post-Tribune. Between scaling back event sponsorships and other costs, and Taylor's fundraising efforts, Wolverton expects they'll be able to transfer funds to cover the shortfall before the end of the fiscal year, she said. According to the organization's June Appropriations Report, the CVA has spent $406,198.48 in legal fees this year after allocating $150,000 for legal funds in 2025. 'I'm not concerned that we won't be able to cover it,' Taillon said of the deficit, adding that he plans to go before the Lake County Council before it's time for the CVA to work on its 2026 budget to explain where they are in the lawsuit with former CVA President and CEO Speros Batistatos. Batistatos sued the SSCVA in August 2022, one month after being fired, alleging the agency violated the law and mishandled contract renegotiations because of his age and misspent federal Payroll Protection Plan funds in violation of the CARES Act. The county council on Nov. 12, with Lake County Councilman Randy Niemeyer, R-Cedar Lake, voting against it, approved the SSCVA's proposed 2025 budget of $6,614,000, a $15,000 increase from the agency's 2024 numbers, according to Post-Tribune archives.
Politico
23-07-2025
- Politics
- Politico
Playbook PM: Frustration grows inside the White House
Presented by THE CATCH-UP As the Jeffrey Epstein drama continues to drive the news cycle in Washington, the mood inside the White House is quickly souring, Playbook's own Dasha Burns reports in a must-read. 'POTUS is clearly furious,' a person close to the White House told Dasha. 'It's the first time I've seen them sort of paralyzed.' What they'd like to be talking about: 'Trump and his closest allies thought they'd spend the summer taking a well-earned victory lap, having coaxed Congress into passing the megabill, bullied foreign governments into a slew of new trade arrangements, convinced NATO allies to spend billions more on collective defense and pressed world leaders to bow to various other demands from Doha to The Hague.' Instead, they're enveloped in both a public and political crisis over the Epstein affair, which is overshadowing almost everything else in Washington. Trump is 'frustrated with his staff's inability to tamp down conspiracy theories they once spread and by the wall of media coverage that started when Attorney General Pam Bondi released information from the Epstein case that was already in the public domain,' Dasha writes, citing a senior White House official. One White House ally noted that Trump's anger likely stems from his view that the issue is 'a vulnerability' for both Trump and the GOP as a whole. Deepening the pain: 'They're the ones that opened the can of worms on the Epstein conversation,' the ally said. 'No one made them do this, which makes it sting even worse.' Another big factor: The president has upended the traditional dividing lines between the White House and the DOJ. Now, that closeness is 'making it difficult for Trump to distance himself from the furor over the Justice Department's abrupt about-face' that they don't have evidence to continue an Epstein investigation, WaPo's Perry Stein writes. And on Capitol Hill: House lawmakers are smelling the jet fumes as they wrap up their final votes this afternoon before their five-week summer recess. But House Dems are 'hoping to jam Republicans with Jeffrey Epstein-related amendments ahead of a Thursday Appropriations subpanel markup,' Nicholas Wu and Katherine Tully-McManus report. Forcing committee debate on the amendments would 'would put Republicans on record' on the issue — something most have been trying to avoid. Still, House Appropriations Chair Tom Cole (R-Okla.) told reporters this morning he isn't planning to change the scheduled workday. 'I want to see how things go today,' he said. Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) told Axios' Stef Kight this morning that the Trump administration should 'release the damn files' and to put the matter to bed. 'It makes no sense to me,' Tillis said. 'Either it's a nothing burger ... or it's something really disturbing, and that's actually even a more compelling reason to release it.' Even attempts to change the news cycle offer fodder: This morning, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard released new documents that, as the Times reports, 'she said undermined the conclusion of intelligence agencies during the Obama administration that Russia favored' Trump in the 2016 election. Following the release, Senate Intel Committee Vice Chair Mark Warner (D-Va.) had this to say: 'It seems as though the Trump administration is willing to declassify anything and everything except the Epstein files.' Good Wednesday afternoon. Thanks for reading Playbook PM. Drop me a line at birvine@ 7 THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW 1. CLIMATE CORNER: The EPA is considering reversing its scientific determination that greenhouse gas emissions are dangerous to public health — a move that threatens to upend decades of major climate regulations, WaPo's Jake Spring reports. By reversing the 'endangerment finding,' the agency would be able to easily change or undo federal standards on emissions, including regulations on vehicles and various industries. EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin noted earlier this year that the agency would reconsider the decades-old finding as a part of the Trump administration's push for deregulation. While the policy change has not been finalized, the latest draft proposal argues the reversal is a matter of legality and the EPA 'does not have the basis to act on climate change under a certain section of the Clean Air Act.' 2. ANYBODY GOT A MAP?: As Texas leads a group of Republican-held states pushing to redraw their congressional maps and pad the GOP's national House majority ahead of 2026, the the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee is urging its own party to rethink its 'failed federal-first strategy,' POLITICO's Natalie Fertig reports.'To have a shot at winning and maintaining a Democratic majority in the House of Representatives moving forward, Democrats must … get serious about winning state legislatures ahead of redistricting,' reads a DLCC memo sent to donors and strategists. 'Not just in the final months of 2030, but starting now.' Where they see opportunity: The DLCC lays out a year-by-year plan for the party to garner more U.S. House seats. The plan begins by picking up state legislative districts in 'Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin in 2026,' Natalie writes. 'Four-year state senate terms beginning in 2027 are key, the memo points out, as are state house and assembly races in 2028, 2029 and 2030.' Says Paul Begala: 'I've watched this party pour $110 million into Jaime Harrison's campaign against [South Carolina Republican Sen.] Lindsey Graham. That was a fool's errand. How many Michigan Senate seats could we have picked up for that?' 3. A GOOD DAY AT THE NRCC, PART I: Rep. Mike Lawler (R-N.Y.) will seek reelection to the House rather than run for governor, NYT's Nicholas Fandos and Maggie Haberman report. The Trump factor: 'Many Republicans viewed the congressman, who has consistently won in a Democratic-leaning district, as their most viable candidate in a left-leaning state,' Fandos and Haberman write. 'But with Republicans preparing to defend a minuscule House majority, he was under intense pressure from President Trump and congressional allies to run for re-election. The president made his views clear in a private meeting at the White House last week, according to a person familiar with the conversation.' Now what? Lawler's decision to stay in the House has effectively cleared a path for his GOP colleague Rep. Elise Stefanik to secure the GOP nomination to take on Democratic incumbent Gov. Kathy Hochul. Stefanik has said she won't formally decide on a bid until after November, POLITICO's Nick Reisman and Emily Ngo write. 4. A GOOD DAY AT THE NRCC, PART II: Rep. Bill Huizenga (R-Mich.) will seek reelection to the House instead of seeking the GOP nomination for U.S. Senate, the Detroit News' Melissa Nann Burke scooped. Many Republicans feared that in a wave election, his west Michigan district could flip to Democrats. It's also welcome news for the NRSC, as top Senate Republicans including Majority Leader John Thune and NRSC Chair Tim Scott (R-S.C.) had already lined up to support the Senate bid of former Rep. Mike Rogers. Rogers, who ran for Senate against Elissa Slotkin in 2024, has already made substantial inroads with Trump world, including bringing aboard Chris LaCivita as a senior adviser. 5. UNDER PRESSURE: As the White House and Harvard are locked in a legal battle with billions in federal funding on the line, the Trump administration has opened yet another investigation into the university whether it is in 'compliance with a government-run visa program for international students and professors,' NYT's Michael Bender and Alan Blinder report. Today, Secretary of State Marco Rubio sent a letter to Harvard President Alan Garber giving the school a 'one-week deadline to produce a lengthy list of university records related to the student visa program,' per the Times. 6. THE FIRE THIS TIME: Nearly $10 million in U.S.-funded contraceptives that have been stuck in a Belgian warehouse since the White House froze U.S. aid to foreign countries earlier this year will be burned rather than distributed to poor nations, Reuters' Ammu Kannampilly, Jennifer Rigby and Jonathan Landay report. In doing so, the Trump administration rejected offers from the UN and family planning groups to buy or ship the supplies — which include 'dozens of truckloads' of contraceptive implants, pills and IUDs — to nations in need. 7. RUSSIA-UKRAINE LATEST: Major protests have erupted in Ukraine following President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's signing of a new law limiting his nation's top two anti-corruption organizations, NBC News' Daryna Mayer and Alexander Smith report from Kyiv. The measure gives Zelenskyy's prosecutor general 'sweeping powers over the National Anti-Corruption Bureau and Specialised Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office,' per NBC. Critics fear it will 'further enhance the power of his divisive inner circle.' The international angle: The protests are the first major demonstrations in the country since Russia's invasion in 2022, and concerns are ripening among pro-democracy activists that the 'sudden crisis could offer the Kremlin a powerful propaganda tool and threaten not just Ukraine's unity, but also its support from the West at a crucial moment in the war.' TALK OF THE TOWN MEDIA MOVE — Isabelle Khurshudyan is now a senior enterprise reporter/writer at CNN. She previously was Ukraine bureau chief at The Washington Post. TRANSITIONS — Joel Graham is now associate administrator for the Office of Legislative and Intergovernmental Affairs at NASA. He previously was a partner at Meeks, Butera and Israel. … Avery Blank is joining Qualcomm's AI legal team as senior legal counsel. She was previously counsel for the Senate Homeland Security & Governmental Affairs Committee. Send Playbookers tips to playbook@ or text us on Signal here. Playbook couldn't happen without our editor Zack Stanton, deputy editor Garrett Ross and Playbook Podcast producer Callan Tansill-Suddath.
E&E News
24-06-2025
- Politics
- E&E News
Murkowski expresses ‘openness' to becoming independent
Republican Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski said she has an 'openness' to leaving the Republican Party and becoming independent, under certain circumstances. Asked by journalist Galen Druke if she would ever become an independent and join the Senate's Democratic Caucus, Murkowski left that scenario open. 'There may be that possibility,' she said in an excerpt of an interview Druke posted to X. 'There is some openness to exploring something different than the status quo.' Advertisement Murkowski, a former chair of the Energy and Natural Resources Committee who has a centrist record on matters like abortion rights, health care and climate change, is promoting her new memoir, 'Far from Home: An Alaskan Senator Faces the Extreme Climate of Washington, D.C.,' which will be released Tuesday. She also chairs the Senate Appropriations subcommittee overseeing funding for the Interior Department and EPA.
The Hill
13-06-2025
- Politics
- The Hill
Hegseth's long week on Capitol Hill
The Big Story Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Thursday closed out his third and final day of hearings on Capitol Hill. © Associated Press The final day was not without its fireworks, with several clashes with lawmakers as he dodged questions on invading Greenland, Ukraine aid, his use of the app Signal, and troop deployment in Los Angeles. Hegseth, in his first appearance before the House Armed Services Committee, was quickly hit with queries from panel Democrats, starting with ranking member Adam Smith (Wash.). Smith pressed the Pentagon chief on whether it is the Defense Department's policy that the U.S. military be prepared to take Greenland or Panama by force. Hegseth would not rule out the possibility of a future military invasion of the Arctic territory and Central American country, suggesting to lawmakers the Pentagon could have such plans and that the U.S. has an interest in protecting both areas from Chinese influence. The Defense Department 'plans for any particular contingency,' he said, adding that 'I think the American people would want the Pentagon to have plans for anything.' The answer caused Smith to scoff, replying: 'I don't think the American people voted for President Trump because they were hoping we would invade Greenland. I'm going to go out on a limb on that one.' Hegseth was later pressed by Rep. Mike Turner (R-Ohio), who implored him to confirm that 'it is not your testimony today that there are plans at the Pentagon for taking by force or invading Greenland, correct? Because I sure as hell hope that it is not that.' Hegseth would only repeat that the 'Pentagon has plans for any number of contingencies' and that officials 'look forward to working with Greenland to ensure that it is secured from any potential threats.' Rep. Seth Moulton (D-Mass.) took his five minutes to supply Hegseth with the most direct questioning he's yet faced on whether he shared classified information on U.S. attack plans in Yemen via the Signal messaging app. Rep. Salud Carbajal (D-Calif.) then lambasted the Defense secretary as an 'embarrassment,' demanding he resign over a range of issues including the Signal group chat, deploying Marines to Los Angeles amid protests and his views on Russia's war in Ukraine. 'I have called for your resignation. I didn't think you were qualified before your confirmation, and you have done nothing to inspire confidence in your ability to lead competently,' Carbajal said. The hearing caps off Hegseth's long week on Capitol Hill, which began on Tuesday with a relatively quiet House Appropriations defense subcommittee hearing. But on Wednesday, Hegseth faced heated questions from the Senate's version of the Appropriations panel, which bombarded Hegseth over the Russia-Ukraine war, the Pentagon's delays in delivering budget information and the administration's focus on Greenland in its Arctic strategy. Read the full report at Welcome to The Hill's Defense & National Security newsletter, I'm Ellen Mitchell — your guides to the latest developments at the Pentagon, on Capitol Hill and beyond. Did someone forward you this newsletter? Subscribe here. Essential Reads How policy will affect defense and national security now and inthe future: Rain, thunderstorms forecast for DC military parade Rain and thunderstorms are forecast for Saturday in the nation's capital, where a day of festivities and a military parade are scheduled to celebrate the U.S. Army's 250th birthday — which happens to coincide with President Trump's 79th birthday. The daylong festivities in Washington will take place mostly on the National Mall, where a fitness event will be held at 9:30 a.m. and a festival will kick off at 11 a.m. The festival … US troops begin detaining migrants on border defense zone U.S. troops at the southern border started detaining migrants last week as part of the 'Deep South Campaign' to prosecute individuals found trespassing in National Defense Areas (NDAs). President Trump has currently designated the U.S.-Mexico stretches between El Paso to Fort Hancock, Texas, as an NDA alongside the land line marking the country's boundaries in New Mexico. U.S. Army Lt. Col. Chad Campbell said three individuals … Newsom says Trump never discussed sending National Guard: 'Stone cold liar' California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) said in a podcast episode Thursday that President Trump did not discuss sending the National Guard to Los Angeles when the two recently spoke to each other before Trump's announcement. 'He lied, he lied. On my mother and dad's grave. I don't mess around, when I say this, he lied. Stone cold liar,' Newsom said on The New York Times's 'The Daily.' Host Michael Barbaro had said the … On Our Radar Upcoming things we're watching on our beat: In Other News Branch out with a different read from The Hill: Senate Democrats calls for Noem to resign Multiple Senate Democrats on Thursday called for Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem to resign after Sen. Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) was forcibly removed and later handcuffed for interrupting a press conference Noem held in Los Angeles. 'Kristi Noem should resign in disgrace,' Sen. Tina Smith (D-Minn.) … On Tap Tomorrow Events in and around the defense world: What We're Reading News we've flagged from other outlets: Trending Today Two key stories on The Hill right now: Republicans lay groundwork for 'total tax cliff' at end of Trump's term Congressional Republicans are laying the groundwork for a tax cliff at the end of President Trump's term in office. While the conference is pushing … Read more Trump on 'No Kings' protests during military parade: 'I don't feel like a king' President Trump was asked Thursday to respond to planned counterprotests that will coincide with a military parade in the nation's capital to … Read more Opinions in The Hill Op-eds related to defense & national security submitted to The Hill: You're all caught up. See you tomorrow! Thank you for signing up! Subscribe to more newsletters here
