All posts tagged: bills

Why evangelicals should oppose the new farm bill’s Save Our Bacon Act

Why evangelicals should oppose the new farm bill’s Save Our Bacon Act

Published by Sam Flores

(RNS) — Christians should care about cruelty to animals, even, perhaps especially, the animals we eat. The Bible is filled with principles that govern the ways in which animals are to be cared for, slaughtered, eaten and sacrificed. Laws and regulations in our own government today that eliminate or reduce unnecessarily cruel and inhumane conditions for animals simply reflect biblical wisdom regarding the good stewardship of God’s creation. Christians should know, then, that the 2026 Farm Bill, which was passed by the U.S. House of Representatives in April and is expected to go before the Senate this month, departs from this biblical wisdom. The bill contains a provision, referred to as the Save Our Bacon Act, directed at overriding some state laws against animal cruelty. The act specifically targets legislation in California and Massachusetts (passed by voter approval) requiring “that hogs, calves and chickens that are on confined farms or sold in the states are raised with adequate room to turn around, lie down and extend their limbs.” To be very clear: The proposed change …

Mom Got Her Hospital Bills Lowered By Using A Debt Collector’s Trick

Mom Got Her Hospital Bills Lowered By Using A Debt Collector’s Trick

Published by Jenni Sidey

In America, hospital bills strike terror into the hearts of most of us and often ruin people’s lives and futures. So it seems ridiculous to think that the process of creating medical bills is so absurdly arbitrary that a single sentence could make large chunks of them disappear. However, that’s precisely what one mom recently learned. Health policy research organization KFF estimates that as many as 100 million Americans carry medical debt, and an investigation by NPR found that the problem is not only worsening, but it’s also the result of systematic efforts by our for-profit healthcare industry. Given how terrifying this is, TikToker Annie Muscato’s recent experience is downright counterintuitive because asking one simple question made a giant chunk of her bill disappear. A mom got her hospital bills lowered by $3,000 using a trick she learned from a debt collector. After giving birth, Muscato received medical bills that were inaccurate by thousands of dollars. The only reason she even noticed the discrepancy is because she did a thing all too many of us refrain from doing: she opened …

Man Shares Money-Saving Tips From His Cheap Parents

Man Shares Money-Saving Tips From His Cheap Parents

Published by Jenni Sidey

In today’s economy, most of us are looking to save a buck in any way we can. Still, it’s no surprise that a large portion of Americans think that their emergency savings wouldn’t be enough to cover an actual urgent expense. A lot of people struggle with penny-pinching because they simply don’t know how to. This is where the benefits of having been raised by cheapskates come in handy! One man learned all kinds of money-saving tips from his frugal parents, and he shared them on TikTok to help you maybe save a buck or two. The man explained how his ‘cheap parents’ taught him to negotiate bills. Many of us take each bill we receive at face value, even though everything seems to be a price gouge nowadays. Content creator Sean Lans is not one of those people. “I have cheap parents who taught me a lot about saving money,” he said in a post. Lans acknowledged “that not everyone was lucky/unlucky enough to have cheap parents,” so he decided to share all the …

What the Warm Homes Plan means to you as UK government aims to cut energy bills and upgrade homes

What the Warm Homes Plan means to you as UK government aims to cut energy bills and upgrade homes

Published by Daniella Wilson

Get the free Morning Headlines email for news from our reporters across the world Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email Reducing household energy bills is a top priority for many, particularly those in social housing, renters, or low-income households, where even minor adjustments can yield significant long-term savings. The government’s strategy to enhance domestic energy efficiency, primarily outlined in the Warm Homes Plan launched in January, aims to transform British homes. Simon Bones, a leading sustainability expert and founder of intelligent retrofit company Genous, which assists homeowners in making their properties greener, highlights the dual benefits: “With lower energy costs and lower emissions.” Bones explains the key initiatives and how individuals can engage with them. Funding Improvements for Low-Income Households A core objective of the Warm Homes Plan is to upgrade three million properties by December 2030. This includes 1.3 million social homes, which will be directly improved by social landlords, and 1.7 million properties funded through the plan itself. Bones underlines: “By December 2030, …

Electric bills sizzle in summer heat as the cost of cooling climbs : NPR

Electric bills sizzle in summer heat as the cost of cooling climbs : NPR

Published by Sam Flores

Electricity prices are climbing faster than overall inflation. That, coupled with a hotter-than-usual summer, has forecasters warning of a sharp jump in utility bills. Brandon Bell/Getty Images hide caption toggle caption Brandon Bell/Getty Images Temperatures are climbing, and so is the price of electricity. That’s a one-two punch that could result in sharply higher utility bills this summer. “Climate scientists think this could be the hottest summer on record or at least close to it,” says Mark Wolfe, who heads the National Energy Assistance Directors Association (NEADA). “So families need to use more of an increasingly expensive product to stay cool this summer. And that’s going to be tough.” NEADA is projecting that electricity bills will be 8.5% higher this summer than last, on average, with residents in some Southern states seeing even bigger increases. Robin Westphal lives about halfway between Houston and Galveston, Texas, where the feels-like temperature in midsummer can easily soar past 100 degrees. “It’s very difficult to come here and try to breathe with this kind of humidity and hot weather,” …

Electric Bills Could Be 2026 Election Shocker

Electric Bills Could Be 2026 Election Shocker

Published by Jenni Sidey

Authored by John Haughey via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours), If all politics is local, as former House Speaker Tip O’Neill said in tying politicians’ fortunes to constituents’ pocketbooks, then a voter’s electricity bill is about as local as an issue can get, landing on kitchen tables every month. Illustration by The Epoch Times, Getty Images, Samira Bouaou/The Epoch Times With electricity costs spiking for many of the nation’s 133 million households, this local issue could determine whether Republicans retain control of Congress or Democrats seize one or both chambers in November’s midterm elections. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, average residential electricity rates increased nationwide nearly 13 percent from April 2020 to April 2025. Since President Donald Trump returned to office in January 2025, they’ve increased 6 percent. Electricity prices are expected to increase, on average nationwide, by another 6 percent in 2026, the administration projects, and as much as 40 percent by 2030, warns economic development finance firm ICF. The reason is simple: supply and demand. The North American Electric Reliability Corp. …

Trump ballroom security funding blocked by Senate parliamentarian

Trump ballroom security funding blocked by Senate parliamentarian

Published by Sam Flores

Construction cranes are seen, from the Washington Monument, on the site of the former East Wing of the White House on April 17, 2026. Anna Moneymaker | Getty Images President Donald Trump’s push to secure taxpayer-funded security upgrades tied to his proposed White House ballroom hit a roadblock after the Senate parliamentarian ruled that a $1 billion Secret Service provision could not be included in a GOP immigration enforcement bill as drafted. The Senate GOP vowed to find another way to get the funding included in the bill. Parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough determined Saturday that the provision, which included $220 million for security upgrades tied to the East Wing ballroom project, fell outside the jurisdiction of the Senate Judiciary Committee. Budget reconciliation bills must comply with strict rules, including the Byrd Rule, which bars provisions deemed extraneous to federal spending or outside the jurisdiction of the committees that drafted them. It’s up to the parliamentarian to determine what fits and what doesn’t. That means Republicans will have to rewrite the language if they want to keep …