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About The skanner. (Portland, Or.) 1975-2014 | View Entire Issue (May 31, 2017)
Page 2 The Skanner May 31, 2017 Challenging People to Shape a Better Future Now Bernie Foster Founder/Publisher Bobbie Dore Foster Executive Editor Jerry Foster Advertising Manager Christen McCurdy News Editor Patricia Irvin Graphic Designer Melanie Sevcenko Reporter Monica J. Foster Seattle Office Coordinator Susan Fried Photographer 2016 MERIT AWARD WINNER The Skanner Newspaper, es- tablished in October 1975, is a weekly publication, published every Wednesday by IMM Publi- cations Inc. 415 N. Killingsworth St. P.O. Box 5455 Portland, OR 97228 Telephone (503) 285-5555 Fax: (503) 285-2900 info@theskanner.com www.TheSkanner.com The Skanner is a member of the National Newspaper Pub lishers Association and West Coast Black Pub lishers Association. All photos submitted become the property of The Skanner. We are not re spon sible for lost or damaged photos either solicited or unsolicited. ©2017 The Skanner. All rights re served. Reproduction in whole or in part without permission prohibited. Local News Pacific NW News World News Opinions Jobs, Bids Entertainment Community Calendar RSS feeds NEXT WEEK: CAREERS SPECIAL EDITION Opinion Trump’s Budget: Wrecking Ball Aimed at Black Communities T rump’s budget propos- al for fiscal year 2018 is in many ways an at- tack on communities of color, specifically African Americans and those who are low-income. In the budget plan re- leased this week, Trump pro- poses cutting $800 billion from Medicaid, the govern- ment-funded program for low-income people. Medicaid is by no means a program set aside for Black people. But, because we are more likely to be low income, African Amer- icans are more likely to use this benefit. Similarly, Black people are twice as likely as Whites to have used the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Pro- gram, commonly known as food stamps. Thirty-one per- cent of African Americans have used food stamps while 15 percent of Whites have used the benefit. Trump’s planned gutting of the social safety net didn’t stop at housing and health care but also involves slash- ing $3 billion from the De- partment of Housing and Urban Development’s budget allotted for rental assistance and set aside to help dis- tressed neighborhoods with public housing. In September, during the presidential campaign, Trump called Flint’s water problem “a shame” and vowed to fix it quickly and effective- ly. But, instead of committing Keith Rushing NNPA Columnist resources to address lead poi- soning, a national problem affecting millions families in the United States, Trump plans to cut the U.S. Environ- mental Protection Agency’s budget for the lead-risk re- duction program. Lead poisoning is a seri- “ between ages 1 and 5 are more vulnerable to lead exposure than any other racial group, according to the U.S. Environ- mental Protection Agency. In a recent conversation, Dr. Mark Mitchell, a co-chair of the National Medical As- sociation’s commission on environmental health talked about what lead does and how it impacts Black children. “This [lead problem] mat- ters because of the effects of lead on the mental health and development of children,” Mitchell said. “Reductions in IQ, the inability to learn and Instead of committing resources to address lead poisoning...Trump plans to cut the [EPA’s] budget ous national problem. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that at least 4 million U.S. house- holds with children have el- evated levels of lead, which can cause long-term harm to brain development and the nervous the system. A recent investigative re- port identified 3,000 areas of the country with lead poison- ing rates that far exceed na- tional water safety standards, reminiscent of Flint, Michi- gan’s catastrophic water con- tamination that first garnered national attention in 2015. This crisis is particularly relevant to African Ameri- cans because Black children attention deficit disorder are associated with lead even at low levels.” “African Americans are more likely to live near coal- fired power plants and more likely to live in urban areas where lead tends to line busy streets,” he said. Mitchell ex- plained that one reason for high lead exposure involves lead weights used to bal- ance tires that fall off and get crushed into dust that gets tracked indoors. Older hous- ing and rental housing are also more likely to have old, peeling paint that falls off and contaminates homes. Mitchell was part of a na- tional coalition of scientists, health professionals and chil- dren’s advocates that called on the Trump Administration last week to develop a plan to protect children from lead ex- posure within five years and put an end to the toxic hazard by 2030. The group, Project Tendr, said society would ben- efit economically by address- ing lead aggressively given that the savings in healthcare costs would outweigh the cost of ridding our society of lead contamination. In some corners of the Trump administration, there seemed to be some real con- cern about lead exposure in recent months. In January, during his confirmation hear- ing, Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Secre- tary Ben Carson said dealing with lead would be a priority for him — not only abating lead, but also establishing clinics to address lead expo- sure. But all he did this week is defend Trump’s planned cuts to his agency. Fortunately, Trump’s pro- posal is unlikely to find much support in Congress. But it does show us who he is, re- vealing his incredible lack of empathy for the most vulner- able in our society. And with allies like Carson, the lone Black cabinet member, there’s no one in the Trump adminis- tration to look to. We must look to ourselves for the solutions we seek. And resist all efforts to set our communities back. The Mission of the Democratic Faith Working Group G rowing up in a church parsonage, the eldest son of a fundamental- ist Christian minister, grounded me securely in faith and family. My dad’s ser- mons, which were based in Old Testament scriptures as often as they were in the New Testament, offered up pretty big doses of Judeo-Christian doctrines that still guide me today as Chair of the Demo- cratic Faith Working Group (DFWG) in the United States House of Representatives. The Old Testament lesson found in Micah 6:8 calls upon the reader to do justice, be merciful and walk humbly. In Matthew 25:45 the reader is instructed that we are judged by the way we treat, “the least (among us).” These are the principles that guide the members of the DFWG. We are composed of significant strains of the great diversity of faiths across our nation and in our Caucus. Our val- ues reflect these faiths, and our faith perspectives are the lenses through which we see the great challenges of our times. Whether the issues are com- batting poverty, providing accessible, affordable health care; creating jobs that pay Rep. James Clyburn Senator (D-S.C.) livable wages, rebuilding our infrastructure, tax fairness, environmental stewardship, comprehensive immigration reform, or any other matters important to the common good of our people, the mem- “ 4 — would exacerbate the in- come gap in our society by lavishing massive tax breaks on the wealthiest few at the expense of working people. There is not justice, mercy or humbleness in such action. In my home district alone, more than 270,000 South Car- olinians under Medicare age have pre-existing conditions. Repealing the Affordable Care Act would subject this population to higher costs and loss of care. According to a recent Joint Economic Com- Repealing the Affordable Care Act would have devastating effects on ‘the least of these’ bers of the DFWG are utiliz- ing our faith-based perspec- tives in our pursuit of “a more perfect Union.” The members of the DFWG are actively opposing Repub- lican efforts to “repeal and replace” the Affordable Care Act. Repealing the Affordable Care Act would have devas- tating effects on “the least of these.” It would violate the golden rule of “do(ing) unto others as you would have them do unto you.” The Repub- lican bill — that was passed by the House on Thursday, May mittee Report, the Republi- can Plan will cause 104,954 South Carolinians to lose pri- vate coverage in 2018, with their premiums increasing by $727 to $970. Additionally, we would see increased costs of over $94 million in uncom- pensated care to hospitals in South Carolina. The plan also includes a big transfer of wealth from low to middle income Americans to the wealthiest of Americans. It provides $274.9 billion in tax cuts for the highest in- come Americans, with over half of the tax cuts going to millionaires. In 2020, 61 per- cent of the cuts go to those earning more than $1 million a year. To pay for this, Repub- licans cut Medicaid by more than $880 billion. To add insult to injury, health care CEOs are big winners in this legislation; it cuts taxes by $400 million for insurance company executives. I have long maintained that the Affordable Care Act is the Civil Rights Act of the 21st Century, basically because it outlaws discrimination against sick people, most es- pecially those with pre-exist- ing conditions. Repealing the ACA and putting discrimina- tion back into the health care system is a step history will not forgive. Public policies that do not square with the admonition of Micah 6:8 or the lesson of Matthew 25:45 are offensive to our moral responsibility to do the most good for the most people. The members of the DFWG will continue to use our shared values found in the fundamentals of our faiths to inform and guide us in our efforts to keep the public informed as we address the most pressing issues con- fronting our nation.
