'I was speaker ... under what's-his-name': Christmas quotes of the week

Washington Examiner Staff

December 24, 04:00 AM December 24, 04:00 AM

The final week before Christmas was dominated by events on Capitol Hill, all of a different flavor. First, there was the much-anticipated Jan. 6 commission report, as well as the transcripts of witnesses that were released.

There was also a $1.7 trillion passage of an omnibus bill and the seeming civil war between House and Senate Republicans over its passage. And finally, there was a historic address to Congress by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

REPUBLICAN REBUKE: HOW 18 GOP SENATORS DEALT ANOTHER BLOW TO TRUMP THIS WEEK

Here are the quotes of the week.

"No man who would behave that way at that moment in time can ever serve in any position of authority in our nation again."

"Nobody will care about my legacy if I lose. So, that won't matter. The only thing that matters is winning."

"Ours is not a system of justice where foot soldiers go to jail and the masterminds and ringleaders get a free pass."

“The entire nation knows who is responsible for that day. Beyond that, I don’t have any immediate observations.”

"I brought with me the omni — 4,155 pages. When was it produced? In the dead of the night. 1:30 in the morning when it was released. [...] When did they know that this would be necessary? Well, it's in the law — September 30th."

“As Speaker of the House, I have awesome power. As I'm now transitioning to a different role, I expect to have strong influence, but not on my members, just in terms of encouraging more women, for example, to run.”

“I was speaker and minority leader under President Bush, under President Obama, under what’s-his-name.”

"Your money is not charity. It’s an investment in the global security and democracy that we handle in the most responsible way."

“With this investment, I know it sounds like a lot of money — we destroyed the Russian military without one American soldier being killed."

"I sincerely hope this holiday season will drain the poison that has infected our politics and set us against one another.”

“Every single Republican should vote no on the ludicrous, unacceptable $1.7 trillion omnibus spending bill. It’s a disaster for our country, and it also happens to be a disaster for the Republican Party, because they could stop it.”

"There is a raft of earmarks spending on all manners of woke garbage, including a $105,000 for a mentoring program for LGBTQ youth."

Marjorie Taylor Greene vacationing in Costa Rica during tumultuous congressional period: Report

Brady Knox

December 23, 05:34 PM December 23, 07:37 PM

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene is reportedly vacationing in Costa Rica while tumultuous battles in Congress have been taking place over the $1.7 trillion omnibus spending bill.

The vacation was confirmed by a spokesman from her congressional office, according to Business Insider. The spokesman said that Greene always takes a trip with her family around Christmas time and that the trip was especially important this year following her divorce from her husband, Perry Greene, which was finalized on Thursday.

'MAJORITY' TAYLOR GREENE: GEORGIA LAWMAKER ANGLES TO BE GOP KINGMAKER

"For the past 15 years, Congresswoman Greene and her family always take a trip together at Christmas time. And this year was extra important," the spokesman told the outlet. "All she's done is follow Nancy Pelosi's rules and she's happy she could proudly vote NO to the $1.7 trillion Omnimonster."

Greene "not only did her job as Congresswoman, but she also did her most important job: being a Mom. She's spending much-needed and much-deserved quality time with her children and their father," he said.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE FROM THE

Greene is not alone in being away from the Capitol during the crucial session, as 200 other House members voted by proxy in a vote deciding whether or not to pass the new omnibus bill on Thursday.

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) has promised to remove proxy voting if he is voted in as speaker.

Healthcare policy wins for both sides included in must-pass funding bill

Abigail Adcox

December 20, 02:26 PM December 20, 02:26 PM

Leaders in Congress have agreed on legislation that would stave off Medicare pay cuts for doctors, decrease federal spending on Medicaid, and extend pandemic telehealth flexibilities in their year-end spending bill as they near a Friday deadline to avert a government shutdown.

Democratic and Republican appropriators unveiled a draft of the $1.7 trillion omnibus spending bill overnight, which included a number of priorities for healthcare interest groups, though it excluded portions of a pandemic preparedness bill that would have set up a 9/11-style bipartisan commission to examine the COVID-19 response.

CHILDREN'S FEVER AND PAIN RELIEVING MEDS ARE IN SHORT SUPPLY— HERE'S WHY

Medicaid coverage: Lawmakers have reached a deal that will allow states to begin removing ineligible people from Medicaid starting April 1, 2023, decreasing federal spending on the program.

The agreement will begin to unwind a pandemic-era policy that required states to offer continuous coverage for Medicaid enrollees until the end of the COVID-19 public health emergency, which is currently expected to last through at least the end of April, in exchange for additional federal funding.

The deal is a win for Republicans who have pushed for phasing out the policy, arguing that it allowed people who exceeded income qualifications to remain enrolled.

Federal savings from the agreement will go toward two policies long sought by Democrats. Children on Medicaid will receive continuous Medicaid eligibility for a year, likely reducing potential lapses in coverage due to not meeting the eligibility requirements.

The bill will also permanently allow states to continue providing 12 months of postpartum care for women covered through Medicaid or the Children’s Health Insurance Program. Thirty-three states already opted to offer 12 months of continuous coverage during the postpartum period earlier this year. Democrats fell short, though, of their goal of requiring it for all states.

Lawmakers also decided to extend funding for the Children’s Health Insurance Program until 2029.

Medicare pay cuts: The spending bill will ease a scheduled 4.5% cut to the Medicare physician fee in 2023 and instead incrementally increase cuts over the next two years. Physicians will face a 2% pay cut in 2023, which will increase to 3.5% in 2024.

American Medical Association President Dr. Jack Resneck said the group was disappointed that Congress did not avoid pay cuts altogether, suggesting that it could lead some practices to stop taking new Medicare patients.

Telehealth flexibilities: Medicare telehealth flexibilities enacted during the pandemic will also be extended for two years as part of the spending bill. The deal will enable Medicare to continue to reimburse for telehealth services, which have grown popular throughout the pandemic.

Prior to the pandemic, Medicare only paid for telehealth care in limited circumstances and only then allowed video visits, not audio-only calls between a patient and provider. The flexibilities were first granted under the public health declaration and built on an extension that Congress approved earlier this year.

Pandemic preparedness: Portions of a pandemic preparedness package led by Senate health committee leaders Patty Murray (D-WA) and Richard Burr (R-NC) also made it into the omnibus.

The deal included a proposal that will require a Senate confirmation for the director of the Centers for Disease Control Prevention, a position currently held by Rochelle Walensky. It did not, however, establish an independent panel, similar to the one set up after 9/11, to examine the COVID-19 response, as some lawmakers had hoped for. It comes as several GOP leaders signal that they intend to hold hearings on the origins of the COVID-19 virus when they take back the House in the new year.

The omnibus also included $858 billion in defense-related spending, roughly a 10% hike from last fiscal year, along with aid for the war in Ukraine and a federal ban on TikTok for government devices, among other measures.

The Senate is expected to vote on the omnibus legislation as early as Tuesday afternoon.