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The Hill: GOP finds loophole in reconciliation ploy
Posted in: Latest News by admin on February 3, 2010
From The Hill:
As it turns out, Senate Democrats may not be able to force healthcare legislation through the chamber on a simple majority vote.
Republicans say they have found a loophole in the budget reconciliation process that could allow them to offer an indefinite number of amendments.
Though it has never been done, Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) says he’s prepared to test the Senate’s stamina to block the Democrats from using the process to expedite changes to the healthcare bill.
Experts on Senate procedural rules, from both parties, note that such a filibuster is possible. While reconciliation rules limit debate to 20 hours, senators lack similiarconstraints on amendments and could conceivably continue offering them until 60 members agree to cut the process off.
Another option for Democrats would be to seek a ruling by the parliamentarian that Republicans are simply filing amendments to stall the process. But such a ruling could taint the final healthcare vote and backfire for Democrats in November.
Health Care Bill Will Empower IRS Agents
Posted in: Latest News by admin on January 12, 2010
From Kaiser Health News:
Internal Revenue Service agents already try to catch tax cheats. Under the proposed health care legislation, they would get another assignment: checking to see whether Americans have health insurance.
The House and Senate bills require most Americans to have health insurance and to prove it on their annual federal tax return. Those who don’t would pay a penalty to the IRS.
That’s one of several key duties the IRS would assume under the bills that have been approved by the House and Senate and will be merged by negotiators from both chambers.
The agency also would distribute as much as $140 billion a year in new government subsidies to help small employers and as many as 19 million lower-income people buy coverage.
In addition, the IRS would collect hundreds of billions of dollars in new fees on employers, drug companies and device makers, according to the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO).
Some critics of the health bill question whether the IRS, which has struggled in recent years with budget problems, staffing shortages and outdated computer systems, will be up to the job of enforcing the mandate and efficiently handling the subsidies.
“It’s hard to see how the IRS could take on the huge responsibility it would be given under pending health care legislation without some real glitches, or worse,” said Sen. Charles Grassley of Iowa, the top Republican on the Senate Finance Committee who voted against the bill with every other GOP senator.
Politico: House-Senate Comparison of Key Provisions
Posted in: Latest News by admin on January 6, 2010
POLITICO’s Carrie Budoff Brown posts a fascinating 11-page staff comparison of House and Senate health-reform bills:
“more than 50 ‘topline differences’ need to be resolved, from the amount of taxes levied to the minimum benefit package offered in the exchanges. Today, Speaker Pelosi will meet with House committee chairmen to start setting the parameters for negotiations with the Senate. Then, Pelosi and House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Nev.) go to the White House to meet with President Obama and Vice President Biden. Senate Leader Reid and Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) will call in from their home states. White House aides have sought to downplay the challenge of reconciling the two bills. But the chart is an unambiguous reminder that a bill-signing is still a ways off – and a series of politically-unforgiving and party-straining decisions await Democrats.” Read the full report here.
Republicans Not Giving Up on Defeating Democrat Health Bill
Posted in: Latest News by admin on December 25, 2009
From Fox News:
The Senate battle may be over for now, but Republicans are vowing the war is not yet lost.
Congress may be gone for several weeks enjoying a winter holiday, but Republicans say they will keep up the pressure on Democrats who succeeded in getting their Senate health insurance overhaul bill passed before Christmas — if just barely.
Several GOP lawmakers say they are still hoping to peel back support for the bill among budget-minded Democrats who are certain to hear from furious constituents over the long break about the overwhelming cost of the $871 billion, 10-year legislation. Read more…
Sen. Thune Blasts Senate Health Care Bill
Posted in: Latest News by admin on December 23, 2009
From the Rapid City Journal:
Sen. John Thune railed against today’s expected passage of health care reform by the U.S. Senate as a budget-busting bill that “smacks of everything people hate about the way Washington does business.”
Reiterating his long-standing opposition to the Democrats’ health reform plans, Thune said Wednesday the bill’s core problems remain the same: Tax increases on small businesses, cuts to Medicare and higher health insurance premiums, while 400 pages of new amendments add even more reasons to vote against it.
“There are lots of reasons to be opposed to this bill, but they all got much worse over the weekend,” he said. “This is a flawed bill full of sweetheart deals for Democratic senators but none for the American people.” Read more…
The Latest Amendment from Sen. Reid Violates Eight Democrats’ Pledges
Posted in: Latest News by admin on December 19, 2009
Senator Blanche Lincoln and seven other Democrats sent a letter to Harry Reid on October 6th saying the health care legislation “Should Be Posted On A Public Website Prior To Beginning Debate,” “Available To The Public For 72 Hours” And Should Have “Complete CBO Scores”. Read the press release and letter:
Washington – Citing the right of Arkansans to know in advance what health care changes that Senators will be voting on later this month, U.S. Senator Blanche Lincoln (D-Ark) today led a group of Democratic Senators in pressuring Senate leaders for greater transparency in the health insurance reform debate.
“Over the past few months, I have heard from many Arkansans who are frustrated and lack accurate information on the emerging health care proposals in Congress,” Lincoln said. “In response to their requests, today, I am unveiling my plan for greater transparency as health insurance reform legislation moves to the Senate floor.”
The Hill: Senate healthcare bill steepens payroll tax for high-earners in 2013
Posted in: Latest News by admin on
From The Hill:
The Senate’s final healthcare bill steepens the payroll tax rates high-income Americans will face.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) released a manager’s amendment to the healthcare bill finalizing its legislative language on Saturday morning that contained a provision increasing the payroll tax beyond levels called for in the initial Senate bill.
Where the first version of the bill called for a 0.5 percent additional tax on high-earning Americans’ FICA and SECA taxes, the manager’s amendment increases the levy to a 0.9 percent rate.
Sen. Thune: The Democrats’ Health Care Plan Doesn’t Deliver
Posted in: Latest News by admin on December 17, 2009
In an op-ed for Real Clear Politics, Sen. John Thune discusses how the Democrats’ health care plan doesn’t deliver reform to the American people. The bill does not lower premiums, and adds trillions to the deficit:
Every year around the holidays, many of us spend time thinking about what truly matters in our lives. For a lot of people in my home state of South Dakota, and around the country, that includes the peace of mind that comes with knowing they will be able to get good health care when they need it. There is much we in Congress can do to help bring about a health care system that provides that peace of mind and works for the American people.
That means reform that moves us forward by truly lowering costs for families and small businesses, helping the uninsured, and not adding to the deficit. But under the bill Democrats are trying to push through the Senate, 90 percent of Americans who buy insurance in the private market will get no real relief from skyrocketing premiums, and in some cases will end up paying even more. That’s not moving forward, it’s moving in reverse. Read more…
Senator Thune discusses health care on CNN State of the Union
Posted in: Latest News by admin on December 16, 2009
CNN – State of the Union – Sen. John Thune & Sen. Mark Warner (Federal Spending/Deficit, Health Care Reform)
Read the entire transcript: Read more…
The Hill: Thune: This week could decide outcome of healthcare debate
Posted in: Latest News by admin on
From The Hill:
This week’s activity in the Senate is likely to determine the outcome of healthcare reform, a top Republican said Monday.
Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.), the chairman of the Republican Policy Committee, said the coming week will seal the fate of Democrats’ efforts to pass healthcare legislation.
“We’ll see how this week goes,” Thune said during an appearance on “Imus in the Morning,” broadcast by the Fox Business Network. “I think this week will be pretty determinative of how this thing comes out.”
That assertion comes after a rough weekend for Democrats, in which Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) notified party leaders that he would oppose the latest iteration of a compromise on the public option provision, which in this case would allow individuals between the ages of 55 and 64 to buy into Medicare.