Mayors, doctor groups sue over Trump's efforts to restrict Obamacare enrollment
The rules, rolled out last month, reverse a Biden-era effort to expand access to the Affordable Care Act's health insurance, commonly called 'Obamacare' or the ACA. The previous Democratic administration expanded the enrollment window for the coverage, which led to record enrollment.
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Winnipeg Free Press
22 minutes ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Trump keeps saying the GOP mega bill will eliminate taxes on Social Security. It does not
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump keeps saying that Republicans' mega tax and spending cut legislation will eliminate taxes on federal Social Security benefits. It does not. At best, Trump's 'no tax on Social Security' claim exaggerates the benefits to seniors if either the House or Senate-passed proposals is signed into law. Here's a look at Trump's recent statements, and what the proposals would — or would not — do. What Trump has said Trump repeatedly told voters during his 2024 campaign that he would eliminate taxes on Social Security. As his massive legislative package has moved through Congress, the Republican president has claimed that's what the bill would do. Trump said on a recent appearance on Fox News' 'Sunday Morning Futures' that the bill includes 'no tax on tips, no tax on Social Security, no tax on overtime.' A temporary tax deduction But instead of eliminating the tax, the Senate and House have each passed their own versions of a temporary tax deduction for seniors aged 65 and over, which applies to all income — not just Social Security. And it turns out not all Social Security beneficiaries will be able to claim the deduction. Those who won't be able to do so include the lowest-income seniors who already don't pay taxes on Social Security, those who choose to claim their benefits before they reach age 65 and those above a defined income threshold. The Senate proposal includes a temporary $6,000 deduction for seniors over the age of 65, contrasted with the House proposal, which includes a temporary deduction of $4,000. The Senate proposal approved Tuesday would eliminate Social Security tax liability for seniors with adjusted gross incomes of $75,000 or less or $150,000 if filing as a married couple. If passed into law, the tax deduction would last four years, from 2025 to 2029. The deductions phase out as income increases. White House touts impact Touting a new Council of Economic Advisers analysis, the White House said Tuesday that '88% of all seniors who receive Social Security — will pay NO TAX on their Social Security benefits,' going on to say that the Senate proposal's $6,000 senior deduction 'is estimated to benefit 33.9 million seniors, including seniors not claiming Social Security. The deduction yields an average increase in after-tax income of $670 per senior who benefits from it.' Garrett Watson, director of policy analysis at the Tax Foundation think tank, said conflating the tax deduction with a claim that there will be no tax on Social Security could end up confusing and angering a lot of seniors who will expect to not pay taxes on their Social Security benefits. 'While the deduction does provide some relief for seniors, it's far from completely repealing the tax on their benefits,' Watson said. Economic effect Monday Mornings The latest local business news and a lookahead to the coming week. The cost of actually eliminating the tax on Social Security would have massive impacts on the economy. University of Pennsylvania's Penn Wharton Budget Model estimates that eliminating income taxes on Social Security benefits 'would reduce revenues by $1.5 trillion over 10 years and increase federal debt by 7 percent by 2054″ and speed up the projected depletion date of the Social Security Trust Fund from 2034 to 2032. Discussions over taxes on Social Security are just part of the overall bill, which is estimated in its Senate version to increase federal deficits over the next 10 years by nearly $3.3 trillion from 2025 to 2034, according to the Congressional Budget Office. Administration officials have said the cost of the tax bill would be offset by tariff income. Recently, the CBO separately estimated that Trump's sweeping tariff plan would cut deficits by $2.8 trillion over a 10-year period while shrinking the economy, raising the inflation rate and reducing the purchasing power of households overall.
Winnipeg Free Press
22 minutes ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
MS-13 leader to be sentenced in racketeering case involving 8 murders
CENTRAL ISLIP, N.Y. (AP) — The leader of an MS-13 clique in the suburbs of New York City faces sentencing Wednesday in a federal racketeering case involving eight murders, including the 2016 killings of two high school girls that focused the nation's attention on the violent Central American street gang. Alexi Saenz pleaded guilty last year for his role in ordering and approving the killings as well as other crimes during a rash of bloody violence that prompted President Donald Trump to make several visits to Long Island and call for the death penalty for Saenz and other gang members during his first term in the White House. Saenz's lawyers are seeking a sentence of 45 years behind bars, but prosecutors want the judge to impose the maximum sentence of 70 years. Prosecutors, who previously withdrew their intent to seek the death penalty, say Saenz deserves to live out his days in prison for his 'senseless' and 'sadistic' crimes. 'The eight victims who lost their lives did nothing to deserve what the MS-13 did to them,' they wrote in legal filings ahead of Wednesday's hearing. 'The defendant and the others killed them in service of the gang without remorse or any regard for them as human beings.' But Saenz's lawyers have argued for leniency, saying in their own legal filings that the now-30-year-old is remorseful and 'on a journey of redemption' while incarcerated. 'With the passage of time and much reflection, it is hard for Mr. Saenz to reconcile the person he is today with the person he was when he committed the crimes,' their sentencing memo reads. 'He is profoundly sorry, and although he knows the families may not accept his apology, it is sincere, and he accepts full responsibility for his participation in these crimes.' Saenz's lawyers also say he suffers from intellectual disabilities and lasting trauma from an abusive father and difficult upbringing in El Salvador. They say Saenz was recruited and unwittingly 'groomed' into MS-13 because he was an 'easily influenced' and 'gullible' high school student on Long Island. Prosecutors, however, counter that Saenz has remained 'firmly entrenched' in MS-13 while in a federal lockup in Brooklyn for the past eight years. They cited photos of him posing with other gang members behind bars and displaying gang signs and gang paraphernalia. They also say Saenz has been disciplined for assaulting other inmates, refusing staff orders and possessing sharpened metal shanks, cellphones and other contraband. 'Indeed, the same pattern of violence and mayhem that has marked his life on the street has not waned with the passage of time,' prosecutors wrote. Saenz, also known as 'Blasty' and 'Big Homie,' was the leader of an MS-13 clique operating in Brentwood and Central Islip known as Sailors Locos Salvatruchas Westside. He admitted last July that he'd authorized the eight killings and three other attempted killings of perceived rivals and others that had disrespected or feuded with the clique. Saenz also admitted to arson, firearms offenses and drug trafficking — the proceeds of which went toward buying firearms, more drugs and providing contributions to the wider MS-13 gang. Among the killings Saenz oversaw were the deaths of Kayla Cuevas, 16, and Nisa Mickens, 15, lifelong friends and classmates at Brentwood High School who were slain with a machete and a baseball bat. Other victims included Javier Castillo, 15, of Central Islip, who was befriended by gang members only to be cut down with a machete in an isolated marsh. Another victim, Oscar Acosta, 19, was found dead in a wooded area near railroad tracks nearly five months after he left his Brentwood home to play soccer. MS-13, or Mara Salvatrucha, is a transnational criminal organization believed to have been founded as a neighborhood street gang in Los Angeles in the mid-1980s by people fleeing civil war in El Salvador. ___ Follow Philip Marcelo at
Winnipeg Free Press
22 minutes ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
House Republicans race toward a final vote on Trump's tax bill, daring critics to oppose
WASHINGTON (AP) — Republican leaders in the House are sprinting toward a Wednesday vote on President Donald Trump's tax and spending cuts package, determined to seize momentum from a hard-fought vote in the Senate while essentially daring members to defy their party's leader and vote against it. 'The American people gave us a clear mandate, and after four years of Democrat failure, we intend to deliver without delay,' the top four House GOP leaders said Tuesday after the bill passed the Senate 51-50, thanks to Vice President JD Vance's tiebreaking vote. It's a risky gambit, one designed to meet Trump's demand for a July 4 finish — and there's a steep climb ahead. Since launching early this year, Republicans have struggled mightily with the bill nearly every step of the way, often succeeding by only a single vote. Their House majority stands at only 220-212, leaving little room for defections. Some Republicans are likely to balk at being asked to rubber stamp the Senate bill less than 24 hours after passage, having had little time to read or absorb the changes that were made, many at the last minute to win the vote of Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski. House Republicans from competitive districts have bristled at the Senate bill's cuts to Medicaid, while conservatives have lambasted the legislation as straying from their fiscal goals. It falls to Speaker Mike Johnson and his team to convince them that the time for negotiations is over. Trump pushes Republicans to do 'the right thing' The bill would extend and make permanent various individual and business tax breaks that Republicans passed in Trump's first term, plus temporarily add new ones that Trump promised during the campaign, including allowing workers to deduct tips and overtime pay, and provide a new $6,000 deduction for most older adults. In all, the legislation contains about $4.5 trillion in tax cuts over 10 years. The bill also provides some $350 billion for defense and Trump's immigration crackdown. Republicans partially pay for it all through less spending on Medicaid and food assistance. The Congressional Budget Office projects that it will add about $3.3 trillion in federal deficits over the coming decade. The House passed its version of the bill back in May, despite worries about spending cuts and the overall price tag. Now, they are being asked to give final passage to a version that, in many respects, exacerbates those concerns. The Senate bill's projected impact on federal deficits, for example, is significantly higher. Trump praised the bill profusely in a social media post, saying 'We can have all of this right now, but only if the House GOP UNITES, ignores its occasional 'GRANDSTANDERS' (You know who you are!), and does the right thing, which is sending this Bill to my desk.' The high price of opposing Trump's bill Speaker Johnson, R-La., is intent on meeting the president's July 4 timeline. He's also betting that hesitant Republicans won't cross Trump because of the heavy political price they would have to pay. They need only look to Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., who announced his intention to vote against the legislation over the weekend. Soon, the president was calling for a primary challenger to the senator and personally attacking him on social media. Tillis quickly announced he would not seek a third term. Others could face a similar fate. One House Republican who has staked out opposition to the bill, Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky, is already being targeted by Trump's well-funded political operation. House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., said leadership was not entertaining the possibility of making changes to the bill before the final vote. He said the two chambers already agree on the vast majority of what's in it. 'It's not as easy as saying, 'hey, I just want one more change,' because one more change could end up being what collapses the entire thing,' Scalise said. Democratic lawmakers, united against the bill as harmful to the country, condemned the process as rushed. Rep. Jim McGovern, D-Mass., said there's no real deadline for getting the bill passed by July 4th. 'We're rushing not because the country demands it, but because he wants to throw himself another party,' McGovern said. 'This isn't policy. It's ego management.' Democrats warn health care, food aid are being ripped away House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries described the bill in dire terms, saying that cuts in Medicaid spending would result in 'Americans losing their lives because of their inability to access health care coverage.' He said Republicans are 'literally ripping the food out of the mouths of children, veterans and seniors.' 'House Democrats are going to do everything we can for the next few hours, today, tomorrow, for the balance of this week and beyond to stop this bill from ever becoming law,' Jeffries said. Republicans say 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 package includes new 80-hour-a-month work requirements for many adults receiving Medicaid and applies existing work requirements in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program to more beneficiaries. States will also pick up more of the cost for food benefits, with the amount based on their payment error rates, which include both underpayments and overpayments. Wednesdays Columnist Jen Zoratti looks at what's next in arts, life and pop culture. The driving force behind the bill, however, is the tax cuts. Many expire at the end of this year if Congress doesn't act. 'Passing this bill means smaller tax bills and bigger paychecks for the American people — permanently,' said Senate Majority Leader John Thune. 'It will also help get our economy firing on all cylinders again.' 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 to what they'd face if the 2017 tax cuts expired. ___ Associated Press writer Joey Cappelletti contributed to this report.
