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Tag: Lawmaker

  • GOP Lawmaker Branded ‘Hypocrite’ After Declaring the Left ‘Scared’ Doctors Over Her Ectopic Pregnancy: ‘You Voted for This’

    GOP Lawmaker Branded ‘Hypocrite’ After Declaring the Left ‘Scared’ Doctors Over Her Ectopic Pregnancy: ‘You Voted for This’

    A Republican lawmaker is being branded a “hypocrite” online after she accused the left of scaring doctors and healthcare providers after she had to plead for her ectopic pregnancy to be treated.

    Florida Rep. Kat Cammack revealed in a Wall Street Journal article earlier this week that she experienced an ectopic pregnancy in May 2024. However, due to Florida implementing bans against abortions after six weeks, medical providers were hesitant to give her the care that would save her life.

    However, despite abortion bans being largely pushed and passed by Republican legislators, Cammack blamed the left for her health scare, accusing them of “fearmongering” which she said left doctors “scared” to provide care.


    “These healthcare providers had been receiving pro-abortion lobby ads, to the tune of millions of dollars being spent on these ads that were threatening and scaring doctors away from helping women, saying that they could lose their license, they could go to jail,” Cammack said in a Fox News interview Thursday.

    Cammack said she tried to explain how she could still receive care under the law, but the providers “felt like they couldn’t do anything.”

    “It dawned on me as I was sitting there with my husband: this is what women have been experiencing because of the fearmongering around women’s healthcare. The left absolutely played a role in making sure that doctors and women were scared to seek out the help that they needed,” she continued.

    After Cammack’s interview was shared online, social media users responded with backlash. Several users accused her of not grasping the implications of a ban like Florida’s and claimed that her experience was her “fault.”


    “The left said keep government out of healthcare. You voted for this,” one user commented. Another added, “It was the right who put into place all these abortion bans. Peak gaslighting.”

    “The absolute worst kind of hypocrite. She nearly died because of her own stupid party and she’s out there shilling for them like it was nothing,” an X user chided. One user declared, “Sis this is you and your party’s fault.”


    “A bill written by the right, supported by the right, passed by the right, and signed by the right. Yet, she blames the people who fought AGAINST it! Looks like Kat just discovered that the bill she supported has consequences,” another wrote.

    Originally published on Latin Times



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  • RFK Jr Forced to Take Back His Words After Accusing Lawmaker of Accepting Millions From the Pharmaceutical Industry

    RFK Jr Forced to Take Back His Words After Accusing Lawmaker of Accepting Millions From the Pharmaceutical Industry

    Heath Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was forced to walk back his words after he accused a Democratic lawmaker of accepting millions from the pharmaceutical industry, and claimed that those contributions affected his ability to do his job.

    The request for RFK Jr. to do so came after a heated exchange with New Jersey Rep. Frank Pallone, where the lawmaker questioned him over the recent firing of a vaccine advisory committee.

    “You have made a number of major decisions about vaccines, and there’s been no public comment process or public accountability on that either. What are you afraid of? With regard to vaccines, are you just afraid to receive public comments on proposals?” Pallone asked.


    “We have a public process for regulating vaccines. It’s called the ACIP committee and it’s a public meetingโ€”” RFK Jr. responded before Pallone cut him off.

    “You fired the committee,” he stated. The health secretary let go of all 17 members of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices earlier this month. At the time, Kennedy defended the decision, saying that the Trump administration would not have been able to appoint most new members until 2028.

    During the Tuesday hearing, RFK Jr. stated that he “fired people who had conflicts with the pharmaceutical industry.” He claimed that the “committee has been a template for medical malpractice for years.”

    Pallone went on to accuse Kennedy of being “anti-science and anti-vaccine.”

    The health secretary later appeared to accuse Pallone of letting political donations impact his work and stances, particularly on issues having to do with the pharmaceutical industry.

    “Fifteen years ago, [when] you and I met, you were at that time a champion for people who had suffered injuries from vaccines. You were very adamant about it, you were the leading member of Congress on that issue,” Kennedy said.


    “Since then you’ve accepted $2 million dollars from pharmaceutical companies in contribution โ€” more than any other member of this committee. Your enthusiasm for supporting the old ACIP committee, which was completely rife and pervasive with pharmaceutical conflicts, seems to be an outcome of those conflicts,” he continued.

    Kennedy’s assertion prompted Colorado Rep. Diana DeGette to jump in and ask him to retract the statement.

    “The secretary implied that Mr. Pallone would not fight for vaccine victims because he took money from the pharmaceutical industry. He needs to take back those words,” she said.

    RFK Jr. then agreed to “retract those words” following a request from the chairman of the Health Subcommittee for the Committee on Energy and Commerce.

    Originally published on Latin Times



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  • GOP Lawmaker Refuses to Read Their Own ‘Tanning Bed Tax Break’ Out Loud for Democrat in Congressional Hearing

    GOP Lawmaker Refuses to Read Their Own ‘Tanning Bed Tax Break’ Out Loud for Democrat in Congressional Hearing

    A Democratic lawmaker challenged Republicans on Capitol Hill over a provision in their sweeping budget bill that repeals the federal excise tax on indoor tanning services.

    When asked to read the line item during a public hearing Tuesday, Rep. Jason Smith (R-MO) refused.


    “So that the American public knows what this bill does… Would you please read page 901, line 20?” New Mexico Rep. Teresa Leger Fernandez asked Smith.

    “I think it’d be better if you read it,” Smith responded.

    “Oh, he doesn’t want to read it. This is in their bill. They don’t want to read a line from their own bill,” she said, as the back-and-forth continued. “This is amazing.”

    Rep. Gwen Moore (D-WI) eventually read the provision aloud: “Section 11106: Repeal of excise tax on indoor tanning services.”

    Leger Fernandez contrasted the provision incentivizing tanning bed-ownership with funding cuts to vital services in a critique of GOP priorities. “So if you have a tanning bed, you get a little bit of a tax break,” she said. “And if you need a hospital bed in rural America, I’m sorry, you’re out of luck.”

    In a more pointed jab, she alluded to President Donald Trump. “There are certain elected officials who appear to have a certain orange hue about them,” she quipped, “maybe they want to make sure tanning beds get a little bit of special credit.”

    “Really, we are prioritizing tanning beds over hospital beds in rural America,” Leger Fernandez emphasized.

    The tanning bed tax, originally enacted as part of the Affordable Care Act in 2010, was intended to both raise revenue and discourage use of ultraviolet tanning services due to health risks.

    The exchange underscored ongoing Democratic criticism that the Republican-led bill favors narrow interests and tax breaks for the wealthy over essential services like rural health care.

    Originally published on Latin Times



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  • GOP Lawmaker Insists People Can ‘Keep Their Medicaid’ If They ‘Just Get a Job’

    GOP Lawmaker Insists People Can ‘Keep Their Medicaid’ If They ‘Just Get a Job’

    As the GOP works to complete its “big, beautiful bill,” Rep. Dan Crenshaw (R-TX) defended proposed work requirements for Medicaid recipients.


    House Republicans have been tasked with finding $880 billion in Medicaid savings over the next decade โ€” a substantial hurdle for lawmakers beholden to voters, 76% of whom oppose cuts to Medicaid, according to a recent KFF poll. Rather than explicitly cutting services, the GOP is reportedly looking to save money with work requirements for “able-bodied adults” who receive Medicaid.

    “The person we’re taking it away from is the able-bodied adult with no children who refuses to work,” Crenshaw told FOX Business. “By the way, if they would just get a job, they could keep their Medicaid.”

    The proposal would require able-bodied adults to work or volunteer 20 hours each week to qualify for Medicaid coverage.

    Crenshaw’s comments echo GOP messaging on the issue.

    “For some people, the best way to get back on your feet is to get off your ass,” Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA) said in February.

    House Speaker Mike Johnson described the work requirement as a way to, “Return the dignity of work to young men who need to be at work instead of playing video games all day.”

    Housing Secretary Scott Turner also framed the reform as the restoration of dignity. “We’ve created welfare as a lifestyle in our country,” Turner said. “Able-bodied, able-minded people that are receiving HUD funding should go to work and restore dignity.”

    While the GOP insists work requirements are not benefit cuts, research has suggested otherwise.

    In Arkansas, where Medicaid work requirements were implemented between June 2018 and March 2019 before a federal court deemed the program unlawful, more than 18,000 people lost coverage. Among those who lost coverage, researchers found many had met the work requirements or would qualify for an exemption, but failed to navigate and comply with reporting requirements. The state saw an increase in uninsured adults and no significant changes in employment.

    Most adults with Medicaid (64%) are already working. Of those who aren’t employed, most would qualify for exemption from work requirements due to an illness or disability, caregiving responsibilities, or school attendance.

    The legislation aims at “restoring dignity” for the remaining 8% of adults on Medicaid who are not working due to retirement, an inability to find work, or undisclosed reasons. However, critics warn the reporting requirements could impact millions of recipients beyond the targeted group, particularly vulnerable populations who lack internet access or computer literacy.

    The House Budget Committee voted to reject the bill on Friday. While the committee is set to reconvene next week, it’s unclear if they will meet Speaker Johnson’s Memorial Day deadline to pass the bill to the Senate.

    Originally published on Latin Times



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