Republican lawmaker says she received death threats for voting against Jordan
By Kim Jarrett | The Center Square U.S. Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks, R-Iowa, said Wednesday evening she received death threats after voting against Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, for speaker. Miller-Meeks voted for Jordan on Tuesday but voted for Rep. Kay Granger, R-Texas, who chairs the House Appropriations Committee, on Wednesday after seeing that Jordan did not have the votes to win. “However, since my vote in support of Chairwoman Granger, I have received credible death threats and a barrage of threatening calls,” Miller-Meeks said. “The proper authorities have been notified, and my office is cooperating fully.” Voting against Jordan is not popular, she said. “One thing I cannot stomach, or support is a bully,” she said. “I did not stand for bullies before I voted for Chairwoman Granger and when I voted for Speaker designee Jordan, and I will not bend to bullies now.” Miller-Meeks is calling for a consensus candidate to “stop the insane policies of the Biden administration.” Jordan said on X, the social media site formerly known as Twitter, that Americans should not be accosted for their beliefs. “We condemn all threats against our colleagues, and it is imperative that we come together,” Jordan said Wednesday. “Stop. It’s abhorrent.” The House, which has not had a speaker since Rep. Kevin McCarthy was ousted on Oct. 3, recessed after Jordan lost his second vote on Wednesday. Republished with the permission of The Center Square.
Gary Palmer demands cost analysis of Build Back Better legislation
Congressman Gary Palmer and several colleagues have sent a letter to Congressional Budget Office Director Phillip Swagel. The group has requested cost analysis of the Democrats’ Build Back Better legislation. In a press release, Palmer stated, “The nation will have to build back from the brink of bankruptcy, should this legislation ever become law. Although the Democrats are pretending to scale back on a number of the unwarranted programs in it, we have no idea what the true price tag is for these policies that would fundamentally undermine our Republic and move us one step closer to socialism.” According to a recent article from the House Committee on the Budget Chairman John Yarmuth, the Build Back Better Act “aims to make an investment of $1.75 trillion in family care, health care, and combatting the climate crisis.” However, Palmer argues that the initiative will cost more than what is being stated. “I have seen more than one or two budget gimmicks during my time in Congress, and this package is full of them,” Palmer continued. “For instance, the legislation partially funds programs and pretends they will come to an end, even though the clear intention is to make them permanent. This is why we have requested that the CBO Director conduct a true analysis, so that Congress and the American people have a real understanding of just how much this monstrosity will cost. Independent groups have consistently said this bill is not paid for and will increase the deficit. This analysis will expose all of the bill’s budget gimmicks and hopefully end this misleading effort to run our country over the fiscal cliff.” The letter states, “H.R. 5376, as it is currently drafted, contains cherry-picked program expirations and phase-out periods that are meant to circumvent congressional scoring procedures. These provisions are disingenuously meant to hide the true costs of these policies and their burden on Americans today and for generations to come. It is of paramount importance that before Congress collectively acts on this legislation, it has an accurate understanding of what the effects of this legislation would be if its policies became permanent law.” The letter was also signed by Reps. Vern Buchanan, Greg Steube, Pete Stauber, Mariannette Miller-Meeks, Jack Bergman, David Rouzer, Tracey Mann, Mary E. Miller, Tedd Budd, Markwayne Mullin, Jody Hice, Eric Crawford, David McKinley, and Andy Biggs.
Jerry Carl co-sponsors bill to give veterans free access to national parks passes House unanimously
Rep. Jerry Carl announced that he had cosponsored bipartisan legislation to give veterans and Gold Star families lifetime free access to national parks, ALreporter.com reported. The bill has passed the U.S. House of Representatives unanimously. “Our service members and Gold Star Families have paid the ultimate sacrifice to keep our country safe and secure, so it’s critical we do everything we can to support them and show them our gratitude,” Carl stated. “I’m proud to support this bipartisan legislation to provide free annual America the Beautiful passes to current military service members, veterans, and Gold Star Families so they can gain free access to all our national parks and public lands.” The Alexander Lofgren Veterans in Parks (VIP) Act is led by Reps. Mariannette Miller-Meeks, and Ruben Gallego. The Act aims to recognize that our active-duty service members, veterans, and Gold Star Families should be treated like VIPs in national parks and on our public lands. In 2020, the Trump administration made America the Beautiful passes free for all veterans and Gold Star families. By passing this law, it will continue the benefit. The Pass provides access to over 2,000 federal recreation areas, including national parks, national forests, and wildlife refuges. The act will convert those passes into lifetime passes. It will also create annual passes for active-duty military members that can be converted into lifetime passes once they leave the military. Gallego commented on Twitter, “Today, the House passed my and @RepMMM’s Veterans in Parks Act, a bill to provide veterans & Gold Star families with free lifetime passes to federal public lands and national parks. Our veterans fought to protect these lands – they should be able to enjoy them too.”
