skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Tuesday, March 19, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

SD public defense duties shift from counties to state; SCOTUS appears skeptical of restricting government communications with social media companies; Trump lawyers say he can't make bond; new scholarships aim to connect class of 2024 to high-demand jobs.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

The SCOTUS weighs government influence on social media, and who groups like the NRA can do business with. Biden signs an executive order to advance women's health research and the White House tells Israel it's responsible for the Gaza humanitarian crisis.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Midwest regenerative farmers are rethinking chicken production, Medicare Advantage is squeezing the finances of rural hospitals and California's extreme swing from floods to drought has some thinking it's time to turn rural farm parcels into floodplains.

State of the Union Reactions on Energy, Health Care

play audio
Play

Wednesday, January 24, 2007   

While Iraq played a big role in President Bush's State of the Union address, he also tackled domestic issues including energy and health care. The President called for a 20 percent cut in gasoline consumption nationwide, with ethanol and other bio-fuels making up the difference. Kurt Zwally with the National Wildlife Federation says cutting gasoline use will help fight global warming, but federal emissions caps are needed, too. He believes Wisconsin can take the lead in providing clean, alternative energy.

"There's a number of different types of energy resources in Wisconsin. There's wind resources, which some of your utilities have already begun putting in place. There's also the opportunity to grow bio-fuels like President Bush is talking about."

Zwally adds Wisconsin can also improve its use of coal energy by switching to coal gasification plants that emit less global warming pollution.

When it comes to health care, the President proposed tax deductions on private health insurance, which would be paid for with tax increases for people with employer health coverage. Lisa Lamkins with AARP-Wisconsin applauds the President for tackling the problem, but she warns his proposal is only one small step toward a solution.

"We have 48 million Americans who are uninsured, and millions more who are vulnerable to losing their coverage, or just one illness away from financial devastation. We need to look at a whole way of redefining the system and making the system work for people"

Robert Kraig with Citizen Action of Wisconsin worries the plan won't help most uninsured people afford coverage, and he says it's up to the states to take the lead.

"In Wisconsin there are three very good comprehensive health care reform plans that have a lot of support, so there's a real chance of doing something here and setting a model for the rest of the country."



get more stories like this via email

more stories
Iowa families can apply for up to $7,600 a year for private school costs. (Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

An ethics committee in the Republican-led Iowa House has dismissed a complaint filed by a group of community activists against a state lawmaker for hi…


play sound

Each spring, hundreds of thousands of California high school seniors have to figure out if they can afford to go to college in the fall - and two new …

Health and Wellness

play sound

A health care workforce shortage in New Hampshire is leaving Alzheimer's patients and their families with few options for treatment. Patients facing …


South Dakota ranks 49th in the country for its contribution to indigent legal defense costs, according to a 2023 report from the Indigent Legal Services Task Force. (Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

South Dakota is creating an Office of Indigent Legal Services after House Bill 1057 passed the Legislature with nearly unanimous support this month…

Environment

play sound

A Knoxville-based environmental group is voicing concerns over what it sees as an increasing financial strain imposed on taxpayers by nuclear weapons …

Environment

play sound

A bipartisan law set to take effect this summer prohibits foreign adversaries from buying Hoosier farmland. The signature of Gov. Eric Holcomb was …

Social Issues

play sound

Today, people across Arizona are voting in the Presidential Preference Election, a chance for registered Democrats and Republicans to choose their …

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021