The Boston Globe - 20.09.2019

A2 The Boston Globe FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 2019

The Nation

House Speaker Nancy Pelo-
si unveiled her long-awaited
drug pricing bill on Thursday,
which would allow the federal
government to negotiate the
prices of up to 250 brand-
name drugs in Medicare.
The bill, designed to help
Democrats replicate their
2018 success winning House
control by focusing on health
care, faces wide opposition
from congressional Republi-
cans. However, President
Trump’s desire to address drug
costs before the 2020 election
is a potential wild card that
could affect its fate.
The measure would re-
quire the Health and Human
Services secretary to negotiate
the prices of up to 250 drugs in
Medicare that do not have

competitors, and would im-

pose severe financial penalties

on drug companies that failed

to come to an agreement. The

negotiated prices would be

available to all purchasers, not

just Medicare beneficiaries.

But there were already

signs of division among Demo-

crats as the party’s progressive

flank expressed concern the

legislation did not negotiate

prices on enough drugs, and it

is unlikely it will gain any Re-

publican support.

Congressional Republicans

expressed unanimity in their

opposition to the measure. All

24 of the House Energy and

Commerce Committee’s Re-

publicans issued a joint state-

ment criticizing the measure.

WASHINGTON POST

Pelosi unveils bill to lower drug costs

Slowly, steadily, and almost

imperceptibly, North Ameri-

ca’s bird population is dwin-

dling.

The sparrows and finches

that visit backyard feeders

number fewer each year. The

flutelike song of the western

meadowlark — the official

bird of six US states — is

growing more rare. The conti-

nent has lost nearly 3 billion

birds representing hundreds

of species over the past five

decades, in an enormous loss

that signals an ‘‘overlooked

biodiversity crisis,’’ according

to a study from top ornitholo-

gists and government agen-

cies.

This is not an extinction

crisis — yet. It is a more insid-

ious decline in abundance as

humans dramatically alter the

landscape: There are 29 per-

cent fewer birds in the United

States and Canada today than

in 1970, the study concludes.

Grassland species have been

hardest hit, probably because

of agricultural intensification

that has engulfed habitats and

spread pesticides that kill the

insects many birds eat. But

the victims include warblers,

thrushes, swallows, and other

familiar birds.

Earlier research has docu-

mented several threats that

could be responsible for the

large-scale bird decline. Agri-

culture and habitat loss, light

pollution, and roaming cats

are primary drivers, said lead

author Ken Rosenberg.

WASHINGTON POST

North America has lost 3 billion birds

BEAUMONT, Texas — The
remnants of Tropical Depres-
sion Imelda unleashed torren-
tial rain Thursday in parts of
Texas and Louisiana, prompt-
ing hundreds of water rescues,
a hospital evacuation, and road
closures as the powerful storm
system drew comparisons to
Hurricane Harvey two years
ago.
Officials in Harris County,

which includes Houston, said

there had been a combination

of at least 1,000 high-water res-

cues and evacuations to get

people to shelter in anticipa-

tion of the threat lingering.

Although the amount of

predicted rainfall is massive —

forecasters say some places

could see 40 inches or more

this week — Imelda’s deluge is

largely targeting areas east of

Houston, including the small

town of Winnie and the city of

Beaumont.

Still, the Houston area faced

heavy rains Thursday, leading

forecasters to issue a flash

flood emergency through mid-

day Thursday for Harris Coun-

ty. In that area, forecasters said

3 to 5 inches of rain was possi-

ble per hour.

Imelda is the first named

storm to impact the Houston

area since Harvey hovered for

days in August 2017 and inun-

dated the flood-prone Gulf

Coast. The storm dumped

more than 5 feet of water on

the town of Nederland, Texas.

No reports of deaths or inju-

ries related to the storm were

immediately reported Thurs-

day.

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Officials report more than 1,000 rescues, evacuations as Imelda soaks Texas

College students across the
United States more than dou-
bled their rate of voting be-
tween the 2014 and 2018 mid-
term elections, according to a
study published Thursday by
Tufts University, a dramatic
spike in political engagement
that could draw unprecedented
attention to these voters in
next year’s presidential elec-

tion.

The study found that 40

percent of students who are eli-

gible to vote cast ballots last

year, up from 19 percent in

2014.

Census Bureau data has

shown that turnout rose in

nearly all demographic groups

between the two midterm cy-

cles, but it rose most sharply

among young adults. The Tufts

study shows the turnout spike

was particularly stark among

college students.

Among all eligible voters,

for instance, turnout reached

50 percent in 2018, less than a

14-point jump since 2014, ac-

cording to the United States

Elections Project.

WASHINGTON POST

College voter turnout more than doubled in 2018, study finds

Reporting corrections

The Globe welcomes information about errors that call for

corrections. Information may be sent to [email protected] or

left in a message at 617-929-8230.

Daily Briefing

BRETT COOMER/HOUSTON CHRONICLE VIA ASSOCIATED PRESS

Jade McLain carried her dog, Thor, while being evacuated from their flooded neighborhood in Splendora, Texas.

GETTY IMAGES

By Philip Marcelo
ASSOCIATED PRESS
The Trump administration
reversed its decision Thursday
to stop considering requests
from immigrants seeking to
defer deportation for medical
treatment and other hard-
ships, following weeks of pub-
lic outcry and a congressional
inquiry into the decision.
The US Citizenship and Im-
migration Services confirmed
Thursday it will resume con-
sidering ‘‘deferred action’’ re-
quests on a discretionary, case-
by-case basis, as it had done
for years prior.
The agency said the rever-
sal of the Aug. 7 decision was
directed by Acting Homeland
Security Secretary Kevin Keal-
oha McAleenan, who oversees
USCIS. It didn’t elaborate.
The decision to terminate
the longstanding policy drew
immediate criticism from doc-
tors and immigration lawyers,

particularly in Boston, where a

number of the impacted fami-

lies have settled to receive

treatment in some of nation’s

top hospitals.

Civil rights groups in Bos-

tonhadalsofiledafederal

lawsuit arguing that the agen-

cy hadn’t given proper public

notice or justification about

the termination, as the law re-

quires.

Eva Millona, the executive

director of the Massachusetts

Immigrant and Refugee Advo-

cacy Coalition, welcomed the

reversal Thursday night, say-

ing the administration’s deci-

sion to stop considering such

“deferred action” requests was

“a continuation of very harm-

ful and inhumane policies.”

She said her organization was

grateful pressure was placed

on the administration to

change course.

“This is a victory for human

decency,” she said during a

brief phone interview.

When federal authorities

first started denying the re-

quests, confusion abounded,

she said, in part because there

was no announcement of the

change.

“People had no idea what

was happening,” she said.

Earlier this month, the US-

CIS, in a partial concession to

the criticism, reopened re-

quests from about 400 pend-

ing applicants who had been

issued denial letters that also

ordered them to leave the

country within 33 days or risk

deportation.

Despite Thursday’s an-

nouncement, House Demo-

crats said that they will contin-

ue to press for answers about

how the termination decision

came about. They also said

they’ll be monitoring the

agency to assure the reversal

takes hold.

‘‘Because of the secrecy and

obstruction surrounding this

policy, we will be taking addi-

tional steps to verify that these

children and their families do

not need to live in fear and un-

certainty,’’ said Representative

Elijah Cummings, a Maryland

Democrat who chairs the

House Oversight and Reform

Committee that held a conten-

tious hearing on the decision

last week. The committee has

scheduled another hearing for

next week. ‘‘Our committee

will continue to seek answers

about who was responsible for

this cruel policy in the first

place.’’

Representative Ayanna

Pressley, a Massachusetts

Democrat who was among

those calling for a congressio-

nal investigation into the deci-

sion, also applauded the rever-

sal.

‘‘This is for all of the chil-

dren and families who have

been dehumanized by this cru-

el Administration,’’ she said.

‘‘When we fight, we win.’’

Deferred action is a special

status that allows foreign na-

tionals to temporarily work

and receive health benefits for

up to two years while they or

their family members receive

treatment for serious medical

conditions.

The renewable status

doesn’t provide a pathway to

citizenship and is similar to

the Obama-era Deferred Ac-

tion for Childhood Arrivals,

which the Trump administra-

tion is trying to undo.

The administration hasn’t

said how many people cur-

rently hold the status, but says

it receives about 1,000 re-

quests a year nationwide.

Most of the requests, it has

said, are denied.

Among those ordered to

leave the country in 33 days or

face deportation was Maria Is-

abelBueso,whohadbeenin-

volved in clinical trials that led

to the approval of a drug to ex-

tend the lives of those with her

rare genetic disease. She re-

ceives weekly treatment at Be-

nioff Children’s Hospital at the

University of California, San

Francisco.

Bueso, who has an enzyme

disease that causes dwarfism

and other physical deformi-

ties, has remained in the coun-

try since she was 7 to receive

treatment and participate in

additional medical studies;

she has renewed her deferred

action status every two years.

Her parents pay for private

health insurance to cover her

care.

“While we have not re-

ceived any official confirma-

tion that our deferred action

case will be approved,” Bueso

said, “we are cautiously opti-

mistic about this news.”

Danny McDonald of the Globe

staff contributed to the article,

which also includes material

from the New York Times.

US reverses decision ending immigrant medical relief

Willresume

taking‘deferred

action’requests

By Matthew Rosenberg

and Nicholas Fandos

NEW YORK TIMES

WASHINGTON — A poten-

tially explosive complaint by a

whistle-blower in the intelli-

gence community said to in-

volve President Trump was re-

lated to a series of actions that

go beyond any single discus-

sion with a foreign leader, ac-

cording to interviews Thurs-

day.

The complaint was related

to multiple acts, Michael At-

kinson, the inspector general

for US spy agencies, told law-

makers during a private brief-

ing, two officials familiar with

it said. But he declined to dis-

cuss specifics, including

whether the complaint in-

volved the president, accord-

ing to committee members.

Separately, a person famil-

iar with the whistle-blower’s

complaint said it involves in

part a commitment that

Trump made in a communica-

tion with another world lead-

er. The Washington Post first

reported the nature of that

discussion. But no single com-

munication was at the root of

the complaint, another person

familiar with it said.

The complaint cleared an

initial hurdle when Atkinson

deemed it credible and began

to pursue an investigation.

But it has prompted a standoff

between lawmakers and the

acting director of national in-

telligence, Joseph Maguire,

who has refused to turn it over

to Congress, as is generally re-

quired by law. It has become

the latest in a series of fights

over information between the

Democratic-led House and the

White House.

Democrats emerged from

Atkinson’s briefing and re-

newed their accusation that

the Trump administration was

orchestrating a cover-up of an

urgent and legitimate whistle-

blower complaint that could

affect national security.

Representative Adam B.

Schiff, a California Democrat

who is the chairman of the

House Intelligence Commit-

tee, told reporters after the

briefing that he still did not

know the contents of the com-

plaint and had been unable to

get an answer to whether the

White House was involved in

suppressing it.

Few details of the whistle-

blower complaint are known,

including the identity of the

world leader involved in the

single known communication.

And it is not obvious how an

exchange between Trump and

a foreign leader could meet

the legal standards for a whis-

tle-blower complaint that the

inspector general would deem

an “urgent concern.”

Under the law, the com-

plaint has to concern the exis-

tence of an intelligence activi-

ty that violates the law, rules

or regulations, or otherwise

amounts to mismanagement,

waste, abuse, or a danger to

public safety. But a conversa-

tion between two foreign lead-

ers is not itself an intelligence

activity.

Trump regularly speaks

with foreign leaders and often

takes a freewheeling ap-

proach. Some current and for-

mer officials said that what an

intelligence official took to be

a troubling commitment

could have been an innocuous

comment. But there has long

been concern among some in

the intelligence agencies that

the information they share

with the president is being po-

liticized.

Andrew P. Bakaj, a former

CIA and Pentagon official

whose legal practice specializ-

es in whistle-blower and secu-

rity clearance issues, con-

firmed that he is representing

the official who filed the com-

plaint. Bakaj declined to iden-

tify his client or to comment.

Trump denied wrongdoing

Thursday, explaining that he

would not “say something in-

appropriate” on calls where

aides and intelligence officials

from both sides routinely lis-

ten in.

But Trump’s actions were

startling enough to prompt

the intelligence official to file a

formal whistle-blower com-

plaint on Aug. 12 to the in-

spector general for the intelli-

gence agencies.

Schiff said Maguire told

him that he had been instruct-

ed not to give the complaint to

Congress, and that the com-

plaint addressed privileged in-

formation — meaning the

president or people close to

him were involved.

Whistle-blower’s

complaint remains

mystery to Congress

Trumptalkwith

foreignleader

maybeinvolved

‘Thisisavictoryforhumandecency.’

EVA MILLONA

Executive director of the Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee

AdvocacyCoalition