Republican Magazine Fall 2024 - Grand Marshal of Trump Flotilla 2024 John Belcher visits Downtowner

FALL 2024

VOL 4 NO. 3

Trump Flotilla 2024

FALL

Publisher JAY PARNASSA SHAPIRO

2024

Nate Cain Announces Candidacy for United States Congress Nate Cain, a Republican, U.S. Army Veteran, cybersecurity entrepreneur, and FBI whistleblower announces his candidacy for West Virginia's 2nd Congressional District. With a track record of integrity, selfless service, personal courage, and loyalty to his country, Cain is focused on restoring our Constitutional freedoms, strengthening our national security, and opening the doors to prosperity for all Americans.

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CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Jill Cueni-Cohen Michael Blander Karyn Turk PHOTOGRAPHERS Ilmar Saar

Nate Cain for United States Congress, West Virginia's 2nd Congressional District. Nate Cain is a military veteran who stands for America First principles & the people of West Virginia. He is a family man whose foundation is upon God, Family and Country. Cain is an entrepreneur and small business owner in Berkley County, West Virginia, https://www.cain.associates For more information about Nate Cain's campaign for Congress in 2024 or to donate, please visit https://natecain4wv.com

"I am excited to announce my candidacy for the West Virginia's 2nd Congressional District," Cain said. "I believe West Virginia needs a strong and trustworthy leader representing them, with a track record of integrity and personal courage when it matters. I firmly support the U.S. Constitution and intend to boldly fight to restore our God-given rights to guns, free speech, religion, medical freedom, and privacy. I also pledge to strengthen our national security and sovereignty with strong borders, balanced budgets, accountable foreign aid, a strong military, and a replenished national strategic stockpile and oil reserve. By restoring American freedom and national security we will ensure an enduring prosperity that will last for generations."

Honorary Grand Marshal of Trump Flotilla 2024 John Belcher visits Historic Downtowner Saloon Conservatives Flood the Downtowner Saloon with Support The Historic Downtowner Saloon in Fort Lauderdale, a beloved local landmark with deep historical roots dating back to 1925, is sadly slated to close on October 7, 2024. Known for its Mediterranean Revival architecture and rich tradition, including hosting Fort Lauderdale’s largest Saint Patrick’s Day parties and serving as an official Minnesota Vikings bar, the venue has long been a cherished gathering spot.

On September 22, 2024, the saloon was visited by Mr. John Belcher, Honorary Grand Marshal of the Trump Flotilla 2024. Belcher, the owner of Unique Rabbit Studios, designs custom mascot statues and themed signs for prominent businesses. He recently designed a Trump head bust statue that adorned the lead boat in the Trump Flotilla parade, held on September 24 from Port Everglades to Lake Boca. This year’s flotilla was the largest ever.

For more on Belcher’s work, visit Unique Rabbit Studios, and for local Vikings fans, check out the Miami Vikes.

RC - Roger Craft Proprietor - The Downtowner The Bob Sutton Famiglia

Chairman Smith to U.S. Chamber of Commerce: Explain Yourselves

Ways and Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith (MO-08) called on the U.S. Chamber of Commerce (USCC) today to provide the Committee with information regarding donations it received from third-party organizations whose stated goals appear antagonistic toward small businesses in the United States.

The letter follows reports that the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation (USCCF) received over $12 million in funding from a left-wing group, the Tides Foundation, whose social justice work seems to directly conflict with the Chamber’s stated mission: “The public reports at issue indicate that the USCCF has received over $12 million in funding from the Tides Foundation, a leftleaning organization that partners with and sponsors groups that advocate for policies that would harm the American business community,” wrote Chairman Smith. “Contrary to the USCC’s stated mission of improving lives ‘by advancing American business’ and advocating ‘for policies that help businesses create jobs and grow our economy,’ it seems odd that the foundation would accept funding from a group like the Tides Foundation, which is so focused on activities that are counter to USCC’s stated mission.

Furthermore, these reports raise concerns about how the USCC and USCCF are using their tax-exempt status.”

The letter comes as the Ways and Means Committee has been examining the growth of the nation’s tax-exempt sector and whether organizations like the U.S. Chamber of Commerce that receive generous tax benefits are satisfying the purposes for which they were organized under the tax code and whether donors understand how their donations are being used by tax-exempt organizations: “Does USCC share the vision of the Tides Foundation? If not, why would USCC accept funds from a group so opposed to its mission? Or perhaps the better question is why would the Tides Foundation think that this donation would advance its interests?

The letter continues, “These reports are concerning because the Committee is evaluating whether tax-exempt organizations like USCC and USCCF are operating for the exempt purposes that allowed them to obtain tax-exempt status. Additionally, the Committee is concerned about whether donors to, and members of, organizations like yours have sufficient awareness of how their money is being spent.”

Larry Thompson, United States Congressional Candidate, Warns of Civil War Biden Out, Newsom In; Republican Fear of Californication of America and Democrat Fear of Republican Dictatorship the Cause In his March 29, 2024 Political Manifesto, Voting In The Age of Chaos, U.S. Congressional Candidate, Larry Thompson (R), predicts the Democrat elite will persuade President Joe Biden to gracefully step aside and allow their shadow candidate, Governor Gavin Newsom, receive the Democratic Presidential Nomination.

"The 2024 Presidential Election will be the feared Democratic Californication of America versus the assumed Republican Dictatorship of former President, Donald J. Trump," claims Thompson.

He defines this political scenario plus "sky-high food prices, gas prices, housing prices, escalating inflation, unemployment, higher taxes, border crisis, fentanyl, indoctrination of children, loss of parental rights, uncertain reproductive rights, rampant crime, the growing homeless, devaluation and government digital replacement of the U.S. dollar, plus a brazen Russia, brave Ukraine, threatening China, aggressive Iran, Anti-Semitism on the move, and sleep walking into a World War as THE AGE OF CHAOS." And in this Age of Chaos where "Republicans think Democrats are foolish and naïve and Democrats believe Republicans are evil and selfish," Thompson predicts "we are one Presidential Election away from a Civil War. "While some pundits are already suggesting we are in a cold Civil War now, my prediction," Thompson adds, "goes way beyond that. I foresee an all-out breakdown in communication between the political parties with a call to action or blind eye to citizens taking the disagreements to the streets with a mob mentality.

"The losers of the election will start the war; the winners will ultimately end it, as they will control the military might of the United State Government. This civil war will not be North versus South. It will basically be Blue versus Red. Democrats versus Republicans."

These are very strong and controversial words coming from a Congressional Candidate who is unanimously endorsed by the California Republican Party. Not to mention his additional endorsements from the Los Angeles County Republican Party, The Ventura County Republican Party, The American Independent Party, The California Young Republicans, The Los Angeles County Young Republicans, The California College Republicans, Brock Pierce, Chairman of The Bitcoin Foundation, and Perianne Boring, Founder and CEO of the Chamber of Digital Commerce. www.LarryThompsonForCongress.com When asked how he plans to defeat his 14-term incumbent opponent, Brad Sherman (D), Thompson quips. "Oh, I will definitely beat "long time sleeping at the wheel, Sherman," I'm just glad Taylor Swift isn't running.

"Seriously, I am finally the right congressional candidate at the right historical time for California Congress CA 32. I ask Republicans, Democrats, and the Politically Homeless to Vote For Me. "Pray that with Common Sense and Common Civility we all find Common Ground to solve our Common Issues AND AVOID A CIVIL WAR."

“We’re keeping patients independent and healthier at home for longer.”

At a Ways and Means hearing on the benefits of health care at home, Medicare patients who receive athome care shared their stories of how both their health and quality of life have improved. Under the currently temporary Hospital at Home and telehealth flexibilities granted by Congress, millions of patients are now benefitting from the convenience of getting health care in their home. Because rural, remote, and underserved areas largely lack adequate health care services, Americans living in these communities can greatly benefit from expanded health care at home.

The witnesses who provide at-home, virtual care testified to the difference it has made for their patients – fewer emergency room and inpatient visits, and improved vital signs, to name a few. For diseases and illnesses where at-home care is possible, witnesses drew the connection between quality in-person and at-home care: in-person care is vital to setting the right treatments that patients can safely administer at home.

“I Felt Better. I Had More Energy”: Kidney Patient Shares Her At-Home Care Story Bell Maddux is a rural Pennsylvania working mother who testified about the importance of at-home care for her health and ability to take care of her family. In her moving opening statement, Mrs. Maddux shared the story of transitioning from in-center dialysis that required hours of travel and that left her tired to at-home dialysis that better fits into her busy life. Ways and Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith (MO-08) asked Ms. Maddux to share how the at-home care impacted her quality of life.

Darlene Cerezo Swaffar is running for Congress in Florida’s 23rd District Drug-infested Brooklyn, NY in the early 1980's was a tough place to grow up, but Darlene Swaffar is thankful for the experience. Navigating the mean streets of the notorious ‘hood taught the young woman how to survive and thrive through the use of critical thinking and compassion for others. Today, Swaffar uses those skills like a superpower.

Darlene Swaffar is not a Politician. If fact, she is not an establishment pick. Swaffar has lived and worked in South Florida as an entrepreneur for the past 30 years, and she understands what every day Americans have to go through in their efforts to raise their children in safe communities while trying to earn a living. Now, she’s determined to do whatever she can to help make the American Dream a reality for her and her neighbors by running for Congress.

Best known in her Deerfield Beach community as “The Medicare Lady” ™, Swaffar runs a successful Medicare Health Insurance Brokerage firm. Her background is in economic development, accounting and finance. Her expertise in corporate recruiting, as well as mortgage and insurance, will be valuable assets in Washington. She’s also highly-skilled in project management, strategic thinking and problem solving.

Never one to back down, Swaffar intends to question government over-spending and bring issues that affect “We the People” to the forefront.

Swaffar is a Precinct Woman #A004, on the National Small Business Association Leadership Council, was Founder of South Florida First, Inc., and is a Board Member of Smartflorida.org As a candidate who believes in Law and Order and Fiscal Responsibility, Swaffar feels that our nation needs to focus on: Border Security, Economic Development, and Job Creation; Controlling Inflation; Ending Drug and Sex Trafficking; Revamping Education for our Children; Providing Solutions to improve Medicare and Social Security to prevent insolvency; and providing more support for our Veterans.

It's time for new Leadership focused on serving with honor and integrity!

Send Darlene Cerezo Swaffar to Congress and put a halt to the Progressive policies that are negatively impacting our country. Swaffar is a successful business owner who can bring practical experience to create jobs and opportunity for our community.

An expert in Medicare, Health Insurance, Banking, Mortgages, Recruiting, Project Management and Entrepreneurship, Darlene is ready to implement real strategies to improve the lives of Florida District 23 Residents.

Vote Swaffar Campaign 10 Fairway Drive, Suite 118, Deerfield Beach, Florida 33441, United States (754) 444-2782

The Biden Tax Hike Will Likely Exceed $7 Trillion President Biden’s Budget Shows He Will Let Middle Class Tax Cuts Expire Hidden inside President Biden’s Fiscal Year (FY) 2025 Budget is the revelation that he will increase taxes by a whopping $7 trillion, thanks to a range of tax increases and the expiration of Republicans’ 2017 tax reform. Ways and Means Chairman Jason Smith (MO-08) outlined a list of the biggest tax increases, saying: “President Biden’s $7 trillion tax increase on small businesses and families means fewer jobs, higher prices, and handing our competitive advantage to China. Far from going after the wealthy, these are tax hikes that hit workers, mom-and-pop business owners, seniors nearing retirement, and family farms and ranches. And with the IRS getting another $104 billion and an expanded ability to approve penalties, Democrats will be on the fast track to collect your life savings.”

The Details: President Biden Quietly Pledges to Let Trump Tax Cuts Expire Even as the President claims he will not allow the middle-class tax cuts in the 2017 tax reform to expire, his budget fails to show any plan to stop the increases and spends as though they don’t exist anymore.

That’s approximately $2 trillion in new taxes on top of the nearly $5 trillion explicitly included in this budget.

Sending Jobs and Companies Overseas with Higher Business Taxes than China Increasing the corporate tax rate to one of the highest in the world would put America at a disadvantage in attracting investment and jobs.

As much as 75 percent of the burden of corporate tax increases falls on American workers and consumers in the form of lower wages and higher prices according to recent economic studies.

Global Tax Surrender Allows Foreign Governments to Take American Tax Dollars President Biden’s global tax surrender to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) sends American tax dollars to foreign governments and entities, while failing to hold China accountable.

Analysis from the Joint Committee on Taxation (JCT) finds that under Pillar 2, the United States stands to lose over $120 billion in tax revenues to foreign nations. And under the current OECD Pillar 1 proposal, according to JCT analysis of tax year 2021, American companies earned 70 percent of the profits that would have been subject to reallocation and taxation by other foreign nations, and the U.S. would have lost up to $4.4 billion in tax revenue to them.

A Second Death Tax Even Though You Only Die Once President Biden’s proposal to raise the top rate to 39.6 percent goes after small business owners who pay their business taxes via their individual tax return – despite his pledge not to raise taxes on small businesses.

A Tax on Wealth You Haven’t Even Earned Yet Democrats want to tax the “unrealized gains” of assets, a long-sought priority of progressives such as Senators Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders.

Under President Biden’s budget, Americans at the end of their careers – who have reached their highest earning level just before retirement – or those who have built up a business over a lifetime but not sold it, could be hit with a so-called wealth tax that would be an additional 25 percent on those assets. These are not the super-wealthy, but people who have worked a full lifetime and earned their retirement.

Charging tax before an asset is sold runs counter to how income taxation works under our Constitution; the proposal would require Americans to declare to the IRS the value of their home, business, and personal assets on an annual basis to be levied a new tax bill.

Hurting Americans’ Retirement Funds Democrats’ budget calls to raid the retirements of those with successful careers, capping the retirement plan benefits of certain individuals.

Going After the Sweat Equity of Small Business Owners Democrats call for another $104.3 billion to the agency, on top of the massive pay raise given to the IRS by congressional Democrats in 2022, and expand the ranks of those who have authority to approve penalties – regardless of the merits of those penalties.

President Biden is essentially reneging on the bipartisan agreement he made with Republicans in the Fiscal Responsibility Act to rescind part of the original $80 billion pay raise provided to the agency by congressional Democrats in the so-called Inflation Reduction Act.

U.S. Is Not a Piggy Bank for Europe’s Socialist Policies” WASHINGTON, D.C. – At a Ways and Means Tax Subcommittee hearing on a global tax deal negotiated by President Biden, Committee Republicans highlighted how the Biden Administration is failing to stand up for American interests. Witnesses testified that the deal, initiated by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), would see America lose both jobs and tax revenues to foreign nations, including China.

The global tax deal punishes American workers and companies for America’s world-leading innovation and productivity.

According to a Joint Committee on Taxation (JCT) analysis of tax year 2021, American companies earned 70 percent of the profits that would have been subject to reallocation and taxation by other foreign nations under the current OECD Pillar 1 proposal. Just this month, the JCT analysis also showed that in 2021, the United States would have lost up to $4.4 billion in tax revenue to foreign nations under the proposed deal, hurting taxpayers and weakening the economy.

Committee Republicans reiterated, as they did before in meetings with foreign governments and OECD leadership, in France and Germany last year, that only Congress has the authority to ratify the agreement, not President Biden’s negotiators working behind closed doors in Europe.

The Biden Administration Must Engage Congress The Biden Administration has failed to consult with Congress on the OECD global tax deal. As a result, the deal has failed to include the voices of the American people, leading to disastrous results for American workers and businesses. In just one example of the negative consequences of the Pillar 2 portion of the global minimum tax deal, America could lose up to $120 billion in tax revenue. Tax Subcommittee Chairman Mike Kelly (PA-16) advocated for Congress to have a proactive role in negotiations to do what the Biden Administration has failed to do – protect America’s interests.

Pro-Life Conservative Leaders Call on Senate to Pass Tax Relief for American Families and Workers Act

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Conservative thought leaders, including former elected officials like Speaker Newt Gingrich and Governor Mike Huckabee, alongside pro-life, pro-family organizations are urging the Senate to pass the Tax Relief for American Families and Workers Act (H.R. 7024) to “provide common-sense tax relief to families who need it most, while also encouraging economic growth by incentivizing investment and job creation in the private sector.”

In a letter, led by Concerned Women for America, the conservative leaders note that the legislation is strongly pro-life, writing “The CTC provisions in question provide a common-sense way to provide targeted pro-life tax relief to point of greatest need.”

The tax relief package supports working parents hurt by high prices and helps parents in the critical months after the birth of their child: “Perhaps most important, H.R. 7024 is pro-child and pro-parent. It is universally understood that growing costs fueled by out-of-control inflation have strained family budgets, especially for younger, larger families. The current Child Tax Credit (CTC) weakens over time as a result of inflation, and as families grow in size. H.R. 7024 addresses each of these problems by tacking the CTC to inflation and eliminating the penalty for having more than one child…The bill before you is also decidedly pro-life.

So often, the one thing needed to take that step of courage is a glimmer of hope that there is a way to provide for that child. One of the most financially challenging times in a family’s development is pregnancy and the first few months of a baby’s life…The CTC provisions in question provide a common-sense way to provide targeted pro-life tax relief to point of greatest need.”

The legislation is pro-work by maintaining the structure of the 2017 Trump tax reform and rejecting Democrats’ anti-work Child Tax Credit from the “American Rescue Plan”: “Finally, H.R. 7024 will encourage workforce participation and support a family’s climb up the economic ladder. By preserving the structure of the Trump-era tax cuts rather than changes advanced by the American Rescue Plan, the CTC will both support working families at their place of greatest need and encourage those same families to be robust participants in the workforce.”

The Senate should advance this conservative legislation because it supports families and advances the pro-life cause: “This is what conservative legislation should look like. While the House-passed language does not reflect the entirety of any single stakeholder’s policy preferences, its totality enhances liberty, embraces the inherent value of every life and every child, strengthens the family unit, and promotes economic flourishing. We urge the U.S. Senate to come together and take this important step forward.”

“Rocket Fuel:” U.S. Manufacturers Call for Passage of Pro-Growth Tax Relief for American Families and Workers In his recent 2024 State of Manufacturing speech, National Association of Manufacturing President and CEO Jay Timmons called on the Senate to pass the Tax Relief for American Families and Workers Act that will lock in $600 billion of pro-growth tax incentives for American job creators and innovators.

American manufacturers benefit, in particular, from the restoration of immediate research and development (R&D) expensing. Over half of the credit’s value is claimed by manufacturers who face stiff competition from Chinese companies that benefit from a 200 percent R&D “super deduction.”

If the pro-growth, pro-job Trump tax cuts are not extended, American manufacturers and workers could fall behind their foreign competitors: “Remember the 2017 tax reforms? They were rocket fuel for our industry. We kept our promises to raise wages, hire workers and invest in our communities. We would not be outpacing other countries without them.

“But many of the competitive rates and the pro-growth deductions we won in 2017 are expiring in 2025.

Some already have.

“Can we agree that it is economic malpractice to let taxes go up on innovators and on America’s small businesses? Why should you have to work even harder to compete with China?”

Manufacturers are urging the Senate to pass these common-sense tax incentives that help American businesses create jobs and invest and build in our communities: “…Congress should bring back some of the tax policies that made it easier for manufacturers to invest in the future.

“Right now, our entire industry is waiting on the U.S. Senate to pass a bipartisan tax bill that restores expired or phasing-out tax incentives for investments in R&D, new facilities and equipment…It’s just common sense that the tax code should encourage these kinds of investments.”

Biden’s So-Called Stimulus Got It Wrong: Families Need Pro-Work, Pro-Family Trump Child Tax Credit Chairman Smith: “Tax Relief for American Families and Workers Act builds on the Child Tax Credit signed into law by President Trump, including the work requirements, and gives more help to families crushed by the spike in prices sparked by the spending in the American Rescue Plan.”

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Three years after the U.S. House of Representatives first voted on President Biden’s so-called stimulus (also known as the American Rescue Plan Act or ARPA), the Tax Relief for American Families and Workers Act rejects ARPA’s failed policies, like the lack of work requirements, and keeps the Child Tax Credit structure in line with the increased Trump-era credit. Just like the 2017 GOP tax cuts, the tax relief package requires taxpayers to earn at least $2,500 to qualify for the credit.

Once a taxpayer meets that minimum threshold, the credit phases in consistent with the Trump tax reforms. In addition, the credit preserves the refundability structure in the 2017 Republican tax reform.

Instead of continuing the harmful policies in the “American Rescue Plan,” the CTC in the Tax Relief for American Families and Workers Act rewards work and helps families: Keeps work requirements from the 2017 Trump tax reform. Multiple independent studies show the CTC changes in the Tax Relief for American Families and Workers Act encourage more Americans to join and stay in the workforce.

Retains GOP tax reform’s structure for refundability with only incremental increases to the refundable portion of the credit.

Correcting the Record: Child Tax Credit Maintains Taxpayer Protections The Tax Relief for American Families and Workers Act maintains critical taxpayer protections: Social Security number is required to claim the CTC. Taxpayers will quickly receive any updates to their tax refunds once the bill becomes law.

At a Ways and Means hearing, IRS Commissioner Daniel Werfel assured that the IRS will send any CTC refund adjustments within weeks after the bill is signed into law. He said that the agency would work “to be closer to six weeks” in a six to twelve week window for sending refund checks.

Social Security Must Use Every Tool to Fight Improper Payments Almost nine years after Congress enacted a law to protect seniors from improper Social Security payments, the Social Security Administration (SSA) is finally taking steps to implement it. Ways and Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith (MO-08) released the following statement after the SSA proposed a rule to combat improper payments through use of a payroll information exchange: “Seniors and people with disabilities should not be on the hook for avoidable improper payments made by the Social Security Administration. Yet the delay in implementing the use of a payroll information exchange to combat such improper payments has cost countless Social Security beneficiaries time, money, and undue stress over the past several years. The law allowing the SSA to protect seniors against improper payments by use of a payroll information exchange was passed nearly nine years ago. This tool is long overdue.

“The situation has been getting worse. In Fiscal Year 2022 alone, Social Security’s Disability Insurance and Old-Age and Survivors Insurance programs are estimated to have made more than $8.3 billion in combined improper payments, more than three times as much as in FY 2021. This included nearly $6.5 billion in overpayments. Additionally, the Supplemental Security Insurance program made $4.6 billion in overpayments in FY 2022, an increase of more than $500 million from FY 2021. Meanwhile, an untold millions of Americans are receiving notices from the Social Security Administration for overpayments that shouldn’t have occurred in the first place. That is why the Ways and Means Committee has aggressively pressed the agency to follow the law and use every tool at its disposal to combat improper payments – to protect both American taxpayers and Social Security beneficiaries from the government’s mistakes. Thanks to that Congressional oversight work, the Social Security Administration is finally taking steps to do more to stop improper payments and protect seniors. We will continue to monitor the Social Security Administration’s rollout of this important tool.”

Background: July 31, 2023: Chairman Smith, Social Security Subcommittee Chairman Drew Ferguson (GA03), and Work & Welfare Subcommittee Chairman Darin LaHood (IL-16) write the SSA demanding that the SSA follow the law and implement guardrails against improper payments.

October 18, 2023: The Social Security Subcommittee holds a hearing on the harm caused by improper payments and again urges the SSA to establish the guardrails against improper payments Congress passed back in 2015.

February 15, 2024: The Social Security Administration proposes a rule governing the use of payroll information exchanges in an effort to combat improper payments, including overpayments.