Latest news with #DorisMatsui
Yahoo
29-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Officials provide updates on Sacramento's tourism industry
( — Visit Sacramento hosted its annual State of Tourism event this morning. Tourism officials shared the latest updates on our region's travel and hospitality industry and unveiled an exciting new food event launching this year. Visit Sacramento staff, congress members, airport officials from SMF, and city and county leaders gathered today to share the updates inside the Safe Credit Union Convention Center. 'Now is the moment. We can feel it. Things are happening, and we're going to take this moment and run away with it,' said Congresswoman Doris Matsui. Sacramento's tourism industry made a strong comeback after the COVID-19 pandemic. It's now generating $4 billion annually. Sac State PD looking for arson suspect who fled on foot 'We attract more than 15 million visitors a year. They spend millions of dollars into our economy, and it creates tens of thousands of jobs in Sacramento,' said Mike Testa, Visit Sacramento's President and CEO. In 2024, local businesses brought in $148 million from visitor spending, while other tourism markets across California slumped. Testa says the Sacramento region's wide variety of events and attractions is keeping tourism strong. 'When one industry may be down, like conventions, sports picks it up, or music festivals pick it up.' The local industry continues to grow, even after two significant events, X-Games and Golden Sky, were paused this year. Although Testa says both are expected to return, 'Certainly losing Golden Sky this year isn't a great thing.' Fairfield man indicted for failing to pay over $2 million in employment taxes 'The good news is it's a pause. We expect it to be back in 2026,' said Testa. 'X Games is an event that we had hosted before. While we hate that it's postponed a year, it's still coming back.' Filling the gap left by those events, Visit Sacramento announced a brand new addition: Terra Madre Americas. 'It's the largest food conference in Europe,' Testa explained. 'It attracts 300,000 people from 120 different countries in Torino, Italy. We are bringing that event to Sacramento.' Ed Roehr, Co-Director of Slow Food Sacramento, helped bring the event here. He says Terra Madre will showcase our region's food scene to the world. 'Bringing out producers, makers, and farmers from around the states and America here. Offering interesting perspectives on food and food values. I think it's going to be fantastic,' Roehr said. With other West Coast tourism cities struggling, Sacramento is moving forward thanks to new events and plenty of unique experiences. 'I think Sacramento is in a really good place,' Testa said. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
San Francisco Chronicle
15-05-2025
- Health
- San Francisco Chronicle
California likely to pay for Republican budget cuts
WASHINGTON — Republicans are still negotiating how they plan to trim $880 billion from federal health care and environmental programs, but it appears that it will come at the cost of California's budget. The House Republican bill, approved by the House Energy and Commerce Committee Wednesday evening after nearly 27 hours straight of debate, would reduce spending by more than $880 billion over the next decade, $715 billion of which would come from health care, according to the Congressional Budget Office. This legislation 'rips massive holes in states' budgets that are near impossible to fill,' Rep. Doris Matsui, D-Sacramento, said. California spent about $42.7 trillion on Medicaid in Fiscal Year 2023 and the federal government spent about $81.3 trillion. This bill would substantially reduce federal spending by imposing more checks on enrollees and providers, including eligibility checks twice a year, reducing funding for states that provide insurance to undocumented immigrants and establishing work requirements — leaving states to fill the gaps. The marathon markup included protestors in wheelchairs being dragged out by Capitol Police, the appearance of several Democratic senators and fights over whether lawmakers could address each other by name or say that another member lied. The committee worked straight through, with only a 40-minute recess Wednesday afternoon to allow members to vote on the House floor. Otherwise, members had to be within walking distance of the hearing room or risk missing critical debate or votes on amendments. Lawmakers were able to take short breaks to get food and drinks or use the restroom, but the markup continued while they did so. Lawmakers began debating the health care portion of the legislation at 12:30 a.m. Eastern Time Wednesday and didn't conclude until 16 hours later. 'My Democratic colleagues want to paint the picture that Republicans are cutting Medicaid to pay for tax increases for billionaires, when in reality, we, under the leadership of President Trump, are protecting benefits for vulnerable beneficiaries for decades to come. We are stabilizing, we are saving, we are sustaining Medicaid for those it was intended for,' Rep. Buddy Carter, R-Georgia, said. As Republicans put together the framework of the bill in February and March, they repeatedly said that they would cut $880 billion from environmental and health programs without making cuts to Medicaid. Democrats called the notion laughable. To compensate for a cut to federal Medicaid funding, states will need to raise taxes, shift funds from other programs or cut benefits, Rep. Raul Ruiz, D-Indio (Riverside County), said. The CBO estimated that at least 8.6 million people would lose health insurance over the next decade as a result of the bill. More than a quarter of Californians are on the state's Medicaid program, including 41% of all children, 49% of adults with disabilities and 41% of people living in nursing homes. President Donald Trump has repeatedly said he would not allow Medicaid to be cut. It's a politically unpopular move that risks the swing district moderate Republicans who gave his party the House majority. Trump has, on several occasions, appeared to sympathize with swing-district moderates on issues that could risk their seats, rather than supporting the position of the majority of his party. Rep. David Valadao, R-Bakersfield, represents the congressional district with the highest Medicaid enrollment in the country and has been one of the most prominent Republicans opposing Medicaid cuts in the legislation. Valadao, who lost his seat in 2018 due to Republican efforts to cut back health care spending, has spearheaded several letters to congressional leadership and publicly spoken out against the proposals as Democrats hammer him on the issue on the airwaves. Valadao and Rep. Young Kim, R-Anaheim (Orange County), were among House Republicans from blue states who wrote to Republican leadership April 14 saying that they could not vote for cuts to Medicaid for vulnerable populations. Valadao also joined other House Republicans who are Hispanic or represent majority-Hispanic districts in opposing cuts to Medicaid in a February 19 letter. 'We support targeted reforms to improve program integrity, reduce improper payments, and modernize delivery systems to fix flaws in the program that divert resources away from children, seniors, individuals with disabilities, and pregnant women — those who the program was intended to help. However, we cannot and will not support a final reconciliation bill that includes any reduction in Medicaid coverage for vulnerable populations.' Valadao and Kim's districts are key targets for Democrats to win in 2026 and both have been under enormous pressure from their constituents and advocacy groups to oppose the legislation. Democrats claimed the legislation would result in 13.7 million people losing their insurance, however that number includes five million people already expected to lose coverage due to an expiring tax credit. House Energy and Commerce Chair Brett Guthrie, R-Kentucky, on Monday called the CBO's projected insurance losses 'incorrect' and said Democrats 'claimed an artificially high number in alleged coverage loss just so they can fearmonger and score political points.' The legislation also hamstrings states from one way they could raise funds to keep benefits: provider taxes. The bill that would ban states from imposing new or increased taxes on health care providers, which states use to pay for their share of Medicaid costs. 'This provision is a direct attack on the way states fund health care. This is a move that would devastate state Medicaid programs,' Rep. Marc Veasey, D-Texas, said. 'If states can't use provider taxes to finance Medicaid, they will have to find money elsewhere. That means raising taxes on everyday citizens — sales taxes, income taxes, property taxes.' California voters have been supportive of provider taxes, approving a proposition in 2024 to enact a permanent tax on Medicaid managed care organizations by 68%. Provider taxes are a 'legitimate and vital funding stream that states desperately need,' Rep. Kevin Mullin, D-San Mateo, said. 'The provider tax freeze and redistribution requirements included in the bill would be catastrophic. It would effectively overturn the will of voters in my state, and dozens of others.' But Republicans say the tax has been abused and pointed to California as the worst offender. The provider tax has become 'an unlimited drawdown of federal dollars. Some states, like California, have figured out that they can tax Medicaid managed care plans and get around the provider tax,' Guthrie said. The Republican bill would cut the federal funding match for the Medicaid expansion population by 10% for states that use their own tax revenue to pay for undocumented immigrants to receive Medicaid — one of which is California. 'I have opposed cutting benefits for eligible beneficiaries. But now, thanks to Governor Newsom and the Legislature's reckless actions, we could lose billions in federal funding, harming the very vulnerable populations I have fought to protect,' Rep. Kevin Kiley, R-Rocklin (Placer County), said in a statement Tuesday. 'He and the Legislature can protect our funding today by reversing the reckless policy … of spending our taxpayers on comprehensive coverage for illegal immigrants.' Those cuts, according to the CBO, would save $11 billion across the seven states that currently do so. Gov. Gavin Newsom proposed cancelling a planned expansion of benefits to undocumented immigrants of all ages on Wednesday. The state allows undocumented children and teens to be on Medi-Cal. New adult enrollee would not be allowed under his proposal, and adults who have already registered would have to pay a $100 monthly premium beginning in 2027. The Republican bill would also require that able-bodied adults aged 19 to 64 work, volunteer or participate in an education program for 80 hours each month. 92% of current Medicaid recipients are already working or caregiving, disabled or attending school, according to KFF News. Many vulnerable populations would be exempt from the mandate, including pregnant women, foster youth, members of Native American tribes, parents or the recently incarcerated. But Democrats argued that work requirements would result in fewer Medicaid enrollees, not because people wouldn't be able to meet that standard or be eligible for an exemption, but that the burden of proving either would be insurmountable. 'If you fill out the paperwork incorrectly, you lose your health insurance. That means if the state hasn't figured out how to determine when you got pregnant, when you stopped or began work, you're kicked off. That means that under this bill — cause they do multiple checks — if you've been laid off and you haven't gotten a new job yet, you're kicked off,' said Rep. Jennifer McClellan, D-Virginia. Several Republican states have attempted to institute work requirements for Medicaid. 18,000 people in Arkansas lost coverage in a nine-month period while work requirements were in place. In Georgia, where only new enrollees were subject to the requirement, 4,231 people enrolled, when the state had expected 100,000. The Urban Institute and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation found that more than 6 million people could lose Medicaid coverage if work requirements became federal law. The bill would also require states to impose copays of up to $35 for Medicaid recipients who enrolled as a result of higher income limits from the Affordable Care Act, funds that aren't guaranteed to go back into the program. With fewer people eligible for Medicaid, uncompensated emergency room use will also increase, which will cause hospitals to increase costs for private insurers, who will then raise costs on private insurance plans, said Ruiz. 'The other thing they'll do is they'll reduce physician payments, which will lead to less access to physicians who take Medicaid patients, and in some cases with physician practices that see a high caseload of Medicaid patients, they may have to close their clinic,' he said. Lawmakers considered 246 amendments to the health care section of the bill. Democrats proposed the amendments to push Republicans to debate each individual issue and to force them to vote against proposals that could appear positive to voters, like one that would have prevented health cuts from taking effect if any provision 'would result in an increase in mortality rates due to reduced access to health care services.' Guthrie said he wouldn't vote for a bill if it would result in an increase in mortality rates, and that the amendment was unnecessary. The Republicans on the committee voted against that amendment and every other, including one that would reinvest any savings from the bill back into Medicaid and another that would crack down on Medicare Advantage plans reporting that patients are more unhealthy than they actually are to get more money from the federal government — a proposal from a Republican senator. Several Senate Republicans, including some who aren't concerned about their reelection chances, have also expressed concern about cutting Medicaid. Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley wrote in the New York Times Monday that 'slashing health insurance for the working poor' would be 'morally wrong and politically suicidal.' 'If Republicans want to be a working-class party — if we want to be a majority party — we must ignore calls to cut Medicaid and start delivering on America's promise for America's working people,' said Hawley, who easily won reelection in November in a red state that expanded Medicaid. Hawley told CNN on Wednesday that Trump wouldn't sign the bill if the cuts to Medicaid remained in the final version. Several ultra conservative members of Congress have said they plan to oppose the legislation because they feel the cuts on Medicaid and other safety net programs are too weak. The House has several weeks to finalize the legislation, if they are going to meet the Memorial Day deadline set by Speaker Mike Johnson, R-Louisiana, but, no matter what, Republicans can only lose three votes in each chamber.
E&E News
14-05-2025
- Business
- E&E News
House lawmakers clash over climate spending cuts
Democrats on the House Energy and Commerce Committee spent hours Tuesday evening torching Republicans' efforts to use their sweeping party-line bill to roll back billions of dollars for clean energy and environment programs while boosting fossil fuels. The markup of the committee's portion of the GOP megabill — which was still going Wednesday morning — saw Democrats push a barrage of amendments aimed at provisions that would repeal funding for climate initiatives and allow natural gas producers to pay to expedite project approvals. Democrats also sought to put Republicans on the record opposing climate, clean energy and manufacturing subsidies in the Inflation Reduction Act that many of them have supported or benefited from, even if they did not vote for the underlying legislation. Advertisement 'Republicans are stealing money from their own communities,' said Rep. Doris Matsui (D-Calif.), who is a co-chair of the House Sustainable Energy and Environment Coalition.
Yahoo
27-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Rep. Doris Matsui has been good for Sacramento. But its time for her to retire
'Should Sacramento re-elect Congresswoman Doris Matsui?' ( Sept. 5, 2024) I appreciate Congresswoman Doris Matsui's decades of service to Sacramento, continuing the legacy of her late husband, Congressman Robert Matsui, whose advocacy on civil rights and economic justice remains deeply respected. However, at this critical moment for our democracy, it's time for her to consider retirement. Matsui's recent online town hall felt overly scripted and failed to address the urgency of the threats we face. Reassurances that courts will protect us and that legislation will be introduced are simply not enough. We need bold, proactive leadership — someone who will stand up to authoritarianism and not follow the passive example of leaders like Sen. Chuck Schumer. Sacramento deserves a representative with the energy and courage of someone like Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez or Sen. Bernie Sanders, who is willing to fight for democracy with urgency and passion. It's time to pass the torch. Donald Stauffer West Sacramento Opinion 'With El Salvador, Trump has become exactly the tyrant the founders warned about | Opinion,' ( April 17) When the executive branch also controls the Justice Department and chooses not to enforce the law, what happens to our system of checks and balances? If the court's rulings can be ignored, what good are they? I ask the justices — especially Chief Justice John Roberts — to consider what actions the court can take when its authority is openly challenged. The American people need reassurance that the judiciary will not stand by while our democracy is weakened. Doug Parks Cameron Park 'With El Salvador, Trump has become exactly the tyrant the founders warned about | Opinion,' ( April 17) If the president can disappear anyone without due process, that includes you, me or any U.S. citizens he dislikes. My congressman, Republican Kevin Kiley, refuses to speak up against this. He took an oath to the Constitution, and he has a duty to protect his constituents and his country. Will he protect you? Edward Farinsky Browns Valley 'Why fossil fuel companies must pay for climate damages,' ( April 18) Every time an airport cancels flights or when roads, rails or bridges are wiped out from weather made more severe by climate change, consumers (and businesses) pay. The Polluters Pay Climate Superfund Act (Senate Bill 684 and Assembly Bill 1243) should be passed by the California Legislature. It's time for the polluters making record profits to pay for the damage they cause. Tom Hazelleaf Seal Beach
Yahoo
09-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
House Democrats warn Trump tariffs could devastate medical supply chains
With President Trump's latest tariffs underway, a group of House Democrats are calling on the administration to try to protect medical supply chains from the 'devastating consequences' the mounting trade war could inflict on patients. Led by Democratic Reps. Doris Matsui (Calif.) and Brad Schneider (Ill.), 26 House Democrats signed a letter to U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick warning that 'reckless tariffs' are a threat to already fragile medical supply chains. While Trump exempted pharmaceuticals from his sweeping tariffs unveiled last week, experts cautioned that elevated costs along the supply chain could still drive up costs, particularly for generic drugs. 'The supply disruptions of critical medical products will unavoidably hurt U.S. patients, force providers to make impossible rationing decisions, and potentially even result in death as treatments are delayed, or more effective medicines and products are swapped for less effective alternatives,' the lawmakers wrote in the letter. While speaking at a dinner hosted by the National Republican Congressional Committee on Tuesday, Trump complained over how the U.S. doesn't manufacturer its own pharmaceuticals stating that tariffs on these products would be forthcoming. 'We're going to tariff our pharmaceuticals and once we do that they're going to come rushing back into our country because we're the big market,' the president said. 'So, we're going to be announcing very shortly a major tariff on pharmaceuticals.' Written prior to Trump's remarks on Tuesday night, the House representatives in their letter warned that tariffs on pharmaceuticals may backfire and drive manufacturers to 'cheaper foreign markets, undermining efforts to strengthen domestic and allied-country production.' In order to mitigate impacts on patients, the lawmakers urged Greer and Lutnick to consider the impacts tariffs would have on medicines and medical products. They suggested exemptions or product waivers on active pharmaceutical ingredients, generic drugs, essential medicines and critical medical supplies. The group further called on the trade officials to coordinate with the Food and Drug Administration to expedite the approval of safe, alternative sources and to collaborate with Congress on efforts to make the supply chain more resilient. House Democrats who signed onto the letter include Reps. Marc Veasey (Texas), Ted Lieu (Calif.), Jimmy Panetta (Calif.), Kevin Mullin (Calif.), Diana DeGette (Colo.) and Sarah McBride (Del.). Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
