Greene County Democrat

Month: January 2024

  • Eutaw City Council meets Jan. 9th, hears from CPA, engineers, and others

    The Eutaw City Council held its first meeting of the new year on January 9, 2024. The mayor and all council members, including newly appointed District 2 member, Jonathan Woodruff were in attendance.

    The Eutaw City Council heard a report from Rick Harbin, its Certified Public Accountant on the status of the audit for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2022. Harbin passed out and read from a draft report and collected the reports after his presentation.

    Harbin said he was still refining the numbers and would have a full report with an opinion on the city finances by the end of the month. He went over the major findings including that the city had total assets of $12.9 million dollars. Complete details will be available when the official report is released. Harbin said some of the delay was caused by the city switching to a new accounting system and some was based on personal family emergencies that required his attention.

    Harbin said once the 2022 fiscal year audit was issued, he planned to move ahead with the 2023 fiscal year report, which will go more smoothly.
    Mayor Latasha Johnson said the audits were needed to apply for grants to assist and improve the city facilities. Angela Henline, the city’s engineer for the water and sewer project supported this saying she needed to report to ADEM, when the audit would be ready to be able to apply for continuing grants on the city water and sewer improvement projects that she is supervising.

    The Council approved a Proclamation naming January as Human Trafficking Awareness Month in the city. The proclamation highlights the importance of citizen awareness of the problem in helping to resolve it.

    The Council approved an agreement with the Sixth Day Saddle Club for using parts of the Lock 7 City Park for horse rides, trail rides and horse shows.

    At the request of City Police Chief, Tommy Johnson, the Council approve purchase of a police dog for the city for $23,000. The Chief has raised $20,000 for the dog from the public and was asking the Council for the additional $3,000 needed to acquire the dog. The dog will be able to do search and rescue operations for people lost around the city, as well as drug enforcement during traffic stops or when asked by the school system or others to investigate for drugs.

    The Council chose Tracey Hunter, District 3 Councilmember, to be Mayor  Pro Temp, to assume the duties of the mayor, in the case of  her absence.  Hunter was unopposed for the position.

    Assistant Clerk, Joe Powell opened bids for the sale of the city owned, but inoperable, Greyhound bus, which is parked behind the National Guard Armory. LA Transportation offered $2,500 and Cliff Taylor offered $2,700 for the bus. The council awarded the bid to Taylor.

    The Council agreed to a Work Session on January 22 at 4:00 PM to review and discuss a property rental policy for city facilities, like the Robert H. Young Community Center and the National Guard Armory. The council agreed to rescind charges for using exercise equipment that had been donated to the city for use by residents to improve their health and wellbeing.

    The Council approved a plan for the Rebuild Alabama Funds that it receives for road and bridge improvement. There is not enough money to do all the needed projects but the plan lists and prioritizes work on the most needed project.

    Angela Henline, engineer for the city’s water and sewer improvement project made a report on current work underway and requested approval for the next set of projects, which was approved by the council. This included awarding of contracts for pump station improvements and upgrading the Lower Gainesville Road Force Main.

    Mr. Ralph Liverman, City Financial Advisor gave the Council five reports on financial issues and bank balances, one of the reports on the lack of income from rental of city owned properties will be discussed at the upcoming work session.

    The Council approved liquor licenses for the sale of beer and wine at Eutaw Station Inc. (formerly One Stop) on Highway 43 and or a new Dollar General Market, that is being built on Highway 43.

    The Council approved paying of bills and tabled a $500 claim for damage, by the Eutaw Fire Department, to a mailbox and basketball goal for ReShonda Daniels.

    District 5 Council member, Jacqueline Stewart, who works at the Love’s Travel Center said they were interested in stronger security on weekends and wanted help from the Eutaw Police Department. The Mayor and the Chief agreed to meet with Love’s and see what could be worked out, similar to efforts made with Rock Tenn.

    In the public comments, Siegfried Williams, Pastor of the Freedom Rock Church, renewed his request to purchase five acres from the city as a site for the church and community center. The city is conducting an appraisal of its properties to determine a fair market price.

  • Newswire: World Health Officials say nearly 10,000 global deaths in December were related to COVID; signal deepening health crisis

    WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus

    By Stacy M. Brown
    NNPA Newswire Senior National Correspondent


    The World Health Organization (WHO) reported a staggering total of nearly 10,000 global deaths in December, raising alarm bells about a worsening worldwide health crisis stemming from the continued threat of COVID-19.

    WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus also noted pressing humanitarian crises in Gaza, Sudan, and Ethiopia that exacerbates the ongoing challenges related to COVID-19.

    While COVID-19 is no longer classified as a global health emergency, the virus remains a formidable threat, Ghebreyeus warned. He said newer cases, driven by holiday gatherings and the prevalence of the JN.1 variant, led to a 42% increase in hospitalizations and a 62% rise in ICU admissions.

    Ghebreyeus urged governments to maintain surveillance and sequencing and ensure access to tests, treatments, and vaccines. He also noted other emergencies the WHO is responding to, including in Gaza, Ukraine, Ethiopia, and Sudan.
    Ghebreyesus called it “indescribable” that “this Sunday marks the 100th day of the conflict in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territory.”

    He said Gaza continues to face an unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe to go along with rising health concerns borne out from the pandemic. The conflict has displaced nearly 90% of Gaza’s 1.9 million residents, who continue to endure “excruciating conditions with long queues for limited water and nutritionally inadequate bread,” the director general lamented.

    He said only 15 hospitals are partially operational, and the absence of clean water and sanitation creates a breeding ground for diseases. WHO’s humanitarian aid efforts have encountered “insurmountable challenges” due to intense bombardment, movement restrictions, fuel shortages, and communication breakdowns, Ghebreyeus stated.

    “People are standing in line for hours for a small amount of water, which may not be clean, or bread, which alone is not sufficiently nutritious,” he asserted. “The lack of clean water and sanitation and overcrowded living conditions are creating the ideal environment for diseases to spread. We have the supplies, the teams, and the plans in place. What we don’t have is access.”

    Further, the director general stressed the need for the release of hostages and an imperative for all parties to uphold international humanitarian law, ensuring healthcare protection. He also sounded an alarm about the ongoing situation in Sudan, a nation that’s grappling with nine months of conflict where there’s escalating violence and mass displacement.

    Ghebreyeus said Sudan residents have also experienced the rampant spread of diseases, including cholera. The WHO temporarily suspended operations in Al-Gezira due to security concerns, disrupting the annual harvest and heightening the risk of food insecurity. Even before the conflict, Ghebreyeus said Sudan faced food shortages, intensifying the crisis for vulnerable groups, particularly children under five and pregnant or breastfeeding women.

    Meanwhile, in Ethiopia, the north-western region of Amhara is in the grip of a severe health crisis due to ongoing conflict since April 2023, he said. Communication challenges, damaged health facilities, and restricted movement impede humanitarian assistance. Conflict, drought, and displacement exacerbate hunger and disease outbreaks, with cholera, malaria, measles, leishmaniasis, and dengue spreading. Urgent access to affected areas is crucial, the director general affirmed.

    Finally, Ghebreyeus insisted that just as governments and individuals take precautions against other diseases, “we must all continue to take precautions against COVID-19.” The WHO plans to release its Health Emergency Appeal for 2024, outlining how much there’s a need to protect the health of the most vulnerable people in 41 emergencies globally.

    “In 2024, we aim to reach almost 90 million people with lifesaving support,” Ghebreyeus declared. “The coming year will be a test for humanity; a test of whether we give into division, suspicion and narrow nationalism, or whether we are able to rise above our differences and seek the common good.”

     

  • Newswire : Sad circumstances of Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson’s death – far too typical

    Retired Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-Texas) poses for a portrait in Washington on Jan. 3, 2019. Just over 100 years ago, the first woman was sworn into Congress. Now a record 131 women are serving in the Legislature. (Elizabeth D. Herman/The New York Times)

    News Analysis by: Barbara Reynolds

    (TriceEdneyWire.com) – Once  in a private moment  after I had finished producing her weekly cable show for her Dallas district as her communications director,  Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson shared with me what really mattered. “I really love compassionate nursing because nurses can do anything. Keep your eye on them.”  In that one sentence she was sharing what a tough job it was becoming the first registered nurse in 1997 to be elected to Congress,  but nurses could manage that and more.
    To learn from Rep. Johnson’s lawyer that she recently died a “terrible, painful death” in a rehabilitation center without receiving the kind of  compassionate nursing from the profession she loved that could have saved her life was sad and shocking. Yet, it was a reminder that African-American women , no matter who they are, are all often disrespected by the medical profession, a barrier that even Johnson, one of the most recognized and honored women in Texas could not dispel.
    The Congresswoman’s death resulted from a September back surgery that became infected when she was  left to lie in her own feces in her bed at a rehab medical center while she repeatedly pleaded for help that didn’t come, according to Les Weisbrod.  He is a malpractice attorney for the family who is threatening to sue the Dallas Baylor Scott & White Institute for Rehabilitation for medical negligence.  After undergoing more surgery to treat the infection, Johnson, 89, died from a spinal infection while in hospice care at her home on New Year’s Eve. She retired from Congress last year.
     As horrible as the situation that denied one of the most visible  personalities in Dallas with powerful friends in Texas and in the nation’s capital to die with dignity and unnecessary pain, her plight is not uncommon, according to Weisbrod. “It can happen to anybody, whether they’re a Congressperson or not,” he said. “I’ve probably represented clients suing every major hospital in North Texas.”
    Two problems contributed to the demise of Johnson. First, are how the medical profession shows an institutionalized disregard for people of color, especially women, and how understaffed most nursing facilities are, which calls for patients to enter hospitals with their own medical advocate that will skillfully monitor their nursing care.
    A recent Pew Research study revealed that 49 percent of those studied say a major reason why Black people generally have worse health outcomes is because health care providers are less likely to give Black people the most advanced medical care. A roughly equal share (47 percent) says hospitals and medical centers giving lower priority to their well-being is a major reason for differing health outcomes. Another often heard complaint is  the unfounded belief that Black women can stand more pain than whites resulting in their denial of requested  painkillers,
     Dr. Rhoda Alale is an Ohio registered nursing consultant and a former faculty member of the  Howard University School of Nursing. She charges that the death of  Rep. Johnson  is a stark reminder of how Black people are treated by health care institutions nationwide.  She argues that health disparities for people of color  are at an all-time high, citing recent  personal observations. “My 15-year-old granddaughter received a letter canceling her insurance because they say she had seen too many specialists.”
    Why does sickness disqualify you from insurance? And she also pointed to another patient who consulted her for help when he went into the hospital for a minor illness but came out with a major illness because of an open wound infection, an all-too-common malady.
    Many health professionals are also urging patients to have a medical advocate, preferably a family member or a private nurse within the medical institutions to scrutinize the nursing care.  Alale says that nursing must change and should adopt the pediatric care model with families as inpatients, like some pediatric wards that have an extra bed,  and shower in the room.
    Adding to the systemic problems within nursing are reports of a  desperate shortage of nurses resulting from the COVID epidemic where so many nurses were victims or became burnt out and did not return to the profession.
    Dr. Carthenia Jefferson, RN, an official of the National Black Nurses Assn. which Rep. Johnson was also a member, said she hopes the terrible treatment of the congresswoman will bring national attention for the need for the improvement of quality care in rehabilitation and other health care institutions. “I am saddened beyond words.”
      Dr. Jefferson is so right. If Rep. Johnson’s painful premature death will turn the spotlight on the sickness within the medical profession, her love for the nursing profession will deserve her affection.

     

     

  • Newswire: Jesse Jackson to lead emergency summit in Chicago to address escalating Gaza humanitarian crisis

    By Stacy M. Brown
    NNPA Newswire Senior National Correspondent


    Religious leaders and human rights advocates, led by Reverend Jesse Jackson, are preparing for what they call a vital emergency summit for Gaza. The “Call to Action” summit is scheduled at the Rainbow PUSH Coalition Headquarters in Chicago on Friday, January 12, and Saturday, January 13. Jackson told the Black Press the summit would “address the rapidly deteriorating humanitarian situation in Gaza, denounce violence against civilians, and urge immediate action to bring an end to the crisis.”

    Organized by a coalition including the Rainbow Push Coalition, the Arab American Institute, and Cedars Mediterranean Kitchen, the summit will feature a diverse lineup of influential speakers, including Jackson, Dr. James Zogby (President of the Arab American Institute), columnist and political commentator Peter Beinart, Congressman Johnathon Jackson, Congressman Chuy Garcia, and others.

    The central focus of the summit is to condemn attacks on civilians and call for an immediate, permanent ceasefire. “We are faith leaders and advocates, united in this moment of moral reckoning to affirm the sanctity of all human life,” Jackson declared.

    The organizers have unequivocally “condemned the Israeli government’s military siege and indiscriminate bombardment of Gaza.” They said there’s a moral obligation to leverage collective power to end the escalation of death and ongoing humanitarian crises.

    The coalition demands an immediate and permanent ceasefire and the rapid release of all Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners held without charges or due process, and they are calling on U.S. leadership to facilitate unimpeded UN-supervised humanitarian aid in Gaza.

    “I recommend that they let everyone out,” Jackson asserted. “The captives should be able to go home under the supervision of the United Nations, and anyone [bought to trial] should be done so in the World Court.” 

    Jackson and the rest of the coalition have also urged America to abide by its regulations and condition funding to Israel on its adherence to U.S. law, like requirements for other nations receiving U.S. military financing.

    The organizers collectively stressed that a ceasefire is just the beginning. The staggering civilian casualties underscore the belief that there is no military resolution that can bring justice for Palestinians and security for Israelis, Jackson insisted. He said there should be a diplomatic solution to “end apartheid and occupation.”

    Further, Jackson said the summit aims to build upon historical legacies and current global movements for peace, justice, and liberation. The civil rights legend and other organizers expressed concern about rising anti-Semitic and anti-Arab incidents.

    They have emphasized the need for unity. “We gather to build upon the historical legacy and current global movements for peace, justice, and liberation,” Jackson emphasized, before adding what he said in Lebanon some 40-plus years earlier. “We do not seek to exchange sufferers, but rather to stop suffering.”

  • Newswire: Civil Rights Leaders 2024 insights on Martin Luther King’s courage

    Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. at 1963 March on Washington

    By Stacy M. Brown
 NNPA Newswire Senior National Correspondent

    During his short life, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. stepped on all kinds of powerful toes in his fight for civil rights, and he was a courageous and determined leader who refused to let prison or violence sway his end mission. He also never lost sight of the fact that civil rights—addressing racial and economic injustice—were inextricable from liberation, freedom, equality, and world peace.
    As the founding leader of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), Dr. King led a nonviolent movement to abolish the triple evils crippling American society: racism, poverty, and militarism. Associates said he believed those forces were contrary to God’s will for humanity and that they could only be effectively opposed by a interfaith-inspired nonviolent, multiracial social change movement.
    On April 4, 1967, King spoke publicly and eloquently against the tragedies of the U.S.-led war in Vietnam. Today, as the nation observes Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day, civil rights leaders, including those who knew the slain leader, offered their thoughts on what his position might be on conflicts in the Middle East and Russia and on the twice-impeached and four-times indicted former President Donald Trump.
    “At the March on Washington in 1964, Dr. King talked about Alabama Gov. George Wallace having his lips dripping with interposition and nullification,” said the Rev. Peter Johnson, who began working for the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) in Plaquemine, La., and later was recruited by Andrew Young to work for King in the Southern Christian Leadership Conference in Atlanta. “What’s the difference between George Wallace and Donald Trump? You’re not going to hear Trump publicly say the n-word, that’s the only difference,” Johnson remarked. “King would easily have seen that Trump is a bigot in the true sense of the word who actually believes he is superior to people of color.”
    Johnson, Rev. Dr. Jesse Jackson Sr, Rev. Dr. Benjamin Chavis Jr, and others said that the wars between Israel and Hamas and Russia and Ukraine would have stirred Dr. King courageously to declare in King’s own words that “An injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.”  Dr. King would again say, “Peace is not just the absence of war; it is the presence of peace.”
    Rev. Jesse Jackson noted that King spoke of a deeper malady in American society. His view was that presidential administrations have been embroiling themselves in conflicts across the globe for the wrong reasons.
    “Dr. King was outspokenly anti-war and anti-racism,” said Rev. Mark Thompson, a civil rights leader who recently joined the National Newspaper Publishers Association as the trade association’s global digital transformation director. “There’s no question King would oppose the war in Ukraine and seek diplomatic solutions. I believe he would also call for a ceasefire in Gaza.”
    “I believe his posture on Congress’s dysfunction would be consistent with the words he used to describe segregationist intransigence in his ‘I Have a Dream’ speech—interposition and nullification,” Thompson declared.
    NNPA President and CEO Rev. Dr. Benjamin F. Chavis Jr., also an SCLC youth coordinator alum back in the 1960s, concurred. “Dr. King was a nonviolent freedom fighter who believed that we all members of one humanity. His concept of the ‘beloved community’ was all-inclusive and not discriminatory to anyone,” Chavis insisted. “Today’s world realities of racism, antisemitism, Islamophobia, oppression, war, hatred, and bigotry are void of love for one another. We need Dr. King’s wisdom, inclusive theology, and leadership courage today more than ever before.”
    Johnson said there’s little doubt about where King would stand on today’s issues because the icon never wavered. “I don’t think he would have changed his position fundamentally,” Johnson determined.
    “The Black Press of America, through the NNPA, salutes and pays an eternal salute to the wisdom, vision, and courage of The Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.,” Chavis declared.  “May the 2024 Martin Luther King National Holiday be a day of reflection, action, freedom movement building, and constructive social change for all people in America and throughout the world.”

  • Full story will be in next issue of the Democrat: Gordon continues annual commemoration of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr


    Through the dedicated leadership of Elder Spiver Gordon, Greene County has continued the annual tradition of commemorating the mission and works of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. In recognition of King’s birthday, Gordon schedules programs to lift youth and adult leaders known as foot soldiers and warriors who contributed to the ongoing struggle for civil and human rights. A more detail account of the various 2024 King programs held in Eutaw will be in next week’s edition of the Democrat.

    Top photo shows Gus Richardson leading the march, Monday, Jan.15, from the Unity Breakfast held at Eutaw Activity Center to the William M. Branch Courthouse for the Religious Women Freedom Rally.

    Bottom Photo shows Eutaw Mayor Latasha Johnson bringing greetings.

  • County Commission extends resurfacing roads project, approves local board appointments

    The Greene County Commission met in regular session, Monday, January 8, 2024 with all commissioners present. The Commission’s actions included approving resignations and appointments to county boards in various districts. Mr. Jimmy Hardy resigned from the Greene County Housing Authority and Mr. Joe Lee Powell resigned from the Greene County EMA Board. Subsequently, the commission approved the appointment of Powell to the Housing Authority of Greene County Board, representing District 3. Ms. Freddie Merriweather was appointed to the Greene County Hospital Board representing District 2. Ms. Mary Snoddy, District 1, Mr. Scott Smith, District 2 and Mr. Chris Stephney, District 4 were re-appointed to the PARA Board.

    The Commission approved the County Engineer’s request to extend the current CDBG Project which involves resurfacing various county roads. The time extension would allow the Public Works Department to complete paving the following roads identified in the project: Basketball Ln. October Ln., Country Ln., Curve Ln., Star Ln., Plum Ln., Sandy Way, Smoke Ln. and Brush Creek Cr.

    Other actions taken by the Commission included the following:

    * Approved County Rebuild Alabama Annual Report.

    *Approved workshop and conference travel requests for engineer and assistant engineer.

    The CFO, Mr. Macaroy Underwood presented the following financial report as of December 2023: Accounts payable – $895,235.05;Payroll Transfer – $372,525.02; Fiduciary – $49,144.70; Total – $1,387,435.09. Electronic Claims totaled $61,773.39. Unrestricted funds in Citizen Trust Bank, $2,302,253.54; restricted funds $3,402,198.44. Unrestricted funds in Merchants & Farmers Bank $3,129,181.57; restricted funds $5,938,923.66. Investments totaled $893,481.54.

  • Fire completely destroys home in Eutaw

    On Wednesday January 3, 2024, a fire claimed the home of a Eutaw resident, Lottie Gibson. Eutaw Fire Chief Bennie Abrams says the fire started at 3:30 a.m. on Oliver Avenue. The fire resulted in the complete loss of the main home, a guest home and a car. No one was injured at the time of the fire.

    Abrams says that since this was a major fully engulfed fire, he is glad there were no injuries.

    “Before we ever got to the scene, we could see this great big orange glow in the sky and a big smoke column, so we knew this was a well-involved house fire and more than half the house was consumed by the fire,” Abrams said.

    Eutaw Mayor Latasha Johnson says the fire is under investigation and possibly could have started as a result of an electric heater.

    Officials are urging caution while using space heaters after a residence was engulfed in flames Wednesday.

    “You have to be very careful with space heaters and you have to be careful with kerosene heaters and electrical heaters,” Johnson said. “Don’t put objects close to those heaters and try to keep it in areas where things are not touching it.”

    City leaders say if residents need a place to go to stay warm, the city has warming stations located at the Robert H. Young Community Center and the New Generation Church.

  • United Nations experts criticize Alabama’s plan for nitrogen execution

    Ralph Chapoco Alabama Reflector

    Four experts from the United Nations last week expressed their misgivings with Alabama’s plan to execute a death row inmate with nitrogen gas, saying it would “result in a painful and humiliating death.”
    In a statement Wednesday, Morris Tidball-Binz; Alice Jill Edwards; Tlaeng Mofokeng and Margaret Satterthwaite, officials who work on health; executions, punishment and judicial issues, said  the method may subject Kenneth Eugene Smith to “cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or even torture.”
    The experts said Smith may be exposed to “grave” suffering and there was no scientific evidence to demonstrate otherwise.
    Smith, convicted of the 1988 murder-for-hire plot of Elizabeth Sennett, is currently awaiting a ruling on his appeal in the Middle District of Alabama for a preliminary injunction to stop his execution. He was convicted and sentenced to death by a vote of 11-1.
    Nitrogen executions have never been used on a human being before. The American Veterinary Medical Association generally discourages its use in euthanizing animals. Other experts have expressed skepticism that the execution method will be humane.
    Portions of the protocol that the Alabama Department of Corrections plans to use have been made available through documents as part of Smith’s lawsuit. A gas mask will be placed on Smith with breathable air flowing from the lines to the mask. When the order is given, that line will be shut off, replaced with another line containing pure nitrogen that Smith will breathe.
    Pastor Jeff Hood, Smith’s spiritual advisor, has filed a lawsuit challenging the execution, claiming the method will interfere with his duties to minister to Smith at the time of the execution.
    Smith is scheduled to be executed on Jan. 25.
    Alabama Reflector is part of States Newsroom, an independent nonprofit website covering politics and policy in state capitals around the nation. 

     

  • Newswire : Congress working to avoid shutdown inches closer to a deal

    By Stacy M. Brown
    NNPA Newswire Senior National Correspondent

    Following weeks of negotiations and just before Congress reconvened from its holiday recess, key Senate and House members announced their consensus on setting the total spending at nearly $1.66 trillion. The deal aligns with the agreement struck last year between President Joe Biden and then-Speaker Kevin McCarthy, a deal that faced strong opposition from conservative factions and led to McCarthy’s ouster by MAGA Republicans.
    The agreement includes a boost in Pentagon spending to $886.3 billion while keeping nondefense funding unchanged at $772.7 billion. The figure incorporates an additional $69 billion agreed upon through an informal arrangement between McCarthy and the White House. As a compromise, lawmakers would accelerate $10 billion in cuts to I.R.S. enforcement and reclaim $6 billion in unspent COVID funds and other emergency allocations. The agreed framework does not include the additional $14 billion requested by Senate appropriators from Republican and Democratic sides for increased domestic and military spending.
    “By securing the $772.7 billion for nondefense discretionary funding, we can protect key domestic priorities like veterans’ benefits, health care, and nutrition assistance from the draconian cuts sought by right-wing extremists,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries said in a joint statement.
    Describing it as a “favorable arrangement for Democrats and the nation,” Schumer and Jeffries, stressed the necessity for a bipartisan approach in Congress to “prevent an expensive and disruptive shutdown.”
    In a communication to his GOP colleagues, House Speaker Mike Johnson highlighted the Republicans’ achievement in securing spending reductions, particularly the additional money from the I.R.S. He argued that the outcome translates to tangible savings for American taxpayers and genuine reductions in the federal bureaucracy.
    Although Johnson hailed the agreement as a favorable spending deal for Republicans, he acknowledged that the final spending levels “may not satisfy everyone and do not achieve as much spending reduction as many would prefer.”
    Biden acknowledged that the deal “offers a pathway” to fund the government without significant cuts. He urged Congressional Republicans to fulfill their responsibilities, cease government shutdown threats, and allocate funding for critical domestic and national security priorities, including his supplemental request for Ukraine and Israel.
    With the initial deadline for passing four spending bills on Jan. 19, securing an overall agreement on total funding is just the initial phase of avoiding a shutdown. A subsequent deadline for finalizing the remaining eight appropriations bills, including the one for the Pentagon, looms on Feb. 2.