Latest news with #Mrvan
Chicago Tribune
03-07-2025
- Health
- Chicago Tribune
Northwest Indiana legislators follow party lines in votes on president's tax bill
Northwest Indiana congressmen fell along party lines in supporting or opposing President Donald Trump's bill that funds trillion-dollar tax breaks with spending cuts, largely to Medicaid, as the bill received final Congressional approval Thursday. With the final passage, the bill overcame multiple setbacks to approve Trump's signature second-term policy package before a Fourth of July deadline. The tight House roll call, 218-214, came Thursday at a potentially high political cost, with two Republicans joining all Democrats opposed. GOP leaders worked overnight and the president himself leaned on a handful of skeptics to drop their opposition and send the bill to him to sign into law. Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York delayed voting for more than eight hours by seizing control of the floor with a record-breaking speech against the bill. 'You get tired of winning yet?' said House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., invoking Trump as he called the vote. 'With one big beautiful bill we are going to make this country stronger, safer and more prosperous than ever before,' he said. Republicans celebrated with a rendition of the Village People's 'Y.M.C.A.,' a song the president often plays at his rallies, during a ceremony afterward. U.S. Rep. Frank Mrvan, D-Highland, issued a statement after Thursday's House vote explaining his opposition vote. While the bill may seem 'beautiful' to corporations and the wealthy, for a teacher in East Chicago, a nurse in Gary, the steelworker in Portage or a farmer in LaPorte County, the bill creates 'uncertainty and actually increases the cost of living.' 'I opposed this measure because I cannot in good conscience leave people behind. The Republican Majority made a decision to prioritize their elite donors and corporations, and now seniors, veterans, hard-working Americans, women, children and those yet to be born will pay with increased costs and possibly their lives,' Mrvan said. Mrvan said he will continue to push for 'protecting access to healthcare, feeding the hungry, and creating more opportunities for work and wealth for everyone.' 'It is wrong that the Republican Majority failed to address the legitimate concerns raised by some within their own ranks, and resorted to coercion, bribery with personal gifts and empty promises to meet an artificial deadline,' Mrvan said. The outcome delivers a milestone for the president, by his Friday goal, and for his party. It was a long-shot effort to compile a lengthy list of GOP priorities into what they called his 'one big beautiful bill,' an 800-plus page measure. With Democrats unified in opposition, the bill will become a defining measure of Trump's return to the White House, aided by Republican control of Congress. At its core, the package's priority is $4.5 trillion in tax breaks enacted in 2017 during Trump's first term that would expire if Congress failed to act, along with new ones. This includes allowing workers to deduct tips and overtime pay, and a $6,000 deduction for most older adults earning less than $75,000 a year. There's also a hefty investment, some $350 billion, in national security and Trump's deportation agenda, and to help develop the 'Golden Dome' defensive system over the U.S. To help offset the lost tax revenue, the package includes $1.2 trillion in cutbacks to Medicaid health care and food stamps, largely by imposing new work requirements, including for some parents and older people, and a major rollback of green energy tax credits. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimates the package will add $3.3 trillion to the deficit over the decade and 11.8 million more people will go without health coverage. 'This was a generational opportunity to deliver the most comprehensive and consequential set of conservative reforms in modern history, and that's exactly what we're doing,' said Rep. Jodey Arrington, R-Texas, the House Budget Committee chairman. The bill previously passed the Senate on Tuesday. A 50-50 tie was broken by Vice President JD Vance. U.S. Sen. Todd Young said the package includes his legislation that incentivizes R&D activity as well as leveraging private sector investment to increase affordable housing options. 'While I wish this legislation included additional fiscal reforms, this is a strong bill that will benefit Hoosier families and increase the security and prosperity of all Americans,' Young said in a statement. U.S. Sen. Jim Banks, who voted for its passage in the Senate on Tuesday, lauded its increased funding for the Departments of Homeland Security and Defense. 'I'm proud to support the biggest tax cut for working families in American history. This bill delivers on President Trump's promises to secure the border and strengthen our military, while also making the largest spending cut ever.' In many ways, the package is a repudiation of the agendas of the last two Democratic presidents, a chiseling away at the Medicaid expansion from Barack Obama's Affordable Care Act, and a pullback of Joe Biden's climate change strategies in the Inflation Reduction Act. Democrats have described the bill in dire terms, warning that cuts to Medicaid, which some 80 million Americans rely on, would result in lives lost. Food stamps that help feed more than 40 million people would 'rip food from the mouths of hungry children, hungry veterans and hungry seniors,' Jeffries said. Republicans say the tax breaks will prevent a tax hike on households and grow the economy. They maintain they are trying to rightsize the safety net programs for the population they were initially designed to serve, mainly pregnant women, the disabled and children, and root out what they describe as waste, fraud and abuse. The Tax Policy Center, which provides nonpartisan analysis of tax and budget policy, projected the bill would result next year in a $150 tax break for the lowest quintile of Americans, a $1,750 tax cut for the middle quintile and a $10,950 tax cut for the top quintile. That's compared with what they would face if the 2017 tax cuts expired.
Chicago Tribune
02-07-2025
- Climate
- Chicago Tribune
Federal, local officials hold ribbon cutting for Hammond stormwater project
Federal and local officials held a ribbon-cutting ceremony Wednesday to mark the completion of a stormwater improvement project in Hammond's Dowling Park, which replaced undersized drainage infrastructure that led to flooding in 2020. As part of the project, crews constructed a new 60-inch diameter stormwater pipe approximately 1,600 feet in length along the 176th Place corridor, according to an Army Corps of Engineers news release. The project was authorized by Section 219 of the Water Resources Development Act of 1992, which allows the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to provide planning, design and construction assistance for water, wastewater and stormwater infrastructure projects, according to the release. To fund the project, $2.5 million in federal funds were allocated to the project and $825,000 was added by the City of Hammond. The construction contract for nearly $3 million was awarded to Grimmer Construction Inc. of Highland, according to the release. A large rainstorm on May 23, 2020 dumped about four inches of rain in 60 minutes in the Dowling Park neighborhood, said Dean Button, City of Hammond Engineer. The ribbon cutting took place in the flood area, he said. During that flooding, the nearby homes had flooded basements, water stood in the street and water flooded the south side of I-80/I-94 expressway, Button said. 'Where we're standing right now, we would be standing in water. The water completely filled up this entire low-lying area,' Button said. 'Cars were floating down the street. People were taking chances trying to get to their homes and trying to save their valuables, and it was really gut-wrenching to see all that happen here.' To address the flooding, Button said city and federal officials were able to construct an overflow to the pond in the park, which is fed by upstream pump stations, to keep water out of the neighborhood. The overflow of the pond moved through the new stormwater pipe to the pump station on the south side of the expressway into the Little Calumet River, he said. The next phase of the project, Button said, will be to expand the pump station to handle more flow out of water from Hammond. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Commander of the Chicago District Colonel Kenneth Rockwell said the project was more than just concrete and pipe. 'It's about protecting families who have lived too long with the worry of flooding and property damage every time a storm rolls through. It's about ensuring the parks and the neighborhoods that make this city such a great place to live remain safe, accessible and resilient,' Rockwell said. U.S. Rep. Frank Mrvan, D-Highland, was scheduled to be at the event but was called back to Washington D.C., said Mrvan's senior advisor Mark Lopez, who read a prepared statement from Mrvan. The project was an investment in 'our community's infrastructure, safety and sustainability,' Lopez said. 'Stormwater may not always be top of mind, but the systems that manage it are essential to protecting our homes, our environment and our quality of life,' Lopez said. 'This project is a testament to what can be accomplished when vision, planning and partnership come together.'
Chicago Tribune
26-06-2025
- Politics
- Chicago Tribune
Hammond woman receives Carnegie hero award for assisting swimmers in peril
About two years ago, Sara Schaller and her daughter were at Porter Beach, collecting seashells and building sandcastles. As they were ready to leave, a woman ran up to them, asking if Schaller knew how to swim. 'She was like, 'She's drowning,'' Schaller said. 'I was like, 'What?' And then she pointed out to the water, and I could see someone going in and out of the surface.' A teenage girl and a teenage boy were trapped in Lake Michigan, Schaller said, but at the time, she only saw the girl. Schaller asked the woman to watch her child as she went to save the girl. 'She got pulled out past the buoys,' Schaller said. 'I just kept trying to talk to her, telling her she's got to swim, she's got to help me.' Tides had been bad at the beach that week, Schaller said, and the teenagers got swept up in a current while swimming. Schaller eventually brought the girl to shore when she learned a boy was also in the water. She swam to pull him out of the water and administered CPR until paramedics arrived. The next day, Schaller received a call from a detective on the scene, saying the girl survived, but the boy didn't. 'She said they were out swimming, and the tide took them out,' Schaller said. 'There was no way she was going to make it on her own.' In April, Schaller received a medal from the Carnegie Hero Fund Commission, which is an organization that recognizes civilians in the U.S. and Canada for acts of heroism, according to its website. U.S. Rep. Frank Mrvan, D-Highland, presented Schaller with the Carnegie medal. Schaller doesn't know who nominated her for the award, but she said it had to be someone who was at the incident. She hasn't talked to the girl she rescued or her family since the drowning. The Hammond resident was surprised to receive the award, she said. 'I'd never heard of the Carnegie award prior to this experience,' Schaller added. 'I was just happy that I was able to get the girl out in time. I feel really bad I didn't get the boy, though. That still bothers me.' Mrvan also talked about Schaller on the House of Representatives floor earlier this month. 'Northwest Indiana is home to over 40 miles of incredible shoreline on Lake Michigan, which is a tremendous attraction for tourism and our economy,' Mrvan said. 'But also, unfortunately, can, at times, pose great dangers with its currents and riptides. … Where many hesitated, (Schaller) stepped up and took life-saving action.' According to the Great Lakes Surf Rescue Project, since 2010, the Great Lakes have seen 1,357 drownings. In 2025, the lakes have already seen 23 drownings. The week Schaller saved the girl from drowning, most Indiana beaches had a tide advisory, and there were drownings in other areas. 'There was a general warning out that there was a strong tide,' Schaller said. 'The waves were big, and the water was pretty strong.' The Great Lakes Surf Rescue Project is a nonprofit that raises awareness about water safety, said Dave Benjamin, its co-founder and executive director. 'Knowing how to swim doesn't mean you could survive the marathon of a drowning incident, unless you have a survival strategy set in place,' Benjamin said. In 2010, Benjamin himself nearly drowned while surfing on Lake Michigan in Portage. He wiped out near a rock wall near a pier, and he didn't stay attached to his surfboard. 'When you panic, all of your experience, it's pretty much out the window,' Benjamin said. 'You start making a lot of mistakes.' It's important to know drowning statistics, Benjamin said, including who, when, where and why. He encourages adults to keep an eye on children when they're near bodies of water. In May, the Indiana Department of Natural Resources released water safety tips to Hoosiers, including discussing the dangers of water; telling someone where you are going and when you'll return; going with a buddy; staying away from flooded or fast-moving waterways; wearing a life jacket; keeping a watchful eye on children; and avoiding alcohol. When boating, the DNR recommends assessing water levels and monitoring the boat's speed, as well as designating a sober boat operator. People should also wear life jackets, which should be U.S. Coast Guard-approved, in good working condition, and an appropriate size for the wearer, according to the DNR. Benjamin also encourages people to pay attention to currents and tide trends each day because that impacts swimming conditions.
Chicago Tribune
13-06-2025
- Business
- Chicago Tribune
BP postpones carbon pipeline project indefinitely
As a Whiting resident, Lisa Vallee is happy to no longer worry about BP's proposed carbon sequestration project. 'It seems, on the surface, like it's such a great idea,' said Vallee, who is also the organizing director for Just Transition Northwest Indiana. 'But it's been proven globally that these projects don't actually reduce carbon emissions, and then they're much more dangerous than they are worth.' BP has indefinitely paused its carbon sequestration project, which would have required a pipeline to run through hundreds of miles in six Indiana counties to store carbon emissions underground. 'BP is committed to remaining a critical driver of the economic engine that powers Northwest Indiana and the Midwest,' a company spokesperson said in a statement. 'While we are indefinitely pausing our low-carbon project in the region, our focus is on building a strong, economically competitive future for our Whiting Refinery.' The company said 'many factors' went into the decision, including uncertainty created by current economic conditions; focus on the company's core businesses; a slow-developing hydrogen market in the Midwest; lack of an identified carbon storage facility; and lack of certainty for long-term federal support for low carbon hydrogen. The decision only relates to BP's involvement in the Midwest Alliance for Clean Hydrogen hub and no other low-carbon project the company might develop nationally or globally, according to the spokesperson. U.S. Rep. Frank Mrvan, D-Highland, said in a statement that 'it's not lost' on him that the company made the decision during House passage of legislation that would end the clean hydrogen production tax credit. The decision makes it clear that the Trump Administration's actions cause a 'real and devastating impact' on workers and manufacturing nationwide, Mrvan said. 'I will continue to actively seek opportunities to collaborate in a bipartisan manner, with all levels of government, and with organized labor and all stakeholders to reverse this trend and create new opportunities for transformational economic growth, work, and wealth in Northwest Indiana,' Mrvan said. The Biden Administration allocated up to $1 billion in funding for the planned hub, but shifting priorities have led the Department of Energy to reevaluate the awards for the Midwest hub and three others in the Pacific Northwest, California and the Mid-Atlantic, according to Reuters. Just Transition Northwest Indiana learned the project was paused following a statement from the Benton County Board of Commissioners. Benton County was one of the Indiana counties that would've been affected by the project. 'We have been advised that in February BP indefinitely suspended all carbon sequestration and hydrogen gas exploration,' said the letter from Benton County commissioners. 'They're focusing back on their roots of oil exploration. They felt this is not the time or place with the feedback they received from Benton County.' Vallee was surprised to learn about the project's pause from Benton County and not BP. Just Transition Northwest Indiana members knew there was a possibility that it would be paused because tax credits might be taken away by the federal government, Vallee said. 'This pipeline was supposed to be part of the Midwest Alliance for Clean Hydrogen hub, and that has not gone away, at least yet,' Vallee said. 'So, we are accepting this victory and very excited, but also aware that there are a lot of other sneaky false solutions that are probably right around the corner.' Gary Advocates for Responsible Development was relieved to see BP put the pipeline project on pause, board member Carolyn McCrady said in a statement Thursday. 'However, pause does not mean gone, and we will remain vigilant about any future attempts to reinstate a pipeline,' McCrady said. 'And (we) will continue to insist that they initiate advanced and available technologies to reduce their heavily polluting tar sands emissions.'
Chicago Tribune
30-05-2025
- Health
- Chicago Tribune
US Rep. Frank Mrvan vows to fight Trump's ‘authoritarian approach,' GOP's ‘cruel' spending cuts
U.S. Rep. Frank Mrvan promised to fight President Donald Trump's 'authoritarian approach' as he spoke Thursday of how drastic budget cuts could affect people in Indiana's 1st congressional district. 'I, as a member of Congress, will continue to fight for things that unify us,' Mrvan told a largely friendly crowd of about 150 at the Memorial Opera House in downtown Valparaiso at a town hall meeting that had been postponed due to illness. The 'community conversation,' as Mrvan's office called it, was one of several held throughout the region Thursday. 'The authoritarian approach will be stopped by the courts, and I believe as time goes by, no one wants to be patient,' he said. The House Oversight Committee will hold people accountable, he predicted. Mrvan spoke at length about what he sees as the ugly side of what Trump refers to as the 'Big Beautiful Bill,' a reconciliation act passed by the House on partisan lines that now faces the Senate. Mrvan got loud applause when he told the audience he voted against the bill. 'It's cruel and it doesn't pare down the deficit,' he said. 'They are cutting $880 billion out of Medicaid,' Mrvan said. That affects about 227,000 people in his district, about 19,000 children, about 18,000 disabled individuals and 23,000 veterans, he said. Mrvan had spoken to an East Chicago High School senior, Jake, who asked Mrvan to use him as an example. Jake, who uses a wheelchair, is being raised by a single mom after his dad died. 'There is a perfect storm affecting Jake,' Mrvan said. He's at risk of losing healthcare access. 'He is absolutely positively a candidate to lose his Medicaid waiver through the state of Indiana,' along with his Social Security disability funding. The objective of the reconciliation bill is tax breaks for the top 1% of the nation's wealthy and for corporations. 'I am a straightforward legislator. I will tell you exactly what I think,' Mrvan said. This bill was advocated by people who talked about the deficit and how it's crushing people and the economy. Even as it kicks 14.9 million people out of Medicaid coverage, however, it adds $5 trillion to the deficit, according to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office. 'I want to make sure we can have a balanced budget,' Mrvan said, 'without being cruel to individuals.' As details of the bill emerge, Mrvan said, people are learning it gives tax breaks to owners of professional sports teams and people who own tanning beds. It also wouldn't allow federal courts to hold contempt of court hearings to hold Trump administration officials accountable for defying the courts, and injunctions would be lifted. Mrvan said he is working to restore the balance of power in Washington, with three coequal branches of government – legislative, judicial and executive – and put checks and balances back in place. 'I'm in the minority, but I'm on bills to stop his authority,' Mrvan said of Trump. Mrvan fielded many questions from the audience. Among them was his stance on the Trump administration's actions regarding higher education. The Department of Government Efficiency cut funding for Indiana University's research on Alzheimer's disease research. IU is a leading institution globally for that research. 'There's a return on investment that leads to about $1 billion. It also creates innovation,' he said. 'Pharmaceutical companies from this research are able to create medications that slow the progress of Alzheimer's, which is going on right here in Indiana.' 'If you're not investing in that research, if you're freezing funding for that, if you're not creating medications that slow down the progress, not only do you have more individuals that have to be taken care of – Medicaid – but you have less individuals in the workforce as other individuals are taking care of them, all because of this uncertainty that's going on,' he said. Free speech is also an issue with the funding cuts for higher education, he said. 'Punishing institutions, organizations, groups because you don't think or say the way I think or say is very dangerous ground to be on,' he said. Cancer research impacts all of us, he said. One of his proposed amendments to the reconciliation bill was to study the impact on people who were no longer on Medicaid but have cancer. Americans appreciate longevity, 'and cancer is something that robs lives,' he said. 'We lead the world in research,' he said, and bring top researchers from around the world to do this research. 'We want to continue to lead the world and do this research in the United States.' Mrvan was asked about the hydrogen hub for Northwest Indiana, an environmental issue. 'This creates cleaner air, cleaner water for our area. It allows the steel industry to produce more globally competitive clean steel, and it also adds jobs and wealth to our community,' he said. The GOP reconciliation bill would make tax credits for the companies that work on this project expire at the end of this year. 'We have to keep fighting for that. It's going before the Senate. We'll have to see what happens,' Mrvan said. He spoke of bringing federal funding to local communities, including license plate readers for the Porter County sheriff's office. 'Sewers aren't sexy, but it adds to capacity. It adds to the quality of life here locally,' he said. Protecting Northwest Indiana's economic engines is also important, he said. 'We produce more steel than any other region in the nation,' he noted, so he wants tariffs in place against countries that subsidize steel and illegally dump steel in the United States. China pays energy costs for steel production, which is one form of subsidizing the industry there, he said. However, he doesn't favor Trump's approach to widespread tariffs. 'I have a nuanced approach,' Mrvan said. This week, the International Trade Court gave authority back to Congress over tariffs, he said. 'Again, a checks and balances system.' 'We must protect our industries, our vital national security industries,' he said. American-made steel is needed for tanks, planes and other weapons of war. 'You can't go to a tariff war with our enemies and our allies,' he said. 'As I go back to Congress, I will be a stronger voice' because of hearing these questions and comments, Mrvan said. He urged audience members to continue to reach out to him but also to Sens. Todd Young and Jim Banks. They need to hear what their constituents are concerned about and how their lives are being affected by what's going on nationally, Mrvan said.
