#rep. Kevin hern

[dontmeantobepoliticalbut]

A new budget by a large and influential group of House Republicans calls for raising the Social Security retirement age for future retirees and restructuring Medicare.

The proposals, which are unlikely to become law this year, reflect how many Republicans will seek to govern if they win the 2024 elections. And they play into a fight President Joe Biden is seeking to have with former President Donald Trump and the Republican Party as he runs for re-election.

The budget was released Wednesday by the Republican Study Committee, a group of more than 170 House GOP lawmakers, including many allies of Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump. Apart from fiscal policy, the budget endorses a series of bills “designed to advance the cause of life,” including the Life at Conception Act, which would aggressively restrict abortion and potentially threaten in vitro fertilization, or IVF, by establishing legal protections for human beings at “the moment of fertilization.” It has recently caused consternation within the GOP following backlash to an Alabama Supreme Court ruling that threatened IVF.

The RSC, which is chaired by Rep. Kevin Hern, R-Okla., counts among its members Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., and his top three deputies in leadership. Johnson chaired the RSC from 2019 to 2021; his office did not immediately respond when asked about the new budget.

For Social Security, the budget endorses "modest adjustments to the retirement age for future retirees to account for increases in life expectancy." It calls for lowering benefits for the highest-earning beneficiaries. And it emphasizes that those ideas are not designed to take effect immediately: "The RSC Budget does not cut or delay retirement benefits for any senior in or near retirement."

The new budget also calls for converting Medicare to a "premium support model," echoing a proposal that Republican former Speaker Paul Ryan had rallied support for. Under the new RSC plan, traditional Medicare would compete with private plans and beneficiaries would be given subsidies to shop for the policies of their choice. The size of the subsidies could be pegged to the "average premium" or "second lowest price" in a particular market, the budget says.

The plan became a flashpoint in the 2012 election, when Ryan was GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney's running mate, and President Barack Obama charged that it would "end Medicare as we know it." Ryan defended it as a way to put Medicare on better financial footing, and most of his party stood by him.

Medicare is projected to become insolvent in 2028, and Social Security will follow in 2033. After that, benefits will be forcibly cut unless more revenues are added.

Biden has blasted Republican proposals for the retirement programs, promising that he will not cut benefits and instead proposing in his recent White House budget to cover the future shortfall by raising taxes on upper earners.

The RSC budget also presents a conundrum for Trump, who has offered shifting rhetoric on Social Security and Medicare without proposing a clear vision for the future of the programs.

Notably, the RSC budget presents three possible options to address the projected insolvency of the retirement programs: raise taxes, transfer money from the general fund or reduce spending to cover the shortfall.

It rejects the first two options.

"Raising taxes on people will further punish them and burden the broader economy–something that the spend and print regime has proven to be disastrous and regressive," the budget says, adding that the committee also opposes "a multi-trillion-dollar general fund transfer that worsens our fiscal situation."

That leaves spending cuts.

The RSC budget launches blistering criticism at "Obamacare," or the Affordable Care Act, and calls for rolling back its subsidies and regulations that were aimed at extending insurance coverage.

[dontmean2bepoliticalbut]

But by all means, please keep complaining about student debt forgiveness....

[globalcourant]

Oklahoma man charged with cyberstalking and threatening GOP Rep. Kevin Hern and his wife

Oklahoma man charged with cyberstalking and threatening GOP Rep. Kevin Hern and his wife

NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles! An Oklahoma man pleaded guilty on Wednesday to stalking and threatening a U.S. Representative from his state. Keith Eisenberger, 39, of Bartlesville, Oklahoma, pleaded guilty to cyberstalking and threatening to kidnap and assault Rep. Kevin Hern, R-Okla., and threatening to kidnap and assault his spouse, the Justice Department said. “The U.S.…

[kp777]

By Jessica Corbett

Common Dreams

March 20, 2024

"Trump has tried to walk back his support for Social Security and Medicare cuts," said the head of Social Security Works. "This budget is one of many reasons why no one should believe him."

Defenders of Social Security and Medicare on Wednesday swiftly criticized the biggest caucus of Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives for putting out a budget proposal for fiscal year 2025 that takes aim at the crucial programs.

The 180-page "Fiscal Sanity to Save America" plan from the Republican Study Committee (RSC) follows the release of proposals from Democratic President Joe Biden and U.S. House Budget Committee Chair Jodey Arrington (R-Texas)—who is leading the fight to create a fiscal commission for the programs that critics call a "death panel" designed to force through cuts.

The RSC document features full sections on "Saving Medicare" and "Preventing Biden's Cuts to Social Security," which both push back on the president's recent comments calling out Republican attacks on the programs that serve seniors.

The caucus plan promotes premium support for Medicare Advantage plans administered by private health insurance providers as well as changes to payments made to teaching hospitals. For Social Security, the proposal calls for tying retirement age to rising life expectancy and cutting benefits for younger workers over certain income levels, including phasing out auxiliary benefits.

The document also claims that the caucus budget "would promote trust fund solvency by increasing payroll tax revenues through pro-growth tax reform, pro-growth energy policy that lifts wages, work requirements that move Americans from welfare to work, and regulatory reforms that increase economic growth."

In a lengthy Wednesday statement blasting the RSC budget, Social Security Works president Nancy Altman pointed out that last week, former President Donald Trump, the presumptive Republican nominee to face Biden in the November election, "toldCNBC that 'there's a lot you can do' to cut Social Security."

"Everyone who cares about the future of these vital earned benefits should vote accordingly in November."

"Now, congressional Republicans are confirming the party's support for cuts—to the tune of $1.5 trillion. They are also laying out some of those cuts," Altman said. "This budget would raise the retirement age, in line with prominent Republican influencer Ben Shapiro's recent comments that 'retirement itself is a stupid idea.' It would make annual cost-of-living increases stingier, so that benefits erode over time. It would slash middle-class benefits."

"Perhaps most insultingly, given the Republicans' claim to be the party of 'family values,' this budget would eliminate Social Security spousal benefits, as well as children's benefits, for middle-class families. That would punish women who take time out of the workforce to care for children and other loved ones," she continued. "This coming from a party that wants to take away women's reproductive rights!"

The caucus, chaired by Rep. Kevin Hern (R-Okla.), included 285 bills and initiatives from 192 members in its budget plan—among them are various proposals threatening abortion care, birth control, and in vitro fertilization (IVF) nationwide.

"The RSC budget would also take away Medicare's new power to negotiate lower prices on prescription drugs, putting more money into the pockets of the GOP's Big Pharma donors," Altman warned. "And it accelerates the privatization of Medicare, handing it over to private insurance companies who have a long history of ripping off the government and delaying and denying care to those who need it."

"In recent days, Trump has tried to walk back his support for Social Security and Medicare cuts," she noted. "This budget is one of many reasons why no one should believe him. The Republican Party is the party of cutting Social Security and Medicare, while giving tax handouts to billionaires."

"The Democratic Party is the party of expanding Social Security and Medicare, paid for by requiring the ultrawealthy to contribute their fair share," Altman added. "Everyone who cares about the future of these vital earned benefits should vote accordingly in November."

Biden campaign communications director Michael Tyler also targeted the Republican presidential candidate while slamming the RSC plan, saying that "Donald Trump's MAGA allies in Congress made it clear today: A vote for Trump is a vote to make the MAGA 2025 agenda of cutting Social Security, ripping away access to IVF, and banning abortion nationwide a hellish reality."

"While Trump and his allies push forward their extreme agenda, the American people are watching," Tyler added, suggesting that the RSC proposal will help motivate voters to give Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris four more years in the White House.

[the-eternal-quest-for-balance]

" At some point something is going to have to break.

In a recent Rasmussen poll, Kevin McCarthy holds only a 40% approval rating with conservatives. "

HOW ABOUT LISTENING TO THE PEOPLE WHO EMPLOYED YOU ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !

Washington is broken alright, because of this type of attitude that Washington knows best !!!!!

[harleyeve]

So… Lauren Boebert voted for Kevin.

Kevin Hern

I hope she catches Cholera or something, but it was a good joke.

If this ends with Reps choosing a moderate or siding with Dems… that would be amazing.

[plethoraworldatlas]

Amidst rising scrutiny of congressional stock trades, several U.S. lawmakers have recently made significant purchases in major defense companies. On the 13th of September, 2023, Senator Markwayne Mullin bought Raytheon Technologies stock from a joint account. The Senator bought between $15,000 and $50,000 worth of RTX shares. Following his trade, the stock price of Raytheon Technologies Corp experienced a dip but showed signs of recovery towards late October.

Another Congress member who was trading RTX recently was Kevin Hern. Also from a joint account, Hern acquired up to 178 shares at a price of $84.33 per share on September 7, 2023.

On September 26, 2023, Josh Gottheimer bought shares of Northrop Grumman Corp. The transaction's value ranged between $1,000 to $15,000. Examining the trade history for NOC, there's a visible uptrend in stock price following the date of Gottheimer's transaction, indicating a notable increase in value. NOC stock closed at $489.07 on Oct 16, after a surge of nearly 15.6% since Oct 7. Presently, Rep. Gottheimer serves on the House Intelligence as well as the Financial Services Committees.

[libertariantaoist]

News Roundup 7/5/2023 | The Libertarian Institute

Here is your daily roundup of today's news:

News Roundup 7/5/2023

by Kyle Anzalone

US News

President Biden announced Monday that he will nominate Elliott Abrams to the bipartisan United States Advisory Commission on Public Diplomacy, CNN has reported. AWC

Russia

CIA Director William Burns said in a speech on Saturday that the war in Ukraine provides his spy agency a “once-in-a-generation opportunity” to recruit Russians. AWC

Top German officials expressed concern regarding Western escalations in Ukraine and signaled Berlin will push back against the most provocative proposals. The Institute

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has reaffirmed his position that the war in Ukraine will not end until Ukrainian forces take Crimea, which Russia has controlled since 2014. AWC

Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki has called for US nuclear weapons to be deployed to Poland in response to Russia sending tactical nukes to Belarus. AWC

An advisor to the director of Russia’s Rosenergoatom nuclear power engineering company claimed Tuesday that Ukraine is planning an imminent attack on the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) while Ukraine is accusing Russian forces of plotting to blow up the facility. AWC

NATO on Tuesday agreed to extend Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg’s term by another year as the alliance wants to stick with a familiar leader amid its raging proxy war against Russia in Ukraine. AWC

The Russian Foreign Ministry said Tuesday that Ukrainian drone attacks on Moscow and other areas inside Russia would not be possible without support from the US and NATO. AWC

China

Taiwan’s purchase of a mine-laying system from the US has sparked protest from opposition politicians as they don’t want Taiwan to become an “island of landmines,” The South China Morning Post reported on Monday. AWC

The US is looking to restrict Chinese companies’ access to cloud-computing technology in a move that would further strain ties between Washington and Beijing, The Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday. AWC

On Tuesday, Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen hosted a US congressional delegation led by Rep. Kevin Hern (R-OK), the second time within a week that a group of US lawmakers visited the island. AWC

Middle East

The White House has expressed support for a major Israeli offensive that was launched against the occupied West Bank city of Jenin early Monday. AWC

Former Vice President Mike Pence participated in a rally outside Paris led by the exiled Iranian terrorist cult, the Marxist-Islamist Mujahideen-e-Khalq headed by Maryam Rajavi, and their political front the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), over the weekend. The Institute

Read More

[dontmeantobepoliticalbut]

In a time when life expectancy in the U.S. is declining for the first time in decades and Americans can expect on average to enjoy even fewer years of retirement, Republicans are considering a radical plan to shrink the retirement window.

House Republicans have been working out the details of their deeply unpopular plan to cut Social Security and Medicare in order to deepen poverty and shackle people to the labor force further into old age.

The party is considering a proposal to raise the retirement age for Social Security to 70, per The Washington Post, which means that workers and retirees would have to work an additional 3 to 4 years to receive full benefit. This proposal would mostly affect younger workers who have not yet started to receive benefits from the program.

Under this proposal, Americans could expect to be able to enjoy retirement for only about six years, if the most recent life expectancy estimates hold: In 2021, the average life expectancy in the U.S. dropped to 76 years and one month.

This is 2 years and 9 months less than the pre-pandemic average, which is a larger drop than other wealthy countries had experienced in the same period of time. It is also already harder to retire in the U.S. than in other countries, as older Americans have a higher poverty rate than those in other wealthy countries; by contrast, over a million people in France are striking to protest the government’s proposal to raise the retirement age from 62 to 64 to qualify for a full government pension.

The GOP is also considering a proposal for panels that would recommend changes to Social Security and Medicare, which are at risk of facing solvency issues in coming decades thanks in part to Republicans’ efforts to chip away at the program for years. This supposed solution would likely be crafted to ensure that the panel would suggest cuts to the program — but could be done in a way that makes it seem as though the GOP isn’t directly responsible for the cuts.

Cutting Social Security and Medicare could have disastrous consequences for middle- and lower-class Americans, who are already having trouble affording basic expenses like medical care. Social Security is the single most effective anti-poverty program by far in the U.S., even with payouts that are still too low to prevent poverty for many. Medicare is similarly an extremely effective anti-poverty program, and, importantly, helps millions of Americans afford medical care that would otherwise be out of reach.

“We have no choice but to make hard decisions,” said Rep. Kevin Hern (R-Oklahoma), who leads the Republican Study Committee, the largest House GOP caucus which endorsed the retirement benefit age last year. “Everybody has to look at everything.”

Democratic lawmakers have said that Republicans are focusing on Social Security solvency because they think cutting the program under President Joe Biden could hurt Democrats.

If they were truly worried about the funding of the program and maintaining its anti-poverty effects, Republicans could support efforts to make it so that the rich pay an equal share of their income into Social Security as the working class does, for instance; a proposal introduced by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont) last year to “scrap the cap” at which people’s incomes are taxed for the program would fully fund the program until 2096, while also upping payments by $2,400 a year.

Democrats in the House, meanwhile, have advocated for decreasing the Medicare eligibility age to 60 or even 55, which would provide tens of millions of people with easier access to health care.

Implementing a change like this would be popular among voters. Polling last year by Data for Progress found that a bipartisan majority of Americans support raising taxes on those making over $400,000 in order to fund Social Security expansion. Meanwhile, more recent polling by Data for Progress found that a majority of voters — Democrat, independent or Republican — say that Republicans should allow the debt limit to be raised without cuts to Social Security or Medicare.

[bestv1]

Inside Trump’s gripe-filled meeting with House GOP and his reunion with McConnell

Former President Donald Trump led House Republicans through a gripe-filled closed-door meeting on Capitol Hill on Thursday, airing grievances about his legal and electoral challenges, attacking his critics in the room, and only briefly addressing policy matters like abortion and taxes, according to multiple GOP lawmakers in the room.

In his first time returning to the Capitol campus area since leaving office after the January 6, 2021, riot, the former president met with lawmakers for over an hour.

In between rants about Taylor Swift and former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Trump went after his detractors – those who have since lost their seats and some who were in the room – as he warned Republicans to not be afraid of the hot button issue of abortion.

In a sign that the former president is reveling in how the party has fallen in line behind him, Trump bragged that most of the 10 House Republicans who voted to impeach him were no longer in office and singled out one of the remaining two GOP lawmakers left: GOP Rep. David Valadao of California.

“I never loved him,” Trump said of Valadao, according to a GOP member.

As a number of House Republicans find themselves in competitive primary races, the former president said he wanted to do tele-town halls, but acknowledged his help would not be welcomed by some, given that he had endorsed their primary opponents.

Trump did not shy away from acknowledging the bad blood between House Speaker Mike Johnson and GOP Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, who unsuccessfully tried to oust Johnson against Trump’s wishes. The former president playfully asked Greene, a staunch ally of his who he strongly supports, to be nice to the speaker.

“He’s always so sweet, recognizing me, and he said ‘are you being nice to Speaker Johnson?’ He was joking. And I said ‘eh,’” as she gestured with her hands. “He said ‘OK be nice to him’ and I nodded my head,” she added.

Johnson, after the meeting, said the former president told him that he was doing “a very good job” and that he plans to be “fully prepared” to implement Trump’s plans if he wins in November.

The former president’s conviction also hung heavy over Thursday’s meeting.

Trump’s allies on Capitol Hill immediately sprung into action following the guilty verdict –proposing to defund the Department of Justice and even shut down the government. House Republicans voted to hold Attorney General Merrick Garland in contempt of Congress on Wednesday. And one legislative proposal Republican leaders are now actively pursuing is a bill that would allow current and former presidents to move state-level cases to federal court. The legislation passed out of committee last September, but GOP leaders only started formally whipping the bill this week – on the eve of Trump’s Capitol Hill visit and two weeks after his conviction.

In his meeting with GOP lawmakers, Trump called the Department of Justice “dirty no good bastards,” according to another source in the room.

GOP Rep. Kevin Hern of Oklahoma said the former president expressed he was “gravely concerned” about the federal government being weaponized.

In a news conference after the meeting, House Majority Whip Tom Emmer said that the former president’s felony convictions have only energized the party that will propel them to victory in November.

“Anybody who thought that this President was going to be down after the sham trial, after that crooked trial that we saw in New York, I think, again, it’s only given him even more energy,” Emmer said. “And what he did for us upstairs just now is, he showed us that energy and he showed us that positive outlook, despite all the garbage they’ve been throwing at him with their lawfare and their nonsense.”

[christinamac1]

Bankers upgrade Lockheed stock after Iran strikes at Israel

As finance journalist Jacob Wolisnky put it in a recent preview of defense stock picks, “Where there’s war, there’s money to be made.” At least one member of Congress agrees. Yesterday, Rep. Kevin Hern (R-Okla.) disclosed that he bought Lockheed Martin stock on March 29. defense contractors are actively shaping U.S. foreign policy through lobbying and campaign contributions, among other…

[kp777]

By Jake Johnson

Common Dreams

Oct. 26, 2023

"Now that Johnson is speaker, he will do what the Republicans never stop doing—everything in their power to cut our Social Security and Medicare, by hook, crook, or commission."

The newly elected Republican speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives has previously proposed trillions of dollars in cuts to Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid and suggested that slashing the programs should be the top priority of Congress.

During his tenure as chair of the Republican Study Committee (RSC) between 2019 and 2021, Rep. Mike Johnson (R-La.) helped craft budget resolutions that called for roughly $2 trillion in Medicare cuts, $3 trillion in Medicaid and Affordable Care Act cuts, and $750 billion in Social Security Cuts, noted Bobby Kogan of the Center for American Progress.

Don’t believe me? It’s right on his website. Rep. Johnson is proud of these cuts. Here’s a screenshot from page 193 of the FY2020 budget resolution, which was his first one as chair of the RSC.https://t.co/b9a9tVO1QKpic.twitter.com/FKZgVd9xNa — Bobby Kogan (@BBKogan) October 25, 2023

Alex Lawson, executive director of the progressive advocacy group Social Security Works, said in a Wednesday statement following the speakership vote that the budget proposals released by the Johnson-led RSC also endorsed raising the Social Security retirement age, lowering annual cost-of-living benefit increases, and advancing privatization efforts.

"Multimillionaire Johnson has also made the outrageous claim that forced births are necessary to fund Social Security," said Lawson, referring to the Louisiana Republican's attempt to blame Roe v. Wade for depriving the U.S. of "able-bodied workers."

Lawson added that Johnson "recently joined the vast majority of House Republicans to vote for a commission designed to cut Social Security and Medicare behind closed doors."

"Now that Johnson is speaker, he will do what the Republicans never stop doing—everything in their power to cut our Social Security and Medicare, by hook, crook, or commission," said Lawson. "The White House has rightfully referred to such a commission as a 'death panel' for Social Security and Medicare. Seniors and people with disabilities are counting on the Biden administration, as well as Congressional Democrats, to stand united to protect our earned benefits. That means rejecting any commission proposal."

Johnson's positions on Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid are in no way out of step with the overwhelming majority of the House Republican caucus.

Earlier this year, the RSC—now chaired by Rep. Kevin Hern (R-Okla.)—issued a budget proposal that called for gradually raising the Social Security retirement age to 69, a change that would slash benefits across the board.

The RSC, which is comprised of three-quarters of the House GOP caucus, also proposed turning Medicare into a voucher program and massively cutting Medicaid, the Children's Health Insurance Program, and Affordable Care Act subsidies.

[partisan-by-default]

The proposals, which are unlikely to become law this year, reflect how many Republicans will seek to govern if they win the 2024 elections. And they play into a fight President Joe Biden is seeking to have with former President Donald Trump and the Republican Party as he runs for re-election.

The budget was released Wednesday by the Republican Study Committee, a group of more than 170 House GOP lawmakers, including many allies of Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump. Apart from fiscal policy, the budget endorses a series of bills “designed to advance the cause of life,” including the Life at Conception Act, which would aggressively restrict abortion and potentially threaten in vitro fertilization, or IVF, by establishing legal protections for human beings at “the moment of fertilization.” It has recently caused consternation within the GOP following backlash to an Alabama Supreme Court ruling that threatened IVF.

The RSC, which is chaired by Rep. Kevin Hern, R-Okla., counts among its members Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., and his top three deputies in leadership. Johnson chaired the RSC from 2019 to 2021; his office did not immediately respond when asked about the new budget.

[tcsblogsblog]

Far right christians are heavily involved in our local and national politics.

Paying taxes is the price of admission.

Past time to start taxing these businesses!