Monthly Archives: June 2017

WASHINGTON As Senate GOP leadership tries to bring conservatives on board with their health care bill, House conservatives are working to reinforce the far rights negotiating position, signaling they wont support the Senate legislation without changes.

Freedom Caucus Chairman Mark Meadows (R-N.C.) told reporters Monday night and Tuesday morning that there would not be enough votes in either chamber to pass the Senate legislation without significant amendments.

This bill, in its current form, would lose significant conservative votes, which would make it almost impossible to pass, Meadows said late Monday.

By Tuesday morning, Meadows pointed to two amendments from Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) that if adopted, would go a long ways to make us get where we need to be in the House and the Senate.

The first amendment would allow insurers to offer plans that dont comply with Obamacare regulations like the mandate that plans include 10 essential health benefits, or that insurers not charge people with pre-existing conditions more as long as insurers offered at least one plan that did comply with the Affordable Care Act regulations.

The effect of that amendment would be healthier people signing up for those noncompliant plans, bringing down the cost for them (perhaps for skimpier coverage) but driving up the costs for sick people. In effect, an insurer could offer unreasonably priced plans for people with pre-existing conditions and then make their money by selling plans with limited coverage to healthier people. The amendment would also likely have the effect of bringing much higher prices to women seeking coverage with maternity care. The Congressional Budget Office projected in the House health care bill that maternity care would be sold as a rider policy and would cost women more than $1,000 a month, in addition to whatever other health care plan they selected.

The other amendment would expand Health Savings Accounts, which are tax-free accounts meant to help people pay high deductibles, expensive medical treatment and costs not covered by medical insurance, such as dental and vision care. The idea, popular among conservatives, is to introduce some market forces into health care and make people more cost-conscious.

NurPhoto via Getty Images

Meadows and other conservatives arent happy with the Senate bill. It undid some of the major changes they demanded, particularly allowing states to opt out of regulations that ensure that sick people are not charged more than healthy people.

Meadows had previously quietly signaled that he and most other conservatives in the Freedom Caucus would accept what came out of the Senate. They still might, should Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) miraculously be able to move the bill without changes. But Meadowsnew position reflects a reality that McConnell doesnt have the votes at the moment, and changes are expected.

Conservatives are angling to make sure that the changes McConnell makes appease them rather than moderates, and Meadows new posturing might just help conservatives make the case that their direction is ultimately the only one that works.

Meadows and other conservatives could set up an irreconcilable disagreement between the House and Senate, particularly if they insist on undermining those pre-existing conditions protections and McConnell insists on keeping them.

That all assumes McConnell can get the bill out of the Senateand doesnt make the changes that conservatives want. For now, conservatives in both chambers are watching to see what amendments McConnell makes to the bill.

McConnell met with Cruz on Tuesday morning, but both sides were cagey about what progress they had made. Prior to that meeting, McConnell and other Senate GOP leaders had avoided negotiating with conservatives like Cruz and Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.). Meadows called that position troubling.

If there are no discussions going on now, that means there will be no amendments, he said. And if there are no amendments, that means there will not be the votes there to pass it in the Senate or the House.

See original here:

Freedom Caucus Chair: House Conservatives Would Reject Current Senate Health Care Bill - HuffPost

New York Community Bank is getting out of the mortgage business sort of.

The bank announced Tuesday that it is selling its mortgage banking business, including its origination and servicing platforms, and the banks mortgage servicing rights portfolio, to Freedom Mortgage.

According to NYCB, its servicing portfolio carries an aggregate unpaid principal balance of approximately $21 billion, all of which will now go to Freedom Mortgage.

NYCBs in-house mortgage business was part of the banks 2009 rescue of AmTrust Bank, which was facilitated by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.

And now the bank is selling those assets off.

A separate release from Freedom Mortgage provided a little more detail on the deal.

In its release, Freedom said that it agreed to buy approximately $500 million of selected residential mortgage assets" from New York Community Bank's mortgage banking operation.

Freedom also highlights the MSR portfolio as a significant piece of the deal. According to Freedom, the servicing portfolio includes Fannie Mae- and Freddie Mac-approved mortgages as well as a relatively small amount of Ginnie Mae-insured mortgages.

In addition to selling its origination and servicing platforms and its MSR portfolio to Freedom, NYCB said that it is selling the majority of our one-to-four family residential mortgage-related assets to an affiliate of Cerberus Capital Management.

That sale is being conducted after the NYCB received approval from the FDIC to sell the assets covered under the banks loss share agreements that were part of the AmTrust acquisition.

But NYCB isnt exiting the mortgage business entirely.

When asked by HousingWire whether the bank planned to continue in the mortgage business, a spokesperson for NYCB said that the bank will continue to provide mortgage banking products and services to its customers through a third-party.

The spokesperson said that is the way that NYCBs mortgage business operated prior to the AmTrust acquisition. From our customers perspective, nothing will change, the spokesperson said.

In a statement, Joseph Ficalora, NYCBs president and chief executive officer, said that the deals are the right move for the bank right now.

The decision to sell the mortgage banking business comes after many months of careful evaluation with our Board of Directors and our outside advisors, Ficalora said. Selling to a large, national, full-service mortgage banking company that would keep certain employees and maintain operations in the region were important considerations during the evaluation process.

Under the terms of deal, Freedom is expected to retain certain employees from the NYCBs Cleveland mortgage banking business. Freedom is also expected to maintain operations in the area.

I am delighted to have the opportunity to add the quality assets, platform and select employees which are part of New York Community Bank to our Freedom family, Freedom Mortgage CEO Stanley Middleman said.I think there will be a great future for both firms as a result of this transaction.

Ficalora said that the banks presence in Ohio is an important component of the banks business strategy, and after the sale, the bank will still have 28 branches, $2 billion in deposits, and more than 400 employees in the state of Ohio.

Full financial terms of the deals were not disclosed but NYCB said that the deals should result in a gain on sale of approximately $90 million on a pre-tax basis.

Ficalora said that agreeing to these deals are the next steps in the companys strategic objectives.

They allow us to focus on our core business model, including growth through acquisitions, generate liquidity which will be redeployed into higher-earning assets, enhance our returns through improved efficiencies, and reposition our balance sheet, Ficalora added. More importantly, they will enhance shareholder value through earnings and tangible book value accretion on an ongoing basis.

The companies expect the deals to close in the third quarter.

Read more:

New York Community Bank selling mortgage business to Freedom Mortgage, Cerberus - HousingWire

MENLO, Iowa | Before his recent swing into Northwest Iowa, Freedom Rock creator Ray "Bubba" Sorensen put the finishing touches on the 19th edition of his original Freedom Rock south of Menlo.

Sorensen, 38, who always aims to have that Freedom Rock done by Memorial Day, finished this year just a day or two before the holiday. All told, it took him just over three weeks.

"I just realized that I've been doing the original Freedom Rock for half my life," said Sorensen, who painted that Freedom Rock for the first time in 1999.

The original Freedom Rock this year features two depictions of the late Bob Ross, one as Ross the artist, the other as Ross the staff sergeant, a member of the U.S. Air Force for 20 years.

"Bob Ross was an inspiration for me," Sorensen said during a break while painting the Ida County Freedom Rock at Holstein on Monday. "He said he spent part of his career yelling at people (as a staff sergeant) and the rest of his career painting.

"Bob Ross was so well-known, I always thought it would be interesting to portray him," said Sorensen. "I loved his show. He was inspiration for me dating back to times before I began painting the original Freedom Rock."

The upper left of the north side of the Freedom Rock features pictures of Medal of Honor recipients Lt. Col. Bruce Crandall and Maj. Ed Freeman. The lower right portion shows Lee Hazen, a Prisoner of War during World War II and a native of Adair County.

Ross, a native of Florida, enlisted in the Air Force at 18 and spent two decades in the military, serving a portion of his career at Eielson Air Force Base in Alaska, where Ross encountered snow and mountains for the first time, two natural elements he became known for while painting landscape scenes on "The Joy of Painting," which ran for years on Public Television. Ross died from lymphoma in 1995.

There are other tributes on this edition of the Freedom Rock, a 60-ton boulder located 1.5 miles south of exit 86 off Interstate 80 between Menlo and Greenfield, Iowa, where Sorensen and his family reside.

The late Maj. Ed Freeman and the late Lt. Col. Bruce Crandall are depicted with the Huey helicopter, a Vietnam War scene Sorensen features annually. The paint used for the helicopter has included ashes of Vietnam War veterans for years.

U.S. Army Pvt. First Class Desmond Thomas Doss, a Medal of Honor recipient, is featured on the west side of the 2017 Freedom Rock south of Menlo, Iowa. Doss, a conscientious object who served as a medic and would not carry a weapon in World War II, served as the inspiration for the movie, "Hacksaw Ridge."

"We added veterans' ashes to the helicopter this year and brought the number to 100 Vietnam veterans whose ashes we've included," Sorensen said.

Freeman and Crandall, heroes in the battles of the Ia Drang Valley in November 1965, were presented with the Medal of Honor in 2001 and 2007, respectively. Both men repeatedly flew their choppers into enemy machine gun and rifle fire in their quest to evacuate wounded U.S. soldiers and Marines.

The front, or west face, of Freedom Rock shows another Medal of Honor recipient, U.S. Army Pvt. First Class Desmond Doss, subject of the movie "Hacksaw Ridge." Doss, a Seventh-Day Adventist and conscientious objector who refused to carry a weapon, heroically fulfilled his duty as a medic who, while continuously exposed to enemy fire, rescued and treated his fellow wounded soldiers. Doss himself was wounded while saving others in a furious battle at Okinawa.

"I had always planned to put Desmond Doss on the rock and then I saw the movie previews," Sorensen said.

The back, or east side, of Freedom Rock this years features "man's best friend," depicted in a trio of service dogs, including the famous U.S. Army Sgt. Stubby, of World War I, a service dog decorated for his work in saving his regiment from surprise mustard gas attacks.

"Anytime I see a story about a service animal, I read it," Sorensen said. "Sgt. Stubby got the rank of sergeant, which I don't think they were supposed to do. But, it was World War I and the rules were a little more relaxed."

Seeing the artwork on the back of the wall, I recalled the life and sacrifice of South Sioux City, Nebraska, resident John Douangdara, a U.S. Navy special warfare dog handler for Naval SEAL Team Six. Douandara died on Aug. 6, 2011, when the Chinook helicopter he and his dog, Bart, were in was shot down, while they served a mission in Afghanistan. The John Douangdara Memorial War Dog Park, named in their honor, keeps their memory alive. Just as the Freedom Rock has done for so many of our nation's finest the past 19 years.

Original post:

GALLAGHER: Freedom Rock painter honors painter - Sioux City Journal

Another Fortnight for Freedom is coming up. Once again, we as U.S. Catholics are directed to consider to what extent the practice of our faith is being infringed upon by our government. While the Catholics for Choice organization is not well thought of in many Catholic circles, the Baltimore Sun editorial provides many points that are worthy of consideration.

Jon O'Brien, President of Catholics for Choice, discusses the fifth Fortnight for Freedom that is beginning in Baltimore, and he makes a number of significant points.

Initially, O'Brien makes the same point I've been making for some time. (Here, too.) The bishops have distorted the notion of religious liberty. Instead of protecting their right to worship freely, which has never been in question, they are seeking to impose their positions on the rest of the country.

He makes two additional points. First, the bishops are winning because they have made President Donald Trump their champion and he is giving them even more than what they are asking for. Second, real people are being hurt by the decisions that are being made, and the bishops are applauding many of these decisions.

O'Brien notes that Trump has rewarded the bishops by denying funding to any overseas organization that speaks about, advocates for, or refers patients to abortion services, even if that organization is providing HIV/AIDS assistance. The president has signed an executive order that would allow churches to engage in partisan politics and help fund the campaigns of individual candidates. Legislation is being considered to allow corporations to deny birth control coverage for their employees on religious grounds.

We are no longer talking about abortion here. The Affordable Care Act never did provide public funds to cover abortions, despite what the bishops have been saying. The attack on contraception seems particularly misguided. Contraception has been a settled issue for Catholics for several decades.

Bishops are essentially protecting their own myopic point of view. Catholics, by a 74 percent margin, oppose legislation allowing organizations to deny services to employees or customers based on their religious beliefs. Seventy-one percent of Catholics believe all women should have access to birth control coverage no matter where they work. In any case, the church has no right to impose its position on the entire population in the United States.

O'Brien posits the bishops' position in stark terms. "It could be your family who pays the price now that President Trump has let the Catholic bishops and other extremist religious leaders dictate policy for everyone else."

He provides some examples. Your daughter is interested in a strong program offered at a Catholic university but hesitates because she can't afford both the cost of books and paying for her own birth control. Perhaps your brother will be denied the possibility of adopting and caring for a needy child because he is in a same-sex relationship.

He brings up two cases that stand out: A young woman was denied birth control services, Depo Provera shots, at a Catholic hospital and ended up with a ruptured cyst. A 17-year-old girl was raped on her way to the U.S. to work in the fields and was denied housing by Catholic Charities. She was transferred to another facility where she received an abortion.

The Catholic bishops have come out against the latest version of the Republican health care bill. I am glad about that. Yet if you read the article linked from Catholic Daily, it is clear that the focus for the bishops is the pro-life language in the bill. The suspicion is they would prefer to have no health care at all if their pro-life language is deleted from the bill. The focus should be on the poor, the disabled, and the elderly who would be hurt by this bill. Too many bishops remain committed to one-issue politics, and to their attachment to Donald Trump as a champion for their point of view. All the damage that this president is doing to our country in so many ways does not seem to be enough to change their minds.

It is time to retire the Fortnight for Freedom and focus on the real needs of our people of all people. Christians are being discriminated against around the world, particularly in the Middle East. Focus on that. Focus on making things better for people.

A full-throated condemnation of the health care efforts that are going on in the Congress would be a good place to start. Bishops need to join Pope Francis in attaching their concerns, their values, and their efforts to the poor and the needy, and not to a president who will espouse one position today and a totally different one tomorrow.

See the rest here:

We are having another Fortnight for Freedom, but we shouldn't - National Catholic Reporter (blog)

A civil rights historical marker remembers black teenager Emmett Till, who was kidnapped before being lynched in 1955. Allan Hammons, whose public relations firm made the marker, said Monday that someone scratched the marker with a blunt tool.Allan HammonsAP

A historical marker for Emmett Till on the Mississippi Freedom Trail has been vandalized.

The sign, located outside the grocery store where 14-year-old black teenager Till was accused of whistling at a white woman in 1955, is missing vinyl panels that contained photos and words about him. In May, someone scratched the marker with a blunt tool, according to Allan Hammons, whose public relations firm created the marker.

"Who knows what motivates people to do this?" Hammons told the Associated Press. "Vandals have been around since the beginning of time." Hammons said the marker on the Freedom Trail cost more than $8,000 and repairs will amount to about $500.

Till was kidnapped, tortured and killed by two white men after 21-year-old Carolyn Bryant said he whistled at her. His brutal murder, and the later acquittal of the defendants by an all-white jury, set the Civil Rights movement in motion.

The AP reports that a second marker for Till, near the area where his body was pulled from the Tallahatchie River, was shot multiple times.

In January, Bryant, who remarried to become Carolyn Bryant Donham, told Vanity Fair that she had fabricated her testimony against Till.

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An Emmett Till Marker on the Mississippi Freedom Trail Was Vandalized - TIME

Jaren Wilkey, BYU

The BYU International Center for Law and Religion Studies is inviting the public to a conference focused on the current state of religious freedom in schools, the workplace and in the public square.

PROVO The BYU International Center for Law and Religion Studies is inviting the public to a conference focused on the current state of religious freedom in schools, the workplace and in the public square.

The two-day conference is set for Thursday, July 6, and Friday, July 7, at the BYU Conference Center, 770 E. University Parkway. The cost is $40 per person for one day or $55 for both days. Registration is due by Wednesday, July 5.

The forum will include sessions and workshops focusing on the changing face of religion in American public life; how to get involved in local government; finding common ground with LGBTQ communities; the rights of parents, students and teachers in public schools; what separation of church and state means; and accommodating religious expression in the workplace.

Sen. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., will be this year's keynote speaker. For a complete schedule, or to register, log on to religiousfreedom.byu.edu/registration.

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Religious freedom conference is July 6, 7 at BYU - Deseret News