Latest news with #Republican-authored
Yahoo
09-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Gov. Maura Healey signed a a slimmed-down, $60B budget into law. Here's what it means for you
Municipal governments will have to wait a little longer for their share of the cash for key projects, while more money from the state's 'Millionaire's Tax' will flow to the T and the state's public schools. Those are just some of the policies that took effect over the holiday weekend as Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey signed a scaled-back, $60.9 billion state budget into law over the holiday weekend. Bracing for the impact of the Republican-authored mega-bill that President Donald Trump signed into law last week, the Democratic administration trimmed $130 million from the $61 billion compromise budget that state lawmakers sent to her late last month. Read More: 'Project 2026 starts today': Mass. Dems ready for mid-term fight after House passes 'Big Beautiful Bill' Healey also filed legislation that would, among other things, give her the limited-time ability to unilaterally cut spending across the entire state budget. 'We are ... signing this budget in a moment of great dysfunction in Washington. The president [signed] a bill that's going to kick hundreds of thousands of Massachusetts residents off their health care, increase energy and groceries prices, and cost people their jobs,' Healey said in a statement, nodding to the 'Big Beautiful Bill,' that Trump signed into law during ornate holiday celebrations at the White House on July 4. The budget bill that Healey signed is less than the compromise proposal approved by the state House and Senate, and more than $1 billion less than the $62 billion spending plan that the Arlington Democrat unveiled in January. Even with the reductions, however, the bill raises overall state spending by 5% for the new fiscal year that started on July 1. 'This budget ... takes proactive steps to make sure Massachusetts is prepared to confront an uncertain economic future,' administration Budget Czar Matthew J. Gorzkowicz said. 'I'm grateful for the partnership of my colleagues in the Legislature, and I look forward to continuing to work with them as we manage through FY26.' Democratic legislative leaders in the state House and Senate still could move to override Healey's veto. But statements from House Speaker Ronald J. Mariano, D-3rd Norfolk, and Senate President Karen E. Spilka, D-Middlesex/Norfolk, were broadly supportive of Healey's actions. The spending plan Healey signed makes 'key investments that better support Massachusetts students and families,' without raising broad-based taxes, Mariano, of Quincy, said. Spilka, of Ashland, noted that the spending plan 'delivers resources to every part of the state and protects our most vulnerable residents from the cruelest actions of the federal government.' But not everyone was so optimistic. 'Beacon Hill leaders are trying to have it both ways. They're talking about caution and restraint while greenlighting billions in new spending, using one-time gimmicks to paper over structural imbalances, and shortchanging local aid to the cities and towns they claim to represent,' Paul Diego Craney, the executive director of the business-friendly Massachusetts Fiscal Alliance, said. For parents: The $130 million supplemental budget that Healey filed last week does an end-run on U.S Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. by giving the state Department of Public Health the authority to set the schedule for childhood vaccines. The move takes the power out of the hands of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, a panel that Kennedy completely reshaped last month. For commuters: The budget sets aside $711.9 million out of $2.4 billion in Millionaire's Tax revenue for various transportation-related projects. They include $470 million in direct support for the MBTA; $115 million in grants to regional transit agencies, and $35 million for income-eligible reduced fares at those regional agencies. The administration also is setting aside $550 million for the Commonwealth Transportation Fund, which is intended to leverage more than $5 billion in borrowing for infrastructure projects. For schools: Some $1.5 billion in Millionaire's Tax revenue has been set aside for education-related initiatives. That includes $266 million for higher education and $759.9 million for K-12 public schools. That money would help pay for financial aid for the former and universal school meals for the latter, according to the administration. The budget also sets aside $7.36 billion in general fund money for 'Chapter 70″ funding, the largest chunk of state money that goes to public education. That's a 7% increase over current spending. The budget also includes $132.4 million for K-12 transportation, $103.8 million of which will underwrite regional school transportation. There's also $475 million in funding for early education and care providers, as well as $120 million for free community college. For hospitals and health care centers: The budget fully funds the Pappas Rehabilitation Hospital for Children in Canton and the Pocasset Mental Health Center on Cape Cod. The administration backed off a plan to close the children's facility. The plan Healey signed also sets aside $5 million to ensure continuity of abortion and abortion-related care in case the state loses federal funding. For veterans: The budget fully funds the state's Executive Office of Veterans Services at $201.6 million, a 4% increase over current spending. It also fully funds the new HERO Act at $81.8 million, which provides additional and expanded services for those who have served. For renters: As expected, Healey signed language that will end renter-paid broker fees in Massachusetts. The modified language will now require whoever first worked with the broker to cover the cost of the fee, usually the equivalent of a month's rent. Right now, renters swallow that fee, which can drive the up-front cost of renting an apartment, especially in Boston, to as much as $10,000 to $12,000. For state employees: Healey has asked the state's Group Insurance Commission to rein in the high cost of coverage for GLP-1 weight loss drugs by eliminating coverage in all cases, except where it's medically necessary, such as for patients who live with diabetes. The move is expected to save $27.5 million. An executive branch hiring freeze that started in May was extended through the rest of the new budget year, which ends on June 30, 2026. The administration also scrapped a 2% raise for managers across the executive branch that was set to take effect in January, saving some $17 million. For local governments: Healey put on the brakes — but did not fully eliminate — $125 million in state funding that was earmarked for local projects. That money now will be doled out later in the year when 'more is understood about their affordability,' Healey's office said in its statement. It also provides a $14.4 million increase to Unrestricted General Government Aid, the biggest chunk of state aid to cities and towns. Reports from State House News Service are included in this story. Candidate, kin marked dead on Mass. Dem database, seemingly by his rival, state Rep. Puppolo 'Sea change': Dems' views on Israel swing by 56% in 8 years New polling shows these American voters aren't proud of being American 'A day of loss': Boston University to lay off 120 people citing federal funding impacts Trump admin withholds $108M in K-12 funding for Mass., throwing summer programs into doubt Read the original article on MassLive.
Yahoo
09-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Can you guess who's Mass. governor this week?
Someone's sitting in for Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey this week. With one budget signature under her belt and a supplemental budget now before the Legislature, the Arlington Democrat headed out of town on vacation with her family, according to State House News Service. And that means Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll is minding the store as acting governor—with all the power that comes with it — until Healey returns, the wire service reported. And that's just a part of the constitutional order of things. Driscoll, a former Salem mayor, steps in when Healey isn't available. When neither Driscoll nor Healey is on the ground in the Bay State, duties devolve to Secretary of State William L. Galvin, who's next in line in the Bay State's foundational document. That last happened in February, when Healey was in Washington, D.C., for a conclave with her fellow governors, and Driscoll was similarly out of town. So what can Driscoll do while Healey's on vacation? Quite a bit. Driscoll will also be responsible for emergency response and serving as the state's liaison on federal matters. Because it's not like nothing is going on there. Under the state's constitution, the acting governor can file and sign bills, Though she's on holiday, Healey has nonetheless felt very present on this first full Monday in July. Earlier in the day, Healey was quoted at length in a scathing press release taking the Trump White House to task for freezing $108 million in previously approved money for public education. An hour or so later, one of Healey's Republican rivals for governor in 2026, former Baker administration aide Mike Kennealy, took her to task for remarks she made over the weekend on WBZ-TV's 'Keller @Large' program. Healey's last public event was on Friday, July 4, when she attended the Boston Pops Fireworks Spectacular on the Charles River Esplanade, according to State House News Service. That same day, Healey ran her signature across a $60.9 billion annual budget for the new fiscal year that started July 1. Healey trimmed $130 million from the spending plan as a hedge against funding reductions from the Republican-authored domestic policy mega-bill. She also filed a supplemental budget that, among other things, would give her more leeway to unilaterally cut state spending. Two familiar faces step forward for Chicopee council, School Committee seats Planned Parenthood in Mass. sues Trump admin over 'Big, Beautiful Bill' Medicaid provision Health groups, including one from Mass., sue to stop RFK's vaccine changes Candidate, kin marked dead on Mass. Dem database, seemingly by his rival, state Rep. Puppolo 'Sea change': Dems' views on Israel swing by 56% in 8 years Read the original article on MassLive.
&w=3840&q=100)
First Post
04-07-2025
- Business
- First Post
Trump's ‘One Big Beautiful Bill' is going to be law. But who gains and who loses most?
US President Trump's massive second-term bill — combining $4.5 trillion in tax cuts, sweeping welfare rollbacks and big-ticket defence spending — has passed Congress after a narrow vote. The nearly 900-page package reshapes immigration, Medicaid, clean energy and a lot more. Trump's 'One Big Beautiful Bill' now defines his agenda — but not everyone's celebrating read more Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-La, surrounded by Republican members of Congress, signs US President Donald Trump's signature bill of tax breaks and spending cuts, July 3, 2025, at the Capitol in Washington, DC, US. File Image/AP The United States Congress has approved a massive Republican-authored legislative package combining trillions in tax cuts amid sweeping spending reductions, and broad policy shifts across national security, social welfare, and energy sectors, in a big win for US President Donald Trump. Nicknamed the 'One Big Beautiful Bill' by Trump and GOP leaders, the legislation passed the House narrowly on Thursday, just in time to meet the Republicans' self-imposed July 4th deadline. At 218–214, the final House vote highlighted sharp divisions, with two Republicans breaking ranks to oppose the bill and all Democrats voting against it. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD In the Senate, the tie-breaking vote came from US Vice President JD Vance, securing the bill's path to Trump's desk for signing. The legislative process leading up to the bill's passage was anything but smooth. House Republican leaders worked through the night to consolidate support, and Trump personally intervened to bring sceptics on board. Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries mounted an hours-long floor speech in a last-ditch effort to delay the vote, delivering what is now the longest speech in House history. Despite these obstacles, the bill was passed and celebrated by Trump during a public event in Iowa, coinciding with the launch of events marking America's upcoming 250th anniversary. 'I want to thank Republican congressmen and women, because what they did is incredible,' Trump said. He added, 'They hate Trump — but I hate them too.' The US president confirmed that he would sign the bill into law on Friday at the White House. 'With one big beautiful bill we are going to make this country stronger, safer and more prosperous than ever before,' said House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., following the vote. Republicans marked the occasion by playing 'Y.M.C.A.', a track famously featured at Trump's rallies, in a celebratory ceremony. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Who wins & who loses in Trump's 'One Big Beautiful Bill' At nearly 900 pages, the bill serves as a Republican wishlist comprising tax reforms, business-friendly provisions and social programme overhauls. Tax reforms and deductions The legislation enacts permanent extensions of tax cuts originally passed during Trump's first term. Without this, those cuts were due to expire at the end of this year. The bill includes: About $4.5 trillion in tax cuts A $6,000 deduction for seniors earning below $75,000 Boosting the child tax credit from $2,000 to $2,200, though low-income families would not receive the full benefit Temporary deductions for tips, overtime wages, and auto loan interest For businesses, the package includes: Full, immediate expensing of capital equipment and research investments Expanded deductions on business purchases Elimination of a proposed new tax on renewable energy projects using components from China Affluent households are set to benefit significantly, with the wealthiest gaining around $12,000, while lower-income households could lose up to $1,600 per year — mainly due to reductions in public assistance programmes. According to the US Congressional Budget Office (CBO), the combined changes would raise the federal deficit by nearly $3.3 trillion over a decade (2025–2034). However, Senate Republicans dispute that number, arguing the bill should not be scored as new spending since many tax cuts represent 'current policy.' They claim the bill reduces deficits by $500 billion, a view the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget criticises as 'an accounting gimmick that would make Enron executives blush.' Medicaid cuts & SNAP restructured To compensate for revenue losses from tax cuts, the bill imposes major reductions in Medicaid and food assistance (SNAP): New 80-hour-per-month work requirements for most non-disabled adults, including those aged up to 65 Parents of children aged 14 and older must meet work criteria to receive aid A $35 co-payment for Medicaid-covered services States with high SNAP error rates must contribute financially starting 2028 A controversial provision forcing states to help pay for SNAP benefits was modified after US Senator Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, negotiated a delay in implementation. Alaska has the highest error rate at nearly 25 per cent, per the Department of Agriculture. CBO projections indicate that by 2034, these changes could result in: 11.8 million more people without health insurance 3 million fewer individuals qualifying for SNAP benefits Although GOP lawmakers argue the changes target waste, fraud and abuse, critics note most SNAP recipients already work and warn that the plan disproportionately impacts the poor. Billions allocated in border security, deporations & defence A major section of the bill funds Trump's immigration enforcement and national defence agenda. Around $350 billion is set aside for: Continuing construction of the US-Mexico border wall Establishing 100,000 migrant detention beds Hiring 10,000 new ICE officers with $10,000 signing bonuses A massive deportation operation with a target of 1 million removals per year Immigrants would also face new fees, including for asylum applications. In defence spending: $25 billion is directed toward the Golden Dome missile shield programme Additional funds support shipbuilding, munitions production, and military personnel welfare $1 billion will be spent on border security by the US Department of Defence Rollback of clean energy support, EV credits slashed One of the bill's most contentious elements is the repeal of several clean energy tax credits introduced during the Biden administration. These include: Early expiration of electric vehicle (EV) purchase credits by September 30 Elimination of multiple solar and wind incentives Democratic Senator Ron Wyden of Oregon called the provisions a 'death sentence for America's wind and solar industries and an inevitable hike in utility bills.' In contrast, the bill expands a tax credit for metallurgical coal, used in steel manufacturing, reflecting a broader GOP pivot toward traditional energy. Trump accounts, Space, AI and a Hero Garden Beyond core economic and defence issues, the bill includes numerous standalone provisions: Creation of 'Trump Accounts' — a new children's savings programme seeded with up to $1,000 from the Treasury Allocation of $40 million for a National Garden of American Heroes Funding for Nasa's Artemis moon mission and future Mars exploration $88 million for the Pandemic Response Accountability Committee Extension of the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act, pushed by Senator Josh Hawley The bill also removes a controversial federal moratorium on state regulation of artificial intelligence following overwhelming bipartisan opposition in the Senate (99–1 vote). To address GOP concerns about rural health access, a last-minute amendment boosted funding for rural hospitals to $10 billion annually for five years, totalling $50 billion — double the original Senate proposal. In fiscal terms, the bill raises the debt ceiling by $5 trillion, authorising new borrowing to service existing commitments. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Also Watch: With inputs from agencies
Yahoo
11-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Wildlife, land conservation groups push for tweaks to Republican stewardship grant bill
Rep. Tony Kurtz testifies on his proposed legislation to reauthorize the Knowles-Nelson Stewardship Grant program. (Henry Redman | Wisconsin Examiner) Organizations representing wildlife, land conservation and local governments testified Wednesday at a public hearing to push for the passage of a Republican bill to reauthorize the Knowles-Nelson Stewardship Grant program while advocating for a number of amendments to the bill's text. The proposal's authors, Rep. Tony Kurtz (R-Wonewoc) and Sen. Patrick Testin (R-Stevens Point), say the current version of the bill is a starting point for negotiations. Without a deal, the 35-year-old program will lapse despite its popularity among voters. The challenge for legislators is that despite overwhelming public support for land conservation, a subset of the Republican members of the Legislature have grown opposed to the grant program. In their view, the grant program allows land to be taken off the local property tax roll and blocks commercial development. That opposition has grown stronger since the Wisconsin Supreme Court ruled in a 6-1 decision last year that the Legislature's Republican-controlled Joint Finance Committee's authority to place anonymous holds on stewardship grant projects is unconstitutional. Kurtz has said that without returning some level of legislative oversight, the Republican opposition to the program won't get on board with reauthorizing it. But the bill also needs to be palatable to Democratic Gov. Tony Evers so that he will sign it and any Republican opposition to the bill could make the votes of Democratic legislators more important. In an effort to recruit Republican holdouts, the bill includes a provision that requires the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) to submit a list to the Legislature each January of any major land acquisitions costing more than $1 million the department plans to purchase with stewardship funds that year. The Legislature would then need to approve each proposed project in a piece of legislation and provide the required appropriation. To gain the support of environmental groups, the bill allows stewardship dollars to be used for the first time to fund habitat restoration projects. Following a recent trend of Republican-authored legislation, the bill separates the policy changes to the program from the budget appropriation to fund it in an attempt to sidestep Evers' partial veto pen. Charles Carlin, the director of strategic initiatives at non-profit land trust organization Gathering Waters, said in his testimony at the hearing Wednesday that the bill's authors had to 'try and thread a challenging political path towards reauthorization.' At the hearing, testifying members of the public mainly highlighted two areas for improvement on the bill — clarifying how the DNR should prioritize habitat restoration, facility upkeep and land acquisition in award grants and more clearly laying out how the legislative approval process for major land acquisitions will work. As currently written, the bill would require the DNR to prioritize property development over land acquisition projects. Brian Vigue, freshwater policy director for Audubon Great Lakes, said those types of grants are so different that they should be considered separately. 'Because habitat management projects are so different from land acquisition projects, it really will make it difficult for the DNR to determine which of the two types of grant applications would have priority over the other,' he said. 'It's kind of an apples to oranges comparison to make so I think a practical solution to this challenge is to create a separate appropriation for wildlife habitat grants.' A number of organizations testifying called for more direct language outlining how the legislative oversight process will work, such as binding timelines for when the Legislature must consider the projects on the DNR list, clear guidelines for how projects will be evaluated and quickly held votes on project approval. Representatives of organizations that work to purchase private land and conserve it through conservation easements or deals with the state said that the opportunities to purchase a piece of land and save it for future enjoyment by the broader public come rarely and that those real estate transactions can often be complicated and take a long time. If a deal is largely in place except for the required legislative approval — which could potentially take years or never even come up for a vote — landowners might be unwilling to participate in the process. 'Opportunities to provide such access sometimes only come once in a generation,' said Tony Abate, conservation director at Groundswell Conservancy, a non-profit aimed at conserving land in south central Wisconsin. 'We are concerned with the funding threshold and the logistics of the proposed major land acquisition program. Real estate near population centers is expensive, and we often compete with non-conservation buyers to secure farmland or recreational lands.' Abate said that of the conservancy's 16 current projects, four would surpass the $1 million threshold and require legislative approval. He suggested raising the threshold to $5 million. Carlin, with Gathering Waters, said the provision as currently written could indefinitely delay projects. 'We appreciate legislators' concerns with oversight, and we welcome discussion about how to provide effective and efficient oversight,' he said. 'Unfortunately, the current proposal lacks defined timelines, transparent evaluation processes or mechanisms to require timely votes. Without these elements, worthy conservation projects could languish indefinitely. So we would ask that any review process include binding timelines, transparent project evaluation and timely votes to ensure strong oversight while maintaining predictability for applicants.' At the hearing, members of the committee asked few questions of the testifying groups and members of the public. Democrats on the committee pushed more than once to make sure they see the partner bill providing the money for the program before voting on the policy changes. All of the testimony at the hearing Wednesday was either to provide information only to the legislators or in favor of the bill. The committee received one written comment against the bill's passage, from the Wisconsin Bear Hunters' Association. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
10-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Republicans challenge 'irrelevant' budget office as it critiques Trump's 'beautiful bill'
Both Republicans and Democrats have used analysis from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office as a political cudgel when it suits them, but with unfavorable reviews of President Donald Trump's "one big, beautiful bill" coming out, some in the GOP are questioning the relevancy of the agency. The CBO's latest analysis of the gargantuan tax cut and spending package found that the House Republican-authored super bill would add $2.4 trillion to the national deficit over the next decade and boot millions off of health insurance. 'He's Not A Big Factor': Trump's Senate Allies Dismiss Elon Musk's Calls To 'Kill The Bill' Senate Republicans will now get their chance to tweak and change the legislation, and have vowed to do so, despite warnings from Trump to reshape the bill as little as possible. Congressional Republicans have largely scoffed at the agency's findings, arguing that the CBO doesn't include expected economic growth or other factors into its scoring of the bill. "I don't care what the CBO says," Sen. Jim Banks, R-Ind., told Fox News Digital. "They're irrelevant to me. They were biased before. They've been biased in other things, but all the numbers speak for themselves." Read On The Fox News App 'Gone Too Far': Gop Lawmakers Rally Around Trump After Musk Raises Epstein Allegations The agency's latest score found that the House's reconciliation offering would cut $1.2 trillion over a decade, add $2.4 trillion to the deficit and decrease revenues by $3.6 trillion. It also found that if the GOP's proposals to slash Medicaid stay as is, nearly 11 million people would be booted from their health care. That number cranks up to about 16 million Americans removed from the benefit rolls when factoring in Affordable Care Act provisions that are set to expire. However, the White House declared the CBO scores inaccurate, and argued that the package achieved, through a combination of spending cuts, reversing regulations ushered in by the Biden administration and tariffs – which are not part of the bill – roughly $6.6 trillion in savings over the next decade. Many raised issues with the agency's accuracy, arguing that they got the score wrong for Trump's 2017 tax package. "I mean, I heard the numbers are always wrong," said Rep. Troy Nehls, R-Texas. "What's the purpose?" Gop Senators Express 'Concerns,' 'Skepticism' Over Trump's Spending Bill After Musk Rant Rep. Pat Fallon, R-Texas, agreed, and contended that it was "time to discuss the CBO being more damn accurate." Still, some Republicans believe the CBO serves a purpose. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, said she didn't believe the agency should be done away with, adding "we need to have a source for scores." "We kind of go back and forth in terms of condemning CBO because we hate their score, or praising CBO because we like the outcome," she said. "And I think that's what we're seeing a lot of right now, is looking at that CBO score and saying, 'That's not real.'" Other lawmakers questioned what the alternative would be. Sen. Roger Marshall, R-Kan., told Fox News Digital, "We need something," but acknowledged that he felt the agency was biased, and that both parties used scores "to our manipulation." Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., believes that the agency's score was wildly incorrect. Still, he is one of the main antagonists of the current bill because it does not go far enough to achieve deep spending cuts. The lawmaker told Fox News Digital that he believed the 50-year-old agency would soon be a relic of the past. "I think just AI is gonna replace them," he said. "I'm using AI all the time to do the sensitivity analysis. I don't need CBO to do these sensitivity analyses anymore, I can do it myself."Original article source: Republicans challenge 'irrelevant' budget office as it critiques Trump's 'beautiful bill'
