Susan McLaughlin, NBCT

@lisamurkowski You sold your soul to the devil.

This was one of the hardest votes I have taken during my time in the Senate.   My goal throughout the reconciliation process has been to make a bad bill better for Alaska, and in many ways, we have done that. In addition to extending pro-growth tax cuts, a larger child tax credit, and no tax on tips or overtime, we made a historic investment and modernization of the Coast Guard; enhanced our border security and national defense; funded aviation safety, including AWOS/VWOS systems that will save lives; and provided tax-exempt status for the Community Development Quota Program to help western Alaska communities establish a sustainable economy, among other provisions.   We have advanced new opportunities for resource development in the NPR-A, the Coastal Plain, and Cook Inlet that will help us create jobs and increase the share of revenues our state receives. I also co-led the Senate effort to restore a slightly longer phase-out for wind and solar tax credits while deleting a punitive excise tax targeting them.   Those provisions will benefit our economy, but it is the people of Alaska that I worry about the most, especially when it comes to the potential loss of social safety net programs—Medicaid coverage and SNAP benefits—that our most vulnerable populations rely on.   To address the bill’s shortcomings, we have helped our communities through a $50 billion rural health fund. This will mean hundreds of millions of dollars for Alaska hospitals, community health centers, and other providers. We secured commitments from the CMS Administrator to continue to address longstanding priorities which will directly help Bartlett, Fairbanks Memorial, Central Peninsula, and other hospitals in Alaska.   In the SNAP program, we have added tribal exemptions for work requirements, delayed cost-share penalties to help Alaska get benefits to the people who need them, and included work requirement waivers that align with our Medicaid policies. We also secured commitments from the Secretary of Agriculture to provide additional flexibilities to Alaska for SNAP.   But, let’s not kid ourselves. This has been an awful process—a frantic rush to meet an artificial deadline that has tested every limit of this institution. While we have worked to improve the present bill for Alaska, it is not good enough for the rest of our nation—and we all know it.   My sincere hope is that this is not the final product. This bill needs more work across chambers and is not ready for the President’s desk. We need to work together to get this right.

Guess who’s going to Nepal and Bhutan to study the refugee experience? ME! I’m a 2025 @FundforTeachers Fellow! My sweet 4th graders inspired every word of my proposal. Thanks to @NBPTS @Pbrookins44 for representing us and to the @MHJFoundation for support! #FFTFellow #ReynProud

Guess who’s going to Nepal and Bhutan on a teacher fellowship to study the Bhutanese-Nepali refugee experience? ME! I am! I’m a 2025 @FundforTeachers Fellow! Those sweet kiddos below — and the 100+ Nepali students I’ve taught — inspired every word of my proposal. #FFTFellow

@JDVance What the heck is wrong with you?

@Darnell @JeffBezos @washingtonpost @PostOpinions @davidjshipley 100%. I’m incredibly disappointed but Bezos doesn’t care what I have to say.

What made me an early subscriber to the @washingtonpost was its bold stance, coupled with its motto: “Democracy dies in darkness.” The light has gone out at the Washington Post as of late, with even more restrictions placed upon @PostOpinions & @davidjshipley departing. You own the Washington Post & can legally dictate its direction. However, in an age where media outlets are bending to the will of brazen authoritarians, there are now fewer large scale media outlets willing to challenge political power in defense of the truth.

I shared this note with the Washington Post team this morning: I’m writing to let you know about a change coming to our opinion pages. We are going to be writing every day in support and defense of two pillars: personal liberties and free markets. We’ll cover other topics too of course, but viewpoints opposing those pillars will be left to be published by others. There was a time when a newspaper, especially one that was a local monopoly, might have seen it as a service to bring to the reader’s doorstep every morning a broad-based opinion section that sought to cover all views. Today, the internet does that job. I am of America and for America, and proud to be so. Our country did not get here by being typical. And a big part of America’s success has been freedom in the economic realm and everywhere else. Freedom is ethical — it minimizes coercion — and practical — it drives creativity, invention, and prosperity. I offered David Shipley, whom I greatly admire, the opportunity to lead this new chapter. I suggested to him that if the answer wasn’t “hell yes,” then it had to be “no.” After careful consideration, David decided to step away. This is a significant shift, it won’t be easy, and it will require 100% commitment — I respect his decision. We’ll be searching for a new Opinion Editor to own this new direction. I’m confident that free markets and personal liberties are right for America. I also believe these viewpoints are underserved in the current market of ideas and news opinion. I’m excited for us together to fill that void. Jeff

@AllisonETEC I have gone through 450 pencils this year with just 50 students. At least 4 or 5 are intentionally snapped in half every day. They just think new ones will magically appear. 😞

I still have 8th graders showing up to class every day with absolutely nothing in their hands. Not a pencil, not a folder, binder, nothing. Just walking in and expecting the world to provide. It's wild. (I have given them loads of pencils and folders)

@guy_jung13 @usedgov Ok friend, let’s pay teachers based on factors completely out of their control—poverty, trauma, learning disabilities, and systemic inequities. While we’re at it, let’s pay doctors based on how healthy their patients already are. What could possibly go wrong? @usedgov

@usedgov Teachers should be paid based on merit, accomplishments, and character. Not tenure or length of teaching. Pay teachers based on the success of their student.

Students should be assessed according to merit, accomplishment, and character — not prejudged by the color of their skin. Ed.gov/media/109506

@usedgov Ah yes, the Department of Education bravely standing up against…checks notes…historical context, systemic inequities, and basic critical thinking. Maybe next week, they’ll remind us that gravity exists but insist it’s unfair to falling objects.

@MarionGoodwill I know prices are going up everywhere but you were my go-to book spot, and an $.80 increase per book is TOO MUCH. These are used books, not eggs. The new price is too much for my teacher wallet. So bummed for my students. 🙁

@MarionGoodwill I often shop kid’s books for my 4th graders at the Delaware Goodwill. Today I was thrilled to see a set of 12 “Mermaid School” books. My reluctant reader girls love them! Then I saw the new price: $2.29, up 53% from $1.49. That set is now $9.60 more. (1/2)

@PlayBlooket Dang, Blooket! Didn’t realize the Plus subscription went up $24 a year until I went to renew today. That’s a lot, don’t you think? Now I’m trying to figure out if it’s worth it. 🤦🏼‍♀️ #blooket #teacherlife #TeachersOfTwitter Twitter

@injunjohn86 @SenSchumer Bro…not all of us became teachers right out of college. I worked for 10+ years in the private sector before becoming a teacher. Plus….we work 2nd jobs….for years. Sheesh.

@SenSchumer If they never paid in, why should they get money out?

Tonight, the Senate finally corrects a fifty-year mistake by passing the Social Security Fairness Act. Millions of retired teachers and firefighters and letter carriers and state and local workers have waited decades for this moment. No longer will public retirees see their hard-earned Social Security benefits robbed from them, thanks to this bill.

@SenBillCassidy Please get this done!!!!

The Senate is moments away from repealing WEP & GPO for good, keeping a promise we made to the American People when Social Security became law. I am proud to stand up for folks like Ms. Betty—my high school teacher—and public workers everywhere!

@SenatorEBrownOH Please get #HR82 to the floor for a vote TONIGHT! I’m a central Ohio teacher retiring in the next 5 - 7 years. Passing the #SocialSecurityFairnessAct is just that — FAIR. Don’t let this stall!

@SenBillCassidy 29-year #teacher here! Don’t stop until #HR82 passes! This will make a gigantic difference for middle-class service workers like me. Don’t let this die! #SocialSecurityFairnessAct #PassHR82Now

@SenSchumer This is fantastic news! Please don’t let #HR82 die. It impacts the retirement of middle class educators like me. Ohio’s #STRS is bad enough. The #SocialSecurityFairnessAct would make a huge difference! I’ve been waiting years for this. #MakeItHappen

Thanks to the hard work of this Senate Majority in confirming 235 qualified and historic judges, our courts are stronger. Our country is stronger. Our democracy is stronger. And that is something that every American can be proud of.

@SenSchumer Please vote on #HR82! I’m a 29-year educator and it will make a huge difference for teachers, firefighters and other public workers just like me. The #GPO-WEP is ridiculously unfair! #SocialSecurityFairnessAct

The House has overwhelmingly passed a bill to keep the government open and I’m confident the Senate will pass it as well. We hope to get it passed as soon as possible. Though this bill does not include everything Democrats fought for, there are major victories in this bill for American families—provide emergency aid for communities battered by natural disasters, no debt ceiling, and it will keep the government open with no draconian cuts. As I have said, the only way to keep the government open is through bipartisanship.

@SenSchumer I know you’re working hard on the spending bill but I’m asking that you take #HR82 to a vote TODAY. I’m a #teacher getting close to retirement. The pension offset is garbage — educators deserve more! #HR82SenateFloorVote #HR82now!

@Flocabulary Is there a way to export grades to Google Classroom? I can’t figure it out! Help!

@erastourticks @LucasOilStadium @taylorswift13 Yes! Me me me!