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WASHINGTON U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Paul Ryan said on Wednesday the major elements of the Republican healthcare overhaul plan backed by President Donald Trump will remain intact despite conservative opposition to a bill whose prospects remain up in the air.

The White House and Ryan struggled to shore up support among Republican lawmakers for the legislation ahead of a key hurdle in the House Budget Committee on Thursday. Vice President Mike Pence was set to met with conservative House lawmakers and then the entire Republican House membership.

Ryan, who unveiled the legislation last week and is its main champion in Congress, said he was open to making "improvements and refinements," especially after an assessment on Monday by the Congressional Budget Office, which said millions of Americans would soon lose their health insurance under the plan.

Ryan indicated no appetite for wholesale changes, even as conservatives demanded major shifts relating to tax credits and the Medicaid health insurance program for the poor.

"Obviously, the major components are staying intact because this is something we wrote with President Trump. This is something we wrote with the Senate committees," Ryan told the Fox Business Network.

Senate Republicans voiced rising unease.

"As written, the House bill would not pass the Senate. But I believe we can fix it," Texas Senator Ted Cruz, a prominent conservative critic of the legislation, told reporters.

"It is mortally wounded," Republican Senator Lindsey Graham added on NBC's "Today" show, saying the bill was not good right now and that his party needed to "slow down" to get it right.

Ryan's comments follow Trump's promise on Monday of "a big, fat, beautiful negotiation" over the plan, the first major legislative initiative of his presidency.

Republicans control both Congress and the White House for the first time in a decade. But the bill, the Republicans' first major piece of legislation under Trump, remains in peril.

Democrats are unified against it, major medical providers have condemned it and conservatives oppose key elements.

The legislation guts key provisions of the 2010 Affordable Care Act, Democratic former President Barack Obama's signature legislative achievement popularly known as Obamacare. Obamacare enabled about 20 million previously uninsured Americans to obtain medical insurance.

Many conservatives call parts of the measure too similar to the law it is supposed to replace, want a quicker end to Obamacare's expansion of the Medicaid insurance program for the poor, and call the plan's age-based tax credits to help people buy private insurance on the open market an unwise new government entitlement.

Two House committees last week approved the bill's provisions with no changes, and the Budget Committee on Thursday will try to unify the plan into a single bill that would be sent to the House floor. Republicans cannot afford to lose more than three from their ranks on the committee for the measure to pass. Three committee Republicans are members of the hardline conservative House Freedom Caucus.

'LEGISLATIVE QUICKSAND'

Representative John Yarmuth, the committee's top Democrat, said the legislation "is in legislative quicksand."

"It is sinking of its own weight, and every time the Republicans try to move one way or another, it is sinking faster," Yarmuth said.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services released data showing that enrollment in the individual insurance plans created under Obamacare have declined to 12.2 million Americans.

The CBO, a nonpartisan congressional agency, forecast on Monday that the Republican plan would increase the number of Americans without health insurance by 24 million by 2026, while cutting $337 billion off federal budget deficits over the same period.

As of the end of January, enrollment in individual insurance plans created under Obamacare was down by about 500,000 people from 2016, it said. It is about 1.6 million people short of Obama's goal for 2017 sign-ups, the government said.

The data included people who selected or were automatically enrolled in an insurance plan between Nov. 1 last year and Jan. 31 either through the federal HealthCare.gov website or one of the state-based insurance exchanges. About one-third of the enrollees were new to the market.

Shares of hospitals traded broadly higher on Wednesday, with Community Health Systems rising 2.2 percent. Health insurer shares also gained, with Anthem up 2.8 percent after the insurer also backed its full-year profit forecast. After the release of the enrollment data, Leerink Partners analyst Ana Gupte said in a research note that: "While attrition is likely through the course of the year, the final enrollment points to a stable volume and bad debt outlook at least in 2017."

(Additional reporting by David Morgan, Lewis Krauskopf, Caroline Humer; Writing by Will Dunham; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Alistair Bell)

WASHINGTON A key Republican congressman said on Wednesday he has seen no evidence that the Obama administration wiretapped Trump Tower during the 2016 presidential campaign, adding pressure to FBI Director James Comey to provide evidence supporting or debunking Republican President Donald Trump's claim.

WASHINGTON Leaders of the House of Representatives Intelligence Committee said on Wednesday they do not believe Trump Tower was tapped during the 2016 presidential campaign and that FBI and NSA directors will testify at a hearing next week about that claim and any Russian meddling in the U.S. election.

WASHINGTON The U.S. Senate voted overwhelmingly on Thursday to confirm former Republican senator Dan Coats to be President Donald Trump's director of national intelligence and to approve Army Lieutenant General H.R. McMaster's transfer to become his national security adviser.

The rest is here:
Ryan foresees no major changes in Republican healthcare plan - Reuters

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 15, 2017, 10:05 A.M.

Seventeen conservative Republican members of Congress 10 of them in their first or second terms are bucking longtime party positions and the new occupant of the White House. They announced on Wednesday that theyre supporting a clear statement about the risks associated with climate change, as well as principles for how best to fight it.

Called the Republican Climate Resolution by supporters, the statement by House members takes about 450 words to mention conservative thought on environmentalism, support for climate science, feared impacts, and a call for economically viable policy. They pledge in general terms to support study and mitigation measures, using our tradition of American ingenuity, innovation, and exceptionalism.

Its essentially the same thing that was introduced in September 2015 by then-Rep. Chris Gibson of New York. Whats changed since then is that almost 200 nations agreed to work to bring climate change under control while America elected a Republican president Donald Trump, who seems determined not to and the challenge itself grows continuously worse.

With 17 co-sponsors, the resolution is oceans away from the number of votes it needs to pass the Republican-controlled House. But Republican climate bills are noteworthy not because one is likely to pass anytime soon, but because massive external forces markets, other governments, and climate change itself may eventually force it into the foreground.

The resolution is spearheaded by three Republican members of Congress: Elise Stefanik of New York, Carlos Curbelo of Florida, and Ryan Costello of Pennsylvania.

The bills co-sponsors hail from parts of the country on the front lines of climate change; three represent southern Florida. Others comes from northern Nevada and central Utah, where mountain snowpack has declined in recent decades. And the district of Rep. Mark Sanford, in eastern South Carolina, is seeing the rising sea level rise slowly eat away at its coastline.

Our Founding Fathers set up a political system that was to be reason-based, Sanford said on Tuesday. They didnt believe in alternative facts.

Curbelo represents Monroe County, which includes the Florida Keys, and part of Miami-Dade County. A leader in shaping the new resolution, hes also co-founder of the House Climate Solutions Caucus, a bipartisan group. The caucus, which has new members admitted in pairs, one Republican and one Democrat, was set up to explore climate policy. Eleven of its 13 Republican members are co-sponsors of the new resolution (six representatives are co-sponsors but do not belong to the caucus, according to a roster maintained by the nonprofit Citizens Climate Lobby).

Curbelo said in a conference call that the most critical participants in climate discussions-including major oil companies-are all moving in the right direction.

Congress, specifically the House Republican Conference, has to catch up to all of them, Curbelo said. Thats what were trying to do here.

The bill is this months contribution to Washingtons constant climate background hum. It follows Februarys splashy carbon tax-and-rebate announcement, developed by a group called Climate Leadership Council and endorsed by three former Republican U.S. Treasury secretaries. That initiative, like todays, is premised on the idea that, as CLC founder Ted Halstead, put it, There is no issue in America today where there is a bigger gap between the GOP base and the GOP leadership.

Sanford, who served as South Carolinas governor from 2003 to 2011, suggested that the future of climate resolutions or policies is up to voters. Theres been a level of energy that Ive never seen before in my time in politics, he said.

If that energy broadens beyond the dismantling of the Affordable Care Act, issues such as climate change might rise to greater prominence. In the meantime, Sanford said theres enough science and enough resonant anecdotal evidence. I think its dangerous, he said.

See the rest here:
17 Republicans break ranks, pledging to fight climate change - The Spokesman-Review

By my count, six Republicans in districts that voted for Hillary Clinton voted in favor of the American Health Care Act in committee before they had the Congressional Budget Office scoring. These were: Reps. Dave Reichert (R-Wash.), Carlos Curbelo (R-Fla.), Mimi Walters (R-Calif.),Erik Paulsen (R-Minn.), Ryan Costello (R-Pa.) and Leonard Lance (R-N.J.).(We cross-checked Clinton districts where the Republican House members won against the votes in the Ways and Means Committee and the Energy and Commerce Committee.) In some cases Clinton won by big margins in these Republicans districts. (In Curbelos district, she won by more than 16 points; in Paulsens by 9.5 points.) One supposes Democrats will put these members at or near the top of their list of incumbent targets in 2018.

The argument writes itself. How could they vote for a bill this important, not knowing what its impact would be? Lance is already trying to do damage control. CNN reports:

Republican Rep. Leonard Lance, a moderate from New Jersey who Democrats believe will be vulnerable in 2018, told CNN that he believes the House bill will fail in the Senate. As he eyes his own reelection campaign next year, Lance said he doesnt want to support a legislation that would be rejected by his Republican colleagues across the Capitol.

I do not want to vote on a bill that has no chance of passing over in the Senate, Lance said. The CBO score has modified the dynamics.

In light of the new CBO report, Lance said House leaders must make changes to their existing bill and only bring to the floor a version that can survive in the Senate.

Well, he already did vote for it in the Energy and Commerce Committee. In retrospect that seems like a highly irresponsible vote.

Washington state is deep blue, and Reichert has faced tough competition in the past. He has gone out of his way to try to reassure nervous voters worried about losing Obamacare.The Seattle Times noted, Last month, in an interview with KCTS 9 before the legislation was released, Reichert said: No one is going to lose coverage, let me just make that clear, again, no one will lose coverage.' He was off by 24 million. Thats sure to come up in 2018.

The Trump administration and House Speaker Paul D. Ryan are defending the Republican bill to supplant the Affordable Care Act, while facing criticism from Democrats and fellow GOP lawmakers. (Bastien Inzaurralde/The Washington Post)

Curbelo may find it especially uncomfortable since his Florida colleague Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-Fla.) opposes the bill because of the number of people who will lose insurance. With her opposition, Ros-Lehtinen is breaking with fellow Miami Republican Rep. Carlos Curbelo, who last week voted for the bill in the House Ways and Means Committee. Both lawmakers represent Democratic-leaning districts won by Hillary Clinton. Interestingly, Curbelo doesnt seem anxious to brag about his vote. (Curbelo hasnt commented on the CBO report. On Monday, American Action Network, a Republican political group linked to House Speaker Paul Ryan, started airing TV ads in Miami to give Curbelo cover for his support.)

By contrast, Walters put out a statement cheering passage of the AHCA in committee. Our constituents need healthcare plans and programs that work for them, not Washington. Its our duty to rescue this failing healthcare system and develop a system that offers Americans access to quality, patient-centered care. Passage of the #AHCA is a critical step towards that goal.Considering the millions who will lose coverage, the price hikes for older Americans and those who will be priced out (including those dropped by Medicaid), she may have some difficulty explaining that.

Paulsen already has drawn fire from the Democrats congressional committee. In a statement after his vote on the Ways and Means Committee, Democrats blasted him: Erik Paulsen is now on the record in favor of jacking up health insurance premiums and ripping away coverage from millions so that Republicans can cuts taxes for health insurance CEOs. Remember, Clinton won his district by more than 9 points so hes going to face an onslaught in 2018. Paulsen didnt show up for a town hall meeting but voters held one anyway last month, blasting him for, among other things, opposing the Affordable Care Act.

In Costellos district Clinton won by less than a point, but hes only in his second term. Although the district has been reliably Republican in House races, nothing prevents a Republican primary challenger from emerging. He likes to think of himself as a pragmatic conservative but pragmatists usually insist on having the facts before making decisions of enormous consequence.

Well see if these members come to regret their votes. But keep in mind there are a total of 23 Republicans who sit in districts who went for Clinton. Given the reception the bill has gotten and the CBO score, it will be interesting to see how many risk their seats by voting for Trumpcare. The bill will need 216 votes to pass the House. Between this group and the larger Freedom Caucus, which is fiercely criticizing the bill, there are plenty of votes to sink it in the House. And if not, one wonders how the Clinton-district Republicans will fare when the Senate almost surely refuses to pass it.

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Republicans who voted for the AHCA better watch out - Washington Post (blog)

President Donald Trumps promise to build a fortified barrier on the U.S.-Mexico border is about to hit a wall of its own: Members of Congress with different ideas on how to curb illegal immigration.

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The administration will seek billions of dollars to pay for it, with the first installment coming in the administrations budget request to Congress on Thursday. The Department of Homeland Security also will solicit bids as early as this week from companies for a wall it has described as 30 feet tall, made of concrete and hard to climb. On Wednesday, it said it also will seek proposals for other designs.

Top Republicans in Congress, meanwhile, are drafting a plan to use multiple approaches -- a wall in some areas, fencing in others, and more drones and Border Patrol agents.

We write the check on this, House Homeland Security Chairman Michael McCaul of Texas said in an interview. We will make sure that its done smart and efficient from a taxpayers standpoint.

Related: To Protect Climate Money, Obama Stashed It Where Its Hard to Find

While Republicans debate among themselves, Democrats already are threatening to block one strategy for passing funds for the wall. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and other party members said in a letter to GOP leaders Monday that theyll oppose attaching border-wall money to legislation providing stopgap funding for the federal government for the rest of this fiscal year.

It is truly a poison pill and we would urge our colleagues not to allow the president to include this in a must-pass bill that avoids shutdown of the government, Schumer of New York said on the Senate floor.

A government funding bill must pass by April 28 to avoid a shutdown. Democrats say the wall wont work and that theres no real plan for its design, plus Trump promised during his campaign to make Mexico pay for it. Republicans control both chambers in Congress, but with 52 Senate seats they are short of the 60 needed to break a Democratic filibuster.

Much of the struggle is among Republicans, though, especially if Trump continues to disagree with fellow party members who have always seen his idea of a wall as purely conceptual.

Senate Homeland Security Chairman Ron Johnson, a Wisconsin Republican, noted that an executive order signed by Trump that called for wall construction also requires a study of potential approaches. Johnson said the outcome will help fashion practical solutions for border enforcement.

Ive never thought we needed a 2,000-mile wall. We have to use technology, Johnson said in an interview. We have to use boots on the ground in some areas. But as we develop this information, it becomes clear what we need to do.

So far, the administration has been sending mixed signals. Even as Trump talks about a big, beautiful wall, DHS Secretary John Kelly described a multi-layered approachto House lawmakers. Elaine Duke, a 28-year DHS veteran nominated by Trump to be Kellys deputy, said at her Senate confirmation hearing last week that the agencys solicitation of contractor ideas for a wall will help determine possible approaches.

The debate will take place in stages, McCaul stressed, with the first including a supplemental spending request for the fiscal year that ends Sept. 30.

The administration is considering a request of as much as $6.6 billion as a down payment on Trumps promises to bolster security at the border and crack down on undocumented immigrants. That could come as early as this week, according to people familiar with the plan.

An early version of the plan being fashioned by the White House and DHS would include $2.8 billion to begin carrying out Trumps executive orders calling for construction of a border wall and increased deportation of undocumented immigrants, the people said. About half of that amount would be used for a major increase in detention facilities and for alternatives including ankle bracelets.

About $1 billion would be set aside for border-wall construction. Other funding includes $115 million for added Immigration and Customs Enforcement personnel and another $115 million for Customs and Border Protection hiring, the people said.

The early version of the plan also includes $3.8 billion for other DHS expenses, including Customs and Border Protection operations unrelated to a border wall, ICE operations, including immigration prosecutions, and the Coast Guard.

McCaul said his staff is working with the administration on a second wave that would authorize up to $15 billion more for border security over 10 years. It would include a sector-by-sector approach to enhancing the border, while giving DHS new powers to access federal lands and more quickly remove undocumented immigrants caught near the border.

Democrats warn that McCaul may have to rely entirely on his own party to advance his bill. Representative Bennie Thompson of Mississippi, the top Democrat on the House Homeland Security panel, said the added security may cost more than $20 billion, and further costs will add to a price tag that looks too big at a time of other domestic needs.

A $20 billion or $21 billion price tag for a wall or a fence or whatever you want to call it, thats an awful lot of money, he said in an interview. Theres maintenance and upkeep that goes with that. And theyre going to add 10,000 more people to the employment roll.

I think if we engage Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras and start showing them how we can be partners in this effort and not have such a harsh attitude toward our neighbors, we can probably accomplish a lot more, Thompson said.

McCaul insists any differences on approaches between Republican lawmakers and Trump are bridgeable. As far as Trumps talk of concrete, McCaul and House Speaker Paul Ryan recently traveled to the Rio Grande region of the Texas border, where water levees are made of concrete. More of those will probably be part of any solution, and that might satisfy the president, McCaul said.

When you look at the concrete levee, its a concrete physical barrier, he said.

See the original post here:
House Republicans Take Their Own Path on Trump's Border Wall - Bloomberg

Common Dreams

Republicans Keep Showing Us Who They Are Common Dreams Amid the mayhem of Trump's first days in office, the Congressional Budget Office's crushing report on the impact of the Republican health-care plan offers a moment of clarity. The Republican plan will deprive millions of health insurance, and raise the ... and more »

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Republicans Keep Showing Us Who They Are - Common Dreams