Latest news with #UnitedStatesSenate
Time of India
2 days ago
- Politics
- Time of India
Donald Trump targets Biden's mental health: GOP demands probe into autopen use, Presidential fitness under microscope
Donald Trump has frequently taken umbrage with his political opponents, with former United States president Joe Biden being no exception to his ire. Now, the United States House of Representatives is launching its own investigation into Joe Biden, specifically taking aim at allegations surrounding the former president's cognitive decline and the Democratic party's coverup of it. Additional investigations are underway in the United States Senate, with the White House also conducting its own investigation into Joe Biden's alleged autopen use, which is a talking point Trump has leaned into quite often recently. This political strategy has drawn considerable scrutiny, giving that the mid-term elections are due next year. Donald Trump continues to bring up Biden health issues Joe Biden was infamously in the headlines for his reported cognitive decline. While Biden's political opponents had been accusing him of being out of it as far back as his 2020 election campaign, matters really came to a head during the 2024 election cycle's first Presidential debate. Joe Biden's performance during the June 27 debate hosted by CNN was widely panned by political pundits as being among the worst debate performances in modern American history. This resulted in accusations of the Democratic party covering up Biden's cognitive decline to skyrocket. As evidenced by the Republican party's current investigations, this is not a scandal Donald Trump or his operatives are willing to let die anytime soon. Trump urges reporters to cover Biden's autopen and not Epstein The House Oversight Committee investigation into Biden's alleged use of an autopen is being led by Representative Derrick Van Orden, who claimed that using an autopen was a violation of the United States Constitution's Article II, which vests executive authority solely with the President. As Van Ord said, 'It doesn't say chief of staff. It doesn't say an auto pen.' CNN's debate moderator has also made accusations of a coverup Donald Trump and the GOP aren't the only ones who've raised questions about Joe Biden's cognitive decline. On May 2025, Jake Tapper, who was one of the debate moderators, published a book detailing Biden's decline called Original Sin: President Biden's Decline, Its Cover-up, and His Disastrous Choice to Run Again. Tapper did, however, court controversy for promoting his book instead of focusing on Donald Trump's own scandals. Still can't get over that Jake Tapper, the top guy at CNN, wrote a book about how everyone knew about Biden's mental decline but covered it up. He's the guiltiest of them all. In a sane world, he'd be fired for journalistic malpractice. But still top guy at CNN
UPI
5 days ago
- Politics
- UPI
Kennedy Institute to give lifetime achievement award to Joe Biden
1 of 2 | Sen. Joseph Biden, D-Del. (L), and Sen. Edward "Ted" Kennedy, D-Mass., attend a Senate Judiaciary Committee meeting in 1985. The Edward M. Kennedy Institute for the United States Senate is giving Biden a Lifetime Achievement Award this fall. File Photo by Tim Clary/UPI | License Photo July 18 (UPI) -- The Edward M. Kennedy Institute will give President Joe Biden a Lifetime Achievement Award at its 10th Anniversary Celebration this fall. Biden plans to attend the event on Oct. 26 at the Institute's Columbia Point, Mass., building. The award is to recognize Biden's "more than four decades in public life, beginning with his election to the United States Senate from Delaware in 1972, to his ascent to leadership positions in the Judiciary and Foreign Relations Committees, to the vice presidency and ultimately to the White House," a press release said. The Institute, named for Sen. Edward "Ted" Kennedy, will also give out its Award for Inspired Leadership to former secretary of labor and Boston Mayor Martin J. Walsh and Retired U.S. Navy Adm. Lisa Franchetti, the first woman to serve on the Joint Chiefs of Staff. "We believe that we can inspire new generations of leaders by highlighting the example of those who came before them like Senator Ted Kennedy," said Victoria Reggie Kennedy, Kennedy's widow and the co-founder of the Kennedy Institute. Biden, Walsh and Franchetti "are all such exemplary and inspiring leaders, dedicated to improving the lives of others in our community and throughout our country." The Institute's fall dinner is its annual fundraiser, supporting its mission to foster bipartisan political leadership, provide a forum for civil discourse about critical issues, and educate the public about the Senate's role in the American system of democratic government. "President Biden's life has been one of honorable service to his country, and like the man for whom the Kennedy Institute is named, fought for the interests, and to better the lives, of all Americans from all socio-economic, cultural, and personal backgrounds," Kennedy Institute Chair Bruce A. Percelay said. "His tenacity and persistence -- again, traits that echo those of Senator Ted Kennedy -- are constant reminders to our current political leaders of the dedication and hard work required to do the people's business in Washington."
Mint
02-07-2025
- Business
- Mint
Donald Trump's ‘Big Beautiful Bill' explained: Tax cuts on tips, Medicaid requirements, more
The The Republican-controlled United States Senate on Tuesday, July 1, narrowly advanced Donald Trump's tax-cut and spending bill, also known as 'One Big Beautiful Bill' and will now be presented before the House of Representatives for clearance to become a law. The 'One Big Beautiful Bill' increases spending for border security, mass deportation and slashing Medicaid and food stamps. The Congressional Budget Office or the Joint Committee on Taxation has estimated that Donald Trump's tax bill would add $3.3 trillion to the $36.2-trillion debt over 10 years, reduce revenues by $4.5 trillion and cut spending by $1.2 trillion. As the Big Beautiful Bill looks one step away from clearing the hurdle to become a law, here are the key takeaways from the megabill. After becoming president in 2017, Donald Trump signed the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, which lowered taxes and raised the standard deduction. Those tax breaks are set to expire this year, but the new 'Big Beautiful Bill' would make them permanent and slightly increase the standard deduction until 2028. It also exempts taxes on some tipped income until 2029. Creates a new deduction of up to $6,000 for people age 65 and older until 2029. The bill expands deduction limit for state and local tax (SALT) from $10,000 to $40,000 until 2029. It also exempts up to $1,700 for contributions to scholarship funds for private schools. If Donald Trump's 'Big Beautiful Bill' passes though House of Representatives, Medicaid would now require able-bodied adults who have no children to work, volunteer or be in school at least 80 hours a month starting in 2027. It excludes some non-citizens from the program and penalises states that use their own funds to provide coverage to them. It blocks regulations that required minimum staffing levels at nursing homes and other long-term care facilities It blocks funding to major providers like Planned Parenthood that focus on birth control, abortion, and other reproductive health services. The new bill increases work requirements for some of the 41 million participants in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (Snap) food aid program. It shifts some costs from federal government to states for them to contribute more to the food aid programs. It also bars some non citizens from benefits. The change would start in 2028. The new 'One Big Beautiful Bill' would provide money for border wall construction to block immigrants from illegally enter the country. It funds surveillance towers, drones and other border-security equipment. The bill increases staffing for immigration enforcement, border control, and immigration courts, and also expands detention capacity. It increases law enforcement protection of the president. It also adds funding to investigate visa fraud and other immigration-related crimes. It increases spending on shipbuilding and adds additional funds for air and missile defense. It allocates funds for munitions and nuclear weapons, and supports military operations that assist with border security.
Newsweek
19-06-2025
- Politics
- Newsweek
John Fetterman On Iran Conflict: 'Not Warmongering, This Is Peacemongering'
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. Democratic Senator John Fetterman of Pennsylvania continued to throw his full support behind Israel in its war with Iran this week, saying it's "not warmongering," it's "peacemongering." Why It Matters Israel and Iran have been lobbing missiles and strikes at one another since Israel first attacked Iran last week, decapitating Iran's military and intelligence chain-of-command, destroying nuclear sites and killing key nuclear scientists. The conflict entered its seventh day on Thursday, with Iran launching a strike that hit a major hospital in Israel, injuring at least 240 people and causing extensive damage. Israel subsequently accused Iran of crossing a "red line" and violating international law, and the country's defense minister, Israel Katz, said Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei "should not continue to exist." The White House, meanwhile, said President Donald Trump will decide within two weeks whether the United States will join the conflict and launch a strike at Iran. Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., participates in a debate with Sen. Dave McCormick, R-Pa., not shown, at the Edward M. Kennedy Institute for the United States Senate, Monday, June 2, 2025, in Boston, as livestreamed on... Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., participates in a debate with Sen. Dave McCormick, R-Pa., not shown, at the Edward M. Kennedy Institute for the United States Senate, Monday, June 2, 2025, in Boston, as livestreamed on Fox Nation. More Steven Senne/AP What To Know The rapidly escalating war has divided lawmakers and splintered President Donald Trump's typically ironclad MAGA coalition, as isolationists warn about the U.S. getting mired in another "forever war" in the Middle East and foreign policy hawks support the United States intervening to stop Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon. Fetterman, one of the most pro-Israel Democrats in Congress, weighed in on the prospect of U.S. involvement on Wednesday, telling reporters: "I'd like to point out ... the polling has shown that, I think it's effectively ... 80 percent of Americans think that Iran should never acquire a nuclear weapon." "So, like, this isn't shocking," the Pennsylvania Democrat added. "You know, it's like, this is not warmongering. This is peacemongering ... I mean, that's not controversial. It definitely shouldn't be controversial for Democrats." Fetterman: This is not warmongering. This is peace mongering. — Acyn (@Acyn) June 19, 2025 A recent Washington Post survey asked about 1,000 Americans whether they would support or oppose the U.S. launching airstrikes at Iran over its nuclear program. According to the poll, 45 percent of Americans oppose the move compared to 25 percent who said they would support a strike. Among Republicans, 47 percent back a U.S. strike against Iran, while 53 percent said they are either unsure or oppose a strike. Meanwhile, just nine percent of Democrats said they would support the move, compared to 67 percent who oppose it and 24 percent who say they're unsure. The Post's survey was conducted on June 18 and had a sample size of 1,008 U.S. adults. It has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.6 percentage points. This is a breaking news story. Updates to follow.
Business Journals
18-06-2025
- Health
- Business Journals
The real cost of the Big Beautiful Bill: Hunger and health
The Big Beautiful Bill, currently being considered by the United States Senate, is anything but beautiful. The proposed harms to people are many — jeopardizing millions of Americans' access to Medicaid, food assistance, higher education grants and infringing on the rights of lawful immigrants to pursue the American dream — all to make permanent tax cuts benefiting only the top 1% of earners. But what about the rest of us? The widespread harms of the bill have garnered bipartisan opposition at a time when polarization is the norm. Kansas Senator Jerry Moran spoke about the negative impacts of the bill on the Senate floor. Missouri Senator Josh Hawley has long been outspoken in opposition to the bill, calling it 'morally wrong.' Other legislators across the political spectrum have also raised grave concerns about this massive bill that will, even after cuts to essential programs, add $3.3 trillion to our national deficit. The fallacies of this bill show in how the legislature has moved to adopt it. Middle of the night debates and votes, and accelerated processes to move the bill through the House, are contrary to the transparency and sound decision necessary in a true representative democracy. Only through such tactics could legislation that would cut $700 billion from Medicaid and cause an estimated 15 million people to lose their health insurance coverage make it this far in the process. We as Americans must stand up for ourselves and say no. Impact of work requirements The addition of work requirements on top of federal spending cuts compound and confuse the issues of Medicaid program efficacy and efficiency. The vast majority of Kansans and Missourians covered through Medicaid are already working. Where states have enforced work requirements, it has resulted in many working Americans losing their coverage, not because they do not qualify, but because of administrative burden and error. For example, Arkansas removed 18,000 working people from Medicaid shortly after implementing work requirements a few years ago due to overly complicated online filing requirements, lack of awareness and lack of internet access. In Missouri, where Medicaid was expanded in 2020 by constitutional amendment, it is estimated that work requirements would cut off nearly 80,000 people from health insurance for similar reasons. This is an unjust consequence for people working in our communities and positively contributing to our economy. Cuts to food assistance and job losses Another cruel element of the bill is its sweeping, unprecedented cuts to food assistance (known as SNAP), totaling nearly $300 billion and projected to cut nutritional support for 28 million children, older adults, and people living with disabilities, impacting Congressional districts across Kansas and Missouri. In the bi-state Kansas City region, well over 30,000 working Missourians with children in school and 15,000 in Kansas would lose life-saving access to food. Research and history show that reducing or losing SNAP benefits altogether increases hunger and makes for worse health outcomes in working families with children. There is no discernible economic gain to these moves that would justify leaving families sick and hungry. Economists project that the 550,000 in job losses from the Medicaid cuts alone will put us at the brink of a recession. Cuts to SNAP are no better, leading to a loss of 143,000 jobs directly and indirectly associated with our food systems and reduced economic activity of $30 billion. Many of these workers who face lost opportunities and jobs would simultaneously be unable to access safety net benefits like SNAP because of the cuts. Harming our rural communities This bill is disastrous for rural communities — where good paying jobs, access to health care and healthy food are extraordinarily hard to come by. Cuts to Medicaid are projected to result in rural hospital closures, as they rely on Medicaid for revenue. Rural health care jobs would be cut by direct extension. An analysis by the National Rural Health Association shows that each rural hospital employee is associated with roughly $200,000 per year in economic activity. While many rural residents are reliant on the Medicaid program for coverage and SNAP for food assistance, even those who are not on Medicaid and Medicare will suffer when the hospital nearest to them closes or other services are cut because of lack of funding. Impact on workforce development The bill also changes the eligibility for Pell grants for students in households earning low incomes. Given the physician workforce shortage (and shortages in other health science professions) and that at least 5 percent of students in medical schools would have qualified for these grants, reduced access to funding for higher education will exacerbate work force shortages in rural and other parts of our country. Infringements on immigration Legal immigrants, refugees, and asylum seekers are also impacted. People who arrived legally in America would be denied access to Medicaid and Medicare even if they qualify or have satisfied the requirements to utilize these programs. There is too much at stake for too many people, as this budget bill sacrifices the quality of life for most Americans for the benefit of a small few. We cannot afford to gamble on hypothetical trickle-down economics when the economic benefits of these programs and the positive impact on people's life circumstances are proven. Senators must heed what is best for the American people with whom they are responsible for representing and vote this bill down. Health Forward Foundation is supporting and building inclusive, powerful, and healthy communities by prioritizing people who experience the greatest injustices in health outcomes. Through leadership, advocacy, and resources, we are championing an equitable future that will serve us all. Since we began grantmaking in 2005, Health Forward has awarded approximately $364 million to nonprofit organizations addressing community health needs.
