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A water quality rule that many conservatives viewed as federal government overreach is being rescinded, drawing applause from Iowas top elected Republicans.

The federal Environmental Protection Agency this week proposed a rule to eliminate what has become known as the waters of the U.S. rule. Implemented under former President Barack Obama, the rule was designed to protect water sources from pollution by defining which fall under the EPAs jurisdiction.

Opponents called the proposal an overreach and claimed the federal government would seek to regulate puddles, an assertion Obama administration officials disputed.

This week, President Donald Trumps administration proposed to rescind the rule.

We are taking significant action to return power to the states and provide regulatory certainty to our nations farmers and businesses, EPA administrator Scott Pruitt said in a statement. This is the first step in the two-step process to redefine waters of the U.S. and we are committed to moving through this re-evaluation to quickly provide regulatory certainty, in a way that is thoughtful, transparent and collaborative with other agencies and the public.

In Iowa, top elected Republicans gave the announcement a warm greeting.

Gov. Kim Reynolds framed the new administrations action as an example of what she has said on numerous other occasions regarding other issues: that the Obama administration was not a willing partner with states. (It bears noting, of course, that Reynolds is a Republican and Obama a Democrat.)

Waters of the United States was a significant and severe case of government overreach by the Obama administration. I want to thank Sec. Pruitt for recognizing that (the rule) forced onerous and unnecessary burdens on Iowas farmers and businesses, Reynolds said. I also want to express my appreciation to the Trump administration for its continuing commitment to work with states, not against them.

Iowas Republican U.S. senators, Chuck Grassley and Joni Ernst, both praised the new administrations action while reminding Iowans that they encouraged the Trump administration to rescind the rule.

All across Iowa, folks are calling for this rule to be scrapped, which is why I have led efforts in the Senate to do just that, Ernst said. This is good news for Iowa and rural communities across the country as we move closer to finally eliminating this overreaching rule.

Said Grassley, Having the federal EPA and the Corps of Engineers require permits for routine land use decisions is a waste of resources that are better used enforcing existing regulations against discharging pollutants into the nations waterways. Agencies ought to enforce the laws as Congress intended, not stretch beyond their authority to inflict unnecessary expense and red tape on law-abiding farmers and employers.

Reynolds Pitches Iowa to Trump

Reynolds this week also visited Washington, D.C., and was awarded the opportunity to speak to President Trump and several agency heads, her office said in a news release.

The governor also was able to attend a ceremony honoring the 2016 World Series champion Chicago Cubs. A photo of Reynolds and Cubs players Kris Bryant, Anthony Rizzo and Eddie Butler was posted on the governors Twitter account.

Reynolds, according to her office, discussed renewable energy and Iowas diversified energy portfolio with energy secretary Rick Perry; explained to budget director Mick Mulvaney the importance of the ethanol mandate; and talked about high-speed internet expansion with Anne Hazlett, who heads a rural development program in the agriculture department.

Guns split sheriffs and supervisors

In conservative northwest Iowa, a few county supervisors and the sheriff are at odds over whether to ban firearms in the Woodbury County Courthouse.

A new law passed earlier this year by the Republican-controlled Iowa Legislature strengthened the state law that says local governments cannot supersede state law in banning weapons in public spaces. The new law permits citizens who feel adversely affected to legally challenge a local government over its public building gun ban.

The new law carved out space for judges to continue banning weapons in the courtroom.

But on June 19, just a few weeks before the new state law would go into effect, the Iowa Supreme Court issued an order stating firearms will not be allowed across the state in any courtroom, court-controlled spaces or public spaces in courthouses.

In Woodbury County, supervisors recently repealed the local ban on weapons in the courthouse, citing the new state law.

But Sheriff David Drew said his office will continue to enforce the weapons ban, citing the Supreme Court order.

The two sides have accused each other of playing politics with the issue. Sheriff Drew and the two supervisors who voted to repeal the ban all are Republicans.

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Republicans hail end of EPA water rule - Sioux City Journal

Less than two months after Bonneville County voters overwhelmingly approved a taxing district to help start and fund a new community college, Republicans in Bingham County are launching an effort to join the district.

The Bingham County Republican Central Committee voted 14 to 1 this week to circulate a petition that would ultimately give voters in the county a chance to decide if they want to be part of the district of the College of Eastern Idaho.

Over (the) next few days members of the Bingham County Central Committee will be going door to door collecting the needed signatures to place the measure on the ballot, said Dan Cravens, chairman of the committee, adding that they need at least 100 verified signatures to hold the vote in November.

The petition states, We, the undersigned citizens and qualified electors of the State of Idaho, in and for Bingham County, respectfully petition the Board of Trustees for the College of Eastern Idaho that Bingham County in its entirety join the Community College District for the College of Eastern Idaho.

Cravens said they are looking for volunteers to help circulate the petition and assist in future campaign efforts. For more information, people can contact the Bingham County Republican Central Committee at collegeforbingham@gmail.com.

While Bonneville County needed a two-thirds majority vote to launch the district and community college, Bingham County would only need a simple majority vote to join it, Cravens said.

Rick Aman, president of Eastern Idaho Technical College (EITC) in Idaho Falls, which will become the College of Eastern Idaho, is thrilled that another county is expressing interest in joining the district.

Im very excited to hear that Bingham County is showing this level of interest this early, he said.

Although Aman has heard some talk from other counties, Bingham is the only one hes aware of that is moving forward with efforts to join the district.

Cravens estimates that joining the district would cost the average homeowner between $11 and $12 a year. But he says there are many benefits to doing so.

Joining the district would give Bingham County some say in the programs that will be offered at the college, Cravens said. It could also open doors to bringing courses into Bingham County.

Cravens believes its important to provide more educational opportunities in Bingham.

Bingham Countys educational attainment lags behind the nation and state, he said.

A community college will give high school students more access to dual enrollment classes and provide some additional help for those who need more time to prepare for a four-year university. In addition, Cravens said a community college will help people to begin their education at a more affordable cost.

The committee feels strongly that being included in the new district will help both youth and older residents continue their educations and gain new job-related skills, Cravens said. We also feel that being part of the district will benefit the overall level of educational attainment in the county, and help economic development efforts to attract new employers.

Employers tend to be more interested in areas that have a skilled and talented workforce, Cravens said.

Joining the community college district could also save Bingham County a lot of money.

Currently, Bingham will have to pay $50 per credit hour, up to 10 credits per semester, for each local student who attends the College of Eastern Idaho because the county is outside of the district, Cravens said. But if its part of the district, Bingham would be exempt from that fee.

As Bingham County Republicans begin their campaign to join the community college district, Aman says efforts to open the college in Bonneville County are also moving forward.

He expects the Idaho State Board of Education will soon name the community colleges five trustees. There were 54 applicants.

A lot of people are interested in serving, Aman said.

EITC is also in the process of getting approval to add two new degrees an Associate of Arts and an Associate of Science to make it possible for students who attend the future college to transfer their credits to other schools.

Aman says they want to have a soft opening this fall, just months after voters approved plans to create the college. That fast turnaround is possible partly because EITC is already accredited and has buildings already in place.

If this can work in August, it would be about 100 days. Thats a phenomenal speed when it comes to post-secondary education, Aman said.

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Republicans campaigning to add Bingham County to new community college district - Idaho State Journal

The dispute within the Republican Party over health care widened further Friday as President Trump joined with two conservative senators in calling for an outright repeal of the Affordable Care Act if the party fails to agree on an alternative plan by the end of the July Fourth recess.

The reemergence of what has for much of the year been a fringe idea within the GOP revealed not only the partys philosophical divide over how to revise Obamacare, but also senators growing anxiety that they are headed home to see their constituents with little to show them.

Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) who has said he cannot yet support the current draft of the Senate bill, because of the effects its cuts in Medicaid funding would have on his state received a blistering reception at a Baton Rouge town hall Friday. As he sought to discuss flooding issues, an attendee interrupted to mention Medicaid, prompting others to chant, Health care! Health care!

If you wish to chant and stop others from being able to speak or be heard, that is not civil, Cassidy retorted.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) continued to work on forging a compromise that could garner sufficient support once his colleagues return to Washington on July 10. But Trumps suggestion that Republican senators should switch gears and immediately try to repeal the ACA if compromise is elusive could embolden conservatives, making it harder for McConnell to broker a deal.

An early-morning tweet was Trumps first public statement since taking office in favor of bringing down Obamacare with no replacement system in place a move that could send the U.S. health-care system into deep turmoil.

If Republican Senators are unable to pass what they are working on now, they should immediately REPEAL, and then REPLACE at a later date! Trump tweeted.

Health industry officials have warned that overturning the existing law, which has extended insurance to roughly 20million Americans and changed the rules under which insurance is offered across the country, would create chaos in a sector that accounts for one-sixth of the U.S. economy.

Robert Laszewski, president of Health Policy and Strategy Associates, said repealing the ACA without a replacement would be a trauma for an insurance market that needs regulatory clarity to set premium rates.

There would be absolutely no certainty, whatsoever, about anything, Laszewski said.

A June 2015 Congressional Budget Office analysis projected that such an outright repeal would add $137billion to the federal deficit between 2016 and2025 and leave 24million non-elderly adults without health coverage between 2021 and 2025.

Two GOP senators who espouse this approach, Rand Paul (Ky.) and Ben Sasse (Neb.), welcomed Trumps suggestion. But some of the high-ranking Republicans who have been working on the legislation rejected it as impractical, noting that it might force them to fashion a substitute with Democrats.

(Jenny Starrs/The Washington Post)

An even larger group of Senate Republicans suggested Friday that McConnell should scale back or cancel the chambers month-long August recess, given the lack of progress they have made on not just health care but a tax-code overhaul, spending bills, the debt ceiling and a budget resolution.

Senate Republicans David Perdue (Ga.), Steve Daines (Mont.), Joni Ernst (Iowa), John Neely Kennedy (La.), James Lankford (Okla.), Mike Lee (Utah), Mike Rounds (S.D.), Luther Strange (Ala.), Dan Sullivan (Alaska) and Thom Tillis (N.C.) sent McConnell a letter Friday asking him to shorten or cancel the August recess so they can get more done.

Delivering meaningful results was never assumed to be easy, but the millions of Americans who placed their confidence in our leadership expect our full and best effort, the 10 senators wrote.

Republicans are steeling themselves for attacks on their health-care negotiations over the July Fourth recess, with progressive activists planning to pressure any members of Congress they see at public events. Most GOP senators were keeping their plans close to their vests, though a handful, including Cassidy, Ted Cruz (Tex.), Susan Collins (Maine), Jerry Moran (Kan.) and Lisa Murkowski (Alaska) have announced town halls or parade visits.

Collins, a vocal critic of the current Senate draft, had publicized just one scheduled appearance in the 1,300-person town of Eastport, Maine, near the Canadian border.

At Cassidys town hall at the Living Faith Christian Center in Baton Rouge, he tried to make the case for transitioning Medicaid recipients into private insurance. But constituents interrupted him repeatedly, prompting him to chastise them for being rude.

Ill tell you whats rude kicking 22million people off of health care in this country, said a man in the front row after the senator recognized him to speak.

The audience erupted into cheers.

Reminding Cassidy, a medical doctor, of his stint treating patients at a hospital for the uninsured, the man continued: You worked at Earl K. Long for many years. You know what people are like at their lowest.

Senate Democrats are staging events aimed at highlighting how the Senates draft bill could hurt health-care delivery in their home states. Sen. Heidi Heitkamp (D-N.D.) is visiting at least two rural hospitals over the break to underscore the impact of proposed funding cuts.

McConnell is trying to tweak his original proposal, which would make deep cuts in Medicaid while providing tax cuts to companies and wealthy Americans. The changes are part of an effort to bring on a handful of conservative and centrist senators who have questioned parts of the bill.

[GOP health-care talks center on stark question: Help vulnerable Americans or help the rich?]

While it is unclear what specifically prompted Trumps tweet, an aide to Sasse said that the senator had discussed the idea of a straight repeal privately with White House officials in recent days. On Friday, Sasse released a letter to the president suggesting that if an agreement is not reached by the day that members return from their week-long recess, the president should call on Congress to repeal the ACA and work through August to craft a replacement by Labor Day.

Paul, who retweeted Trump on Friday morning, later fired off a second tweet saying he had spoken to Trump and Senate GOP leadership about this and agree. Lets keep our word to repeal then work on replacing right away.

And Americans for Prosperitys chief government-affairs officer, Brent Gardner, whose conservative group is funded by Charles and David Koch, said the approach has real merit.

Deputy White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said Trump did not see July 10 as a deadline to pass legislation. She added: Were still fully committed to pushing through with the Senate, at this point, but were, you know, looking at every possible option of repealing and replacing Obamacare. We are focused on doing that.

Asked for the majority leaders response to Trumps Friday tweet, a McConnell spokeswoman said she did not have any new announcements.

Senate Republicans, along with their House counterparts, have repeatedly voted to abolish Obamacare without putting anything in its place, including as recently as 2015. In that Senate vote, only two Republicans dissented: Collins and Mark Kirk (Ill.), who lost his reelection bid last year.

House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Kevin Brady (R-Tex.) dismissed Trumps suggestion that Congress could simply repeal parts of the ACA then go back and replace them later.

That doesnt achieve what President Trump set out to do, he said during an episode of C-SPANs Newsmakers set to air Sunday. I really think the Senates approach certainly in the House of not simply repealing but starting to put into place the elements that can make health care affordable ... that should continue to be our goal.

If Republicans use special budget procedures known as reconciliation to skirt a Democratic filibuster in the Senate to repeal the ACA, they could not immediately use the same procedures to replace it meaning they would have to negotiate with Democrats.

Democrats, no doubt, would obstruct any fair opportunity to replace the Affordable Care Act in the future, Brady said. So the very best opportunity to begin this good, thoughtful transition to affordable care is right now in reconciliation.

But the calls for repeal reflect the anger that Trump and many conservatives feel about the measure McConnell crafted behind closed doors, which would cut $772billion over 10 years from Medicaid, the public insurance program that covers nearly 70million Americans, while providing $541billion in tax cuts.

Chip Roy, who directs the Texas Public Policy Foundations Center for the Tenth Amendment Action and once worked as an aide to Cruz, said he believed that Trumps tweet Friday was indicative of his frustration with whats going on on Capitol Hill.

Senate leaders are rewriting their bill to provide $45billion to combat opioid addiction and provide more financial assistance to low- and moderate-income Americans. They hope to win over conservatives by eliminating many of the ACAs insurance mandates and allowing higher tax deductions through expanded health savings accounts.

But they have not settled on how they would finance all these changes, since conservatives oppose the centrists push to preserve one of the bills current taxes as a way of funneling more money to those who cannot afford health coverage on their own.

McConnell had hoped to get his proposed revisions to the bill to the CBO by the end of the week. By late Friday, the bulk of the anticipated changes resulting from the weeks negotiations had been sent to the office for review, two Republicans with knowledge of the process confirmed.

On Friday, Brady joined the chorus of conservatives who object to maintaining a 3.2percent tax on investment income for high earners as a way of providing more money to low-income Americans in the health bill. The current draft repeals or delays all the taxes imposed by the ACA.

Keeping the tax, Brady said, would be a tough red flag if the bill comes back to the House.

Given the impasse, the bill continues to come under attack from the GOPs right and center.

On a Friday conference call with reporters, officials with several conservative advocacy groups said it does not repeal the ACA forcefully enough.

We believe that real repeal means full repeal, said Andy Roth, vice president for government affairs at the Club for Growth. Root and branch doesnt mean trimming the hedges, as is currently the case.

Ashley Cusick in Baton Rouge and Mike DeBonis, David Weigel and Ed OKeefe in Washington contributed to this report.

Read more at PowerPost

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Republicans grow increasingly anxious about heading home without a health plan - Washington Post

A slew of new national surveys completed during the past week shed light on how voters are reacting to Republicans bills to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act. The surveys show opposition continues to outpace support by a wide margin, with tepid support among Republicans and overwhelming opposition among Democrats.

Comparing polls, there is a range in how much opposition outweighs support. Among recent national live-interviewer polls, the Republicans health proposal fares best in a Fox News poll conducted June 25 to 27 that showed 27 percent of registered voters favored and 54 percent opposed the Senate Republican bill released last Thursday, a 2-to-1 margin of opposition. By contrast, a Suffolk University-USA Todaypoll starting one day earlier found a nearly 4-to-1 margin of opposition (45 percent opposed while 12 percent supported). The margin was similar in a Quinnipiac University poll begun the day Republican senators released their draft bill, with 58 percent who disapproved and 16 percent who approved. A fourth survey released this week by NPR-PBS NewsHour-Marist found a 3-to-1 margin of opposition, with 55 percent who disapproved and 17 percent who approved.

Almost all the polls on the issue had high percentages of people saying they had no opinion, probably as a result of the complicated and changing nature of legislation as well as whether the polling firm explicitly offered respondents a no opinion option. For instance, the Suffolk-USA Today survey asked whether respondents support or oppose the GOP plan, or don't you know enough to have an opinion? and found 43 percent of registered voters took that option.

There are sharp partisan differences in opinion on the GOP health-care proposals, as there is with the Affordable Care Act, but also a clear imbalance, with Democrats far more united in opposition than Republicans are in support. Across seven polls conducted since mid-month, Democratic opposition varied from 70 percent opposed in the Suffolk-USA Today poll to 84 percent disapproving in the CBS poll and Quinnipiac polls. By contrast, Republicans support for the law is lowest at 26 percent in the Suffolk-USA Today poll and highest at 63 percent in the CBS poll, a massive range indicating ambivalence toward their partys top legislative initiative.

Polls asking about the House and Senate bills dont appear to show dramatically different results, a sign that as debate over the law has continued, Republicans repeal and replace efforts do not appear to be gaining or losing popularity.

The polls also asked different groups of people Fox, Suffolk-USA Today and Quinnipiac polls all interviewed registered voters while the other polls pulled from American adults overall.

Beyond that, each of the seven polls worded their questions on the Republican health-care plan somewhat differently. Fox News asked whether voters favored or opposed the Senate health-care plan that would replace the Affordable Care Act, while NPR-PBS NewsHour-Marist asked whether people approved or disapproved of the Republican health-care plan. And NBC News-Wall Street Journal asked whether Americans thought the House bill was a good idea or bad idea.

Heres the full wording for each of the seven surveys:

Fox News: As you may know, the Senate recently released its version of a health care plan that would replace the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare. Do you favor or oppose this legislation?

Suffolk-USA Today: Senate Republicans have unveiled their proposed healthcare plan to replace Obamacare. Do you support or oppose the GOP plan? Or dont you know enough to have an opinion?

Quinnipiac University: There is a Republican health care plan to replace Obamacare. Do you approve or disapprove of this Republican health care plan?

NPR-PBS NewsHour-Marist: From what you have read or heard, do you approve or disapprove of the health care plan Senate Republicans have proposed?

NBC News-Wall Street Journal: The health care bill passed by the House is a good idea or a bad idea?

CBS News: As you may know, Republicans in Congress passed a bill in the House of Representatives to repeal and replace the 2010 health care law. From what you have heard or read, do you approve or disapprove this plan?

Kaiser Family Foundation: As you may know, Congress is currently discussing a health-care plan that would repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act. Given what you know about this proposed new health-care plan, do you have a generally (favorable) or generally (unfavorable) opinion of it?

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Fresh polls find Republicans' health-care proposal is still a clunker ... - Washington Post

Churches should have the First Amendment right to endorse political candidates and still keep their tax-free status, say House Republicans. Photo by REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst.

WASHINGTON Churches should have the First Amendment right to endorse political candidates and still keep their tax-free status, say House Republicans, who quietly tucked a provision into a sweeping spending bill that would deny the IRS money to enforce the 63-year-old law prohibiting such outright politicking from the pulpit.

Republicans repeatedly have failed to scrap the law preventing churches and other non-profits from backing candidates, so now they are trying to starve it. With little fanfare, a House Appropriations subcommittee added the IRS measure to a bill to fund the Treasury Department, Securities and Exchange Commission and other agencies.

The subcommittee passed the bill Thursday.

Republicans say the law is enforced unevenly, leaving religious leaders uncertain about what they are allowed to say and do.

I believe that churches have a right of free speech and an opportunity to talk about positions and issues that are relevant to their faith, said Rep. Jim Renacci, R-Ohio.

Some Democrats say the measure comes too close to mixing church and state. They say religious leaders already have First Amendment rights, just like anyone else. But if they want to get political, they dont have a constitutional right not to pay taxes.

READ MORE: Trump vows to repeal political limits on churches

Some also worry that the measure could upend the system of campaign financing by allowing churches to use their tax-free status to funnel money to political candidates.

Rep. Richard Neal, D-Mass., recalled a speech that former President John F. Kennedy gave to religious leaders when he was running for president.

He said the pope wouldnt tell him what to do, and the people in that audience shouldnt be telling people on Sunday morning who to vote for, Neal said. I dont think churches should be endorsing.

Many nonprofit groups want to avoid politics. In April, 4,500 nonprofit groups signed onto a letter to congressional leaders asking them to preserve the law.

The law prohibits tax-exempt charitable organizations such as churches from participating directly or indirectly in any political campaign to support or oppose a candidate. If the IRS determines that a group has violated the law, it can revoke its tax-exempt status.

The law doesnt stop religious groups from weighing in on public policy or organizing in ways that may benefit one side in a campaign.

The bill specifically forbids the IRS from spending money to enforce the law against a church, or a convention or association of churches, unless the IRS commissioner signs off on it and notifies Congress.

READ MORE: Wisconsin-based atheist group sues Trump over church order

The bill doesnt mention other types of non-profit groups, or even synagogues or mosques, said Nick Little of the Center for Inquiry, which promotes secularism.

All they care about is the Christian groups, and in particular, it will end up as the extreme religious right Christian groups, Little said. If this goes through, this would add just another way in which unregulated dark money could be used.

Religious leaders have been weighing in on political issues for generations, whether its the debate over abortion or advocating for the poor. But periodically, the IRS has stepped in when religious leaders explicitly endorse or oppose candidates.

Religious leaders have been weighing in on political issues for generations, whether its the debate over abortion or advocating for the poor. But periodically, the IRS has stepped in when religious leaders explicitly endorse or oppose candidates.

The law is called the Johnson Amendment after former President Lyndon Johnson, who introduced it in 1954 when he was a Democratic senator from Texas. Johnson was upset because a few nonprofit groups attacked him as a communist in a Senate campaign.

The law was signed by a Republican president Dwight Eisenhower but Republicans have been attacking it in recent years.

House Republicans have pledged to repeal the law as part of a tax overhaul. President Donald Trump signed an executive order in May discouraging the IRS from enforcing the law.

Rep. Pat Tiberi, R-Ohio, says the law has been enforced unevenly.

Some churches, including my own, have been very concerned about appearing political in any way shape or form, Tiberi said. Churches I went to that were primarily in Democrat areas, that I would go to because I had a Democrat district, the local candidates on the Sunday mornings before the election would be introduced, would speak from the pulpit about the campaign and why the congregation should vote for them.

The full Appropriations Committee will consider the measure after the July 4th congressional recess.

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Republicans push bill to let churches endorse political candidates - PBS NewsHour