Sen. McConnell Pushes ObamaCare Delay | Unions Have Misgivings On Obamacare Which Confuses Medicare Beneficiaries | Lois Learner "Smoking Gun" Email
Today in Washington, D.C. - Sept. 12, 2013:
Senate reconvened at 9:30 AM today. Following an hour of morning business, the Senate resumed consideration of S. 1392, an energy efficiency bill.
Yesterday, the Senate agreed to the motion to proceed to S. 1392 by unanimous consent.
The House convened at 9 AM and is scheduled to take up H.R. 2775 — "To condition the provision of premium and cost-sharing subsidies under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act upon a certification that a program to verify household income and other qualifications for such subsidies is operational, and for other purposes. Yesterday, the House passed H. Res. 339 (228-195) to consider H.R. 2775.
Discussions continue as to when and what to include or exclude in a Continuing Resolution bill. The primary issue continues to be the deference between the GOP leadership and more conservative representatives who wish to include defunding Obamacare in the Continuing Resolution verses voting on a separate defunding bill which would not even be considered by Senate Leaders Harry Reid.
Americans for Limited Government President Nathan Mehrens today issued a statement in support of H.J.Res. 62 introduced by Rep. Tom Graves (R-Ga.) that would fund the government and defund and delay implementation of Obamacare until 2015. He also said, "We urge all members to cosponsor this legislation and stand firm behind Rep. Graves' effort. Continuing to fund Obamacare and allowing its implementation next year would be a disaster for the nation, and dangerous for the health and well being of the people."
House Speaker Boehner did mention the need "to repeal, dismantle and defund ObamaCare." in his weekly press briefing today. He also addressed the other critical topics of the day, "out of Control Spending as part of the Debt Ceiling Negotiations and Stopping Chemical Weapons in Syria." Boehner said on the three topics:
On GOP Action to Protect Americans from ObamaCare & Help Strengthen the Economy:
“Last week yet another report showing our economy continues to struggle - this ‘new normal’ of slow growth, high unemployment, and stagnant wages. We’ve got more Americans leaving the workforce than we have finding jobs. And frankly, I think that’s unacceptable. That’s why Republicans continue to be focused on jobs, strengthening our economy with our Plan for Economic Growth and Jobs. This week we’re again taking steps to dismantle the president’s health care law, which is driving up the cost of health care and making it harder for small businesses to hire new workers. Today we passed Congresswoman Black’s bill – a proposal that’s received bipartisan support – to protect taxpayers and prevent massive fraud in the health care law. For the sake of our economy, we’ll continue to do everything we can to repeal, dismantle and defund ObamaCare.”
On the Need to Address Out-of-Control Spending as Part of Debt Ceiling Negotiations, As Has Been Done for Decades:
“Another important part of our Plan for Jobs is reining in the massive deficits and debts that’s hurting our economy and jeopardizing the American Dream for our kids and grandkids. Yesterday I met with Jack Lew, the Treasury Secretary, and this morning met with Leaders Reid and Pelosi, and Leader McConnell. And my message to them was the same at both meetings. I reminded them that for decades, the White House, the Congress have used the debt limit to find bipartisan solutions on the deficit and the debt. These types of changes were signed into law by Presidents Reagan, Bush, Clinton, and President Obama himself two years ago. So, President Obama is going to have to deal with this as well. It’s really no different.
“You can’t talk about increasing the debt limit unless you’re willing to make changes and reforms that begin to solve the spending problem that Washington has. And unless we deal with our spending problem honestly and forthrightly, the American Dream’s going to be out of reach for our kids and grandkids. I think our members are ready to solve this problem. We’ve shown leadership and we've passed a balanced budget. It’s time for the president and his party to show the courage to work with us to truly solve the spending problem.”
On Stopping the Use of Chemical Weapons in Syria:
“Lastly, on the issue of Syria, I believe that we have national security interests in stopping the use of chemical weapons – in Syria and around the world. As I said earlier this week, I’ve got real doubts about the motives of the Russians and President Assad in offering this current path. But now that the president has made the decision to delay any authorization vote, I hope a diplomatic solution can be found.”
The Hill reported last night, “Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) wants to transform debate on energy efficiency legislation that launched Wednesday into a battle over ObamaCare. McConnell filed an amendment Wednesday to delay the individual health insurance mandate for one year, and codify the Obama administration's one-year delay of requirements that employers provide insurance.”
Speaking on the Senate floor this morning, Leader McConnell said, “I did a lot of listening over the past several weeks at meetings and events across Kentucky. Last week, I participated in my 51st hospital town hall since 2011. And I’ll tell you: one theme kept emerging over and over and over. Kentuckians are really worried about Obamacare. They've read the same stories we have: about businesses being forced to cut hours and eliminate healthcare; about people being laid off. They've read about how the rollout of this massive law is becoming a massive mess, and how their personal information could become compromised by scam artists. . . . [T]he fact is, the more my constituents seem to know about Obamacare, the more worried about it they tend to be.”
Just look at some of today’s stories. According to The New York Times, at the AFL-CIO convention in Los Angeles “labor’s renewed anger over Mr. Obama’s health care law and decisions surrounding it” became apparent. “Despite overtures on both sides . . . labor leaders criticized the administration and Congress on Wednesday at their convention. While praising the overall legislation, the delegates overwhelmingly passed a sharply worded resolution that demanded changes to some of its regulations, although [AFL-CIO leader Richard] Trumka made sure to strip out some proposals that called for repealing the legislation. At the convention, though, several labor leaders spoke their minds. ‘If the Affordable Care Act is not fixed and it destroys the health and welfare funds that we have fought for and stand for, then I believe it needs to be repealed,’ said Terence M. O’Sullivan, president of the Laborers’ International Union of North America.”
Meanwhile, the AP has a trio of stories with headlines, “Health overhaul confuses Medicare beneficiaries,” “Health costs likely rising for many self-employed,” and “Health care law perplexing to business owners.”
To anyone who’s read the torrent of stories (or even just the headlines on most of them) about the problems with, confusion about, and negative consequences of Obamacare over the summer, it should come as no surprise to find that opposition to Obamacare among Americans remains high. Politico writes, “More than half of Americans oppose most or all of the proposals in Obamacare, a sharp increase in opposition to the healthcare law from earlier this year, according to a new poll Wednesday. Fifty-seven percent of those surveyed said they opposed most or all of the proposals in the law, while just 39 percent favored most or all of the law, according to a CNN/ORC International poll. The opposition rose from 44 percent in similar survey in January, while the support for President Obama’s signature healthcare law dropped from 51 percent.”
As Leader McConnell said, “[W]e know Big Labor is leaning on the President. We know they want him to let them rewrite the same law they helped ram through. And, apparently, he’s listening. But what about everybody else? What about the single Mom in Bowling Green who won’t be able to cover rent if her hours are cut? What about the recent college grad in Louisville who’s barely scraping by as it is, and won’t be able to afford a premium increase? What about the families from Covington to Paducah who are worried sick about this law? Doesn’t the Administration think these folks deserve some relief too? The same kind of delay, at least, that businesses will get? Well, Republicans do. That’s why the Republican-led House of Representatives passed a bill on a bipartisan basis before the August recess to do just that. Last month, I tried to pass that same bill in the Senate. But the Washington Democrat leadership blocked me. I don’t know why. This legislation is just common-sense – it’s the fair thing, the right thing, to do. So today I’m going to try again. Yesterday, I – along with a number of my colleagues – filed an amendment to the Portman-Shaheen bill that would provide the same reprieve for individuals that the administration has already offered to businesses. This time, I hope my colleagues on the other side will join me in supporting it.”
He concluded, “We need to pass a one-year delay of Obamacare for everyone. That’s what the amendment I’ve filed will do. And then enact what Kentuckians and Americans really need: a full repeal of this job-killing mess of a law. And that’s just what I intend to keep fighting for.”
Today, the focus refocused momentarily again on IRS employeee Lois Learner when a "smoking gun" email was uncovered in which Learner stated "The Tea Party Matter is very dangerous. This could be the issue to go to court on the issue of whether Citizen's United overturning the ban on corporate spending applies to tax exempt rules. . . . " Slate has the full document.
The question is when will President Obama actually practice what he preached in the past: his administration being transparent.
Tags: The Senate, The House, Obamacare, defundin Obamacare, continuing resolution, IRS, Lois Learner, smoking gun, email To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
Senate reconvened at 9:30 AM today. Following an hour of morning business, the Senate resumed consideration of S. 1392, an energy efficiency bill.
Yesterday, the Senate agreed to the motion to proceed to S. 1392 by unanimous consent.
The House convened at 9 AM and is scheduled to take up H.R. 2775 — "To condition the provision of premium and cost-sharing subsidies under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act upon a certification that a program to verify household income and other qualifications for such subsidies is operational, and for other purposes. Yesterday, the House passed H. Res. 339 (228-195) to consider H.R. 2775.
Discussions continue as to when and what to include or exclude in a Continuing Resolution bill. The primary issue continues to be the deference between the GOP leadership and more conservative representatives who wish to include defunding Obamacare in the Continuing Resolution verses voting on a separate defunding bill which would not even be considered by Senate Leaders Harry Reid.
Americans for Limited Government President Nathan Mehrens today issued a statement in support of H.J.Res. 62 introduced by Rep. Tom Graves (R-Ga.) that would fund the government and defund and delay implementation of Obamacare until 2015. He also said, "We urge all members to cosponsor this legislation and stand firm behind Rep. Graves' effort. Continuing to fund Obamacare and allowing its implementation next year would be a disaster for the nation, and dangerous for the health and well being of the people."
House Speaker Boehner did mention the need "to repeal, dismantle and defund ObamaCare." in his weekly press briefing today. He also addressed the other critical topics of the day, "out of Control Spending as part of the Debt Ceiling Negotiations and Stopping Chemical Weapons in Syria." Boehner said on the three topics:
On GOP Action to Protect Americans from ObamaCare & Help Strengthen the Economy:
“Last week yet another report showing our economy continues to struggle - this ‘new normal’ of slow growth, high unemployment, and stagnant wages. We’ve got more Americans leaving the workforce than we have finding jobs. And frankly, I think that’s unacceptable. That’s why Republicans continue to be focused on jobs, strengthening our economy with our Plan for Economic Growth and Jobs. This week we’re again taking steps to dismantle the president’s health care law, which is driving up the cost of health care and making it harder for small businesses to hire new workers. Today we passed Congresswoman Black’s bill – a proposal that’s received bipartisan support – to protect taxpayers and prevent massive fraud in the health care law. For the sake of our economy, we’ll continue to do everything we can to repeal, dismantle and defund ObamaCare.”
On the Need to Address Out-of-Control Spending as Part of Debt Ceiling Negotiations, As Has Been Done for Decades:
“Another important part of our Plan for Jobs is reining in the massive deficits and debts that’s hurting our economy and jeopardizing the American Dream for our kids and grandkids. Yesterday I met with Jack Lew, the Treasury Secretary, and this morning met with Leaders Reid and Pelosi, and Leader McConnell. And my message to them was the same at both meetings. I reminded them that for decades, the White House, the Congress have used the debt limit to find bipartisan solutions on the deficit and the debt. These types of changes were signed into law by Presidents Reagan, Bush, Clinton, and President Obama himself two years ago. So, President Obama is going to have to deal with this as well. It’s really no different.
“You can’t talk about increasing the debt limit unless you’re willing to make changes and reforms that begin to solve the spending problem that Washington has. And unless we deal with our spending problem honestly and forthrightly, the American Dream’s going to be out of reach for our kids and grandkids. I think our members are ready to solve this problem. We’ve shown leadership and we've passed a balanced budget. It’s time for the president and his party to show the courage to work with us to truly solve the spending problem.”
On Stopping the Use of Chemical Weapons in Syria:
“Lastly, on the issue of Syria, I believe that we have national security interests in stopping the use of chemical weapons – in Syria and around the world. As I said earlier this week, I’ve got real doubts about the motives of the Russians and President Assad in offering this current path. But now that the president has made the decision to delay any authorization vote, I hope a diplomatic solution can be found.”
The Hill reported last night, “Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) wants to transform debate on energy efficiency legislation that launched Wednesday into a battle over ObamaCare. McConnell filed an amendment Wednesday to delay the individual health insurance mandate for one year, and codify the Obama administration's one-year delay of requirements that employers provide insurance.”
Speaking on the Senate floor this morning, Leader McConnell said, “I did a lot of listening over the past several weeks at meetings and events across Kentucky. Last week, I participated in my 51st hospital town hall since 2011. And I’ll tell you: one theme kept emerging over and over and over. Kentuckians are really worried about Obamacare. They've read the same stories we have: about businesses being forced to cut hours and eliminate healthcare; about people being laid off. They've read about how the rollout of this massive law is becoming a massive mess, and how their personal information could become compromised by scam artists. . . . [T]he fact is, the more my constituents seem to know about Obamacare, the more worried about it they tend to be.”
Just look at some of today’s stories. According to The New York Times, at the AFL-CIO convention in Los Angeles “labor’s renewed anger over Mr. Obama’s health care law and decisions surrounding it” became apparent. “Despite overtures on both sides . . . labor leaders criticized the administration and Congress on Wednesday at their convention. While praising the overall legislation, the delegates overwhelmingly passed a sharply worded resolution that demanded changes to some of its regulations, although [AFL-CIO leader Richard] Trumka made sure to strip out some proposals that called for repealing the legislation. At the convention, though, several labor leaders spoke their minds. ‘If the Affordable Care Act is not fixed and it destroys the health and welfare funds that we have fought for and stand for, then I believe it needs to be repealed,’ said Terence M. O’Sullivan, president of the Laborers’ International Union of North America.”
Meanwhile, the AP has a trio of stories with headlines, “Health overhaul confuses Medicare beneficiaries,” “Health costs likely rising for many self-employed,” and “Health care law perplexing to business owners.”
To anyone who’s read the torrent of stories (or even just the headlines on most of them) about the problems with, confusion about, and negative consequences of Obamacare over the summer, it should come as no surprise to find that opposition to Obamacare among Americans remains high. Politico writes, “More than half of Americans oppose most or all of the proposals in Obamacare, a sharp increase in opposition to the healthcare law from earlier this year, according to a new poll Wednesday. Fifty-seven percent of those surveyed said they opposed most or all of the proposals in the law, while just 39 percent favored most or all of the law, according to a CNN/ORC International poll. The opposition rose from 44 percent in similar survey in January, while the support for President Obama’s signature healthcare law dropped from 51 percent.”
As Leader McConnell said, “[W]e know Big Labor is leaning on the President. We know they want him to let them rewrite the same law they helped ram through. And, apparently, he’s listening. But what about everybody else? What about the single Mom in Bowling Green who won’t be able to cover rent if her hours are cut? What about the recent college grad in Louisville who’s barely scraping by as it is, and won’t be able to afford a premium increase? What about the families from Covington to Paducah who are worried sick about this law? Doesn’t the Administration think these folks deserve some relief too? The same kind of delay, at least, that businesses will get? Well, Republicans do. That’s why the Republican-led House of Representatives passed a bill on a bipartisan basis before the August recess to do just that. Last month, I tried to pass that same bill in the Senate. But the Washington Democrat leadership blocked me. I don’t know why. This legislation is just common-sense – it’s the fair thing, the right thing, to do. So today I’m going to try again. Yesterday, I – along with a number of my colleagues – filed an amendment to the Portman-Shaheen bill that would provide the same reprieve for individuals that the administration has already offered to businesses. This time, I hope my colleagues on the other side will join me in supporting it.”
He concluded, “We need to pass a one-year delay of Obamacare for everyone. That’s what the amendment I’ve filed will do. And then enact what Kentuckians and Americans really need: a full repeal of this job-killing mess of a law. And that’s just what I intend to keep fighting for.”
Today, the focus refocused momentarily again on IRS employeee Lois Learner when a "smoking gun" email was uncovered in which Learner stated "The Tea Party Matter is very dangerous. This could be the issue to go to court on the issue of whether Citizen's United overturning the ban on corporate spending applies to tax exempt rules. . . . " Slate has the full document.
The question is when will President Obama actually practice what he preached in the past: his administration being transparent.
Tags: The Senate, The House, Obamacare, defundin Obamacare, continuing resolution, IRS, Lois Learner, smoking gun, email To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
Posted by Bill Smith at 12:56 PM - Post Link
1 Comments:
The ONLY SOLUTION is to DEFUND OBAMACARE!
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