Category Archives: Fiscal Freedom

Members of the conservative Freedom Caucus said Tuesday entitlement reform should be included in the next budget that passes the House, despite President Trump's campaign promise that he would leave Social Security and Medicare alone.

"I think any budget that we pass out of the House must include entitlement reform," said Rep. Mark Meadows (R-N.C.), chairman of the House Freedom Caucus.

But, he said, benefits to taxpayers who paid into the system should be left untouched.

"I think it's incumbent upon conservative members of Congress to put forth a conservative budget, and the only want to really address that is through saving Medicare and Social Security."

But Meadows said he thinks Trump will be open to reform as long as benefits for current beneficiaries are not diminished.

"We have to act now in order to save the benefits for those future recipients of those programs," Meadows said.

Mick Mulvaney, Trump's pick for budget director, was also a member of the House Freedom Caucus and will have the president's ear on entitlement reform.

Mulvaney pushed for an overhaul of Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid while in Congress.

"I believe Mick Mulvaney was brought in to provide a different perspective and based on my conversations with Mick, he thinks that the White House will welcome that different perspective," said Rep. Justin AmashJustin AmashSome GOP lawmakers want entitlement reform in next budget Republicans dismiss growing protests at home GOP lawmaker proposes abolishing Department of Education MORE (R-Mich.), another Freedom Caucus member.

"I hope that President Trump will consider what he was to say on that matter. Mick has always been a strong fiscal conservative. I hope that President Trump will heed his advice."

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Some GOP lawmakers want entitlement reform in next budget - The Hill

The Fiscal Times

Are Republicans Losing Momentum on Obamacare Repeal? The Fiscal Times But 40 or so members of the House's far right Freedom Caucus blew up that political calculus Monday night after agreeing among themselves to refuse to support anything but the most extreme version of Obamacare legislation, comparable to the 2015 ... and more »

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Are Republicans Losing Momentum on Obamacare Repeal? - The Fiscal Times

President Trump's choice for budget director, Rep. Mick Mulvaney, R-S.C., headlined a half a dozen nominees. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., filed to end debate on Monday night.

Depending on the Democrats' plans to resist the nominees, Mulvaney could receive his first full Senate vote on Wednesday and a final vote as early as Thursday.

What once looked like it could become an internal Republican battle between budget hawks and defense hawks never picked up much momentum after some harsh questioning from Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz.

No other Republican Mulvaney skeptics emerged.

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Mulvaney's surprise nomination to run the Office of Management and Budget was cheered by fiscal conservatives who viewed the Freedom Caucus member as an uncompromising spending-cutter. The Cato Institute's Chris Edwards hailed him as "the most fiscally conservative budget director in decades."

But Mulvaney's fiscal conservatism caused him to vote for defense budget cuts other Republicans find unpalatable and to occasionally align himself with more libertarian-leaning GOP lawmakers on foreign policy.

Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., and Rep. Justin Amash, R-Mich, two leaders of this contingent, both endorsed Mulvaney for budget director.

None of this endeared Mulvaney to McCain, however. The longtime senator grilled Mulvaney at his confirmation hearings, alleging the South Carolinian spent his "entire congressional career pitting debt against the military and every time for you the military has been less important."

"I would remember if I voted to cut our defenses the way you did, congressman," McCain told him. "Maybe you don't take it with the seriousness that it deserves."

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McCain also challenged Mulvaney on a vote to swiftly withdraw all troops from Afghanistan. "What were you thinking, honestly?" he asked.

When Mulvaney replied by citing the pain a constituent felt about his son's multiple deployments, an unimpressed McCain retorted, "So the answer is withdraw all troops from Afghanistan? That is crazy."

The dust-up with McCain wasn't the only snag Mulvaney's nomination hit. He disclosed that he had failed to pay taxes on a nanny he had employed, something that had scuttled past nominees.

But with the Senate split 52-48 in the Republicans' favor and a 60-vote threshold no longer required to invoke cloture, GOP defections are required to stop Trump nominees.

Once the majority seemed inclined to forgive Mulvaney after he overpaid the back payroll taxes to take the issue off the table, McCain persuading a handful of Republicans that a GOP budget director should favor more defense spending was the last remaining obstacle.

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"Don't play dumb on Trump and Russia. Not a good look. Fully investigate! Happy Valentines Day."

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FreedomWorks, arguably the most libertarian on foreign policy of all the major Tea Party groups, mobilized against McCain and for Mulvaney.

"Sen. McCain's opposition to President Trump's pick is another action that shows he stands against responsible federal spending levels," FreedomWorks CEO Adam Brandon said in a statement. "He seems perfectly happy to continue spending money we don't have and continue raising the debt ceiling. He continues his career betraying conservatives."

Last year, McCain defeated a Republican primary challenger who campaigned in part on the idea that the high price tag of the 2008 GOP presidential nominee's foreign policy contradicted his claims to be a fiscal conservative.

"Foreign policy is actually John McCain's Achilles heel, not his greatest strength," said Kelli Ward, who lost to McCain by 12.5 percentage points.

Nevertheless, McCain voted to advance Mulvaney's nomination in committee and was seen as softening his opposition in general, causing some of the nominee's outside supporters to take an early victory lap.

"FreedomWorks activists have made more than 60,000 contacts with Sen. John McCain's office since his hostile questioning and 'Morning Joe' interview in which he said he was leaning toward a 'no' on Mulvaney," said the group's press secretary Jon Meadows. "We're glad he might be coming around to support President Trump's fiscally conservative nominee."

McCain's usual Senate allies never joined with him in criticizing Mulvaney. Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., is with McCain on these policy issues but shares a home state with Mulvaney.

Graham and Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., have consistently supported Mulvaney's nomination. Mulvaney has been more sympathetic to Graham's immigration position than many conservative House Republicans.

Graham has also consistently avoided primary challenges from Republican members of the South Carolina House delegation, despite outside conservative groups' appetite for such a candidacy.

"We're coming to understand that we can't be either military hawks or deficit hawks," Sen. David Perdue, R-Ga., told McClatchy. "One of the greatest threats to American security that we face today is the national debt. We have to be hawkish on both matters if we want a secure future. For that, Mulvaney has the right experience and the right heart for OMB."

McCain, Graham and Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., were all critical of Secretary of State Rex Tillerson during his confirmation hearings. The disagreements over Russia between congressional Republicans and the Trump administration provided them an opportunity to make a statement by blocking him.

All three senators wound up voting to confirm Tillerson. Barring a major change, Mulvaney is likely to join him in the Cabinet soon.

In addition to Mulvaney, McConnell filed cloture on Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt's nomination to head the Environmental Protection Agency, Wilbur Ross' nomination for commerce secretary, Rep. Ryan Zinke, R-Mont., for interior secretary, Ben Carson for secretary of housing and urban development, and former Texas Gov. Rick Perry for energy secretary.

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Flynn resigned after admitting he hadn't been truthful to Vice President Mike Pence.

02/14/17 9:46 AM

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GOP defense hawks barely squawked on Mulvaney nomination - Washington Examiner

Weve heard that Brexit could cost Britain billions in the form of a divorce bill from Brussels. But what is the price of staying in? That question is answered by the Daily Mail this morning which reveals Treasury estimates slipped out last week that the UKs contribution to the EU will jump to 10.2bn in 2019 up from 7.9bn this year. The numbers also show that if Britain is still in the EU by 2021-22, taxpayers will have to pay out 10.9bn to Brussels. For the Daily Mail this is proof that Brexit is the best course of action. Doesnt this revelation, slipped out by the Treasury, show precisely why were leaving in the nick of time?, the paper asks. It says this soaring bill shows that Brussels is spending well beyond its means and suggests the money were sending to Brussels could easily be put to better use if it was spent at home. For one, the Mail says, that sum of money could solve our elderly care crisis at a stroke and still leave a few billion to spare.

In the Times, its the euro which comes in for criticism, as the paper suggests the dismal state of the Greek economy shows exactly why the single currency is such a dreadful idea. The ratio of debt to Greeces GDP now sits at 169 per cent, the paper says meaning that, soon enough, something will have to give. But what can be done? Some say that leaving the euro is the only way ahead for Greece an option which the Times pours cold water on, saying the damage would be so immense that is simply isnt plausible. Instead, the only path now despite the reluctance of Germany to agree to it is further debt restructuring along with closer fiscal integration. What is most clear from this mess is that the euro is a misconceived project. And the miserable news is that without financial collapse theres no going back, says the Times.

Meanwhile, the Sun warns that were living through torrid times for the British press. The paper warns that the freedom enjoyed by newspapers has never been in greater peril than it is today. After the looming threat of a state-backed regulator, the proposals put forward by the Law Commission that journalists who obtain secret information could be sent to prison are the latest worry to emerge. These recommendations place too much power in the hands of officials who would rather the public was always kept in the dark, says the Sun, which calls on Downing Street to show it values a free press and ditch the idea.

Ken Loach grabbed the headlines yesterday after accusing the Tories of callous brutality in his acceptance speech at the Baftas. The film director even went as far as saying the Government would have to be removed before claimingthat he and other film directors are with the people on this. This is laughable, suggests the Telegraph, which says the truth is that most people think Loach and his friends are living in la-la land.. Despite the doom-mongering of his speech, in which he talked of dark times and the bleak visions of Britain presented in his films, most people dont recognise this view of modern Britain. The Telegraph says that theres no doubt Loach is a fine director. Yet his skill behind the camera doesnt mean that his view that the welfare state has been dismantled and the poor left to starve and rot is accurate. Instead, the naked truth is that his films are nothing to do with delving into the human condition; theyre simply an exercise in Left-wing propaganda, concludes the Telegraph.

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What the papers say: Britain's soaring EU budget bill shows Brexit can't happen soon enough - Spectator.co.uk (blog)

The Fiscal Times

The GOP's Big Tax Dilemma: Repealing Obamacare Taxes The Fiscal Times Jim Jordan (R-OH), the former chair of the conservative House Freedom Caucus, said last week that Congress and the administration must abandon any thoughts of repairing Obamacare and move ahead to fully repeal the program -- including the taxes that ... and more »

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The GOP's Big Tax Dilemma: Repealing Obamacare Taxes - The Fiscal Times

While Americans fixate on the new Republican majority in Washington DC, they may have overlooked the partys gains in their own state capitals. It wasnt just Donald Trump who won big-league in 2016. Republicans also picked up dozens of seats in statehouses. All told, the GOP now controls the legislatures of 32 states (compared to 14 for Democrats), an all-time high for the party.

My home state of West Virginia is no exception. Two years ago, we saw our first Republican majority since the Great Depression, with the GOP gaining even more ground in 2016. One of those gains was in my district, where my friend and fellow homeschooling mother Patricia Rucker recently became my state senator. Although Im admittedly biased, Rucker is both a good model for anyone looking to get more involved in local politics, and a reminder of the value that freedom-seeking immigrants bring to America.

I first got to know Patricia through local politics, where she seemed to be an almost omnipresent force. Dark-haired and slender, shes one of those people who radiates energy. At every phone bank, fundraiser, lit drop, and Tea Party rally, Patricia was therealways with several kids in tow. A devout Catholic, she and her husband Jimmy have five children.

As the legislative session began February 8, Patricia packed her bags, left the homeschooling in Jimmys hands, and made the five-hour trek to Charleston as a freshman senator. For a woman who was born a continent away and became a U.S. citizen just 12 years ago, its the culmination of a remarkable journey.

She was born Patricia Elena Puertas in Caracas, Venezuela. Her parents, Jos and Hayde, had both grown up as the eldest children of large, working-class families. They each became the first in their families to attend college, working hard to support themselves as journalism students. They used their first paychecks to help Haydes parents leave the slums for a two-bedroom apartment in Caracas, with their eight younger children.

Family interdependence was such an important part of Venezuelan culture back then, Patricia remembers. Its one of those things that socialism is trying to destroy.

The Venezuela of Patricias childhood was a very different place than it is today. At the time, Venezuelans enjoyed the highest standard of living in Latin America. Patricia remembers an easy-going, family-oriented culture, loosely organized and far from centrally planned.

There was certainly quite a bit of petty corruption, a quid-pro-quo system, she says. But in general, the government required very little from you. You didnt have to get a license and a permit for every little thing. You lived how you wanted. People didnt have a lot of material things, but they also didnt see those things as important. Everyone had their little plot of land, their garden. We relied on our families. We took care of each other.

As his family grew, Jos was climbing the career ladder as a journalist with the Paris-based Agence France-Press. Eventually, AFP asked the young Venezuelan to move to its Washington DC, bureau. It was a prestigious job that involved covering politicians and world leadersincluding the U.S. presidentas a member of the international press corps.

It was hard for Jos and Hayde to leave their extended family in Venezuela, but they didnt sell their Venezuelan home, confident they and their five children would return. We arrived in DC on January 3, 1981, just before Reagan was inaugurated, Patricia remembers. To this day, its the only presidential inauguration Ive ever seen in person. Of course, I didnt really understand any of it. She was six years old.

The family settled in the DC suburb of Montgomery County, Maryland, where the children went to school. I had speech delays and had a hard time communicating, even in Spanish, Patricia says, so between that and learning English, my first years in school were hard. I was an outcast. The experience, though difficult, was formative. It made me sympathetic toward other people. After that, I was always the one befriending my fellow nerds and outcasts, she remembers. It became a part of my personality: I defend the little guy and I stand up for them.

By sixth grade, Patricia had finished speech therapy and mastered English. After that, she quickly advanced to her schools gifted and talented class. There she had another formative experience.

Even though there werent many Hispanics in Montgomery County back then, I never thought of myself as different. In my mind, I was like everyone else. But her fellow students were more familiar with the ways of the world. As soon as I got into the gifted and talented program, several of the other students assumed that I was only there because I was the token Hispanic. They thought I hadnt gotten there on my own merits.

The experience rankled. It was then that I decided I hated the labeling. I hated the affirmative action. Youre trying to do me a favor, but youre actually making it worse for me! I dont want you to do me a favor. I want to succeed through my own achievements. She laughs a little at the memory. And I think thats when I first became a Republican. The Democratic Party has become a party of favors and putting people into pigeonholes. I dont want to be labeled; I dont want to be limited. I wanted to be limitless. I dont want you giving me anything. I want you to get out of my way and let me live my life.

Sixth grade also marked the beginning of her political career: she ran for class president and won. She remained active in student government throughout her middle and high school years. While still a senior in high school, Patricia met Maryland native Jimmy Rucker at a church Bible study. Jimmy was a nursing student at Catholic University, and asked her out on a date.

I knew pretty quickly that this was the man I was going to marry, Patricia says. They dated for four years, until Patricia graduated from Trinity College with a major in U.S. history. She and Jimmy married the same year, and Patricia took a teaching job with Montgomery County public schools. After having their second child, they moved to Jefferson County, West Virginiarefugees from socialist Montgomery County, Patricia laughs. Its true. We came here for freedom.

All this time, Patricia was slowly working her way through the process of becoming a U.S. citizen. Before I even met my husband, I already felt more American than Venezuelan, she says. For Patricia, U.S. citizenship was the fulfilment of a dream. I had majored in history, and the more I learned, the more I fell in love with the Constitution. I fell in love with the American founding and the American dreamit was not just a clich for me.

After an eight-year process, Patricia was finally granted citizenship in 2004. By then, she was already the mother of four young Americans, the smallest just four months old. Patricia was given the option to be sworn in at a DC ceremony with President Bush in 2005, but she opted for an earlier local ceremony instead. I chose to do it early because I was so eager to vote in the fall election, she explains. I just couldnt wait.

Patricia cast her first vote in November 2004. When she looked at her ballot, the names on national races were familiar, but the names on local races werent. It really shook me that I didnt even know who some of those people were, she said. That day, I promised myself never to let that happen again.

While Patricia was busy putting down roots in America, her native country was remaking itself. Hugo Chvez, a self-declared Marxist, had come to power in 1998, bringing with him a new socialist vision. The Puertas family, who continued traveling back to Venezuela every two years, watched the transformation unfold before their eyes.

I was in Venezuela when Chvez was campaigning in 1998, Patricia remembers. He preached a gospel of envy, both internationally and locally. If the United States was wealthy, it was because they had stolen and cheated from other countries. And if your neighbor was better off than you, it was also because they had stolen and cheated. Therefore, you should be allowed to take what was theirs.

If your neighbor was better off than you, it was also because they had stolen and cheated. Therefore, you should be allowed to take what was theirs.

Besides nationalizing industry and rewriting the constitution to grant himself vast powers, Chvez unleashed the envy hed been fomenting in a government-sanctioned wave of lawlessness. He made it known that the government would not prosecute squatters who took over unproductive or unoccupied buildings and land. A spree of private property thefts ensued.

It got so bad that women had to quit their jobs and stay home all day, just to make sure their homes wouldnt be broken into by squatters, Patricia says. You can only imagine the violence. In a place where we never had violent crime when I was a little girl, people were terrified to go out at night.

Yet Chvezs welfare state policies, funded for a time by Venezuelas vast oil revenues, continued to make him popular with the majority. Its only in the past few years that most Venezuelans have realized what an incredible mistake they made, says Patricia. As oil prices have fallen and Venezuelas war on private industry has reached its natural end, the country is in an economic tailspin. For the past four years, Venezuela has been ranked as the most miserable nation on earth, according to economist Steve Hankes Misery Index. Last year, the Venezuelan currency officially reached hyperinflation, with average people unable to buy food or basic necessities.

Despite living abroad, Jos and Hayde were not immune from the chaos. Not only were they driven to sell their Venezuelan home at a fraction of its value, but they also lost the apartment they had bought for Haydes parents all those years ago, when it was claimed in a break-in. Sadly, they realized that there would be no returning home. The old Venezuela was gone. They too applied for U.S. citizenship, finally becoming Americans just last year.

Back in West Virginia, the Ruckers were busy raising their growing family, now with five children. Despite her full life as a stay-at-home mom and homeschool teacher, Patricia began getting involved in grassroots activism. When I heard Obama campaigning in 2008, I was shocked to hear how much he sounded like Hugo Chvez on the campaign trail, she says. All the stoking of class envyit really concerned me. After seeing what happened in Venezuela, I was not going to let my adopted country go that direction without a fight.

Her worries extended beyond Obama and the Democrats. In 2008 I was feeling deceived and disillusioned by both parties, she remembers. I felt the need to fight back, with education as the primary tool. She founded a local Tea Party chapter, kicking things off with a tax-day rally at the county courthouse in April 2009.

We forget that the Tea Party started because people were furious about the stimulus, the Wall Street bailouts, the fiscal insanity.

About 200 people showed up on a rainy day, she remembers. That was so encouraging. We forget that the Tea Party started because people were furious about the stimulus, the Wall Street bailouts, the fiscal insanity. I had felt very lonely, but now I saw I wasnt alone.

Patricia sent out invitations for meetings, and the group slowly grew. We were committed to two things: First, defending the Constitution. Second, educating ourselves and others. We really tried to remain non-partisan and not get caught up in social issues. After several years, the group restructured as a political action committee and began recruiting liberty-minded candidates for local office. Every year, we did a little bit more. We started having some successes.

In 2014, the Tea Party couldnt find a candidate for one race, a House of Delegates seat in the countys most liberal districtPatricias district. I just could not stand the thought of the Democrat being unchallenged, she recalls. I tried hard. No one was willing to run against him.

As moms everywhere know, if you want something done right, sometimes you have to do it yourself. After prayer and discussion with her family, Patricia reluctantly stepped aside from the Tea Party PAC and filed as a Republican candidate for the seat.

Her opponent was incumbent Delegate Stephen Skinner, a private attorney and the first openly gay lawmaker in West Virginia. As founder of the LGBT advocacy group Fairness WV, he was one of the most liberal legislators in Charleston, with progressive social issues at the center of his agenda.

The odds against Patricia were steep, but she worked hard, going door to door throughout the district. On Election Day, she came just 133 votes away from unseating Skinner. The narrow loss in a tough district whetted her political appetite: It gave me a taste for the fact that I could do it.

In 2015, Patricia filed as a candidate againthis time for the West Virginia Senate, where Republicans held a narrow one-seat majority. She badly wanted to see this seat flip to the GOP, but we needed a candidate who was really going to work hard for it. Patricia thought shed be challenging the incumbent, Sen. Herb Snyder, but in June she got some surprising news: Snyder was stepping down, and Skinner would run for the seat. The stage had been set for a rematch.

I was excited when I heard I was going up against Skinner again, Patricia says. Hes my political polar opposite. Its much easier to run against someone who disagrees with you on almost every point.

So many people believe the same things we domore than youd think. But theyre busy. They dont have time to go out and investigate all the issues.

It became one of the most hotly contested races in the state, making headlines for the amount of money spent. The vast majority of that moneyfour out of every five dollarswas spent on Skinners side. One PAC in particular, calling itself West Virginia Family Values but funded by unions and trial lawyers, poured money into massive ad buys against Rucker. The Skinner campaign also went on the attack. Patricia was painted as a radical with the incongruous goals of legalizing all drugs, taking away womens birth control, and defunding public education.

I think [these allegations] created more support for me than they did me harm, Patricia says.

While Skinner and his allies took to the airwaves, Rucker took to the streets, again pursuing her door-to-door strategy. This time, instead of a small House district, she had a massive Senate district to tackle. I created a daily schedule for myself, she says. I would start with six hours of homeschooling. Then I would go out for two to four hours of door-knocking. Id come home and make dinner, and every night I would finish by writing personal letters to the people Id met that day. She kept up this grueling pace from October 2015 until Election Day 2016eventually knocking on over 16,000 doors.

While many would consider this a form of torture, meeting voters energized Rucker. Talking to people inspired me, she says. So many people believe the same things we domore than youd think. But theyre busy. They dont have time to go out and investigate all the issues. My biggest strength in politics isnt that Im rich or creative or entrepreneurialits that Im a teacher. Its just in me to educate. If I can help someone understand something they didnt before, thats where I get my reward. She also got her reward at the polls on Election Day, defeating Skinner 53 to 47 percent.

While the Senate is now solidly in GOP control, Patricia nonetheless anticipates a tension-filled freshman session: Down there, they think they know it all.

The state government makes too many decisions for its people. At the same time, its failing in its core responsibilities.

Asked what her goals as a senator are, Patricia says, I want to make West Virginia a state that supports and respects its citizens. That sounds basic, but its not. The state government makes too many decisions for its people. At the same time, its failing in its core responsibilities of education, infrastructure, and protecting citizens rights. I want to make the state more responsive and accountable, while empowering local governments and citizens to reclaim our freedom. Follow what the Founding Fathers expected: that we would manage our own affairs.

Part of the states role should be protecting its citizens from federal overreach, she continues. We need more representatives who have the courage to do that. It means making decisions that arent popular, but I didnt run because I wanted to be popular. I ran because I wanted someone in office whos going to stand up and not be afraid.

To the grassroots activist who aspires to political office, Patricia advises: Dont give up. Know clearly what youre fighting for. If you dont have principles to ground you, you can easily get used and bought off.

Rucker doesnt seem to be in any doubt about what her principles are. As someone who has both studied Americas founding and witnessed socialism firsthand, she knows the stakes. At a January swearing-in ceremony held locally for friends and supporters, a crowd of us watched her take an oath to defend the Constitution, with confidence that she really meant it.

As we filed out of the room that night, I overheard one man in a ball cap make a passing remark in his thick local drawl. If every native-born American loved this country as much as she does, he said, wed be a whole lot better off.

Jayme Metzgar is a Senior Contributor at The Federalist.

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Meet The Venezuelan-Born Mom Who Ran For State Senate To Stop Socialism - The Federalist

Medicaid is the most-funded program in the states budget, but within the next four months a significant loss in revenues due to federal mandates is expected to hit local counties hard.

County commissioners and representatives from the area met Monday in Marietta to discuss concerns with Gov. John Kasichs proposed budget for the next two years concerning the loss in tax revenue and what the lack of funds could do to local governments.

The fact of the matter is that we have a lot of unmet needs in the state that theres not money for, said Rep. Jack Cera, D-Bellaire.

In July 2014, the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services advised state Medicaid directors that taxing a subset of health care providers at the same rate as a statewide sales tax is subject to the definition of a health care related tax and is not permissible. CMS gave Ohio until the end of June of this year to remove the tax, which generated more than $209 million in fiscal year 2016.

Kasichs plan offers a transition aid program to wean local governments off of reliance on the revenue, but local county commissioners say there is no weening without a replacement source of income.

With flat revenue streams from property and income taxes, Southeastern Ohio counties rely on sales tax to fuel their general funds.

Folks are more dependent now on this sales tax than they have ever been, explained Brad Cole, managing director of research for the County Commissioners Association of Ohio. This will first start to impact local governments in the final quarter of this year.

Washington Countys current general fund draws 6.14 percent, or $827,368, of its revenue from the tax. In Noble County 8.42 percent, or $168,168, of the county general fund comes from the tax. The $279,055 take for Morgan County is 16 percent of its general fund budget and in Monroe County 7.05 percent, or $228,684, of the general fund comes from the tax.

There are a lot of mandates from the state already that go unfunded, said Washington County Commissioner Rick Walters. So if theyre going to reduce revenues, they need to reduce the mandates we are forced to fund on our own.

Ohio Rep. Andy Thompson, R-Marietta, said the current budget proposal by Kasich will be reviewed well before July in budget committee meetings and that the concerns of commissioners present, along with those across the state, will be of great benefit.

Well have to look at this and make corrections, said Thompson. I suspect well be huddling on this project but I hope there will in the end be more authority passed back down from Washington and Columbus to local governments so that you have more freedom and latitude to spend your tax dollars where you need them.

The meeting at Buckeye Hills-Hocking Valley Regional Development District also addressed the continuing opiate epidemic and its cost on local government funds, specifically in the cost of care for the children of addicts.

Let us take care of our own kids here in Southeast Ohio instead of having to send them to Pittsburgh because we have no facilities to house them, said Washington County Commissioner Ron Feathers. Right now state mandates reach too far into our pockets and we end up spending $350 per day to send kids outside the county that need therapeutic care.

Noble County Commissioner Ty Moore agreed with Feathers and suggested that local counties band together to fund local treatment options for both adults and youth in an effort to defray costs of out of region care.

At a glance

In July 2014, federal officials advised Ohio Medicaid that taxing a subset of health care providers at the same rate as a statewide sales tax is subject to the definition of a health care related tax and is not permissible.

Ohio has until the end of June of this year to remove the tax.

6.14 percent, or $827,368, of Washington Countys general fund is drawn from the tax.

8.42 percent, or $168,168, of Noble Countys general fund is drawn from the tax.

16 percent, or $279,055, of Morgan Countys general fund is drawn from the tax.

7.05 percent, or $228,684, of Monroe Countys general fund is drawn from the tax.

Source: County Commissioners of Ohio Association.

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Local officials get primer on cuts in Medicaid - Marietta Times

The Van Zandt VA Medical Center recently began operating under its fifth leadership appointment in less than a year and it remains without a permanent director.

Late last February, then-permanent Director William Mills departed for a detail assignment as interim director of the larger Memphis VA Medical Center.

A that time, longtime Van Zandt executive Charles Becker succeeded Mills as acting director here.

In late March, Joseph Sharon came from the VA Medical Center in Wilkes Barre to become acting director at Van Zandt.

In April, Mills told his regional director in Pittsburgh he would not be returning to Van Zandt.

In late July, Judy Hayman became acting director here.

In late November, Becker took over again.

Late last month, Charles Thilges, currently chief financial officer for the region, became interim director at Van Zandt.

And on Feb. 3, Mills officially retired after 43 years with the VA, according to Van Zandt spokeswoman Andrea Young.

An ongoing search for a permanent director continues, Young said.

The VA appoints interim and acting directors to provide temporary oversight and stability for hospitals that dont have permanent directors, Young said.

Jay DeNofrio, a Van Zandt management employee with whistleblower cases against the facility and specifically against Mills finds the leadership shuffle objectionable.

The revolving door of acting directors at the Altoona VA ultimately hurts veterans, DeNofrio said. Without solid and stable leadership, any organization loses direction, and important things start falling through the cracks.

DeNofrio suggested that the leadership flux may have helped lead to Van Zandts decline from the highest performance level five stars in the VAs Strategic Analytics for Improvement and Learning program, beginning with the first quarter of fiscal 2016, when it went to four stars.

It went to three after that, and has remained there.

It didnt help that Mills personnel costs remained part of the Van Zandt budget through 2016 and into 2017, DeNofrio said.

A Feb. 9 response from the VA to DeNofrios Freedom of Information Act request for Mills status actually lists him as still employed as Van Zandt director.

The minimum salary cost for high-level managers like Mills is $124,000, according to a table provided by DeNofrio.

The attachment of those costs to Van Zandt are especially unfortunate if they mean shorting vital positions like doctors or nurses, DeNofrio said.

Mirror Staff Writer William Kibler is at 949-7038.

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Van Zandt leadership changes - Altoona Mirror

Although the question of bringing about financial reforms has been hanging fire in previous regimes also yet no reforms worth the name were brought in so far. When we get used to a system, we are loath to change it even if the change is positive and more beneficial at the end of the day. Financial system in our State administration is essentially based on the system that prevailed even before freedom dawned in our country. A few reforms have been brought in no doubt, but the fast changing times in which we live, and the obvious constraints imposed by democratic form of Government, call for radical change in the financial system if the State has to keep pace with other States in the country in march towards all round development.The administration has to move fast to keep pace with the rising aspirations of the people and requirements of a democratic governance. The Government has taken a bold step and announced a slew of reforms to strengthen and streamline fiscal discipline. The conventional practice of dragging the budget to the last quarter and then to the last month of the financial year has been a source of big corruption and delay in delivery. According to new policy of the Government, not more than 30 per cent of the total budget has to be spent during the last quarter of the financial year. So far the practice has been of dragging procurement and tendering process to the last month meaning March of the financial year and then hurrying up and rushing through the tenders, allocations, payments and clearance of balances. The net result was that there used to be great rush and mismanagement all giving rise to corruption. This practice has been discarded now. Fiscal discipline will be prioritized with the announcement of release of 50 per cent revenue and capital expenditure budget provision for upcoming financial year of 2017-18, at least four to five months ahead of schedule and May 15 is fixed as deadline for procurement and tendering process for all kinds of work to give ample time to their execution in view of limited working season in some of the areas. Actually, most of the inhabited areas of the State being winter zone, normal life is disrupted by the harsh elements imposing serious restrictions on work culture. This imposes so many restrictions on administrative and financial aspects of the State. There are clear cut instructions from the Finance Department to the Heads of Departments and other executing agencies to immediately set in motion the procurement and tendering process for the works to complete them latest by May 15, 2017, which means that all budgeted works must be allotted and supply orders issued or procurements made by the specified timeline. The fixing of time line under new directions to the Departmental Heads is a significant change in the stereotype practices observed so far. This is naturally bound to bring fiscal discipline on a new pattern. Essentially, this drastic measure has been taken by the Government keeping a number of situations in mind. Firstly, now a new dimension is given to Center-State relations in which the Centre categorically asserts that in case of non completion of schemes in time and non submission of utilization certificate the Centre will stop further installments on the project. This condition is not only on paper but has been taken recourse to. Secondly, the routine excuse for non completion of projects is that funds are not released in time. According to new pattern this issue remains tackled and there will be no more complaint because funds will be released much ahead of time and in advance in certain cases. Fiscal discipline will put an end to malpractices which afflicted the Finance and other departments invariably.

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Promoting fiscal discipline - Daily Excelsior

InterAksyon.com The online news portal of TV5

Atty. Mel Sta. Maria is the Dean of the Far Eastern University Institute of Law and Professor at the Ateneo de Manila School of Law.

On February 2, 1987, the Filipino people ratified the 1987 Freedom Constitution. Its significance can be appreciated by studying the Constitution which preceded it the 1973 Martial law Constitution of former dictator Ferdinand E. Marcos.

Ferdinand E. Marcos, a cum laude law graduate from the University of the Philippines and number one topnotcher of the bar examinations, was brilliant and ruthless as a dictator. When his official term as President was ending, he declared martial law, unceremoniously closed Congress, jailed many of its prominent members especially those in the opposition, locked up journalists and media-people critical to him, suppressed the freedom of the press, speech and association, and arrogated all powers of government unto himself.

To further perpetuate his power, Marcos knew where to start the Constitution. And so, to replace the 1935 Constitution and using his martial law might and influence, the dictator had a new Constitution spuriously ratified by the raising of hands of the so-called "citizens' assemblies". That Martial Law 1973 Constitution had all the hallmarks of despotism.

It contained "Amendment Numbers 5 and 6" which made the Batasang Pambansa a rubber stamp a useless legislative branch of government ignored and/or disregarded at a whim by President Marcos. Amendment No. 5 authorized the President to "continue to exercise legislative powers until Martial Law shall have been lifted." And had Martial Law been truly lifted, the President still would have had legislative powers via Amendment Number 6 which provided that "whenever in the judgment of the President, there exists a grave emergency or a threat or imminence thereof, or whenever the interim Batasang Pambansa or the regular National Assembly fails or is unable to act adequately on any matter for any reason that in his judgment requires immediate action, he may, in order to meet the exigency, issue the necessary decrees, orders, or letters of instructions, which shall form part of the law of the land."

If the dictator Marcos did not like a law or a bill being discussed at the Batasang Pambansa, he simply issued a Presidential Decree on the same subject using his own judgment and even relying merely on his gut-feel. There were no standards for the President's exercise of legislative power except his own self-serving determination of what they were. So, if in his personal judgment "for any reason" the legislature was "unable to act adequately" in one, two, three or more months or even in just one, two or three days, he can just legislate on his own and by-pass the legislature. This also rendered nugatory the legislative oversight and fiscal powers.

During his dictatorship, President Marcos literally issued more Presidential decrees, Executive Orders and Letters of Instructions than laws passed by the Batasang Pambansa. The President churned up laws and repealed them as frequent as he desired. And many of them were made without publication and proper dissemination of information. People were incarcerated via Presidential Decrees that would suddenly exist depending on the Presidents caprice.

To firm up his hold over the impotent Batasang Pambansa, the Presidential veto of any legislation was absolute and final under the Marcos Constitution. This is unlike the 1987 Freedom Constitution where a presidential-veto can be overridden by Congress as a check on possible abuses of such presidential prerogative.

Also, unlike the 1987 Freedom Constitution where judges and justices are appointed only after determination and written recommendation to the President by an independent body, the Judicial and Bar Council (JBC), the 1973 Marcos Constitution gave the President the sole and exclusive prerogative to select, determine and finally appoint judges and justices. Consequently, many of those who aspired to be appointed to or promoted in the judiciary kowtowed to the dictator. Judges and Justices were beholden to the President who did not hesitate to wield his undue influence over them. Judicial independence was an illusion.

All these went against the grain of democracy. The reason behind the effectivity of three separate great branches of government (namely: the executive, the legislative and the judiciary) is precisely to disperse governmental powers. The configuration is designed so that each branch can check any abuse committed, being committed or may potentially be committed by the other branches. Concentrating power or almost all the powers of government only in one branch (directly or vicariously) leads to a monarchial kind of authority that is absolute and unconditional.

And to further assure President Marcos' "fear factor" over the citizenry, the 1973 Marcos Constitution did not limit the power to issue a warrant of arrest to the courts unlike in the 1987 Freedom Constitution. The power was also granted to any "responsible officer authorized by law." The President, exercising his legislative powers, can authorize the Secretary of Defense or even a mere bureau chief to issue a warrant. In fact, this power was much abused such that the proliferation of Arrest Search and Seizure Orders (ASSO) happened. People were just arrested even without probable cause determined by the courts.

Also, the 1973 Constitution allowed the suspension of the writ of habeas corpus where people can be detained without charge or trial and the imposition of Martial Law for a limitless period as determined by the President without any check from the legislature. Worse, the basis of the imposition can be highly subjective as when the President believed that invasion or rebellion was "imminent". How imminent was imminent? The 1973 Constitution did not define it. It all depended on the President.

Under the 1987 Freedom Constitution, suspension of the writ of habeas corpus and declaration of Martial Law can only be made when there is actual invasion or rebellion when public safety requires an objective basis. The President's belief of the imminence of such situations happening which is very subjective and prone to abuse is not a ground. And even in case Martial Law is imposed, Congress can rescind it. Should Congress and the President agree to its imposition, the Supreme Court can void their decisions upon a meritorious petition from a taxpayer. And under the 1987 Constitution, the suspension of the writ of habeas corpus can be questioned in court which can grant bail for the provisional release of the detained.

Then, under Section 17 Article 15 of the 1973 Marcos Constitution, the dictator Marcos made himself immune from suit for all acts he did for as long as they were "official". And Marcos cannot be sued even after his term. Considering that he can enact laws by himself, Marcos can make a crime "official". For example, any technical malversation of government funds can be legitimized as "official" by a Presidential Decree which "forms part of the law of the land" issued by no other than the person guilty of malversation, the President himself. Also, billions of money diverted from the national treasury to private foundations can be validated as "official" and therefore cannot be subject of a suit, whether administrative, civil or criminal. This gave the dictator Marcos the power to make himself legally God-like incapable of doing anything wrong, much more criminal a clear badge of despotism. Simply put, there was total impunity.

For the dictator, there was only rule of law for the citizens but not for him, He was above the law as he was the law who can make, change and repeal the law anytime he wished. The consequence was the unprecedented grave and horrible abuse of power and authority, resulting to accumulation of ill-gotten wealth amounting to billions of dollars and "summary execution, torture, enforced or involuntary disappearance and other gross human rights violations committed during the regime of former President Ferdinand E. Marcos covering the period from September 21, 1972 to February 25, 1986" as recognized by Republic Act Number 10368, otherwise known as the "Human Rights Victims Reparation and Recognition Act of 2013".

According to Fr. Joaquin Bernas S.J., President Corazon Aquino, after the February 1986 revolution, could have decided just to use the 1973 Marcos Constitution during her term as President. But she did not. She knew its autocratic nature. So she decided that a new constitution should be presented to the people and ratified.

President Cory Aquino selected brilliant minds such as, among others, constitutionalist Fr. Joaquin Bernas SJ, former Supreme Court Justices Roberto Concepcion and Hilarion Davide, former Justices Cecilia Munoz Palma and Florenz Regalado, former Senator Ambrosio Padilla, former Secretary of Labor Blas Ople, and labor leader Jaime Tadeo, to draft a new constitution . The outcome was the 1987 Freedom Constitution a legal and political document affirming the people's revulsion to any form of autocratic rule. It likewise ensured the freedom of the press, speech and association, among others, and put importance to accountability and human rights.

Now, President Duterte intends to amend the 1987 Freedom Constitution and for this he has opted for a constitutional assembly, made up of politicians in Congress, to do it. If this pushes through, let us hope that they know what they will be doing. Likewise, Duterte's strong-arm character, his fondness of Martial Law, his friendship with Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos, Jr. and most of all, his admiration of the dictator Ferdinand E. Marcos whom he publicly said was "the brightest among the past Presidents", are also serious concerns.

Let us all be vigilant. The present 1987 Constitution does not need amendments when it comes to our civil liberties, limitation of governmental powers, public accountability, and the advocacy of human rights. It is not the present Freedom Constitution which is the problem. It is the people, particularly government officials, who pervert, ignore, or disregard the Constitution who are the problem.

We must remember that the 1987 Freedom Constitution was not just a document simply to forget a by-gone-Marcos-era. It is about lessons from the dark side of that history, learning from them and not standing idly-by to let others, especially those in government today, repeat them.

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MEL STA. MARIA | The 1987 Freedom Constitution should not be changed - InterAksyon