Articles Tagged ‘GOP’

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GOP AD: Democrats Healthcare Behind Closed Doors

Friday, October 23rd, 2009

In this video ad the Republican conference asks: what are the Democrats trying to hide and why is President Obama letting his claim to want transparency to go ignored?

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Posted in The Players | Start the Discussion

Grayson’s Apology (or Lack Thereof): Health Care Crisis is ‘American Holocaust’

Thursday, October 1st, 2009

If you will recall, Healthcare Horserace posted a story early yesterday morning about how Representative Alan Grayson, a Democrat from Florida’s 8th Congressional District, in an after hours speech on the floor of the United States House of Representatives stated that the Republican health care plan called for sick patients to die quickly. The article also stated that this was hardly the first time the Florida representative had made such brazen remarks. However, unlike his previous outbursts, the considerable backlash his ‘die quickly’ speech experienced as a result of a video of it being posted on YouTube forced him to return to the House floor and apologize.

Well, if you were expecting an actual apology from Rep. Grayson – fat chance! For the second night in a row, the House floor was yielded to the Democratic representative from the state of Florida. However, rather then apologize to his Republican colleagues for his remarks the other night, he chose to apologize instead to “the dead.” And, no, he did not mean the thousands, if not millions, who have died in this country as a result of the euthanasia and abortion procedures the Florida legislator supports. During the course of the rest of his speech that evening, he referred to the nation’s health care crisis as the “American Holocaust” and some how managed to invoked the dead from the Iraq war and the September 11th terrorist attacks.

As Eric Erickson at Red State said, if the Florida GOP was looking for a politician to use as a target in order to raise campaign funds for their own candidates, they found him!

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ACORN May Lose Funding

Wednesday, September 16th, 2009

Prominent leaders in the Republican party are calling for the government to pull all state funding from ACORN as a result of the recent scandals, such as giving tax advice to a prostitute ring in New York. The Census Bureau has already begun distancing itself from ACORN.  Senate Minority Leader Dean Skelos has called for the halting of all state funding ACORN, the New York Agency for Community Affairs, and all other groups who they do business with were receiving.  He wrote a letter to the Attorney General Andre Cuomo and Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli asking them to stop the funding to the groups, saying, “The possibility that our tax dollars are being misused for potential criminal activities must be investigated and the flow of tax money must be stopped.”  The piece of legislation, called the Defund ACORN Act, features 114 cosponsors with Rep. John Boehner as the actual sponsor.

ACORN and its other organizations were supposed to receive around $500,000 in this coming budget year, 2009-2010.  This money was supposed to come from grants to help homeowners who are being threatened with foreclosure.  No funds have been given out yet according to the comptroller.

Legislature is presently being sponsored by a growing amount of Republicans that would cut ties between the government and ACORN.  The most recent addition to the GOP leadership sponsoring the bill is Rep. Peter King (R-Seaford).  Even a few Democrats have begun to distance themselves from the group do to the scandals.  Rep. Steve Israel (D-Huntington) is quoted to say “The behavior of some ACORN staffers is threatening its legitimate foreclosure prevention and housing services. I will judge future funding on transparency and accountability at ACORN.”  On Monday, a vote was presented to the Senate to block the federal housing grants that ACORN was to receive, the vote was 83-7 in favor of blocking the grants.  Sen. Charles Schumer voted for the block, but Sen. Kristen Gillibrand voted against the block.  GOP leaders in the House have requested that the IRS stop all involvement of  ACORN in tax preparations for the poor and people with low-incomes.

ACORN has not been without its supporter as well.  Rep. Yvette Clarke (D-Brooklyn) is still supporting ACORN even though the scandalous tape came from the office in her district; she said that the “unethical lapses by a few is being used as a tool to undermine all the good that they have achieved over the years.”  Legis. Kevin Abrahams (D-Hempstead) has also been supporting ACORN having said, “I don’t condone any criminality or bad apples, but my experience with them has been positive and they’ve done a lot of public good in the community.”

Only time will tell about the future of ACORN and the Federal Government, but from what it looks like, people are tired of ACORN’s antics and the future may not be too long.

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Not The Party of No, GOP’s Offered Many Healthcare Bills

Saturday, September 12th, 2009

For months the Old Media, President Obama, and the Democrats have been jabbing the GOP for being the “party of no” and for not offering any healthcare ideas of its own. Byron York of the Washington Examiner, however, reveals the facts behind this epithet and finds the attack to be false. The truth is, the GOP has offered all sorts of ideas and bills, not that the Democrats have bothered to entertain any of them.

We learned earlier in the week that Obama hasn’t invited GOP leaders to the White House since April. And there’s been report after report that Democrats either don’t need or don’t want to bother with Republicans during this process. All this despite Obama’s happy-talk of how he wants bi-partisanship.

At one point during the president’s healthcare speech on Wednesday several GOP Representatives held up their bills in protest when the president made the arguably false claim that he would listen to opposing views, a claim he’s made without following through with the offer.

One of those bills, York reports, is H.R. 3400. York found some interesting facts about H.R. 3400.

A search of the LexisNexis database of newspapers, magazines, television programs and major blogs finds about 3,000 mentions of the major House Democratic bill, H.R. 3200, in the past six months. (Those are just the stories that refer to the bill by its House number; there have been thousands more stories referring generally to the Democratic legislation.) A similar search found 60 mentions of H.R. 3400, the Price bill.

York also lists the many other healthcare bills that the GOP has submitted to Congress.

Just for the record, in case you want to check them out, these are the bills proposed, so far, by Price and his allies in the House: H.R. 77; H.R. 109; H.R. 198; H.R. 270; H.R. 321; H.R. 464; H.R. 502; H.R. 544; H.R. 917; H.R. 1086; H.R. 1118; H.R. 1441; H.R. 1458; H.R. 1468; H.R. 1658; H.R. 1891; H.R. 2520; H.R. 2607; H.R. 2692; H.R. 2784; H.R. 2785; H.R. 2786; H.R. 2787; H.R. 3141; H.R. 3217; H.R. 3218; H.R. 3356; H.R. 3372; H.R. 3400; H.R. 3438; H.R. 3454; and H.R. 3478.

So, the claim that the GOP has offered nothing is obviously untrue. Additionally, the claim that Obama and the Democrats have listened to the GOPs proposals is also a lie.

Go on over to read York’s full report.

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Posted in Policy Alternative, feature | 2 Comments »

House Energy & Commerce Committee Healthcare FactCheck

Friday, September 11th, 2009

The Republicans on the House Energy & Commerce Committee responsible for a part of the House negotiations over H.R. 3200 have issued a lengthy fact check document informing us where the president got his facts wrong during his healthcare speech last Wednesday night.

The ranking Republican on the committee is Rep. Joe Barton (R, TX).

Obama Says No Deficits, No Drain on Medicare, No Abortions, No Illegal Aliens…Oh, really?

What the president said:

“I will not sign a plan that adds one dime to our deficits – either now or in the future.”

What the Democrats did:

According to the Congressional Budget Office, H.R. 3200 will add $220 billion to the U.S. budget deficits over 10 years, and longer-term deficits are even more ominous. Under H.R. 3200, the tax increases and cuts to Medicare start almost immediately, but the vast majority of the spending does not start for four years. H.R. 3200 will increase the deficit by $65 billion in 2019 alone. A new report issued on September 9 by the Peterson Foundation found that H.R. 3200 would create an additional $1 trillion in deficit spending between 2020 and 2029.

Fact Check Conclusion: The president is a Democrat, and record-breaking federal budget deficits form a prominent, permanent part of the Democrats’ health care plan.

* * *

What the president said:

“Not a dollar of the Medicare Trust Fund will be used to pay for this proposal.”

What the Democrats did: H.R. 3200 contains more than $400 billion in cuts to the Medicare program and those cuts are being used to finance this new proposal.

* Congressman Phil Gingrey’s amendment at the Energy and Commerce Committee to ensure that any savings to the Medicare program resulting from the Medicare cuts would be used solely for the purpose of improving the access and affordability of health care for Medicare beneficiaries was defeated along party lines, with one Democrat voting in favor of the amendment.

Fact Check Conclusion: If the president and congressional Democrats persist with their pending bill, many dollars from the Medicare Trust Fund may be used to pay for the Obama health care program.

* * *

What the president said:

“If you are among the hundreds of millions of Americans who already have health insurance through your job, Medicare, Medicaid or the VA, nothing in this plan will require you or your employer to change the coverage or doctor you have.”

What the Democrats did:

The Lewin Group estimates that more than 80 million would lose their employer-sponsored health insurance under the House bill. Additionally, the $150 billion in cuts to the Medicare Advantage program would jeopardize coverage for millions of seniors.

* Congressman Mike Rogers, R-Mich., offered an amendment at the Energy and Commerce Committee that would have prevented the cuts to the Medicare Advantage program if it would lead to seniors losing access to their coverage. That amendment was defeated on a party line vote.

Under H.R.3200, veterans who currently receive health care through the VA could be forced to buy other insurance or face a 2.5 percent tax on their income.

* Congressman Buyer offered an amendment that would ensure that veterans could still be enrolled in the VA health care system and not be subject to the tax. That amendment was not supported by the Democrats but the amendment was withdrawn in order to work to fix this tax on those in the VA health system.

Under H.R. 3200, the new Health Care Choices Commissioner would have the power to eliminate Americans’ access to Health Savings Accounts.

* Rogers and Gingrey, R-Ga., offered an amendment that would protect people’s option to use Health Savings Accounts. That amendment was defeated along party lines with three Democrats voting to allow the continuation of Health Savings Accounts.

* Congressman Cliff Stearns, R-Fla., offered an amendment at the Energy and Commerce Committee that would have ensured that existing health plans could continue to provide coverage to its enrollees. That amendment was defeated along party lines, with three Democrats voting to allow people to keep their existing coverage.

Fact Check Conclusion: The president’s comforting words are unsupported by his party’s actions. Because congressional Democrats reject proposals to protect individual choice, the president’s speech constitutes the only thing that stands between his party’s health care legislation and you losing a doctor you like and insurance coverage you want to keep.

* * *

What the president said:

“The reforms I’m proposing would not apply to those who are here illegally.”

What the Democrats did:

H.R. 3200 states that “nothing in this subtitle shall allow for affordability credits on behalf of individuals who are not lawfully present in the United States.” However, the bill contains no provision where people would actually have to demonstrate whether they were here legally and would provide these federally subsidies without any verification.

* An amendment is pending at the Energy and Commerce Committee that will ensure illegal aliens are not able to obtain taxpayer funded benefits.

The bill significantly expands those eligible for the Medicaid program but does not require individuals to verify their citizenship.

* The Democrats rejected an amendment offered by Congressman Nathan Deal, R-Ga., that would have required people to verify their citizenship before being eligible for Medicaid. The amendment was rejected by one vote.

Fact Check Conclusion: The president’s statement has no force of law and is unsupported by any provision of his party’s bill. Consequently, nothing prevents illegal aliens from participating in the proposed government-run health care program because nothing requires them to demonstrate that they are U.S. citizens.

* * *

What the president said:

“Under our bill, no federal dollars will be used to fund abortions.”

What the Democrats did:

Under a Democratic amendment approved in the Energy and Commerce Committee, the secretary of Health and Human Service has the discretion to cover abortion in the new government run health plan if the current legislative rider known as the Hyde amendment remains in place. (The Hyde amendment states that Medicaid cannot pay for abortions.) If the Hyde amendment is not renewed, then the secretary of HHS would be required to cover abortion in the new government plan. Additionally, under the amendment, people could use federal subsidies to purchase insurance plans that pay for abortions. Under the House bill, the new Health Care Choices Commissioner could require all health plans to cover providers like Planned Parenthood.

* An amendment offered by Rep. Joe Pitts, R-Pa., would prohibit the federal government from mandating that any health insurance plan provide coverage for abortion (except in cases involving a danger to the mother’s life, rape, or incest). That amendment originally passed but through a procedural mechanism the majority was able to reconsider the amendment and it was defeated by one vote.

Link to second vote which defeated the Pitts amendment:

* An amendment offered by Michigan Democrat Rep. Bart Stupak and Republican Pitts would have prevented the Democrats’ health reform bill from allowing taxpayer dollars to subsidize abortions but that amendment failed by a vote of 31-27.

Fact Check Conclusion: Abortions are not disallowed, and each attempt to do what the president says already happened has been rejected by a majority of Democrats.

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Obama Punts the Ball on Tort Reform, Not Offering a Clear Stance

Thursday, September 10th, 2009

While many Republicans say that tort reform is a key for reducing health care costs, Obama mentions it then sidesteps the subject during his address to Congress.

 On Wednesday, President Barack Obama gave an address on health care reform to a joint session of Congress that was televised nationwide.  However, the President did not talk about tort reform until the near end of his speech.  President Obama acknowledged that there is an increasing issue with defensive medicine and said he wants “doctors to just be doctors” when responding to the GOP’s concern on tort reform.  The President based his response during the speech over the concern of defensive medicine is a factor in rising health care costs.  Many members of Congress on the Republican side have linked the lack of tort reform at the federal level to the rising health care costs.

The response by President Obama has left those who have been following the health care debate with more unanswered questions at the end of his speech.  Minutes after his speech, noted health care expert Greg Scandlen from Consumers for Health Care Choices in a written statement said that there was a lack of clarity in the President’s overall health care proposal.  Scandlen called the speech “another laundry list of platitudes and generalities” and said “this is exactly what the public did not need and was not looking for.”   

Additionally, Congressman Jim Sensenbrenner (R-Wisconsin-5th), one of the well known tort reform advocates in Congress, criticized the President for not talking directly about his stance on tort reform.  The veteran Congressman from Wisconsin called the President’s remarks on defensive medicine “more rhetoric from President Obama.” Sensenbrenner who was the former Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee successfully passed bills calling for tort reform in the House when the GOP had the majority from 1995 to 2007.  However on separate occasions in that twelve year period, Democrats in the Senate have blocked tort reform legislation.  The veteran Congressman will introduce tort reform legislation again this year, and will be calling on the President to incorporate this idea into any health care reform bill. 

 

 

 

When looking at the numbers, the absence of federal tort reform legislation is putting a strain on the American economy.  The American Tort Reform Association on its website said that the lack of tort reform legislation, in 2003 alone, costed America $246 billion. With inflation adjusted to the beginning of 2009, the 2003 tort reform cost figures result to over $286 billion dollars at the end of 2008.  Many experts predict that if no tort reform is passed that the 2003 figures from ATRA will skyrocket to well over $320 billion dollars in the next five years.  The $40 billion dollar increase from 2003 to 2008 is equivalent to over a 16 percent increase in inflation in a five year period using the Consumer Price Index.

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ICYMI: Full Text of Boustany’s Response to Obama Speech

Thursday, September 10th, 2009

Rep. Boustany Delivers Republican Health Care Address  
        

WASHINGTON, DC - Below is the full text (as prepared) of tonight’s Republican address on health care, delivered by Dr. Charles Boustany (R-LA) following President Obama’s speech to a Joint Session of Congress:

        “Good evening.  I’m Dr. Charles Boustany, and I’m proud to serve the people of Louisiana’s Seventh Congressional District.  I’m also a heart surgeon with more than 20 years of experience, during which I saw first-hand the need for lowering health care costs.

       “Republicans are pleased that President Obama came to the Capitol tonight.  We agree much needs to be done to lower the cost of health care for all Americans.  On that goal, Republicans are ready – and we’ve been ready – to work with the President for common-sense reforms that our nation can afford.

       “Afford is an important word.  Our country is facing many challenges.  The cost of health care is rising. Federal spending is soaring.  We’re piling huge debt on our children.  And families and small businesses are struggling through a jobless recovery, with more than 2.4 million private-sector jobs lost since February.

       “It’s clear the American people want health care reform, but they want their elected leaders to get it right.  Most Americans wanted to hear the President tell Speaker Pelosi, Majority Leader Reid and the rest of Congress that it’s time to start over on a common-sense, bipartisan plan focused on lowering the cost of health care while improving quality.  That’s what I heard over the past several months in talking to thousands of my constituents.

       “Replacing your family’s current health care with government-run health care is not the answer.  In fact, it’ll make health care much more expensive.  That’s not just my personal diagnosis as a doctor or a Republican; it’s the conclusion of the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office – the neutral scorekeeper that determines the cost of major bills.  

       “I read the bill Democrats passed through committee in July.  It creates 53 new government bureaucracies, adds hundreds of billions to our national debt, and raises taxes on job-creators by $600 billion.  And, it cuts Medicare by $500 billion, while doing virtually nothing to make the program better for our seniors.  

       “The President had a chance tonight to take government-run health care off the table.  Unfortunately, he didn’t do it.  

       “We can do better, with a targeted approach that tackles the biggest problems.  Here are four important areas where we can agree, right now:

       “One, all individuals should have access to coverage, regardless of preexisting conditions.

       “Two, individuals, small businesses and other groups should be able to join together to get health insurance at lower prices, the same way large businesses and labor unions do.

       “Three, we can provide assistance to those who still cannot access a doctor.

       “And, four, insurers should be able to offer incentives for wellness care and prevention – something particularly important to me.  I operated on too many people who could have avoided surgery if they’d simply made healthier choices earlier in life.

       “We do have ideas the President hasn’t agreed with.  We’re grateful the President mentioned medical liability reform, and we hope he’s serious.  We need to establish tough liability reform standards, encourage speedy resolution of claims, and deter junk lawsuits that drive up the cost of care.  Real reform must do this.

       “Let’s also talk about letting families and businesses buy insurance across state lines.  I and many other Republicans believe that that will provide real choice and competition to lower the cost of health insurance.  Unfortunately, the President disagrees.
    
       “You can read more about all these reforms at healthcare.gop.gov <http://www.gop.gov/solutions/healthcare> .  These are common-sense reforms we can achieve right away – without destroying jobs, exploding the deficit, rationing care, or taking away the freedom American families cherish.  

       “This Congress can pass meaningful reform soon to reduce some of the fear and anxiety families are feeling in these very difficult times.  Working together in a bipartisan way, we can truly lower the cost of health care while improving quality for the American people.  

       “I’m Dr. Charles Boustany.  Thanks for listening.”     

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Senate GOP Vows Fight over Dem Rules Change

Tuesday, September 1st, 2009

Senate Republicans are vowing to fight against Democrats if they attempt to use the “reconciliation” process to avoid the 60-votes needed to pass Healthcare through the Senate as the next session of Congress begins in September.

The Hill reports that Senator Judd Gregg (R, N.H.) is readying a series of procedural moves to stave off any move by Democrats to use reconciliation to ram healthcare through that body.

Gregg recently objected to Democrat Majority Leader Harry Reid’s claim that a healthcare bill with a “public option” could be shepherded through the Senate using budgetary reconciliation. The process, after all, is supposed to promote only revenue neutral policies but this healthcare bill cannot possibly be revenue neutral due to the wide ranging goodies stuffed in the healthcare bill, not to mention the giant bureaucracy required to administer the plan.

Gregg said that Republicans could file “hundreds” of points-of-order objections to the bill, each one requiring 60 votes to waive.
“We are very much engaged in taking a hard look at our rights under reconciliation,” Gregg said. “It would be very contentious.”

What Gregg and Republicans want is to force the Senate to stick to the 60 vote majority in order to pass healthcare whereas the reconciliation process requires fewer. With the Democrats down to 59 seats with the death of Senator Kennedy, they want to avoid having to rely on Republican votes and they also want to shave off some votes from their own side that are wavering due to growing, intense public pressure against the healthcare plans.

This whole debate over reconciliation is complicated and arcane, so go on over to The Hill and read the whole story for more in depth coverage.

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Republicans Have Offered Three Healthcare Plans

Monday, August 24th, 2009

Despite the constant drumbeat by the Old Media and the Obama administration that the GOP is “just the party of no” and that they haven’t offered anything to the debate but “no,” CNS News reports that it isn’t true. There are three healthcare plans offered by Republicans.

CNS News details a House and Senate bicameral coalition which resulted in the May release of the “Patient’s Choice Act of 2009.”

In June, Senator Jim DeMint (R, SC) introduced his “Health Care Freedom Plan” and in July the Republican Study Committee released the “Empowering Patients First Act.”

Go on over to CNS News and read the whole report.

So, far from offering nothing but “no” the GOP has been bringing ideas to the table. And that is not to mention the many conservative groups out there that have also offered plans and ideas for reform of healthcare.

Once again we see an administration that is not above dissembling to win the day.

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‘Dropping’ of Public-Option Draws Ire of Far-Left Blogosphere

Tuesday, August 18th, 2009

All of Sunday, the political blogosphere was alight with activity stemming from the titillating rumor circulating around the Washington Beltway that the White House was willing to drop public-option from President Obama’s health care reform proposal. The Drudge Report accompanied the headline with an image of a white flag. Politico led off with the caption, “White House has backedway.” Others, particularly those on the right, aren’t so convinced. Conservative bloggers like Michelle Malkin are skeptical, believing this not to be a retreat by the Obama administration, but rather a “trial balloon [in which] to measure the potential nutroots backlash versus the potential Senate pick-ups.”

In terms of a ‘potential nutroots backlash’ from the far-left side of the political blogosphere, the results so far have to be less then encouraging for the White House. Doug Ross @ Journal examined one blog in particular, America Blog, which seemed to suggest the fight over health care reform was either public-option or bust.

Contributor Joe Sudbay had these words to say:

“I don’t understand why Democrats are always so willing and desperate to compromise with themselves. The GOPers don’t want any reform bill. Their base, comprised of the teabaggers, birthers and deathers, won’t let them negotiate. So, Democrats compromise with themselves, again — and sell out their principles, again. Just like they did on the stimulus package - they gave the GOP nearly 40% of the package in tax cuts, and how many votes did it get them in the entire Congress? Three”

Ahem, excuse me? The ‘Democrats’ are the ones who are “always so willing and desperate to compromise with themselves?” Surely he must be joking. No, he isn’t … but you can still call him Shirley if you like. But in all seriousness how could Joe Sudbay have written this statement with a straight face? So far in the health care debate this summer we have seen the White House tell supporters of the president’s health care proposal – in particular ACORN and SEIU – to ‘punch back twice as hard’ against tea party protestors, progressive Democrats threaten a leading moderate Democrat in the health care reform fight with losing his chairmanship if he didn’t stop talking to Congressional Republicans, and the Democratic leadership forcing moderate ‘Blue Dog’ Democrats to submit to their rule. That’s always compromising?

But wait, the comment section for the article is even better. Jimfromthefoothills writes, “Remember, we are going to rebuild every school, bridge and road in the country. We will fix healthcare. We will restore the constitution, end illegal wars [and] reduce emissions of greenhouse gasses.” … and then we shall rule the world! Umm, if people like Joe Sudbay say that we shouldn’t listen to uneducated conservative Southern bumpkins then why should we listen to the same kind only on the left? Jim returns later in the comment section to insult Obama, referring to him as ‘Choco-Bush.’ And to think some people believed racism existed only on the right side of the political spectrum.

Jersey asks, “Can we convince Howard Dean to run against Obama in 2012?” Jim returns yet again to add, “Dean\Krugman, Reich\Waters, ANYBODY BUT OBAMA.”

Chairman of the progressive Democracy for America, Jim Dean, chimed in with an e-mail sent to supporters on Monday, August 17th,which told them to “fight any effort to remove a government-run health insurance plan in place of non-profit ‘cooperatives’.” He goes on to suggest that “insider Democrats and the insurance industry are behind the effort to kill a government-run plan.” You mean the same “private insurers and the for-profit health care industry” that donated more to the president and his party “than even Republicans, with the president taking $19 million in the 2008 election cycle alone, more than all his Repubican, Democratic and independent rivals combined?” That same industry?

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