Passed the Senate, returns to the House for further consideration

INDIANAPOLIS – State Rep. Alex Burton (D-Evansville) released the following statement ahead of the U.S. House of Representatives’ vote on the ‘Big, Beautiful Bill.’

“While I understand the goal of reducing Medicaid costs, the current Republican approach is misguided. What’s being proposed lacks a long-term strategy, reduces access to care and harms the most vulnerable Americans – including thousands of Hoosiers.

“Instead of cutting support, Congress should be working to reduce the number of persons under 40 on Medicaid by investing in policies that encourage meaningful employment, provide bridge services for families to stabilize and support a workforce that maintains private health coverage through employment.

“Hoosier families deserve policies that serve the majority, not just the privileged few. The health and well-being of our state is at risk when our most vulnerable neighbors lose critical resources, the average family pays more for care and the wealthiest continue to benefit from tax breaks. This bill moves us further away from ‘Making Hoosiers Healthy Again.’

“Even if the intent was to root out bad actors in the system, the reality is real people will suffer. Congress had an opportunity to lead with compassion and foresight. Instead, they chose irrational and self-serving executive demands over people and families. Unfortunately, Hoosiers will feel the consequences.”

• By John Krull, TheStatehouseFile.com

• At least the pretense and make-believe games are over.

  And we can see things as they really are.

  The battle over President Donald Trump’s “big, beautiful bill”—the set of economic and policy priorities that are at the heart of his agenda—has torn away many masks and allowed Americans to see the snarling features beneath those masks.

  When Trump first ran for president in 2016, he vowed to “make America great again” by restoring middle-class and working-class Americans to financial and cultural security. He blamed the perils they supposedly faced on outsiders, undocumented immigrants he labeled “dangerous hombres” who raped and murdered innocent U.S. citizens on a routine basis.

  That there was little to no statistical evidence to back up his claims bothered neither Trump nor his followers, who seemed willing to accept anything he said.

  Certainly, they accepted the fact that he devoted the first two years of his first term in office—his moment of greatest political leverage because his Republican Party controlled both chambers of Congress—not to building the wall along the southern border he’d promised or reinvigorating America’s industrial infrastructure, but instead to giving himself and other billionaires a massive tax cut.

  Flash forward to now.

  Trump is in the White House again, once more with the GOP controlling both the U.S. Senate and the U.S. House of Representatives.

  And once again, he’s putting his own interests ahead of the people who put him in office.

  The highest priority in Trump’s Frankenstein monster of a bill is the continuation of the massive tax cut for the uber-wealthy.

  He and his cronies seem to think that it’s far more important for mega-billionaires to be able to afford that desperately-needed seventh luxury yacht than it is to provide health-care coverage to senior citizens, veterans and children.

  Trump’s bill will result in nearly 18 million Americans losing their health care benefits. Many—perhaps even most—of those who will find themselves without coverage live in rural communities and states.

  In other words, in the heart of Trump’s America.

  But Trump’s focus never has been on helping the people who have offered him their devotion and treasure and twice made him president of the United States.

  No, Trump’s focus, as always, has been on helping himself. He doesn’t want to make America great again.

  He wants to make Donald Trump even richer.

  That’s why this presidency has come to resemble one of those old-fashioned TV supermarket shopping sprees—a primitive game-show concept in which participants were turned loose in a store with instructions to grab anything they could carry away within a set period.

  The haggling and infighting over this “big, beautiful bill”—which will add trillions to the national debt—has revealed the greedy, graspy nature of this second Trump era.

  The bill started in the House, where Trump and Republican leaders arm-twisted and horse-whipped recalcitrant Republican members into supporting it. Many of those GOP House members beseeched the Senate to strip the measure of its more noxious features.

  In the Senate, the process repeated itself—with one key difference.

  One U.S. senator saw she had the leverage necessary to protect her state from the carnage that will ensue and used it.

  Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, initially sent signals that she opposed Trump’s bill and its deep cuts to Medicaid. She was one of four Republican senators—Maine’s Susan Collins, Kentucky’s Rand Paul and North Carolina’s Thom Tillis were the others—who had done so.

  Trump needed at least one of them to force a tie vote in the Senate that Vice President JD Vance then could break.

  Murkowski has been vilified by left and right for “selling” her vote to protect Alaska’s most vulnerable citizens from this tragic fecklessness.

  But all she did was read the situation. Murkowski realized that the passage of Trump’s bill was inevitable—does anyone really believe that Collins and Paul also wouldn’t have had prices?—and, in such a transactional environment, saw a chance to spare her constituents harm while millions of others suffered.

  After Murkowski took care of her own, she along with other senators who voted for the bill then began all but begging the House to clean up the mess they’d just made.

  Given that House Republicans have only three votes to spare, the shopping spree doubtless will continue.

  Glory, glory hallelujah.

  John Krull is director of Franklin College’s Pulliam School of Journalism and publisher of TheStatehouseFile.com, a news website powered by Franklin College journalism students. The views expressed are those of the author only and should not be attributed to Franklin College.

• Never give fireworks to small children, and never throw or point a firework toward people, animals, vehicles, structures or flammable materials.
• Always follow the instructions on the packaging.
• Keep a supply of water close by.
• Make sure the person lighting fireworks always wears eye protection.
• Light only one firework at a time and never attempt to relight “a dud.”
• Store fireworks in a cool, dry place away from children and pets.
• Never use fireworks around pets and keep them indoors. Exposure to lit fireworks can potentially result in severe burns or trauma, and many pets are also fearful of loud noises and can become lost, scared or disoriented.

• Designate a “water watcher” to keep a close eye and constant attention on children and weaker swimmers in and around the water until the next water watcher takes over.
• Have young children and inexperienced swimmers wear a properly fitted U.S. Coast Guard-approved life jacket around water, but do not rely on life jackets alone.
• Teach children to always ask permission to go near water.
• Don’t dive in headfirst – protect your neck. Check for water depth and obstructions before diving and go in feet first the first time.
• If at a beach or water park, make sure lifeguards are on duty before you go in the water and follow all their instructions.
• Swimming in the ocean, a lake or river is different than swimming in a pool. Be sure you have the skills for these environments.
• Use waterproof sunscreen before leaving home and reapply during the day and drink plenty of fluids.

• Stay hydrated by drinking a cup of water every 20 minutes, even if you don’t feel thirsty. Avoid sugary, caffeinated and alcoholic drinks.
• Stay cool by spending time in air-conditioned places. If your home is too hot, go to a mall, library or cooling center.
• Stay connected by checking on others and asking for help if you need it. Make sure pets have access to fresh water and shade.
• Heat cramps are an early sign of trouble signaled by heavy sweating and muscle pain.
• Heat exhaustion is more serious and signaled by heavy sweating, weakness, cool and clammy skin, muscle cramps, dizziness, fainting, nausea or vomiting.
• Heat stroke is a deadly condition signaled by high body temperature, rapid heartbeat, confusion, headache, dizziness, fainting, nausea or vomiting.
• Wear loose-fitting, lightweight and light-colored clothing. Avoid dark colors because they absorb the sun’s rays.
• Some people are at higher risk of getting sick because their bodies have a harder time staying cool. This includes older adults, children, pregnant women, people who take medication and people with chronic conditions or disabilities.

(Evansville, IN  – Our nation’s birthday is right around the corner. The Vanderburgh Humane Society is offering tips for how to keep everyone safe & happy for the holiday weekend!

While celebrations with fireworks are exciting for people, those same booms can terrorize animals. Nationally, the first business day following July 4^th is the busiest at animal shelters for lost and found pets. “The thunderous noise from firework displays often frightens and disorients pets. They’ll do anything to get away from that noise,” says Amanda Coburn, VHS Director of Advancement. “Even the most social, easygoing pets are often affected. And sometimes it also happens to pets as they get older who may not have reacted as much in the past.”

When fireworks begin, dogs have been known to jump fences, dig out of their yards, break chains, and even bust through glass windows because of their fear. When pets are left alone to panic while owners are at holiday celebrations, ordinarily well-behaved pets may become destructive and unpredictable.

How to Keep Pets Calm During Fireworks

• Leave pets at home and inside. Fireworks can be terrifying to pets, even pets who are accustomed to being around crowds and commotion. Do not take them to crowded celebrations with you – they are often not permitted anyway!
• Create a home sanctuary. Whether you’re home or not, set up your pet in an area of your home where he or she is safe, comfortable and sheltered from any outside noise and lights. An interior room without immediate access to the outside is preferred. Playing a radio with relaxing music may help mask the sound of fireworks.
• Pet-proof your home. When scared, some animals may become destructive so be sure to remove anything from reach that can become damaged or may harm the pet if chewed or eaten.
• Consult a veterinarian for pets with anxiety. Reach out well before the Fourth of July to seek out potential medications for lowering pets’ stress level if this is a known issue. (Do not wait until the day before!)
• Wrap the pet in a Thundershirt. Similar to weighted blankets for humans, Thundershirts are a sort of security “swaddle” for pets. They are sold at most pet stores in various sizes!

What Happens If a Pet DOES Get Lost?

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• Identification is essential. Updated identification is critical to ensuring lost pets are reunited with their families. There are 2 very important ways to keep identification on your pet:

1. A properly-fitting collar WITH an ID tag! The ID tag should include at least one current phone number, preferably two, along with your pet’s name.

For pets who do not have ID tags, the Vanderburgh Humane Society sells engraveable MyFamily Pet ID tags in their lobby during business hours! (Shown at right.) Tags range from $10-$20 (plus tax) and come in a variety of designs. Tags take only 2 minutes to engrave!

2. A microchip! Microchips greatly increase your chances of getting your beloved pet home safely and promptly if someone finds them. Make sure that all of your contact information is up-to-date with the microchip company. (You can use a universal registry site like make www.petmicrochiplookup.org to check your pet’s chip if you have the number.) Put your pet’s microchip number as well as the name of the chip company andtheir phone number in your phone now so you have it handy in an emergency!

For pets who are not yet microchipped, Evansville Animal Care & Control offers this service during business hours for $25. It is a simple insertion with a small needle and takes just a few moments.

• Notify Everyone! If your pet is missing, quickly find recent photos of them.

o   Share those photos on social media (make sure the posts are public so they can be shared.)

o   Post them in the Evansville Lost Pets 2.0 Facebook group.

o   Utilize online platforms like Nextdoor, Pawboost, and Petco Love Lost.

o   Make some quick flyers to post in your neighborhood and hand some out to your Amazon & USPS carriers.

o   Notify your pet’s microchip company that they are missing.

o   Lastly, check local shelters in person every day. Things are very busy in shelters, especially after the 4^th of July. Keep checking!

Additional 4^th of July Safety Tips

• Do not leave fireworks out where your pet can eat them. Whether lit or unlit, fireworks are made of toxic materials that will make your pet sick!
• Use caution with pool chemicals. Many common pool treatments are poisonous to animals!
• Grapes/raisins, onions/garlic, and peanut butter sweetened with xylitol are all harmful to dogs. Be sure your pet is not getting table scraps at family barbecues & gatherings.
• NEVER leave your pet in a vehicle, even for a few minutes. Temperatures rise much faster inside cars even with the windows down. Dogs (and children!) die every year in hot cars.

Let’s make this a safe and happy Independence Day for people and pets by starting with prevention!

The Vanderburgh Humane Society is CLOSED on Friday, July 4^th in observance of the holiday. Regular business hours resume on Saturday, July 5^th from 12-6.