Legislative Report
May 10, 2011
Not P.C.: Two Muslim religious leaders from Memphis, say they were asked to leave an Atlantic Southeast Airlines plane in Memphis on May 6th and were told it was because the pilot refused to fly with them aboard. They were told the pilot was refusing to accept them because some other passengers could be uncomfortable. One was dressed in traditional Indian clothing and the other was dressed in Arab garb. "It's racism and bias because of our religion and appearance and because of misinformation about our religion." one of them stated. "If they understood Islam, they wouldn't do this." The men contacted the Council on American-Islamic Relations, a Muslim civil rights and advocacy group in Washington, D.C. The pair flew out on a later flight.
Obamacare Repeal Losing Steam?: According to Rasmussen’s weekly survey of 1,000 likely voters from April 29th and 30th, only 47 percent of respondents favor repeal of Obamacare, while 42 percent want to keep the legislation. Furthermore, the opposition to repeal has hovered around 40 percent for more than a year, but the percentage of those who want to reverse Obamacare has been steadily declining – from a peak of 63 percent last May, to the low 50s early last month, to 47 percent by the end of April.
Obamacare Favoritism: On May 20th, Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) rate review rules were finalized and exempted “Medigap” policy providers, like the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP), from oversight when such providers increase payment rates for their supplemental insurance plans. Insurance providers who aren’t exempt from Obamacare’s rate review rules are required to publicly release and explain some health care payment rate increases.
In Michigan: Proposed cuts to the School Aid fund for K-12 education are a controversial topic. Snyder's original budget plan called for an additional cut of $300 per pupil for the fiscal year that starts Oct. 1. The deal announced Thursday, May 19th would offset up to two-thirds of that cut by giving districts back an average of $100 per pupil to help pay employee retirement costs, plus another $100 per pupil if a district adopts what officials call "best financial practices" including containing employee benefits costs and service consolidation. Per-student cuts adopted in upcoming votes would come in addition to a $170 per student reduction that's already on the books for this fiscal year and would be carried into next fiscal year.
Bridge to Somewhere: Under the Granholm administration policy, attending college alone qualified people for food assistance. DHS officials say there were an estimated 18,000 to 20,000 single people between the ages of 18 and 25 attending college and receiving food assistance. But under federal guidelines, eligible students have to meet stricter criteria such as caring for young children, so in April, Maura Corrigan, Department of Human Services (DHS) director, saw to it that the tougher guidelines went into effect for use of bridge cards (food stamps). “College students who do not really need assistance have been allowed to take advantage for far too long,” said Rep. David Agema, R-Grandville, who oversees the DHS budget on the House Appropriations Committee. “Preventing Bridge Card abuse will make sure assistance only goes to those who truly need help. This action will put a stop to this waste of taxpayer money.”
Source: FoxNews.com; Vision2America.com; Daily Caller; CBS Marketwatch.com; mlive.com
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