New Hampshire's health policy agenda is a prescription for trouble
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In another head-scratching decision, the House shelved
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Perhaps the most charged bills this session were
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And yet, there are glimmers of what good policy can look like.
We're at a crossroads. Will we continue to lead with level-headed reform, or get swept up in national fights that do more to divide than heal? If the House wants to restore confidence in its health policy agenda, it should return to what New Hampshire does best: putting people before politics and results before rhetoric.
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Dr. Jennifer Mandelbaum represents Rockingham 21 in the New Hampshire House of Representatives.
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USA Today
37 minutes ago
- USA Today
Trump promotes UFC fight at White House, migrant remedy for farmers in Iowa speech
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The Hill
an hour ago
- The Hill
Trump takes ‘big, beautiful bill' victory lap in Iowa: 5 takeaways
President Trump on Thursday visited Iowa to kick off a year-long celebration of the 250th anniversary of the country's founding at an event that doubled as a victory lap for the passage of a major legislative package. Trump spoke at a 'Salute to America' event in Des Moines, Iowa, on the eve of Independence Day. His remarks came hours after the House passed the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, sending the legislation that contains many of the president's campaign promises to Trump's desk. The president also mused about the mutual 'hate' between him and Democrats, a potential exemption for farmers to avoid the deportation of their undocumented workers and a recent exchange of missiles between the U.S. and Iran. Here are five takeaways from Trump's Iowa remarks. 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Democrats have seized on how the bill contains cuts to low-income health and nutrition programs — reductions designed to help offset the loss of revenues from the tax cuts but that are also expected to eliminate health coverage for millions of people. 'This is a declaration of independence from a really national decline. We had a national decline,' Trump said. 'We were a laughingstock all over the world. We had a man as president who shouldn't have been there.' Trump is no stranger to using harsh rhetoric to attack his critics and political opponents, and he did just that on Thursday as he railed against Democrats for voting against the GOP reconciliation package. 'All of the things we did with the tax cuts and rebuilding our military, not one Democrat voted for us. And I think we use it in the campaign that's coming up, the midterms,' Trump said. 'But all of the things that we've given, and they wouldn't vote. Only because they hate Trump,' the president continued. 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On Thursday, Trump indicated he was open to leaving farmers to their own devices. 'We want all the criminals out, everybody agrees. The farmers, some of the farmers… they've had people working for them for years, and we're going to do something,' Trump said. 'If a farmer is willing to vouch for these people in some way, we're going to have just say that's going to be good. We're going to be good with it,' Trump added. 'Because we don't want to do with it where we take all the workers off the farm. 'Serious radical right people, who I also happen to like a lot, they may not be quite as happy. But they'll understand,' Trump said. July 13 will mark the anniversary of the campaign rally in Butler, Pa., where Trump survived an assassination attempt after being grazed by a bullet. When a firework boomed in the distance as he spoke in Des Moines, Trump's mind appeared to flash back to that moment nearly a year ago. 'It's only fireworks, I hope. Famous last words,' Trump quipped. 'You always have to think positive,' Trump added. 'I didn't like that sound either.' Trump is expected to sit down for an interview with his daughter-in-law and Fox News host Lara Trump for an interview next week at the White House that will air ahead of the anniversary of the Butler rally. Axios first reported on the planned interview.
USA Today
an hour ago
- USA Today
What will student loans look like after Trump's spending bill is signed?
Federal student borrowers are among those concerned after both chambers of Congress passed President Donald Trump's mega spending bill. Following a full day of negotiations July 3 and a 218-214 House vote, the "Big, Beautiful Bill" is just a Trump signature away from making 2017 tax cuts introduced during his first term permanent. The bold, nearly 900-page bill sets narrow tax breaks for tips and overtime; launches new benefits for businesses, and rolls back former President Joe Biden's clean energy tax credits. It will also slash benefit programs like Medicaid, leaving nearly 12 million Americans uninsured and remove accessibility of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program for 2 million people. Trump, alongside the Republican-majority House and Senate, are also significantly shaping student loans by cutting the number of repayment plans available to borrowers. A Biden-era program that tailored payment requirements to the person's income will be replaced with a new fixed-rate program that would disadvantage lower-income families. Those planning to continue their education beyond their undergraduate degree are slated to be impacted by new caps toward graduate, medical and law students. The bill also impacts how much parents can borrow to help their children pay for tuition. Here's a breakdown on what borrowing federal student loans will look like if the bill is signed into law. What are the new caps on student loans? The bill would enforce a lifetime cap of borrowing $100,000 for graduate students as well as $200,000 cap for medical and law school students. The legislation also reduces opportunities for deferments or forbearance and new limits on lending for part-time students. How will student loan repayment be different? Repaying student debt is expected to shift as the bill guts loan forgiveness programs that have been in place for years and alters payment requirements that previously benefited disadvantage lower-income families. There are now just two repayment plans, including a standard repayment plan that allows borrowers to repay over 10 to 25 years based on their loan amounts regardless of income. The other is a "Repayment Assistance Plan" based on borrowers pay monthly payments between 1% and 10% of their discretionary income. How are parents impacted? The bill also sets a $65,000 cap on Parent PLUS loans, which are unsubsidized loans offered for parents aiming to support dependent undergraduate students. These loans will also no longer be eligible for repayment programs. What happens to the SAVE program? The around eight million borrowers enrolled in Biden's SAVE (Saving on a Valuable Education) repayment plan will stay in limbo awaiting a judge's decision about the program's legality. The bill requires SAVE borrowers to find a new repayment plan between July 2026 and the end of June 2028. If they don't after July 1, 2028, then they will automatically be enrolled in the Repayment Assistance Plan based on discretionary income. Which student loan borrowers are unaffected? The new changes will most likely impact new federal student loan borrowers instead of the more than 40 million Americans already in student loan debt. Contributing: Zachary Schermele and Sarah D. Wire, USA TODAY
