Domestic Issues

10/1/2017 CHIP (Children’s Health Insurance Program) is one of the few programs left in Congress that is considered truly bipartisan. It was originally co-sponsored by Orrin Hatch, a Republican, and the late Ted Kennedy. CHIP covers the health insurance needs for 9 million US children.  Senators Orrin Hatch and Ron Wyden introduced their bipartisan legislation to reauthorize CHIP, which would extend the program ...

9/29/2017 Carmen Yulín Cruz, mayor of Puerto Rico’s capital San Juan, pleaded with the White House for immediate aid. “This is a ‘people are dying’ story,” she told CNN Friday morning. “Dammit, this is not a good news story,” Cruz said. “This is a people-are-dying story. This is a life or death story. . . . When you have people out there dying, ...

9/29/2017 Stock markets in the US reached record highs as the economy continues to grow.  The markets continue the trend that began in 2009 under President Obama. Despite a presidency which has seen its share of social turmoil, the stock market continues it’s surge upward.  Does a president control the market?  In truth, not much.  Established economic policies and business ...

9/26/2017 The Washington Post reported today that EPA chief Scott Pruitt will receive a private secure phone compartment built into his office.  The cost to taxpayers is approximately $25,000.00 Typically, such soundproof booths are used to conduct hearing tests. But the EPA sought a customized version — one that eventually would cost several times more than a typical model — that Pruitt can ...

9/24/2017 Government employees flying on private jets “is an example of fiscal irresponsibility run amok” according to Tom Price in an interview on CNBC 9/9/2009.  But apparently, Trump’s Secretary of Health and Human Services forgot his own thinking as he charted himself private jets at least 24 times in recent months.   The estimated cost to taxpayers is in excess of ...

9/23/2017 The day after Stephan Curry told reporters that he would rather not accept an invitation to visit the White House because of his objections to the current administration’s policies and rhetoric, Trump tweeted that he was revoking any invitation because of Curry’s remarks. Going to the White House is considered a great honor for a championship team.Stephen Curry is ...

9/22/2017 The Department of Homeland Security notified nearly half of the U.S. states that their election systems were targeted by Russian  hackers in an attempt to influence the 2016 election. In most of the states, the hackers were engaged in activities like scanning. In other states, hackers attempted to infiltrate systems and failed, but in a small selection of states, ...

9/21/2017 Despite President Trump’s claim that Russians influencing the election is “fake news”, today Facebook announced that it is a fact. Facebook will turn over to Congress over 3,000 political ads taken out by Russins in an attempt to influence the 2016 election. The company has been struggling for months to address the steadily mounting evidence that Russians manipulated the ...

9/5/2017 President Trump has finally made his choice for NASA’s next chief, but the nominee has been met with opposition from scientists as well as politicians on both sides of the aisle. The man nominated is Oklahoma congressman Jim Bridenstine, who would become the 13th administrator of the national space agency upon Senate approval.  However, Republican senator Marco Rubio and Democrat ...

9/5/2017 The Trump White House announced the end of DACA on Tuesday.  The Obama program had protected nearly 800,000 young undocumented immigrants brought to the US as children from deportation. The Department of Homeland Security will stop processing any new applications for the program as of Tuesday and rescinded the Obama administration policy, Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals. “I am here ...