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Archive for May, 2023
May 30th, 2023 at 4:59 pm
Image of the Day: U.S. Public Trust in Media Lowest in the World
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It’s difficult to say they haven’t earned it:  When it comes to public trust in media, the U.S. stands lower than any other nation:

U.S. Claims Lowest Public Trust in Media

U.S. Claims Lowest Public Trust in Media

 

May 30th, 2023 at 10:27 am
Former Acting Director Homan: ICE Must Use Readily Available Tools to Mitigate Crisis at the Border
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In a recent opinion piece published by Breitbart, former Acting Director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Tom Homan discusses how the United States can mitigate the impending disaster at our nation’s Southern border in the aftermath of Title 42’s expiration. When in effect, Title 42 enabled border patrol agents to immediately expel migrants trying to cross the border in the interest of public health during the Covid19 emergency.

A seasoned expert on immigration and border security with nearly five decades of experience in law enforcement, Homan writes that with the enormous backlog of immigration cases and thousands more entering the country illegally each day, ICE must fill every detention bed it has available. Additionally, he emphasizes the need for the Biden administration to increase funding for additional beds at detention facilities and track the non-detained population with GPS technology to ensure compliance with court dates and orders for removal.

Homan writes:

There are over five million illegal immigrants on ICE’s non-detained docket, most of whom face years of court proceedings before a judge determines their immigration fate. This number will continue to balloon after the Biden Administration ended the use of Title 42 deportations on May 11, a COVID-era policy that allowed the U.S. to immediately expel millions of illegal aliens as a threat to public health.

In the run up to the end of the policy this month, daily border encounters soared to historic heights, with over 10,000 per day. On May 11, Border Patrol paroled 6,000 migrants to the streets of the United States with no court date even provided, simply relying on the honor system in the hopes these individuals would proactively check in with ICE at some point in the future. This policy of mass parole has since been put on temporary hold by a Florida judge.

This is open borders policy, any way you look at it. While this is occurring, ICE detention beds, already funded by the taxpayer, still sit empty, to the tune of 10,000 or more. Equally as bad, ICE could be tracking illegal aliens with GPS monitoring, but for some reason is refusing to do so on the necessary scale to deal with the migration surge promoted by Biden’s poor policy decisions.

Read the rest of the piece on Breitbart here.

May 15th, 2023 at 3:10 pm
Image of the Day: The Record Biden Earnings Bust
Posted by Print

We recently referenced how Joe Biden seeks a 2024 job extension from American voters even while he has presided over a record 24 consecutive months of earnings declines (wages minus inflation), and our friend Stephen Moore offers an instructive illustration of the point:

Record Biden Earnings Bust

Record Biden Earnings Bust

 

May 15th, 2023 at 11:14 am
Without Certificate of Need Laws, States Would Have More Hospitals

Last week was National Hospital Week, when we recognized and expressed our gratitude for hospitals, health care facilities and caregivers who provide vital health care services across the nation. National Hospital Week also serves as a reminder that antiquated and burdensome Certificate of Need (CON) laws create government red tape and needlessly empower unelected bureaucrats to limit access to care.

Recently, the Beacon Center of Tennessee released a report showing how, in the last two decades, CON laws have prevented up to 63 new hospitals in Tennessee and deprived Tennessee communities of $733.6 in direct investment. The report also found that Tennessee has seen a 70 percent decrease in applications for new health care facilities and expanded services since 2004 due to the state’s CON laws.

Florida has seen a rapid increase in new hospitals and other healthcare facilities since its Certificate of Need requirements were dropped a couple of years ago.

It’s no wonder that South Carolina in recent weeks repealed its CON laws and Georgia is working to follow suit.

CON laws limit patient access to care and increase health care costs by preventing new health care facilities from opening, particularly in rural communities that desperately need health care infrastructure.

Lawmakers in states where CON laws still exist should recognize the obvious harm they cause and move to fully repeal them.

May 8th, 2023 at 4:31 pm
South Carolina Moves to Repeal Certificate of Need Laws, Tennessee and Others Should Follow

The South Carolina Legislature voted last week to repeal the state’s Certificate of Need (CON) laws. The legislation, which immediately eliminates CON requirements for the majority of health care facilities and establishes a three-year CON “sunset” period for existing hospitals, serves as a massive victory against unelected bureaucrats who have been unnecessarily empowered to block patients’ access to new healthcare facilities and services.

In Tennessee, similar antiquated CON laws continue to stifle the free market, limit access to affordable health care choices and deprive communities across the state of critical jobs and investment. Tennessee’s CON laws require health care providers in the state, even private ones, to receive government permission slips approved by unelected government bureaucrats prior to opening new facilities or offering new health care services.

CFIF has been actively advocating full repeal of Tennessee’s CON laws.

The Beacon Center of Tennessee outlined the devastating impact CON laws have on the state in a report released earlier this year. Over the last twenty years, CON laws have:

  • Cost the state more than 60 additional hospitals – many in underserved or rural areas.
  • Denied 5.5 million Tennesseans increased access to much-needed new health care services.
  • Deprived local communities of $733 million dollars of direct investment.

Florida, a conservative state that prioritizes free-market solutions and medical freedom, has experienced a rapid increase in new health care facilities since repealing its Certificate of Need requirements.

Tennessee should follow its Southern neighbors’ example and eliminate its remaining CON laws during next year’s legislative session. Doing so would remove burdensome and unnecessary government red tape that currently serves as a barrier to new health care choices, restore medical freedoms and increase access to affordable, high-quality health care for Tennesseans across the state.