Page 10A
OFF PAGE ONE
East Oregonian
Tuesday, January 2, 2018
Staff photo by Jade McDowell
AP Photo/Evan Vucci
President Donald Trump arrives for a New Year’s Eve gala at his Mar-a-Lago resort with first lady Melania
Trump and their son Barron, Dec. 31 in Palm Beach, Fla.
Perils abroad, full plate at home
as Trump opens second year
By CATHERINE LUCEY
Associated Press
WASHINGTON — The
glamour of his holiday
break behind him, President
Donald Trump returned
to the White House on
Monday night to face a
hefty legislative to-do list,
critical midterm elections
and perilous threats abroad.
Trump started his second
year in Washington after a
lengthy sojourn at his private
club in Palm Beach, Florida,
capped by a New Year’s Eve
bash. Before his departure
for the capital, he fired angry
tweets at Iran and Pakistan,
slamming Islamabad for
“lies & deceit” and saying
the country had played
U.S. leaders for “fools,” a
reference to frustrations that
Pakistan isn’t doing enough
to control militants.
Pakistani
Foreign
Minister Khawaja Asif
tweeted that his government
was preparing a response
that “will let the world know
the truth.”
Meantime, North Korean
leader Kim Jong Un said
Monday the United States
should be aware that his
country’s nuclear forces are
now a reality, not a future
threat. To that, Trump only
said: “We’ll see.”
The president is hoping
for
more
legislative
achievements after his
pre-Christmas success on
taxes. He plans to host Senate
Majority Leader Mitch
McConnell of Kentucky and
House Speaker Paul Ryan of
Wisconsin at Camp David
next weekend to map out the
2018 legislative agenda.
Republicans are eager to
make progress before atten-
tion shifts to the midterm
elections. The GOP wants
to hold House and Senate
majorities in 2018, but
must contend with Trump’s
historic unpopularity and
some recent Democratic
wins.
The president concluded
2017 with his first major
legislative achievement — a
law to cut taxes, beginning
this year, for corporations
and individuals at an esti-
mated cost of $1.5 trillion
added to the national debt
over 10 years. The tax
overhaul also will end the
requirement, in 2019, that
all Americans buy health
insurance or pay a fine.
That’s a key component of
the Obama-era health law
that that Republicans have
been unable to repeal; other
features of the law remain
intact.
The White House has said
Trump will come forward
with his long-awaited infra-
structure plan in January.
Trump has also said he
wants to overhaul welfare
and recently predicted
Democrats and Republicans
will “eventually come
together” to develop a new
health care plan.
Ryan has talked about
overhauling
Medicaid
and Medicare and other
safety-net programs, but
McConnell has signaled
an unwillingness to go
that route unless there’s
Democratic support for any
changes. Republicans will
have just a 51-49 Senate
majority — well shy of the
60 votes needed to pass most
bills — giving leverage to
Democrats.
Congress also has to
deal with a backlog from
2017. It must agree on a
spending bill by Jan. 19 to
avert a partial government
shutdown.
Lawmakers also have
unfinished business on
additional aid to for hurri-
cane victims, lifting the
debt ceiling, extending a
children’s health insurance
program and extending
protections for immigrants
brought to the U.S. illegally
as children. Trump has
said he wants money for a
border wall in exchange for
protecting those immigrants.
Trump spent his last day
in Florida as he spent most
other days — visiting his
golf course and tweeting.
On Pakistan, he said:
“The United States has fool-
ishly given Pakistan more
than 33 billion dollars in aid
over the last 15 years, and
they have given us nothing
but lies & deceit, thinking
of our leaders as fools. They
give safe haven to the terror-
ists we hunt in Afghanistan,
with little help. No more!”
It was not immediately
clear why the president
decided to comment on
Pakistan. The U.S. has
long accused Islamabad
of allowing militants to
operate relatively freely in
Pakistan’s border regions
to carry out operations in
neighboring Afghanistan.
In August, the United
States said it would hold
up $255 million in military
assistance for Pakistan until
it cracks down on extremists
threatening Afghanistan.
On Iran, Trump kept up
his drumbeat in support of
widespread anti-govern-
ment protests there. He
tweeted Monday that Iran
is “failing at every level”
and it is “TIME FOR
CHANGE.”
Baby Jose Phillip Escobedo, also known as Joey, is
pictured with his parents Jose and Jennifer Escobedo
at Good Shepherd Medical Center a few hours after
Joey was born.
BABY: Healthy boy born
news.
“We figured if they were
water broke on Friday, she
awake
they would call, if
didn’t begin going into
not
they
would see it in the
labor — a phenomenon
known as premature rupture morning,” Jennifer said.
A tired but excited
of membranes, or PROM.
Jennifer
was presented
The longer labor is delayed
Monday after-
after PROM,
noon
with a
the
greater
teddy
bear
the chance of
and
a
large
infection for
basket
of
the
mother
items for the
or baby, so
baby, as well
Jennifer was
as a profes-
induced.
sional photo
She said the
shoot, thanks
hospital staff
to his status
was
very
as the first
considerate
baby of 2018
in starting the
born at Good
“least intru-
Shepherd.
sive” medica-
There were a
tions first and
— Jennifer Escobedo, few items in
working up,
but even after mother of Jose ‘Joey’ Phillip there for her,
too, she was
the final dose
Escobedo, Umatilla
of pitocin Joey County’s first baby of 2018 told.
“Is
it
was still being
cookies?” she
shy.
“For some reason he asked jokingly, commenting
didn’t want to descend, so we that she couldn’t wait to eat
decided to do a C-section,” solid food again.
Jennifer
teaches
she said.
preschool
for
Head
Start
During the C-section they
in
Boardman,
and
Jose
discovered the umbilical cord
works
security
in
the
area.
had looped around the baby’s
neck, but in the end, after The couple said they were
all the drama, he was born looking forward to bringing
healthy. Not knowing what home their first child in a
extended family members’ couple of days.
———
sleep patterns would be like
Contact
Jade
McDowell
in the early hours of New
at
jmcdowell@eastorego-
Year’s Day, they send out
text messages with the good nian.com or 541-564-4536.
Continued from 1A
“I was not
expecting a
New Year’s
baby. I was
expecting
a tax break
baby.”
101: Looking for way to cover $320M shortfall
Continued from 1A
R-Medford — launched a
referendum drive to repeal
the bill. A no vote is a vote
to revoke the legislation.
Measure 101 critics maintain
that most of the $320 million
shortfall could instead come
from elsewhere and that it
unfairly taxes individuals,
small businesses, school
districts, college students
and
non-profits
while
exempting
corporations
and unions because of their
lobbyist power.
Parrish, whose cell
phone number appears in
the special election voters’
pamphlet, said the ques-
tion isn’t whether to fund
Medicaid, but how to fund
it.
“We didn’t think taxing
the health insurance plans
of our teachers is a fair
way fund Medicaid,” she
said. “$25 million is going
to come out of our public
schools.”
Parrish also said she
believes taxing net revenues
of larger hospitals will boost
costs for patients.
Patty Wentz, spokes-
woman for the Yes for
Health Care campaign,
sees things differently. For
one, she fears losing federal
matching funds if Oregon
lawmakers can’t figure out
a way to pay for Medicaid.
“With Measure 101, we
put in $320 million and it
gets matched and expanded
to $1.3 billion,” Wentz said.
“Without Measure 101, we
could be down $1.3 billion
in our health care budget.
People would lose health
care. It gives us the most
certainty in funding health
care — anything else is a
gamble.”
individuals now use the
St. Anthony emergency
department for primary
care.
“People don’t wait until
they’re really sick and then
go to the ER,” Gutierrez
said. “That’s a really ineffi-
cient way to do heath care.”
Hoffman worries that
if the measure is voted
down, exciting gains in
health care like that could
evaporate. He pulled out
a graph that showed that
ER visits, hospitalizations
Staff photo by E.J. Harris
and specialist visits among
Ashton Dokka, 13, holds up his asthma inhaler that
would cost $70 without coverage from Medicaid OHP patients decreased as
visits to primary providers
expantion due to the Affordable Care Act.
rose.
“What we’re doing is
working,” Hoffman said.
He said the stakes of
— Jennifer Dokka, failing Measure 101 are
Medicaid expansion recipient who has two sons with asthma high.
“A third of Umatilla
A coalition of 125 Medical Center in Herm- County — a third of Eastern
organizations supports the iston, is more guarded. The Oregon — receives this
measure. The list includes administrator thinks the state insurance,” Hoffman said.
the Oregon Association should stand on its own, not “Of that third, half are chil-
of Hospitals and Health assessing hospitals, insur- dren.”
Dokka, the single mom
Systems,
the
Oregon ance companies and others
Medical Association and the for enough state dollars to on Medicaid, said she’ll
be relieved if Measure 101
Oregon Nurses Association. garner a federal match.
“Insurance companies
However,
“I’m passes. If not, she worries
and hospitals not only supportive of it because I about whether state legis-
endorse this package, they don’t think we have an alter- lators can cobble together
helped craft it,” said Dr. native,” Burke said. “Our financing.
“I’m worried that they
Charles Hoffman, a Baker state has found itself in an
City internist who advo- untenable position. Oregon don’t have a Plan B,” Dokka
cates for passage of the is the state fourth-most said.
“We have a backup
measure.
dependent on federal dollars
Harry Geller, CEO of and that’s not an enviable plan,” Parrish said, adding
CHI St. Anthony Hospital in position. We need to work to that an alternative bill is
already drafted. “We believe
Pendleton, is also a backer.
change that.”
“I wholeheartedly urge
Supporters say that there’s a way to get there. I
people to vote yes on expanded Medicaid means have family in the expanded
Measure 101,” Geller said. that fewer people use the Medicaid program. Do you
“The hospital community emergency room for basic think I’d cut care to my own
is pretty united to protect health care and hospitals family?”
———
health care for everyone in pay less in charity care.
Contact Kathy Aney at
the state.”
St. Anthony nurse Margie
Dennis Burke, president Gutierrez, a Measure 101 kaney@eastoregonian.com
and CEO of Good Shepherd supporter,
says
fewer or 941-966-0810.
“An inhaler costs about $70.”
Staff photo by Kathy Aney
A runner and her two dogs usher in the new year by
participating in Monday’s Resolution Run at Riverfront
Park in Hermiston.
RUN: Pets join in the fun
Continued from 1A
the below-freezing tempera-
tures, and T-shirts printed
with the date of the run and
“Hermiston: You Can Run
Here” were available. The
slogan is an echo of the city
of Hermiston’s former slogan
“You Can Grow Here.”
Some athletes took to
the trail with baby strollers,
while others brought along
their dogs. The first group
of runners to return reported
being greeted by a very
excited stray dog partway
through their run, and once
they had rehydrated several
of them took off for another
run together.
Liz Sharon, who ran the
trail with her daughter and her
daughter’s friend, said she felt
the run went well and was a
good way to start the new year.
“It’s a fun community
event,” she said. “... I like
the new year. I like the new
start.”
Nate Rivera said he
enjoyed the run and was glad
the weather was clear for it,
even if it was cold. He said
the Resolution Run each year
feels like a good way to reset
from the over-eating and
lazing around that usually
happens over the holidays.
“It breaks you out of that
holiday rut,” he said.
———
Contact Jade McDowell
at jmcdowell@eastorego-
nian.com or 541-564-4536.