*WASHINGTON, D.C. — This morning on “News One Now,” host and managing editor Roland Martin spoke with Congressman Bobby Scott (D-VA) about yesterday’s passing of the new health care bill by Congress. The bill won 217-213, with every democrat voting no, along with 20 republicans.
The bill makes major changes to the Affordable Care Act, including allowing individual states to decide if insurance companies should cover pre-existing conditions, including pregnancy and mental health.
“It’s hard to see who actually benefits. Everything they complain about is actually worse in the bill. They say the costs are too high –well the costs under their bill, by the Congressional Budget Office estimate, the costs will go up. The quality of your insurance, what gets covered – that goes down,” said Scott. “[When we passed Affordable Care Act] we made progress. We didn’t cure all the problems, but we made progress, and they complained about the things we did not cure. But they have no suggestion of how to make it better. All they have are complaints about the status quo.”
Martin also spoke with co-chair of the National African American Clergy Network Dr. Barbara Williams-Skinner and pastor and principal of The Pressley Firm PLLC, Monique Pressley about politics and the church in the wake of President Trump’s signing of the Religious Executive Order on Thursday. The order allows churches to become more politically active, and directs the IRS to use discretion when enforcing the “Johnson Amendment,” which bans tax-exempt organizations such as churches from political speech and activities. They are only legally permitted to participate in political activity by an act of Congress.
“The call of Jesus is about democrat and republican politics. God is not democrat or republican. And the moral voice of the faith community was lost in this election. This country’s soon going to become nobody’s majority. My call right now is that the body of Christ has got to come together above the politics of this time. Neither democrats nor the republicans speak to the needs of the poor, the incarcerated, black, immigrants, Muslims and others,” said Williams-Skinner.
Added Pressley, “It’s a shame that the executive order that he signed is not going to have any teeth. For the pastors who are afraid to speak, I want them to be empowered to speak. I want the white evangelicals, the black evangelicals, I want the millionaire pastors who quietly support this president, I want the poorer pastors in poorer communities who are scared to speak because they’re afraid they’re going to lose their tax-exempt status – I want their hands to not be tied anymore. I’m looking forward to the time when pastors can once again speak on civil rights and other issues.”
News One Now re-broadcasts the previous day’s episode at 6 a.m. ET each weekday morning, giving viewers two chances to watch each broadcast. For more information about News One Now and Roland S. Martin, visit www.tvone.tv , and check out TV One’s YouTube Channel. Viewers can also join the conversation by connecting via social media on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook (@tvonetv) using #NewsOneNow and engage with Martin daily via Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Periscope (@rolandsmartin). Viewers are now able to listen to NewsOne Now by live streaming on www.newsone.com.
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Emanating from the heart of Washington D.C. in a state-of-the-art studio that offers a stunning view of the Capitol building, NewsOne Now airs Monday through Friday on TV One from 7-8 a.m. ET. NewsOne Now is hosted by Roland S. Martin, the 2013 National Association of Black Journalists’ Journalist of the Year and former host of TV One’s long-running, award-winning weekly news program, Washington Watch with Roland Martin. Each morning, Martin – who also serves as the program’s managing editor – sifts through the headlines of the day to spotlight matters that greatly impact the African American community. In addition to television, NewsOne Now reaches audiences 24/7 with exclusive program content and extended editorial on NewsOne.com and the NewsOne mobile app. NewsOne Now is an evolution of Interactive One’s award-winning digital brand NewsOne.com that launched in 2008 and reaches millions of African Americans each month. Susan Henry is executive producer of NewsOne Now. D’Angela Proctor is TV One’s head of original programming and production.
ABOUT TV ONE:
Launched in January 2004, TV One serves more than 60 million households, offering a broad range of real-life and entertainment-focused original programming, classic series, movies and music designed to entertain and inform a diverse audience of adult black viewers. The network represents the best in black culture and entertainment with fan favorite shows Unsung, Rickey Smiley For Real, Fatal Attraction, Hollywood Divas and The NAACP Image Awards. In addition, TV One is the cable home of blockbuster drama Empire, and NewsOne Now, the only live daily news program dedicated to black viewers. In December 2008, the company launched TV One High Def, which now serves 14 million households. TV One is solely owned by Radio One [NASDAQ: ROIA and ROIAK, www.radio-one.com], the largest African-American owned multi-media company primarily targeting Black and urban audiences.
source:
Alonda Thomas – [email protected]
Erin Williams – [email protected]
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