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Ashley Harfst, left, looks on as and Jason Welch sets the tape to measure a throw duringthe discus competition at the Corn Belt Conference track-and-field meet atWilliamsonField Friday. ERICH MURPHY/DAILY LEADER

WASHINGTON (AP) — Senate Republi-cans wasted no time on Friday showing theyhave little use for the House bill to repeal andreplace Barack Obama’s Affordable Care Actamid fears among Americans that people al-ready sick won’t be able to get affordable in-surance. “I’m going to read the House bill, find outwhat it costs and where I find good ideasthere, why we’ll borrow them. But basicallywe’re writing our own bill,” Sen. LamarAlexander, R-Tenn., chairman of the Senatehealth committee, said in an interview. “At this point, there seem to be more ques-

tions than answers about its consequences,”said moderate GOP Sen. Susan Collins ofMaine, whose vote may prove one of thehardest to get for President Donald Trumpand Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky. And Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., saidover Twitter: “A bill — finalized yesterday,has not been scored, amendments not al-lowed, and 3 hours final debate — should beviewed with caution.” The outspoken and immediate skepticismpointed to a long road ahead in the Senate.

Technical Metals moving forward with some help

GOP health victory may befleeting as Senate awaits

BUSINESS COMMUNITY

By Luke SmuckerStaff Reporter

FAIRBURY — Two monthsago, Technical Metals, Inc., wasgranted $47,500 through anEmployment Creation Grantprovided by the Greater Liv-ingston County Economic De-velopment Council to hire 10new employees and purchasetwo Computer Numeric Controlmachines. Thus far, the company hadhired six new employees andbusiness is good. “We have been working withthe GLCEDC for quite sometime, even before I was here,”Seth Welch, director of pur-chasing and a spokesmen forthe company said. “AdamDontz, the CEO, came to usabout five for six months agoand told us about the opportu-nity.”

Even before the business wasapproached with the grant,Welch said they had heard thenews of similar grants going toPontiac-area businesses likeCaterpillar and Anthony Lift-gates. “We saw how beneficial it wasto those companies, so wethought taking the grant wouldbe a great opportunity,” Welchsaid. “Adam Dontz was niceenough to help us through theentire process.” Although manufacturing is afluctuating industry, Welch saidTMI is at a competitive advan-tage. For the past decade, JerryHoffman, the company presi-dent, Carol Hoffman, the vicepresident and Becky Young, thedirector of operations, haveworked hard to diversify thebusiness’ customer base. “We’re not just servicing theenergy extraction and heavy

equipment customers, we’realso working with agriculture,forestry and transportation,”Welch said. “By diversifying our clientele,we don’t experience a big fluc-tuation like a lot of the big man-ufacturing companies.However, here in the past cou-ple of months our workload hasincreased tremendously. Forthat reason, we need to add em-ployees.” Although Welch isn’t person-ally involved in the hiringprocess, he said many of thecompany’s new employees areyoung, many in their 20s and30s. This presents a problem,from an experience standpointbecause a production facility isonly making money if its em-ployees are producing product. “We do some specific, intri-cate, and extensive things at the

By Paul WestermeyerStaff Reporter

On Thursday, the highly controversial bill torepeal and replace the Affordable Care Actpassed the U.S. House of Representative by theslimmest of margins, 217 votes in its favor ver-sus 213 “no” votes. Though unlikely to pass theSenate (and thus become law) in its current in-carnation, health officials close to home in Liv-ingston County nevertheless expressedconcerns regarding the bill. The replacement portion, officially called theAmerican Health Care Act (and commonly re-ferred to as Trumpcare), would, among othercontentious things, cut $880 billion over 10years from Medicaid, slash $300 from previ-ous funding for those who are not coveredthrough work and gut protections for peoplewith pre-existing conditions. MaLinda Hillman, administrator of the Liv-ingston County Health Department, said shehad not read the entirety of the text of the bill,but had understood it through media reports.Her particular worries concerned pre-existingconditions and the loss of healthcare for tensof millions of people, per estimates done by theCongressional Budget Office. “In broad terms, my biggest concerns arewith the loss of coverage for people with pre-existing conditions that need routine medica-tion and assistance in getting it, and the loss ofcoverage for people and they’re not being ableto get preventative health screenings and rou-tine care to prevent major problems,” she said. Pam Meiner, communications director ofOSF St. James-John W. Albrecht Medical Cen-ter, said that the medical group would wait tosee if the bill passed both chambers beforecommenting on the matter. However, she saidthat OSF continued to stand by comments theorganization made during the earlier Marchattempt to repeal and replace Obamacare. While OSF acknowledged “a number of

Concerns riselocally abouthealth caresituation

HEALTH CARE

U.S. CONGRESS

See ‘SENATE’ Page A5

SATURDAY, MAY 6, 2017 | Vol. 138 No. 168 | 16 Pages | $1.25

SERVING LIVINGSTON COUNTY SINCE 1880T

he

Technical Metals employee Ryan Sedam works on a recently pur-chased an Okuma Multus, a general purpose multi-function hori-zontal lathe, which is used to make some of the parts that willbe distributed to customers. LUKE SMUCKER/DAILY LEADER

Automatic-voterregistration getsSenate approval

SPRINGFIELD (AP) —Illinois senators haveoverwhelmingly endorsedan automatic-voter regis-tration plan two years inthe making.

The measure would au-tomatically register quali-fied voters when they visitSecretary of State’s officesand a handful of otherstate agencies unless theydecide to opt out. Itmoves to the House aftera 48-0 vote in the Senateon Friday. Democraticstate Sen. Andy Manar ofBunker Hill is sponsoringthe measure. He says itwould streamline voterregistration and bolsterparticipation.

A previous versionpassed both chamberslast fall but RepublicanGov. Bruce Rauner vetoedit over concerns it didn’tdo enough to preventvoter fraud. Manar saysthis version addressesthose concerns.

Seven other states andthe District of Columbiaalready automatically reg-ister voters.

NIU to cut jobs,upkeep underbudget woes

DEKALB (AP) —Northern Illinois Univer-sity officials say cuts anddeferred maintenancewill be necessary to savemoney as the school facesa $35 million funding gapfrom the lack of a statebudget.

University PresidentDoug Baker said in anemail last month that the

NATIONAL NEWS

See ‘TECH’ Page A5

See ‘HEALTH’ Page A5See ‘NIU’ Page A5

PASTOR DICKJUMPER’S PASTORALPERSPECTIVE

RELIGION, PAGE A7

RELIGION

A judgement call

Today — Partly sunny, with a highnear 59. North wind 10 to 15 mph.

Tonight — Mostly clear, with a lowaround 37. North wind 5 to 10 mph.

Sunday — Sunny, with a high near60. North northwest wind 5 to 10mph. Low around 38.

Monday — Mostly sunny, with a high near 61. Partlycloudy at night, with a low around 42.

SCHEDULE OF EVENTSFOR THIS WEEKEND’SRED CARPET

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NEW YORK (AP) — ABC, CBS and NBC have joinedCNN in refusing to air an advertisement that lists Pres-ident Donald Trump’s accomplishments during his ad-ministration’s first 100 days while blaming the “fakenews” media for not reporting on them.

A “fake news” graphic superimposed over the faces ofnews anchors was cited by CNN, ABC and NBC for notairing the ad. The networks contend that makes it in-accurate, and ABC said it represents a personal attack.CBS would not comment Friday on its reasons for therejection.

The journalists whose faces are seen in the commer-cial are Andrea Mitchell of NBC, Wolf Blitzer of CNN,Rachel Maddow of MSNBC, Scott Pelley of CBS andGeorge Stephanopoulos of ABC.

“Apparently, the mainstream media are champions ofthe First Amendment only when it serves their own po-litical views,” said Lara Trump, a daughter-in-law of thepresident who serves as a consultant to the Trump cam-paign. Already up and running for 2020, the campaignhas used the refusal in fundraising pleas to potentialdonors.

The campaign also submitted a list of examples foreach network of what it contended were falsehoods bytheir anchors and reporters, according to a person withaccess to the documents.

Some of the examples were more about how newswas presented than about facts: Sean Hannity’s com-plaint about CBS’ editing of his “60 Minutes” interviewand criticism of how Maddow reported on a Trump taxdocument.

CBS, NBC alsorefuse to air Trumpadvertisement

facility,” Welch said. “We have oureasy jobs, but a lot of them are veryspecific. So, we can’t just bring peo-ple in off the street and expect themto start.”

In order to get employees thetraining they require, the companyhas a six-to-seven-month trainingprogram. Even though the new em-ployees aren’t producing anything,Welch explained that they are stilllearning and are a part of the com-pany’s future plans.

“This grant is going to help us al-

leviate some of the internal hiringcosts,” Welch said. “We have a greatgroup of core employees who havebeen here for a very long time, someof them since the very beginning.So, when we get these new genera-tion of employees to come in, ittakes a lot of resources to get themup to speed.

“This grant will help us alleviatethe costs associated with that, but itwill also help us to utilize outside re-sources,” Welch added. “These in-clude the manufacturing programsat Heartland and the program at theGLCEDC. So, it’s going to give usmany more options to prepare thenext generation.”

Over the summer, Welch saidthere are five high school studentsand five college students who haveexpressed interest in going to schoolfor engineering. For that reason, thecompany is going to offer them in-ternships.

“Manufacturing is an aging indus-try and once the current generationof machinists decide to take part ina well-earned retirement life, it’s aconcern,” Welch said. “Not just forus, but for companies across the in-dustry. Who is going to step in andtake their place? Fortunately, Liv-ingston County, Adam Dontz, theGLCEDC, they have all done a greatjob to open up these programs.”

TECHContinued from Page A1

school must prepare for aworst-case scenario untilthe next fiscal year, TheDaily Chronicle reported.

He said attrition won’tbe enough to support theburden of personnel costs.Some staff members havebeen notified about howtheir employment will beaffected, while others willhear about their job statusthis month.

Baker said eased sup-port from donors andother revenue generatorswill be key to closing thegap.

“We have amazingalumni and donors thatreally want to help theuniversity succeed, and we

will work hard with themover the year to provideadditional revenue,” Bakersaid.

He said another oppor-tunity to increase revenueand the school’s visibilityis to bring more confer-ences and institutes to theuniversity.

The school will alsodefer scheduled repairsthat aren’t creating safetyproblems or affecting op-erations, universityspokesman Joe King said.

“For instance, the stonefaces of Swen Parson andDavis halls are deteriorat-ing with pieces falling offin some areas and in oth-ers, creating gaps wherewater infiltrates, but un-less the condition poses asafety hazard, repairs willnot be made,” King said.

NIUContinued from Page A1

And for a president who’s alreadyexpressed disappointment in Con-gress’ slow-moving ways, more frus-tration seemed assured.

“I don’t think anyone in the Sen-ate is going to be bullied into artifi-cial benchmarks or timelines,” saidJosh Holmes, a GOP consultant andformer chief of staff to McConnell.“It will be a very different processthat will look very different from theone that we just saw unfolding inthe House.”

Senate leaders have repeatedlyvowed success. “Failure is not an op-tion,” No. 2 Senate leader JohnCornyn, R-Texas, said earlier thisyear.

McConnell plans to move forwardunder special procedures that allowlegislation to pass with a simple ma-jority vote, instead of the 60 usuallyrequired for major bills in the Sen-ate. That means he will only needRepublican votes, which is all he canrely on anyway since Democrats arerefusing to participate in disman-tling Obama’s law. But under com-plicated Senate rules, it also limitswhat can go into the legislation.

And with only a slim 52-48 ma-jority, McConnell can lose only two

senators from his sometimes frac-tious caucus, which runs the gamutfrom moderates like Collins to con-servatives like Rand Paul of Ken-tucky and Ted Cruz of Texas. Thenthere are those senators who are upfor re-election in 2018. Fortunatelyfor McConnell only two are in anyserious jeopardy, Dean Heller of Ne-vada and Jeff Flake of Arizona, butthey are certain to be particularlycautious about casting their vote foranything that jeopardizes their con-stituents.

There was immediate evidence ofthe political pressure that awaits.

Hinting at the attacks to come asnext year’s elections draw nearer,the Democratic House and Senatecampaign committees both releaseddigital ads lambasting supporters ofthe legislation. Major DemocraticSuper PAC American Bridge also re-leased a digital ad declaring: “TellSenate Republicans this is theirmess now, and we are watching.”The legislation could become amajor issue for vulnerable HouseRepublicans in divided districts, andHouse Minority Leader NancyPelosi has already threatened theywill “glow in the dark” over theirvote.

At the “IAmAPreexistingCondi-tion” hashtag on Friday, Twitterusers including actress Alyssa Mi-

lano described how the proposedHouse law could affect them or fam-ily members dealing with serious ill-nesses. Some describe sufferingfrom cancer, hereditary diseases orpost-traumatic stress disorderbrought on by combat.

On the other side, a GOP groupallied with House leadership an-nounced plans to run TV ads thank-ing Republicans who voted for therepeal bill in key districts.

The House bill, passed 217-213,would end the health care law’s fineson people who don’t purchase poli-cies and erase its taxes on health in-dustry businesses andhigher-earning people. It would di-lute consumer-friendly insurancecoverage requirements, like lettingstates permit insurers to chargehigher premiums for customerswith pre-existing medical condi-tions. The latter provision was thefocus of much attention from oppo-nents Friday.

The measure would also waterdown the subsidies that help con-sumers afford health insurance, andit would cut Medicaid, the health in-surance program for the poor anddisabled, including ending extrafederal payments to 31 states thatexpanded Medicaid to cover morepeople.

SENATEContinued from Page A1

Red Carpet Corridor isn't just for the adults. A carnival will be operating at the Vermillion Plaza for the re-mainder of the weekend. JOY BUTLER/DAILY LEADER

pontiacdailyleader.com SATURDAY, May 6, 2017 A5

It’s ready to run

flaws” with Obamacare,including increases in in-surance premiums, de-ductibles and otherout-of-pocket costs, OSFnoted that “the elimina-tion of pre-existing condi-tions restrictions, theability for those under 26years of age to continue ontheir parents’ insurance,and the expansion ofMedicaid are certainlyareas to be continued …

“We encourage allmembers of Congress towork collaboratively tomake sure there is ade-quate access to affordablehealth care in place beforerepeal efforts are imple-mented. Repeal withoutan appropriate replace-ment or proper fundingmechanism in placewould be disruptive to thenation’s health care sys-tem.”

At the state level, theIllinois Health and Hospi-tal Association expresseddisappointment with thevote, noting that it could

seriously impact not onlyresident health, but createfinancial issues, as well.

“The Illinois Health andHospital Association andIllinois hospital commu-nity are disappointed withthe results of (Thursday’s)vote in the U.S. House ofRepresentatives on theAmerican Health CareAct. We have serious con-cerns that the proposedlegislation would causeharm to patients, thehealthcare delivery systemthe state budget and thestate economy.

“More than one millionIllinoisans have coverageunder current law, en-abling them to get thehealthcare they needwhen they need it. TheAHCA would eliminatecoverage for hundreds ofthousands of Illinoisans,and possibly jeopardizecoverage for patients withpre-existing conditions.The bill would also repealenhanced federal fundingfor expanded Medicaidcoverage and impose a capon federal funding to thestates for Medicaid.”

HEALTHContinued from Page A1