YP Daily Roundup 4/16/21

Stay up-to-date on what’s in the news with the Y’all Politics Daily Roundup.

YP – Insurance Commissioner Chaney says Medicaid initiative “is a bad idea”

Mississippi Insurance Commissioner Mike Chaney sat down with Y’all Politics to discuss several topics in the healthcare world. The first of which was the zero-dollar healthcare plans the federal government says Mississippians will now be eligible for under the American Rescue Plan.

He also touched on the push for a ballot initiative to expand Medicaid, which he says is the wrong way to go to make laws.

YP – Supreme Court packing legislation to be unveiled by Congressional Democrats

Democrats in Congress are set to announce legislation that would expand the U.S. Supreme Court from 9 to 13, a proposal the most progressive left in their party had been floating during the Trump Administration and throughout the 2020 campaign cycle.

Liberal Supreme Court Justices have spoken out against such a move…

…This comes after President Joe Biden established the Presidential Commission on the Supreme Court of the United States last week. According to the White House release, the Commission’s purpose is to provide an analysis of the principal arguments in the contemporary public debate for and against Supreme Court reform, including an appraisal of the merits and legality of particular reform proposals. The topics it will examine include the genesis of the reform debate; the Court’s role in the Constitutional system; the length of service and turnover of justices on the Court; the membership and size of the Court; and the Court’s case selection, rules, and practices.

Congressman Palazzo promotes “Keep the Nine”

Expanding the size of the Supreme Court is an assault on our independent Judiciary branch. Our forefathers created checks and balances to stop power-hungry politicians, not unlike those pushing for 13 Supreme Court Justices. KEEP THE NINE. pic.twitter.com/3kub5QkgJi

— Steven Palazzo (@CongPalazzo) April 15, 2021

YP – White House announces $519 million coming to Mississippi for child care

The Biden Administration announced today in a White House release that $39 billion of American Rescue Plan funds are being distributed to states, territories, and tribes to address the child care crisis caused by COVID-19.

The $39 billion will be provided through two funds: (1) $24 billion in child care stabilization funding for child care providers to reopen or stay open, provide safe and healthy learning environments, keep workers on payroll, and provide mental health supports for educators and children, and (2) $15 billion in more flexible funding for states to make child care more affordable for more families, increase access to high-quality care for families receiving subsidies, increase compensation for early childhood workers, and meet other care needs in their states.

Of the total, Mississippi will be receiving $519 million with $200 coming from the Child Care Development fund and $319 million from the Child Care Stabilization fund.

MSDH daily COVID-19 reporting

Today MSDH is reporting 410 more cases of COVID-19 in Mississippi, 6 deaths, and 19 ongoing outbreaks in long-term care facilities. The state's total of #covid19 cases is now 308,521, with 7,127 deaths. More on case details, vaccinations and prevention: https://t.co/YCv9xPyJDk pic.twitter.com/8133TG4Bjf

— Mississippi State Department of Health (@msdh) April 15, 2021

YP – GIPSON: Worker Shortages Threaten Commerce, Supply and Distribution Chains

For over a year, supply and distribution chains in America have been adversely affected by COVID-19 and the related workforce shutdowns.  Initially last spring, government mandates driven by the virus and by CDC recommendations forced many people other than those deemed “essential workers” to stay home from their jobs.  For some, work could continue remotely as workers, teachers and students adapted to virtual classrooms and other technology-based methodologies.  But for the bulk of the workforce and the public relying on manufactured and processed products, these shutdowns had an immediately noticeable impact in temporarily interrupting manufacturing and distribution systems across the country, and even around the world.

I can give you one real-life example from the Mississippi State Fairgrounds.  In 2020, the Mississippi Department of Agriculture and Commerce made the decision to continue working during pandemic restrictions, including the completion of the new Mississippi Trade Mart and Coliseum renovations.

MS Black Caucus condemns Confederate Heritage Month declaration

We strongly condemn Governor Tate Reeves’ declaration of April as Confederate Heritage Month#mlbcofficial #msleg pic.twitter.com/0k86dJ7djS

— Mississippi Legislative Black Caucus (@mlbcofficial) April 15, 2021

YP – Hyde-Smith pushes Planned Parenthood funding ban as Biden & Becerra take steps for abortions on demand

U.S. Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.) today signaled her opposition to Biden administration efforts to open Title X federal funding to abortion providers like Planned Parenthood.

In response, Hyde-Smith today also cosponsored the Protect Funding for Women’s Health Care Act to protect that funding for other women’s health care providers.

“I cannot support any policies that force Mississippians to fund abortion providers like Planned Parenthood.  Unfortunately, the assault on the lives of unborn children and women’s health resources is underway, but it is not too late for the Biden administration to reconsider these terrible pro-abortion policies,” said Hyde-Smith, a member of the Senate Pro-Life Caucus.

MSDH announces closure of WIC sites

Mississippi and other states have begun the transition from county food centers to card-based electronic purchasing at local stores for clients of the Women, Infants and Children's supplemental nutrition program. Details: https://t.co/vvMqyh63AH pic.twitter.com/WhokCv3Zl5

— Mississippi State Department of Health (@msdh) April 15, 2021

YP – Representatives Guest and Crawford Introduce Bill to Protect American Catfish Farmers from Burdensome Regulations

Reps. Michael Guest (MS-03) and Rick Crawford (AR-01) introduced H.R. 2548 – The Cormorant Relief Act, companion legislation to S. 1050, which would increase flexibility for controlling double-crested cormorants by catfish farmers and other aquaculture producers. By allowing further taking of these predatory birds, producers in Mississippi, Arkansas, and other states would not be punished for efficient aquaculture production, which has been shown to attract more cormorants.

A study found that the negative economic impact of cormorant populations on the catfish industry in the Mississippi Delta Region was between $38,628,411 and $98,030,457.

Y’all Politics talks with Wratchet Entertainment on upcoming concert series in Ridgeland

YP – PSC Commissioner Bailey announced as Mississippi’s Rep for Organization of MISO States

Mississippi Public Service Commissioner Brent Bailey, of the Central District, has been appointed by the Mississippi PSC Chairman to serve as Mississippi’s representative on the Organization of MISO States, Inc. (OMS) Board of Directors.

OMS is the regional monitoring committee for the Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO), representing regulatory entities in 15 states and Manitoba, Canada. The purpose of OMS is to coordinate regulatory oversight among its members and respond to developments regarding the generation and transmission of electricity, in addition to making recommendations to MISO, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) and other relevant governmental entities and state utility commissions as appropriate to express the positions of OMS member agencies.

WLOX – Brett Favre says politics are ruining sports; protests are ‘more turmoil than good’