WASHINGTON (AP) — The Latest on Congress (all times EST):
11 a.m.
Ryan Zinke, Donald Trump’s choice to be interior secretary, says he is an “unapologetic admirer of Teddy Roosevelt” and believes Roosevelt was right to place millions of acres of land in the West under federal protection.
The Republican Montana congressman says in prepared remarks for his confirmation hearing Tuesday that national parks and forests offer Americans the opportunity to hike, hunt, fish, camp and enjoy the great outdoors. Zinke says his father and the Boys Scouts taught him the principles of environmental stewardship and the importance of public access to public lands.
He says those lands should also be used to harvest timber and mine for coal and other energy sources.
The Associated Press obtained a copy of Zinke’s remarks in advance of a Senate energy committee hearing.
___
10:45 a.m.
Congress’ nonpartisan budget analyst says premiums would jump sharply and millions more people would be without health coverage under a bill Republicans passed last year eliminating President Barack Obama’s health care overhaul.
The Congressional Budget office says under that measure, premiums for people buying policies on the law’s online marketplaces would jump up to 25 percent in the first year after enactment. They’d about double by 2026.
It also says there’d be 18 million new uninsured people in the first year after enactment. That number would grow to 32 million by 2026.
Republicans have said they’re using last year’s bill as a starting point as they try to dismantle Obama’s law this year and replace it.
Last year’s measure did not include any replacement provisions.
Obama vetoed last year’s bill.
__
10:25 a.m.
Republican donor Betsy DeVos says she will push for school choice and advocate for “great” public schools if confirmed as education secretary.
DeVos’ confirmation hearing is set for later Tuesday before the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee.
DeVos is a prominent charter school supporter and conservative activist. In remarks released by the committee, she says “parents should be empowered to choose the learning environment that’s best for their individual children.” She says she will advance magnet, virtual, charter, home and religious schools.
Teachers’ unions have charged that DeVos intends to dismantle public education. Critics also have raised concerns of a possible conflict of interest, since DeVos has donated heavily to Republicans, including several of the Senate committee members.
__
10:23 a.m.
A student’s painting that divided lawmakers on Capitol Hill for its depiction of Ferguson, Missouri, has been removed.
Some GOP lawmakers had complained that the painting violated rules for a national student arts competition, noting that works depicting subjects of contemporary political controversy or of a sensationalistic or gruesome nature are not allowed.
The Architect of the Capitol informed lawmakers late Friday that the painting would be taken down on Tuesday.
The painting shows a pig in a police uniform aiming a gun at a protester. The painting was among hundreds completed by high school students that are featured in a tunnel leading to the Capitol and had been hanging for months.
Republican lawmakers repeatedly removed the painting, and Democratic Rep. William Lacy Clay of Missouri kept putting it back, saying its removal violated his constituent’s First Amendment rights.
COMMENTS
Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.