Change is coming
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| HEALTHCARE |
Group presses the Labor Department on its association health
plan proposal. Georgetown University's Health Policy Institute is leading
an open records request asking the DOL to release
statistics and information about its enforcement of association health plans,
as well as past policy and regulation regarding the plans. Mila Kofman, head of the DC Health Benefit
Exchange Authority, Russell Suzuki, Hawaii's acting attorney general and John
Arensmeyer, CEO of Small Business Majority are among the signatories to a
letter detailing the request. The group is deeply skeptical of the plans,
which have a history of fraud. [Politico Pulse, March 2,
2018]
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| FOREIGN POLICY |
|
House takes up bills targeting EPA regs
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|
By Timothy Cama
The House will move in the coming week on a trio of regulatory
and energy bills.
The Rules Committee has scheduled a meeting Monday to
begin looking at the three proposals: the Satisfying Energy Needs and Saving
the Environment Act, the Blocking Regulatory Interference from Closing Kilns
Act and the Comprehensive Regulatory Review Act.
The House is likely to take up the bills in the days following
the committee's meeting.
The first two bills seek to change Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA) regulations to benefit specific industries.
The Satisfying Energy Needs and Saving the Environment Act
would exempt certain power plants that burn coal refuse from parts of a major
2012 air pollution rule. The Blocking Regulatory Interference from Closing
Kilns Act, meanwhile, would delay implementation of a 2015 rule on air pollution
from brick kilns.
The committee is also due to consider the Comprehensive
Regulatory Review Act, which would expand federal agencies' responsibilities
to regularly review their rules and policies for potential repeals or
changes. [Energy Issuewatch Newsletter, March 2, 2018]
|
 |
| DEMOCRATIC PARTY |
Perhaps
the best indicator of whether Democrats could win big in the November midterm
elections is the fact that they are already winning special elections that — in
theory — they should lose.
On
Tuesday night, Democrats won special elections for state representative seats
in New Hampshire and Connecticut that were previously held by Republicans.
Those victories bring the current tally to 39 state legislative races that have
flipped from Republican to Democrat since the 2016 election, according to
Ballotpedia.org. During the same period there have been just four
Democrat-to-Republican turnovers (though in one case, the Democrats didn’t
field a candidate).
The New
Hampshire election took place in a district to represent Laconia, a
traditionally Republican city that President Trump won by 13 percentage points.
On Tuesday night, the Democratic candidate Phil Spagnuolo won by 8 points. He
had never run for office before.
In
Connecticut, it was a similar story, where a first-time Democratic candidate won
a state House seat that has been held by Republicans for 40 years. While
Hillary Clinton easily won the state of Connecticut by 14 percentage points,
she only won this particular legislative district by 2 points. And indeed the
Democrat in this race won by 2 points.
Republicans
quickly dismissed the import of these elections. The New Hampshire Republican
Party noted that it was a low turnout local election taking place during school
vacation week.
With
those dynamics at play, “a small subset of voters elected a pro-life Democrat
with deep community ties and a compelling personal narrative,” New Hampshire
Republican Party chair Jeanne Forrester said. (It’s worth noting that
Spagnuolo, the Democrat, later clarified a remark at a forum that while he
personally opposes abortion, he would vote for abortion rights.)
Republicans
have a point that it is hard to read much into any one special election, where
turnout is typically lackluster and there could be all kinds of factors that
figure into the end result. But, in the aggregate, the trend line is hard to
look past.
Since
the 2016 election there have been 92 special elections held for state
legislative races. Most of those seats stayed within the same party, given how
districts are gerrymandered. However, about 20 percent of those seats did flip
from Republican to Democrat, and in some very pro-Trump territories. There are
signs that Democratic voters are simply more excited to vote.
Among
the red-to-blue flips, five have taken place in New Hampshire, home of the
nation’s largest Legislature. Among the four blue-to-red flips was one in
Massachusetts last year.
Looking
at past data, there is a direct correlation between special election wins by a
party and a coming wave year, especially during midterm contests.
But
special elections aren’t the only indicator suggesting that this November could
be a good one for Democrats. There is also a large contingent of Republicans in
Congress who have decided not to seek reelection this year, and polling has
consistently showed that voters are more likely to pick a Democrat over a
Republican.
Yet for
all that, politics is an unpredictable business. And while there is evidence
that all signs point to a big year for Democrats, that could change quickly.
[BOSTON GLOBE, Ground Game, March 2,
2018]
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| READ |
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| STEVE BANNON |
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| TRUMP VS OBAMA |
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| TRUMP |
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| PRE-SCHOOL & CHILD CARE |
Six months for new parents: A report released by UCLA on Wednesday calls for six months'
paid leave for new parents (though even the lead researcher acknowledged
there's pretty much zero likelihood it will happen). From a public health
perspective, the report says, offering six months' paid leave has a variety of
benefits, including giving babies the chance to breastfeed longer and reducing
child care costs for parents. "Six months might sound like a lot in
context of the current debate," said Jody Heymann, dean of UCLA's Fielding
School of Public Health, but most wealthy countries do offer at least that much. The yearlong UCLA study involved
a dozen researchers and a review of more than 5,500 existing studies on paid
leave. [POLITICO's Morning Shift, March 1, 2018]
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| POLITICS |
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| CHINA |
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| SPAIN |
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| SLOVAKIA |
NOTE: The news sources here vary. Not all sources have the same credibility, but in an effort to share some different perspectives, they are included here. This compendium itself cannot claim to be unbiased. Please take into consideration where these different perspectives originate in assessing their value. Thank you
NOTE: I have no official connection to any organization from which information is shared.. Occasionally, I post informational material and/or an opportunity to donate or join as a "community service" announcement. These again are shared for their varying perspectives.
Any books listed are random or topic-related to something else in the post. Think of these as a "library bookshelf" to browse. They are shared for informational or entertainment value only, not as being recommended
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