Latest news with #HouseVeterans'AffairsCommittee
Yahoo
2 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Supreme Court to consider reviving GOP challenge to Illinois mail ballot deadline
The Supreme Court will consider reviving a lawsuit challenging Illinois's ability to count mail ballots received after Election Day, the court announced in a brief order Monday. Lower courts ruled Rep. Michael Bost (R-Ill.) and two of President Trump's 2020 electors from the state had no legal standing to bring their lawsuit. More than a dozen states allow mail ballots to be received after Election Day so long as they were postmarked or certified by the time polls close, and Republicans have looked to demolish the practice in court. The legality of the practice is not yet before the Supreme Court, but the new case enables the justices to weigh in on who is able to bring such lawsuits. The case will be considered during the court's next annual term, which begins in October. Oral arguments are likely to be held late this year. Bost, who represents Southern Illinois and chairs the House Veterans' Affairs Committee, sued in May 2022 alongside Laura Pollatrini and Susan Sweeney, who served as some of Trump's presidential electors in the state in 2020. A Trump-appointed federal district judge ruled they can't claim legal standing by asserting they face injury as voters and political candidates. The judge ruled their case failed to state a legally viable claim, anyway. A panel on the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the ruling, agreeing that the plaintiffs had no standing. In their petition to the high court, Bost and the two electors said the decision disrupts a long line of cases enabling federal political candidates to challenge election regulations. 'In the aftermath of the 2020 elections, however, for a variety of reasons, courts have limited candidates' ability to challenge the electoral rules governing their campaigns. This case presents the latest—and an extreme—example of this trend,' their attorneys wrote. The plaintiffs are represented by Judicial Watch, a conservative group known for unearthing government records under the Freedom of Information Act. Illinois's election board, represented by the state attorney general's office, urged the justices to turn away the case, saying the lower court was merely applying settled precedent. 'The case presents no sufficiently important—or even sufficiently discrete—legal question warranting the Court's review, it does not conflict with this Court's opinions, and it does not implicate a division of authority among lower courts. The petition should be denied,' the state wrote in court filings. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
The Hill
3 days ago
- Politics
- The Hill
Supreme Court to consider reviving GOP challenge to Illinois mail ballot deadline
The Supreme Court will consider reviving a lawsuit challenging Illinois' ability to count mail ballots received after Election Day, the court announced in a brief order Monday. Lower courts ruled Rep. Michael Bost (R-Ill.) and two of President Trump's 2020 electors from the state had no legal standing to bring their lawsuit. More than a dozen states allow mail ballots to be received after Election Day so long as they were postmarked or certified by the time polls close, and Republicans have looked to demolish the practice in court. The legality of the practice is not yet before the Supreme Court, but the new case enables the justices to weigh in on who is able to bring such lawsuits. The case will be considered during the court's next annual term, which begins in October. Oral arguments are likely to be held late this year. Bost, who represents Southern Illinois and chairs the House Veterans' Affairs Committee, sued in May 2022 alongside Laura Pollatrini and Susan Sweeney, who served as some of Trump's presidential electors in the state in 2020. A Trump-appointed federal district judge ruled they can't claim legal standing by asserting they face injury as voters and political candidates. The judge ruled their case failed to state a legally viable claim, anyway. A panel on the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the ruling, agreeing that the plaintiffs had no standing. In their petition to the high court, Bost and the two electors said the decision disrupts a long line of cases enabling federal political candidates to challenge election regulations. 'In the aftermath of the 2020 elections, however, for a variety of reasons, courts have limited candidates' ability to challenge the electoral rules governing their campaigns. This case presents the latest—and an extreme—example of this trend,' their attorneys wrote. The plaintiffs are represented by Judicial Watch, a conservative group known for unearthing government records under the Freedom of Information Act. Illinois's election board, represented by the state attorney general's office, urged the justices to turn away the case, saying the lower court was merely applying settled precedent. 'The case presents no sufficiently important—or even sufficiently discrete—legal question warranting the Court's review, it does not conflict with this Court's opinions, and it does not implicate a division of authority among lower courts. The petition should be denied,' the state wrote in court filings.
Yahoo
14-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
VA errors in benefits payouts down, but still total more than $1.3B
Veterans Affairs staffers made more than $1.3 billion in benefits payment errors last year. Watchdog officials said that's actually good news. 'I think they're heading in the right direction,' Brent Arronte, the department's deputy assistant inspector general, told lawmakers Wednesday. 'They are correcting effective date tool builders. They are consolidating their policies and procedures. They're working this in the right way.' The benefits mistakes — both overpayments and underpayments — represent less than 1% of the more than $161 billion in payouts processed by VA in 2024. According to VA data, improper and unknown payments are actually down nearly 85% since fiscal 2018, thanks to new processing procedures and tracking. Still, Arronte and lawmakers noted during a House Veterans' Affairs Committee oversight hearing Wednesday that the totals do represent a significant financial headache for the department and taxpayers, especially at a time when White House officials are emphasizing efficiency and waste reduction in the federal bureaucracy. Collins, Dems spar over whether VA needs key fixes or full overhaul 'We're looking at massive programs here, complicated, imperfect programs,' said Rep. Morgan McGarvey, D-Ky. 'I know we need to work to make them better. We have to push for real efficiencies and improvements, and we absolutely need to make sure strong payment controls are in place.' Nina Tann, executive director of compensation service at the Veterans Benefits Administration, said officials hope to push the improper benefits figure down even further in the coming years with increased automation of department systems. But she acknowledged that some mistakes are difficult to avoid because of the size and scope of the department's benefits responsibilities. A significant portion of the errors come from delayed reports of beneficiary status, either through death, divorce or other life changes. If those are not promptly reported to VA, checks will continue to be sent out even if an individual is no longer eligible for all of the funds. Department officials said problems with pension payouts in particular are more likely to be overpayments than underpayments. But lawmakers said those mistakes can be just as harmful to veterans' finances. 'The worst thing you can do is overpay a veteran and then tell them they have to give it back,' said Rep. Morgan Luttrell, R-Texas, chairman of the committee's panel on disability assistance. 'Many of our veterans live paycheck to paycheck. If you're trying to take something back from them, something the United States government gave to them, that's our fault. We have to fix that problem.' VA officials do have the authority to waive repayments in certain circumstances, and Tann said officials are still working to finalize new rules regarding those procedures. The department currently recovers about half of its overpayment mistakes, according to department data. But she said VA leaders are also working to improve communication with veterans on how to update their records to ensure that payment mistakes don't occur in the first place. Arronte said establishing the effective date of benefits remains a challenge for VA processors, especially in cases involving toxic exposure claims, which have only become eligible for disability benefits in the last few years. He said more work needs to be done in that area to ensure that overpayments and underpayments are kept to a minimum. Lutrell acknowledged the challenge of correctly accounting for vast numbers of benefits checks, but noted that VA officials have been hesitant in asking for new help or authorities to deal with the problem in recent years. 'We must ensure that VA is a responsible steward of the taxpayers' investment,' he said. 'This means paying every veteran the correct amount of benefits they have earned, the first time.'
Yahoo
12-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Rep. Nancy Mace suing Sullivan's Island businessman for defamation over social media posts
CHARLESTON COUNTY, S.C. (WCBD) – U.S. Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) is suing a Sullivan's Island businessman for defamation, claiming he knowingly spread false information about her in the weeks after she publicly accused him of being a sexual predator. The businessman, Eric Bowman, was one of four men named in an explosive February 10 speech on the House floor during which detailed how she said she accidentally found evidence of 'rape, nonconsensual photos and videos of women and underage girls,' including herself. All four have publicly denied the allegations. The complaint – filed May 12 in Charleston County — argues that Bowman has since retaliated against the congresswoman by posting 'objectively false statements' on his X (formerly Twitter) account in a 'calculated effort to portray her as unfit for public office to the voters of the first congressional district and the general public.' 'Bowman used his personal X account to repeatedly assert as objective fact, without any support, the blatant falsehood that Rep. Mace abused her position as a member of the House Veterans' Affairs Committee to illegally steer or influence the award of contracts with the VA to friends, associates, and political allies,' Mace's attorneys wrote. The complaint includes multiple screenshots of posts from Bowman's alleged account, in which he suggests Mace has engaged in criminal activity. News 2 has reached out to Bowman for comment and is awaiting a response. Mace is seeking monetary damages of at least $7,500. You can read the full complaint here: Mace-v-BowmanDownload This story is breaking and may be updated. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
07-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Bill would rename Sakonnet River Bridge in honor of Tiverton soldier killed in Iraq War
Family and platoon mates of the late Staff Sgt. Christopher Potts, a Tiverton resident and Rhode Island National Guardsman killed in action in Iraq in 2004, are seen at a Feb. 6, 2025, hearing on a bill seeking to rename the Sakonnet River Bridge to honor Potts. (Screenshot/CapitolTV) More than a dozen veterans and their family members showed up at a Thursday hearing of the Rhode Island House Committee on Special Legislation to support a bill that would rename the Sakonnet River Bridge after a fallen soldier. Three supporters offered spoken testimony for bill H5051, led by Westerly Democrat Rep. Samuel Azzinaro, which would rename the bridge connecting Portsmouth and Tiverton to the Staff Sergeant Christopher Potts Sakonnet Bridge. Azzinaro, a retired National Guardsman who chairs the House Veterans' Affairs Committee, said the bill came to him via the House Veterans' Affairs Advisory Council. One of the supporters was retired Command Sgt. Maj. Raymond Viens, who served alongside Potts, a Tiverton resident and National Guardsman killed in action in Iraq in 2004. 'We're not here to diminish the service or the sacrifice of any other service member, any of our brothers and sisters that also paid the ultimate price,' Viens, who served as Potts' platoon sergeant, told the committee. 'We're here to advocate on behalf of our soldier who we feel made the ultimate sacrifice, but in doing so, saved lives.' Potts 'died because he found something he was not supposed to find,' according to Viens. That something was a weapons cache stocked with ammo, guns, rockets, mortars, artillery rounds, IED timers and more. Iraqi insurgent groups at the time were splintered, Viens said, but the cache served as a hub for these guerilla fighters — and as a danger for U.S. soldiers who may have been traveling nearby, like Potts, who often patrolled the area. 'He found this, and they found him and they executed him,' Viens said, adding that Potts was killed alongside the platoon's medic. 'Not a firefight. Executions.' 'We think that by him finding this cache — it was the largest cache in Iraq at the time — it put a damper on the insurgents' operations against us and saved a lot of lives,' Viens continued. Potts was posthumously awarded the Bronze Star Medal with Combat 'V' and the Purple Heart. Former President George W. Bush met with members of his family in 2007. Terri Potts, his widow, was at the committee meeting Thursday. It's not the first time lawmakers have wanted to rename the Sakonnet River Bridge. It's not even the first time lawmakers have wanted to name the bridge after Potts. When the original Sakonnet River Bridge was slated for replacement way back in 2008, the opportunity arose to give the new bridge a new name. In 2009, former Democratic Rep. Amy Rice of Portsmouth wanted to name the bridge after the town's colonial founder, Anne Hutchinson. The same year, Rep. John G. Edwards, a Tiverton Democrat, rallied to have the bridge named after Potts. Edwards soon retooled the bill to call the bridge the 'Veterans' Memorial Sakonnet River Bridge,' for all the fallen soldiers of Portsmouth. Neither bill succeeded, nor did a 2011 resubmission by Edwards for the Veterans Memorial branding. The new bridge finally opened in 2012, under its old name: the Sakonnet River Bridge. Viens testified to the committee that a tribute to Potts is even more pressing, given that an existing dedication might soon be erased. A scoreboard at Pottsy Field in Middletown has sported the fallen soldier's name since 2006, but an ongoing development project supported by the town could reshape the park and surrounding land. 'They're going to build condominiums, and that scoreboard is coming down,' Viens said. 'And so there's not going to be anything left in the state that shows his sacrifice.' The scoreboard is still up for now. Matt Sheley, a spokesperson for the town of Middletown, said that Pottsy Field is still standing on West Main Road, near the town's public library. 'It's used periodically by various community groups for events like flag football games and practices,' Sheley said in an email. But change is certainly planned for the area. Sheley said that 'a trio of local developers' want to build a mixed-use 'centerpiece for the community' where the field and a number of adjacent lots currently stand. The land, which occupies 600 through 740 West Main Road, is located on a busy artery of Aquideneck Island furnished with businesses. The town signed a 99-year lease for the land with the developers last October, according to The Newport Daily News. The developers want to construct commercial and residential properties. Sheley said the developers are still going through the permit process, and appeared most recently before the town's planning board on Wednesday. 'At this point, no new construction has been permitted or happened at 600-740 West Main Road,' Sheley said. 'All of the existing uses remain 'as is' until the project secures the necessary permits and permissions.' The Pottsy Field sign can still be seen from the road. Potts himself played on the field in a men's softball league, according to a 2022 article in The Newport Daily News, when the development project was already emerging. A family member interviewed at the time said that if the field were moved to a new location because of the project, it probably wouldn't be the same since Potts hadn't played on it. The Committee on Special Legislation is tasked with proposed laws not covered by any of the House's usual specialty areas like health or education. As is standard for new legislation, the committee held Azzinaro's bill for further study. Following the public comment, Azzinaro thanked the bill's supporters for attending, and encouraged them to submit written testimony to the House. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
