Greene County Democrat

Tag: Affordable Care Act

  • Newswire : House Republicans leaders ditch vote on ACA funding cuts, all but ensuring healthcare premiums will rise

    By Sahil Kapur, Julie Tsirkin and Brennan Leach, HBCU News

    WASHINGTON — It’s official: House Speaker Mike Johnson says he won’t call a vote to extend enhanced subsidies under the Affordable Care Act, effectively guaranteeing they will expire at the end of this month.
    That means higher insurance premiums will go into effect for millions of Americans who get coverage through Obamacare next year.
    The speaker made the announcement Tuesday after a closed-door Republican caucus meeting, saying that leadership failed to reach a deal with centrist members to bring up an ACA amendment on a health care bill set for a vote on Wednesday.
    “There’s about a dozen members in the conference that are in these swing districts who are fighting hard to make sure they reduce costs for all of their constituents. And many of them did want to vote on this Obamacare Covid-era subsidy that Democrats created,” Johnson, R-La., told reporters. “We looked for a way to try to allow for that pressure release valve, and it just was not to be. We worked on it all the way through the weekend, in fact. And in the end there was not an agreement — it wasn’t made.”
    As Johnson’s office rolled out the bill Friday, GOP leadership aides said they were working with lawmakers on a path forward for a vote on an amendment to keep the ACA funds flowing.
    “I certainly appreciate the views and the opinions of every member of this conference,” Johnson said. “But I will tell you: One thing they will all join in unity on is voting for this bill that we’ve been discussing this morning.”
    The centrist Republicans who have been pushing for an ACA funding extension include Reps. Jen Kiggans of Virginia, Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania and Mike Lawler of New York — all of whom represent competitive districts that could make or break the Republican majority in the 2026 midterms.
    “I am pissed for the American people. This is absolute bulls—, and it’s absurd,” Lawler said Tuesday. “Everybody has a responsibility to serve their district, to serve their constituents. You know what’s funny? Three-quarters of people on Obamacare are in states Donald Trump won. So maybe, just maybe, everybody should look at this and say, ‘How do we actually fix the health care system?’”
    He faulted the leaders of both parties on the issue.
    “You have two leaders that are not serious about solving this problem,” Lawler said, adding that it would be “idiotic” to not hold a vote on the expiring subsidies.
    Asked about Lawler’s criticism, Johnson called him “a very dear friend and a close colleague of mine.”
    But, he said, other Republicans come from different districts with “different priorities and ideas.” Many Republicans want the funds to expire on schedule.
    Another reason the talks broke down is that leaders told the centrist Republicans that they would need to find spending cuts to pay for an ACA funding extension, which is projected to cost about $35 billion per year. That’s a tall order, and one that went over poorly among those GOP members, particularly as party leaders are regularly willing to waive “pay-for” rules on policies they favor.
    Some Republicans who want to extend the subsidies have not ruled out signing onto a “discharge petition” by Democrats to end-run Johnson and force a vote on a clean three-year extension of ACA subsidies.
    “All options are on the table,” Lawler said.
    Asked if he’s open to signing the Democrats’ discharge petition, Fitzpatrick said, “We’ll talk about that after today.”
    The GOP divisions are likely to empower House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., who is insisting on a clean three-year extension with the support of all Democrats. Some Democrats have backed a shorter-term extension with some reforms to win GOP votes, but Jeffries is holding firm.
    “There are 214 Democrats who have signed a discharge petition that would force an up-or-down vote on extending the Affordable Care Act tax credits — to make sure that tens of millions of Americans don’t experience increased health insurance premiums that will prevent them from being able to go see a doctor when they need one,” Jeffries said Monday. “All we need are four House Republicans to join us.”
    Rep. Tim Burchett, R-Tenn., who represents a solidly red district, said members like Lawler should remember that other Republicans also have bills they won’t put to a vote.
    “You can’t have everything every time,” Burchett said. “Even though he’s in a district that Kamala Harris won, we can’t just give all the committees and all the bills to the more liberal members of the party.”
    Even if a discharge petition secured the votes to pass, which is far from certain, it would take time to reach the House floor. That effectively guarantees it’ll be pushed into next year, with Republicans hoping to adjourn after this week.
    Rep. Andy Harris, R-Md., who was just re-elected to serve as House Freedom Caucus chairman for another year, said he isn’t worried about his colleagues signing a discharge petition or even passing a bill to extend ACA funds through the House.
    “It’s their right as a member to sign a discharge petition. I’m not afraid of a vote on a discharge petition. These will pass in the House, and then they’ll be killed over in the Senate,” Harris said. “The Senate’s already taken a position on extending the Affordable Care Act to enhance subsidies, and they rejected it.”
    Harris added that “it’s possible that we put a package together in January or February” dealing with health care, but he said it must be broader than just addressing ACA enrollees in order to secure his vote.
    Asked if he’s worried that moderate Republicans may sign onto Democrats’ discharge petition, Johnson told NBC News, “I don’t worry about anything.”

  • Newswire : The Shutdown Standoff

    By April Ryan, NNPA White House Correspondent

     

    “We are not going to back down,” demanded House Minority Leader Congressman Hakeem Jeffries regarding healthcare for Americans. The Affordable Care Act is one of the key issues that created a stalemate between Democrats and Republicans, which resulted in the government shutdown. The New York Congressman says he is open to meeting with the president, the vice president, and others in the Republican Party to end the government shutdown that began on October 1st. However, he is adamant about not caving on the healthcare issue.
    On the Hill today, House Speaker Mike Johnson calls on Democrats to reopen the government so that negotiations can continue. Republicans need five Democratic senators to vote for the House-passed continuing resolution, which makes drastic cuts to health care. Jefferies vows Democrats will not support a “partisan spending bill that guts healthcare.” Adding to the Republican pressure on Democrats, President Donald Trump said over the weekend, furthering a verbal sparring match, “Democrats are causing the loss of a lot of jobs with a shutdown.”
    However, Jeffries says those in charge are to blame, explaining, “The extremists have complete control over the government. What are we missing here?” Republicans are in charge of the White House, the House, the Senate, and the Supreme Court. Jefferies made these comments on The Tea With April:

    “They [Republicans] would rather shut the government down than provide healthcare. ”The shutdown could last at least two weeks, creating layoffs and firings. Republicans are refusing to extend the tax credits for the Affordable Care Act for working-class Americans. Jeffries also contradicts the GOP narrative, “a Republican lie that we are trying to provide healthcare to undocumented workers.”

    Democrats emphasize that more than 24 million Americans rely on the Affordable Care Act tax credits to afford and access healthcare in this nation. In a related note, the government shutdown is also to blame for the delayed meeting between Jeffries and the Democratic New York Mayoral front-runner, Zohran Mamdani. Jeffries has not endorsed a New York mayoral candidate yet.

  • Newswire : Republicans Shutdown Government

    By April Ryan. NNPA White House Corespondent

    Democrats and Republicans are both pointing fingers, saying the shutdown is the other party’s fault. The government shutdown means that money has stopped flowing, and there is no continuing resolution to continue the funding for the government.

    Republicans are in charge of the House, Senate, and White House and do not want to open borders or focus on healthcare to expand the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare. Firings are expected after an Office of Management and Budget memo during this shutdown, with no end in sight. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries went on social media after midnight, saying, “Democrats are on duty, ready to sit down with anyone, any time, and at any place to reopen the federal government and pass a spending agreement that meets the needs of the American people.”

    However, Jeffries chastises Republicans, saying they are not a “credible partner” right now. He goes on to say,” We will not support a partisan republican spending bill that guts the healthcare of the American people. Not now! Not ever! In a statement, the Congressional Black Caucus emphasized” Today, our country is facing a crisis entirely of the Republican Party’s making and, unfortunately, Black communities will be forced to bear the brunt of their political games.”
    During the 2018-2019 shutdown, the longest government shutdown in the nation’s history, the Postal Service, Medicare, and Social Security payments continued. Still, according to reports, some SSA services could be impacted during this shutdown. Federal courts, border security, disaster aid, banks, air traffic control, federal law-enforcement agencies, prison staff, the Secret Service, and the Coast Guard remain open.
    Due to the shutdown, the National Museum of African American History and Culture posted on Instagram that it will remain open until October 6th, using existing funding to stay open until Monday.

    When it comes to airports, TSA agents are working without pay. However, once the government reopens and funding is flowing, TSA workers will receive their pay retroactively. Airports around the nation have had to delay planes because of the lack of air traffic controllers on certain days and times. Also, the nation’s veterans will receive health insurance during the shutdown from Veterans Affairs.

  • Newswire : House Republican budget plan targets vital services, hits Black and marginalized communities hardest

    Food store with accepting SNAP – food stamps

    By Stacy M. Brown
    NNPA Newswire Senior National Correspondent


    The House Republican budget passed Tuesday proposes sweeping cuts to health care, food assistance, and education programs, aiming to fund $4.5 trillion in tax breaks over the next decade. The cuts include $880 billion from Medicaid, $230 billion from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), and $330 billion from student loan programs through 2034. These reductions come amid a push to extend the 2017 Trump-era tax cuts and other tax relief measures benefiting wealthy households and corporations.
    According to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, the cost of extending tax breaks for the top 1% of earners—amounting to $1.1 trillion through 2034—mirrors the proposed Medicaid and SNAP cuts. Wealthy households making $743,000 or more annually would receive an average tax cut of $62,000, exceeding the median income of most of the 72 million people covered by Medicaid.
    House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) criticized the proposal, stating, “The House Republican budget resolution will set in motion the largest Medicaid cut in American history.” Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) called the plan “a blueprint for American decline” that prioritizes billionaires over working families.
    The proposed cuts would disproportionately affect Black, Latino, Indigenous, and rural communities, which have higher rates of poverty and reliance on programs like Medicaid and SNAP. The Kaiser Family Foundation states that over 80 million Americans are enrolled in Medicaid and CHIP. Cuts to these programs could force states to shoulder more costs, leaving millions uninsured.
    The budget would also end enhancements to the Affordable Care Act’s premium tax credits, raising health care premiums for more than 20 million people. Student loan borrowers face higher repayment costs, further burdening low-income families.
    While the House plan calls for increased border security and military spending, its projected tax cuts—renewing the Trump tax cuts and implementing no taxes on tips, overtime, and Social Security—would swell the federal deficit. Despite these cuts, the budget projects the national debt limit will be reached by November 2026.
    Only Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) voted against the budget, citing concerns over worsening deficits. “If the Republican budget passes, the deficit gets worse, not better,” Massie posted on social media.

  • Newswire : Ben Crump calls NNPA, Black press to save Black people

    Attorney Benjamin Crump

    By Aswad Walker, Houston Defender

     

    Many African Americans have expressed worry about a potentially perilous four years under President Donald Trump. To that point, nationally renowned attorney Ben Crump called for an often-under-appreciated force to come to Black people’s rescue – the Black press.
    Specifically, Crump called on The National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA), a national association of African American newspaper publishers, to be Black people’s “north star.”

    “As we come upon this new year, now more than ever, we’re gonna need the leadership of the NNPA to lead our Black community,” said Crump, who viewed that leadership coming in the form of providing unfiltered, truthful hard news to combat potential dangers.

    Crump’s NNPA call

    “To all the [NNPA members] and executives across the country, I say, now is our time to stand up and be counted. History will ask the question, where were you when they tried to roll back our civil rights, when they tried to destroy Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) and when they try to say to our children that Black history doesn’t matter? Where were you,” he stated.

    Crump added that NNPA members must be ready to confront individuals, Black people, lawmakers and others who turn their backs on the needs of the Black community.
    “This time in history, we must challenge [the] souls of Black people every opportunity we get. Because there will be some people who would take the path of least resistance, and we have to be ready to call them out,” he said.

    Crump is not the only one sounding the alarm about Trump’s actions. Even before Crump’s charge to Black media, multiple Black media members have used their platforms to keep the general public, and Black people specifically, up to date on the barrage of Trump executive orders impacting Black people.

    Trump-era challenges

    New York Times–bestselling author, TV and film producer, and former CNN political commentator Keith Boykin, recently spotlighted the eight different goals of the federal DEI program Trump demonized and ended.

     Data collection, to give us a better understanding of who is and isn’t in the federal workforce
     Paid Internships, which provide valuable opportunities and experience for people from underserved communities 
     Recruitment, so that the government doesn’t just hire the usual suspects but posts job announcements in places where other people can see them, 
     Professional development, so that once people are hired they can continue to expand their skills and become better workers,
     Fair treatment of people with disabilities, so that they can get a job and find appropriate accommodations,  LGBT fairness, so that spouses and families of LGBT employees get the same benefits as other families do, Pay equity, to review government policies, hiring, and salaries to make sure that women and people of color aren’t being paid less to do the same jobs, and 
     Opportunities for formerly incarcerated individuals, to review barriers so that qualified job applicants who have served their time get a fair shot at getting a job.

    “These are not radical, illegal, or immoral ideas,” said Boykin. “These are calls to the highest principles of America, with the stated goal that “all employees are treated with dignity and respect.”

    Like Boykin, and true to Crump’s call, Word In Black reporter Jennifer Porter Gore has reported on Trump’s moves that carry with them potentially deadly ramifications for Black people.

    “In a flurry of executive orders signed just hours after he took office, President Donald Trump rescinded a Biden administration order on prescription drugs — a move that could hike drug prices for millions of Medicare and Medicaid enrollees,” reported Gore. “At the same time, Trump also reversed Biden’s efforts to make it easier for people to enroll in Medicaid or to get insurance coverage under the Affordable Care Act.” 

    That Trump move could prove fatal on a large scale for the just over seven million Black people who have health coverage through Medicare.

    Another Black press member, Roland Martin, recently discussed how many of the Project 2025 projections are already coming to pass, including Trump’s move to end birthright citizenship – an addition to the U.S. Constitution that granted citizenship to formerly enslaved Black people and their future kin born in the U.S.

     A different kind of danger to Black people was alluded to via a social media post celebrating Trump’s Jan. 20, 2025 inauguration by the Proud Boys, an identified white domestic terrorist organization. The group known for threatening and engaging in violence against Black people posted: “There are no more safe spaces.” By the end of his first week in office, Trump had pardoned all of the January 6th insurrectionists, including the Prod Boys leadership.

    Crump told NNPA members during his address that Black people can’t rely on mainstream media to keep us informed about weighty issues like those mentioned.
    “There’s a fourth branch of government. It is called the independent press. And I’m not counting on MSNBC. I’m not counting on CNN. I’m not counting on Fox News. Me and my house, we will count on the NNPA to be our fourth branch of government. To make sure that we get information that is hard-hitting facts and it’s not watered-down, it’s not orchestrated, it’s not manipulated. But it is the information to help us be unapologetic defenders of Black life, of Black liberty, of Black culture,” said Crump.

    Crump added that the NNPA has the power to “well arm” Black youth with intellect, diplomacy and strategic thinking to protest the prison industrial complex, voter suppression, denial of access to quality healthcare and denial of access to capital.

     

  • Newswire : Black America benefits from Biden signing Inflation Reduction Act

    President Biden signs IRA as members of U.S. Senate and House look on



    By Stacy M. Brown, NNPA Newswire Senior National Correspondent

    President Joe Biden on Tuesday signed the historic $750 billion Inflation Reduction Act into law, a major accomplishment for the administration and a Democratic Party that’s now looking with more optimism toward November’s crucial midterm elections.
The bill represents the most significant climate investment in U.S. history.
It includes strengthening critical provisions of the Affordable Care Act, providing Medicare with authority to negotiate certain prescription drug costs, and administration officials anticipate it will create jobs with family-sustaining wages. 
Additionally, the law will reduce the national deficit.
Biden said new taxes would pay for the bill, including a 15% minimum tax on large corporations and a 1% tax on stock buyback.
Overall, it’s projected that the measure would result in the government raking in more than $700 billion over ten years while spending about $430 billion to help reduce carbon emissions and securing the extension of subsidies in the health care law.
“This legislation is a game changer. It will create jobs, lower costs, increase U.S. competitiveness, reduce air pollution, and, of course, tackle the climate crisis,” former Vice President Al Gore told  The Climate 202.
“We have crossed a major threshold, and it’s going to have significant impacts on international climate action,” said Gore, long a crusader of environmental justice and a Nobel Prize winner for climate activism.
    The new law should primarily assist African American families.
    According to a study published by the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, Black households are more exposed to inflation fluctuations than their white peers. 
Researchers concluded that if prices paid by white households increase by 7 percent over a year, calculations suggest that one may expect them to increase by 7.5 percent for Black families.
“In our research, we examine how this informs the trade-off between inflation and unemployment stabilization for White and Black households,” the study authors explained.
“The result implies that when evaluating trade-offs between inflation and unemployment, one ought to keep in mind that the costs of inflation may be borne disproportionately by the more disadvantaged group.”
With gas, food, and other prices rising, the authors concluded that necessities such as groceries, electricity, and wireless phone service make up a larger share of Black families’ budgets.
The study said that Black households also spend a more significant portion of their income on goods and services with prices that change more often.
The result, according to researchers, isn’t a mystery: “Black families will suffer the worst effects of rising inflation because they lag behind their White counterparts in income, wealth, financial savings and home ownership.”
    Dr. Benjamin F. Chavis, Jr, NNPA President and CEO, emphasized, “Black America will definitely benefit economically and socially from the enactment of the Inflation Reduction Act. “President Biden continues to keep his promise to our families and communities across the nation,” Chavis stated.
    “We also note that Black owned businesses including the Black Press of America will also have increased opportunities to expand economic development, innovation, advertising, and new workforce advances as a direct result of the Inflation Reduction Act.”
“A large number of Black families live paycheck to paycheck and cannot easily escape the constantly increasing wealth gap between them and the other demographics, especially the white,” said Ellie Walters , CEO of Findpeoplefaster.com .
“Inflation often makes this dilemma worse, since during inflation, wages are cut, and workers are laid off. These low-income earners, largely made up of Black community members, are trapped by an economic cycle that seems rigged against them.”
Ronda Brunson, an expert in financial planning and credit restoration at  Project Restore Bmore, agreed that Black households would continue to feel the impact of rising inflation.
“Most Black homes with car notes are paying double-digit interest rates, same for credit cards. Yet, we are not conditioned to go for better but to be grateful for whatever approval without contesting,” Brunson asserted.
    According to the Brookings Institute, the median wealth of a white household is $188,200, which is 7.8 times more than the average Black household at $24,100.
Two years ago, the homeownership rate for white Americans was about 73% compared to 42% for Black Americans.

  • Newswire: Supreme Court upholds Obamacare

    Supreme Court

    By Stacy M. Brown, NNPA Newswire Senior National Correspondent

    Supreme Court In a significant victory for the Biden-Harris administration and Americans who depend on affordable health care, the Supreme Court rejected the latest challenge to President Obama’s signature legislation, the Affordable Care Act. The challenge stemmed from whether the individual mandate could be cut from the rest of the law or whether the justices should strike down the entire law. Former President Trump made it his mission to get rid of the law, which has provided millions of Americans with access to affordable health care, particularly during the coronavirus pandemic. The court ruled 7-2, with Justice Stephen Breyer writing for the majority, striking down a lower court ruling and determining that the plaintiffs — Texas and 17 other GOP-led states — did not show that they have the standing to bring the initial suits. “We conclude that the plaintiffs in this suit failed to show a concrete, particularized injury fairly traceable to the defendants’ conduct in enforcing the specific statutory provision they attack as unconstitutional,” wrote Justice Breyer. “They have failed to show that they have the standing to attack as unconstitutional the Act’s minimum essential coverage provision. Therefore, we reverse the Fifth Circuit’s judgment in respect to standing, vacate the judgment, and remand the case with instructions to dismiss,” the Justice continued. “We do not reach these questions of the Act’s validity … for Texas and the other plaintiffs in this suit lack the standing necessary to raise them. Justices Samuel Alito and Neil Gorsuch dissented. Reportedly, 31 million Americans have health coverage connected to the Affordable Care Act — also known as Obamacare. Also, a guarantee of access to continuous insurance coverage is protected for more than 54 million people with preexisting conditions because of the health care law’s provisions that prevent insurance companies from canceling or refusing to establish policies because of pre-existing conditions.

  • Newswire: Georgia voters will decide fate of Senate and a new South

    News Analysis By Rev. Jesse Jackson 


    GA Senate candidates Jon Ossoff and Rev. Raphael Warnock


    (TriceEdneyWire.com) – On Jan. 5, Georgia voters will decide the runoff for their two U.S. Senate seats. Their votes will determine whether Republicans retain control of the Senate or whether Democrats gain a 50-50 tie, with Vice President Kamala Harris the tiebreaking vote.
    The race is a microcosm of America’s struggle to find a way forward and of Georgia and the South’s struggle to build a new South. The two Democratic challengers reflect the new age still waiting to be born. Rev. Raphael Warnock, senior pastor at Atlanta’s Ebenezer Baptist Church, the congregation led by the late Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., is a distinguished heir to the King tradition.
    Thirty-three-year-old Jon Ossoff, educated at Georgetown and the London School of Economics, was born and raised in Atlanta, interned for the late Rep. John Lewis and served as a national security staffer to Rep. Hank Johnson. He has been CEO of Insight TWI, a London based documentary maker that focuses on detailing corruption in foreign countries.
    Both Rev. Warnock and Ossoff have put forth a moderate platform for change. Both support immediate action to forestall an economic collapse as the pandemic spikes. With Republicans blocking action in the Senate, millions now face an end to unemployment insurance, an end to the eviction moratorium — with one-third of households behind on their rent or mortgages — and an end to the student debt moratorium, with millions of young people still struggling to find jobs. Without assistance, states and localities will be forced to cut services and lay off employees like teachers and firefighters.
    Both Warnock and Ossoff support strengthening the Affordable Care Act by adding a public option and reducing prescription drug prices but oppose Medicare for All. Both call for bold action to deal with the reality of catastrophic climate change but oppose the Green New Deal. Both are for lifting the minimum wage, and for assistance to small businesses. Their Republican opponents are the sitting senators — Kelly Loeffler and David Perdue. Both Loeffler and Perdue are multimillionaires. Both were charged with insider trading, selling stocks after receiving private briefings on the threat posed by the pandemic. Both dubiously claimed that their advisers made the trades without their knowledge.
    Both tout themselves as Donald Trump supporters. They oppose the Affordable Care Act, and support alternatives that would leave hundreds of thousands of Georgians without health care. Both, lavishly supported by oil and gas interests, refuse to consider climate change a major threat. Loeffler, the co-owner of the Atlanta Dream, a women’s professional basketball team, loudly denounced support given to the Black Lives Matter movement, leading her players to wear T-shirts saying Vote Warnock. Neither Perdue nor Loeffler bother to offer a serious agenda to address the problems that Georgians face. They joined Republican leader Mitch McConnell in blocking the rescue act in the midst of the pandemic.
    Neither Loeffler nor Perdue have a clue or a care for working for poor people in Georgia. So how do they hope to get elected? Both have adopted the same strategy: echo Donald Trump’s divisive race-based populism and benefit from systematic suppression of the vote. They’ve booked nearly $200 million in vicious attack ads against their opponents, painting them as a threat to all things American.
    Perdue falsely paints Ossoff as a “radical socialist.” In a classic anti-Semitic trope, Perdue’s campaign released an ad that lengthened Ossoff nose. Loeffler paints Warnock as a “radical” who will “change this country forever,” nonsensically promoting herself as the “firewall in stopping socialism in America.” In her stump speech, in less than 45 seconds, she wildly links the distinguished minister to Obama’s minister Rev. Jeremiah Wright, Fidel Castro, George Soros, and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. Loeffler and Perdue won’t admit that Joe Biden won the presidential election, nor that he won Georgia. Adopting Donald Trump’s baseless claims of fraud, they wrote a joint letter calling for the resignation of the Georgia secretary of state, a conservative Republican supporter of Donald Trump.
    He scorned the demand as “laughable.” What isn’t laughable is the long lines that black voters had to suffer in order to cast a vote in the primaries and November election. For years, Georgia — controlled by Republicans — has passed various measures to suppress the votes of minorities and the young, including gerrymandering districts, requiring photo ID, aggressive purging of voter rolls, and more. Notably, as the electorate has grown by over 2 million in the last seven years, Georgia has reduced the number of voting places by 10 percent. This has had a disproportionate effect on young and nonwhite voters whose registrations have surged. The contrasting campaigns make it clear that a vote for Loeffler or Perdue is a vote for continued dysfunction and obstruction.
    A victory by either would further commit Republicans to Donald Trump’s toxic use of race-based division, lies and calumnies to divide working people, gaining victories for those who serve the rich and corporations. Two of the wealthiest senators, Loeffler and Perdue personify the con. Neither America nor Georgia can move forward until the growing majority that is desperate for change overcomes the systematic efforts to divide and suppress.
    This country cannot begin to address the threats it faces – the pandemic, the economic collapse, corrosive and extreme inequality, catastrophic climate change, racial inequity, growing insecurity and a declining middle class – until those standing in the way are defeated. Loeffler says the “future of the country is at stake on January 5.” Of her many delusions, that one may be the closest to the truth.

  • Newswire : Civil rights groups oppose fast-tracked Supreme Court nominee:  Nation’s diversity not represented in its courts

    By Charlene Crowell


    Supreme Court building in Washington, D. C. and Amy Coney Barrett and her family, including two adopted Black children from Haiti
     
    (TriceEdneyWire.com) – One of the most consequential decisions that presidents make are lifetime federal judicial appointments at every level: circuit, appellate and the U.S. Supreme Court. The independent federal judiciary is charged with ensuring that the nation’s courts are fair to all people. Even the phrase “equal justice under law” is carved in the stone façade of the Supreme Court building.
     
    A recent American Bar Association blog states, “For the nation to continue to have trust in the integrity and independence of the federal judiciary, the process that places judges on the bench must be viewed as fair, unhurried and unbiased.”
     
    But for Black America and other communities of color, throughout our history and continuing even today, ‘justice’ is often far from fair, nor is it unbiased. In recent years, the Supreme Court has declared that corporations should be treated like people, and that voting rights no longer need to be protected. In November, the high court is scheduled to revisit the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare.
     
    Other issues that may reach the Supreme Court could include whether federal agencies can preempt state laws protecting consumers from bad actors in the student loan servicer arena, and in payday, auto-title, and high-cost installment loans.  Even the nation’s half-century old Fair Housing Act could be revisited due to the Trump Administration’s roll-back of an Obama-era fair housing rule known as disparate impact. If allowed to stand, the burden of proving discrimination will be shifted to consumers instead of powerful corporations and others alleged to have violated the law.
     
    “Over the next several years, the Supreme Court will make important and lasting decisions that affect every facet of our lives, including income inequality, the racial wealth gap, access to health care – including reproductive rights – and many other issues,” states a new CRL policy brief.
     
    For these reasons and others, the passing of the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg created a significant moment for the future of the court. As the second woman to ever serve as a Supreme Court Justice, the fondly-recalled ‘Notorious RBG’ broke gender barriers throughout her legal career, forging freedom and access for many who were historically marginalized.
     
    And the nomination of Judge Amy Coney Barrett to fill that vacancy has triggered a chorus of civil rights organizations expressing their adamant opposition. As a former clerk to Justice Scalia, 1998-1999, Judge Coney Barrett has frequently lauded him as her mentor, and praised his judicial philosophy both as a law school professor and as a judge.
     
    At the September 26 White House Rose Garden announcement of her nomination, Judge Coney Barrett said, “I clerked for Justice Scalia more than 20 years ago, but the lessons I learned still resonate. His judicial philosophy is mine too: A judge must apply the law as written. Judges are not policymakers, and they must be resolute in setting aside any policy views they might hold.”
     
    Despite high praise by conservatives and the Senate Majority’s commitment to ram through her nomination, civil rights organizations and other advocates have expressed strong opposition to Judge Coney Barrett.
     
    “We stand opposed to her confirmation to the Court,” said Kristen Clarke, president and executive director of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law. “Her confirmation would dramatically alter the Supreme Court in ways that would prove devastating for Black communities and other people of color across the country.”
     
    Similarly, the head of the nation’s largest and oldest civil rights organization recently advised the Senate Judiciary Committee of the NAACP’s position on the nomination.
     
    “Coming in the middle of a presidential election in which over seven million people have already voted, the Barrett nomination is as illegitimate as it is corrupt,” wrote Derrick Johnson, NAACP President and CEO to the Judiciary Committee. “On issue after issue, we have found her to be stunningly hostile to civil rights.”
     
    “Early and absentee votes are already being cast for the November election –and nominating a candidate for a lifetime appointment to this nation’s highest court during this electoral period undermines the democratic process and is a disservice to the American public”, said Sherilynn Ifill, President and Director-Counsel of the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund. “Senators must also respect the clear will of the American people, and honor the precedent they set in 2016, by declining to consider any nominee until the winner of the presidential election is inaugurated.”
     
    “The Senate majority needs to prioritize COVID-19 relief legislation for the rest of this year and not use the remaining time of this session to confirm judicial nominees, leaving millions of Americans vulnerable to financial hardship”, said Mike Calhoun, President of the Center for Responsible Lending (CRL).
     
    With less than three weeks before election day, the Senate began the confirmation process on Monday, October 12 with its Judiciary Committee hearings, chaired by Senator Lindsay Graham of South Carolina. The committee is expected to vote on the nomination on October 22. As Senate Majority Leader, Kentucky Senator Mitch McConnell is planning a floor vote for the week of October 26.
     
    The rapid review of Judge Coney Barrett is a stark contrast to the lengthy, Senate-engineered delay of President Obama’s 2016 election year Supreme Court nomination.
     
    On February 13, 2016, Associate Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia passed. Weeks later on March 16 that year, President Obama nominated Judge Merrick Garland, Chief Judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia
    Circuit. But the U.S. Senate refused to hold committee hearings or a floor vote for almost a year, and thereby denied President Obama the right to fill the court vacancy.
    Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell publicly boasted in a speech that August, “One of my proudest moments was when I looked Barack Obama in the eye and I said, ‘Mr. President, you will not fill the Supreme Court vacancy.’ “Nearly a year later, the lengthy high court’s vacancy enabled President Trump to nominate Neil Gorsuch on February 1, 2017.The Senate confirmed Gorsuch on Friday, April 7, 2017 and was sworn in the following Monday, April 10. In real time, that nomination process took just two months.
     
     
    It is also noteworthy that as the nation is increasingly diverse, the federal bench remains dominated by
    White judges.
     
    A recent Associated Press analysis of the Trump Administration’s judicial appointments found that White men were nearly 86% of the 206 lifetime appointments made. Similarly, White men were 85% of all Senate-confirmed U.S. Attorneys.
     
    A court system that does not reflect the people it is sworn to protect is hard-pressed to ensure diverse backgrounds, experiences and viewpoints in judicial deliberations. Continuing the trend of nominating and confirming White, conservative justices strain — if not ignore — the nation’s pledge of equal justice.
     
    In the words of the Leadership Conference on Civil & Human Rights, “During this pandemic and amid nationwide calls for racial justice, we cannot allow Trump to select a third justice who he has pledged will devastate our hard-fought civil and human rights — including access to health care for millions of people.”
     
    The approaching electoral decisions include the future of hard-won civil rights, and whether they will continue to be systematically dismantled. It is in the hands of voters to decide. And the choices should be clear: a return to the multiple ills of bygone years or hopeful future with justice and opportunity for all.
     
     
    Charlene Crowell is a senior fellow with the Center for Responsible Lending.
    She can be reached at charlene.crowell@responsiblelending.org.
     

  • Newswire: Trump vows complete end of Obamacare law despite pandemic

    By Devlin Barrett, The Washington Post
    President Trump said last Wednesday he will continue trying to toss out all of the Affordable Care Act, even as some in his administration, including Attorney General William P. Barr, have privately argued parts of the law should be preserved amid a pandemic.
    “We want to terminate health care under Obamacare,” Trump told reporters Wednesday, the last day for his administration to change its position in a Supreme Court case challenging the law. “Obamacare, we run it really well. . . . But running it great, it’s still lousy health care.”
    While the president has said he will preserve some of the Affordable Care Act’s most popular provisions, including guaranteed coverage for preexisting medical conditions, he has not offered a plan to do so, and his administration’s legal position seeks to end all parts of the law, including those provisions.
    Democrats, who view the fight over the Affordable Care Act as a winning election issue for them, denounced the president’s decision.
    House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said in a statement that “the President’s insistence on doubling down on his senseless and cruel argument in court to destroy the ACA and every last one of its benefits and protections is unconscionable, particularly in the middle of a pandemic.”
    Trump’s declaration caps months of debate within his administration about the best course of action, in which the stakes have only become greater now that the nation’s health-care system is struggling to deal with the spread of the coronavirus, which has killed more than 80,000 Americans.
    On Monday, Barr attended a meeting of senior officials in which he argued the administration should temper its opposition to Obamacare, leaving some parts of the law intact, according to people familiar with the discussion, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the conversation was private.
    The case before the court was brought by a group of Republican states, and as part of that case, the Trump administration is seeking to invalidate the entire Affordable Care Act, which passed in 2010 and became one of President Barack Obama’s most significant legislative victories.
    Barr and others in the administration have argued that killing Obamacare completely could be politically damaging to Republicans in an election year, particularly when there is a national health crisis. In two previous case, the Supreme Court upheld the law, but if the high court were to strike it down, millions of people could find themselves without affordable health care.
    The high court plans to hear arguments in the case later this year, and a decision may not come until 2021, well after the November election.
    The latest ACA suit was organized by Republican attorneys general in Texas and other states. When the Trump administration declined to defend the law, a coalition of Democratic-led states entered.
    The case began after the Republican-led Congress in 2017, unable to secure the votes to abolish the law, reduced to zero the penalty for a person not buying health insurance. Lawyers for the state of Texas argued that in doing so, Congress had removed the essential tax element that the Supreme Court had previously ruled made the program constitutional.
    A district judge in Texas agreed and said the entire law must fall. Eventually the Trump administration agreed with that assessment.