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Braun, Young, Brady Introduce Bill To Cap, Cut, And Balance The Budget

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This week Senator Mike Braun, Senator Todd Young, and Congressman Kevin Brady (R-TX) introduced the Maximizing America’s Prosperity (MAP) Act:

“As a Main Street businessman, I believe we need to reduce runaway federal spending and address our national debt and the MAP Act provides Congress with the tools to accomplish this goal,” said Senator Braun. “This commonsense bill will cap federal spending, then cut any spending over the caps, which will ultimately lead to a balanced budget.”

Senator Todd Young (R-IN) said, “As a father of four young children, one of my greatest concerns is our nation’s skyrocketing debt being passed down to the next generation. We must get our fiscal house in order and rein in the true drivers of our debt. The MAP Act is a commonsense solution to help get us on the right track.”

“Washington doesn’t have a revenue problem, it has a spending problem; and the best way for Congress to approach this issue is by committing to smarter federal spending caps,” said Congressman Brady. “I introduced the MAP Act to put America’s budget back on a path to sustainable financial solvency. It is my hope that Congress can come together to pass this act swiftly and finally rein in federal spending.”

Both H.R. 3930 – the House legislation – and S. 2245 – the Senate legislation – have multiple cosponsors.

Click here to watch Congressman Brady’s press conference.

Click here to learn more about the MAP Act and why it’s a better way to cap federal spending.

Click here to read the full coalition letter of support.

What Comes After Mueller? Investigations, Lawsuits And More

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What Comes After Mueller? Investigations, Lawsuits And More

INDIANALAWER 

JULY 25, 2019

After months of anticipation, Congress finally heard testimony from former special counsel Robert Mueller. So what now?
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Mueller’s appearance was “a crossing of a threshold,” raising public awareness of what Mueller found. And Democrats after the hearing said they had clearly laid out the facts about the Mueller report, which did not find a conspiracy between the Trump campaign and Russia but detailed extensive Russian intervention in the 2016 election. Mueller also said in the report that he couldn’t clear President Donald Trump on obstruction of justice.
But it remains to be seen how the testimony will affect public views of Trump’s presidency and the push for impeachment. Mueller said some of the things that Democrats wanted him to say — including a clear dismissal of Trump’s claims of total exoneration — but he declined to answer many of their questions, and he spoke haltingly at times. Trump claimed victory, saying Mueller did “a horrible job.”

Democrats say they will continue to hold Trump to account. Here is a look at what to expect in the coming months:

Investigations continue: Democrats have struggled to obtain testimony from some of the most crucial figures in Mueller’s report, including former White House counsel Donald McGahn. And the few people they have interviewed, such as former White House aide Hope Hicks, have failed to give them new information beyond what’s in Mueller’s report.

But Democrats have multiple investigations of the president ongoing that doesn’t require cooperation from the White House or Justice Department. The House intelligence and financial services committees are probing Trump’s finances, an area that Mueller appears to have avoided. And the intelligence panel is investigating Trump’s negotiations to build a Trump Tower in Moscow during the campaign.

Going to court: To obtain testimony from McGahn and others, House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler said Wednesday that his panel will file lawsuits this week.

Democrats will seek to obtain secret grand jury material from Mueller’s report that has so far been withheld from Congress by the Justice Department. They will also try to force McGahn to provide documents and testimony.

As part of the suits, the House is expected to challenge the White House’s claim of “absolute immunity,” which has been used to block McGahn and others who worked in the White House from testifying.

While going to court can be a lengthy process, Democrats believe it will be their best chance of obtaining information after Trump declared he would fight “all of the subpoenas.”

Calls for impeachment inquiry: Almost 90 House Democrats have called for an impeachment inquiry, and more are certain to do so after Mueller’s testimony. Those who support opening proceedings say it would bolster Democrats’ court cases and show the American people they are moving decisively to challenge what they see as Trump’s egregious behavior.

But Pelosi isn’t there yet, and a majority of the caucus is siding with her for now.

Pelosi said Wednesday she wants “the strongest possible hand” by waiting to see what happens in court.

August recess: The House is expected to leave town for a five-week August recess on Friday, so some of the Democrats’ efforts will be on hold until September.

During that time, they’ll be at home listening to their constituents and judging how urgently voters want them to act. Those conversations and town halls could inform the next steps in the fall.

Still, not everyone will be taking a break. Rhode Island Rep. David Cicilline said Wednesday that members might fly back in August if witnesses are available for testimony. He said the judiciary panel understands “the urgency of the moment and are prepared to do whatever is necessary to secure the attendance of witnesses and documents.”

Election security: Democrats in both the House and the Senate want to move forward with legislation to make elections more secure after Mueller extensively detailed Russian interference.

House Democrats have passed legislation to secure state election systems and try to prevent foreign meddling, but bipartisan legislation in the Senate has stalled. Democrats tried to bring up an election security bill in the Senate on Wednesday, but Republicans objected.

Justice Department reviews: The Justice Department isn’t done with its own investigations into what happened before the 2016 election.

There are two ongoing reviews into the origins of the Russia probe that Mueller eventually took over — one being conducted by the Justice Department’s inspector general and another by U.S. Attorney John Durham, who was appointed by Attorney General William Barr to examine surveillance methods used by the Justice Department.

Republicans have said the department, then led by Obama administration officials, was biased against Trump. They are eagerly anticipating the results of those probes.

Republicans say it’s over: Republicans say that nothing should be next, at least when it comes to investigations of the president. They have strongly defended Trump, who has called Mueller’s probe a hoax and have said the country wants to move on.

“Today was a day we closed the book on this investigation,” said House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy after Mueller’s hearing.

Georgia Rep. Doug Collins, the top Republican on the judiciary panel, said at the hearing that “we’ve had the truth for months — no American conspired to throw our elections.”

Said Collins: “What we need today is to let that truly bring us confidence and closure.”

EPA Administrator Wheeler and White House CEQ Chairman Neumayr Honor Over 200 Teachers And Students

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U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Andrew Wheeler and White House Council of Environmental Quality (CEQ) Chairman Mary Neumayr announced the 2019 awardees of the Presidential Innovation Award for Environmental Educators (PIAEE) and the President’s Environmental Youth Award (PEYA) during an awards ceremony at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center in Washington, D.C.

“The Presidential Environmental Education Awards Ceremony is a day I look forward to each year because it is a time when we honor some of the best and brightest in environmental education and stewardship,” said EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler. “This year, CEQ Chairman Mary Neumayr joined me in celebrating our 200 student and teacher winners who represent excellence in environmental protection. Congratulations and thank you to all our winners for their dedication to protecting human health and the environment.”

“It was a pleasure to join Administrator Wheeler today as we recognized the achievements of students and teachers from across the country who are promoting environmental stewardship and furthering environmental education in their communities and schools,” said CEQ Chairman Neumayr. “These students are our nation’s next generation of leaders and are doing outstanding work.”

From across the country, 19 educators and 200 students were recognized for their remarkable efforts that promote environmental education and stewardship. Eleven educators received the Presidential Innovation Award for Environmental Educators, and eight educators were recognized with an honorable mention distinction. Additionally, the 200 student award recipients – who worked as a team or individually on 17 projects – received the President’s Environmental Youth Award.  Altogether, EPA received 162 project applications from 26 states.

Teacher and student awardees presented their projects at a poster session for attendees and EPA leadership, and EPA program offices hosted the “EPA Student Information Fair,” during which students and teachers interacted with staff to learn more about the agency’s work.

Established by the 1990 National Environmental Education Act, the PEYA program promotes local environmental awareness among our nation’s youth and encourages positive community involvement. EPA Headquarters works with staff located in EPA’s 10 regional offices in the selection of award recipients across the country.

Also established by the 1990 National Environmental Education Act, PIAEE supports, encourages and nationally honors outstanding kindergarten through high school educators who integrate environmental and place-based, experiential learning into school curricula and school facility management across the country. Under the act, the White House CEQ assists EPA in administering the awards program.

The PIAEE program seeks to recognize, support and bring public attention to the outstanding environmental projects performed by these innovative teachers who go beyond textbook instruction to incorporate methods and materials that utilize creative experiences and enrich student learning. The program recognizes up to 20 elementary and secondary (K-12) education teachers, school administrators, and their local education agencies and provides funding to help support those educators in their environmental education work.

PIAEE Winners:

Region 2

Aaron Baker
High Point Regional High School
Sussex, New Jersey

AnnMarie Mills
Islip Middle School
Islip, New York

Region 3

Brittany L. Bauer
Wyoming County East High School
New Richmond, West Virginia

Jared Fritzinger
Old Donation School
Virginia Beach, Virginia

Region 4

Nancy Platt
James B. Edwards Elementary School
Mount Pleasant, South Carolina

Carrie Settles Livers
Brookwood High School
Snellville, Georgia

Region 5

Jennifer A. Heyer
Cedar Ridge Elementary School
Eden Prairie, Minnesota

Region 6

Ryan D. Beeler
Spring Woods High School
Houston, Texas

Region 8

Amy R. Williams
Polson Middle School
Polson, Montana

Region 9

Jacqueline Omania
Oxford Elementary School
Berkeley, California

Region 10

Anne K. McHugh
Franklin High School
Portland, Oregon

The following teachers were recognized as PIAEE honorable mention recipients:

Region 3

Matthew Sturdivant
Odyssey Charter School
Wilmington, Delaware

Region 4

Missy Eason
Pine Grove Elementary School
Valdosta, Georgia

Elaine Fiore
Beachside Montessori Village
Hollywood, Florida

Region 6

Isabel Anaya
Charles L. Kuentz, Jr. Elementary School
Helotes, Texas

Allison Adkinson
Tarver-Rendon Elementary School
Burleson, Texas

Region 8

Caitlin Webb
Dixon School
Dixon, Montana

Region 9

Rachna Nath
Arizona College Preparatory – Erie Campus
Chandler, Arizona

Kelly Porter
Edison High School
Huntington Beach, California

PEYA Winners:

Region 1

Award Category: Grade 6-12  
Generation Growers
Team Members: Ava, Ella, Lila, Claire, Amelia, Madeleine, Beckett, Teaghan, Colby, Isabelle, Teddy, Lydia, Michael, Keigan, Annie, Carina, Emma, Sinead, Evan, Spencer, Lucy, Addison, Joey, Melanie, Gabby, Stella, Brooke, Ellie, Natalie, Olivia, and Nell
Massachusetts

Region 2

Award Category: Grade 6-12
Light and Hope for Puerto Rico
by Salvador
Puerto Rico

Region 3

Award Category: Grade 6-12  
Friends of the Earth
Team Members: Sebastian, Hannaha, Destany, Zoe, Myranda, Emily, Hailey, Taylor, David, Nathan, Hailey, Brenda, Amy, Angela, and Bryce
West Virginia

Region 4

Award Category: Grade K-5 
Bobcat Up! Reduce, Reuse, Recycle
Team Members: Ben, Kayla, Eva, Gabriela, and Sabrina
Florida

Award Category: Grade 6-12 
The Fishes Wishes
by Ryan
Florida

Region 5

Award Category: Grade K-5
Recycling Trailblazer by Lane
Ohio

Award Category: Grade 6-12

Aquatic Robotics/Invasive Species Education
Team Members: Robert, Zakari, Brooklyn, James, Jack, Arnold, Ernest, Kevin, Carly, and Kirby
Minnesota

Region 6

Award Category: Grade K-5

Harveyville Recycling Team
Team Members: Ahmad, Reyna, Marley, Jayleen, Jamie, Sophia, Evelyn, Aiden, Mario, Zevin, Kaitlyn, and Estrella
Texas

Award Category: Grade 6-12

Northern Bobwhite Quail Reintroduction Project by Trevor
Texas

Region 7

Award Category: Grade K-5

Getting Markers Out of Landfills by Joslyn
Nebraska

Award Category: Grade 6-12

Pollinator Paradise

Team Members: Drake, Evan, Zachary, Peyton, Abigail, Riley, Katherine, Wyatt, Carlei, Elaine, Lucas, Makayla, Calvin, Zoe, Grant, Lindy, Alexander, Elijah, Zachariah, Carson, Evan, Madison, Cohen, Katie, Alexandria, Haley, Josephine, Joseph, Cale, Rose, William, Chase, Eliana, Peyton, Ashton, Alexander, James, Gwendolyn, Gavin, Caiden, Colby, Jack, Elsa, Jane, James, Hope, Liam, Landry, Sawyer, Sierra, Katelyn, Jackson, Karter, William, Bryson, Alex, Will, Henry, Audri, Abigail, Isaac, Dakota, Jillian, Vincent, Lilian, Landon, Kyah, Joshua, Hallie, Henry, Noah, Cohen, Emma, Gage, Cason, Liliana, Caiden, Kalie, Gracie, Annabelle, Mason, and Connor
Missouri

Region 8

Award Category: Grade K-5

Green Team Superheroes
Team Members: Aiden, Brady, Henry, Jackson, Alyssa, Madison, Annikah, Reagan, Samuel, Campbell, Julianne, Dillon, Genevieve
Colorado

Award Category: Grade 6-12

Development of a Novel Tool for Monitoring Soil Health and Contamination by Kylan
Colorado

Region 9

Award Category: Grade K-5

Whalemanji: Welcome to the Ocean – an integrated project to help support the Humpback Whale
Team Members: Electra, Luke, Rocco, Robert, Tej, Kinsey, Samantha, Kadence, Emilia, Luc, Isabelle, Izaak, Madison, Cisco, Cavan, Elyse, and Nash
California

Award Category: Grade 6-12

The Healthy Freedom Campaign
Team Members: Lila, Zion, Felix, Kohana, and Nikita
California

Region 10

Award Category: Grade K-5

Worm Soup and Growing Green
Team Members: Kamryn, Samantha, Aaron, and Emelyn
Washington

Award Category: Grade 6-12

Restoration and Preservation of Deer Creek in the Aftermath of the Beaver Creek Fire by Hunter
Idaho

 

Appeals Court To Decide Whether Lawrenceburg Should Share Gambling Money With Franklin County

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Appeals Court To Decide Whether Lawrenceburg Should Share Gambling Money With Franklin County

July 25, 2019  

By Abrahm Hurt
TheStatehouseFile.com

INDIANAPOLIS– An Indiana appellate court heard oral arguments Monday over whether Lawrenceburg should have to pay more than $3 million in riverboat gambling revenue to Franklin County.

Lawrenceburg is appealing a ruling by a Decatur County judge who determined Franklin County is owed the money because of a 2006 revenue-sharing agreement between the city and county.

Lawrenceburg had paid $500,000 annually to Franklin County as part of a revenue-sharing agreement but stopped the payments in 2014 citing 30% decline in riverboat revenues since 2006. The judge ruled that Franklin County was owed $2.5 million for five years’ worth of missed payments, plus interest.

Franklin County argued that even with the decline, Lawrenceburg’s revenue was still about $20 million annually.

“Interestingly, the city of Lawrenceburg cites financial insecurity and instability but if you look at the designated evidence they put in front of the trial court, it’s actually a case of income was relatively flat,” said attorney Paul Jefferson, who represented Franklin County at Monday’s hearing before three appellate judges.

Lawrenceburg says the agreement is void because there were no appropriations after 2006 for the amounts that were allegedly owed, even though the money continued to be paid as a grant.

“This agreement could never have been appropriated for,” said Alice Morical, who is representing Lawrenceburg. “If the parties wanted to enter into an enforceable contract that would not be void under the statute, they could have agreed to pay $500,000 a year for 10 years.”

Instead, she said, the duration of the contract was ambiguous.

Morical said when the agreement was signed, payments were discussed as a contribution and would continue if Lawrenceburg continued to be financially stable with a steady flow of revenue. She argued that for the agreement to be a contract, Franklin County would have had to give Lawrenceburg something in return. The county, she said, offered nothing of value.

The judges focused their questions largely on Lawrenceburg, trying to determine why the agreement shouldn’t be considered binding.

FOOTNOTE: Abraham  Hurt is a reporter for TheStatehouseFile.com, a news website powered by Franklin College journalists.

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Pieroni Places Fourth in 100m Freestyle at FINA World Championships

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Indiana University postgraduate swimmer Blake Pieroni had a great showing in the final of the men’s 100m freestyle on Thursday morning at the 2019 FINA World Championships.

Pieroni finished fourth overall in the final, touching the wall with a time of 47.88. Earlier in the week, Pieroni won gold with Team USA in the men’s 4×100 freestyle relay.

In the women’s 200m breaststroke prelims, IU postgrad Lilly King won her heat, but was informed after the meet that she was disqualified for a non-simultaneous touch on her first turn. After a lengthy protest and appeals process, King’s DQ was upheld by FINA.

King is scheduled to compete in the women’s 50m breaststroke and is likely to be selected by Team USA to swim on the women’s 4x100m medley relay.

Swimming prelims in Gwangju begin each night at 9:00 p.m. ET, with finals the next morning starting at 7:00 a.m. ET. Swimming at the FINA World Championships runs through Monday, July 28.

HOOSIER PATRIOT

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2019_07_22 Newswire_jmb

LEFT JAB AND RIGHT JAB” JULY 26, 2019

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“LEFT JAB AND RIGHT JAB”

“Right Jab And Left Jab” was created because we have two commenters that post on a daily basis either in our “IS IT TRUE” or “Readers Forum” columns concerning National or International issues.
Joe Biden and Ronald Reagan’s comments are mostly about issues of national interest.  The majority of our “IS IT TRUE” columns are about local or state issues, so we have decided to give Mr. Biden and Mr. Reagan exclusive access to our newly created “LEFT JAB and RIGHT JAB”  column. They now have this post to exclusively discuss national or world issues that they feel passionate about.
We shall be posting the “LEFT JAB” AND “RIGHT JAB” several times a week.  Oh, “LEFT JAB” is a liberal view and the “RIGHT JAB is representative of the more conservative views. Also, any reader who would like to react to the written comments of the two gentlemen is free to do so.

FOOTNOTE: Any comments posted in this column do not represent the views or opinions of the City-County Observer or our advertisers.

AG Curtis Hill Continues Crime Prevention Listening Tour Across The Hoosier State

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Attorney General Curtis Hill this week hosted crime prevention forums in Jeffersonville and Evansville as part of a listening tour visiting 14 cities across the Hoosier state. The purpose of the tour is to facilitate conversations aimed at developing solutions to residents’ crime-related concerns. The tour kicked off last month in Fort Wayne and will continue next month in Gary and Lafayette.

“When we come together to listen, learn and understand the problems facing our communities, we can better address the issues facing our state,” Attorney General Hill said. “Each stop on this crime prevention listening tour has been unique to each city. I am looking forward to traveling across the state hearing from community members and looking into how we can help prevent crime. With collaboration and teamwork, we can make stronger communities. My office will continue working to protect the rights, freedoms and safety of Hoosiers statewide.”

The Office of the Attorney General will collect feedback at each forum and present findings at the office’s 10th Annual Drug Abuse Symposium on Oct. 29-30.

COA affirms wrongful death rulings against cystic fibrosis patient

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IL for www.theindianalwyer.com

Judgments in favor of a hospital, insurance company and ambulance provider were affirmed Thursday in a wrongful death suit brought by a cystic fibrosis patient’s late husband. The woman died from pneumonia after a prolonged ambulance ride toward a lung transplant that ended up at the wrong hospital.

Kimberly Snyder, who was a critically ill cystic fibrosis patient at St. Joseph Regional Medical Center, was scheduled for a lung transplant in Pennsylvania in 2013. Snyder’s insurance provider, Humana Insurance Company, denied her airfare coverage to a Pittsburgh hospital for the transplant, and SJRMC arranged for Kimberly to be transported by a Prompt Medical Transportation ambulance. She was then sedated, intubated and ventilated for the journey.

However, the Prompt team arrived at the wrong location and encountered several roadblocks in finding the correct hospital. During the prolonged trip, Kimberly’s sedation medicine ran out and her condition significantly worsened. Although at the wrong hospital, she was admitted to the intensive care unit, where doctors discovered a clot clogging her breathing tube.

Although she was returned to stable condition, Kimberly contracted pneumonia and died one week later. Kimberly’s husband, Steve Snyder, on behalf of her estate, sued Prompt, SJRMC and Humana for wrongful death.

A medical review panel concluded neither Prompt nor SJRMC had breached the standard of care. The case was reinstated three years later, but Humana’s motion to dismiss was granted. In September 2017, trial against the remaining defendants was continued to April 2019 and the expert disclosure date for the estate was set for April 12, 2018.

The estate only filed one expert witness before that date but included more witnesses’ months later that were not previously disclosed to the parties. A motion to strike the additional affidavits was granted, and the trial court ultimately awarded summary judgment to SJRMC and Prompt.

In an appeal of the trial court’s ruling, the estate argued the trial court erred in striking its additional affidavits and in its dismissal of Humana. First, the estate argued that even if its expert disclosures were untimely, the sanction of striking the affidavits was too harsh because it resulted in summary judgment being entered against it.

The Indiana Court of Appeals disagreed in Steve Snyder, as Personal Representative of the Estate of Kimberly Snyder, Deceased v. Prompt Medical Transportation, Inc.; Humana Insurance Company; and St. Joseph Regional Medical Center, 18A-CT-03112, finding that the additional experts were disclosed five months after the set deadline had passed, with no relief sought by the estate from the deadline.

It further found that the estate’s sole witness stated he could not say whether there was a “clear-cut causal relationship” between Kimberly’s instability upon arriving at the ICU or her subsequent pneumonia.

“In other words, at his deposition, Dr. Pilewski opined implicitly that SJRMC’s decision to transfer Kimberly to Pittsburgh by ambulance and explicitly that Prompt’s conduct during that ambulance ride did not, in fact, cause Kimberly’s death,” Judge John G. Baker wrote. “And while he might believe that the outcome would have been different had the disastrous ambulance ride not occurred, he conceded that any such belief is based on pure speculation.”

The panel thus concluded that the trial court properly focused on the expert’s deposition testimony rather than his affidavit with respect to causation and did not err in granting the defendants summary judgment.

Additionally, the appellate panel noted that the estate’s argument with Humana’s determination that ground transportation was not contraindicated was not negligent under Indiana law.

“Indeed, if allowed to stand, the Estate’s complaint could theoretically allow Humana to be found negligent even if it fully complied with all federal laws and regulations. Under these circumstances, we can only conclude that the Estate’s claims, which sound in state law that must be applied with respect to Medicare Part C, are pre-empted pursuant to Part C’s express preemption provision,” Baker wrote. “Therefore, the trial court did not err by granting Humana’s motion to dismiss.”

Gov. Holcomb Public Schedule for July 26

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INDIANAPOLIS – Below find Gov. Eric J. Holcomb’s public schedule for July 26, 2019.

Friday, July 26: BWI Grand Opening

WHO:              Gov. Holcomb

Greenfield Mayor Chuck Fewell

BWI executives

WHAT:            The governor will give remarks.

 

WHEN:            10 a.m., Friday, July 26

 

WHERE:          BWI Group
989 Opportunity Parkway

Greenfield, IN 46140

Friday, July 26: National Urban League Annual Conference – Legacy Leadership Luncheon

WHO:              Gov. Holcomb

WHAT:            The governor will give remarks.

 

WHEN:            Noon, Friday, July 26

 

WHERE:          Indiana Convention Center
Sagamore Ballroom
100 S. Capitol Ave.

Indianapolis, IN 46225

 

 

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