Speaker Ryan Proposes Stopgap Funding Bill Using CHIP As Bargaining Tool
The federal government's budget is set to expire this Friday at midnight. In a last-ditch attempt to avoid a fiscal cliff, House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI) is trying to woo Democrats by pushing a short-term stopgap bill that would extend the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) for six years.
Kelly Macias, Staff Writer at Daily Kos, and Ed Morrissey, Senior Editor at Hot Air, discuss whether the Speaker's proposal is enough to get Democrats and Republicans on board. Morrissey says that while he thinks it's enough to keep the government afloat for a month, that a lot still needs to be done to find a long-term solution.
A long-term solution is stalled over debate around immigration. Democrats are holding out for a deal that provides a solution for young undocumented immigrants protected by President Obama's Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival program.
Water infrastructure across the country is vulnerable as climate change makes storms more unpredictable and destructive, flooding low-lying drinking water treatment plants and overwhelming coastal sewage systems.
Iran has transferred five Iranian-Americans from prison to house arrest in exchange for billions of dollars frozen in South Korea, U.S. and Iranian officials said Thursday, in a deal that comes after months of heightened tensions between the two countries.