Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (July 29, 2017)
NATION/WORLD Saturday, July 29, 2017 East Oregonian GOP blame-a-thon over health bill crash, but no clear path WASHINGTON (AP) — The resounding Senate crash of the seven- year Republican drive to scrap the Obama health care law incited GOP fi nger-pointing Friday but left the party with wounded leaders and no evident pathway forward on an issue that won’t go away. In an astonishing cliff-hanger, the GOP-run Senate voted 51-49 to reject Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s last ditch attempt to sustain their drive to dismantle President Barack Obama’s health care overhaul with a starkly trimmed-down bill. The vote, which concluded shortly before 2 a.m. EDT, was a blistering defeat for President Donald Trump and McConnell, R-Ky., who’ve made uprooting the statute a top priority. “They should have approved health care last night,” Trump said Friday during a speech in Brentwood, New York. “But you can’t have everything,” he added, seemingly shrugging off one of his biggest legislative setbacks. Trump reiterated his threat to “let Obamacare implode,” an outcome he could hasten by steps like halting federal payments to help insurers reduce out-of-pocket costs for lower-earning consumers. Senate Democrats were joined in opposition by three Republicans — Maine’s Susan Collins, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Arizona’s John McCain. The 80-year-old McCain, just diagnosed with brain cancer, had returned to the Capitol three days earlier to provide a vote that temporarily kept the measure alive, only to deliver the coup de grace Friday. “3 Republicans and 48 Democrats let the American people down,” Trump tweeted Friday. He tweeted later that the Senate needed a rules change to “immediately go to a 51 vote majority, not senseless 60,” even though on the crucial vote a simple majority of 51 votes, including a tie-breaker by Vice President Mike Pence, was all that was needed. “Hello, he only needed 51 in the health care bill and couldn’t do it,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said.. Earlier in the week, Republican defections sank two broad GOP efforts to scrap the 2010 law. One would have erased Obama’s statute and replaced it with a more constricted government health care role, and the other would Page 13A BRIEFLY RUSSIA CHINA Missile landing site Missile launch site N OR T H K OR EA East China Sea Pyongyang Japan’s exclusive economic zone SOUTH KOREA Tokyo J A PA N 200 mi Pacific Ocean 200 km maps4news.com/©HERE North Korea second ICBM test puts much of U.S. in range AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Ky. leaves the Senate cham- ber on Capitol Hill Thursday, after a vote as the Republican majority in Congress remains stymied by their inability to fulfi ll their political prom- ise to repeal and replace “Obamacare” because of opposition and waver- ing within the GOP ranks. have annulled the law and given Congress two years to replace it. The measure that fell Friday was narrower and included a repeal of Obama’s unpopular tax penalties on people who don’t buy policies and on employers who don’t offer coverage to workers. McConnell designed it as a legislative vehicle the Senate could approve and begin talks with the House on a compromise, fi nal bill. But the week’s setbacks highlighted how, despite years of trying, GOP leaders haven’t resolved internal battles between conservatives seeking to erase Obama’s law and moderates leery of tossing millions of voters off of coverage. “It’s time to move on,” McConnell said after the defeat. Friday morning, House leaders resorted to singer Gordon Lightfoot to point fi ngers. They opened a House GOP meeting by playing “The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald,” a ballad about the 1975 sinking of a freighter in Lake Superior. Lawmakers said leaders assured them it was meant as a reference to the Senate’s fl op. The House approved its health care measure in May, after its own tribula- tions. In a statement, Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., pointedly said “the House delivered a bill.” Conservative Rep. Mo Brooks, R-Ala., running for a Senate seat, faulted McConnell for not crafting a plan that could pass. He said if McCon- nell abandons the health care drive, “he should resign from leadership.” One moderate Republican said Trump shared responsibility. “One of the failures was the pres- ident never laid out a plan or his core principles and never sold them to the American people,” said Rep. Charlie Dent, R-Pa. “Outsourced the whole issue to Congress.” Lawmakers spoke of two possible but diffi cult routes forward. In one, balking GOP senators could be won over by new proposals from leaders or cave under pressure from angry constituents demanding they fulfi ll the party’s pledge to tear down Obama’s law. But both of those dynamics have been in play all year without producing results. In the other, there would be a limited bipartisan effort to address the insurance market’s short-term concerns. That would provide money to insurers to help them subsidize some customers and prevent companies from driving up premiums or abandoning regions. Schumer said he hoped the two parties could “work together to make the system better” by stabilizing market- places. PYONGYANG, North Korea (AP) — North Korea on Friday test-fi red its second intercontinental ballistic missile, which fl ew longer and higher than the fi rst according to its wary neighbors, leading analysts to conclude that a wide swath of the U.S., including Los Angeles and Chicago, is now within range of Pyongyang’s weapons. Japanese government spokesman Yoshihide Suga said the missile, launched late Friday night, fl ew for about 45 minutes — about fi ve minutes longer than the ICBM North Korea test-fi red on July 4. The missile was launched on very high trajectory, which limited the distance it traveled, and landed west of Japan’s island of Hokkaido. Analysts had estimated that the North’s fi rst ICBM could have reached Alaska, and said Friday that the latest missile appeared to extend that range signifi cantly. David Wright, a physicist and co-director of the global security program at the Union of Concerned Scientists, said in Washington that if reports of the missile’s maximum altitude and fl ight time are correct, it would have a theoretical range of at least 6,500 miles. That means it could have reached Los Angeles, Denver and Chicago, depending on variables such as the size and weight of the warhead that would be carried atop such a missile in an attack. Trump ready to sign Russia sanctions bill, Moscow retaliates WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump will sign a package of stiff fi nancial sanctions against Russia that passed Congress with overwhelming support, the White House said Friday. Moscow has already responded, ordering a reduction in the number of U.S. diplomats in Russia and closing the U.S. Embassy’s recreation retreat. Trump’s willingness to support the measure is a remarkable acknowledgement that he has yet to sell his party on his hopes for forging a warmer relationship with Moscow. His vow to extend a hand of cooperation to Russian President Vladimir Putin has been met with resistance as skeptical lawmakers look to limit the president’s leeway to go easy on Moscow over its meddling in the 2016 presidential election. The Senate passed the bill 98-2. ؏ EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY ؏ Feel the Thrill of a New Toyota! Part Time - Inside Salesperson 10 New 2017 TOYOTAS with over $ 2000 Cash Back Great work environment. Super awesome team. Good base pay PLUS commissions. Retirement plan. Weekends off . Interested? We are looking for a motivated, self-confi dent individual to join our inside sales team at East Oregonian in Pendleton. We have an opening for a part time inside salesperson position. No newspaper experience? No problem, as long as you understand the importance of great customer service, working hard and a desire to enjoy your job. 2017 COROLLA 2017 RAV4 Excludes Hybrid also includes 2017 Camry Hybrid 20 2017 Prius v 2017 Avalon Gas 2017 Avalon Hybrid 2017 Yaris 2017 Yaris iA 2017 Sienna 2017 CAMRY Or choose from 5 vehicles that can be leased for less than $200 per month. SUCH AS: 2017 Camry SE $ 179 /mo for 36 mos. Could this be you? We are seeking a dynamic salesperson to make prospecting phone calls to potential customers and businesses of all types, service existing accounts, be organized and have excellent computer and communication skills. If you’ve been looking for the opportunity to excel in a sales environment, this is it! The right candidate will be organized with a high attention to detail, have a desire to learn and grow their skills and work well in a team environment. Must be very accurate and detail oriented plus have excellent customer service and communication skills. Job qualifi cations include accuracy and speed when typing and spelling, excellent organizational, phone and communication skills. No sales experience required. Part-time, wage plus commission. Benefi ts include Paid Time Off (PTO) and 401(k)/Roth 401(k) retirement plan. Send resume and letter of interest to EO Media Group, PO Box 2048 • Salem, OR 97308-2048, by fax to 503-371-2935 or e-mail hr@eomediagroup.com $ 199 /mo 2017 RAV4 LE for 36 mos. Come work with us! We are an awesome team. Special leasing also available on: 2017 Corolla LE 2017 Corolla iM 2017 Yaris iA Every new Toyota comes with AP (541) 567-6461 or 800-522-2308 ToyotaOfHermiston.com All financing on approved credit through TFS. All vehicles subject to prior sale. All prices plus tax and title. $75 dealer doc fee. Offers end 7/5/17. For more details call 1-888-21-TOYOTA. Mon - Fri 8:30a - 7:00p Saturday 8:30a - 7:00p Sunday 10:00a - 5:00p
