Latest news with #BrandonGill
CBS News
3 days ago
- Business
- CBS News
Representatives Jasmine Crockett, Brandon Gill react to President Trump's "big, beautiful bill"
When it comes to their political views, U.S. Representatives Jasmine Crockett, D-Dallas, and Brandon Gill, R-Flower Mound, could not be more different. They both sounded off on what President Trump calls the "big, beautiful bill". The bill narrowly passed in the U.S. House and includes tax and spending cuts, border security funding, and energy policy provisions. It extends and makes permanent the tax cuts passed during the first Trump administration. The bill adds two of the President's campaign promises: no tax on tips and no tax on overtime pay. The President also campaigned for no tax on Social Security. While that's not in the bill, seniors will receive an additional $4,000 on top of the standard deduction. Rep. Crockett joined all Democrats to oppose the legislation. "It's a disaster for the American people. This is a disaster for anyone who is not from the top 1%. They decided that they would throw a few crumbs in there to make people believe that they were doing something great for them. The kind of idea of no tax on tips and things like that, it's more so a game," Crockett told CBS News Texas during an interview for Eye On Politics. Rep. Gill was among the majority of Republicans who voted in favor of the measure. "A permanent extension of the 2017 tax cuts is the biggest tax cut for working-class families in American history. That is a huge conservative win. It's going to put more money back in the pockets of working-class families. This is something that I think we'll see broad support for now," Gill told CBS News Texas an interview. The legislation also reduces the growth of Medicaid, the healthcare program for low-income individuals, by $880 billion over a decade. The Congressional Budget Office estimates 8.6 million people will lose Medicaid coverage. Gill said this has to be done. "We are reforming Medicaid to make sure that it is sustainable and viable for the core Medicaid population. In other words, what we're doing is protecting Medicaid. We've got just shy of five million, about 4.8 million Americans who are working age and able-bodied, who are on Medicaid but are not working or seeking work," Gill said. "That's a problem. Most Americans agree with us. There are 1.4 million illegal aliens that are on Medicaid right now. We're taking them off." Crockett disagreed. "I say that they are really good at spinning it. What they have decided is that they need to somehow figure out how they are going to rein in some of the spending. They just didn't want to make it seem like it was that bad," she said. Crockett also criticized the $330 billion in cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP. "The number of people who are going to go hungry," Crockett said. "Unfortunately, we have a hunger issue in this country. It just doesn't seem right, because it isn't right. This is literally a reverse Robin Hood." Crockett dismissed criticism from Republicans who have said Democrats all voted against the tax cuts. "I say it's a lie, and it's a game. We know that this was just about taking care of the billionaires. It's a billionaire tax scam," said Crockett. Gill said the bill represents the difference between the Democratic and Republican parties. "As we're looking at the economy and how we measure success, Democrats measure success by the number of people that they can get on welfare rolls on the public dole. Republicans measure success by the number of people that we can lift out of poverty, that we can lift off of the welfare rolls," said Gill. The U.S. Senate is now reviewing the bill and will likely make changes. Watch Eye On Politics at 7:30 a.m. Sunday morning on CBS News Texas, on air and streaming on the CBS News app. Follow Jack on X: @cbs11jack
The Herald
21-05-2025
- Sport
- The Herald
Biokineticist embraces dark side during mammoth endurance feat
Biokineticist Brandon Gill was forced to overcome some of the darkest moments of his life when he ran 27 consecutive hours for charity on his 27th birthday recently. In a remarkable feat of endurance and compassion, the Mandela University science graduate put his feet where his mouth was to raise funds for the Hope4Kids organisation. His effort was underscored by a BackaBuddy campaign under the banner of Run4Soulz. The raw statistics are impressive. Gill ran a total of 152km to raise R29,700 for his chosen cause. He started his journey into the unknown at 9am last Friday, his birthday, and finished at noon on the Saturday. He surpassed the combined distance of the Comrades and Two Oceans marathons (145km) during this time. What the numbers do not show is the physical and emotional toll. 'This was easily the hardest thing I've ever done,' Gill, who graduated in 2021 and now works with the Madibaz Netball club, said. 'Everything in my body was hurting, and I was constantly at war with myself.' Two key moments, which tested his mental and physical limits, stood out. 'The first was around lunchtime on Friday,' he recalled. 'Temperatures rose above 30 °C, and there was no shade on the track. I started suffering from heat stroke. 'I couldn't keep anything down. That was the moment I truly began to doubt whether I could finish.' Gill, supported by his girlfriend Jana Relihan, eventually found an 80-metre stretch of track at the Madibaz Stadium that was shaded by trees. Clinging to that reprieve, they walked back and forth for three hours until he felt ready to return to the main loop. 'Jana ran with me, motivated me and kept me going when I had nothing left to give,' he said. 'She was incredible.' The second defining stretch was the graveyard shift from midnight to 6am. 'It was cold, I was exhausted and I felt like I had nothing left,' he said. 'But the netball girls were incredible. Their encouragement through those hours kept me going. I'll always be grateful for their support.' During one of his lowest points, someone's message of motivation struck a chord with him: 'You aren't a quitter, so get your head in the game and finish this thing.' Those words, along with the efforts of his support team, helped him push on. He also paid tribute to his parents, Graeme and Sunae, who remained by his side for the duration. With the end in sight, the exhaustion was replaced by an overwhelming sense of purpose. 'The final two hours were the most enjoyable. About 60 children from Hope4Kids joined me on the track. 'To see the joy on their faces as they ran barefoot and smiling was priceless.' They crossed the finish line alongside him for an emotional climax that brought Gill to tears. 'Hearing them clap and sing as we finished, I broke down. It meant the world to me.' Though many have called him a hero, Gill describes himself as a regular guy who wanted to do something meaningful. 'Those kids, they are the real heroes. I'd do this all again.' With a background of competing in endurance events, including several half Ironman races and one full one, Gill brainstormed ideas that never quite came together. So he decided to 'just make something happen myself'. 'I'm proud to have partnered with Madibaz Netball. It was a true team effort.' Madibaz Sport netball manager Melinda Goosen played a key role in organising logistics while the players took on the toughest shift from 6pm on Friday to 6am on Saturday. Friends, colleagues and biokinetics students also joined in support. 'To see everyone coming together, and what we were able to achieve, was amazing.' — Full Stop Communications
Fox News
16-05-2025
- Business
- Fox News
Trump's 'big, beautiful bill' suffers massive defeat in key hurdle before House-wide vote
President Donald Trump's "big, beautiful bill" failed to pass the House Budget Committee on Friday, in what appears to be a massive blow to House GOP leaders' plans to hold a House-wide vote next week. Reps. Chip Roy, R-Texas, Josh Brecheen, R-Okla., Andrew Clyde, R-Ga., and Ralph Norman, R-S.C., Lloyd Smucker, R-Pa., all voted against the legislation. The committee met on Friday to mark up and debate the bill, a massive piece of legislation that's a product of 11 different House committees' individual efforts to craft policy under their jurisdictions. The result is a wide-ranging bill that advances Trump's priorities on the border, immigration, taxes, energy, defense, and raising the debt limit. Emotions ran high in the hallway outside the House Budget Committee's meeting room from the outset, however, giving media little indication of how events would transpire. Rep. Brandon Gill, R-Texas, who had been at home with his wife and newborn baby, surprised reporters when he arrived to the Cannon House Office Building after he was initially expected to miss the committee meeting. His appearance gave House GOP leaders some added wiggle room, allowing the committee to lose two Republican votes and still pass the bill, rather than just one. Shortly before the meeting was expected to begin, Roy, Norman, Clyde, and Brecheen abruptly left the room while saying little to reporters on the way out. Each came back a short while later and criticized the legislation in their opening remarks. At one point, Norman came out of the room and called for the committee to recess in order to work through fiscal hawks' concerns. "If they call for a vote now, it's not going to end well," he said, adding he was still waiting on commitments from House GOP leaders. Minutes later, House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., who is not a member of the committee but had been meeting with holdouts, told reporters he wanted the legislation to advance through the Budget panel "as soon as possible." Asked about Norman's comments, he said, "I just walked out of the meeting with him a few minutes ago as well, we're working on some questions that Ralph and others have, and we're going to be getting them answers as soon as we get them back from the Trump administration. His questions were the same as Chips and a few others, and they're very specific questions, valid questions we're working on getting those answers right now."
Fox News
14-05-2025
- Politics
- Fox News
House Republicans spark outrage with bilingual post as GOP infighting intensifies
People pilloried the House GOP in response to a tweet from the House Republicans X account that declared, "We need to get Americans off the sidelines." As the post has been inundated with backlash, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., was among those who weighed in. "Americans got off the sidelines and handed us the majority in November. It's the House GOP that is not passing President Trump's executive orders, making DOGE cuts permanent, and hasn't completed the big beautiful bill. Getting ratioed in comments is how Americans feel," Greene wrote. BlazeTV host Auron MacIntyre slammed House Republicans, writing, "How about you pass one decent bill you clowns." "Americans got off the sidelines to get you elected. You're squandering it," Mark Mitchell of Rasmussen Reports declared in a post. Separately, a bit less than an hour before sharing that widely-panned post, the House GOP X account tweeted a post that included both English and Spanish — that post also sparked criticism. "House Republicans believe in every American's potential to thrive by embracing the power of work. Los Republicanos en la Cámara creemos en que cada ciudadano americano tiene el potencial de prosperar y beneficiarse de las oportunidades de trabajo," the post read. Rep. Brandon Gill, R-Texas, fired back, "Is this a joke, @HouseGOP? We're in America. We represent Americans. We don't pander in foreign languages. Speak English." In another tweet, the congressman declared, "'Press 2 for English' is a losing message, @HouseGOP." "America First! Now press one for English," MacIntyre wrote, adding, "You don't hate the Republican Party enough." Conservative commentator Matt Walsh of the Daily Wire wrote, "Fire everyone associated with this account.
Yahoo
08-04-2025
- Yahoo
House bill targets staged truck crashes
WASHINGTON – Fraudsters who stage truck accidents with the goal of suing trucking companies for millions of dollars will face stiff penalties if Congress approves new legislation. The Staged Accident Fraud Prevention Act, introduced in the U.S. House on Tuesday by Rep. Mike Collins, R-Ga., and Brandon Gill, R-Texas, would make intentionally staging a crash with a motor vehicle a federal crime. According to the legislation, a person operating a motor vehicle who intentionally causes a collision with a commercial motor vehicle – or arranges for another person to cause a collision – will be fined, imprisoned for up to 20 years or both. If the collision results in serious injury or death, the prison sentence changes to at least 20 years. 'Increasingly, con artists in passenger vehicles are intentionally colliding with commercial motor vehicles to file frivolous lawsuits, seeking damages that often exceed seven figures,' the lawmakers stated in a press release announcing the bill. 'These accidents endanger highway travelers, drive up the costs of insurance, and put small owner-operators out of business. The [legislation] establishes clear, enforceable criminal penalties for those who stage these collisions, as well as the attorneys, physicians, and other co-conspirators who knowingly participate in this fraud.' One of the biggest fake-crash cases involving a semitruck, which prosecutors have dubbed Operation Sideswipe, has been ongoing in Louisiana since 2019. It involved scores of staged crashes and resulted in 63 indictments. 'When con artists seeking a big payday intentionally collide with commercial motor vehicles, their reckless disregard for safety puts innocent truck drivers and the motoring public at risk,' said Henry Hanscom, American Trucking Associations senior vice president of legislative affairs, in a statement. 'These unscrupulous individuals perpetuate their selfish actions by filing frivolous lawsuits against honest trucking companies, raising costs for consumer goods and contributing to soaring insurance premiums.' The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association also sees the need for legislation targeting staged crashes. 'To add insult to injury, criminals abuse the legal system for profit through false accusations and lawsuits, which contribute to skyrocketing insurance premiums for small trucking businesses,' said Lewie Pugh, executive vice president of OOIDA, in a statement. The legislation, Pugh said, will 'protect law-abiding truckers from sophisticated criminal fraud schemes that exploit the hardworking men and women behind the wheel.' Louisiana staged accident scam investigation springs back to life Should there be laws protecting trucking companies from nuclear verdicts? Towing fraud, staged accidents targeted by new coalition that includes ATA Click for more FreightWaves articles by John Gallagher. The post House bill targets staged truck crashes appeared first on FreightWaves.
