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Hegseth Defends Deployment of Troops to Los Angeles at Testy Hearing
Hegseth Defends Deployment of Troops to Los Angeles at Testy Hearing

New York Times

timean hour ago

  • Politics
  • New York Times

Hegseth Defends Deployment of Troops to Los Angeles at Testy Hearing

In response to often sharp questioning from House Democrats on Tuesday, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth defended the Pentagon's deployment of nearly 5,000 active-duty Marines and National Guard members to help the police in Los Angeles quell sporadic unrest. Mr. Hegseth, a former National Guardsman, also suggested in testimony before the House Appropriations Committee that the use of the Guard, part-time citizen soldiers, for homeland defense would expand under President Trump. 'I think we're entering another phase, especially under President Trump with his focus on the homeland, where the National Guard and Reserves become a critical component of how we secure that homeland,' Mr. Hegseth told lawmakers. Officials in Los Angeles, as well as other major cities across the country controlled by Democrats, have expressed concern that the military deployments in California could set a precedent and serve as a test run for other urban areas where the administration's aggressive immigration enforcement could prompt large protests. Mr. Hegseth defended the deployment on Monday of 4,000 California National Guard troops and 700 Marines, telling lawmakers, 'We ought to be able to enforce immigration law in this country.' The secretary had several testy exchanges with Democrats on the committee, who challenged him on the efficacy and cost of the deployments. At one point, he ignored direct questions from Representative Betty McCollum of Minnesota, the top Democrat on the committee's defense panel, about the cost to deploy troops to Los Angeles. Instead, Mr. Hegseth used his time to attack Gov. Tim Walz of Minnesota, Gov. Gavin Newsom of California, Mayor Karen Bass of Los Angeles and the Biden administration. A clearly frustrated Ms. McCollum yielded back her time. When he was questioned again on the mission's projected costs, Mr. Hegseth deferred to the Pentagon's acting comptroller, Bryn Woollacott MacDonnell, who said that Marine and National Guard deployments — estimated to last 60 days — would cost about $134 million, mainly for travel, housing and food. John Ismay contributed reporting.

CBO Says Budget Reconciliation Bill May Add 11 Million Uninsured
CBO Says Budget Reconciliation Bill May Add 11 Million Uninsured

Forbes

time5 days ago

  • Business
  • Forbes

CBO Says Budget Reconciliation Bill May Add 11 Million Uninsured

WASHINGTON, DC - MAY 13: U.S. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffires (D-NY) holds a press conference ... More at the U.S. Capitol. Jeffries spoke out against the Republican budget bill and the potential cuts to safety net programs including Medicaid, Social Security and veterans' services. (Photo by) The House Republican budget reconciliation legislation, dubbed 'the big, beautiful bill,' could lead to nearly 11 million people losing health insurance over the next nine years, the Congressional Budget Office concluded this week. Approximately 7.8 million could lose Medicaid coverage if strict work requirements and more frequent eligibility checks are enforced, and several million more could lose coverage through changes to the Affordable Care Act exchanges. The budget bill looks to cut $715 billion in Medicaid and $300 billion in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (formerly known as Food Stamps). The plan calls for work requirements for able-bodied childless adults and co-payments for those above 100% of the federal poverty level. The proposal also includes a tightening of eligibility verification and institutes penalties for states that provide healthcare coverage to certain immigrants. The work requirements apply to both Medicaid and SNAP and would begin in 2026. There isn't an especially large population of Medicaid beneficiaries who aren't currently working, in school, or a caregiver to a loved one. A 2023 KFF report found that 71% of working-age adults on Medicaid were working full or part time or in school, while an additional 12% were caregivers. Nonetheless, the bill is projected to reduce the Medicaid rolls by nearly eight million. And then there are the changes in the ACA marketplace that would make coverage more expensive as enhanced tax credits expire, and harder to obtain as open enrollment windows shorten, the paperwork burden increases, and automatic re-enrollment ends. Americans who purchase health coverage through the ACA marketplace exchanges could also soon face higher out-of-pocket maximums in their coverage plans, which means higher cost-sharing. The CBO projects that the marketplace changes in the budget bill could increase the number of uninsured individuals by several million more by 2034, independent of Medicaid unenrollment. GOP lawmakers frame the cuts as a way to root out 'waste, fraud, and abuse' and to strengthen the program for the 'truly vulnerable.' But voters from across the political spectrum oppose the austerity plans for Medicaid and the ACA. The House bill still must pass the Senate before becoming law. It's likely that the Senate would alter or include 'mark-ups' in the legislation prior to passage, particularly given the vocal opposition to the bill from several Republican senators. House Minority Leader, Democrat Hakeem Jefferies, claims the aggregate increase in numbers of uninsured would tally 13.7 million. The calculation he refers to appears to add a greater number of coverage losses due to the elimination of ACA premium subsidies that help people purchase coverage. Democrat Senator Chris Murphy's estimate of the total number of uninsured is even higher at 15 million. Republicans such as Senator James Lankford have countered by saying that those losing Medicaid coverage would be able to obtain employer-based coverage in the private sector. He says the bill which is being considered in the Senate is 'not kicking people off Medicaid. It's transitioning from Medicaid to employer-provided healthcare. So yes, we've got 10 million people that are not going be on Medicaid, but they then are going be on employer-provided healthcare.' But not all employers in America offer health insurance. In fact, even among the largest employers, only around two-thirds provide health insurance options to their employees. The percentage offering health coverage among smaller employers is substantially less. Less than 50% of small employers offer insurance. The reconciliation package that House Republicans propose would also trigger over $500 billion in automatic cuts to Medicare spending, according to the CBO. These cuts would not reduce benefits to most Medicare beneficiaries. However, they would eliminate Medicare eligibility for migrants with temporary protected status as well as refugees and asylum seekers. They would also terminate Medicare benefits for Medicaid beneficiaries who also have Medicare eligibility. In addition, there would be a mandatory 4% reduction in Medicare payments to hospitals, physicians, healthcare providers, Medicare Advantage plans and standalone prescription drug plans. And the bill would limit the compensation pharmacy benefit managers receive in Medicare outpatient drug plans to flat 'bona fide service fees,' thereby prohibiting compensation based on a drug's price or rebate arrangements. Additionally, the legislation would establish PBM transparency and reporting requirements, including periodic data on utilization, pricing and revenues for drugs PBMs include on their formularies, as well as information on contracts with drug manufacturers and PBM-affiliated (specialty) pharmacies. It's unclear if the newly established rules for PBMs would save Medicare beneficiaries money. Though the regulations appear to be aimed at disrupting the rebate system, which some policymakers and lawmakers have criticized as being disadvantageous to Medicare recipients, PBMs maintain that they use rebates they extract from drug makers to lower beneficiary premiums. So, while patients' out-of-pocket costs at the pharmacy counter for certain highly rebated drugs may go down, their premiums could increase.

Democrats cross aisle to back GOP budget
Democrats cross aisle to back GOP budget

Yahoo

time24-05-2025

  • Business
  • Yahoo

Democrats cross aisle to back GOP budget

A majority of North Carolina House Democrats crossed the aisle to vote for a GOP-written state budget this week, a surprisingly bipartisan show of support that also sets up a fight within the Republican Party over taxes. As the House took a break after hours of debate, Democratic Leader Robert Reives told reporters that he would support members of his caucus however they were to vote on the bill. And hours later, he voted with Republicans for the budget, as did 26 other members of his party. 'The most important point that I think you've got to understand about this budget that's going to be a tough decision for everybody sitting in that House chamber is the horrible fiscal condition that we're in right now as a state,' Reives said. The budget bill written by House Republicans keeps the upcoming reduction in North Carolina's individual income tax rate but requires a sunnier state budget picture before future tax cuts kick in, a move that the Senate opposes and could be the key rift between the House and Senate as they work next to negotiate a final budget to send to the governor. Democratic Gov. Josh Stein visited the Legislative Building and talked with lawmakers on Wednesday before announcing that the House budget has several things in it that he likes. 'The House's proposed budget isn't perfect. But I am pleased that the House raises teacher pay to make North Carolina's starting teacher salaries the second-highest in the Southeast and rewards our state employees with a raise. The House budget also makes important investments in public safety, child care, and workforce training,' Stein said in an emailed statement. Reives told reporters before the vote that the budget isn't one he would have written or wants to support. 'But I also understand that we've got a duty to govern, and at some point, the hard decision that's going to have to be made by everybody, whenever it is, is governing,' he said. Just ahead of the last round of debate before the vote, Reives and top Republicans left the chamber together, and returned to the floor talking and smiling. Republicans have control of the House but are one vote short of a veto-proof supermajority. Democratic Rep. Terry Brown Jr. praised parts of the Republicans' budget during the debate, saying that it listens to Democrats and the people of North Carolina on restoring master's degree pay for teachers and restoring the state income tax holiday. He also criticized the budget for not doing enough for state employees. Brown, who represents Mecklenburg County, called the bill 'a good start.' The House would give higher raises than both the Senate's proposal and Stein's pitch, with 2.5% across-the-board salary boosts for all state employees in the coming year. The bill also cuts thousands of state employee jobs, most of which are vacant. Of the 3,000 state employee positions to be cut, about 2,000 of them come as part of a demand that state agencies and the UNC System cut 20% of their vacant positions. Money saved from those cuts would go to the agencies to be used at their discretion for higher raises for their employees. The budget would increase starting teacher pay to $48,000 in the coming year and $50,000 the following year, which would make it the highest in the Southeast. The House budget keeps the planned individual income tax rate reduction planned for 2026, cutting it to 3.99% from 4.25%, but would set new levels for the future state tax collections that 'trigger' additional tax cuts. Future triggers are harder to meet than the Senate's plan. Carolina Partnership for Reform, a political group that generally promotes ideas in line with Republican Senate leader Phil Berger, called the House Republicans' plan a 'tax hike' in an email Tuesday. Budget documents say that the change 'increases net General Fund revenue' by keeping the projected tax rate at 3.99% in the 2027 tax year, rather than dropping the rate further as would happen under existing triggers. 'Having no budget deal is a better outcome than this one,' Carolina Partnership for Reform wrote in the email to its distribution list. But House Republicans felt differently. Every one of them voted for the budget plan. House Rules Chair John Bell told The News & Observer on Wednesday that 'just because we didn't aggressively lower taxes, as their budget did, doesn't mean we raised taxes.' He also said that 'petty shots' make negotiations between Republicans in both chambers 'that much harder.' House Republicans shut down several Democratic amendments during hours of debate on Wednesday. One of them would have given the Office of State Human Resources more authority in choosing job cuts. Rep. Donny Lambeth of Forsyth County, one of the top House Republican budget writers, said that the amendment would take away the flexibility offered to state agencies to choose which vacant jobs to cut. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency.

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