Congress

[wizards8507]

Guys with Ivy League educations, political science expertise, governing experience, ect will be getting beat by rappers, tv personalities and selfie takers on the regular now in the name of "burning down the establishment".

Donald Trump has an Ivy League education and was the CEO of a major real estate development company. On paper, he's pretty qualified. It's his temperament that's the problem.

 

[woolybug25]

Donald Trump has an Ivy League education and was the CEO of a major real estate development company. On paper, he's pretty qualified. It's his temperament that's the problem.

I wasn't specifically calling out Trump, but even he wasn't qualified to run for POTUS. Qualified to start a political career, sure. But who starts their political career as the president?

It's crazy how the right thought it was crazy that Obama would be considered qualified after only being a Senator, but now apparently actual experience as a politician is not required.

 

[Irish#1]

It's ridiculous. First senator with a sex tape?

What does it say about our democracy that there are now no prerequisites for running for office? Guys with Ivy League educations, political science expertise, governing experience, ect will be getting beat by rappers, tv personalities and selfie takers on the regular now in the name of "burning down the establishment". Unfortunately the fire is gonna be too close to the drapes of our democracy and truly burn the worlds greatest democracy to the ground.

Is this how Rome fell?

We already had an actor for a President.

 

[woolybug25]

We already had an actor for a President.

He was also a two term governor.

 

[Legacy]

Big changes for education tax breaks in the House Tax bill - the Tax Cuts and Jobs Bill.

How tax reform could affect families paying for college (CNN Money)

Grad Students Would Be Hit By Massive Tax Hike Under House GOP Plan (NPR)

Letter from the American Council on Education to House Ways and Means Committee Leaders. Re: Higher Education Provisions in H.R. 1, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act

 

[Legacy]

Trump infrastructure plan seeks to shift burden to states (Bozeman Daily Chronicle, AP)

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — When President Donald Trump called for a $1.5 trillion infrastructure investment in his State of the Union address, he didn’t pledge that the federal government actually would provide that much money for roads, bridges, rail and waterways.

To the contrary, Trump’s plan counts on state and local governments working with private investors to come up with much of the cash.

Exactly how that would work remained unclear Wednesday, as state transportation officials noted that Trump’s proposal could put more pressure on them to raise taxes, fees and tolls just to qualify for a share of his infrastructure program. Questions surrounding Trump’s plan are likely to leave costly projects, such as plans for a new Hudson River tunnel connecting New York and New Jersey, in limbo...

Forest Service Wildland Fire Suppression Costs Exceed $2 Billion (USA Today)

Secretary Perdue Renews Call for Congress to Fix “Fire Borrowing” Problem

WASHINGTON, D.C., September 14, 2017 – U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue today announced that wildland fire suppression costs for the fiscal year have exceeded $2 billion, making 2017 the most expensive year on record. Wildfires have ravaged states in the west, Pacific Northwest, and Northern Rockies regions of the United States this summer. As the Forest Service passed the $2 billion milestone, Perdue renewed his call for Congress to fix the way the agency’s fire suppression efforts are funded.

“Forest Service spending on fire suppression in recent years has gone from 15 percent of the budget to 55 percent – or maybe even more – which means we have to keep borrowing from funds that are intended for forest management,” Perdue said. “We end up having to hoard all of the money that is intended for fire prevention, because we’re afraid we’re going to need it to actually fight fires. It means we can’t do the prescribed burning, harvesting, or insect control to prevent leaving a fuel load in the forest for future fires to feed on. That’s wrong, and that’s no way to manage the Forest Service.”

Currently, the fire suppression portion of the Forest Service budget is funded at a rolling ten-year average of appropriations, while the overall Forest Service budget has remained relatively flat. Because the fire seasons are longer and conditions are worse, the ten-year rolling fire suppression budget average keeps rising, chewing up a greater percentage of the total Forest Service budget each year. The agency has had to borrow from prevention programs to cover fire suppression costs. Perdue said he would prefer that Congress treat major fires the same as other disasters and be covered by emergency funds so that prevention programs are not raided.

“We’ve got great people at the Forest Service and great procedures and processes in place,” Perdue said. “We can have all of that – the best people, the best procedures, and the best processes – but if we don’t have a dependable funding source in place, then we’ll never get ahead of the curve on fighting fires.”...

 

[Legacy]

Near-record number of House members not seeking re-election in 2018 (Pew)

As of Feb. 28, 52 representatives (36 Republicans and 16 Democrats) have announced that they’re not running for new terms, according to our count. In addition, one Democrat (John Conyers of Michigan) resigned late last year, and his seat won’t be filled until Election Day in November – making a total of 53 voluntary departures, or 12% of the House’s full voting membership.

That’s the most since 1992, when 65 representatives (41 Democrats and 24 Republicans) chose not to pursue re-election; 51 retired outright, while 14 decided to run for some other office. Based on our analysis and a tally going back to 1930 compiled by Vital Statistics on Congress, 1992 is the record year for voluntary House departures.

List of U.S. Congress incumbents who are not running for re-election in 2018

 

[Cackalacky]

Donald Trump paid for an Ivy League education and was a very unsuccessful CEO of his own real estate development company that bankrupted enterprises so much he could not get loans from legitimate American banks. On paper, he's terribly unqualified and people who voted for him ignored all of this. Inaddition to his horrible temperament, his complete lack of qualifications to run the federal government is the problem.

Fify