Ukraine President Poroshenko Speaks To Congress | Obamacare Train Wreck Continuing in MN, NY, VT

Ukraine President Poroshenko asked a joint meeting
of Congress for military weapons to use against East
Ukrainian  separatists.  The U.S.  has already provided
about $60 million in nonlethal aid. 

 Imagine: What if King George had gone to his Russian
and German relatives and asked for weapons to stop
 the American colonial separatist?  They did pay
for German Hessian (soldiers) whom we defeated. 
Editor's opinion: Ukraine has revenue and taxes from
transporting propane through the Ukraine to Europe.
Let him get the French and Germans to help him.

Today in Washington, D.C. - Sept. 18, 2014:
Joint Session of Congress: This morning, Speaker John Boenher welcomed President Petro Poroshenko of Ukraine to the United States Capitol to address Congress. Boehner issued the following statement: "“Today, Vladimir Putin and the world saw Republicans and Democrats stand in unity with President Poroshenko and his people’s aspirations for freedom, democracy, and economic opportunity. Now we must answer his call for America’s leadership, not only in sentiment, but in action. We can start by imposing tougher sanctions, providing military and intelligence assistance, and breaking Russia’s energy stranglehold on Europe. It was my privilege to welcome President Poroshenko to the Capitol, and pledge to him personally that the House will continue to lead the effort to help his people.”

The House reconvened at 9 AM today. At 10 AM, The House has reconvened in Joint meeting with the Senate to receive an address by His Excellency Petro Poroshenko, President of Ukraine.

After the Joint meeting of Congress, the House is scheduled to take up the following bills:
H.R. 2 — "To remove Federal Government obstacles to the production of more domestic energy; to ensure transport of that energy reliably to businesses, consumers, and other end users; to lower the cost of energy to consumers; to enable manufacturers and other businesses to access domestically produced energy affordability and reliably in order to create and sustain more secure and well-paying American jobs; and for other purposes."
H.R. 4 — "To make revisions to Federal law to improve the conditions necessary for economic growth and job creation, and for other purposes."

Yesterday the House passed:
H. Res. 726 (Voice Vote) — "Strongly supporting the right of the people of Ukraine to freely determine their future, including their country's relationship with other nations and international organizations, without interference, intimidation, or coercion by other countries."
H.J. Res. 124 (319 - 108) — "Making continuing appropriations for fiscal year 2015, and for other purposes."
H.R. 24 (333 - 92) — "To require a full audit of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System and the Federal reserve banks by the Comptroller General of the United States, and for other purposes."
H.R. 5462 (423 - 0) — "To amend title 49, United States Code, to provide for limitations on the fees charged to passengers of air carriers."
S. 476 (419 - 0) — "To amend the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal Development Act to extend to the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historical Park Commission."

The Senate reconvened at 9:30 AM today. Senators then proceeded to the House chamber for a joint meeting of Congress to hear a message from President Petro Poroshenko of Ukraine.

At 1 PM, the Senate will begin consideration of H.J. Res. 124, the continuing resolution (CR) that will fund the government through December 11. If all debate time is used, at 4:30 PM, the Senate will vote on motions to table an amendment or waive the budget with respect to the resolution, if either is raised. Senators will then vote on cloture on H.J. Res. 124 and then, if cloture is invoked, on final passage of the bill.

After completing work on the CR, the Senate will take up a series of nominations, which are expected to be voice votes. Among these will be nominees for ambassadors to South Korea and Ireland, a nominee to be Deputy U.S. Trade Representative, as well as nominees for posts in the State, Energy, Defense, Treasury, and Homeland Security Departments.

Obamacare Train Wreck Continues: While it’s easy to focus on the problems created by Obamacare nationally and at the federal level, like the ongoing problems with Healthcare.gov and report after report showing serious problems with the bureaucracy’s implementation of the law, Obamacare is still having negative consequences for Americans in their state and local health systems.

In one of the biggest health care stories this week, PreferredOne, a Minnesota insurer, which had the most customers and offered the lowest rates among those on the state’s troubled health insurance exchange announced that it would be leaving the exchange. The AP and WCCO in St. Paul reported, “The insurance company that grabbed the most customers on Minnesota’s health care exchange by offering the lowest rates told state officials Tuesday that it’s pulling out of MNsure, a major blow to the exchange as the next open enrollment period approaches. The decision by Golden Valley-based PreferredOne may mean higher rates and again puts the troubled exchange front-and-center in Minnesota’s governor and House elections. . . . Company spokesman Steve Peterson told KSTP-TV, which first reported the decision, that staying on MNsure wasn’t financially or administratively sustainable. The membership they gained through MNsure was small, but was taking ‘a significant amount of our resources’ to administer, Peterson said.”

In New York, the Albany Business Review reported, “MVP Health Care, an insurer based in Schenectady, New York, is dropping some of its plans tied to Medicare and raising rates for other related coverage under the health care program for elderly people. Denise Gonick, president and CEO of MVP Health Care, delivered the announcement during a news conference this morning. She also said the Schenectady-based insurer with about 700,000 members in New York is projecting it will run at a deficit in 2015 because of the issue. Gonick said the decision was prompted in part by reduced reimbursement payments tied to Medicare, the federal program generally covering people age 65 and above. Of the company's five Medicare Advantage plans, two are being dropped. That will primarily affect 17,000 people in the Rochester area, Gonick announced. . . . Gonick said factors prompting the move touched on a range of economic issues, including the reduced Medicare Advantage reimbursement. Cuts to other government subsidies and taxes on health insurance premiums also played a role, she said. . . . The company has about 1,500 employees and has been reducing its workforce, including 100 job cuts earlier this year.” Remember, of course, that Obamacare included over $300 billion in cuts to Medicare Advantage.

On the West Coast, KGO-TV in Sacramento noted this week, “On Wednesday, 31 employees at Washington Hospital in Fremont were laid off. The hospital has been struggling financially and blames the Affordable Care Act and significant reductions in Medicare for the layoffs. . . . Following a major financial overhaul, Washington Hospital will soon operate with 244 fewer employees. . . . That adds up to 244 positions that, according to the hospital, will simply go away -- they will not be replaced. Sandi Van Brocklin is a clerk in the emergency room. She says, ‘And that is going to hurt everybody else in the long run because right now we don't have enough people to manage all the call lights that go off when a patient calls. Somebody has to respond and it's not always the nurse because now the staffing ratios have changed.’”

To the north in Oregon, the AP wrote on Monday, “Cover Oregon has identified 775 households that will owe money to the federal government because they were given tax credits that were too large, the agency's director told a state legislative committee on Monday. . . . Cover Oregon officials have acknowledged they used an incorrect formula to calculate tax credits for people purchasing private health plans through the state's insurance marketplace.”

On Tuesday, WPTZ-TV in the Green Mountain State reported, “The dysfunctional, more than $70-million Vermont Health Connect website is down for maintenance for a period of what state officials expect will be weeks, not days. Gov. Peter Shumlin, D-Vt., yanked the portal, which is used by Vermonters who don't get health insurance through work to manage the plans federal law now requires them to have. ‘Nobody's more frustrated than me,’ Shumlin told reporters Tuesday. . . . The site still cannot fulfill all its intended goals, despite having launched nearly a year ago. . . . Vermont's health care reform chief, Lawrence Miller, said the move was not in response to any data breach, but acknowledged cyber security risks are real. . . . ‘If I was an attacker, these websites--these health exchanges--may be the one place I'm going to focus all of my time and effort on,’ said Jon Rajewski, the director of Champlain College's Leahy Center for Digital Investigation. Rajewski called the very personal data on a health care exchange the ‘holy grail’ for hackers, because information entered into that kind of site would contain everything they'd ever need to steal someone's identity.”

These stories are just from this week, yet they present a microcosm of Obamacare’s failures: lost jobs, canceled insurance coverage, higher premiums, cuts to Medicare advantage, bureaucratic breakdowns at every level, and technology problems that make getting insurance difficult while putting Americans’ personal information at risk. The law is a train wreck and needs to be repealed and replaced.

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