Supreme Court to Consider Gerrymandering and More in Politics Today

It’s difficult to stay up-to-date on what’s happening in this country and to break through the clutter, so we’re here to make it easier. Here’s what we at Countable are reading today:

1. ‘Pivotal Moment’ for Democrats? Gerrymandering Heads to Supreme Court

The hand-to-hand political combat in House elections on Tuesday in Georgia and last week in Kansas had the feel of the first rounds of an epic battle next year for control of the House of Representatives and the direction of national politics as the Trump presidency unfolds.

But for all the zeal on the ground, none of it may matter as much as a case heading to the Supreme Court, one that could transform political maps from City Hall to Congress — often to Democrats’ benefit.

Read more at the New York Times.

2. It looks like House Democrats just won a big victory in the Trump-Russia investigation

The House Intelligence Committee said on Friday that it had invited three former officials with knowledge of Russia's interference in the US election to testify in an open hearing in May, over a month after the committee's chairman first scrapped the session.

"The first letter was sent to FBI Director James Comey and National Security Advisor Admiral Mike Rogers, inviting them to appear at a closed hearing on May 2, 2017," [spokeswoman for Republican Rep. Mike Conaway Emily] Hytha said. "The second letter was sent to former CIA Director John Brennan, Director of National Intelligence James Clapper and former Deputy Attorney General Sally Yates inviting them to appear at an open hearing to be scheduled after May 2nd."

Read more at Business Insider.

3. Mnuchin: Trump orders take aim at Dodd-Frank, tax regs

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin on Friday said several orders President Trump is signing are meant to emphasize the administration’s economic priorities to the American people.

Trump is scheduled Friday to sign an executive order and two presidential memoranda at the Treasury Department that direct Mnuchin to analyze core aspects of the Dodd-Frank Act and tax regulations issued in 2016.

Trump's orders come as House Republicans prepare major legislative overhauls to Dodd-Frank. The House Financial Services Committee is scheduled to hold a hearing on April 26 to consider Chairman Jeb Hensarling’s (R-Texas) sweeping rewrite of the post-recession financial regulation.

Read more at The Hill.

4. Trump: White House will release tax reform plan next week

President Donald Trump said Friday that the process to reform America’s tax code will kick into high gear next week.

"We’ll be having a big announcement on Wednesday having to do with tax reform. The process has begun long ago, but it really formally begins on Wednesday," Trump said Friday afternoon after signing executive orders at the Treasury Department.

Earlier on Friday, Trump told The Associated Press that his administration will release its tax reform plan next week — ahead of the White House's 100-day mark. The president provided no details to AP but said individuals and businesses will receive "massive tax cuts," which he predicted would be “bigger I believe than any tax cut ever.” He added that the plan will be unveiled “Wednesday or shortly thereafter.”

Read more at Politico.

5. How is Medicare affected by the House GOP health plan?

...there are two provisions in the bill affecting the financing of Medicare that have received relatively little attention.

One, the proposal would eliminate a 0.9 percent Medicare payroll surtax that was aimed at high earners. This would reduce revenue to the Medicare Hospital Insurance (Part A) trust fund by $117 billion over 10 years, according to congressional tax analysts. The chief actuary of Medicare estimated that this would move up the expected date of the trust fund’s depletion from 2028 to 2025. After that date, benefits could be only partially financed unless Congress took action to raise revenue in other ways.

Second, the proposed law would limit the per capita growth of Medicaid, the health program for the poor, to the medical-care component of the consumer price index starting in 2020. But that could affect people who qualify for both Medicaid and Medicare. An analysis by Avalere Health, a health consulting firm, found that this could lead to a $44 billion spending cut for dual-eligible beneficiaries. That, in turn, could increase Medicare spending through higher rates of hospitalization and other services, further weakening the financial health of the program.

Read more at the Washington Post.

— Asha Sanaker

(Photo Credit: Phil Roeder via Flickr / Creative Commons)