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News.com.au
3 days ago
- Business
- News.com.au
Australian company Intrepid Travel fights back against Donald Trump threat to US national parks
An Australian company is fighting back against Donald Trump's planned upheaval of US national parks. Since US President Donald Trump took office, more than 1000 park workers have been laid off (more than 700 others took buyouts), and more are expected to be let go. There is also a proposal to cut more than $US1 billion ($A1.5 billion) in federal funding for the US National Parks Service (nearly 40 per cent of the agency's current budget). NPS oversees 85 million acres of federal land and there are 433 sites in the National Park System, with parks in every state. National Park Conservation Association president Theresa Pierno described Mr Trump's proposed budget plan as 'catastrophic,' arguing that the 'national park system would be completely decimated'. Mr Trump wants to see some parks (that the White House describes as 'not 'national parks' in the traditionally understood sense') go to the states, but there are concerns states don't have the resources to maintain the parks, which will force them to close. The White House claims the proposed budget would 'continue supporting many national treasures, but there is an urgent need to streamline staffing and transfer certain properties to state-level management to ensure the long-term health and sustainment of the national park system'. Aussie-born company fights back A Melbourne-born global travel company, which runs tours across 18 US national parks, has made its stance clear. Speaking to on Thursday, Intrepid Travel's Leigh Barnes described national parks as 'incredibly important' to the US and said the White House's massive proposed funding cuts are 'putting access at risk'. 'We need healthy, vibrant national parks for our business, and also the impact of not having tourism go to national parks in the USA is going to put local businesses underground,' said Mr Barnes, an Australian who relocated to Seattle this year to take up the role of managing director of the Americas. In response to the Trump Administration's actions, Intrepid has now launched limited edition 'Active-ism' trips in the parks, hosted by influential activists and local guides. The trips are about $US500-$600 ($A770-$920) cheaper than a standard itinerary, despite the addition of an activist. 'That has been a deliberate focus, making them as accessible as possible,' Mr Barnes said. 'They're not going to be the world's greatest profit generator for the organisation, but that's not the purpose.' Intrepid will also donate $US50,000 ($A77,000) on behalf of its travellers to nongovernmental organisations protecting the US national parks. Intrepid has 26 trips across 18 national parks, and employs 200 local guides and 60 staff there. The company has taken more than 20,000 travellers and expects to host another 5000 this year. Mr Barnes explained that it's not just direct jobs at the US National Parks Service at risk. 'They (national parks) are absolutely amazing economic drivers for these areas. Having these national parks creates jobs in and around the national parks ecosystem. Not just the national parks employees but all the little smaller businesses and ecosystems it supports,' he said. He added: 'They're a massive pride and icon in the USA. 'We want to ensure these amazing parts of the USA are not just here for this generation but the generations beyond.' Mr Barnes said the more people who experience nature, the more that are likely to advocate for these spaces, so his team simply asked themselves, 'how do we encourage more people to go out to national parks?'. The Active-ism trips include two five-day 'Zion and The Grand Canyon' trips hosted by public lands advocate Alex Haraus in November and environmental advocate Wawa Gatheru in April next year, and then two six-day 'Yellowstone and The Grand Tetons' trips hosted by climate educator Michael Mezzatesta and environmental author Leah Thomas in June next year. The target market is Americans but anyone can book. Discussions guests can expect include the current threats facing US national parks, the impact of climate change, Indigenous land rights, equity in outdoor spaces, and how to turn awareness into advocacy. Mr Barnes, previously Intrepid's chief customer officer in Melbourne, took on leading the Americas side of the business at a challenging time for US tourism. March — the same month Mr Barnes relocated his family to the States — saw the sharpest drop in Australians travelling to the US since during the height of the Covid pandemic, according to US International Trade Administration statistics. Australian visitor numbers fell 7 per cent in March this year, compared to March 2024 — the biggest drop since March 2021. Flight Centre and Intrepid Travel told last month bookings to the US had dropped significantly as Aussies, Canadians and Europeans choose to travel elsewhere. Globally, Intrepid saw a year-on-year 9 per cent decline in US sales for the first four months of the year. US sales for Australian and New Zealand travellers in particular were down 13 per cent. April alone was down 44 per cent on last year. But other areas such as South America are 'booming'. As a result, Mr Barnes said his team had increased their focus on domestic travel within the US, promoting the right products at the right time, and increasing their brand presence (last week Intrepid became an official partner of the Seattle Storm WNBA team). All eyes on American tourism The global tourism industry is keeping a close eye on the impact of Mr Trump's strict border stance and other controversial government policies like sweeping tariffs are having on travel. On Thursday, Mr Trump signed a new travel ban banning people from 12 countries to 'protect Americans from dangerous foreign actors'. The ban targets nationals of Afghanistan, Burma, Chad, Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen. Flight Centre CEO and founder Graham Turner told it was an 'unsettled climate' impacting business travel, while tourists worry about passport control and others simply don't want to go to the US 'because they don't like what Donald Trump's doing'. Tourism Economics — which forecasts foreign traveller arrivals in the US will sharply decline this year resulting in a loss of $9 billion in spending — said decisions from the Trump Administration are creating a 'negative sentiment shift toward the US among travellers'. The travel data company's April report cited Mr Trump's stance on border security and immigration as one of the factors discouraging visits. Mr Trump rejects the notion that the country's tourism industry is in any trouble — saying 'tourism is way up'. Security checks at US airports have garnered much attention in recent months amid Mr Trump's 'enhanced vetting' for arrivals at US airports and cases of tourists being denied entry on arrival, and at times, strip searched and thrown in prison. Former NSW police officer Nikki Saroukos is one of those people who recently travelled to the US using an Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA) under the Visa Waiver Program and was deported, but first she had to spend a night in a federal prison. She said she was subjected to invasive searches and humiliating treatment for trying to spend time with her US military husband stationed in Hawaii. The US Department of Homeland Security later issued what it described as a 'fact check' on X after she went public with the ordeal, accusing her of having 'unusual activity on her phone, including 1000 deleted text messages from her husband'. Homeland Security said 'officers determined that she was travelling for more than just tourism'. But Ms Saroukos strongly denies having any plans to live permanently in the US. The Sydney resident, who married her husband Matt in January after a whirlwind long-distance romance, told she was 'in disbelief at how ridiculous' the statement was and claimed that some of the information included had been 'twisted'. Why denied tourists can end up in federal prison CBP has long had strong powers to deny entry, detain and deport foreigners at their discretion when travellers arrive in the country even if they have a valid visa or ESTA. However, what we are seeing under the Trump administration is described as 'enhanced vetting'. Australians are being warned to not assume they are exempt to more intense checks, including inspections of emails, text messages or social media accounts at the airport. Melissa Vincenty, a US immigration lawyer and Australian migration agent who is managing director of Worldwide Migration Partners, told recently that being taken to federal prison with no criminal record, no drugs or anything that is a danger to society is the reality of being denied entry to the US in Hawaii. Ms Vincenty, a dual-citizen who was a deportation defence lawyer in Honolulu before moving to Australia, explained the state did not have an immigration facility so people were taken to the Federal Detention Center Honolulu, where there was no separate wing for immigration. It meant tourists who were denied entry to the US could be held alongside those awaiting trial — or who have been convicted and were waiting to be transferred to a mainland prison for serious federal crimes, such as kidnapping, bank robbery or drug crimes. 'It's like in the movies — you go there and there's bars, you get strip searched, all your stuff is taken away from you, you're not allowed to call anybody, nobody knows where you are,' Ms Vincenty told in April after the experience of two young German tourists being strip searched and thrown in prison made global headlines. Ms Vincenty said for Australians who were denied entry to the US in other locations like Los Angeles, San Francisco or Dallas, being held in detention facilities until the next available flight home was a real risk as there weren't constant return flights to Australia — meaning you might have to wait until the next day. If not taken to a detention facility, some travellers may stay sitting for hours in what is called a secondary inspection at the airport. A secondary inspection includes further vetting such as searching travellers' electronic devices. 'That period can last from half an hour to 15 hours or more,' she said.
CNN
6 days ago
- Business
- CNN
The four reasons why Elon Musk trashes Trump's budget
CNN's Laura Coates talks with Axios reporter Marc Caputo about the real reasons behind Elon Musk's public criticism of President Trump's budget.
CNN
6 days ago
- Business
- CNN
The four reasons why Elon Musk trashes Trump's budget
CNN's Laura Coates talks with Axios reporter Marc Caputo about the real reasons behind Elon Musk's public criticism of President Trump's budget.
The Independent
7 days ago
- Business
- The Independent
‘Matter of life and death': Why Democratic activists see hope for victory in Medicaid budget fight
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries posed a difficult question to his Democratic caucus during a press conference on Capitol Hill earlier this year. 'What leverage do we have?' the highest-ranking Democrat in the House asked his party. Increasingly, the answer to that question is Medicaid. In the minority in both chambers, Jeffries' party has struggled to find its voice in the first half of 2025. But with their counterparts now split between deficit hawks worried about the ever-growing national debt and another GOP faction fearful of eroding America's safety net as President Donald Trump's 'Big Beautiful Bill' is taken up by the Senate, some are seeing an opening for the left to score a real victory. And the battle over Medicaid funding is that target of opportunity. Democrats hope to halt, or at a minimum, change, the Trump budget bill, which currently aims to change the Medicaid system by adding work requirements and other restrictions to the program's eligibility process. The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimates the so-called BBB will throw millions of people off of the program, mostly through difficulties navigating government red tape. 'What I believe is, if we can get enough people to stand up, and enough people to push back, [the Republicans] can be moved in a lot of places,' said the Rev. William Barber. Barber, who spoke with The Independent on Monday before being arrested for a prayer demonstration in the U.S. Capitol Rotunda, is leading one of a wide range of left-leaning groups mobilizing against the GOP budget reconciliation bill that passed the House of Representatives in May. A longtime activist for minimum wage increases and other policies to serve low-income communities, Barber spoke about urging faith communities to put pressure on Republicans in districts with high populations of Medicaid-eligible households. 'We're pushing our congregants to call their legislators hard,' Barber said. 'The reason they keep passing it and pushing things in the middle of the night is because they know … if people really knew what was going on, they would be outraged.' The few Republicans who continue to host in-public town hall events continue to face heckling and disruptions caused by constituents furious about cuts to Medicaid in the budget plan. Iowa Sen. Joni Ernst, over the weekend, issued a mocking apology after going viral for quipping, 'Well, we're all going to die' in response to a shouted accusation about Medicaid cuts from a constituent at her event. The liberal and progressive groups organizing against the reconciliation package frequently refer back to the last Republican effort to reform health care — the 2017 fight over the Obamacare repeal — as evidence that public sentiment is on their side. They may be right. Polling from early May shared with The Independent by the Committee to Protect Heathcare, a progressive group, shows that a clear majority of Americans (62.6 percent) are opposed to Medicaid cuts as a matter of policy, with just 22 percent in favor. Aimed at pushing groups to further pressure Republicans, the Tavern Research polling memo tested the strength of messaging around opposing Medicaid cuts against GOP candidates and found clear shifts — almost entirely among independents and Republicans — when voters were exposed to that messaging. A particularly strong line of attack, according to the polling, centers on the risk of hospital closures in rural and other low-income communities, where medical centers often rely heavily on federal Medicare funding. Changes to eligibility requirements that kick millions off the program could quickly put hospitals out of business. Bruce Siegel, the president of America's Essential Hospitals, said in May: 'This unprecedented level of Medicaid cuts would devastate the program, undermining the ability of essential hospitals to provide critical services, including trauma care, behavioral health, maternal health, and public health emergency response.' 'These hospitals, which already operate on thin margins, cannot absorb such losses without reducing services or closing their doors altogether,' said Siegel, whose group represents dozens of hospitals across the US. The union representing state and local employees around the country, AFSCME, was also on Capitol Hill in May ahead of the House vote, which opponents see as merely the halfway point in a long battle to stop the Medicaid cuts from becoming law. Nathan Martinez, an AFSCME member and Medicaid eligibility specialist from Wisconsin, was part of the union's effort to explain how new processes will force many who should be eligible for Medicaid and food stamps (SNAP) out of the programs. Martinez spoke about how cuts led by DOGE, which hit the Center for Medicare and Medicaid in its firing rampage across the federal government, further endanger the system's functionality. 'You know, the biggest complaints with … the processes that we have for these programs, is it's either too complicated or it's not available enough,' he said. 'It really opens my eyes to see – like we need more people, and just by having these cuts, by having this extra tape, it's not going to offer a solution that I think people are thinking it is going to offer.' Lee Saunders, AFSCME's president, wrote in a letter to the union's members after the budget bill's passage in the House that their focus was shifting to the Senate, where Republicans like Josh Hawley have expressed doubts about Medicaid cuts, as the effort to change or defeat the bill continues: 'This fight is far from over.' Barber said the reconciliation bill could be the biggest fight for the left this year. He noted that it was also an opportunity to rebuke the Trump administration's broader agenda, including its ambition to surge funding for the military and deportations, and insisted that Republicans were beginning to feel the pressure — even if the legislation continues to advance through Congress. 'These town halls are starting to get to people,' he said. 'Everybody is going to be touched. There's nobody that doesn't know somebody who's on Medicaid, knows somebody whose life was saved through Medicaid, or is on it themselves.' 'This is a moral issue. We're in a crisis of civilization,' Barber continued. 'I believe this bill is forcing [unity on the left] because this is really a matter of death. This is not tiddlywinks.'
Yahoo
24-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
What's next for Trump's big, beautiful bill?
This article was first published in the On the Hill newsletter. Sign up to receive the newsletter in your inbox on Friday mornings here. Hello, friends. Happy Memorial Day weekend. This week marked a major win for the Republican Party, but it didn't come easily. The House passed the 'Big Beautiful Bill Act' in the wee hours of Thursday after more than seven hours of debate on the floor — and that doesn't include the nearly 22-hour hearing beforehand that lasted the entirety of Wednesday. Needless to say, it was a week of big developments, little sleep, and negotiations that lasted until the very last minute. But what's next? Trump's budget heads to the Senate — where changes await After weeks of marathon hearings, hourslong negotiations, and last-minute changes to the budget framework, the House finally got President Donald Trump's agenda passed in a razor-thin vote around 7 a.m. EDT on Thursday. But the hard part might just be beginning. The budget resolution must now head to the Senate for consideration, and some senators are already hinting at major changes to the framework before they can support it. (And, to freshen up knowledge on the process: if the Senate makes any changes — no matter how small — it must go to back to the House and pass again before it can be signed by Trump.) There are a lot of factors at play here, and the drama won't really start to unfold until Congress returns on June 3 from the Memorial Day recess. But the crux of the issue is this: A substantial faction of conservatives in the House who are part of the Freedom Caucus made a number of demands in order to get their support for the budget resolution. Without their help, the bill would have failed on the House floor. But those changes took weeks to negotiate — and they are unlikely to go over well with more moderate Republicans in the Senate. For example, two major demands the Freedom Caucus made was to make deeper spending cuts to Medicaid and to fully repeal the Inflation Reduction Act, which includes several clean energy tax credits. But there are some GOP senators who might be wary of the changes — including Sen. John Curtis, R-Utah, who supports those green energy credits — which could cause some heartburn. 'All of which means this: If Congress cuts funding for Medicaid benefits, Missouri workers and their children will lose their health care. And hospitals will close. It's that simple,' Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., wrote in a New York Times op-ed warning against Medicaid cuts. 'And that pattern will replicate in states across the country.' On the other hand, you have some Republicans in the Senate who want more spending cuts. 'I'm hoping now we'll actually start looking at reality,' Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., said on Thursday. 'I know everybody wants to go to Disney World, but we just can't afford it.' House Republicans knew the risks of spending so much time debating budget provisions that could be later stripped out — but for some, that might have been the point. 'I think after seeing how painful of a process this is and how difficult it is to get anything through this side, I think that will send a strong message in the Senate that you can't really change it,' Rep. Eric Burlison, R-Mo., a member of the Freedom Caucus, told me this week. Burlison has been someone who often warns about getting 'jammed' by the Senate — a colloquial term referring to when the House has to just swallow whatever the upper chamber passes — so I pressed him on that a little further. I asked: 'After all this, you think once y'all pass it, they'll just take it?' Burlison: 'I think so.' To my surprise, a number of other House conservatives had the same belief. Fellow Freedom Caucus member Andy Ogles, R-Tenn., told me: 'I think if we send them over a conservative package, they actually will adopt it, because the Senate's position right now is more conservative than the House.' When I asked about concerns that the Senate could reject some of the conservative changes the House made, Ogles said: 'Their posture is more conservative than ours so if they were to change it, it would be an improvement.' Remember: Senate Republicans have a similar margin that House GOP leaders have had to deal with the last few weeks. They can lose up to three GOP senators before the bill fails, assuming all Democrats vote against it. The plan is to get the framework through the Senate, back to the House if needed, and on Trump's desk by the Fourth of July. It's an ambitious timeline, to be sure. We'll see if they can pull off a miracle. Joe Biden returns to the forefront: House Republicans spent much of the last Congress investigating the Biden family — and that trend continues into this administration. The House Oversight Committee announced it would continue investigations into the Biden administration, the former president's cognitive decline, and his use of the autopen (something that several presidents, including Trump, have used in the past). The committee sent requests on Thursday for interviews with the former president's doctor and former White House aides. Stablecoin history: The Senate passed legislation this week to implement the first-ever regulation framework for stablecoins, a type of cryptocurrency that is considered more secure because it is tied to an underlying asset. Democrats initially threatened to block the bill until they came to an agreement with Republicans this week to include language that would extend ethics standards to special government employees (read: Elon Musk, while he is in his administration position). Democrat charged with assault: A House Democrat was charged with two counts of assaulting, resisting, and impeding an officer during a protest outside an Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility on May 9. Rep. LaMonica McIver, D-N.J., has since been released but now faces a resolution from Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., to be removed from the House. That's unlikely to happen, but could raise tensions between the parties. This week, House members were awake for at least 24 hours — some even longer! — as they tried to pass this big, beautiful bill. The House Rules Committee met for the longest period of time, with its hearing lasting almost 22 hours with one short 10-minute recess. It's probably a record for the committee, although no one is quite sure as the panel is the longest-standing committee in Congress and we don't have records going all the way back to its creation in 1789. As you can imagine, everyone was quite tired. Your author was dependent on Celsius energy drinks and afternoon Diet Cokes to stay awake. And I'm here to confirm the rumors: Lawmakers, they're just like us. I caught quite a few lawmakers nodding off in committee hearings this week, giving some vindication to Rep. Blake Moore, R-Utah, who went viral when he nodded off in a hearing last week. Rep. Ralph Norman, R-S.C., for example, fell asleep several times during the Rules Committee meeting and had to be shaken awake during amendment votes late Wednesday evening. Norman later revealed to me and a few other reporters he had only gotten two hours of sleep between Tuesday and Wednesday, and didn't get to go to bed until after the bill passed early Thursday morning. Sweet dreams, congressman. And some members even missed the big, beautiful vote because they fell asleep. No, really. Two Republicans missed the vote early Thursday morning, including New York Rep. Andrew Garbarino, who Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., said had fallen asleep. 'Andrew Garbarino did not make it in time. He fell asleep in the back, no kidding,' Johnson told reporters. That could've been drastic for Republicans because the bill passed in a 215-214 vote — a razor-thin margin that offered GOP leaders no room for error. Shout-out to Rep. Celeste Maloy, R-Utah, who stayed awake on the House floor and offered a speech during debate — and on her birthday, no less. Now it's the Senate's turn … and they are known for their overnight vote-a-ramas, so maybe we'll catch a few more snoozers in the coming weeks. From the Hill: Republicans won't sell Utah's public lands in Trump's budget. … Congress considers reining in Trump's firing powers. … Senate chaplain prays for Biden after cancer diagnosis. From the White House: Trump signs bipartisan bill criminalizing revenge porn. … Prayer service at Pentagon sparks religious freedom debate. … Trump, South African president clash in White House meeting over 'genocide' From the courts: The Supreme Court deadlocked over a first-of-its-kind religious charter school. … SCOTUS returns Maine lawmaker's right to vote after post about transgender athlete. … SCOTUS approved largest immigration status revocation in decades. The House and Senate will leave town for a weeklong recess to celebrate the Memorial Day holiday. When they get back, the Senate gets to join the 'big, beautiful fun.' In the meantime, I'll be back in Utah next week while lawmakers return for the district work period. I'll be checking in with lawmakers to see what they're up to when not on Capitol Hill. As always, feel free to reach out to me by email with story ideas or questions you have for lawmakers. And follow me on X for breaking news and timely developments from the Hill.
