|
Post by the Scribe on Sept 23, 2021 20:51:49 GMT
|
|
|
Post by the Scribe on Sept 25, 2021 6:39:42 GMT
My response from the senator after contacting her about this issue:
Dear Mr. Scribe:
Thank you for contacting me about Medicare's authority to negotiate prescription drug prices. I always appreciate hearing from Arizonans about issues facing our state and country. It is important that we have conversations about topics that matter to you and your family, and I hope you will continue to reach out to me and share your perspectives and suggestions.
Prescription drugs are regulated by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). When the FDA approves a new drug for sale, the drug manufacturer may have exclusive rights to sell the drug on the market for a set period of time. During that time, other companies may develop identical and low-cost alternatives, called generic drugs, which receive faster FDA approval. Under this system, companies that develop new drugs have an incentive to innovate in order to have a temporary monopoly on the new drug, and other companies are encouraged to develop generic alternatives that increase the drug's availability and affordability.
Medicare is an earned benefit program that pays for health care services for retired workers and disabled persons. It was established in 1965 to provide health insurance to individuals aged 65 and older, and has been expanded over the years to include permanently disabled persons under 65. Although Medicare did not originally cover the cost of prescription drugs, Congress passed the Medicare Modernization Act in 2003 to create Medicare Part D, which covers prescription drug costs for Medicare beneficiaries. Part D beneficiaries may enroll in private prescription drug plans, which solely provide drug coverage, or in Medicare Advantage plans, which provide integrated health and drug coverage. Approximately 44.6 million Americans are enrolled in Medicare Part D, including 513,000 Arizonans.
Because Medicare Part D plans are administered by private insurance companies, the Medicare Modernization Act prohibited the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) from interfering in negotiations between prescription drug plans, drug manufacturers, and pharmacies. Supporters of this provision argue that private insurance plans, which have to compete for the business of Part D beneficiaries, would be more successful at negotiating lower prescription drug prices than the federal government. Opponents of the provision contend that health insurance companies, drug manufacturers, and pharmacies are for-profit entities that benefit financially when drug prices increase, and therefore cannot be trusted to keep drug prices low for consumers.
Since 2000, the per capita out-of-pocket costs for prescription drugs have more than doubled, outpacing inflation. While some credit the current system with keeping costs down for consumers by offering affordable generic alternatives, critics argue that many drugs in the United States are still too expensive. The FDA reports that 90 percent of U.S. prescriptions in 2017 were for generic drugs and accounted for less than 30 percent of spending. That means that, while brand-name drugs accounted for only 10 percent of prescriptions, they accounted for more than 70 percent of costs. Total spending on prescription drugs in the United States in 2017 was more than $333 billion, which is at least 30 percent higher than drug spending in any other developed country. Given the prominent role Medicare Part D plays in paying for prescription drugs, some have called on Congress to restructure the program to control costs.
Congressman Frank Pallone (D-NJ) introduced H.R. 3, the Lower Drug Costs Now Act, on April 22, 2021. H.R. 3 requires CMS to identify the 250 costliest drugs to Medicare and the entire U.S. health care system without competition from at least one generic drug. For these drugs, CMS would determine the average price of each drug in six designated countries that are economically and demographically similar to the United States, and cap the cost of the drug at the average drug price of those six countries. The bill significantly penalizes drug manufacturers that do not participate in drug pricing negotiations or that set prices above the price cap established by CMS. The bill also prevents drug manufacturers from increasing the price of any drug faster than the rate of inflation, and caps total Medicare Part D out-of-pocket spending at $2,000 each year. H.R. 3 was referred to the House Committees on Energy and Commerce, Ways and Means, Education and Labor, Oversight and Reform, and Veterans' Affairs, where it may be considered. Similar legislation has not yet been introduced in the United States Senate this year.
Supporters of allowing the federal government to negotiate lower drug prices argue this will significantly lower the cost of lifesaving medications for Medicare beneficiaries and reduce federal Medicare spending on prescription drug costs. Supporters also point out that allowing Medicare to negotiate drug prices will lower these costs for all Americans because most private insurance plans set their drug prices based on the rate that Medicare pays for medications.
Opponents of negotiating drug prices argue these proposals will make manufacturers less likely to offer prescription drugs to Medicare beneficiaries and will reduce research and development funding for new and innovative prescription drugs. Opponents also point out that several Congressional Budget Office reports indicate that authorizing CMS to negotiate drug prices would do very little to reduce federal spending or lower medication costs.
I hear every day from Arizonans worried about the rising cost of health care. Congress must focus on policies that help lower health care costs for hardworking individuals, seniors, and families. As a member of the U.S. House of Representatives, I fought to speed up the approval of generic drugs in order to drive down costs and increase consumer choices. As a member of the Senate Special Committee on Aging, I shared stories from Arizonans at committee hearings on the rising cost of medicines and the impact it is having on families and seniors. Arizona families should never have to choose between paying for their medications and their basic living expenses. Drug prices and the cost of health care in general remain unaffordable for too many because of a lack of robust competition and limited access to preventative health care. As Arizona's senior senator, I led bipartisan efforts to make sure life-saving drugs that treat illnesses such as cancer and HIV/AIDs remain affordable and available to Medicare beneficiaries. I also support legislation that reduces health care costs by increasing access to preventative health services, especially in rural areas. I am a cosponsor of legislation that helps patients with chronic conditions manage their diseases, and I support outlawing surprise medical bills. There is still much more to be done to make health care affordable, and I will continue working with members of both parties to advance commonsense policies that lessen the burden for Arizona families.
Thank you for sharing your view on this issue with me. Please do not hesitate to contact our office with any future questions or comments. Additionally, if you would like to stay connected to our office with the latest news, legislation, and other useful information, please visit our website, sinema.senate.gov.
Sincerely,
Signature
Kyrsten Sinema United States Senator
|
|
|
Post by the Scribe on Oct 1, 2021 6:29:46 GMT
Joe Manchin, this is another huge corporate whore hypocrite. And today on the news it was reported he didn't want to vote for the infrastructure bill because it would create an entitlement economy. The BIGGEST WELFARE QUEENS ARE CORPORATIONS, INCLUDING THE ONES THAT LINE MANCHIN'S POCKETS.
The wealthy and corporations have made sure that wealth from the middle class is funneled to themselves via rigging the system by their corporate wh*res they installed in congress. In one year the average American taxpayer making $50K a year pays:
$36 towards food stamps, $6 for other safety net programs, (that's $42 for Public Welfare) $870 for corporate subsidies, $1600 to offset corporate tax loopholes and $1231 to offset losses from corporate overseas tax havens. (that's $3700 for Corporate Welfare)
And those stats came from a Center/Right Wing Libertarian Tax Foundation and NOT from the Left.
Corporate WELFARE has got to stop! It far exceeds public welfare costs. RepubliCONservatives have RIGGED the system for the wealthy with the 2017 Trumpublicon tax scam to benefit them being a perfect example. Conservatives are so brainfrozen to the propagada put out by the very wealthy talking heads in conservative media who are shilling for their 1% overclass. They focus on public welfare and IGNORE corporate welfare.
If anyone wishes to connect the dots to how today's CONservative movement began check out Steve Kangas "Origins of the Overclass." Conservatism is born of pure evil and it is getting worse with each passing year.
Corporate Welfare: conservatism.freeforums.net/thread/81/republiconservative-socialism
|
|
|
Post by the Scribe on Oct 1, 2021 6:39:26 GMT
IT IS TIME TO STOP THESE CRONY CAPITALISTS AND POLITICIANS GRAVY TRAIN!Joe Manchin, who is holding up crucial climate change initiatives in Biden's reconciliation bill, collects $500,000 a year from coal stocks dividends: reportwww.yahoo.com/news/joe-manchin-holding-crucial-climate-190052095.html Bryan Metzger Thu, September 30, 2021, 12:00 PM
Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia during the Senate Appropriations Committee markup of the FY 22 Energy and Water, Agriculture, and MilCon VA Appropriations Bills on August 04, 2021. Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call/Getty Images
Sen. Joe Manchin earned $500,000 in 2020 from his son's energy firm, which Manchin founded in 1998.
He's also the chair of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, which regulates the industry.
He's received thousands from Exxon lobbyists and Republican oil and gas titans.
See more stories on Insider's business page.
Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia, who has in his own words "never been in a liberal in any way shape or form," is currently holding up the $3.5 trillion reconciliation bill that central to President Joe Biden's "Build Back Better" domestic agenda.
But he's also likely to hold back any further action to combat the climate crisis, which could impact his million-dollar investments in the coal and energy industries.
Manchin told CNN in July that he was disturbed by aspects of the $3.5 trillion reconciliation bill, including provisions that would target the fossil fuel industry.
"I'm finding out there's a lot of language in places they're eliminating fossils, which is very, very disturbing, because if you're sticking your head in the sand, and saying that fossil (fuel) has to be eliminated in America, and they want to get rid of it, and thinking that's going to clean up the global climate, it won't clean it up all," Manchin said. "If anything, it would be worse."
As The Guardian reported in partnership with the Center for Media and Democracy in July, Manchin himself founded a private coal brokerage in 1998 called "Enersystems." Though currently run by his son, Manchin still owns as much as a $5 million stake in the company, raking in $500,000 of income from it in 2020 alone. As of late 2019, Manchin was by far the most invested of any senator in "dirty energy."
Manchin serves as chair of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, which oversees the coal industry as well as "global climate change." As Sludge reported in early July, Manchin told the 2021 annual conference of the Edison Electric Institute in June that "coal-fired plants are being unfairly targeted by environmentalists."
Manchin also draws significant campaign funding from the energy industry as well, including $65,000 from oil giant Exxon's lobbyists and political action committee. He also attended a July fundraiser in Houston held by a number of Texas oil and gas titans who otherwise donate exclusively to Republicans.
Keith McCoy, Exxon's senior director of federal relations, bragged in a leaked video recording that he talked to Manchin's office every week. "He is the kingmaker, and he's not shy about staking his claim early and completely changing the debate," he said.
In contrast, Manchin does not seem to engage as much with activists concerned about the climate crisis.
"We do not speak to Manchin's office every week. This is bullshit," the Sunrise Movement's communications director, Ellen Sciales, told the Huffington Post. "Especially as there are unprecedented and fatal heat waves across the country, it's outrageous that our politicians are working with the very people responsible for the extreme weather instead of looking out for the American people."
Read the original article on Business Insider
|
|
|
Post by the Scribe on Oct 1, 2021 22:04:46 GMT
Kyrsten Sinema - - Who is She? Analyzing Her Natal Chart for Answers. 428 viewsPremiered 2 hours ago
|
|
|
Post by the Scribe on Oct 2, 2021 19:23:48 GMT
Huh? This is rich. The woman might as well switch parties with that kind of hypocrisy and game playing. In her campaign she promised seniors that Medicare could ask Big Pharma to compete for drug costs. Right after a 750K donation from Big Pharma she voted against that happening.Sinema slams Democratic leadership on infrastructure vote delaywww.yahoo.com/news/sinema-slams-democratic-leadership-infrastructure-131435320.html Marianne LeVine Sat, October 2, 2021, 6:14 AM
Sen. Kyrsten Sinema skewered Democratic leadership on Saturday for delaying a vote on the bipartisan infrastructure package, calling the decision “inexcusable” and “deeply disappointing.”
In a statement, the Arizona Democrat warned that delaying the vote only reduced trust within the party.
“Democratic leaders have made conflicting promises that could not all be kept — and have, at times, pretended that differences of opinion within our party did not exist, even when those disagreements were repeatedly made clear directly and publicly,” Sinema said.
The statement comes after Speaker Nancy Pelosi postponed a vote on legislation that Sinema played a key role negotiating, amid opposition from progressives who vowed not to pass the bill without the party’s $3.5 trillion social spending plan.
The White House and Democratic leaders tried this week to reach an agreement on a framework with Sinema and fellow moderate Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) on the social spending plan that could also satisfy progressives ahead of the vote on the physical infrastructure package. But no agreement was reached, despite several meetings with President Joe Biden and White House staff.
Sinema and Manchin have both made clear that they do not support Democrats’ $3.5 trillion top line for the social spending package, prompting Biden to tell House Democrats during a visit to the Hill Friday that the price tag would likely range from $1.9 trillion and $2.3 trillion. Biden also told the caucus that the infrastructure package wouldn’t go through without the social spending bill.
Sinema on Saturday indicated that the delay didn’t help with the negotiations.
|
|
|
Post by the Scribe on Oct 2, 2021 22:32:31 GMT
Huh? She isn't an independent voice, she is the voice of corporations and votes like a RepubliCONservative. Who is she trying to kid? She is playing dangerous political games with our future. She will foil those who try to primary her by switching to the RepubliCON Party. RepubliCONS love her. Just don't know if that would be enough for her to be re-elected in a Purple going Blue state.Inside the Left’s Revenge Plot Against Kyrsten Sinemawww.yahoo.com/entertainment/inside-left-revenge-plot-against-123031719.html Andy Kroll Sat, October 2, 2021, 5:30 AM
President Trump Delivers State Of The Union Address - Credit: Stefani Reynolds/Bloomberg/Getty Images
WASHINGTON — Ro Khanna is fed up. The typically mild-mannered congressman from California isn’t trying to hide his frustration with the state of play in Congress over two key pieces of legislation, a trillion-dollar roads-and-bridges infrastructure bill and a far more sweeping $3.5 trillion package that contains most of President Joe Biden’s Build Back Better agenda. www.rollingstone.com/t/infrastructure/
The focus of Khanna’s irritation is a member of his own party, the centrist Senate Democrat Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona. It is Sinema whom Khanna and many other Democrats believe is dragging out the negotiations over President Biden’s sweeping domestic policy without any end in sight, and with no clear reason or demands. www.rollingstone.com/t/kyrsten-sinema/
More from Rolling Stone
Kyrsten Sinema Blasts Dems But Won't State Her Objections to Social Safety Net Bill www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/kyrsten-sinema-bipartisan-infrastructure-bill-statement-1236100/ Joe Manchin Just Cooked the Planet www.rollingstone.com/politics/political-commentary/joe-manchin-reconcilation-bill-big-coal-1235597/ If 'Dems Are in Disarray,' Blame Corporate Cash www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/infrastructure-bill-vote-2021-reconciliation-build-back-better-1232624/
“This is the U.S. Congress and she’s not demonstrating the basic competence or good faith of a member of Congress,” Khanna tells me. “I’m just totally perplexed by her. As is every colleague I’ve talked to, moderates, progressives, you name it.”
Khanna says he doesn’t have quite the same problem with the other centrist Senate Democrat standing in the way of Biden’s agenda, Joe Manchin of West Virginia. Manchin’s demands are at least clear — slashing the bill’s spending down to $1.5 trillion, adding means testing and work requirements to social-safety net programs — and there’s little confusion about his negotiating position vis a vis the Build Back Better Act.
Sinema’s motivations are much harder to parse. Khanna and other Democrats call her opposition “inauthentic” and a ploy for garnering media attention as much as passing major legislation. Only fueling the animosity toward Sinema are reports that she left Washington on Friday while the negotiations over Biden’s legislative agenda were still ongoing. Her office said she flew back to Arizona for a doctor’s appointment; according to the New York Times, she was also scheduled to attend a political fundraiser over the weekend.
www.nytimes.com/2021/10/01/us/politics/krysten-sinema-spending-bill-arizona.html
Her spoiler role in the ongoing reconciliation negotiations is just the latest affront is a series of actions that have frustrated progressives in Washington and Arizona. They rattle off her opposition to reforming or abolishing the filibuster, her coziness with corporate campaign donors, and her record of voting with former President Trump more than any other Senate Democrat in 2019 and 2020, her first two years in the Senate. Recently, Sinema has faced criticism for opposing a provision in Biden’s reconciliation bill that would allow Medicare to negotiate with drug companies, which looks bad considering she has taken hundreds of thousands of dollars in campaign money from Big Pharma throughout her career. It’s the little things, too, Arizona activists say, like the performative curtsy she gave when she voted no on a measure to increase the minimum wage to $15. projects.fivethirtyeight.com/congress-trump-score/
The anger and frustration with Sinema is now coalescing into something more serious: A plan to primary her right out of Congress — or at least to make her spend the next few years worried about rising discontent from the party base. And now, with the fate of Biden’s $3.5 trillion Build Back Better Act still uncertain as negotiations grind on, the anger at Sinema is “boiling over,” says Tomas Robles, executive director of the grassroots group Living United for Change in Arizona (LUCHA). “What we’ve seen every year, every legislative session at the federal level, is her move more and more to the right in terms of votes, while at the same time getting better at completely alienating her voting bloc and her party and the progressive voters that voted for her.” www.luchaaz.org/about
National political groups are already fundraising for a primary challenger to Sinema even though she doesn’t stand for reelection until 2024. This week alone, at least two groups, Way to Win and Nuestro PAC, announced they were raising money to fund a “Primary Sinema” effort.
Leah Hunt-Hendrix, the cofounder and vice president of Way to Win, a well-funded political group, says Sinema’s pro-corporate stances and refusal to reform the filibuster and swiftly pass new voting-rights protections was endangering her Democratic colleagues in the Senate. “There have to be consequences and she has to know that,” Hunt-Hendrix says.
Chuck Rocha of Nuestro PAC says he’s hoping to raise enough money with his primary-Sinema campaign to convince Rep. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.), a progressive and military veteran, to challenge Sinema in 2024. Rocha, who considers Gallego a friend, says he hasn’t approached Gallego about running against Sinema, but believes Gallego could win in a primary and the general election. “It’s what I would call a boiling pot situation and the lid’s starting to come off of it now,” Rocha says of progressives’ anger with Sinema. “We have to act. I’d rather not be doing this, but she’s forcing us to do this.”
A spokesman for Sinema did not respond to a request for comment. But the spokesman recently told the New York Times in a statement that “Kyrsten has always promised Arizonans she would be an independent voice for the state — not for either political party. She’s delivered on that promise and has always been honest about where she stands.” www.nytimes.com/2021/09/29/us/kyrsten-sinema-voters.html
Sinema came up through Arizona politics as a progressive, volunteering with the local Green Party and making a name for herself as a hardcore anti-war activist who wore a pink tutu and used a bullhorn during demonstrations against the Iraq war. In her rowdy activist days, Sinema had no use for centrist Democrats who tried to win over Republican voters. She once said of Sen. Joe Lieberman, the centrist Democrat from Connecticut who ran for president in 2004: “He’s a shame to Democrats. I don’t even know why he’s running. He seems to want to get Republicans voting for him—what kind of strategy is that?” www.courant.com/news/connecticut/hc-xpm-2003-03-24-0303240270-story.html
But over time, she embraced the inside game of electoral politics as she got elected first to the state legislature in 2004, where she eagerly worked alongside Republican members to the horror of her former activist pals, and then to the U.S. House of Representatives in 2012. She won her race for the U.S. Senate in 2018 by 56,000 votes out of more than 2.3 million cast. ballotpedia.org/Kyrsten_Sinema azsos.gov/sites/default/files/2018%201203%20Signed%20Official%20Statewide%20Canvass.pdf
Robles, the head of the Arizona grassroots group LUCHA, says his organization was one of many on the left that helped get out the vote for Sinema in 2018. He says he’d followed Sinema’s evolution from lefty firebrand to moderate Democrat closely enough to know that she wasn’t going to be a progressive stalwart in the Senate. He did, however, expect that LUCHA would have an open line of communication with Sinema and her office “to meet at the table and have discussions on what’s possible and what’s not.”
Sinema has “never provided that opportunity,” Robles says. “She refuses to meet with us. She asks groups trying to meet with her if LUCHA will be on (the call), and if we’re on, she won’t meet with them.” On at least one call, he said Sinema’s office used the free version of Zoom and the meeting cut out after 40 minutes, limiting access to the senator or her staff for questions. “Building a relationship is hard when only one entity is trying,” he says.
David Lucier is another activist who’s backed Sinema for years but is now losing faith in her. Lucier is an Army veteran with the Special Operations Forces who fought in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia. Lucier tells the story of how he turned 21 on the Ho Chi Minh Trail in Vietnam and wasn’t able to cast a ballot in a presidential election for three years after he became eligible to vote. avhof.org/members/membership-directory/dlucier/
For that reason, among others, voting rights are a cherished issue for Lucier, which has made Sinema’s obstruction to reforming the filibuster and passing new voting laws so frustrating for him. “Here we are in this country, with Republicans passing these laws that restrict people from voting, and she’s using the filibuster as an excuse not to act — it’s painful for me,” Lucier says.
Lucier has supported Sinema for many years, and is a longtime member of a volunteer council that advises Sinema on veterans issues, he says. In light of Sinema’s refusal to change the filibuster and her holding up Biden’s reconciliation bill, Lucier says he’s thinking about resigning from Sinema’s veterans council. He hasn’t gotten entirely behind the idea of supporting a primary challenger but he’s warming up to the idea.
“Nobody feels good that it’s turning out this way with Kyrsten,” he says. “We’re just shaking our heads. The level of disappointment and fatigue is just palpable.”
Leah Hunt-Hendrix of Way to Win insists her group’s new campaign to raise money for primarying Sinema isn’t a short-lived political stunt given how much Sinema has been in the news lately with the reconciliation fight in Congress. Hunt-Hendrix believes Arizona is a purple state trending to the left, and that a more progressive Democrat could indeed win statewide there — and defeat Sinema in the process.
“There are a handful of good candidates who could beat her in a primary and hold the seat in a general,” she says. “I just think Kyrsten Sinema should know that she will not continue to be a senator in 2024.”
|
|
|
Post by the Scribe on Oct 2, 2021 23:13:13 GMT
Kyrsten Sinema’s political allies have some free advicewww.yahoo.com/news/kyrsten-sinema-political-allies-free-090041912.html Hans Nichols Fri, October 1, 2021, 2:00 AM
Sen. Kyrsten Sinema’s political allies have some free advice for anyone trying to bully the wine-drinking triathlete into supporting President Biden's $3.5 trillion budget bill: She doesn’t play by Washington’s rules — and she's prepared to walk away.
Why it matters: For all her flash, Sinema — unlike fellow holdout Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) — rarely telegraphs her precise intentions, leaving political adversaries guessing about her ultimate goals.
Stay on top of the latest market trends and economic insights with Axios Markets. Subscribe for free
In conversation with colleagues, she’ll suggest that her top priority is passing the $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure deal she brokered this spring over late-night, wine-fueled negotiations. Beyond that, you're piecing together clues.
President Biden and his top aides met her four times over the course of a day this week without totally cracking the code.
Sinema on Thursday tweeted a statement saying, "Claims that the Senator has not detailed her views to President Biden and Senator [Majority Leader Chuck] Schumer are false" and they "are fully aware of Senator Sinema's priorities, concerns and ideas."
Between the lines: Progressives could be forgiven for presuming that Sinema, 45, the first openly bisexual member of Congress, who's easy to spot in her trademark sleeveless dresses, wry wigs and acrylic glasses, would share their woke politics.
They've been befuddled, and increasingly enraged, when she behaves more like the late Republican Sen. John McCain, another Arizonan who didn't mind challenging party orthodoxies.
At her core, Sinema is something of a fiscal conservative, which disappoints progressives, leading them to whisper about a primary challenge in 2024.
She's unconventional (see: recent internship at a Sonoma winery) and a force to be reckoned with. She's known to rise between 4-5 a.m. to train for her next race, and she was forced to take up aqua jogging after breaking her foot this summer in something called the "Light at the End of the Tunnel Marathon." www.pressdemocrat.com/article/business/senator-kyrsten-sinema-tries-her-hand-as-winery-intern-in-sonoma-county/ www.azcentral.com/story/news/politics/arizona/2021/06/14/sen-kyrsten-sinema-breaks-foot-running-tunnel-marathon/7686682002/
The big picture: While Manchin has been intensely focused on price tag of spending, setting his limit at $1.5 trillion, Sinema has signaled she's more concerned with the tax side of the equation, including who pays them.
She’s suggested to some allies that she’s reluctant to support any increase in the corporate tax rate, but she’s more likely to accept a smaller increase to the headline rate — likely in the 24% range, well short of Biden's proposed 28%. www.nytimes.com/2021/09/24/us/politics/carbon-tax-democrats.html
She's raised flags about increasing the rate on corporations' international profits, which she believes could harm their competitiveness.
On capital gains, she’s also indicated that she’s opposed to Biden’s headline 39.6% rate but could accept a number in the mid-twenties.
Flashback: Her infrastructure package relied on creative accounting to fund the new $550 billion in additional spending, including $60 billion in dynamic scoring.
She’s open to the arguments from some of her old centrist friends in the House, like Rep. Stephanie Murphy (D-Fla), that spending to fight climate change doesn’t need to be offset. www.axios.com/democrats-green-reconciliation-solution-fd62dd63-b76f-46b2-a223-8083ada5e0ac.html?utm_medium=partner&utm_source=verizon&utm_content=edit&utm_campaign=subs-partner-vmg
A trained social worker who relied on Pell grants in college, Sinema believes in the power of government to help lift people from poverty.
That aligns her with Biden’s spending plans to help poor families, including the expanded Child Tax Credit, lowering childcare costs, and free preschool.
She's also committed to bolstering the Affordable Care Act, and providing coverage for Medicare recipients. She's less interested in offering new dental and vision benefits in Medicare, as Sen. Bernie Sanders has suggested.
Addressing climate change is a clear priority for Sinema — putting her on a potential collision course with Manchin. www.axios.com/manchin-sinema-climate-collision-democrats-063f44a7-d6e7-4f59-b883-8831c12a156a.html?utm_medium=partner&utm_source=verizon&utm_content=edit&utm_campaign=subs-partner-vmg
What we're watching: While Sinema mostly avoids the Sunday talk shows and hallway interviews, she engaged with congressional leaders and the White House all summer, updating her secret spreadsheets on the true cost of programs. www.politico.com/news/2021/02/12/kyrsten-sinema-democrats-468768 www.axios.com/scoop-sinemas-secret-spreadsheets-f6f1137f-a537-4c34-89d6-1de4775b0bd3.html?utm_medium=partner&utm_source=verizon&utm_content=edit&utm_campaign=subs-partner-vmg
The bottom line: Manchin is looking for a way to get to "yes" on a spending bill, as long as he can stomach the final price tag.
Sinema has always been slightly more skeptical and has indicated she's comfortable voting no.
Like this article? Get more from Axios and subscribe to Axios Markets for free. link.axios.com/join/markets-signup?utm_source=verizon&utm_medium=partner&utm_campaign=subs-partner-vmg&utm_content=markets-end-like
|
|
|
Post by the Scribe on Oct 3, 2021 11:17:18 GMT
first class liar, hypocrite and corporate sell-out
This is what happens when one cannot handler power that is given to them AND their own greed.
Kyrsten Sinema Rushes To Delete Old Tweets After They Resurface
Democratic Senator Kyrsten Sinema appears to be in a rush to delete old tweets after they resurfaced, showing just how much of a fraud she is.
|
|
|
Post by the Scribe on Oct 4, 2021 10:17:22 GMT
AOC appeared to dunk on Kyrsten Sinema as progressives and moderates feud, saying there isn't anything 'maverick' about protecting the rich www.yahoo.com/news/aoc-appeared-dunk-kyrsten-sinema-011824925.html
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez appeared to criticize Sen. Kyrsten Sinema in a tweet on Saturday.
The tweet came after a report suggested Sinema wanted to be a "maverick" like Sen. John McCain.
Ocasio-Cortez said there "isn't anything maverick" about protecting the rich over working families.
See more stories on Insider's business page.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez appeared to take a shot at fellow Democratic lawmaker Sen. Kyrsten Sinema in a tweet on Saturday as progressives and moderates struggle to agree on key pieces of legislation.
"There really isn't anything maverick, innovative, or renegade about being a politician that works with corporate lobbyists to protect the rich, short-shrift working families, and preserve the status quo," Ocasio-Cortez wrote, adding its one of the "most conventional ways to navigate politics."
She didn't mention the Arizona senator by name, but the tweet was posted hours after a report suggested Sinema wanted to be remembered as a "maverick," like the late Arizona Sen. John McCain.
"I think she definitely would like for her legacy to be 'the maverick' like him," Grant Woods, a former Arizona attorney general, told Time magazine. "He was instinctively drawn to doing the opposite of what he was told and what people expected. She's definitely attracted to that image."
Many of the replies to Ocasio-Cortez's tweet directly named or mocked Sinema. Others were retweeting it and directly tagging Sinema's account.
Representatives for Sinema did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.
Sinema has refused to support President Joe Biden's $3.5 trillion "Build Back Better" social spending bill, angering progressives and sparking confusion over her stance. The bill would increase taxes on the rich and corporations, expand Medicare and Medicaid, lower prescription drug prices, improve access to childcare, and more.
The bill also needs the support of every Democrat in the Senate, which is split 50-50.
Sinema drew more criticism after The New York Times reported she was hosting a political fundraiser for business lobbying groups that oppose much of the bill.
Meanwhile, House progressives refused to support Biden's $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill this week after Speaker Nancy Pelosi decoupled it from the larger social-spending plan. Pelosi is still working to shore up support for the bill and said she expects the House to vote on it before the end of the month.
Read the original article on Business Insider
|
|
|
Post by the Scribe on Oct 5, 2021 8:24:29 GMT
John Oliver Calls Out Democratic Senators For Holding Up Biden’s Build Back Better Plan I THR News 1,976 viewsOct 4, 2021
The 'Last Week Tonight' host criticized Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona and Joe Manchin of West Virginia for delaying the Build Back Better Act: "It is a big deal and would make this country a better place," Oliver said.
|
|
|
Post by the Scribe on Oct 16, 2021 8:30:54 GMT
Meet the Democrats Keeping Your Drug Prices High | Robert Reich
Robert Reich 316K subscribers
Two truths and a lie:
-Kyrsten Sinema campaigned on drug pricing reform.
-Kyrsten Sinema is actively opposing drug pricing reform.
-Kyrsten Sinema received over $750,000 from Big Pharma.
Just kidding – they’re all true.
Watch More: How Big Money Corrupts Our Politics (And How to Fix It)►►
|
|
|
Post by the Scribe on Oct 17, 2021 13:06:01 GMT
disgracefulNow that it has been established that Manchin and Sinema are basically corporate whores they may as well switch parties to join that crowd.Business Insider Democratic Sen. Kyrsten Sinema received the legal maximum of donations from several known GOP donors, new FEC filings show Connor Perrett Sat, October 16, 2021, 10:11 AM
Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, a Democrat of Arizona. Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call Inc. via Getty Images Arizona Sen. Kyrsten Sinema received the maximum donation allowed by law from several GOP donors.
Donors previously donated to pro-Trump PACs and a PAC to elect Republicans to the Senate.
Sinema, a Democrat, has positioned herself as a key obstacle to President Joe Biden's agenda.
Arizona Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, a Democrat, received the maximum donation allowed by law by several longtime GOP donors, according to a campaign fundraising report filed Friday with the Federal Election Commission.
According to the FEC data, first reported by Mother Jones, Sinema raised $1.1 million between July and September this year, about the same amount she raised in previous fundraising cycles, according to the report, despite growing frustration among Arizona Democrats. www.motherjones.com/politics/2021/10/sinema-gop-donors-money-budget-republican-megadonors/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+motherjones%2Fmain+%28MotherJones.com+Main+Article+Feed%29+Feed%29 www.businessinsider.com/kyrsten-sinema-lose-democratic-primary-tomorrow-poll-70-percent-disapprove-2021-10?utm_source=yahoo.com&utm_medium=referral
Included in the FEC disclosure are several GOP donors who have previously supported efforts to elect former President Donald Trump and to help Republicans get the majority in the Senate. The maximum individual contribution limit is $2,900 per election, with a maximum of $5,800 in a two-year period, according to FEC guidelines. www.fec.gov/help-candidates-and-committees/candidate-taking-receipts/contribution-limits/
Among those who made the maximum donation was Minnesota billionaire Stan Hubbard, who regularly donates to the RNC and supported Scott Walker and eventually Trump's campaign for president through donations to a super PAC, Mother Jones reported.
Jimmy Haslam, the owner of the Cleveland Brown's and Pilot truck stops, and his wife, Susan, individually donated the maximum legal amount to Sinema on September 30, Mother Jones reported, citing the FEC data. According to the report, Haslam has given at least $425,000 to the Senate Leadership Fund, a super PAC associated with Sen. Mitch McConnell that works to elect Republicans in the Senate.
Other GOP donors who backed Sinema include Marc Rowan, the CEO of the private equity firm Apollo who backed Trump's failed bid for reelection, and his wife, Carolyn, who individually donated the maximum legal limit. Private equity executive Anthony De Nicola, who also has backed the Senate Leadership Fund, also donated the maximum legal limit to Sinema, according to Mother Jones.
Progressives and other Democrats have grown frustrated with Sinema, who has made headlines in recent months for her reluctance to support key pieces of President Joe Biden's agenda. Sinema is currently fundraising in Europe, per The New York Times. www.businessinsider.com/kyrsten-sinema-threatening-to-hold-bidens-agenda-hostage-2021-10?utm_source=yahoo.com&utm_medium=referral www.nytimes.com/2021/10/13/us/politics/kyrsten-sinema-fundraising-europe.html
Both Sinema and West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin have been opposed to parts of a Democratic spending plan to invest in climate, education, and healthcare spending. While Manchin has been clear about wanting to cut the price tag of the proposal, it's largely unclear what Sinema would support, as Insider previously reported. www.businessinsider.com/democrats-sinema-biden-spending-plans-opposes-tax-hikes-2021-10?utm_source=yahoo.com&utm_medium=referral
Sinema, however, has reportedly been opposed to raising tax rates for individuals and large corporations, said two Senate Democratic aides familiar with the matter. Her position threatens to deprive the package of over $700 billion in revenue to pay for Biden's "Build Back Better" agenda. www.businessinsider.com/democrats-sinema-biden-spending-plans-opposes-tax-hikes-2021-10?utm_source=yahoo.com&utm_medium=referral
Sinema, a first-term lawmaker, is not up for re-election until 2024.
Read the original article on Business Insider www.businessinsider.com/kyrsten-sinema-received-max-donations-from-gop-donors-2021-10
|
|
|
Post by the Scribe on Oct 22, 2021 10:49:53 GMT
Why Did Five Of Kyrsten Sinema’s Advisers Quit? | The Mehdi Hasan Show
The Choice 170K subscribers Arizona Sen. Kyrsten Sinema’s top military advisers are abandoning her as she stonewalls President Biden’s agenda. One of those supporters, David Lucier, joins Mehdi to explain why they feel so disappointed.
The Mehdi Hasan Show: Insightful reporting and probing interviews that examine the day's events and provide a deeper level of context for the politics of our interconnected society.
Watch The Mehdi Hasan Show on The Choice channel on Peacock TV, weeknights, 7 p.m. ET. Subscribe to the channel for more interviews.
peacocktv.com
|
|
|
Post by the Scribe on Oct 23, 2021 1:04:40 GMT
Associated Press More Sinema backers defect over her Biden plan objectionswww.yahoo.com/news/more-sinema-backers-defect-over-205735321.html BOB CHRISTIE Thu, October 21, 2021, 1:57 PM
PHOENIX (AP) — Democratic Arizona Sen. Kyrsten Sinema faced more defections Thursday from the broad base of support she built to win her seat in 2018 when five members of her veterans advisory council resigned over her opposition to parts of President Joe Biden's infrastructure plan and refusal to ditch the Senate filibuster.
The resignations come as progressive groups are ratcheting up their pressure on the first-term moderate, who along with West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin is seen as holding back progress as Biden sharply scales back his once-$3.5 trillion plan to win their support.
Democrats need their support to push the legislation through the 50-50 Senate. That would let Vice President Kamala Harris supply the tie-breaking vote.
The veterans are also upset with Sinema for refusing to back changes to the filibuster, saying that is preventing action on voting rights, immigration and other key Democratic priorities, according to a scathing letter they released publicly Thursday. And they pointed to her reported opposition to allowing Medicare to negotiate drug prices to be included in Biden's infrastructure package, saying that goes against a key campaign promise she made to rein in drug prices.
“These are not the actions of a maverick,” the five veterans wrote. “We should have realized this once you showed your true character when refusing to vote to establish a commission to investigate the January 6th riot at the U.S. Capitol.”
Veterans were a key constituency that Sinema wooed during her 2018 campaign to replace Sen. Jeff Flake, who declined to seek another term after his criticism of then-President Donald Trump made it impossible for him to survive a Republican primary. Sinema defeated then-Rep. Martha McSally — the first Democrat to win a Arizona Senate seat in more than two decades — and has since embraced the “maverick” label worn by John McCain, the Arizona senator and 2008 Republican presidential nominee who died months before she won her Senate seat.
Sinema released a statement Thursday thanking the veterans for their contributions to her work to ensure vets get the benefits they have earned.
"While it is unfortunate that apparent disagreement on separate policy issues has led to this decision, I thank them for their service and will continue working every day to deliver for Arizona’s veterans who have sacrificed so much to keep us safe and secure,” she said in a statement.
Sinema has been tight-lipped as to which parts of Biden's sweeping plan she supports, with her spokespeople consistently saying she is negotiating directly with the president and congressional leaders and not in the press. But her opposition to tax increases on corporations and wealthy individuals earning more than $400,000 a year prompted Biden to drop them from the proposal on Tuesday.
Biden's ambitious $3.5 trillion social services and climate change package is also being trimmed back, likely to just $2 trillion over 10 years, in part to mollify Sinema and Manchin. Sinema has said there is no way she would support that higher level of spending.
She said in an interview with The Arizona Republic newspaper last month that she wants the package to not fuel inflation. But she seldom speaks to reporters and her views on many specific components of the measure are unclear.
The veterans group resignations were announced by Common Defense, a progressive veterans group that also released an critical of Sinema that featured one of the veterans, U.S. Air Force retiree Sylvia González Adersh.
Also Thursday, Arizona progressive groups held the latest in a series of demonstrations designed to increase pressure on Sinema. The groups want Sinema to end the filibuster so Democrats can enact pro-union legislation, immigration reform and voting rights legislation that Republicans are now blocking.
Arizona now has two Democratic senators, but the reality on the ground is that their status remains up in the air as voters in the once-heavily Republican could easily change that in the next four years. Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly, elected last year to finish McCain's term, faces reelection in 2022 and Sinema must face voters again in 2024.
That has led Sinema to embrace moderate positions. She won election by building a centrist base of the state's independent voters while maintaining support from progressive and moderate Democrats.
She has said unequivocally that she will not vote to end the Senate rule that requires 60 votes to advance legislation, arguing that doing so would allow passage of legislation that would be swept away the next time control of Congress swings to Republicans.
In a June op-ed in the Washington Post, she also noted that Democrats used the filibuster last year to block legislation they opposed.
But her opposition to parts of Biden's plan and refusal to sweep away the filibuster imperils her from the left.
After attending the latest rally Thursday held by angry progressives, one Democrat said they will keep the pressure up - even if it means a Republican wins in 2024. Now, he said, progressive Democrats are upset at Sinema for what she is failing to do.
“The way we look at it as far as progressives is, we already have a Republican in office, so what are we going to lose," said Rich Andrade, a state House member and union member. ”Either you support us and the chances of winning the next race are stronger, or completely blow your chance of winning."
___
Associated Press reporter Alan Fram in Washington contributed.
|
|