Apparently, Nebraska is the state that has taken the biggest economic hit so far. Which would be more amusing if my sister wasn't a state employee there.
Are the Republicans there observing how the contradictions have been heightened?
Apparently, lots of people planted beans. My cousin, who probably voted for Trump but we have a don't ask don't tell, planted no beans.
Defunding pretty much all hospitals, and adding a sop to rural hospitals that does not cover the loss.
I'm annoyed that the Byrd rule lists don't explain why provisions were struck. E.g., the sale of the USPS electric vehicles is colorably "primarily budgetary" but obviously makes no sense whatsoever except as a lib-owning move; what is the parliamentarian's rationale? ISTM there's a lot of culture-war stuff that's squeaking through.
Another thing I'm annoyed about is I'm considering a solar install on my house and all of the discussion of green energy policy is about utility-scale stuff. Are the home efficiency credits getting killed too? I have to assume yes but it's not clear in the reporting.
As of a month ago, the solar install company was pretty confident they'd be OK but I think they're screwed.
Yes, current legislation in the Senate terminates the residential clean energy credit 180 days after enactment.
If I wanted to save on energy costs, I would simply mine the beautiful clean coal underneath my home.
Someone probably did that already under my house.
Next up, making mine subsidence insurance illegal. Because getting your house sucked into a coal mine is a blessing.
This sucks beyond belief. I wonder if the fight back needs to be about providing more generous programs. Stop talking about Medicaid as being for those who truly need it, the deserving destitute, and make it easier to qualify.
My pet one, born of my struggles with my parents, is the complicated process of getting help with long term care through a Medicaid application. Th private LTC insurance market is broken even for upper middle class people. Harris had a couple of proposals around getting Medicare to pay for home health aids, but sliding scale help without firm, harsh cut offs would incentivize more economically productive behavior. It would also be more humane. Of course, that's just my policy preference, and it's unlikely that most people in the USA share my preferences.
Uggh; I feel so nervous about the Senate vote. There's just a sliver of hope with, apparently, Collins, Paul, Tillis, and Murkowski all having significant problems with the bill but they're hoping to get Murkowski's vote.
15: Murkowski had carved out an exception for Medicaid in Alaska that the Parliamentarian struck down, so she would have to be on the record hurting her own constituents if she votes for it. Could still do it, of course.
Happy Canada Day to those who celebrate it.
Although it wasn't an exception for Medicaid work requirements - SNAP requirements yes, plus shoveling more money at Alaska Medicaid for the program that remains, and by coincidence Alaska is the only state that doesn't rely on the provider tax also being slashed, but IIUC it still would have hurt a ton of Alaskans as modified.
Slight ray of hope that Collins put in an amendment to cut off the tax cuts above $25m income ($50m joint) & add money for rural hospitals. That seems like the kind of thing you would do to lay groundwork for a no vote? But Collins is the cravenest raven so.
It looks like they were able to give Murkowski enough concessions. . . .
The conservatives radical reactionaries played a long game gutting public education and building up a media propaganda network. I feel like ~35% of Americans are a lost cause. I wish they could figure out a way to just harm themselves without dragging the rest of us down.
Murkowski says it's a piece of shit but she voted for it because surely the House will fix it and send it back to them.
It just passed.
18: I figured that out after commenting.
22: Barf.
Does 22 actually mean she thinks the House won't be able to pass anything? She can't actually be dumb enough to think that the House will produce something better than the Senate.
Collins was allowed to vote No. if it had to pass, I almost wish she'd voted Yes, because Maine needs to give her the boot.
So Collins, Paul, Tillis voted no.
Murkowski has been straightforward that Trump's threats of retaliation affect her.
I genuinely feel sick. This is almost as bad as watching Trump win the first time.
I know what you mean. It's sickening.
Does 22 actually mean she thinks the House won't be able to pass anything?
This is probably what she's thinking, yeah. It's a cowardly punt but pretty in character.
This is probably what she's thinking, yeah. It's a cowardly punt but pretty in character.
For several weeks it's seemed like there are many GOP members of Congress who would be perfectly happy to see the bill fail, but aren't willing to be the person to kill it. I keep having a sliver of hope that they will figure out some procedural way to have the bill fail while maintaining some plausible deniability around "we wanted it to pass, we just couldn't get over this hurdle."
Accountability sinks! It's much easier to have them when everyone is a spineless coward who won't do their fucking job.
And now Johnson says he is going to try to get them to pass the Senate bill as is. Go Lisa!
I won't doom 100%. This from 51 minutes ago offers something more:
One House Republican, speaking on the condition of anonymity, told Axios there are "well over 20" GOP lawmakers threatening to vote against the bill.
It's a game of hot potato. No one wants the bill to pass, but also people don't want to stick out their neck and be the one who Trump is mad at.
And in that article it's not just anonymous members - they name at least three R names.
I wonder how many organizations have been holding together their current budgets until there's some certainty over the level of cuts, who will soon start widespread layoffs. MPOW recently announced there's going to be layoffs and that seems to be both a result of their fiscal year end coming up - meaning time for a new budget - and some clarity that federal funding sources aren't going to be turned back on any time soon, whether the payment stoppages were legal or not.
Murkowski just posting/statementing through it with just some incredible shit, An awful process to meet an artificial deadline ... we improved for Alaska but not good enough for the rest of America and "we all know it":
What's next? "Out, damned spot! Out i say!"?.
But I have no illusio0n that the bill would have failed if she had voted "no." Collins would have stepped in. Murkowski jus tgot the short straw this time.
In the Senate there needs to be a McCain- someone willing to be singly responsible for killing the bill.
I mean, I think Tillis attempted to be that person, but it was still a collective action failure.
No, they will pass it because they want to pass it.
Shaggy had a more believable denial.
40: I think if Tillis had really wanted to be that person he would have kept them guessing to the last moment so they wouldn't know how many other Republicans they could spare.
I yelled at a headline last night about Trump "uniting fractious wings of the Republican caucus." He is not doing a crafty coalition politics! They want Trump to rule them as a king and/or are terrified of him directing shooters to them! We have mostly departed the realm of traditional transactional legislative politicking!
Old school authoritarian follower: I will applaud for as long as it takes.
New school authoritarian follower: I will leave House votes open for as long as it takes.
Anyway, I just checked C-SPAN and they're still on a vote that opened hours ago. The funniest outcome would be if Trump actually stays up all night yelling at Mike Johnson periodically, the vote still fails, then he falls asleep at a public appearance tomorrow, setting off a new round of reporting on Biden's age.
Supposedly they've corralled the votes now.
Goddamnit it's hard to figure out something to post about, when there's just this depressing legislation being covered everywhere.
I found an old link I squirreled away! One sec.