Latest news with #BradKnott
Yahoo
7 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Local Matters: What potential Medicaid cuts could mean for North Carolinians, rural hospitals
RALEIGH, N.C. (WNCN) — As the U.S Senate debates the House version of the budget, there are a number of sticking points within the GOP on the Senate side. The One Big Beautiful Bill Act received no Democratic votes in the House. Among the main sticking points for some holdouts is the expected impact the budget could have on health care, particularly Medicaid. It was just a little more than two years ago that Medicaid expanded in North Carolina. It allowed access for around 600,000 additional people. CBS 17's Russ Bowen sat down with Rep. Deborah Ross, a Democrat who represents Wake County, to talk about her concerns. Below is an excerpt from the attached on-air interview segment. Rep. Deborah Ross: 'Kicking people off of Medicaid is going to have dire consequences, particularly when we just got people onto Medicaid with the expansion. But the other thing that this bill does that I don't think enough people are talking about, is it takes away some of the subsidies for the health care marketplace. So, there's another 5,000 people who now will not be able to afford health insurance and may not be Medicaid eligible who have been paying for their health insurance through the marketplace. They just have gotten some subsidies because they don't earn a lot, but they are people who are working.' 'The bottom line is this; any system has some waste, fraud and abuse. There's a recent article that came out that said that maybe 3% could be avoided here. But the number of people who would be kicked off of their health insurance, that has ripple effects not just for them and their families, but it means they won't be able to pay their bills.' 'We did a Medicaid round table a few months ago and we brought the Rural Center in. And the Rural Center said if Medicaid goes away in these rural areas, particularly the expansion that we've had, up to seven rural hospitals could immediately close their doors. Those are not my statistics. Those are the statistics we got from the Rural Center.' North Carolina among 9 states that could halt Medicaid expansion if Trump cuts funding CBS 17 is working to schedule an in-person interview with Republican Rep. Brad Knott. Rep. Knott also represents part of Wake County, as well as a number of other counties in the region. He shared the following statement with CBS 17 on the federal budget. Rep. Brad Knott: 'The House delivered a once-in-a-generation opportunity with the passage of 'The One Big Beautiful Bill.' Without this becoming law, we would see trillions of dollars in tax increases for Americans – which would affect every person in my district and across North Carolina. The House further moved to protect and preserve Medicaid for those who truly need it and remove costly handouts for illegal immigrants and able-bodied young men. The bill also makes the largest border security investment in history to protect our communities. And perhaps most importantly, the bill begins to get our fiscal house in order with $1.5 trillion in cuts. I look forward to the Senate's quick consideration of this bill so we can get it to President Trump for his signature.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Fox News
07-05-2025
- Politics
- Fox News
MS-13, Tren de Aragua targeted for death blow in new GOP bill aimed at migrant crime
FIRST ON FOX: House Republicans introduced a bill Wednesday, the Punishing Illegal Immigrant Felons Act, which would dramatically increase penalties for criminal activity by illegal immigrants, something the bill's sponsors believe can help deliver a death blow to organized crime by illegals in the U.S. Rep. Brad Knott, R-N.C., said the bill already has robust support in the House and that key members of the Trump administration have been very "supportive." This comes as the Trump administration has moved quickly to lock down the border and begin arresting the "worst of the worst" illegal aliens present in the country. The Trump administration has promised to be "ruthlessly aggressive" in cracking down on illegal criminal groups endangering Americans. However, Knott, who introduced the bill Wednesday, told Fox News Digital that, from his experience as a prosecutor, he believes Congress must act quickly to secure the permanent changes needed to deter many of the hardened criminals who have made organized crime in the U.S. "big business." NOEM CALLS FOR THE DEATH PENALTY FOLLOWING MARITIME HUMAN SMUGGLING ATTEMPT THAT LEFT CHILD DEAD "There is a very real set group of criminals that a wall and deportations alone is wholly insufficient to deter them from coming to the United States to commit crime," Knott said. "I have prosecuted people who were deported more than ten times. Yet they come back exclusively to commit crime, whether that is human trafficking, whether it's drug trafficking, whether it's money laundering, you name it." Knott said, up until now, there has been an "incentive" for criminals, including members of migrant gangs like MS-13 and Tren de Aragua, to come to the U.S. "because they are able to enrich themselves with very low risk of extreme cost." "Two years is no deterrent," he said. "I prosecuted cartel members, and if they got a 24-month sentence, a two-year sentence, it would not interrupt their criminal operation at all." During his time as a federal prosecutor, Knott said, instances of illegal felons returning to commit more crimes after being deported were "too many to remember." BLUE CITY MAYOR SAYS ICE ARRESTS OF DANGEROUS CRIMINALS ARE NOT 'FOCUSED ON MAKING US SAFER' "I talked to someone who was deported more than ten times … and I asked him, 'Why do you keep coming back to the United States?' And he was very candid with me. He said, 'Why wouldn't I?'" Knott shared. "He could make more money. He could operate in a country that was safer. People were nice. He could enrich himself while poisoning the children that he would sell drugs to. "This bill in large part closes that gap in the law," he explained. "It categorizes illegal aliens who commit crimes in a wholly different category." If passed and signed into law, Knott's bill would increase the punishment for any crime committed by an illegal alien that is punishable by more than one year from a maximum of two years to a minimum of five years. Illegals who are removed and then reenter the country illegally can also face up to ten years in prison under the law. 'OFF OUR STREETS': ICE MAKES MAJOR ARREST OF INTERNATIONALLY WANTED 'SUSPECTED TERRORIST' For illegal felons who have been previously removed from the country and returned again to commit more crimes, the bill would increase the punishment to a minimum of ten years and up to life in prison. CLICK HERE FOR MORE IMMIGRATION COVERAGE Knott explained that the bill still leaves flexibility to federal authorities, leaving the option of deportation on the table while simultaneously increasing the legal penalties available to erase the incentives for illegally entering the country to commit crimes. He said " flexibility is what law enforcement needs to really combat this on a person-by-person basis." 11 ALLEGED TEEN TREN DE ARAGUA GANG MEMBERS ATTACK NYPD OFFICERS: POLICE CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP "The wall is important. Deportations are important, and we must maintain those. But we also must close the gap in the law so that, regardless of who's president, we have the tools to fight the illegal immigrant criminals who inflict so much pain on this country," said Knott. "Immigration should be a net benefit to our country," he added. "If we don't punish those who want to come here to commit crimes, we will never have a healthy immigration system again. If we don't fix this problem now, we might not have the chance to do it."
