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December 22, 2009
Americans are still combing through all the sweetheart deals Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) made in order to jam through his government takeover of health care on the night before Christmas. To be fair, Washington Democrats are making it easier to sort out this calamity by rushing to take credit for all these payoffs, proving once again how out of touch they are with the everyday challenges Americans are facing. Sen. Reid actually took the shameless self-promotion a step further by saying “it doesn’t speak well” of any senator who didn’t secure a piece of the action.
Following are just some of the payoffs and kickbacks Sen. Reid is forcing taxpayers to foot the bill for so he can increase health care costs, raise taxes, cut seniors’ Medicare benefits, and put government bureaucrats in charge of medical decisions:
Sen. Mary Landrieu’s (D-LA) “Louisiana Purchase.” CBS News reports: “It started with Mary Landrieu. When reports surfaced she had been swayed with a $100 million Medicaid deal just for Louisiana, she bragged it was actually $300 million. The deal was so notorious, Republicans gave it a name. ‘We have new words in our lexicon, the Louisiana Purchase,’ Sen. John McCain said.”
Sen. Ben Nelson’s (D-NE) $100 Million “Cornhusker Kickback.” The Hill reports: “Nebraska will receive $100 million in assistance for its Medicaid program under provisions in the Senate's healthcare bill negotiated by Sen. Ben Nelson (D).”
Sens. Ben Nelson (D-NE) & Carl Levin’s (D-MI) Sweetheart Deal for Nebraska/Michigan Insurance Companies. Politico reports: “In addition to the Medicaid carve out, Sen. Ben Nelson (D-Neb.) negotiated an exemption from the insurance tax for non-profit insurers based in his state. The language was written in a way that only Mutual of Omaha Insurance Company, as well as Blue Cross Blue Shield nonprofit plans in Nebraska and Michigan, would qualify, according to a Democratic Senate aide.”
Sen. Chris Dodd (D-CT) Takes Credit for $100 Million Hospital Earmark. The Associated Press reports: “A $100 million item for construction of a university hospital was inserted in the Senate health care bill at the request of Sen. Christopher Dodd, D-Conn., who faces a difficult re-election campaign, his office said Sunday night.”
Sen. Roland Burris (D-IL) Inserts Provision for ACORN Funding. The Weekly Standard reports: “Senator Roland Burris is claiming credit for a provision in Harry Reid's ‘manager's amendment,’ unveiled Saturday morning, that could funnel money to ACORN through the health care bill.”
Sens. Patrick Leahy (D-VT) Secures $600 Million Medicaid Kickback. The Associated Press reports: “Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., negotiated $600 million in additional Medicaid benefits for his state over 10 years. He said Vermont is due the additional benefits because the state already has acted to expand Medicaid eligibility to the levels now contemplated by the federal government. Vermont would be unfairly penalized if other states are now being helped with that expansion, he said.” Sen. Bernie Sanders (D-VT) Scores $10 Billion for Community Health Centers. The Associated Press reports: “Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., who was angered after a new government-run health plan was dropped from the legislation to win over moderates like Nelson and Landrieu, held out on backing the bill until Reid, D-Nev., agreed to a $10 billion increase in support for community health centers.” Sen. Bill Nelson (D-FL) Negotiates Special Deal for Florida Medicare Advantage Recipients. The Associated Press reports: “Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla., pushed a provision he said will let about 800,000 Florida seniors enrolled in private Medicare Advantage plans keep their extra benefits. It also helps seniors in a handful of other states. Elsewhere, Medicare Advantage patients risk losing benefits because the private plans are a major target of planned cuts to Medicare.” Sen. Max Baucus (D-MT) Scores Extra Medicare Benefits for Montana Residents. The Associated Press reports: “Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., chairman of the Finance Committee and a key architect of the legislation, put in a provision to help the 2,900 residents of Libby, Mont., many of whom have asbestos-related illnesses from a now-defunct mineral mine. Under Baucus' provision, which never mentions Libby by name, sickened residents could sign up for Medicare benefits.” Sen. Tom Harkin (D-IA) Wins More Medicare Funding for Iowa Hospitals. The Wall Street Journal reports: “One change won by Sen. Tom Harkin (D., Iowa) would increase Medicare payments to medium-size hospitals, including eight in his state. Mr. Harkin said such ‘tweener’ hospitals are short-changed by the current system.” Sens. Byron Dorgan (D-ND) & Kent Conrad (D-ND) Win Higher Medicare Payments for Rural Hospitals . The Washington Post reports: “The Senate health-care bill has been full of goodies handed out to buy/earn the vote of various senators. … Byron Dorgan and Kent Conrad’s higher Medicare payments to hospitals and doctors in the ‘frontier counties’ of Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Utah and Wyoming.”
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December 22, 2009
It appears Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) may have doled out enough payoffs, kickbacks and sweetheart deals to jam through his government takeover of health care later this week, but he hasn’t fooled the American people. According to a survey released today, Americans continue to remain opposed to a government takeover of health care that will raise premiums, increase taxes and cut Medicare for seniors. The Dayton Daily News reports:
In a statement Saturday, Congressman John Boehner called on the American people to “fight harder” and continue to speak out against a government takeover of health care:
It’s not too late to scrap the Democrats’ costly government takeover of health care and start over. Republicans have better solutions that will actually lower health care premiums by up to 10 percent and increase access to quality health care for millions of Americans. To learn more, click here.
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December 17, 2009
In a front page story today, the Washington Post offers a sobering account of the devastating impact continued double-digit unemployment is having on many Ohio families:
Statistics suggest that the gut-wrenching stories in this report are no anomaly in Ohio. Consider the following:
During a weekly press conference yesterday, Congressman John Boehner outlined better solutions to tackle the immediate challenges facing the American people:
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December 16, 2009
Congressman John Boehner released the following web video today calling on President Obama and House Speaker Pelosi to avoid committing the U.S. to a series of international emissions mandates at the Copenhagen Climate Conference that would devastate the U.S. economy and kill American jobs: Boehner said:
To read the letter that Congressman Boehner and other House GOP leaders sent to President Obama seeking assurances that he will not commit the United States to a mandatory emissions reduction scheme at Copenhagen, click here. Read More:
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December 16, 2009
Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and House Democrats are getting out of Dodge today, and really, who can blame them? Double-digit unemployment, red ink as far as the eye can see, and permanent bailouts are not what the American people were promised at the beginning of this year. At a time when Washington Democrats’ job-killing agenda is more unpopular than ever, no relief is in sight: Out of touch. If there’s one thing the American people want out of health care, it’s lower costs, and Democrats’ job-killing government takeover will actually raise costs and pile more debt on our kids and grandkids. Out of ideas. Americans are asking “where are the jobs” and all Democrats have to offer is more ineffective government “stimulus” spending paid for by borrowing from China and the Middle East Out of money. Democrats have raided the federal coffers so fast they need to raise the national debt limit in order to keep their unprecedented spending binge going.
All year long, Republicans have offered better solutions to create jobs and to make Washington do more with less.
Dodge City: House Dems Driven Out of Town by Unpopular, Job-Killing Agenda “In the poll conducted this month, 51 percent say they oppose the proposed changes to the system; 44 percent approve of them. Two-thirds say the health-care reforms would add to the federal deficit, with two-thirds of those people calling such an increase ‘not worth it.’” (The Washington Post, 12/16/09) Majority Say Gov’t Takeover of Health Care Will Raise Costs, Increase Deficits. “…[A] new Washington Post-ABC News poll finds the public generally fearful that a revamped system would bring higher costs while worsening the quality of their care. More than half of those polled, 53 percent, see higher costs for themselves if the proposed changes go into effect than if the current system remains intact. About as many (55 percent) say the overall cost of the national health-care system would go up more sharply. Two-thirds say the health-care reforms would add to the federal deficit, with two-thirds of those people calling such an increase ‘not worth it.’” (The Washington Post, 12/16/09)
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December 16, 2009
In an appearance this morning on Fox News’ America’s Newsroom, Congressman John Boehner (R-West Chester) took Washington Democrats to task for continuing to pursue a government takeover of health care that raises costs, increases taxes, cuts Medicare benefits, and piles more debt on our kids and grandkids. Boehner noted that even with Democrats’ costly government takeover of health care more unpopular than ever, “This not the time to give up. This is the time to fight harder to make sure this never happens.” In addition, a day after the Obama Administration announced its intent to import Guantanamo Bay terrorists to a facility in Northern Illinois, Boehner questioned how this decision would make America any safer. Following are video and excerpts from Boehner’s interview:
Boehner on Dems' Gov't Takeover of Health Care: "A Risky Proposition" It's Dems' Job-Killing Policies That Have Americans "Scared to Death" “It’s not just their national energy tax. It’s all the spending and all the debt that is being piled up. And the American people are scared to death of what their government is doing to them. And they’re saying very clearly, ‘Washington, just stop.’” On Gitmo North: How Will Importing Dangerious Terrorists Make America Any Safer “The Administration has not made clear to the American people their plan to keep America safe. They have not outlined an overall policy on how we take on these terrorist threats and protect our citizens both here and abroad. And this move to take these detainees from Guantanamo, which is very safe prison – one of the best prisons in the world – and to move them to Illinois because they made some political commitment, is really going to make America less safe.”
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December 14, 2009
Calling the “stimulus” a “failure” in an editorial Sunday, the Columbus Dispatch sided with Congressman Boehner in rebuking Congress for its out-of-control spending and calling for $200 billion in unused bailout dollars to be used for deficit reduction:
Last week, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner extended the federal financial bailout program – the Troubled Assets Relief Program – until next fall. In response to growing pressure in the wake of the failure of the first “stimulus” to hold down the unemployment rate, President Obama and Congressional Democrats have indicated that they intend to divert $200 billion of these unused bailout funds to pay for another “stimulus” bill. House Republicans believe these borrowed dollars should be used to pay down the deficit. But on Friday, shortly after passing a massive $447 billion omnibus spending bill containing more than 5,200 earmarks and double-digit funding increases to Washington agencies, House Democrats voted down a Republican amendment to direct unused TARP funds to pay down the national debt. Congressman Boehner released the following statement after the vote:
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December 13, 2009
Following up on a discussion at the White House Wednesday on the importance of trade to creating more American jobs, Congressman John Boehner and other House GOP leaders sent a letter Friday to President Obama urging swift action on pending trade agreements to open new overseas markets to American products, which will help farmers and create U.S. jobs. “We were encouraged during our meeting yesterday by your positive outlook on advancing and implementing pending trade promotion agreements with Colombia, Panama and South Korea,” the leaders wrote to President Obama. “We agree with you that these trade agreements provide important new commercial opportunities that will benefit our economy and create jobs without adding to our nation’s staggering budget deficit, and we stand ready to work with you to implement each agreement on a bipartisan basis right now.” Approving these trade agreements represents real job creation at a time when our nation is struggling with double-digit unemployment and a failed trillion dollar “stimulus.” As the GOP leaders note in their letter, the International Trade Commission estimates that if approved, the trade agreements with Columbia, Panama and South Korea would boost U.S. exports by more than one percent. President Obama has said that a trade increase of just one percent could create 250,000 jobs. Ohio in particular stands to benefit from these policies. Farmers and manufacturers in the 8th District and across the state rely upon sales to foreign markets. As the Cincinnati Enquirer notes, about 11,400 Ohio companies sell their products internationally, and nearly 300,000 jobs in the state depend upon exports. That our state actually benefits from free trade may come as a surprise to many, given the anti-free trade rhetoric in Ohio during the 2008 presidential election. But as the Columbus Dispatch noted in an editorial earlier this year, steady export growth has been the lone bright spot in Ohio’s otherwise struggling economy:
As Congressman Boehner said in an op-ed in today’s Washington Post families and small businesses are faced with daunting economic challenges, but all they are getting from the Majority is more taxes, more spending, and more debt. Opening new markets to farmers and manufacturers is just one example of the common-sense solutions Republicans are offering to break down the barriers to economic growth and help small businesses create jobs. Read More
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December 09, 2009
Last night, defying the will of a bipartisan majority of the House and Senate, Democrats voted to allow the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN) to receive federal taxpayer dollars. In September, large Congressional majorities in both houses voted to sever all ties between the federal government and ACORN. The Senate vote was 85-11; the House vote was 345-75. You’d think that those votes, which USA Today described as prohibiting “any federal funding for the community organizing group,” would have settled the matter. You’d be wrong. Months later, with the country’s focus on jobs, healthcare, and the Global War on Terror, Democrats are moving to restore funding to ACORN. Last night, Rep. Tom Latham (R-IA) offered an amendment during deliberations on the Democrats’ massive year-end appropriations bill to clarify the prohibition on federal funds going to ACORN or its subsidiaries. That amendment was shot down on a 5-9 party line vote as Republicans sided with taxpayers while Democrats stood with ACORN. Rep. Latham’s amendment is necessary to prevent taxpayer money from going to ACORN because the Obama Administration’s Department of Justice has taken advantage of a legal loophole to allow ACORN to continue to receive federal funds - despite the passage of the House GOP’s Defund ACORN Act in the fall. The American people and the Congress have spoken loud and clear: ACORN should be denied any taxpayer funds. Period. ACORN has already received far too much money from the American people. An analysis of federal data by the Office of the Republican Leader staff determined that ACORN has received more than $53 million in direct funding from the federal government since 1994, and has likely received substantially more indirectly through states and localities that receive federal block grants. Enough is enough. The American people are tired of seeing their tax dollars wasted on an organization accused of serious crimes - and that’s why House Republicans are stepping up efforts to defund ACORN once and for all.
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December 07, 2009
In the latest example of “stimulus” waste and misuse, the Columbus Dispatch reported Sunday that Columbus City Schools plan to spend nearly $145,000 in “stimulus” funding to rent out banquet halls at high-end hotels and conference centers and $1.4 million on guest speakers for teacher training sessions. This follows news last week of more errors in Ohio’s “stimulus” tracking, and a national report tracing hundreds of millions of “stimulus” dollars to foreign countries, including China and Spain. Governor Strickland (D), meanwhile still refuses to establish an independent, bipartisan panel to ensure that Ohio’s “stimulus” funds are spent effectively and transparently.
As Ohio continues to struggle with double-digit unemployment, the continued waste and misuse surrounding the “stimulus” is creating a credibility gap that is plaguing the Strickland and Obama Administrations. With nearly $145,000 in taxpayer money being spent to make sure that teachers have padded seats and plush surroundings for three days of workshops, it’s no wonder that one recent survey found fewer than one in 10 Americans believe the "stimulus” has helped create jobs.
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