The Senate passed legislation Monday to reopen the government, bringing the the legislation.
The bill is lacking is any clear resolution to rising insurance premiums. It’s unclear whether the two parties would be able to find any common ground on the subsidies before a promised December vote in the Senate.
Some Republicans have said they are open to extending the COVID-19-era tax credits as premiums could skyrocket for millions of people, but they also want new limits on who can receive the subsidies.
President Newsday reports.
“What?” Obama surprises veterans on honor flight from Wisconsin
The flight landed at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport from Madison, Wisconsin, on Saturday.
Then, over the loudspeakers, someone said a familiar, “Hello, everybody.”
To which one of the 87 Korean and Vietnam War veterans aboard exclaimed, “What?”
It was none other than former President Barack Obama, who had come to greet the veterans on their honor flight to Washington, according to video provided by Obama’s office.
The former president greeted everyone and gave each of them one of his commemorative presidential coins as they got off the plane.
“As we approach Veterans Day, I just wanted to stop by and just say thank you for your extraordinary service. To you, your family, the sacrifices that all of you made to protect our country is something that will always be honored and we are very grateful,” Obama said.
“And we also happened to welcome you with a 70-degree day in D.C., which doesn’t always happen around here,” he added.
Trump endorses a salary cap in college sports
The president called into ESPN’s Pat McAfee Show and predicted that, with college football teams offering top recruits big money to play for them, “You got to have like NFL-type payroll” levels to compete.
He said that “colleges don’t make that much money.”
Trump suggested a salary cap like the NFL and other leagues have would help, and added of college sports, “Bad things are going to happen unless they figure this out.”
The president also repeated his past criticisms of the NFL kickoff rule, saying it didn’t promote safety but made the game “so unromantic.”
“I hope college doesn’t change” its kickoff rules, Trump said while wishing, “Someday, the NFL will stop it and go back to football.”
Connecticut moving ahead with vote on emergency state response fund
Connecticut state lawmakers are still pushing ahead with a plan to set aside $500 million in state budget reserves to help backstop delays in federal food and heating assistance funding, even though it appears the federal government shutdown could be nearing an end.
If a deal to reopen the federal government is finalized soon, a spokesperson for Democratic Gov. Ned Lamont said Tuesday the $500 million could help address federal funding cuts in the sweeping tax and spending law dubbed the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” by Republicans.
There are concerns as to how the massive federal budget law will impact Medicaid, food benefits and other safety net programs in Connecticut.
Meanwhile, at least one Democratic state senator has called for the state to cover the health insurance tax credits under the Affordable Care Act that expire Jan. 1, 2026. The subsidies total $350 million annually in Connecticut.
The bipartisan proposal to create a “state response fund,” announced Monday, is scheduled for a vote during a special legislative session on Wednesday and Thursday.