Month: February 2018

Budget deal will help Puerto Rico prepare for future ‘extreme weather’ — but it’s not enough

climate, News, politics

A small shred of good news for protecting Puerto Ricans from future climate impacts appears to have snuck into the 2018 budget deal that Congress passed last week.

The two-year budget, signed by Trump last Friday, includes nearly $100 billion in funding for disaster recovery. Of this, $28 billion is given to the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) for disaster relief, long-term recovery, and mitigation efforts for those impacted by major disasters in 2017, such as Hurr...

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Adding work rules to expand Medicaid is a false choice, activists say

health care, medicaid, News, politics

A lot has changed since Virginia’s gubernatorial race last November yielded the highest voter turnout in 20 years. Then, health care moved people to the polls, as casting ballots at the time meant extending health care to 400,000 people. Despite historic Democrat gains, Republicans maintained control of the state house. Now, Medicaid expansion is subject to unprecedented conditions.

The Affordable Care Act (ACA) sought to expand Medicaid eligibility to people making up to 133 ...

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Koch-backed group fights paid sick leave laws as flu sweeps US

health, News, US domestic policy, US healthcare, US news

The lobbying group that led the assault on Obamacare has targeted movements across the US to ensure workers can get needed time off

This week marks 25 years since Bill Clinton signed the Family and Medical Leave Act, which gives US workers the right to unpaid time off to care for themselves and close family members.

It took another decade for some to win paid sick leave, when San Franciscans approved a ballot initiative in 2006 for private employees to earn an hour of paid sick time for every 30 hours worked. Similar measures now benefit 14 million workers in 32 municipalities and nine states.

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