SENATE REPUBLICANS CONTINUE TO BLOCK COMPREHENSIVE BILL TO BRING DOWN PRESCRIPTION DRUG COSTS. HuffPost detailed how a House-passed prescription drug reform bill that “could slash the price of” necessary medicine is languishing in the Senate because Mitch McConnell “has flatly refused to consider it.” H.R. 3 — “the most impactful piece of drug legislation” passed in Congress in decades — would lower costs on everything from insulin to breakthrough cancer treatments. A poll from Kaiser Health News found that 8 in 10 Americans agree that reducing the costs of prescription drugs should be Congress’ top priority but Senate Republicans are standing in the way because their donors oppose provisions to negotiate prices.
GOP SENATORS SHOULD STAND UP TO DEMAND MORE RESOURCES TO FIGHT CORONAVIRUS. Senate Democrats are requesting $8.5 billion to help combat coronavirus — more than the White House said it’s willing to spend to tackle the outbreak. And as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) warns that spread of coronavirus in the United States is “inevitable,” the Trump administration is facing “swift bipartisan backlash” for its “inadequate” response. The Trump administration’s insufficient $2.5 billion request, which raids funding from accounts meant for Ebola prevention, comes on top of “big cuts” to the CDC in Trump’s latest budget blueprint and years of Trump “slashing the government agencies responsible for handling the coronavirus outbreak,” which led to the CDC being forced to cut its global disease prevention efforts by 80% in 2018. Not a single Republican Senator spoke out to oppose the president’s budget proposals that cut these funds.
FACT CHECK TRUE: TILLIS VOTED TO TAKE AWAY PRE-EXISTING CONDITIONS COVERAGE. An independent fact checker confirmed Senator Thom Tillis has voted to take away protections from people with pre-existing conditions and his sham proposal “falls short” of offering current protections in the Affordable Care Act. Read the fact check here and watch the segment that aired on WRAL:
HEADLINE: THOM TILLIS UNDER FIRE BY FELLOW REPUBLICANS IN NC SENATE PRIMARY. The Fayetteville Observer reported the scathing reviews from the Republican candidates challenging Senator Tillis in his primary:
Senator Tillis has struggled to earn the support of the Republican base and had to sink $700,000 into his own primary. The Charlotte Observer noted that: “Tillis is trusted by neither moderates nor conservatives.”
JOHN JAMES’ “COZY” COORDINATION WITH DARK MONEY GROUP. New reporting from the Daily Beast reveals that John James’s ties to a Michigan dark money group are “even deeper than revealed,” after OpenSecrets reported last month that James’ former campaign manager Tori Sachs failed to wait the required 120-day period between leaving the campaign and launching ads as the executive director of Better Future Michigan. Records show that the James campaign and Better Future Michigan used the same media buyer and digital consulting firm, suggesting more “shady” coordination and strategy that keeps James from facing Michganders. This all follows an FEC complaint against James and his campaign filed after the OpenSecrets report.
ERNST HAS YET TO ANSWER QUESTIONS ON DARK MONEY TIES AS FOURTH COMPLAINT FILED. A fourth complaint has been filed based on the explosive report from the Associated Press revealing potential campaign finance laws broken by Senator Joni Ernst and her campaign, this time with the IRS. Ernst has dodged answering basic questions about conduct that “potentially violates the law.” While Ernst refuses to answer for her ethical conflicts, Theresa Greenfield released a “detailed policy proposal” to restore trust in our democracy just last week.
GOP INFIGHTING IN GEORGIA ESCALATES, “DIALED UP TO AN 11.” Outlook is bleak for the GOP’s “bitter brawl” in Georgia, as temporary senator Kelly Loeffler and Trump lackey Doug Collins continue escalating their attacks in their fight for the same Senate seat. Loeffler and allies’ attempts to sabotage Collins’s fundraising efforts became public this week, as she continues to deal with the fallout around her purchase of a private jet and an ad showing her in hunting gear, despite not having a hunting license. The fight for voters between Loeffler and Collins has “left many voters struggling to make up their minds.”
IN THE STATES
AZ – 12 News: Martha McSally gets President Trump’s blessing, but doesn’t have voters on her side yet
IA – Iowa Starting Line: Make ‘Em Squeal? Ernst Didn’t Live Up To Her Own Legislation
KS – Shawnee Mission Post: Capitol Update: Sen. Bollier says Kansas needs to take steps to address ‘financially devastating’ surprise medical bills
KY – 14 News: Amy McGrath stops in Owensboro for campaign event
NH – Senator Shaheen Op-Ed on NBC.com: Mitch McConnell’s efforts to restrict abortion won’t end until his control of the Senate does
NC – Charlotte Post: “We endorse Cal Cunningham.”
NC – Fayetteville Observer: Thom Tillis under fire by fellow Republicans in NC Senate primary
SC – BET: Jaime Harrison Is Running To Unseat Lindsey Graham And Change The Face Of Southern Politics
TX – Statesman: Hobby poll: Hegar way out front in crowded Democratic Senate field
TWEET OF THE WEEK
Lauren Passalacqua
Stewart Boss
Helen Kalla
Regina Anderson
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