Page 6 - Florida Sentinel 12-26-17

White House And Political News
Black Woman Appointed To Lead Conservative Think Tank Group
Children’s Health Insurance Plan In Jeopardy With Tax Reform Bill
Following the public oust- ing of Jim DeMint, the Her- itage Foundation has announced that Kay Coles James will serve as the think tank’s president.
Effective January 1st 2018, James’ appointment marks the first time an African American woman will lead the organization.
“For more than four decades, The Heritage Foun- dation has been a vital force in American conservatism, producing the research, analysis, and solutions that inform and influence policy- making,” James said in a statement.
“I look forward to expand- ing the conservative move- ment in a positive, inclusive way as we build an America where freedom, opportunity, prosperity and civil society flourish.”
James started her career as a member of the National
Kay Cole James is the first Black woman to hold the posi- tion.
Commission on Children under the Reagan adminis- tration. She later worked for former President George H.W. Bush as associate di- rector of the White House Of- fice of National Drug Control Policy and as assistant secre- tary for public affairs at the U. S. Department of Health and Human Services. Most re- cently, she helmed Presi- dent Donald Trump’s transition team for the Office of Budget and Management.
Congress departed Washing- ton last week approving just enough money for children’s health insurance through March.
Only days after clearing a massive tax reform bill along party lines, Republicans are hoping to figure out a way to end the Children’s Health In- surance Program, which covers roughly 9 million low- and middle-income kids.
While Congress debated the tax bill instead of funding CHIP, the states scrambled to fund health insurance for these children in the meantime.
But now, they’re running out of money.
According to the Center for Children and Families, 25 states will run out of money in January, and 9 more will run out in February. That leaves parents and families worried about their very futures right at the holiday season.
So far, Republican and Democratic sources say they don’t expect to be able to at- tach more than six months of CHIP funding, with three of those months retroactive to when Congress let funding lapse, on Sept. 30th.
States warn that they could be forced to shut down their CHIP programs or freeze en- rollment in the near future without a more permanent source of dollars.
“We suggested to families
Before the Tax Reform Bill vote medical students rallied for CHIP health care plan.
Dave Chappelle’s Netflix Special Takes Aim At Pres. Trump; Airs December 31st
DAVE CHAPPELLE
that if your children needed a doctor visit or a dental visit, they might want to arrange that in the month of January,” she said. “And we’re particu- larly concerned about families with children in the course of treatment or who are very, very sick, potentially even hospital- ized.”
“Our phones are ringing off the wall,” Cathy Caldwell, the director of the Alabama Bureau of Children’s Health Insurance Programs, also said. “We have panicked families just wondering what in the world they have as options, so it is very, very stressful here in Alabama.”
Funding for CHIP should be easy. Both Republicans and Democrats agree that the pro- gram needs to be funded.
But the problem comes from the fact that Republicans have attached measures in-
tended to weaken the Afford- able Care Act to CHIP funding. Democrats won’t vote for anything that jeopardizes the ACT, which means the Senate doesn’t have the votes it needs
to pass funding.
Sen. Rob Portman (R-
Ohio) blamed the lack of a long-term solution on “leaders on both sides” and said GOP leadership told him CHIP won’t be fully funded “unless they do all this other stuff,” re- ferring to more controversial measures.
Portman endorsed a five- year funding bill approved by the Senate Finance Committee without payfors. “Let’s not play politics with CHIP, let’s just get it done,” he said.
Democrats are blaming Re- publicans for the dire state of funding, saying the GOP con- trols both chambers and could have made time for the matter.
Emmy Award-winning co- median Dave Chappelle is back with his third Netflix special of the year titled ‘Equanimity.’
Although the special was filmed long before Congress voted on a bill that includes a 40 percent tax cut for corpo- rations, Chappelle’s rheto- ric is fitting for the times.
In one NSFW clip, Chap- pelle aims his jabs at the “poor whites” who helped
elect Donald Trump during the 2016 election.
Dave Chappelle’s: Equa- nimity is the latest special in his “Netflix is a Joke” cam- paign.
Chappelle’s previous fea- tures – which made history as they were the highest viewed comedy specials on the serv- ice.
Dave Chappelle’s: Equanimity debuts Sun- day (Dec. 31) on Netflix.
Sen. Tim Scott Responds To Being Called ‘Token Black’
S.C. U. S. Senator Tim Scott shakes Pres. Trump’s hand during press conference after the bill passed.
South Carolina Senator Tim Scott got in a Twitter spat with a blogger who called him a token Black.
Andy Ostroy pointed out Scott’s positioning in the photo op announcing the passage of the new tax bill. Scott is the only Black law- maker standing there, and that didn’t escape Ostroy’s notice.
“What a shocker... there’s ONE black person there and sure enough they have him
standing right next to the mic like a manipulated prop. Way to go @Senator- TimScott,” Ostroy wrote on Twitter.
Scott fired back saying that Ostroy was the one making it about race. The senator noted that, contrary to Ostroy’s opinion, he ac- tually worked on the tax plan for a while and had a major role in its passage.
“Uh probably because I helped write the bill for the
past year, have multiple provisions included, got multiple Senators on board over the last week and have worked on tax reform my entire time in Congress. But if you’d rather just see my skin color, pls feel free,” Scott wrote.
But Ostroy fired back saying that Scott should focus not on Twitter wars but on stopping Donald Trump and his terrible poli- cies.
PAGE 6 FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY AND FRIDAY TUESDAY, DECEMBER 26, 2017