Tag: Congress

Do members of Congress pay for 100 percent of their health insurance?

The following article by Michelle Ye Hee Lee was posted on the Washington Post website April 17, 2017:

Question: “Who pays your salary?”
Rep. Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.): “I am self-employed, I’ve been self-employed, and I pay more taxes inside my own company personally than I’ll ever receive from being in Congress. I pay my own, and I pay my own insurance. … So don’t mislead and think that you’re paying mine. I do. Also, every member of Congress, they pay for their own insurance, too. We are put into the exchange. We’re not a federal employee. We go into the D.C. exchange and we personally have to pay for 100 percent of it. Not a percentage, all of it.”
— Exchange during a town hall, April 10, 2017

Question: “Where do you get your insurance?”
Rep. Glenn Grothman (R-Wis.): “I will say, just because there’s a lot of misinformation on it: I am on Obamacare. So that’s what Congress does.”
— Exchange during a town hall, April 10, 2017 Continue reading “Do members of Congress pay for 100 percent of their health insurance?”

Why The Flynn-Russia Affair Is So Troubling For Trump

The following article by Kurt Eichenwald was posted on the Newsweek website February 21, 2017:

Call it what you will: Flynnghazi. Russiagate. The Crackpot Dome scandal. No matter the sobriquet attached to the inappropriate discussions between the Russian ambassador and Michael Flynn, President Donald Trump’s former national security advisor, the growing cancer from this case is not going away.

Perhaps the Russia scandal seemed like it had disappeared amid the antics of the past week, from Trump’s rambling, 77-minute press conference, his Saturday rally—where he surprised Sweden with news of some imaginary immigrant disaster the previous night—or his declaration that the news media was the enemy of the American people.  Continue reading “Why The Flynn-Russia Affair Is So Troubling For Trump”

Have something to say to your member of Congress? These guys are making it easier to find them.

The following article by Colby Itkowitz was posted on the Washington Post website February 17, 2017:

Nathan Williams, a founder of the Town Hall Project. (Courtesy of Nathan Williams)

Nathan Williams is no novice to the political process. But suddenly there’s a crop of people newly engaged and eager to participate, and since the November election, he’s been looking for ways to help those people channel their desired activism.

He just didn’t know one idea would turn into a full-time endeavor.

The 36-year-old freelance filmmaker, who has worked on political campaigns off and on since Barack Obama’s 2008 presidential run, was talking to a friend, Jimmy Dahman, another campaign veteran, about the lack of easily accessible information for people who want to meet their members of Congress. So, with a handful of other volunteers, they started compiling schedules of congressional town halls, both in-person meetings and over the phone, and shared it through a Google document in late January, updating the spreadsheet with new information as they got it. Continue reading “Have something to say to your member of Congress? These guys are making it easier to find them.”

In Congress, Republicans Are Starting To Fret

The following article by Lisa Mascaro of the Tribune Washington Bureau was posted on the National Memo website February 18, 2017:

The relationship between President Donald Trump and GOP leaders in Congress started as a marriage of convenience, thrown together by necessity and sustained on the promise of pushing a Republican agenda into law.

Until recently, House Speaker Paul D. Ryan and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell tolerated Trump’s turbulent debut because they agreed with the direction the White House was heading — or were confident they could nudge it in the desired one. Continue reading “In Congress, Republicans Are Starting To Fret”

Immunizing the Gun Industry: The Harmful Effect of the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act

The following article appeared on the Center for American Progress website on January 15, 2016:

Barbie and GunsWhat is the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act?

The Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act, or PLCAA, is a federal law enacted in 2005 that grants broad immunity from liability to gun manufacturers and dealers in federal and state courts. PLCAA prevents plaintiffs from filing lawsuits against gun manufacturers or dealers in many cases when these parties have been negligent and there has been “criminal or unlawful misuse” of a firearm or ammunition—regardless of whether plaintiffs are seeking monetary damages or injunctive relief.

The law includes some narrow exceptions for permissible civil lawsuits against gun manufacturers and dealers, including for knowingly transferring a gun to a person with the knowledge that they intended to use it in a crime of violence; violating state or federal laws governing the conduct of the Continue reading “Immunizing the Gun Industry: The Harmful Effect of the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act”