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Author Topic: U.S. Politics  (Read 94671 times)

Offline Rick Plant

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Re: U.S. Politics
« Reply #992 on: August 09, 2022, 06:12:32 AM »
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Biden surveys historic flood damage in Eastern Kentucky

President Biden and the first lady are visiting Eastern Kentucky after historic flash floods devastated the area. The record rainfall killed at least 37 people, with two of them still unaccounted for. The damage expands across 13 counties, turning state parks and local shelters into homes for the displaced. The president said today, “It’s gonna take a while to get through this. But I promise you we’re not leaving.”

Watch: https://www.nbcnews.com/nightly-news/video/biden-surveys-historic-flood-damage-in-eastern-kentucky-145756741931


Biden visits Kentucky, Democrats defend sweeping bill

President Joe Biden surveyed flood damage in Kentucky on Monday, while Senate Democrats said the new economic bill will help fight climate change and cut costs on health care and prescription drugs.

https://abcnews.go.com/WNT/video/biden-visits-kentucky-democrats-defend-sweeping-bill-88116511


Pres. Joe Biden, First Lady tour Eastern Ky. flood damage

BREATHITT COUNTY, Ky. (WYMT) - On Monday, President Joe Biden and First Lady Dr. Jill Biden joined Governor Andy Beshear and First Lady Britainy Beshear in touring flood ravaged areas of Eastern Kentucky. They also talked with families affected by the historic flooding.

”I got to meet the family back here on this side of the road,” said Biden. “You see, what’s happened to their properties, their trailer everything they had and how they came together,” he added. “No complaining, just getting up and going to get it done.”

Governor Andy Beshear mentioned the more than three dozen dead, including four young kids. He said seeing the destruction first hand is heartbreaking.

“Britainy and I sat with a young family as they showed us pictures of the home that they worked a decade to build,” said Beshear. “One that they were so proud of that is a total loss.”

President Biden spoke with one Eastern Kentuckian across the road from where he delivered remarks in Breathitt County. He said the man’s trailers was moved to the other end of his property by flood waters.

”He said, well you know, we Kentuckians don’t want to ask for too much,” Biden added. “Get this - we don’t want to ask for too much.”

The president said the federal, state and local governments are staying until Eastern Kentuckians rebuild.

”You’re an American citizen, we never give up, we never stop, we never bow,” he added. “We just go forward.”

At least 37 people have died since last month’s deluge, which dropped 8 to 10 1/2 inches of rain in only 48 hours. The National Weather Service said Sunday that flooding remains a threat, warning of more thunderstorms through Thursday.

Monday’s visit will be Biden’s second to the state. He previously visited in December after tornadoes whipped through Kentucky, killing 77 people and leaving a trail of destruction.

“I wish I could tell you why we keep getting hit here in Kentucky,” Beshear said recently. “I wish I could tell you why areas where people may not have much continue to get hit and lose everything. I can’t give you the why, but I know what we do in response to it. And the answer is everything we can. These are our people. Let’s make sure we help them out.”

Biden has expanded federal disaster assistance to Kentucky, ensuring the federal government will cover the full cost of debris removal and other emergency measures.

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said the Federal Emergency Management Agency has provided more than $3.1 million in relief funds, and hundreds of rescue personnel have been deployed to help.

The flooding came just one month after Beshear visited Mayfield to celebrate the completion of the first houses to be fully constructed since a tornado nearly wiped out the town. Three families were handed keys to their new homes that day, and the governor in his remarks hearkened back to a visit he had made in the immediate aftermath.

"pledged on that day that while we had been knocked down, we were not knocked out,” Beshear said. “That we would get back up again and we would move forward. And six months to the day, we’re not just up, we’re not just standing on our feet, we are moving forward.”

Now more disasters are testing the state. Beshear has been to eastern Kentucky as many times as weather permitted since the flooding began. He’s had daily news conferences stretching an hour to provide details including a full range of assistance for victims. Much like after the tornadoes, Beshear opened relief funds going directly to people in the beleaguered regions.

A Democrat, Beshear narrowly defeated a Republican incumbent in 2019, and he’s seeking a second term in 2023.

https://www.wymt.com/2022/08/08/pres-joe-biden-first-lady-tour-eastern-ky-flood-damage/

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Re: U.S. Politics
« Reply #992 on: August 09, 2022, 06:12:32 AM »


Offline Rick Plant

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Re: U.S. Politics
« Reply #993 on: August 09, 2022, 06:17:55 AM »
President Biden @POTUS

To the people of Kentucky: Jill and I want you to know that the country is with you.

We’re praying for the families of those who died and everyone who lost homes and businesses who will never be the same.

I'm committed to Kentucky's recovery after this catastrophic flooding.

We're allocating millions in aid, providing grants for temporary housing and loans to help cover property losses, and we've committed to covering 100% of the emergency work for 30 days to rebuild communities.

America stands with Kentucky during their time of loss.

As long as it takes, we’ll be here to help them recover.




https://twitter.com/POTUS/status/1556770064438902786

Offline Rick Plant

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Re: U.S. Politics
« Reply #994 on: August 09, 2022, 06:22:13 AM »
President Biden @POTUS

I ran for President with a promise to combat the existential threat of climate change.

Yesterday, the Senate took a historic step by passing my proposal to build a clean energy future. It will create jobs for American workers and secure the future of our kids and grandkids.




https://twitter.com/POTUS/status/1556779842854703104

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Re: U.S. Politics
« Reply #994 on: August 09, 2022, 06:22:13 AM »


Offline Rick Plant

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Re: U.S. Politics
« Reply #995 on: August 10, 2022, 06:50:16 AM »
Biden signs China competition bill to boost U.S. chipmakers

- President Joe Biden signed into law a bipartisan bill that aims to boost U.S. competitiveness with China.

- The bill includes more than $52 billion for U.S. companies producing semiconductors, as well as billions more in tax credits to encourage investment in chip manufacturing.

- The White House said that multiple companies, “spurred” by the chips bill, have announced more than $44 billion in new semiconductor manufacturing investments.



US President Joe Biden (C) signs H.R. 4346, the CHIPS and Science Act of 2022, on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, DC, on August 9, 2022.

President Joe Biden on Tuesday signed a bipartisan bill that aims to strengthen U.S. competitiveness with China by investing billions of dollars in domestic semiconductor manufacturing and science research.

“Today is a day for builders. Today America is delivering,” Biden said at the signing ceremony outside the White House. He was joined by a crowd of hundreds, including tech executives, union presidents and political leaders from both parties.

The bill, dubbed the Chips and Science Act, includes more than $52 billion for U.S. companies producing computer chips, as well as billions more in tax credits to encourage investment in semiconductor manufacturing. It also provides tens of billions of dollars to fund scientific research and development and to spur the innovation and development of other U.S. tech.

The Biden administration also contended that the legislation will “unlock hundreds of billions more” in private spending in the industry. The White House said Tuesday that multiple companies, “spurred” by the chips bill, have announced more than $44 billion in new semiconductor manufacturing investments.

Of that sum, $40 billion is coming from Micron’s investment in memory chip manufacturing. The White House said the company’s initiative will yield 8,000 new jobs and boost the U.S. market share of memory chip production to 10% from 2%.

A newly announced partnership between Qualcomm and GlobalFoundries, meanwhile, includes $4.2 billion in chip production as part of an expansion of GlobalFoundries’ upstate New York facility, the White House said.

Advocates say the funding is needed to sharpen America’s technological edge and reinvigorate its lagging chip industry. The U.S. produces only about 10% of the world’s supply of semiconductors, whereas East Asia accounts for 75% of global production — including most of the top-tier chips, according to the White House.

Semiconductors are critical pieces of an array of products including consumer electronics, automobiles, health-care equipment and weapons systems. The Covid-19 pandemic sparked a chip shortage and strained supply chains, highlighting America’s dependence on foreign-made chips and revealing a potential national security threat, officials say.

The signing comes as Biden and congressional Democrats cap a flurry of activity before lawmakers leave Washington for the rest of the month and turn their attention to midterm election campaigns.

Senate Democrats on Sunday passed a sweeping bill to fund ambitious climate, energy and health policies by raising taxes on rich corporations and reforming prescription drug pricing. The bill, a major piece of Biden’s agenda that Democrats had worked on for well over a year, squeaked through with no Republican support in the chamber, which is evenly split by party. Vice President Kamala Harris cast the tiebreaking vote.

In late June, Biden also signed a bipartisan bill to strengthen gun regulations, including by enhancing requirements for background checks. The legislation sped through Congress in the wake of a deadly mass shooting at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, in which a gunman killed 19 students and two teachers.

And last week, Biden revealed that a U.S. strike in Afghanistan killed top al-Qaeda leader Ayman Al-Zawahiri, who was considered a mastermind behind the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

Biden is also expected to sign another bill this week that bolsters health benefits for veterans who were exposed to chemicals that billowed from toxic burn pits.

That bill passed with overwhelming bipartisan support after Republicans temporarily blocked it. The move stoked outrage from some veterans’ groups, as well as comedian Jon Stewart, who emerged as a leading advocate.


Watch President Biden sign China competition bill into law:


Offline Rick Plant

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Re: U.S. Politics
« Reply #996 on: August 10, 2022, 06:57:25 AM »
President Biden @POTUS

Today, I sign into law the CHIPS and Science Act. It's a once-in-a-generation law that invests in America by supercharging our efforts to make semiconductors here at home.

Today represents a more secure economy, jobs, and a stronger future for our nation.

America is delivering.

The future of the microchip industry is going to be Made in America.

The CHIPS and Science Bill ensures that the United States leads the world in industries of the future, from quantum computing and artificial intelligence to vaccines for cancer and cures for HIV.

Here's the deal: America invented semiconductors.

But after American manufacturing was hollowed out, we let semiconductors go overseas.

Today, we bring microchip building – and the jobs that come with it – home.




https://twitter.com/POTUS/status/1557056889900384256

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Re: U.S. Politics
« Reply #996 on: August 10, 2022, 06:57:25 AM »


Offline Rick Plant

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Re: U.S. Politics
« Reply #997 on: August 10, 2022, 07:19:57 AM »
Remember that Republicans voted against the Inflation Reduction Act to lower drug prices for seniors.

Inflation Reduction Act could be "game-changing" for millions of U.S. seniors



The Inflation Reduction Act represents the most important effort in decades to reform how drug prices are set in the U.S., experts say.

"This is going to be game-changing," Rena Conti, an associate professor at Boston University's Questrom School of Business who studies drug pricing, said of the bill, which passed in the Senate on Sunday and which House lawmakers could vote on as early as Friday.

Read on to learn what the bill — which also proposes to invest $400 billion to fight climate change and raise taxes on corporations — would do to lower spiraling drug prices.

$2,000 limit on out-of-pocket costs

The biggest change for seniors on Medicare would be to limit on how much they spend out-of-pocket on medication and on vaccines. Vaccines would be free starting next year. Starting in 2025, out-of-pocket spending on drugs would be limited to $2,000 per year. In 2024, costs would be capped at Medicare's catastrophic drug coverage limit, which this year is $7,050.

That's good news for seniors that take expensive drugs.

"Today's policy basically has unlimited out-of-pocket spending, and that is really bad for people who need expensive drugs," said Stacie Dusetzina, associate professor of health policy at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. "For anyone who needs drugs to treat cancer, multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis — some of them have bills over $10,000 a year."

In 2019, 1.5 million seniors spent more than $2,000 on prescriptions, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation. But the true number may be higher, said Dusetzina, pointing to research showing that 30% of Medicare beneficiaries who face high prices for cancer treatments don't fill their prescriptions.

Tricia Neuman, director of the Program on Medicare Policy at the Kaiser Family Foundation, noted that half of Medicare recipients live on $30,000 a year or less.

"This is a significant savings for people on relatively modest incomes," she said.

Subsidies for low-income seniors

The bill makes more seniors eligible for low-income subsidies intended to pay for Medicare prescription drugs.

Starting in 2024, the income limit to be eligible for Medicare's Low Income Subsidy rises to 150% of the federal poverty level, from today's limit of 135%. (Using today's income levels, that means a single person could make up to $19,200 to qualify.)

As a result, about 400,000 more Medicare beneficiaries would get subsidies under the new program, according to KFF research.

Insulin price cap

The Inflation Reduction Act caps how much seniors must spend on insulin to $35 a month — a boon for the more than 3 million older Americans who use insulin to control their diabetes. A provision that would have imposed that cap on all patients was stripped from the bill at the last minute, despite bipartisan support.

Since 2007, the number of Medicare beneficiaries using insulin has doubled, but the amount Medicare spends on insulin has increased twice as fast, KFF research has shown. One in four diabetes patients has skimped on insulin because of its cost.

A few high-priced drugs will be cheaper

The bill also makes several smaller changes to limit price increases of drugs overall. Most significantly, the measure directs the government to negotiate what Medicare pays for a small group of drugs starting in 2026.

In 2026, the first year that the drugs will be up for negotiation, the list will include the 10 drugs that Medicare spent the most money on the prior year. By 2029, that list would expand to 20 drugs, including medications filled at pharmacies and drugs administered by doctors, such as some chemotherapy treatments.

"The cost — and the savings to the federal government — goes up significantly as more and more drugs are added," said Michael Levesque, lead pharmaceutical analyst at Moody's Investors Service.

The bill limits the government's scope to negotiate to drugs that have been on the market for at least nine or 13 years, depending on the class of medicine, and that don't have a generic or biosimilar equivalent. The bill also directs the U.S. to focus on the medications the government spends the most money on.

"They have to be long-lived, high-spend drugs, and ones that have resisted competition," said Boston University's Conti.

The drugs that Medicare spent the most on in 2020 include the blood-thinner Eliquis ($9.9 billion), cancer treatment Revlimid ($5.4 billion) and the blood thinner Xarelto ($4.7 billion.)

Conti estimated that savings would amount to 40% to 70% of a given drug's price. Over a decade, the government should save over $100 billion from negotiating drug prices, the Congressional Budget Office estimated. That's less than 3% of the profits earned by global biopharmaceutical firms over the next decade, UBS analysts projected.

The bill should also reduce costs directly for patients who take these specific drugs. "Many people pay a coinsurance, which is based on the [medication] price. If the price is lower, and they're paying a 33% coinsurance, they're paying a lower price" out of pocket, said Neuman of the KFF.

Rebates for pricey drugs

The Inflation Reduction Act requires drugmakers to offer rebates to Medicare if they raise the price of medicines faster than inflation. Soaring prescription-drug prices are one reason that Medicare costs have ballooned over the past decade.

According to MedPAC, prices paid by Medicare Part D for brand-name drugs with no generic equivalent have grown by an average of 7.5% a year since 2010. Fully half of the drugs in the program increased their prices faster than inflation, KFF found. The requirement that drugmakers pay back Medicare for rising drug prices should save the government $71 billion over the next decade, CBO estimated.

"The Medicaid program has long used these drug inflation rebates, and they've had huge savings," said Vanderbilt's Dusetzina. "Having those same programs apply to the Medicare population will save a lot of money in the long run, and that saves money for all of us as taxpayers."

Are there benefits for privately insured patients?

Aside from a provision to extend health insurance subsidies for Obamacare plans for three years, the health care aspects of the inflation bill focus narrowly on Medicare patients. Experts are divided on what effect, if any, Medicare drug reform would have on the majority of Americans who get health insurance and drug coverage through their employers.

One camp believes that drugmakers will try to make up for smaller profits in the Medicare market by overcharging the privately insured; another believes that transparency in what Medicare pays would make it easier for private plans to negotiate even better pricing. For instance, more private pharmacy benefit managers could start putting inflation protections into their agreements.

The pharmaceutical industry has said the prospect of negotiating prices on some best-selling drugs would chill innovation and reduce incentives for drugmakers to bring new medicines to market.

However, the CBO found that the new law would result in just 10 fewer drugs coming to market in the next decade — about 1% of the total expected to gain FDA approval. 

Dusetzina called claims that negotiating drug prices would kill the market for drug development "overblown."

"Every other country negotiates for drug prices," she said. "We pay by far the highest prices, [yet] it's known that these companies make profits in other countries where they're selling these drugs."

AFP

Offline Rick Plant

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Re: U.S. Politics
« Reply #998 on: August 10, 2022, 09:31:26 PM »
REMINDER: The Latino unemployment rate is at a record LOW.


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Re: U.S. Politics
« Reply #998 on: August 10, 2022, 09:31:26 PM »


Offline Rick Plant

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Re: U.S. Politics
« Reply #999 on: August 10, 2022, 10:15:36 PM »
Tim Ryan @TimRyan

After years of hard work and heartbreak, history was made today.

The biggest expansion of veterans benefits in 30 years, named for Ohio's own Heath Robinson. Grateful to @SusanZeier
and all who never gave up, and proud to have done my part to get it done.


https://twitter.com/TimRyan/status/1557465333023358977

President Joe Biden signs legislation named for Ohio guardsman to help veterans injured by military burn pits.

The legislation is named for Ohio National Guard veteran Heath Robinson who died from lung cancer caused by burn pits.


President Joe Biden gives the pen he used to sign the "PACT Act of 2022" to Brielle Robinson, daughter of Sgt. 1st Class Heath Robinson, who died of cancer two years ago, during a ceremony in the East Room of the White House, Wednesday, Aug. 10, 2022, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)AP

WASHINGTON, D. C. - Ten years after Sgt. 1st Class Heath Robinson returned to Ohio from military service in Iraq, he fought a losing battle with lung cancer triggered by toxic fumes from a burn pit in Baghdad where the military incinerated waste. More than two years after his death, President Joe Biden signed a law named for the Pickerington veteran to ensure that the Veterans Administration provides adequate health care to veterans suffering from burn pit-related ailments.

“This law is long overdue, but we finally got it done together,” said Biden, who handed the pen he used to sign the legislation to Robinson’s daughter, Brielle. “I don’t want to hear the press tell me Democrats, Republicans can’t work together. We got it done and we got it done together.”

Described as the most significant expansion of benefits and services for toxic exposed veterans in more than 30 years, the legislation Congress approved earlier this month will remove the need for veterans and their survivors to prove a service-related connection if they’re diagnosed with 23 conditions linked to burn pits, and will reduce the paperwork and exams they and their survivors must undergo to receive benefits. The medical conditions list includes 11 respiratory ailments, along with several forms of cancer, including reproductive cancers, melanoma, pancreatic cancer, kidney cancer, and brain cancers such as glioblastoma. Survivors of veterans who died due to one of these conditions may now also be eligible for benefits.

“These conditions have already taken such a toll on so many veterans and their families,” continued Biden, who expressed belief that the brain cancer that killed his son, former Delaware Attorney General Beau Biden, was caused by burn pit exposure during his military service.

The law also establishes 31 new Veterans Administration health care facilities in 19 states, requires that veterans enrolled in VA health care be screened regularly for toxic exposure-related concerns, and requires the VA to establish an outreach program for veterans regarding toxic exposure-related benefits and supports. It sets up a website at www.va.gov/pact that affected veterans can consult for more information on how to receive benefits. By January 2023, VA expects to have a fully operational call center and network of experts to help veterans concerned about environmental exposure and provide consultative services to veterans in primary care clinics.

Biden was introduced at the signing ceremony by Robinson’s widow, Danielle, who was among First Lady Jill Biden’s guests at his State of the Union speech in March. She remembered her husband as “an immediate friend to everyone who crossed his path, the person who would instantly drop what he was doing to help a friend or a stranger on the street, the guy in the room who had a special glow and warmth to him.

“Ours is just one story,” she continued. “So many military families have had to fight this terrible emotional battle. So many veterans are still battling burn pit illnesses today. Too many have succumbed to those illnesses, as well.”

VA Secretary Denis McDonough described the Robinsons as “not only the survivors of an American hero ... they are very much heroes themselves for holding our country and VA accountable, for advocating for this legislation, knowing full well that they can’t bring back what they lost and for making this day possible so our families won’t have to suffer the loss that they have suffered.”

U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown, an Ohio Democrat who pushed the legislation, released a statement that said veterans waited too long for its passage.

“Providing health care and benefits for veterans who suffer from toxic exposure is a cost of going to war,” said Brown. “If you were exposed to toxins while serving our country, you deserve the benefits you earned, period. No exceptions.”

“I am pleased that this legislation has finally been signed into law to ensure that thousands of veterans who have been exposed to toxic chemicals while serving our country get the medical care and disability benefits they deserve,” agreed a statement from U.S. Sen. Rob Portman, an Ohio Republican.

The only Ohioan on the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee, Toledo Democratic Rep. Marcy Kaptur, also praised the bill.

“I have met so many veterans and their families who have been impacted by exposure to burn pits and toxic substances,” said a statement from Kaptur. “By expanding care to millions of veterans, the PACT Act strengthens America’s commitment to those who have so faithfully and courageously served us all.”

https://www.cleveland.com/news/2022/08/president-joe-biden-signs-legislation-named-for-ohio-guardsman-to-help-veterans-injured-by-military-burn-pits.html