Government funding bill clears Congress and heads to President Biden, averting a shutdown The Associated Press
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Acting mayor: Buffalo Water misused $11 million in pandemic relief funds – WGRZ.com
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BUFFALO, N.Y. — Buffalo Common Council members were shocked Thursday to discover that the city has to use $19 million in federal pandemic funds to plug budget holes — or risk Washington taking back the funds.
“This holiday season, the ghost of Christmas past that is haunting City Hall is the Brown administration’s failure to get these funds out on the street,” said Fillmore District Council Member Mitchell Nowakowski, referring to former Mayor Byron W. Brown, who resigned in October.
But that’s not the only bad news coming from City Hall.
Acting Mayor Christopher Scanlon said Buffalo Water misspent another $11 million in American Rescue Plan funds, writing in a letter to the council, “Despite being approved … to forgive outstanding residential water bills, these funds were used by Buffalo Water on capital improvements. I am incredibly disheartened by this discovery.”
The shock of Common Council members like Masten District representative Zeneta Everhart turned to anger at a hastily arranged news conference on Thursday.
“Money that was supposed to be used in marginalized communities where people can’t afford to pay their water bills … that money was stolen from them,” Everhart said. “The information we received is insane. Where I’m from, in the ‘hood, it’s called robbing Peter to pay Paul. Who are we robbing? The least of us. And it’s not OK.”
Outgoing Buffalo Water Board Chair O.J. McFoy disputed that, writing in an email, “Unequivocally, there has been no miss-utilization (sic) of ARP funds.”
McFoy stressed Friday that the money was spent “in full compliance” with federal guidelines. He said former Brown finance commissioner Delano Dowell approved the use of funds to replace lead service lines.
But that’s not what McFoy told the council in October. When University District Council Member Rasheed Wyatt asked what the $11 million was used for, McFoy said, “That was going to debt relief and arrearages for our customers. So we were able to apply that for our customers and so they have seen … their arrearages went way down.”
Scanlon on Friday said in a statement, “I am deeply disappointed to have discovered through an independent audit review undertaken at my direction that ARPA funds allocated to the Buffalo Water Board were redirected from their intended purpose.”
Nowakowski said only the council had the power to allocate and dispose of those funds.
“To not respect the Common Council and respect the sewer and water payers of this city — to then use it for something else — and we find out at the last hour, is not only disappointing, it’s disgusting,” he said.
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Social Security Fairness Act passes Senate, set to become law – The Connecticut Mirror
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by Lisa Hagen, CT Mirror
December 21, 2024
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The Social Security Fairness Act, which repeals provisions that reduce benefits for thousands of public service workers in Connecticut, moves to President Joe Biden’s desk after the U.S. Senate passed the bill early Saturday in the final hours of the session.
Passage was a major victory for advocates who argue the deductions unfairly hurt those who collected pensions but also worked jobs covered by Social Security. It was the culmination of a years-long effort to eliminate the Windfall Elimination Provision and the Government Pension Offset yet on a rare fast track through Congress over the past couple of months.
The timing was also significant, given the short window of time left in the current Congress, which has been dominated by must-pass legislation. And it passed shortly before the Senate took up the year-end package to fund the federal government and avoid a shutdown.
Momentum for the stalled legislation started this fall when authors of the House version sought to circumvent normal procedures and force a vote. They used a discharge petition, requiring them to collect a majority of signatures from lawmakers in order to get a vote. The bill overwhelmingly passed the House last month, raising the stakes for proponents to get it done before the end of the year.
That put pressure on the Senate to take up the legislation in the final weeks. U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., vowed last week to hold a vote before lawmakers left town. On Wednesday, the Social Security Fairness Act cleared the initial hurdle, and after a number of procedural and amendment votes this week, it moved to the last stage in the process late on Friday that stretched into the early morning hours.
The bill easily cleared final passage, 76-20, with support from both of Connecticut’s senators Richard Blumenthal and Chris Murphy. The bill now heads to the White House where Biden is expected to sign it into law.
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Support for repealing WEP and GPO brought together a range of coalitions and groups including lawmakers in both parties as well as unions representing industries like education, law enforcement, government employees and other public workers. The Fraternal Order of Police announced earlier in the week that President-elect Donald Trump backs the legislation.
“We have different political views. We have different pedagogical views,” Connecticut Education Association Vice President Joslyn DeLancey said, referring to her union, which represents thousands of teachers across the state. “So when we can find an issue that every single one of our members, all 40-plus-thousand of them, say, ‘No, this needs to be fixed,’ right? And I think that that’s what is really interesting about this issue.”
But critics raised concerns because there is no offset to pay for the repeal, and it would speed up the projected timeline of Social Security becoming insolvent, though both sides have acknowledged that Congress will need to deal with larger reforms to the program for its long-term financial health.
The bill eliminates two provisions that reduce Social Security payments to certain beneficiaries as well as spouses and surviving family members who also collect a pension from jobs that did not pay Social Security payroll taxes. That can include teachers, police officers, firefighters, government employees and others in the public sector.
The Windfall Elimination Provision can lower how much beneficiaries receive from Social Security if they also get pensions or disability benefits from uncovered work. It applies to those who paid Social Security taxes on less than 30 years of substantial earnings, which is currently set at $31,275 in 2024.
WEP affects more than 22,000 beneficiaries in Connecticut, with the vast majority of them retired workers, according to December 2023 estimates from the Congressional Research Service. Connecticut is one of 15 states where WEP applies to teachers.
The Government Pension Offset can cut Social Security spousal or survivor benefits by two-thirds of the non-covered pension from local, state or federal government employment. For some who receive a teacher’s pension, the cuts can be larger than their spousal benefits, so they essentially receive nothing through Social Security.
The bill easily passed the House last month, with support from four of the five Democratic members in Connecticut’s delegation. U.S. Rep. John Larson, D-1st District, voted against it because it does not include an offset similar to that in his own Social Security reform bill, which seeks to temporarily remove those provisions. His own bill would fund the repeal of WEP and GPO through raising the income cap on taxable earnings for Social Security.
Larson, who serves as ranking member of the Ways and Means Social Security Subcommittee, has been pushing for more comprehensive reforms to Social Security for years. His legislation, “Social Security 2100 Act,” has support from 188 Democrats but no GOP co-sponsors. That will become even more challenging next session when Republicans control both chambers of Congress and Trump returns to the White House.
Current estimates show the Trust Fund for old age and survivors insurance will be able to pay 100% of Social Security benefits through 2033. After that, it could result in people receiving reduced benefits, amounting to about a 20% cut.
The Congressional Budget Office projects that if the bipartisan legislation is enacted and repeals both provisions, it would cost nearly $196 billion over the next decade.
Others warned against ending WEP and GPO without an offset, arguing that it will be a drain on the Social Security Trust Fund. U.S. Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., criticized the accelerated process for bringing up the bill, as well as concerns about having no offsets. In addition to the discharge petition in the House, Tillis noted the Senate held no committee hearings on the legislation.
“So it is something we need to fix, but this is not the way to fix it. We are 10 years away from most economists’ consensus believing that the Social Security Trust Fund is going to reach insolvency,” Tillis said earlier this week. “To right a wrong for a small percentage of people that should get fairly treated, they are going to take $200 billion over 10 years to pay for this. That pulls insolvency forward by six months.”
But those affected by the decrease in their benefits argue it unfairly affects many who have worked in public service, like teachers, police officers and firefighters, as well as survivor benefits for those who served in local, state or federal government.
A number of labor unions across industries have been at the forefront of the years-long push to repeal WEP and GPO. Groups like the Connecticut Education Association, the Connecticut chapter of the American Federation of Teachers, the Connecticut Alliance for Retired Americans and the Association of Retired Teachers of Connecticut made a big push to get a vote before the end of the session.
Those representing educators see the deductions as a particular roadblock for teachers because many of them need to work second or multiple jobs that pay into the Social Security system. And they note that it is an issue that disproportionately affects women, especially for many who raise their children and then reenter the workforce.
Advocates argue that WEP and GPO are barriers to hiring and retaining talent in Connecticut’s workforce, especially when it comes to second-career educators who have worked in a different field and decided to transition into education. CEA President Kate Dias said it makes it challenging “to attract people when there’s such a significant consequence to their joining the profession.”
If CT Mirror’s reporting has kept you informed on Connecticut’s most pressing issues, please consider making a gift during NewsMatch. This year’s goal is to raise $160,000 by December 31. Make a tax-deductible donation today, and your contribution will be MATCHED dollar-for-dollar, creating more trusted reporting across the state.
The Connecticut Mirror/Connecticut Public Radio federal policy reporter position is made possible, in part, by funding from the Robert and Margaret Patricelli Family Foundation.
Lisa Hagen is CT Mirror and CT Public’s shared Federal Policy Reporter. Based in Washington, D.C., she focuses on the impact of federal policy in Connecticut and covers the state’s congressional delegation. Lisa previously covered national politics and campaigns for U.S. News & World Report, The Hill and National Journal’s Hotline. She is a New Jersey native and graduate of Boston University.
Las Vegas Weather | News, Weather, Sports, Breaking News – News3LV
Now
61
Sat
66
Sun
65
HEADLINE: Warm weather continues
LOW TODAY: 46NORMAL LOW: 39
HIGH TODAY: 68NORMAL HIGH: 56
What an afternoon around southern Nevada as highs once again reached the upper 60s and lower 70s.
Here are some specific highs from around southern Nevada:
UNLV: 74; Mesquite: 72; Nellis: 70; Pahrump: 73; Downtown: 70; Centennial: 69; Summerlin: 68; Henderson Executive: 67; Aliante: 70
High pressure will remain the dominant weather feature now through Christmas Eve Day resulting in continued warm days and cool nights.
A winter storm will move east across California this weekend and then across Nevada Christmas Eve Day and Christmas Day.
At this point, the center of energy will remain north resulting in low chances for precipitation across southern Nevada.
A dusting of snow is possible by Christmas morning in our local mountains, but nothing significant.
The track could change, so stay tuned!
In the meantime, look for partly skies tonight with lows in the mid to upper 40s.
Plenty of sunshine Saturday with highs in the mid 60s to near 70.
By midnight tonight, Las Vegas will reach 160 consecutive days since our last measurable rainfall.
Severe to extreme drought conditions remain across ALL of southern Nevada. Most of Clark County is experiencing Extreme drought conditions.
SNOWPACK – UPPER COLORADO: RIGHT NOW: 82% A YEAR AGO: 79%
Lake Mead is currently at 1062 feet compared to 1065 feet one year ago today.
Total valley rainfall in 2024: 2.27" (-1.71" below normal)
Total valley rainfall through December 20th, 2023: 4.53" (+0.55" above normal)
AIR QUALITY – HEALTHY TO MODERATE
POLLEN COUNT:
TREES: LOW
GRASS: LOW
MOLD: LOW
WEEDS: LOW
– Bill Bellis
© 2024 Sinclair, Inc.
Big numbers drawn for $862M Mega Millions jackpot – Las Vegas Review-Journal
The Friday night drawing was the seventh-largest jackpot in Mega Millions history.
Nobody had the right combination of number for the seventh-highest Mega Millions jackpot Friday night.
The numbers drawn were 2-20-51-56-67 with a Mega Ball of 19.
There were five $1 million winners, according to MegaMillions.com. The cash option for a jackpot was $392.1 million.
The jackpot rolled over to an estimated $944 million for the Christmas Eve drawing.
Mega Millions is played in 45 states, plus the District of Columbia and the Virgin Islands. Tickets cost $2 each. The odds of winning the jackpots are about 1 in 302.5 million.
Contact Marvin Clemons at mclemons@reviewjournal.com.
An earlier version of this story had incorrect winning numbers.
Details of the meetings were not immediately available and a news conference the officials had planned was canceled due to unspecified security concerns.
President Joe Biden, who has played a less public role in the process throughout a turbulent week, was expected to quickly sign the measure into law.
A 35-year-old man’s death is being investigated by the FBI after he was reportedly bound by crew members while aboard a Royal Caribbean cruise ship that docked in Los Angeles.
Tesla has been dealing with recalls throughout the year. Its Cybertruck is now up to its seventh recall of the year, with one last month that involved around 2,400 vehicles.
“We’re going to regroup and we will come up with another solution, so stay tuned,” House Speaker Mike Johnson said after the vote. The cobbled-together plan didn’t even get a majority, with the bill failing 174-235.
Thursday’s strikes risk further escalating conflict with the Iranian-backed Houthis, whose attacks on the Red Sea corridor have drastically impacted global shipping.
The suspect in the killing of UnitedHealthcare’s CEO was whisked back to New York on a plane and by helicopter Thursday to face new federal charges of stalking and murder, which could bring the death penalty if he’s convicted.
Walmart has started testing body-camera technology for employees, as it looks to increase security at its stores, according to CNBC.
Israel’s deputy foreign minister said Syria’s new leaders are “wolves in clothes of sheep,” who are trying to persuade the world they are not radical Islamists.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 1,123 points, or 2.6%, and the Nasdaq composite dropped 3.6%.
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