Support Strong for Governor’s Costly Legal Battles
There are a few issues that have come up again and again around the 2016 elections, and Governor Robert Bentley has recently gotten in the middle of them—namely through the legal system. And that can be expensive for the already cash-strapped state. But are Alabamians willing to go along for the potentially costly ride?
Ask just about any conservative: defunding Planned Parenthood and banning Syrian refugees is a no-brainer. Governor Robert Bentley is fighting even the possibility of Syrian refugees resettling in Alabama.
“I agree to an extent,” 24-year-old Blake Holcomb says. He lives in Calera and works at a deer processing plant.
“I mean I don’t think that we should build a wall to keep immigrants from coming in, but at the same time, with the way stuff is right now, I could kind of understand why we wouldn’t let Syrian refugees into the country,” he says. “I mean, I don’t think it’s very safe.”
Safety was Bentley’s number one concern when he sued the federal government earlier this month. The lawsuit aims to block the placement of Syrian refugees in Alabama. And to Holcomb, it’s a fight worth fighting.
“I’d say at any cost honestly,” he says, “but that’s just me.”
It’s not just him. Vincent resident Don Driggers says he feels strongly about Syrian refugees.
“I don’t believe that they should be able to come here at just free will. So I think that if we have to have 200 lawyers, go for it,” he says.
Driggers went so far as to say if Bentley asked him for some money to “buy a lawyer”, he’d do it. It’s not clear at this point how much the lawsuit will cost the state. The governor’s office didn’t respond to repeated requests for details surrounding legal fees in the case.
Valerie Ramey, economics professor at the University of California San Diego, says there are a few things to remember.
“Well first of all, this is typically a very small part of government spending,” Ramey says.
Take the legal battle between Bentley and Planned Parenthood. Last year Bentley moved to stop Medicaid dollars from going to that organization The state had to settle that lawsuit, and pay $51,000. The state’s general fund budget is about $1.8 billion.
“But there’s the separate issue of, does that spending reflect the values of the citizens of the country?” Ramey says.
Or in this case, the state. And, as you could imagine, that depends on who you ask. Ollie Davison of Hoover doesn’t consider himself a conservative. He says these lawsuits the state is provoking are a waste of taxpayer dollars.
“We’re suing the federal government and losing cases, and we’re paying out millions of dollars that we don’t have,” Davison says.
And Davison says that’s especially worrisome as the Alabama legislature kicks off another session Tuesday with more budget cuts on the horizon.
DOGE cut a CDC team as it was about to start a project to help N.C. flood victims
The National Center for Environmental Health was hollowed out in the cuts of 10,000 federal health workers on April 1. That's the same day an assessment of people hurt in floods was set to begin.
Bipartisan senators rebuke White House move to end legal aid for unaccompanied minors
The letter obtained by NPR marks a rare bipartisan critique from Capitol Hill of the administration's immigration policy.
Europe deplores America’s ‘chlorinated chicken.’ How safe is our poultry?
President Trump wants European countries to start buying U.S. chicken and eggs. But the U.K. and E.U. think American poultry is gross and chemically washed. Turns out, chlorine isn't really the issue.
After delays, first vaccine advisory meeting under RFK Jr. set to start
For the first time since Robert F. Kennedy Jr. became health secretary, vaccine advisers to the CDC are meeting to discuss vaccines for RSV, HPV, COVID and more.
A stranger helps a grieving daughter clean her mother’s grass-covered gravestone
Ashley Blas visited her mother's grave for the first time since the funeral. The driver who took her noticed grass covering part of the stone. In a full suit, he knelt down and cleaned the gravestone.
The man accused in the attempted assassination of Donald Trump to appear in court
Ryan Routh, accused in the golf course attempted assassination of Donald Trump, will appear in a Florida federal courtroom Tuesday for a hearing involving evidence that will be presented in the case.
