Trump Drops Plan to Change How Food Aid Shipped

WASHINGTON — 

President Donald Trump’s administration has dropped plans for an executive order that would require all U.S. food aid to be transported on American ships after members of Congress protested, congressional and aid sources said Friday.

Reuters reported Thursday that Trump was considering issuing an order that would have increased to 100 percent the current requirement that 50 percent of such aid be transported on U.S.-flagged vessels.

Senator Bob Corker, the Republican chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, stopped short of confirming information about the order but said he had discussed the issue with Trump and that he understands that the shift would have increased the cost of food aid and caused more people to starve.

“I had a good conversation today with President Trump,” Corker said in a statement emailed to Reuters. “As a businessman, he understands that expanding the cargo preference would substantially drive up the cost of food aid and cause more people to starve around the world,” Corker said.

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Lower shipping requirement

Although unlikely to have any significant effect on the $4 trillion global cargo shipping industry, the initiative originally touted as part of Trump’s “America First” platform might have slowed food aid getting to millions of people and do little to create jobs, critics said.

Aid groups, and members of Congress from both parties have been working for years to lower, or eliminate, the 50 percent shipping requirement. The United States, the world’s largest provider of humanitarian assistance, spent about $2.8 billion on foreign food aid in 2016. About half of that is estimated to go to shipping and storage.

The conservative-leaning American Enterprise Institute said in a November report that shipping food aid on U.S.-flagged vessels costs 46 percent more than aid shipped at internationally competitive rates and can take as much as 14 weeks longer.

Congress calls to White House

Jeremy Konyndyk, a former director of USAID’s Office of U.S. Foreign Disaster Assistance, welcomed the administration’s decision to drop the order.

Konyndyk, a senior policy fellow at the Washington-based Center for Global Development, said that with four potential famines in the world “it would have been the worst possible moment to be shifting money out of hungry mouths and into subsidies for big shipping conglomerates.”

Corker has been pushing for years to reform the U.S. food aid program, including by eliminating the cargo preference. He said in his statement he looked forward to working with Congress and the administration to achieve “long overdue reforms.”

After hearing about the possible executive order, several members of Congress called the White House to express their concern, congressional aides said.

The administration’s budget proposal has suggested slashing foreign aid in general while increasing defense spending.

That plan was also met with stiff opposition in Congress, as lawmakers argued that “soft power” options such as food and medical aid and disaster recovery assistance can be effective tools in foreign policy that should not be discounted.

Supporters say Trump’s initiative would not only create new U.S. jobs in the shipping industry but that U.S.-controlled food shipments are important for national security because the U.S. fleet could be transferred to the military in case of a conflict.

Food aid is a very small percentage of the worldwide sea cargo flow, critics argue, while the security issue is moot as most cargo ships are too slow for use by the 21st century military.

They said the costs would also be far higher by eliminating competition for shipping contracts with lower-cost international carriers, requiring more U.S. taxpayer dollars to feed fewer people.

Let's block ads! (Why?)

Read More Trump Drops Plan to Change How Food Aid Shipped : http://ift.tt/2sbFUFR

Mattis Delays Adding Transgender Recruits to Armed Forces

WASHINGTON — 

Defense Secretary Jim Mattis on Friday approved a six-month delay in allowing transgender recruits to join the U.S. armed forces, a Pentagon spokeswoman said.

Pentagon spokeswoman Dana White said in a statement that Mattis accepted a recommendation to defer transgender applicants until Jan. 1.

The Pentagon ended its ban on openly transgender people serving in the U.S. military in 2016 under the Barack Obama administration. It was expected to start allowing transgender people to begin enlisting this year, provided they had been “stable” in their preferred gender for 18 months.

The prospect of a delay under President Donald Trump’s administration alarmed transgender advocates.

“There are thousands of transgender service members openly and proudly serving our nation today ... what matters is the ability to get the job done, not their gender identity," said Stephen Peters of the Human Rights Campaign.

Last year, then-Defense Secretary Ash Carter cited a study by the RAND Corporation saying there were about 2,500 transgender active-duty service members and 1,500 reserve transgender service members.

Rand’s figures were within a range, which at the upper end reached 7,000 active duty forces and 4,000 reserves.

Let's block ads! (Why?)

Read More Mattis Delays Adding Transgender Recruits to Armed Forces : http://ift.tt/2utM05b

Drift in Congress Could Lead to Shipwreck This Fall

WASHINGTON — 

Republicans are stuck on health care, can't pass a budget, and hopes for a big, bipartisan infrastructure package are fizzling. Overhauling the tax code looks more and more like a distant dream.

The GOP-led Congress has yet to salt away a single major legislative accomplishment for President Donald Trump — and a summer of drift may lead to a logistical nightmare this fall.

Instead, Trump's allies appear both divided and indecisive, unable to deliver on his agenda while letting other must-do congressional business — chiefly their core responsibilities of passing a budget and spending bills, and keeping the government solvent — slide onto an already daunting fall agenda.

Friday brought more bad news for Speaker Paul Ryan, a Wisconsin Republican, and other House leaders as 20 GOP moderates signaled a revolt on the budget, penning a letter to Ryan announcing their opposition to an emerging plan to force cuts to government agencies and benefit programs such as food stamps. The letter, authored by Representative Charlie Dent of Pennsylvania, warned that without an agreement with Democrats on increasing agency spending, moderates will be "reticent to support any budget."

"It's looking like they're very disorganized. They got obviously a lot of conflict over spending preferences, and it's not just a two-way conflict," said top House Budget Committee Democrat John Yarmuth of Kentucky. "It's just a tough Rubik's Cube they're trying to solve."

Budget, spending bills

So it's not just the Senate effort to repeal and replace Democrat Barack Obama's health care law that's foundering. The annual congressional budget measure — a prerequisite to this fall's hoped-for tax effort — is languishing as well, as are the 12 annual spending bills that typically consume weeks of House floor time each summer.

But GOP leaders say all is going well. Ryan told a Wisconsin radio host on Thursday that "it's the most productive Congress since the mid-'80s" and issued a news release Friday titled "Despite What You May Hear, We Are Getting Things Done." The release cites a bipartisan Department of Veterans Affairs accountability measure and 14 bills repealing Obama-era regulations as Congress' top achievements.

"It would be hard to fault the average American for thinking all that's going on in Washington these days is high-drama hearings and partisan sniping," Ryan said. "But amid the countdown clocks and cable news chatter, something important is happening: Congress is getting things done to help improve people's lives."

In the first year of a presidency, the annual August congressional recess is a traditional point to take stock. By that point, Obama had signed an economic recovery bill and President George W. Bush had won his landmark tax cuts, while President Bill Clinton was celebrating a hard-fought budget package.

Trump has no comparable successes to trumpet — but his allies in Congress say they're not worried.

"We laid out an agenda in November and December, and we're needing to get there," said House Rules Committee Chairman Pete Sessions of Texas. "And we can effectively get there. The questions that confound us are those that we can answer ourselves. And we will."

Democratic help

And as Republicans are stalled on health care, the budget and infrastructure, there are several other problems that need to be taken care of, including increasing the nation's borrowing authority, preventing a government shutdown, and lifting budget "caps" that are hobbling efforts to beef up the military.

Unlike health care, the debt limit and a deal to fix the spending caps — a leftover from a failed 2011 budget deal — can be resolved only with Democratic help. However, they promise to consume political capital and valuable time and energy, and there's no political payoff, other than forestalling disaster.

First, Congress is off on vacation, to return in July for a three-week session. Then comes the traditional monthlong August recess.

After Labor Day comes a four-week sprint to October and the deadline to avert a government shutdown with a temporary spending bill — and to forestall a disastrous default on U.S. obligations by lifting the debt limit, which is a politically toxic vote for many Republicans.

Sentiment is building among some lawmakers to shorten the recess to make progress on the unfinished work that is piling up. On Friday, 10 GOP senators, led by David Perdue of Georgia, sent Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky a letter citing delays on health care, the budget, a stopgap spending bill and the debt limit as reasons to consider canceling some or all of the recess.

"If we successfully navigate those priorities, we can finally get to our once-in-a-generation opportunity on tax reform," the letter said. "Growing the economy, repairing our infrastructure and rebuilding our military are all dependent on accomplishing the tasks before us."

Let's block ads! (Why?)

Read More Drift in Congress Could Lead to Shipwreck This Fall : http://ift.tt/2utiVXB

How Each State is Answering Trump Voter Data Request

The state-by-state responses to a request for detailed voter data from President Donald Trump’s Presidential Advisory Commission on Election Integrity, which is investigating whether there was voter fraud in last year’s election.

ALABAMA: Undecided

Secretary of State John Merrill said he has questions about security and other issues. He wants those answered before turning over any information. He declined to detail the other issues.

ALASKA: Partial

Division of Elections Director Josie Bahnke says she will respond to it as she would to any request for voter information. Some information, she said, can be provided, such as voter names, voting histories and party affiliations. But other information is considered confidential and would not be provided.

ARKANSAS: Undecided

Chris Powell, a spokesman from the secretary of state’s office, said the office had not yet received the letter and did not have a comment on the request.

CALIFORNIA: Deny

“California’s participation would only serve to legitimize the false and already debunked claims of massive voter fraud,” Democratic Secretary of State Alex Padilla, a Democrat, said in a statement.

COLORADO: Partial

Colorado Secretary of State Wayne Williams, a Republican, said he will provide some of the requested information. State law prohibits releasing Social Security numbers, driver’s license numbers or dates of birth.

CONNECTICUT: Partial

Connecticut’s secretary of state says her office plans to comply in part. Denise Merrill says in the spirit of transparency the state will share publicly available information. She says the state will ensure the privacy of voters is honored by withholding protected data.

DELAWARE: Undecided

The elections commissioner hasn’t received the letter, which may have gone to the secretary of state. The commissioner says state law would not allow release of birth dates or any part of Social Security numbers.

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA: Deny

“The best thing I can do to instill confidence among DC residents in our elections is to protect their personally identifiable information from the Commission on Election Integrity. Its request for voter information, such as Social Security numbers, serves no legitimate purpose and only raises questions on its intent. I will join leaders of states around the country and work with our partners on the Council to protect our residents from this intrusion,” Democratic Mayor Muriel Bowser said in a statement.

FLORIDA: Undecided

Sarah Revell, a spokeswoman for Secretary of State Ken Detzner, said the state was reviewing the request but did not provide any additional information.

GEORGIA: Partial

“The Georgia Secretary of State’s office will provide the publicly available voter list. As specified in Georgia law, the public list does not contain a registered voter’s driver’s license number, Social Security number, month and day of birth, site of voter registration, phone number or email address.”

HAWAII: Undecided

Hawaii hasn’t received the request, said Nedielyn Bueno, voter services section head.

IDAHO: Undecided

State Election Director Betsie Kimbrough said the office will fulfill the request if Secretary of State Lawerence Denney, a Republican, determines it complies with state public records law. The state allows handing over voter registration records that include voting history, but not Social Security numbers or dates of birth.

ILLINOIS: Undecided

Illinois State Board of Elections spokesman Ken Menzel said the office has not yet received the letter. Once it’s received, they will review the request and decide how to proceed. However, Menzel noted that Illinois election code has provisions that limit which entities may receive voter information and what type of information can be released.

INDIANA: Partial

“Indiana law doesn’t permit the Secretary of State to provide the personal information requested by Secretary Kobach. Under Indiana public records laws, certain voter info is available to the public, the media and any other person who requested the information for non-commercial purposes. The information publicly available is name, address and congressional district assignment,’’ Indiana Secretary of State Connie Lawson said in a statement.

IOWA: Partial

State from Secretary of State Paul Pate: “My office received a letter from the Presidential Advisory Commission on Election Integrity late Wednesday and has not yet responded to it. There is a formal process for requesting a list of registered voters, as specified in Iowa Code. We will follow that process if a request is made that complies with Iowa law. The official list request form is available on the Iowa Secretary of State’s website, sos.iowa.gov. Some voter registration information is a matter of public record. However, providing personal voter information, such as Social Security numbers, is forbidden under Iowa Code. We will only share information that is publicly available and complies with Iowa Code. I am attending a national meeting of Secretaries of State next week, where the Commission’s letter will likely be discussed.”

KANSAS: Partial

Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach is vice chairman of the commission, but even his office does plan to provide the last four digits of Social Security numbers because that information is not available to the public under Kansas law, spokeswoman Samantha Poetter said. All information that is publicly available will be provided.

KENTUCKY: Deny

“As the commonwealth’s secretary of state and chief election official, I do not intend to release Kentuckians’ sensitive personal data to the federal government,” Kentucky Secretary of State Alison Lundergan Grimes said in a statement. “The president created his election commission based on the false notion that ‘voter fraud’ is a widespread issue. It is not.”

LOUISIANA: Undecided

“We have received the letter and are reviewing with staff and our attorneys to determine our response,” said Meg Casper Sunstrom, spokeswoman for Secretary of State Tom Schedler. “Our priority, as we’ve demonstrated in the past, will always be to protect voter’s protected, personal information. This includes Social Security numbers, mother’s maiden name and date of birth. As you know, voter lists are publicly available by law but only include limited information including name, address and voter history. Voter history is not how a voter cast their ballot; it’s whether they participated.” Sunstrom said Louisiana law prohibits the release of Social Security numbers.

MAINE: Undecided

Maine Secretary of State Matthew Dunlap said he is reviewing with the attorney general’s office whether to comply with the request.

MARYLAND: Undecided

Maryland State Elections Administrator Linda Lamone said she has asked the state attorney general’s office for an opinion on how the board should respond. She received the letter Friday, after it was forwarded to her by the Maryland secretary of state’s office.

MASSACHUSETTS: Deny

A spokesman for Secretary of State William Galvin said the state’s voter registry is not a public record, and information in it will not be shared with the Presidential Advisory Commission on Election Integrity.

MICHIGAN: Undecided

A spokesman for Republican Secretary of State Ruth Johnson said the department had not yet received the request and would review it if it does. Fred Woodhams said voter lists are public record under state law, and the department has no authority to deny voter data. It is common for political parties and candidates to obtain voter information, he said. “The department will provide voter information consistent with state law but will not provide info protected by state law.” He noted that voter info is readily available in many states for a nominal fee.

MINNESOTA: Deny

Minnesota Secretary of State Steve Simon, a Democrat, announced Friday he would not share the data with Trump’s commission.

MISSISSIPPI: Deny

Mississippi Secretary of State Delbert Hosemann, a Republican, said in a statement Friday that he had not received the request for information from the Trump commission, but another secretary of state had forwarded the correspondence to him. In a federal court case after a contentious U.S. Senate primary in Mississippi in 2014, a group called True the Vote sued Mississippi seeking similar information about voters, and Hosemann fought that request and won. Hosemann said if he receives a request from the Trump commission, “My reply would be: They can go jump in the Gulf of Mexico, and Mississippi is a great state to launch from.” Hosemann also said: “Mississippi residents should celebrate Independence Day and our state’s right to protect the privacy of our citizens by conducting our own electoral processes.”

MISSOURI: Partial

In Missouri, Republican Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft said he is happy to “offer our support in the collective effort to enhance the American people’s confidence in the integrity of the system.” On Friday, Ashcroft spokeswoman Maura Browning said the state is providing only publicly available information. She said that means no Social Security numbers, no political affiliations and no details on how people voted.

NEBRASKA: Undecided

A spokeswoman for the secretary of state said it’s not clear whether the request has been received.

NEVADA: Partial

Secretary of State Barbara Cegavske says her office will provide public information only, but not Social Security numbers or how people voted. The state will turn over voter names, addresses, telephone numbers, dates of birth, party affiliation and turnout.

NEW HAMPSHIRE: Partial

New Hampshire Secretary of State Bill Gardner, a member of the Trump commission, said his office will provide public information: names, addresses, party affiliations and voting history dating to 2006. Voting history includes whether someone voted in a general election and which party’s primary they voted in.

NEW JERSEY: Undecided

No response from spokeswoman for the Division of Elections.

NEW MEXICO: Deny

Democratic Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse-Oliver says she will never release personally identifiable information for New Mexico voters that is protected by law, including Social Security numbers and dates of birth. She also declined to provide information such as names and voting histories unless she is convinced the information is secured and will not be used for “nefarious or unlawful purposes.”

NEW YORK: Deny

Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced Friday his decision not to comply with the commission’s request for information. He said state laws include safeguards to protect sensitive voting information and that the state “refuses to perpetuate the myth voter fraud played a role in our election.”

NORTH CAROLINA: Partial

North Carolina’s elections board will provide voter data requested this week by President Donald Trump’s commission investigating alleged voter fraud. But the records will not include personal information deemed confidential in state law, including dates of birth and Social Security numbers.

NORTH DAKOTA: Partial

North Dakota, the only state that does not have voter registration, does require identification at the polls and does have a central database of voters, compiled with the help of state Transportation Department records and county auditors. However, the information can be used only for “election-related purposes” under state law, such as compiling poll books for elections. “We certainly can’t comply with that part of the request, but we are going to submit a response,” Deputy Secretary of State Jim Silrum said.

OHIO: Partial

Republican Secretary of State Jon Husted said Friday he will not turn over the last four digits of voters’ Social Security numbers or their driver’s license numbers to Trump’s commission. “Confidential info won’t be provided to Pres Advisory Comm on Election Integrity,” Husted said in a Twitter message. He later added, “We do not want fed intervention in our state’s right & respon to conduct elections.”

OKLAHOMA: Partial

A spokesman for the Oklahoma State Election Board said the state will not provide the last four digits of voters’ Social Security numbers. “That’s not publicly available under the laws of our state,” said Bryan Dean. He said the commission’s request will be treated like any other from the general public. The election board will tell the panel to fill out an online form asking for the information. Oklahoma’s voter roll is routinely provided to political campaigns, the press and other groups that ask for it.

OREGON: Undecided

No response from the Secretary of State.

PENNSYLVANIA: Partial

Gov. Tom Wolf, a Democrat, wrote a letter saying the state will not cooperate, but said the state will sell the commission the same data the public can purchase. It cannot be posted online, however.

RHODE ISLAND: Partial

Rhode Island Secretary of State Nellie Gorbea says she won’t share some of the requested voter information, including Social Security numbers or information regarding felony or military status.

SOUTH CAROLINA: Undecided

The AP was unable to reach anyone from the Secretary of State’s office Friday.

SOUTH DAKOTA: Deny

A spokesman for South Dakota Secretary of State Shantel Krebs says the state will not share voter information with the Trump commission.

TENNESSEE: Deny

“Although I appreciate the commission’s mission to address election-related issues like voter fraud, Tennessee state law does not allow my office to release the voter information requested to the federal commission,” said Tennessee Secretary of State Tre Hargett, a Republican.

TEXAS: Partial

Texas Secretary of State Rolando Pablos said Friday he will provide the commission public information and “protect the private information of Texas citizens.” Much of the information requested, including names, addresses, date of birth and party data, are publicly available in Texas. Social Security numbers cannot be released under Texas law. Publicly available voter registration lists in Texas also do not include information about military status or criminal history.

UTAH: Partial

Republican Lt. Gov. Spencer Cox says he will send information classified as public, but Social Security numbers and dates of birth are protected.

VERMONT: Partial

Vermont’s top election official, Democrat Jim Condos, said Friday he is bound by law to provide the publicly available voter file, but that does not include Social Security numbers or birth dates. Condos said he must first receive an affidavit signed by the commission chairman, as required by Vermont law. He said there is no evidence of the kind of fraud alleged by Trump. “I believe these unproven claims are an effort to set the stage to weaken our democratic process through a systematic national effort of voter suppression and intimidation,” he said.

VIRGINA: Deny

“At best this commission was set up as a pretext to validate Donald Trump’s alternative election facts, and at worst is a tool to commit large-scale voter suppression,” said Gov. Terry McAuliffe, a Democrat.

WASHINGTON: Partial

Secretary of State Kim Wyman, a Republican, says her office will send the commission names, addresses and birth dates of registered voters because they are public record. She will not send Social Security numbers, driver’s license numbers or other information.

WEST VIRGINIA: Undecided

Secretary of State Mac Warner, a Republican, said in a statement that his office would review the request but is limited by state law in what it can provide.

WISCONSIN: Partial

Administrator Mike Haas issued a statement Friday saying most of the information in the state’s voter registration system is public, including voters’ names, addresses and voting history. The state does not collect any data about a voter’s political preference or gender, he said.

He said the state routinely sells the information to political parties, candidates and researchers. It would charge the presidential commission $12,500 for the data, the maximum amount allowed under agency rules, Haas said. State law doesn’t contain any provisions for waiving the fee, he said.

Wisconsin law allows the commission to share voter birth dates, driver’s license numbers and Social Security numbers only with police and other state agencies, and the presidential commission doesn’t appear to qualify, Haas said.

WYOMING: Undecided

Officials did not respond Friday to multiple requests from the AP.

Let's block ads! (Why?)

Read More How Each State is Answering Trump Voter Data Request : http://ift.tt/2sb3zGD

States Refusing to Give Voter Data to Trump Commission

CHICAGO — 

A growing number of U.S. states refused Friday to give voters’ names, addresses and sensitive personal information to a commission created by President Donald Trump to investigate alleged voter fraud, saying the demand was unnecessary and violated privacy.

“This commission was formed to try to find basis for the lie that President Trump put forward that has no foundation,” Kentucky Secretary of State Alison Lundergan Grimes said.

Claims unsubstantiated

Republican Trump made unsubstantiated claims that millions of people voted illegally for his Democratic rival Hillary Clinton in the 2016 election. He established the panel by executive order in May despite evidence that voter fraud was not widespread.

Trump’s Presidential Advisory Commission on Election Integrity sent a letter to all 50 states Wednesday asking them to turn over voter information including names, the last four digits of Social Security numbers, addresses, birth dates, political affiliation, felony convictions and voting histories.

The request from commission Vice Chairman Kris Kobach caused a backlash in states including Virginia, Kentucky, California, New York and Massachusetts, where election officials said they would not provide all the data.

State backlash

California Secretary of State Alex Padilla said Thursday that handing over information would only serve to legitimize debunked claims of widespread voter fraud.

More than 20 states said they would not or could not provide some or all of the information requested, according to statements from election officials and media reports.

Some said certain data such as Social Security numbers were not publicly available and that they would turn over only public information. Others raised privacy concerns or questioned the need to examine voter fraud.

Mississippi Secretary of State Delbert Hosemann said in a statement that he had not seen the letter but would rebuff the commission.

“They can go jump in the Gulf of Mexico and Mississippi is a great state to launch from,” he said.

Civil rights objections

Kobach, the secretary of state for Kansas, has been a high-profile advocate of tougher laws on immigration and voter identification.

His office did not respond to Reuters requests for comment.

Kobach was quoted in a Kansas City Star article as saying that his own state would not provide Social Security numbers at this time since they are not publicly available. Kobach did not rule out providing that information in the future.

In his letter, a copy of which was provided to Reuters by the Connecticut Secretary of State’s office, Kobach also asked states for feedback on how to improve election integrity and for evidence of voter fraud and convictions of voter-related crimes since 2000.

Civil rights groups and Democratic lawmakers have called the commission a tactic to suppress votes against Republicans.

“States are right to balk at turning over massive reams of personal information in what clearly is a campaign to suppress the vote,” Dale Ho, director of the American Civil Liberties Union Voting Rights Project, said in a statement Friday.

While the public availability of voter data varies by state, the request raises privacy concerns, said Richard Hasen, a University of California, Irvine, professor who studies election law.

Let's block ads! (Why?)

Read More States Refusing to Give Voter Data to Trump Commission : http://ift.tt/2t9WyXP

Trump Revives National Space Council, to Be Led by Pence

WASHINGTON — 

President Donald Trump is forming a National Space Council to be led by Vice President Mike Pence.

The president signed an executive order Friday to revive a council last in place in 1993.

Trump says the announcement sends a clear signal to the world about the United States' leadership in space. He says space exploration would help the economy and national security.

Members of the council are to include the secretaries of state, defense, commerce, transportation and homeland security, as well as the head of NASA, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the national security adviser and the director of national intelligence.

The council will also draw on insights from scientists and business leaders.

Let's block ads! (Why?)

Read More Trump Revives National Space Council, to Be Led by Pence : http://ift.tt/2svSAHd

GOP Measure Would Let Churches Back Candidates, Keep Tax-free Status

WASHINGTON — 

Churches should have the First Amendment right to endorse political candidates and still keep their tax-free status, say House Republicans, who quietly tucked a provision into a sweeping spending bill that would deny the IRS money to enforce the 63-year-old law prohibiting such outright politicking from the pulpit.

Republicans repeatedly have failed to scrap the law preventing churches and other nonprofits from backing candidates, so now they are trying to starve it. With little fanfare, a House Appropriations subcommittee added the Internal Revenue Service measure to a bill to fund the Treasury Department, Securities and Exchange Commission and other agencies.

The subcommittee passed the bill Thursday.

Republicans say the law is enforced unevenly, leaving religious leaders uncertain about what they are allowed to say and do.

"I believe that churches have a right of free speech and an opportunity to talk about positions and issues that are relevant to their faith," said Representative Jim Renacci, an Ohio Republican.

Some Democrats say the measure comes too close to mixing church and state. They say religious leaders already have First Amendment rights, just like anyone else. But if they want to get political, they don't have a constitutional right not to pay taxes.

Some also worry that the measure could upend the system of campaign financing by allowing churches to use their tax-free status to funnel money to political candidates.

Representative Richard Neal, a Massachusetts Democrat, recalled a speech that former President John F. Kennedy gave to religious leaders when he was running for president.

"He said the pope wouldn't tell him what to do, and the people in that audience shouldn't be telling people on Sunday morning who to vote for," Neal said. "I don't think churches should be endorsing."

Many nonprofit groups want to avoid politics. In April, 4,500 nonprofit groups signed a letter to congressional leaders asking them to preserve the law.

The law prohibits tax-exempt charitable organizations such as churches from participating directly or indirectly in any political campaign to support or oppose a candidate. If the IRS determines that a group has violated the law, it can revoke its tax-exempt status.

The law doesn't stop religious groups from weighing in on public policy or organizing in ways that may benefit one side in a campaign.

The bill specifically forbids the IRS from spending money to enforce the law against "a church, or a convention or association of churches," unless the IRS commissioner signs off on it and notifies Congress.

The bill doesn't mention other types of nonprofit groups, or even synagogues or mosques, said Nick Little of the Center for Inquiry, which promotes secularism.

"All they care about is the Christian groups, and in particular, it will end up as the extreme religious right Christian groups," Little said. "If this goes through, this would add just another way in which unregulated dark money could be used."

Religious leaders have been weighing in on political issues for generations, whether it's the debate over abortion or advocating for the poor. But periodically, the IRS has stepped in when religious leaders explicitly endorse or oppose candidates.

The law is called the Johnson Amendment after former President Lyndon Johnson, who introduced it in 1954 when he was a Democratic senator from Texas. Johnson was upset because a few nonprofit groups attacked him as a communist in a Senate campaign.

The law was signed by a Republican president — Dwight Eisenhower — but Republicans have been attacking it in recent years.

House Republicans have pledged to repeal the law as part of a tax overhaul. President Donald Trump signed an executive order in May discouraging the IRS from enforcing the law.

Representative Pat Tiberi, an Ohio Republican, says the law has been enforced unevenly.

"Some churches, including my own, have been very concerned about appearing political in any way shape or form," Tiberi said. "Churches I went to that were primarily in Democrat areas, that I would go to because I had a Democrat district, the local candidates on the Sunday mornings before the election would be introduced, would speak from the pulpit about the campaign and why the congregation should vote for them."

The full Appropriations Committee will consider the measure after the July Fourth congressional recess.

Let's block ads! (Why?)

Read More GOP Measure Would Let Churches Back Candidates, Keep Tax-free Status : http://ift.tt/2tz7f9m

UN Peacekeeping Budget Cut By $600 Million

UNITED NATIONS — 

The U.N. General Assembly voted Friday to cut $600 million from the organization's nearly $8 billion annual peacekeeping budget.

The move comes amid pressure from the Trump administration, which contributes more than a quarter of the department's annual budget. But U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres, who took office Jan. 1, has also called for major U.N. reforms, including in peacekeeping.

U.N. peacekeeping, which supports more than 110,000 troops, police and civilians in 16 missions, has come under harsh criticism in recent years for undisciplined troops who have sometimes failed to protect civilians and even sexually abused them. In Haiti, U.N. peacekeepers have been blamed for bringing a cholera epidemic to the island nation that sickened and killed thousands.

But despite inefficiencies and problems, the “blue helmets,” as peacekeepers are known for their distinctive head gear, still play an important role in fragile countries where civilians need protection, humanitarian assistance and stable institutions.

“It's great value,” said Jordie Hannum, senior director for the Better World Campaign, which works to promote strong relations between the United States and the United Nations.

“There is decades of research that shows that peacekeeping, when sufficiently resourced and equipped, can make a huge difference in terms of preventing the resurgence of conflict and in terms of protection of civilians,” Hannum said.

US push

Upon arriving at the U.N. in January, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley said she would be looking at what is working and fixing what is not.

“Anything that seems to be obsolete and not necessary, we're going to do away with,” Haley warned.

The United States is the U.N.'s largest donor, contributing about $611 million this year to the regular budget of more than $2.5 billion. Washington also contributes more than $2 billion annually to peacekeeping, and hundreds of millions more to programs, including the U.N. Children's Fund (UNICEF) and the World Food Program.

Friday's vote was focused only on the peacekeeping budget, meaning the U.S. will save around $150 million next year, as it pays about a quarter of the peacekeeping budget.

Washington had hoped to slash $1 billion from the department's budget, but lengthy negotiations among member states ended with a European Union-proposed compromise of $7.3 billion for the annual peacekeeping budget. Ambassador Haley proclaimed it a victory.

“Just five months into our time here, we've already been able to cut over half a billion dollars from the U.N. peacekeeping budget and we're only getting started,” she said in a statement.

Impact on the ground

U.N. spokesperson Stephane Dujarric told reporters the world body will make every effort to ensure mandates are implemented, despite the sizable budget cut.

“We cannot overstate the value of peacekeeping to achieve peace and stability,” Dujarric said. “It remains the most cost-effective instrument at the disposal of the international community to prevent conflicts and foster conditions for lasting peace.”

Several peacekeeping missions have already been under review. On Friday, the 13-year-old mission in the Ivory Coast completed its shut down. That mission had a budget of more than $150 million in its final year.

Others, like the massive, decade-old African Union-U.N. Hybrid operation in Sudan's Darfur region, which has more than 19,000 peacekeepers and an annual budget exceeding $1 billion, will see a gradual reduction in troops.

In Haiti, that mission has begun a six-month drawdown of its nearly 4,000-strong military component and in mid-October will transition to a police-only mission.

Managing with less

Several Security Council ambassadors welcomed the cuts, which will translate to savings for all countries that contribute to the peacekeeping budget.

“There was a substantial cut, which is of course what many delegations were looking for,” said Italian Ambassador Sebastiano Cardi. “But the operational activities of all the missions have been protected and preserved, and I think that's what we were looking for.”

“We believe in some cases there is a need for some cuts, depending on each mission,” said Bolivian Ambassador Sacha Llorentty. “I think that, for instance, we have taken a wise decision in terms of Darfur, the downsizing of that mission was the right thing to do.”

“Funding is essential, but better management at a certain point may compensate not substitute, but compensate for reduced funding,” said Uruguay Ambassador Elbio Rosselli. “It will mean that we will all have to make more efforts in making sure that we deliver with less resources, which is something most of us have to do in real life.”

But some missions have actually seen an increase in resources, including in Mali, which is on the front line of the war on terror in the Sahel region of West Africa.

Let's block ads! (Why?)

Read More UN Peacekeeping Budget Cut By $600 Million : http://ift.tt/2tz5Ijv

State Officials Call for End to DACA Program for US Undocumented Immigrants

Officials from 10 states are calling on the administration of President Donald Trump to end an Obama-era program that granted temporary immunity to undocumented young people who were brought to the United States as children.

In a letter to U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions, the officials urged the administration to end the 2012 Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program or risk being taken to court.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, nine other attorneys general and one governor signed the letter.

"We respectfully request that the Secretary of Homeland Security phase out the DACA program," Paxton wrote. He was joined by the attorneys general of Arkansas, Alabama, Idaho, Kansas, Louisiana, Nebraska, South Carolina, Tennessee and West Virginia, as well as Idaho Governor C.L. Otter.

DACA has deferred deportation and granted work permits for a renewable two-year period for at least 750,000 recipients nationwide.

In a June 15 memo rescinding the Deferred Action for Parents of Americans and Lawful Permanent Residents (DAPA) program, the secretary of DHS wrote that DACA would remain in effect, although its future was uncertain. Trump says he has not decided what to do about DACA.

DAPA blocked

DAPA never took effect. Twenty-six states challenged the program in a federal district court in Texas, which called the program an overreach by the administration of former President Barack Obama and blocked its implementation. That ruling was upheld on appeal, and a further appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court in June 2016 ended in a split decision, which left the initial ruling in place.

In rescinding DAPA, DHS said the agency saw no way to effectively argue the case.

The original Texas lawsuit has not been dismissed, and Paxton wrote that if the administration did not rescind DACA, "the complaint in that case will be amended to challenge both the DACA program and the remaining expanded DACA permits."

The letter gave the Trump administration a deadline of September 5 to decide.

Let's block ads! (Why?)

Read More State Officials Call for End to DACA Program for US Undocumented Immigrants : http://ift.tt/2t0bUQ2

US Travel Ban Implementation Moves Ahead with Little Protest

NEW YORK — 

President Donald Trump's modified travel ban has been implemented with little immediate protest as immigration lawyers gathered at U.S. airports to aid travelers from six affected countries.

The U.S. activated the new rules Thursday evening, requiring visa applicants from six majority-Muslim nations to have a "bona fide" relationship with a family member or business in the U.S. to be admitted into the country.

Before the rollout, senior administration officials explained how consular officials should proceed with the visa applications for people from Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen.

Anyone in transit to the U.S. with travel scheduled before July 6 will be allowed to enter. Those with travel booked after that date will be addressed "later," according to senior administration officials.

Previously scheduled visa application appointments will not be canceled, administration officials said, but all new applicants will have to prove their bona fide relationship to a family member or business in the U.S. in addition to passing traditional screening.

Acceptable close family relationships include a parent, spouse, child, adult son or daughter, son-in-law, daughter-in-law or sibling who already is in the United States.

Relationships that do not meet the requirement include grandparent, grandchild, aunt, uncle, niece, nephew, cousin, brother-in-law, sister-in-law, fiance or other extended family. The officials said these distinctions were based on those included in the Immigration and Naturalization Act.

First court suit

Late Thursday, the Trump administration added fiance to the acceptable list after Hawaii filed an emergency motion in federal court, asking a judge to clarify that the ban can't be enforced against relatives, including fiances, not mentioned in the administration's guidelines.

U.S. District Court Judge Derrick Watson ordered the Justice Department to respond by Monday and gave Hawaii until July 6 for a rebuttal.

"I think the Supreme Court actually laid it out very clearly," New York Immigration Coalition Director of Political Engagement Murad Awawdeh told VOA. "A bona fide relationship is anyone who has a relationship with anyone in the United States or an American entity. And for the department of state to come out with such a new version of what that word actually means, it is kind of disheartening."

He added that the Trump administration is trying to "redefine what family means."

Awawdeh spoke Thursday at an anti-travel ban protest of about 150 people in New York's Washington Square.

Also at the protest was Yemeni American Widad Hassan, who says that choosing between family and country is nothing new. Her sister-in-law and newborn nephew are in Yemen, while her brother is in the U.S., unable to reunite with his family.

"Do they leave to join their family in Yemen or do they stay here? So, that is pretty much how the ban has impacted us," said Hassan, adding that the battle is a recurring one. "It is just mentally and emotionally draining, especially when you have family members who are being directly impacted by it."

"Hey hey! Ho ho! Syrian refugees have got to go!" shouted an older white man, hoisting a black-and-white "Keep Syrians Out" poster outside a #NoMuslimBanEver Emergency Town Hall in New York.

Travel ban supporter Pauline Pujol told VOA, "I think Donald Trump is 100% correct. He is protecting the country. A president is supposed to protect the country; there is nothing racist about it. It's about security."

Refugee numbers

A 120-day ban on refugees and yearly cap of 50,000 total refugees coming to the United States also went into effect Thursday evening; however, any refugee who can prove a relationship to a family member in the U.S. may be allowed entry.

Senior administration officials said 49,009 refugees had been admitted to the U.S. in fiscal year 2017 as of Wednesday night, nearing the cap three-quarters of the way through the fiscal year that begins in October. But the cap is likely to be exceeded as additional refugees are accepted on the basis of family ties. Officials said about half of refugees admitted to the U.S. have family in the country.

The Supreme Court partially reinstated the president's executive order limiting travel after it was halted by two lower courts. The high court will hold its own hearing on the legal challenges in October.

Trump says the order is necessary to protect national security, with the entry freezes meant to give the government time to strengthen vetting procedures.

Let's block ads! (Why?)

Read More US Travel Ban Implementation Moves Ahead with Little Protest : http://ift.tt/2sv6g4Z

House Immigration Votes Build on Trump Campaign Promises

The U.S. House of Representatives took the first steps Thursday toward fulfilling two key Trump campaign promises: strengthening penalties on undocumented immigrants who return to the U.S. after being deported and cutting federal funds to so-called sanctuary cities - those that choose not to work with immigration agents. VOA's congressional reporter Katherine Gypson looks at what that will mean for grieving families and for undocumented immigrants across the country.

Let's block ads! (Why?)

Read More House Immigration Votes Build on Trump Campaign Promises : http://ift.tt/2tusKan

Trump Working on 'Equitable' Trade Deal, Welcomes South Korea's Moon

WASHINGTON — 

U.S. President Donald Trump, who is hosting South Korean President Moon Jae-in, says he hopes to renegotiate an "equitable" trade deal with Seoul.

Sitting alongside Moon at a White House meeting Friday, Trump echoed his frequent complaint that the current agreement with the U.S. ally has been "rough."

"We are renegotiating a trade deal right now with South Korea, and hopefully it will be an equitable deal. It will be a fair deal for both parties. It's been a rough deal for the U.S., but I think that it will be much different and will be good for both parties."

Trump has complained that the U.S. and South Korea have a "one-sided" and "horrible" trade agreement. Since the deal went into effect in 2012, the U.S. trade deficit with Seoul has doubled.

Trade is just one of the potential areas for disagreement that could come up between Trump and Moon.

The two leaders also differ on how to handle North Korea, with Trump preferring maximum diplomatic pressure and Moon preferring engagement with Pyongyang.

Trump said the two leaders "accomplished a lot" on North Korea. "We're also in the process of discussing our frankly many options," Trump said. "We have many options with respect to North Korea.

For his part, Moon said he had "very honest discussions" with Trump about North Korean nuclear issue and "other issues of mutual interest."

Moon is seeking to convince North Korean leader Kim Jong Un to pause his nuclear and missile programs in exchange for restarting talks, which would eventually lead to a complete disarmament.

It isn't clear whether the Trump administration is open to such an approach, or whether Kim would even agree to it. The government in Pyongyang says it considers its weapons programs essential to its survival.

Trump and Moon were also expected to discuss Seoul's deployment of the THAAD U.S. anti-ballistic missile system. After taking office, Moon paused the deployment, pending an environmental review, angering Washington.

That will be part of a wider discussion on U.S.-South Korea defense cooperation. The U.S. has over 28,000 troops stationed in South Korea. Moon has criticized some aspects of that cooperation, and wants to shift operational command of the South Korean military to Seoul.

Trump has also complained about the defense relationship. During the campaign, he regularly said that South Korea and other U.S. allies aren't paying enough for defense protection from the U.S.

However, both sides have indicated those disagreements will not surface publicly this week. Trump on Friday called the relationship "very, very strong." Moon said the visit has provided a chance to "reaffirm that the U.S. and Korea are walking on the same path towards a great alliance."

Let's block ads! (Why?)

Read More Trump Working on 'Equitable' Trade Deal, Welcomes South Korea's Moon : http://ift.tt/2txVqA9

MSNBC 'Morning Joe' Hosts Fire Back at Trump Twitter Blasts

"Morning Joe" hosts Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski said Friday that President Donald Trump lied about their December encounter in a tweet and that his "unhealthy obsession" with their program doesn't serve his mental health or the country well.

The two MSNBC personalities postponed a vacation in order to respond to Trump's tweet, which drew broad condemnation a day earlier because he called Brzezinski "crazy" and said she was "bleeding badly from a face-lift" when he saw them at his Florida estate.

"It's been fascinating and frightening and really sad for our country," Brzezinski said on their program.

"We're OK," said Scarborough, her co-host and fiance. "The country's not."

Trump tweeted Friday that he watched "Morning Joe" for the first time in a long time. "Bad show," he wrote.

The hosts, who also co-bylined a column that was posted on The Washington Post's website on Friday, said they had known Trump for more than a decade and have "fond memories" of their relationship, but that he's changed in the past two years. They were at Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida shortly before the New Year in December to encourage Trump to give them an interview.

Brzezinski, who said she's alarmed at how the president deals with women who disagree with him, said she believed her teasing about a Post story about fake Time magazine covers with Trump's face hanging at his golf facilities is what precipitated the latest Twitter attack.

"It is unbelievably alarming that this president is so easily played, he is easily played by a cable news host," she said. "What does that say to our allies? What does that say to our enemies?"

They said Trump was lying about Brzezinski having a face-lift, although "she did have a little skin under her chin tweaked."

Scarborough said that the National Enquirer had been working on a story about him and Brzezinski and that he was told by White House aides that if he called Trump and apologized for his show's coverage, the story would go away. He said he refused and the story ran.

Trump, in his Friday tweet, directly contradicted that claim. "He called me to stop a National Enquirer article," Trump wrote. "I said no!"

A recent New Yorker magazine article detailed a close relationship between Trump and David Pecker, chief executive of the Enquirer's parent company, and how the supermarket tabloid has lauded Trump and printed damaging articles about his political opponents.

"Morning Joe'' and Trump have had a tortured relationship. The hosts were criticized by some for being too close to Trump during the campaign and giving his candidacy an early boost, but have turned sharply against him. Brzezinski in recent weeks has wondered whether Trump was mentally ill and said the country under his presidency "does feel like a developing dictatorship."

The hosts said that they've noticed a change in Trump's behavior over the past few years that left them neither shocked nor insulted by the Thursday tweet.

"The guy who is in the White House now is not the guy we know," Scarborough said.

Trump on Thursday had launched a crude Twitter attack on the brains, looks and temperament of Brzezinski, drawing bipartisan howls of outrage and leaving fellow Republicans beseeching him: Stop, please just stop.

Trump's tweets revived concerns about his views of women in a city where civility already is in short supply and he is struggling for any support he can get for his proposals on health care, immigration and other controversial issues.

"I heard poorly rated (at)Morning_Joe speaks badly of me (don't watch anymore),'' Trump tweeted to his nearly 33 million followers Thursday morning. "Then how come low I.Q. Crazy Mika, along with Psycho Joe, came to Mar-a-Lago 3 nights in a row around New Year's Eve, and insisted on joining me. She was bleeding badly from a face-lift. I said no!"

The tweets served to unite Democrats and Republicans for once in a chorus of protest that amounted to perhaps the loudest outcry since Trump took office.

"Obviously I don't see that as an appropriate comment," said Republican House Speaker Paul Ryan. House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi called Trump's tweets, "blatantly sexist." The president, she added, "happens to disrespect women ... it's sad."

In television interviews Friday, Kellyanne Conway, a senior adviser to Trump, sent conflicting messages about whether Trump was justified in his tweet. She said he had the right to fight back when attacked by critics. But when pressed on ABC's "Good Morning America," she said: "I didn't say I endorsed his attacks; I never said that. Bottom line, I endorse his ability to connect on social media with Americans."

Trump's allies cast his outburst as positive, an example of his refusal to be bullied.

White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders said the president was "pushing back against people who have attacked him day after day after day. Where is the outrage on that?"

"The American people elected a fighter; they didn't elect somebody to sit back and do nothing," she added.

On the usually friendly Fox News Channel Thursday night, hosts Tucker Carlson and Sean Hannity did not defend the president's tweet but criticized the media reaction. "Washington melts down over Trump tweet," read the onscreen chyron during Carlson's show.

Let's block ads! (Why?)

Read More MSNBC 'Morning Joe' Hosts Fire Back at Trump Twitter Blasts : http://ift.tt/2u6YOiI

Sessions Says He Hopes Russia Probe Ends Sooner Than Later

WASHINGTON — 

Attorney General Jeff Sessions says he hopes a special counsel investigation into the Trump campaign and Russia can "come to an end sooner rather than later."

During an interview Friday with Fox News' "Fox & Friends," Sessions also endorsed special counsel Robert Mueller in the face of derision from President Donald Trump. Mueller is leading an investigation into possible coordination between Russia and the Trump campaign.

Sessions said he was confident in Mueller and said he had a good reputation.

He said while Mueller was entitled to add whom he wants to his team, "I think he should look for people who have strength and credibility by all people."

That appeared to be a reference to Republican concerns that some attorneys on Mueller's team have previously contributed to Democratic candidates.

Let's block ads! (Why?)

Read More Sessions Says He Hopes Russia Probe Ends Sooner Than Later : http://ift.tt/2tsqpxr

Trump, Moon to Have 'Friendly, Frank' Discussion

WASHINGTON — 

South Korea's new president, Moon Jae-in, is in Washington for talks with President Donald Trump. The meeting could reveal disagreements over issues including trade, defense ties, and how to handle North Korea.

During the campaign, Trump regularly accused Seoul of ripping off the U.S. on trade and threatened to withdraw U.S. troops from South Korea.

"We pay for South Korea, 28,000 soldiers on the line, and we pay," Trump declared.

At one point, Trump suggested he'd have North Korean leader Kim Jong Un assassinated, a threat he's since walked back.

More recently, Trump has said he would be willing to meet Kim face-to-face, under the right circumstances.

Still, his approach to the North stands in stark contrast to that of Moon, a liberal human rights lawyer who advocates engagement with Pyongyang. But the two leaders' strategies aren't as contradictory as they may seem, according to Gary Samore, an Obama White House official, who spoke to VOA via Skype.

"Trump has said many different things about North Korea, but I think the overall strategy is pressure to create conditions for engagement," Samore said. "And that's something that President Moon has actually endorsed."

Disagreements could also arise over the deployment of the THAAD U.S. anti-ballistic missile system in South Korea. Moon paused the deployment, pending an environmental review, a move that angered Washington.

But those disagreements won't necessarily surface publicly this week cautions Bruce Klingner of the Heritage Foundation, who also spoke to VOA via Skype.

"Since their election, both presidents seem to have taken a great deal of care to send reassurances, either directly or through senior envoys, so I think both presidents are going to be trying to put their best face forward on this summit," Klingner said.

A senior White House official this week said the THAAD deployment will be discussed as what he called a "routine point of housekeeping", but stressed, overall, he expects the talks to be "frank" but "friendly."

Let's block ads! (Why?)

Read More Trump, Moon to Have 'Friendly, Frank' Discussion : http://ift.tt/2t8g4Up

Trump to Senate Republicans: Kill Obamacare Now, Replace Later

WASHINGTON — 

U.S. President Donald Trump urged Republican U.S. senators on Friday to repeal Obamacare immediately if they cannot agree on a new health care plan to take its place.

Republican leaders have set Friday as the goal for working out changes to Senate legislation that would repeal extensive parts of the 2010 Affordable Care Act, the law dubbed Obamacare that expanded health insurance coverage to 20 million people.

Their efforts were complicated on Thursday by a Congressional Budget Office report that said the Senate proposal would cut spending on government Medicaid for the poor by 35 percent come 2036.

"If Republican Senators are unable to pass what they are working on now, they should immediately REPEAL, and then REPLACE at a later date!" Trump wrote in an early morning Twitter post.

U.S. Senator Ben Sasse, a Republican who has often clashed with Trump, welcomed the suggestion. Sasse said this week he was not satisfied with the Senate healthcare legislation.

"Sounds great, Pres. @realDonaldTrump," Sasse wrote in a response on Twitter. "We are agreed. We need to break the logjam."

Trump promised as a presidential candidate to do away with the Affordable Care Act but crafting a plan acceptable to Republicans, who control both chambers of Congress, has proven easier said than done.

Republicans would like to make progress on that issue to clear the way for other priorities such as tax reform.

Let's block ads! (Why?)

Read More Trump to Senate Republicans: Kill Obamacare Now, Replace Later : http://ift.tt/2urfMr8

Stakes High for Trump in Republican Stumble Over Health Care

WASHINGTON — 

Senate Republicans are working to revive efforts to pass a health care overhaul bill, a key pledge they made with then-candidate Donald Trump during last year's presidential election campaign.

Trump suffered a political setback when Senate Republican leaders put off a vote on a health care bill after it was clear they could not bridge the divide between moderates and conservatives. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell had pushed for a vote this week, but has delayed the effort until after the July 4 holiday recess.

Trump: 'Very tough'

Despite the delay, Trump maintains he is committed to his campaign pledge to repeal and replace President Barack Obama's signature health care law, known as Obamacare, although he acknowledged it could be "very tough."

"We are looking at a health care that would be a fantastic tribute to our country, a health care that would take care of people, finally, for the right reasons and also at the right cost," Trump said at a White House meeting. It was necessary to act, he added, because "Obamacare is melting down."

The decision to put off the vote came amid protests at the Capitol and in the face of a united front of opposition put forward by Senate Democrats.

Watch: High Stakes for Trump in Republican Stumble Over Health Care

Schumer: 'Rotten at the core'

Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer said the Republican proposal was "rotten at the core" and noted recent polls that show support for the Republican bill has plummeted.

"The American people are not for big tax breaks to the wealthiest of Americans, nor are they for dramatically cutting their health care," Schumer told reporters at the Capitol. "That's why the bill has about 17 percent popularity in America and even Trump voters don't like it."

Several recent polls show the bill with approval ratings of below 20 percent, and that has fueled rumblings of political concern among many Republicans in the Senate and widened the divide between moderates and conservatives.

Republican split

Moderates worry that Republicans will be held politically liable if millions of Americans lose their health insurance coverage. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office projected that figure could rise to 22 million people over a 10-year period.

"I don't think there is any doubt that if this legislation were to become law, there would be very large reductions in the number of people with insurance coverage," said Matthew Fiedler, an expert on health care policy with the Brookings Institution in Washington. "My personal view is that would ultimately have serious political consequences for Republicans down the road."

Conservative Republican senators are eager to follow through on the promise of a complete rollback of Obamacare, a core demand that has united the party for the past seven years.

"Obamacare is a bus that is going off a cliff," said Republican Senator John Barrasso of Wyoming. "Democrats are saying, 'Stay on board.' We are trying to rescue the American people from this bus that they are on."

A generation of debate

Spending on health care represents about one-sixth of the U.S. economy, and political efforts to reform the system have confounded both parties for a generation. Former President Bill Clinton launched a major effort in 1993, led by then-first lady Hillary Clinton, only to be blocked once Republicans won control of Congress the following year.

Democrat Obama made health care reform a central part of his 2008 presidential campaign, and as president, he signed what become known as his signature legislative achievement in 2010. That, in turn, fueled the rise of Tea Party activists around the country, which helped Republicans win back control of both the House of Representatives and the Senate.

Now it is President Trump and the Republicans in Congress who will be held to account by their voters beginning in next year's midterm congressional elections and the presidential race in 2020.

"We want to see whether voters feel that President Trump has lived up to his hype and expectations and whether or not he has been able to keep his promises," said Emory University political scientist Andra Gillespie.

Trump and his Republican allies in Congress have been counting on a major deficit savings from the health care bill to set up their next big priority: tax reform.

Let's block ads! (Why?)

Read More Stakes High for Trump in Republican Stumble Over Health Care : http://ift.tt/2t80CaQ

High Stakes for Trump in Republican Stumble Over Health Care

President Donald Trump suffered a political setback this week when Senate Republican leaders delayed a vote on overhauling the U.S. health care insurance system, one of the president's central campaign promises. Senate Republicans are trying to revive the health care effort, but they remain divided on an issue that represents one-sixth of the U.S. economy and has confounded both political parties for a generation. VOA national correspondent Jim Malone has more from Washington.

Let's block ads! (Why?)

Read More High Stakes for Trump in Republican Stumble Over Health Care : http://ift.tt/2t7K4Qi

House Immigration Votes Build on Trump Campaign Promises

CAPITOL HILL — 

The U.S. House of Representatives took the first steps toward fulfilling two of President Donald Trump's signature campaign promises Thursday, passing bills strengthening penalties on undocumented immigrants who return to the U.S. after having been deported and cutting federal funds to sanctuary cities.

By a 257-167 vote, the House passed "Kate's Law," a bill named after Kate Steinle, 32, who was shot and killed in San Francisco in July 2015. Juan Francisco Lopez-Sanchez, a felon who had been deported five times, is facing murder and other charges in connection with the shooting. The bill increases prison penalties for undocumented immigrants who return to the U.S. after having been deported.

The House also passed, 228-195, the No Sanctuary for Criminals Act, blocking so-called sanctuary cities from receiving federal grant money and expanding the federal government's capability of making them comply with immigration enforcement.

Trump greeted passage of the first bill with the tweet, "Good news, House just passed #KatesLaw. Hopefully Senate will follow."

Campaign issue

He had emphasized tougher immigration enforcement throughout his campaign and often featured family members of victims at his campaign rallies.

During his convention speech in which he accepted the Republican presidential nomination, Trump highlighted the story of Sarah Root, 21, who was killed in Omaha, Nebraska, in January 2016 when a vehicle slammed into her car at a traffic light. An illegal immigrant from Honduras, Edwin Mejia, is wanted for motor vehicle homicide in the case, according to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Mejia was charged with felony driving under the influence of alcohol but was released on bail and subsequently disappeared. He remains at large.

"One more child to sacrifice on the altar of open borders," Trump said in the July 2016 speech.

The president's support was "amazing," Root's mother told VOA this week.

"I was never going to lay down and let it go down without a fight. She deserved that," said Michelle Wilson-Root, who recently started the group Advocates for Victims of Illegal Alien Crime.

"We would love to not have one more illegal alien commit a crime, but it's unrealistic. I would love to never have another drunk driver kill someone, but it's unrealistic. So we have to take steps," Wilson-Root said.

Wilson-Root and others find comfort in tougher penalties, but according to a March 2017 Cato Institute study, there is no evidence that illegal immigrants commit more crimes than the general population.

Also, it remains to be seen whether illegal immigrants would be deterred by the new law.

"It's much more effective to increase the certainty that people will be caught coming here illegally then to threaten them with a long sentence that they probably don't even know about," Molly Gill, the director of federal legislative affairs at Families Against Mandatory Minimums, told VOA.

Democrats push back

House Democrats said the bills were part of an anti-immigrant push by the Trump administration.

"Guess what [Kate's Law] does? Send them [illegal immigrants] to jail for 20 years for trying to come back for their children," said Representative Luis Gutierrez, an Illinois Democrat.

Opponents have criticized the bill for not differentiating between undocumented immigrants who commit violent crimes and those who do not.

Democrats also pushed back on the characterization of sanctuary cities as gathering places for criminals.

"It is a safety net for people that are part of our family. They take care of our children, they wash our dishes, they take care of our elderly, they pick our crops. This is an anti-American bill," said Representative Adriano Espaillat, a New York Democrat.

During a heated debate over the bills on the House floor Thursday afternoon, Republicans said their votes were in support of law and order — one of the president's campaign promises.

"President Trump is cracking down on immigration crime. Illegal border crossings are down, and arrests and deportation of criminal aliens are up, just as Americans demanded last November," Representative Scott DesJarlais, a Tennessee Republican, said during the floor debate.

In a statement issued after the vote, Trump urged the Senate "to take up these bills, pass them, and send them to my desk. I am calling on all lawmakers to vote for these bills and to save American lives."

Earlier versions of the bills failed to pass in the Senate.

Let's block ads! (Why?)

Read More House Immigration Votes Build on Trump Campaign Promises : http://ift.tt/2t7ziKa

Qatar Says It is Willing to Negotiate But Will Not Give Up Sovereignty

Despite diplomatic activity in Washington this week, the blockade of Qatar by its Persian Gulf neighbors continues. U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson met with top officials from Qatar, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, calling for negotiations to end the crisis. But Saudi Arabia says its demands on Qatar are non-negotiable, and Qatar says it will negotiate, but will not give up its sovereignty. VOA Diplomatic Correspondent Cindy Saine reports from the State Department.

Let's block ads! (Why?)

Read More Qatar Says It is Willing to Negotiate But Will Not Give Up Sovereignty : http://ift.tt/2sX9O3y

House Panel Threatens Subpoena over Tape Request

WASHINGTON — 

Bipartisan leaders on the House Intelligence Committee are threatening a subpoena if the White House doesn't clarify whether any recordings, memoranda or other documents exist of President Donald Trump's meetings with fired FBI Director James Comey.

The panel had previously set a June 23 deadline for the White House to respond to its request. The day before, Trump said in a series of tweets that he “did not make, and do not have, any such recordings” but also said he has “no idea” if tapes or recordings of his conversations with Comey exist.

The White House then responded to the committee request by referring to Trump's tweets.

The committee had asked for any recordings after Trump suggested there may be tapes. He did so just days after he fired Comey, who was leading an investigation into Trump associates' ties to Russian officials. Trump has disputed Comey's assertion that the president asked him for a pledge of loyalty during a dinner meeting they had.

When news of Comey's account broke, Trump tweeted that Comey “better hope that there are no ‘tapes’ of our conversations before he starts leaking to the press!”

Letter requests tapes or documents

A letter Thursday from Republican Rep. Mike Conaway of Texas, who is leading the Russia probe, and Democratic Rep. Adam Schiff of California says Trump's June 22 Twitter statement “stops short of clarifying” whether the White House has any tapes or documents.

Conaway and Schiff said in a statement that the letter makes clear that should the White House not respond fully, “the committee will consider using compulsory process to ensure a satisfactory response.”

The panel is investigating Russian intervention in the 2016 elections, including any possible links to the Trump campaign. Interviews set for July include former national security adviser Susan Rice, who asked government analysts to disclose the name of Trump associates documented in intelligence reports. She has firmly denied that she did anything inappropriate, but Trump has said she may have committed a crime.

On Thursday, Rice spokeswoman Erin Pelton said Rice “is cooperating with the bipartisan Russia investigations conducted by the intelligence committees, as she said she would.”

Sessions under fire

Also Thursday, Democrats on two House committees asked the Justice Department's inspector general to investigate whether Attorney General Jeff Sessions violated his recusal from the Russia probe by taking part in Comey's May firing.

House Oversight and Judiciary Committee Democrats urged Inspector General Michael Horowitz to examine “a lapse in judgment.”

Sessions insisted in an appearance before the Senate intelligence committee this month that he had not violated his decision in March to recuse himself from any investigation related to inquiries involving Trump's 2016 campaign. During his testimony, Sessions said it would be “absurd” to suggest a recusal from a single investigation would render him unable to manage leadership of the FBI.

Let's block ads! (Why?)

Read More House Panel Threatens Subpoena over Tape Request : http://ift.tt/2tqEprn

Trump Commission on Voting Fraud Asks States for Voter Data

SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA — 

President Donald Trump's commission investigating alleged voter fraud in the 2016 elections has asked states for a list of the names, party affiliations, addresses and voting histories of all voters, if state law allows it to be public.

A Wednesday letter from the Presidential Advisory Commission on Election Integrity gives secretaries of state about two weeks to provide about a dozen points of voter data. That also would include dates of birth, the last four digits of voters' Social Security numbers and any information about felony convictions and military status.

Some Democratic officials refused to comply, saying the request invades privacy and is based on false claims of fraud.

Trump lost the popular vote to Democrat Hillary Clinton but has alleged, without evidence, that 3 to 5 million people voted illegally. In addition to the voter information, the letter asks state officials for suggestions on improving election integrity and to share any evidence of fraud and election-related crimes in their states.

The data will help the commission "fully analyze vulnerabilities and issues related to voter registration and voting," vice chairman and Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach wrote.

On Thursday, California's secretary of state and Virginia's governor, both Democrats, responded that they will not share the information and that attention would be better spent upgrading aging voting systems or focusing on Russia's alleged election meddling. Trump has alleged "serious voter fraud" in both states.

"California's participation would only serve to legitimize the false and already debunked claims of massive voter fraud," Democratic Secretary of State Alex Padilla said in a statement.

Clinton won California by about 3 million votes.

Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe said there is no evidence of voter fraud in the state.

"At best this commission was set up as a pretext to validate Donald Trump's alternative election facts, and at worst is a tool to commit large-scale voter suppression," he said in a statement.

Trump created the commission through an executive order in May.

The panel is seeking "public information and publicly available data" from every state and the District of Columbia, said Marc Lotter, a spokesman for Vice President Mike Pence, who is chairing the commission. Lotter described the intent of the request as "fact-finding" and said there were no objections to it by anyone on the 10-member commission, which includes four Democrats.

Minnesota Secretary of State Steve Simon, a Democrat, said he is not sure whether he will share the data because of privacy concerns. Vermont's top election official, Democrat Jim Condos, said it goes beyond what the state can publicly disclose.

In Missouri, Republican Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft said he is happy to "offer our support in the collective effort to enhance the American people's confidence in the integrity of the system." Colorado Secretary of State Wayne Williams, a Republican, said he'll provide what state law allows.

Let's block ads! (Why?)

Read More Trump Commission on Voting Fraud Asks States for Voter Data : http://ift.tt/2tquJ07

Former Texas Senator Nominated as NATO Ambassador

WASHINGTON — 

President Donald Trump says he has nominated Kay Bailey Hutchison, a former Republican senator from Texas, to be the U.S. ambassador to NATO.

Trump has had a rocky relationship with the 28-nation military alliance. As a candidate, he called NATO “obsolete.”

The president has criticized several members of the post-World War II organization for not spending adequately on defense. At a May meeting in Brussels with NATO members, Trump complained that his allies had shortchanged “the people and taxpayers of the United States,” creating additional strains for the organization.

Hutchison, who is 73, won a runoff special election to fill a vacant Senate seat in 1993 and served three full terms.

Let's block ads! (Why?)

Read More Former Texas Senator Nominated as NATO Ambassador : http://ift.tt/2trLO9f

Trump Nominates Indiana Health Chief as Surgeon General

President Donald Trump on Thursday nominated an anesthesiologist to become the next U.S. surgeon general.

Dr. Jerome Adams is the current health commissioner of Indiana, appointed by Vice President Mike Pence when he was the governor of that state.

If confirmed, Adams would replace Rear Admiral Sylvia Trent-Adams, the acting surgeon general, who took over for Vivek Murthy, whom Trump dismissed in April.

In Indiana, Adams has been a prominent backer of allowing counties to start needle-exchange programs aimed at stemming the spread of diseases among intravenous drug users as the state struggles with opioid abuse.

As the health commissioner, Adams oversaw the effort, which Pence reluctantly supported in 2015 after more than 180 HIV cases hit a rural southern Indiana county that were blamed on needle-sharing among people injecting a liquefied painkiller.

"Syringe exchanges aren't pretty. They make people uncomfortable. But the opioid epidemic is far uglier. It affects the student athlete who gets hooked on the pain pills he was prescribed for a sports injury. It affects the grandmother with chronic pain issues. The faces of this epidemic are our children, our friends, our neighbors,'' Adams wrote in a in a June 22 commentary distributed by the state health department.

Adams also was an assistant professor of anesthesiology at the Indiana University School of Medicine.

Let's block ads! (Why?)

Read More Trump Nominates Indiana Health Chief as Surgeon General : http://ift.tt/2trkjg6

US Approves First Arms Sale to Taiwan Under Trump

The State Department has approved arms sales to Taiwan worth a total of $1.4 billion, the first such deal with the self-governing island since President Donald Trump took office, officials said Thursday.

The sale will anger China, which regards Taiwan as part of its territory. It comes at a delicate time for relations between Washington and Beijing over efforts to rein in nuclear-armed North Korea.

The sale to Taiwan comprises seven items, including technical support for early warning radar, anti-radiation missiles, torpedoes and components for SM-2 missiles, according to a U.S. official who requested anonymity to discuss the details before they were formally announced.

State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said the Trump administration had notified Congress of its intent to approve seven proposed deals now valued at around $1.42 billion. Nauert said the approvals did not violate the Taiwan Relations Act that governs U.S. contacts with the island.

"It shows, we believe, our support for Taiwan's ability to maintain a sufficient self-defense policy," Nauert said. "There's no change, I should point out, to our 'one-China policy."'

Lawmakers, which are generally strongly supportive of such sales, have 30 days to object. The U.S. is legally obligated to sell weapons to Taiwan for its self-defense.

The U.S. official said the sales represented upgrades, converting existing systems from analog to digital.

The last U.S. arms sales to Taiwan, worth $1.8 billion, were announced in December 2015. They included two decommissioned U.S. Navy frigates, anti-tank missiles, amphibious assault vehicles and Stinger surface-to-air missiles, and was the first sale for four years.

China objected strongly, but it did not notably set back U.S.-China relations and military ties, which has happened after past arms sales to Taiwan.

However, relations across the Taiwan Strait have deteriorated since then, as Taiwan last year elected a leader from an independence-leaning party, Tsai Ing-wen. China has increased diplomatic pressure, cut off its contacts with the island's government and discouraged travel there by Chinese tourists.

Let's block ads! (Why?)

Read More US Approves First Arms Sale to Taiwan Under Trump : http://ift.tt/2tpAoDw

Trump Launches 'Dominant' Energy Policy Focused on Exports

WASHINGTON — 

U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday announced measures to launch what he calls a "golden era" of energy policy, which will revive the ailing nuclear power sector and ease restrictions on energy exports.

"We are here today to unleash a new American energy policy," Trump said at an event at the Department of Energy. "We will export American energy all around the world."

Trump said the United States will focus on an era of energy dominance, with a focus on using energy exports to assert U.S. power globally.

He announced plans to boost liquified natural gas exports to Asian markets and coal exports to Ukraine, as well as lift restrictions on U.S. lending for coal projects overseas.

Domestically, Trump said his administration will seek to find new ways to revive the U.S. nuclear energy sector, launching a review of domestic policies to find ways to make the energy more competitive with natural gas and renewables and addressing the issue of nuclear waste.

He also kicked off a public comment period for the Interior Department as it develops a new national offshore oil and gas leasing program.

The Trump administration has pushed energy, infrastructure and workforce issues as it struggles to emphasize the economic agenda while most of Washington focuses on more immediate issues including an uphill effort by Republicans to overturn Obamacare and investigations into whether Russia interfered with the 2016 election.

Let's block ads! (Why?)

Read More Trump Launches 'Dominant' Energy Policy Focused on Exports : http://ift.tt/2u4qkgO

Mexican President to Meet With Trump at G-20

MEXICO CITY — 

Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto will meet with his U.S. counterpart Donald Trump next week at the G-20 summit in Germany, the Mexican foreign ministry said on Thursday via Twitter.

The election of Trump and his early days in office sent U.S.-Mexico relations to a new low due to his threats to slap tariffs on Mexican-made goods and a plan to build a wall on the southern U.S. border to keep out illegal immigrants.

The foreign ministry said the two leaders would review progress in various aspects of the bilateral relationship, and that more details would be published in due course.

In late January, a planned meeting between the presidents was canceled following a Twitter dispute over Trump's pledge to make Mexico pay for the wall. The American president has since shied away from that demand.

Trump's administration also moved toward talks to renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), toning down earlier threats to pull out of the pact with Mexico and Canada.

This month, the U.S. and Mexican governments resolved a long-standing dispute over the sugar trade, while agricultural ministers from the three NAFTA countries met and said there were "relatively few" differences over farm trade to resolve in talks.

Let's block ads! (Why?)

Read More Mexican President to Meet With Trump at G-20 : http://ift.tt/2smFP6r

Trump to Meet with Putin Next Week at Summit in Germany

U.S. President Donald Trump will have his first face-to-face meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Group of 20 Summit next week in Hamburg, Germany, according to National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster.

McMaster would not say at a White House media briefing Thursday whether the two leaders will discuss Russia's interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election when they meet on the sidelines of the summit.

"There is no specific agenda," McMaster said, adding, "It's whatever the president wants to talk about."

The meeting comes amid several U.S. investigations into allegations that Russia meddled in the election through efforts that included cyberattacks and misinformation campaigns.

U.S. intelligence agencies have concluded that Russia engaged in widespread interference with the intent of helping Trump win the White House. Last week, former Homeland Security agency chief Jeh Johnson and other U.S. officials confirmed Russia’s meddling, but in testimony on Capitol Hill, said there was no evidence that Moscow was able to change the vote count.

Putin has rejected claims of Russian government involvement in cyberattacks on the United States. He has said, however, that "patriotic" hackers might have carried out the attacks.

Some Trump administration officials want the U.S. to remain wary of Russia while the investigations are under way; but, Trump and others in his administration are eager to meet with Putin and have been pushing to arrange media access and other protocol typically associated with full bilateral meetings.

Let's block ads! (Why?)

Read More Trump to Meet with Putin Next Week at Summit in Germany : http://ift.tt/2t6bjuH

Trump Mocks TV Anchor's Appearance, Personalizing War on News Media

U.S. President Donald Trump personalized his attacks on the news media Thursday, mocking the appearance of a well-known television commentator.

Trump has long described major news outlets as "fake news" for stories he does not like about his five-month tenure in the White House. In a new Twitter comment, he lambasted Mika Brzezinski, who hosts the morning television talk show Morning Joe, with her fiance, Joe Scarborough.

"I heard poorly rated @Morning_Joe speaks badly of me (don't watch anymore)." Trump wrote in a two-part message. "Then how come low I.Q. Crazy Mika, along with Psycho Joe, came to Mar-a-Lago 3 nights in a row around New Year's Eve, and insisted on joining me. She was bleeding badly from a face-lift. I said no!"

The couple said at the time they had gone to Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida to arrange an interview with the incoming president less than a month before his inauguration.

It was not immediately clear what drew Trump's ire about Brzezinski and Scarborough. Trump used to appear on the show before he took office, but when the television hosts turned critical of his presidency, Trump took to attacking them.

The White House social media director, Dan Scavino, Jr., also took aim at the show's hosts Thursday, saying in a tweet from his personal account, “#DumbAsARockMika and lover #JealousJoe are lost, confused & saddened since @POTUS @realDonaldTrump stopped returning their calls! Unhinged.”

'Little hands'

Brzezinski responded shortly after in a tweet of her own with a photo of a Cheerios cereal box showing a child and the slogan, “Made For Little Hands” — apparently a reference to last year's campaign, when the size of Trump's hands briefly became the target of political jokes.

Trump's White House aides and first lady Melania Trump have often tried — without success — to rein in his penchant for acerbic Twitter comments. Trump says it is his way of reaching millions of followers with comments unfiltered by the national news media he reviles.

During the campaign, Melania Trump called for a kinder and gentler America and said as first lady she would speak out against cyber-bullying.

"Our culture has gotten too mean and too rough, especially to children and teenagers," she said.

NBC, the television network that airs the Morning Joe show, issued a statement saying, "It's a sad day for America when the president spends his time bullying, lying and spewing petty personal attacks instead of doing his job."

Lawmakers' reactions

Two Republican lawmakers and others immediately took offense at Trump's latest Twitter tirade.

Nebraska Senator Ben Sasse said, "Please just stop. This isn't normal and it's beneath the dignity of your office."

Similarly, South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham, said, “Mr. President, your tweet was beneath the office and represents what is wrong with American politics, not the greatness of America.”

White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders said of the brouhaha, "The president again isn’t gonna be someone who’s bullied."

Let's block ads! (Why?)

Read More Trump Mocks TV Anchor's Appearance, Personalizing War on News Media : http://ift.tt/2sm05oV