Ohio Congresswoman Shontel Brown (D-11), a Warrensville Hts. Democrat

Clevelandurbannews.com and Kathywraycolemanonlinenewsblog.com

Staff article

Washington, DC - Ohio Congresswoman Shontel Brown (pictured) on Thursday voted against H.R. 10515, failed GOP legislation that she says would have given President-elect Trump, billionaire Elon Musk, and radical Republicans a blank check to cut taxes for the wealthy while removing previously agreed-upon bipartisan provisions providing support for families in need and investments in health care, research, and agriculture.

This week, Congress reached a bipartisan, bicameral agreement to fund the government, prevent a shutdown, and address the critical needs of farmers, families, children, seniors, veterans, and the men and women in uniform. After Republican Speaker Mike Johnson released the bipartisan agreement, President-elect Donald Trump and Elon Musk forced House Republicans to back out of the bipartisan deal to fund the government and extend vital programs. A government shutdown still looms.

Brown said that House Republicans undermined the very deal they negotiated, hastily bringing a new partisan proposal to the floor. The legislation, which failed to pass the House, would have suspended the debt ceiling until January 2027, removing any fiscal checks on President-elect Trump's policies.

Blacks are among the marginalized groups affected by the partisan conflict.

A Warrensville Hts. Democrat who represents Ohio's 11th congressional district, which includes the majority Black city of Cleveland, Rep. Brown released the following statement:

"I joined my House Democratic colleagues in standing up for the hardworking people of my district and this country. This is one of those moments where it comes down to who you are fighting for: ------working people or the billionaires.

"We reached a bipartisan agreement yesterday to fund the government and prevent a shutdown, securing vital support for farmers, families, seniors, veterans, and our men and women in uniform. Now, House Republicans have undermined the very deal they struck, egged on by Donald Trump and his unelected billionaire co-President Elon Musk.

"Their new partisan proposal would give President-elect Trump a blank check for the next two years, freeing him up to reward the rich on the backs of hardworking Americans. Republican leadership also gutted crucial provisions to help SNAP recipients, much-needed additional farm aid, and necessary investments in medical treatment and research.

"In their reckless rush to cut taxes for the rich, Republicans are harming the well-being of working people in my district and across America. A government shutdown will devastate families, disrupt holiday travel, hurt small businesses, hurt veterans and children, and leave essential services like border security and TSA staffing unpaid. This is a reckless and avoidable crisis manufactured by partisans in the Republican Party more concerned with holding our government hostage than fulfilling their basic duty to fund services that millions of Americans rely on.

"I won't stop fighting for the working class and I urge my colleagues across the aisle to come back to the table and put forth the bipartisan agreement that they negotiated.

Legislative Losses – Key Provisions Removed from the Bipartisan Spending Agreement

• No additional $1.5B Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) funding for SNAP skimming reimbursements

• No new regulations on the pharmaceutical industry, a giveaway to Big Pharma that raises the cost of prescription drugs

• No Medicare physician fee reimbursement fix

• No outbound China investment provisions

• No $10 billion in extra farm aid

• No Haiti Trade Preference Program

• No additional funding for Substance Use-Disorder Prevention that Promotes Opioid Recovery and Treatment

• No $190 million for pediatric cancer research reauthorization

• No funding for research on premature labor

• No funding for treatment of sickle cell disease

• No funding for breast and cervical cancer early detection

• No funding for Down syndrome research

Clevelandurbannews.com and Kathywraycolemanonlinenewsblog.com are the most-read Black digital newspaper and blog in Ohio. Tel. 216-659-0473. Email-editor@clevelandurbannews.com

Clevelandurbannews.com /Kathywraycolemanonlinenewsblog.com

By Kathy Wray Coleman, editor, associate publisher

MADISON, Wisconsin-A teacher and teenage student were killed and six students were injured in a shooting at Abundant Life Christian School in Madison, Wisconsin on Monday.

The 15-year-old suspect was a teenage student at the school, and is also dead, police said. The suspect used a handgun, a 9mm pistol, and took her own life after shooting others, authorities said.

A motive is not clear, Madison Police Chief Shon Barnes said at a news conference.

Just before 11 a.m., police responded to a call of an active shooter at the K-12 school at 4901 E. Buckeye Road. Officers found a teen and teacher dead, as well as the female shooter, and recovered a handgun, authorities said.

The tragic shooting comes on the heels of the 12th anniversary of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in Connecticut on Dec.14, 2012 that claimed the lives of 20 adults and six children.

Congress passed a bipartisan gun safety bill over two years ago, which President Joe Biden signed into law in June 2022. The law enhances background checks for gun purchasers ages 18-21, makes obtaining firearms through straw purchases or trafficking a federal offense, and clarifies the definition of a federally licensed firearm dealer.

In a statement, President Biden called the school shooting in Madison, Wisconsin "shocking and unconscionable," and demanded action from Congress.

Some 205 school shootings have been recorded in the United States in 2024 alone.

Clevelandurbannews.com and Kathywraycolemanonlinenewsblog.com are the most-read Black digital newspaper and blog in Ohio. Tel. 216-659-0473. Email-editor@clevelandurbannews.com