Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/365950
The Associated Press WASHINGTON A message for new parents: get ready for sticker shock. A child born in 2013 will cost a middle-income Amer- ican family an average of $245,340 until he or she reaches the age of 18, with families living in the North- east taking on a greater burden, according to a re- port out Monday. And that doesn't include college — or expenses if a child lives at home after age 17. Those costs that are in- cluded — food, housing, childcare and education — rose 1.8 percent over the previous year, the Agricul- ture Department's new "Ex- penditures on Children and Families" report said. As in the past, families in the ur- ban Northeast will spend more than families in the urban South and rural parts of the U.S., or roughly $282,480. When adjusting for pro- jected inflation, the report found that a child born last year could cost a middle-in- come family an average of about $304,480. The USDA's annual re- port, based on the govern- ment's Consumer Expendi- ture Survey, found families were consistent in how they spent their money across all categories from 2012 to 2013. The costs associated with pregnancy or expenses accumulated after a child becomes an adult, such as college tuition, were not in- cluded. In 1960, the first year the report was issued, a middle-income family could spend about $25,230, equivalent to $198,560 in 2013 dollars, to raise a child until the age of 18. Housing costs remain the greatest child-rearing ex- pense, as they did in the 1960s, although current- day costs like childcare were negligible back then. For middle-income fami- lies, the USDA found, hous- ing expenses made up roughly 30 percent of the total cost of raising a child. Child care and education were the second-largest ex- penses, at 18 percent, fol- lowed by food at 16 percent. Expenses per child de- crease as a family has more children, the report found, as families with three or more children spend 22 percent less per child than families with two children. That's because more chil- dren share bedrooms, cloth- ing and toys, and food can be purchased in larger, bulk quantities. PARENTING USDA: Cost to raise child is up slightly to $245,340 By Andrew Taylor The Associated Press WASHINGTON Washington may be a sea of dysfunction, but the current Congress is offering a few reminders about how a bill becomes a law: compromise. That's been in short sup- ply as lawmakers have tried to tackle a surge of Central American youths entering the U.S. from Mexico and find a long-term fix to fund- ing the nation's highways. And more compromise will be needed next month to keep the government open past September, re- new expired tax breaks, re- authorize the Export-Im- port Bank and extend the government's terrorism in- surance program. After that, the coming retirement of veteran dealmakers like Reps. Henry Waxman, D- Calif., and Dave Camp, R- Mich., may only make com- promise tougher. However, when it came to improving veterans' health care, overhauling job train- ing programs, authorizing water projects and "un- locking" cellphones for use in other networks, Con- gress managed to get the job done. The recent wave of law- making fell into two broad categories: bills Congress had to do to avoid embar- rassment and less contro- versial measures lawmak- ers decided they wanted. The must-do bills in- cluded $16 billion to improve veterans' access to health care and a short-term $11 billion measure to prevent federal funding for highway projects and transit systems from drying up this month. Voting against either effort could have cost lawmakers in November's elections. The veterans bill came together when Democrats agreed to lower the price tag and Republicans ac- cepted adding the addi- tional cost to the national debt. On the highway bill, Senate Democrats bowed to House Republicans on financing it through antici- pated revenues the govern- ment might or might not reap a decade from now. Those weren't the only deals in Congress over the last couple of months. Legislation on job train- ing programs advanced after House Republicans dropped their most ideolog- ical demands and worked closely with Democratic veterans like Rep. George Miller of California and Sen. Tom Harkin of Iowa. Both came to Congress in the mid-1970s and are retir- ing at year's end. A water resources mea- sure, sealed in May and signed by President Barack Obama in June, was the product of the tradition- ally bipartisan Senate Envi- ronment and Public Works and House Transportation and Infrastructure com- mittees. The bill gave in- dividual lawmakers polit- ical wins for projects such as dredging the Port of Sa- vannah in Georgia, even if it wasn't on the political ra- dar nationally. Still, several important bills face trouble as some committee chairmen pur- sue ideology over pragma- tism. Rep. Jeb Hensarling, a Texas Republican who heads the House Financial Services Committee, won a tight 30-27 vote in his com- mittee for a bill that would change home financing by eliminating mortgage gi- ants Fannie Mae and Fred- die Mac. It is unlikely to ad- vance further this year. Hensarling, a favorite of the right and former head of the conservative Republican Study Committee, has ap- peared uninterested in cut- ting deals with Democrats. That puts his panel at odds with the counterpart Senate Banking, Housing and Ur- ban Affairs Committee and its tradition of handling bills in bipartisan fashion. On some issues, Hesnarl- ing probably won't get his way. His leadership was un- dermined this year when coastal state lawmak- ers succeeded in weaken- ing recent changes to the government's much-criti- cized flood insurance pro- gram. He seems likely to lose to the Senate this fall when Congress renews the government program that backstops insurance com- panies in the event of a major terrorist attack. And he faces an uphill battle against Democrats and es- tablishment Republicans to kill the Export-Import Bank, which helps finance exports by U.S. companies such as Boeing and General Electric. "We do have more ideo- logical people taking these ranking member and chair positions," said Rep. Col- lin Peterson of Minnesota, former House Agriculture Committee chairman and now its top Democrat. With the departure of Miller, Harkin, Waxman and Camp, and Reps. Eric Cantor, R-Va., and John Dingell, D-Mich., Congress is losing some of its most accomplished deal-cutters. As a result of rapid turn- over, the concentration of lawmaking power has moved to leadership offices instead of committees. The increasing polarization on Capitol Hill also contributes to fewer lawmakers know- ing how the game is played. "It involves a lot of pa- tience, perseverance. Things always don't happen right away," Waxman said. WASHINGTON An al ys is : Am id g ri dl oc k, C on gr es s can s ti ll m ak e de al s wh en i t mu st THEASSOCIATEDPRESS Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, right, joined by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., center, and Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., speaks to reporters on Capitol Hill in Washington on April 30. By Paul J. Weber The Associated Press AUSTIN, TEXAS A judge isn't issuing an arrest war- rant for Texas Gov. Rick Perry, a court official said Monday, and the Republi- can is planning to continue galloping around the coun- try gearing up for a possi- ble 2016 presidential run — despite being indicted on two felony counts of abuse of power back home. Perry on Friday became the first Texas governor since 1917 to be indicted, and is facing charges that carry a maximum sentence of 109 years in prison for carrying out a threat to veto funding for the state's pub- lic integrity unit last sum- mer. Perry has emphatically denied all wrongdoing. His attorneys scheduled a Mon- day afternoon news confer- ence in Austin to discuss their next moves. Linda Estrada, a Travis County grand jury clerk, said that the judge oversee- ing the case, Bert Richard- son, decided against issuing an arrest warrant. Instead, Perry will re- ceive a summons which has not been issued yet. He eventually will have to be booked and fingerprinted. A grand jury in Austin indicted Perry for carry- ing out a threat to veto $7.5 million in funding for the state's public integrity unit after Travis County Dis- trict Attorney Rosemary Lehmberg, a Democrat, re- fused to resign following a drunken driving arrest. The ethics watchdog unit is housed under Lehmberg's office. No one disputes that Perry has the power to veto measures approved by the Legislature, but the veto vow prompted a complaint from a left-leaning watch dog group. Richardson, a Republican, assigned a spe- cial prosecutor to lead the case against Perry, who has been charged with abuse of official capacity and coer- cion of a public servant. Word that his attorneys were negotiating a court ap- pearance raised some ques- tions about favoritism, but legal observers said forgo- ing an arrest warrant is common in white-collar cases. Former U.S. Attor- ney Matt Orwig said that insisting on an arrest war- rant for Perry would have been "grandstanding." "He's obviously not a flight risk or danger to the community," Orwig said. "That doesn't mean there's still not the indignities of booking." The public integrity unit also led the case against for- mer U.S. House Majority Leader Tom Delay, a fellow Texas Republican who was convicted in 2010 on cam- paign fiance charges, but eventually had them over- turned on appeal. Aides said Perry planned to maintain his public schedule, which includes visits to the key presiden- tial battleground states of Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina in the next two weeks. TEXAS No arrest warrant issued for Perry THE DAILY TEXAN, MENGWEN CAO — THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Gov. Rick Perry arrives to make a statement at the Capitol building in Austin, Texas, on Saturday concerning the indictment on charges of coercion of a public servant and abuse of his official capacity. 530-366-3166 www.redbluffdodge.com 545 Adobe Rd., Red Bluff, CA $26,777 Alloffersforalimitedtime.Notallbuyerswillqualifyforindividualprograms.SeeRedBluffChrysler/Jeep/Dodge/Ramforcompletedetailsandvehiclequalificationsforallcurrentlyrunningprograms. 0% and 1.9% APR financing are not applicable on these new selected models. All prices plus government fees and taxes, any finance charge, any dealer document, preparation charge, and any emission charge. Subject to prior sales & credit approval. Some vehicle images in this ad are for illustration purposes only and may vary from actual vehicle. Ad expires 8/22/14. 2014CHEVYCAMARO Stk# 41029 Vin# E9127933 PriorRental,"SuperClean"Windows, Locks, Cruise, Tilt, OnStar. Select"Subscribe"tabinlowerrightcorner Complete information for automatic weekly delivery to your email inbox That's it! This FREE service made possible by the advertisers in TV Select Magazine Kindly patronize and thank them. Click on their ads online to access their websites! N EWS D AILY RED BLUFF TEHAMA COUNTY FREE online subscription to TV Select Magazine Digital edition emailed to you, every Saturday! Just go online to www.ifoldsflip.com/t/5281 (You'll only need to go there one time) • Fully searchable online, zoom in, print out pages and more! • No newspaper online subscription or website access required. • Best of all ... it's ABSOLUTELY FREE! TUESDAY, AUGUST 19, 2014 REDBLUFFDAILYNEWS.COM | NEWS | 5 B