Show notes
Friday News Flyover, January 19, 2024
Oil train delayed | Abortion rights advocates speak with Senators | Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly and GOP-dominated legislature’s priorities | and OH Sen. Sherrod Brown and MO Rep. Jason Smith make big bi-partisan deal on Child Tax Credit
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This train is not leaving the station
Forest Service withdraws key permit for controversial Utah oil-train project opposed by Coloradans
Project would dramatically increase hazardous shipments through Colorado communities
BY: CHASE WOODRUFF - JANUARY 18, 2024 9:18 AM
A controversial Utah oil-train proposal opposed by Colorado communities and environmentalists was dealt another blow this week when the U.S. Forest Service withdrew a key permit for the project.
In an announcement published Wednesday, Ashley National Forest Supervisor Susan Eickhoff blocked the issuance of a permit to the Uinta Basin Railway to construct 12 miles of railroad track through a protected area of the national forest in northeast Utah. The stretch of track in question is part of the proposed railway’s 88-mile connection between the oil fields of eastern Utah’s Uinta Basin and the existing national rail network.
The project has drawn fierce opposition from Coloradans. A federal “downline analysis” estimated that 90% of the resulting oil-train traffic — as many as five fully loaded, two-mile-long trains of crude oil tankers per day — would be routed through environmentally sensitive and densely populated areas in Colorado, en route to oil refineries on the Gulf Coast. The oil trains would more than quadruple the amount of hazardous materials being shipped by rail through many Colorado counties.
Colorado’s Eagle County and five environmental groups sued to overturn the Uinta Basin Railway’s approval, and in August 2023 a panel of federal judges ruled that the approval process contained “numerous” and “significant” violations of the National Environmental Policy Act. The ruling vacated portions of the project’s environmental impact statement and ordered the federal Surface Transportation Board to redo its analysis of key environmental risks.
Because the Forest Service’s decision in August 2022 to grant a right-of-way permit to the project was based on that flawed analysis, the agency has withdrawn its decision pending further proceedings at the STB.
Ted Zukoski, senior attorney with the Center for Biological Diversity, one of the groups that sued to block the project. “This is wonderful news for the roadless forest in Utah’s Indian Canyon and the wildlife who call it home. It’s a victory for the Colorado River and nearby communities that would be threatened by oil train accidents and spills. If the oil train’s backers attempt to revive this dangerous scheme, we’ll be there to fight it again.”
In a press release, Democratic U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet of Colorado, who had urged multiple federal agencies to put a stop to the project, applauded the Forest Service’s move.
“A derailment along the headwaters of the Colorado River could have catastrophic effects for Colorado’s communities, water, and environment. I’m glad the Forest Service has taken this important step to protect the Colorado River and the tens of millions of people who depend on it.”
U.S. Senators and Abortion Rights Advocates Discuss State Abortion Access Limitations
BY: JENNIFER SHUTT - JANUARY 17, 2024
WASHINGTON — During a Capitol Visitors Center briefing, abortion rights advocates and Democratic U.S. Senators called for reinstating legal and safe abortion access nationwide. The nearly three-hour session featured physicians discussing the difficulties faced in states with restrictive abortion laws following the Supreme Court's overturning of Roe v. Wade.
Dr. Austin Dennard, a Texas OB-GYN involved in a lawsuit against the state's abortion laws, spoke about the validity and personal nature of each abortion decision. He highlighted patients' fears about family planning in states with restrictive laws, noting the adverse impact on what should be a joyful life chapter.
The briefing preceded the annual anti-abortion March for Life, with U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson and Rep. Chris Smith scheduled to speak. Senate Democrats criticized efforts to limit abortion access and discussed two upcoming Supreme Court cases with significant implications.
One case focuses on mifepristone, a key medication in abortion and miscarriage treatments, while the other revolves around the Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act (EMTALA). The Biden administration argues that EMTALA should protect doctors performing abortions as emergency medical treatment in states with strict anti-abortion laws.
Dr. Serina Floyd, a Washington, D.C. OB-GYN and Physicians for Reproductive Health fellow, expressed confusion over Republican efforts to target EMTALA, emphasizing the potential life-saving importance of emergency abortion care. She noted research indicating severe consequences for patients denied abortion access, including health risks, economic hardship, and staying in violent relationships.
Dr. Floyd advocated for non-interference from the government in medical decisions, stressing that patients are capable of making informed choices about their health and lives with their healthcare providers.
Senator Patty Murray of Washington highlighted her state's influx of abortion patients from restrictive states like Idaho. Murray and other senators at the briefing expressed concern that residents in states with abortion protections might not realize the impact of a potential nationwide abortion ban or Supreme Court decisions.
Senator Debbie Stabenow of Michigan pointed out that even states with constitutional reproductive rights, like Michigan, are not fully shielded from the effects of a national abortion ban. After hearing doctors' testimonies, Stabenow expressed astonishment at the challenges facing both physicians and women needing abortion access, questioning the progress made in women's rights, asking, “is it 2024 or are we back in 1984?”
Kansas Legislature Fast-Tracks Tax Reform Opposed by Governor Kelly
BY: TIM CARPENTER - JANUARY 17, 2024
TOPEKA — Kansas Republican legislative leaders are expediting a tax reform bill focusing on income and sales tax changes, including a single-rate state income tax of 5.25%, which Democratic Governor Laura Kelly has threatened to veto.
The bill, bypassing regular committee processes, is set for early-session debate in the Senate.
The proposed tax overhaul would lead to a state revenue reduction exceeding $1.5 billion over three years, surpassing Governor Kelly's proposed $1 billion cut. The plan to implement a flat tax rate of 5.25%, replacing Kansas' three-rate income tax structure, has been met with opposition from Governor Kelly because it disproportionately benefits the wealthy.
The bill also proposes eliminating the state income tax on Social Security benefits, aligning with Kelly's proposal. Additionally, it seeks to remove the state sales tax on groceries starting April 1, advancing the timeline from the previously set January 1, 2025. The measure includes an exemption for the first $100,000 in state property taxes from all Kansas homeowners for school finance purposes, adjustable for inflation.
Senate President Ty Masterson and House Speaker Dan Hawkins, both Republicans, view the bill as a compromise, claiming it addresses issues faced by retirees and families while tackling inflation.
Governor Kelly vetoed two major tax reform bills in 2023, which the Republican-dominated Legislature couldn't override.
“We must get that money back into Kansans’ pockets — and we will — in a fiscally responsible and targeted way,” Kelly said. “In a way that doesn’t threaten progress on all the other issues Kansans care about. Unfortunately, that’s exactly what one proposal — the flat tax — would do. ”
Kansas’ Governor Kelly calls for hearing on Medicaid expansion bill that would cover 150,000 Kansans
BY: RACHEL MIPRO - JANUARY 17, 2024 2:35 PM
TOPEKA — A Medicaid expansion proposal has been enrolled into state House and Senate committees despite continued opposition from top legislative Republicans.
Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly, who has spent the months leading up to the legislative session rallying across the state for Medicaid expansion, called for a hearing on the bill by Jan. 29.
“It’s easy to sum up the Cutting Healthcare Costs for All Kansans Act: health care coverage for 150,000 Kansans, cost savings for everyone else. We protect our rural hospitals, and Kansas taxpayers pay nothing extra,” Kelly said in a Wednesday announcement of the proposal’s enrollment. “The legislature should listen to the over 70% of Kansans who support Medicaid Expansion and give this bill a hearing by Kansas Day.”
Rep. Vic Miller, D-Topeka, introduced the bill in the House Appropriations Committee and on the Senate side, Sen. Pat Pettey, D- Kansas City, introduced the bill into the Senate Ways and Means Committee.
“Medicaid expansion is not only popular, but it saves lives, creates jobs and saves our rural hospitals. Hardworking Kansans shouldn’t die because of legislative inaction,” Miller said.
Medicaid expansion would unlock $700 million in annual federal funding and could potentially save 59 rural hospitals at risk of closing. Kelly unveiled her latest Medicaid expansion package in December, but Senate President Ty Masterson and House Speaker Dan Hawkins remain opposed to expansion, calling the move a way to expand the “welfare state.”
Lawmakers last came close to expansion in 2020, when former Senate Majority Leader Jim Denning worked out a bipartisan deal with Kelly. But the deal fell apart as Republicans, outraged by a Kansas Supreme Court ruling that established a constitutional right to terminate a pregnancy, focused on placing a constitutional amendment on abortion before voters instead,
Child Tax Credit and Business Incentives Merged in New Tax Proposal
BY: ASHLEY MURRAY - JANUARY 16, 2024
WASHINGTON — Leading members of Congress released a bipartisan, bicameral tax proposal Tuesday, promising a middle-path deal to help low-income families and provide incentives for businesses as Trump-era tax breaks expire.
The framework led by U.S. Democratic Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon and Republican Rep. Jason Smith of Missouri would raise the child tax credit incrementally through 2025 and restore tax relief for affordable housing projects.
The three-year proposal would also make exempt disaster payments to wildfire victims and to those who suffered losses after the massive train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio.
Sen. Wyden, chair of the Senate Committee on Finance, said in a statement that “(f)ifteen million kids from low-income families will be better off as a result of this plan, and given today’s miserable political climate, it’s a big deal to have this opportunity to pass pro-family policy that helps so many kids get ahead.”
Democrats have been pushing to permanently raise the tax credit that low-income families receive per child after a temporary increase during the COVID-19 pandemic illustrated significant reductions in child poverty.
Wyden also praised the deal’s potential to spur affordable housing construction and said that his goal “remains to get this passed in time for families and businesses to benefit in this upcoming tax filing season, and I’m going to pull out all the stops to get that done.”
Rep. Jason Smith, chair of the House Committee on Ways and Means, said “American families will benefit from this bipartisan agreement that provides greater tax relief, strengthens Main Street businesses, boosts our competitiveness with China, and creates jobs.”
“We even provide disaster relief and cut red tape for small businesses, while ending a COVID-era program that’s costing taxpayers billions in fraud. This legislation locks in over $600 billion in proven pro-growth, pro-America tax policies with key provisions that support over 21 million jobs. I look forward to working with my colleagues to pass this legislation,” Smith continued in a statement Tuesday.
And for those who file 1099 forms, a provision tucked away in the framework would increase the threshold to file to $1,000 from the current $600.
The proposal won praise from across the tax policy spectrum.
Business Roundtable, an advocacy organization representing a wide range of U.S. CEOs, described the deal’s pitch to revive expired pro-business policies as “critical to strengthening America’s global competitiveness.”
Sen. Sherrod Brown, an Ohio Democrat and key supporter of the child tax credit, urged his colleagues to pass the deal, calling it a “win-win for Ohio families and Ohio manufacturers.”
Sen. Brown said, “The deal’s expansion of the Child Tax Credit will help parents keep up with the rising cost of living and ensure that their hard work pays off. The business provisions will support American companies that invest in our nation’s research and manufacturing. The deal also ensures that residents of East Palestine won’t get hit with a surprise tax bill for payments they received from Norfolk Southern after last year’s derailment.”
Pretty, pret-ty good.
Welp that’s it for me, from Denver I’m Sean Diller. Stories in today’s show can be found in the Missouri Independent, Ohio Capital Journal, Kansas Reflector and Michigan Advance. Thanks for listening, see you next time.
Host: Adam Sommer
Find Adam on tik-tok (maybe) and bluesky as "midmapdadenergy" - follow The Process on instagram.
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