Denton Record-Chronicle (Denton, Tex.), Vol. 110, No. 55, Ed. 1 Thursday, September 26, 2013 Page: 3 of 34
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Denton Record-Chronicle
LOCAL/NATIONAL
Thursday, September 26, 2013
3A
Anti-shutdown bill advances; big fight still looms
By David Espo
AP Special Correspondent
WASHINGTON - Unani-
mous but far from united, the
Senate advanced legislation to
prevent a partial government
shutdown on Wednesday, the
100-0 vote certain to mark
merely a brief pause in a fierce
partisan struggle over the future
of President Barack Obama’s
signature health care law.
The vote came shortly after
Texas Sen. Ted Cruz held the
Senate in session overnight —
and the Twitterverse in his thrall
— with a near-22-hour speech
that charmed the tea party wing
of the GOP, irritated the leader-
ship and was meant to propel
fellow Republican lawmakers
into an all-out struggle to extin-
guish the law.
Defying one’s own party lead-
ers is survivable, he declared in
pre-dawn remarks on the Senate
floor. “Ultimately, it is liberating.”
Legislation passed by the Re-
publican-controlled House last
week would cancel all funds for
the three-year-old law, prevent-
ing its full implementation. But
Senate Democrats have enough
votes to restore the funds, and
Majority Leader Harry Reid la-
beled Cruz’s turn in the spotlight
“a big waste of time.”
Any differences between the
two houses’ legislation must be
reconciled and the bill signed in-
to law by next Tuesday to avert a
partial shutdown.
The issue is coming to the
forefront in Congress as the
Obama administration works to
assure a smooth launch for the
health care overhaul’s final ma-
jor piece, a season of enrollment
beginning Oct. 1 for millions
who will seek coverage on so-
called insurance exchanges.
Health and Human Secre-
tary Kathleen Sebelius told re-
porters this week that consum-
ers will have an average of 53
plans to choose from, and her
department estimated the aver-
age individual premium for a
benchmark policy known as the
“second-lowest cost silver plan”
would range from a low of $192
in Minnesota to a high of $516 in
Wyoming. Tax credits will bring
down the cost for many.
Republicans counter that the
legislation is causing employers
to defer hiring new workers, lay
off existing ones and reduce the
hours of still others to hold down
costs as they try to ease the im-
pact of the bill’s taxes and other
requirements.
“Obamacare is destroying
jobs. It is driving up health care
costs. It is killing health benefits.
It is shattering the economy”
said Cruz.
Topsy, a search engine that’s a
preferred partner of Twitter, cal-
culated on its website during the
day that there had been about
200,000 tweets containing the
words “Ted Cruz” in the previous
day.
Eight months in office, he
drew handshakes from several
conservative lawmakers as he
finished speaking and accolades
from tea party and other groups.
Chris Chocola, president of the
Club for Growth, said Ameri-
cans owe “Cruz a debt of grati-
tude for standing on principle in
the fight to stop Obamacare.”
In addition to the praise,
Cruz he drew a withering rebut-
tal from one fellow Republican,
Arizona Sen. John McCain.
McCain read aloud Cruz’s
comments from Tuesday com-
paring those who doubt the pos-
sibility of eradicating the health
care law to former British Prime
Minister Neville Chamberlin
and others who had suggested
Adolf Hitler and the Nazis could
not be stopped in the 1940s.
“I resoundingly reject that al-
legation,” said McCain, whose
grandfather led U.S. carrier forc-
es in the Pacific during World
War II, and whose father com-
manded two submarines.
“It does a great disservice to
those Americans who stood up
and said what’s happening in
Europe cannot stand.’”
Even with the 100-0 vote, the
legislation faces several hurdles
that must be overcome as both
houses and lawmakers in both
parties work to avoid a partial
shutdown next Tuesday.
The struggle over restoring
funds for the health care law is
by far the most contentious un-
resolved issue.
Senate Democrats also want
to increase funding for federal
firefighting efforts without mak-
ing offsetting cuts to other pro-
grams. The House-passed bill
provides $636 million for the
program, but includes reduc-
tions elsewhere to avoid raising
the deficit.
To avoid a partial govern-
ment shutdown, a single,
agreed-upon version must be
approved by Congress and
signed by Obama by Tuesday.
Officials pointed out that there is
still time for the Senate to re-
store the funds for the health
care law — and for the House to
seek a more modest overhaul
concession, perhaps a one-year
delay in the requirement for in-
dividuals to purchase coverage
or the repeal of a tax on medical
devices that many Democrats
oppose.
The shutdown issue is a par-
ticularly haunting one for Re-
publicans, some of whom were
in Congress two decades ago
when the GOP suffered politi-
cally as the result of a pair of gov-
ernment closures in the winter
of1995-96.
In a further complication,
Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew
told Congress that the Treasury’s
ability to borrow funds will be
exhausted on Oct. 17, and legisla-
tion is needed to renew its au-
thority if the government is to
avoid a first-ever default.
The House is expected to ap-
prove a measure later this week
allowing Treasury to borrow
freely for another year, although
that legislation, too, will include
a provision to carry out the Re-
publican campaign against
“Obamacare.” While no final de-
cisions have been made, party
officials say a one-year delay is
likely to be added, rather than
the full-fledged defunding that
is part of the spending bill await-
ing action in the Senate.
If the events themselves were
complicated, the political ma-
neuvering was no less so.
At least temporarily, they pit-
ted Cruz and his tea party allies
inside Congress and out against
the party establishment, includ-
ing House Speaker John Boehn-
er and the Senate GOP leader,
Mitch McConnell of Kentucky.
Little more than a week ago,
conservatives in the House rank
and file forced Boehner and oth-
er leaders to include the defund-
ing provision on legislation re-
quired to avoid a shutdown, de-
spite their concerns that it
would set the party up for fail-
ure.
Within hours after the mea-
sure cleared the House, Cruz in-
furiated his allies by virtually
conceding he wouldn’t have the
votes to prevail in the Senate,
and stating that ‘At that point,
House Republicans must stand
firm, hold their ground and con-
tinue to listen to the American
people.”
Cruz appeared at a news con-
ference the next day to proclaim
he would do “everything and
anything possible to defund
Obamacare,” including a possi-
ble filibuster of legislation to
prevent a shutdown.
Senate Republicans were less
than enthusiastic about that,
and several said so and made it
clear they would not follow the
path that Cruz laid out of seizing
every opportunity to slow or
stop the bill. By Tuesday, the
Texan was under pressure from
fellow Senate Republicans to let
the legislation pass relatively
quickly, to make sure the gov-
ernment stayed open.
When he began his remarks,
he vowed to speak in opposition
until “I am no longer able to
stand.”
From Page 1A
TWU
TWU for 42 years, said she
thinks regents were trying to get
the best property possible for the
same expenditure, and that
change is part of a university set-
ting.
The University House in
question was not the first presi-
dent’s home on campus and
won’t be the last.
“I think that’s just the nature
of any evolving, improving cam-
pus — that as old things no lon-
ger meet the needs of the mo-
ment, you have to take those out
and create the space that is
needed for the present and fu-
ture,” she said. “I think the presi-
dent’s home is another aspect of
that process that has been going
on for 75 years.”
From Page 1A
Pilot Point
Bridges has served alongside
five presidents during her ten-
ure and enjoyed events at the
house.
However, it was not free of
problems and Bridges remem-
bers pest issues during Carol D.
Surles’ time at the home. There
was not a restroom on the
ground level, presenting chal-
lenges for guests with physical
disabilities.
“There certainly were prob-
lems in the structure of the
house,” she said. “We don’t want
people to have to struggle to be
there. We want to have arrange-
ments so that any citizen can
come here with ease.”
Beth Stribling, chairwoman
of the Denton County Historical
Commission, advocated to save
the house and said it didn’t need
to be the home of the president
to remain in use.
The house, she argued, was
historically significant for its ar-
chitecture and its importance to
TWUs history.
“I’m totally surprised and
very disappointed. ... In some
way, the university could have
repurposed that house to use it
in a different way,” Stribling said.
“I think it’s the symbolism and
part of the traditional campus
for many, many years [that] was
important.”
While Bridges agreed the
building was symbolic, she said
TWU has been in the same situ-
ation before.
It is always sad to see a build-
ing leave campus, Bridges said,
but she sees the potential for the
new home to hold the same sig-
nificance to the TWU commu-
nity as the original.
“Maybe the architecture is
less important than the spirit of
the place, because the first presi-
dent’s home was a much differ-
ent structural style than this
home built in the ’50s,” Bridges
said. “My hope is we will have
that same spirit of community in
whatever new building the re-
gents choose to erect for future
chancellors.”
JENNA DUNCAN can be
reached at 940-566-6889 and
via Twitter at @JennaF
Duncan.
City officials said they are
worried about how well the fire
department can serve the city
and meet any needs that may
arise.
One option the city decided
to look at is to solicit help from
residents who want to serve as
volunteer firefighters.
At one point, the city had a
good volunteer base, but that
has dipped, Mayor Pete Hollar
said.
“I think we need to cultivate
more volunteers for the city,” he
said. “Every city has volunteers
but Pilot Point. There has to be a
reason why we don’t have volun-
teers like neighboring cities.”
Another issue that adds to of-
ficials’ concerns is the depart-
ment’s high turnover rate, Fire
Chief Heath Hudson said.
“Since 2007, we’ve had five
full-time employees leave for
better pay and bigger depart-
ments,” he said. ‘And last year we
lost six part-time medics. It’s be-
coming increasingly hard to at-
tract people.”
He said the department may
lose another employee to Lewis-
ville soon.
Hudson said that because of
the high turnover, 68 percent of
his staff has three years of expe-
rience or less.
“It’s hard to build continuity
and train when that door is con-
stantly revolving,” he said.
City Manager Tom Adams
said that fixing the turnover rate
is an immediate need for the city.
He said the salary for fire de-
partment employees is well be-
low the median pay of other cit-
ies.
Council members said that it
may be difficult for the city to
compete with other cities be-
cause Pilot Point doesn’t have
the tax base to be competitive.
Offering firefighters and
medics higher pay could result
in the city having to eliminate
some part-time positions.
Also, creating more full-time
positions means fewer part-time
positions, officials said, which is
what the city carried out in its
most recent budget.
In other words, “When we up
our employees’ pay, we have to
reduce our numbers,” Adams
said.
The council has tossed
around the idea of contracting
paramedic services with sur-
rounding cities, but nothing has
been decided.
During a recent council
meeting, Adams said that the
part-time fire department posi-
tions aren’t working anymore
and that soliciting volunteers
maybe a good option, but it’s al-
so increasingly difficult to be-
come a certified volunteer.
Adams said the hours of
training that it takes to become
certified may discourage poten-
tial candidates.
Hollar said he refuses to be-
lieve that some people in Pilot
Point aren’t willing to help the
department.
‘We just need to figure out
how to reach them,” he said.
For more information about
becoming a volunteer, training
and time requirements, call
940-686-503.
JOHN D. HARDEN can be
reached at 940-566-6882 and
via Twitter at @JDHarden.
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PET OF THE WEEK
Courtesy Photo
Ellie is a 1- to 2-year-old female Australian shepherd mix. She loves the
outdoors and would make a great jogging or hiking partner. She is
active and would need a solid fence so she doesn’t escape out of the
yard.
Ellie is fully vetted, microchipped and ready to go home for only $30.
If you are interested in Ellie or any animal at the Denton Animal Shelter,
e-mail dentonanimalservices@yahoo.com or call 940-349-7594. To see
animals currently at the shelter, click “Animal Services” in the
“Departments and Services” menu at www.cityofdenton.com.
ONLINE BIDDING NOW OPENI
FORFEITED LAND SALE
Texas Veterans Land Board will conduct
a sale of state forfeited land tracts.
E3 No bids will be accepted after 5:00 p.m.
on Tuesday, October 22, 2013.
Only eligible military veterans may participate.
Forfeited tracts are listed at texasveterans.com.
Contact 800.252.VETS or vlbinfo@glo.texas.gov
for details.
Tracts may be added or
withdrawn at the discretion
of the VLB.
Texas Veterans Land Board ♦ Jerry Patterson, Chairman
P.O. Box 1 2873 ♦ Austin, Texas 78711-2873
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Cobb, Dawn. Denton Record-Chronicle (Denton, Tex.), Vol. 110, No. 55, Ed. 1 Thursday, September 26, 2013, newspaper, September 26, 2013; Denton, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1102408/m1/3/?q=food+rule+for+unt+students: accessed July 17, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; .